Run

Title: Run
Author: Ann Patchett
Pages: 304
Yearly Count: 58

Run, Ann Patchett's latest bestseller. The story of a family, and the process they go through when their mother dies, and leaves her mamma shaped hole, that is to be filled and not to be filled. The storyline is much more complex than that though, Doyle's young wife dies after recently adopting two children. Doyle will be the mayor, the kids will grow up, but what impact will the loss of their wife/mother have on them?

I enjoyed this book, it was fun to read. The language was so pretty and fluid and I found it new and refreshing. I haven't read anything else by Ann Patchett before, even though I do own Bel Canto. This book really stirred in me emotions, and feelings and I loved it enough to allow myself the vulnerability. Twists and turns made the story less predictable, and kept my interest really well. Run made me realize I should get on top of things and read Bel Canto for sure.

The characters felt real, deep and worth knowing, their situations intense and intriguing, and there was for sure a strong connection that I felt toward it all. A great read. Go for it!
Thank you Gayle ( from Everyday I Write the Book )for the opportunity to read this!!!

have you read it? give me your link!!

Other blogger views:
Softdrink at Fizzy Beverage
Anna at Diary of an Eccentric
Serena at Savy Verse and Wit
Dar at Peeking Between the Pages
Mary at Bookfan-Mary
Gayle at Everyday I Write the Book Blog
Katherine at A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore
Jessica at Bluestocking Society
Marcia at Printed Page
medieval bookworm

The Whiskey Rebels: guest review by B (bookboy)

Introducing a guest review: B (bookboy or my husband) of B&b ex libris wanted to do a review today! I wish he could do more of these, I will keep my fingers crossed that after graduate school is over, he will :) Without further blabbing, Enjoy:

Title: The Whiskey Rebels
Author: David Liss
Pages: 515
B's review number; 1

I have to admit, when I first picked up this book, I was a little unsure. I was prepared for a stuffy, overly intellectual historical novel that was more history than novel. I was very pleasantly surprised. While still packed with a lot of very interesting detail on the early history of the United States and the beginning of the Whiskey Rebellion, The Whiskey Rebels is an exciting, deeply engaging book that I looked forward to reading each night.

The story is told from the first-person perspectives of Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott, with the chapters alternating between the two characters. Saunders was a top spy for George Washington during the Revolutionary war, but has since fallen from grace. He is now a disobedient and often drunk quasi-spy for Alexander Hamilton, who is trying to uncover a plot against the U.S. Treasury. Maycott is a bitter widow of a frontier whiskey maker, leading a small band of rebels in a secret plot to topple the young U.S. financial system. You can see how the two are bound to collide with each other.

If nothing else, read this book for the Saunders character. He is, without a doubt, one of the most intriguing, hilarious, truly engaging characters that I have come across in a long time. David Liss's portrayal of this self-loathing spy is absolutely top-notch.

Without getting too wrapped up in the dry details of history, The Whiskey Rebels is a very fun book to read, and you will come away knowing more about this chaotic time in our country's formation. It's definitely worth your time.

A note from b:

As always if you have a review for this book, let me know I'll link to yours.

Oh, and make sure you enter my giveaway for MATRIMONY !!! You wouldn't want to miss that one!

sweet MATRIMONY, the giveaway!!!

Joshua Henkin is giving one signed copy of his new book Matrimony, in paperback away to one super-special commenter!!! Seriously this book has been all over the web, and back and I am guessing you just HAVE to read it. This week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week as well, and this giveaway will add to the love being posted around this bloggie-blog world.

To enter the drawing:
1.) Comment on this post for one entry
2.) Post about it on your blog for an additional two entries.

The super-lucky-ducky winner will be chosen on the 22nd!!!

For more information on the book you can head over to Joshua Henkin's website, or you can go to amazon of indie bound for ratings and to purchase the book.

Here is what your fellow book bloggers had to say about Matrimony:

Rebecca of The Book Lady's Blog
Chartroose of Bloody Hell, It's a Book Barrage!
Jennifer of The Literate Housewife
Trish of Hey lady! Whatcha readin'?
Gautami of My Own Little Reading Room
Bookfool of Bookfoolery and Babble
Mrs. S of 50 Book Challenge
Lisa of Books on the Brain
Heather J. of Age 30 - A Year of Books
Gayle of Everyday I Write the Book Blog
Becca of The Inside Cover
Dewey of Hidden Side of a Leaf
Tanabata of In Spring it is the Dawn
Trish of Trish's Reading Nook
Amy of My Friend Amy
Julie of Booking Mama
Bethany of B&b Ex Libris

WOW! (I mean, who hasn't read it!?!?!) See....you really need to see what this book is all about!!!

PS Isn't that the best sweater ever !? (I love sweaters)

BEWARE: I am R rated.(haha!!)

this is why I receive that rating:

• suicide (13x)
• death (5x)
• pain (3x)
• meth (1x)

I can see suicide and meth, but even my four and two year olds know that things die, and that there is pain in the world. Every night they pray for "the children in the world that don't have food to eat, that they would be full"...still I guess I earned my R rating on the 13 times I used suicide. Lets hope you are all old enough to be reading my blog!!!

Thanks to J. Kaye's Book Blog, even if she is rated PG. She found this test :)

The River, by Moonlight: a novel

Title: The River, by Moonlight
Author: Camille Marchetta
Pages: 362
Awards: Winner of The Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Independant Publishing
Publisher: virtualbookworm.com Publishing
Yearly Count: 57


Hey, and Welcome to Camille Marchetta's blog tour stop with The River, By Moonlight!

In 1917, on one April moonlit eve a woman happened to end up in New York City's Hudson River. The family that she leaves behind mourns the hole she leaves empty. How did she die? Why did she do it? Was it an accident? Chapter after chapter each character floods the pages with their perceptions about and relationship with the deceased Lily Canning.It is as if they all revolved around Lily and now that she is not there to engulf and delight them all, they don't know what else they have in common with each other besides their last names. She leaves behind so many loose ends, nothing is tied up neatly, it is as if she was blown by the wind into one of her moods of depression and thinks of a way to make it be the last time she will have to suffer.

I wasn't yearning to read another book on suicide just yet, since I just finished one (Surviving Ben's Suicide review) last week. But once again, when I began to read I was submersed in the read and wanted to know, what had actually happened. I enjoyed the chapter switch-ups, since each chapter was narrated by a different character who knew and loved Lily. I thought it flowed well, and made things even more interesting. Marchetta's writing is great, I felt as if I were in 1917 where the book was set. She did an excellent job of pace and writing style to match the times. Also, what made the book even more interesting were the thoughts the current war was bringing up in the characters, especially Lily.

What stood out the most to me about this novel, was the reality of blame amongst the family members and friends of Lily (or any other person who chooses to take their own life). Even more importantly I was once again reminded of how much each person who was touched by the deceased blamed themselves for Lily's death. Each of them showered with thoughts on how they could have just kept her with them a little longer, if....


Here are the two previous stops on this blog stop tour, excellent reviews, check 'em out!:

The Bluestocking Society

Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?

Eating for Energy

Title: Eating for Energy: Transforming your life through living plant-based foods
Author: Yuri Elkaim
Pages: 332
Publisher: YuriElkaim.com
Yearly Count: 56

Insanity. Eating for Energy is a powerhouse of a book. Not a genre I typically read, but I have found so much useful information in this book that it will certainly be one that I come back to over and over. Elkaim encourages eating raw foods whenever possible, saying that if you do this for a full day you will "experience the difference the enzymes make"(p. 76) , a food spectrum instead of the pyramid (p. 83), a 12-week meal plan (p. 201), and almost 100 pages of recipes to start out with. Eating for Energy is broken up into two sections, Undertaking the Nutritional Lifestyle and Living the Nutritional Lifestyle Success Guide.

I already love eating healthy, but even at that there are always good changes to make. Changes one makes in his/her lifestyle as far as eating healthy will impact much more people than you would think. Yuri Elkaim is a big believer in enzymes, or "proteins that accelerate metabolic reactions in the body" (p. 62). After reading this book I feel I understand what food is all about, and that not just looking healthy, but being internally healthy is what is really important.

Tips on mostly everything that you can think of: Tips for eating at restaurants (p. 137), Tips on making the transition (p. 133) and The Ten Success Habits (p. 143). This book will blow your mind, but it is written in an easy to follow and understand format for sure. For anyone interested in being more aware of how to be healthy and treat their body right! :) enjoy.

Yuri Elkaim's Total Wellness blog

The American Boy's Handy Book

Title: The American Boy's Handy Book
Author: Daniel C. Beard
Pages: 320
Yearly Count: 55

A book that probably most of us have seen, and looked at has come to stand the test of time over and over. The American Boy's Handy Book, originally published in 1882 has been released once again. I was lucky enough to get my hands on this one, a hardbound delight, that calls fourth the creative and adventurous juices from little boys to adults.

Here is the true testament to this book. My 4 year old constantly is heading over to our book shelf and taking it down, "to look at all the fun things that the boys do". He told me yesterday that his favourite is the owl snowman (p. 219). I have read through the amazing skill and beautiful illustrations of this book. The boats, telescopes, animal traps, and puppets are just a glimpse into this boyhood gem.

If we could just get our kids to ditch the electronics, we would see the creative outpour that would take place, boys playing un-organized sports, putting on plays after school- taking on the Home-Made masquerade and Theatrical Costumes (p. 293), or putting on the Puss-In-Boots adapted for puppet show play (p. 263). We parents and our kids need to come back to reality, what is really here and really important. Impromptu play and creativity is something this generation of kids won't see unless the parents take a stand against the modern couch-potato trends.

The author Daniel C. Beard also illustrated several Mark Twain stories. He received the Golden Eagle badge, the only one ever awarded by the Boy Scouts of America. Little followers across the nation have continued to learn from him and his fun exploits because of The American Boy's Handy Book. If you have a child who loves the outdoors, or who should...this is the book for your family. And being a girl who did all this stuff just as much (if not more) than my brother : girls could surely benefit too!!! If you have an adventurer, buy this book.

Tuttle Publishing: The American Boy's Handbook


Here are just some of the covers this book has worn:

original cover 1882

peer pressure- btt

This week’s Booking Through Thursday question is:

Suggested by JM:

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

Me? Nope, not usually. I just had one such incident with The Gargoyle, everyone loves it....to me it is overworked yuk. I thought I might go back after the book bloggie peeps said how great it was, but I didn't feel any great need to.

The answer to the question is that if something that everyone likes is good I have no problem liking it, but if it isn't I have no problem letting people know that I did not like it at all.

I do read things that I would not usually read, but more because I am exposed to them. Book bloggies get me out of my general rut and on to new things. Most of the time I end up enjoying the books for sure :)

What about you?? Do you feel the pressure!?

ps, I got my picture above, and some good info on peer pressure here.

bloggie buddies :)

I just got this prize from Ramya, this is what she said about it: I created a little award that I would like to pass on to three of my favorite book bloggers to mark my three year blog-anniversary! This was one of the toughest decisions I have EVER had to make but I finally picked three of my favorite bloggers. They have gone out of their way in making my reading a wonderful experience for me! Thank you so much you guys!!

Thanks Ramya- right back at ya!!!

Here are my faves :)

Ramya's Bookshelf
Trish's Reading Nook
The Literate Housewife Review

life from the belly of the beast

Orbis Terrarum completed travels :)

WOW, this is so cool! Check out this map ya'll :) The green countries are where we have been, the white where we haven't traveled yet. I posted a list below of all the countries with the ones we have been to and the ones we haven't, take a look and consider finding a book from a country that has not yet been read about.

The unchecked selections below are the ones that none of us OT peeps have read authors from yet, take a look and let me know if you would like to fill in some checks for us!!!! Happy travels :)

Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick	Newfoundland Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut	Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon
North America
Canada	Greenland	Mexico United States
Central America
Belize Costa Rica El Salvador	Guatemala Honduras	Nicaragua Panama
South America
Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia	Ecuador Falkland Islands French Guiana Guyana Paraguay	Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
United Kingdom
Don't show individual UK terrritories
England Northern Ireland	Scotland	Wales
Europe
Albania Andorra Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Germany Gibraltar	Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway	Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City
Asia
Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma Cambodia China East Timor Georgia Hong Kong	India Indonesia Japan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Macau Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal North Korea	Pakistan Philippines Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam
Africa
Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Ivory Coast Democratic Republic of Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia	Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of Congo	Reunion Rwanda Saint Helena Sao Tome and Principe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Western Sahara Zambia Zimbabwe
Middle East
Bahrain Iran Iraq Israel Jordan	Kuwait Lebanon Oman Qatar	Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen
Australia
Don't show individual Australian terrritories
New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland	South Australia Tasmania	Victoria Western Australia
Oceania
Australia Cook Islands Federated States of Micronesia Fiji French Polynesia Marshall Islands	New Caledonia New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa	Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Caribbean
Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Aruba Barbados Bermuda The Bahamas Cayman Islands Cuba Dominica	Dominican Republic Grenada Haiti Jamaica Martinique Netherlands Antilles Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis	Saint Lucia Saint Maarten Trinidad and Tobago Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Turks and Caicos Virgin Islands
Antarctica
Antarctica

b's august reading journal:

Here are my august reads and reviews, enjoy!:

From A Distance by Tamara Alexander
Surviving Ben's Suicide by C.Comfort Shields
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
and Annie Barrows
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Deep in the Heart of Trouble byDeeanne Gist
Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist by Nancy Goldstein
Mrs. Lieutenant by Phillys Zimbler Miller
The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

b's book clubs:

Travel the World (From a Comfy Chair)
Pretty Paper Book Club
Literate Housewife Book Club Forum
The Sequestered Nook!

From a Distance

Title:From A Distance
Author: Tamara Alexander
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publisher Address: 11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Url: www.bethanyhouse.com
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0389-3, Price $13.99 Publication Date: 2008
Reviewed by Bethany L. Canfield for Reader Views (8/08)

Yearly Count: 54

From a Distance, is a tale of hope, of dreams and the road to accomplishing them.Elisabeth is a budding journalist.Society may think that she is past her prime, that she should just worry about getting married, but she sees a dream that she is about to capture and cannot rest until she does. Elisabeth dreams big, and she will do whatever it takes to get her to her desired goal. Is it all fair game? Are there things that are not acceptable in our pursuit of what we want, or is it every woman for herself? Decisions made in the past will impact the future, however there is grace to forgive. Will it be enough?

This is a five star read for sure. It is believable, well thought out, well written, and intriguing. I could not put it down because the story line was a dream to read, and as I read the only thing that I didn't like was that the end was coming! From a Distance is filled with interesting topics from that day: female rolls, corsets, male-female relations, propriety, the wild west, slavery, racism, mistrust, civil war, healing from lives lost in the war and much else that I am always interested to read about.

All humans are flawed, and in From a Distance the flaws are not smoothed over, and they are not made pretty. Flaws are evident and they cause guilt to surface. I admire the way Tamera Alexander portrays loss, life, but especially her take on forgiveness. This book contains so many relationships, and they feel completely real mainly because they are deep, deep enough to have times when forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is something that is either given or not. I loved the realness of the problems and the distances formed through hurt and pain in From a Distance. It felt so real, so relateble, and through the flaws of the characters I was able to really feel a bond. A great read all around!

what's wrong with me?! HELP!!

Okay, I need some help from you all...I am reading The Gargoyle, and I am horrified, it is not only vulgar and dark, it is plain yuck. It feels like the language and pace is too intense (choppy and too in-your-face). It seems there is a need for a constant stream of high risk people, (porn stars, people who pawn their daughters bodies to the highest bidder, so that they can buy Chrystal meth) in order to keep the attention span of a modern day reader.

I have just seen some of your reviews on this book and you ALL love it!! What am I missing. I haven't quit a book this year (and I have read 54 books so far) but this is probably going to be the one that I will choose to not finish. However I am willing to give it another try if you all tell me that something gets better, if things change from being so choppy, and filled with gore. I guess I feel it is overwhelmed with sarcasm as well. I just watched the trailer and then I wonder if there are other stories in this book that I would like and just the first is like this.

Can anyone help me please???

Here is the trailer for it anyway:

an award!

YAY! Thank you gals~
I was nominated by Dar at Peeking Between the Pages for this award a while back and I spaced writing a blog about it! seriously, that is horrible. Also Ronda from Ronda's Rants nominated me at the same time. If you click on those links you will be taken to over a month ago in their blogs....what a kind of a blogger friend am I to neglect this for so long. So sorry, very sorry to you both.