Follow Friday

http://parajunkee.com/

Good afternoon fellow bloggers. I hope this finds you well, and happy with all the books you got this Christmas. Do tell. What did you get?

If you want to follow along, please link up to Parajunkee and list your blog on the linky list. Please leave me a comment and a follow and I will endeavor to follow you back asap. Now that the holidays are almost over, time should be a little easier to come by. If you have followed in the last few weeks and I haven't followed you back, I will catch up with myself in the next couple of weeks. :)

Happy New Year!

Thinking about dogs tonight.

These three crazy pups are mine. On the left is Tigger, Chloe the Great Dane is in the middle. On the right is Marley, our hound. He is very much on my mind tonight as I wait to hear from the vet in the morning.

Marley, true to his name, eats everything and is a complete mischief maker. If any of you have read Marley and Me, that is who we named this dog after. He is a walking garbage disposal.

After some long nights of vomiting and other fun surprises, my husband and I had to rush him to the emergency room. He then went to our new vet and they performed surgery on him this afternoon.

Knee high pantyhose. Wow. They had to open the stomach and intestines in three places. Unbelievable.

Tomorrow we find out how he is doing. The vet says he is in critical condition. I pray he gets better soon. The house is just too quiet.

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The Week in Children's Apps: December 23, 2010

The Week in Children's Apps: December 23, 2010

Fa la la la Follow Friday...

http://parajunkee.com/

Good morning fellow book bloggers! Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate. I hope this Follow Friday finds you in happy holiday spirits and may you find many new and fabulous blogs to follow.

Question of the week:

What are you going to do on this fabulous holiday?

I myself will be working tomorrow, Christmas Eve. The bookstore is CRAZY, and I am working a super long shift to make sure everyone finds what they need. Just think of me as your personal book elf. Sort of.

For the rest of my holiday, I will come home and bake a Chocolate Blackout cake, a corn souffle and maybe toss a salad to bring to my wonderful knitting teacher's house for Christmas dinner. Chocolate cake and knitting...what could be more fun. Maybe some egg nog! Yay! Then it's back to work at 6am on the 26th. After Christmas sales!

Merry Christmas everyone. May your day be peaceful and happy. Tell me about the books you get. :) I love to hear. (I sort of already got my present- a new IPad. Hurray!)

A festival of holiday wreaths...

I love days like today when I can lay around and make funny little things, bake and read in bed. Here is my latest assortment of holiday wreaths. So much fun!

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Follow Friday

http://parajunkee.com/

Good morning fellow book bloggers., It is time for another Follow Friday. I came close to not participating this week as the holidays ramp up, but I missed you all too much not to play.

Our question of the week:

Did your college life contribute to what you are doing now?

My answer...No. I was a book lover since I was a kid and that has never changed. I have worked in bookstores since high school and can't see myself doing anything else other than writing. Books are life.

If you want to add your blog to the linky list, click on the link above to take you to Parajunkee's View, our wonderful hostess. Enjoy the hop and hopefully you will meet lots of new friends. Leave a comment and a follow while you are here.

Blog Hop Sunday

http://crazy-for-books.com/

Good morning everyone. It's time for Blog Hop. As I sit here and drink my gallon of coffee and eat my cheerios in anticipation of another wild day at the bookstore, I contemplate the Hop and how much I enjoy talking with other bloggers and book lovers. So stop in and say hello. Would love it if you would follow.

Question of the week:

Why do you love book blogs? Reviews? Giveaways? Other reasons? Tell me all and stop by the link above to add your blog to the linky list for the Hop.

My answer of course is stated above. I love meeting new book people. :) Giveaways are nice, but being the social butterfly that I am. I just love to meet new and wonderful folks like yourself. :)

Best wishes for a great Sunday everyone!

The Holiday Reading Challenge 2010

Hello everyone. I have some final entries into the challenge, and wanted to share with you what I found.

I always enjoy Fancy Nancy, and Splendiferous Christmas  was wonderful.

What I liked:
It was Fancy Nancy making the world a fancy place and making Christmas gorgeous for all.

What I didn't:

That it ended.

Overall:

A great read for the little princess in your life who likes to dress up and make the world a fancy place, just by looking at what is around you. 5 out of 5 stars.

Merry Christmas Splat is a romp through Splat's Christmas. Was he good enough to get a big present?

What I liked:

The illustrations and storyline are so cute. I always enjoy the story lines Rob Scotton puts together.

What I didn't:

 Nothing at all.

Overall:

Awesome gift for kids or kids at heart. I just bought it for my Nookcolor. Sigh.

This book is an oldy but a goody. The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy is a great tale about pet rescue.

What I Liked:
The story about a puppy who wants a boy for Christmas is heartwarming. For someone who has rescue dogs, this is perfect.

What I didn't:
Not a thing.

Overall:
This book is a great gift to teach kids about rescuing animals. Pets are people too. Just with fur.

This book started out really great, but then got preachy.

What I liked:
The idea of a bookstore hidden away in an old district who helps to support a ball to get lonely people together was appealing.

What I didn't:
When a book gets preachy and starts lobbing huge snowballs of over the top religion, I don't like it. I felt that this book did that.

Overall;
I liked the basic storyline, but felt the religion was a little strong for a book shelved in the sci fi section.

A Darcy Christmas  was a great read.

What I Liked:

The three stories in this book bring to life the spirit of Christmas in the world of Pemberley. Wonderful.

What I didn't:

Not a thing. It was very enjoyable.

Overall:

A great read for anyone who loves Pride and Prejudice.

http://parajunkee.com/
http://anotherbookjunkie.blogspot.com/

Good evening everyone and welcome to another Follow Friday. Today we are visiting with Amanda at Another Book Junkie. Just click the above link to visit Parajunkee at her host site and Another Book Junkie's link to visit her blog.

I hope you will stay a moment and leave a comment. Even better if you become a follower. Leave the name of your blog and I will visit you.

Question of the week:

Do you have an author that you think is under recognized?
I think PC Cast's Goddess novels are even better than her House of  Night series. I just got the newest one on my Nookcolor.

In my mailbox.

I came home yesterday and these wonderful books were in my mailbox. I was very excited to see the Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen. One of my favorite things as a Blogger and book reviewer is reading a book from someone as wonderful and supportive as Rebecca.

Yay new books!

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It's Blog Hop time again!

http://parajunkee.com/
http://crazy-for-books.com/

Hello everyone. This week the questions are:

What really popular book did you just not like at all? How did you feel about reviewing it?
What are your hobbies other than reading and reviewing books?

My answers are:

Breaking Dawn and the Host. I felt that the 4th book in the Twilight series was so different from the rest, I had a hard time liking it. I guess the same reason went for the Host. It was hard because I got to meet Stephanie at a signing and wanted so badly to ask about the Host and why she wrote it, being such a departure from Twilight, which I liked by the way. (Except for some of the content of Breaking Dawn. The name of the baby about drove me over the edge. Didn't get that one at all.)  The first book of any series is usually my favorite and that is totally true of Twilight. Books here. Not the movies. :)

My hobbies are knitting, playing with my rescue puppies, movie watching with my husband, baking, writing my YA books and now I am addicted to Plants vs. Zombies and Cut the Rope.

I hope you will join me in another fun romp through the blogs this weekend. Click on the links above to take you to the home sites. Leave your blog and follow someone else. Hope you will become a follower here and share the love with an awesome comment.

A handmade Christmas.

This week has been hectic with the holidays coming. Baking, holiday book reviews, working at the bookstore, setting up the Christmas tree at the house, and all the things that make up life in general. Thursday in knitting class, I learned how to make crochet wreath pins. In all the rush, there is nothing like sitting down and making small gifts to spread the joy of giving this holiday season.

Directions:

Chain 4 to 8, depending on what size you are going for. Join the chain with a slip stitch. Either double crochet or triple crochet into the center of the ring. Proceed around the ring, pulling to space it out as you go. Finish by tucking yarn into wreath and attach beads, sequins, ribbons and a pin back. A glue gun works best for the pin back.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

Happy Crocheting!

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In my mailbox...

These were in my mailbox this week. Yay! Just need some more time for reading.

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A new find: Snowflake Monday

http://snowcatcher.blogspot.com/

Searching around on Monday, I came across this amazing site. There are snowflakes with patterns and many links to other sites with additional holiday projects. My knitter/crochet heart is happy. New challenges!

The Gothic Reading Challenge

http://gothicreadingchallenge.blogspot.com/

Good evening fellow readers. I have just come upon the coolest reading challenge I have seen lately. The Gothic Reading Challenge. If you are interested in participating, it is from January 1-December 31, 2011. Simply head over to the link above and list your blog in the linky. Think about how many books you can safely say you could read in a year and comment on how many that might be. I am going to try to read at least 10. I am going to try for 20, but we shall see.

I will add postings with my titles closer to January 1st.

So join me if you dare. The dark side is fun. They have cookies...

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday

http://www.crazy-for-books.com/
http://parajunkee.com/

Good morning wonderful followers and guests. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and didn't eat too much. This is another episode of Blog Hop and Follow Friday. Sorry I haven't written much, but have been working like a fiend this week. (That and playing with my new Nookcolor)

If you want to follow along, leave a comment and share the love and while you are here, please follow. Click on one or both links to register your own blog with the linkys and have some fun meeting fellow book bloggers.

My question of the week:

Did you cook this holiday and did you have any kitchen mishaps? Check out my sister blog for my own interesting experience. (http://bookgirlinthekitchen.blogspot.com/)

In my mailbox...

So many books, so little time should be my mantra. The mailbox was full this weekend.

The Secret History of Elizabeth Tudor, Vampire Slayer has really caught my eye.

The Weird Sisters sounds funny and amazing.

It is such a shame I can't barricade myself in bed with a box of dark chocolate peppermint candy and read like like crazy.

What's in your mailbox this week?

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Blogger Hop #2

Good morning blogger friends and welcome to my second Book Blogger Hop. Click on the link to return to http:/www.crazy-for-books.com/ and add your blog to the list. Pick someone to follow and make sure you follow back if someone follows you! Share the love and leave a comment.

What are you thankful for this holiday season?

I look forward to making some new blogger friends, so please stop in and stay for a few minutes. Leave me a comment so I can visit your blog and share the love.

Follow Friday #3

http://parajunkee.com/

Good morning readers. I am late with my Follow Friday posting, but better late than never.

This week's featured question is: How long have you been blogging?

Our featured blog is G Reads at http://g-reads.blogspot.com/

Join the linky on Parajunkee's awesome site. Follow the featured blogger and a couple of others. If someone follows you, please follow them back. Share the blogger love.

Holiday Reading Challenge update.

Good morning readers. Here is my holiday reading update so far. A very busy week with Nookcolor is upon me, but I have already started my books and on the lookout for more. What are you reading?

My Nookcolor is here!

After not too long a wait, my Nookcolor arrived yesterday. It is beautiful. Pandora streaming music, kids books that read themselves to me (not all, but some until the upgrade), magazines galore, full internet browser...all for only $249. I love it. It is like my husband's IPad in lots of ways, but is so much cheaper. No monthly fees. The next thing I am waiting for are the cookbooks with embedded video instructions. Wow. Christmas is officially here and I am over the moon with gadget love. I can even post to Facebook with it. You gotta know that makes a book blogger's heart sing.

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Reading Wither today.

I started reading this and can't put it down. At least I wouldn't but I sort of have to go to work. What a cool book. My review will come later wonderful readers, but if you can get an arc or preorder, I totally would.5 out of 5 stars so far.

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Our first holiday reading challenge!

Hello everyone! The holiday season is officially here and our first reading challenge is upon us. Please  click the link to visit All About {n} and link up your blog. I will be hunting for my list of titles tomorrow and starting the  holiday book festivities. Stop by and leave a comment and let me know what books you will be reading  Happy Holidays!

.http://bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/

http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/

Welcome to our first go round with It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

This wonderful weekly book adventure is the work of  One Person's Journey Through a World of Books. If you want to follow along, just click on the link, list your blog, and then post what you are reading on your blog along with the picture to your left. Easy! Check out the specifics on the link. Happy reading!

I finished reading Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter this afternoon.  What would you do if you started seeing ghosts and your parents were about to get a divorce? Kylie is having a really bad day. Top that off with being sent to a camp for kids with issues and you have a really bad week. Things just keep getting better when the weird kids at the camp turn out to be supernaturals, and Kylie isn't sure if she's one of them or about to be lunch.

This book is a real page turner and it has my vote. Cute werewolves, feisty vampires, brooding fey, ghosts and dyslexic witches. A keeper.

Escape In A Book: Something to discuss on a Saturday

Escape In A Book: Something to discuss on a Saturday

Crazy for Books Blog Hop #1

http://www.crazy-for-books.com/Check out our first foray into The Crazy for Books Blog Hop. Click on the link to get you to the blog hop. List your blog if you want. Follow a blog and anwer the question of the week. Pop back in to say hello and let me know how you are doing today.

Chronicle Books Holiday wish list

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/happyhaulidays/
I am a book blogger, so of course I love books. When Chronicle Books introduced this program where you can post a list of books you would love to have (up to $500) I was thrilled to comply. Here is my Merry Christmas wish list. If you are interested in purchasing any of the titles, please tab over to my Barnes & Noble button to check them out, or use the Chronicle Books Link in this article.

Savory Baking by Mary Cech 24.95
Stonewall Kitchen Breakfast by Jonathan King 19.95
From Our House to Yours by Meals on Wheels San Francisco 19.95
Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson 40.00
Flour by Joanne Chang 35.00
Tartine by Elizabeth Prueitt 35.00
Cake Pops by Angie Dudley 19.95
Southern Pies by Nancy McDermott 22.95
Very Merry Cookie Party by Barbara Grunes 19.95
Gingerbread by Jennifer Lindner McGlinn 19.95
Creme Brulee by Lou Seibert Pappas 14.95
Killer Pies by Stephanie Anderson 16.95

Hmmm. I am only at 289.55. Must add some titles

Follow Friday #2

Pick a blog to follow and support your fellow bloggers. Head over to the link to register your blog for the list.

http://www.parajunkee.com/

In My Mailbox #1

Our featured book for the first edition of In My Mailbox is Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger. I received this arc from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. This book is a fictional account of the lives of Lady Duff Gordon and looks to be an adventure across London to the dry climate of Egypt and the Nile. For more information on In My Mailbox, started by The Story Siren, please visit :http://www.thestorysiren.com/ List your blog and what you got in the mail, checked out from the library or picked up at your local bookstore. Happy reading everyone!

New zombie blog!

Join me for some zombie fun at my new blog!

http://zombiegirlshambling.blogspot.com/

Book Eternity: Oogie a dog only a family could love Review and Gi...

Book Eternity: Oogie a dog only a family could love Review and Gi...: "If you are an animal lover you'll simply adore this book,I own 4 dogs and just couldn't put this book down, but since I have other occupati..."

Introducing Follow Friday.

Follow Friday was started by Parajunkee.com and has become a great way to support fellow bloggers. Click the link to her website to check out the latest. Leave me a comment about who you are following.http://www.parajunkee.com/

This week's follow is http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/. Follow along and maybe leave your blog so we can follow you too.

Nightshade

This book had a razor edge and kept me turning the pages. Loved the werewolf action and plot. Check it out!

A great read for Halloween!

If you haven't checked out the Splat books, you are in for a treat this Halloween! The illustrations are beautiful and the story endearing.

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Batik quilts.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.
The colors of this book drew me in from the start. I love the combinations of the batik designs. The photography from Bali adds depth to the story behind the quilts. It brings to life the culture and majesty of this land that is rich in tradition and craftsmanship.
Pamela Mostek was asked to give a textile tour to Bali. So she brought her traveling companion Susan Nelsen with her and the rest is history.
Follow Pamela and Susan as they talk about the weaving methods used to create the unique batik patters.
There are eight gorgeous patterns to delight quilters of all levels of skill. A keeper for my library shelf.

My rating is 5 out of 5. Love this book. Beautiful!

Tadpole being cute.

It is way too early to be awake today, but the bookstore awaits. Lots of Christmas cards to stock and new books to play with.

This little guy is my inspiration. Tadpole is a little miracle rescue puppy with a heart of gold.

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A note on bullying

Were you ever bullied? How did you deal with it? What would you tell kids that are dealing with it in today's world? What would you say to the kids who recently committed suicide as a result of it? Check out the ongoing conversation on Dana's YA Bookpile.http://danasyabookpile.blogspot.com/

A Myriad of Books: ZOMBIES VS UNICORNS

A Myriad of Books: ZOMBIES VS UNICORNS: " My first blog review ever... but here it goes!! Right down to business... ZOMBIES VS UNICORNS published October 2010 OVERALL RATING: 9, ..."

Delicious desserts on display.

Me and Erin Hicks Miller