WINNERS OF THE GIVEAWAY

Hi everyone!!!! Here are the winners of the contests. If I have not contacted you, could you please send me your email address (see my blog for my email address). Thanks and congratulations to everyone and a big thank you to everyone who entered.

Check again!

I will be giving more books away soon!

Winners of The Agency giveaway:

- Diana Dang

- Wendy

- Kaye

- Bingo

- Cheryl

Winner of the Busy Women Seeks Wife giveaway:

MelJPrincess

REVIEW for Got you Back

A big thank you goes out to Deanna for sending me this book!

TITLE: Got you Back

AUTHOR: Jane Fallon

GENRE: Contemporary fiction

RATING: 3 Stars

For more information on this book please visit:

http://browseinside.harpercollins.ca/index.aspx?isbn13=9781554680504

This is my second Janne Fallon book. I liked Getting Rid of Matthew and was hoping that this second book would be as good. Unfortunately, this one is only okay. What I like about Jane Fallon is that in both books she takes a tricky subject such as adultery and gives it a bit of a twist - the twist being that the guy always ends up being a huge loser - and, in the end, rejected by both his wife AND his mistress. I love this concept - and its no different in Got You Back.

Stephanie is the wife and Katie is the mistress and both are in love with James - who manages to create for himself a nice little cozy situation until both of the women in his life decide to unite in order to teach the letch a lesson he will never forget. What does not work for me in this book is the writing style. It somehow felt cold and distant this time around - not as personal as in her first book. I loved the storyline and really, what kept be going to the end was my curiosity over whether the girls would really end up dumping the c cheating James.

This book could have been much better considering the great, great set up.

REVIEW for To Be Mona

Thank you goes out to author Kelly Easton for sending me a copy of her book.

TITLE: To Be Mona

AUTHOR: Kelly Easton
GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

I loved the book To be Mona. Author Kelly Easton takes a young girl who lives in a difficult, dysfunctional family who wishes she was someone else - actually she wishes she was Mona. Mona is the popular girl - and Sage would give anything to be her.

To be Mona is an honest and sometimes painful book to read. Sage, who has not had a luck of happiness and joy in her life is overlooked by almost everyone around her - she feels invisible and as she focuses more and more on her insecurities, she focuses more and more on the "wonderfulness that is Mona". It seems to Sage that Mona's life is so wonderful and easy. Easton does a great job of contrasting the reality of Sage's life with the imagined wonderfulness of Mona - someone once told me "not to compare my insides with someone's outside" and I kept thinking about this as I read this book.

I also enjoyed the fact that Sage does have some friends in her life and they seem quite dedicated to her - and that ultimately, Sage will come to discover that maybe, after all, she is not the "LOSER" that she thinks she it.

This book is a must read for all teenagers who are comparing themselves to the "popular girls" (I think that covers about 90% of the girls in high school).

REVIEW for The Smart Canadian's Guide to Saving Money

A huge thank you goes out to the publishing company John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. for sending me a copy of this great book!

TITLE: The Smart Canadian's Guide to Saving Money

AUTHOR: Pat Foran

GENRE: Personal Finance

RATING: 4 Stars

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking "where were all these helpful finance books when I was younger?".The Smart Canadian's Guide to Saving Money by Pat Foran is chock full of useful information on how to save money in this very difficult economic climate.

He covers every aspect and answers most financial based questions we might have about a variety of subjects that range from building wealth (yes, even now), managing mortgages, home renovations and everything in between.I also like the frankness in which he tells us - stop trying to keep up with the guy next door because he is as broke (or even more broke) than you are. Gone are the days of spending money to "get" things to show off.

Foran encourages (actually he tells us) that the times are changing and that it will no longer be about who has the nicest car. He also tells us that we have to start NOW - no matter where we are.Foran also gives us a few handy tips - such as check the cash register coupon. I actually did this last week and noticed that I had been overcharged on a item!!!

I really enjoyed this book -and I am definitely going to be using much of the advice found in this book.I would like to see Foran focus on writing books based on the different generations. i.e. a book for the kids coming out of school and then a book for the 30 something and then a book for those in their 40's who are working towards retirement. I would be curious to read these.

REVIEW for The Agency

A very big thank you goes out to Sarah at St.Martin's Press - who is very cool and very generous!

TITLE: The Agency

AUTHOR: Ally O'Brien

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING; 4 Stars

The Agency by Ally O'Brien is definitely my type of book. I am a huge chick lit fan and this book definitely fits perfectly in the chick lit genre, with the exception that The Agency even offers up a mystery that needs to be solved - but I am getting ahead of myself.

We meet Tess Drake - my absolute favorite type of main character. She is fierce and determined and knows what she wants - and she intends on getting it. I certainly won't be complaining here about a main character that gets stepped all over and can't figure her way out of a paper bag.

This novel has everything sex (lots of that), drugs (quite a lot of that) but more importantly it is entertaining. This inside look at the entertainment business - starting in the boardroom and ending up in bedroom is a fun and dirty romp into the slightly "naughty type literature" that I always associate with Jacqueline Susann. There is quite alot of swearing in this book and the author does not use quite names to refer to body parts - so if you offend easily - this is not the book for you.

But if you are looking for a down to earth and realistic look at the world of show business - and all the dirty little secrets that come with it and if you love to read about a woman who knows what she wants and will not take "no" for an answer then this is the book for you. What an entertaining read. I LOVED IT

REVIEW for Sleepwalking at Midnight

TITLE: Sleepwalking at Midnight

AUTHOR: Elizabeth Flock

GENRE: Contemporary Fiction

RATING: 2 Stars

was a little deceived by the serenity of the cover on this book. Unfortunately or fortunately, I am one of those people who judge a book (partially) by its cover and, for some reason, this cover made me think this book would be more towards chick lit.It is NOT in the least an light and airy read, as a matter of fact, I found this book to be extremely depressing and difficult to read.This book redefines the term dysfunctional family.

The mother, Samantha is carpooling and having an affair because she is beyond bored with her life. Her husband hasn't wanted sex in forever and she feels as though life is passing her by.Her daughter Samantha is 17 and feeling as though life is pretty hopeless. She does drugs and has sex in an attempt to escape her reality.

The storyline focuses on the two female characters and how they are both suffering and the fact that, in some ways, they should be turning to each other for support and help.Unfortunately, this book did not work for me in the least. Some of it is incredible typical and has been done and redone so many times that it feels old - the storyline between mother and daughter could have been interesting but neither of the characters seem particularly interested in the other - except if it means their needs.I have to say that this book left me depressed and I really could not get into it.

REVIEW for The ABC's of Kissing Boys

A big thank you goes out to Jenny for sending me this great little book!

TITLE: ABC's OF KISSING BOYS
AUTHOR: Tina Ferraro

GENRE: YA
RATING: 4 Stars

I really enjoyed reading Ferraro's previous book - How to Hook a Hottie so I was thrilled to discover that she had released The ABC's of Kissing Boys. First off, I liked the cover of this book - I thought it was quite perfect for the storyline. Ferraro writes cute and charming stories and The ABC's of Kissing Boys is no exception.

We meet Parker - she loves soccer and has done so for all of her life. She is great on the field and fully expected to get "promoted" on the field with the rest of her team (some of who also happen to be her best friends). But things take a nasty turn when she discovers that she is being "bumped" off the team because of an upperclassman who swoops in at the last minutes. Parker then spends the rest of the storyline basically conspiring and plotting an absolutely ridiculous scheme to get her "back" on the team. Noticed that I say ridiculous, because really - the plot consists of basically getting into a kissing booth - making lots of money, catching the soccer teacher into a twisted logic and then ultimately being asked to join the soccer team again.

Yes, this whole plotline sounds silly and frankly, it is. Parker spends a good chunk of the book enlisting people's help in teaching her to "kiss" properly and the whole thing does kind of get a little silly - especially since she is enlisting the help of some guys who are a tad older and should know a little better. Yet, it is this silliness that works so well in the book. There is a trace of innocence here (on the part of most of the characters) that is kind of refreshing - and different.

Needless to say, sex is far, far from the reality here and that is kind of a nice change of pace. As much as this book is quite innocent, there are aspects that the author has decided to highlight that are less so. The almost maniacal need for Parker to "fit in" with her "so called" best friends. The somewhat callous way some of these bff treat her and the way in which Parker does not seem to be able to forge her own identity are very valid subjects that the author does explore.

The writing is very down to earth and fun and I liked the character of Parker alot. This book is cute and charming and deserves a read.

Views from Montreal

It has been snowing and snowing here! last week, we had a small snowstorm and I thought I would use my new digital camera and take a few shots:

This is a shot of the sidestreets with the glorious trees!

Another beautiful tree...

And this is the queen of the household taking in the sun!!!!

REVIEW for The Biker Trials

A big thank you to ECW Press for sending me this book.


TITLE: The Biker Trials
AUTHOR: Paul Cherry
GENRE: True Crime
RATING: 4 Stars


The Biker Trials is a fascinating look at the Hells Angels and their rise to power in Quebec.Although I have never been overly interested in them an their activity, I was amazed to see just how big and how varied this gang is.

The book takes a look at a bunch of the members and their roles and involvement in the gang. I had to admit that my mouth pretty much hung open for most of the book - I kept thinking "wow".

There are some black and white pictures, although there aren't very many.This book is very interesting for people who follow this gang and it certainly makes for very, very interesting reading

I thought the author did a great job of covering off the many, many years the gang has been operating and he also did a good job of stating the facts without passing his own personal slant on the activities.

It must be very difficult to write this type of book and I have to give the author credit for a skillful and well researched and interesting look at a very modern day issue.

REVIEW for The Makedown

Thank you to Miriam for sending me an ARC of this book.

TITLE: The Makedown

AUTHOR: Gitty Daneshvari

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING: 2 Stars

I love chick lit and I am quite aware that, for the most part, chick lit, although quite entertaining is not necessarily a high art form! Nonethless, I love the genre. So, I was quite excited when I read the back cover for The Makedown. The first words...."Anna Norton used to be fat"....captured me and I definitely needed to read this book.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book was far less interesting and downright nasty at times. On the opening page you find "....In these years, I was notable only for my proclivity to answer teachers' questions with long and pedantic responses".... WHAT?

I hated, hated the way this author writes. While the storyline might have been one of interest to me (in some parts), I cringed at the writing. I was never certain if the author was using big and fancy words as some sort of "sarcastic" look at his own plotline or if he really thought that he was adding some kind of literary penchang to his book. Either way - it did not work for me. This book is 322 pages and I felt every page of it.

The storyline could have been clever - a former fat girl (still a fatty inside her own head) decides to "convert" her perfect boyfriend into a guy no other girl will steal away from her. Except that here again, Anna is just plain mean and horrible. She treats her boyfriend horribly and in between her fits of "i am not worthy" she is an absolute shrew.

So, nope, this book did not work for me in any aspect whatsoever!!!! Is there a fancier word for YUCK????

CHECK OUT THIS GREAT GIVEAWAY

I was going through the blogs and saw this great contest! So here is the info:

Make sure to check out BOOKROOMREVIEWS.......


http://www.bookroomreviews.com/2009/02/15/peaceloveearth-bracelet-giveaway/

REVIEW for Embracing the Wide Sky

A big thank you goes out to Simon & Schuster Inc. for sending me this grat book!

TITLE: Embracing the Wide Sky

AUTHOR: Daniel Tammet

GENRE: Science

RATING: 4 Stars

One of the best part of the love of reading is the opportunity it gives us to discover new books. I recently read Embracing the Wide Sky, which is not the type of book I would normally engage in.

I was extremely surprised to find out that this book was wayyyy more interesting than I originally thought it would be. The subject matter is one of mystery: how the human brain functions. I have certainly had my moments of wondering "what the heck I was thinking".

But seriously, this book takes us on a detailed look at how our brains work and it certainly helped me relate to my day to day actions. There is a whole section on IQ tests and whether they really are relevant at determining IQ. I have always wondered about this myself as I use to HATE taking these in high school - they always made me feel stupid because I could never get through the whole test without stumbling on a few questions.

I also like the section on language and how learning a second language as a baby/young child is different than when you learn it as an adult. Having spoken French and English since I could actually talk, this has also been a question I have asked myself many times - especially when I was asked once in what language I think - and I realized that I did not really know.

This book is extremely interesting and I suggest it is a must read for anyone who is curious about the human brain.

REVIEW for Burn

A great bit thank you to Miriam at Hachette for sending this wonderful YA novel.

TITLE: Burn

AUTHOR: Suzanne Phillips

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

In one word - wow!!! Burn, written by Suzanne Phillips is one of the most timely books I have read in recent years. Although I don't have children in school, I have heard some absolute horror stories about students bullying and being bullied - it has become epidemic in some schools! Of course, living in Montreal - the land of school killings - unfortunately, this subject matter was very close to my heart.

I instantly felt both sadness and horror for our main character who has been targeted by the "Red Coats" as being an easy prey to bully. True to reality, Cameron keeps it all inside - and begins to slowly but surely disintegrates - until he ends up no longer living in the present. As he disassociates more and more, he ends up committing the ultimate act.

Burn is written in a sensitive, but yet realistic voice - truly echoing the pain and horror that everyone involves experiences. The author makes sure to portray all of the sides of Cameron and slowly guides us through his psychotic break. As I mentioned, I felt sorry for him, but I also hated what he did.

It must be very difficult for an author to write this type of book - the main character is far from being a hero or sympathetic - yet, all of the characters and the plot work extremely well together.

I loved this book.

A grateful GIVEAWAY

Last week, I went for my annual mammogram. Because I am now over 40 (when did THAT happen???) my doctor is extremely on top of this and makes sure that I get checked every year - even though, thank God, there is no breast cancer in my family.

I am extremely, extremely petrified of going for the test - not because, as some people have stated, the test is painful (for some reason its not for me!) but because a) I have to wait for over 8 weeks to get the results and b) because I am petrified of the results.

About two years ago, I managed to fix the first part of the problem - I found a private clinic that will do the test and give me the results immediately. They even have the doctor come in and give you a thorough physical exam at the same time - the only catch its $450.00 - which I pay gladly.

However, this still leaves me with having to deal with hearing the results.

I am thankful to my higher power that everything is fine. My results were negative. However, right after this moment of relief, I think back on one of my first times at the Royal Victoria Hopsital Breast Center (beautiful and extremely professional place) when I was waiting to take the test and I could see, out of the corner of my eye, a woman of about 50 or so. She was sitting on another row of chairs and she was distraught. There was a nurse with her, holding her hand and a doctor calmly talking with her. Now, I was never privy to their conversation, but I could only put the pieces together and I have always prayed that I was wrong and that everything turned out just fine for this woman. Yet, everytime I get my test, I think of her.

As the doctor was checking me out, she was saying that their goal now is not early detection its prevention!!!! and that by having mammograms done regularly, their technology is such that they can even start detecting the least little change in calcification, etc. This is sooooo encouraging to me. I think we are heading in the right direction.

I am lucky that everything was fine and I am also lucky that I could pay the $450.00 in order to be able to get piece of mind right away and for this, I am ssooooo grateful.

I am also grateful that in Canada - ALL woman can get free mammograms. This is a blessing for all of us.

So, I thought I would do a book giveaway today!! Just because I would like to pay forward a little bit of thank you.

THE BOOK I AM GIVING AWAY IS: An ARC (the book does not come out before April 2009) Busy Woman Seeks Wife by Annie Sanders. Please note that this cover is not the same cover as the one I have.

So, here are the rules (open TO EVERYONE);

1) On the sidebar of my blog, you will see a little button that says "click here to help a woman get a mammogram" - you have to click on this button and then follow the prompts. Please note that this site is completely free and will not send you unsolicited mail. (while you are on the sidebar, I have a button that you can click to feed an animal) so if you click on both, I will give you 5 chances of winning instead of the 2 chances for clicking only on one. Then come back to my comment box and let me know that you have done it. Remember that in the US, alot of woman are not lucky enough to get free mammograms!!!!!

2) If you download the button and add it to your site, you will get 10 extra chances (come back here and let me know that you have done it).

3) If you had a mammogram done in 2008 you will get 2 more chances (for all the younger woman out there who don't have to go for one yet, then remind/encourage your moms, older sisters, aunts, friends that they need to schedule a yearly mammogram and get 2 more chances to win.

As you can see, these are totally centered around breast cancer awareness. I know that in order to get a bookaholic to do something - all you have to do is offer them the opportunity of getting a book - I am totally and shamelessly using this contest as a way to help us all make sure that we completely destroy breast cancer!!!!

Contest ends on February 27, 2009.

REVIEW for Devil's Paintbox

A big thank you goes out to Random House for sending me this book to read and review.

www.randomhouse.com

TITLE: Devil's Paintbox

AUTHOR: Victoria McKernan

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

I am not a big fan of any novel set in the West - but I made an exception this time because I thought the storyline sounded very interesting. I was right! Devil's Paintbox is way beyond the basics of a "western" novel.

The storyline is very deep and moving and the main characters are extremely well drawn up and are vivid in the storyline. The basic storyline features Jefferson Jackson and the novel is set in 1865 on the Oregon Trail. We find Jackson meeting up with two orphans who are desperately trying to survive. Striking a deal with them, Jackson finds himself involved with Maddie and Aiden and all three of them will learn some important life lessons as they board the wagon train and try to survive in the rough terrain that is the Oregon Trail.

While this novel does describe the harsh ways of the time period, it also does a fine job of focusing on its main characters and is definitely a character driven storyline.

I enjoyed reading this book way more than I thought I would and I am happy that I decided to "take a chance on it".

REVIEW for The Great Eight

I received this book from the Thomas Nelson Website.

TITLE: The Great Eight

AUTHOR: Scott Hamilton

GENRE: Christian/Biography

RATING: 3 Stars

I have been a fan of figure skating for a long time. I have actually met Scott Hamilton on a few occasions - in passing. I have to admit that the times I have seen it, Hamilton did not strike me as being a lonely searching person. He always seemed very outgoing and he especially seemed to have the world in the palm of his hand - especially since he was always, always surrounded by people telling him how wonderful he was.

So, it was with great surprise and a tad bit of skepticism that I discovered, while reading The Great Eight, that for the most part, this image that he portrayed was a front. Hamilton tells us in his book that he was searching for something for most of his life - and that when he finally found his faith and his wife - his life became more complete. Using parallels between his skating career and his faith - Hamilton goes on to describe specific events in which he managed to grow - despite the pain. Actually, this is pretty much the theme of this book - hope.

While I liked the book, I kept asking myself if it was just a little too much. Yes, I liked the "can do" attitude that basically describes Scott Hamilton! I also like that he is tough and although some of the events in his life could have brought him to his feet, he chose to fight another day. However, I thought the book was also a tad preachy at times. He also made his wife sound like a saint - which removed from the book for me. He tends to put some people high on a pedastal (such as his wife) and this makes parts of the book sound unrealistic to me.

Still, it was interesting to read up on some of Scott's skating career and I do wish him health and joy.

REVIEW for Above the Law

A big thank you to Miriam for sending me this book!

TITLE: Above the Law

AUTHOR: Tim Green

GENRE: Thriller

RATING: 4 Stars

I have to do full disclosure on this review. I LOVE Tim Green and have basically read everything he has written. Needless to say, I was thrilled, thrilled to get an ARC of Above the Law.

I am starting to see a small trend lately - that is authors using Mexico as a setting or background for their storylines. I have to say that I find this trend a tad annoying as I live in Canada (the OTHER border) and find myself reading all too often about issues in Mexico, which although I know are important, I am not certain I want to keep reading about in my fiction books. Having said that though, I must say that although Above the Law focuses almost entirely on the Mexican border, illegal immigrants and the horrible living conditions in Mexico, I thought the plotline, characters and overall storytelling were so superior that I found myself totally engrossed in the book.

Casey Jordan is back and she is now workin in a legal aid clinic - needless to say, she is no longer dealing with the people she was representing when she was in her high powered position. Casey finds herself tangled up in an "apparently accidental shooting" of an illegal immigrant and the shooter is a US senator. Jordan does not believe the well rehearsed speech coming out of the Senator's mouth so she decides to take matters into her own hands and decides to "take on" the lying, murdering senator. I love the Casey Jordan character.

I have to say that Green has a way of making his female characters power houses and yet he still manages to make them fun, bright and interesting and Casey is one of my absolute favorites.

The storyline is fast-paced and offers up quite a nice variety of minor detours - so it will keep you guessing!!! At one point, I could not figure out how Green was going to bring this storyline to a successful end (i.e. the Senator was going to pay for what he did) and yet, Green managed to cleverly turn the plotline and offered us a wonderful little twist.

This story makes us come face to face with the all too serious issues that are now going on on the Mexican border and points a finger at some of the harsh realities going on in Mexico right now. It was quite a feat for Green to manage to take a very timely and sensitive subject and weave it into a thrilling thriller and he has succeeded!!!!

Mailbox Monday and This Week in Books (combined) - February 9, 2009

MAILBOX MONDAY FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9, 2009

This week was a much better week book-wise!!

I received this week:

Monday: Got You Back from the publisher for review

Yummy Mummy Manifesto from Indigo for review

Anatomy of Success from Indigo for review

Tuesday: Beautiful People from UK author Wendy Holden for review

Call me Aram

Focus on Flies

Orphan Boy from the publisher for review

Wednesday: Fight for your Money from the publisher for review (thanks Jessica!!!!)

Thursday: The Canadian's Guide to Saving $ from the publisher (cold request)

Friday: The Agency from the publisher for revie

B as in Beauty

Mating Rituals

Busy Woman Seeks Wife (all of these are chick lit!! and sent by Hachette)

So, a very, very good week. I have already started reading and I am truly grateful to all the wonderful people out there who are kind and generous and sending me such truly great books. I consider all of these books and these people treasures....

How was your week?

MY PERSONAL MUSINGS ON BOOKS!!!

BOOKS, BOOKS and more(?) books!!!!!

I am, obviously, a book freak! I love everything there is to love about books. The feeling I get when I walk into a bookstore, library or used bookstore is crazy!!!! However, what I do not do is keep my books after I have read them.

Indeed, I tend to trade with other bloggers - mainly Avis, Cindy and Donna or I donate them to the library or to the charity store down the street. Yet, as I was looking around my newly furnished apt yesterday, I could not believe how many books I had around me!!!

THIS is my new coffee table, can you even find the actual table? I have all kinds of reading materials on this - including magazines!!!

This is a shot of all the books that I have read and still need to review. I can't post a review yet because the books have not been released. But thank goodness I have actually written the reviews.

and finally, this is my bookcase. In full disclosure mode, I have to confess that the top shelf contains all my Archie comic books that I have found in various flea markets but haven't read yet.

The second shelf has my comic strips collections including Calvin and Hobbes, Fox Trot, Cathy, Garfield and Adam. All of which are excellent and worth re-reading.

The last shelf has all of my recovery books. As you may know I have an eating disorder that I am recovering from and 12 step books and related books have been my savior! so, of course, these I keep and re-read on a daily basis.

When I look at these pictures I think I am a little crazy and that I somehow managed to "keep" an awful lot of books for someone who does not usually re-read her books - but I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

I am just glad that I don't have a passion for cars!!!!!!!!!

How crazy is your book collection?????

REVIEW for Your Money or Your Life

A big thank you goes out to the authors for so kindly sending me a copy of this book.

You can visit their website for more great ideas at:

www.yourmoneyoryourlife.info








TITLE: Your Money or Your Life
AUTHORS: Vicky Robin and Joe Dominguez
GENRE: Personal Finance
RATING: 4 Stars

I LOVED this book. I had already read it quite a few years ago, but I thought it would be a very good idea to reread it - especially with the economic climate we are living in these days. I don't know why the message did not really sink in the first time, but I have to say that it certainly sunk in now.

This book takes an HONEST and totally realistic look at money and the influence and impact it has on our lives. Having said that, I like that, on many levels, the authors also chose to go the route of the 'stating matter-of-factly'. All of the research (and there has been a ton done for this book) is stated in an easy to understand, down to earth manner. There are tons of examples AND alot of worksheets and challenges that are included here. The authors take a look at alot of the basic steps, that we should be taking and are not. There is a huge X on the subject of credit (see what I mean! they were right all along) and this book tells you right to your face the pitfalls of making stupid financial decisions.

I have also seen this book referred on many occasions discussing money. This book is, on many levels, a bible on the subject and I have to say that I did not always want to hear what they have to say - because, of course, they are absolutely right!

The only little point I had is that I thought the print was a bit tiny, but I have to say that this is a minor issue.

This book is full, full of wisdom and interesting info - if only we would listen up.

REVIEW for Beginner's Guide to Buddhist Meditation

Another huge thank you goes out to Rodmell Press - they have the most beautiful books I have ever seen. www.rodmellpress.com









TITLE: Beginner's Guide to Buddhist Meditation
AUTHOR: Christina Feldman
GENRE: Spirituality
RATING: 4 Stars

I have always felt challenged by meditation - I always feel as though I am not doing it properly! Along comes this wonderful book. Beginner's Guide to Buddhist Meditation is designed for the beginner - covering the basics in detail - which I feel has been extremely helpful to me.

Everything from where to meditate and how to medidate but what I love about this book is the fact that it covers more than just the obvious related to meditation. Indeed, this book also takes a detailed look at mindful eating (which I found very helpful), how to cope with life's stresses and many more day to day challenges that we face.

This book is straightforward and does not use intricate, complicated eastern words that the beginner may not understand - this book talked to me and I loved it.

REVIEW for Bridesmaids

A thank you goes out to Jane Costello for so kindly sending me her book to review!

TITLE: Bridesmaids

AUTHOR: Jane Costello

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING: 4 Stars

Nobody does chick lit better than the UK authors! I mean, it is, after all the birth place of Bridget Jones!In Bridesmaids, author Jane Costello hits the spot right on - describing the madness and the overall silliness of weddings, brides, bridesmaids and falling in love.

The opening chapter of this book is hilarious! We have a godzilla bride and a perfect storm of "Murphy's Law" coming together to create a series of funny, funny episodes that had me hooked from the first chapter.We meet Evie who is our commitment phobic bridesmaids - she just does not get what all the fuss is about - but she is about to get a very good idea as she literally bumps into Jack..

As the story develops, we get to know Evie and I started to understand where some of her commitment issues were coming from. Although this book is a definite chick lit (yeah!) it is suprisingly touching and the Jack character is a wonderfuly addition.

Will Evie finally overcome her fear of marriage? and actually stick through a relationship? My lips are sealed.But Bridesmaids is a clever, wonderfully funny book and I am thrilled to have discovered it

REVIEW for Holy Yoga

Thank you to Hachette and Miriam - I love working with Miriam!!!!

TITLE: Holy Yoga

AUTHOR: Brooke Boon

GENRE: Christian/Yoga

RATING: 3 Stars

I was unsure about this book when I first read the title and reviewing it has been interesting. I would have to say that I am separating my review in two. The Christian part and the Yoga part. To be honest, I am unsure why the author felt the need to write a "christian" yoga book.

In my opinion, yoga is about spirituality and looking into yourself and outwards to the great universe. Yoga has been practiced for many, many years and is said to be wonderful for the "self". So, I am a little unclear why there needs to be a distinction between a regular yoga book and a "holy yoga" book.

From the point of view of this book being about yoga, I thought the book was well done. There are nice descriptions of the poses and some graphics showing us the particular positions (although these are a tad small).

Unfortunately, there is quite a lot of "talking" in the beginning of the book - relating to the association of doing holy yoga - which I found a tad preachy and not particularly necessary.

If you believe that yoga must be associated with religion then I suggest this book is great for you, if you are like me and you believe that yoga is about our inner self - then you may want to consider many of the other yoga books available on the market right now - that are aimed more towards yoga poses and the joy of doing yoga for the self.

REVIEW for Raven

A big thank you to Simon & Shuster for sending this book to me!

TITLE: RAVEN

AUTHOR: Alllison Van Diepen

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

I have read and simply adored Street Pharm and Snitch and was really looking forward to this new book.Raven is completely different from the previous two books and if I am completely honest, I have to say that I preferred Street Pharm and Snitch as I like my YA fiction to be more day to day social issues.

Raven features our main character Nicole who feels as though she has no control over anything and that basically, her life is boring and about to implode. She, however, is friends with Zin, who represents to her all that she cannot be.

Together, they have a very special friendship.Zin is different and he seems very interested in her, yet he always manages to keep a 'safe' distance. With much self-doubt and prodding, Nicole will finally discover the dark and very old secret that Zin is hiding. I do not want to give away the plot - as it is a bit of a surprise turn and drives the rest of this book.However, suffice it to say that Nicole will never see her life in quite the same way again.

I love the way author Allison van Diepen writes. Her characters are always so well drawn out and you find yourself immersed into the storyline and Raven is no exception. I loved the dialogue and the interaction between the main characters and I even liked the sub-characters that are brought into the plot.

Van Diepen is also very skilled at describing situations and events and, in this book, this is particularly appreciated as you will called upon to use your imagination.

I am not a fan of this type of YA fiction as a rule and I still managed to rate this book as a 4 stars - based mainly on the author's strengths regardless of the book's genre.

However, I would love to see Van Diepen stick to her previous genre and focus on 'everyday' YA social issues.

REVIEW for Dog on It

A big thank you goes out to Michelle for sending this along to me for review!!! You are a lot of fun to work with.

TITLE: Dog on it

AUTHOR: Spencer Quinn

GENRE: Noir fiction

DATE: February 10, 2009

RATING: You decide

I have to start out this review with full disclosure - as a rule, I do not like Noir detective crime stories - which left me in an unusual situation. I was extremely curious to read this book, as it is written from the perspective of the dog (Chet) but, at the same time, I am not a fan of this genre.

The storyline starts off introducing us to the main characters of Bernie (the human) and Chet (the dog). Chet has flunked out of canine school and Bernie is not exactly a paragon of virtue, but together, they ARE the Little Detective Agency.
Bernie is hired by Cynthia Chambliss, who has a missing daughter. Before Bernie can do anything, Madisson returns with a weird tale about her whereabouts - and sounds suspicious to Bernie. However, just as he is about to let it all go, he gets a call telling him that he is back on the case - Madisson is gone again.
Chet and Bernie are back on the case.

While on surveillance on night, Chet notices something very odd - a person fitting the description of a potential witness is sniffing around, Unfortunately, Chet gets kidnapped and while he does escape, he manages to catch a glimpse of Madison.
Together Chet and Bernie try to untangle their way through a maze of fake phone calls and a mountain of useless deadends.

If the author wanted me to fall in love with the Chet character, he did a great job. I loved hearing the story unfold from the perspective of the dog - which is a very cool idea for a novel.

The writing was good and the storyline propelled ahead, but it is quite a noir story and this is where it falls off for me. Some of the dialogue sounded a little forced to me 'like someone was going to come in at any moment and start saying the word 'dame'.

On the other hand, I think this book would work very well for people who enjoy this genre.

While I did not hate this book, it also did not grab me all that much.

Mailbox Monday - February 2, 2009

MAILBOX MONDAY for the week of February 2, 2009

I have to say that its been slim pickings these last few weeks! I sure hope things pick up soon!!!

Here is what I did get:

Monday: NOTHING

Tuesday: NOTHING

Wednesday: NOTHING

Thursday: NOTHING

Friday: I was despearte to I ended up at Chapters and bought a book that I had already read and enjoyed (I never usually re-read my books, but desperate times...)

The Next Big Thing by Johanna Edwards

I also received by mail:

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga (for review from the author)

The Great Eight by Scott Hamilton (for review from the Thomas Nelson site)

That's it....What did you get this week?

REVIEW for A Year of Living your Yoga

A big thank you goes out to one of my favorite publishing houses - Rodmell Press - www.rodmellpress.com

TITLE: A Year of Living your Yoga

AUTHOR: Judith Hanson Lasater

GENRE: Yoga-Self-Help

RATING: 4 Stars

I got this book at the end of 2008 and deciced to wait until 2009 to start it. Obviously, I have not gone through all of the daily practices yet, but so far, I am loving this book. There is a daily practice for every day of the week. What I love about this is that each practice is short and to the point, but at the same time delivers a dose of spirituality to my day.

The book is set up by month, and under each date you will find a one or two sentence 'thought' and under it a brief description of the thought. At times, you are asked to feel, at other times you are asked to think or act.

The book size is nice and compact and the overall book is cheerful and wonderful to carry around. I love it.

REVIEW for Tales of a Wedding Day

A huge thank you goes out to author Olivia Ryan for so kindly sending me a copy of her great book!

TITLE: Tales from a Wedding Day

AUTHOR: Olivia Ryan

GENRE: Chick Lit

RATING: 4 Stars

I love chick lit and I especialy love 'wedding' chick lit. Reading about the absolute crazyness that goes into the preparation of what is supposed to be a girl's most memorable day is such fun and I have to say that author Olivia Ryan has nailed it right on!

We find our main character Abbie. She is the bridesmaid and takes her responsiblity very seriously - except that between trying to comfort the gone-shy, petrified to be left at the altar bride, playing babysitter and generally trying to make the day memorable for all, Abbie finds herself in an almost impossible situation. I laughed out loud at many of the events described in this book. The old 'if it can go wrong - it will' saying was never truer than in this storyline.

But what I also loved about this book was that despite the hilarious parts and the absolutely well described crazed moments, there were some seriously touching scenes. I loved the Abbie character who has her own 'marriage/relationship' issues and I thought that the author managed to merge the storylines smoothly and wonderfully.

This read was such fun and I came away from the book happy and with a fond memory for the storylines and for Abbie.

This is a definite yes in my book - thank god I am not going to be anybody's bridesmaid in the near future.

ITS CONTEST TIME AGAIN!!!!

Sarah at St-Martin's made me an offer I could NOT refuse. She is giving my blog readers a chance to win one of 5 copies of the book THE AGENCY by Ally O'Brien. The books will be shipped directly from St-Martin's, so I will have to give them your snail mail.

The rules are very simple.

Get 1 chance to win for every comment (1 comment per post please) you leave until the end of the contest.

Get 3 chances to win if you add me to your "blogger blog watch" or Google Reader;

Get 5 chances to win if you post about this on your blog - and -

Get 10 chances to win if you do all of the above.

Contest is open to US and Canada (St-Martin's rules) and will end on February 27, 2009 at midnight.

In the meantime, check out their website for more on this great book being released on February 3, 2009.
http://us.macmillan.com/theagency

and thank you Sarah!!!!

Mailbox Monday -for the week of January 26, 29

My mailbox Monday will be very quick this week!

I received:

Monday: Nothing
Tuesday: Nothing
Wednesday: Beautiful People by Wendy Holden (I ordered this through Amazon.com
Thursday: Nothing
Friday: Being Mona (sent by the author for review)

I have to say that this whole month of January has been very, very quiet! It has given me a chance to catch up on some reading and reviewing, but I am almost out of books! so its off to Chapters for me today.

I have also bought a digital camera (which is something I have been saying I have to do for at least a year now - found a great deal on a camera so FINALLY I bought one - hopefully I will have some great pictures to share with you soon).

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

REVIEW for Daemon

A huge thank you goes out to Amanda at Penguin - thanks to her I have discovered a wonderful new author!

TITLE: Daemon

AUTHOR: Daniel Suarez

GENRE: Techno Thriller

RATING: 4 Stars

I just discovered Daemon and author Daniel Suarez and I am hooked, hooked, hooked. From the look of the cover that promises us a high tech thriller to the very last sentence, author Suarez delivers a hard punch - no holds barred, wonderful technothriller that I could not put down once I started (which is quite a feat since this book is a little over 400 pages of thrill ride).

IT is everywhere today and the concept of computers taking over the world is not new (think Terminator) however, Suarez writes about this in an innovative way that gave me the creeps (but in a good way).

We find two of our characters Jon Ross and Peter Sebeck entangled the Internet world -one trying to solve a murder and the other trying to figure out how to solve a major virus issue at his company. This will all be linked to the legacy of a IT gamer who will trigger an IT world event. Suarez is a master (which is impressive considering this is his debut book) at entertwining all the storylines into one main one - making me wonder "how did he do that?". I am not a techo geek and I managed my way through this book quite well.

I am trying not to give too many details as it is alot more fun to read the story than to read my synopsis of it. Suarez manages to take a subject that could be extremely dry and boring and weaves a story that is completely believeable and quite scary. I kept thinking that Sarah Connor was going to walk into the storyline at any second.

This book has everything a "real" thriller needs and on top of all of that, the story is entirely plausible, in my opinion.

I suggest you give yourself lots of free time when you first start this book, as it will be very difficult to put down once you get into it.

MOVIE Reviews -

MOVIE REVIEWS

I have been lucky enough to win tickets to two "chick lit" movies in the last few weeks.

As you can see, my movie preferences are quite similar to my reading ones!

Bride Wars starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway was a cute movie. I thought the two leading men were so-so, considering the caliber of the female stars, it feels as though they could have picked better male leads (with the exception of the cutie brother guy).

I liked this movie, but I did not love it. Also, everytime I see something with Anne Hathaway in it I get so distracted - by her body - she has THE body I wish I had. She is built like a boy - and I am so jealous!!!!!

Rating: 3 Stars

New in Town, starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr. This one is extremely predictable, corny and over the top but I really, really liked it. I don't know if it was the setting (small village in the dead of winter) or the fact that I see Bridget Jones everytime I see Renee, but this movie touched me for some reason.

Of course, the fact that a gorgeous hunk like Harry Connick, Jr. just happened to be in the small town, happened to be available and happened to fall in love with her is totally incredible, but I still loved this one. I will definitely buying the DVD for my "chick lit" DVD collection - which includes:

The Devil Wears Prada

Bridget Jones 1 and 2

Miss Congeniality 1 and 2

Sex and the City the Movie (this one is a "must" for any chick lit fan)

Season 6 of Sex and the City

Ally McBeal

13 Going on 30

You've Got Mail

Princess Diaries

Rating for New in Town: 4 Stars

REVIEW for Too Good To Be True

Thank you Adam, for sending me this wonderful book and helping me discover a great author.


TITLE: Too Good To Be True
AUTHOR: Kristan Higgins
GENRE: Romance
DATE: February 1, 2009
RATING: 4 Stars



I had never heard of Kristan Higgins before and this is the second book that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed from her.

Too Good To Be True is absolutely hilarious. This is one of the things that I like best about Kristan writing. While she deals with a subject matter that, on many occasions, has made me want to jump out the window of my office building, she always puts a spin on it that manages to remind me that although it is important, it is NOT life threatening and that perhaps - a little levity and laughter would help the situation.

In Too Good to Be True, we find our main character is having to deal with the fact that she cannot seem to find a boyfriend and when she does, he leaves her for her younger sister. This, of course, has prompted the family to feel sorry for Grace and to continually attack her with the eternal question "when are you....". Fed up with this and in an attempt to get some control over the situation, Grace decides to "invent" a wonderful new boyfriend. Of course, he is the perfect Wyatt Dunn.

As fate would have it though, the imaginary Wyatt will soon have competition from the soultry Callahan O'Shea who Grace meets in a very particular way - by hitting him over the head with a stick.

This book is full of slapstick fun! with Grace being my new favorite heroine. Although this book is about romance, it is also about finding ourselves and being able to see that life is not ONLY about meeting that someone special.

Higgins manages to make her main character strong and fun and yet, still manages to make her clumsy and silly and fun! I loved this book. Now, if only the perfect Callahan O'Shea would enter my life ---- hum! where did I leave that stick?