First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday and a Finish

 

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph or maybe two of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading. My first 2 paragraphs are from the first chapter of  The Mountains and the Fathers: Growing up on the Big Dry by Joe Wilkins.

The story goes that it was the heat of August, that on a whim they'd packed their fishing gear and filled the cooler and drove north all day to meet my father's friend Jack Peters at Current Lake, a deep pool of the Missouri shadowed by the Little Rocky Mountains.

The whole place was crawling with rattlesnakes. Snakes sliding through the tall grass, snakes curled in the outhouse,snakes draped like question marks across the rocks. My mother walked everywhere with a long, stout stick to sling them off the footpath. My father carried a shove and with it sliced the heads and rattles from those that twisted too near their tents. Jack Peters piled the dead snakes away from camp, for the flies and to keep from scaring my five-year-old sister. 

Except that I hate snakes I am going to continue this book. The writing is "picture making" and I want to know what happens after this.  What about you, would you keep reading? 


Also, yesterday I finished my Valentine Block of the Month. It is blackwork embroidery with a pieced border and made to fit in a table stand. I am happy to have finished it, as I am generally "the Queen of Unfinished Projects". I have joined the BOM and there will be a similar small block each month. The one for March has already arrived....I haven't even opened it.  Wish me luck!

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

BIG Mailbox Monday 2-11-13

 Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week(s) and explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at Hooked by A Book (formerly The Printed Page) and is on tour for the month of February by Audra at Unabridged Chick

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

These 3 books were downloaded to my Kindle this week. They were on special from BookBub. 

 The Driving Lesson by Ben Rehder

Charlie Dunbar had big plans for the summer break, but becoming a fugitive was nowhere on the list. Even more unexpected, his partner in crime is his own ailing grandfather. Now they're on the run, trying to make it across the country to see a special kind of doctor, while the world becomes mesmerized by their journey. They are the subject of heated debates on cable news channels. Thousands of people voice their support on Facebook fan pages. And Charlie's own parents appear on live TV to plead for him to come home safely. But Charlie isn't ready yet. He's determined to get his grandfather to Seattle. The only question is, will the police stop him first? 

Merle’s Dog    by Ted Kerasote

While on a camping trip, Ted Kerasote met a dog—a Labrador mix—who was living on his own in the wild. They became attached to each other, and Kerasote decided to name the dog Merle and bring him home. There, he realized that Merle’s native intelligence would be diminished by living exclusively in the human world. He put a dog door in his house so Merle could live both outside and in.A deeply touching portrait of a remarkable dog and his relationship with the author, Merle’s Door explores the issues that all animals and their human companions face as their lives intertwine, bringing to bear the latest research into animal consciousness and behavior as well as insights into the origins and evolution of the human-dog partnership. Merle showed Kerasote how dogs might live if they were allowed to make more of their own decisions, and Kerasote suggests how these lessons can be applied universally.

Through Smoke

by J.R. Tate

T

Firefighter Michael McGinnis is no stranger to intense situations. Veteran of New York’s Ladder Twenty-One Company as a search and rescue man, he has seen his share of burning infernos, high-rise saves, and intense emergency situations. Despite McGinnis’ years on the job, nothing can prepare him for getting tangled in his brother’s mistakes as a drug addict and gambler, es...moreFirefighter Michael McGinnis is no stranger to intense situations. Veteran of New York’s Ladder Twenty-One Company as a search and rescue man, he has seen his share of burning infernos, high-rise saves, and intense emergency situations. Despite McGinnis’ years on the job, nothing can prepare him for getting tangled in his brother’s mistakes as a drug addict and gambler, especially when a blood thirsty bookie gets involved. A romance sparks between him and fellow paramedic, Eva Crisante, catching him even more off guard. Morals are tested, lies are told, and relationships are built and then torn to ruins. The problems ahead are more challenging than any fire McGinnis has experienced. He learns that bravery is not only needed in his job with the department, but also in dire situations away from work. His tough love for his brother is tested, proving that there truly are things more dangerous than a five-alarm fire.

 

Also I received a copy of:    The Mountain and the Fathers explores the life of boys and men in the unforgiving, harsh world north of the Bull Mountains of eastern Montana in a drought afflicted area call the Big Dry, a land that chews up old and young alike. Joe Wilkins was born into this world, raised by a young mother and elderly grandfather following the untimely death of his father.

This book is a suggested read for my F2F book club. A friend has loaned me her copy. I am really looking forward to this one. The setting is in Montana, a neighboring state and one I really like to visit. 

I visited the library too this week, to check for copies of the February reads for The Love of Reading group on Good Reads. My library does not have either, The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly or Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. So I picked up these two.

Both I have been wanting to read for some time. Yay!!

I guess I have my reading time pretty much planned out for the next few weeks. I also am working on my quilting. The Clickedty Clack Quilt Challenge entry is off to the next participant and I have finished a Valentine Block of the Month. I'll show you that tomorrow ( Tuesday)

Until Next Time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Judy

 Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by BermudaOnion each week. It's an opportunity to share new words you've encountered in your reading, or highlight words that you particularly enjoy.

Here are two of my favorites new-to-me words from some of my recent reads. All definitions are from Merriam Webster Dictionary. 

From : The Park Service by Ryan Whitfield  ( reading for 2013 Ebook Challenge)

" I shout, my voice louder than I expected and echoing back to us from the caldera walls."  I immediately thought of cauldron, and the Merriam Webster Dictionary on my laptop says the origin is Spanish caldron. 

Caldera - noun

: a volcanic crater that has a diameter many times that of the vent and is formed by collapse of the central part of a volcano or by explosions of extraordinary violence



From: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott  (reading for January BotM side read challenge on Love of Reading)

"That a coterie of snobs can deny you entry into this stiff-backed saloon?"

Coterie - noun

: an intimate and often exclusive group of persons with a unifying common interest or purpose 

synonyms:  gang, bunch, clique


What new amazing words have you found this week?


Until Next Time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Judy

2013 Ebook #2

This is the second Ebook I have read in 2013. I needed to read it for a challenge for a group at Goodreads and decided rather than trek to the library again, I would see if it was available for my Kindle. It was and so I downloaded it. I gave it 5 stars. I liked it so much, I wanted to share with my sister. She is new to e-readers, so I wanted to suggest a book I knew she would like. But alas, I cannot share or loan this title. Maybe I will have to gift it to her with an online gift card.

Victoria Jones is the main character. She broke my heart and then she made me want to hold her tight. The story starts when she is being emancipated as a 18 year old. The story does go back and forth in time , but it was not hard to follow. We follow Victoria back to when she was just a little girl and her constant moving from foster home to foster home. We learn maybe why she is the person she is. I could not put this book down. I was totally enamored by Victoria and her foster mother, Elizabeth, her wonderfully accepting employer, Renata and her solid always there love interest Grant.  This story shares themes of forgiveness, second chances, love and family. In a review, Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife, says,"Vanessa Diffenbaugh shows us a corner of experience hidden to most, with an astonishing degree of insight and compassion. So hold on, and keep the tissue box nearby. This is a book you won't soon forget". I know I won't soon forget this book. I will be one of my favorites.

So Until Next Time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Judy

1-28 Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week(s) and explore great book blogs.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at Hooked by A Book (formerly The Printed Page) and is on tour for the month of January at Lori's Reading Corner

Read the Mailbox Monday story HERE

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This week the only book that came into my life was a free edition on Amazon from Bette Lee Crosby: The Twelfth Child for my Kindle.  I have read another book by Bette Lee, Cupid's Christmas. I enjoyed it very much. I have not started The  Twelfth Child as of today, but will soon. 

This week, I finished Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, which I give 4 stars. I also read The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh , and I gave it 5 stars. I've been reading a lot of really great books lately. 

My challenge quilt is ready to send on to the next participant. I am basically satisfied with it. I always second guess projects like this. Could I add something, does it need more embellishment ?  It is quilted, bound and labeled. I guess is it complete!

Until next time,

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

   ps: I apologize for the weird look of this post. Not sure what I did and everything I tried in order to fix it, failed. :(

Jan Mailbox Monday 1-21

Nothing in my mailbox this week. But I did go to the library and check out Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The book jacket says, "Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter and sweet debut." Lisa See. 
It is the January read for Love of Reading group on Goodreads and the February read for Ladies and Literature on Goodreads. I am about half way through it and am captivated.

I also picked up The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott. It is the alternate read for the Love of Reading group, but I wanted to read it too. I have not started it yet, but soon.







Ladies and Literature's read for January is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. So I downloaded it to my Kindle.  I started it last night and it is really good. I know I will like it a lot.

So many books, so little time.!!!!  I keep saying that and nothing changes. I keep adding books to read !!!

I must get my challenge quilt nearer completion this week. I finished the stitching on a table topper I started a while back, so I would like to complete that too. And I volunteered to do some piecing for the NEW raffle quilt for the show planned for October 2013..........again, over committed.


I guess my mantra is

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

2013 Ebook Challenge #1

Well, its Saturday again.. It's been a busy week. I am wondering if I will ever feel like my life is in order. I have these thoughts every January. I need to get rid of the clutter in my home, I need to get a handle on my stitchery and quilting. I need to let go of all the challenges I want to participate in with my book reading. That is probably my biggest weakness......I want to do it all!

That being said, there are a few challenges that I am doing. I finished reading Anne of Green Gables on my Kindle last week. How on earth did I get to be this old and never have read that wonderful story. I love Anne's  ( with an E) long drawn out narratives.Though I suppose if I were the adult in here world, I too would have tired of it. The author did a great job in creating the characters and the surroundings. I did some research on L.M. Montgomery and she had a rather austere lonely life. I'm sure her writing colored her drab dreary world. I hope to read some of the other Anne of Green Gable stories. This book is the first in my 2013 Ebook challenge group.

I am currently reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I am enjoying it, when I can give it more than 3 minutes at a time.