SUNDAY SALON - NOVEMBER 14TH

Today has a lovely Sunday "feel". Did you ever see that Seinfeld episode where Elaine, George and Kramer are all discussing the days of the week and how they "feel"?  Did you ever wake up one day and you have to keep reminding yourself it's a Thursday when it feels like a Friday?  That happens to me all of the time.

First off - reading-After finishing The Distant Hours I have been meandering through various reads trying to decide which one to dive into.  I have no deadline on any of them, but there are a few freebies I have on the roster and I want your opinion on which one I should read next, here they are in no particular order:

The Secret Eleanor by Cecelia Holland

OR

His Last Letter by Jeane Westin

OR

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Any insight on any of these titles would be greatly appreciated!

Also, the pic of the adorable little pooch from wordless wednesday was our little foster from Mexico we had for just over a week.  Yesterday we took him to the Pawsitive Match adoption fair and when we arrived we were given a little "Adopt Me" bandana to put on him and as we were tying it around his little tiny chicken neck a lady and her adult daughter came up and "ooohed" and "awwwed" over him.  They had seen him on the website and took him in their arms immediately and an hour later my oldest daughter and I were saying our tearful goodbye to our beloved BJ.  He was such a fantastic dog, and we all miss him so much, but we are beyond happy that he has found his forever home with such a lovely family.  In fact, when the daughter came up to say goodbye he was over her shoulder snuggled into her neck fast asleep! 

Here is me getting one last kiss and snuggle:

Have a wonderful day!

SUNDAY SALON - OCT 17TH

It occurred to me that I haven't done a Sunday Salon in a million and a half years, so I thought I would check in! 

Okay, so reading....I have started my ARC of Kate Morton's The Distant Hours and so far it's pretty good.  I have a few things on a deadline at the moment, I am reading that (to be done before Nov 9th), I am knitting a helmet liner for a feature film here in Calgary (deadline Oct 26th) AND I'm taking my clicker training course through the Karen Pryor Academy (which is my priority as it was VERY expensive, but worth it!) and have a whole crap load of course work and training I have to put on my dog and cat by the 3rd week of November.  Not to mention I have been deathly ill (a horrid reaction to antibiotics) but now my little wee 3 year old is sick so I am up to my eyeballs in stuff to do and no time to do it.  I know I'm preaching to the choir, right?

I love fall, though, there is something very comforting when the weather gets colder and a good book and a cozy corner seem to beckon me.  I am also reading Rot and Ruin which is another ARC, and it is pretty good and pretty funny in a zombie-like way. 

On the non-fiction front I am reading a few dog training/clicker animal behaviour books:  Reaching the Animal Mind by Karen Pryor (FANTASTIC!),  The Thinking Dog by Gail Tamases Fisher (Also fantastic!) and Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor, this is a CLASSIC and is not just about dog training, it is about the use of positive reinforcement in every aspect of you life from animals to husbands to children!  I'm telling you, since taking this course my life is slowly changing.  Intead of just hollering at my kids in frustration, I find I am looking at ways to positively reinforce what I WANT them to do instead of constantly nagging them about what I DON'T want them to do.  As parents I think we all do this naturally, but as kids get older and your relationship with them gets more complicated, it becomes much more difficult.  Imagine when your toddler is first learning to walk, most people would never dream of scolding a child for falling down or not taking a second step, instead the whole walking experience is framed in a positive way looking for what you can encourage not condemn.  But in a completely ironic twist my 10 year old in her very typical way, just waltzed in here and started talking to me about I'm not sure what and I just gave her heck for not having the consideration to see if A) I was busy B) could she not hear me typing as she entered the room and C) to please just ask if I have a second before she rudely interrupts me for the millionth time today. 

Sigh.

See?  Not so easy. 

Okay, I am now officially rambling.  I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and I so appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to pop in!

SUNDAY SALON

Wow.  Kay, I don't think I have ever been so neglectful of this blog ever!  So sorry!  But my  new pooch (along with my other pooch, cat AND 2 children AND husband) I really have not a lot of time for blogging or any computer shinanigans.  But I do have something cool to share... it was my  birthday a week ago today AND.......




I GOT A KINDLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat's right.  ME.  A Kindle.  And may I say?  ME LOVEY.  It is AWESOME! 

I had never seen a kindle in the "real" before, so I had little idea what to expect, but I can honestly say that it is exactly as I imagined, and the benefits are amazing in so may unexpected ways.  Don't get me wrong, I STILL LOVE physical books more than life itself, and in fact was given Chapters gift cards for my BD and bought SEVERAL non-fiction books, but the Kindle is just so handy!

For example:  you know when you are lying in bed or on your couch reading a book, and you want to, say, lay on your side?  And you go to hold the book with one hand and it is kind of tricky to keep the book open enough to actually READ the thing?  And then to turn the page you have to grab it with you other hand and.. you get my meaning.  Well, the kindle it is all one handed, you can lay or sit in any position you like and just click with your thumb to turn the page.  Done.  Finito.  I know it's not exactly physically exhausting to do it the other way, but I'm just saying, it's a bonus I hadn't realized before. 

The number one reason I love it is that I am not adding to my morbidly obese pile of books in my house.  I know all of you can relate.  In the last couple of years when I would buy a novel, I almost would feel sick coming home and putting the brand new book on my grossly over stacked shelves.  And let's face it, how many books do I ACTUALLY re-read?  There are about a dozen books that I re-read or plan on re-reading, the other several hundred books I will never ever read or pick up again.  THIS way, when I am done a book and do not want to re-read... DELETE.  The only downside I can see at this point is I can't lend my book to someone.  The book I am reading now is AWESOME and I know several of my family members would love it, but obviously will not be able to pass it on as I often do. 

Now, onto the book I am reading on the kindle as of this moment:

This book is as good as I hoped it would be.  The Kindle does not tell you what page you are on but it tells you what percentage of the book you have completed, so I am 29% through this book. I LOVE it. A MUST read! 

I have a great Mailbox Monday to share, and have to really start buckling down and getting some review reading done as I am WAAAAY behind.  I am having a very tough time getting into Heresy by S.J. Parris, so I put it down a few weeks ago, but will get it read and reviewed.  Wolf Hall I put down quite awhile ago and will pick it up sometime in the future, but it is a personal read so there is no pressure to read it.  I recieved some totally fun YA reads from Source Books which I can't wait to share with you all tomorrow, along with some WICKED giveaways upcoming for those ones!  

My SUPER SECRET YA NOVEL and MEGA GIVEAWAY ends on Tuesday, so don't forget to check back in on May 4th for the BIG REVEAL!  I have just loved reading all of your guesses to the clues, and am just thrilled at how many of you have added to your comments about loving the mystery aspect to the contest!  It has been a total blast doing it!  And I wanted to say a huge

WELCOME

to all of my new followers, and just a word to you that my lack of posting is not common for my blog, and is solely the result of welcoming our poochy and training her.  She is coming along wonderfully, and it has been so much fun learning all of the ways you can get dogs to perform for the camera, and they just LOVE the training sessions! 

ANYway, have a WONDERFUL Sunday, everyone, and HAPPY READING!

SUNDAY SALON AND A NEW FEATURE FOR MY BLOG

Good morning!  This week was a little bit better on the reading front. I finished The Pearl, and what a gem (ha ha!), and I have been reading a fantastic book called "Authentic Happiness" by Martin Seligman.   This is a great read by a hilarious Psychologist.  He has spent the last 30 years studying what happiness really means and how we can truly get it, all the while struggling with it himself.  One of the things I am going to do for my blog is cover other kinds of reading that I often do, a bit of self-help stuff, and I am also going to review knitting books and cookbooks! 

Today I am going to spend some quality time with Wolf Hall.  I love this one, but have not had some serious time with it.  I am also still reading A Lion Among Men, and I'll chip away at that one too.

Here is another new thing I'll be doing with my blog in the near future.  Some of you may or may not know that I work in the film business.  I have been a third assistant director for 14 years in Alberta, and my husband is a camera assistant.  This is how we have supported our family for all of these years, we do nothing else work-wise.  It occurred to me when I worked on my last movie, that it might be neat to do an insiders view on films that are adapted from books.  The last show I did was adapted from a book called, "Angels Crest" by Leslie Schwartz (working title of film "Waska").  Because it was a low budget feature I figured it would be filled with no name actors, but was thrilled to find out that I was working with Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Piven, Elizabeth McGovern, Kate Walsh and Thomas Dekker.  I had worked with Jeremy's Dad years ago on Jack Bull, so it was neat to chat with him about it.  I am going to read the book, and then compare it to the script and then share some insights into the shooting of the movie as well. 

Another thing you might be interested in is that a friend and collegue of mine was the first assistant director on the mini-series for Ken Follet's "Pillars of the Earth".  He returned from Europe last month, and I am going to ask him if he would agree to do a vlog interview so we can get all of the scoop about the filming of the show before anyone else!  It took 8 months of shooting and many countries, so I am sure he has a story or two he would be willing to share!

Other examples of books to films that I can provide an inside peek at were The Assassination of Jesse James by Ron Hansen which I was 3rd AD on in 2005.  Ron was present on set through most of the filming and even had a cameo in the film!  I have read the book, and the script was an EXCELLENT example of an adaptation, but the film itself was not as good as I had hoped.  I am also planning on vlog interviewing other people I know in the industry who would be interesting in sharing some of their experiences filming some of the books to film in our province, and in BC as well. 




Hopefully you will all enjoy this new feature as I begin implementing it in the weeks to come!  I will entitle these features "Books to Film: An Inside Peek" And then the name of the project. 

Here is a little promo about the stars and films that have been shot here over the years! 




Have a WONDERFUL Sunday!

SUNDAY SALON AND CHRISTMAS BOOTY

Well, hello all!  I must say that after taking a break from blogging for over a week, I feel TOTALLY refreshed and raring to go for the new year.  I really didn't do much internet stuff at all over the holidays, and it was just wonderful.  But now I am back and realize how much I truly enjoy reading all of your blogs, interacting with all of you (or as many as I can.. how Bermudaonion does it I have no idea!  She remains the QUEEN of COMMENTING for sure!)  and writing on Book Blab here. 

My reading over the holidays consisted of Pope Joan, and I was just itching to see what my hubby and girls picked out for me for Christmas and was SUPER excited with their choices, PLUS my parents, er I mean "Santa" gave me a gift card to Chapters.  SWOON!  So, here is what was given and purchased in all their bookish glory:

Aren't they BEAUTIFUL?..........excuse me, I feel a little light headed.....

I know you can see from the pic what the books are, but here is the run down anyway:

GRACELING by Kristin Cashore

There has been much ballyhoo about this book in the bloggy world, and thus I have wanted to read it for a veeeerrrry long time.  Okay, for a few months, but whatever.  It always feels like a long time when one is waiting to read a juicy little number.  And get a load of the premise, here is the blurb from Amazon.ca

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight shes a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the kings thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Pos friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Graceor about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

Sounds like a gooder, am I right?

Next on the roster is:

WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel

There has been a lot of talk about this one as well, and it is apparently a very very good historical fiction and the first page has me immediately hooked, which is (most of the time) a good sign.

Here's the blurb on that one (courtesy of Amazon.ca):

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.

From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.

I have one thing to say about that blurb:  Yu...mmy.

Next is A LION AMONG MEN by Gregory Maguire
This is the next in the trilogy for his Oz series.  I started this one over the holidays and it proves to be as weird and groovy as the last two.  I only JUST started it, though, and as is the way with most of his books it takes a good chunk of the book to get me really hooked, so I'll keep you posted.  Basically this is the life story of the Cowardly lion of the Wizard of Oz story. 

And on to:  PIRATE LATITUDES by Michael Crichton

I have to preface this by saying that I have never in my life... ever... read anything by Michael Crichton.  Yes, I have seen the Jurassic movies, and that's about it.  But there is something about Pirates, and the sea.  I just LOVE to read about them!  In fact, if any of you reading this right now have any recommendations for any sea faring type books set in the piraty type era I would be much appreciated.  For example one of my all time favourite books I discovered last spring by total fluke was John Boyne's Mutiny on the Bounty. 

ANYway, I don't know much about this one other than this manuscript was found among his belongings after his death, and from what I have heard about it, it's pretty good. 

Here is the blurb from Amazon.ca: 
The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Devoid of London's luxuries, Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. In this steamy climate, life can end swiftly by dysentery--or dagger. But for a daring soul like Captain Charles Hunter, this wild outpost in the New World can also lead to great fortune, if he abides by the island's code. In the name of His Majesty King Charles II of England, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it.



Word in port is that the Spanish galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is awaiting repairs in nearby Matanceros. Heavily fortified, the impregnable Spanish harbor is guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, a favorite commander of King Philip IV. With the Jamaican governor's backing, Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy island and commandeer the galleon and its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloodiest tales of Matanceros legend, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he makes it onto the island's shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry stand between him and the treasure.

With the help of his cunning band, Hunter hijacks El Trinidad and escapes the deadly clutches of Cazalla, leaving plenty of carnage in his wake. But the danger--and adventure--are only just beginning. . .


And last but by no means least is the brand spankin' new cookbook by Ree Drummond from Pioneer Woman who I have loved since she launched her little wee blog two and a half years ago.  This wee blog grew to the mammoth it is today (and I know you bloggers reading this will appreciate this stat) which has an AVERAGE OF 33 MILLION HITS EVERY SINGLE MONTH.  Thaaaaaat's right.  She is the little blogger that could.  What started out as blog like we all have, to share her thoughts and a few recipes with a few family members, exploded into the juggernaut that it is today from her post on how to cook a steak.  But it wasn't just that, the appeal about Ree is she is just like us, her blog is written in the funniest best voice E-V-E-R, and you will find yourself reading every little scrap she has on there, just because she is so damn charming and funny.  Her cookbook is just like her blog, very charming and cute.  I have only one small bone to pick with it though, I in no shape or form needed a recipe for egg in the hole.  I just don't need to read how to cut a hole in a piece a bread and fry an egg in said hole.  Don't need that.  And I also don't need a recipe on how to mash potatoes.  I mean puh- leeeze.  Otherwise it is pretty good.  But all of her recipes are available on her site FOR FREE, so in hind site I guess I didn't really need the book, but I am totally happy my hubby bought it for me.  It is beautiful, and I look at it every night in bed and dream about all of the yummy things I'm going to make with it. 

So, that was my Christmas booty!  Not to mention my ACTUAL booty has grown about a size and a half due to the holidays, but I'm not going to cry about it.  I'm totally not.  Really. 

We were at the library today and I aquired a copy of "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater  (how much do I love that woman's last name? Go 'head, ask me.)  which I have been in line to get for ages so I'll be reading that along with "Lament" (and OH MY GOD I literally JUST discovered as I opened another page to google the author of this one to type in here, and it is MAGGIE STIEFVATER!  I had no idea!  Okay, she may just be my new favourite YA author.  I'm just sayin'.)  by Maggie Stiefvater.

What was YOUR holiday booty???

SUNDAY SALON AND GIVEAWAY!

Today I am recovering from my 10 year old daughter's birthday slumber party.  It was totally fun and a big hit, but now I am totally STRESSED because I am working this week and have a MILLION things to do today to get ready for it.  I am working on a movie till Thurs, which means both my girls have to be moved into my parents house, and my dog has to go to a dog sitter.  Laundry, packing, groceries, driving, you know, the whole thing.  Then on Friday I have to get ready for my daughter's family party in which my inlaws and about 20 people are coming over on Saturday.  What I'm basically saying is... AAAAHHH!!!  And that I will not be able to any book blogging while I am gone.  But I'll be back in a week! 

In the mean time, here is the giveaway for Rachel Stolzman's book as promised, "The Sign for Drowning".  I have not had time to get the interview done, but I really wanted to get this giveaway out to you guys!  The book is signed, as as I said it is LOVELY!  You can read my review of it here.

I can't seem to get the google form to work,  so here's what I am going to do until then, leave a comment WITHOUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, then you must CHECK BACK on the announce date to see if you have won!  If you are the lucky winner you can then email me and we'll do everything else privately.
PLEASE LEAVE SEPERATE COMMENTS FOR EACH ENTRY!
To enter:

• leave a comment  (remember NO EMAIL addresses please!)  1 entry
• become a follower or let me know you already are a follower (2 entries)
• post about this giveaway in your SIDE BAR and in a SEPERATE COMMENT leave me the link, please (2 entries)
• twitter about it, and in another SEPERATE comment leave me that link too. (1 entry)

This contest will close on December 10th!  I will announce the winner the morning of December 11th, so make sure you check back to see if you have won!  If I do not hear from the winner within 3 business days I will draw again. 

Think of it as an early Christmas present FROM ME!  :0)  As I am shipping this book myself the contest is only open to the US and Canada. 

Have a great week, everyone!  I will miss you!

SUNDAY SALON

It is a very WINDY and gloomy day here in Calgary, but that means that a chinook has rolled in and we are enjoying nice temps of about 6 degrees.  Hey, anything above zero is tops in my books!

I recieved the name of the person I am selecting a gift for for the book blogger holiday exchange!! I am SUPER excited!!  Over on my other blog I had participated in an adoptive mommy one and it went for about 10 months.  Every month we bought something for our secret friend and each month was a theme.  I cannot TELL you how much I loved buying for my friend!  It was so fun, and the gifts that we recieved were so heartfelt and lovely, it was just a great experience!  So I can't wait to buy for my person! 

I have nothing really bookish to report, other than I have a couple of reviews to do and an interview with Howard J Morris and Jenny Lee authors of "Women are Crazy Men are Stupid" coming up and they have generously agreed to offer up a SIGNED copy of their book and will ship ANYWHERE in the WORLD!  I can't say enough great things about these people, they are just fantastic!  So stay tuned, that will be this week.

I also will have another great giveaway when I post my review of Rachel Stolzman's "The Sign for Drowning", it is a SIGNED copy of the book!  And I will be shipping it myself so it will be open to the US and Canada only.  The book is beautifully written and very heartfelt, so I just know some lucky winner will be happy to get it! 

I am also in the midst of starting a Blog Talk Radio show and I will have the links and podcast available once I get that up and running.  I am SUPER excited for this, and am very impressed with some book bloggers out there that are already putting out some great programming! 

The last book I'll mention that I'll be reviewing is Echo in the Bone.  Sigh.  I read it a little while ago and it has taken me this long to kind of absorb the experience.  Without saying too much here, it defintately was not may favourite of the bunch, that is for sure. 

Book that are on my wishlist for Christmas (eh HEM HUSBAND)  are:

• The Heretic Queen By Kathleen Kent
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks  By Ree Drummond
• Pope Joan by Diana Wookfolk Cross 
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore
• The Man Who Loved Books Too Much  By Bartlett Hoover
• The Last Dickens  by Matthew Pearl
• Wife of the Gods   by Kwei Quartey
• The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara
• The Lucana by Barbara Kingsolver

It is a big list, I know, but it gives him lots to choose from !

For more Sunday Salons click here.

Have a wonderful day!

SUNDAY SALON

This past couple of weeks has been huge for me on the reading front.  I just became more focused in reading the growing pile of books that have been sent to me.  Now I feel great because I actually made a reasonable sized dent in the pile.. for once!

Currently I am reading The Sign for Drowning by Rachel Stolzman.  It is a beautifully written book, and it has renewed my interest in learning sign language I have had since I was about 10 years old.  I am also reading "The Traitor's Wife" by Susan Higginbotham, but it has had to be put on the back burner until I got some of my more pressing review copies under my belt.  I finished the book "Women are Crazy Men are Stupid" by Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee, and to my total surprise it was HILARIOUS! 

I have also signed up for this:

Which I am SUPER DUPER excited about!  I cannot wait to see who I am buying for!!!!  Just click on the pic above to enter and find out more about it! 

I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I absolutely love the book blogger community.  LOVE.  I love the people, the camaradarie, the learning about books I would have never heard of, the whole thing.  Love ...it.  And this is just another example of the fabulous people who like to bring us all together!  

This week I'll be still finishing up the few books that are left from publishers and authors, but I am also going to do some reading strictly for me.  I plan on spending a good amount of quality time with "The Traitor's Wife" and am going to enjoy every single second!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

For more Sunday Salons click here.

SUNDAY SALON

Today has a great Sunday "feel".  My husband is away until Tuesday, my oldest daughter is away at camp till this afternoon, it's gloomy out but warm inside, and my 2 year old and I are still in our pj's.  Serenity.  And once she goes down for her nap I plan on curling up on my couch with "Echo" and getting some solid uninterrupted reading time in!

This morning I was reading my absolute favourite section of the paper which only comes out on Sundays, Books and Arts, and I came across a review for a book.  Now what piqued my interest for the review was not the title, or the cover, but the authors last name:  STOKER.  It seems that Bram Stoker's great-grand nephew, Dacre Stoker,  has written a sequel to the infamous "Dracula" novel.  It's called, "The Undead".  This review was not as lambasting as some of the ones I found online.  I may or may not read it, as I have not read the original, although I have read a version of it that was re-written for children, and I loved it.  For those of you that know me, you will know my utter uncontrollable squeamishness about anything vampire.  The only exception being "Twilight" as there was not a lot of blood sucking descriptions happening in that book.  If any of you out there end up reading this sequel, let me know your thoughts, I am very curious! 

This past week has not been as stellar of a reading week as the one previous.  A week ago I ploughed through 3 books from my to-be-reviewed pile and boy, did that feel great!  I love having a book blog, but I do feel the sometimes heavy obligation hanging over me to read the growing pile of review and ARC copies that keep landing on my doorstep.  I'm not complaining!  I love having a blog and sharing in the community and I consider it an honour and a priviledge that authors and publishers send me books to review.  But I DO consider it a "job" of sorts in that way.  They are sending me books in return for my honest opinion and to help get the word out about thier novel.  And for that I am profoundly grateful. 

Tonight we are having our first official meeting for our Family Book Club (and hopefully come up with a "name") to discuss "Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden.  I am sooo looking forward to my mom, sisters and neice coming over!  We will be having tea and THIS:

Which I will be baking this afternoon.  I have made this pie a few times before and I can say that without a doubt that it is DEADLY.  You can find the recipe for it here:  The Pioneer Woman Scrumptious Pie

You can also read more Sunday Salons here.

SUNDAY SALON

Aaaaahhhh, Sunday.....  I LOVE Sundays.  And this Sunday in particular is awesome because we had our first snow fall!  So, at 730 this morning I put on a fire and read the paper while the rest of my house was sleeping. 

This week turned out to be a great reading week!  After several weeks of not a whole lot of productive reading, I finished Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden and started and finished Susan Higginbotham's "Hugh and Bess", which I LOVED.  I will be reviewing it on Tuesday after hopefully being able to arrange for a giveaway of the book!  (fingers crossed!) 

I carry Echo in the Bone around with me everywhere, and have not been able to read as much as I like of it.  It's not a book I want to read with distractions around.  Because I love this series so much, I want to savour every single word of this latest book, knowing the next (and LAST) one will not be out for 3 years or more.  Sigh.  After following on Diana Gabaldon's blog for the past year, I still stare at its cover in awe that it is finally here in my possesion.  Yes, I love it THAT much.  Sad, really.  What is cool about following an author's blog such as Diana's is that all along while writing Echo she shared with us little excerpts AND even described in detail HOW she wrote a few bits.  We even were let in on the stress of the final weeks of the "final frenzy", as she puts it, where she basically did nothing but write.  Diana also kept us apprised of the discussions over various cover designs and posted the final cover long before anyone else knew about it.  She also replies often to comments, and is very approachable to her readers.  Here is here blog in case you would like to follow her too:  Voyage of the Artemis

This week I will be reading "The Christmas Cookie Club" by Ann Pearlman.  I recieved this ARC back in the summer, but have been waiting until now to read and review it.  It looks like a fun read, and I think it would be a great gift for the women in your life! 

I'll also be reading "Dewey - The Small Town Cat who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron.  This book is already very heartwarming, and Dewey is quite possibly one of the cutest cats I have EVER seen in my LIFE.  EVER.  

I may add one more book to the pile, James Patterson's "The Murder of King Tut."  It was also a review copy from the lovely folks at Little Brown Publishing co., and it looks like a fascinating read. 

Other than that, I am going to go BACK to my fire and knit while my 9 year old daughter watches "That's So Raven" and enjoy some scream-free moments before our 2 year old wakes up!

Have a WONDEFUL Sunday!

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SUNDAY SALON

Today my eldest is having a playdate, so I'm not sure how much reading time I will get in when my youngest has her nap.  For some weird reason I was just not that into reading this week.  I'm not sure what that was, I just couldn't concentrate.  I DID read, but not as much as I normally did.  Instead during my designated reading time everyday I knitted and watched DVD's of Everybody Loves Raymond.  This is one of my favourite things to do, and it just puts me in the loveliest state of domestic bliss!

Since our family reading club started we've all discovered that the reading schedule is much to slow.   We were only reading 60 pages every two weeks, but I found that I could read that in a flippin' day, EASILY.  And my other family members were saying that they were not wanting to go too far ahead because they would forget the book by the time the dinner meeting came.  I was so relieved to hear this, and I'm now going to set it so that we read double that if not more.  The book is "Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden and it is only 394 pages long, so it really should only take an average reader a couple of weeks, maybe three.  The book is great, and it is written beautifully and ties in flashback with present day very very well.  I'll review it when I'm done!

Son of a Witch I am still loving, although I have not been reading that one as much.  I am focusing my reading efforts on "A Breath of Snow And Ashes" by Diana Gabaldon as her new book comes out in 9 days and I am trying to finish my re-read before then because as IF I am not going to be standing at the check out with Echo in my hot little hands as soon as Chapters opens on the 22nd!!! 

Have a WONDERFUL Sunday, and here's to a terrifac week!!!

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SUNDAY SALON AND THE LEMONADE AWARD!

I would like to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Julie at My Own Little Corner of the World for the very sweet Lemonade Award! What a lovely surprise for first thing on a Sunday morning!

The Lemonade Award is a feel good award that shows great attitude or gratitude. Here are the rules for accepting this award:

- Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post.
-Link your nominees within your post.
-Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
-Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award.

The blogs I nominate are:

• Nikola at Nikola's Book Blog


• Jessica at A Booklovers Diary


• Mel at He Followed me Home


• Diana Gabaldon at Voyages of the Artemis


• Alaine at Queen of Happy Endings


• Dawn at She's Too Fond of Books


• Kristi at The Story Siren


• MizB at Should Be Reading


• Brown Girl Book Speak


• Emily at Emily's Reading Room

This week was a bit light in the reading department because I had an out of town guest staying and had zero time to read until Wednesday. I WAS reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but for some reason I just couldn't get into it so I switched gears. After reviewing "Wicked" I was in the mood for some more Gregory Maguire and I pulled "Son of a Witch" off of my shelf where it has been sitting since it came out about 3 years ago. I had tried to read it a half dozen times, but just couldn't get past the first 10 or so pages. But now I am well into it and so far I am loving it! I'll do a review when I'm done.

I am also desperately trying to get through my re-read of the last two Diana Gabaldon books before the next one is in stores September 22nd. I am not even half way through The Fiery Cross, and it is almost 900 pages, and then the next book is over 900 pages! How am I going to do that in one month! I mean I totally CAN, but it will be with concerted effort. And the thing is I am SO enjoying my re-read (even more than the first time around!) that I do not want to skim at all. Sigh. I suppose I will just keep reading and stare longingly at Echo until I am finished the last one.

Today I plan on doing a good chunk of peaceful reading during my youngest daughters naptime. Curled up on my couch with my blanket!

Have a WONDERFUL Sunday!

SUNDAY SALON

Welcome to my very first Sunday Salon! The Sunday Salon is like a virtual "reading room" where fellow bibliophiles "gather" and do some relaxed reading on Sunday's and share what they have read.

Today I took up my usual spot on my living room couch, at my usual time of my youngest's naptime, and stretched out in a slash of sun and continued my re-read of The Fiery Cross. Before Diana Gabaldon announced the impending release of the next Outlander book, I started to re-read the entire series about 2 years ago. Once I heard, via her personal blog, that she was writing the next installment in the series I got much more focused in my reading. Nothing like a deadline to get the pages turning!

Re-reading a series is something I have done since childhood, starting with the Little House Series. I have probably re-read that series about 30 times in my life. Once I found, through my older sisters, the Gabaldon series, I knew I wanted to keep Jamie and Claire alive and well around me at all times. So, since reading the first in the series, "Outlander" in 2002 I have basically always got one on the go. I liked the Fiery Cross when I first read it, but at the time it was my least favourite of the series. Mostly because (and I had been fair warned ahead of time) the entire first 147 pages takes place in ONE DAY. It felt endless. I was apprehensive about reading it again, but reading them all for a second time I am actually enjoying them a lot more. The thing about them is that this is very smart historical fiction, written not only for women, but many men I have heard (my Dad being one of them) have loved them too. Not purely "chick lit".. which is not my preferred genre.

So now every single day I sit down and read for at least an hour because in 7 weeks the new book comes out and I have to finish this one AND re-read the LAST one which is well over 900 pages! Can she do it??! We'll see.....