A few days ago I told you I was fortunate enough to be able to offer one of my readers a DVD of the fun, action-packed, and romantic movie This Means War, starring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. [read more]

Gearing up for my weekend in New York City, I wanted a themed cosmpolitan read — and Sam Wasson’s Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. seemed to fit the bill. Though the nuances of some references probably went over my head, it … Continue reading → [read more]

First Line: The days were longer then, in that long-ago summer at the shore, and the air was softer, and the sunlight more golden as it winked and wobbled off a bluer sea. [read more]

I am in a story drought. It's not just a reading drought, it's an everything drought. TV this year has been so bad (with a few exceptions) and some of it so so bad that I almost question my defense of TV as a story-telling medium. I haven't been able to get past page 3 of a book for ages, and trust me, I know three pages is not really much time to give a book, but it's like...every book I pick up I question why I thought it was a good idea to read in the first place. Even the movies I've wat ... [read more]

I love Mary Alice Monroe‘s writing, so I was excited to see that she was doing two events near me – a Book Your Lunch hosted by Fiction Addiction and a Literary Lunch hosted by Hub City Books.  Of course, I attended both and enjoyed two days of great food and bookish chatter. Mary Alice’s [...] [read more]

Authors Behaving Badly: When Authors React Badly to Negative Reviews and Criticism! [read more]

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. [...] [read more]

Any topic I want? Cool. Let’s talk Regency. [read more]

Summary: Jane Levitsky is a bright light in the field of nineteenth-century Russian literature, making her name as an expert on the novels of Grigory Karkov and the diaries of his wife, the long-suffering Masha Karkova. Jane is also wife to sweet, reasonable Billy and mother to lovable (if demanding) Maisie, roles she’s finding surprisingly challenging to juggle along with her ambitions. But when Jane uncovers evidence that Masha may have been more than muse and helpmeet to her famous ... [read more]

ONE DAY BLOG TOUR!  MAY 17th! [read more]

August is a Wicked Month by Edna O'Brien (1965) [read more]

You may or may not have seen that Goodreads and the American Association of Publishers announced the four winners of the first annual Independent Book Blogger Awards this afternoon… and I’m one of the winners! What? I know, it’s crazy. Backing up… In April, book bloggers were invited to submit their blogs to the contest [...] [read more]

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting. This week I chose to do this meme because there is a book I am really excited about.  As someone who works at a bookstore, we are always having conversations about all the crazy things customers do and say.  And we have all said that we should write a book about it.  Someone finally has! This book actually was published first in England, and now it ... [read more]

Today is National Biography Day. On this day in 1763, Samuel Johnson had a meeting with John Boswell and a beautiful biography was born. Mystery writers have given the biography a bloody twist. Historical figures investigating crimes make for entertaining reading and hopefully even more entertaining discussion. There’s the built in topic of how accurate [...] [read more]

About Hosoi • Hardcover: 336 pages • Publisher: HarperOne (June 12, 2012) Raised at the legendary Marina Del Rey Skatepark—where his father was the manager and the Dogtown and Z-Boys crew were his mentors—Christian Hosoi never questioned that he would become a full-time skateboarder. But no one could have predicted his meteoric rise to the apex of a burgeoning [...] [read more]

The Pursuit of Lucy Banning [read more]

Linda Schroeder, author of the mystery novel, Artists and Thieves, will be touring the blogosphere June 4 – July 27 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book.  Linda will also be giving away a Kindle Fire during her  tour.  Find out how you can win a Kindle Fire below! ABOUT LINDA SCHROEDER [read more]

Day two wasn't a very successful day in terms of the Bout of Books read-a-thon. I was just overwhelmed with so much to do at work and very little break time in which to read. I did go out to lunch so that I could read while in transit as well as during the meal. But at supper time, I had to cook and then it was difficult to read while I was eating. After supper, I vegged out on the Internet and watching the season finales of NCIS and NCIS:LA. I hope I get more reading done today. [read more]

"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists. [read more]

Gilt by Katherine Longshore [read more]

Today I have author Genevieve Graham over to talk about her new book Sound of the Heart. You can also enter in the grand prize giveaway at the bottom [read more]

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours. [read more]

May’s Featured Author Erica Orloff stops by today to share her favorite read – along with why it’s a favorite. Read on! I always laugh when I am asked my “favorite reads” because no one is going to take my recommendations. I almost exclusively read physics texts and biographies of famous mathematicians and physicists. I [...] [read more]

Eliot and Grant are raising three daughters in suburban Atlanta. Charlotte and Gail are Grant's daughters with his ex-wife, Beth, but since Beth has little to no interest in raising the girls Grant has full custody. Hailey is Eliot and Grant's daughter together, who enjoys bossing her parents and older sisters around. The five of them make up an unconventional family, especially given the fact that Eliot and Grant are not legally married, but they make up a family nonetheless. Having raised ... [read more]

Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden Published by Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin The plight of ordinary North Koreans has been a topic increasingly discussed with Kim Jong Il’s death, and the bevy of new fiction dealing with the isolated society. [...] [read more]

Its hard to believe its time for another Topbox reveal. I have to say in my own opinion that apart from that time I got double boxes (someone signed up under my referral and that allowed me a free box) I have always been extremely happy with Topbox. [read more]

I was so excited to see Daughters for a Time by Jennifer Handford as the Amazon's Kindle Daily Deal today. [read more]

Sometimes I think that having or making "couple" friends is one of the hardest things about marriage. Usually one person doesn't like one of the other pair for whatever reason. And when spouses are very different as in the old adage "opposites attract," they can have an even harder go at appreciating each others' friends. Friendship is one of those unexplainable, alchemical bits of magic and four people makes the balance tricky. [read more]

Even spices are more beautiful in France.... [read more]

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly meme to discuss upcoming books we can't wait to get our hands on. Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  [read more]

We all have had this dilemma at one time or another -- which books do we bring with us on vacation? How many books for how many days? Do we choose ARCs that are due for reading or use our time away for "fun" books? Short books versus long books, paperbacks versus hardcovers -- there are just so many factors that it is not a quick decision. I've been thinking about this for weeks so far! [read more]

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. [read more]

The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.: A Novel [read more]

Grace Among Thieves (A Manor House Mystery) [read more]

Echo's Revenge: The Ultimate Game Book 1 By: Sean Austin (Hart Getzen) [read more]

Confession: It took me awhile to find a cover for this one that I wasn't ashamed to post.  I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to fantasy, although I'm not sure why, since so far I've only had good experiences (A Song of Ice and Fire and The Kingkiller Chronicles).  I just really really really hate the look of fantasy covers.  So I was very reluctant to start this one and even more reluctant to post about it on my blog.  Luke read and loved these though, so they were on my Nook.  And I got to ... [read more]

On sale today - except that it's FREE! - is the first-ever Book Club Girl Sampler - filled with excerpts from current and upcoming summer and fall books that are great for book clubs and summer reading! Download the free... [read more]

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, they post a topic and encourage fellow bloggers to list their own top ten answers. This week’s prompt was to either a) name the authors that should be on reality shows/have their own television shows or b) write about whatever [...] [read more]

Swamplandia! By Karen Russell (Vintage, Paperback, 9780307276681, July 2011, 416pp.) The Short of It: A departure from my normal reading. Entertaining and often sweet but in the end, not all that satisfying. The Rest of It: The Bigtrees run a theme park called Swamplandia! Located on a small island, just off the South Florida coast, [...] [read more]

Frank Money has returned to America from the Korean War a scarred and angry man, traumatized by what he experienced on the front lines.  When he learns that his sister is being medically abused, he must do what he always vowed never to do - return to the small Georgia town he came from and holds a deep hatred for.  As Frank travels to rescue his sister, he questions his sense of self and along the way discovers in himself a man he didn't think could ever live again. [read more]

  Hosted by #BoutofBooks. Challenge hosted by: Nyx Book Reviews [read more]

Reviewed by Libby [read more]

Coupon NEVER BEFORE offered! [read more]

by Eoin Colfer [read more]

Saturday was my 28th wedding anniversary so my husband and I used our VIP tickets (thanks, Fairlight!) to the Denver Art Museum's exclusive exhibit, Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective.  Two of our kids attended the exhibit in April with their high school French classes, and came home raving about it.  They were not overstating--it is absolutely one of the best exhibits I've had the opportunity to attend. [read more]

What a difference a few days makes! You can see the three babies now. Getting big! One egg didn't hatch though. See the webcam. [read more]

The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller is an interesting combination of coming of age and psychological thriller. The novel equally balances episodes of high school angst with a gripping mystery that keeps the pages turning - in fact, I was gripped from the first pages and couldn’t put this one down. [read more]

Title:  Breaking Beautiful [indie bound] [amazon] Author: Jennifer Shaw Wolf [website] [twitter]  [facebook] Genre:  Contemporary Publisher: Walker and Company Series: None Format: eBook (ARC) (via Net Galley) Source: Publisher Reviewer: Michelle Parental Advisory: alcohol, sexual situations, language, criminal activity Teachable Moments: physical and emotional abuse “I touch the wound that’s morphing into a scar on [...] [read more]

Most of you have been following me through my running journey over the past few years... from marathon's to Ultra distances to becoming a Tough Mudder.  So you earned this with me!  [read more]

I’ve known for a long time that I don’t love reading short stories. I have trouble enjoying them the way I do a good novel – just when I get into them, they stop, and I have to start all over again with a new cast of characters and a new story. Yet I often read more » [read more]