
About the book:
About the book:
As the year comes to a close, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the books I've read this year. Although I started my blog in January 2008, I didn't actually start posting reviews regularly until February/March. I ended the year with 30 books read, which is amazing considering I really wasn't trying for a particular number, I just read what appealed to me. Following is the list of books I read, including links to the subsequent reviews. Take a look!It would be very difficult to pick a favorite, so instead I'll list my Top 5, in no particular order!

Hello fellow book lovers! I'm getting a bit of a late start today with my TSS post because I couldn't pull myself away from the book I'm reading. That book is HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford, a debut author. I received the book from LT Early Reviewers last week. I only have about 60 pages to go, so I'll probably finish it later this evening. (I had to take a break and watch some football for awhile!)
I'm going to answer this a little differently because I'm sure there are others who can name many more wintery books than I can even think of. So instead, I'm simply going to name the wintery books I've read this year and hope that will suffice.
The first one that comes to mind is LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER by Stewart O'Nan, which I read a couple months ago. It takes place on Christmas Eve in Connecticut during a blzzard. It's a great little story (only 160 pages) and the cover of the book is amazing as well. Even though I read it in October, it had me reaching for the blankets to keep warm! lol You can read my review here.
Another wintery book I read this year was THE SUGAR QUEEN by Sarah Addison Allen. This story takes place in a small touristy ski town in North Carolina. The images the author paints in your mind leave no doubt of snow drifts, ice and cold air blowing all around. The characters even make snow angels at one point. I read this book in August and living in Florida, that is a HOT time of year. it was a treat to think of all the snow and ice as I was reading this cute story. You can catch that review here.
Another wintery book I read in August was THE SHACK by William P. Young, This was a very interesting book that I enjoyed very much. In fact, I just got a phone call from my aunt in Ohio yesterday and she thanked me for telling her about this book. She went and bought several copies and gave them to her daughter and a few close friends and they are all enjoying reading it as well. You can read my review here.
Well, I think that about does it for the wintery books I've read this year. Now I must go and finish the rest of my holiday cooking so I'll be ready to go when my dad arrives to pick me up. I want to wish all of my friends in the book blogging world a wonderful, merry Christmas and may you all have lots of love and joy surrounding your family today!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Keiko nodded slowly, contemplating its effects as she looked around the barren streets. "No Japanese are allowed outside of our neighborhoods from eight o'clock at night to six in the morning. We are prisoners at night." ~ page 94.
This book is scheduled to be released January 27th, 2009.

The story, which begins in 1986, is centered around fifty-six year old Henry Lee, a Chinese-American who has lived in the Chinatown neighborhood of Seattle his entire life. He's recently lost his wife of 37 years to cancer and is struggling to maintain a relationship with his college-aged son.
I do give books to a few people as gifts. However, I wish I could give books to everyone - mainly because I want them to love the stories as much as I do. There are certain books that I think certain people in my life would really enjoy if they would take the time to read, but many of them simply are not readers. I could so easily match someone's personality with a book that I think they'd enjoy, but if they're not into reading, it would just sit and collect dust. So I end up getting them something I know they would use or appreciate more. I do have a select few people that I buy books for and those are the gifts I enjoy giving the most.
As far as receiving books - I'M ALL FOR IT! I don't know any avid reader who doesn't LOVE getting books as gifts! There are so many books I'd love to read and I love it when someone surprises me with a book! My mother teases that she never has a problem wondering what to get me because there's always a book I'm talking about. I also love book store gift cards! After using a gift card, I always let the person who gave it to me know what book I chose and how much I am looking forward to reading it. I think it lets them know how much I love their gift, even though they didn't actually pick it out.
When giving books as gifts, do you actually pick out a book or do you give a gift card so they can choose their own?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly event hosted by MizzB at Should Be Reading TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
If you'd like to participate in Teaser Tuesdays or to read other comments, click here.
Also, check back later this month when I'll be hosting a giveaway of MATRIMONY! I'll have more details later!
Tim Tebow and the rest of the Florida football team showed what they are made of this afternoon by beating the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. Next stop: The National Championship!! GO GATORS!!!
Today MizzB asks:
From Amazon: With the warmth, humor, and compassion we have come to expect from her, Maeve Binchy tells a story of family, friends, patients, and staff who are part of a heart clinic in a community caught between the old and the new Ireland.Dr. Clara Casey has been offered the thankless job of establishing the underfunded clinic and agrees to take it on for a year. She has plenty on her plate already—two difficult adult daughters and the unwanted attentions of her exhusband—but she assembles a wonderfully diverse staff devoted to helping their demanding, often difficult patients: the infectiously cheerful nurse; the indispensable office manager who can’t quite manage her own life; the Polish girl who’s come to Ireland to put a bad love affair firmly in her past and the booming Irish economy in her future; the young doctor who has a special touch with his patients; the physical therapist who undertakes a very different kind of therapy involving a local priest and a stalker.Before long they manage to establish the clinic as an essential part of the community and Clara must decide whether or not to leave a place where lives are saved, courage is rewarded, and humor and optimism triumph over greed and self-pity.