Well, it's another insomnia night so how better to fill the time than to do a post on Farts? And this will be a complicated post, with pictures and links and all that stuff. I'll be copying more or less verbatim from my Amazon preorder list, so please do bear with me.
Okay, this is what I've got listed:
Crown of Renewal (Legend of Paksenarrion) by Elizabeth Moon. Releases May 27, 2014
Shield of Winter (A Psy/Changeling Novel) by Nalini Singh. Releases June 3, 2014
Devil's Game (Reapers Motorcycle Club) by Joanne Wylde. Releases June 3, 2014
Grim Shadows (Roaring Twenties) by Jenn Bennett. Releases June 3, 2014. This is book two in the series.
The Escape (Survivor's Club) by Mary Balogh. Releases July 1, 2014
The Promise by Kristen Ashley. Releases July 8, 2014
Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels) by Ilona Andrews. Releases July 29, 2014. OMG, I can hardly wait for this book!
Murder in Retribution (A New Scotland Yard Mystery) by Anna Cleeland. Releases July 29, 2014
Unbinding (A Novel of the Lupi) by Eileen Wilkes. Releases August 5, 2014
Evernight: The Darkest London Series: Book 5 by Kristen Callihan. Releases August 26, 2014. Or so it said originally. Now it's 'not available', but I've signed up for an alert.
Forged by Desire (London Steampunk) by Bec McMaster. Releases September 2, 2014
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs. Releases September 2, 2014
Reaper's Stand (Reapers Motorcycle Club) by Joanne Wylde. Releases September 2, 2014
Night's Honor (A Novel of the Elder Races) by Thea Harrison. Releases September 2, 2014
Archangel's Shadows (Guild Hunter) by Nalini Singh. Releases October 28, 2014
Burn for Me: A Hidden Legacy Novel by Ilona Andrews. Releases October 28, 2014
Vixen in Velvet (The Dressmakers) by Loretta Chase. Release date June 24, 2014
Looks a little long, but remember release dates are mostly in different months, so I should be okay. Can you tell I love PNR?
I'm at the age where it's real dangerous to wish time away, but I have to say some of these books would be worth it. All authors are my autobuys. I have no idea if this is a long autobuy list, but I don't care. Love every one of them and I'll add Grace Draven to that list. I'm reading a serial on her blog and can't wait until I can have my own copy; already own Master of Crows and Entreat Me (a beauty and the beast story).
**Blogger is not letting me post bookcovers, I do apologize. But hopefully the links will work and you can view them on their page. The links are colored in the draft but not on the post. Why?? Anyway, the links are the book titles. I also apologize for the formatting. I can't seem to fix it. Think I'll go back to bed ...
Monday, May 26, 2014
Under Construction
If the blog starts looking a little weird, I'm just doing a little work on it.
I don't mind feedback and if there's something horrible, tell me please.
(And I know the books need blurbs and links and I'm working on it.)
I don't mind feedback and if there's something horrible, tell me please.
(And I know the books need blurbs and links and I'm working on it.)
Saturday, May 24, 2014
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
Mollie rated the book 11 on a scale of 1 - 10. I would give it a strong 9.
Basic premise: Hazel is a teenager with cancer. It's stage 4 thyroid cancer. Her life is centered around being sick. She attends a college class, and with her mother's insistence, she goes to cancer support group. She meets Augustus Waters (Gus) there and he immediately is smitten by her.
Hazel and Gus become involved, as friends and kind of boyfriend/girlfriend although that develops more throughout the story. Gus' cancer is in remission although he lost a leg to it. There's also a great friend Issac who has a rare form of cancer that claims his eyes (Isaac = eyes sick).
There's a strong subplot about a book called An Imperial Affliction that matters the world to Hazel.
I wasn't as into the thought of the book because dying teenagers aren't my cup of tea but this was about something else. It really was about understanding the universal terror of death and not leaving an imprint on the world.
It wasn't a sob-fest, both Mollie and I teared up but neither of us cried. It opened conversation and I really liked how it presented illness. Hazel and Gus both have had enough sickness and lost enough friends to the disease to have a wonderfully jaundiced view point about it.
These are not Love Story cancer patients.
I told Mollie to pick the next book we're going to read. Should be interesting.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The Right Book Can Change Your Life
I love to read. I could define my stages of life by the books I read: Little Women and anything Frances Hodgson Burnett in grade school. Stories about brave girls who faced the turmoils of life. In my junior high years I began reading more grown up books and would devour anything in my parent’s library which explains why I read The Exorcist, Portnoy’s Complaint and a lot of Sidney Sheldon.
When I went to college I began reading literary fiction and classics. I poured through Somerset Maugham, John Steinbeck and all the old, white men of letters. Unlike a lot of people, I don’t think reading any of those books was a mistake. They were brilliant and I loved them.
In my twenties I began to read a lot more diverse books from Anais Nin, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Alice Adams, A.S. Byatt. I moved from the old, white men of letters to the diverse world of literary women. Two Girls Fat and Thin by Mary Gaitskill rocked my life because I felt like she climbed inside my skin and stole my stories. Toni Morrison wrote of a mother (was it in Song of Solomon?) who bit into her child’s cheek because her love was so strong and she wanted to eat him (which years later inspired a really good poem I wrote).
Books provided an emotional backdrop and still do.
Imagine my horror to have a child who didn’t relate in the same way to books. She reads and enjoys books but her connection wasn’t deep. She never really got lost in the books.
Then came The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
She began talking about this book a couple of months ago. Told me I should read it because it has romance in it. She never said she wanted to read it, only that I should. I was slow on the uptake there. But I finally got her the book for her birthday.
She read it in two days.
We discussed it last night and my heart overflowed: my daughter read a book that opened her world and changed her. It finally happened and it was amazing to see.
We talked about different things in the book: teenagers having sex, having cancer, being in love, and dying.
For the first time she was presented with a romantic relationship and it felt right to her. My anti-love daughter talked about how much these two characters enriched each other and how it was okay for them to express themselves physically because of their situations. We talked about their fear of dying and fear of leaving someone behind.
She let this book be the catalyst to talking about how much it hurts to even think of losing someone you love, a conversation we need to have.
She wants me to read the book and I promised to start it this weekend. I doubt it’ll have the same impact on me (although I might be wrong) but it means the world to her and if it continues to open more doors then I want to walk through them with her.
Thank God I saw this happen. It was truly one of the most joyful mother moments I’ve experienced.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
My Baby Turned 13
And Mama went a little nuts.
When I turned 13, I had a Bat Mitzvah and it was a big freaking deal. I can't help but feel that 13 is a magical age because it's the beginning of the teens, it's closer to high school and the start of growing out of childhood.
In Mollie's case there have been growing issues including the joys of a body's changes, her own independence (she moved out of my bedroom and into her own) and her own awareness of the choices she gets to make that will impact her next year of schooling (or more).
I wanted to do something special for her and decided to create a scavenger hunt. She loves having her gifts hidden and having clues to find them.
When I turned 13, I had a Bat Mitzvah and it was a big freaking deal. I can't help but feel that 13 is a magical age because it's the beginning of the teens, it's closer to high school and the start of growing out of childhood.
In Mollie's case there have been growing issues including the joys of a body's changes, her own independence (she moved out of my bedroom and into her own) and her own awareness of the choices she gets to make that will impact her next year of schooling (or more).
I wanted to do something special for her and decided to create a scavenger hunt. She loves having her gifts hidden and having clues to find them.
So I picked her up from school and she got her first Batman balloon. And her first clue which announced that the Birthday Bandit had struck, stealing her gifts and birthday favors and hiding them throughout Tukwila (our town).
We were on the hunt.
Although our first stop was Burger King so she could have some chicken strips. We went through the drive thru and I ordered the special birthday meal. Mollie freaked but they were awesome and served her chicken strips and another Batman balloon.
Then she solved her first clue to go to Family Fun Center.
We arrived and she saw Batman balloons on a counter. She went over and they handed her a card to start playing. She had to earn tickets to get her gift from them and so we played.
And we got some tickets too.
A whole lot of tickets.
Over 1000 in fact.
She turned in her tickets and got to select prizes and then was surprised when they handed her a wrapped present and an envelope with her next clue.
The next clue was a picture of her on a former Halloween with a gentleman whom we adore who works at the local Community Center.
He was Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Mollie was death.
Good times.
So we headed to the community center where more Batman balloons waited along with a puzzle she had to solve. And solve it she did.
She then got cupcakes and a gift/clue. It was a Game Stop gift card (kisses to you Carolyn!!) and she was delighted.
So we went to Game Stop.
Game Stop, although a wonderful place, wouldn't let me set up in advance. So there was no waiting balloon. But there was a clue hidden that she had to find and it was hard. Since I switched out a cover on a game and put it on the shelf. Took her awhile but she found it and turned it in for her next gift and clue.
The video game in front was the fake game and the one in back was her gift.
The next clue was to the library but they refused to let us do anything there (they weren't the least bit nice) so she solved that clue but instead of going there I gave her the next clue. It was moderately disgusting.
Yeah, that's hair.
We were on our way to the salon. And someone special was waiting for us there.
Yes, that's a huge flipping Batman waiting for Mollie at the salon.
She got her shampoo and cut and was delighted.
We were both tired at that point and went home.
She opened the rest of her presents and I crashed for an hour and she played a game. Then we went to the Chinese Buffet for dinner and we're home now. We're stuffed, tired and happy.
She gave it a 9.5 out of 10 and only because the balloons started to go flat too quickly.
Happy Birthday my darling girl. 13 years of love. Can't wait for the next 13.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
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