Teaser Tuesdays

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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

"She thought of her brother in the dark, deep cupboard. She wanted to take his hot little body in her arms, to kiss his curly blond hair, his plump neck. She gripped the key as hard as she could in her pocket."

~p. 48, Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Still Alice

LibraryThing book review...

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Dr. Alice Howland, Harvard professor of cognitive psychology, begins having problems with her memory and thinks it might be menopause. During one jog near her home she gets lost and knows that something is wrong with her. She seeks medical help and finds out she has early onset Alzheimer's Disease. This, of course, is a huge shock to her. We see how she copes with this tragic diagnosis, along with her husband and her children.

Alice's story is one that will stay with you...and I don't mean for a while, I mean forever. Alice's story is so real and so touching, Lisa Genova does a beautiful job writing Alice's story. I felt her pain, her frustration, and her sadness. Yes, this book will bring tears to your eyes, but it will also give you a new appreciation for your life, right now.

Girls in Trucks

LibraryThing book review...
Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch

Girls in Trucks is about Sarah Walters who learns to be the perfect woman in cotillion school while prepping for her Debutantes ball. In real life, however, she is far from perfect. She picks abusive men, drinks, does drugs, and is nowhere with her career. Sarah comes home due to tragedy...tragedy and lots of complications.

I liked Sarah, but I didn't really understand her. The writing is very choppy, inconsistent, and disjointed. I found this very confusing. This book was fun and easy to read, but in the end really left me with nothing.

The Lace Reader

LibraryThing book review...
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

This is the story of Sophya "Towner" Whitney, a member of a family of women who see the future in lace they make. She has had a very hard life, filled with pain and breakdowns leading to hospital stays. She left Salem, Massachusetts when her twin committed suicide. She comes home when her Aunt Eva, who raised her, is missing and is later found mysteriously drowned. She tries to discover what happened to her beloved Aunt with the help of local cop, John Rafferty.

This is a fascinating, complicated, and confusing book. I enjoyed the story and I especially enjoyed Towner and felt her journey deeply. I did not enjoy the point of view changes throughout the book, I found it rather confusing. There are also a lot of twists throughout the book which can also be intriguing, but confusing. This is a fascinating read, but one you will need and want to read again.

Friday Fill-ins #121

And...here we go!

1. Apparently there's some sort of problem with the economy???

2. I love a sunny day.

3. 2009 has been better than 2008, so far...

4. Love Blue Bell ice cream and that was it. (and Texas Burger...)

5. For too long I've been way too quiet.

6. I am not obsessed with books; I am not!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some quiet time with all my babies, tomorrow my plans include working on my sprinkler system/yard and Sunday, I want to prepare for a long week of TAKS testing-UGH!

Girls in Trucks winners!!!

The winners for Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch are...

Pam
Tasses
Nise'
Cheryl S.

Wanda

Thanks so much for entering! Please e-mail me your address and I will forward it on to Valerie @ Hachette.

Friday Fill-ins #120

And...here we go!

1. Join me in being thankful for the little joys in life.

2. Put a little dance in your day!

3. Happiness is a good book, a snack, and 2 puppies to cuddle with:)

4. Tired and confused.

5. I'm waiting for summer.

6. Chocolate is hard to resist.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to reading, tomorrow my plans include yardwork and Sunday, I want (need!) to clean house!

Teaser Tuesdays

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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

"In that instant, the dried spider plant leaves flushed with water and health, the fresh, waxy green of life crawling down each black leaf, lifting and twisting as the color returned, and sending out fragile little shoots bursting with new baby leaves up and over the edge of the planter. By the time Connie dropped her hands to her sides, the smell of moist earth filled the dining room, and the spider plant hung thick and lush, swaying a little in the close evening air."

~p. 215, from The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Girls In Trucks giveaway!!!

Thanks to Valerie with Hatchette Book Group , I have five copies of Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch available for giveaway.

Sarah Walters, the narrator of GIRLS IN TRUCKS, is a reluctant Camellia Society debutante. She has always felt ill-fitted to the rococo ways of Southern womanhood and family, and is anxious to shake the bonds of her youth. Still, she follows the traditional path laid out for her. This is Charleston, and in this beautiful, dark, segregated town, established rules and manners mean everything.

But as Sarah grows older, she finds that her Camellia lessons fail her, particularly as she goes to college, moves North, and navigates love and life in New York. There, Sarah and her group of displaced deb sisters try to define themselves within the realities of modern life. Heartbreak, addiction, disappointing jobs and death fail to live up to the hazy, happy future promised to them by their Camellia mothers and sisters.

When some unexpected bumps in the road--an unplanned birth, a family death--lead Sarah back home, she's forced to take another long look at the fading empire of her youth. It takes a strange turn of events to finally ground Sarah enough to make some serious choices. And only then does she realize that as much as she tried to deny it, where she comes from will always affect where she ends up. The motto of her girlhood cotillion society, "Once a Camellia, always a Camellia," may turn out to have more wisdom and pull to it than she ever could have guessed.

To Enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me that you would like to win this book (please make sure that I have a way to contact you, or your entry will be deleted).

2. For extra entries: become a follower of my blog (if you already are that counts, just let me know); Subscribe to my blog (if you already do that counts, just let me know); or blog about this contest, and leave me the link.

3. Please only US and Canadian addresses. No PO Boxes.

4. Contest ends April 18, 2009.

Thanks & good luck to all:)

Friday Fill-ins #118

1. Anonymous...who are you.???

2. Summer is a month away!!!

3. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, I will learn from you.

4. Leaves on my Mulberry trees... what I look forward to most about Spring.

5. Who needs therapy when you have awesome friends.

6. A big, chocolate bunny MUST go into the Easter Basket!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to enjoying my day off, tomorrow my plans include working in the yard and Sunday, I want to watch TV!

Sworn to Silence

LibraryThing book review...
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

T.J. Banks discovers the body of a woman out by a farm while out on a call, rounding up some stray cows. This murder is similar to four murders that took place 16 years ago in Painters Mill, Ohio. Soon more murders follow. Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder, grew up Amish in this community, but at age eighteen she left the faith because of dark secret she shares with her estranged family. She is now torn between solving these murders or exposing her own past.

I enjoyed the character of Kate Burkholder, a strong, independent woman who stays strong throughout the book. BCI agent John Tomasetti also joins the investigation and adds a little mystery and romance to the story. The mystery is well-paced and keeps you guessing throughout. I look forward to more books by Linda Castillo.

One Lovely Blog Award

Thanks to Caspette @ The Narrative Causality for the One Lovely Blog Award-what a sweet surprise!!! I am thrilled to get this award, it is only my 2nd. I want to pass it on to a couple of my own favorite blogs, maybe not new to all, but my favorites all the same! Be sure to visit Caspette at The Narrative Causality, also! Thanks:)

Melanie @ Love to Read
Dar @ Peeking Between the Pages
Ruth @ Bookish Ruth

Congrats to all!!!