My Book Challenges

All Things Historical Fiction: Guest Post + Giveaway: Carson Morton Author of Ste...

2011-07-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

Found a New Blog about Historical fiction books. I LOVE THEM!!! I found this blog by reading her review of the Murder of King Tut by James Patterson on GoodReads. I was actually really suprised at how many bad reviews there were. I gave it a 5. I loved it. I am not an avid Egypto-lover, however, so I was easy to please..
I am entering this Giveaway. Wish me luck.

All Things Historical Fiction: Guest Post + Giveaway: Carson Morton Author of Ste...: "Historical Fiction as a Collage By Carson Morton In my novel, Stealing Mona Lisa, a fictionalized account of the actual theft of The M..."

Book Review-The Book Thief

2009-03-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

Good book.. I liked how death was the narrator, made it different. I like to read stories in this Era, however, it is such a sad time to me for the Jews and also those who helped the Jews..
I didn't feel the really depressing sadness with this book that I usually feel when reading about the Holocaust. I didn't give it 5 stars because although it was a great book, it wasn't one of my absolute favorites.. I still would recommend it to all..
For challenges libray challenge, Whitcoulls and Whats in a name..

FINISHED CHALLENGE-LIT FLICKS

2009-02-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

I finished my first challenge and only with 2 days to spare..
My 5 books were
Secret life of Bees
Kite Runner
Indian in the cupboard
Time Travelers Wife
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Movies
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Kite Runner

Book Review and Movie Review-Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

2009-02-26T09:10:00.000-08:00

This is my second time reading this book I hope it still counts..I LOVE HARRY POTTER. They have been such and excellent series..I wish I were reading them for the first time again.. This is one of my favorite books out of the series, it is a long one but it has so many different things going on at once and I found that thrilling..The characters have also grown up a little bit and they don't seem to be so young and naive. The relationship between Harry Ron and Hermoine has really strengthened by this book.. Wow, what an amazing author JK is!!!

The movie::The movie was great but as usual with movies it was only portions of the book. They really left out quite a bit from the book but since it was so detailed and long I guess that is to be expected..I think they did a fine job portraying the movie as best they could, it was as I pictured it when I read the book..
I can't wait for the next movie. I wish there was another book to look forward to..

Book Review-Knights Treasure by Amanda Scott

2009-02-22T20:41:00.001-08:00

This was not my favorite book, mostly because it just was a little sappy for my liking. The book takes place in Scotland in 1830 and is about a young lady who is married off to an older man and her husband dies the night of their wedding. She then meets a youg handsome knight who has been hiding as a servant for years. There is search for a treasure from the Knights Templar and a plot to capture and kill the young girl and find the treasure from the Knight. Of course there is a love affair and the Knight and the girl end up together and all is well..

Winter challenge, Library challenge

Book Review-The Indian in the Cupboard

2009-02-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

I read this book as a kid and thought it would be fun to read again. I always thought it would be such a blast to have a magical cupboard that would make your toys come alive..
This book is about a medicine cupboard that a young boy got for his birthday. His mother gives him a special key to use for the cupboard. He put his toy Indian in the cupboard and when he wakes up in the morning he finds that the Indian has come alive!!!
Omri is a very smart and responsible boy, he realizes that these men are actually real live people and not just toys and he is responsible for their lives. His friend Patrick is not so responsible and quite careless with the men..Together the Patrick and Omri realize that as much fun as it is to have real life cowboys and indians, it is a lot to be responsible for, so they decide to send them back ... for now...

For my Lit Flicks challenge, Childhood Favorites, library, Winter

Book Review-The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

2009-02-17T12:11:00.001-08:00

Oh I loved this book. It was so beautiful!!!It was a wonderful Story of Womanhood and motherhood..I loved the story, I had to keep in perspective that this was a fictional novel based on real people. There were parts of the book that I really want to believe happened the way they did and other parts that I really hope is not the way it happened..Anyways I absolutely love Dinah and her story of her mother's and her description of each of them and her own relationship with each of them. I am an only daughter with 6 brothers, so I could relate a little in the way that my mother and my aunts doted on me..Anita Diamant is an awesome author and portrayed this story of Dinah so beautifully. It was sad but isn't everyone's life a little sad??
BEWARE A LITTLE BIT OF A SPOILER!!!!!I am so glad that she was reunited with her favorite brother in the end and she got a little closure.. When she was back at her home in the end and the little niece was talking about the "story of Dinah" I wanted Dinah to holler out "I'm Dinah" "your sitting right here with her" "The story is true"!!!

This book is for my winter challenge, whitcoulls, whats in a name, and library challenge.

Book Review-The Time Traveler's Wife

2009-01-31T22:05:00.000-08:00

Weird..This book was not really what I expected. It took me a while to even be interested in the book, it was confusing and I was appalled at the authors choice of crude language. But I continued on reading. I actually became a little more interested in the book the more I read, but still I wasn't quite sure if I liked it or not..The book was a little sad to me, sad that Clare wasted most of her life waiting and wondering about Henry. Her childhood was ruined as well as her elderly life waiting for him..I didn't like the love affair between the past, present and future Clare's and Henry's..I thought the author could have done away with the crude language. All in all I guess after reading my own review I wasn't extremely impressed with the book, although it was very interesting..

OOps-Way to funny-

2009-01-25T17:32:00.001-08:00

I don't know if anyone even reads my book blog but I just noticed today that I totally blooped on Harry Potters name..
Happy Potter.. I chuckled to myself after seeing this for about 10 minutes.

Book Review-Happy Potter and The Deathly Hallows

2009-01-24T17:34:00.001-08:00

This is the second time I have read this book, I hope it still counts. I Love Harry Potter!!! I have finally convinced my husband to be interested in them and he is really enjoying them as well..The second time there was so much more that I paid attention to, in fact the first time I read it I think I was still in awe from how the 6th book ended that I didn't pay much attention to some important facts that I caught the second time reading it. I'm sorry I don't like to review this book because there is so much that I don't want to spoil for other readers..
This lady is an amazing author, I wish there were more!!!

Book Review-DECPTION POINT by Dan Brown

2009-01-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

This book was a great book, very much an attention getter. This book takes place in Washington and is is based around a Presidential campaign. There are dealings and deceptions with NASA and some main players in the White House.. When a couple of scientists find out about the deceptions they are targeted to be killed so that the secret never gets out.
Dan Brown is such a smart author-I have really enjoyed his other books, the DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons.
Challenges that this book counts for are, Genre, Library, Winter Reading,

What's in a name Challenge

2009-01-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a fun one..
I don't yet have all my categories filled but here is what I have so far:
Relative: The time Travelers Wife
Building: The Red Tent (does that count as a building?)

Wow I won!!!!!

2009-01-08T19:12:00.001-08:00

I won a book from a book challenge!!! Hip Hip HOORAY.. I really never win, so I am super excited. I won the December book "Oliver Twist" from the Lit Flicks Challenge..
I guess sometimes it really pays to participate..

My New Book Shelf

2009-01-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

I got a book shelf for Christmas...Since we moved into our new home I have had all my books boxed up waiting for the perfect bookshelf. Well I decided there is no such thing right now and I will just get something until I can find what I really want. I was sick of all the books being boxed up.. It won't hold all my books or the encyclopedias but its a start..
Here it is....

Book Review-THE HOST by Stephanie Meyers

2008-12-28T21:32:00.000-08:00

I read this book for my genre challenge and for my winter challenge. I really enjoyed this book. I read her Twilight Series and loved it. It kept my attention and could not put it down. I enjoy her style of writing, it is very clean but so very intriguing..Trying not to spoil anything it is about species of souls that try to take over the world by inserting themselve into humans and taking over their minds and bodies..There is one particular human whose body is taken over by a soul is still very much alive inside her head. They become one in many ways in their journey to find their family..

Book Review-AMONG THE HIDDEN

2008-12-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

I finished this book for my Winter challenge. I don't think it can be used for any other challenge. It was a good book. It is a young-teen fiction book. This is a decent book about a fictional community where the government controls everything. The people are only allowed to have 2 children so anything after 2 they hide them. This is a story about a boy that has been hidden his entire life and find out that there are other hidden children out there as well. He meets a girl and they become friends.

Winter Challenge

2008-12-25T20:53:00.000-08:00

I have a few books that I am going to try to read this winter. Curl up by the fire and read, read read. I wish it were that simple..
Anyways I am going to read some books that are younger teen books, since I have kids growing up that will be reading them soon, I would like to know what they are reading..
My first book is going to be Among the Hidden-if I like it I might read the whole series..
The Host is my second book..
Third book is a JA Jance book that my neighbor let me borrow.
Fourth is a book I just got from the libray, it is a new release and I cannot remember the name of it..
We will see how far that gets me..

Childhood Favourites Reading Challenge

2008-12-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

I am joining a childhood challenge, you reread books that you read when you were a child..This should be fun and easy.. I have a 9 year old daughter and so it will be good for her too, maybe she can read them with me...
Some of my favorites when I was young were:
Indian in the Cupboard
Island of the blue dolphins
Some Sweet Valley Twins

Book Review-KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini

2008-12-11T17:47:00.000-08:00

This book is for my Lit Flicks challenge and for my Whitcoulls challenge.. I read this book and watched the movie. It was a very good, sad, emotional book for me. I really enjoy the way this author makes it easy to understand the ways of the Afghanistan people. Sometime books like this are hard to read if you don't understand the culture or the language. He really did a great job at writing this book. He also did an excellent job at A thousand Splendid Suns.

Amir is a good example of how we make mistakes in our lives, and we always wonder how things would be different it we would have chosen differently. He really struggles with himself inside about the decisions that he made as a young boy. In the end he makes it right and I really appreciate that about the book.

I really enjoyed the movie as well. It pretty much followed the book I thought. Its good to see the movie because it gave me a better idea of the city and how things were there..

Book Review-WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Bronte

2008-11-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

This book is for my Genre challenge for Romantic fiction and also for the Whitcoulls Challenge. This was such a strange book. I enjoyed parts of the book and not so much other parts. It is such a sad, and in a strange way sort of funny love story. It is the story of a vicious man's who starts out as a sweet orphan boy and is treated cruelly, falls in love and gets his heart broken and turns into a horrible character. I really had a sad heart for Heathcliff, he was such a terrible man but I can't help but fell so sorry for him and the turmoil that he went through that brought him to be such a terrible man. Another reader said "While reading this I felt I was in the grip of a nightmare". I think that is a perfect statement..
I've always wondered about this book and now I have read it, I'm proud of myself for reading it.

Support your Library Challenge 2009

2008-11-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

I am doing another challenge. This will be easy since most of the books I read are from my local library anyway..
I am choosing to read 25 books from the Library in 2009.

Book review SECRET LIFE OF BEES by Sue Monk Kidd

2008-11-10T17:21:00.000-08:00

For my Realistic Fiction book I read "The Secret Life of Bees" I consider this realistic Fiction since it really could have happened. There is nothing in this book that is extraterrestrial or totally off the wall. I enjoyed the book..It was about a young girl who was in search of motherly love..Her mother died as a young girl and she longs for love desperately. Her and her negro housekeeper run away and find a family of sisters that take them in. She grows and learns a lot from them. She eventually finds the love that she has been looking for.
I am also counting this book for my LIT FLICKs challenge. The movie should be out soon..

Whats in a name challenge

2008-11-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

I am adding another challenge. This one doesn't start until January so I have some time to get creative. It sounds really fun. I can't wait to start. Click on the link to the side of the blog to find out more about this challenge.
I will get my list ready closer to January.

Review of historical fiction book: SARAH by ORSON SCOTT CARD

2008-11-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

I read Sarah by Orson Scott Card. I am counting this as historical fiction genre since it has historical facts but also has some fiction..
This was about Sarah of Genesis and Abram. It started with Sarai as a young girl in her father's house and her first encounter with Abram when he came from the desert to their home after Sarai sister Quira. His brother Lot was going to marry Quira.
Abram comes back 9 years later to marry Sarai and they begin their journey. It tells of their life and their journeys together and her struggle with being baron. It was such a good book, uplifting and interesting. Orson Scott Card wrote this book very well, it captures the attention and is very easy to read.. I would recommend this book to all..

Genre Challenge

2008-10-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

I am choosing option A: Read 10 books, drop the genre you read the most and one of your own choosing.
I am dropping Fantasy as that is the genre I read the most of, and for my choice I am dropping horror.

http://bookwormsandtea.blogspot.com/search/label/Genre%20challenge

Reading My Way Through Life: The Whitcoulls Challenge - Take 2!

2008-10-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

Reading My Way Through Life: The Whitcoulls Challenge - Take 2!

My list so far is this I will narrow it down to 4..
Kite Runner
Atonement
Eragon
Nothing to Lose
Angelas Ashes
Mister Pip
World without End

Lit flicks

2008-10-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

This challenge is to read 5 books that were eventually made into movies.
I picked a few books off a list that I would probably not normally read. I guess that is why a Challenge is a good thing, it gets you out of your normal reading zone..
These are some of the ones that I am thinking about reading, I'm not sure yet.
Oliver Twist
Railway Children
English Patient
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Kite Runner
PS ILOVE YOU
Princess Bride
Man in Iron Mask