Ash Wednesday

It's Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  Though my husband is Catholic, I'm not, but I aways give up something for Lent.  I try to pick something that has meaning for me.  Otherwise, what's the point? I once worked for an attorney who each year for Lent gave up watermelon. He hated watermelon.

Some years I've given up sweets, chocolate, fast food - last year I gave up buying books for myself. That was hard as one of my favorite children's authors did a book signing right in the middle of Lent.

This year I am giving up checking out books from the library, unless it's job related.  I often check out books from the public library to supplement the small collection at my school or  for teachers who need a particular book that our library doesn't own.  I'm also in the process of starting up a photography business, so I'm allowing myself to check out books related to that.  But, all those wonderful mysteries, young adult and fantasy novels that I can't resist will have to wait until after Lent.

I patronize two library systems.  My local library doesn't allow you to suspend your holds, so I had to delete them all.  The library system just down the road in another town, does allow you to suspend your holds, so I've suspended them all until just a few days before Easter.  This will allow the books to go to others, but once the suspension date has passed, I will go back on the list in the spot I was when I suspended them.

I'm hoping this will allow me to read all the books I already have checked out. (I can't help it. Every time I see a book I want to read, I don't just put it on my to read list, I request it from the library - usually.)  And should I somehow manage to read everything I already have checked out, well, I do have an entire book shelf that is over flowing with books I own, but have not yet read.  My dream is to some day win the lottery so I can just stay home and read to my heart's content. One can dream right?

What are you giving up for Lent?

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

What would you do if you could re-live your last day before your death? What would you change? What would you keep? What would you cherish?

Those are the questions facing Samantha "Sam" Kensington in Lauren Oliver's debut novel Before I Fall.

GoodReads Summary:


Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.


At first, I really liked this book. It was a young adult version of Groundhog Day, only much more serious. Oliver did a fabulous job of capturing all the emotion and angst of a typical teenage girl.  I liked how Oliver shows Sam's range of emotions and how she grows as she continually repeats her last day. But it was that continued repetition of the last day that finally got to me.  For me, there were a few too many repetitions. I found myself just wishing the story would conclude.


I'm not sorry I read the book, but it just wasn't quite as good as I had expected.  Most female teen readers I know would probably enjoy this book.  I don't want to give away the ending, but I will say that after being frustrated with how long it took to get to the ending, the ending does redeem the book somewhat.

Teaser Tuesdays - March 8th

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

~Grab your current read
~Open to a random page
~Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
~~~BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
~Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

From Delirium by Lauren Oliver


"Even then she refused the procedure and the comfort it would give her, and on the day the cure was to be administered it took four scientists and several needles full of tranquilizer before she would submit, before she would stop scratching with her long, sharp nails, which had gone uncut for weeks, and screaming and cursing and calling for Thomas.  I watched them come for her, to bring her to the labs; I sat in a corner, terrified, while she spit and hissed and kicked, and I thought of my mom and dad."

A Deadly Cliche by Ellery Adams

Goodreads Summary:


While walking her poodle, Olivia Limoges discovers a dead body buried in the sand. Could it be connected to the bizarre burglaries plaguing Oyster Bay, North Carolina? At every crime scene, the thieves set up odd tableaus: a stick of butter with a knife through it, dolls with silver spoons in their mouths, a deck of cards with a missing queen. Olivia realizes each setup represents a cliché. And who better to decode the cliché clues than her Bayside Book Writers group?

Adding to the intensity of the story is the looming tropical storm/hurricane Ophelia and the possible discovery of Olivia's father, long thought to have perished in a hurricane during Olivia's childhood.

ast summer I read a Killer Plot by Ellery Adams because the author sent it to me for review. I BOUGHT A Deadly Cliche because I enjoyed the first book so much and I couldn't wait to find out what happens to the characters from Oyster Bay.

Adams has created a wonderful community that readers will want to visit over and over. I'm a big fan of Olivia. Even though she is often reserved in her interactions with others, you can tell that she want's to be less cold. She's trying to loosen up. She's a beautiful, caring, intelligent, self-reliant woman, but she's not perfect. And  she doesn't think she is.

The other characters are just as like able: sweet Laurel, who wants an identity that includes a career in addition to motherhood; Millay, the tough but vulnerable young bartender;   Harris, the young, unassuming computer geek, who just happens to more attractive than he realizes; and Rawlings, Olivia's love interest, who has hidden depths and is the Chief of Police  - are just a few of the delightful characters in this series.

One of the things that makes this series stand out for me, is that while it is indeed a murder mystery, at times the murder really seems to take a back seat to the development and growth of the characters in the book. It's the lives and stories of these characters that take the forefront rather than the murder.  However, don't think that the murder is something the author has just thrown in to make it a murder mystery.  A Deadly Cliche is a well woven mystery that any Cozy fan will enjoy.

To be cliche-ish A Deadly Cliche is a "top of the line" mystery.  If mysteries are your game, you should run out and get a copy today.

Saturday Snapshot - March 5th

Saturday Snapshot is a weekly meme hosted by Alyce, from At Home With Books.  All we have to do is post a favorite photo we've snapped, or one captured by family or friends. (No internet poaching.)

My oldest Miniature Schnauzer (I have two), Pepper, loves my husband dearly. She's supposed to be my dog. And she does follow me around in protective mode. But she adores my husband. However, I'm not so sure she likes him in Biker Mode.

Saturday Snapshot - February 26th

Saturday Snapshot is a weekly meme hosted by Alyce, from At Home With Books.  All we have to do is post a favorite photo we've snapped, or one captured by family or friends. (No internet poaching.)

I recently bought the new Nikon D7000. It finally arrived and I've been trying to get as much "play" time with it as possible. We had a dusting of snow yesterday. Snow pictures are some of my favorites to play with.

The Nostalgic Librarian: Elixir Giveaway - Signed Copy!

The Nostalgic Librarian: Elixir Giveaway - Signed Copy!: "Photo from Goodreads.com Here is another giveaway, this time for a signed copy of Elixir by Hilary Duff, with Elise Allen. I will be..."

Check out this great giveaway. Take a look around the blog as well. You'll end up adding to your to be read list.