Musing Monday

This week’s musing asks…

Would you say that you read about the same amount now as when you were younger? More? Less? Why?

Unfortunately, probably less. I remember in high school coming home and reading classics like The Phantom of the Opera and Sense & Sensibility for fun.

Book Blogger Hop

“What is your favorite Halloween costume? Even if you don’t celebrate, what kinds of costumes do you like?”

I've always been partial to the California Raisins costume from the 1980s.

Booking Through Thursday

HARD

What’s the hardest/most challenging book you’ve ever read? Was it worth the effort? Did you read it by choice or was it an assignment/obligation?

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - I was supposed to read this for a college lit course but the professor ran out of time before we could get to it. I tried reading it over the summer on my own, but could not get into it at all. It is by far the hardest book I ever tried to read. I stopped after the first 10 pages.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

The Faces of Angels
by Lucretia Grindle
Publication Date: December 16

On a sweltering day in Florence, art student and newlywed Mary Warren wandered into a shady tunnel of trees. Within minutes, she was brutally attacked and her husband murdered. And within months, the killer was identified, caught, and dead.

It’s now two years later and Mary has returned to Florence at the invitation of her lover—a relationship that predates what she insists on calling the “accident.”

Crumbling and beautiful, Florence is eternally compelling. But more and more, what Mary sees is not the glories of the city, but its dark underside—specifically, one dead young woman after another. She also can’t help seeing a terrifying pattern: Either this is a copycat killer, or her husband’s murderer is still on the loose.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

"A memory stirred inside me. Angel, I seemed to hear a smooth voice whisper. You're mine.

Of all the ridiculous, confusing things, I blushed. I looked around, just to make sure the voice wasn't real.

I haven't forgotten you."

- p. 48, Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Musing Monday

This week’s musing asks…

Do you listen to audiobooks? Why, or why not?

I'm afraid not. I listened to "At First Sight" by Nicholas Sparks, but I didn't like having one narrator voice all of the characters. It distracted me from truly getting wrapped up in the story.

Book Blogger Hop

“What is your favorite type of candy?”

Kit Kats!

Booking Through Thursday

VACATION

I’m on vacation this week. I didn’t go anywhere exciting or exotic, I’m just not at work. Spending time puttering around the house, playing with the dog and … oh yeah. Reading. A lot.

Do your reading habits change when you’re on vacation? Do you read more? Do you indulge in lighter, fluffier books than you usually read? Do you save up special books so you’ll be able to spend real vacation time with them? Or do you just read the same old stuff, vacation or not?

A Nicholas Sparks novel is like the Calgon of reading. He takes me away....with a romantic story, sentimental writing, lots of food scenes and of course (for the most part) a happy ending. Light reading at its fluffiest.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Clockwork Prince
by Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: December 6

The situation at the London Institute has never been more precarious. With Mortmain and his clockwork army still threatening, the Council wants to strip Charlotte of her power and hand the running of the Enclave over to the unscrupulous and power-hungry Benedict Lightwood.

In the hope of saving Charlotte and the Institute, Will, Jem, and Tessa set out to unravel the secrets of Mortmain's past and discover unsettling Shadowhunter connections that hold the key not only to the enemy's motivations, but also to the secret of Tessa's identity. Tessa, already caught between the affections of Will and Jem, finds herself with another choice to make when she learns how the Shadowhunters helped make her a monster. Will she turn from them to her brother, Nate, who has been begging her to join him at Mortmain's side? Where will her loyalties and love lie? Tessa alone can choose to save the Shadowhunters of London or end them forever.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

"Gilbert wisely said nothing more; but in his silence he read the history of the next four years in the light of Anne's remembered blush. Four years of earnest, happy work ... and then the guerdon of a useful knowledge gained and a sweet heart won."

- p. 276, Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Musing Monday

This week’s musing asks…

Do you judge a book by its cover?

Absolutely! But hopefully the advent of ebooks will leave me more open-minded. A thumbnail image of a cover isn't as persuasive as seeing a book jacket in person.

Type of cover I like:



Type of cover I don't like:

Book Blogger Hop

“What is your favorite spooky book (i.e. mystery/suspense, thriller, ghost story, etc.)?”

The Fear Street series from R.L. Stine from the late 1980s into the mid 1990s.

I remember as a kid being absolutely terrified to read the next line, yet being unable to put the book down.

Booking Through Thursday

SEQUEL

If you could get a sequel for any book, what would it be?

Mockingjay (Hunger Games Series #3) by Suzanne Collins because I'd like to see how Katniss and Peeta were able to pull their lives back together.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Fever
by Lauren DeStefano
Publication Date: February 21

The second book in The Chemical Garden Trilogy reveals a world as captivating—and as dangerous—as the one Rhine left behind in Wither.

Rhine and Gabriel may have escaped the beautiful prison of Wither’s mansion, but they are far from escaping danger. First they’re chased for stealing a getaway boat, and then the fleeing pair ends up in the eerie den of Madame, an old woman who collects girls and sells them to the highest bidders. Worst of all, Vaughn, Rhine’s sinister father-in-law, seems to be on her trail every step of the way. Rhine remains determined to get to her brother in Manhattan—but the road they are on is long and perilous.

Now that Rhine has finally regained her freedom, what lengths will she need to go to in order to keep it?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

"How is it I never know a man is going to hurt me until he does? Some women have better radar than others."

- p. 245, Standing Still by Kelly Simmons

Musing Monday

This week’s musing asks…

What types of nonfiction do you read? Can do multiple choices.

CHOICES:
- e-books
- Mythology/Folklore
- Travel/Locations
- Humor
- History
- Art, including art history
- Science including forensics
- Gardening/Nature
- Political
- Financial/Economical
- Religious
- Self-help
- How-to books
- Books on writing
- Audio books
- Biography
- Autobiography
- Sports
- Architecture
- Fitness/Exercise/Nutrition/Beauty
- Other
- None of the Above

I like History, Religious, Political (depending on the subject) and Biography/Autobiography.

Some examples are:

1) Industrial Pioneers

by Patrick Brown

2) Why God Matters: How to Recognize Him in Daily Life

by Karina Lumbert Fabian and Deacon Steven Lumbert

3) 102 Minutes

by Jim Dwyer

4) That Day in September

by Artie Van Why