Friday Finds: 1.8.10

Friday Finds is a weekly meme hosted by MizB where we get to share books that caught our eye this week, whether they be new or not-so-new. I really like this meme even though it causes my TBR pile to wobble. Here is my find for the week:

THE TIN BOX by Holly Kennedy was her debut novel in 2005, although I just found out about it while reading the blogs this week. (Forgive me but I neglected to take note of whose blog I saw it on). It's the story of a motherless girl living in Canada, whose alcoholic father dies and she is taken in by neighbors. It follows her through her college years and to a secret that could destroy her family. This book received a lot of praise when it came out and I've added it to my list of 'must reads'. Have you read this book? If so, I'd love to know what you thought of it. What books did you find this week?

Booking Through Thursday: Gifts

Since this is the first BTT for the new year, today's question is a perfect way to kick it off. Barbara wants to know...

What, if any, books did you get for Christmas last month? (Or whatever holiday you celebrated last month) Do you usually ask for books on gift-giving occasions or do you prefer to buy them yourself?

Typically, since most of my family and friends are not big readers, I usually don't expect books as gifts. That said, my mom is familiar with Amazon and she knows about my Wish List on that site that has many books on it that I would love to have, but most of the time, I buy my own books. This year was the first year I received a gift card to a book store. It was from my sister and I was truly surprised. Linda is not a reader and like many other non-readers, books aren't something that comes to her mind when gift-giving. But I was thrilled to get it! Honestly, I don't think she realizes how much I love books and reading. She also made the comment one day that I get so many books from publishers and authors that I probably don't need to buy any books. But I quickly explained to her that although, yes, I do get many books that way, they aren't all necessarily what I would choose for myself. She hadn't thought about it that way and I think that's what prompted her to reconsider the book store gift card.

So yesterday, I went to the book store and I used my gift card! They had tables and tables of books on sale and I perused them for almost an hour - it was HEAVEN! Since I'm not able to drive, I rely on others to take me places, so I don't get many opportunities to spend a lot of time browsing for books. But I did come home with three that I am so excited about. They are . . .

• ON AGATE HILL by Lee Smith - a post Civil War Historical Fiction book that I have wanted to read for awhile. (I may dive into this one first)
• THE HOUSE ON TRADD STREET by Karen White - Not only do I love the cover of this book, I've had my eye on it for some time.
• THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE by Heather Gudenkauf - I saw this book on the blogs recently and knew I must read it.

When leaving the book store, my sweet mother saw John Grisham's FORD COUNTY and said, 'Oh, you had that on your list and I meant to get it for you and I totally forgot!' I smiled and said, 'That's OK Mom, I have a birthday coming in March!' as we went laughing out of the store.

What books did you get for Christmas?

Today Is My Blogoversary!

I can't even wrap my head around the fact that I've been blogging for two full years as of today! The decision I made back in January of '08 to create a blog centered around something I love to do - reading and talking about books - is one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. But I have to admit that back then, I didn't have a clue about blogging! (I didn't even know what a 'comment' was!) And I most certainly didn't have a clue about all of the extraordinary people that were going to come into my life because of blogging. I consider myself very lucky to have stumbled into something that has brought me so much joy, not to mention many wonderful friendships.

In December of 2007, after hearing more and more about blogs on the internet, I got curious and decided to create one of my own, but I had no idea what I should write about, so that's when I started nosing around. I remember the actual day I ran across a book blog for the first time. It was Books On The Brain hosted by Lisa M. I remember I was at work (I know, my bad!) taking a break from what I was supposed to be doing, and somehow I landed on Lisa's blog. My first thought was 'WOW! THIS IS SO COOL!' I was so impressed with the professionalism of her blog, the amount of books she read, her wonderful reviews (and of course, her great sense of humor!) and all of the regular visitors that came and left comments for her on a daily basis. Obviously, I had been living with my head in the sand and had no idea of this whole other world out there. I knew then what I wanted to do. I started visiting her blog every day and I slowly began to learn. I learned about comments and blogging etiquette and through reading all of the other comments, I discovered other book bloggers who were doing the same thing Lisa was doing! It was FABULOUS! I had finally found my home on the internet!

I know I've said this before, but I have to say it again - THANK YOU LISA! You will always be #1 in my book. Whenever I had a question, Lisa graciously helped me and offered invaluable advice. I'd also like to thank all of you who stop by and visit my blog regularly. I know that I'm not the most current blogger who reads all the latest releases and I don't read a massive number of books each year, but I do love sharing what I do read and I appreciate all of you and I love reading your comments. They make my day!

I'd like to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year and wish you all the best in 2010!

Teaser Tuesday: 1.5.10

Teaser Tuesday is one of my favorite memes of the week. I haven't participated in several weeks so I'm glad to be back and sharing my books again. By now I'm sure you know the rules, but here they are just in case...

• Grab the book you're currently reading
• Let if fall open to a random page
• Choose 2 consecutive sentences to share, being careful not to include any spoilers
• List the title of the book and the page you took your teasers from

Today my teasers are from CLUB DEAD, the third installment of the Southern Vampire Mystery Series by Charlaine Harris. I was going to use another book I'm reading, but honestly, I was having a hard time getting into it and decided to go with the book I'm really enjoying instead. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this series, so I'll just get right to the teaser...

Engrossed in my unhappy thoughts, I didn't recognize trouble when it was standing right beside me. Until it grabbed me by the arm. ~ page 103

For those who don't know, Sookie, the main character in the series, is a human with the ability to read people's thoughts. This, as they say, can be a blessing and a curse. This ability, however, is useless with her vampire boyfriend, Bill. You see, Sookie can't read the minds of vamps, which is a good thing most of the time. In this installment, Bill comes up missing and Sookie fears vampires from another area are trying to kill him - for real.

If you'd like to read more fun teasers from other readers, visit MizB at Should Be Reading. She hosts this event each week and anyone is welcome to play along. It's a great way to peek into some really great books.

Musing Mondays: Reading Resolutions

Today's Musing Mondays post is about New Year reading. . .

With the New Year here already, do you have any reading resolutions or goals (challenges aside) for 2010? Perhaps a new author? Genre? Want to read more non-fiction? Want to write more reviews?

I do have a few reading goals for this year - I don't like to use the word 'resolution' though. That sounds too formal for me. The main goal is to spend more time reading the books from my own shelves. I have some terrific books there and I need to get busy reading them before buying any more or borrowing from the library. A couple in particular are THE POISENWOOD BIBLE, THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE and of course, THE BOOK THIEF, which I bought recently. Sounds like a good start to 2010 to me!

I'm also planning to finish the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris that I am really loving. Who knows, I may even break down and start reading the Twilight series. There are a few non-fiction books I have my eye on that sound interesting. One in particular is David Sedaris' ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY. I've had a few friends tell me it is really funny. I think I'm going to get the audio version as I've been told it is great.

I haven't completed my 2009 wrap-up post yet (I'm a little late to the party on that one!) but I plan to have that in the coming days. Last year I read a lot of debut authors and I think this year I want to read some authors that are not new, but are new to me. For instance, Elizabeth Berg, Beth Kephart and Michelle Moran to name a few.

I have noticed that there are so many challenges out there it must be hard to keep them all straight. Luckily, I don't have to. I don't do challenges. It's simply too much pressure for me. I don't plan my reading out that far in advance to know what I'm going to read a head of time. My reading choices change with my mood and I don't want to feel obligated to read a book simply because I joined a challenge. What I mean to say is, if I'm reading a book that I'm not really in the mood for, but feel I have to, I will more than likely not have as good a reaction to the book, than if I read it simply because I was in the mood for that book. I hope you can make sense of what I am trying to say. I don't mean to be a challenge snob, they are just not for me.

I'm looking forward to 2010 and all the wonderful stories that await me. Do you make reading resolutions? What plans do you have for this year? Musing Mondays is hosted weekly by Rebecca at Just One More Page. You can click here to find out what reading resolutions other book lovers have made.

[TSS] When She Flew by Jennie Shortridge

Here's a brief synopsis, being careful not to give too much away:

Jessica Villareal is a cop. She's also a mother but she considers herself a better cop than parent and whenever she talks to her daughter she's reminded of her motherly shortcomings. Regret has a big part in Jess's life. She regrets many things, but mostly the over-protectiveness of her daughter as a teenager that eventually pushed her to go live with Jess's ex-husband, taking her young grandson with her. She would give anything to go back and do things differently. But when you're a cop and you've seen the things Jess has seen, its easy to become obsessed with protecting your family.

WHEN SHE FLEW by Jennie Shortridge is a fictionalized story taken straight from actual events that asks the question What makes a good parent? Is good parenting determined by following societies interpretation of what acceptable parenting should be? Or is it a case by case basis taking individual circumstances into account? Is it illegal to go against the grain of society and do what you think is right for your child no matter what? And should you be persecuted for not conforming to 'normal' social practices?

These are the questions that Officer Villareal faces when she meets Lindy, a thirteen year old girl and her father, an Iraq war veteran who is down on his luck and living in the forests of Oregon. When Lindy is spotted near a wildlife preserve, and takes off running when she realizes she's been seen, fear for her safety becomes paramount. The police assemble an all out man hunt to find this supposed 'lost' child. What they find instead is a father and daughter living self sufficiently in the forest at a camp with sparse, but clean living conditions, a garden of fresh food and no evidence at all that the girl is being harmed in any way.

Things begin to get complicated when Jess learns more about Lindy's family life and disagrees with the actions of social services. As she gets to know Lindy and her father, she begins to understand the choices he's made. Her mothering instincts come out and at the same time she can't help reflecting on her relationship with her own daughter. Jess has always been a follow-the-rules kind of cop but she soon finds herself making decisions that could not only put her job in jeopardy, but also land her on the wrong side of the law.

Jennie Shortridge does an amazing job of telling this story in a way that unfolds beautifully and realistically while bringing to the forefront the different perceptions of the proper way to raise a child. It is told in alternating voices between Jess and Lindy, giving deep insight to each character. We learn that although Jess has made mistakes in her personal life, she is trying hard to make amends yet still stick to her principles. In Lindy, we discover a thriving, smart, teenager who, thanks to her father, appreciates the natural world around her. A girl who as she begins to mature is not naive to her circumstances. She realizes she has dreams of her own and that the situation with her father is unique. She is a young lady with a soul much older than her years, which in this case, is not necessarily a bad thing.

I was lucky enough to receive an early review copy of this novel and I knew once I read the first few pages I was going to like it. Not only did I like Jess right off the bat, I fell right into the groove of Shortridge's wonderful writing style. It was a very pleasurable read and now I'm looking forward to reading her previous book, LOVE AND BIOLOGY AT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE that I've heard so much about. For more information on Jennie, her books and latest news, click here to visit her website.

WHEN SHE FLEW

Author: Jennie Shortridge

Publisher: NAL Trade

Published: November 2009

Pages: 352

Ratintg: 4.5/5 Stars

Goodbye 2009 - Hello 2010

So we've come to the end of another year already. Where does the time go? Before I get into this post, I would like to apologize for being so out of touch lately on my blog. And I'd like to thank those of you who left me comments and messages in the time I've been absent. I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. The entire month of December has been a complete blur to me. I've had some things going on that have taken my time away from not only my daily postings but also from my books. Things are beginning to slow down a bit now and I will be getting back to my normal routine next week, just in time for the new year. Again, thank you to all of you who have kept up with me over these last several weeks.

This past year has been one that has broadened my reading horizons. Last January I mentioned that I wanted to read more mysteries and discover new mystery writers and I have done just that. I've really enjoyed the mysteries that I've read and I have so many more that I've added to my TBR pile. There are so many great mystery series out there!

Probably the biggest change in my reading this year is that I've delved into a genre that I had never considered before and I'm so glad I did. I finally took the big jump into the world of vampires. I've only just begun to explore their world, but so far I'm really enjoying it. Being a southerner, I decided to start out with Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Series. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Sookie and all of her interesting friends. These books have opened my eyes to a whole new world and I find it completely entertaining. I'm hoping to read the Twilight books this year as well.

With this new year, I'm looking forward to continuing my discovery of debut authors as well as reacquainting myself with some writers that I've gotten away from. John Grisham's recently released FORD COUNTY and Pat Conroy's SOUTH OF BROAD are just two that come to mind. I haven't read either of those authors in many years and their new releases have me intrigued.

I hope the coming year brings many wonderful books to all of you as well. I look forward to sharing my love of books and visiting you on your blogs. Happy New Year everyone!