TUESDAY MEMES

It's Tuesday, Where are You

I am currently in Chicago trying to solve a murder. An innocent man, Damian O'Sullivan is serving time for the crime of murder and his own family help put him there.


Teaser Tuesdays



No mention of Damian O'Sullivan, the invisible son. Damian the Leper. "Aren't there a couple of daughters?"

P. 135 "Irish Cream" by Andrew M. Greeley

REVIEW - RETRIBUTION - JILLIANE HOFFMAN

This book is for 4 of my reading challenges.
Read Your Name Challenge
100+ Challenge
New Author Challenge

Suspense & Thriller Challenge


"Retribution" by Jilliane Hoffman
from the back cover)

When an elite prosecutor faces the most lethal predator she's ever encountered, it all comes down to a choice between justice....and retribution. C. J. Townsend is a brilliant state prosecutor in Miami known for keeping her cool while trying even the most horrific cases. The latest suspect is as base as they come: a vicious killer who savors cruelty and considers murder an art. Amid a maelstrom of media attention, C. J. has just begun to build her case when she is struck with a shattering personal blow connected to her past. Now everything will ride on her ability to hold herself together long enough to put the accused away forever.

This book is suspenseful! I was sitting on the edge of my seat until the very end. Wondering if C. J. was going to win this case. Imagine you've been brutally raped, it has been 12 years since this happened, the person who done this got off scott free. You are about to go to court to start proceedings for a serial killer, who brutally murders women. From the past the memory of a voice and a scar stares you in the face. This is the man who raped you 12 years ago. This starts the whole process for C. J. Townsend. As she gets more into the trial and finds out more about this man, she has to make some morally and ethical decisions. What would you do if you had to chance to prosecute the man who changed your life forever? Let him walk or hide incriminating evidence? The ending to this book was a complete shock to me! Totally not seen this one coming!!

MY RATING: 5

MUSING MONDAYS

This is what the question is this week at Musing Mondays.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about mid-year reading…

Now that we’ve come to the middle of the year, what do you think of your 2009 reading so far? Read anything interesting that you’d like to share? Any outstanding favorites?

Well, for one thing I've went overboard on reading challenges. But I have been reading lots of books that I would never have read before. I like to read Mysteries and Historical Romance the most. So this year I have been reading lots of different genres that I would never have thought about reading before.

Which book would be my favorite so far this year? That's really hard to do as I really liked them all, but I have narrowed it down to 5.

Riders of the Purple Sage - Zane Grey
World Without End - Ken Follett
Detective - Arthur Hailey
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck

Do you have a favorite book you have read this year?

BLOG IMPROVEMENT 2009 - WEEK 12(MID-YEAR REVIEW)

This week Kim has us reviewing our goals that we started off with at the beginning of the Blog Improvement Project. So went back and looked at my goals. Here they are:

My Goals:

1. Write better book reviews. My reviews tend to be short with words like great book, wonderful book, ETC. So I want to make them longer than 3 words.

2. I also would like to change the design of my blog. I haven't found one I like really well. I would like it to be more bookish and cozy. Does that make sense?

3. Get more comments and get the people more involved in the book I have reviewed. So I guess this one has a lot to do with my #1 goal.

4. I would also like to clean up my sidebar. It is a little busy, so have to do something with it. I am in a lot of reading challenges, but do I really need all those cute buttons? Or could I put them somewhere else? I'll have to work on that one.

#1 - BETTER BOOK REVIEWS - Well, I have been working on this one. I'll give you an for instance. This is a book review I done for "Blubber" by Judy Blume back in July of 2008.

(from the inside flap)
Blubber is a good name for her, the note from Wendy says about Linda. Jill crumples it up and leaves it on the corner of her desk. She doesn't want to think about Linda or her dumb report on the whale just now. Jill wants to think about Halloween.
But Robby grabs the note, and before Linda stops talking it has gone halfway around the room.
That's where it all starts. There's something about Linda that makes a lot of kids in her fifth-grade class want to see how far they can go -- but nobody, least of all Jill, expects the fun to end where it does.


[This was a really good book. It gives you insights into a 5th grade child.]

As you can see I have 2 sentences. That's it! I would like to think my reviews are lots better. What do you think?

#2 - CHANGING THE DESIGN OF MY BLOG - I've haven't actually changed the design, I haven't found anything I really like. But I have grown to like this particular color scheme. What do you think? Should I change it or leave it the same?

#3 - MORE COMMENTS - I have tried to figure out what I'm doing wrong on this one, but have no idea. Some days there are comments and other days there are none. So I guess this one isn't fixed yet or haven't meet my goal is more like it. So I open for suggestions here if you want to add some!

#4 -CLEANING UP THE SIDEBAR - I have done this and am very pleased with the way is has come out. Still needs a little more organization, but otherwise I like it.

Kim is also asking a favor of us. Here is her favor:

1. What BIP task have you liked most? Least (including ones you have skipped)?
2. Which tasks have been the most helpful? Least helpful?
3. What are the top three things you still would like to work on this year?
4. Are there any blogging-related topics you feel like you know a lot about and would be willing to write a BIP guest task on?
5. Any other comments about the BIP?

#1 I liked Week 3, we had lots of posts to do that week. I actually learned how to put links into my posts. Kim gave me the info, THANKS KIM, or I would still be muddling along! I skipped Week 10, which was Anchor Text. I felt I already knew about this enough.
#2 So far they have all been helpful in some way or other.
#3 I don't really know if this is a blog improvement, but I would really like to know how people put up "sticky notes" on their blogs. This is driving me crazy, because I want one!!!! Ok, I'm being childish, but I do want to learn how to do this.
#4 As for being a guest blogger, No Way, I'd be scared to death! That someone is laughing at me, talking about me, pointing their figure at me, will you get the drift. I don't do well in front of crowds, I know this is not a crowd, but it could become a crowd! Everyone coming to Kim's place then to my place, oh boy!! You have a crowd!
#5 Comments on BIP................yes, thank you very much Kim for taking this on. I have enjoyed myself so far!! Meet some new people, and read some great books! Your the best!!!

REVIEW - THE BRIDE'S NECKLACE

This book is for 3 of my reading challenges
Romance Challenge
100+ Challenge
2nd Chance Challenge

"The Bride's Necklace" by Kat Martin



(from the back cover)
Knowing that she alone can protect her sister from Baron Harwood, their lecherous stepfather, Victoria Temple Whiting snatches the family's heirloom necklace--believed to hold the power to bring a great happiness or terrible tragedy--to pay for their escape to London. Once there, Victoria poses as Tory Temple and finds employment as a servant in the household of handsome Cordell Easton, the scandalous Earl of Brant. The sisters' arrival is welcome: Cord is in need of a new mistress, and turns to Tory, whose wit and intellect intrigue him. But when he learns that he has compromised the daughter of a peer, Cord must decide--marry Tory and keep her safe, or allow his stubborn pride to deny his heart.

Great Historical Romance book! It has been years since I have read a Kat Martin book! She writes very good and takes you along on the adventure with the characters. As in this book, Tory is guarding her sister and winds up falling in love with the Earl of Brant, Cord. But Cord has shut off his feelings and neglects Tory. Leaving her own her own to go to the parties, Opera, and shopping. Tory soon tires of all the parties and just wants Cord to pay attention to her. So she sets about to make him jealous, only it all backfires on her, when Cord hires a Bow Street Runner to check up on her.

MY RATING: 5

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ROMANCE READING CHALLENGE WRAP UP

This book also wraps up my Romance Reading Challenge. I really enjoyed reading these 5 books. I love Historical Romances. All the clothes, parties, shopping, and the gentlemen with manners and honor. Here are the 5 books I read:

1. The Bride's Necklace - Kat Martin
2. Married by Mistake - Abby Gaines
3. Shadow Music - Julie Garwood
4. Everlasting - Kathleen Woodiwiss
5. Until You - Bertrice Small

Which is my favorite of the 5? I would say Everlasting by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Wonderful book. You can see my reviews by clicking on the titles of the books. Have you read an Historical Romance book lately? What was it, did you enjoy it?

FRIDAY FINDS

MizB over at Should Be Reading is hosting Friday Finds. Found a great book? Pass the info along and let everyone know about it. Go tell MizB, you could win one of her books from her book pile.

What I found this week:

On my recent trip to the library I got a couple books for my reading challenges. I haven't started a couple of them, one I am about half way through.



"The Bride's Necklace" by Kat Martin
Victoria Temple Whitting is trying to protect her innocent sister Claire for her lecherous stepfather, Baron Harwood, and takes Claire and runs away. She hits the Baron over the head with a bed warmer and steal a necklace. They find a jobs as servants in the household of handsome Cordell Easton, Earl of Brant. Which eventually leads Victoria to the Earl's bed. But the lecherous stepfather, Baron Harwood, finds them and takes them back home.

This is a trilogy of books for Kat Martin. The Bride's Necklace is the first, the other two books are The Devil's Necklace and The Handmaiden's Necklace.

LIBRARY LOOT

Have you been to the library recently? Then you need to check into Library Loot over at A Striped Armchair.

I went to the library yesterday. I have a couple reading challenges that have one or two books to finish them up.

"The Bride's Necklace" by Kat Martin
[for The Romance Reading Challenge]


"Irish Cream" by Andrew M. Greeley
[for The Read Your Name Challenge]


"Retribution" by Jilliane Hoffman
[for the Read Your Name Challenge]

THURSDAY THUNKS

You want to play along? Answer the questions, throw in a few photos if you want and then head over to the Thursday Thunk place and sign the Mr. Linky. EASY!!


1. Someone knocks at your door. You answer it. It's a kid from the local school selling candy bars for a fundraiser. Do you buy one? Sure, I would.....it's for a good cause I hope.

2. The end of the world is tomorrow and you are out of milk - do you go buy some?
Well, I would have to think about that, no I wouldn't, there are other things I would be doing to get ready for the end of the world other than worry about milk.



3. Have you ever picked up the phone and called someone that you hadn't talked to in years? No, I don't call too many people, one reason being I don't know their phone number is I haven't talked to them for awhile.



4. Whats on your computer desktop background? Fall trees with orange leaves, I really need to change that don't I?

5. What was the very first movie you saw in a movie theater? Gee, that was a long time ago, the movie that comes to mind is Alfred Hichcock's Psycho, the original one with Janet Lee and I was about 12 or 13, saw it with my cousin's.

6. If you had to take a 10th grade science test, do you think you would pass? No Way!!

7. Describe heaven. Lots of pretty fluffy clouds, friends and family around, complete happiness!



8. Has a place that you lived ever been infested with some sort of insect or rodent?
No, but we have had termites before and had to have the house exterminated.

9. When you were a youngin', did you hide in the clothes racks at department stores?
No, but my son used to do that. I lost him once at K-Mart, he was hiding in the cloths rack.




10. Is there anything in your vehicle that is broken? Yea, on the console there is a door to hide things in. The door is broken, it opens, but sideways.

11. What is something in your house that people would be surprise to find? My collection of tins, old and new.

12. Do you agree with the death penalty? Yes, and that's all I'm saying!

13. Whats your favorite type of bear? Since I don't really want to come face to face with a real one, I would have to say Winni the Pooh would work for me.






14. Where was the last place you went? To Wal-Greens to pick up my Photos, to work on a scrapbook project.

15. What if that person knocking at your door earlier was an adult selling candy bars... would you buy one? Sure if it was for a good cause and there isn't something else attached to buying the candy bar, like buying magazines!

WEEKLY GEEKS

This week's Weekly Geeks topic was suggested by Sheri of A Novel Menagerie. She writes:

"Reading Challenges: a help or a hurt? Do you find that the reading challenges keep you organized and goal-oriented? Or, do you find that as you near the end of a challenge that you've failed because you fell short of your original goals? As a result of some reading challenges, I've picked up books that I would have otherwise never heard of or picked up; that, frankly, I have loved. Have you experienced the same with challenges? If so, which ones? Do you have favorite reading challenges?"

This is my first year joining the reading challenges. I have so many of them now. I have run out of time on a couple of them. When I join a challenge I go to my libraries link on line and check to see if they have a book suitable for the challenge.
If they do, then I add it to my list. I like having a list so I know what book I will need. Just picking a book at random and fitting it into a challenge doesn't work for me. As for reading books I've never read? There are lots of them this year I have never read before. I really enjoyed them all. Well, a few exceptions. My favorite reading challenge so far this year has been the Childhood Favourites Challenge over at Lydia's Book Blog. I read 6 books that I haven't read since I was a child. Brought back lots of memories reading those 6 books.

TUESDAY MEMES

Raider Girl is hosting It's Tuesday, Where Are You?

I am in a small town called Lumby. There is a terrible gas explosion that has the man hole covers flying. One landed on the newspaper editor's car, another went through the wall of the animal clinic.

I am also in 1853 riding the court circuit. I am a lawyer and congress man.

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MizB is hosting Teaser Tuesdays

Immobilized with shock and pain, Tom stared in disbelief at the gaping hole in the wall. A woman's voice behind him called out, "Are you all right?" But other than offering a weak wave, he was too dazed to reply.
"The Promise of Lumby" by Gail Fraser P. 171

Once when they went to bed in a rude hostelry, they left him sitting in front of the fireplace staring intently at the flames. The next morning he was still there, studying the ashes and charred logs......
"With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln" by Stephen B. Oates P. 107

REVIEW - MAGYK by ANGIE SAGE

This book is for 3 of my reading challenges.
Read Your Own Books Challenge
100+ Challenge
Four Month Challenge


"Magyk" by Angie Sage



(from the back cover)
Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he is born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across an abondoned child in the snow--a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take her into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?

If you like magic, mysteries and intrigue, you will love this book. As Silas and all the Heap's help Marcia Oversrand, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard protect Jenna, who is the princess, from the Assassin. The Heap's run to the forest and Uncle Galen. I don't want to say anymore about this amazing book, because it will spoil the whole thing for you.

MY RATING: 5

READING CHALLENGES

I was going through my reading challenges and noticed a couple of them I am not going to be able to finish. I will still keep the books on my list of TBR books, but will have to bow out of the challenges. They are:

IT'S GOOD TO BE QUEEN - This ended June 2. I had 2 books for this one and only got one read.

WHAT AN ANIMAL? - This ends June 30. 6 books to read and none read.(See Edit below)

COMPASS POINTS - This ends August 31. 4 books to read and none read.

SOUTHERN READING - This ends August 15. 4 books to read and none read.

So as you can see I have 15 books for these challenges and no way to read them all before the deadline.

[EDITOR'S CORRECTION]: What An Animal is starting a new challenge that starts in July, so am joining up again. Hopefully will get the books read this time!!

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What an Animal 2 Reading Challenge

Kristi over at Passion for the Page is hosting this reading challenge. Here are the rules:

The first What an Animal challenge comes to an end the end of this month. Which means that it’s time to make a whole new book list. Whoo hoo! I love book lists ;o).

The rules for the What an Animal II Challenge are the same as the original What an Animal Challenge:

1. Read at least 6 books that have any of the following requirements:

a. there is an animal in the title of the book

b. there is an animal on the cover of the book

c. an animal plays a major role in the book

d. a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like ;o)

2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf...you get the idea...


3. Challenge runs from July 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010. That’s 8 months to read at least 6 books (you can read more if you’d like). You can still sign up after July 1st as long as you can get 6 books read by February 28th ;o).


4. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.


5. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.


6. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime (assuming you made a list to begin with).


7. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged.


8. You don't have to have a blog or write a review, but you can if you want to.


1. Dewey - Vicki Myron
2. Nose Down, Eyes Up - Merrill Markoe
3. Lesson's From A Girl's Best Friend - Michelle McKinney
4. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - David Wroblewski
5. Good Dog. Stay - Anna Quindlen
6. Dog Years: A Memoir - Mark Doty

SOOKIE STACKHOUSE READING CHALLENGE

While I was over at Rebecca's doing Musing Mondays I noticed the post below that. It's a reading challenge over at Beth's place Beth Fish Reads. Here are the rules:

The Rules:

1. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series. No matter if you're starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook -- format is not an issue.

2. Sign up using Mr. Linky. Put your name in the top box. For the bottom box, please use the URL that links specifically to your blog post about this challenge, not to your blog's home page.

3. After July 4, I'll create a post with another Mr. Linky where you can link your reviews so everyone can read them track your progress.

4. If you don't have a blog and want to join in, sign up in the comments here. Later, let us know about your progress by leaving comments on the review link page.

The Books:

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone

My library has them all but Dead to the World, so I guess I'll either have to skip that one or buy it. We'll see. But I read some about these books and they really sound interesting! So I guess I am doing another challenge!

MUSING MONDAYS

Rebecca over at Just One More Page is hosting Musing Mondays. She is asking this week about library's.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about library borrowing…

Do you restrict yourself on how many books you take out from the library at a time? Do you borrow books if you already have some out? Do you always reborrow books you don’t get to?

*My library has a restriction of 10 books at a time. I haven't actually taken that many but have been close. Usually I take, depending on what I'm reading, 5 to 8 books at one time. If I'm taking Junior Fiction or Young Adult then I would get the limit of 10. Other books I usually limit myself to 3.
*I don't borrow more books if I already have some out. I can't read that fast!
*If I am very close to finishing a book or am really interested in the book I will reborrow it when I return my books. Case in point, "Riders of the Purple Sage" by Zane Grey. I had a bout 100 pages to go and it was due back. So I renewed it for another 2 weeks. That's all the time we get when borrowing a book at my library. I wish it was longer!

BLOGGIESTA FINISH LINE

Well, Bloggiesta is finished. I really want to thank everyone who put this thing together, you did an awesome job!!!! Thanks to Natasha at Maw Books for hosting Bloggiesta!! Natasha has given us some things to put in this wrap up. Here they are:

Your final summary post should ideally include the number of hours spent on the challenge, what you accomplished, the mini-challenges you participated in, number of comments you left while bloggiesting, what you enjoyed most about the challenge and what you’d like to see included in the next Bloggiesta. Yes! We will do it again!

Here is all that I got done for Bloggiesta..................

*Hours spent on the challenge - 20
*What I accomplished............
*Cleaned up my Sidebar - CHECK
*Got all my book photos from 2009 on my blog - CHECK
*Cleaned out my blog list - CHECK
*Cleaned up my labels - CHECK
*Post some review from books I read long ago - NOPE, DIDN'T GET THIS ONE DONE.
Mini challenges I participated in
Rebecca @ The Book Lady's Blog - Feed Reader - CHECK
Beth @ Beth Fish Reads - Post about opinions or lists - CHECK
Jill @ Fizzy Thoughts - Visiting 10 new blogs - CHECK
Emily @ Emily's Reading Room - Alerts - CHECK
Deborah @ Books, Movies and Chinese Food - Elevator Pitch - CHECK
Lynn @ Chronicles of an Infant Bibliophile - Blog Directories - CHECK
Jen @ Devourer of Books - Update Pages - CHECK
Amy @ My Friend Amy - Blog Buddy - CHECK
Comments I made - 20, this is kind of low I know, but I was very busy working on my blog, I am hoping to get back to some of the folks that made comments while I was working. So if you made a comment I will be over to your place to visit!

FINAL THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed doing this Bloggiesta! It amazes me how they put these things together!!! I learned lots of new stuff that I didn't even know about!! Plus I got to visit lots of folks I had never met. As for the next Bloggiesta. I have no idea. I think you pretty much covered everything I could think of anyway! Looking forward to the next one!

BLOGGIESTA UP DATE

I am checking out for the day. It is 8:00pm now and I've been sitting here working on my blog and doing mini challenges since 9:00am this morning, plus 12:00 to 3:30am this morning. So I am taking a break. If I'm not back later today, I will finish up tomorrow. Have a great evening everyone!

BLOGGIESTA MINI CHALLENGE - BLOG BUDDIES

Amy over at My Friend Amy is hosting this mini challenge. Blog Buddies, have you got one? This is what Amy wants us to do:

Find a Blogging Buddy!
What are you waiting for?!? You know you want a blogging buddy! So to complete this challenge, here's what you need to do:

1) Go read the article on blogging buddies at Pro Blogger.

2) Think through who you can ask to be your blogging buddy. You probably want someone you are already comfortable with who blogs in the same community as you.

3) Send that person an email and ask them to be your blogging buddy.

4) Come back here and tell me in comments that you completed the task! (If for some reason you cannot leave a comment, you can email me at mypalamyATgmailDOTcom)

I have a person I would like to be a buddy with. I have sent her an email, will update this post when I hear from her.

The person I asked to be my blogging buddy has agreed. That person is Margo at Joyfully Retired.

BLOGGIESTA MINI CHALLENGE - UPDATE KEY PAGES

Jen over at Devourer of Books is hosting this mini challenge. What Jen says about this challenge:

"For this mini-challenge, we want you to update the pages that are most important to your blog. This includes front pages, about me and contact pages, and high-traffic posts. For more information about what pages should be targeted, check out this post from ProBlogger."

This was in my list of things to do for the Bloggiesta, so I have been working on my side bar all day. I think I finally got it the way I want it. I added a little more to my Welcome at the top of my sidebar. This directs folks to my reading challenges and my list of books I've read for 2009. My contact info is also there. I updated my About Me page a few weeks ago. I would really like to have a sticky page at the top of my post pages, but I don't know how to do that. I've seen them all over blog land but can't figure out how everyone gets them. Maybe I need to take a class for this one! Who knows, I'll just have to be content with my Welcome gadget, but I like it, I think it's cute! Well I think that's about it for this challenge. I'm off to make a comment at Jen's place. How's everyone doing on their house cleaning, oooopps, blog cleaning!

BLOGGIESTA UPDATE

Hi everyone,
This is an update for Bloggiesta. I have been rather busy working on this. What I have accomplished:

*Worded on my sidebar. I like it now!
*Got all my 2009 book photos on my blog. They are located below my post column.
*Cleaned out my Blog List. Had lots in there that were located elsewhere.
*Worked on my Labels. Fixed a few that were labeled wrong.

Mini Challenges update:
1. Have posted about Feed Readers and left comments at Rebecca's place.
2. Have posted about Opinions or Lists and left comments at Beth's place.
3. Visited 10 new blogs and left comments. This from Jill.
4. Learned about Alerts from Emily.
5. Did an Elevator Pitch for Deborah.
6. Joined up two blog directories, this was Lynn's challenge.

So that makes me half way through the mini challenges. 6 more to go. How is everyone doing? Getting any of your goals done?

BLOGGIESTA MINI CHALLENGE - BLOG DIRECTORIES

Lynn over at Chronicles of an Infant Bibliophile is hosting this mini challenge. What do we need to do for this challenge? Get hooked up with a blog directory. Here is what Lynn has to say about this subject:

"The topic of this mini challenge is blog directories. Listing your blog in a directory generally takes little work on your part, but can be a great tool to bring additional readers to your site. The challenge is to add your blog to at least one new to you blog directory."

Lynn gives lots of places where you can get hooked up, I am going to list a few here in case someone wonders in and asks what the heck this is.

1. Book Blog Nings
2. BBAW (Book Blogger Appreciation Week)
3. The YA Book Blog Directory
4. BlogCatalog
5. Blogarama

I have joined Blog Catalog. Haven't done too much other than set up my page. I'll have to play around with it later. Are you with any Blog Directories?

BLOGGIESTA MINI CHALLENGE - ELEVATOR PITCH

Deborah over at Books, Movies and Chinese Food is hosting this mini challenge. What's it about? Making an Elevator Pitch for your blog. Don't understand what this is? I didn't either, but Deborah gives you a great place to do some reading on this, ProBlogger has a great post about what this is and how to make one for your blog. This is how Deborah explains it. She also has a really great picture of an elevator! But I'll resist and not put a picture of an elevator here, but it's really hard!!

What is an Elevator Pitch?

“An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100-150 words).” - Wikipedia



Actually I've never thought about what I want people to see or know about my blog. I set this blog up to keep track of my books and what I thought of them. But over time it has come to be so much more to me. I have met some wonderful people through out the book blogging world. I've also learned a few things from them. So I really have to think about this "Elevator Pitch" thing.

MY ELEVATOR PITCH

My Place, Just Books, has something for everyone. I read all kinds of books, Young Adult, Mystery, Classic, and everything in between. Every once in a while you'll find some personal stuff that I like!

Well, that's my "Elevator Pitch". What do you think? Need some work? Let me know!

BLOGGIESTA MINI CHALLENGE - ALERTS

Emily over at Emily's Reading Room is hosting this mini challenge. What does she want us to do? This is what Emily says:

"This mini-challenge is pretty simple. Using one of the tasks from the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog, we will be creating Google Alerts. I use Google Alerts frequently in my job to keep up on trends in the industry. I have to admit that I don't use them in blogging, but I definitely will be starting some! Head on over to ProBlogger and read the instructions on setting up a useful Google Alert."

So I went to make a Google Alert. It was fairly simple to do. I already got an alert for Natasha's place Maw Books. WOW, that was fast. Now I'll be watching this closer! Have you got any Google Alerts? Don't know how to do this? Head over to ProBlogger and they will help you out. It's really easy!

BLOGGIESTA MINI CHALLENGE - OPINION OR LIST POST

Beth over at Beth Fish Reads is doing this mini challenge for Bloggiesta. What does she want us to do?

The Task

So what's your task? Write a post and save it for another day; this mini challenge will put you ahead of the game.

The Details

Okay, so what are you going to write about? You get a choice: Write either an opinion post or a list post. But don't get discouraged, I have some help for you from ProBlogger.

(1) Here's information about opinion posts.
(2) Here's information about list posts.

I am doing a list post for this mini challenge. My list is about the meanings of book terms. You know, Fiction, Non-Fiction,etc.etc. I always have trouble remembering which is which. So I am going to find the meanings and give a link to where I found that meaning. Here we go:

1. Fiction - this means the book is NOT true, it's fake or made up.
2. Non-Fiction - this means the book is written about something that is true.
3. Historical Romance - Books are written before World War 2.
4. Biography - a series of events about a persons life.
5. Auto-Biography - is a book written about yourself.
6. Young Adult - books written for adolescents, roughly between the ages of 12 and 18.
7. Novel - A "novel" is defined by a combination of its substance, its scope, its style, and that it can be located along a certain arc of the history of literature in a certain culture.
8. Memoir - by not focusing on the author as the primary subject matter, but on people and events in the author's life.
9. Detective - the reader is encouraged to solve the puzzle before it it reveled in the end.
10 - Mystery - usually a murder is involved and the character has to solve the murder with the clues given.
11. Suspense - the suspense thriller has been loosely defined as a story in which the audience is waiting for something significant to happen.

BLOGGIESTA MINI CHALLENGE - COMMENTS

Jill over at Fizzy Thoughts is hosting this mini challenge. What do we need to do for this challenge?

"So for this mini-challenge, I challenge you to seek out 10 (yes, ten!) new blogs (from the list of bloggers who signed up for the Bloggiesta) and leave a thoughtful comment on their blog. Saying “Just popping in to say hey ‘cause Softdrink told me to” ain’t gonna cut it for this challenge. Find a book review that intrigues you and tell them why. Look for something you have in common and chat about it. Ask them a question about their blog design. You get the idea, right? Be original…be engaging…be yourself!"
Here is my list of 10 new book bloggers from Natasha's @ Maw Books Mr. Linky!

1. Cindy @ Cindy's Love of Books - She has a great review of some children's board books. Really cute books!
2. Shelly @ Write for a Reader - She has a great review on a book that sounds awesome. "The Hollow" by Jessica Verday. I'm going to add this to my TBR List!
3. Texas Red @ Texas Red Books - She has 3 books she received in the mail.
Circle of Friends -- Book III by L. Diane Wolfe, Secret of the Sands by Rai Aren & Tavius E., Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife by Nava Atlas Sample with recipes.
4. Casey @ Bookworm 4 Life - she works as a librarian in a public library. Her blog is mostly about Young Adult books. But she says will throw in some adult books now and then.
5. Khy @ Frenetic Reader - she is having a book give-a-way at her place. Love Struck Summer by Mellisa Walker. It's open until July 3.
6. Ashley at Ashley's Library - She is starting a new weekly meme, called Fun With Fiction. It will start Monday and you will have all week to work on it. I'll be back to Ashley's place for this one!
7. Tasha B. @ Heidenkind's Hideaway - She has a reading challenge listed that she joined that I have never seen. It is called Rejuvenate and Renew, Read 3 non-fiction books about something you've wanted to learn more about. You can check this out at Becky's place One Literature Nut.
8. Diane @ The Book Resort - She has some awesome graphics at her place. She also has what she calls Resort Quotes. They are really good. Here's a short one:

“Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books.”

- Bell Hooks
Isn't that so true!
9. Kristi @ The Story Siren - She is hosting a reading challenge. It is called 09' Debut Challenge. You can set how many books you want to read, but the books have to be a debut book by that author. It runs January 1 to December 31 and you can join anytime.
10. Sandra @ Fresh Ink Books - She participates with the meme Wordless Wednesday. She has this awesome photo posted of dog and his food bowl. But the catch, a skunk is eating the food out of the food bowl. So cute!!

Well, that's my list. I made comments on all of them and I found some new places to visit! Have you found any great new book blogs to visit?

BLOGGIESTA

Are you a Bloggiesta? Doing the mini challenges? I know I'm late getting this posted, but it's been a busy day. Anyway, what's this all about? Well, we are going to be cleaning up our blogs, some housecleaning you might say. Plus there are some mini challenges along the way. Here is the list of folks and their links that are doing the mini challenges:

MINI CHALLENGES

Rebecca at The Book Lady's Blog - Getting out from underneath the feed reader.
Beth at Beth Fish Reads - On lists and opinions.
Jill at Fizzy Thoughts -Just when you thought the feed reader was halfway managed.
Emily at Emily's Reading Room - Are you talking about me?
Deborah at Books, Movies and Chinese Food - You have a blog? So tell me about it.
Lynn at Chronicles of an Infant Bibliophile - Get listed.
Jen at Devourer of Books - Wow. I wrote that when? Let’s update.
Amy at My Friend Amy - I need a friend.
Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'? - On favicons and gravatars. Huh?
Michelle at Galley Smith - Anchor text. You mean there’s a way this *should* be done?
Andrea at Book Blather - Authorities? What authorities?
Ruth at Bookish Ruth - You’re going to analyze what?

So what am I doing for Bloggiesta?

*Cleaning up my sidebar
*Getting all my book photos on my blog
*Cleaning out my Blog List
*Cleaning up my Labels
*Review of books I've read long ago, maybe

As for the Mini Challenge:

The first challenge at the top of the list is working on your Feed Reader. I got mine all into folders so it's lot easier to read them. Thanks Rebecca for the suggestions. I'm new to Google Feed Reader, so I am still learning all about it. But what I have learned so far is great!

THRUSDAY THUNKS

THE WORST THURSDAY THUNKS EVER! That's what this weeks Thursday Thunks is about. Want something different to post, this is the place to get it.

1. Are your ears dirty? NOW WAY, I JUST TOOK A SHOWER!

2. Would you rather be stung by a scorpion or bit by a snake? SNAKE, I KNOW THEY HAVE A CURE FOR THAT, DON'T KNOW ABOUT SCORPIONS.



3. Do loud noises make you snappish? YES, LOUD BOOMING MUSIC COMING FROM A CAR!

4. PETA- thoughts on this org.? I WASN'T TO SURE ABOUT THIS SO LOOKED IT UP AT WIKIPEDIA. I DON'T THINK I CAN SAY TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS AS I LIKE TO EAT MEAT, BUT BEING HUMANE TO ANIMALS IS A GOOD THING.

5. Would you rather be the discoverer of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot? THE LOCH NESS MONSTER HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ME FOR SOME REASON.


6. When in a public toilet and it's not flushed: do you flush & use or move on to a clean one? MOVE ON TO A NEW CLEAN ONE!


7. Neighbors are having a noisy, party bonfire, what do you do? SHUT ALL THE WINDOWS AND DOORS, IF IT GETS OUT OF HAND, CALL THE COPS!

8. Do you play Monopoly? If so which version of the game? THE CLASSIC MONOPOLY GAME



9. Are you a remote hog? NO, BUT MY HUBBY IS!!!



10. Do you like the smell of paint? NO WAY!


11. My questions obviously suck this week. {I've had a bad week.}
So do you think Kimber should have...
~smoked pot before doing these questions?
~drank liquid courage?
~begged Berleen to do them (she's better at them anyhow)?
~just piss off! I could have done better!
I'LL GO WITH THE THIRD OPTION.