WOMEN UNBOUND CHALLENGE MEME

WOMEN UNBOUND Start of Challenge Meme:

1. What does feminism mean to you? Does it have to do with the work sphere? The social sphere? How you dress? How you act?

To me feminism is a combination of all of the above. Being a women at all times brings all the forces of yourself together. Your family, friends, work, social, dress and how you act. I guess you could say I'm an old fashioned women. The phrase "Act like a lady" always comes to mind. To me "acting like a lady" is all of parts of a women.

2. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?

Well, kind of I guess, I believe women should have the right to have control over their lives. There shouldn't be anyone, man, woman or government telling you what to do with your life.

3. What do you consider the biggest obstacle women face in the world today? Has that obstacle changed over time, or does it basically remain the same?

The biggest obstacle for women today is trying to do it all. By all I mean, being Mothers, Wives, Working, or Socializing. We tend to get caught up in the way society thinks we should run our lives. We need to find our own way. If that means your a stay-at-home mom or a president of company you have to do that your self and not what you think you should do. There has to be some ME time in there somewhere or you will get totally lost in the shuffle of life.

WOMEN UNBOUND READING CHALLENGE

I was over at Wendy's place Caribousmom and noticed this reading challenge. So I followed her link to Eva's place Women Unbound. Sounds like a great reading challenge. So I'm going to join in.

This is a blog devoted to the reading challenge Women Unbound. The challenge runs from November 2009-November 2010, but you may join in the fun whenever you wish! Participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to the rather broad idea of ‘women’s studies.’ The definition according to Merriam-Webster

the multidisciplinary study of the social status and societal contributions of women and the relationship between power and gender.

For nonfiction, this would include books on feminism, history books focused on women, biographies of women, memoirs (or travelogues) by women, essays by women and cultural books focused on women (body image, motherhood, etc.). The topics I’ve listed aren’t mean to be exhaustive; if you come across a nonfiction book whose subject is female-related, it counts! Of course, if you’re not sure you can always ask about it in a comment. And if you need some ideas for specific books, check out the ‘Reading Lists’ page.

It’s trickier to say what is applicable as fiction. Obviously, any classic fiction written by a feminist is applicable. But where do we go from there? To speak generally, if the book takes a thoughtful look at the place of women in society, it will probably count. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to explain in your review why you chose this for the challenge and its connection to women’s studies. Once again, if you need some specific ideas, check out the ‘Reading Lists’ page.

One quick note about author gender. There isn’t a rule if a book’s written by a woman it counts and if by a man it doesn’t count. I firmly believe that men can be feminists and that not all women are feminists. As long as the book adheres to the definition of women’s studies I’ve shared above, it counts.

Interested in participating? Great! There are three levels you can choose as a reader:

* Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.
* Bluestocking: read at least five books, including at least two nonfiction ones.
* Suffragette: read at least eight books, including at least three nonfiction ones.

I am going to shoot for the Suffragette level, here is my list of books.

1. On Account of Conspicuous Women - Dawn Sharp
[Women unite in friendship during the Women's Suffrage Movement.]
2. Delusion - Peter Abrahams
[A woman's world is turned upside down when the murderer she put behind bars is released from prison.]
3. Women of the Civil War- Stephen Currie
[The impact of the Civil War on womens's lives.]
4. We Are our Mother's Daughters - Cokie Roberts
[Essay on woman's roles and experiences.]
5. Secrets on 26th Street - Elizabeth McDavid Jones
[A young girl becomes involved in the Suffrage Movement.]
6. Sisters - Tim Stafford
[Finding out what it means to be a woman in changing times.]
7. The World Split Open - Ruth Rosen
[how the modern women's movement changed America]
8. Ladies of Liberty - Cokie Roberts
[the women who shaped our nation]

REVIEW - THE HELP - KATHRYN STOCKETT

This book is for 4 of my reading challenges.
Random Reading Challenge(#8)
Countdown to 2019 Challenge(2009)
Fall Into Reading 2009 Challenge
Filling in the Gaps 100 Project



"The Help" - Kathryn Stockett
(from back cover)
Twenty-tow-year-old Skeeter has just returned home with a degree from Ole Miss, but her mother won't be happy until she has a ring on her finger. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman rising her seventeenth white child. Minny, Aibileen's best friend, can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue so she can't keep a job. It's 1962, and these three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step that forever changes a town and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another.

MY THOUGHTS: I have fallen in love with this book and all the characters. I can see all their faces and hear them talking. This would make a GREAT movie!! Someone in Hollywood should sit up and take notice!! This book is the perfect example of the changing times of my life. I can say I saw this happening. All the ladies in this book, Skeeter, Aibileen, Minny, Elizabeth, Hillay and all the others are done beautifully and with care. Ms. Stockett done a wonderful job telling this wonderful story of life in the 1960's in Mississippi. When Aibileen has to say goodbye to Mae Mobley I cried. And when Minny leaves her abusive husband I cheer her on. Most of all when Skeeter leaves town and goes to New York for her job I say GOOD FOR HER!! Wonderful, wonderful book. You should read this book!!

MY RATING: 5

REVIEW - MOON RIVER AND ME - ANDY WILLIAMS

This book is for 2 of my reading challenges.
Countdown to 2010(2009)
Fall Into Reading 2009 Challenge

"Moon River and Me" by Andy Williams

# Hardcover: 320 pages
# Publisher: Viking Adult; 1ST edition (October 13, 2009)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0670021172
# ISBN-13: 978-0670021178

(from inside flap)
When in the mid-1950's Andy Williams reached a low point in his career, singing in a series of ever seedier dives to ever smaller audiences, the young man from Wall Lake, Iowa, had little inkling of the success that he would one day achieve. But by the time his voice was declared "a national treasure" by President Ronald Reagan he had charted eighteen gold and three platinum record albums, headlined at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for more than twenty years, and hosted an enormously popular weekly television series whose Christmas specials still occupy a tender spot in every baby boomer's heart.

In Moon River and Me, his long-awaited autobiography, Andy Williams tells the extraordinary story of a career that has flourished for nearly three-quarters of a century and made its mark in every branch of show business. Raised by a father who was singe-mindedly determined to see his four sons become famous performers, Andy spent much of his youth moving across the country, landing wherever he and his brothers might have a bigger opportunity, and eventually winding up in Hollywood. It was there that they caught the eye of the gifted entertainer Kay Thompson, who created an acclaimed nightclub act with the Williams Brothers that toured the country for four years. When Andy set off for a solo career in 1952, however, the fame he had enjoyed with Thompson began to slip away, and he soon found himself struggling to even support himself. But a lucky break led to a job on Steve Allen's Tonight Show, and within only a few short years his plushly beautiful tenor became one of the most recognizable voices in popular music.

Andy shares not only the triumphs and setbacks of his career but his memories of the many notable people he came to know (including Judy Garland, Henry Mancini, Jack Lemmon, John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and Elton John), writing particularly movingly about his close friendship with Bobby Kennedy. For everyone who grew up with the voice of Andy Williams as the sound track to their romances, their holidays, and their family gatherings, Moon River and Me will be a welcome--and often surprising--self-portrait of a warm, funny, generous, and always captivating man.

MY THOUGHTS: I got an email from Meredith Burks at Viking Press asking if I wanted a review copy of this book. I said sure and she sent me this copy. You can get a copy at Amazon.com This is a very good Memoir. I loved reading about Mr. Williams life. He shares everything with you in this book. Including the trial of his ex-wife Claudine. Also the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. He was at the hotel the night Bobby Kennedy was shot. Reading this book brought lots of memories back to me. I remember watching his show on t.v. Mr. Williams is very candid and honest with the info in this book. This is the best memoir that I have read and really enjoyed reading this book!!!

MY RATING: 5

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY

What is the topic this week for Booking Through Thursday:

Suggested by Jennysbooks:

Something I’ve been thinking about lately: “What words/phrases in a blurb make a book irresistible? What words/phrases will make you put the book back down immediately?”

What makes me want to pick up a book is if it says "mystery", "murder", "historical", "Memoirs" or the word "story". Like the book The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It grabbed me right away. Great book!!


What makes me drop a book instantly is the words "Vampire" or "self help",you know the kind, the ones that tell me how to invest my money, how to make a million dollars overnight, how to improve my looks, how to loose weight. I'm not into "self help" books. I have also never read any of the Twilight books. Yea, I know, I'm probably the only person who hasn't read these books. Once in awhile one will grab my attention, but they are far from my list of books to read. One I recently read was Now What? - Laura Berman Fortgang. It was a pretty interesting self help book.


So what words/phrases grab you or drive you away?

BOOKS TO READ BEFORE I DIE CHALLENGE

I was over at A Novel Challenge and found this reading challenge. I went over to check it out. The host is Diane over at Bibliophile By the Sea.

Here are the guideline for the challenge:

1. Between now and December 31, 2009, make a list of between 10 and 20 Books to Read Before You Die. (depending on interest, this may be an annual event challenge).
2. The books on your list can come from your stacks or the library, and be in print or audio format.
3. Once you've created your post with tentative titles, THEN sign up using Mr. Linky, by pasting the link to your post, along with your name/blog name. This is how you will be registered. Finalize your list by 12/31/09 (no changes to the list after 12/31/09).
4. NOTE: If you don't have a blog, you can still sign up and join in the fun.
5. All bloggers who complete the challenge will be entered in giveaway to win an Amazon Gift Card.
6. Questions/comments, please feel free to comment or email me.

This is a tentative list of books.

1. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Scaffer
3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
4. The Red Queen - Margaret Drabble
5. Vinegar Hill - A. Manette Ansay
6. Marley & Me - John Grogan
7. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
8. My Sisters Keeper - Jodi Picoult
9. A Virtuous Woman - Kaye Gibbons
10. Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
11. The Witches of Worm - Zilpha Keatley Snyder
12. City of the Dead - T. L. Higley
13. The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong
14. The Life of Pi - Yann Martell

A - Z WEDNESDAY AND WONDEROUS WORDS WEDNESDAY

There are two memes I like to do on Wednesday. They are are A-Z Wednesday over at Reading at the Beach and Wondrous Words Wednesday over at Bermudaonion's Weblog. Hope over and check them out!

A-Z WEDNESDAY

Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with that weeks letter.
Post
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)
4~ Come back here and post your link in the comments
If you've already reviewed this book you can the review also.
Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment.
(We all love comments, don't we?)
Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEK'S LETTER - L

Little Heathens - Mildred Armstrong Kalish
Product Description(from Amazon.com)
I tell of a time, a place, and a way of life long gone. For many years I have had the urge to describe that treasure trove, lest it vanish forever. So, partly in response to the basic human instinct to share feelings and experiences, and partly for the sheer joy and excitement of it all, I report on my early life. It was quite a romp.
So begins Mildred Kalish’s story of growing up on her grandparents’ Iowa farm during the depths of the Great Depression. With her father banished from the household for mysterious transgressions, five-year-old Mildred and her family could easily have been overwhelmed by the challenge of simply trying to survive. This, however, is not a tale of suffering.
Kalish counts herself among the lucky of that era. She had caring grandparents who possessed—and valiantly tried to impose—all the pioneer virtues of their forebears, teachers who inspired and befriended her, and a barnyard full of animals ready to be tamed and loved. She and her siblings and their cousins from the farm across the way played as hard as they worked, running barefoot through the fields, as free and wild as they dared.
Filled with recipes and how-tos for everything from catching and skinning a rabbit to preparing homemade skin and hair beautifiers, apple cream pie, and the world’s best head cheese (start by scrubbing the head of the pig until it is pink and clean), Little Heathens portrays a world of hardship and hard work tempered by simple rewards. There was the unsurpassed flavor of tender new dandelion greens harvested as soon as the snow melted; the taste of crystal clear marble-sized balls of honey robbed from a bumblebee nest; the sweet smell from the body of a lamb sleeping on sun-warmed grass; and the magical quality of oat shocking under the light of a full harvest moon.

I read this book about a year ago. But I can still remember it like it was yesterday. This was the first book I read after joining my library book club and really enjoyed it lots. I can make you cry or laugh!

WONDROUS WORDS WEDNESDAY



These words are also from Little Heathens. I have heard these words before but never actually knew what they meant.

1. Indelibly - Indelibly stamped in my memory is the scene in my Aunt Hazel and Uncle Ernest's farm kitchen one wintry March morning when I was perhaps six years
old.

that cannot be removed, washed away, or erased b: making marks that cannot easily be removed
***************************************

2. Burlesque - They were never able to get beyond their fright for each other's well being, nor were they ever able to see the burlesque humor in this event, which so entertained us grandchildren.

1. a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor; consists of comic skits and short turns (and sometimes striptease)
2. a composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way
***************************************

3. Dominion - And under Mama's lenient, perhaps even negligent dominion, we kids felf unburdened.

Sovereign or supreme authority; the power of governing and controlling; independent right of possession, use, and control; sovereignty; supremacy.

SHELF DISCOVERY READING CHALLENGE

I was over at Teddy Rose's place A Novel Challenge to see if there were any new reading challenges coming up. I found one I think I would like to join in on. It is over at Julie's place Booking Mama, it is called Shelf Discovery Reading Challenge. The challenge is based on the book Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading - Lizzie Skurnick. Here is how it works:

The Shelf Discovery Challenge will run for six months (November 1, 2009 - April 30, 2010). To join me in this challenge, all you need to do is grab a copy of SHELF DISCOVERY and pick out what six books you want to read (of course, you can read more than six!) Then, after you read a book, just write a "book report" to share your thoughts with others!

Sign Up:

Grab the challenge button at the top of this page and write a post detailing what six Shelf Discovery books you are going to read within the next six months (you always have the option to change your original list -- I'm flexible like that!) If you don't already have the book, you can browse the table of contents here. Once you have posted your Shelf Discovery challenge post, come back to this post and click on Mr. Linky. Please leave your name and link directly to your introductory post (not just to your blog’s home page.) If you don’t have a blog, no worries -- you can just leave a comment on this post telling me you want to participate.

On November 1st, 2009 I will place a Shelf Discovery Challenge button in the upper right hand corner of my blog. When you click on this button, you will see a post where all the participants are listed as well as the links to your Shelf Discovery updates and "book reports." So, every time you have a post relating to the Shelf Discovery Challenge (with the exception of your first sign-up post) you should leave a comment there with a link to your post.

So here are my 6 books:

Harriet the Spy - Louise Fitzhugh
The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken
Island of the Blue Dolphin - Scott o'Cell
The Witch of Balckbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speake
A Day No Pigs Would Die - Robert N. Peck

REVIEW - THE CHRISTMAS LETTERS - LEE SMITH

This book is for one of my reading challenges.
Fall Into Reading 2009 Challenge

"The Christmas Letters" by Lee Smith
(from inside flap)
This heartwarming story of three generations of Christmas letter writers is about family tradition, family love, family strengh.
Birdie Pickett, her daughter Mary, and her granddaughter Melanie are all storytellers at heart. Their letters--folded inside their Christmas cards--tend to be long ones because they write to explain their lives as much to themselves as to far-flung family and friends.
Birdie writes the first one in 1944: "it is the day before Christmas and though I know I should be so happy with my own sweet angel baby Mary who lies right here beside me as I write this letter, I will tell you the truth. I am weepy, and cannot hold back my tears." Birdie's new husband, Bill Pickett, is fighting World War II in the Pacific, having left his wife and baby in his parents' care. "Well," writes Birdie, "it is the other way around, if you ask me." Much of the story is also told through shared recipes. As Mary says, "I feel as if I have written out my life story in recipes! The Cool Whip and mushroom soup years, the hibachi and fondue period, then the quiche and crepes phase, and now it's these salsa salads."
Melanie photocopies her first Christmas letter in 1996 and shares her big news: "I've started a novel....luckily, mom saved all of Grandma's letters."

MY THOUGHTS: If you like to read old letters this is a wonderful little Novella. It follows all the women in this family starting with Birdie. Their loves, children and deaths. These letters are very heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking. There is also recipes at the end of each letter. One of my favorites is called Sticks and Stones. Here is the recipe:

STICKS AND STONES

1/2 Cup Butter or Margarine, melted
4 1/2 teaspoons Worcestersire Sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
8 Cups Cereal(Cheerios and Chex)
1 Cup Nuts
1 Cup Pretzels

Mix well, bake 1 hour at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes.

This recipe was at the end of a letter for 1956. Does it sound familiar? I'm sure it goes by lots of names. Wonderful little book to read!!

MY RATING: 5

REVIEW - THE KEY - DEBRA WHITE SMITH

This book is for 2 of my reading challenges.
Countdown to 2010(2003)
Fall Into Reading 2009 Challenge

"The Key" by Debra White Smith
(from inside flap)
Nothing much happens in Jacksonville....except in Brendy Lane's life. After years as slow and sleepy as the east Texas town itself, everything seems to happen at once. Brendy is opening her own gift shop, confronting a heartbroken son, and mothering his two children. Then a broken lock leads this forty-eight-year-old widow to her high school sweetheart--a taciturn Vietnam veteran with battle scars on his face...and on his heart. Does Brendy even have time to fan the old flames smoldering within her? And how can she pursue the passions of her own heart when her motherless grandchildren need her undivided love?

MY THOUGHTS: After seeing Zeke, her high school sweetheart, she digs around in her desk to find her box of mementos. In this box is a necklace Zeke gave her. It is a on a gold chain and has a heart locket. Zeke has the key that will open it. As Brendy and Zeke, both widows, start their slow but sure romance, Brendy's family problems seem to get in their way. But they get everything solved and Brendy and Zeke get to open the heart locket and find their love again. Great little Novella!

MY RATING: 5

REVIEW - THE SEA MONSTERS - RICK RIORDAN

This book is for 3 of my reading challenges
Countdown 2010(2007)
Fall Into Reading 2009 Challenge
Clear Off Your Shelves Challenge(book 3)

"The Sea Monsters" by Rick Riordan
(from back of book)
Percy Jackson's seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodge ball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against and ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get.....well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy's friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed.

MY THOUGHTS: This is book 2 of a series about Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Grover has been captured by a Cyclops and Percy keeps having dreams about him. Thaila the tree has been poisoned and Chiron, the activies director at Camp Half-Blood has been booted out for having something to do with the poisoning. So Percy and Annabeth are off on another quest. To get the Golden Fleece and bring it back to save Thaila the tree and Camp Half-Blood and to save Grover from the Cyclops. But they have a few obstetricals to get through of course. Great book!! On to Book 3!

MY RATING: 5

DEWEY'S 24 HOUR READ-A-THON UPDATE

Hi everyone,
I didn't make it to the end. I couldn't hold my eyes open and the words were starting to blur together. I made it to 2:00am my time. According to my figures and when I started, I read for:

10 hours
581 pages read
3 books completed

Between the frustration of the washing machine, which took up most of my morning and afternoon, doing household chores to stay awake, and eating pork chops and pork 'n beans, that's the one that did me in, I shouldn't have ate that at 1:30 in the morning, I got so sleeping I couldn't keep my eyes open. I gave up at 2:00am and went to bed. I slept about 5 hours and am awake again at 7:00am. But considering this was my first read-a-thon I'm pretty proud of myself. Next time I'll know NOT what to do. Ha Ha Ha!!

I just hopped over to the read-a-thon page and they are on the last hour. Here is some info they want posted for the end of the event hour.

. Which hour was most daunting for you? 1:00am to 1:30am
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? NO I ONLY READ 3 BOOKS
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? NO, YOU ALL DONE A WONDERFUL JOB!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? AS THIS WAS MY FIRST READ-A-THON, I THOUGHT IT WAS ALL GOOD!
5. How many books did you read? THREE
6. What were the names of the books you read?
THE KEY - DEBRA WHITE SMITH
THE CHRISTMAS LETTERS - LEE SMITH
THE SEA MONSTERS - RICK RIORDAN
7. Which book did you enjoy most? THE CHRISTMAS LETTERS - LEE SMITH
8. Which did you enjoy least? NONE, I LIKED THEM ALL
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I WASN'T A CHEERLEADER, BUT THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? 100% FOR SURE I WILL BE DOING THE NEXT ONE. I WILL BE A READER AGAIN AND HOPE TO MAKE IT ALL THE WAY AND NO BROKEN APPLIANCES NEXT TIME.

So until next time, GO TAKE A NAP EVERYONE!!!! You deserve it!!

DEWEY'S 24 HOUR READ-A-THON UPDATE

It's hour 17 of Dewey's Read-A-Thon. There is a mini challenge I am doing. It is over at Lynn's place Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile. What is the Challenge:

Give Me Five: Go to your blog and post a list of five favorite children's books. They don't have to be THE five end-all-be-all of your favorites, because then you'll just agonize over which ones to pick, and we want this to be easy. Just list five off the top of your head that you enjoyed as a child, or that your children enjoy. If you'd like, include a one sentence description of the book, but no need to post full reviews. Then come back here, and leave a comment with the URL to your blog post. The contest will remain open for three hours (until 1AM mountain time). I'll pick a winner from the comments using random.org. That person will win a $15 ebay gift certificate. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your email is not available in your profile. Because the prize will be delivered electronically, this challenge is open worldwide.

My 5 favorite books as a child are:

1. Old Yeller - Fred Gipson...About an old yeller dog that is loyal to his owner.
2. Little Women - Lousia May Alcott....About the March girls and their family.
3. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery......Anne is an orphan and goes to live on a farm and grows up there.
4. Swiss Family Robinson - Hohann David Wyss.....The family is shipwrecked on an island and have to find ways to survive.
5. Tale of Peter Rabbit - Beatrix Potter.....This was actually a collection of Beatrix Potters stories. The pictures are awesome.

Got 5 books you enjoyed as a child? Hope over the Lynn's place and check this out!

UPDATE

Dewey's Read-A-Thon


Number of books read since you started: 3
Pages read since last update: 531
Running total of pages read since you started: 531
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 2 HOURS 5 MINUTES
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 10 HOURS 20 MINUTES
Mini-challenges completed: 1
Other participants you’ve visited: 7
Prize you’ve won: 0

Finished another book. The Christmas Letters by Lee Smith. Very good book.

UPDATE

Well, we got the washer hooked up and all the water cleaned up. Then we had trouble with the washer. It kept vibrating so bad it was walking across the floor. Couldn't figure it out. Got all the legs on right, got it leveled and still vibrating bad when it went into spin. That took the better part of the day. We kept fiddling with it and just could not figure it out. I did manage to get some reading done. About an hour ago we figured out what it was. You'll never believe what was causing all the trouble!!!! The strapping strip was still attached to the underside of the washer!! We got that off and WOW the washer works great now.

UPDATE ON READING

Number of books read since you started: 2
Pages read since last update: 405
Running total of pages read since you started: 405
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 6 HOURS
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 8 HOURS 15 MINUTES
Mini-challenges completed: 1
Other participants you’ve visited: 4
Prize you’ve won: 0

I got The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan done while all the washer stuff was going on. Great book, it is also the second book in a series of four.

UPDATE

The washer has decided to quit. I have a major flood in my laundry room. This means no reading for about an hour. I have to clean up all the water and we have to replace the washing machine. Got the water cleaned up. Now I am waiting for my hubby to come back and install the washer. I'll read until he comes back. This has not been a good year for appliances. First the kitchen stove went out. about 2 months later the fridge took a nose dive and now the washer. What's next????? Probably the dishwasher, it's been making a terrible grinding noise in the drying cycle. Hubby thinks it's the fan. This has been a terrible year, hope next year is better.

DEWEY'S 24 HOUR READ-A-THON UPDATE

THE KEY - DEBRA WHITE SMITH

Title of book(s) read since last update: THE KEY - DEBRA WHITE SMITH
Number of books read since you started: 1
Pages read since last update: 126
Running total of pages read since you started: 126
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 2 HOURS
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 2 HOURS
Mini-challenges completed: NONE
Other participants you’ve visited: 2
Prize you’ve won: 0

First book done. I'll be posting reviews after the read-a-thon. So be looking for those. As for this book, really good, but things kept getting in my way of reading. Hubby, mostly and my son coming in and out. Hopefully the next book with be a little less broken up.

DEWEY'S 24 HOUR READ-A-THON

Well, it's 7:00am here in Indiana where I live. I'm almost sure, well, 98% sure that's the time I am to start Dewey's Read-A-Thon. So I am posting now as to my start time. My first book is "The Key" by Debra White Smith. I'll be posting about every hour to keep a record of this awesome read-a-thon. Go and check out all the awesome folks that are participating.

FRIDAY FILL-INS

Janet is the host for Friday Fill-Ins. Hop over and see who all is participating this week.


Would anyone be interested in making a Halloween graphic?

And...here we go!

1. The crickets sing, me to sleep on summer nights.

2. I am there with you, wherever you are.

3. I want to get far away from the winter I know is coming.

4. Oh no; this was a dream.

5. But as for me I am who I am and nothing more.

6. Ruby and Vern, my parents are who I come from

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing after work, tomorrow my plans include reading in the Dewey 24 hour read-a-thon and Sunday, I want to SLEEP!

REVIEW - FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE - FANNIE FLAGG

This book is for 2 of my reading challenges.
Spice of Life Challenge
Fall into Reading 2009 Challenge

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg
(from inside flap)
She's one of America's fairest and funniest ladies. Actress and screenwriter, director and comedienne, Fannie Flagg is also a most accomplished and high-spirited author. Said Kirkus of her first book, Coming Attractions: "It's subtitled 'A wonderful novel' and that's exactly what it is." Here is her second. Get ready, because it's going to make you laugh(a lot), cry(a little), and care(forever).
What is it? It's first the story of two women in the 1980's, of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women--of the irrepressibly dare devilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth--who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, a Southern kind of Cafe Wobegon offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder.
And as the past unfolds, the present--for Evelyn and for us--will never quite be the same.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is folksy and fresh, endearing and affecting, with humor and drama--and with an ending that would fill with smiling tears the Whistle Stop Lake....if only they had a lake.

MY THOUGHTS: This is a very good book. It has everything you could possibly want in a book. Some love, Family, and a murder mystery that no one knows who done it and no one is admitting it. This all starts when Evelyn goes to the nursing home with her husband to visit her mother-in-law. Evelyn wonders down to the candy machines and Mrs. Threadgood is there. She starts telling Evelyn her life story. Just chatters on and on. It is 1986 and Mrs. Threadgoode, who is 86 years old, takes you back to the 1920's with her story of how she wound up living with the Threadgoode's and eventually marrying one of the boys. How Idgie and Ruth became such good friends and raise a child. Sipsey is the cook at the cafe and Big John does all the barbecuing. The story goes up to the 1960's. When you get to the end of the book there are all the recipes of the food that is mentioned in the book that was served at The Whistle Stop Cafe. This is my favorite one.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

1 medium green tomato(per person)
salt
pepper
white cornmeal
bacon drippings

Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick, season with salt and peper and then coat both sides with cornmeal. In a large skillet, heat enough bacon drippings to coat the bottom of the pan and fry tomatoes until lightly browned on both sides.

You'll think you died and gone to heaven!

MY RATING: 5

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY

This week at Booking Through Thursday the question is............

If you could ask your favorite author (alive or dead) one question … who would you ask, and what would the question be?

My question would be for Janet Evanovich. She writes the Stephanie Plum series of books. My question would be, Where do you come up with all the characters in your books and are they based on actual people? My favorites in the book are LuLu and Ranger. How about you? Got a favorite character in the series?

REVIEW - THE SEAMSTRESS OF HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD - ERIN McGRAW

This book is for 3 of my reading challenges.
Countdown 2010 (2008)
Fall Into Reading 2009
Clear Off Your Shelves

"The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard" by Erin McGraw
(from back cover)
Trapped in Kansas at the turn of the twentieth century, Nell Plat is seventeen, unhappily married, and the mother of two baby girls. No realiity could be further from her secret dreams of glamor and excitement, dreams that tmpt her to do the unthinkable: she runs way to the woderland of Los Angels and its burgeoning motion picture industry.
Nell becomes Madame Annelle, costumer to glittering Hollywood in the Roaring Twenties. But a knock on the door threatens to rip apart the seams of her own carefully consturcted costume, and Nell is forced to confront the legacy of her abandonment and deception. Can she rework the delicate fabric of her life?

MY THOUGHTS: This book is about starting over. Turning your life into something that it wasn't and once you have that, the consequences of that decision. Nell is a young girl with nothing in sight except marriage and children. She lives in a shoddy on the parries of Kansas. Her only hope of getting out of the life she doesn't want is to runaway. She has her second child within a year of the first and can't see the end of the road coming to any good. Nell leaves her two babies behind and heads for California. The only thing Nell knows how to do well is sew. As Nell gets customers to sew for and builds up her clientele, she meets George and falls in love. She and George want a child, but Nell doesn't think she can a child again after the botched birth of her second child she left in Kansas. But Nell does get pregnant and Mary is born. When everything is going along great, Nell's past comes knocking at her door. Now she has to reveal everything to George and hope it all woks out. Will it work out? You'll have to read the book to find out.

MY RATING: 5

TUESDAY BOOK MEMES

Raidergirl over at An Adventure in Reading is hosting It's Tuesday, Where Are You? MizB over at Should Be Reading is hosting Teaser Tuesdays. Go check them out to see what all the fuss is about this week.

IT'S TUESDAY, WHERE ARE YOU?

This week I am in Hollywood California. It is the late 1920's and early 1930's. Just when Hollywood was getting started. I am sewing costumes for the stars and trying not to let my husband know about a previous marriage and 2 children who have shown up on my door step after 20 years. Have been passing them off as my sisters.


TEASER TUESDAYS



"Why not?" I said. "She works hard. She's made three pictures this year already. America loves a girl with pep."
"What Clara Bow has is more than pep. And America loves it, all right. But nobody's going to call her a sweetheart." P. 234 The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard - Erin McGraw




This is my library book club's pick for this month. So far it's really good! If you want some more info on it, hop over to Amazon.com They have a pretty good comment about it.

REVIEW - ONE FOR THE MONEY - JANET EVANOVICH

This book is for 2 of my reading challenges.
Stephanie Plum Challenge
Fall Into Reading 2009 Challenge

"One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich
(from inside flap)
Watch out, world. Here comes Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie's opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey.
She's a product of the "burg," a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late)dinner is served at six.
Now Stephanie's all grown up and out on her own, living five miles from Mom and Dad's, doing her best to sever the world's longest umbilical cord. her mother is a meddler, and her grandmother is a few cans short of a case.
Out of work and out of money, with her Miata repossessed and her refrigerator empty, Stephanie blackmails her bail bondsman cousin, Vinnie, into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, fearless bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook.
Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli is also the irresistible macho pig who took Stephanie's virginity at age sixteen and then wrote the details on the bathroom wall of Mario's Sub Shop. There's still powerful chemistry between these two, so the chase should be interesting.
It could also be extremely dangerous, especially when Stephanie encounters a heavyweight title contender who likes to play rough. Benito Ramirez is known for his brutality to women. At the very least, his obsession with Stephanie complicates her manhunt and brings terror and uncertainty into her life. At worst, it could lead to murder.

MY THOUGHTS: I have read a couple Stephanie Plum books. But never the first one. This gives me all the info I was lacking. I also found this book very funny at times. I could also see this book made into a movie, it would be a great movie!! If you haven't read a Stephanie Plum book, please start at the beginning of the series. It makes much more sense, but the series of books can stand alone. This first one just lets you know all the characters and find out how they all fit together. Stephanie gets into trouble when she stills Joe Morrelli's car. Stephanie's car got repossed. So she had to have some wheels to do her bounty hunting, and since Joe didn't actually need it at the time she takes it off his hands. As Stephanie digs deeper into the investigation she runs into Benito Ramirez and gets beats up. From there it just goes down hill. This is a great first book in the series. Love it!!

MY RATING: 5

REVIEW - MADE IN THE U.S.A. - BILLIE LETTS

This book is for 5 of my reading challenges.
2nd Chance Challenge
Random Reading Challenge
Countdown to 2010 Challenge(2008)
Fall into Reading 2009 Challenge
Fill in the Gap 100 Challenge




"Made in the U.S.A." by Billie Letts
(from inside flap)
Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, fifteen-year-old Lutie lives in the godforsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota, with eleven-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the three-hundred-pound ex-girlfriend of her father.
As if their life were not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number, and no particular interest in the kids he left behind.
Alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming, MADE IN THE U.S.A is the story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair, and frightening the world is before they finally find a place where they belong.

MY THOUGHTS: What could possibly be worse than you mother being dead? To find out the father that abandoned you, and in prison, dies. What are you going to do to survive? As Lutie and Fate try their best to make it on their own, they are terribly taken advantage of by adults who want to use them. This book isn't for the person who thinks life if a fairy tale. It isn't, it's all to real and serious. As I was getting to towards the end of the book I was beginning to think Lutie and Fate were destined to be those kids that fell through the cracks of society. I got so attached to them, I was shouting for their survival. I wanted them to find a place to call their own. SPOILER.......DON'T GO ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK.















Lutie and Fate do find a place to call their own. Everything works out for them and I was so happy about the ending to this very sad, but very happy ending!!!!

MY RATING: 5

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY

Deb is the host for Booking Through Thursday. What are we discussing this week......

We’re moving in a couple weeks (the first time since I was 9 years old), and I’ve been going through my library of 3000+ books, choosing the books that I could bear to part with and NOT have to pack to move. Which made me wonder…

When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?

Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)

And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

I have a den that has some of my books in it. It has 2 bookcases my hubby made for me. They are about 8 foot wide and go ceiling to floor with shelves. A few years ago I went through the books I wanted to keep, or emotionally attached to, and the ones I didn't think I would be using again. I boxed them all up and gave them to the local mission. Most of them were hardback books, and there isn't anywhere around here that takes hardback books in trade. If I have paperbacks, I take them to a book store here that I can trade them in on other books.
I also recently sorted all the books I have read this year and part of last year into alphabetical order by author. I really hate getting rid of my books. I love my books, I know, how can you love a book, but if you are a book lover you will understand that statement. So it's really hard to let go of them. And yes, they seem to take over lots of spaces in our house. They have even crept into the kitchen! I have recently put up book shelves in the laundry/computer room!

Some places that my books are located.
MY SCRAPBOOK AREA

ON THE SCANNER

IN THE KITCHEN

IN THE LAUNDRY/COMPUTER ROOM


So where are your books hiding out? Do you get rid of your books? Go check out some of the other folks and see what they do......

A - Z WEDNESDAY

A - Z WEDNESDAY

To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.
Post:
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)
4~ Come back here and leave your link in the comments.
If you've already reviewed this book you can add it also.
Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment.
(We all love comments, don't we?)
Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: "J"

My book is "Jantzen's Gift" by Pam Cope



PRODUCT DESCRIPTION(Amazon.com)
Nine years ago, Pam Cope owned a cozy hair salon in the tiny town of Neosho, Missouri, and her life revolved around her son's baseball games, her daughter's dance lessons, and family trips to places like Disney World. She had never been out of the country, nor had she any desire to travel far from home.

Then, on June 16th, 1999, her life changed forever with the death of her 15-year-old son from an undiagnosed heart ailment.

Needing to get as far away as possible from everything that reminded her of her loss, she accepted a friend's invitation to travel to Vietnam, and, from the moment she stepped off the plane, everything she had been feeling since her son's death began to shift. By the time she returned home, she had a new mission: to use her pain to change the world, one small step at a time, one child at a time. Today, she is the mother of two children adopted from Vietnam. More than that, she and her husband have created a foundation called "Touch A Life," dedicated to helping desperate children in countries as far-flung as Vietnam, Cambodia and Ghana.

Pam Cope's story is on one level a moving, personal account of loss and recovery, but on a deeper level, it offers inspiration to anyone who has ever suffered great personal tragedy or those of us who dream about making a difference in the world.

REVIEW - THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE - DAVID WROBLEWSKI

This book is for 3 of my reading challenges.
What an Animal 2 Challenge
Countdown to 2010 Challenge
Fall Into Reading 2009 Challenge

"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski
(from back cover)

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm--and into Edgar's mother's affections.

Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires--spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward.

MY THOUGHTS: I have heard of this book a lot, hopping around book blogland, and saw different opinions of it. I got the book Saturday at the library and was a little awed by how thick it was. 904 pages long. But once I started it I couldn't put it down. It kept calling me to finish it. I wanted to find out what happened to Edgar's father and what his uncle had to do with all this. As Edgar searches out the whys and hows a terrible accident happens that sends Edgar and three of dogs into the wilds of Northern Wisconsin. Edgar does a lot of growing up while on the run and finally figures out being home with his mother and dogs is what he wants. So he heads home to find a way to implicate his uncle in his father's death. I didn't really like the ending to this book. I left questions that would have liked answered. Other than the ending this book was written beautifully. I felt like I was with Edgar and the dogs while they were growing up together. Awesome book!!

MY RATING: 5