Feature Bookcase (my mom's)

So I am always applying to other blogs trying to be the feature bookcase... and then never hear back so I decided to do my own!  Here is my mom's bookcase.  We have always had books in my house growing up... then when my parents bought their current house they got this fabulous bookcase built in!  I know live in another state but when I come home for a visit I know I can always find a book!!  The bottom cupboards are full of paperbacks.  The bottom bookcase that you see if in their office.  It has their record collection on the bottom!

Do you have a picture of your bookcase on your blog?  If so post the link I would love to stop by and visit.

Looking for someone to read a YA Book With?

Looking for someone to read a young adult book with and discuss??  Come on by the YA Book Club.   We are currently voting for our July book club pick so come and vote and then join along!

Poll

What randomly selected book would you like to read in July?

by Frances Hodgson Burnett
by Lili St. Crow
by David Almond
by Lili Wilkinson
by Ned Vizzini
by John Corey Whaley
by Maryrose Wood
by Laura McNeal
by Ruta Sepetys
by Alexandra Monir

comments and details · show results · invite friends

Follow Me Friday (#34)

This is the day of the week where we get to know each other better by answering a question devised by our lovely hostesses Parajunkee & Alisoncanread. We also gain new followers by joining each other's sites via GFC, so please let me know if you're a new follower since I automatically follow back. And now for this week's question....

  

Q. Summer Vacation is upon us. What would be the perfect vacation spot for you to catch up on your reading and relax?

A.  Wow... well for me it would be outdoors.  Like Yellowstone or fishing/camping somewhere.  In fact, I am going to Yellowstone in 2013.  Yea I know it's a long time out... but you have to make reservations a year out.  We made reservations for Yellowstone Sept 2013 last week.  The reservations for 2013 opened on May 1st and by May 9th Sept 12 2013 was already BOOKED up!!  WOW!  We got all the other dates we wanted though.  I can't wait to get up there and read some great books!! 

Now I just need some recommendations on good books that help visitors navigate the Yellowstone Park... any suggestions???  

 

 

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King-Review

 

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

I just love King and his series the Dark Tower so when I found out there was a new book of course I picked it up.  Also it was this month's pick for my group Stephen King Fans on goodreads. Here is the description from that site:

In The Wind Through the Keyhole, Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World, the spectacular territory of the Dark Tower fantasy saga that stands as his most beguiling achievement. Roland Deschain and his ka-tet—Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler—encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two . . . and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past. In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape-shifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.” And indeed, the tale that Roland unfolds, the legend of Tim Stoutheart, is a timeless treasure for all ages, a story that lives for us. King began the Dark Tower series in 1974; it gained momentum in the 1980s; and he brought it to a thrilling conclusion when the last three novels were published in 2003 and 2004. The Wind Through the Keyhole is sure to fascinate avid fans of the Dark Tower epic. But this novel also stands on its own for all readers, an enchanting and haunting journey to Roland’s world and testimony to the power of Stephen King’s storytelling magic.

Well... I must say this was a good book. But it is not really about Roland and the Ka-tet that we thought we were going to read about. Which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. This is a story within a story within a story. Yeah you read that right. Roland tells a story of his youth, and then his youth self tells a story. Personally I think the book is more about Randal Flagg. For those of you who keep up with King you will know who that is since he appears in many of King's books.

To me this is not a Dark Tower book.... it is sold as one but it is a story all it's own.  Makes me wonder if perhaps there will be some sort of Dark Tower spinoff based off this other character introduced in this book named Tim?  I kinda hope so.  I really wish I liked audio books... Stephen King is the actual narrator of the audio version so I am dying to hear HIM read it!!  Here is a pic of him recording it:

 

I am a little disappointed this Dark Tower book wasn't illustrated.   All the other ones I bought in hardback were and this one would only be illustrated if you spent $100 some dollars on the book.   But I scoured the internet and found some of the pictures from the illustrated version and they are beautiful!

Read this book Dark Tower fans... you will not regret it!

Moira Young (Blood Red Road) - will answer YOUR questions!

Author of Blood Red Road, and soon to come out in Oct 2012 Rebel Heart... Moira Young is stopping by the YA Book Club on June 10th to do a Q&A with the group!  You can stop by and leave comments and questions for her to answer.  All the author Q&As we have had to the group have been great and fun... so take this opportunity to make your reading experience that much better. 

Maybe we can even get some details about book 2 in the Dust Land series... doesn't hurt to try right?

Follow Me Friday (#33)

This is the day of the week where we get to know each other better by answering a question devised by our lovely hostesses Parajunkee & Alisoncanread. We also gain new followers by joining each other's sites via GFC, so please let me know if you're a new follower since I automatically follow back. And now for this week's question....

 

Q.  This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother’s Day, in celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

 

 

A. Well... I was looking through the books I've read and decided to do grandma and grandkids.  What came to my mind is Sookie and her grandma Adele Hale Stackhouse and Stephanie Plum and her Grandma Mazur.   The chemistry between these characters is great.  Spoiler:  Too bad Sookie's grandma died so soon.. but they seemed to be really close!

What moms/grandmas do you like?

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly Review

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

I read The Book of Lost Things for my YA Book Club .  It was a cool book.. here is the goodreads description:

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things. Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

This book is soooo interesting! I love how the prose is in the book. Very neat. Spoilers to follow: I am not sure what to think of the ending. Poor David's life when he came back to the real world just seemed sad. When he goes back to the other world and the Woodsman is his dad that was nice. And his wife and child are there. But was David young again? It's like David missed the point of coming back to the real world. Trying to enjoy the life he had. I guess the book started with Once Upon a Time... and then the ending wasn't a happily ever after ending like I expected. David’s dad and Rose get divorced, Georgie dies in a war, David’s wife and child die, and he lives alone for the rest of his life. The ending felt rushed. The rest of the book was so detailed and then in the end David wakes up from a coma, lived and died.

 One big debate about this book is if it is a young adult book or not? I think this is a young adult book. But it has to be a mature young adult. It is very descriptive and takes thought and time. Some young adult books to me can be fast and the language is for basic high school (think of the Twilight writing). A lot of teens like that though so those will sell more. Some of the material is tough to read about.. though not graphic at all. The torture chambers, sexual references, are for older teens/adults only. The title... The Book of Lost Things.. has so much more meaning to me now that I am done. I just love the title, and I think it is about life. When we are young we all think things are perfect and nothing can happen to us. Jonathan and David both become men in the other world and lost that childhood innocence. I believe that is what the title means.
The Young Adult Book Club is also having a big debate about the portrayal of women.  Some people think most women in the book are portrayed as evil...  be sure to check out this debate here.  What do you think?  Are the women evil or not?

Again I would like to mention that John Connolly the author will be stopping by the YA Book Club on May 15th, 2012 to take YOUR questions.  Please stop by and welcome him and ask anything!  Question and Answer with John Connolly


Oh also my copy is SIGNED.  I got it from the best book store ever... The Tattered Cover  which carried random signed copies of books around the store and I happened to find this book autographed!