My January Living by the List Challange

Sooo, in my "Anything goes" shelfari group we have decided that we are going to do a monthly challange called Living by the List challange. The basis of the challange is that we pick 8 books and 3 alternatives to read from the 1st of the month till the first of next month. Now I usually read way more then 8 books in a month so more then likely but I will read my 8 books plus my 3 alternatives. This is my list of books for January 2009...Maybe just maybe I might be able to get through some of these books on my TBR but I doubt it since I usually add about 20 a week LOL.

1. From Dead to Worse --Charlaine Harris

2. Suicide Notes--Michael Thomas Ford

3. Vampire Seduction--Raven Hart

4. Plum Lucky--Janet Evanovich

5. Ink Heart --Cornelia Funke

6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-- F. Scott Fitzgerald

7. Plum Spooky--Janet Evanovich

8. Witchling--Yasmine Galenorn

Alternatives

1. Halfway to the Grave--Jeanine Frost

2. Demon in my View--Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

3. Confessions of a Shopaholic-- Sophie Kinsella

I Won, I Won!!!!

I won the autographed copy of Vampire's Seduction by Raven Hart!!! I just wanted to thank Evie from http://averageme-bookandmoviereviews.blogspot.com/ for hosting and blogging about the interview with the author and Raven aka Susan Goggins for giving me an autographed copy of her book and sending along a Christmas card with it. It was a super wonderful gift to receive and will treasure it greatly!

I have to admit I haven't read the book yet but I am very much looking foward to reading them. I have to wait until this weekend to start them though because they are on my 2009 TBR and the first books for my Living for the list Challange! Speaking of the Living for the list challange. I would like to invite all of my friends to join me in this creative adventure!! I plan on making a list on 8 books with 3 alternatives to be read every month from the 1st of the month till the 1st of the next month! A message board that I belong to on shelfari did it for Thanksgiving to Christmas and it went over very well so we decided to make it a permanate fixture to our board! I will post a list for my Jan list as soon as I have decided what it is going to be. I have a few that I know I am going to do first!I have had a busy month this month but some how I have managed to read 14 books. I recently finished Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella. I really didn't think that I would like this book because it is about a girl who gets into a car accident and gets amnesia. But just for 3 years of her life. Which happens to be the three years that she managed to go big time in her career, get married, move to a posh flat, and completely change her appearance. Sounded kind of cheesey if you asked me but guess what... I loved it...It was very well written and funny and romantic all in the same time!

I have also continued on my quest of finishing the Sookie Stackhouse series.

I just finished book 7 All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris. I love this series and it really sucks that I have started on the last one that has been published so far! Sookie gets so far into the vampire life that she is never going to be able to get herself out! But one good thing....They are indebted to her for quit sometime!!

So far in Book 8 From Dead to Worse all I want to know is WHERE IS QUINN!!!

Win a copy of Vampire Seduction by Raven Hart

On my friend Evie's Blog: http://randomminutiae.blogspot.com/ you can enter to win a signed copy of The Vampires Seduction by Raven Hart. She also has a great interview with the author. Go check it out!

was born to the name of Rachel Weatere in the year 1684, more than three hundred years ago.The one who changed me named me Risika, and Risika I became, though I never asked what it meant. I continue to call myself Risika, even though I was transformed into what I am against my will.By day, Risika sleeps in a shaded room in Concord, Massachusetts. By night, she hunts the streets of New York City. She is used to being alone.But now someone is following Risika. Someone has left her a black rose, the same sort of rose that sealed her fate three hundred years ago.Three hundred years ago Risika had a family — a brother and a sister who loved her. Three hundred years ago she was human.Now she is a vampire, a powerful one. And her past has come back to torment her.This atmospheric, haunting tale marks the stunning debut of a promising young novelist.

That's the excerpt from the book...These are my opinions on the book. The story line is great the writing style however leaves something to be desired. All I can say is you can very much tell that this book was written by a 13 year old. The written style is very punchy with short sentences and little detail. She gets down and dirty and right to the point. Although I'm not a fan of the writing style I am a fan of the story line and will finish the rest of the series.

Right now I am reading Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris. This is the 5th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series and so far it's very good. I have managed to make a short list of the books that I want to read for 2009 and so far I have set my goal at 80 books. I have read 56 books for 2008 and didn't actually start reading until June. So I think I can make 80 in 2009.

I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Stay safe!!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Yeah, yeah, I know I know, I have been reading a lot lately...It's cold outside what can I say. My latest finish was City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This book was amazing and as much as you are going to be astonished at hearing me say this, but I liked it better then twilight. Wayyyy more action!!!

This book is about a everyday regular girl named Clary Fray, who decided one day to go to a club with her best friend where she never thought she would witness a murder. Something strange happened though the murdered disappeared in front of her eyes and Clary was introduced to a world full of demons, downworlders and shadowhunters. The shadowhunters are demon killers, the angels so to speak, or are they really.

This first book in the Mortal Instruments Series was a great start I am so excited to begin reading City of Ashes. It could only prove to be a great second book in the series. And great news. The third book in the trilogy will be released in March of 2009. Can't wait to read what else Cassandra Clare has planned for Clary, Simon and the other downworlders and shadowhunters.

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum Series--In between the numbers

So I absolutley love Janet Evanovich and the Stephanie Plum series but I have just discovered the in-between the numbers novellas. They are spectacularly funny and witty and you get to meet a new sexy leading male character in these books who isn't in the regular series books. Let me introduce you to Diesel. I fineeeeeee upstanding something or another. We haven't quite figured out if Diesel is even a real human yet.

In Plum Lovin, Diesel showed up just in time to ruin (so she thinks) Stephanie's plans for a uneventful Valentine's Day. All she needed to do was to get her only outstanding bond jumper into custody and everything was all kosher. I mean how hard could it be to capture "relationship expert" Annie Hart and get her body ticket. Diesel, who hunts "unnaturals" who have went off from the deap end and started getting noticed by the general public. The "unnatural" that Diesel is hunting just so happens to have a vendetta against Annie, so Diesel has her in protective custody and until Stephanie finishs her "relationship tasks" Annie won't turn herself over to her when Diesel is dont protecting her. So Stephanie goes about fixing all the screw ups in 4 peoples lives which leads to some funny stuff. You must pick up the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich and get some good laughs.

In Visions of Sugar Plums is where you first meet the infamous Diesel, when he is dropped into Stephanie's kitchen out of the clear blue sky. Diesel is just a little strange and can unlock doors just by touching them. In this Novella Diesel and Stephanie happen to be hunting the same "unnatural." Diesel to keep him safe and Stephanie to take him to jail for jumping bond. But Mr. Sandy Claws...That's S-A-N-D-Y won't have any of either of them. He has to finish his "job" before Christmas Eve and can't take time out of his busy schedule to go to jail for a crime that he HAD to commit and Diesel...Why would an "unnatural" who is proud and old need the help of someone else to keep him safe from another "unnatural." Turns out that Diesel is certainly a lot of help to Sandy and to Stephanie and maybe he teaches her a little about Christmas spirit to boot.

Plum Lucky is my next book up. That is after I finish City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. According to the Book jacket it is about Grandma Mazur coming into some money and oh but oh what is she going to do with it. And who to my wondering eyes should appear, none other then the naturally dynamic Diesel. Wonder what he is up to in this book.

I am also very excited to announce that on January 6th another Janet Evanovich between the numbers novella will be released. Here is the excerpt on Plum Spooky!!!!PLUM SPOOKY
Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey.
According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys.
Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He's chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he's chosen the Barrens as his new playground
Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He's now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn't made it out of the boys' department at Macy's. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn't met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree.
Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel.
Diesel pops in and out of Plum's life like birthday cake - delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He's an uber bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He's after Grimoire, and now he's also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn't mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs.
Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys.

I hope that I can implore everyone to pick up a Janet Evanovich book and read a excellent quick read!!!

The Secret Life of Bees--Sue Monk Kidd

A story set in the 1960's during the civil right movement that occured and was very violent in the southern states. A white girl named Lilly was raised by her emotionally and sometimes physically violent father, T. Ray and her black caretaker, Rosaleen. Rosaleen, while on her way to register to vote, ran into some very racist characters. Instead of just walking away, Rosaleen being the strong willed woman that she is decided to dump snuff (rub) spit on the white men's shoes. She was beaten and arrested and then beaten some more. Rosaleen ended up in the hospital where Lilly broke her out and they both ran away to Tiburon SC.

While in Tiburon, Lilly and Rosaleen met August, June and May and found out more about herself and her mother then she may have bargained for. August teaches Lilly how to care for bees and parts of life she would have never learned from T. Ray.

I loved this book and now that I have read it I am really looking forward to seeing the movie.

My Take on 'Twilight' The Movie

I loved the movie. I guess I didn't go in with any expectations that it would any way shape or form live up to the book. But I thought that it stuck pretty close. Of course they couldn't stay exactly to the book otherwise the movie would have been like 8 hours long.
Now my take on the characters. I think that Bella didn't show enough emotion. I don't know how to explain it but she was like a person with a corn cob stuck somewhere it shouldn't have been stuck.
Charlie: was absolutely wonderful. Exactly the way I pictured him
Edward: I think that Robert Pattison did a fairly good job portraying Edward. I honestly don't think that anyone could live up to the Edward we have made up in our minds. He played torn very well. Although I really wish they would have had the blood testing scene in the movie.
Jacob: I agree with you Evie, the person playing Jacob isn't a very charismatic character. Although, when we first meet Jacob in the book, he isn't so sure of himself either. I'm hoping that his character will grow in the movies just the same as his character grows in the book.
Emmett & Rosalie: Although I pictured Rosalie with brown hair they both are exactly what I expected and their characters portrayed them well.
James: Convincing
Alice: my new favorite character...after that scene with James in the ballet studio and those of you who seen it know exactly what I am talking about...I lovvvveee Alice
Carlisle and Esmee: I wish Esmee would have played a bigger role but I guess she really doesn't in the books either. Carlisle was perfect. Exactly as I thought he would be. Very protective and wise.
I really wanted to walk right back into the theater and watch it again and I can't wait until New Moon comes out so we can see how these characters grow.

Sooo Freaking Glad that its OVER!!!

The phone calls, the flyers, the interruptions during dinner, as somone beats on my door to tell me who I should vote for. I'm sick of it. A friend of my husbands got a phone call at 5 this morning to tell him that Democrats vote today and Republicans called tomorrow just hoping that they could keep just one more person from voting today.

Ten or 12 flyers in my mailbox EVERYDAY trying to sway my vote one way or the other. I was so very tempted not to vote at all today but I couldn't let my local politicians suffer because of what the "BIG BOYS" are doing.

Three people in 1 day beating on my door to tell me I should vote for this person or that person. By the time that the third person got to the door I felt very sorry for her when the hubby opened the door. Because she heard what he wanted to say to the other two but was actually extremely nice too.

So no matter who wins, at least it's over!!!

So Yes I'm a Reader

Like I said, I love to read and thought that it would be a good idea (in my mind anyway) to let everyone know what I am reading and what I think about the book that I read prior. So I might end up blogging alot because I read a lot!!

So, I am currently reading Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr. It is the second book in a series of I don't know how many books right now. It is about the existence of the Faery world and Faery courts and the interaction with them and humans. The Main Characters name is Aislinn but so far it seems that this book is geared around Aislinn's best friend Leslie. I don't want to say to much about the book and give anything away. But It's a great series and I certainly enjoy it. You can find out more about the books and the author at her website at this link: http://www.melissa-marr.com/index.php .

Now, a little about the book that I just finished reading. First of all this is another series as well. If you can't tell I'm a series reader. If any of you have heard of the series on HBO called True Blood, this is the series of books they got that from. The first book in the series is called Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris. Now I will admit I had a hard time getting through this book, up until the last couple of chapters but lets just say that I am super glad that I soldiered on and kept reading the book. The series is about a time when vampires become known to the general public and have to suffer the same unrighteousness that black people had to suffer. The main Character in the book, Sookie Stackhouse, who is a telepath, finds herself falling in love with a vampire who just recently comes to her very small Louisiana hometown. Throughout the book Sookie seems to find herself in these predicaments where her vampire has to save her life...or maybe it was Elvis.... The second book in the Series, called Living Dead in Dallas, tells a story of Sookie getting "loaned out" to the Dallas vampires and what its like to live in a place where your kind isn't wanted. The second book was very very easy to get through and I believe that I read it in a day and a half...and I have 5 kids.

I plan on reading Club Dead, which is the 3rd in the Sookie Stackhouse series, when I am finished with Ink Exchange but my list of To Be Read Books changes from day to day.

Happy 12th Birthday Cody

My Step son turned 12 years old today. And I can honestly say that he is turning into a really great young man. I asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he told me jeans because he was getting to big for his. So of course I told him that was something that Mommy just bought you not something that you asked for for your birthday. All in all I think that he had a pretty good time. He got a super nice MP3 player from his grandma and grandpa and it is of course attached to his ears already.

Sometimes I think that maybe I baby them just a little to much. I don't allow them to run all over town and I have to know where they are going and they better be there because I will check. Of course all of you are saying, no that is just you being a good mom, but I think they might be suffering because I'm too over protective. They really don't have a lot of friends and I don't know if its because of something they are doing or if it's because I dont' allow them to go hang out uptown with other kids.

They play sports and seem to get along well with the other kids on the team but they just don't make "real" friends. Now the hubby tells me this is common with boys that they have a lot of people that they call friends, but I don't know.

Ok any way today was a pretty good day. And I am sooo ready for them to go to bed.

A Day In The Life

So this is my first go at really blogging. I have had an online journal for quite sometime located at www.coolerparents.com but haven't done the real blogging thing yet.

This weekend went way to fast and It really should only be Sunday. You know when you have those weekends when you and hubby don't argue and everything gets done around the house. Those are the weekends that just move way to fast.

The older kids had their first archery tournament on Saturday, so that was an all day ordeal in its self. But things went fairly smooth...Not to bad for a school who has never done one of these tournaments before. I am chairwoman of the fundraising committee so I was responsible for finding people to work the admissions booth, and to sell the t-shirts and now I have to make some raffle tickets for a Matthews LX compound bow. Such fun such fun. Any how Cody shot a 171/300, Ashley a 147/300 and Tyler a 135/300. Not to extremely bad for children that have never shot a bow before.

Sunday was our lazy day. We just sat around the house and relaxed. We don't get to do that very often.