Sunday, May 31, 2009

May summary

Oh dear, now look at the awefully long list of added books! No wonder Mt. TBR doesn't shrink even a little! I'm hopeless *sigh*

Added
72) Virginia Woolf: To The Lighthouse (won during 24 Hour Read-A-Thon)
73) Jay Asher: Thirteen Reasons Why (won during 24 Hour Read-A-Thon)
74) Emily Listfield: Best Intentions (review book)
75) Alan Bennett: An Uncommon Reader
76) Sophie Kinsella: Remember Me?
77) Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse
78) Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture
79) John Boyne: The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
80) Emily Dickinson: Wilde Nächte (The Letters of Emily Dickinson) (free)
81) Scott Sigler: Infected (gift certificate)
82) Sam Savage: Firmin (gift certificate)
83) Ann Aguirre: Grimspace (gift certificate)
84) Lisa Jackson: Twice Kissed
85) Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends & Influence People
86) Beth Andrews: A Not-So-Perfect Past
87) Jill Shalvis: Flashback
88) Scott Westerfeld: Uglies

Read
31) Jill Shalvis: Flashpoint
32) Jennifer LaBrecque: Yule Be Mine
33) Cara Summers: Come Toy With Me
34) Leslie Kelly: Slow Hands
35) Abby Gaines: Married By Mistake
36) Peter O'Donnell & Jim Holdaway: Modesty Blaise - The Gabriel Set-Up
37) Beth Andrews: A Not-So-Perfect Past
38) Sam Savage: Firmin
39) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 4
40) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 5
41) Gosho Aoyama: Detective Conan 15

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Soon, oh so soon...

So, I've been planning my "new" (by now it seems so old to me I'm reluctant to use the word) bi-monthly regulars for the past 2 months, but due to other work I couldn't really launch it earlier. Now I'm on the last works of the first month's posts for both my Series Reading bi-monthly and my Religion & Literature bi-monthly.

Now, I will start these in June, finally! So it is coming pretty soon. I hope you will like what I have planned so far, but I'm letting you guess what will be first. So far, even I don't know for sure as June would fit in with the Series Reading due to the Mystery Read-A-Thon (which fits perfectly for the first series I have in mind), but I also have a review copy that fits in perfectly with the Religion & Literature theme, and I'd like to post the review very soon.

So stay tuned for the new regulars!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Oh those good old times!

Do you remember those wonderful times when you could sit down and read and read and forget everything around yourself until you had finished the book? When nothing disturbed you and you kept reading?

I certainly do and I have to admit I'm pretty sad I haven't been able to do this in the past. True, the read-a-thon in April was an exception, but for years before that and ever since? Nothing! I just can't. I might sit down and read a bit, but then I remember something else and it distracts me. This whole dreaded situation has caused my reading to stagnate significantly. I no longer read a couple books a week, I can be happy when I read one book a week, even if it is a romance (which are fast reads for me).

I can't even concentrate on the reading I am supposed to do for university. My mind is a mess! I am so annoyed by myself and my stupidity, I can't describe it. I'm lacking the words!

I really miss the old times when I sat down on my couch with a book and started reading and after 5 minutes at the latest I had completely forgotten everything around me. I sometimes didn't even hear my Mom calling me for dinner! I would give a lot for getting back to this point where I could concentrate on something.

How about you? Have you ever been in a similar situation or are you right now ina similar situation? What did you do to get out of that?

r

Sunday, May 17, 2009

new books galore!!!

This was an eventful week for my mailbox and my bookshelves! I reveived a whole bunch of books plus I used a gift card to add a few more books from my favorite indie.

As usually, if you click on the pictures, you will get right to Amazon to order a copy for yourself!

Emily Listfield: Best Intentions

I received this as a review copy, so watch out for a review!

Jay Asher: Thirteen Reasons Why

I received this book from Elizabeth at As usual, I need more bookshelves. I won the book at her First Lines Mini-Challenge for the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon. Thanks a lot!

Alan Bennett: An Uncommon Reader


Sophie Kinsella: Remember Me?


Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse


Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture


John Boyne: The Boy In The Striped Pajamas


Emily Dickinson: Wilde Nächte (The Letters of Emily Dickinson)

The link for this book leads to the German Amazon page!

Scott Sigler: Infected


Sam Savage: Firmin


Ann Aguirre: Grimspace


Lisa Jackson: Twice Kissed


Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends & Influence People


Beth Andrews: A Not-So-Perfect Past


Jill Shalvis: Flashback


Monday, May 11, 2009

Lori Wilde: LETHAL EXPOSURE

Lori Wilde
LETHAL EXPOSURE
213 pages
Harlequin
ISBN: 978-0-373-79427-0


Note: Since it's been a while since I read this book I'm going to write only a short review.

PR expert Sebastian Black just entered the luxurious spa Confidential Rejuvenations to find out what is behind the attacks that are about to destroy its public image. But when he crosses nurse Julie DeMarco's way, his own shaky reputation might cause even more turmoil.

Awesome characters! Just by his description I would have fallen for Sebastian Black as well. No wonder Julie DeMarco decided he was a good way to get rid of her good girl reputation! I've always enjoyed Wilde's writing and this one was no difference. The only difference with this book was the come out of the mysterious saboteur at Confidential Rejuvenations. I just couldn't buy the who or why. Somehow it was really weird! But the excitement and the characters were par excellence!

Rating: 3.5/5

Awards!

I'm a little behind in aknowledging the awards I got! Thanks a lot to Teddyree, Carol and Yvonne for the wonderful awards! I feel honored :-) And thanks to the readers and commenters here :-)



Teddyree from The Eclectic Reader awarded me with the Splash Award. Thanks so much, Teddyree!

The Rules:
1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.
3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
5) Remember to link to the person from whom your received your Splash award.
6) Have F~U~N



Yvonne from Socrates' Book Reviews passed on this awards to me. Thanks a lot, Yvonne :-)



Carol from Carol's Notebook passed this one on to me. Thank you so much, Carol!!!

One Lovely Blog Award is given to new blogs and blogging friends. The rules to follow are:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted the award and his or her blog link.
2.Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.

Feel free to take the awards and pass them on :-)

Friday, May 8, 2009

announcement

Just a short announcement. From now on I won't review any books I haven't read at least past page 50. Therefore, there won't be reviews for the two following books:

1) Maureen Child: An Officer And A Millionaire
2) Laura Childs: Eggs In Purgatory

For some reason, those books were not for me, but I really can't say much about them, so I'll leave it at that.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Marie Ferrarella: THE BRIDE WITH NO NAME

Marie Ferrarella
THE BRIDE WITH NO NAME
Silhouette Special Edition
212 pages
ISBN: 978-0-373-24917-6


Note: It's been a while since I read this book, so I'm going to write only a short review.

When Trevor Marlowe pulls an unconscious woman from the sea, his life changes. The woman doesn't know who she is or how she got into the sea in the first place, so Trevor decids to help her along with his family to regain her memory. Venus, as Trevor decides to call her, is glad to have found someone who takes care of her.

Been there, read that. Seriously, that was one of my first thoughts after finishing this book. After all, the amnesia story line is an old one and there are hardly any surprises to expect. What made this book still likeable were the characters. Not just Venus and Trevor, but also Trevor's family, who all help Venus regain her memory and who support her when she is finally getting some answers. If it hadn't been for the characters, I would have put down the book without finishing it, but that way it was enjoyable

Rating: 3/5

Merline Lovelace: DEVLIN AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA



Merline Lovelace
DEVLIN AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
Harlequin
185 pages
ISBN: 978-0-373-76726-9


Note: It's been a while since I read this book, so I'm going to write only a short review.

Liz Moore is the pilot for a company that flies workers and material to and from oil rigs off the Mexican shore in order to save up money to start her own company along with her fiancé. When she discovers that he not only dumped her via e-mail, but also cleaned out their joint bank account, she vows to kiss the first man to cross her path. Enter Joe Devlin, engineer at one of the oil rigs Liz is flying to - or so it seems.

This book sure has some action and danger going for Liz and Joe, but is it really as realistic as it pretends to be? That is debatable. The characters, on the other hand were likeable. Liz fell for the wrong guy once and she just found out he not only took all her money, he also is getting married to another woman, so she's not up for a relationship. And certainly not one with Joe Devlin who seems to have his secrets as well. But what happens when she realized she has feelings for him?

Rating:3.5/5

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Introducing... the Mystery Read-A-Thon

After Dewey's Read-A-Thon I was all giddy and raving about it, which got me to talking to a friend, Meen, about it. We're both mystery lovers, which is how we met, despite living in different countries.

Now, we talked about the Read-A-Thon and somehow wondered whether it wouldn't be a nice idea to do a read-a-thon for mysteries. But then, how many times a year can you keep 24 hours free of work and appointments? So we came to the conclusion that 12 hours would be challenge enough.

The first Mystery Read-A-Thon will take place on June 7. The goal is to read mysteries and thrillers for 12 hours on that day - with the when being up to you.

To join in or read a it more about the information, please check out the blog!