First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Dream New Dreams

Every Tuesday,Diane, at Bibliophile By the Sea, hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. She shares the first paragraph or ( a few) of a book she is reading or thinking about reading soon. Head over to her blog and link up a post of the first chapter first paragraph of your current read.


Today I will start to read this one. It has been on my reading list since I first discovered that Jai had written a book. I loved The Last Lecture by her husband, Randy Pausch.

Dream New Dreams - Jai Pausch

Crown Archtype , an imprint of Crown Publishing

Division of Random House  2012

Living the Dream

"So I can pick up the block and throw it?" Randy asked incredulously. He was learning about computer graphic research at The University of North Carolina, where I was working while studying for my PhD exams in comparative literature. Randy was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh researching virtual reality and human-computer interaction, Standing in the virtual reality lab, he looked like a thirty-seven-year-old kind playing a Wii video game, game controller in hand. Instead of viewing the computer-generated world on a television mounted on a wall, he was looking at a screen inside a specialized helmet. Nowadays, many Americans are familiar with holding a device to make objects or avatars move within a video game. But fourteen years ago, this technology was not yet mainstream, nor was it a game, rather it was an experiment to see how compelling virtual reality could be. In this demonstration , throwing the block was not part of the program's functions, but Randy didn't know that, and he was asking a million questions. I had noticed his inquisitiveness earlier in the morning as we toured each part of the virtual reality lab. Walking beside him, I could tell he was genuinely interested in our research, soaking it all in. It was obvious to me that he was smart. What else would you expect of a Carnegie Mellon professor? But Randy was surprisingly down-to-earth. When I had first met him that morning, and in previous e-mails, he insisted I call him Randy, not Dr. Pausch. He had no need to stand on ceremony or demand acknowledgment of his title, which was a very refreshing change for the norm in academia.  I felt instantly comfortable with him even after having only just met him. And I wanted to get to know him better. 

This is a really long first paragraph, but would you read on? Do you know Randy Pausch's story? Have your read The Last Lecture ?



Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book back cover:
Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful , tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.
But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Ana cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Ana learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.
While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Ana must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

My thoughts:   This book, as everyone knows, is described as Erotic Romance for Mature Audience.  And it is that for sure. But as I read the first book of the trilogy, I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to young Christian and why had he chosen this behavior.  In this sequel we meet Christian’s parents and again meet his siblings.  What is their part in this man’s dark secrets?  Ana too, we find is distressed by the behavior that at first had seduced her.  Ana’s bravery, in breaking off the relationship, forces Christian to confront his demons. And with the help of his psychiatrist he begins to change his behavior.  As she continues to support Christian in his struggle, she struggles with own insecurities.  Although reading this book is certainly a personal choice, I wonder about the outcome in the 3rd part of the trilogy.  Will Anastasia’s courage and her love for this very damaged man, bring her to ruin or will it triumph and defeat both her feelings of inadequacy and give Christian the strength to finally face his own feelings of inadequacy?
I would only recommend this book, to very close friends or family. I would have to know someone very well, to talk to them about this story. Several friends have read it and we had mixed feelings about it. But it did create some rather lively discussion.


View all my reviews

It's Monday. What Are You Reading? - 9-29-14

Each Monday, Sheila at Book Journey host It's Monday. What Are You Reading? It is a place to share your current reads and see what other are reading. Join us.

I am still reading The Book of Ruth. 

 Saturday, I went to the library to pick up a Toni Morrison book that I had placed on hold. While there I checked out their Banned Books Week display. See  my post here.  I also took a minute to peruse the shelves, looking for the Jeanette Walls book, The Glass Castle.  I did not find that title but I did find 2 others and the 2 title I had on hold.  I will share the rest of them later this week.
 Jai Pausch's book has been on my TBR list since I first heard of it after reading The Last Lecture by her husband Randy Pausch.

Dream New Dreams: Reimagining My Life After Loss

by Jai Pausch   3.5 of 5 stars

A remarkably frank, deeply moving, and inspiring memoir by Jai Pausch, whose husband, Randy, wrote the bestseller The Last Lecture while battling pancreatic cancer.

"Jai is such a giver that she often forgets to take care of herself," Randy Pausch wrote about his wife. "Jai knows that she’ll have to give herself permission to make herself a priority."
In Dream New Dreams, Jai Pausch shares her own story for the first time: her emotional journey from wife and mother to full-time caregiver, shuttling between her three young children and Randy’s bedside as he sought treatment far from home; and then to widow and single parent, fighting to preserve a sense of stability for her family, while coping with her own grief and the challenges of running a household without a partner.
Jai paints a vivid, honest portrait of a vital, challenging relationship between two strong people who faced a grim prognosis and the self-sacrificing decisions it often required. As she faced life without the husband she called her “magic man,” Jai learned to make herself a priority to create a new life of hope and happiness—as she puts it, to “feel a spark of my own magic beginning to flicker.”
Dream New Dreams is a powerful story of grief, healing, and newfound independence. With advice artfully woven into an intimate, beautifully written narrative, Jai’s story will inspire not only the legions of readers who made The Last Lecture a bestseller, but also those who are embarking on a journey of loss and renewal themselves.

I am really looking forward to this memoir. So what are you reading this week?



Until next time, 
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

The Edge of Never - 2014 Ebook Challenge

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a really good chick lit novel. I have not read any of the author's other books, but I enjoyed this one.

At first I thought, Camryn Bennett was spoiled little girl. And a bit stupid too!  To get on a bus to Idaho, just because the ticket agent was eating a baked potato?  But of course it developed into a boy meets girl, girl falls head over heels with bad boy, Andrew,  etc etc etc. It turned out to be a bit "steamier" than I had first imagined.

Lots of very detailed sex scenes. I do not consider myself a prude. I am over 60, and I have experienced quite a lot of life. Although these scenes did not put me off, I found it hard to believe that were being experienced by a nearly virginal 20 year old. Maybe I am just uninformed about the experience levels of today's twenty-somethings.

I bought this book for my Kindle, and as happens a lot with kindle editions, there were many typos. Some obvious editing errors and a few grammatical errors, I noticed, but it did not make me want to stop reading. In fact, I had trouble putting it down.

I am linking this short review to Workaday Reads. Sarah hosts the

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

CCPL - Banned Books Week 2014

Saturday Snapshot is hosted every week by Melissa at West Metro Mommy Reads. Grab the button, write a post with a snapshot you want to share and link up at Melissa's blog. Below are the rules.

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.






Libraries, Bookstores Celebrate Banned Books Week

Campbell County Public Library System is gearing up to celebrate Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of our right to access books without censorship. This year's observance is September 21-27 and commemorates the most basic freedom in a democratic society—the freedom to read freely—and encourages us not to take this freedom for granted. Since its inception in 1982, Banned Books Week has reminded us that while not every book is intended for every reader, each of us has the right to decide for ourselves what to read, listen to or view. Stop by the libraries in Gillette and Wright and see the displays of books that have been banned or challenged over the years – you may be surprised. Patrons are also invited to view the video produced with the assistance of Gillette Public Access TV that feature library employees reading selections from challenged books.




Banned Books Week 9/22-26
Celebrate your freedom to read! Check out the Campbell County Public Library Teen Banned Books display; have your “wanted” photo taken with a banned book. Drop-in activities will take place from 3:30-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. During this week, we will also hand out copies of our fall “One Book, One Teen Room” selection: If I Stay by Gayle Forman; the book discussion will take place in October.  (ps: I did not go down to the Teen Room to see their display, the pictures below are in the main room of the library. )








Above are the articles from our library's website. I visited on Saturday to pick up some books on hold and asked permission to take pictures of the display. There are printed pages from a book displayed on the front right corner, and now I can't remember the title. Also the smaller photos are of library staff holding a banned book under a banner like a police line-up titled CAUGHT! The somewhat larger photos are actually artist's renditions of banned book authors holding a placard listing the book they wrote etc. The one in the center is of course, Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye.

I am proud of our library for all the events they sponsor, all the extras they offer. The Banner reads: Banned Books Week Celebrate the Freedom to Read!.


Hope you had a chance to read a banned book this week.



Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Wondrous Words Wednesday - more from 11-22-63

Each week Kathy at BermudaOnion's Weblog, hosted this meme as a place to share new words that you have encountered or to spotlight words you love. Feel free to get creative. If you want to play along grab the button, write a post, then go back to Kathy's blog and link up with Mister Linky.



I highlighted these words as I was reading 11-22-63 by Stephen King. I love that feature on my Kindle.




inveighed - "The most annoying of all (I have inveighed against it to my clearly bored students time and time again) is the totally meaningless some people say, or some people believe." 

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines inveigh as a trans verb that means -to speak or write about (something) with great hostility.



tonsure - "Inside, two old parties were sitting against the wall while an equally old third party got his tonsure trimmed."

noun - a part of a monk's or priest's head left bare on top by shaving off the hair.

In the story Jake was entering a barber shop, so I figured that the word had something to do with hair, but it was new to me.


What new words did you encounter this week? Or do you just have a favorite word you want to share? Join us at Kathy's blog.



This week  I am reading 3 books. Certainly,I will find a word or two to share with you next week.




Until then,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - The Edge of Never

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday. Check in with Diane and then share your post of your current read. 

The Edge of Never

J.A. Redmerski

Hachette Book Group

March 12, 2013

Natalie has been twirling that same lock of hair for the past ten minutes and it's starting to drive me nuts. I shake my head and pull my iced latte toward me, placing my lips on the straw. Natalie sits across from me with her elbows propped up on the little round table, chin in one hand. 

    "He's gorgeous", she says staring off toward the guy who just got in line. "Seriously, Cam, would you look at him?"

I have not started this one yet, but plan to this week. It has been on my Kindle for a long time. It is a new author for me also. What do you think?  Would you read on?

Until next time, 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Book of Ruth, The Edge of Never, 50 Shades

Sheila at Book Journey host this place to share the books you are reading this week. This week Sheila is also sponsoring a Banned Book Week special. Check out her blog all week to see what is going on. 

I had a pretty good week. We celebrated my DH's 70th birthday. Our granddaughter, her husband and her son were here for dinner and cake. We skyped with our daughter and her husband, and our youngest granddaughter, so that was fun. I stitched with friends on Thursday. I sewed on a quilt top that has been in my UFO bin for awhile, and I finished two books.
My reviews for 11-22-63 and Someday, Someday, Maybe.

This week I am reading:

 Winner of the 1989 PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award  for best first novel, this exquisite book  confronts real-life issues of alienation and violence  from which the author creates a stunning testament  to the human capacity for mercy, compassion and  love. 

I am on page 55,  so just barely started, but once I got used to the writing style, I am enjoying it. 

I also started this ebook on my Kindle.  I have a lot of books on my Kindle and need to read them. This one will help with my Ebook Challenge and to read a book that starts with E. 

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?

I am also reading 50 Shades Darker. I do not know if it qualifies for Banned Books Week, but the first book in the series was on the banned books list. I am reading it, not just for that reason , but to complete the series. I have read some  banned books this year it seems. I did not even know it at the time. 

Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Saturday Snapshot 9-20-14

Melissa at West Metro Mommy Reads hosts this Saturday meme. Here are the rules from her blog. 

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Last week I posted pictures of our September snow, this week it has been quite warm. One day it was nearly 90. The saying goes, "in Wyoming if you don't like the weather just wait a moment".

I talked about a quilt I was working on, in one of my posts last week. So I hung a pale pink sheet on my design wall, so the picture would show up better.It is very pale, white and aqua, some lavender and blue. It isn't finished, there are paper-pieced blocks to border this center. Paper piecing is not my favorite technique, but I am working on them. There is still lots of embroidery to do and some beading. It is called Snow Flurries and I am anxious to continue to work on it.



Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Review - 11-22-63 by Stephen King

This is the first book that I downloaded on my Kindle after Christmas 2012. I wasn't sure what it was about other than the title and the cover depicting the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I had read that it was not a typical Stephen King horror story. I have not read other Stephen King novels. All that being said, I did not get around to reading it until this month.

Mr. King takes a watershed moment in America's history and proposes what if that terrible tragedy on 11-22-63 could have been prevented? In this story we meet Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in 2011, an adult student in Jake's GED English class, Harry Dunning, and Al Templeton, owner of Al's Diner.

Jake is changed when Harry writes an essay about his childhood. How his father in a drunken rage murders his family. Jake is later approached by Al Templeton to explore the possibility of time travel. Al has discovered a "rabbit hole" and is set on changing the events of 11-22-63, but he is dying and cannot complete the task himself. Jake is intrigued and wonders if he can change the events in Harry Dunning's life.

Do we dare try if we could?  Will it open a Pandora's Box of more evil and other tragedies?  Jake's journey is a difficult one, but one he is intent on completing.

I liked King's writing. I am not alone there I am sure. There are no monsters under the bed, at least not really. King seems to write in a relaxed story-telling style, I found very believable. I cheered Jake and Al on as they began their adventure and I continued to be in Jake's corner as he battles the obdurate past.

I recommend this novel to all Stephen King fans, those readers who are not King fans, anyone who remembers this time in history and even young readers who only learned about the 60's and the 70's in history class.


I give it 5 stars.


Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

I am linking this review to 2014 Ebook Reading Challenge hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads. I signed up at the DVD level which is 25 ebooks and I am no where near that number. I don't know exactly where I am , but will check it out. 

Wondrous Words Wednesday - from Blogland and 11-22-63

Kathy at BermudaOnion's Weblog host this Wednesday meme, where you can share a word you encountered in your reading or just highlight a word that you like. Join us "wordies" and share your new favorite word.

From a review of Bergdorf Blonds by Plum Sykes posted by Kristen BookNAround



celebutante : I don't exactly get the whole celebutante thing.


A young, fashionable, and usually wealthy person who is the subject of frequent media attention.



Origin of celebutante

Blend of celebrity and debutante.


I sort of had this one figured out, but I really like the way is sounds. A little more "now" than debutante. Thanks Kristen.




From 11-22-63 by Stephen King Mr. King uses lots of words that I did not know or were unfamiliar. Some I could not find in any online dictionary.


obdurate : I'd test-fired it in a gravel pit on the outskirts of town, and it seemed fine...but the past is obdurate. It doesn't want to be changed.


adjective
1. not easily moved to pity or sympathy; hardhearted
2. hardened and unrepenting; impenitent
2. not giving in readily; stubborn; obstinate; inflexible



amorphous : He was wearing an old black overcoat that puddled around him like an amorphous shadow


adjective
1. without definite form; shapeless
1. of no definite type; anomalous
2. unorganized; vague
BIOL. without definite or specialized structure, as some lower forms of life
CHEM., MINERALOGY not crystalline

What words did you find in your reading this week?

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

First Chapter First Paragraph Intros Tuesday - The Book of Ruth

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts this meme. It is a place to share the first paragraph or two of a book you are currently reading or hope to start soon. Go to Diane's blog and link up your first paragraph. Then check out the first paragraph's that the rest of us have posted. 

The Book of Ruth

Jane Hamilton

Anchor Books/Doubleday

1988

     What it begins with, I know finally, is the kernel of meanness in people's hearts. I don't know exactly how or why it gets inside us, that's one of mysteries I haven't solved yet. I always tried to close my eyes and believe tat angels, invisible in their gossamer dresses, were keeping their loving vigil. I learned, slowly, that if you don't look at the world with perfect vision, you're bound to get yourself cooked. Even though I may still be looking through the dark glass, even though I haven't finished learning the lessons, I'm the only one who tells the story from beginning to end. It can't be Ruby, because he has been spirited away and born again. Neither love nor prayer can bring him back. May can talk herself blue in the face and no one will hear. By rights this belongs to Justy, because he inherits the earth for a short time, but he doesn't quite count yet. He'll remember the taste of pecan balls, exactly how the powdery mash got stuck on the roof of his mouth, the color black maybe, and the color and shape of Ruby's teeth. They were rotten with sweets. 

I haven't started this book, but it has been on my radar for a long time. During a recent visit to my sister's I noticed it on her bookshelf in her guest room. I asked if I could borrow it and of course she said I could.  I don't know a lot about it other than it is a first novel, it was a selection of Oprah's Book Club and to quote the Boston Sunday Globe, "A sly and wistful, if harrowing, human comedy. Hamilton is a new and original voice in fiction and one well worth listening to."




Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

It's Monday! What Are Your Reading? 9/14 SSDD

Join Sheila at Book Journey and find out what everyone else is reading. Then create a post and link back up at Book Journey to tell us about it.

This week it is an SSDD kind of post ( Same Stuff Different Day), It seems my life resembles that more and more. I wake, blog, eat, clean or sew, eat, read, eat, blog,sleep. Maybe if I cut down on the eating???  LOL  This week I did bake banana bread though. I haven't baked in forever!. And I froze what was left of 1/2 case of Colorado peaches we bought from the fruit truck that comes to our area every fall. 

I am still reading the same two books.

  I am about 65% finished with Stephen King's novel. I am really really liking it. It is intriguing.

This one is a print book and I am enjoying it too. It's funny and heartwarming and a little bit neurotic. I can't help but think of a young woman I know that has her heart set on a career in theater and her parents are concerned that she will have her heart broken. They are supportive and she is talented! 

This week, Tuesday night in fact, my face to face book club meets for it's September meeting. We will be discussing We Are Water by Wally Lamb. I hope we have a good turnout and that there is a lively discussion.

I need to get back to 11-22-63.



Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Early Snow 9-11-14

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken the leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at Melissa's blog West Metro Mommy Reads. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.


Yes these were taken 9-11-14.  It still is actually summer! This is the earliest snowfall in a number of years. I have heard different reports, some say 20 years some, say 13 years. We had freezing temperatures Thursday night but Friday night only      was the low. Next week will be warm again.

 Not a lot of snow, but pretty wet and heavy. This tree is in my front yard and I think that branch will have to be removed.

Although I did take in my deck plants, I hadn't put away deck chairs or tables, We could have lots of nice days ahead to read on the deck with a glass of iced tea or a cup of coffee.


Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Wondrous Words Wednesday 9/10/14

Its time for Wondrous Words Wednesday again. Join  Kathy at BermudaOnion's Weblog and the rest of us as we celebrate new and interesting words we have encountered in our reading or in maybe just in our week. Sometimes we share words we just want to highlight.

This week I found a word in my reading ( listening) and one that was new to me in my online game play.



from The Invention of Wings:

I thought now of mother and the question in her letter, "Will I see you again?" It seemed more than the elegiac pondering in an old women's heart.


elegiac  adjective   Your Dictionary says :The definition of elegiac is full of mourning and sorrow.

Websters' New World College Dictionary states:
1. GR or LATIN PROSODY of or composed in dactylic-hexameter couplets, the second line (sometimes called a pentameter) having only an accented syllable in the third and sixth feet: the form was used for elegies and various other lyric poems.
2. of, like or fit for an elegy
3. sad; mournful; plaintive

I am sure the author was using the common definition or #3 from Webster's College .



from 7 Little Words- Sunrise #48


phalanx - a close-knit group : noun   The definition of a phalanx is a community or group of people who are close or united for a purpose.
a group of friends huddled together for warmth.

I am not sure I could use this word in a sentence in my every day language, but I must be a member of a phalanx, After all , I quilt and stitch with a group of really close friends, and we ride motorcycle with a group under the national flag of "Friends for fun, safety and knowledge".



Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - 50 Shades Darker

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesdays. It is a chance to read and share the first paragraph or two of your current read or maybe one you hope to start soon. Join us and grab the button at Diane's Blog, then link back your current read's first paragraph of the first chapter. Then look to see what the rest of us are reading. 

This week I will start 

but I shared the first paragraph back in June of 2013. I did not pick it up again, but it is on the list of my books to read for the Mega Mix II Challenge on Goodreads. It fits the new author section of that challenge. So I will share with you the first chapter first paragraph of another book I am reading to work at completing #3 in the challenge - "Finish a Series".

 I read the 1st one and own the set of 3. I am sharing them with my oldest granddaughter, and before you "gasp", I will tell you that she is married and 29 years old. Here is the excerpt. 

I have survived Day Three Post-Christian, and my first day at work. It has been a welcome distraction. The time has flown by in a haze of new faces, work to do, and Mr. Jack Hyde. Mr. Jack Hyde....he smiles down at me, his blue eyes twinkling, as he leans against my desk.
"Excellent work, Ana. I think we're going to make a great team."
Somehow I manage to curl my lips upward in a semblance of a smile.

So would you read on, have you read the series? 


Today I did laundry and began again to work on a quilt that I started a year ago. It is called Snow Flurries and it is a Crabapple Hill pattern. Lot of small pieces, some embroidery, and some beads. Shades of aqua, green, pink and blue. Very cool colors. Some of my friends who also chose to do the pattern are way ahead of me, one for sure has it completed and a couple haven't started yet. I hope to have some pictures soon. Maybe they will be only "in progress", but you can see what it is starting to look like. 



Until next time, 
Stay Busy and Stay Happy