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, January 23, 2010

Unplugged and more....



Gonna be Unplugged for a while.

This time it won't be for a fun reason :-( I only lasted a week last time I tried to be unplugged but this time I'm sick so I don't know how long I'll be gone. I've got some review books & new purchases to tell you about and an author interview but it will all have to wait.

Happy reading,

Gina


copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Q&A with Jack Gresham, author of 18 Billion


In Washington, D.C., a cell of Afghan terrorists—armed with a nuclear weapon—conspire to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of 18 billion dollars. The money is intended to fund Mohammed of Babylon, who is the prophesied redeemer of Islam. Mohammed, however, is a man of peace and must find a way to rectify the wrong done to the United States without angering his followers.

In the meantime, a federal investigation into the attack uncovers a frightening plot by an international corporation to fund and manufacture global terrorism, leaving the feds wondering what it will take to counter the terrorism already set in motion.

The book leaves readers asking themselves, “Could something like this really happen?”



I'm trying really hard to be a good girl and read my review books in order but I'm itching to get this one read. These are not my questions but I hope you enjoy them....and if the book sounds good to you, pay attention to #14 ;D


1. Tell us about your new book, 18 Billion.

18 Billion is the story of a nuclear threat against the United States by Afghan immigrants, who are Muslim. They plan to use the threat to rob the New York Federal Reserve Bank of its cash reserves and send that money to a Mohammed of Babylon, whom they believe to be the Mahdi. Mohammed, who is a proclaimed “man of peace” wants no part of terrorist activity and after receiving the money, seeks to return it to the United States without betraying the trust of his fellow Muslims. There is also the underlying plot of an international terrorist group that requires interdiction at multiple sites around the world, involving agencies of the United States government. At the end, Mohammed finds that he has used means of terror to combat terror. It leaves him in a quandary that he must somehow resolve by choosing one of two doors before him in the fulfilling of his life’s purpose.


2. What inspired you to write 18 Billion?

Islamic jihadists are a fact of life now as never before in American history. The book brings that home with a driving force. Yet, I am convinced that there are Muslims of noble character who are torn between allegiance to their faith and wanting to hold on to certain moral convictions not espoused by their kindred. This, among other things became a phenomenon to explore.


3. What message do you want readers to take away from your book?

We are vulnerable. We are capable. There is always the question, “Which Muslim can I trust?”


4. What sort of research went into writing this international thriller?

Primarily internet research of the banking industry, branches of government (both domestic and foreign), and media reports of terrorist incidents.


5. What is your process for planning out characters and events in your novels?

I primarily plan and document action scenes that will flow with the story; I then create characters that fit into these scenes. Many characters come from my own imagination; some characters are inspired (not portrayed) by people I have known and worked with over my lifetime. Into this flow, I often interject ancillary events and statements that are not necessarily associated with the story, but elaborate on a theme projected by the story.


6. Why did you choose 18 billion as the amount of money to be stolen from the United States Federal Reserve?

It is a sizeable, yet not astronomical amount. Also, there was the need to immediately transfer that physical cash accumulation overseas by air. It seemed reasonable. It was only after the book was published that a wise Jewish lady asked me the same question. My explanation did not satisfy her. She took a sheet of paper and wrote “18” and next to it wrote the two Hebrew characters that designated that number. She then told me that those two characters together could be literally translated as “life” with the parting remark, “I was sure that you knew.”


7. How did you create the characters in your book? Are any of them based on people you know or have read about?

The characters are completely fictional. I have not based any of them on people I have known in the past or now know. They simply evolved out of the machinations of my mind. Don’t ask me how that works.


8. You mentioned that writing is your third life career, after being a pilot in the United States Air Force and an orthopedic surgeon. Was writing always an interest of yours or did it only come about after retirement?

I have, for as long as I can remember, been one to write down thoughts and experiences. I never thought of writing as a career or even for publication until recently, although the germinal seeds for this book surfaced in my life during my five-year stay in Saudi Arabia, 1980-85.


9. How did your experience in the military and on medical mission trips affect your view of the world, and consequently, the plot of this book?

Early on in my travels, meeting people of many cultures and nationalities, I learned there was a commonality in us all. It is this – The basic need for everyone is to love and be loved. Piled on top of that are all the whims, fancies, and enslaving emotions of our striving lives. Possibilities and choices are always with everyone and how we manage them defines who we are. The characters in my book uphold this conviction. My experiences strengthened my faith in God, and at the same time engendered in me a certain degree of skepticism on those who sit in places of power over other people.


10. What tips can you give aspiring writers looking to create compelling fiction using real events?

Be careful to not portray a character of fiction as you might actually know someone to be. Do not be in a hurry to abandon a character in the heights of success or the throes of despair. Do not lose sight of the fact that what you are portraying must lie within the realm of possibilities.


11. In 18 Billion, the president complies with terrorist demands to ensure the safety of Americans. Do you think that we should ever negotiate with terrorists?

I am not a terrorist expert. I believe though that every terrorist demand must be managed on its individual circumstances. There is no ‘cookbook’ on which we should rely.


12. The issues of border security and terrorism are raised in the book. Do you think America is still as vulnerable to terrorist attacks as they were before September 11, 2001?

No. But by the same token, the genre of terrorist attacks continues to evolve into ones much different from those ten years ago. I believe that our intelligence community is on top of this, but there is always the haunting question of “What will they do next?”


13. I know you’ve said you believe that the Middle East will be pivotal to events surrounding the “end of the age” as described in Bible. Can you explain this?

Winston Churchill said it so well: “The further backward you look, the further ahead you can see.” History is a great teacher. There is no other place on Earth that can approach the Middle East in the extent of cultural and religious strife that history relates. I also believe that Biblical prophecy is a reality that one should not ignore. On top of that, scientists tell us that it all began with a “Big Bang” and it most likely will also end with a “Big Bang” (at a time yet eons away); something like a reversal. But we must also know that time is a poorly understood ethereal element in the human experience. And I know this is not an “explanation.”


14. Where can we purchase a copy of 18 Billion?

Online at www.jackgresham.com if you want an autographed copy, as well as Amazon.com and all other major booksellers.




Thank you to Maia Levenson of Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists for sending me a copy of 18 Billion to review.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Monday, January 18, 2010

What are you Reading?

What are you reading on Monday? is a weekly meme hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book blog where you post books completed last week and plans for upcoming books. Jump over to her blog and see who else is participating.


Monday, January 18
Finished this Week
Soldier's Choice
Human Nature
David & Connor
Heart Quest
The Male Factor

reviews posted: 1
plus 11 short stories


Still Reading/Started
Murder Is Binding
The Masonic Myth -
put aside until TDD is reviewed
The Male Factor
39 Clues: The Maze of Bones - didn't like, returned to the library
The Rainbow Fairy Book

Planning to Read/Start
The Dark Divine - tour book, need to read/review and send on!
Walking
The Violet Fairy Book


Library Books Now Available
Bed of Roses :D


and Reviews needed to Complete
~ the list hasn't gotten any shorter but I've scheduled the review into my reading list so they should be completed soon~

A Circle of Souls
The Right Side of the Tracks
True North
Benny & Shrimp
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
Red in the Flower Bed
Second Chance
Nine Things Nathan Saw a Night
The Tallest of Smalls
plus any/all of the previous books read....


copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Sunday, January 17, 2010

New Books in the house

Two wonderful people have weekly memes about what has shown up in our mailbox the previous week.

Kristi at The Story Siren
& Marcia at The Printed Page.
Jump over to see what others have received this week.


Review books that have arrived this week:

18 Billion
The Culture of Excess
Dino Vicelli Private Eye: in a World of Evils


Purchased (physical store):
wow, not even at Friends of the Library!


Purchased (Mail order delivered):
I really should start writing down my ebook purchases ;-)


A Special Thank You to A Reader's Respite
The Puzzle King


copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Friday, January 15, 2010

Flying laptops? I thought you were cooking with the kids?

Florinda at The 3r's blog has an interesting post each week. I try to visit the blog post she links and this week there was one I had to share with you....

Of Course, sometimes it ends in flying laptops.

Go on...enjoy the laugh







copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

The Today Show - today!





I'm currently writing up a review for The Male Factor and the author will be on The Today Show today! check your local listing












copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

The Male Factor Review & Contest



The Male Factor
Shaunti Feldhahn



Publisher: Multnomah
Release Date: December 29, 2009
format: hardcover
pages: 304
Source: review book


from the publisher
Many talented women today risk undermining their careers without realizing it, simply because they don’t understand how they are perceived by their male colleagues and customers.
In What Men really Think, best-selling author Shaunti Feldhahn reveals the inner reality behind men’s views — the unspoken expectations that no man would dare to publicly acknowledge, and no woman would learn from an HR department. These revelations include:

• Men’s unwritten ‘rules’ of the workplace
• How men perceive workplace emotion
• What common situations with female colleagues most frustrate men-- and why
• Why revealing clothing can sabotage a woman’s effectiveness
• Why some men think flextime is fine, but equal compensation for it is not
What Men Really Think equips women with the information they need to make informed decisions and compete on a level playing field.


My thoughts
This is the key to the "boy's network" that you've been looking for. Through scientific research and real-life examples, Ms. Feldhahn walks through the mind of a working male. Notice the qualifier. One of the keys is that a male is able to compartmentalize. When he's a work, he's in his work mode and while the core beliefs and personality may be the same he's "working" and when he says, "It's not personal, it's business" that's exactly what he means.

The seven years that Shaunti Feldhahn took to put this book together shows with every chapter. If you are female and you work or volunteer with male co-workers, get this book. It doesn't matter what size company or whether it is profit, non-profit, secular or ministry. This book is unbelievable.

This is an expanded edition for Christian believers. Not that it won't help you otherwise, just that there is a chapter especially for Christian women and comments throughout the book. If you have NO desire to run across Christian comments you'll want the other edition.

Contest:
I'm going to give my copy to my daughter but I've got another one for YOU if you'd like.

Contest closes February 20 at noon Pacific.
leave a comment about why you think this book would be good for you to enter the contest.

Winner will be announced on February 22/23. I will NOT be emailing you! You'll need to come back and check to see who won ;-) and you'll have two weeks to notify me of your mailing address.


This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A-Z Wednesday

A-Z Wednesday is a Weekly Event
hosted by Vicky at Reading at the Beach.


Welcome to 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 link 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 is "W"


Water Witch
Deborah LeBlanc

Publisher: Leisure Books
Release Date: September 2008
format: mass market
pages: 290
genre: mysterious thriller/horror

my review


from the publisher:
Dunny knew from an early age what it meant to be an outsider. Her special abilities earned her many names, like freak and water witch. So she vowed to keep her powers a secret. But now her talents may be the only hope of two missing children. A young boy and girl have vanished, feared lost in the mysterious bayous of Louisiana. But they didn't just disappear; they were taken. And amid the ghosts and spirits of the swamp, there is a danger worse than any other, one with very special plans for the children -- and for anyone who dares to interfere.

Available for purchase at:
Amazon (mmp & Kindle), Barnes & Noble (mmp & ebook) and Dorchester Publishing/Leisure Books

The Amazon link goes through my Associates link.
Water Witch was sent to me to review on my blog.


Letters missed, maybe I'll add links next week:

T: The Tallest of smalls
U: Under Her Skin
V: The Vanishing Sculptor

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Off Topic: Day of Silence

I was going over another blog I was posting at and found the following, originally posted on May 3, 2008:
I follow a web story that updates on Friday. Sometimes early but most of the time it's late afternoon for me. Imagine how happy I was to log on early on the 25th to see the update already there. I didn't read down farther to find out why, I just considered it a happy day and went from there. This week I read down farther on the opening page and found out that he had posted on the 24 in order to observe a Day of Silence.

What is a day of silence? Basically, to bring awareness the bullying and harassment in schools of the LGBT community. Here's what the website says:

The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. This year’s event was held in memory of Lawrence King, a California 8th-grader who was shot and killed Feb. 12 by a classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Hundreds of thousands of students came together on April 25 to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior.


An eighth grader?! Have we taught our children to be so unbending that anyone who is different doesn't deserve to live? How can our thinking be so rigid? Just because someone is different then you (fat, gay, two-left-feet, etc...) doesn't make one of you better, it just makes you different from each other. Just because you don't agree on something, doesn't make one of you wrong!

This day is as much about tolerance as anything else but they're not "hiding behind the word, we're gay and we're not changing the name".

Next year's date has been picked: April 19. Oh, man, I hope there aren't any Earth Day celebrations that day - that would so suck.

You've got some time; what do you plan on doing to bring to light the bullying of gays? How can you bring tolerance of those that are different then you?

Another site to visit is GLSEN Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Check out what some of the teachers did when it was unavoidable to lecture.

Sad to say but there will ALWAYS be someone/group that thinks it okay to bully/harrass/beat-up/kill someone else - if only because they got looked at funny. Let us do our part to make them the minority. We all live here, let's make it a safe place.

Speaking of safe places...don't even get me started on Megan's Law or foster care....I don't have the time or calmness needed to discuss these right now


The next Day of Silence is April 16, 2010. No matter what your feeling/thoughts are about homosexuality, murder is NEVER the answer. Neither is intolerance.


copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Tuesday Tangents


This wonderful meme is hosted at The 3R's Blog, join us!


You're not going to believe this! I won a Sony eReader but wasn't able to claim it! Why? Because the email informing me of this ended up in my SPAM folder and I got it over a week too late!

Learn from my misfortune, track what contests you enter!

so that's my little rant for today.

Have a great week,

Gina


funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Monday, January 11, 2010

What are you Reading?

What are you reading on Monday? is a weekly meme hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book blog where you post books completed last week and plans for upcoming books. Jump over to her blog and see who else is participating.


Monday, January 11
Finished this Week
Summer Kittens
Vision in White
Submission Times Two




reviews posted: 1
plus 10 short stories


Still Reading/Started
Murder Is Binding
The Masonic Myth -
put aside until TDD is reviewed
The Dark Divine
The Male Factor
39 Clues: The Maze of Bones - didn't like, returned to the library

Planning to Read/Start

Walking


Library Books Now Available
The Red Hat Society's The Night Before Christmas
The Rainbow Fairy Book
The Violet Fairy Book


and Reviews needed to Complete
~ the list hasn't gotten any shorter but I've scheduled the review into my reading list so they should be completed soon~

A Circle of Souls
The Right Side of the Tracks
True North
Benny & Shrimp
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
Red in the Flower Bed
Second Chance
Nine Things Nathan Saw a Night
The Tallest of Smalls
plus any/all of the previous books read....





copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

I love book lists: Most Purchased Books and series of all Time

Found at The Boookie Bunch. Laura came across this list and found it interesting. She wants to know: what are your thoughts on these lists? What books of these have you read? =)

I don't know where she found it but thought I'd mark the ones I've read or are in my home. As for the series...I may not have read the whole series but if I've read at least one I'll mark it too. Dang, I'm on safari and there is no color so for now...I'll strike out the ones I do NOT own/read.

Books:
Bible
The Little Red Book (Mao Zedong)
The Qur'an
Xinhua Dictinary
Chairman Mao's Poems
Selected Articles of Mae Zedong

A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship (Robert Baden-Powell)
The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien)
Book of Mormon
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life (Jehovah's Witnesses book)
On the Three Representation (Jian Zemin)

And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
The Hobbit ( J. R. R. Tolkien)
Dream of the Red Chamber (Cao Xueqin)
She (H. Rider Haggard)

The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning (Johanna Spyri)
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (Dr. Benjamin Spock)

Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery)
Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
The Hite Report (Shere Hite)

Charlotte's Web (E. B. White)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach)
A Message to Garcia (Elbert Hubbard)
Roget's Thesaurus
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
How the Steel Was Tempered (Nikolai Ostrovsky)
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
You Can Heal Your Life (Louise Hay)
Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)

The Diary of Anne Frank
In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? (Charles M. Sheldon)
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Valley of the Dolls (Jacqueline Susann)
Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez)
The Purpose Driven Life (Rick Warren)

The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)
Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle)
The Late, Great Planet Earth (Hal Lindsey)
Betty Crocker Cookbook
Who Moved My Cheese? (Spencer Johnson)
The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)
1984 (George Orwell)
The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
The Godfather (Mario Puzo)
Shin Meikai kokugo jiten (Jiang Rong)
Wolf Totem (Jiang Rong)
English Grammar
The Happy Hooker (Xaviera Hollander)

Jaws (Peter Benchley)
Love You Forever (Robert Munsch)
Sophie's World (Jostein Gaarder)
The Women's Room (Marilyn French)

Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak)
Fear of Flying (Erica Jong)
The Joy of Cooking
Eigo Kihon Tangoshi (Yoshio Akao)

Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown)
Guess How Much I Love You (Sam McBratne)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey)
Shogun (James Clavell)
Siken Ni Deru Eitango (Ichiro Mori)

The Poky Little Puppy (Janette Sebring Lowrey)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
How To Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie)
Perfume (Patrick Süskind)
What to Expect When You're Expecting (Arlene Eisenberg and Heidi Murkoff)

The Horse Whisperer (Nicholas Evans)
The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafón)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
God's Little Acre (Erskine Caldwell)
Follow Your Heart (Susanna Tamaro)

The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)
Shin Eiwa Chu Jiten (Shigeru Takebayashi)
Peyton Place (Grace Metalious)

Dune (Frank Herbert)
The Plague (Albert Camus)
No Longer Human (Osamu Dazai)
The Naked Ape (Desmond Morris)

The Bridges f Madison County (Robert James Walker)
Obunsa Kogo Jiten (Akira Matsumura)
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
Kojien (Izuru Shinmura)

The Prophet (Khalil Gibran)
The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Sanseido Kokugo Jiten (Kenbo Hidetoshi)
Eye of the Needle (Stephen Hawking)

The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss)
The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
Wild Swans (Jung Chang)
Santa Evita (Tomás Eloy Martínez)
Katei Ni Okeru Jissaiteki Kango No Hiketsi (Takichi Tsukunda)

Night (Elie Wiesel)
The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
Yu Dan's gain for the Analects (Yu Dan)
The Total Woman (Marabel Morgan)
Knowledge-value Revolution (Taichi Sakaiya)
Mein Kampf (Adolf Hitler)
The Communist Manifesto
Problems in china's Socialist Economy (Xue Muqiao)
What color is Your Parachute? (Rihcard Melso Bolles)
Män son hatar kvinnor (Stieg Larsson)


Series:
Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling)
Selected Works of Mao Zedong
The New Park Street Pulpit and The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Penny Sermons (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

Goosebumps (R. L. Stine)
Berenstain Bears (Stan and Jan Berenstain)
Choose Your Own Adventure
Sweet Vallen High (Francine Pascal)
Noddy (Enid Blyton)

Nancy Drew
The Baby-sitters Club (Ann Martin)
Star Wars

Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter)
Chicken Soup for the Soul
The McGuffey Readers (William Holmes McGuffey)
Frank Merriwell (Gilbert Patten)
Dirk Pitt (Clive Cussler)
Musashi (Eiji Yoshikawa)

American Girl
The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis)
Clifford the Big Red Dog (Norman Bridwell)
James Bond (Ian Fleming)
Mr. Men (Roger and Adam Hargreaves)
Guinness World Records
American Spelling Book (Webster's Dictionary)
The Railway Series (spawned Thomas the Tank Engine. Rev. W. Awdry and Christopher Awdry)

Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)
Miffy (Dick Bruna)
World Almanac

Fear Street (R. L. Stine)
Sic-Star Astrology Tells Your Fortune (Kazuko Hosoki)
OSS 117 (Jean Bruce)

Winnie-the-Pooh (A. A. Milne)
Left Behind (Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins)
A Series of Unfortunate Events (Daniel Handler)
Arch Books
Discworld (Terry Pratchett)
Magic Tree House series (Mary Pope Osbrone)
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (John Gray)

The Hardy Boys
The Bobbsey Twins
Anpanman (Takashi Yanase)

Tarzan (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
Where's Waldo? (Martin Handford)
A Child's First Library of Learning
Junie B. Jones (Barbara Park)

The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan)
Mathematics Reference Book (Hong Sung-dae)
Dekiru Series
Railway Guerrillas (Liu Zhixia)

Paddington Bear (Michael Bonf)
Tokugawa Ieyasu (Sohachi Yamoaka)
The Michelin Guide France
Nontan (Sachiko Kiyono)

Curious George (Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey)
Guin Saga (Kaoru Kurimoto)
Captain Underpants (Dav pilkey)
Mike-neko Holmes Series (Jiro Akagawa)
Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki Sharon Lechter)
Cho-Zukai series
Kurt Wallander (Henning Mankell)
Onihei Hankacho (Shotaro Ikenami)
Jiyu Jizai

Brain Quest Series
Kaiketsu Zorori (Yutaka Hara)
South Beach Diet
Millennium Trilogy (Stieg Larsson)
Ryoma ga Yuku (Ryotaro Shiba)
Zukkoke Sanningumi (Masamoto Masu)

Shannara (Terry Brooks)
Maisy (Lucy Cousins)
Dragonlance
Genma Taisen (Kazumasa Hirai)
The Gate of Youth (Hiroyuki Itsuki)
The Foundation Trilogy (Isaac Asimov)
Horrible Histories (Terry Deary)
Kagaku no album
Super Mapple
Kenkaku Shobai (Shotaro Ikenami)
Erast Fandorin (Boris Akunin)

Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer)
Chart Shiki
Vampire Hunter D (Hideyuki Kikuchi)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
The Riftwar Cycle (Raymond E. Feist)
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Alexander McCall Smith)
Bokura series (Osamu Soda)

His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman)
Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Yoshiki Tanaka)
Rainbow Fish (Marcus Pfister)
Inheritance Cycle (Christoper Paolini)


That's quite an interesting list, such a wide range of genres, wonder where Laura found it. It would have been easier to change the list around but this is the order I found it in so I left it. I must say that there was one series I didn't claim since I never finished the first book and one I wish I wasn't claiming since I...can't say I hated it...just finished to finish and didn't CARE to read the rest of the series to find out what happened to *cough*Bella*cough*. I did mention "in my house" simply because I haven't read it yet but have purchased it. It is possible it it my husband's book and you would think, our children but I'm the one that read Goosebumps ;-)

What are your thoughts? Head on over to Laura's and let her know.





copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Sunday, January 10, 2010

New Books in the House

Two wonderful people have weekly memes about what has shown up in our mailbox the previous week.

Kristi at The Story Siren
& Marcia at The Printed Page.
Jump over to see what others have received this week.


Review books that have arrived this week:

no review books this week, I think that's a good thing, maybe I can get caught up ~snicker~


Purchased (physical store):
The Man You'll Marry


Purchased (Mail order delivered):



A Special Thank You to Marcia at The Printed Page
The Murdered House


A Special Thank You to Katrina at Bloody Bad
It Happened One Night



copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Saturday, January 9, 2010

On the Porch Swing

On the Porch Swing, Yahoo! Group
For those of you who choose to accept this mission, here is your ontheporchswing book challenge for 2010!

1. Read two books whose title contains the first letter of your first and last name - for example - for me - I would read "The History of Love" or "Land of a Thousand Hills. You can do it in either order HL or LH - or do two of the same - two HL's or two LH's.... (hope this makes sense!)

2. Read two books by an author whose first name begins with a "D" - this can be two male authors - two female authors - or one of each. Since I tend to read few books by male authors, I may try to do both of mine for this challenge as male authors.

3. Read one book by a female author whose first name is Mary

4. Read a biography about someone you have always been interested in - or just pick someone you have never heard much about

5. Read a book of short stories

AND - BONUS POINTS!

Alphabet Challenge - this challenge consists of keeping track of each book you read that fits the letters of the alphabet. Can you make all 26!! It will be fun to see what titles you all come up with for the letters "Q", "X", and "Z"!



I've already joined an Alphabet Challenge so it shouldn't be a problem doing the bonus points. Especially since re-reads are not forbidden ;-)


This challenge will be a challenge! I have a list of books upstairs that I'll need to go through but right off hand? Nothing I have fits except the biography and the bonus points.


1a.
1b.
2a.
2b.
3. Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh - Jan 18
4.
5.





copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

New Year's Resolutions for Stepfamilies

New Year's Resolutions for Stepfamilies

By Wednesday Martin, Ph.D.,
Author of Stepmonster: A New Look at Why
Real Stepmothers
Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do


The dawn of 2010 is a watershed moment for what we might call the New American Family. This is the year, according to many experts, when stepfamilies will outnumber first families in the U.S. One in three Americans is now a "step" of some sort -- stepparent, stepsibling, or stepchild.

There's now no denying that stepfamilies have our place in mainstream American culture. But there are plenty of struggles too. Many stepfamilies find they don't get the support and understanding they need from their children's schools, or from their churches or temples. Stepkids feel loyalty binds -- a sense that to love or even like a stepparent is a betrayal of their real mom or dad. And stepparents often feel shut out -- by partners who have gotten used to years of parenting solo, and by stepkids who, the research shows, tend to be hostile and rejecting of a stepparent in the initial years of the repartnership -- and sometimes for years.

Here are ten simple steps stepfamilies can take to usher in a decade of stepfamily satisfaction:

  1. Resolve to be a couple. Remarriages with children are twice as likely to fail as those without. Stepcouples are assailed by challenges including children who are unenthused about the union, family and friends who don't get the stress of repartnering with children, and unsupportive exes in the wings. Putting the marriage or partnership first gives the whole family a chance at stability and happiness.

  1. Don't try to "blend." Stepfamilies are assailed by unrealistic expectations. The primary one is that they are "supposed" to be just like a first family. When we ask stepfamily members to "blend," we're putting them in a jam with regards to the other parent in the picture, as well as their separate histories and family cultures. Stepfamilies can be healthy settings for adults and kids, particularly when we remove the pressure to "be" any particular way.

  1. Bridge the gap. Young adult stepchildren especially, come to a developmental crossroads where they may be able to see a previously demonized stepparent in a new way, or understand their parent's divorce from another point of view. Spouses can give their spouse who is a stepparent the benefit of the doubt in the New Year: "I married her, and I'm going to trust that when she's upset, she's not making a big deal out of nothing." It is amazing how finding this "middle ground" can soothe and heal old hurts.

  1. Resolve to care for yourself. As I interviewed women for my book Stepmonster, I realized they all fit the new research findings about stepmothers to a T: many were trying so hard to buck the "wicked stepmother" stereotype that they bent over backwards in the wrong direction. Sure, it's nice to be kind. But never expressing any displeasure with your stepkids, and constantly putting your own needs and feelings last, as stepmothers are usually expected to do, is a recipe for resentment. Self-care is key for women with stepkids. A regular "girls night out" or occasional massage or even just finding time to read a novel are key to preventing stepmaternal burn out.

  1. Resolve to lower the bar. This one's easy! In general, stepparents will do well to do less -- less attempting to blend, less trying to win the kids over, less acting as a family and marital counselor. Stepmothers can take a lesson from stepfathers here: stepfathers generally report lower levels of involvement in the early years of stepfamily formation -- and kids report higher levels of satisfaction with stepfathers than with stepmothers. There are lots of factors to consider, but a big one is the ability to step back, and let the relationship develop on its own terms, in its own time.

  1. Learn to fight. That's right. It's a skill. And couples with kids from previous relationships are going to need it. Find a "hot topic" communication formula that works for you…and use it. This can include "I sentences" versus accusations ("When you say that I feel . . . " instead of "You always do X!"), as well as communication formulas found in Stepmonster and other books listed in "resources" below.

  1. Find the right things to do together. Eye-to-eye activities, like sitting down to talk, are always more stressful for steps than are shoulder to shoulder ones. Try doing a puzzle, playing a board game (Scrabble can be a good one if the stepkids are older) or doing arts and crafts together. And understand that unlike first families, stepfamilies bond best one-on-one. All-together activities tend to activate everyone's fears of being an outsider.

  1. Get out of the house, and invite family and friends in. Stepparents in particular need to balance the sense that they are something of an "outsider" in the household with plenty of time with family and friends who help them feel like an insider. Stepkids of any age will feel less "on the spot" if there isn't endless attention trained on their every move, and they are part of a living, lively household that gives them a sense of security and belonging.

  1. Resolve not to treat the kids like royalty. Kids of any age who turn up want to feel included and comfortable, and that doesn't happen when parent and stepparent bend over backwards to accommodate their every whim, or design their days around a step/child's desires. Making him or her part of what you do normally, plus some alone time with mom or dad, will helps kids feel like family rather than guests.

  1. Find a place. Give a stepchild who doesn't live with you something that is always the same -- if it can't be a whole closet, then a spot in one, a regular place at the dinner table, and so on. And stepparents, be sure to find a place in the house that is just for you. When stepfamily life gets momentarily tense -- which is inevitably will -- you will have a place to escape and recharge.


Resources/further reading:
Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do by Wednesday Martin, Ph.D.

The Power of the Middle Ground: A Couple's Guide to Renewing Your Relationship by Martin Babits, LCSW, BCD

The Gottman Institute/ works by John Gottman

©2009 Wednesday Martin, Ph.D., author of Stepmonster: A New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do


copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Friday, January 8, 2010

Bloggiesta Labels/Tag Mini-Challenge

Jan 8 to Jan 10
8 am to 8 am

Bloggiesta is hosted by Maw Books Blog. Here's what it's all about.
It's not too late to join so head on over to the starting line!

This Mini-Challenge is hosted at Beth Fish Reads



Plan. Edit. Develop. Review. Organize.

You might not want to examine every post, but you really should think about the state of your labels. Ask yourself if they are currently useful and how they could be better. So here's the deal:
  1. Set and state a goal (fix labels on all posts, fix labels on review posts, set up labels for 2010)
  2. Meet goal
  3. Blog about this mini-challenge (in a separate post or as part a Bloggiesta progress post or in your wrap-up Bloggiesta post)
  4. Come back here leave the link to that post in Mr. Linky
If you leave a link in Mr. Linky, you'll be eligible for a great bookish prize.


Goals:
1. Accept that labels are a mess. Go through each title label and change to one of the following: Title: A-H, Title: I-P, Title: Q-Z.

2. Decide if memes need title/author label.

3. Relabel for new header.


3 hours later???....

Title changes are complete. So are authors :D

Memes do NOT have title/author label

New header is complete but I'm still not happy with it.









copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Bloggiesta Wrap-up, late

Jan 8 to Jan 10
8 am to 8 am

Bloggiesta is hosted by Maw Books Blog. Here's what it's all about. I'm headed over to the finish line!


Plan. Edit. Develop. Review. Organize.


So my plans for the weekend have changed.

  • I'll read some of The Male Factor - review must post next week
  • M & I will go out to dinner and maybe to the moviesmovie @home
  • I'll hunt around Bloggestia to see all I can learn - there's too much there for only a weekend!
  • Food
  • Red Hat invite
  • 2010 Resolutions - see below
  • blog copyright - yes but not happy with it
  • categories & labels - yea!
  • Comment Challenge - see below
  • AWARDS - see below


Comment Challenge: I surfed around and commented but didn't keep track that day. No WAY could I keep track for a month so this one is a no go. I will continue to comment - I like the visit 5 blogs a day - may get through my blog list every month that way.

Awards: I've been too busy reading to research which blogs to pass the awards on too plus I've been having trouble with Firefox. The computer I'm using is giving me all she's got and headed into 110%.

2010 Resolutions: I know I did a post about this somewhere

from 8-30:
Every month read/do the following
1. a non-fiction
2. young adult (12+)
3. children's book (12 & under)
4. one of mine that is dusty and unread
5. give one away

Review more books, quicker!

modified on 9-12:
6. Read a book from a perpetual challenge. (There are four perpetual challenges so I must read, at least, three books from each list over the year.)


Blog Goals:

1. Visit more
2. Update personal blog
3. there has got to be a better way to do labels - THANK YOU
4. figure out three columns without losing widgets
5. Update library blog


and again on 11-22:
First step: list all challenges
2nd: list books for challenges
3rd: is there any rhyme or reason to the list?
4th: divide them up through the year
5th: add in books sent for review

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2010

Let the Bloggiesta Begin!

Jan 8 to Jan 10
8 am to 8 am

Bloggiesta is hosted by Maw Books Blog. Here's what it's all about. It's not too late to join so head on over to the starting line!


Did you see the Flashback links? OMG! The things I could have learned!
* Rebecca at The Book Lady’s Blog – Getting out from underneath the feed reader.
* Beth from Beth Fish Reads – Creating list and opinion posts.
* Jill at Fizzy Thoughts – Just when you thought the feed reader was halfway managed Jill asks you to visit other bloggers.
* Emily from Emily’s Reading Room – On vanity alerts.
* Deborah from Books, Movies, and Chinese Food – Do you have an elevator pitch? You should be able to talk about your blog easily.
* Lynn from Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile – Getting your blog listed in several blog directories.
* Jen from Devourer of Books – Got some old material? Taking time to update key pages and posts.
* Amy from My Friend Amy – Blogging buddies! You should get one!
* Trish from Hey Lady! Watcha Readin’? – What the heck are favicons and gravatars and why you should have them.
* Michelle from GalleySmith – Anchor text. How to make the most out of your link love.
* Andrea from Book Blather – Learn from the authorities. Take time out to learn a new tip or two.
* Ruth from Bookish Ruth – Have you ever had your blog anaylzed? Now’s the chance!

And, here's what's up this go-around
* Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog – 2010 Resolutions. You know you got them!
* Pam from MotherReader - Blogging is about community, so check out this Comment Challenge (watch for a Mr. Linky to be up on Saturday for you to complete this challenge).
* Danielle from There’s a Book – Blogging takes time & I’m sure we’d all love to blog faster. Using a cheat sheet is just one idea of how to save time.
* Pam from Bookalicio.us – There is nothing worse than seeing your post on somebody else’s blog. Talking about blog copyright and what you need to be doing to protect yourself.
* Beth from Beth Fish Reads – Using categories & labels to find what you’re looking for.
* Jackie from Farm Lane Books – Do not lose it all! How to back up your blog.
* Karin from Karin’s Book Nook – There is nothing worse than landing on 404 error pages. It’s time to go on a dead link hunt!
* Chelle from Tempting Persephone – You have some great content. But can people find it? Here’s showing off the best of the best.
* Kristen from Bookworming in the 21st Century - Introducing a new blogger mentoring program and forum.
* Jenn from Jenn’s Bookshelves – Got nothing to say (not likely – that’s why you’re blogging in the first place!) but here is an opportunity to brainstorm blogging topics.



Sorry, I don't have the links up, I will get them up later for everybody loves "link love"....but for now?
  • Food
  • Red Hat invite
  • 2010 Resolutions
  • blog copyright
  • categories & labels
  • Comment Challenge
  • AWARDS

Pedro? Can you help me?

Jan 8 to Jan 10
8 am to 8 am

Bloggiesta is hosted by Maw Books Blog. Here's what it's all about. It's not too late to join so head on over to the starting line!


I wasn't going to do this. I have plans for this weekend and TWO tour books to read asap. What could possible have changed my mind?

  • Create template posts for your future reads (ie: title, images, linking, tags, etc,) so you can open up, write review and post without being bogged down with technicalities
  • Clean up your tags, archives, books reviewed list, etc.
  • Create a text file (or Google Doc) of cheat sheets (html codes, post url’s, etc)

I have repetitive posts so it would be wonderful to have a template.
My tags are a mess and not consistent.
Google docs confuses me. I tried to create a contest entry form and got NO WHERE.
And believe it or not, I spent an hour fixing my header links this morning but since I went to bed at 8 am, it doesn't count.


So my plans for the weekend have changed.

  • I'll read some of The Male Factor - review must post next week
  • M & I will go out to dinner and maybe to the movies
  • I'll hunt around Bloggestia to see all I can learn


Plan. Edit. Develop. Review. Organize.

Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

A movement caught her eye, and as she turned to follow it she saw the cardinal take its perch on the snow-covered branch of a maple. I sat, a single spot of vivid red, and sang.


I finished this book this morning and it was sitting in front of my keyboard. Vision in White by Nora Roberts, book one in the Bride Quartet

Thursday, January 7, 2010

10,000 Dresses

I thought I saw this book on a "challenged" list but don't remember where I saw it. I can see where someone might take offense but I don't.


10,000 Dresses
Marcus Ewert
Illustrations by Rex Ray

Seven Stories Press
Nov 1, 2008
Ages 4-8
32 pages

I checked this book out of the library.

amazon product description:
Every night, Bailey dreams about magical dresses: dresses made of crystals and rainbows, dresses made of flowers, dresses made of windows…Unfortunately, when Bailey’s awake, no one wants to hear about these beautiful dreams. Quite the contrary: “You’re a BOY!” Mother and Father tell Bailey. “You shouldn’t be thinking about dresses at all.” Then Bailey meets Laurel, an older girl who is touched and inspired by Bailey’s imagination and courage. In friendship, the two of them begin making dresses together. And Bailey becomes the girl she always dreamed she’d be!


My Thoughts:
Gay. Lesbian. Bi. Transgender. Transgender? This is a great book for the kid who doesn't quite feel like everyone thinks they should.

This is a cute book. Bold colors, big graphics. Interesting dresses although we only "see" three of them. It's creative, simplistic and goes right to the point. Stay true to your self. I loved it but I wanted more!

I'm hoping Marcus and Bailey will come play.


Challenges:
PB&J
Banned/challenged
GLBT
10*10*10

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday

Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts "Waiting On" Wednesday, a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


Sharon Loves Books and Cats has posted a Catterview, which is an author interview but their cat(s) are asked questions too, with Angie Frazier.




Everlasting
Angie Frazier

Scholastic Press
Hardcover
336 pages
June 1, 2010
Young Adult

Book Description
Sailing aboard her father's ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a lady in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn't love in order to preseve her social standing. On her last voyage before the wedding, Camille learns the mother she has always believed dead is in fact alive and in Australia. When their Sydney-bound ship goes down in a gale, and her father dies, Camille sets out to find her mother and a map in her possession - a map believed to lead to a stone that once belonged to the legendary civilization of the immortals. The stone can do exactly what Camille wants most: bring someone back from the dead. Unfortunately, her father's adversary is also on the hunt for the stone, and she must race him to it. The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar - a handsome young sailor and her father's first mate - who is in love with Camille and whom she is inexplicably drawn to despite his low social standing and her pending wedding vows.

With an Australian card shark acting as their guide, Camille eludes murderous bushrangers, traverses dangerous highlands, evades a curse placed on the stone, and unravels the mystery behind her mother's disappearance sixteen years earlier. But when another death shakes her conviction to resurrect her father, Camille must choose what - and who - matters most.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Teaser Tuesday

MizB at Should Be Reading hosts this cool weekly event.

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!


I'm not suggesting that a man's expectations and perceptions are right or wrong, or that women need to change the way they work to adapt to them. But it is in our best interest to understand what they are. I also think it is important to understand the inner wiring in a man that leads to those expectations in the first place.

Page 43 of The Male Factor, expanded edition by Shaunti Feldhahn.

Review to be posted on the 14th. This is a tour book so you should be seeing it all over. I have a copy to give away!

My Seasons List


1. Winter:
2. Spring:
3. Summer: Summer Kittens - Jan 5
4. Fall/Autumn:

Tuesday Tangents

This wonderful meme is hosted at The 3R's Blog, join us!



I was cleaning up my challenges Friday night and working on my book list when I decided to count up all the books required.

What?!

Thank heavens for overlaps because I need to read 678 books during 2010 in order to complete all my challenges. This does NOT include reading any for perpetual challenges or the challenges I joined today.

10*10*10, 100+, 52 Books in 52 Weeks and A-Z can all overlap so, whew, I'm down to 500 right off the bat. Too bad I signed up for four more challenges on Saturday and one requires 42 science fiction titles. Yea, movies and short stories count!

Now I'm up to 742 and there are still five challenges that I'm thinking about.

I feel a little overwhelmed. I promised myself I wouldn't join so many challenges but they all look so good. It's like opening a favorite box of chocolates and saying "look all you want but you can only have one". It just doesn't work!


My blog is one now so I posted a contest yesterday.

I have second copies of nine review books to give away when I post the reviews. They should all happen between now and August. My birthday is in April and I'll giveaway a signed copy of Happy Hour and what ever else I can think of ;-)


I feel bad that I wasn't able to donate blood when I posted about it in December but I have an appointment later today to try again.

That's all I can think of at the moment, I'm still reeling from the 742!

Have a great week,

Gina

funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Ten on Tuesday


10 Things You’re Looking Forward to in 2010


I thought this would be easy but some of the stuff is personal and some of the stuff is shallow.... If you'd like to join in, just think of your ten things and go to Ten on Tuesday. Next week's is up so you'll have some time to think about it ;-D


My Ten Things....

1. BEACH TRIP
2. anniversary cruise
3. getting health/in shape
4. getting help for some medical issues
5. meeting more blogging friends ;-)
6. fixing up the "office"
7. a new computer
8. books
9. crafting
10. lots and lots of reading

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy Blog Anniversary to Me


Because I'm in the US and shipping can be outrageous the physical books will only be for US followers. My birthday is in April so look for another contest.....

Contest 1: Happy Hour by Michele Scott
Contest 2: An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
(both books are duplicates from my personal library)

Contest 3: Any country (except the US) on the country list at The Book Depository. The book of your choice as long as it's less than $11.30.

Contest 4: Any country (except the US) on the country list at The Book Depository. The book of your choice as long as it's less than $11.30.

Rules

EMAIL entries to: bookdragoncontest @ gmail.com (don't forget to delete the spaces)

+1 entry: tell me which contest you want to enter (Yes, you can enter 1 & 2 or 3 & 4)
+2 Be a follower, include "I am a follower"
+5 if you answer the following question: How many challenges did I join after my End of Year Report? Do not include challenges joined after this is posted.

Contest ends Jan 31, 2010 at noon Pacific

Reading through the Season - Fall/Autumn






A place to link if you'd like to tell us about what winter book you've read for the Reading through the Seasons Challenge.




Reading through the Season - Spring






A place to link if you'd like to tell us about what winter book you've read for the Reading through the Seasons Challenge.




Reading through the Season - Summer





A place to link if you'd like to tell us about what winter book you've read for the Reading through the Seasons Challenge.




Reading through the Season - Winter




A place to link if you'd like to tell us about what winter book you've read for the Reading through the Seasons Challenge.





2010 Cat Book Challenge

Cat Book Challenge
Jan 1 to Dec 31
Here are the guidelines:
  1. You can join anytime, but don't start reading your books before January 1, 2010.
  2. This challenge is for 2010 only. The last day to have all your books read is December 31, 2010.
  3. When you sign up with Mr. Linky below, use the direct link to the post where your challenge book list will be listed, not your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, just leave the URL blank.
  4. The goal is to read 1 cat book per month for a total of 12 for the year. This can be any book with "cat" in the title or about cats.
  5. These can be audiobooks, children's books, non fiction, mysteries, whatever, as long as it's cat related.

Question: What if the cat is on the cover? No. Or if the cat is a character? Yes.

Planned books:
1. The Cat Who Turned On & Off
2. Look What the Cat Dragged In
3. The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse
Summer Kittens - Jan 5, started in 2009
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Will these be okay?
Cries & Whiskers
Orange as Marmalade
Knitting Bones
A Harvest of Bones

Another Exercise Challenge!



CCDPiper feels she is "digging myself an early grave with a fork and spoon" and I'm digging away with her.

Richard Simmons Challenge
Jan 1 to Dec 31


The goal for this challenge is twofold.

First, to read 2 books in the genre of diet or exercise. Come on, that's not a lot to have to read in an entire year! Richard Simmons even has a diet book published that I read many years ago, Still Hungry After All These Years that is out of print but you can still find used online. I believe I bought mine from eBay for two bucks. Extra credit if you actually find and read Richard's book!

That's the easy part.

And now comes the hard part!

Second is to commit to exercise. (I know. Ugly word.) Any kind of exercise will do. Put the book down (I know, I know!) and go for a walk. Workout to a Sweatin' to the Oldies DVD. Rollerblade. Play tennis. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, get out there and do it!

Mr. Linky now available to leave a link to your post. Have a description of your commitment to exercise -- what type, how long, how many days per week? If you have a pedometer, you could commit to a certain amount of steps per day or per week.




Part one:

1. The Spark
2. a different Richard Simmons book as soon as I find it
3. Fitness After Fifty
4.


Part two: I joined the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge (my progress) so I already have a fitness goal/plan in mind.

I'll start with 20 minutes, minimum, of an exercise video. Five days a week and gradually work up to 45 min/5x week and 3.1 miles on Saturday. Flexibility, stretches and strength training will need to fall in there as well but for now. Five days a week.

I may be able to do the 20 minutes without a problem and increase my time sooner but the challenge for me will be getting it in 5 times a week.

What are you Reading?

What are you reading on Monday? is a weekly meme hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book blog where you post books completed last week and plans for upcoming books. Jump over to her blog and see who else is participating.


Monday, January 4
Finished this Week
In the Night Kitchen
Christmas Kittens
10,000 Dresses
The Knight and the Dragon
Fitness over Fifty (this one is a very basic at home book)
Strength Training Past 50 (this is not for beginners and the women pictured is NOT anywhere near 50!)



reviews posted: 1 ready for posting
plus 6 short stories


Still Reading/Started
The Once and Future King - returned to the library, unfinished
Murder Is Binding
The Masonic Myth
The Dark Divine
The Male Factor
Walking

Planning to Read/Start
Nefertiti & The Third Man Factor were both returned, unread. I hope to check them out again later in the year.
The Spark
39 Clues: The Maze of Bones


Library Books Now Available
The Red Hat Society's The Night Before Christmas


and Reviews needed to Complete
~ the list hasn't gotten any shorter but I've scheduled the review into my reading list so they should be completed soon~

A Circle of Souls
The Right Side of the Tracks
True North
Benny & Shrimp
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
Red in the Flower Bed
Second Chance
Nine Things Nathan Saw a Night
The Tallest of Smalls
A Sportscasters Guide to Watching Football
plus any/all of the previous books read....

why, yes, the list does seem to be getting longer! And I found out I haven't posted a couple of reviews that I thought I had. One down, 9+ to go.

Mystery Reader Cafe, ...

...a Yahoo! group that is "a friendly book group that loves to chat about mysteries, such as British, amateur sleuth, private detective, humorous, hard-boiled, historical and many more!"


2010 MysteryReaderCafe Reading Challenge
Jan 1 to Dec 31


1. Read a book by an author whose last name starts with the letter "B"
2. Read a mystery set in a different country than your own
3. Read a mystery originally published in 2010
4. Read the first mystery in a series

Join through the Yahoo! Group: mysteryreadercafe

My, possible, list:

1. The Cat Who Turned On & Off by Lilian Jackson Braun
2. Cries & Whiskers by (Cleo Simmons?)
3.
4. Look What the Cat Dragged in by ???


and what do you know? These will fit with my "Cat Sleuths" challenge if I wait until July to read them. I love multitasking ;) I wonder what cat sleuth book will be published this year?

1-5:
Cat of the Century by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie (April 6, 2010)
Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs by Blaize Clement (January 19, 2010)
Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke (February 23, 2010)~*~Not a "cat sleuth" book but I may go to a signing!~*~

Sunday, January 3, 2010

NaJuReMoNoMo

I have way more nonfiction for January then I do fiction but what the heck...
The rules are whatever you want to make of them, but here are the guidelines I go by:
  1. Must Be A Novel. Works of fiction only, please. Memoirs, non-fiction, how-to books, and Garfield collections don't count.
  2. Memoirs Aren't Novels. No matter how made up the story, anything ostensibly true isn't a novel. Also known as The James Frey Rule.
  3. Start and Finish in January. I guess if you got some cool books for Christmas, Hanukkah or some other gift-giving event and jumped the gun, you can't be blamed. But I only count books I start and finish within the 31 day window.
  4. Re-reading Doesn't Count. Try something new. Read something by your favorite author or try an entirely new author or tackle that novel you have always wanted to read.
  5. Have Fun. Nobody is grading you or paying you or judging you. Read what you like and like what you read.
Join us and Live by the Foma!

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Library Loot

A weekly event co-hosted by
that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!



I have a HUGE pile of library books...

In the Night Kitchen - a picture book for several challenges

10,000 Dresses - a picture for a challenge & maybe an author blog visit

10,000 ideas for term papers, projects, and research papers - need I say more?

Fitness over Fifty and Strength Training Past 50 - I'm not fifty but I'm tired of all the get in shape books with exercises for those already in shape!

Walking - got to start somewhere ;-)

The 39 Clues: The Maze on Bones - wondering what all the fuss is about

The Knight and the Dragon - picture book for a couple of challenges
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.