Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

This week’s question:
What book do you wish you were reading right now?  Where would you take it to, if you could go anywhere to read for a while?

My answer:
This is one musing that I need not give a lot of thought.   Let’s start with the latter question first.

Destination and/or place to read is Aruba.  OK..that’s a reality because the hubby and I are going in a month or so  (it’s our favorite destination and went last year at the same time).  Last year we decided that this will be a yearly trip to have something to look forward to.  A week of doing nothing but enjoying the beach everyday with books and a couple of frozen drinks lol, dining and maybe the casinos at night and total relaxation.

I have already started, well I actually started at least a month ago, making a mental list of packing.   Well not actually packing but what books will be coming along.  There are some authors that I hope they will have books either published  or have an ARC tour and that I can be a part of.  Authors like Michael Baron, Melissa Foster and Vin Zandri.    And if not, since I already know the time and place of the destination, there are plenty of books screaming for me to read in my TBR pile.  And from now until then, I will decide on what books will be coming along on our vacation.

March is being hosted by Diary of an Eccentric 

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.  According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.”

                                     Author                            Doubleday

Facebook link

I am so excited.  Ever since I started blogging and seeing this weekly meme, I have wanted to participate.   But whenever I visited the blog to sign up it stated that it was not accepting new members.  But because of a post on Lori’s blog, Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book , that stated there was now a group on FB, I joined.  From what I have read at other blogs, I am to summarize my past week.  So here goes my first Sunday Salon posting:

Reading:
It was another good week, at least for me, finishing 2 books!!!    I finished All He Saw Was The Girl by Peter Leonard and The Ninth Step by Barbara Taylor Sissel, both being a 4/5 rating.  I just hope that this pace continues  Because last year, with RL issues taking priority,  I was lucky if I read a book in a month putting me even further behind in my “requested reviews reading schedule.  

Blogging:
The majority of my time is spent on the computer.  This week I hosted 2 guest authors and 3 giveaways.  Preparing the posts for these,  takes time.   I like doing them way in advance just in case RL interferes, I don’t have to scramble at the last minute.   I do the same with my daily memes, using my cheat sheets, I set up the post and then plug in whatever is needed for that day.  I find it a lot easier in the long run.

Plus the work I do for Partners In Crime.  At the end of the month, I will be working  5 tours.  We are always looking for hosts/reviewers, so if anyone is interested in joining our group, email me and I will provide you with the details.

Real life:
This past week my baby turned 26!!   26??!!  How fast the time has gone by.  My husband’s uncle once said, as he snapped his fingers, that is how fast  your life goes by.  I wish we could go back in time, because when both my sons were toddlers,  those were the happiest years of my life.  

How was your week?

……..of LOVESICK by Spencer Seidel

        15 Carol Gowett Public Follower of Blog

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered.

It’s that time again, spring ahead!!  Even though we lose an hour of sleep and it takes me a few days to regulate my internal body clock,  I look forward to this.   It also means, I will now be turning on my computer with coffee mug in hand at 5am instead of 6am.  Even today, I planned on sleeping an hour later, but the internal alarm clock went off at 6am.  Personally, I wish the clocks remained on Daylight Savings Time throughout the year, but I understand why it can’t.    Especially, in this day and age, and the little ones waiting for their buses in the dark.

I was watching the news last night and they interviewed a doctor as to how changing of the clocks affects one’s body and found it interesting.    Two of the items (that I remember lol…senior moments were not one of them) were:

• The Monday morning  rush hour traffic, following the changing of time, is the day of the year with the most traffic accidents.
• There are more heart attacks seen in ERs 3 days following the changing of time.

I don’t know if it’s just psychological but I tend to have more energy and look forward to the longer days with sunlight.    I love seeing my perennials start to bloom and knowing that the warmer weather is right around the corner.    However, here in New England, I can’t complain as to the weather.  It’s been a very mild winter with hardly any snow, even my daffodils are confused, they started sprouting a few weeks ago in February!!   

What about you?   Does the time change affect you in anyway?   How long does it take you to readjust your body’s internal clock.   What are your thoughts about changing the time?

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball…

Whatever happened to Calico Joe?

It began quietly enough with a pulled hamstring. The first baseman for the Cubs AAA affiliate in Wichita went down as he rounded third and headed for home. The next day, Jim Hickman, the first baseman for the Cubs, injured his back. The team suddenly needed someone to play first, so they reached down to their AA club in Midland, Texas, and called up a twenty-one-year-old named Joe Castle. He was the hottest player in AA and creating a buzz.

In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.

Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…

In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic

THANKS TO JOE AND THE PHENOMENAL

PEOPLE  AT DOUBLEDAY BOOKS

I HAVE TWO ( 2 ) COPIES OF THIS
EXTRAORDINARY BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.

*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL

ADDRESS IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM

SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT:  TWO PART QUESTION:
1.  DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A

DIE HARD BASEBALL FAN?

2.  WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE BASEBALL TEAM? *

*U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*

**HONOR SYSTEM**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS MARCH 23rd AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES                              

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
the giveaway on behalf of the
above. I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in
exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are
ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

Continue reading “GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE “CALICO JOE” by John Grisham ENDED“ →

Hosted by An Island Life

From An Island Life:
In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
If you’d like to participate, visit An Island Life answer the question and then post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

When I first created my blog , I had no idea what I was doing, plus it was supposed to be a private journal for me as to keep a record of the books I had read with a small review so that I would remember what it was about and what I thought. And then I went “public” with it. Looking back, and if I knew then what I know now, I would have named it something different. So my question for you today is:

Are you happy with the name of your blog?
If not, what would you have like to have called it?.

We all need laughter and humor in our lives and Nicole, from Tribute Books, is stopping by today with just that type of author.  So please welcome Mark Saunders to the CMash blog!!

ABOUT MARK SAUNDERS

An award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and cartoonist, Mark Saunders tried standup comedy to get over shyness and failed spectacularly at it — the standup part, not the shyness. He once owned a Yugo and still can’t remember why. Nearly 30 of his plays have been staged, from California to New York – with several stops in-between – and two plays have been published.

With three scripts optioned, his screenplays, all comedies, have attracted awards but seem to be allergic to money. Back in his drawing days, more than 500 of his cartoons appeared nationally in publications as diverse as Writer’s Digest, The Twilight Zone Magazine, and The Saturday Evening Post.

As a freelancer, he also wrote gags for the popular comic strip “Frank and Ernest,” as well as jokes for professional comedians, including Jay Leno. Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak is his first book.
Mark Saunders’ web site
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook
Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak blog tour site

GUEST POST

Some cultures record their history by cataclysmic events: the year of the big fire or flood, the day the great earthquake or tornado struck. My history is recorded by my stomach. In conversations with my wife and friends, it’s not unusual for me to interject a comment such as, “Oh, I remember now, dear, that was the time we were in San Francisco and I took my first bite of monkfish in lobster sauce.”

With such habits, it should come as no surprise that what I miss most about no longer living in Portland, Oregon, is Dungeness crab. I currently reside in the middle of Mexico, six thousand feet up in the mountains and three thousand miles from the nearest Oregon crab pot.

These days, when December rolls around, generally considered the official start of the Dungeness crab season, I am depressed. For me, there’s nothing quite as simple or as bountiful as a meal of fresh, sweet, and meaty Oregon Dungeness crab, a loaf of sourdough French bread, and a green salad, all complemented by an inexpensive bottle of wine from Trader Joe’s. Now that is a meal.

Unfortunately, for me, those days and meals are gone. I’m not complaining, mind you, I’m just describing.

It goes without saying, of course—which is why I’m going to say it—I also miss the friends we left back in Portland, even though we find no shortage of new friends here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a convivial tourist town known for its fiestas.

I miss certain urban conveniences. Portland, for example, believes so thoroughly in public transportation that they let you ride for free in certain areas. It has, perhaps, the best used bookstore in all of America, along with well-stacked and oft-frequented libraries. I like and miss the fact that Portland is almost equidistant, slightly over an hour each way by car, from either the ocean or the mountains.  I miss the clean air that floats through Portland because it is, at times, so fresh it could serve as a role model for retail air fresheners. I certainly miss the variety of lush parks full of gorgeous trees and vibrant shrubs, as well as the breathtaking sweep of the Cascades, with at least two volcanoes in easy view.

However, I do not miss the damp weather or gloomy skies or traffic or pace or the high cost of living of Portland. I’ve replaced all of those things with what I consider to be a kinder-gentler way. My new life in old Mexico is full of dry-blue skies and a sun at my back. I walk everywhere and everywhere I walk I see brightly-colored houses, like field color paintings, that make me smile.

Oregon, it’s been said, is like Ireland: All green and no gold. But if you ask me, there’s plenty of gold in Oregon, and it’s usually panned in crabbing nets during winter.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ay, chihuahua! Ay, caramba! Oy vey!

In early December 2005, Mark Saunders and his wife, along with their dog and cat, packed up their 21st century jalopy, a black Audi Quattro with a luggage carrier on top, and left Portland, Oregon, for San Miguel de Allende, three thousand miles away in the middle of Mexico, where they knew no one and could barely speak the language.

Things fell apart almost from the beginning. The house they rented was as cold as a restaurant’s freezer. Their furniture took longer than expected to arrive. They couldn’t even get copies of their house keys made. They unintentionally filled their house with smoke and just as unintentionally knocked out the power to their entire neighborhood. In other words, they were clueless. This is their story.

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.

http://btt2.wordpress.com

This week’s question:
A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.
Ted asks:
Which non-series book would you most like to read the sequel to? Do you have any wishes for what might happen in it?

My answer:
Ironically, I just finished a book the other day, The Ninth Step by Barbara Taylor Sissel, in which I stated in my review that I hoped that there would be a  sequel.  There are others, but that came instantly to mind since I just finished it.

I enjoy reading novels that have strong character relationship dynamics that explore the psychological and emotional aspects with and between characters.   The type of read where you feel either you can truly relate or would like to form a “friendship” with the people on the pages that are brought to life.  Any novel, such as those, I always wish there would be a sequel to follow their lives.  Authors like Michael Baron, Diane Chamberlain, Kristin Hannah, Melissa Foster, Nancy Thayer, just to name a few,   have created wonderful characters and story lines that  I have enjoyed and wish there were sequels to some of their books.

What about you?  Do you have a particular book you would like to see a sequel to?