Favorite Children's Book of 2013

My kids read a lot of books.

Every Thursday, they each bring home two books and we also visit the public library frequently.  I love finding books that have just come out and requesting them at the library.  It's always a surprise to them when we walk up to the 'holds' area and there is a book waiting for them.

My favorite book of 2013 is The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt.  I love it so much that I bought a copy for my kids' school and we're donating it to the library when we go back to school in the new year!

Have you ever donated a book to your kids' library?  Did you know that they LOVE it?

October Book Club Selection

The winner of a copy of Mrs. Poe is Brittin!   Congratulations!

I don't know about you but I really enjoyed the last book?  The Aviator's Wife was such a good read and I feel like I learned so much.  It's no secret that I love historical fiction so I was excited to find this next book.

Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen

1845: New York City is a sprawling warren of gaslit streets and crowded avenues, bustling with new immigrants and old money, optimism and opportunity, poverty and crime. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is all the rage—the success of which a struggling poet like Frances Osgood can only dream. As a mother trying to support two young children after her husband’s cruel betrayal, Frances jumps at the chance to meet the illustrious Mr. Poe at a small literary gathering, if only to help her fledgling career. Although not a great fan of Poe’s writing, she is nonetheless overwhelmed by his magnetic presence— and the surprising revelation that he admires her work. 

What follows is a flirtation, then a seduction, then an illicit affair . . . and with each clandestine encounter, Frances finds herself falling slowly and inexorably under the spell of her mysterious, complicated lover. But when Edgar’s frail wife Virginia insists on befriending Frances as well, the relationship becomes as dark and twisted as one of Poe’s tales. And like those gothic heroines whose fates are forever sealed, Frances begins to fear that deceiving Mrs. Poe may be as impossible as cheating death itself. . . .

Enter to win a copy of Mrs. Poe by Sunday at Midnight!  A Winner will be chosen on Monday morning.  Open to US residents only.


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Fall Reading List

The leaves are turning and my fundraising drive at school is about to come to a close for a few months.  That means more time for the things that I want to do and I want to read!

Here are the books I'm hoping to read in the next 11 weeks.  What is on your winter reading list?

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

The Light Between Oceans: A Novel

Sisterland: A Novel

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book II: The Hidden Gallery

Bonding with Grandma

When I was growing up, every weekend you'd find me in the living room....sitting on the green couch with a book in one hand and a Pepsi in the other.  I'd read all weekend!

You'd often find my Mom doing the same thing.  We were both vivacious readers and we'd often share books.  Danielle Steel was our favorite back then.

My daughter has caught the reading bug and I was thrilled to see Meghan and her Grandma engrossed in books together.

We're got another reader in the family!

My First Flight and a WINNER

My first airplane ride was with my Dad when I was 10 years old.  He had been working on his pilot's license for two years and I'd spent hour upon hour at the Weld County Airport looking at airplanes and watching him take off and land.

I was his first passenger after he got his license, I remember feeling so small in the big leather seat.  He flew a Cessna 150 back then so I'd crane my neck to see out of the window and down to the earth below.  I love the smell of airplane fuel and my Dad let me help him with the check list.

The best part was when he let me hold the yoke and fly the airplane!  I couldn't believe that I was really flying and I loved every moment of it.  Year later, I'd try to get my pilot's license but I started getting air sick.  I've got a log book with a bunch of take offs but no landings.  

The winner of a copy of The Aviator's Wife is.......

Ricki from Art @ Home!!

August Selection: The Aviator's Wife

I love when I put a book on hold at the library and it comes up quickly for me to read! I've been wanting to read The Aviator's Wife for quite some time now.

 I first read about it in the newspaper one lazy Sunday. I love historical fiction so I thought it might be the perfect book for me.  I'm a couple chapters in....and I realized that THIS is the book I want to pick for the August Book Club selection!

With both of my kids in school all day, it looks like I'm going to have a lot more time to read!  I'm so excited about this that I can barely contain myself.

If you would like to read The Aviator's Wife: A Novel with me, then please leave me a comment telling me when you rode in an airplane for the first time.

I will take entires until Wednesday, August 21st and then a winner will be selected!  Only readers from the US please.  

Eleanor and Park

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.

So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.

I’m not kidding, he says.

You should be, she says, we’re 16.

What about Romeo and Juliet?

Shallow, confused, then dead.

I love you, Park says.

Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.

I’m not kidding, he says.

You should be.

I have to give all of the credit for the selection of this book to Mimi.  She had mentioned it a few months ago and I put it on my list of possible book club selections.  I am so happy that y'all picked this book because I think I love it!

I take that back.  I know that I love it!  I started reading this book a few days after my brother Robert passed away and it was the perfect distraction.  I was able to escape to 1986 for an hour or so each night and savored every page.

In some ways I could relate to Eleanor with her soft, full body and not right clothes.  Being different when you are a teenager is a curse and hard to overcome.  I dang near had a panic attack every time the book found Eleanor in her house with a Mom that wouldn't protect her.  I worried for her and her siblings.

The oasis in Eleanor's life was her relationship with Park and the refuge at his parents house where she was able to see what a real family looks like.  Even thought park and his Dad had their differences, his Dad still loved him and trusted him.

The ending.....left me wanting more.  

Have you read Eleanor and Park?  We've been discussing the book in our facebook group.  Join us!