Archive for August, 2009

Sunday Salon #2

TSSbadge3 Sunday Salon #2Call me crazy but I joined three more book challenges this week.  I can see how easy it is to become hooked on these things and I’ve barely begun!  I’ve already posted about the R.I.P. IV, or R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IV, challenge and have been discovering so many titles I’d like to read for that but it’s really only feasible to read four or five considering I have all the other challenges work on.  I’ve also joined The Dream King Challenge (yes, Neil Gaiman) and finally put the badge up for the Texty Ladies eBook Challenge that I’m hosting with my fellow Texty Ladies.  I’ll post more about these later this week.

I’ve discovered that author Anne Frasier will be having book signings in the area throughout September and I do hope I can get to one of them.  She’s an incredible author and woman with much wit and I’d love to meet her in person.  I interviewed her for the Texty Ladies blog and bump into her now and again online.  She’s also a fellow Minnesota gal although she also resides in a church across state lines.  How cool is that?  I’m nervous to meet her but I do hope I get that chance.  She seems like the kind of woman you’d like to hang out with over cocktails.

Book purchases were down this week as funds were low but I did pick up the following two mags published by Stamptington & Company:

Art Journaling

Somerset Studio Autumn

I’d love to own every one of their issues because they’re filled with beautiful art, words, design and ideas and I wish I had the time and talent to recreate most of them.  Since I’m interested in creating more jewelry and possibly starting up a business, I’m especially interested in the following publication but will have to put off my purchase of it for a few weeks.

Belle Armoire Jewelry

Aren’t the covers alone a work of art?  I love how all these are made with thick slightly glossy/slightly matte paper and are thicker and heavier than most magazines.  I hope to have one of my own creations appear in one or more of these publications some day.  Sigh…

I find myself unsure which book to start reading next.  I started The Red Tree and even though the writing is excellent, I’m not quite in the mood for it yet.  Unfortunately, mood plays a huge part in whether or not I can continue reading something.  I try to get past it but there you go.  With all these challenges I’ve committed to, I’d better pick something quick!

My personal book, blog and writing goals for this week are:

  • Begin and finish at least one book for one of my challenges.  I’m thinking I could read the last two trade paperbacks in The Sandman story for The Dream King Challenge.  My husband has been patiently waiting for my to finish them so we can discuss the story but I sense a little restlessness on his part and I do look forward to seeing how everything pulls together.
  • Finish writing my review for Vanished by Kat Richardson.  I believe this was one of my goals for last week but I’m having difficulty putting words to paper, or screen, because I love this series so much.
  • Prepare Poetry Play Thursday and eBook Challenge posts for Texty Ladies.
  • Work on the development of a new, exciting blog my husband and I are creating together.
  • Decide whether or not I’m going to write a 750 word memoir piece for an online literary magazine contest.  If the answer is yes, write the damn thing.
  • Write at least one poem.

I wish accomplish these things.  Yes, I will!

Happy reading, blogging, writing and what-have-you!

Book Review: Uncommon Grounds

UncommonGrounds sm Book Review:  Uncommon GroundsUncommon Grounds Book Review:  Uncommon Grounds

by Sandra Balzo

Publisher: Worldwide Library

245 pages

The story:

Maggie Thorsen, former PR exec and current partner in Uncommon Grounds, walks into her new coffee shop on opening day only to discover her partner Patricia dead, death by espresso machine. Who could have killed Patricia, and what does this mean for the future of the shop?

Signs point to their third partner and friend, Caron, as the possible killer but Maggie won’t believe it and sets out to save her friend and their business. During her mission to find the murderer and save Uncommon Grounds, Maggie discovers more than she bargained for, including marital affairs, objectionable politic maneuvers, and an unexpected attraction to the most bothersome character in town.

Will Maggie’s meddling go too far? Was Patricia really the intended victim? And, does Uncommon Grounds have a future or will it take the espress route to bittersville?

My thoughts:

I originally read this book because I’d discovered there was another coffeehouse series published besides Cleo Coyle’s Coffee House Mystery series and I wanted to see how they’d differ. As you can see from my current banner, I love coffee, and the coffee house setting feels like home to me.

Let’s just say right now that Sandra Balzo is a hoot! I love the series’ heroine, Maggie, because we see her faults and love her anyway. She’s got a good heart, the desire for justice, and the cajones to do the dirty work required to ferret out the truth. I especially enjoyed her relationship with Frank, her dog, and the way she knocked Sheriff Pavlik down a peg or two when she’d had enough of his bullying.

Plenty of red herrings keep the reader from guessing who the killer is, which I appreciated since all too often I figure it out early and am then left with deciding whether or not to finish the book. As Maggie uncovers clue after possible clue, she discovers her Brookhill community and the people she cares for are not all they seem. I liked that she was willing to risk danger to get to the truth but at times she seemed reckless and a bit naive. Gotta love her, though, and the humor throughout this book is reason enough to read it.

You won’t be disappointed in Sandra Balzo’s Uncommon Grounds. It’s a fun read that keeps you guessing. I know I look forward to the next book in the series, Grounds for Murder (Maggy Thorsen Mysteries) Book Review:  Uncommon Grounds.

Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril…IV!

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I’ve entered yet another book challenge and it certainly fits for this time of year as the days grow shorter, nights a bit darker and thoughts of Halloween have us searching for that good kind of scare. Carl, a self-described Renaissance Geek, created the first R.I.P. (or Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge four years ago and describes the type of literature to be read as:

“gothic literature: dark nights; decaying, haunted castles, menacing forests; pervasive gloom; ancient prophecies, damsels in distress (or at least at the wrong place in the wrong time); blood-curdling scrams…stories with atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife.”

Just what I’ve been itching to read. We’re asked to read something from the following genres:

  • Mystery
  • Suspense
  • Thriller
  • Dark Fantasy
  • Gothic
  • Horror
  • Supernatural

and there are two simple goals to the challenge:

  1. Have fun.
  2. Share that fun with others.

There are multiple levels of participation (see my chosen levels below) which you will find on the main post. The challenge runs from September 1st through October 31st but you can start now. You’re not required to commit to a predetermined list of books but it’s fun and helpful to list a “reading pool” so we can get ideas from each other. Here’s mine:

  1. The Red Tree R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Caitlin R. Kiernan
  2. Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders (P.S.) R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Neil Gaiman
  3. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, Volume One R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Gordon Dahlquist
  4. Heart-Shaped Box R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Joe Hill
  5. The Spiritualist: : A Novel R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Megan Chance
  6. Witch Hill R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Marion Zimmer Bradley
  7. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  8. Scarletti Curse (Candleglow) R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Christine Feehan
  9. Midnight Bayou R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Nora Roberts
  10. Garden of Darkness R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Anne Frasier
  11. The Tell-Tale Heart (Bantam Classics) R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Edgar Allen Poe
  12. Renfield: Slave of Dracula R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Barbara Hambly
  13. Mina: The Dracula Story Continues R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Elaine Bergstrom
  14. A Dozen Black Roses: Poetry from A Dark Side Dwell by Drk Siren
  15. The Ghost Orchid: A Novel R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Carol Goodman
  16. The Ghost in Love: A Novel R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Jonathan Carroll
  17. Her Fearful Symmetry: A Novel R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Audrey Neffenegger
  18. The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV! by Diane Setterfield.

I’ll most likely add to this list as I find more books that intrigue me.

If you’re interested in joining us, you’ll find all the rules at Carl’s blog, Stainless Steel Droppings. You may put links to you book challenge reviews at the R.I.P. IV Review Site. Please consider joining us! If you have any ideas for books to read, please leave them in my comments. Thanks and happy reading!

rip4first R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril...IV!

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