Contents of blog copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2023
I've been gone a while. I started reading fanfiction to escape and I got sucked in an abyss.

I have no idea if someone else is hosting similar challenges. I just grabbed some of what I have hosted before.

Here's to a happy year of great reading
Jan2023: Not much has changed. Writing a fanfiction now O_o as well as reading but I bought 7 new books in December and hope to get those read soon. Crossing fingers about adding challenges (late!)

Saturday, May 30, 2009

After Etan

After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive
by Lisa R. Cohen

Grand Central Publishing
May 2009
400 pages (per amazon my copy has 367)


Amazon.com Sales Rank: #689 in Books

Popular in these categories:
#2 in Books > Nonfiction > True Accounts > True Crime
#3 in Books > Nonfiction > True Accounts > Murder & Mayhem
#24 in Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology




from amazon.com: "On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his apartment to go to his school bus stop. It was the first time he walked the two short blocks on his own.

But he never made it to school that day. He vanished somewhere between his home and the bus stop, and was never seen again.

The search for Etan quickly consumed the downtown Manhattan neighborhood where his family lived. Soon afterward, "Missing" posters with Etan's smiling face blanketed the city, followed by media coverage that turned Etan's disappearance into a national story-one that would change our cultural landscape forever.

Thirty years later, May 25 is recognized as National Missing Children's Day, in Etan's honor. But despite the overwhelming publicity his case received, the public knows only a fraction of what happened. That's because the story of Etan Patz is more than a heartbreaking mystery. It is also the story of the men, women, and children who were touched by his life in the months and years after he vanished. It's the story of the agonies and triumphs of the Patz family. It's the story of the extraordinary twists and turns of federal prosecutor Stuart GraBois's relentless pursuit of his prime suspect. From GraBois's creative "outside the box" tactics, to the veteran cop who made his first pedophile bust on a dark Times Square rooftop, to the FBI rookie who cut her teeth chasing the case through the dark recesses of a child molester's mind, this is the story of all the heroic investigators who to this day, thirty years later, continue to seek justice for Etan.

In AFTER ETAN, author Lisa Cohen draws on hundreds of interviews and nearly twenty years of research-including access to the personal files of the Patz family-to reveal for the first time the entire dramatic tale."

From John Miller, former co-anchor of 20/20: "The story of the disappearance of Etan Patz is a story that almost everyone remembers the beginning of and only a handful of people know the end of. For the first time, Lisa Cohen finally unravels a complex and tangled mystery while seamlessly telling the heart wrenching story of a family trying to cope with every parent's worst nightmare. The vivid descriptions and the incredible detail make you feel like you are there every step of the way. The book pulls you in. It can be painful at times and still, you can't put the book down."

~*~


"Julie walks Etan down the three flights to the front door. He isn't tall enough to reach the lock himself... She sees the familiar figures of other parents and their children beginning to congregate near the bus stop, which is just barely out of sight around the corner..." Her friend and neighbor, Karen, was going to pick Etan up from the bus stop after school. When 3:30 p.m. comes around, Julie's concerned but thinks the buses are delayed since it is the first week back since the strike. Finally, she phones Karen. Karen assumed that when Etan hadn't gotten off the bus he had gone to another friend's, as he often did, for a semi-regular playdate. With Julie on the line, she asked her daughter if she knew where Etan had gone after school. "Etan wasn't in school today".

At 3:50 p.m., on a Friday before a three-day weekend, she calls the police to report her son missing. Now it was almost 4:30 p.m. and the cops still hadn't shown up. You see, way back when, the cops first thoughts were custody dispute or run away. What's the hurry, you'll find him at a friends house, what's one more in a crowd of kids - some other mother just forgot to call you to say he was at her house. By the time the police get there, there is no one at the school office to confirm Etan's absence. Luckily, one of the officers remembered he knew the janitor and they were able to get in. Absence confirmed. Etan never showed up to school.

Twenty years later, they still don't know what happened to their little boy.

This is a heartwrenching story but also a story of survival and triumph, friendship and hope. May 25, 1979 may have been the day innocence died for many but it is also the day eyes were opened. Okay, not exactly on the 25th but Etan was the catalyst for many of our child safety laws, including the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He's why we teach our kids "good touch, bad touch" and "stranger danger". It is a must read for all who work with or have children, not to make you paranoid, but to make you aware. In Julie's own words, "They have to grow and gain confidence in themselves. You can't lock them in the house or in class. They'll never learn how to fend for themselves. Walk with them. Teach them how to protect themselves. Give them a life." (page 346)

Friday, May 29, 2009

Death by Cashmere

Death by Cashmere
by Sally Goldenbaum

An Obsidian Mystery
NAL, a division of Penguin Group
August 2008
294 pages plus scarf pattern




Isabel "Izzy" Chambers leaves her law career in Boston and heads to Sea Harbor, the quaint fishing town where she spent summer vacations as a girl. She opens a knitting shop where a diverse group of women begin congregating each week to form the Seaside Knitters.

Izzy rents the apartment above the shop to a returning home-town girl, even though it raises concerns and eyebrows. People thought Angelina was too big for the town and wondered why she would take a job at the local museum. Angelina saw everything in black and white and had a temper. She may have been unpopular with some of the townspeople but would any of them hate her enough to kill?


Have you ever had someone tell you a story where they put in so much detail you just want to shake them and yell, "get to the point already!"? This book was a little like that for me at the beginning. I almost felt like I was dropped in the middle of the story but that cleared up. This was a library book (that's one challenge), a new author (that's another challenge), and a mystery (that's a third challenge) and just interesting enough that I kept picking it back up. I am very glad I persevered. All the details filled in what life is like in the small town, how everyone fit together and how the death (murder?) of one pulls the weave off center.

I was very satisfied with how this one ended, how all the pieces fit together without loose ends or a big rush to the finish. I'm looking forward to reading the next book, Patterns in the Sand.



I improved my review time! Reviewed the day I finished reading and remembered to post on the 999 Challenge site :)

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Teddyree's Eclectic Giveaway

Teddyree at the Eclectic Reader is having an eclectic giveaway


Six different books to choose from:

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong - (Women of the Otherworld, Book 1)
Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling, Book 1)
Distracting the Duchess by Emily Bryan
Witch Fire by Anya Bast - (Elemental Witches, Book 1)
A Place Beyond Courage by Elizabeth Chadwick


...and several ways to enter. Check out her blog for more details but hurry! Giveaway ends May 31!!!

In my Mailbox & at the Bookstore! updated

In My Mailbox: actually it was an order from amazon - Warriors in the Mist for one of my romance challenges. I needed a "romance sub-genre you don't normally read." I really had to think about this one because I thought I read a bit of everything. Turns out I don't do medieval or dark fantasy. This book is perfect... posted on amazon, "Medieval Dark Fantasy: An epic romance is featured in this masterfully written novel that takes place in the mystical, magical Dark Ages..."



I went shopping with my birthday money! It is slightly possible, just slightly mind, that I went a little overboard today....

Rogue Forces by Dale Brown

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, book 5) by Rick Riordan

Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston

The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer

Consent to Kill: A Thriller (Mitch Rapp Novels) by Vince Flynn - dang, this one says 2006 at Amazon- I wonder if we already own it???

Break No Bones: A Temperance Brennan Novel by Kathy Reichs

Up Close and Dangerous by Linda Howard

The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block

Firefly lane by Kristen Hannah

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Teaser Tuesday



Teaser Tuesdays asks you to:

--Grab your current read
--Let the book open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
--You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from… that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

~this isn't my current read, just 2009, but it is in the pile next to the computer waiting for me to review.

"She imagined something as silky as the paint sliding across her skin, someone's hands sliding across her skin, the beat in her blood solid and strong.The paint was so there, in that moment, real, and she straightened and slashed the bright brush across the stone gray on the wall, and the amber leapt out at her, making her draw in her breath, and said, "Yes," and dipped the brush in and slashed again, and then again, splashing the light to obliterate the dark, gasping with the color as the heat rose, the contrast and the slide making her breathe harder as she stroked away the gray, painting faster, watching the room begin to glow, getting dizzier and dizzier as the beat began to coil tight within her, and when she finished the third wall, she stripped off her top and then her pants to paint in her underwear, panting and shivering."



from Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Cruise, Anne Stuart and Lani Diane Rich. NOT an anthology. Single novel with three writers.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Library Books

Death by Cashmere is checked out & Beach Street Knitting is ready for me to pick up



Books on reserve




If I can read all these, I'll add to a couple challenges...

999 challenge (completes my non-fiction category)
New to You Authors ~9~ more new authors!
Support Your Local Library (& completes the challenge)
In Their Shoes (Happens Every Day & Step by Step works, how about After Etan or Columbine?)



6-3 update: (# in queue and title)
40 - Summer on Blossom Street
1 - The Forgotten Garden
- Columbine (no number, does that mean it is traveling to the library?)
16 - Happens Every Day: an all-too-true story
- Desperate Passage (now available)
- Step by Step (now available)
13 - Dropped Dead Stitch
5 - Slave to Sensation
13 - The Summoning

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Children's books!

Isn't it sad, I've signed up for so many challenges that I can't remember if I've signed up for this one. If not, I should. I LOVE children's books!


Becky from Becky's Book Reviews has a Young Readers blog with the Young Readers Challenge. She wants you to post reviews on the 15th and you don't have to do one a month, just 12 in the year. I think I can post 3 or 4 before the wedding and get the rest after our reunion/vacation.




1. And Tango Makes Three reviewed
2. The Different Dragon reviewed
3. If You Give a Cat a Cupcake
4. There's No Such Thing as a Dragon reviewed
5. The Dragonling
6. A Dragon in the Family
7. The Last Holiday Concert
8. The Library Card

Do these fit?
DragonSpell
DragonQuest
DragonKnight
DragonFire
DragonLight

Read Your Own Books Challenge


The rules for this challenge are very simple…

* set a goal for how many of your OWN books you’d like to read in 2009
~I've read 16. I hope to read 40 total and review at least half of them~


* read from your own collection between January 1st and December 31st, 2009

And, that’s basically it! You don’t have to create a list beforehand (’cause we all know that our reading preferences change as the year progresses), and you can even read books that come into your possession (that will be yours to keep) during the year!

Some other helpful hints…

- you CAN overlap with other challenges

- eBooks and Audiobooks count AS LONG AS they are from your own collection


This is being hosted by MizB Challenges You - she's got others too!


I've added some of my own rules: I will NOT count re-reads.

1. Married in Seattle reviewed
2. The Spy Who Came for Christmas
3. Dewey, The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
4. Dashing Through the Snow
5. Endymion Spring
6. Mistaken Identity reviewed
7. Bookends
8. The Friday Night Knitting Club
9. A Single Thread
10. Counting Stars
11. Hide
12. The Fit Factor
13. Evidence
14. Flirting with Pete
15. The Outstretched Shadow
16. To Light a Candle
17. The Penguin Who Knew too Much
18. Killed by Clutter
19. The Last Holiday Concert
20. The Wizard Heir
21. People of the Book
22. Eye Contact
23. Familiar Vows
24. The Different Dragon
25. The Summer of Cotton Candy
26. The Fall of Candy Corn
27. The Winter of Candy Canes
28. The Spring of Candy Apples
29. Killed by Clutter
30. The Matchmakers
31. Dogs and Goddesses
32. Brighter then the Sun
33. The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheever
34. The Quickening
35. Rewriting Monday
36. The Time Travveler's Wife
37. Firefly Lane
38. Murder Under a Mystic Moon
39. The Trouble with Magic
40. The Man from Nowhere
41. Faeries Gone Wild
42. Lip Service
43. Straight from the Hip
44. Under Her Skin
45. A Circle of Souls
46. A Historical Christmas Present
47. Twenty Wishes
48. The Accidental Mother
49. Wait Until Twilight
50. Tempting the Beast
51. Room at the Inn
52. Dragonlight
53. Dancing With Ana
54. On a Wild Night
55. Fearless
56. Evermore
57. Familiar showdown
58. Fairyville
59. Water Witch
60.

Time for a Challenge Update

Actually, I'm procrastinating. We're have a party on Monday and I don't want to clean house :p

A Progress Report was posted March 2 but I've read books, joined more challenges, and completed others since then....



20 in 2009 - Hosted here
(20 out of 20)
end date: Dec 31
completed March 20
10 out of 20 reviewed


100+ Reading Challenge - Hosted here
(129 out of 100 and counting)
end date: Dec 31
I completed #100 on Apr 27


999 Challenge - Hosted here
(49 out of 81 with overlaps)
end date: Sep 9/Dec 31


A - Z Reading Challenge (titles) - Hosted?
This is not my challenge but I didn't post WHERE!
(26 out of 26)
end date: Dec 31
completed in April


Banned Books - Hosted here
(2 out of 4)
February 22 (Freedom to Read Week in Canada) to June 30


Be Inspired - Hosted here
(two-parts, 1 out of 2)
end date: Dec 31


Book Buddy/Blog Recommended - Hosted?
Thought I signed up for this, let me know if you find it.
(0 out of 5-10)
end date: Dec 31


Books into Movies - Hosted here
(0 out 2)
end date: Dec 31


Christian Reader Challenge - Hosted here
(6 out of as many as you like)
end date: Apr 30
completed #6 Apr 29


eBook Challenge - Hosted here
(10 out of 10)
end date: Dec 31
completed Apr 20


Every Month is a Holiday - Hosted here
(2 out of 12)
end date: perpetual


Fantastical Challenge - Hosted here
(30 out of ?)
end date: February and March
Not really completed - was supposed to REVIEW the books read


Herding Cats II - Hosted here
(0 out of 5)
end date: Apr 1 to Dec 31


In Their Shoes - Hosted here
(3 out of 4)
end date: Dec 31

Love Bites - Hosted here
(3 out of 3)
end date: Apr 1 to Jun 30 (completed the reading 6-21)
reviews? 1 out of 3


I thought I had joined a read-two-Military-books-Challenge but can't find it :( I have THREE military-type books to read this year.


NaJuReMoNoMo - Hosted here
(14 out of 10) COMPLETED
end date: January only


New to You Authors - Hosted here
(17 out of 20)- no way could I do 50 new authors!
end date: Dec 31


Pages Read - Hosted here
(38,191 out of 50,000)
end date: Dec 31
Wow, not even half the year gone and already more than half completed!


Prey Challenge - Hosted here
(0 out of ....)
end date: Perpetual


2009 Pub Challenge - Hosted here
(5 out of 9)
end date: Dec 31


Read Your Own Books Challenge - Hosted here
(35 out of as many as you can/want)
end date: Dec 31


Read-a-fest, author Lisa Jackson - Hosted here
(0 out of as many as you can)
end date: Apr 1 to Jun 30


Reading My Name - Hosted here
(1 out of 2 or 3)
end date: Feb 1 to Jun 30


Reading through the Seasons - Hosted here
(5 out of 4-16, bonus)
I've gone as far as I'm going to
two books for each season including the bonus.
end date: Dec 31


Rescue Challenge - Hosted here
(0 out of 6 - 12) read 3 – 6 out of “any books you know deep down you will never read” & get rid of them!
end date: Dec 31


Riding the Reading Wave young adult - Hosted here
(8 out of 12) new reads
end date: Dec 31



Romance Reading Challenge
- Hosted here
(5 out of 5) COMPLETED in April
end date: Dec 31


Romance Club Challenge - Hosted here
(3 out of 4) other title chosen
end date: Dec 31


Royal Reveiews Romance Challenge - Hosted here
( out of 7) three titles chosen
end date: June 1 to Nov 30


Serial Readers Challenge - Hosted here
( out of )
end date: Dec 31


Support Your Local Library - Hosted here
(7 out of 12)
end date: Dec 31


TBR Challenge - Hosted here
(4 out of 12)
end date: Dec 31


What’s in a Name? - Hosted here
(4 out of 6)
end date: Dec 31


I thought I had joined a Read-Worthwhile-Books-Challenge. Hopefully I can join next year.


Young Reader’s Challenge Children’s books! – Hosted here
(7 out of 12)
end date: Dec 31











This isn't all of them, posting as I update & take a break from cleaning :) This should be all of them, not sure if I've update each challenge page but I can always take another break later :)

Challenges I'm thinking about doing...

I'm getting a late start on these and may not end up doing them officially. However, they are one's I want to do next time around!



Katrina at Callapidder Days is hosting Spring Reading Thing but you've got to hurry, it ends June 20!











Kris at Not Enough Books and other things is hosting Cozy Mystery Challenge. This one gives me a little more time, it ends September 30!










Kristen at BookNAround is hosting Compass Points Challenge. This one ends August 31!







Jennie at Biblio File is hosting Guardian 1000 Challenge. The British paper, The Guardian, has come up with a list of 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read Before They Die. So, the challenge is to read and review 10 books off the list (that's 1%) between February 1st of 2009 and February 1st of 2010. Jennie has the link to Guardian's list as well as posting it herself in case it's removed. She gave us a year but I am late....










MoonRat has started a craze and Emily started the blog.... The idea is to post up to 100 books, usually ones you should read but don't get around to, to be read in the next five years. I can read 100 books in five years. I can even read 100 'should be reading' books in five years. My problem will be deciding on the 100 books!









This one has been moved to it's own page!

Isn't it sad, I've signed up for so many challenges that I can't remember if I've signed up for this one. If not, I should. I LOVE children's books!


Becky from Becky's Book Reviews also has a Young Readers blog with the Young Readers Challenge. She wants you to post reviews on the 15th and you don't have to do one a month, just 12 in the year. I think I can post 3 or 4 before the wedding and get the rest after our reunion/vacation.

Friday, May 22, 2009

May 25: National Missing Children's Day

On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his apartment to go to his school bus stop. It was the first time he walked the two short blocks on his own.
But he never made it to school that day. He vanished somewhere between his home and the bus stop, and was never seen again.

The search for Etan quickly consumed the downtown Manhattan neighborhood where his family lived. Soon afterward, "Missing" posters with Etan's smiling face blanketed the city, followed by media coverage that turned Etan's disappearance into a national story-one that would change our cultural landscape forever.

Thirty years later, May 25 is recognized as National Missing Children's Day, in Etan's honor. But despite the overwhelming publicity his case received, the public knows only a fraction of what happened. That's because the story of Etan Patz is more than a heartbreaking mystery. It is also the story of the men, women, and children who were touched by his life in the months and years after he vanished. It's the story of the agonies and triumphs of the Patz family. It's the story of the extraordinary twists and turns of federal prosecutor Stuart GraBois's relentless pursuit of his prime suspect. From GraBois's creative "outside the box" tactics, to the veteran cop who made his first pedophile bust on a dark Times Square rooftop, to the FBI rookie who cut her teeth chasing the case through the dark recesses of a child molester's mind, this is the story of all the heroic investigators who to this day, thirty years later, continue to seek justice for Etan.

In AFTER ETAN, author Lisa Cohen draws on hundreds of interviews and nearly twenty years of research-including access to the personal files of the Patz family-to reveal for the first time the entire dramatic tale.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Every Month a Holiday

edited Nov 18: I give up. I didn't forget about the challenge, I just haven't done anything about it and will have to abandon it for the foreseeable future. I think it's a great idea and hope the site stays up so I can try it again later.




...or birthday, or celebration.... This is a perpetual challenge so I jumped in. CCDPiper has posted the rules, etc... here. And just in case; everymonthisaholiday.blogspot.com :)


"I am going to post by month, what holiday takes place in said month and the person may then choose what book they would like to read. And believe me, it is easy. For example, the month of Emmet Kelly's birthday (he is a clown) a person may choose to read about clowns, a circus, etc, Like Water for Elephants." And since Emmet was born in Peru, Ind., you could read a regional book as well.

"The challenge is one book per month, but it does not have to be in any order." This sounds great except I joined May 13 and have already read April's book. I've only got two weeks to read May's book!

April: Anne McCraffrey's birthday - The Masterharper of Pern (completed 4-3)

May: Armed Forces Day & National Military Appreciation Month - Soft Spots
also, National Missing Children's Day - After Etan (completed 5-30)
After Etan completed 5-30, reviewed


June:
I'll try for something about Summer Solstice or authored by George Orwell or Pearl S. Buck

July:
Hitchhiking Month - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

August:
Make a Difference to Children Month, Chocolate Chip Day, Friendship Day, Garrison Keillor & my anniversary

September:
Banned books-celebrate the freedom to read, Deaf Awareness Week

October:
Pastor Appreciation Month - Dark Moon (written by a Pastor)

November:

December:

January 2010:

February:

March:


I'm not sure about the list. I need to check the list of holidays in more depth.

What are you reading on Mondays?



A Kid to the Rescue

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Herding Cats II

Let's Get Literate is hosting this challenge which runs from April 1 to December 31. I don't have a list ready but this is too fun not to try.


Rules
1. Make a list of five books you love. Directions:

* Five. I'm as serious as a beached whale.
* All titles must be books you've read in 2007, 2008 or 2009.
* Please don't list a series; just the first book. If you really want to list a book in the middle of a series, you can, but it has to be that specific book.
* Feel free to share why you're putting the book on your list, because I am nosy.

Monday, May 11, 2009

another Romance Challenge

Really, what was I thinking. The rules seem simple but I'm starting out late.... Rules etc, are here. Check it out!


1. Read a romance by an author whose last name starts with "G"

2. Read a romance from a sub-genre you don't usually read from: contemporary, historical, romantic suspense, paranormal, etc.

3. Read a romance containing a titled name in its title such as viscount, duke, duchess, princess, prince, etc.

4. Read a romance first published in 2009



1. A Kid to the Rescue by Susan Gable (completed 5-11)
2. "Warriors in the Mist a medieval dark fantasy" with an Epic Romance
3. The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown (completed 4-9)
4. Rewriting Monday (completed 4-?)

Insatiable Desire listed Romance, horror and I need to read it for another challenge!


woo hoo! Now the hard part, finding a romance sub-genre I don't usually read. Maybe a different time period/setting for historical? Do they have romantic horror?

Love Bites



I'm such a sucker and I should know better then signing up for a challenge that ends so close to the wedding! However, I've got some were books I want to re-read so why not? Plus it's only three books. I can do three, even though I'm almost two months late!

Challenge runs from April 1 to June 30 (see, I'm very late). You can cross this over with another challenge and change your mind on the books you'd like to read halfway through if you like.

To sign up, please post a comment here with your name, blog address (if applicable) and the first book you intend to read. We recommend signing up to follow both Royal Reviews and The Love Bites Reading Challenge Blog to keep up to date with news and reviews for the duration of the challenge. You could even follow us publicly if you want to show the love :-)






1. Dogs and Goddesses (finished in April) reviewed
2. The Magical Christmas Cat (finished Jun 4) reviewed
3. Bonds of the Maleri' (finished Jun 21) reviewed




yea, only one more and it's on my Touch - ready to go! now to get these reviewed.

6-21: I have NO idea what book on my touch fits this! Wish I had written it down :)

Book give-a-way

Not mine, but I get another entry if I post about Alaine's Give-a-way! The post about the give-a-way is here, but hurry, it ends May 31.

There are five books to choose from so check it out.

Royal Review Romance Challenge

edited 11-18: 7 books to read & review. 6 books read and 0 reviews done. Failed challenge but found a new author and read some great books. Case closed.





ooo, another challenge! I seem to be heavy on the romance books this year so this will be good for me but still interesting since it's not just any romance book. To complete the challenge, the title or author's name will need to begin with the letters R-O-M-A-N-C-E and must be classified as a romance novel (this includes as romance sub genre including contemporary, historical or paranormal). Challenge runs from June 1 to November 30, but you may join at anytime. Here's the kicker for me, books must be reviewed to count!

The Royal Reviews is hosting this one, instructions and sign-ups are here


R - Paradise Valley by Robyn Carr (read and review)

O - On a Wild Night by Stephanie Laurens (read and review)

M - Under Her Skin by Susan Mallery (read and review)

A - Adopted Son by Linda Warren (read and review)

N - Never too Late by Robyn Carr (read and review)

C - Deep in the Valley by Robyn Carr (read and review)

E -



Okay, I'm ready! I've got real-life stuff interfering with my books right now so I'm going to wait to choose my books. But I'll be thinking about it!


5-23: dang, it. I own all three books and want to read them NOW. In fact, if not for the challenge, I would have ;p but since I also bought them for the challenge.... I still need to choose the rest of my books for I'm going to try to wait until after the wedding so I'll have something to read while on vacation - I can read in the car!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Rewriting Monday

Rewriting Monday
Jodi Thomas

Berkley
April 7, 2009
mass market paperback
352 pages


Mike McCullock took over for his brother as editor of the Bailee Bugle out of familial obligation. Mike always knew he was not the chosen son but when his brother was killed, he stepped in. With the paper and with his brother's child.

Pepper Malone ran a story that may cost her her life. It has already cost her her career and run her out of the big city. She's come to Bailee for some quiet time hoping things will blow over and she'll head back to the city. But while she in "Nowhere, Texas" she needs a job and the Bailee Bugle has a Help Wanted sign out front...

Things are not always what they seem for someone hates the paper enough to kill. Pepper and Mike and a lovable cast of characters must work together to uncover secrets and lies before all Mike loves is gone, including Pepper and his beloved niece.


I picked this one up because of the cover, thinking Blossom Street. Read the back because Rewriting Monday sounded intriguing. Sucked into the story and fell in love. and not just with Mike and Pepper! I'll be reading more of this author.

Challenges:
New to You Authors
100+
2009 Pub Challenge
999
pages Read

The Bridgertons by Julia Quinn

just a quick overview.


England, 1800's.

Eight children. Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, Hyacinth. This is an unusual family in that the father was involved in their lives. Usually, in this time period, the children are paraded before parents maybe once a day before being sent back to the nursery and the parents leave for another party. Sounds harsh but that's what is seems to be happening from reading so many books set during this time period.

Violet is 8 months pregnant with Hyacinth when Edmund dies, from a bee sting. Anthony is 18.

Book 1: The Duke and I (Daphne)
Book 2: The Viscount who Loved Me (Anthony)
Book 3: An Offer from a Gentleman (Benedict)
Book 4: Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Colin)
Book 5: To Sir Phillip, With Love (Eloise)
Book 6: When He was Wicked (Francesca)
Book 7: It's in His Kiss (Hyacinth)
Book 8: On the Way to the Wedding (Gregory)


All the books are a boy-meets-girl variety. The girls are independent and the boys may be rogues but it is love everlasting. This is a close-knit family and while book 5 may be Eloise's story, most, if not all, the family is in it.

I read book 4 first and enjoyed it so much that I started at book one and purchased them all. This is the second time going through the series and they are just as enjoyable.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Pages read for April

5-10: As I was staring at my pile of books to review, I noticed a recent read (April) that I hadn't included! I thought it was great fun that I read 43 titles two months in a row, but dang, I've adjusted my list.

Books/Pages Read information for April
Total titles/bindings: 44 (some were very, very, short but still a single binding)


Total pages read: 8,450
average read per day: 282

Pages Title

352 Rewriting Monday
370 Romancing Mister Bridgerton
431 The Masterharper of Pern
279 Evidence
364 When He Was Wicked
400 Further Observations of Lady Whistledown
_?_ Beyond Lies the Wub
384 The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheever
101 The Quickening
355 Flirting with Pete
608 The Outstretched Shadow
656 To Light a Candle
608 When Darkness Falls
203 The Fall of Candy Corn
198 The Winter of Candy Canes
187 The Spring of Candy Apples
256 Broken Boundaries
_69 Angel Heart
210 Snow Angel
291 Love Me Still
_46 A Soldier’s Choice Christmas (yes, again)
201 A Soldier’s Choice (yes, again)
295 Subic Surrender-Michael’s story
_67 ISP
192 Drawing Closer
_42 Between Us
_14 Not Sir
_11 Possessor & Possessed
164 Gemini
_52 Summer Bliss
110 Sunshine, Sex & Sunflowers
102 The Last Bouquet
_59 Secret Service
_54 Turquoise & Leather
_47 Gaydar
201 A Soldier’s Choice
_46 A Soldier’s Choice Christmas
_58 Taboo Desires
147 Allergies
_53 Jake’s Regret
_47 Special Delivery
_34 The Obsolete Man
_11 Chew Toy
129 The One That Got Away (TC Blue)

Thursday, May 7, 2009

off topic: real life funny

My daughter is getting married in July. There are five bridesmaids and we're making the dresses (with help!). I had mentally planned on spending all of June to find the perfect mother-of-the-bride dress. I looked at the Bridal place but I feel that I'm younger, and more casual, then what they had. I needed something dressy enough for the wedding while still being able to wear it to church. See why I planned on a whole month?

We hadn't bought the fabric yet so my daughter & I had gone to the store to try, one more time, to find good bridesmaid dresses (didn't) and thought to look for me while there. I found one! Unbelievable. One less thing to worry about.

Now it's three weeks later and I'm watching TV. There is a Sprint (cellphone) commercial on "If movie crews were in charge of weddings". Very cute commercial but imagine my surprise when I see the bride's mother. She's wearing my dress!

just thought it was funny

...and yes, it makes a great mother-of-the-bride dress even if I think I'm younger then the women in the commercial...now I can spend June making her veil.

Books read in April

5-10: As I was staring at my pile of books to review, I noticed a recent read (April) that I hadn't included! I thought it was great fun that I read 43 titles two months in a row, but dang, I've adjusted my information.

Total titles/bindings: 44
Total pages read: 8,450
average read per day: 282


New-to-me (mainstream) fiction: Rewriting Monday, The Outstretched Shadow, To Light a Candle, When Darkness Falls, Flirting With Pete, The Spring of Candy Apples, The Winter of Candy Canes, The Fall of Candy Corn, The Quickening, The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheever, Beyond Lies the Wub, Evidence


New non-fiction:


Re-reads: Further Observations of lady Whistledown, When He Was Wicked, The Masterharper of Pern, Romancing Mister Bridgerton
Disclaimer

In accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Book Dragon's Lair. All books I review are either borrowed, purchased by me, given as a gift, won in some kind of contest, or received in exchange for an honest review.