March summary

What a lousy month! I really didn't read much, with all the other stuff I had to do... I can only hope April will be better!

Added
45) Lorna Barrett: Murder Is Binding
46) Margaret Grace: Malice In Miniature
47) German book on ADD
48) Steve Mosby: The 50/50 Killer
49) Tess Gerritsen: The Mephisto Club
50) Janice Kay Johnson: Snowbound
51) Florentine Dame & Elizabeth Weydt: An Grenzen
52) Lora Leigh: Nauti Boy
53) Lisa Kleypas: It Happened One Autumn
54) Julie James: Practice Makes Perfect
55) Julie James: Just The Sexiest Man Alive
56) Jill Shalvis: Flashpoint
57) Bram Stocker: Dracula (for university)
58) Poppy Z. Brite: Lost Souls (for university)

Read
18) Agatha Christie: The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side
19) Robert Fate: Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues
20) Meg Cabot: How To Be Popular
21) Robert Fate: Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption
22) Marco von Münchhausen: Zeit gewinnen mit dem inneren Schweinehund (time management)

DNF
none!

It's the end of March - challenge progress

Well, here we go with my challenge progress as of March 31, 2009:

challenges trying to accomplish since January 1, 2009
72

challenges accomplished
1) Winter Reading Challenge (6/6)
2) Harlequin/Silhouette Romance Reading Challenge (5/5)
3) Military Challenge (2/2)
4) Paranormal Challenge (2/2)

challenges starting April 1, 2009
Lisa Jackson Read-A-Fest (0/?)
Cozy Mystery Challenge 2009 (0/6)
Classics Challenge 2009 (0/6)
Maree's Mini-Challenge (0/5)

challenge list
01. Jewish Literature Challenge (2/4)
02. "I Suck At Challenges" Challenge
03. Spring Reading Challenge (0/16)
04. Once Upon A Time III (0/1)
05. Countdown Challenge (30/45)
06. 999 Challenge (22/81)
07. Genre Challenge (5/10)
08. Chunkster Challenge (0/2)
09. Series Challenge 3 (2/4)
08. Montgomery Mini-Challenge (0/4)
09. Medical Mystery Challenge (0/5)
10. 42 Challenge (0/42)
11. Orbis Terrarum (2/10)
12. Orbis Terrarum Bilingual Mini-Challenge (2/5)
13. Orbis Terrarum Film Mini-Challenge (0/10)
14. 9 Books For 2009 (5/9)
15. 18th & 19th Century Women Writers Challenge (0/4)
16. 1st In Series Challenge (2/12)
17. 2nds Challenge (1/12)
18. 20 Books In 2009 Challenge (19/20)
19. 100+ Reading Challenge (19/100)
20. 666 Horror/Paranormal Challenge (8/36)
21. 2009 Mini-Challenges (3/12)
22. Agatha Christie Challenge (1/2)
23. Alphabet Challenge A: (8/26) T: (10/26)
24. Amateur Sleuth Challenge (1/12)
25. Audiobook Challenge (2/12)
26. Baker Street Challenge (0/3)
27. Be Inspired Challenge (1/1) - now applying to life
28. Book-A-Week Challenge (19/52)
29. Book Buddy Blogger Challenge (0/10)
30. Books Into Movies Challenge (0/2)
31. Buy One Book And Read It Challenge (2/12)
32. Casual Classics Challenge (1/4)
33. Centuries Reading Challenge (0/4)
34. Chick Lit Challenge (0/10)
35. Decades Challenge (0/9)
36. eBook Reading Challenge (0/10)
37. Erotica Romance Challenge (1/10)
38. Graphic Novels Challenge (2/6)
39. In Their Shoes (1/?)
40. John Steinbeck Mini-Challenge (0/2)
41. Lost In Translation Challenge (2/6)
42. Manga Challenge (0/6)
43. My Year Of Reading Dangerously Challenge (1/12)
44. New Authors Challenge (8/10)
45. Numbers Challenge (1/5)
46. Pages Read Challenge (3,761/20,000)
47. Read And Review Challenge (0/?)
48. Read Your Name Challenge (3/7)
49. Read Your Own Books Challenge (2/4)
50. Reading My Name Challenge (0/2)
51. Really Old Classics Challenge (0/2)
52. Rescue Challenge (0/4)
53. Romance Reading Challenge (1/5)
54. Serial Readers Challenge (0/?)
55. Shakespeare Challenge (0/6)
56. Suspense & Thriller Challenge (1/12)
57. Themed Reading Challenge (0/5)
58. TBR Challenge Lite (0/6)
59. Three's A Charm Challenge (0/3)
60. Vampire Challenge (1/2)
61. Victorian Challenge (1/3)
62. World Citizen Challenge (0/1)
63. YA Challenge (1/12)
64. Elizabeth Gaskell Mini-Challenge (0/2)
65. George Eliot Mini-Challenge (0/2)
66. Leo Tolstoy Mini-Challenge (0/2)
67. PERPETUAL - Banned Or Challenged Books Challenge (11/50)
68. PERPETUAL - Book Around The States Challenge (1/51)
69. PERPETUAL - To Be Continued Challenge (0/?)

Mailbox Monday, March 30th

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia. If you want to join in, feel free to drop by!

This week I found the following books:


Lora Leigh: Nauti Boy

Too weak to resist young Kelly Benton's attempts at seduction, Rowdy Mackay left home eight years ago. Duty as a US Marine put a safe distance between ROwdy and the nubile Kentucky vixen with persuasive desires of her own. Now, he's returned home, his fantasies fueled, ready to engage the young woman in the kind of erotic games that hae earned him and his two cousins Nauto-boy reputations in three counties.

Once, it was Kelly's dream too, to feel the heat of the boy she desired. But a brutal attack from a stalker still on the prowl has left Kelly terrified of the dark unknown and of a man's touch. Now, as fear and desire converge, Rowdy fights for the only woman he ever loved - to save her from the deadly threats of a stranger, to rid her of her demons, and to satisfy a hunger more powerful than either can imagine.



Lisa Kleypas: It Happened One Autumn

It happened at the ball... Where beautiful but bold Lillian Bowman quickly learned that her independent American ways weren't entirely "the thing". And the most disapproving of all was insufferable, snobbish, and impossible Marcus, Lord Westcliff, London's most eligible aristocrat.
It happened in the garden... When Marcus shockingly - and dangerously - swept her into his arms. Lillian was overcome with a consuming passion for a man she didn't even like. Time stood still; it was as if no one else existed... thank goodness they weren't caught very nearly in the act!
It happened one autumn... Marcus was a man in charge of his own emotions, a bedrock of stability. But with Lillian, every touch was exquisite torture, every kiss an enticement for more. Yet how could he consider taking a woman so blatantly unsuitable... as his bride?


Julie James: Practice Makes Perfect

Payton Kendall and JD Jameson are lawyers who know the meaning of objection. A feminist to the bone, Payton has fought hard to succeed in a profession dominated by men. Born wealthy, priviledged, and cocky, JD has fought hard to ignoe her Face-to-face, they're perfectly civil. They have to be. For eight years they have kept a safe distance and tolerated each other as coworkers for one reason only: to make partner at the firm.
But all bets are off when they're asked to join forces on a major case. Though apprehensive at first, they begin to appreciate each other's dedication to the law - and the sparks between them quickly tunrn into attraction. But the increasingly hot connection does not last long when they discover that only one of them will be named partner. Now it's an all-out war. And the battle between the sexes is bound to make these lawyers hot under the collar...



Julie James: Just The Sexiest Man Alive

Nothing fazes Taylor Donovan. In the courtroom, she never lets the opposition see her sweat. In her personal life, she never lets any man rattle her - not even her cheating ex-finacé. So when she's assigned to coach People's "Sexiest Man Alive" for his role in his next big legal thriller, she refuses to fall for the HOllywood heartthrob's charms. Even if he is the Jason Andrews.
Jason Andrews is used to having women fall at his feet. When Taylor Donovan gives him the cold shoulder, he's thrown for a loop. She's unlike any other woman he's ever met: uninterested in the limelight, seemingly immuneto his advances, and shockingly capable of saying no to him. She's the perfect challenge. And the more she rejects him, the more he begins to realize she may just be his perfect match...



Jill Shalvis: Flashpoint

Zach Thomas risks his life battling flames every day. But since sexy EMT Brooke O'Brien joined the crew, he can't resist playing with fire. Brooke is feisty, a little uptight... and sexy as hell. And as Zach soon discovers, she's definitely hot stuff between the sheets. Still, every firefighter knows that the hotter the blaze, the faster the action's over...
After the whirlwind ride Zach's been taking her on, Brooke is ready to do anything for this man - in and out of bed! But she knows footloose and fancy-free Zach doesn't do commitment. So she plans to build up a five-alarm fire between them. The kind he won't ever want to put out...


If you click on the covers, it will lead you right to Amazon to buy the book!

24 Hour Read-A-Thon

I'm joining in for this one simply because I want to try to spend 24 hours reading. And then, it can help me with my challenges, right? ;-) To find out more about this one, click on the picture above. The basic rules for the Read-A-Thon can be found here, but basically, the goal is to spend the time reading and posting about it. As the official start date is April 18 at noon GMT, this means I will start reading at 2 PM on April 18.

We'll see what I'm going to pick for my reading that day. Maybe I add some university books, maybe it'll be all fun.

Scott Westerfeld Mini-Challenge

Well, here I am with another mini-challenge hosted by Becky. If you want to join, just click on the picture above! I know I have joined a lot of challenges already, but with all the reviews on the Uglies books by Westerfeld that I read lately, I think I have to join this challenge to give me a reason to get the books and read them. Shallow, I know...

Here is what Becky said about the challenge:

The Scott Westerfeld Mini-Challenge will be for 2009. January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.

The goal of this one is to read TWO of his books.

My choices:
1) Uglies
2)

Non-Fiction 5

This year, Trish is hosting the Non-Fiction 5 Challenge and of course, I'm in again! So far I never managed to complete my books, but we'll see how I'll do this year.

The rules are:

1. Read 5 non-fiction books during the months of May - September, 2009 (please link your reviews on Mister Linky each month; Mister Linky can be found each month on this blog)

2. Read at least one non-fiction book that is different from your other choices (i.e.: 4 memoirs and 1 self-help)

3. If interested, please sign up below with the link to your NFF Challenge post (all choices do not need to be posted and may change at any time)

So, I can do this, I know I can! LOL

My books will be:
1) book on ADD (German)
2) book on tea
3) Holly Robinson Peete: Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching The Game! A Woman's Guide To Loving Pro-Football
4)
5)

Polyglot Agatha Reading Challenge

Francesca over at Parole (Italian for "word") is hosting a challenge I just can't resist. It's the Polyglot Agatha Reading Challenge. To get to Francesca's post, just click on the picture above!

The challenge starts April 1 and ends December 31. The goal is to read at least one book in a language that is not your mothertongue. I am German, so I can read Agatha Christie novels in any language other than German.

Here's part of what Francesca wrote:

When you read a book for the challenge, I’d like you to tell me (either in a blog post or in a comment here) what you learned from it. I’m not so much interested in reviews, but I’d like to know which new words or turns of phrase you discovered. For example, when reading The murder of Roger Ackroyd in Portuguese, I learned that to indicate two people that are very close, inseparable, you can say “ser unha e carne” (i.e. to be nail and flesh). Again, this is entirely optional.

I know it’s all very short notice, and you are all welcome to sign up for the challenge at any stage. But there is a special giveaway for people who sign up by March 31st: I’ll draw a name on April 1st and send them one book of their choice to read for this challenge.

Again because it’s very short notice, I decided to set up a giveaway for people who link to this challenge in their blogs. Again, the time limit is March 31 and I’ll draw a name on April 1st. This giveaway is open even to people who don’t want to sign up for the challenge. To enter, leave me a comment on this post, with a link to the post in which you linked to the challenge. [ETA: the prize for this giveaway is a surprise, it's for me to decide based on the winner's reading tastes, and for you to find out!]

The languages I will choose from will be English, French and Italian. My first book for the challenge is already on Mt. TBR and additional books will be added as I read:

1) The Murder On The Links

Catching up!

So, this week I'm somewhat late with my weekly posts, so I decided to do them in one post.

Oh, and as with the last posts, if you click on the covers, it leads you to Amazon where you can buy the books!



Here's my Mailbox Monday, hosted by Marcia. If you want to join in, feel free to drop by!

I received only one book:


An Grenzen: Acht Reisen durch Israel und Palästina, edited by Florentine Dame & Elizabeth Weydt (translated title: On Borders: Eight journeys through Israel and Palestine)

This book started out as an idea of two political science students. They got together a group of eight students from all over Germany with different backgrounds and language skills and teamed them up in 4 teams. Each of the teams traveled through Israel and Palestine, starting in Tel Aviv and ending their journey in Jerusalem. On the route, they met people of different religions and stayed with them - and they all came back with a collection of reports.

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Musing Mondays is hosted by Rebecca of Just One More Page. To join in, please visit her blog and leave a link!

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about bookstores…

How many bookstores do you frequent? Do you have a favourite? If so, which one and what makes it so?

I have three favorite book shops here in Germany. One is Hugendubel, which is really big and they have lots of great books - if I didn't have to watch what I'm spending I would leave that place with huge bags filled with books every time I go there.

The second place is an English book shop at the Eschenheimer Tor in Frankfurt, which is called Readers Corner. They have an awesome variety of books there, and the women (I've never seen a male salesperson there) give great recommendations and really seem to know the books they're selling!

And the last place is a book shop about 20 minutes from my hometown. They are neither as big as the first one nor do they have awesome salespeople like the second, but I somehow still love going to that book shop.

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This is a wonderful weekly hosted by J. Kaye. Thanks so much for hosting this!


Books completed last week

Robert Fate: Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption

This week's reading list

Nancy Horan: Loving Frank
Laura Childs: Eggs In Purgatory
F. Dame & E. Weydt: An Grenzen (see above)

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Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB. If you want to join, just go over there and post a link to your teasers!

Grab your current read

Let the book fall 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!

There is only one VERY IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER:
*** Do NOT post anything that could spoil the plot of the book!!! ***

If your sentences that fall between lines 7 and 12 on the page you turn to give too much away, choose a different page, or a different spot on the page… we don’t want to ruin any surprises for anyone!

Frank was stretched out in a garden chair, eyes closed, face slanted up to the sun. "Another perfect day," he said when he heard her football.
Page 152 of Nancy Horan's Loving Frank

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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you want to join in, head over to her blog!

I'm waiting for the following books:

Jill Shalvis: Storm Watch
Sorry, no cover yet on Amazon, but check out Jill Shalvis' blog. There you can find the cover. (If you're not curious about the cover, check out her blog anyway, Jill Shalvis is hilarious!)

Daniel Depp: Loser's Town


And yes, Daniel Depp is Johnny Depp's brother!

Julia Hoban: Willow


Susan Crosby: The Rancher's Surprise Marriage


Jill Shalvis: Double Play

Blog Improvement Project #6 - Let's Get Social

With this post, I've caught up with the past BIPs I missed. This time the instructions were:

1. Pick out a new social media tool, or reacquaint yourself with a social media tool you already use. If you’re new, sign up and create an account. Make sure to include your blog URL in your new profile so you can connect across social media platforms.

2. Update your blog to include your new social media contact information. If you want, leave your contact information in the comments here so other BIP participants can connect with you. WordPress doesn’t like comments with a lot of links, so if it doesn’t show up right away be patient, I’ll fish it out of the spam filter ASAP.

3. Spend the next three weeks actively using your new social media. Use all those goals setting techniques we tried in week 1 to set some goals for your social media experiment. For example, set a goal of tweets per day or how many comments you’ll leave on GoodReads reviews to make sure you give it a good shot.

4. Don’t be afraid to connect with other people. Find authors, publishers, famous people, or bloggers that are “bigger” than you and connect with them via social media. Don’t be intimidated, just try it!

5. At the end of your three weeks using more social media, write up a post about how it worked for you. Sign Mr. Linky with your post, I’ll do another Social Media Carnival post at the end of March wrapping up what everyone learned.

So I figured I'd use Twitter a bit more as it is the latest account I set up. It's fairly easy to use and I enjoy updating. I'll try to twitter every other hour, as that would leave me with about 7 posts there each day. (Even though I already know I won't manage to be all on time on Friday because I'll be away for most of the day.

My Twitter account is KathrinP so feel free to join me there! And if you have Facebook, leave a comment and I'll add you (of course, I won't publish the comment so that your info doesn't get out there!).
Same goes for all the other social media sites I use (LibraryThing, Good Reads, Shelfari - you name it!) - if you're there, give me a shout!

I'll let you know how it works on Sunday.

Please also check out my entry on the Blog Improvement Project #2 and help me find out which of my three ideas would be the best...

Blog Improvement Project #5 - Social Media Carnival

Kim wrote the following about Task #5, the Social Media Carnival:

The task is simple: write a post about a social media tool that you currently use. If you don’t currently use any social media, pick one you’re interested in, do some research, and write a post about what you’ve learned. Posts should be as specific and experience based as possible. If you’re stuck on what to write, here are some ideas — how do you use this particular tool to improve your blog or relationship with other bloggers? How do you balance time between blogging and using social media? What are some specific things you wish you’d known before you started your chosen your new tool?

So far I'm using the following:

GoodReads

Shelfari

LibraryThing

Facebook

Twitter

some German pages similar to Facebook

various online reading groups

And I probably forgot some of the various aspects of social media I'm using. For most of those, I have the link to my blog right on the page about me, and for each of my e-mails posted to online reading groups, there's a link to my blog in the signature, but that's it. I never really thought about how else to use them for my blog...

Please check out my entry on the Blog Improvement Project #2 and help me find out which of my three ideas would be the best...

Blog Improvement Project #4 - Blog Basics

So, I'm on my way to catch up, I really am! But then, my actual job right now should be writing my term papers LOL

This time, Kim is leading was back to the blog basics and the tasks were:

* Write (or update) your “About Me” Page — Make sure you can see your About Me from the main page of your blog because someone just arriving at the site should be able to easily see a little information about you

* Update your contact information

* Add some sort of picture of yourself (if you’re comfortable with that)

* Update your Blogroll — Blogging Startup has a good series on blogrolls starting with “Does My Blog Need A Blogroll?” — check out some of the other entries, they’re pretty short and interesting

* Create a link to your Archives on your front page (there are a lot of widgets for this, or you can find other ways to do it — either way, it’s important to do so people who want your archives can find them to get a sense of what they can expect from your blog)

* Add a link (or make sure a link is there) so readers can subscribe to your blog via RSS

* Get to work on other basic blog maintenance you’ve been meaning to do

So, my About Me section is up to date and I wouldn't know what else to say other than: Ask me if there's anything else you want to know! I can be contacted, but I decided against a picture of me a looong time ago. I'm just not comfortable with being that public. The archive can be reached from the front page, and even the subscription works, so what is left?
A blog roll, I have only a few links on there, so I will update it over the next week, whenever I feel like procrastinating again, and then everything should be okay.

Rutu Modan: EXIT WOUNDS

Rutu Modan
EXIT WOUNDS
Drawn & Quarterly
174 pages
ISBN: 978-1-897299-83-8

In Exit Wounds, Rutu Modan tells the story of Koby's search for his father to whom he hasn't talked for a long time. Koby works as a taxi driver in Tel Aviv when Numi, a young woman and member if the IDF*, asks him for a private conversation in which she tells him of a terrorist attack in Hadera. Apparently one of the victims' bodies was so badly burned he could not be identified and so far no one came to identify him. Though Koby at first is not at all interested in finding out whether the unidentified victim is indeed his father, he ends up on helping Numi search for his father.

While I believe the story had great potential, the author wrecked it. I hated the fact that the characters used fowl language several times throughout the book, and it certainly could have done without anyone undressing.

What made up for some of these things were the last few pages where Koby visits Numi at her family's home again after their search has ended. They had an argument before they found Koby's father, and Numi left, but after a while Koby decided he had to see Numi again to talk to her.

Reating: 2/5

*IDF = Israel Defense Forces

Blog Improvement Project #2 - Brainstorming Ideas

I realize I'm really rather late with this, but so I will simply post the last installments during the nex couple days.

This installment is all about content, and about brainstorming ideas. For this, Kim posted three links to get the brainstorming going:

* 24 Things to do When Stuck for a Topic to Blog About
* Brainstorming Techniques for Bloggers
* 9 Steps to Better Blog Post Ideas

When I first started out the post for this BIP, I didn't come up with any ideas at all, but now I have a few ideas. Since I don't think I can do all three, I figured I'd ask you which idea you like best.

So, my first idea is not really unique, but since I'm a huge series reader and so I thought about doing special features about book series and their authors. I was thinking along the way of author biographies, info on the series, maybe even some info on the main characters - and if you have some ideas what else to add, let me know!

Another idea was to regularly post general stuff on reading. I know this sounds vague, but I was thinking about posts on Mt. TBR, book buying wishlists, the different genres, challenges, etc.

And my third (and so far last idea) was a result of my minor, comparative religion. There are so many religions out there and I only found a challenge and a weekly event on Christianity and a challenge on Judaism, but nothing else. So I was thinking about a regular feature on religion and literature that is not limited to one religion, but rather gives a broad overview. Also, I would not only introduce non-fiction on the religions but also novels.

So what do you think? Are my ideas okay and would you be interested? And if so, which one is the best?

Awards!

Oh my goodness! With the dozen blogs on my blogger dashboard I usually feel really lost, so I just now found out that Rebecca from Lost In Books honored me with three (!!!) awards! I am speechless! This all happened in January already, and I just now saw her comment at my other blog, where I actually only keep track of the series I'm reading.

Thank you so much, Rebecca!!!







There are so many fellow blogger I would like to pass these on to, but I can't give away an endless number of these awards, so I'll give them away to the blogs I have to read every day:

1) Kris from not enough books - hers was one of the first blogs I ever read and I've been a faithful reader :-)

2) Lesa from Lesa's Book Critiques - I love her reviews and her author interviews!

3) J. Kaye from J. Kaye's Book Blog - she has the best challenges (there is only one I am not participating in, as I have no library with fun reads, only the university library) and I love the reviews she and her kids write!

Once Upon A Time III

My procrastination apparently goes so far that I even join challenges just so that my mind is too busy thinking about the term papers due soon.



To join the Once Upon A Time III Challenge, click on the picture above. It will lead you right to the sign up post.

Lucky for me, there are different stages. I'm usually not really good with fantasy, fairy tale, folklore and mythology, but I would like to broaden my horizon, so I will limit myself to The Journey. For this I have to read only one book between March 21st to June 20th.

I have not yet thought about the book I will read for this challenge, but I think I have some on Mt. TBR that would qualify - books I bought because the storyline sounds interesting, but somehow never got around to reading them because in the end, the fantasy aspect kind of "scared" me.

EDIT:
I read Sam Savage's Firmin in May, so I completed this challenge!

Maree's mini-challenge

Maree from just add books created her own mini-challenge.

The goal is to read a certain amount of books for some of the challenges you have going in April.

So, I've decided on the following books:

Maureen Child's An Officer And A Millionaire for the Spring Reading Challenge

Kizzur Shulchan Aruch for the Jewish Literature Challenge AND the Spring Reading Challenge

Harry Kemelman's Sunday The Rabbi Stayed Home for the Jewish Literature Challenge AND the Spring Reading Challenge

Tess Gerritsen's The Mephisto Club for the Series Challenge 3 AND the Spring Reading Challenge

Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis 2 for the In Theirs Shoes Challenge AND the Spring Reading Challenge

I think I can read these five books within the next few weeks. I just have to refrain myself from reading one of the books before the challenge begins.

2009 eBook Reading Challenge

Yes, well, apparently I can't resist LOL But I have collected a few e-books during the last months that I never read, so I figured I might as well join this challenge to complete some of them.



To join J. Kaye's eBook Reading Challenge, just click on the picture above!

Guidelines:

1. You can join anytime as long as you don’t start reading to your books prior to 2009.

2. Read 10 eBooks in 2009.

3. Overlaps with other challenges are fine.

4. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, list the direct link to your post where your eBooks will be listed. If you list just your blog’s URL, it will be removed.

5. You do not have to list your books ahead of time. If you decide to, you can change them as you go. Feel free to remove or add titles as needed.

I will list my books here:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)

Natalie Anderson: BOUGHT: ONE NIGHT, ONE MARRIAGE

Natalie Anderson
BOUGHT: ONE NIGHT, ONE MARRIAGE
Harlequin
187 pages
ISBN: 978-0-373-12785-6

When Cally's friend wins her a date with Blake McKay she's shocked. While she sees herself as plain and ordinary, he is very handsome and could have about any woman he wanted. So Cally wonders how could she possibly go on a date with him. But Blake manages to get under Cally's skin and in return "buys" a date with Cally. At that time, neither of them thinks their two dates would result in a marriage.

I realize I have a hard time getting a hold of what exactly persuaded me that this book was not only worth my scarce reading time, but that I should go and look for more novels by Natalie Anderson, but I will try.

Cally is a character one can relate to, as she sees herself as an ordinary person and while she has enough money for her to never have to work again, she owns a company preparing delicious, home-cooked soups which she sells with the help of a friend and can't imagine giving up her job and stop creating new soups. So when her friend Sydney persuades her to come to a fund raiser / bachelor auction, she feels out of place and it is obvious she'd much rather spend some money and not be involved in the auction.

Blake always had everything go his way, so when Cally doesn't react to him the way he is used to, it throws him off balance at first, but then he decides to win her over. While this was really annoying at first, Blake shows his caring side when Cally doesn't feel well and after a rift between the two, mostly due to missunderstandings, he clears everything up very soon.

While at first Cally seems like an independent woman, she soon shows she can also be vulnerable, but luckily, Anderson balanced those moments well. Not only that, she also created Blake as an ambivalent character, definitely no card-board character!

Rating: 4/5

Agatha Christie: THE MIRROR CRACK'D FROM SIDE TO SIDE

Agatha Christie
THE MIRROR CRACK'D FROM SIDE TO SIDE
351 pages
Harper Collins
ISBN: 0-00-712098-2

After numerous times of watching the movie I finally managed to actually read Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side and I don't know what took me so long. When Heather Babcock dies at the party of movie star Marina Gregg, who just moved to St. Mary Mead, it at first seems like a natural death, but after an inquiry the police finds out that it was in fact an overdose of a drug used by Marina Gregg and everyone living in the mansion with her. But who had a reason to kill her and was it really Heather Babcock who was meant to be murdered? Things start to look different when a friend of Miss Marple tells her that the actress' frozen expression reminded her of Tennyson's The Lady Of Shalott:

Out flew the web and floated wide;
The Mirror crack'd from side to side;
'The curse has come upon me,' cried
The Lady of Shalott.

Dame Agatha once again managed to create a suspenseful mystery and left quite a few questions open until the end.

A noteworthy aspect of Agatha Christie's works is the fact that she only uses the verb "said", while there are many other possible words she could use. Yet, it seems exactly this habit makes reading the mysteries more fluent and much faster. (On a side note: There is a documentary by Ben Warwick The Agatha Project on the special aspects of Agatha Christie's novels which is well worth watching. In it, scientists took a very close look on the novels, analyzed them and show their results with easy to understand explanations.)

Rating: 4.5/5

Spring Reading Thing 2009

J. Kaye is once again hosting the Spring Reading Thing and I'm very grateful! In the past I missed the sign up, but this time I made it! LOL

Essentially, Spring Reading Thing 2009 is a fun, low-pressure reading challenge open to anyone and everyone. It will take place March 20th-June 20th (which is, coincidentally, the spring of 2009).

To participate, here’s what you need to do:

* Create a list of some books you’d like to read or finish this spring.
* Feel free to set some additional reading goals (such as reading to your kids two hours per week, getting through your pile of magazines, etc.). This is completely optional.
* Write a blog post including the list of books you want to read and any additional goals you’ve set, and get ready to post it on your blog on March 20th.
* Visit this blog on March 20th to sign up. I’ll have a Mr. Linky set up that morning, so you can submit a link to your personal Spring Reading Thing post, and it will be added to the master list.
* Read! Work on your goals throughout Spring 2009.
* Report your results. Write another blog post in June to let everyone know how you did.
* Have fun! Visit other participants to see what they’re reading. Write reviews if you’re so inclined. But most of all, enjoy your spring reading.

So, I still playing with my list of books, but I will add the following for sure:
1) Stephenie Meyer: New Moon (hope that's the title of #2!)
2) Amy Tan: Hundred Secret Senses
3) Kizzur Shulchan Aruch
4) Harry Kemelman: Sunday The Rabbi Stayed Home
5) Margaret Grace: Malice In Miniature
6) Tess Gerritsen: The Mephisto Club
7) Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 2
8) Eun-Ah Park: Sweet & Sensitive #4
9) Jill Shalvis: Instant Attraction
10) Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey
11) Charlotte Bronte: The Professor
12) Richard Yates: Revolutionary Road
13) Lisa Jackson: Fatal Burn
14) Eun-Ah Park: Sweet & Sensitive #5
15) Maureen Child: An Officer And A Millionaire
16) Charlaine Harris: Dead Until Dark

Friday Fill-In # 116

So here we go with another Friday Fill-in. To join in or find more Friday Fill-ins, please check out Janet's blog :-)

1. Why do we have to adhere to deadlines?

2. Procrastinating and getting distracted veeeery easily are now habits.

3. I have a bunch of books to review right next to me.

4. I had never heard the phrase "the roof is on fire" and it actually made sense ...

5. I want to race through the next 50 books the way I always do.

6. How am I to know what you're thinking.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finishing my current read and hopefully starting a book justfor me and for fun, tomorrow my plans include read up on some things for the first paper due Wednesday and otherwise relax a bit and Sunday, I want to hopefully finish the paper so that I can send it to some friends for them to read through for spelling and grammar mistakes!

Marie Ferrarella: PROTECTING HIS WITNESS

Marie Ferrarella
PROTECTING HIS WITNESS
Silhouette
213 pages
ISBN: 978-0-373-27585-4

In Protecting His Witness Marie Ferrarella creates some wonderful characters, each with a potentionally dangerous secret. Dr. Krystle Maller finds a bleeding Zack McIntyre in front of her back door, her first fear is that she is once again in danger. She and her fiancé witnessed a murder and while they were under protection until their official statement in court, her fiancé got murdered as well. Now Krystle is running from the people who want to kill her as well.

After Krystle took care of Zack's wound, she drove him to his motel room the next morning and hoped to never see him again. What she doesn't know, though, is that the man she found on her back door is an undercover police officer who was injured on a case. If she knew, she might be even more worried about letting him into her life, as it was the police officer responsible for protecting their lives who killed Krystle's fiancé.

Ferrarella's characters are carefully outlined and the story draws the reader right in. She knows how to create suspense and with the recurring characters from the previous installments of Cacanaugh Justice you feel right at home, but still don't know what will happen next.

Rasting: 4/5

Vicki Myron: DEWEY

Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
DEWEY : THE SMALL-TOWN LIBRARY CAT WHO TOUCHED THE WORLD
Hodder & Stoughton
271 pages
ISBN: 978-0-340-96077-6

With Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World, Vicki Myron wrote down the story of the library cat that accompanied a great part of her life. Dewey was found in the night drop box on a very cold Iowa morning, almost frozen to death he reached the heart of the library employees.

When you read the title, you expected a book full of stories about Dewey Readmore Books, but you also get a memoir of Vicki Myron and the town history of Spencer, Iowa, where Dewey was found and lived. We see that Myron's life was not always easy, with a lying and drinking husband at first and then as a single mother with a severe illness. And Spencer's history tells a great deal about life in the country in times of economic trouble. But would a reader expect this when reading the title and the back-cover blurb? Probably not.

Throughout the book, the chapter headings are accompanied by pictures of Dewey in the library, some chapters even end with notes from Dewey, like his daily schedule and his tasks, which makes it fun to flip through the book even after reading. Dewey's stories are wonderful and Myron, along with Bret Witter, wrote them down wonderfully. Not only the Japanese television visiting to film him, but also his favorite toy, a piece of red yarn. Dewey's great escape and the reaction of the library staff and how they tried to not leak it to the whole town until they found him again.

All in all, the parts about Dewey were wonderful, hilarious and good to read, but the parts about the history of Spencer and Vicki Myron's life were boring and felt like a waste of time.

Rating: 2/5

George Eliot Mini-Challenge

Becky is hosting the George Eliot Mini-Challenge.

The challenge begins January 1, 2009 and goes through June 1, 2010. The goal of this one is to read TWO of her books. One movie may be substituted in the place of one of the books, if you want.

I will add my books here:

Leo Tolstoy Mini-Challenge

Becky is hosting the Leo Tolstoy Mini-Challenge.

The challenge will start January 1, 2009 and go through August 31, 2010. The goal of this one is to read TWO of his books.

I will add my lists here:

Elizabeth Gaskell Mini-Challenge

Becky is hosting the Elizabeth Gaskell Mini-Challenge.

The rules are easy:

The challenge will begin January 1, 2009. The challenge will end June 1, 2010.
Read and/or watch TWO works by Elizabeth Gaskell

So, I know very, very well I have joined a whole lot of challenges already, but Gaskell is special to me. A good friend of mine is an absolute fan of Austen, Gaskell and Eliot and she keeps telling me that I have to read those women's books. I tried Austen and I loved it, so she might have a point LOL

I will add the books as I go, but North and South will definitely be one of them.

Lisa Jackson Read-A-Fest

J. Kaye just announced she will be hosting the Lisa Jackson Read-A-Fest starting April 1, 2009. Of course I can't resist this one!

Here is what she said:

The idea is to read as many Lisa Jackson books in the months of April, May, and June. It could be as little as one book or as many as you’d like. This is not a reading challenge, but will work well with many of the challenges in place, such as Serial Readers Challenge 2009, 1st in a Series, 2nd in a Series and Series Challenge Season 3.

So I will definitely read Shiver and Fatal Burn. Everything else will be rather random, as I read Lisa Jackson's books with my Mom, meaning in German.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a wonderful weekly hosted by J.Kaye. Thanks so much for hosting this!

Books completed last week

Robert Fate: Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues

This week's reading list

Robert Fate: Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption
Nancy Horan: Loving Frank
Laura Childs: Eggs In Purgatory

Mailbox Monday, March 16th

Here's my Mailbox Monday, hosted by Marcia. If you want to join in, feel free to drop by!

So, this week only one book was added to Mt. TBR - no, wait a sec, I added 3! LOL

1) Tess Gerritsen: The Mephisto Club (finally the next one out in German!)
2) Dieter Claus, Elizabeth Aust-Claus & Petra-Marina Hammer: ADS - Das Erwachsenenbuch (ADD - The Adult Book)
3) Steve Mosby: The 50/50 Killer

So, the Gerritsen is for Mom and me, the Mosby is a book Mom bought and only the second is "just for me" :-)

I've seen 78 out of 239 films - I have a life!

I stole this meme from Marg's blog. I enjoyed it so much I just had to see what my results were...


SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste this as a post. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, and change the header adding your number. Have fun.

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(X) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
( ) Airplane
Total: 4

( ) The Princess Bride (I've only seen parts of this)
( ) Anchorman
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X)The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 7

(X)Scream
(X) Scream 2
(X) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
(X) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
(X) American Pie 2
(X) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 15

(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
(X) Resident Evil 1
(X) Resident Evil 2
( ) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 21

(X) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland (it's in my Netflix queue)
( ) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(X) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 23

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(X) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG
Total so far: 27

( ) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(X) Final Destination
(X) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(X) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total so far: 31

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
(X) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 32

(X) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(X) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
( ) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 36

( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(X) Ocean's Eleven
( ) Ocean's Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
( ) Bourne Supremacy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
(X) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 39

(X) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
( ) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 42

( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
( ) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
( ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 48

(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X-3
(X) Spider-Man
( ) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
( ) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(X) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
( ) Shrek
( ) Shrek 2
Total so far: 55

( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
(X) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 58

(X) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 63

( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(X) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 64

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
( ) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 66

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
( ) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
Total so far: 68

(X) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
(X) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 70

(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
( ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 74

(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
Total so far: 78

Now Add them up and...

Put "I've seen ...__ out of 239 films" in the subject line and repost it.

Giveaway at Beth Fish Reads

Beth from Beth Fish Reads has a wonderful giveaway up. She is offering two books for review that she won't be able to read, so maybe one of those books (or maybe both?) appeals to you...

The books Beth offers are

Beverly Lewis' The Secret

and

Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson's The Scavenger's Manifesto

To see Beth's giveaway post please check out this link.

Oh, and the giveaway ends March 25!

Friday Fill-In # 115

So here we go with another Friday Fill-in. To join in or find more Friday Fill-ins, please check out Janet's blog :-)

1. When I look to the left, I see a load of books and my remote controls.

2. My bedroom is the room that has the best view in my home.

3. Let it work for you!

4. Never have anything done dirt cheap! (Unless you want to have it done twice, that is!)

5. Watching out for kids is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

6. If you have any chocolate or cookies feel free to send some over.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to go shopping and grocery shopping with Mom, reading some more of Robert Fate's Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues, and maybe write a review or two - oh, and I have two challot to bake, tomorrow my plans include resting and reading/studying a bit and Sunday, I want to write at least one, preferably two, more reviews (I'm waaaay behind!) and read some more, because the book really is more than just awesome!

(Another) 1% Well-Read Challenge

So, after some pondering I figured I'd join this one.

The 1% Well-Read Challenge is hosted - again - by Michelle. To sign up, follow this link. I have both the lists of 2006 and 2008 on my computer anyway and constantly update them, so why shouldn't I join in on the challenge?

The editors of the book 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die threw a kink into our challenge when they updated the books with new titles last year. So, I’ve got three options for you on this next challenge:

1. Read 10 titles from the original list from March 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
2. Read 10 titles from the new list from March 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
3. Read 13 titles from the combined list (of almost 1300 titles) from March 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010. In other words, “What were they thinking dropping titles from Dostoevsky and Jane Austen?”

For all options, overlaps with other challenges are allowed, and you may change your list at any time.

I have not yet made up my mind which list to choose, but I think I will make that decision this weekend.

As I mentioned, I already read a small number of books, so I will add those here, just so you can see what I read in the past. Below the first one I will add the list of books I read for the challenge.

Books read from the original list
19) Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
93) Arthur Golden: Memoirs Of A Geisha
109) Margaret Atwood: Alias Grace
143) Jeffrey Eugenides: The Virgin Suicides
275) Thomas Keneally: Schindler's Arc
456) Harper Lee: To Kill A Mockingbird
483) Max Frisch: Homo Faber
547) George Orwell: 1984
559) Albert Camus: The Plague
564) George Orwell: Animal Farm
608) John Steinbeck: Of Mice And Men
610) J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit
638) F. Scott Fitzgerald: Tender Is The Night
649) Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
743) John Buchan: The Thirty-Nine Steps
781) Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound Of The Baskervilles
798) Theodor Fontane: Effi Briest
820) Robert Louis Stevenson: The Strange Case Of Dr. Jeckyll And Mr. Hyde
825) Mark Twain: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
897) Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlett Letter
904) Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre
906) Alexandre Dumas: The Count Of Monte Cristo
913) Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol
933) Jane Austen: Persuasion

Books read from the revised list
29) Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
87) Margaret Atwood: Alias Grace
118) Jeffrey Eugenides: The Virgin Suicides
258) Thomas Keneally: Schindler's Ark
454) Harper Lee: To Kill A Mockingbird
482) Max Frisch: Homo Faber
556) George Orwell: 1984
583) George Orwell: Animal Farm
588) Astrid Lindgren: Pippi Longstocking
621) John Steinbeck: Of Mice And Men
623) J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit
648) F. Scott Fitzgerald: Tender Is The Night
662) Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
673) Dashiell Hammett: The Maltese Falcon
749) John Buchan: The Thirty-Nine Steps
786) Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound Of The Baskervilles
807) Theodor Fontane: Effi Briest
817) Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray
829) Robert Louis Stevenson: The Strange Case Of Dr. Jeckyll And Mr. Hyde
833) Mark Twain: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
855) Jules Vernes: Around The World In Eighty Days
897) Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter
901) Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre
903) Alexandre Dumas: The Count Of Monte Cristo

Books removed from the original list
59) Arthur Golden: Memoirs Of A Geisha
264) Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol
269) Jane Austen: Persuasion

Books read for this challenge

One Word Meme

USING ONLY ONE WORD

I found this at Darla's blog and liked it a lot, so I thought I'd post it here.

And I agree with her that it's not as easy as you might think! It's really hard to only use one word answers.

Where is your cell phone?
desk

Your significant other?
nonexistent

Your hair?
colorful

Your mother?
nurse

Your father?
best

Your favorite thing?
books

Your dream last night?
none

Your favorite drink?
tea

Your dream/goal?
Israel

What room are you in?
bedroom

Your hobby?
reading

Your fear?
bugs

Where do you want to be in 6 years?
Israel

Where were you last night?
parents

Something that you aren't?
thin

Muffins?
chocolate

Wish list item?
books

Last thing you did?
TV

What are you wearing?


TV?
PJ

Your pets?
cats

Friends?
awesome

Your life?
boring

Your mood?
procratinating

Missing someone?
yes

Drinking?
water

Your car?
non-existent

Something you're not wearing?
dresses

Your favorite store?
bookstore

Your favorite color?
blue

When is the last time you cried?
dunno

Five people who email me regularly?
ARMies

My favorite place to eat????
desk

Favorite place I'd like to be at right now??
vacation

Teaser Tuesday

MizB at Should Be Reading is hosting the Teaser Tuesday, which is actually an awesome weekly event, so I think I'm going to participate...

Grab your current read

Let the book fall 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!

There is only one VERY IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER:
*** Do NOT post anything that could spoil the plot of the book!!! ***

If your sentences that fall between lines 7 and 12 on the page you turn to give too much away, choose a different page, or a different spot on the page… we don’t want to ruin any surprises for anyone!

As we pulled up, several mongrel hounds charged out and chased around the car, baying and barking. The lights came on above the porch of the main house and Doc appeared, his hair mashed over to the side.
Page 44 of Robert Fate's Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues

For Kindred and the surrounding area, Toni was pretty hot stuff.
"I'll grab another package from the cooler," Suzanne told her, moving quickly, pushing her way into the kitchen.
Page 3 of Laura Childs' Eggs In Purgatory

Why to throw a book across the room...

After reading Clare Langley-Hawthorne's post on the same topic over at The Kill Zone, I started thinking - what makes me stop reading a book? She came up with the topic after attending a panel at LCC (Left Coast Crime), which must have been interesting, and to be honest I'm envious and sad I couldn't be there.

The first thing came up right away: long, literally page-long, boring descriptions. Be it descriptions of the setting, the character, whichever. It is boring and it makes me fall asleep right away!

For another point I have to second Clare's "characters that make me a yawn". Oh yes, that is a big point on my list. It has to be! No matter how good the plot is, if the characters are boring or two-dimensional, the book just doesn't work. A book that is worth my time and doesn't end up being thrown at a wall has both a good plot and interesting, three-dimensional characters.

Big, fat plot holes would be another pet peeve of mine. I dump a book as soon as I see one and I'll never pick the book up ever again!

Changes of reality - I can live with a certain suspension of disbelief, but once an author re-creates basic truths without it being necessary for the novel. If you want to do that, state it on the cover, the back cover blurb or with the genre, but no single hint that it is science fiction or fantasy and yet you want to change the fact that in fact the sun is revolving around the earth? Yeah well, go search another reader for your book.

TSTL - granted, some Too Stupid To Live is okay, I can live with that, but authors who need TSTL to get the plot going and keep it going just don't do it for me. I'll drop the book, I just can't continue those books!


What about you? What makes you stop reading and put a book down? With what can an author turn you off? Tell me, let us know or check out the original post at The Kill Zone and comment there. Of course, I'd like it if you would comment both at The Kill Zone and here! ;-)

Musing Monday, March 9

So, her is my post for this week's Musing Mondays hosted by Rebecca!



What is your policy when it comes to new authors? Do you feel comfortable purchasing a book or do you prefer to borrow new authors from the library? How often do you 'try out' a new author?

I never really thought about it, but I think it is a great question. As I live in Germany where I don't get as many books in English as I'd like from the libraries I have given up on libraries altogether (unless it's the university's library). So way in the past I changed my whole habit of getting hold of books to buying them. Who can expect me to wait until a book has been translated into German so that it is available at the libraries here, after all?

So that changed my policy for new authors. Now I don't worry much about buying books from a new-to-me authors. Usually, I either heard quite a bit about the author already online and have a good idea what to expect, or it's an author I discover in a bookstore and read the backcover blurb and the first few pages.

Actually, I enjoy discovering new-to-me authors! I already bought books before I found book blogs, and one of the authors I discovered on my own was Jeffery Deaver. I was at a bookstore browsing the shelves and discovered The Bone Collector. I loved the cover and the backcover blurb was even better - with that I was sold and have bought lots of Deaver's books in the past. (I admit, though, that I haven't read them all yet!)

Of course, like everyone else probably, I've had some bad luck as well. Authors I bought and didn't like usually ended up at Bookcrossing or a German bookswap page.

Nowadays, most new authors I try are books I have read a lot about already. I have hundreds of books on my wishlist and almost each book has been recommended by a good friend or a fellow blogger. The last ones being Jill Shalvis and Cindy Gerard. I hadn't even read a single page by those two authors, but the reviews I found were interesting enough to make me run out and buy their books!

Classics Challenge 2009

Trish set up a separate blog for the Classics Challenge 2009 - and how could I possibly keep my hands off of that one???

The challenge starts April 1st and ends October 31st.

This is what Trish wrote in a nutshell:

**Choose Your Level (Keep reading for Bonus)
1. Classics Snack - Read FOUR classics
2. Classics Entree - Read FIVE classics
3. Classics Feast - Read SIX classics

**Rules/Guidelines
1. Cross-posting with other challenges is allowed (and encouraged!)
2. Audiobooks are fine
3. Re-reads are acceptable, BUT books must be finished after April 1st to count for the challenge
4. Lists don't have to be set in stone; you can change your selections at any time.
5. Have Fun!!
6. You do NOT need a blog to participate.

Also, there's an optional bonus round where one can read a book from a list with books that in the future might be considered a classic.

In short:
1. Sign up below using Mr. Linky. Preferably link to your list for the challenge, but I'm not going to make you. :P If you don't have a blog, just enter your name.
2. Give a suggestion for a "future" classic in the comments below
3. Recommended a classic for "beginners" in the comments below
4. Let me know if you have any questions
5. Get reading those dang classics!!

So, I will chose the Classic Feast and I will most likely join in on the bonus round as well.

I have not yet compiled a complete list of books I'd like to read, but I will just add them as I read my way through the year.

1) Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey
2) Charlotte Bronte: The Professor
3) William Shakespeare: Hamlet
4) Dante Alighieri: The Divine Comedy
5)
6)

Bonus:

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a wonderful weekly hosted by J.Kaye.

So, my current reads are:

Robert Fate: Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues

and

Laura Childs: Eggs In Purgatory

The Baby Shark book is for a paper due at the end of the month and right now I really should be reading, but instead, I figured I'd be online for a while and see what happens. I really need some more teein (like caffein only in tea?), and then I'm good to go, only, I also have a bunch of reviews that need to be written - ah the procrastination is calling! *sigh*
And Eggs In Purgatory is the first in Laura Childs' new series which I'm reading for a mystery group I'm in.

Up next are:

Robert Fate: Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption

Nancy Horan: Loving Frank

Stephenie Meyer: New Moon

and

Kelley Armstrong: Bitten

Mailbox Monday, March 9th

Here's my Mailbox Monday, hosted by Marcia. If you want to join in, feel free to drop by!

I added only one book to Mt. TBR (which, by the way, is much higher than I thought):

Lorna Barrett's Murder Is Binding
From Berkley Signet Mysteries:

The streets of Stoneham, New Hampsire are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder.

When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased—and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries—and hunt down someone who isn't killing by the book.

Vampire Challenge - The reviews

Finally the post for the reviews for the vampire challenge!
Feel free to post the links to your reviews here and I'll add them to the list.

1) Jodie - Twilight
2) J. Kaye - Crimson City
3) drey - Twilight
4) drey - New Moon
5) drey - Eclipse
6) Jodie - Changeling
7) Lissa - Eclipse
8) Lissa - Vampire Academy
9) Amy: The Bleeding Dusk
10) Rhinoa - The Reformed Vampire Support Group
11) raidergirl3 - Dead Until Dark



And here are the summary posts:
1) J. Kaye
2) Desert Rose
3) drey
4) Cheryl
5) Lissa
6) Amy
7) Kelly
8) Megan

Friday Fill-in # 114

And...here we go! It's been a while after all... If you want to join in, check out the blog!

1. Helping tourists find the right train/subway was my last random act of kindness.

2. Another place to stack books is what I want and need.

3. I'm hopless in matters of the heart.

4. Coffee, tea or water.

5. My books and I will never walk on separate paths.

6. Our big (make that huge) family reminds me that there is always someone to lean on and talk to, no matter where we go.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit, tomorrow my plans include try to find some new book shelves and Sunday, I want to create my schedule for the next semester and read a lot more for the papers due at the end of March!