reading
Give-Away #1 for your Holiday Season!
Here it is – my first official honest-to-goodness-free-stuff-for-you giveaway! I will be doing several of these through the end of the year, as it moves into one of my favorite times of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas! I have so many things to truly be thankful for, including my children, my health, my family, my job, my church, my friends, my pets, a warm home to live in, and food in the cupboards. I absolutely believe that it is better to give than to receive. Nothing gives me more joy than buying a special gift for someone who is not expecting it, and who I know will truly appreciate it. So whatever holidays you may be celebrating in the upcoming months, let me help you do so!
So first up, I have two $25.00 Amazon gift cards. I was going to do a $50.00, but I figured that maybe I can help someone give a gift to someone else as well. So there are 2 for one lucky winner, you can keep them both, give them both away, or share one! I am a huge fan of Barnes and Noble gift cards, but with so many of my readers and writers using Amazon as platforms for their books, I figured this will give you a great opportunity to buy even more books!
So, all you need to do is follow this blog, leave a comment on what you would use your gift card(s) for, fill out the Rafflecopter form, and we will get this underway!
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0dcc89d91/
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Friday Fun Facts!
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How Big Is Yours?
Your stack of books you want/need/have to read? What did you think I meant?!
I have been collecting books throughout the summer, knowing I want to read them, and just waiting to have the time to do so. Missing from this stack was the 1st book in the Freecurrent series (Deanna J. Compton) which I am currently reading, but could not locate. Panic! I found it, which just leads me to the fact I have been trying to ignore. That I have a lot of books. And also that I need to organize said books.
I have 6 more paperbacks that I bought at a used book sale at the beginning of the summer, and have not even had the time to give them a second glance. I am almost into week 4 of my 6 week long class on Leadership for my MBA. This is my last class for the year, so I can relax and enjoy the holiday season that is quickly approaching.
What do you have that you cannot wait to read, and cannot yet find the time to do so?
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Tuesday’s Thought For The Day!
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Cradle and All – James Patterson
As the owner of too many James Patterson books to count; Okay, you can never have too many James Patterson books!, I figured I was due to review another one. I read this story quite some time ago, and it was a great read!
Anne Fitzgerald is a former nun, and current private investigator. Still having a friendship with the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Boston, it was him who brought Anne the strangest case yet to date. She travels to Los Angeles and witnesses the horrible effects of the outbreak of polio. Yes, polio. It has just found its way to Boston, so Boston is not yet as ravaged with the disease as Los Angeles is.
What comes next is as unbelievable to the religious PI as it would likely be for most; a pregnant virgin. Not just one, but two. One in Ireland, one in Boston. And even more epidemics. Seemingly straight from the Bible. The world begins to wonder if this truly is the “second coming” that many have predicted, prophesied, and been waiting for. Anne realizes the danger that these two girls are in with their virgin pregnancies and upcoming births. These two girls are scared. Anne is scared. The whole world is scared.
With this story, Mr. Patterson builds on both our inborn fears and our inborn hopes at the same time. It seems now more than ever that everything, everywhere, is going from bad to worse to unspeakable. This is a great story to make you think, with lots of twists you won’t expect, and it is not full of religious overtones (really, it is not) in case if that isn’t your thing. You should definitely give this one a try!
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The Year of Living Biblically – A. J. Jacobs
Another great book by A. J. Jacobs will have you laughing, and cringing at the lengths he went to in order to follow the Bible for a year. His wife deserves an award for putting up with him as well 🙂
He followed the big ones; you know, the Ten Commandments, love thy neighbor, and be fruitful and multiply. Again, his wife deserves an award for putting up with him. He had the most difficulty with the rules in the Bible that some are aware of, and that very few attempt to follow. Such as:
Do not wear garments of mixed fibers. This involved worldwide searches for fabrics that were not mixed, with anything.
Do not shave your beard.
Stone adulterers. This is funny, you do not want to miss it.
Eating unleavened foods, and avoiding other foods or ingredients.
He was not dismissing the Bible as nonsense, but rather educating others on the sometimes complexity of it, and how as times have changed, some of the rules in the Bible are not applicable to this day and age. A.J. explains that he is Jewish, but said he is Jewish in the same way that the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant. He states that he is also an Agnostic, so this was a spiritual as well as educational journey for himself.
This is definitely a story worth reading, and it is a book I would read again. Lucky for me, I own it, so I can do just that!
If you would like to buy this book, or read more about this and A.J. Jacobs, you can visit his website at http://ajjacobs.com/books/the-year-of-living-biblically/
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To E-Read or Buy the Real Deal
It seems there is quite the battle between those who have given up their paper books for electronic readers, and those who refuse to use one. I have to admit that last year I got Barnes & Noble’s latest HD electronic reader, and have read some stories on it. I have people that ask me to review their books, and in some instances this is the only way I can access their stories.
I also said I would never own one. Because I could never give up my paper books. This is still the case. I have not even turned it on in at least 3 months. My excuse for getting it was I wanted to use it for my magazine subscriptions since I do not like throwing away magazines after I read them. I do get some subscriptions sent to my reader, but, as I haven’t used it in months, I am proving to myself that I just do not care for it all that much.
With that being said, I have crossword apps on it, and I love doing crossword puzzles. I have used it for that more than anything. But alas, I am too busy with other things to even have time for that.
I do not believe that the electronic reader will ever replace “real” books, and I would be devastated if that ever happened. But with so many authors finding it easier to publish, or self-publish this way, the brick-and-mortar publishing companies are possibly seeing a decline in manuscripts being sent to them.
Another reason I prefer real books? The fact that in most of the cases, that person writing that book had to endure the lengthy process of finding a publisher to accept their book, print it, and market it. Although I have never tried, I think it is safe to say this is no easy task. That doesn’t mean you still cannot come across a real book that does not completely suck, but the chances of you seeing spelling, grammatical, and story line errors are no where near as likely to happen.
I have read some pretty terrible things from self publishers. And I have also read the most amazing stories from self publishers.
How do you feel about the electronic reader?
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Friday Fun Facts!
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The Haunting of Reindeer Manor – Kevin Michael Guest
Looking for some more quick Halloween reads, I found The Haunting of Reindeer Manor, by Kevin Michael Guest. Reindeer Manor is a real Haunted Attraction in Dallas, Texas.
A professor looking to end his career with the publication of 9 hauntings, Professor Anderson forms a team of 4 others to investigate, not letting them know the history of the house, Reindeer Manor, so he could get their honest feelings, input, opinions. Jessie is a college student who has no Psychology or paranormal experience. Professor Anderson also has his secretary/mistress Mary attend, for no reason other than his own comfort I would imagine. Professor Fletcher is hard up for the money, and the Dean promised him a full time job if he does this favor for him and Professor Anderson. Amy is a medium with very strong powers that seem to be blocked by some entity in the house. These 4 comprise the team along with Professor Anderson, and convince the current owner of Reindeer Manor, who is using it as a Halloween Haunted House attraction, to restore it to its original form so they can examine it for 5 days and nights. For the sum of $100,000.00, the owner knows the dangers, and that he should refuse, but money wins out.
I am halfway through this story, and it is great reading so far. It is full of suspense, frights, and nothing too blood-and-guts gory that I would be concerned about my teenagers reading this and freaking themselves out! I will have this finished by tomorrow, and give my final report.
booksandopinions.com 