Wicked Wildfire Read-a-Thon: Starting Line and Updates

Sticky Post for read-a-thon updates...please scroll down for newer content.  Thanks!

Final Wrap-Up
Well, I didn't do as well as expected, but at least I read about a book and a half.  What I read:

The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner--379 pages
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith--141 of 336 pages


Day Five:
Haven't been doing much reading.  I slept for a LONG time this morning.  Tiredness must have caught up with me.  I completed the mini-challenge at My Shelf Confessions, the Summer Scorcher challenge.  We had to tell what three objects we would rescue from out in the sun, if we were a vampire, and how we would protect ourselves from the sun.  Here's what I said:

I would make me a full body suit which would cover me from head to toe, including head, using the material from those light blocking, black out curtains with only holes for my eyes and I would wear the strongest UV blocking sunglasses I could find. The three items I would grab? Well, since I’ve been alive for a very long time and all of my loved ones are long dead, I wouldn’t be worrying about grabbing them. However, I must always have a cat and that pesky cat just HAD to run out in the sun so, of course, I have to grab her. It also seems that my other two precious objects were in a drawstring rucksack and the silly cat got the strings around her neck whilst playing with them and drug it out in the sun as well. The other two precious objects contained in that bag are my black book with all the vampire safe house locations around the world and my locket with the pictures of my precious sons who have been gone for years. No way can I lose any of that stuff, although I might rethink the cat for putting me through this in the first place!

Currently Reading:  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter--on page 125


Day 4 reading update:
Total Books Read: 1 (The Queen's Vow)

Total Pages Read: 504
Books Read Since Last Update: 1
Pages Read since last update:  24

Day Four:
So, I was reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter yesterday and hoped to finish it before seeing the movie today.  Well, I didn't.  Still saw the movie though.  Liked it pretty well, but bummed that two parts from the book were left out.  Overall, I'm liking the book more, I think.  Anyway, just completed the mini-challenge hosted over at The Non Reluctant Reader.


Currently Reading:  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter--on page 101


Day 3 reading update:
Total Books Read: 1 (The Queen's Vow)

Total Pages Read: 468
Books Read Since Last Update: 1
Pages Read since last update:  101


Day Three:

I made the executive decision not to complete any mini-challenges today.  It's been one of those weeks and the boys are going to my mom's tonight for their weekly sleepover so I'm ready to relax and have some time to myself.  *sigh*  Here's my update:

Currently Reading:  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter--on page 31


Day 2 reading update:
Total Books Read: 1 (The Queen's Vow)

Total Pages Read: 379
Books Read Since Last Update: 1
Pages Read since last update:  364


Day Two:  

Completed two mini-challenges (off blog)  Currently reading The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner.  I have to finish this before tomorrow morning.  My review is due tomorrow!

Day 1 reading update:
Total Books Read: 0

Total Pages Read: 15 (yeah, yesterday sucked majorly!)
Books Read Since Last Update: 0
Pages Read since last update:  15


Day One Challenge..Slake your thirst (hosted at Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer):

My drink:

Frozen Margarita!

Recipe:
1 (6 ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate
6 fluid ounces tequila
2 fluid ounces triple sec

Fill blender with crushed ice. Pour in limeade concentrate, tequila and triple sec. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve. (from allrecipes.com)

My most anticipated read of the summer is this lovely book that was released last Tuesday.  And guess what?  I'm reading it now!

The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner

Starting Line:
Another read-a-thon! Yes, that's right folks...I just can't get enough.  This read-a-thon is hosted by the lovely Rebecca @ Kindle Fever and April @ My Shelf Confessions and runs from today through June 24.  You can sign up any time between now and Saturday at midnight EST by going HERE.  I'll be reading as much as I can between working and other stuff.  Here's what I'm planning to read:

The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
(I know I will finish these two for sure because the first one I have to review on Friday and Abe Lincoln needs to be read before I see the movie on Saturday)
A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (I'm hoping to finish this one)
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

We'll see how it goes!

Twitter hashtag:  #WWReadathon

Currently Reading:  The Queen's Vow

{Book Tour} Review: The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner

My thoughts:
I could not put this book down! As he did with Juana of Castile in The Last Queen, Gortner has once again taken a historical queen and made her as interesting and exciting as any modern day heroine.  It's interesting to me how little I knew of Isabella of Spain; one who was so instrumental in allowing Columbus to open the way for the future settlement of what would become America.  Of course, that is what we were taught when I was in elementary school so many years ago.  The implications of what came after Columbus's discovery is entirely another story.  And yes, this is a fictional depiction of a historical figure, but there is no denying the historical accuracy here.  Gortner does his research well.

Isabella rose to power in a tumultuous time in Spain.  To say that she was a steadfast and determined woman is saying little.  The conventions of the time did not allow a princess to choose their own husband and yet she did.  Spurred by her own will and her strong Catholic faith, Isabella was a force to be reckoned with.  Her marriage to a prince of Aragon was a love match, yes, but also a strategic move for the uniting of Spain.  Together they brought about the change of many conventions in Spain.

However, her reign was not without its blemishes.  The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews are two events that have brought much negativity to history's portrayal of Isabella.  However, Gortner has succeeded in depicting a possible reason for her decisions by giving us a multifaceted woman who believed in compassion and yet was driven by a faith that had no tolerance for other religions.  To truly judge a person's actions, we would need to know more about the real person and yet we must rely on the history books.  Gortner has done a good job of giving us a very human woman who truly felt her actions were for the good of her kingdom.

I have now been inspired to read more about the history of Spain and its ruling class.  Once again, historical fiction has done its very important job; that of leading us to further learning about history.  Something only a well written book can do.  This is that book.

Note:  There is an excellent author's note at the end of the book with further resources for reading about Isabella and her times.  Also, a special note about a cause dear to my heart.  The plight of Spanish greyhounds.  Be sure to check it out.

About the book:
Pub Date: June 12, 2012 | Ballantine Books | 400p

No one believed I was destined for greatness.

So begins Isabella’s story, in this evocative, vividly imagined novel about one of history’s most famous and controversial queens—the warrior who united a fractured country, the champion of the faith whose reign gave rise to the Inquisition, and the visionary who sent Columbus to discover a New World. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner envisages the turbulent early years of a woman whose mythic rise to power would go on to transform a monarchy, a nation, and the world.

Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she and her brother are taken from their mother’s home to live under the watchful eye of their half-brother, King Enrique, and his sultry, conniving queen. There, Isabella is thrust into danger when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragon.

As they unite their two realms under “one crown, one country, one faith,” Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny.

From the glorious palaces of Segovia to the battlefields of Granada and the intrigue-laden gardens of Seville, The Queen’s Vow sweeps us into the tumultuous forging of a nation and the complex, fascinating heart of the woman who overcame all odds to become Isabella of Castile.

About the author:
C.W. Gortner is the author of The Last Queen, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici and The Tudor Secret. He holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis in Renaissance Studies from the New College of California.

In his extensive travels to research his books, he has danced a galliard in a Tudor great hall and experienced life in a Spanish castle. His novels have garnered international praise and been translated into thirteen languages to date. He is also a dedicated advocate for animal rights and environmental issues.

He's currently at work on his fourth novel for Ballantine Books, about the early years of Lucrezia Borgia, as well as the third novel in his Tudor series,The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles (US) or Elizabeth's Spymaster (UK).

Half-Spanish by birth, C.W. lives in Northern California.

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 Visit other stops on the tour:  TOUR SCHEDULE
Twitter Hashtag: #QueensVowVirtualTour

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Reading Challenges....

Cat Thursday--Alice takes a stand

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

So this is Alice informing me that she's a bit tired of Arya getting all of the attention on Cat Thursday.  She also insisted on picking the lolcat image for this week so I took her to my newest lolcats emails and let her choose.


Here you go:

LOL...I think Alice has a bit of a sarcastic side. ;O)

TTBA Weekly News and Mailbox Monday

This feature was inspired by It's Monday! What are you reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey and by The Sunday Salon.

I missed posting this last week because frankly, I was exhausted and just didn't have the energy.  As many of you already know, I recently started a work from home job as a virtual assistant and it's taking some getting used to after not working for so long.  I'm glad it's starting out slow so that I can make the transition a little more easily.  I'm definitely going to have to get better at time management which is something I really suck at.  I'll just have to do it.  =O)

What's going on in my/the reading world....

The dedicated read-a-thon blog, Seasons of Reading, is live and sign-up for the High Summer Read-a-Thon is posted over there.  My read-a-thons will be hosted from that blog from now on.  I hope you like the site! Click the button above, if you'd like to sign-up for the read-a-thon. 

I'm hosting a Virtual Baby Shower for Amy from Passages to the Past and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours on Saturday, June 30.  It's going to be a fun event with a trivia game with book prizes and just generally celebrating Amy's impending arrival and wishing well to a person who gives so much to the historical fiction and book blogging communities.  For all the details, visit the invite/information post HERE.

We're hosting another read-a-long at Historical Fiction Connection.  We're reading The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner.  The dates are July 7 through July 21 and you can get all the details and the reading schedule at this POST.  I'm actually reading the book this week for a scheduled review on Friday, but I will definitely be joining in on the discussion.  I love Gortner's books!

What I've been reading....

Currently reading:

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Middlemarch by George Eliot

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Coming up this week:

The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner

Finished recently:

The Queen's Pleasure by Brandy Purdy (review)

The King Must Die by N. Gemini Sasson (review)

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia and is currently on tour. This month's host is Marie at Burton Book Review.   (You can click the book covers in the BookBox to view the book(s) on Amazon)

WON:
Promises of the Heart: Sisters of the Heart Series, Book One by Scarlett Rains...from Krista at Book Review Club

FOR REVIEW:
The Reckoning by Alma Katsu...from Wunderkind PR

The Great Sphinx of Amun-Ra by Herbert Smith...from Pump Up Your Book!

BOOK CLOSEOUTS:
(Never ignore those Living Social deals...I got $30 in books for $10 + shipping!)
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman
The Castings Trilogy by Pamela Freeman
The French Mistress by Susan Holloway Scott
For the King by Catherine Delors
Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
Dracula, My Love by Syrie James
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

LIBRARY SALE:
Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray (I actually already own this, but this was a nice cloth bound edition so I couldn't resist!)
April Lady by Georgette Heyer
Survivor by Tabitha King
Evernight by Claudia Gray

Summer Pick Your-a-Thon: Starting Line and Updates

Day 6...final day
Okay, so I tanked this one...sort of.  I did manage to read one complete book (The King Must Die by N. Gemini Sasson) and wrote one review.  I took care of some overdue blog business (posted the info and sign-up for the High Summer Read-a-Thon and posted the invite to Amy's virtual baby shower).  I didn't get much reading done between Friday night and today.  My husband and I watched a movie Friday night and then I went to see "Rock of Ages" today.  Great movie, but it wouldn't have been as great without Tom Cruise.  He was awesome and really made the movie.  Anyway, I read about 15 pages of A Clash of Kings today.  I may be in what they call a reading rut.  Yikes!

Thanks to Kristen and Kate for hosting. =O)


Day 5
Day 3 and 4 Reading Updates
I didn't get any reading done the rest of the day on Wednesday or at all on Thursday.  I had work stuff to do and then I've had a headache for three days.  It will not go away.  I think it's sinus and it really sucks.    Hopefully, I'll get some reading done tonight.

Total Books Read: 1

Total Pages Read: 381
Books Read Since Last Update: 1
Pages Read since last update:  334
Reviews written: 1 The King Must Die by N. Gemini Sasson

Other blog tasks:  posted about upcoming events--High Summer Read-a-Thon and Virtual Baby Shower
What I'm currently reading:  I have not picked up anything today...pesky headache...not sure what I'll be reading tonight.  Maybe A Clash of Kings or The Edible Woman...or maybe for fun, I'll start Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Day 2
Mini-Challenge Day 2
Okay, so I didn't take pictures of all my bookshelves because I have around 16 of them.  I condensed it down to a pic of one (and the ones on each side of it, sort of).  As you can see, organization wasn't an option because I don't have enough shelves and so I must stack the books in front of the shelf (it's what happens when you have 3000+ books).  I have a couple of bookshelves that need to be put together (I've been procrastinating) and then I have a guy making me three tall five shelf ones and I should be getting them in the next week or so.  Whew! (Sorry about the crappy picture...and the chair in the foreground!)

Day 1 & 2 Reading Updates

6/11 & 6/12

Total Books Read: 0

Total Pages Read: 20 pages of The King Must Die and 27 (approx) of Middlemarch (on Kindle)
Books Read Since Last Update: 0
Pages Read since last update:  47
Reviews written:

Other review tasks:
What I'm currently reading:  The King Must Die by N. Gemini Sasson

Day 1
Well, let's hope I do a lot better on this than I did for the 48 Hour Book Challenge over the weekend.  The Book Monsters are hosting this event and they give us the choice to do the read-a-thon, the review-a-thon, or both.  This will go on from today through this Saturday, the 16th.  Here are the starting line questions:

1. Which thon are you choosing? Readathon, Reviewathon or both? And why?
I think I'm going to do a little bit of both, or actually probably a bit more reading than reviewing.  I will have a couple of reviews to write this week for sure, plus I need to update my reading challenge status on reviews I've already posted.  Of course, the reason I'll focus more on the reading is because I have a TON of reading to do, as usual!


2. Where are you from? You can be vague or specific, up to you. 
I'm in Music City, USA...Nashville, Tennessee, or a little suburb of Nashville called Donelson. =O)

3. Say a little bit about yourself so we can get to know you if we don't already!
Pretty much everyone knows me by now, especially after Armchair BEA last week.  Basically, I'm an avid reader, history buff, writer, blogging fanatic, Christmas enthusiast, and cat lover.

4. What are you currently reading or about to pick up to read?
Right now, I'm reading The King Must Die by N. Gemini Sasson, which I'm reviewing on Wednesday.  Also, catching up on Middlemarch by George Eliot for my TuesBookTalk book group.  And I'm in the process of reading The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood and A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin.  Yeah, I always have a lot of irons in the fire, so to speak.

5. What are your goals for this Pick Your Thon?
I plan on finishing The King Must Die, catching up on Middlemarch, and I'd like to finish the other two books mentioned above, but I'm not promising anything.  I work from home now and it's going to depend largely on how much work they give me this week.  Plus, I need to work on my novel too since I'm so behind on JuNoWriMo already.  I will also write my reviews as I finish and update my reading challenges in my reviews.

Two Events You Can't Miss!

You're invited to a virtual baby shower for Amy from Passages to the Past and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours...Saturday, June 30.  We are celebrating the impending birth of Amy's first son, Vedder.  She gives so much to the historical fiction and book blogging communities, I wanted to give something back to her.  What better occasion, I say!

The "shower" will be a blog post the day of the event here on The True Book Addict.  Stop by to see what surprises we have in store.  There will be a trivia game during the shower with book prizes donated from some wonderful authors.  If you would like to donate a book for a prize, please let me know.

What we are doing for Amy gift-wise I'm keeping a secret from her until the day of the shower.  All of the details can be found in this note on my Facebook page here:  https://www.facebook.com/notes/michelle-stockard-miller/virtual-baby-shower-for-amy-event-details/10150919707710139  This is hidden from Amy so she can't see it (even if she clicks the link).  It's such a wonderful idea and I'd like to thank Michelle Moran for suggesting it! You can also email me at truebookaddict AT gmail DOT com if you have any questions or need further explanation.

NOTE:  It has been brought to my attention that anyone who is not my friend on Facebook (or a friend of a friend) cannot see the note I listed above.  I can't make it public because then I wouldn't be able to hide it from Amy so if you click the link above and can't access it, please email me at the address above and I'll send you the details.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

I have invited everyone in the book blogging and historical fiction community that I'm friends with on Facebook.  If you know of anyone that would want to be included, please feel free to invite them.

Thank you.  I hope you will join us!

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The dedicated read-a-thon blog, Seasons of Reading, is live and sign-up for the High Summer Read-a-Thon is posted over there.  My read-a-thons will be hosted from that blog from now on.  I hope you like the site! Click the button above or below to check out the new blog and sign-up for the read-a-thon.

Cat Thursday

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)


I have to apologize for my brain freeze last week in posting Authors and their Cats a week early. But it turned out to be fitting what with the sad passing of Ray Bradbury.  It was a nice tribute to him.  =O)


I have a couple of great things to share with you this week.  Check out this video:

Isn't that wonderful?  And so very true.  I worry about Alice when she sneaks outside because I read that black cats are the most likely to be abused.  How can people be so superstitious in this day and age?  It baffles me.  =O(




I got this book free on Amazon yesterday for my Kindle, Confucius Cat Says...by P.R. Mason.  It might still be free today.  It is so awesome! I haven't been through the whole book yet, but let me share a few tidbits with you:


Confucius Cat says...


"Finding happiness in life is like using a litter box.  If you can't find a good spot, just kick the clumps out until you MAKE a good spot."


"If all you can see in life is the cat litter, you'll never experience the catnip."


"Live your dreams every day! Why do you think cats nap so much?"


"Defend your family from all who would threaten it.  I started the day by fighting with a cat on the other side of the sliding glass door...A cat who looked suspiciously like me."  


Aren't they great?  I wish I could share them all.  I may start including one with my post each week.  What do you think?