Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the sequel to "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. I was told it wasn't as good as the first one, but I definitely thought it was. Katniss and Peeta as victors in The Hunger Games set out on another adventure which causes a spiralling effect that I can't tell you about! More characters are let into your heart with this book and the ending just catapaults you to "Mockingjay", the third book. These books move so fast and they are impossible to put down--just the way I like a book to be. There are lots of questions to be answered in "Mockinjay" and I can't wait to read it.






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Thankfully Reading Weekend Wrap-up Post

Well, I did better this year than last year! I read "The Christmas Cat" - 4 stories about Christmas romances facilitated by the presence of a cat AND "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins. I'll post my review of "Catching Fire" tomorrow. Right now I just want to go to bed!

Catching up on my blog-hopping...

This weekend I'm doing the Blog Hop Tour hosted by Crazy-for-books. I've decided to do just one blog hop tour a week so that I'm able to visit more of the blogs on the Linky list for that particular tour. This week's question is:

"What is your favorite book cover?"

Hmmm...of course this could change with every new book that is published, but right now I like the cover of "The Iron Daughter" by Julie Kagawa. Sometimes books call to me from their shelves at the bookstore or on a page of a book blog and this book has been doing this for a while. It's beautiful. One of these days I'm going to get my hands on a copy and read it.

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your weekend!

#1 book read for Thankfully Reading Weekend!

The Christmas Cat by Julie Beard


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love Christmas and I loved these stories. They were all Christmas romances with a cat involved in helping the hero and heroine find each other. My favorite was "The Gift of Christmas Past" by Lynn Kurland. Abigail took a plunge in a pond and ended up in 1238 in an English moat! From there it just got better and better. I'm partial to time travel and Lynn Kurland is so good at writing it. This story was about Miles de Piaget, one of the de Piaget brothers who so many of Kurland's stories are about. Her characters are always strong and stubborn and very interesting. Humor abounds and there is always love and a happy ending. These stories will make your Christmas even brighter!






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THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Hunger Games was FANTASTIC!!! I couldn't put it down. I read it in under 30 hours and it only took that long because I had to work and sleep. I figure it took me 15 hours: 8 hours straight through the first day and 7 hours straight through the second day. Now that may be slow for some people, but it was compelling for me. It moved so quickly. I was told that the first chapter was background and not to get discouraged if it seemed boring. The first time I actually noticed where I was in the book, I was on chapter 5! The characters were so real that you fell in love with them and WERE them. Katniss is so clever and she outwits everyone. Peeta is so sweet, but there's something really strong inside him. Oh my gosh, I can't wait to read "Catching Fire". It is sitting on my bookcase calling me. Gotta go read it!




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2011 Challenges

Okay, here I go...I entered way too many challenges last year...but they were so enticing...I have to cut down this year so I can actually finish some of them. Well, I did finish some and the upside is I read a lot of books I wouldn't have read otherwise. I mean that's the big reason I do reading challenges--to expand my horizons. I really like challenges that expose me to specific kinds of books whether it be through their titles or their genres.

So, I decided to do "What's In A Name 4" this year.

There is a dedicated blog for this challenge here. And here is how the challenge works:

Between January 1 and December 31, 2011, read one book in each of the following categories:



1. A book with a number in the title: First to Die, Seven Up, Thirteen Reasons Why
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title: Diamond Ruby, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Opal Deception
3. A book with a size in the title: Wide Sargasso Sea, Small Wars, Little Bee
4. A book with travel or movement in the title: Dead Witch Walking, Crawling with Zombies, Time Traveler's Wife
5. A book with evil in the title: Bad Marie, Fallen, Wicked Lovely
6. A book with a life stage in the title: No Country for Old Men, Brideshead Revisited, Bog Child


The book titles are just suggestions from our host, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.


Other Things to Know:


Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
Books may overlap other challenges.
Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed but encouraged.
You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.


I think there's plenty of room for choices in these categories. I can't wait to get started!

The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn

The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"This enchanting holiday treasure combines historical fact with glorious legend as Saint Nicholas himself reveals the definitive story of Santa Claus. For anyone who has ever wondered...you're right to believe in him!"
That is from the front bookflap of the book. This book was definitely enchanting. Enchanting, amusing, heartwarming...it covers the story of Nicholas beginning with his childhood and how he discovers how good it is to give gifts to children that need cheering up. It covers how stories started making him out to be a magical being who made miracles happen. Nicholas encounters many historical figures in his long, long, long life, but I don't want to spoil the story for you. Suffice it to say that as I read I wondered, "who will he meet next?" I'm putting this book in my library to pull out and read every Christmas. I can't wait to get the other books in the Christmas Chronicles. Jeff Guinn is a great storyteller. This is a book you could read aloud to a child yet it was very interesting to me as an adult. I recommend it highly.




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FRIDAY!!! 43 Days to Christmas! OMG!

I've decided that I'm going to do one blog hop tour a week. I have several to choose from and all of them are fabulous, so I have to limit myself to one a week. This blog hop tour is hosted by Parajunkee.com . If you want to hop along, go on over and sign up. The question for this week is:

WHAT IS YOUR MONTHLY BOOK BUDGET?

HAHAHAHAHA!!! I laughed out loud at this. Maybe I SHOULD have one. Well, I don't. I get my books through Paperback Swap, the library, friends, sneaking one into my grocery cart at Wal-Mart (Yes, I pay for it--but it comes out of the grocery money...shhh don't tell my husband), and as a last resort I visit my local bookstore and buy a nice hardcover book--but only if I have a coupon. Now, I do a lot of book browsing! I never go to Wal-Mart without pushing my cart down the book aisle and I can get lost in a bookstore--browsing--for hours. I once visited a BIG Borders and thought I had died and gone to heaven. So many books, ahhhh. Just remembering it brings back great memories.

I'm getting off track. The answer is: NO, I don't have one.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you spend some of your weekend sharing your books with your family!

Thankfully Reading Weekend

I'm joining the Thankfully Reading Weekend 2010!

Last year, I only read one book over the weekend,

but I'm willing to give it another go this year.

Who knows what will happen?

If you want to join us,

go to Beth Fish Reads OR Jenn's Bookshelves for more information.

It's easy to sign up and it'll be fun!

Blog Hop Tour for 40 & Over

I just found this Blog Hop! It's for bloggers over 40! Awesome!
The RULES to join in are very simple! Go to Never Growing Old, and follow these rules:

1. Grab the button
2. Add your link to the list
3. Visit as many other blogs as you can
4. Follow the ones you like (and comment on their blog to say that you are following)

And it lasts all week! Here we go!

Friday Meme--Follow Friday and Blogger Hop Tour

I haven't done Follow Friday or Blog Hop Tour for a little while, so I decided to participate this weekend. If YOU want to join us, check Follow Friday at Parajunkee.com and the Book Blogger Hop at Crazy-for-Books.com .

  

They both use Mr. Linky to create a list of blogs for us to visit. Usually there are questions to answer to help us get to know each other better.

Follow Friday's question is: Who are your favorite authors?

I have always liked Jude Deveraux because I read her books when I got back into reading when my kids were young; I like Lynn Kurland because she writes time travel and she is funny; I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Virginia Woolf and Cassandra Clare.

Book Blogger Hop's question is: "What are your feelings on losing followers? Have you ever stopped following a blog?"

Hmmm...I just lost a follower yesterday. I have no idea why--why should I? It made me a little anxious, but I agree with Jennifer at Crazy-for-books.com when she says "I am what I am". I blog to share my thoughts with others on books. I don't blog for followers although I get very excited when someone comments and I like seeing the number of people who follow me grow. If I thought that I HAD to write something every day so that someone would comment on it, I would go crazy. I like to find interesting things to share, but it doesn't always happen. I have only been blogging for a little over 1 1/2 years and doing this has opened up the world for me. I love visiting other blogs and realizing that they are writing from England or Australia! I think you have to do this because you love it. And, if people don't love you back, well...that's life, isn't it? Of course, there are bloggers in it for financial gain or to promote their work and that's awesome, too. But, as for me, I just love books and I love all of you for loving them and sharing them, too.

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Virginia Woolf is my new heroine. She is amazing. Every woman who has the slightest interest in becoming a writer should read this book--this speech that Ms. Woolf gave on women and fiction. She attacks the subject methodically, researching first what men have to say about women writing which is not good. It was very degrading. Men thought that women didn't have the intelligence to write a novel! Anyway, she then looks at some women authors and their circumstances and the limitations they faced. The book was just wonderful. Her writing style just moved from page to page so fluidly. I love the way her mind worked. I know that we could have been good friends. I recommend this book not only to women pursuing a writing career, but all women in pursuit of their futures.




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Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Well, I gave it 3 stars out of 5 because the ending was exciting. However, there was just too much sex and violence in the book for me. It was a little silly...I mean, a vampire named "Bill"? To her credit, Sookie thought that was silly, too. And Sam's "disability" was so predictable. I got the first hint right away. There just didn't really seem to be much happening except for Sookie and Bill having sex and women getting murdered. The idea of society accepting vampires and paranormals just made humans seem stupid. And then there was Bubba...really??? Anyway, I generously gave it 3 stars because the ending WAS exciting. It didn't make me want to read the next book in the series though OR watch the TV show. Just sayin...




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HOLIDAY READING CHALLENGE 2010

It's time for the HOLIDAY READING CHALLENGE hosted by All About {n} which runs from November 15 through December 31, 2010. Here are the details:

Challenge Requirements:


1- Challenge will start Monday, November 15 and will end Friday, December 31.


2- You can read anywhere from 1 to 5 books for the challenge and, of course, you are more than welcome to surpass that number.


3- And now, here's the clincher... they must be holiday related books. That's right, the holiday doesn't really matter, but it would be more "jolly" if your choices were Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.


4- The size of the book does not matter, nor does the genre. It is also okay for the book to overlap with other challenges. The only thing I ask is that they are not children's books. YA is okay. And so are re-reads. 


5- To sign up - leave a link back to your challenge post at All About {n}. There will also be a post for review links as well as one for challenge wrap-ups.


6- And.... there will be goodies. That's right, she calls them presents. At the end of every week that the challenge is running she will choose one winner from the review links. Meaning the more books you read, review and link up, the more chances you have at winning a "present".


If you'd like to join me and sign up for the 2010 Holiday Reading Challenge, please link up your challenge post with the list of books you plan to read (this list is not set in stone and can be changed as you please) at All About {n}. I did well on this kind of challenge last year, so here goes...my list of books so far:

1. The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn
2. The Cricket on the Hearth and Other Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens
3. The Christmas Cat and other stories by Julie Beard, Jo Beverley, Barbara Bretton and one of my favorite authors: Lynn Kurland.
4. Santa in Montana by Janet Dailey
5. A book I haven't chosen yet, but I'm going to the bookstore soon to find it--

Should be fun! I love Christmas!