Taking A Break

As you can tell, I haven't been keeping up with my blog regularly like I used to. I've been having trouble concentrating on reading and staying interested in books. I've started 3 different books and haven't been able to finish any of them. Lately I have preferred watching TV over reading which is SO not like me. I think I need to take a break for awhile.

I'll be back when I feel refreshed!

Thanks for continuing to follow my blog.....I wish all of you the best in 2011 ~ Happy New Year!

"We will open the book. It's pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity and
it's first chapter is New Years Day."

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Merry Christmas ~ Let's not forget what this season is all about~

~Mailbox Monday~

This is what I received last week!

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King:

A new collection of four never-before-published stories from Stephen King.

1922
The story opens with the confession of Wilfred James to the murder of his wife, Arlette, following their move to Hemingford, Nebraska onto land willed to Arlette by her father.

Big Driver
Mystery writer, Tess, has been supplementing her writing income for years by doing speaking engagements with no problems. But following a last-minute invitation to a book club 60 miles away, she takes a shortcut home with dire consequences.

Fair Extension
Harry Streeter, who is suffering from cancer, decides to make a deal with the devil but, as always, there is a price to pay.

A Good Marriage
Darcy Anderson learns more about her husband of over twenty years than she would have liked to know when she stumbles literally upon a box under a worktable in their garage

A Pocketful of Names by Joe Coomer:

Inhabiting an island off the coast of Maine, left to her by her great-uncle Arno, Hannah finds her life as a dedicated and solitary artist rudely interrupted one summer when a dog, matted with feathers and seaweed, arrives with the tide. The dog quickly endears himself and easily adapts to Hannah's schedule, but he is only the first in a string of unexpected visitors. He is soon followed by a teenager running from an abusive father, a half sister in trouble, a mainland family in need, and a trapped whale. Now in the midst of a community that depends on her for support and love, Hannah faces new emotional challenges as a series of family secrets are uncovered, each one more alarming than the last.

What was in YOUR mailbox last week?

I've been lazy.....

I've not been blogging much lately, and I apologize. I am going through another slow reading phase. I've had a bad run of books lately. I've got a lot of things going on at the moment, so I am hoping to get back on track by the New Year.

I did receive my Secret Santa gift in the mail, from an awesome new friend, Heather Figearo, author of the blog Raging Bibliomania. She instinctively knew what my favorite things were, because they were all in my gift package! I got a pair of fuzzy slipper socks with penguins on them, a bag of Lindsor Truffle chocolates, 2 bottles of nail polish, and the novel "Oogy", which I have been dying to read! Thank you again, Heather, I am enjoying everything. Please go by and visit her blog and say hi~

I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season, filled with family, fun and warm memories. Don't forget to relax and find time for yourself....curl up with a good book and cup of hot tea or cocoa.....

XOXO

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

From Goodreads:

Jude Farraday is a happily married, stay-at-home mom who puts everyone’s needs above her own. Her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill enters their lives, no one is more supportive than Jude. A former foster child with a dark past, Lexi quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable. But senior year of high school brings unexpected dangers and one night, Jude’s worst fears are confirmed: there is an accident. In an instant, her idyllic life is shattered and her close-knit community is torn apart. People and Jude demand justice, and when the finger of blame is pointed, it lands solely on eighteen-year-old Lexi Baill. In a heartbeat, their love for each other will be shattered, the family broken. Lexi gives up everything that matters to her the boy she loves, her place in the family, the best friend she ever had while Jude loses even more. When Lexi returns, older and wiser, she demands a reckoning. Long buried feelings will rise again, and Jude will finally have to face the woman she has become. She must decide whether to remain broken or try to forgive both Lexi…and herself. Night Road is a vivid, emotionally complex novel that raises profound questions about motherhood, loss, identity, and forgiveness. It is an exquisite, heartbreaking novel that speaks to women everywhere about the things that matter most.

My Thoughts:

I won this ARC from Librarything Early Reviewers. I was excited to read it because I loved Firefly Lane. However, the characters in Night Road kept me from enjoying it. I felt a strong dislike for Jude. I thought that Mia and Zach acted like spoiled rich kids. Lexie was really the only character that I could connect with, but I felt she was a typical orphan down-on-her-luck character. The story just did not seem real to me. Sorry folks, Night Road was not my cup of tea.
Fair

~Teaser Tuesday~

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

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

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! ;)

My teaser today comes from Gray Baby by Scott Loring Sanders:

~Unlike the diminutive Charlie, who zipped around in the truck like it was his second living room, the man had to hunch a little as he walked. He had solid blue tattoos up and down his wiry arms, and because there were no other colors, and because there were so many of them, Clifton couldn't discern one from the other.~ pg. 147

What's YOUR teaser today????

~Mailbox Monday~

I received 3 books last week, all from Goodreads Swap!

The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman:

In 1962 Vermont, Natalie's mother is told that a summer resort does not accept Jews. When Natalie tries to enter the world that has excluded her, she succeeds beyond her wildest dreams through the sheerest of accidents.

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans:

"My name is Alan Christoffersen. You don’t know me. ‘Just another book in the library,’ my father would say. ‘Unopened and unread.’ You have no idea how far I’ve come or what I’ve lost. More important, you have no idea what I’ve found." —Prologue

What would you do if you lost everything—your job, your home, and the love of your life—all at the same time? When it happens to Seattle ad executive Alan Christoffersen, he’s tempted by his darkest thoughts. A bottle of pills in his hand and nothing left to live for, he plans to end his misery. Instead, he decides to take a walk. But not any ordinary walk. Taking with him only the barest of essentials, Al leaves behind all that he’s known and heads for the farthest point on his map: Key West, Florida. The people he encounters along the way, and the lessons they share with him, will save his life—and inspire yours.

Aimee by Mary Beth Miller:

After she is accused of playing a role in her best friend's death, a young woman battles depression, anger, guilt, loneliness, and the problems of her own family as well as those of the families of her old friends.


What's in YOUR mailbox today???