What are you Reading?

It's Monday, What are You Reading.  Sheila over at One Persons Journey has an incentive for networking so go over and have fun while adding to your 2011 Wishlist.


I just completed

 

   My review

I'm Currently reading

I loved Firefly Lane and wanted to read another by Kristin Hannah and was giving the opportunity for the ARC.  It is great so far.









and

Christa recommended this one, it is really helping with me understand the medical crisis with my brother more and just how to communicate with him right now. It is still touch and go, a scary sad situation for my family.

What will be next.....

I really have no idea, i'm a mood reader, it will be from my Kindle though, i'll probably go for a thriller.

I hope everyone has an amazing week, I look forward to networking with you.

Blog Names - Blog Hop

Welcome to Tea Time with Marce

It is Book Blogger Hop Time.  Thank you Jennifer for Hosting such a fun networking meme.  Go over to join this week at Crazy For Books

This week's question comes from Jen B. who blogs at I Read Banned Books

"Do you ever wish you would have named your blog something different?"

I love my blog name, I love tea, love to entertain, if I lived near blogging friends I would totally have book tea parties.  What is funny to me though is that I love the gritty, scary, murder, drama, thrilling, keep me on the edge of my seat books, not really a 'tea' feel right, lol.  It suits my personality though, I am totally girly, love the purple, pinks, shoes, jewelry etc but I like to take risk (bungee jumping), watch horrors and thrillers (favourite all time - Silence of the Lambs and my job is employee relations at a hospital (enough drama here, the good, bad and ugly)

When you stop in on my blog I want you to feel comfortable have tea with me - Tea Time with Marce

I also like that it has my name included, so you don't have to remember my blog name and my name it is all wrapped nicely together.

My favourite cup of tea is Earl Grey, what is yours?

Thanks for stopping in, I look forward to networking with my blogging friends and finding new blog(ger)s.

 

 

 

Review - Speak by Laurie Anderson

As I feel bloggers know the summary already I chose to post this from a site called Commonsense Media

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Speak was written by Norah Caroline Piehl

Parents need to know that this National Book Award finalist is about a girl traumatized by a rape (and is then isolated from her peers). Wounded, silent Melinda ditches class, steals passes from teachers, and deliberately cuts herself. Accurate descriptions of the minutiae of high school will appeal to any teen who has felt like an outsider, and when Melinda is finally able to speak, readers will rejoice in her triumphs. This is a gritty, powerful book that teachers and parents could use to launch a number of discussions.  Readers must meld short descriptive passages to form the narrative.

Why I read Speak

1)  I don't understand how anyone has the power or audacity to Ban a book and this one gets a ton of coverage during Ban book week, I wanted to understand what the fuss was all about.

2)  I keep track in my Librarything account who I take recommendations from, I added Speak to my Wishlist after reading the review of Samantha from Booked On a Feeling.

3)  It is highly recommended by young adults and adults (Note, I am not a huge fan of YA)

4)  It helps with a Challenge but really 1 & 2 are the reason.


My Review - 3 More Sugar Please

I would recommend this to moms of daughters between 12 - 18, I think it will be a brilliant book to read together and discuss.

I have a hard time believing Melinda's parents and teachers do not get her help and know obviously something happened for this behaviour to start.  Doesn't everyone know the signs of trauma?  I felt like many of them were having adult tantrums instead of strategizing how to help, it just didn't feel real life to me.

What was fabulous in the book was the genuine voice of Melinda.  Laurie Anderson did an amazing job with her.  She made me smile, sigh, roll my eyes, cheer her on and feel sorry for her.  The toxic emotion she held inside her was brutal and killing her softly.  I loved how the use of creating a tree in Art class was used, very insightful.  It was a sad story but nicely written.

My favourite scene in the book, (not a spoiler), is in the bathroom stall, the start and follow up, great real life therapy.

Why was this book banned?  I am totally dumbfounded, did I miss the bad words, the violence, what did I miss, sigh. The language was definitely relevant teenager language.

Overall it just didn't fully grab me, I read a couple of pages here and there, even considered not reading it.  I can see how many can read this in one go, it was just to youngish for me.  I will definitely share with my friends that have teenage daughters though.  I agree it is an important book to share for them.

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

The idea of In My Mailbox is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other bloggers.

I found this author last year, Sam Hayes, her Thriller Suspense novel Tell-Tale was one of my favourites last year, so I ordered more.  :-)



A tense and powerful emotional thriller from Sam Hayes that asks: Do we ever really know our children?

'What would you do if your teenage son was stabbed to death at school?' That's a question chat-show host Carrie Kent can well imagine posing to any one of her studio guests. Her daily morning TV show deals with real life in all it's grubby glory - from underage sex to benefit swindlers, cheating partners to DNA testing. It's a million miles away from her perfect, polished existence. But when she gets a call to say that her beloved son Max has been murdered, Carrie and her ex-husband Brody will have to enter a world of poverty, fear and violence if they want to find out what really happened. And when the shocking truth is finally revealed, will they be able to live with it...?




A secret is about to destroy a family in Sam Hayes' breathtaking follow-up to BLOOD TIES...

Mary Marshall would do anything for her daughter Julia. A devoted grandmother to Julias children, shes always been the rock her family can rely on. Until now. Mary has a past Julia knows nothing about, and its come back to haunt her Murray French is walking a tightrope. A solicitor struggling with an alcohol problem, hes about to lose his wife Julia and his children to another man: someone successful, someone they deserve. Someone whos everything hes not. Can he ever get his family back? Just when Julia Marshall thinks life is starting to turn around, she stumbles upon the brutalised body of a girl she teaches. And as the terrible present starts to shed light on her mothers past, Julia realises her familys nightmare is only just beginning...


Also, I won books from Book Quoter :-)


  I wanted to read this in order to understand why this was banned and so many bloggers loved it, its ok so far, definitely for fans of YA which I'm not.

&

I also wanted a Jo Nesbo, my 4 year old laughs at the cover :-)  Can you imagine when she can read Fart, lol

Review - All the Pretty Girls by J.T. Ellison

Book summary from Amazon

In this tame debut, the body of a young girl discovered by the side of a Nashville highway puts homicide detective Taylor Jackson and her lowdown boyfriend, FBI Agent John Baldwin, on the trail of the Southern Strangler, a playful, brutal killer who likes to carry his victims across state lines before murdering them and removing their hands. Before long, however, Taylor's reassigned to the suspicious death of a prominent TV personality, leaving John struggling to keep ahead of the Strangler's mounting body count. Meanwhile, Taylor is still recovering from a near-fatal neck injury earned in her last case and worrying over her own demons—not the least of which is John's threat to marry her.


My Review - 3 More Sugar Please

This was a fairly good debut for JT Ellison back in 2007.  As this is my favourite genre it just didn't make the mark for me.  Lots going on but the characters didn't grab me and the first half was just a story, the writing wasn't bad, it just didn't grab me.

I love the idea of female Detective, Lieutenants etc because I love kick ass officers :-)  Taylor was great but the story just took to long to get there.  Also, the romance relationship was a secret to all other agents but it was boring, just a normal relationship so you really didn't care.

What was great, there was a lot going on, 2 killers, a serial rapist and a serial killer, tons of investigation, racing against time, lots of murders and for me 2 great shockers.  All of this just all came together to late in the story.

So all in all a good debut but not enough for me to read more by JT Ellison or more with Lieutenant Taylor.

I chose this book for 2 of my Suspense Challenges.

What are you Reading - Personal Update

It's Monday, What are You Reading.  Sheila over at One Persons Journey has an incentive for networking so go over and have fun while adding to your 2011 Wishlist.


I just completed

My 1st Agatha Christie, review here




Currently Reading 2 books due to personal events, see below.

  and  

So friends, I am dealing with a very scary situation, first in my life.  My 45 year old brother had a massive stroke and we were told he may not survive.  This was on Tues.  Due to the pressure in his head he was unable to fly.  He was air ambulanced to Boston on Friday night and I flew out on Saturday to be with my nephew and niece with him.  It is a day to day scary situation.  He is breathing on his own but unresponsive to us.  He doesn't have feeling in his left side.  If we say something and tell him wiggle his toes he will.  Please send best wishes and prayers.

This is why I haven't been blogging all week.  And sharing a computer with an 18 and 24 year old, well i'm sure you can imagine.

I love to read one book at a time but I am so unfocused but these 2 seem to be working so far.

HUGS

New Release from Mary Higgins Clark

Challenge Dates:  September 1, 2010 - August 31, 2011

Go here to join

List of Mary Higgins Clark books

All participants that have at least one review posted when Mary Higgins Clark releases her next book will be added into an International Giveaway to win the Hardcover.

Her new one will be released April 5, 2011 - Here are 2 covers I have came across.

Book Summary

Thirty-two year old Alexandra Moreland is a rising star in the architectural world and lives in Manhattan. But when she is plagued by identity theft, her successful life is turned upside down. Someone has gained access to her bank accounts, credit cards, personal background, and is now impersonating her. Then, with overwhelming circumstantial evidence stacked against her, Alexandra is arrested for the murder of a woman she claims she's never met. Or has she?

Review - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Summary from back of book

First, there were ten - a curious assortment of stranger summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found.  All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal - and a secret that will seal their fate.  For each has been marked for murder.  One by one they fall prey.  Before the weekend is out, there will be none.  And only the dead are above suspicion.

My Review - 4 Great to the Last Drop

There were many that said I won't be able to solve the crime and they were right, lol, I thought of 3 options and all 3 were wrong, i'm proud to say my 1st thought was the last dead, do I get credit for that, hahahaha.

This was my very first read by Agatha Christie, the book many bloggers have talked about.  It was so important I read it I put it for 3 Challenges, I try to read different books for each challenge but felt this would be my major crossover one especially since I have had it over a year.

I liked the idea of the poem Ten Little Indians being used for this mystery and it was on every guests bedroom wall as a remember, talk about in your face, you are going to die, brutal and scary.

The first chapter with the intro of all the characters and getting into the story was one of the best I have ever read, it totally intrigued me and made me want more.

Entertaining is what this was, I thought it was executed amazingly well, great writing craft talent AChristie had.  She is known as the Queen of Crime, if your curious I say go for it.

I have this book but wasn't in the mood to read it so I downloaded it on my Kindle :-)  I just love my kindle.

What is your favourite Agatha Christie crime novel?

Review - motherless child (stories from a life) by Sarah Gordon Weathersby

Imagine you gave a baby up for adoption forty years ago, and after years of trying to find her, she finds you. Now come the hard questions. She's healthy, beautiful, and successful, but she wants to know why you gave her away and why you didn't marry her father. And there is also the unspoken question of "What kind of black woman gives her baby away?" How do you explain to her that giving her away was the best gift you could offer? This is Sarah Weathersby's first published work, a coming-of-age-in-the-sixties-single-black-pregnant and on the way to Germany, memoir.

My Review - 3 1/2 More Sugar Please

I can describe this memoir in one word, Soulful, full of the down deep emotional feelings.  You get a good feeling for Sarah Weathersby's personality, a strong genuine black woman.  I felt like I was having tea with my long lost grandmother and was looking at her in awe.

It is my goal this year to read memoirs after falling in love with The Glass Castle.  So memoirs and short stories are out of my comfort zone but when I read the review for this one over on Just One More Paragraph I knew I wanted to read it.  I will say I wanted to read about the adoption and reuniting of them but the book was not, there were glimpses of that in some of the stories, so it wasn't what I expected but I still loved her voice and the stories.  She wrote 'Writing this book helped me to purge the pain of those years. It was never intended to absolve my guilt or to transfer my guilt to anyone else.  The writing was painful.'   I laughed at loud at a part when she wrote "If you're reading this now, Edna, you can say, "AHA!"  to funny.  She had a warm hearted humour.  Even with all the pain of those years, I am sure her daughter was able to forgive and both mom and daughter are proud of each other for what they have accomplished.

This memoir is written extremely well and Sarah Weathersby is a well traveled lady, she experienced 1st hand some very crucial historical moments, like Martin Luther King's assassination.  

Surprise WINNER for the I Want More Challenge participants.

I was going to do Monthly Giveaways but as there are 6 reviews up already and the minimum requirement for this Challenge is 2 books, I have decided to do it quarterly, January, May, August and December.  May and June will only be participants that have reviewed at least 1 book and December will be participants and an overall end of Challenge winner.

The Surprise winner this month is #5 Barb @ Sugarbeat's Books - Congratulations, email me at marceblogspot(at)hotmail(dot)com

You can choose book(s) of your choice from Book Depository for $20

Go here to join the Challenge.........

Level of Participation
Waited to long:   2 - 4 books
Give me more:    5 - 8 books
Never to much:   9 - 12 books

Go here to Post your Reviews


Hope you are enjoying your reading year so far, can you believe January is gone........