Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: LUCKY BUNNY by Jill Dawson


"WAITING ON WEDNESDAY"
is hosted by Jill from

Join in and tell us . . .

What are you waiting for?

My pick for this week is . . . 



Publication Date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Fiction
pb 9780062202505 $14.99

Description (from the publisher):
"Crime’s a man’s business. So they say. Who was the small figure then, slender enough to trot along the moonlit track, swift and low, virtually invisible? Who was it that covered the green signal with a glove to stop the train, while the two others took care of the driver and his mate? Could it have been one Queenie Dove, survivor of the Depression and the Blitz, not to mention any number of scrapes with the law?"

Queenie Dove is a self-proclaimed genius when it comes to the quintessential arts of survival and thievery. Daring, clever, and alluring, she spent a lifetime developing the skills of an accomplished thief. Born into a criminal family in London’s East End during the Great Depression, and trained by a group of women shoplifters during the Blitz, Queenie commits exploits ranging from petty street crime all the way to far more glamorous—and lucrative—heists. But giving birth to a daughter will make Queenie finally try to go straight—until the opportunity to take part in one last, audacious robbery tempts her back to the life of danger and excitement she once lived to the fullest.

Told in Queenie’s captivating and singular voice, this richly colorful story and its provocative denouement are steeped in questions of character and morality. Is Queenie a woman sinned against, or a sinner herself? Is she wicked through and through? In the spirit of Moll Flanders, Lucky Bunny is a vivid tale of trickery and adventure—and one which has a darker undertow of pain and heartbreak than its heroine prefers to admit to herself. Yes, luck often favors the Queen of Crime, but that is only part of her story.

About the author (from the publisher):
Jill Dawson is an award-winning poet and the author of six previous novels, including The Great Lover, Trick of Light, and Fred and Edie, which was short-listed for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Orange Prize. She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her husband and two sons.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Teaser Tuesday: THE KEEPSAKE by Kristina Riggle





Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B. of Should Be Reading.


Want to play along?  Here's what to do:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I closed the window reluctantly and stepped into the hall, my feet already knowing where to pick a path through the mess. I was beginning to see how it could start to feel normal, how the sides of the piles could start to seem like mere walls, and maybe the hallway became a little narrower, but you could forget the stuff was stuff, and not part of the your home itself."

-- page 131


Release date:  June 26, 2012





Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: MY CROSS TO BEAR by Gregg Allman


"WAITING ON WEDNESDAY"
is hosted by Jill from

Join in and tell us . . .

What are you waiting for?

My pick for this week is . . .

-- book cover not yet released --

by Gregg Allman

Publisher:  HarperCollins
Imprint: William Morrow
On Sale:  5/1/2012
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Ages: 18 & up
ISBN:  9780062112033

Description (from the publisher):
One of the most entertaining live bands ever to take the stage, the Allman Brothers Band defined the meaning of live rock and roll. But despite nearly a half-century of massive success, no one has ever told the inside story of the band and the brothers behind it.

For the first time, rock icon Gregg Allman tells the full, unflinching tale of his life on stage and off, from becoming rock royalty, to his string of failed marriages including his marriage to Cher, to his decades-long struggle with drugs and alcohol. In his unforgettable voice, Allman offers a vivid portrait of growing up with his brother, Duane, in the 1960s South, a place of uneasy racial and cultural transformation, where a new sound emerged—the sound of slide guitar comingling with keyboards and wailing vocals. The sound of the Allman Brothers.

Yet with success came tragedy, including Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley’s deaths, a year apart, in motorcycle accidents. For decades substance abuse plagued Gregg, and though he eventually overcame his demons, in 2010 he required a life-saving liver transplant. Gregg Allman opens up about these struggles and more, detailing the hardships, the personality clashes, and ultimately the joy that went into making some of the most electrifying rock and roll ever recorded. Documenting an era in which Southern music came alive, he holds nothing back in this essential volume eagerly awaited by every fan of good, old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll.




Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays: GIRLS LIKE US by Sheila Weller





Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B. of Should Be Reading.


Want to play along?  Here's what to do:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Joni’s Blue was in every way the counterpoint to Carole’s Tapestry. Whereas Tapestry was created in a sense of communality, Blue was recorded is almost utter privacy–so ‘transparent’ was Joni now that ‘if you looked at me, I would weep; we had to lock the doors to make that album. Nobody was allowed in’ except the backup musicians . . ."

-- page 329



Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Teaser Tuesdays: FIFTH AVENUE, 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B. of Should Be Reading.

Want to play along?  Here's what to do:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Whomever they cast couldn’t discharge sex like Marilyn, nor could she be young and innocent without provoking cries of Lolita. Furthermore, as a "good" call girl–not the Elizabeth Taylor kind that gets killed off at the end of Butterfield 8–Holly couldn’t be too seductive. Not alluring enough, however, and the character would have no call-girl credibility at all."

-- page 96

FIFTH AVENUE, 5 A.M.
by Sam Wasson

Click here to read an excerpt.

Monday, January 2, 2012

2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge



I'm joining the 2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge hosted by Melissa at Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf.  This challenge includes any full length book with a witch as a main character or that includes major witchcraft elements. Fiction or non-fiction counts. I'm not really into the current vampire craze - an occasional vampire is O.K.; I absolutely cannot stomach (tee hee!) zombies; and I've no interest at all in werewolves. But I'm fascinated by witches - real and imagined. So I just had to join this challenge. I only own a couple of the books I've listed, but I want to read the others very much, so I'm this is one of my few exceptions to my personal challenge to read my own books for all the challenges I join. I'm starting at the lowest level, but I'll be surprised if I don't read more than 5 witch books this year.


Timeline: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

Level: Initiate - Read 1 to 5 Witchy Books
1. A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness

2. HEIDI HECKELBECK CASTS A SPELL by Wanda Coven
3. WITCHLANDERS by Lena Coakley 
4. THEWITCH'S DAUGHTER by Paula Brackston
5. WITCH HUNT by Devlin O'Branagan

2012 Books I Started But Didn't Finish Reading Challenge



I'm joining the 2012 Books I Started But Didn't Finish Reading Challenge hosted by Jillian at A Room of One's Own. I'm really excited about this challenge because I do have several books which I never finished -- not necessarily because I didn't like them. Some of them I was loving, but life just got in the way. Anyway, they all deserve to be completed. I'm not including any titles that I abandoned because I just didn't like the book.

Timeline: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

There are no levels to this challenge, but we are asked to list the books we are commiting to, so I'm starting with a short list today, and I'll add a one or two more as I organize my shelves over the next couple of weeks.

1.  A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness
2. THE HERETIC'S WIFE by Brenda Vantrease
3. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. TOM THUMB by Melanie Benjamin

2012 Books Won Challenge




I'm joining the 2012 Books Won Challenge hosted by Teddy Rose at So May Precious Books, So Little Time.

Timeline: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

Level:  I'm going for the Gold: Read 10 or more books. Since crossovers are allowed, and I've plenty of Books Won in my TBR pile, I should be able to meet this goal.

1. BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE
2. THE GHOST OF GREENWICH VILLAGE
3. FIFTH AVENUE, 5 A.M.
4. SISTERS OF THE SARI
5. YANKEE DOODLE DIXIE
6. CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
7. THE KING'S WITCH
8. JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT
9. HOLY GHOST GIRL
10. THE SISTERS BROTHERS
11. THE COUNTESS
12. THE PARIS WIFE
13. THE GIRL IN THE GARDEN

2012 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge



I'm joining the 2012 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge hosted by the team at Historical Tapestry. Isn't the button just absolutely gorgeous?! Some of the books I'll be reading have been languishing on my shelves for years either because I got distracted by something shiney and new or because (as with the Chadwick book) I think I'm going to love it so much, I can't even bear to begin it because I don't want the experience to end. Just go ahead and TRY to make sense of that!

Timeline: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

Level: Undoubtedly Obsessed: 15 books O.K., so I probably should just commit to the most extreme level (Severe Bookaholism: 20 books), but I want to leave myself a little bit of wiggle room.

1. BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE by Juliet Grey
2. THE RIVER WIFE by Jonis Agee
3. BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys
4. QUEEN OF LAST HOPES by Susan Higginbotham
5. MADAME TUSSAUD by Michelle Moran
6. THE GREATEST KNIGHT by Elizabeth Chadwick
7. THE BIRTH HOUSE by Ami McKay
8. THE LOST SUMMER OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT by Kelly O'Connor McNees
9. YOUNG BESS by Margaret Irwin
10. THE ROSE OF SEBASTOPOL by Katharine McMahon
11. THE OUTER BANKS HOUSE by Diann Ducharme
12. PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks
13. THE ELEPHANT KEEPER by Christopher Nicholson
14. THE CROWN by Nancy Bilyeau
15. THE SEPTEMBER QUEEN by Gillian Bagwell

2012 Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge



I'm joining the 2012 Memorable Memoirs Reading Challenge hosted by Melissa at The Betty Boo Chronicles. As with most of the challenges I'm joining this year, my first selections will be from books I already own, but I really want to read HOWARD'S END IS ON THE LANDING by Susan Hill, so I'll be picking up a copy of that one.

Timeline: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

Level: Diarist: read 1-4 memoirs (I'll most likely raise my level, but I'm not permitted to reduce it, so I'm playing it safe!)

1. DOWN THE NILE by Rosemary Mahoney
2. HOLY GHOST GIRL by Donna M. Johnson
3. DRINKING: A LOVE STORY by Caroline Knapp
4. HOWARD'S END IS ON THE LANDING by Susan Hill

2012 European Reading Challenge



I'm joining the 2012 European Reading Challenge hosted by Rose City Reader. For this challenge, each book read must be by a different author and set in a different country. Once again, I'll draw first from books I already own, but I'm increasingly interested in the history of Eastern European countries, so I will most likely pick up a non-fiction history or two during the course of the 13 months this challenge runs.

Timeline: January 1, 2012 to January 31, 2013

Level:  Five Star (Deluxe Entourage): Read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries.

Personal Challenge:  If I change out any of the following titles, it must be for a book I already own.

1. Romania - NO ONE IS HERE EXCEPT ALL OF US by Ramona Ausubel

2. Hungary - THE COUNTESS by Rebecca Johns
3. Russia - THE WINTER PALACE by Eva Stachniak
4. France - SUITE FRANCAISE by Irene Nemirovsky
5. Turkey - THEODORA by Stella Duffy
6.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012 South Asian Reading Challenge



I'm joining the 2012 South Asian Reading Challenge hosted by Swapna at S. Krishna's Books. This is a favorite subgenre of mine, so I've a lot of titles to choose from. I'm first going to focus on reading books that I already own which fit this challenge.

Countries included: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives


Timeline: January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012

1. SISTERS OF THE SARI by Brenda Baker
2. LITTLE PRINCES by Conor Grennan
3. SAFFRON DREAMS by Shaila Abdullah
4. HAUNTING JASMINE by Anjali Banerjee
5. AN ATLAS OF IMPOSSIBLE LONGING by Anuradha Roy
6. RADIO SHANGRI-LA by Lisa Napoli
7.


2012 Middle East Reading Challenge



I'm joining the 2012 Middle East Reading Challenge hosted by Helen at Helen's Book Blog. In the 4th grade, I got hooked on ancient Mesopotamia. I hope this challenge will allow me to expand on my interest in the history of the Middle East as well as deepen my understanding of the diverse cultures, religions, and politics of the region as they exist today.

Timeline: January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.


1. THE DRESSMAKER OF KHAIR KHANA by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
2. WHEREVER YOU GO by Joan Leegant
3. BEIRUT 39 edited by Samuel Shimon
4. MORNINGS IN JENIN by Susan Abulhawa
5. LAND OF MARVELS by Barry Unsworth
6.

An Illustrated Year: 2012 Picture Book Reading Challenge



I'm joining the 2012 Picture Book Reading Challenge hosted by Jennifer at An Abundance of Books. This is such a fun concept, how could I refuse?

Timeline:  January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

Level 3 - Read 24 picture books.

1. 

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012 and the Year's Reading Plans



Here's to Health and Happiness
in the New Year!

Hello, Everyone! Hope you've all had a wonderful holiday season. As happy as I am for the start of a shiny new year, I'm sorry to see all the bright lights and decorations being packed away. I've two suggestions I'd love to see adopted in the US next year: the first is that Thanksgiving be moved to the beginning of November so that the holidays are not so crunched; and the second is that some of those beautiful holiday lights stay up throughout the winter. (I don't mean the full-on displays with Santas and inflatable snowmen -- just some of the pretty lights to brighten those dark winter nights.) Oh, well, I can dream . . .

What are your reading plans for 2012? This year, I'm focusing on reading books that are already in my possession. I'm not brave enough to commit to reading ONLY my own books, just a lot more of them. To help me plan and organize, I'm joining a bunch of challenges. I know, I'm terrible with challenges! But I hail for the state whose motto is "Hope" so what can you expect?!

Like a lot of other bloggers, I've got an overabundance of wonderful books that I've yet to read because I'm constantly tempted by new selections. I've decided to go through all my shelves and stacks and pick out what I really want to read over the next year or two and organize them according to challenges. My intention is that this will help to keep me from forgetting about them. Then I'm going to start farming out what I don't think I'll reasonably get to within the next couple of years so that I'm less of a hoarder and more of a reading enabler! 

Over the next week or so, I'll be publishing a lot of challenge sign up posts. I've decided to keep them all separate (I know a lot of bloggers do a Master Challenge List, but I'm going to try it this way this year.) I know a lot of these posts will go unread by my readers but, hopefully, you'll want to read my book reviews as I start to post them!

In the meantime, if you've read this far, does anyone know of a reading challenge for the American West and/or a China themed challenge?

Again, Happy New Year to Everyone! Hope you'll join me for another year of great reading!