TEASER TUESDAY!

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading and anyone can play along!

• Grab your current read
• Flip to a random page
• select 2 teaser sentences from anywhere on that page
• Please do NOT include any SPOILERS! (or risk getting poked by pointy sticks!)
• Don't forget to include the name of the book and the author so we can all add it to our every growing TBR piles.

My teaser this week is from Nevermore from Kelly Creagh:

"Edgar dashed through the next compartment and the next.  His pathway narrowed with travelers gathering their belongings, blind to the monsters that followed in his wake."



For more teasers click here...

BLOG HOP!

 Wow, Friday already?!  This week just FLEW by!  ANYway, today is Book Blogger hop!  This is a meme hosted by Crazy For Books Here's a little bit about the hop:

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  Click on the button to join the hop!

Here's the question posed by the hop today: 
Tell us about the book you are currently reading?

I'm reading a few things right now, and it's one of those things where I am trying to latch onto a good one.  I started the Craig Ferguson memoir, but meh.... not grabbing me.  I also started his novel and again... meh.  I have also started The Afflicted Girls, which is good, actually they are ALL good, but none of them really GRAB me.  BUT, one of the ARC's that was sent to me by Simon and Schuster Canada called "Nevermore" by Kelly Creagh is VERY good and may be THE ONE that stands out and grabs.  So far it is pretty good! 

I'm also reading several dog training books, the best one so far is called When Pigs Fly by Jane Killion, but I am also reading The Thinking Dog by Gail Tamases Fisher.. FANTASTIC!  There are a few more in my pile of training books, but these are the stand-outs for sure! 

Have a happy friday!

REVIEW: DOG SAFETY DVD!

I have recently met a friend via the dog training world and Facebook named Scott MacConachie, who runs a phenomenal dog business in Ohio state called K9 Ponderosa.  This is like my dream place, he helps rehabilitate dogs, trains their humans and runs all sorts of classes on his georgous property.  They look like they have a ton of fun there, and there are photos of them even having campfires and bands come and perform and HELLO does this not sound like H-E-A-V-E-N??!!! 

ANYway, Scott MacConachie has also produced a fantastic cartoon for kids on dog safety.  It is very well done and a great lesson for young and old on how to greet a strange dog and how to behave around any dog in general.

Here is the blurb from the website:
Each year, nearly 5 million people are bitten by dogs and a majority of dog bite-related injuries involve children between the ages of 5 and 9. A new, animated DVD, The Lessons of Chief Pondy: Scottie & Oreo, addresses this concern by teaching kids how to be safe around dogs.


In The Lessons of Chief Pondy: Scottie & Oreo, Grandpa Bill's dog, Oreo, has run away. So Scottie, his friend, Skates, and his bored big sister, Julie, must journey to find Oreo and rescue him before it's too late. Along the way, the kids learn the ten lessons of the wise Chief Pondy.

Throughout the story, the lessons are illustrated and repeated to engage kids in a fun and effective way. Once a child has learned the ten lessons, they will be able to go online, take a test, and print out a Graduation Certificate, just like the one Scottie and his friends receive in the cartoon.

The Lessons of Chief Pondy: Scottie & Oreo is the dream of Scott MacConachie, Certified Professional Dog Trainer and owner of the K-9 Ponderosa, a 20-acre ranch dedicated to dog training and behavioral problem-solving, located in Delaware, Ohio. It is Scott’s passion and hope to empower children at a young age, so they can learn and understand how to interact safely and respectfully around dogs. “Whenever I hear about a child who’s been bitten by a dog, I know that it could be prevented through early education. I work with a lot of families, and parents have often asked for something like this.”

I can't wait to see what other projects Scott comes up with!

For more information about this DVD or if you would like to purchase it visit the website.  And for more information on Scott's dog training services in Ohio you can click here.

Have a pawsitively fantastic day!

TEASER TUESDAY

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading and anyone can play along!  If you have a blog and have a TT please provide the link in the comments, if you do not have a blog you can leave your TT in the comments! 

• Grab your current read
• Flip to a random page
• select 2 (two) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
• Do NOT include any spoilers!

• Don't forget to tell everyone the name of the book and author so we can add it to our ever growing TBR piles!

My teaser today is from The Afflicted Girls by Suzy Witten:

"He looked at the screamer, guessed it was the baby's ma.  And went back to his digging, and wondering about the evil baby with the storm inside it." 

For more Teaser Tuesdays click here.

MAILBOX MONDAY (MY FIRST VLOG!) JULY 19th

(My apologies to authors Kelly Creagh and Justine Larbalestier for mangling their names in my vlog!  Ack!)

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

The Haunted by Jessica Verday

Clockwork Angel (Book #1) by Cassandra Clare

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

I am eternally grateful to Simon and Schuster Canada who are incredibly generous with my blog!!

For more Mailbox Mondays visit The Printed Page and check out Marcia's great blog!

PEEING MY PANTS IN ANTICIPATION FOR.......

GAK!!!!

I saw that another blogger recieved this this week in her mailbox and I JUST ABOUT FREAKED!  FREAKED, I TELL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I KNOW I said I am not accepting any review books at this time.. I know, I KNOW, BUT.... I would LOVE to get my hands on the ARC for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leviathan remains as my FAVOURITE ARC I have EVER READ, and also is in my top 10 of my favourite books OF ALL TIME.

I
friggen
loved
it.

Did I mention that I loved it?

ANYway, while I sit here and send the ULTIMATE vibe to the universe that Behemoth is headed my way, I hope you all have an AWESOME day!!!!

Lisa

BLOG HOP! July 16th

Hey all, HAPPY FRIDAY!  And if you are stopping by from the Blog Hop... WELCOME! 

Today over at Crazy-For-Books.com we are asked:

RIGHT THIS INSTANT, WHAT BOOK ARE YOU DYING TO GET YOUR HANDS ON (PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE)?


The book I am most wanting was just discussed on Good Reads on June 10th and is just being written now.  It is the prequel to Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn.  It's called "Daughter's of Rome".  I LOOOVED MIstress of Rome, and for any of you out there that haven't read it I highly recommend it!  Especially for summer!  What an awesome page turner... think The Other Boleyn Girl Italian style.  SWOON!

On a non-bookish note, I am picking up my 10 year old daughter from camp today and I CANNOT WAIT!  She has been gone since Sunday night and I can't tell you all how much I have missed her non-stop chatter around her.  For those of you that may or may not know, she started a book blog awhile back called Book Blab for Kids, and when she gets back she will begin posting again!  So thanks to all of you who have showed your support and checked her out and became followers!  She takes it VERY seriously, and wants to do a good job and at the same time have fun!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!!

WHY KINDLES ARE DANGEROUS...

It's happened, people. 

I can't stop.

I have become hopelessly addicted to hitting that little wee toggle button that's almost too small to even push..... I have been hitting it over and over to buy more books.

GAH!

Oh, I know, what you're thinking... DUH, Lisa, Kindle just makes it SOOOOO EASY to buy books, didn't you KNOW? 

I totally knew.

But don't care... must buy more books....

I think I have purchased 5 books thus far?  Not to mention the few physical books that magically found themselves in my hands and transported me somehow against my will to the check out and into my car?  Then they very craftily hid themselves underneath a pile of books that has been in some configuration or another on my nightstand so hubby won't see? 

Sigh.....

There is no hope.


BUT HERE'S WHAT I BOUGHT!!!

Craig Ferguson American on Purpose

So far, it's pretty good, and much as I had expected.  I ALMOST ran out and bought the physical book yesterday, until I accidentally noticed that I already had the Kindle version... Good God.

Between The Bridge and the River
By Craig Ferguson

Okay, so I suspect I have a theme going on, or an unhealthy obsession with said Late Late Night talk show host, who I happen to watch every single solitary night come hell or high water. 

I have heard good things about this one, and I read my "sample" which is really Kindle's way of saying, "Just TRY it, kid, you'll like it."  whilst handing it to you from its seedy little trench coat.

Afflicted Girls by Suzy Witten

This is a story about the Salem Witch trials, with a twist, apparently.  The author contacted me last year to see if I wanted to purchase the book for review, and I looked at it, but was so busy with other things I didn't at the time.  Not that I'm any LESS busy, but Kindle just HAD to have it, and THEN.... 

So now I have a grand total of 5 books to read on Kindle, and I STILL have piles and piles of physical books on various shelves and tables all over my house.   In fact (and I can't believe I  am going to admit to this), it's possible that I have a book BUYING problem as opposed to a book READING problem.. which is not nearly as noble or cool.  My dream job would be to work at a book store and just buy the books, you know ordering them in and then it would have to be ME that gets to open the boxes and then smell them... I mean, take them out and stack them in their glorious piles. 

Ugh.

Somebody stop me.

And speaking of stopping people...

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET A JAPANESE OR KOREAN SPAMMER WHO SENDS ME MULTIPLE SPAMMY MESSAGES THAT I CAN'T READ IN MY COMMENTS SECTIONS?  And one even had english porno words sprinkled through-out. 

Ugh... again.

ANYway, oh Kindle, you came and you gave without taking, and you sent me away, Oh Kindle....

TEASER TUESDAY

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading... anyone can play along!!  Please link to your own TT or if you do not have a blog, just give us your teaser in the comments!

• Grab your current read
• flip to a random page
• select 2 (two) teaser sentences from anywhere on that page
• please DO NOT include any spoilers!!!
• Also please do not forget to tell us the name of the book and the author so we can add it to our morbidly obese TBR piles!

My Teaser this week is from Kevin Patterson's sailing memoir "The Water In Between":

" 'You were up there a long time," I heard Don say, "See any ships?"  There was a tightened quality to his voice but I did not think much about it, preoccupied as I was with the business of swallowing and breathing."












For more teasers click here...

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Marcia over at The Printed Page...

In the last week I did recieve a few goodies!

A fellow adoptive mom is married to a doctor who has written several books.  Their daughter, Molly, is amazing.  She is their bio child and her two younger brothers are adopted from Ethiopia.  She has set up an amazing Charity called H2O for Ethiopia and she sells products to raise money for a well that she is building there.... and she's TEN YEARS OLD.  You can find her on Facebook if you like at H2O for Ethiopia Group. 

The books that her mom sent me are by Kevin Patterson, who is the dad:

Outside the Wire
by Kevin Patterson and Jane Warren
The war in Afghanistan in the words of
its participants

Consumption by Kevin Patterson
A novel

From Canadian Literature:
Patterson’s Consumption revolves around a lung infected with tuberculosis, which functions as a metaphor for the Inuit body diseased by the Europeans who settle Canada. The virus that ravages one girl’s lung serves to represent the way in which diseases decimate whole communities and then finally reveals the damaging potential of affluence on our bodies; thus the infected lung ultimately raises larger medical and cultural issues about epidemiology. This novel opens with a dedication taken from a French alms box to which one often returns in contemplation: “For the sick, the poor, and the ashamed.” Throughout the novel, Patterson investigates the complex relation between these three qualities or situations.

The Water in Between
by Kevin Patterson

A broken heart leads Kevin Patterson to the dock of a sailboat brokerage on Vancouver Island, where he stands contemplating the romance of the sea and his heartfelt desire to get away.  By the end of the day, he finds himself the owner of a thirty-seven-foot ketch called Sea Mouse.  Although he's never really been on the ocean before (aside from the occasional ferry ride), he feels compelled to sail to Tahiti and back, to burn away his failings in hard miles at sea.

Short stories....

The next two books are from Penguin Group (USA) and I could NOT be MORE excited about them!!!!!  Seeeeeriously, just LOOK at the cover of this one!  And the premise is very good....

One of the greatest loves of all time-between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley-comes to life in this vivid novel.

They were playmates as children, impetuous lovers as adults-and for thirty years were the center of each others' lives. Astute to the dangers of choosing any one man, the Virgin Queen could never give her "Sweet Robin" what he wanted most-marriage- yet she insisted he stay close by her side. Possessive and jealous, their love survived quarrels, his two disastrous marriages to other women, her constant flirtations, and political machinations with foreign princes.
His Last Letter tells the story of this great love... and especially of the last three years Elizabeth and Dudley spent together, the most dangerous of her rule, when their passion was tempered by a bittersweet recognition of all that they shared-and all that would remain unfulfilled.

Um..... swoon?

And then:  
The Secret Eleanor
by Cecelia Holland
 
Eleanor of Aquitaine seized hold of life in the 12th century in a way any modern woman would envy!



1151: As Duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor grew up knowing what it was to be regarded for herself and not for her husband's title. Now, as wife to Louis VII and Queen of France, she has found herself unsatisfied with reflected glory-and feeling constantly under threat, even though she outranks every woman in Paris.

Then, standing beside her much older husband in the course of a court ceremony, Eleanor locks eyes with a man-hardly more than a boy, really- across the throne room, and knows that her world has changed irrevocably...

He is Henry D'Anjou, eldest son of the Duke of Anjou, and he is in line, somewhat tenuously, for the British throne. She meets him in secret. She has a gift for secrecy, for she is watched like a prisoner by spies even among her own women. She is determined that Louis must set her free. Employing deception and disguise, seduction and manipulation, Eleanor is determined to find her way to power-and make her mark on history.
 
I am still not actively taking any review copies at this time, these were all agreed to long before I put the kaibosh on accepting books.  And I am so excited that I said YES!
 
ANYway... what's in YOUR mailbox???
 
 

I'm Baaaack!

Hello all!

Well, the movie wrapped up this AM around 6 AM, and I got home at 8, slept for 4 hours and then picked up my girls.  The show was awesome, I absolutely LOVED working on it, and can't wait to see the end result.  I may be working on a television pilot called Hell on Wheels for AMC in August (the network that airs Mad Men), so I may be on another haitus from blogging then.

ANYway,
on the book front... I bought a book on recommendation by David Ebershoff, as he was shocked that I had never read any Margaret Atwood.... yes, it's true, I bow my Canadian head in shame.  I told him I had tried and tried to read The Handmaid's Tail about a million and a half times, but just couldn't get into it, so
he recommended The Blind Assassin.

My wrap gift from the Exec Producer was a Chapters card.. seriously, people, how did she know!  So today I bought a couple of dog training type books.  One is called, The Inside of a Dog, and the Dog Whisperer Episode guide, which is super handy because he goes in further detail on how he helped solve the issues of the dogs from past episodes.   And seriously, check out the cover of "Inside of a Dog", is he not the CA-UTEST?!

The next book purchase once I ever get my reading ass going again will be on my Kindle and it will be the Craig Ferguson biography.

Oh how I love him....

I still have not finished the 19th Wife, but I'm about 80% there so watch for the review and details of the giveaway that David is offering up.

What else....I have missed checking in with all of your blogs, and especially my fav meme Teaser Tuesdays.

Can't wait to dive into to bookish things again next week.

CIAO!