FRIDAY: Love Her to Death and Love You Madly

Second in the Daytime Mysteries series. (See my review of the first book here.)

Morgan is back - with new responsibilities for her show as the co-executive producer - and new headaches like writing a whole new story line so an actress doesn't get fired from the show, a pushy executive, dueling love interests, and a cowering soap star, hiding from her ex (which is pretty hard to do when you star in daytime television!). The tension amps up when Morgan receives a scary surprise in the mail and a phone call about a dead body. Through it all, she is also learning things about herself and her "former" life as a wife, which adds a great layer to the story. 

I really enjoy these mysteries. Lately I have tried several books that didn't hook me - in fact, I probably should be reading other things from my TBR pile, but I knew I could count on Linda Palmer and this series, so I went back to it as a guaranteed good read. I was not disappointed.

I also got to read the third book in the series, Love You Madly. One of the stars of Morgan's "daytime drama" (never to be called a "soap opera") has a stalker. And the stalker things Morgan has a thing for "her" guy. The deeper Morgan digs, the creepier the stalker seems. And then people start to die.


Really enjoyed this one, too. The ensemble is great. These are people you want to spend a few hours with.


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THURSDAY: Warm Fuzzies and The Coupon Mom

Don't these look yummy? This book makes me want to scour Goodwill for wool sweaters! Instructions for felting wool and turning it into great crafts are included in this book. I loved the cupcake pin cushions shown on the front cover. I also want to try the hooded scarf, book cover, journal cover, knitting needle case (for whenever I figure out how to knit), the owl craft apron, and "boyfriend scarf."

Who am I kidding? I want to make just about everything in this book! I am so going to need a sewing machine some day! (I got this book from my local library)






I am still working my way, carefully, through this book, but I think it is so great that I want to review it now. There are TONS of good ideas to help you save money on your groceries. Because of her tips and her newsletter, I saved over $30 in coupons on my last trip to the grocery story and over $70 total when you include the store specials. I also scored a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant for $2. That is not a typo - $25 for $2 (some restrictions apply).

If you are looking for ways to trim your household budget or save money on your groceries, check this book out right away. But read it slowly - it is easy to get overwhelmed by all of the information. (I bought this book myself - with a coupon, so I got it for under $9!)


B

Waiting on WEDNESDAY

Not surprisingly, I have more books waiting for my attention from the library. Here are a few more for younger readers that are tempting me to ignore my to do list and my family and the mounds of laundry.


Powerless by Matthew Cody. Daniel moves to a new town and makes some interesting friends... who have super powers!


I So Don't Do Mysteries by Barrie Summy. This is a book I have had on my list for awhile, but it is also one I want to read for the Cybil's Challenge. Sherry Holmes Baldwin has to solve a mystery for her mom. Sounds simple enough - except she describes her mom as a "supercop," so why should she need help from her daughter? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that her mom is a ghost.


Doom Machine by Mark Teague. Aliens, teenagers and a "doom machine." I couldn't pass this one up when I saw it at the library. If it is as good as I hope it will be, I know a group of kids who would love to read it!


The Extra-Ordinary Princess by Carolyn Ebbitt. Amelia is not your perfect princess - not like her older sisters. Thankfully, as the youngest, she shouldn't ever have to actually "rule" or anything, right? Not so. Amelia's evil uncle takes over the kingdom after the deaths of Amelia's parents and she is the only one to escape. Princess books for older girls can be a lot of fun! (Princess Academy and The Princess Plot are two of my favorites. I hope to post a review of The Princess Plot soon)


Alienated by Andrew Auseon. Boys with their own tabloid report on the aliens living among us, but their snooping leads them somewhere more serious than they ever expected to go.


Just reading the jackets of these books makes me want to curl up on the couch with them. I may have to let that laundry go a little longer!


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TUESDAY: Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta

This is the latest in this graphic novel series. This story picks up with Hector, Terrence and Dee coping with bullies and encouraging Terrence to try out for soccer. The Lunch Lady and Betty are watching for suspicious behavior. After a famous author visits the school, the gym teacher, Coach Birkby, disappears. The Lunch Lady and Betty are on the case which leads them to the author's mansion. The kids are there, too, as Dee is determined to get Hector's book signed by the cranky author.

Fighting bunnies are involved - what is not to love? This is a fun book in a fun graphic novel series. It reminds me of Babymouse, but without all the pink (which might help these appeal to boys). You can see my review of the other books in the series here.

[Edit: Just visited the series' website and the author's blog and discovered that the next book in the series is The Summer Camp Shakedown, coming out May 2010. The two titles for next year are The Bake Sale Breakdown and The Field Trip Frenzy.]


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BONUS BLOG: Ella Bella

I have made no secret of my love for the Ella Bella Ballerina series - Ella Bella Ballerina and The Sleeping Beauty and Ella Bella Ballerina and Cinderella.

Today, the author/illustrator posted a picture at his blog from the new book, Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake that he just turned in to his publisher. Check out the illustration. Isn't it lush and gorgeous? This is one of the main reasons I love these books and recommend these books and buy these books. If you haven't seen one in person, find one! They are beautiful!

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]

MONDAY: Grandpa Has Changed

Robert and his little sister, Jane, are going to visit their grandpa. Before they go, their mom tells them that Grandpa is sick. He has Alzheimer's. 

A small part of the "story" is told on each page. It shows examples of the memory losses and the kids' questions about what they experience with Grandpa and how he is different from how he used to be. 

This would be a great book for young kids who have a grandparent or favorite older person in their lives who is starting to lose their memory or moving deeper into the stages of Alzheimer's. It is a gently told story, which I appreciated for such a sensitive topic. The book includes games and ideas to help kids talk about Alzheimer's and to help older loved ones who are forgetting things. (I got this book at my local library.)


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FRIDAY: What Do You Say to a Naked Elf?

"Plain Jane's" plain life becomes exciting very quickly when a car accident leads her to another world filled with elves, fairies, goblins and magic. Jane begins her journey accused of murder in a strange and foreign land. By the end she learns that she has more ties to this world that she ever could have imagined.

I would categorize this romance as "urban fantasy," not unlike one of my favorite books, Enchanted, Inc. (Katie Chandler, Book 1) by Shanna Swendson (a great series). What Do You Say to a Naked Elf is much steamier than Enchanted, Inc, so sensitive readers should consider themselves warned. Personally, I don't know if the steamy parts were really necessary. I felt like the story was interesting and compelling enough on its own. I like this style of fantasy story much more than the darker, creepier vampire/demon sorts of things that are popular these days. If you like lighter urban fantasy fare and the steamy sections of the story aren't going to bother you, check out What Do You Say to a Naked Elf. 

[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.] 

THURSDAY: The Quilter's Catalog

One of my goals for 2010 is to make a quilt. I have scoured our library for quilting books and I stumbled across this one. It is a gem for quilters! 

The Quilter's Catalog includes an interesting and extensive list of the history of quilting and resources for quilters - tools for hand or machine quilting, finishing machines, websites, books, software, etc. It also includes instructions for twelve quilting projects at varying levels of difficulty. 

I haven't checked out all of the websites and events it lists to see how accurate they still are since this book is two years old. In the current economy, some things might have combined their efforts or folded. Regardless, this book is overflowing with information. If you are interested in quilting, this is a terrific resource!

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Waiting on WEDNESDAY

To be honest, I have been having trouble getting motivated to read a lot of faith-related books lately, which makes it hard to have something to review every Wednesday. In my book blog tour over the last week (as part of the January Comment Challenge) I noticed that there are a lot of themes that people use for different days of the week, like poetry Friday. One thing I saw that I liked was Waiting on Wednesday which is a post about some of the books waiting in your TBR (to be read) pile. Since I always have a TBR pile, I thought this would be a great solution. From now on, faith-related books will be reviewed on Thursdays (for non-fiction) or Fridays (for fiction). So, on to a few titles from my TBR pile. 

These are library books that are currently awaiting my attention:
 













The Postcard is a young adult book about a boy who finds an old postcard and stumbles onto a family secret. Rissa Bartholomew is about an 11-year-old girl who decides to break away from her friends and find her own niche. Flawed Dogs is about mischief at Westminster. A Whole Nother Story is the story of a family on the run from evildoers because of an invention. And Hood is a new take on the classic story of Robin Hood. I am hoping to carve out plenty of time to read these in the next couple weeks. 


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BONUS BLOG: Reading Challenges revisited

Last week I posted about some reading challenges I wanted to do this year.

So far, I am keeping up pretty well on the Comment Challenge. I have read 20 books from the library for the Support Your Local Library challenge (including several picture books for review on this blog, so that helps my numbers considerably). I am a third or so into the first book from my TBR pile.

It has taken me awhile to choose my books for the Cybils challenge. There were so many to choose from! I decided to do at least 5 from certain categories, and I used the full nominees list instead of just the winners. Here they are:


Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books -

Alice's Shooting Star by Tim Kennemore
Bad to the Bone (Down Girl and Sit) (Down Girl and Sit) by Lucy Nolan
Fancy Nancy: The Dazzling Book Report (I Can Read Book 1)  by Jane O'Connor
Good Dog, Aggie  by Lori Ries
Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thompson
Shampoodle (Step into Reading)  by Joan Holub

I've already read the following from this list: Elephants Cannot Dance! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (love Mo Willems), Are You Ready to Play Outside? (An Elephant and Piggie Book),How Oliver Olson Changed the World(this one was okay), Roscoe Riley Rules #7: Never Race a Runaway Pumpkin (we love Roscoe at our house!), and Watch Me Throw the Ball! (An Elephant and Piggie Book).


Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction -
The Brotherhood of the Traveling Underpants (Melvin Beederman, Superhero) by Greg Trine
I So Don't Do Mysteries by Barrie Summy
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories (Junior Library Guild Selection) by Joan Aiken
Spellbinder by Helen Stringer


I've already read: Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel (good), and The Sisters Grimm: Book Seven: The Everafter War (Bk. 7)(great series).



Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction
Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
Candor by Pam Bachorz
Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins (Which means I'll have to read the first one, too.)
Fire (Graceling) by Kristin Cashore (which  means I'll finally read Graceling)
The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Trilogy (Hardback))  by James Dashner


I haven't read any books in this list before now, but had a few on a list of ones I wanted to read.


Picture Books
1000 Times No by Tom Warburton
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
The Book That Eats People by John Perry
Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem by Chris Monroe
Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks
My Mom Is Trying to Ruin My Life by Kate Feiffer


In this category, I have already read: Duck! Rabbit! (Fabulous!), Family Huddle (I didn't care for it), Let's Do Nothing! (it was okay), Little Oink (I love pretty much anything by Rosenthal), Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (can't go wrong with Mo Willems), and The Sleepy Little Alphabet: A Bedtime Story from Alphabet Town (great illustrations).


Middle Grade Fiction
Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted (an author I like)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (have been waiting to read these for awhile)
Liberty Porter, First Daughter by Julia DeVillers
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart (I read the first in this series and loved it but haven't gotten to read the others)
Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes


I've already read: Captain Nobody (terrific!), Extra Credit (Junior Library Guild Selection) (love Andrew Clements), NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society (Book One) (Fabulous - love Michael Buckley, too), and Sisters Eight Book 1: Annie's Adventures (fun series).


Young Adult Fiction
And Then Everything Unraveled by Jennifer Sturman (who used to write mystery series I really liked)
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler
Den of Thieves (A Cat Royal Adventure) by Julia Golding
Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd 
The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank
How to Buy a Love of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson


In the category, I have only read I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President.


Middle Grade Graphic Novels
Babymouse #11: Dragonslayer by Jennifer Holm
Cat Burglar Black by Richard Sala
Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
The 3-2-3 Detective Agency: The Disappearance of Dave Warthog by Fiona Robinson
The Shadow Door (Elsewhere Chronicles) by Nykko


In this category, I have read (and loved): Babymouse #10: The Musical, Binky the Space Cat (Binky Adventure), Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians, Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, and The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook.


The lists of books that were nominated are long and extensive. I will probably find even more books to read this year, but these are my goal for this particular challenge. Maybe you'll check some of them out, too!


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