Musing Monday #8


Coming towards the end of April, we’re a third of the way through the way through the year. What’s the favourite book you’ve read so far in 2009? What about your least favourite? (question courtesy of MizB)

Okay, this one is a little tough. I have read some great books this year so far. But I have also read some stinkers. So far if I had to pick a favorite I think it would be either Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts, or the The Naked Duke by Sally Mackenzie.

On the least favorite Front, I think the worst of the year so far has been Perfect Day by Imogen Parker. I don’t like picking worst’s. But if I had to pick one, it would be this one.

Quotable Sunday #5

Welcome to Quotable Sunday! I can’t wait to get around and read your quotes today. The rules of course are never changing but in case this is your first time joining in, I would like to welcome you and let you know the basics:~Post one or more of your favorite quotes on your blog in a post.~Come back here and link your post in the mister linky below(on http://www.juststopscreaming.com/ ).~Check back throughout the day and go read some awesome comments and leave some luv!

< For my dip back into quotes (I know I have been horrible.) I decided on some qoutes from a book I have called the greatest qoutes of all time.

Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873, British novelist, poet, playwright and polititian.)

The pen is mightier than the sword.

J. P. Morgan: (1837-1913, Founder of US Steel, the first billion-dollar company in the world.)

If you have to ask how much something costs, you can’t afford it.

Sun-Tzu: (400 BC; Chinese general and military strategist.)

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Lord Acton: (1834-1902; British historian, politician and educator. Considered the most learned individual of his era, unmatched in the breadth and depth of his knowledge.)

Power Corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Fred R. Barnard (1920s):

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Horace (65 – 8 BC):

Carpe Diem (Seize the day. (Opportunity))

And FINALLY…by one of my all time favorite Historical Men..

Julius Caesar:

Divide and Conquer.

Book Review: Hearts and Bones by Margaret Lawrence


Set in 1786 in the township of Rufford, Maine, Lawrence’s impressive historical suspense debut poses a fascinating conundrum and vivifies the society in which it arose. The story centers on the investigation by midwife Hannah Trevor of the rape and strangulation death of a young mother, Anthea Emory. According to a letter presumably written by Anthea, the dead woman was raped on three successive nights, by three different men, before one of them finally killed her. One of the three men accused is Daniel Josselyn, father of Hannah’s illegitimate seven-year-old daughter. Because the marks on Anthea’s neck match the imprint of Daniel’s three-fingered hand, he becomes the target of a lynch mob and flees in search of Anthea’s husband, whom he believes can shed light on her sad life and tragic death. Before following Daniel into the dangerous wintry wilderness to save him from the mob, Hannah finds that two of the three men accused in Anthea’s letter, along with Constable William Quaid, were members of a Rufford Patriot division that stumbled into an ambush at Webb’s Ford in 1777. In retaliation, three of the Patriots raped Anthea, then a young girl, and slaughtered her family. The final revelation of Anthea’s killer comes as a surprise, although several plot strands are left vague, and a few discrepancies are disquieting. At intervals, inquest transcripts, recipes, diary excerpts and marginally relevant testimonials punctuate the narrative, vividly evoking the Revolutionary period and providing authentic, if occasionally obtrusive background detail. While not perfectly fluid, the story commands attention as it immerses readers in its mystery and the past; like the extended quilt metaphor that runs through it, this novel is greater than the sum of its parts. — Publisher’s Weekly


This novel is not so much a mystery as a suspense novel. It grabs you when you first open the pages and pulls you in. Set in post revolutionary war Maine you quickly are forced into the world from a midwife’s point of view. Hanna is what you would think of as a feminist. She doesn’t conform to societies ideals for a woman. And really that is alright.

I have not read pure suspense book in sometime, and was really looking forward to this one. While it did fall somewhat short of my thought of what is a five star book it was still a good read. Some of the prose does go over board, and some of the scenes do drag. But over all it is a very enjoyable book. The characters are well thought out, and interesting. You do really want to know more about Hannah, and some of the other ladies of the book.

Most of the historical content is correct, except for one issue. Several references are made to the ladies being patchwork quilters. As a woman who knows her history (especially this era) and a woman who knows her sewing history as well it irked me. It is widely agreed upon that patchwork quilting as it’s called now was not done at this era. Quilting yes, but not the specifics of Patchwork. So that did bother me a little bit. But not enough to make me put down the book.

If you’re looking for a good historical that is just a short time after the revolution this is a good read. It doesn’t really have any romance on it. And you will follow a very interesting cast of women through the story.

Book Review: The True Confessions of Charolette Doyle by Avi


A vicious captain, a mutinous crew —
and a young girl caught in the middle

Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. Be warned, however: If strong ideas and action offend you, read no more. Find another companion to share your idle hours. For my part I intend to tell the truth as I lived it.

Newbery Honor Book

For fun and giggles I decided to read this book again. I read it a long time ago when it was more age appropriate for me. This is a nice period piece that covers a young woman’s journey through things. If you liked Pirates of the Caribbean you are very likely to enjoy True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. It is age appropriate, but it is also enjoyable and amusing for the older crowd if they wish to watch that.

Book Review: The Pickpocket Countess by Bronwyn Scott


TO BED A THIEF!

It’s Brandon Wycroft’s duty as the Earl of Stockport to catch the “Cat.” a notorious thief who is stealing from rich local homes to feed the poor. Discovering that the Cat is a woman, he changes his plan of action — to a game of seduction!

Mysterious and tempting, she teases him. And, as the net closes around the Cat, Brandon realizes he wants to protect her as well as bed her. But the only way to catch her is to spring the parson’s mousetrap — and make her his countess!

Okay, this book was a fast read and it was pretty fun overall. Really it does have some good solid characters that are enjoyable. But overall it was also predictable. You knew what was going to happen before it happened. And while that doesn’t matter sometimes and is a small issue, with this book for me it was a slightly big issue.

But, over all it was not a horrible book. And if someone doesn’t mind something slightly predicable I would recommend it. “The Cat” is a fun character a bold heroine who has fun being the Robin Hood of her area. She steals from the greedy rich men and feeds poor families with her bounty. The Earl of Stockport takes a little bit to warm up to. He’s cocky, to full of himself and won’t even admit when he’s been robbed. Or at least that the woman broke into his house while he was in it.

But eventually you warm up to him. You learn to see his point of view and have to respect how he feels about things. He’s torn between caring for the thief and wanting to see justice done. By the end of this book he did get my respect. And over the entire book was an okay read.

Friday Finds: #7

Okay so I was watching The Today Show, and Heard about this book. I promptly went out and added it to all of my Wish lists! So my Friday Find Is:


“Sometimes I lock myself in the bathroom.”

“I put an educational DVD on so I could have sex. It wasn’t with my husband.”

Romi Lassally provides a judgment-free zone where women can reveal their mommy misdemeanors. From not feeling like cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night, to barking something completely inappropriate to the children, to wanting to be pawed by hands that aren’t covered in jelly, the confessions pour in daily.

Heartfelt and hilarious, naughty and nasty, frank and outrageous, the confessions culled together for this book represent the best—or the worst?—of those humbling hidden secrets of motherhood in all its glorious messiness as improvisation and triage. They dare to suggest that it’s okay for moms to make mistakes, to have unkind thoughts, to publicly or privately embarrass themselves—and above all to be human.

About the Author
Romi Lassally is the co-creator of the popular website and the founding editor of the Lifestyles section of The Huffington Post
.

Booking Through Thursday: Windfall

Today Booking through Thursday asks:





Yesterday, April 15th, was Tax Day here in the U.S., which means lots of lucky people will get refunds of over-paid taxes.

Whether you’re one of them or not, what would you spend an unexpected windfall on? Say … $50? How about $500?

(And, this is a reading meme, so by rights the answer should be book-related, but hey, feel free to go wild and splurge on anything you like.)




Well as a book person if I was given a windfall of $50 I would simply take myself out to a nice meal, and some books. However if I got $500 I can think of other things to pay off. The first thing I would do is pay some bills ahead of time. It’s always a nice feeling to know your bills are already taken care of. Now after I did that, I would probably invest in some new book shelves. I would also get a few more books for those shelves. For me books are a stress relief so that is a good thing to get when you have some money. I would also just put some away for when it was needed.



Aw Our First Award-Lets Be Friends Award


Well we got this in a round about sort of way but its still an award. http://subjectivebeauty.blogspot.com/2009/04/lets-be-friends-award.htmlwho blessedly did out make over and will be doing others gave this Award to all of her followers. She is so sweet, and I love her work. I think would make blogs just to have her design them for me! Honest. So here is the beautiful award. And, I have to pass it on so my picks will be below.

“The Let’s be Friends Awards stands for this: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers.”

1)Anah@ Coming out of the Dark We fight, we spat. But we are sisters. And I wish she would be writting again on her blog because I think it would help her.

2) Everyone @ CBA they are GREAT! I get my TWI fix without having to write it myself.Thanks you guys!

3) Purplgrl @ So Many Books, So little time. You always are kind enough to post my contests on your blog. Thank you hun!

4) Mom Jen @ Cheaper Than Therapy On my Blog Birth of a Notion I play her ThousandWord Thursday game. And its FUN doing so. I also love reading her posts.

5) The TwiCrack Addict need I say more? Twi TWI TWI..incase you didnt noticeby my own hosting of Major Whitlock I love TWILIGHT haha..and the Twicrack addict is a great, fun blogger.

6) Molly @ My Cozy Book Nook she does great reviews, and Author interviews. One of these days I am going to get around to asking how one gets an Author Interview.

7) Tena @ Crazy Book Slut. I don’t remmber how I found Tena’s blog (brain fart) But I am so glad I did!I love reading her reviews, and all other book things.But I also enjoy her work on her Punky Monkey’s site. And if it werent for my following her blog, I wouldn’t have found Sara at Subjective Beauty. How is that for 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon? I love her blog name so much I thought about buying the domain name and giving it to her as a gift!

8) Melissa @ SHH I’m reading. I love this blog. I am not sure she knows I am there. But I am following following. And Loving it.

New Meme: Wicked Wednesday # 1

I decided since I do so many weekly Meme’s I would start one of my own. It is going to be somewhat Similar to Friday Finds, but really who wants to recommend books just one time a week. So we have Wicked Wednesday.

Fire & Ice Hosts:

Wicked Wednesday a place to be wicked to other book readers and make them get those TBR piles growing. The concept is simple. Pick a book or two and tell s about them. If its one you read tell us what you liked. If its one you found tell us about that to. Than leave a comment to let us know where to find your Wicked Wednesday titles. Make sure to link back in your posts for other people to follow Wicked Wednesday.

And my pick for the very First Wicked Wens IS…

Hearts and Bones by Margaret Lawrence. It is on my April book List to read and promises to be good. Its a 1777 murder mystery! So I get my fav history and some mistery as well. So tell me what did you find?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...