tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55896865670483708692024-03-13T08:11:22.488-06:00Endless ReadingReading My Way From <br>
Classics to Contemporary <br>
and Loving Every MinuteUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-78343452299678094232012-01-12T12:30:00.000-07:002012-01-12T12:30:35.176-07:00Dead Laptops, Graduation, Holidays and Other Blogging InterferencesLong time no see! Over the last 3 or 4 months it's become apparent that when life gets busy, the busy quit blogging.
Quick update. I finished my last quarter of culinary school in December. Yay! It was a busy 3 months but I'm done and I have a degree in Baking and Pastry to show for it. Woot! Now onto the next phase of life. When I figure out what that will be, I'll let you know. A lot of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-55648444516327643432011-10-12T09:41:00.000-06:002011-10-12T09:41:00.311-06:00Review: Everything We Ever Wanted By Sara Shepard
Goodreads Summary
Sara Shepard, the bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars, delivers a powerful novel of family dreams, lies, and delusions. Everything We Ever Wanted begins with a phone call with allegations that rock an upper crust Philadelphia family to its very foundations, unlocking years of secrets and scandals that expose the serious flaws in outwardly perfect lives. A Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-7959079586080058582011-10-10T10:33:00.002-06:002011-10-10T10:33:00.132-06:00Review: A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres
Goodreads Summary
“I love socialism, and I’m willing to die to bring it about, but if I did, I’d take a thousand with me.” —Jim Jones, September 6, 1975 In 1954, a pastor named Jim Jones opened a church in Indianapolis called Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church. He was a charismatic preacher with idealistic beliefs, and he quickly filled his pews with an audience eager to hear his sermons onUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-54207485435424568182011-10-03T09:16:00.001-06:002011-10-03T09:16:00.139-06:00Review: The Dovekeepers by Alice HoffmanGoodreads Summary
Over five years in the writing, Alice Hoffman’s most ambitious and mesmerizing novel ever, a triumph of imagination and research set in ancient Israel.
The author of such iconic bestsellers as Illumination Night, Practical Magic, Fortune’s Daughter, and Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, Alice Hoffman is one of the most popular and memorable writers of her Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-58178688803563367082011-09-28T11:50:00.000-06:002011-09-28T11:50:00.139-06:00Review: All These Things That I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Goodreads Summary
In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblingsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-38047429540252633342011-09-26T09:56:00.004-06:002011-09-26T09:56:00.562-06:00Review: The Traitor's Wife by Kathleen Kent
Goodreads Summary
In the harsh wilderness of colonial Massachusetts, Martha Allen works as a servant in her cousin's household, taking charge and locking wills with everyone. Thomas Carrier labors for the family and is known both for his immense strength and size and mysterious past. The two begin a courtship that suits their independent natures, with Thomas slowly revealing the story of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-81074850626389683682011-09-21T09:51:00.000-06:002011-09-21T09:51:00.453-06:00Review: Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Goodreads Summary
Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick or any older. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere’s museums. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatric practice. Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-62067623752169609602011-09-19T08:55:00.001-06:002011-09-19T08:55:01.016-06:00Review: Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey
When her boyfriend, Danny, is killed in a car accident, Wren can’t imagine living without him. Wild with grief, she uses the untamed powers she’s inherited to bring him back. But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy she once loved.
Wren has spent four months keeping Danny hidden, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-83955718318368426272011-09-14T10:21:00.002-06:002011-09-14T10:21:00.405-06:00Review: Juliet by Anne Fortier
Goodreads Summary
Twenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved Aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julie’s twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key—one carried by her mother on the day she herself died—to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy.
&Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-41080224668048057732011-09-12T13:20:00.000-06:002011-09-12T13:20:58.878-06:00Review: The Winters in Bloom by Lisa Tucker
Kyra and David Winter are happier than they ever thought they could be. They have a comfortable home, stable careers, and a young son, Michael, whom they love more than anything. Yet because of their complicated histories, Kyra and David have always feared that the life they created was destined to be disrupted. And on one perfectly average summer day, it is: Michael disappears from his Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-27870414859208234912011-09-07T09:57:00.001-06:002011-09-07T09:57:01.240-06:00Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Goodreads Summary
What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-37640055694833416272011-08-31T08:25:00.001-06:002011-08-31T08:25:00.094-06:00Review: The Legacy by Katherine Webb
A fresh and exciting new voice in contemporary fiction, Katherine Webb debuts with a haunting novel about a secret family history. Already a sensation in the United Kingdom, Webb’s The Legacy is a treat for every fan of upmarket women’s fiction and literary suspense in the vein of bestselling authors Kate Morton, Sarah Waters, and Diane Setterfield. Taut, affecting, and surprising—a story Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-15829567377095974692011-08-29T09:43:00.000-06:002011-08-29T09:43:00.209-06:00Review: The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle WilliamsGoodreads Summary
The papers have called me a monster. You’ve either concluded that I am a braggart as well as a sadist or that I have a deep and driving need to be caught and punished.
In the sweltering heat of an Atlanta summer, a killer is pushing the city to its breaking point, preying on the unsuspecting, writing taunting letters to the media, promising more death. Desperate Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-89109232328625453712011-08-24T09:05:00.000-06:002011-08-24T09:05:00.207-06:00Review: Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
Daniel H. Wilson, the author of this book, has a doctorate in robotics from prestigious Carnegie Mellon and his writing credits include the nonfiction How to Survive A Robot Uprising and How to Build a Robot Army. That knowledge alone should activate your senses as you enter Robopocalypse, a realm where robots run free and humans flee skittering in many directions. Told with the unfoldingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-69036218047820127422011-08-22T08:50:00.000-06:002011-08-22T08:50:00.233-06:00Review: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Victorian language of flowers was used to express emotions: honeysuckle for devotion, azaleas for passion, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it has been more useful in communicating feelings like grief, mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-84360478059159871072011-08-17T08:27:00.000-06:002011-08-17T08:27:00.391-06:00Review: The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle
Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After. What I’m talking about here is the ka-pow, shake-you-to-your-core-and-turn-your-bones-to-plastic kind of crappy.
Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-35431920971779469192011-08-15T09:09:00.000-06:002011-08-15T09:09:00.420-06:00Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefanoWhat if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb — males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-79285331969802582372011-08-10T08:51:00.000-06:002011-08-10T08:51:00.101-06:00Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .
Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-2282903584225862602011-08-08T08:02:00.005-06:002011-08-08T08:02:00.143-06:00Review: Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey
This enthralling confection of a novel, the first in a new trilogy, follows the transformation of a coddled Austrian archduchess into the reckless, powerful, beautiful queen Marie Antoinette.
Why must it be me? I wondered. When I am so clearly inadequate to my destiny?
Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-68584887948669292962011-08-03T21:33:00.001-06:002011-08-03T21:33:00.143-06:00Review: The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers
Lulu and Merry’s childhood was never ideal, but on the day before Lulu’s tenth birthday their father drives them into a nightmare. He’s always hungered for the love of the girl’s self-obsessed mother; after she throws him out, their troubles turn deadly.
Lulu’s mother warned her to never let him in, but when he shows up, he’s impossible to ignore. He bullies his way past ten-year-old LuluUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-26445644246443022812011-08-01T23:12:00.001-06:002011-08-02T00:00:42.829-06:00Top Ten Tuesday: Good and Bad TrendsThis week's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish asks which trends we'd like to see more or less of. Mine is a combination of the two.
1. More- Dystopian
I've just been really enjoying this particular trend so I'm not ready for it to go just yet.
2. Less- Vampires
I'm over you, big time. Unless, of course, you are the gorgeousness that is Eric Northman on True Blood. Then by allUnknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-15863974353498726342011-08-01T09:45:00.001-06:002011-08-01T09:45:00.386-06:00Review: Releasing Gillian's Wolves by Tara Woolpy
Releasing Gillian's Wolves is the story of a political wife forced to finally do something about her faltering marriage. We frequently see women standing by their Senator/Congressman/Religious figure husbands at press conferences as these men admit to all sorts of bad behavior. Releasing Gillian's Wolves explores what holds one such woman in place and what happens when she finally decides Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-69781918877357976962011-07-29T11:01:00.001-06:002011-07-29T11:04:33.234-06:00Friday Blog Hop: New Books
In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy-For-Books is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-35761517478692915152011-07-28T10:39:00.001-06:002011-07-28T10:44:09.794-06:00Theme Thursday- Action
Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event hosted by Reading Between the Pages that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:
A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
It is important that the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589686567048370869.post-13461966262264470682011-07-27T09:31:00.000-06:002011-07-27T09:31:00.802-06:00Review: You Know When The Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon
In Fort Hood housing, like all army housing, you get used to hearing through the walls... You learn too much. And you learn to move quietly through your own small domain. You also know when the men are gone. No more boots stomping above, no more football games turned up too high, and, best of all, no more front doors slamming before dawn as they trudge out for their early formation, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0