My May Books

May Books
Total books read: 7
New Authors: 3
Books in a Series: 4
Mystery: 2
Re-read: 1
Romance: 1
Children or YA Fiction: 2

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Old Boyfriends by Rexanne Becnel

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
Glory in Death by JD Robb
The Day the Music Died by Ed Gorman
Guts by Gary Paulson

Library Loot 15

I haven’t played Library Loot in awhile since I haven’t really been picking up more than one or two things from the library lately. I guess doing all the stuff for the new house, actually having cable now (though all I seem to watch is Jeopardy, a few other game shows, some Food Channel Network shows, and the Biography channel), and going through all my books planning to put up on the bedroom bookcase (until the bookroom is ready) that I haven’t read and coming up with more than I put in the boxes has all put me in a small reading slump. Well today I talked hubby into going with me to our library’s main branch to browse through their non-fiction since it always seems to help snap me out of my not-wanting-to-read-anything phase.

Here are all the things I picked up while I browsed (and boy were they ever heavy!):


Country Music Changed My Life by Ken Burke
The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia by the Editors of Country Music Magazine
Do Fish Drink Water? : Puzzling and Improbable Questions and Answers by Bill McLain
Easy to Remember : The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs by William Zinsser
Gen X TV : From the Brady Bunch to Melrose Place by Rob Owen
Owls Aren't Wise and Bats Aren't Blind : A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies about Wildlife by Warner Shedd
Red, Hot & Blue : A Smithsonian Salute to the American Musical by Amy Henderson Dwight Blocker Bowers
Swag : Southern Women Aging Gracefully
by Melinda Rainey Thompson
The Stephen King Story by George Beahm
Werewolf Book : The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings by Brad Steiger
Little Girl Lost by Drew Barrymore with Todd Gold

Now, I’m not sure if I’m even going to read half of these but browsing through them will be a lot of fun. I do have a quick question though, what is your favorite cookbook or treat? Or do you have any kind of recipe made with Mountain Dew? I know I’m being mysterious but I have a (hopefully good) surprise for you guys soon regarding the last question…

Contest Winners!

Good afternoon everyone! Sorry, I couldn’t get to the computer this morning but this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for… (a day early since I won't have much time this weekend) it’s time to draw the names for the Tate Hallaway giveaway! Due to the overwhelming response (54 entrants), I used random.org to generate the winners. The winners are:

Dar from Peeking Between the Pages who said her favorite Disney character is Snow White and Cinderella.
Rebecca from Just One More Page who said her favorite Disney character is Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
Scrap Girl from Serendipity who said her favorite Disney character is Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
Carols notebook who said her favorite Disney character is Mulan.
Melody from Melody's Reading Corner who said her favorite Disney character is Ariel from The Little Mermaid too.

Each will receive a copy of the fourth Garnet Lacey book Dead If I Do by and from Tate Hallaway. Now for the grand prize winner of all the books in the series… and the winner is:

Sharon from A Bookworm's Reviews whose favorite Disney character is Dumbo and Figaro. She also has a non-Disney favorite, Gossamer the monster from Bugs Bunny.



Congrats to all these fabulous winners! I hope you enjoy this series as much as I have! This was a whole lot of fun so I may try to do more contests in the future.

Happy Memorial Day!

It's raining like crazy here but I hope everyone else is having a good memorial day.




Memorial Day 
–noun
1. Also called Decoration Day. a day, May 30, set aside in most states of the U.S. for observances in memory of dead members of the armed forces of all wars: now officially observed on the last Monday in May.

My First Contest!

Contest Has Ended Already! Sorry!

I promise I’ll get those pictures up soon (I’m telling you, all this cleaning is for the birds!) but in the meantime how would my readers like a contest? “A contest?!” I hear you exclaim, “You’ve never done a contest before!” Well it’s not me being so generous, it’s Tate Hallaway! You know, that lady that wrote all those wonderful books in the Garnet Lacey series and kindly agreed to be participate in my very first author interview. She's giving away:


1) one grand prize of all the books to-date including DEAD IF I DO
2) five extra copies of DEAD IF I DO.

So that’s 6 chances-- SIX whole chances-- to win!

Here’s how you enter:
Leave me a comment answering this question: Do you have a favorite Disney or animated movie film/ character?
(Don’t forget to leave me some way to contact you!!!)
Ms. Hallaway has agreed to ship internationally so this is open for everyone! 

Contest ends on my mom's birthday-- May 30.

Musing Monday- Early Reader

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about early reading…

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading? Was it from a particular person, or person(s)? Do you remember any books that you read, or were read to you, as a young child? (question courtesy of Diane)

Nobody but my grandma actually read yet somehow she alone made me into a reader. I’ve been able to read ever since I can remember but the family says I learned when I was 3. I guess I got tired of trying to find someone who would read to me! Another family story is that I would walk up to anyone (before I learned how) and everyone and ask them to read to me lol.

There aren’t any particular books I remember more than others (I know I read every Dr. Seuss at an early age) but I know I started chapter books fairly early. Either first or second grade I believe. I remember I loved those Babysitters Club books for awhile! Oh, and I read a bunch of classics like The Wind in the Willows, Call of the Wild, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Secret Garden, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Black Beauty, etc.

Did You Miss Me?

Quick update while I'm feeling better: we (finally) bought the house! We've painted two rooms and are all moved in except for unpacking and my cat doesn't know what to think.

Unfortunatly I didn't only keep my review a day promise but I didn't really get to do much with the house since we bought it either because only two hours after closing I had to go to the emergency room. I don't think they had quite decided what was wrong with me when they sent me home after some poking and prodding but they came to the conclusion that it's something on my right side (which I repeatedly told them so thankfully that got through), either a cist or a kidney stone. Ugh!

So I'm pretty cranky but I'm really loving my house! Once I find the camera I'll have to take pictures :)

RIP Dom DeLuise

August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009

We lost another great one yesterday: Dom DeLuise. Better known as Itchy from All Dogs Go to Heaven, Jeremy from The Secret of NIMH, Tiger from An American Tale and many other movies (almost all of Don Bluth's films and others as well). Mostly a character actor that played small roles, he was nonetheless very recognizble and one of my favorites. He will be missed so much!

Teaser Tuesday- The Day the Music Died

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
  
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page
  
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
  
  
  
  THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED BY ED GORMAN
  In a small town, you get punished for being different in any way, and sometimes when you sit in a small-town babershop you get a sense of what Salem must have been like during the witch trials. Reputations get smeared, sometimes ruined permanently.

Library Loot 14

With trying to get everyone on the same page to close on the house you would think I wouldn't be picking up as many books but you would be wrong lol. Here's my most recent haul of loot!

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Flower Gardening by Mara Grey

Glory in Death by J. D. Robb

Bambi : A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Complete Idiot's Guide to Decorating Your Home by Mary Ann Young

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Stories from Thousand and One Nights : The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Edward William Lane

My April Books

April Books
Total books read: 12
New Authors: 5
Books in a Series: 11
Mystery: 2
Re-read: 2
Romance: 1
Children or YA Fiction: 8

The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason
The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey
Candy Apple Dead by Sammi Carter
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Evernight by Claudia Gray
Hunted by P.C & Kristin Cast
Untamed by P.C & Kristin Cast
Chosen by P.C & Kristin Cast
Betrayed by P.C & Kristin Cast
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

Flickr Mosaic

I found this fun meme over at Naida's blog and couldn't resist. Feel free to play along.

The rules:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, pick an image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

Now, the questions:
First name?
Favorite food?
What high school did you go to?
Favorite color?
Celebrity crush?
Favorite drink?
Dream vacation?
Favorite dessert?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
One word to describe you.
Your flickr name.

Here's my mosaic!