Week in Review (April 25-May 1) and Author Love-a-Thon #6

Week in Review and Author Love-a-Thon

So my week has been pretty much the same has always.

Coffee, Kiddo, Play, Eat, Read, Work, Cuddle, Sleep. Repeat.

BUT this week I went to visit my parents with the kiddo to give my husband the night to "let loose" for his birthday. Though before I left I did the motherly thing and said "For Goodness Sakes, behave, you are 35 years old now, old man!".

Anyhoo, he did behave and I had a fabulous time with my mom going to their annual Book Fair in my hometown. We went on Saturday morning when it was $4 to fill a bag. I know! $4!

Can you believe it? Well, I , of course, said I would only fill one bag because, really, I was going to BEA and I would have plenty of books to fill my reading lists until 2014.

As I got going, though, I could not stop. I gathered Kids books, Religious books, Biographies, History, Mystery, Literature, you name it, I grabbed it!

I got some pretty neat books and so did my mom.

But, the most exciting of them all, were all of the Sweet Valley High and Sweet Valley Twins books I found!

This leads to me to my May installment of my Author Love-a-Thon.

Francine Pascal

So, Francine Pascal did not write every single Sweet Valley High or Twins book but she did create the world in which I devoured as a child.

DEVOURED people!

As you all know by now, I was NOT the pretty blonde blue eyed "perfect" girl growing up. Far from it. I was more like the Wakefield twins' awkward inbred cousin with clothes too big and hair even bigger.

I had begun collecting the series again a few years back but hadn't really come across a lot for sale, though I was only looking at a few bookstores here and there. When I saw the bounty of books at this sale, I had to scoop them up!

I probably still have about 60+ books to still collect, with all of the Special Editions and what not. I will! I will!

I was also so excited to discover a fellow blogger, Connie from Constance Reader who has a sidebar blog dedicated to all things Sweet Valley High! I'm hooked.

So, folks, as you can tell, the highlight from my week was my book discoveries and a trip down memory lane. If you have not seen or heard of Sweet Valley, shame on you! Just Kidding.

I will tell you the basics. Jessica and Elisabeth Wakefield are twins: blonde, blue eyed, size 6 perfect. They live in Sweet Valley, CA and are different as night and day. Jessica is the wild one. Elizabeth is the good one. The books are all about their life, friends, family and ups and downs. SO addicting to a teenager who is living through it all too! Sweet Valley Twins is the same, only they are younger.

This was young adult when young adult was well, all about being a young adult. No vampires. No werewolves. No crazy powers. Just boys and girls. And, you know, some drinking, jealously, bad grades, bad hair days, etc. (sigh) Ahh, good ol' highschool.

I am thinking that possibly...maybe...of creating a Sweet Valley Challenge. What at trip it would be to read them all again. Oh the drama....!

Stay tuned.

Happy Reading, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Week in Review: April 11-17

Week in Review

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who grew up in the country. She spent a lot of time wandering in the woods, climbing trees, trying to find a place to read. She had red hair the size of Texas, knobby knees, pale skin and a toothless smile. All she wanted was to read about far away places,lovable animals , babysitter clubs and a little highschool named Sweet Valley.

Sometimes, however, she had to leave the safety of her country oasis and ride the stinky horrible bus into town (one whole hour!) to go to school. Yuck!

She would beg and beg her mother to please spare her atleast ONE of these bus rides after school. "Well, dear, what on earth are you going to do until I get off of work?"

"Go to the LIBRARY, of course!"

So, as a young girl, many hours were spent hidden also in corners of the great old dark library in town. There the little girl would read eye opening bios on Joan Crawford and trashy romance novels by Jackie Collins. Oh my what adventures she had!

Such peace she would find here at the library, as much peace as she found in her country side. How wonderful it would be to someday WORK in a library. The little dream began to grow in the very back of the little girl's mind.

Fast forward many years later and this same girl is now a woman and after many attempts at school, she finally realized that well, she sucked at it! So her dream of working in a library floated away and instead she found herself working in a bookstore.

Not too shabby. This would do, she thought.

But how exciting was it for this woman to discover that after her many years at her bookstore job, that she comes to find herself living very close to a tiny local library. She begins to spend many hours there again, only this time with her child. The thoughts of working at one begin to come back.

Until, last Thursday, when that thought and childhood dream became a realty!

Yes, that's right folks. That little girl was me. That woman is me. And I am now a proud employee of my local library! I get to do all the nerdy stuff I just know I will love; repair books, shelve, loans, returns, assist patrons, etc.

That's the exciting news for my Week in Review and all I can think about! I begin training in June and July and officially start in August!!

I hope I can stay away from sneaking into corners and reading Jackie Collins again. :)

Happy Reading!

red headed book child

Week in Review: March 28- April 3

Week in Review

What on earth did I do this week? Gosh, it seems so long ago. Sigh. Well, the kiddo and I stayed inside too much due to a random fever that popped up on Tuesday. What is it with these fevers and toddlers? Good grief! Once that went away, we spent lots of time in our backyard moving rocks around. He loves that! Piles were everywhere.

I had a date with the husband. I know, when does THAT happen? As they tore my arms from my child, he stuffed me in the car and we went to my favorite noodle shop. Soba anyone? Bowls of happiness, I tell ya'. THEN we went to the Derby...yep, the Minnesota Roller Girls rock! My good pal is one of the refs so she got us tickets and we went and screamed our little heads off!

Good times.

On the books front, I had my two giveaways for Beautiful Dean and Merlin's Harp. Thank you to everyone for entering and Congrats to the Winners! The books should be sent out this week.

I finished Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani and man, I had a hell of a time trying to decide what to read next. It's hard to follow up perfection. Really, truly, my review will tell it all....her books are beautiful perfection. I absolutely adored these! I sent a gushing email to Trish at TLC Book Tours thanking her for sending them to me and bashing myself for not reading her earlier!

I wrote a review for Powder Necklace which, to me, feels like Young Adult but I believe it is geared towards Adult Literature audience as well. I really recommend it to those who loved Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Spread the Word!

I am almost finished with Beautiful People by Wendy Holden for review.

I recieved two awards. Stacy from A Novel Source awarded me the Humane Award and L.Diane Wolfe awarded me the Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you so much ladies!

I had to jump on the new Harlan Coben, Caught, because he is just too fun to pass up so THAT is what I am heading off to read now during my morning of quiet.

And, of course, before I consume my weight in deviled eggs!

Happy Easter.

Happy Reading.

And, as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Week in Review: March 21- March 27

Week in Review

Such a beautiful Sunday morning here in Minnesota. Cold, yes, but beautiful. I'll take sun whenever I can. The music I am listening to is making this morning even better.

While my son and husband play on the floor, we are listening to the new album by Patty Griffin, Downtown Church. Though this blog is about my love of books, I have a pretty strong passion for music as well.

Raised on country, my feet are still planted firmly in the dirt of ones like Johnny Cash. But I am also a child of the 80s, was a young 20something in the 90s and am now an adult in the new century of American Idol obsessed music so my love expands to those of many. I have and will always have a soft spot for singer/songwriter music. Emmylou Harris, Iris Dement, and especially Patty Griffin. She is folk, country, blues, gospel, rock, all rolled into one. My husband and I are very lucky to get a chance to see her 5 days after my birthday in June!

Anyhoo, the week was a busy one as well. We took lots of walks again on the "warm" days, discovered we love to slide and now have a clear distinction between identifying all the vehicles "Van, mama, not truck!".

I caught up with a very old friend over tea and treats where as in the past we would do a late night beer and bad food at the local bar. Oh how time and age changes one!

My week in books was a busy one. I had two blog tours and am hosting two giveaways. I am giving away two copies of Merlin's Harp by Anne Eliot Crompton and Beautiful Dead by Eden Maguire. Check out my earlier posts and sign up.

I finished Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani and passed it on to my mom. I started Brava, Valentine and should have that one done this week.

I finished up Powder Necklace, a young adult novel, due out April 6.

My review should be up this week.

And my husband did his very first Guest Review for Last Snow and First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader! Great job, hon!

I am looking forward to reading books off of my shelves for the next few weeks as I do not have any tours or requests scheduled!

If you have not hopped over to Crazy For Books and discovered the Book Blogger Hop that Jennifer started, you should. I have "met" so many new lovely blogs.

As always, thanks for stopping by and Happy Reading!

red headed book child

Week in Review: March 14-March 20

Week in Review

Folks, these weeks go by so fast I just can't keep up. I had a much better week than my last week of poo (ha!). This week was full of obligations, seeing friends, and enjoying the one day of sun!

Though I dread doing taxes and always think secretly that I screwed up some how during the year and will owe millions of dollars, we surprisingly turned out quite well this year. Apparently hitting rock bottom, getting laid off, having a kid, and a house in a shitty economy works in the long run! (nervous laugh) Not that we will spend it on anything luxurious. It will go to home fix ups and maybe getting a new vehicle that doesn't involve leaking gas of 8 miles per gallon.

I spent a lovely evening with my pal Rachel and made her laugh once again with a story of her favorite romance author. (one who shall remain nameless) I encountered this author many many years ago at the first bookstore I worked at. I had NO idea who she was and that upset the crap out of her. She seemed ten feet tall to my puny five feet. My knowledge of books at this time consisted of V.C Andrews, Danielle Steele and Stephen King (among others) so when she asked where her books are I typed them into the computer (trying to ignore her eye roll) and responded cheerfully "Why, you can find your books in romance!" Hooray!

screeeeeeech.....

"WHAT?!! Romance?! What on earth are they doing THERE? They are much more than that!!! They should be in literature!"

Well, it went on for a few minutes and I stood there frozen to the spot wondering if she still wanted to see where they were (nervous laugh) and hoping she wouldn't step on me. When I was able to get a word in, I muttered an "I'm sorry. Would you like to speak to my manager?"

With a crisp "NO!" and a swoosh of her shawl, she stomped away.

Well, she told me!

I tell this story with humor and I have a world of respect for this author. I've had lots of encounters with authors who have been over-the-top wonderful and some, not so much. We are all human and have bad days and darnit, sometimes a puny little knee high bookseller gets the jab. :) Oh well! No skin off my back.

Rachel loves this story. I retell it with gusto!

Anyhoo, my week wrapped up with a beautiful day outside with the little kiddo. Boy, can this kid talk. I held his hand and we walked around our neighborhood for over an hour and it was "Truck!" "Tree!" "Car!" "Girl!" "Rock!" "Vroom!" "ohoh!" "Yuck!" "Wow!" and so on and so forth. Who knew the world was that interesting?

To a 2 year old, everything is fascinating. It was absolutely adorable. My favorite is when I would sneeze (due to slight allergies), he would pipe up "Achoo, Mama!" meaning

"Bless You, Mama"

sigh. adorable.

For my week in books, I feel like I have not been successful though I have been reading. I've been reading the books for blog tours next week and I can't post my reviews until then. :( I am currently reading Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani for the TLC Book Tour and contest and I am LOVING it. I can not wait to share with you all my review. She is amazing! For a sneak peak, check her out here.

I did a review and interview with L. Diane Wolfe this past week for her new book

The Circle of Friends: Book 5, Heather.

Books that came my way this week are two very exciting ones! Alyson from Simon and Schuster sent me a copy of I Know I am, but what are you by Samantha Bee, a correspondent for the Daily Show.

Also, I received extra ARCs of Falling Apart in One Piece by Stacy Morrison. Wendy from Simon and Schuster was kind enough to send them to me for my book club. We are going to read it for next month. I am passing it along to my mother-in-law's book club as well. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to spread the word.

Check out Stacy's website here for a tag line from my review!

This week, I hope to finish the second book in Adriana Trigiani's trilogy, Brava Valentine and maybe pick an oldie off my shelf!

Stay tuned tomorrow for my Guest Reviewer: The Husband's first review!

As always, thanks for stopping by and Happy Reading!

red headed book child

Week in Review: Feb 28- March 6

week in review

Yesterday I decided to drive down to see my parents, which is only an hour away. I took the kiddo along, leaving my husband time with his pal to dink around with his new computer. I get off the exit to my hometown and decide that I wanted to drive past my childhood home. Good idea?

I think not. I happen to be listening to the song "Heavenly Day" by Patty Griffin which, if you haven't listened to her, please do so now because she is amazing! Anyway, this song is beautiful and makes me cry my eyeballs out every time regardless of mood or location.

Well, where I grew up USED to be the country. It is now Cookie Cutter McMansion Ville. I was hoping I had a carton of eggs with me so I could litter this new neighborhood with slime! Okay, I know development is going to happen. I get it. My hometown is hip. It's happening. It's unique and cozy and everyone from the big ol' city wants to live in this cute little town. I get it. But stay away from MY home darnit.

SPACE. That's what I remember from my childhood. Miles of cornfields, green grass, dirt roads, trees big and burly, gardens, stray bunny rabbits, wood piles, sour apple trees, dirt pies, and crickets at night.

Sigh.

Now I'm sure living there you would get paved roads, toxic fumes from SUVs, and noise. Ack.

But I digress. The new neighborhood made me cry, the song made me cry and all the memories of my Grandma raising me in that house made me cry.

I used to come home after an hour bus ride from school to the quiet afternoon of my house in the country. I would walk in the door, my grandma would be sitting at the kitchen table finishing up her "stories". She would greet me with a smile and fix me a snack. It would be her and me until just about dinner when everyone else got home.

Those were good times.

And I guess that's what I have to remember. Screw (literally) driving down memory lane.

As for my book world, I kind of stink. I have to read 2 more books for blog tours and sadly I am not in the mood for either of them. This is when required reading and reviewing kind of stink. (sorry)

I checked out The History of Love (my book club pick) and Ghouls Gone Wild (for fun). I hope to read those this week.

I only wrote a review for the romp Cowboy Trouble by Joanne Kennedy and hopped on the ol' Book Blogger Hop over at Jennifer's Crazy-for-Books.

I hope. I hope. I hope this will be the last week I will say,

"I promise to spread that Award Love".

(nervous laugh)

Thank you to all of you who sent me some awesome advice as to how to JAZZ up my blog.

I have decided to give myself freely to Parajunkee. I should be sassy and beautiful by April just in time for BEA and the Book Blogger Convention.

I think that's it this week. I'm currently watching the Oscars and am ticked that Matt Damon didn't win, happy "The Weary Kind" won for Best Song and hoping that Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges take the gold at the end of the night. Hopefully there will be no more Miley Cyrus...what is she doing there anyway? :(

Happy Reading!

red headed book child