Mailbox Mondays

This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Mari at MariReads. 

The wonderful weekly meme gives us a chance to shout out books that appeared in our mailboxes (real or virtual), I haven't played the game in a while (I've been swamped with other projects), but here are the books that were delivered in the last few weeks.

The follow books I received from NetGalley:
The Second Rule of Ten
One Step too Far

E-books added to my Kindle and Nook:
The Complete Wizard of Oz Collection: All 15
Sophie's Secret
Death By Drowning
And Then She Fell
The Lady Risks All
 The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After
Tuesday's Child

ARD's - Real books
Family Tree

Saturday Night Widows Great books to look forward to!

Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman

 ★★★★½

GENRE: Historical Fiction
SUBJECT: church vs. state, St Thomas Becket
Setting: England, Wales, Normandy, France
CHARACTERS: Henry II, Eleanor of Aquiatiane, Thomas Becket, Ranulf Fitz Roy
DATE READ: April 9 - April 27
NO. OF PAGES: 548
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   No,  Nook stockpile 2013

PLOT:............................................4.50
CHARACTERIZATION:...............4.75
TOPICS:........................................4.50
STYLE:..........................................4.50
ORIGINALITY:...............................4.50
ADDICTIVENESS:......................4.50
OWNERSHIP:..............................4.50
THRESHOLD QUALITY:...... .....4.50
Average..........................................................4.53

Henry II of England was a formidable historical figure - just think of all that he accomplished or was involved with - Henry FitzEmpress later known as  Henry Plantagenet, ruled as Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Nantes, King of England (1154–89) and Lord of Ireland; he also controlled Wales, Scotland and Brittany. He fathered 8 children on Eleanor of Aquitaine, two who later became king - Richard the Lion-hearted and John of Robin Hood fame.

This part of the trilogy concerns the time of strife when Harry was in constant disagreement with Thomas Becket, his Archbishop of Canterbury, over the manner in which the punishment of the clergy concerning wrongdoings.  Becket wanted he Church to maintain its sovereignty and Harry wanted the misdeeds punished under normal English law.  In the end, after 6 years of exile, Becket was murdered.

Thinking of all that you would believe that the story that was told here would have been a bit boring, but Harry is brought to life with all his vigor, faults, and personality that this reader is eager to take up the next part of the tale of King Henry and Queen Eleanor.

The Rope by Nevada Barr

 ★★★¾

GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: grief, jealousy, entrapment
Setting: Lake Powell, AZ
CHARACTERS: Anna Pigeon, Jenny Gorman, Regis Candor, Bethy Candor
DATE READ: April 22 - April 25
NO. OF PAGES: 579
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, audio stockpile

PLOT:....................................4.00
CHARACTERIZATION:.......3.50
TOPICS:................................4.00
STYLE:..................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:...............3.50
OWNERSHIP:.......................3.50
THRESHOLD QUALITY:......4.00
Average........................................................3.69

Having read all the previous installments of the Anna Pigeon series, looking back at how Anna became the amazing Park Ranger she is and what motivated her actions, made for an interesting and compelling adventure to add to her repertoire.

Anna has lost the love of her life and leaves New York to escape and nurse her injured spirit.  She signs up as a temporary staff for the park rangers however, while hiking on her day off she sees a group of young men raping a girl.  Rushing in knocks Anna for a loop for the next time she is conscious, she finds herself naked in a dry well.

How she escapes is a testament to her own ingenuity and the aftermath is startling as well.

Somehow I forgot how much I like Anna Pigeon - her strength of spirit as well as determination not to give in when threatened by others.

e-books!

Inspired Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer has launched a new site aimed at bringing you the best Kindle Ebook Deals and Steals.

Each day on feedyourreader.com you'll find a new list of available ebook deals (most for under $3).

And of course there will be lots of  Featured Freebies too!

To celebrate the launch of the new site she is giving away a Kindle Fire, Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash.


Win a 7" Kindle Fire (US only)


Or $100 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

Or $100 in Paypal Cash (International)

Giveaway Details 

1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" (US Only), $100 Amazon Gift Card or $100 in Paypal Cash (International).

Ends 5/5/13


Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $100-$159 US.

Weekly Rewind

 

A blog I follow , Escape wth Dollycas into a Good Book, recaps her week including outside activities, so I thought I might give it a try so that you all would know what was going on besides reading.

MONDAY - The Country Club that my husband and belong to is celebrating it's 50th anniversary this year and since he's President and I'm head of the Social Committee there are lots of items on our agenda for this.  Monday I spent researching (reading numerous past newsletters) past events in the history of the Club. I still have more to go through.  I sent an e-mail out to the Ladies Social group reminding them about our charity fundraising event later in the week ad tried to nag the media coordinator about sending out the notices for our newest event - Social Golf.  No luck on that.  I also finished listening to the audio version of Night Watch by Linda Fairstein. I really enjoy this series and look forward to the new one due out later this year.

TUESDAY -  I played hookie from responsibilities and went to spend time with my lady friends at the Country Club.  Six of us gathered to play Mah Jongg, eat, and imbibe with a few delicate Mimosas.  Most of the group is just learning (I'm the trainer), so we can't get as many games in as more experienced groups but we have a great time getting together anyway.  After lunch, I came home, grabbed a quick nap, and tried again to read Fountainhead.  A second nap ensued.  For dinner, we headed back to the Country Club for the 60's Rollback prices on drinks and dinner.  One of my favorites (liver and onions) was on the menu, YUM - I know most people don't like it and I don't get it often but at $2.99 it was a steal! The tab was less than $10 without the drinks.  Can't wait to see what 70's rollbacks are!

I'm continuing Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman for a group read on LibraryThing.  This one I am greatly enjoying.

WEDNESDAY -  Believe it or not I just read and played games on the internet.

THURSDAY -  I caught up on my book reviews, e-mail, and notices to be posted at the Country Club for events that I am involved in. In the evening, my sister-in-law, Mary-ellen and I went to the club for our monthly ladies charity event and a game of Bunco.  Dinner and a good time.  Back in time to see the end of the ball game and catch up on some threads at LT.

FRIDAY -  First, I kissed my hubby off to his weekend with the boys.  Then I went to get my hair done, stopped at the library to return 3 books, and then stopped at the grocery store to purchase some comfort food to keep me happy while 

SATURDAY -  Easy day, just finishing Fountainhead for Book club, watching a doubleheader for the Orioles vs. Dodgers, and start audio while I play some games.  Mac & cheese for dinner - yum!

SUNDAY -  A quiet day of reading and baseball.
My sweetie returned from his boys weekend.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

 ★★¼

GENRE: Fiction, CLASSIC
SUBJECT: individualism, architecture, competition
Setting: NY City, CT
CHARACTERS: Howard Roark, Peter Keating, Gail Wynand, Ellsworth Tooley, Dominique Francon
DATE READ: April 9 - April 20
NO. OF PAGES: 741
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?: Yes, my shelves

PLOT:...........................................2.50
CHARACTERIZATION:..............2.50
TOPICS:.......................................2.50
STYLE:.........................................2.00
ORIGINALITY:..............................2.50
ADDICTIVENESS:.....................2.00
OWNERSHIP:.............................2.00
THRESHOLD QUALITY:............2.00
Average....................................................2.25

My book club chose this book because 4 of the 8 members thought it was the greatest book they had ever read. I had to use both the hardback, audio version, and cliff notes to get through it.  

The story was pretty standard - poor boy stands on his principles and watches others advance beyond him because they are willing to give in.  Pretty boring as far as I'm concerned.

The secondary story of the romances involved rivaled a current day soap opera.  Howard rapes Dominique who falls for him, but she marries Peter who divorces her because Gail (male) wants her and will give Peter a commission for Dominique who is still sleeping with Howard.

The characters were very 1 dimensional with each having a specific trait to their credit.

Cleanup those ARCs

Together with Kimberly @ The Windy Pages, Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer will be hosting a challenge to clean up those ARCs that have been wallowing on our shelves just waiting to be read. The challenge begins on May 1 and ends on the 31st. 

The goal: to read and review as many ARC's as we can. There  will be fun challenges each Saturday hosted by some wonderful bloggers and a prize for two lucky participants at the end of the challenge. So gather your ARCs and your brooms and join in to have some fun! 

Here are the books that I am hoping to get read:

His Majesty's Hope

Rose Harbor in Bloom

The Rose Throne

Dream Eyes

Manifest Injustice

Saturday Night Widows

Family Tree

The Golden Door

One Step Too Far

The Second Rule of Ten

A Pride of Kings

Forgotten Presidents

The White House 

Let's all get our shelves cleaned of the ARCs!

Night Watch by Linda Fairstein

 ★★★¾

GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: restaurant development, drug dealing
Setting: NY, France, CT
CHARACTERS: Alexandra Cooper, Mike Chapman, Mercer Wallace, Luc Rouget
DATE READ: March 29 - April 15
NO. OF PAGES: 496
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, Audio stockpile

PLOT:.......................................4.25
CHARACTERIZATION:..........4.00
TOPICS:...................................4.00
STYLE:.....................................4.00
ORIGINALITY:..........................3.25
ADDICTIVENESS:.................3.25
OWNERSHIP:..........................3.25
THRESHOLD QUALITY:.........4.00
Average........................................................3.75

Alexandra has finally taken some time for herself and flown off to France to be with her love interest - Luc Rouget - a famous restaurateur - but before she can settle for her 2 week vacation, Luc  is caught up in a murder in France and she is called home because of a high profile case.

In NYC Blanca Robies, a hotel housekeeper, has charged Mohammed Gil-Darsin, head of the World Economic Bureau and aspiring president of Ivory Coast, of rape, and the DNA evidence seems to prove it. The investigation started without Alex has numerous problems because of the inexperience in the area of rape victims by the other ADAs who try to take over before Alex can return from France. 

The issues for Luc seem to follow him when he too comes to NYC and when the two cases seem to become intertwined, Alex does a lot of soul searching to reconcile her feelings with reality.

Book, Line, and Sinker by Jenn McKinlay

 ★★★½

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: buried treasure
Setting: Briar Creek, CT
CHARACTERS:
DATE READ: April 5 - April 8
NO. OF PAGES: 217
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, Nook stockpile

PLOT:.........................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:...........3.00
TOPICS:.....................................3.50
STYLE:.......................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.............................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:....................3.00
OWNERSHIP:.............................4.00
THRESHOLD QUALITY:............4.00
Average.........................................................3.50

What could be more fun than a treasure hunt?  The citizens of Briar Creek are leery when a Treasure Hunter looking for Captain Kidd's lost loot come to their town and start dredging on the haunted island, but things get even scarier when one of their own residents is found dead at the site of the digging.  Lindsey and Sully get caught in the foray when they try to help a friend.

National Library Week

I love books, as you can easily tell from this blog, and I love to own them, but sometimes that just isn't practical since space is required for real books.  So the Public Library is the next best thing. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) my local library is undergoing a massive renovation so I can't just pop in every other day to browse the shelves or pick up the newest book being raved about. 

But that doesn't stop me from using the facilities that are available to me from the Public Library system.  E- books are available from their website for download as well as audiobooks through OverDrive.  And the website actually lets me reserve books to be picked up at the non-local branch that I visit once a week. They also have a nifty little feature that allows me to request a hold on a book but also tell them when I want to read it.  Sadly it doesn't move me up in the queue on books that I want to read that are popular (I'm 147 in the queue for the newest Jodi Piccolt book that I need to read for my June book club - will I get it in time?)

But our Public Libraries are more than just a collection of books, no matter what type - ebooks, audio, paperback, or hardback -  or magazines, they are the wonderful librarians who are there to help you find the information for which you are searching or just recommend a good book.  Don't forget to thank those librarians next time you are there.   They do an awesome job!

So take a trip to your library thus weekend and show the government that l8braries are a necessary and well-loved part of our communities.

TOP TEN TUESDAY

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is looking at Top Ten Tuesday REWIND -- pick a past topic you missed or one you want to revisit - my choice FAVORITE AUTHORS! TTT is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. 

So in no particular order:.
Laurie R. King
Julie Hyzy
Laura Childs
Anne Perry
Louise Penny
Stephanie Laurens
Bertrice Small
David McCullough
J. K. Rowling
Kathleen Woodiwiss
Kate Morton
Linda Fairstein
Jacqueline Winspear
Donna Andrews
Rick Riordan
Steve Berry

OOPS....I think I went past 10 and please don't ask which one is my favorite!

What about you, who are your favorite authors?

1001 Books To Read Before You Die - ME - NO WAY!

I just ran across of the list of the 1001 books to Read before you Die and I thought it would be interesting to see how far along I was.  Boy, was that a mistake.  I was up to #800 something when I finally ticked one off and then I had a mad rush at the end, but still only finished with 22 but that was only because of Dickens, Dumas, Doyle, and Austen - they were the majority of my 22.

So then I thought well, what about the ones that I had marked to be read in my classics of the year (I usually do about 4 a year).  That added another 6.  Then I looked at the authors and realized that Atwood had 6 - they would never get read because I can't stand Atwood's style, Hemingway had 5 - just can't get into his  writing, plus there were hundreds, and I mean hundreds of books that I had never even heard of on this list. If a book that was written a century ago hasn't been on school lists or classics lists, why would it be here?

Well, this list of books is definitely not going to add to  the TBRs in my lifetime.  My bucket list is safe!

Here's the link to the list - http://www.listology.com/ukaunz/list/1001-books-you-must-read-you-die

How well did you do?

Top Ten Tuesday

 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is looking at Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger.  TTT is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.  So in no particular order:

Savannah Purchase by Jane Aiken Hodge
Face of a stranger by Anne Perry
Katherine by Anya Seton
Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Harry Potter and he Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
Caroline by Cynthia Wright
Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss
Skye O'Malley by Bertrice Small
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Threaded for Trouble by Janet Bolin

  ★★★½

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: competition, jealousy, arson
Setting: Threadville, PA
CHARACTERS: Willow Vanderling, Darlene Coddlefield, Mimi Anderson, Felicity Rawquels
DATE READ: March 30 - April 2
NO. OF PAGES: 288
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, Nook stockpile

PLOT:.....................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.............3.50
TOPICS:.................................3.50
STYLE:...................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.........................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:.................. 4.00
OWNERSHIP:.........................4.00
THRESHOLD QUALITY:...........4.00
Average........................................................3.69

In her embroidery store In Stitches, Willow Vanderling presents the Chandler Champion sewing and embroidery machine to the contest winner, Darlene Coddlefield.  When within 24 hours Darlene has been killed by that same machine,  Willow feels that she has to prove that it wasn't the machine, but some other reason that caused Darlene's death.

The areas that Willow investigates lead her to working with the volunteer fire department (Ms Coddlefield's husband was the Fire Chief) while she continues to conduct the classes at her store. 

Besides being an avid reader, I also really enjoy my needlework, so combining the two - a book with Needlecrafts as the back drop -  I'm in heaven.  There are many series that do this, but this is one of the better ones.  I love the characters as well as the descriptions of the activities that are involved as a sideline to the mystery.

Let's Play Dead by Sheila Connolly

 
   
 ★★★¼
  
GENRE:    Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT:    revenge, electrocution
Setting:    Philadelphia, PA
CHARACTERS:    Nell Pratt, Shelby Carver, Eric Marston, Arabella Hefferman, Hadley Eastman, Joe Murphy
DATE READ:    March 26 - March 29
NO. OF PAGES:    304
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:      Yes, Nook stockpile
   
PLOT:..............................................3.00
CHARACTERIZATION:...................3.50
TOPICS:..........................................3.50
STYLE:............................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.................................3.00
ADDICTIVENESS:...........................3.00
OWNERSHIP:..................................3.00
THRESHOLD QUALITY:..................3.50
Average............................................................................3.25
   
Nell Pratt is settling into her new job as the President of the historical museum when, while visiting another institution, she is witness to an electrical accident that portends another that turns fatal. Worried that the bad publicity will reflect on all museums, she sets out to uncover how it happened and why.

I liked this mystery mainly because of the characters -  the additional individuals who were introduced to fill out Nell's staff were funny and entertaining while helping with the storyline as well as the story specific characters being interesting even though they were a bit stereotypical at times.

I think that overall, the plot was weak but because of the strength of the characters the story moved along at a good pace and entertained the reader.  I hope that the next one has a bit stronger plot.