Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page each Monday so that other book lovers and bloggers can see and comment on what's in the mailbox. Thanks Marcia for a great way of posting our new (or new to us) books!!

Have you read a book on my list? Please comment on it. It's possible I will use your comment and link back to you when I post my review of a particular book!

To Review:

The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate (Thanks to Pocket Books for this review copy)
Sand to Stone and Back Again by Nancy Bo Flood (Thanks to the publisher for this review copy)
A Courtesan's Scandal by Julia London (Thanks to Pocket Books for this review copy)


Purchased:

The entire set of 7 books of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
Living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy by Trina Allen
Sense and Sensbility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austin and Ben Winters
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens


Giveaway Books I Have Won:


What's in your box this week?

Movie Review: A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey

This is my first, and hopefully not my last movie review! Yesterday, we took the family to see "A Christmas Carol" starring Jim Carrey. This particular review will be on the 3D version of the movie.

I do not have enough words to tell you just how wonderful this movie really is!! I have been a fan of Jim Carrey for many, many years and this movie just proves even more what a great actor he is! I didn't realize until the credits rolled that he played several of the parts!

I loved the 3D aspects of this show! It was (obviously) snowing throughout the entire movie but there were times it looked like you could stick your hand out and feel the snow. Being from the North (and now suffering in the South), I LOVED this part!! I love snow and never get to see enough of it. This would make a great 4D movie too!

There were parts of this movie that I thought might scare my little ones (ages 3 and 5). The scene where Marley comes back from the dead might be a little scary to some, as there are a couple of "jump" scenes. The Ghosts aren't too scary but for some it might be a little uncomfortable. For most of the movie, my little ones kept their 3D glass off and it didn't seem to affect their viewing the movie. In some cases, it might have made what I thought might scare them a little less offensive.

I will admit, I'm a softy and did tear up a couple of times in the scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Future. Seeing the reactions of Scrooge's character in response to the outcome of Tiny Tim tore at my heart.

Overall, I would give this movie 5 out of 5 stars!! This is a great family movie, especially during the holiday season. I had originally intended for us to see this on Thanksgiving day after we had our meal but hubby and I decided we just couldn't wait!! Once we viewed the movie, we made a trip to our local Borders and bought a copy of the book to read to our children. We have decided that it will become one of the traditional things we will do with our children during the holiday season...read the book and watch the movie. This is one movie we will purchase to keep for many years to come!

You can view a video trailer of this show here. For those with small children or those who are concerned about what your children/family might see/hear, there is only one "bad word" that I recall hearing in the movie and if you are not listening critically, you might not even hear it. Otherwise, this is a mom-approved, child-friendly, family-recommended movie!

Happy Holidays!!

If I Stay by Gayle Foreman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
If I Stay by Gayle Forman is a book about Mia and her family and the decisions that are made quickly in life. There's a terrible car accident and Mia finds herself having an out of body experience. As she hears about the status of her other family members, she wonders if she's the only one to ever go through what she's experiencing. She sees her family and friends in the waiting room of the hospital, and the way she looks in the ICU hospital bed. Throughout this book, Mia has flashbacks of life before the accident, but she has no recollection of the accident itself. She is faced with the dilemma of whether to go or stay. After a series of one-sided conversations with her family and friends, Mia's mind is at peace with her decision. What does she decide? You'll have to read to find out!

Overall, this book just didn't quite cut it for me. There were parts that I thought drug out a bit. I did like the grumpy vs nice nurse and the scene with Adam trying to get into the ICU. There were parts I laughed, parts that caused me to cry, and parts that downright made me mad. This was an ok book and I would recommend it to the young adult audience.

This book was recommended to me by a student of mine, Mindi

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A-Z Wednesday

Welcome to A-Z Wednesday!!

To join, here's all you have to do: Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.

Post: 1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)
4~ Come back here and leave your link in the comments.
If you've already reviewed this book you can add it also.
Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment.
(We all love comments, don't we?)
Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: "M"

Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This tender, revelatory memoir recalls the two years Holloway spent as an impressionable Peace Corps volunteer in the remote village of Nampossela in Mali, West Africa. It centers on her close friendship with Monique, the village's overburdened midwife. When Holloway (now a nonprofit development specialist) arrived in Nampossela in 1989, she was 22; Monique was only two years her senior. Yet Monique, barely educated, working without electricity, running water, ambulances or emergency rooms, was solely responsible for all births in her village, tending malnourished and overworked pregnant women in her makeshift birthing clinic. With one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world, these Malian women sometimes had to work right up until and directly after giving birth and had no means of contraception. Holloway especially noted Monique's status as an underpaid female whose male family members routinely claimed much of her pay. Monique shared her emotional life with Holloway, who in turn campaigned for her rights at work and raised funds for her struggling clinic. Holloway's moving account vividly presents the tragic consequences of inadequate prenatal and infant health care in the developing world and will interest all those concerned about the realities of women's lives outside the industrialized world. B&w photos, map. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

I bought this on the recommendation of Sheila

I am an Amazon Affiliate. I purchased this book from Amazon.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

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, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
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!

Please avoid spoilers!!

The day before I left, he informed me that he was "nine tenths thirsty" and I almost peed myself laughing.

Taken from If I Stay by Gail Forman

I am an Amazon Associate. This book is borrowed from a student of mine, Mindi

October Wrap Up

This is one of my favorite times of the year! I love the holiday season and the weather that comes with it! October has been a better reading month for me than September, although I add more to my to-be-read pile than whittling it down! I do think that might be a common blogger issue!

One disappointing thing for me this month was that I didn't participate in the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon. I just couldn't commit with having 3 children at home (2 of them being ages 3 and 5) and not to mention, we just had a really busy weekend that weekend! I did manage to read...wait for it....a whole 10 pages during the Read-a-Thon. Yes, I'm embarrassed!

My favorite feature of October in terms of books is that I read what I believe to be the best book of 2009. If you've not read "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, you are missing out!!! It should be the very next book you read!!!

Well, here's the wrap up! Be sure to read to the end for a special announcement!

October					# pages read in October		Rating
Bo's Cafe by Bill Thrall, John Lynch, Bruce McNicol					240		4.6
Breaking the Bank by Yona Zeldis McDonough					349		4.0
Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines					324		4.0
Beautiful Mess by Tom Roland					290		5.0
Meridian by Amber Kizer					305		4.0
Vampire Kisses: The Beginning by Ellen Schribner					562		4.5
Messy Tessy by Leah Orr					36		5

The Help by Kathryn Stockett 451 5
Field of Blood by Eric Wilson 403 4

This is a total of 2960 pages and an average of 4.46 stars for the month. I also hosted several giveaways, which I will update soon.

Thanks for being a dedicated reader! I hope to continue to provide good, quality book reviews for your reading pleasure!

I am a team captain for my school's Relay for Life team. As a part of my dedication to eradicate cancer, I'm going to donate $5 for every book I read between October 2009 and May 2010 (when the Relay event takes place). Would you please join me in my quest to rid our world of cancer? If so, click on the button and it will take you to my team page where you can make a donation. Thank you so much!! (Total donation so far: $45)

Field of Blood by Eric Wilson

Field of Blood by Eric Wilson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is one of the most interesting books I've ever read. This book starts out with a graphic depiction of the death of Judas. It's his blood that allows for the Collectors to come for many years afterward.

Gina is a young girl who can't understand why her mom cuts her all the time. I thought Nikki was a little neurotic myself and she's not the kind of mom I would want!!

What made this book so interesting is that it's a "Christian vampire" novel. Seems a little oxymoronic! Eric Wilson does a great job of depicting the scenes between Romania and the United States. I loved the rich history described in the book.

These are not your "normal" vampires. I love their method of feeding! It's a bit unique, but not one that I would want to be subject to!

One of my hangups with this book is that I think I got a little to caught up in the symbolism. I am also not a fan of books or movies that switch back and forth from present day to the future, back to the past, and so on. I have a hard time keeping it all straight!!

Character-wise, I HATED Nikki...she's purely evil. I had hoped she'd get her pay back before the book was over. My favorite character is Cal. He's just so mysterious and I hope to see him again in Haunt of the Jackals.

I would give this book an overall 4.5 stars. I will be starting the sequel as soon as I whittle down a few other books for tours this month.

I am an Amazon Associate. I personally purchased this book from Amazon. I receive no monetary compensation for my book reviews.

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