Guess Who's Back?

Yes, I mean me! =)  Surgery was successful.  I'm still a little sore, but am back to functioning on my own.  Thanks to my surgeon, I have two glorious weeks off from work! =)

My husband about drove me nuts trying to take care of me ... I know he was concerned and all that jazz, but I am the strong independent type.  I can only handle so much care and concern before it drives me bonkers.  He has FINALLY gone back to work today leaving me alone in blissful peace and quiet.

What better way to celebrate than with a review, right? =)  Stay tuned for my next post ...

M.I.A.

Hello faithful followers and newbies! =)

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be M.I.A. for a few days beginning after this post.  I am typing this before I head off for some outpatient surgery.  It's a simple procedure to remove my gallbladder, something I'm sure quite a few of you have had done before.

What makes me a little nervous about this is that, despite the fact that I am 33 years old, this is my first surgery EVER!!!  When I went to the emergency room this past Sunday, they gave me my first IV ever!  =)  I'm just taking this as one more experience in my resume of life and am kind of looking forward to the experience.  I'm not going to enjoy the sore feeling or feeling like an invalid, but it is only short-lived.  Plus, since I'll be out of work for a week or two, it will give me PLENTY of time to read, read, read ... of which I am excited about!!! =)

So, even though I may be M.I.A. for two to three days, please be assured that as soon as I am able to get back on the computer, I will return.

Happy Reading! =)

Multiple Giveaways!

Do you have a giveaway that you'd like to create more traffic for?  If so, then add your giveaway linky to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer's blog here.

She has created this weekly meme as a way for people to find a bunch of different giveaways in one spot.  So, go, enter your linky for your giveaway.  While you're there, you may see a giveaway you would like to enter!

Happy Reading all! =)

Teaser Tuesday #5

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should Be Reading.  To participate, you need to:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser

This week's teaser comes from:

When we were together, she become quieter and sharper when she did speak.  Then she made excuses, leaving us to walk farther down the beach, and I would see her in the distance, her back very straight, even when she stooped to examine something.

In My Mailbox (#6)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren.  This meme was began so we could all share what books we received the previous week ... whether it was in the mail, from the library or what we bought at a store.

From the Author:

Lodestone - Book One: The Sea of Storms by Mark Whiteway:  Ail-Kar, a white-hole portal from another universe, rains meteoroids onto the surface of the planet Kelanni. But the so-called "lodestones" behave according to different physical laws, transforming Kelanni's society. With the aid of the fearsome Keltar in their flying cloaks, the Kelanni are being put to forced labor to mine the lodestones. Shann, an orphan with a fiery disposition, witnesses a battle between a Keltar and a stranger bearing a similar flying cloak. She tracks down the stranger, and learns of the technology behind the Keltars' power, joining him on a mission to free the slaves and cut off their supply of lodestones. Meanwhile Keris, a Keltar, is sent on a mission to track down the rebels. She is attacked by a flying creature and saved by the enigmatic Chandara. At their Great Tree, she learns that a mysterious "Prophet" is out to destroy the Kelanni people. Their only hope is a powerful instrument hidden in the distant past. Pursued by Keltar, the party will encounter bizarre creatures, ancient technologies and terrifying dangers. Finally, they must seek to cross a massive storm barrier in order to reach the other side of their world, where a world-shaking revelation awaits.

Lovers and Beloveds: An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom Book One by MeiLin Miranda:  The Tremont family has conquered kingdom after kingdom, and rules its continent. Now, Tremont stands on the cusp of an industrial revolution; trains and steam engines are new, and the Scholar Priests of Eddin's Temple make exciting discoveries daily. Magic is long forgotten, but the Gods are not.
Prince Temmin must now leave his childhood home to live with his father--Harsin the Fourth, by the Grace of Pagg, King of the Greater Kingdom of Tremont and Litta, Emperor of Inchar. Harsin expects his son to become the kind of ruthless, pragmatic man he is. But his immortal advisor Teacher has other plans, involving the seductive human avatars of the Gods called the Lovers. Teacher intends to bind Temmin to the Lovers' Temple, bring him closer to his people, and set him on a path that will lead to ultimate glory for Tremont--or its end.

From Various Sites:

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier:  From the moment she's struck by lightning as a baby, it is clear Mary Anning is different.  Though poor and uneducated, she learns on the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast that she has a unique gift: "the eye" to spot fossils no one else can see.  When she uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious community on edge, the townspeople to gossip - and the scientific world alight with both admiration and controversy.  Prickly Elizabeth Philpot, a middle-class spinster and also a fossil hunter, becomes Mary Anning's unlikely champion and friend, and together they forge a path to some of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century.

I received this book from FSB Media in exchange for my review.

Then Sings My Soul (Special Edition) by Robert J. Morgan:  Is there a festive season of the year that is complete without one of your favorite hymns?  Not only do hymns connect you to great memories, but they also reveal the faith of those who lived throughout history.  As Robert Morgan explored the stories behind some of the best-loved hymns, he found fascinating accounts of tribulations, triumphs, struggles, and hope - ordinary people who connected with God in amazing ways, sharing their experiences through song.

I received this book from BookSneeze in exchange for my review.


Bought:

Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard:  Dudley the Stork's new house is haunted!  When the clock strikes twelve there are thumps in the den, creaks on the stairs, and bumps everywhere.  Dudley's friend Trevor Hog says Madam Kreepy will find out what's causing the spooky noises.  And so, just before midnight, Dudley's friends gather with Madam Kreepy.  No one can guess what will happen when the clock strikes twelve.


Home in Time for Christmas by Heather Graham:  Centuries ago rose petals drifted gently to the ground ... like the snow on this Massachusetts night.

Melody Tarleton is driving home for Christmas when a man - clad in Revolutionary War-era costume - appears out of nowhere, right in the path of her car.  Shaken, she takes the injured stranger in, listening with concern to Jake Mallory's fantastic claim that he's a Patriot soldier executed by British authorities.

Bringing Jake to her parents' house, Melody concocts a story to explain the handsome holiday guest with courtly manners and strange clothes.  Mark, her close friend who wishes he were more, is skeptical, but her family is fascinated.  So is Melody.  Jake is passionate, charming and utterly unlike anyone she's ever met.  Can he really be who he claims?  And can a man from the distant past be the future she truly longs for?


A Blue and Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott:  A rusty old tin box holding nineteenth-century letters and diaries is unearthed at the Covington Homestead, and the contents reveal a thrilling drama to longtime housemates Grace, Amelia, and Hannah.  Two Civil War soldiers - one Union and one Confederate - were found dying on a battlefield by an old woman and nursed back to health.  After the war, they chose to stay in Covington, caring for their rescuer as she grew frail ... but they never contacted the families they had left behind.

With Christmas coming, Amelia is inspired.  What is she and her friends were to find the two soldiers' descendants and invite them to Covington to meet?  What better holiday gift could there be than the truth about these two heroic men and their dramatic shared fate?  With little time left, the ladies spring into action to track down the men's families ... and to make preparations for the most memorable, most historic Covington Christmas yet.