2009 A to Z Challenge Wrap-up

by Carol3 Comments
I didn't complete this one, but I'm giving it another shot next year. Here's the list of what I did read. Authors My Goodness: My Kids by Nesta A. Aharoni The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too! by Laurie Dean The Case of the Night-Stalking Bone Monster by John R. Erickson One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein Master by Colette Gale The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Turning Angel by Greg Iles The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Phantom Limb by Theresa Kishkan The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson Phenomenal Girl 5 by A. J. Menden N. O. Second Glance by Jodi Picoult I Thee Wed by Amanda Quick Charlie and Mama Kyna by Diana Rumjahn The Reader by Bernhard Schlink Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas U. Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde Surprise Island by Gertrude Chandler Warner X. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny Titles The Art of Compassion by Martin Smith et al The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath The Case of...
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U is for Unclean

by Carol4 Comments
Vicki of Reading At The Beach hosts A-Z Wednesday. Today's letter is U. Apparently I don't read many books whose titles begin with U. I only found one that I've read since I've been keeping track, and it wasn't one I enjoyed much, so I'm pulling one from the never-ending to-read list. Unclean Spirits by M. L. N. Hanover In a world where magic walks and demons ride, you can't always play by the rules. Jayné Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn't quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayné travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it's all hers -- and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College. Led by the ruthless Randolph Coin, the Invisible College harnesses...
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The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

by Carol11 Comments
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins I wanted to read this classic because it is generally considered the first detective novel in the English language, and as a mystery lover, I had to read it, right?  It took me a while to finish but I enjoyed it. The Moonstone is a large yellow diamond stolen from a sacred statue in India by an English officer.  According to legend, three Hindu Brahmins, who have dedicated their lives to recovering it, will stop at nothing to retrieve it. On her eighteenth birthday, Rachel Verinder inherits the diamond and the danger that goes along with owning it. The dying Indian sank to his knees, pointed to the dagger in Hercastle's hand, and said, in his native language:— "The Moonstone will have its vengeance yet on you and yours!" (pg. 14) She wears it to her party, but that night it is stolen from the drawer where she placed it. Suspicion falls on three Indian jugglers who had been in the...
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Teaser Tuesday

by Carol8 Comments
Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given. Please avoid spoilers! My teaser: He leaned forward slightly and he could smell her again, that strangely seductive scent of vanilla and cinnamon. Her gaze met his and in those glittery green depths he saw the same spark of awareness that sizzled through him, the same subtle yearning. -pg. 114, The Cowboy's Christmas Miracle by RaeAnne Thayne Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. My copy was a gift from the Harlequin Ambassadors program. I am an Amazon associate....
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Mailbox Monday

by Carol13 Comments
Marcia at The Printed Page hosts Mailbox Monday every week. Everyone at our house got some great books this week for Christmas. First, we have Amber's gifts. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (The Complete Series) by Rick Riordan The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm, Book 2) by Michael Buckley The Problem Child (The Sisters Grimm, Book 3) by Michael Buckley Mythology by Lady Hestia Evans The Ugly Guide to Being Alive and Staying That Way by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim The Gospel of Luke (The Illustrated ICB Bible) David got two books. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton The Real Wood Bible by Nick Gibbs And I got a few gifts and one for review. The Autobiography of Santa Claus as told to Jeff Guin (Received as a gift.) The Total Brain Workout by Marcel Danesi (Thanks to Harlequin Ambassadors.) The Cowboy's Christmas Miracle by Raeanne Thayne (Thanks to Harlequin Ambassadors.) Hearing from God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer (Received from the publisher for review.) Did you get any good books over this week?...
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