Happy Thanksgiving!

Pie? Check.

Turkey? Check.

Sweet Potatoes? Check.

Family? Check.

Good Book? Check.

Looks like I'm all set!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

red headed book child

My First Sunday Salon-November 20

Why, may you ask, am I doing a Sunday Salon for the first time after, 2 1/2 years of blogging? Well, I can honestly say that it's the type of post I feel I can contribute now. Up until now, I've been able to have a review or a feature or a giveaway every few days to keep posts current. Lately, I've hit a wall, reading wise and have also started a very busy schedule. My blogging has fallen my the way side. I've have some moments free but, like many of you, I'm sure, have not felt it to post anything worth reading.

I've enjoyed reading so many Sunday Salons of yours that I thought it would be a nice time to recap my week or (cough) weeks since I've seen you all last.

The biggest thing that has changed in the last few weeks is that I finally got a second part-time job that I am loving. I now work mornings with Scholastic Book Fairs creating their display cases for the schools. It's pretty entry level but it's a foot in the door with a great company and I am really liking it. As most of you all know, I work also at my local library part-time as well. I was struggling with finding another job that could go around my hours there. (I sure as, you know what, am NOT giving that job up). Luckily Scholastic was able to give me five mornings a week and it doesn't interfere at all!!

Go me!

I also am going to be adding a very part-time gig as a Home caregiver for the elderly. More to come on that.

With this new job comes less time at home and with my son. I have been trying to spend more of my free time with him now as well. Unfortunately, we got a TON of time this past week because he got Scarlet Fever last Wednesday! Ugh. So, my husband and I took turns going to work and taking care of him. He is doing great but we are all a little exhausted. It was lovely to see his sweet little face all week but not when it was so sick. :(

On the book front, I am reading, just not very fast! I am almost done with Lethal by Sandra Brown for my mystery challenge. (I don't care if I've already done that letter. I'm just reading new mystery authors and that's that! Okay?!) I also finished Loving Frank by Nancy Horan for my book clubs. Both clubs read it this month and my second club is meeting next Monday to discuss it. Once I have both clubs under my belt, I will post my reviews. Boy, did this one stir up some emotion!

I have three books I am deciding on for my next read. Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson (a literary thriller), We need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver ( anovel), or The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (a young adult literary/historical thriller). It's cold and snowy here and my mood is leaning towards a rich, meaty literary thriller...perhaps with an old creepy house or the rainy, cold streets of 1880s London.

This coming week will hopefully be filled with good reading, turkey, and lots of movies. My pal Dawn and I are going to see The Swell Season documentary (about the two musicians from the movie Once) and Like Crazy. We loved the movie Once and also saw them perform live a few years back when they came to Minneapolis. LOVED IT! Like Crazy is just an indie movie right up my alley and Dawn is also a fan of good, solid indie movies. We decided to make it double feature kind of a day.

Click both links and check these movies out if you have not heard of them!

My pal Amanda and I are having "Hunky Men" Movie Night. She will supply Gerard Butler movies and I will supply Mark Ruffalo movies. Wine will join us and our good friend chocolate. Good times will be had by all, indeed.

Oh and Breaking Dawn...that will happen too, I'm sure.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first Sunday Salon. As you can see, I've been busy and will be busy this coming week. I hope to do another Sunday Salon at some point too. I am going to try to be more present in the blog world in the next few weeks. I haven't forgotten you all!!

What are you reading this week?

What are your big plans?

Breaking Dawn? Yes?

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Feature: Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan (BLOG TOUR)

Title: Food Rules

Author: Michael Pollan

Illustrator: Maira Kalman

Publisher: Penguin

Genre: Food Memoir/Reference

I came across Michael Pollan's Food Rules awhile back and swallowed a large lump in my throat after paging through a few pages. Man, what the hell am I eating? What the hell is my kid eating? (sorry for the language)

I have since went on to read Omnivore's Dilemma, another book of his, and am fascinated with his take and knowledge on the current state of "food" in our society.

I was curious to take a peak at this new illustrated version

and check out the new rules he adds to this edition.

Here is a brief description from the author's website:

Michael Pollan’s Food Rules began with his hunch that the wisdom of our grandparents might have more helpful things to say about how to eat well than the recommendations of science or industry or government. The result was a slim volume of food wisdom that has forever changed how we think about food. Now in a new edition illustrated by artist Maira Kalman, and expanded with a new introduction and nineteen additional food rules, this hardcover volume marks an advance in the national dialogue that Food Rules inspired.

I think the illustrated version will make this quaint little book appeal to a broader audience who may have seen it before and chalked it up to "just another food book". The illustrations are qite lovely. I see it now as a way of life and a way of understanding what food really is. We all should really know what is in our food and what is going into our bodies. How does our childhood eating habits affect how we are today? What did our grandparents teach us?

I am glad I checked this book out. It puts shopping into perspective too. Why does my lunch contain ingredients I can't pronounce? Is that a good thing? Where is my food really coming from? Discover the natural goodness around you.

You don't have to be a foodie to appreciate the important message in this book.

Michael Pollan is the author of five books: Second Nature, A Place of My Own, The Botany of Desire, which received the Borders Original Voices Award for the best nonfiction work of 2001 and was recognized as a best book of the year by the American Booksellers Association and Amazon, and the national bestsellers, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and In Defense of Food.

A longtime contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, Pollan is also the Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley. His writing on food and agriculture has won numerous awards, including the Reuters/World Conservation Union Global Award in Environmental Journalism, the James Beard Award, and the Genesis Award from the American Humane Association.

Visit Michael at his website, michaelpollan.com.

About Maira Kalman

Find out more about Ms. Kalman’s work at her website.

Maira Kalman is an illustrator, author, and designer. She is the author of The Principles of Uncertainty and she illustrated the bestselling edition of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. Ms. Kalman’s twelve children’s books include Max Makes a Million, Stay Up Late, Swami on Rye, and What Pete Ate. She also has designed fabric for Isaac Mizrahi, accessories for Kate Spade, sets for the Mark Morris Dance Company, and, with her late husband Tibor Kalman under the M&Co. label, clocks, umbrellas, and other accessories for the Museum of Modern Art.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for having me on this tour.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

The Year of Mysterious Giveaways: November 2011

Hello Everyone! I am a few days late on getting the winner for The Ninth Day!

Thanks for your patience. Ryan from Wordsmithonia is our winner!!!!

Thanks to him and to all who signed up!

The Year of Mysterious Giveaways: November 2011

Bad Moon by Todd Ritter

I am very excited to give this one away. New author to me. Very thrilling story line! Check out the description from Amazon.

On the same night that Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, ten-year-old Charlie Olmstead jumped on his bike to see if there was some way he could get a better look. It was the last anyone ever saw of him. After Perry Hollow Police Chief Jim Campbell found Charlie’s bike caught in the water above Sunset Falls, he assumed the worst. Everyone did—except Charlie’s mother.

Years later, Eric Olmstead—now a famous author and Charlie’s younger brother—has come back to Perry Hollow to bury his mother and fulfill her last request: Find Charlie. To do so, he goes to the current police chief, his former sweetheart, Kat Campbell, who happens to be Jim Campbell’s daughter. Together they soon discover that Eric’s mother was convinced Charlie was kidnapped, and that finding him—whether he was dead or alive—was her secret obsession. While she never succeeded, she did uncover clues that suggested he wasn’t the only boy across Pennsylvania to vanish into thin air during that time.

Contest Rules:

* Please be a follower of my blog

* Please leave an email address

* Please reside in the United States.

Contest Runs from November 4- November 30

Thanks to Dana Kaye Publicity for providing me a copy to give away!

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw (review #140)

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Genre: Fiction

Format: ARC

Release Date: March 2012

For those of you who have been following my previous posts, you will know that I found myself in a bit of a slump. A reading slump, that is. I was concentrating so heavily on my Mystery Challenge that I slammed head on into a massive, pressure induced rut. I was determined to read as many mystery authors as possible and well, the ones I picked up were less than impressive. So, I took some of your advice, and switched gears for a sec. No fear, though. That mystery challenge isn't going anywhere. It's still a top priority for me.

I looked to my pile of books.

Not only did I get the opportunity to go to BEA this year , I also had a chance to work the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show, which, I'm told, is like a mini BEA for the Midwest area. I had a blast and walked away with an enormous amount books, almost as much as I got at BEA. I did not expect this at all.

One of my responsibilities was to work with authors who were guests at the trade show. I helped them sign all the copies of their books that were featured. One of the authors that I was able to help and meet was Carol Anshaw, the author of Carry the One. We chatted a bit and I gave her my card. I told her literary fiction was one of my favorite genres and she said I should snag a book and read it.

I'm certainly glad I did. This eloquent, honest character driven novel pulled me out of my slump. I chose to do the review now, even though the book is not to be released until March 2012, because it was fresh in my mind and I wanted to tell you all about it.

Here is a glimpse of what it is about from Simon and Schuster:

Carry the One begins in the hours following Carmen's wedding reception, when a car filled with stoned, drunk, and sleepy guests accidently hits and kills a girl on a dark, country road. For the next twenty-five years, those involved, including Carmen and her brother and sister, connect and disconnect and reconnect with each other and their victim. As one character says, "When you add us up, you always have to carry the one."

Through friendships and love affairs; marriage and divorce; parenthood, holidays, and the modest tragedies and joys of ordinary days, Carry the One shows how one life affects another and how those who thrive and those who self-destruct are closer to each other than we'd expect. Deceptively short and simple in its premise, this novel derives its power and appeal from the author's beautifully precise use of language; her sympathy for her very recognizable, flawed characters; and her persuasive belief in the transforming forces of time and love.

This is a novel where everything and nothing happens. The tragic death of the young girl in the beginning of the book lingers throughout the entire book, which gives it that sense that though time moves on, the characters remain stuck in the same place. Carmen, Nick and Alice are siblings and are whom we follow over the course of twenty some years. We follow Carmen's activism in women's rights, her crumbling marriage and motherhood to Gabe. We follow Nick's addictions, his brilliant career in astronomy that he destroys time and time again and his obsession with Olivia, the driver who killed the young girl. And we follow Alice (my favorite character) in her growing career as a painter, fixated on portraits of the dead girl and her tumultuous, co-dependent relationship with Maude.

I loved and hated these characters with every page. Anshaw has a way of writing that nails the psychology of humans. She explores the complicated relationships between men and women, sister and brother, mother and daughter, by breaking wide open inhibitions, those sticky boundaries that hold us back and that pesky fear business that keeps us hiding in our closets.

Nick was a pain in the ass junkie who could have been dropped in a gutter and forgotten many times over but you still cared for him. Anshaw made you still want to care, much like you would do if it were your family member.

Carmen was passive and aggressive in her own way and sometimes you wanted to shake her but you understood she created her own sense of control to erase the guilt of that night. You rooted for the big sister in her.

And Alice, sweet, vulnerable, easily swooped up Alice. Lost, yet centered in her art. Open, yet closed off to a life that didn't include Maude. Talented, but haunted by her portraits of the young girl they killed.

Anshaw did a beautiful job in the creation of these wounded characters. It was a joy to read. She also filled the book with other side characters that give it a bigger dynamic. She also gave it an ending that was quiet, yet satisfying. Sad, but expected.

Rating: 6/6

I give this my top rating. It hit my mood just right. The writing flowed flawlessly. I had so many post its of sections I liked, it made it almost impossible to read, because they got in the way. I didn't include any of those lines. I'll just leave those for me to enjoy and perhaps, for you to discover. The most powerful line, which is included in the back cover description, is "When you add us up, you always have to carry the one."

Powerful, don't you think? What is the "one" in which we carry?

I highly recommend this novel for any fan of literary fiction. It is intense, sweet, honest and hopeful, all at the same time. I am pleased I had a chance to meet Carol Anshaw and I am honored to be able to share this review with you all.

Author Website:

Carol Anshaw

Happy reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Feature and Giveaway: Goddess of Vengeance by Jackie Collins

Title: Goddess of Vengeance

Author: Jackie Collins

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: St.Martin's Press

Earlier this year I was fortunate to read and review Jackie Collins' last book, Poor Little Bitch Girl. I was tinkled pink because I absolutely LOVED her when I was a young teen. I spent many a hour at my library, waiting for my mother to pick me up, nose deep in a torrid story by Ms. Collins. Did my mother know? I tried hard for her not to find out.

Though I am much older now and my tastes in reading have evolved, I still have a warm spot for anything Jackie Collins. She has a knack for dishing out the dirt of the rich and famous. I am still a fan of the trashy tabloid shows and the even trashier entertainment magazines. Can't help it. I get a kick out of it. (Although the Kardashians make my skin crawl! Do NOT care about what they are doing!) So reading a full length novel of the same kind of dirt is just fun.

I am thrilled to be able to give away a copy of Jackie's newest novel, another book featuring the sassy, beautiful, brilliant Lucky Santangelo. Lucky is one of her most popular characters, first featured in two of her very early novels, Chances and Lucky. A miniseries was also created around her as well in the late 1980s. Though this books centers a bit more on her two grown children, Max and Bobby, it still holds all the power and personality of Lucky.

Here is a description from the author's website:

LUCKY SANTANGELO IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCEin a novel full of power, passion, revenge, and the raging family dynamics of the Santangelo clan…

Lucky runs a high profile casino and hotel complex, The Keys in Vegas. Lennie, her ex-movie star husband, is still writing and directing successful independent movies, while Max, her stubborn and gorgeous teenage daughter is about to celebrate her 18th birthday, and her son, Bobby, owns a string of hot clubs. Lucky has everything. Family. Love. Life.

And everything is exactly what billionaire businessman Armand Jordan is determined to take from her one way or the other.

Born a Prince in the small but affluent Middle Eastern country of Akramshar, Armand comes to America with his American mother at an early age, and rises to become a real estate business titan. Armand regards women as nothing more than breeding mares or sexual playthings, so when his people inform him that the one property he covets more than anything, The Keys, is not for sale, he is shocked. That a mere woman would dare to turn down his offer to buy The Keys is unthinkable, and Armand vows to force Lucky’s hand whatever it takes. And so the battle for power begins…

Meanwhile Bobby is dealing with shady Russian investors, while his girlfriend – smart and independent Denver Jones, is becoming a Deputy D.A. in the L.A. drug unit.

And Max, Bobby’s seventeen-year-old sister, is busy embarking on a forbidden affair with a sexy young movie star. An affair they have to keep on the down-low lest Lucky finds out.

The word is that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” and what happens in Goddess of Vengeance will blow your mind!

You don't have to read her other novels to get a kick out of this one. It might help to read Chances and Lucky to get a feel for where her character comes from but it's not the end of the world if you don't. If you want fun, fast, furious, hot, scandalous action, read this. It won't disppoint. It might not be for everyone. It can get raunchy. I probably wouldn't recommend a teenager read it like I did but we all all adults here, right? HAVE FUN! Kick back with a cold one and enjoy some good old saucy reading.

Contest Rules:

Runs from October 28-November 4

* Please be a follower of my blog.

* Please reside in the United States

* Please leave an email address.

* Please let me know if you have read Jackie Collins before.

Thanks to Ann-Marie Nieves from Get Red PR for sending me an extra copy of give away!

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Help! I'm in a slump!

HELP!

I have tried my darndest to get into a book these days but...darnit, i just can't do it. So I need your help out there. Here are the books that I have started for my mystery challenge and for the life of me, I can't seem to get passed 40 pages on any of them.

Have any of you read these?

Do I move along on any of them?

Or do they all just stink?

Or is it just me?

HELP!

So Cold the River by Michael Kortya

Before I go to Sleep by S. J Watson

Half Past Dawn by Richard Doetsch

Trespasser by Paul Doiron

These are the letters of the alphabet I have NOT read yet for my challenge. Two books that are really starting to be good, Lethal by Sandra Brown and The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner. But guess what? I've already completed those letters.

Grr Arrgh. My challenge is haunting me!!!

What to do fellow bloggers? What to do....

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child