Luck be with Laura Tonight . . .

My lucky streak seems to continue. I won three books in one week last month, which was very exciting. Thank-you to Laurel Ann from Austenprose for Lady Vernon and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway as part off the very fun Soiree with Lady Susan, Mel at He Followed Me Home for The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, and Lynne at Lynne's Letters for The Help by Kathyrn Stockett. The stars seemed to have wanted me to win The Last Song as I also won it from Sheri at A Novel Menagerie, but asked it to be passed on as I had already won a copy. I am very excited about all of these books and can't wait to read them!

After my week of luck, I also have won a few other books over the past couple of weeks. I won Lucan by futuristic romance author Susan Kearney from Author Kelly Moran's website. Last week I won A Highlander's Temptation by Sue Ellen Welfonder on Sapphire Romance Relm. You know I am always tempted by highlanders . . . if only I could get my husband in a kilt! Yesterday I won a Goulish Giveaway on Suko's Notebook, Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King. I have been meaning to read more Stephen King so I am very excited about this book.

Thank-you everyone for hosting such fantastic giveaways. I enjoy reading about the new books, being a part of the contests, winning some, and receiving them in the mail. My boys and dogs are always excited when a new package arrives! I look forward to reading all of this new stash. Thanks again!

Giveaway and Review: A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

Anita Shreve is one of my favorite authors. I have enjoyed reading all of her books for the past ten years or so after discovering her by reading The Pilot’s Wife. She writes riveting tales about relationships in emotional turmoil. Some of her books are set in modern day, while others are compelling historical fiction. I was very happy to receive a review copy of her latest book, A Change in Altitude from Miriam at Hachette Publishing.

A Change in Altitude ranks as one of my all time favorite Anita Shreve novels. I’ll admit, I didn’t like the last few novels as well as her earlier works, but this novel is a tour de force. Margaret and Patrick are a young married couple that has relocated to Kenya for Patrick’s research and work as a doctor. The two are invited by their landlords (a British couple) to join them and a Dutch couple on a hike of Mount Kenya. The hike does not go as planned with disastrous consequences. Afterwards Margaret struggles to find herself and to try to piece back together her marriage when trust has been lost.

My favorite character in this novel was Kenya itself. Shreve once lived in Africa and used it as a local in her novel The Last Time They Met. Learning about the culture and beauty of the country made this a very compelling read. I also liked the details of the hike itself. I can’t imagine just deciding to climb a mountain without any sort of physical preparation, especially after reading Three Cups of Tea. It was very interesting reading about the physical and emotional aspects of the climb.

I really liked the growth of Margaret throughout the novel. The struggle that she goes through was intriguing. I don’t want to give away the ending, but it is a standard Shreve type of ending that has left me pondering.

If you would like to read more Shreve, I highly recommend The Weight of Water and Fortune’s Rocks besides this book. I love all of her novels, but I would pick these as my absolute favorites.

My favorite quote from this novel, "Not for the first time, Margaret reflected that it was impossible to know the truth about the marriage of another couple."

Giveaway Details:

Now for the details you are really looking for . . . Miriam at Hachette Book Group has been kind enough to offer one copy of A Change in Altitude as a giveaway. If you would like to enter this contest do any of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include an email address in at least one of your comments. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway or post about it on your sidebar. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Become a follower or leave a comment that you already are a follower of this blog. (1 entry)

There are three ways to enter, but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count.I will be using random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!). No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight, Friday October 23rd. Good luck!

Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

My husband, son, and I have been working on reading Winnie-the-Pooh for a few months. Kile is only three, but seemed ready to take the next step into chapter books. Winnie-the-Pooh seemed like a well loved book to start with. I had never read the original classic myself, so it was fun for all of us to read it together.

Winnie-the-Pooh consists of ten chapters or stories of Edward the Bear, better known as Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie-the-Pooh lives in the hundred acre wood and has several friends such as Owl, Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, and Roo. Pooh runs into several dilemmas, but is always happy to use his “little brain” to solve the problems together with his friends. The drawings by Ernest H. Shepard are very good.

Overall I thought the stories were cute with some witty humor. I especially loved Pooh’s spelling troubles. Kile liked the stories a lot, but tended to sometimes lose interest if there weren’t enough pictures or they were too wordy. He is excited that we finished the book and is ready to pick up the other volume of Pooh stories at the library tomorrow. He did miss Tigger in this collection of stories, but is excited he is in the next novel.

I’m including this in my Classics Challenge count as it is a classic I had never read before and enjoyed.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (audio)

My Kewaunee Library Book Club left our meeting last month in a fever to read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. The library had one copy of the book and one audio copy. As I am the only one who listens to audiobooks, I was allotted the audio book. As I was 150th in the hold list at the library for the actual book, I figured it was a good deal.

The Lost Symbol is the third adventure story staring the erstwhile Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon. Langdon has been flown to Washington, D.C. for a last minute speech at the U.S. Capitol as a favor to his old friend, Peter Solomon. When he reaches the capitol, he discovers he has been brought to the capital under false pretences. He then quickly stumbles upon a horrific scene, and the hunt is on to discover a secret that the Masons have been keeping since the start of our nation.

SPOILER ALERT (for the rest of the review)
I thought the start of the novel was really slow. Four (out of fourteen) CDs into the book Robert Langdon was still walking around talking to the CIA director without any real action. Once the action started though, it was non-stop and it was hard to stop listening to the book as I really wanted to find out what happened. I thought the ending of the book was rather slow too after the climax.

I did like the nerdy details though in the slow start-up in the novel. I found the information to be intriguing. I thought the villain was rather cardboard one-dimensional. I had his secret figured out early on and I still do not really understand that character. It should be interesting to discuss at book club next week.

I thought the mystery itself was rather anti-climatic. It almost seemed like an appeasement for all of those who were shocked by The Da Vinci Code. What did others that read this book think?

I really liked Brown’s interesting take on how different religious practices can be misinterpreted by different people. It would be strange to walk into a Catholic church and see people drinking blood and the giant cross with a man being crucified on it if you had no clue about Christianity or Catholicism. That is why we should really learn about cultures and religions before making judgment.

My favorite quote: “Wow,” the homeless man thought, “She must really need a book” after seeing Katherine Solomon hitting the door of the Library of Congress trying to break her way in. I laughed out loud at this.

Overall it was an interesting and exciting book, but not as good as The Da Vinci Code.

Disney Classic Short Films: Three Little Pigs

My 3-year old son loves story time at our local library each Friday. After story time, we pick out new books to read for the week and he also likes to pick out a movie to watch. This week he picked out a new addition to the library, Disney Classic Short Films: Three Little Pigs.

My husband and I had fond memories of The Three Little Pigs, and we all looked forward to watching it during family movie night this past weekend. This DVD included the following classic Disney Short Films: Three Little Pigs, The Big Bad Wolf, Three Little Wolves, Lambert the Sheepish Lion, Chicken Little, Three Blind Mouseketeers, and Elmer Elephant.

It is fun watching old movies remembered fondly from childhood as an adult. I had not remembered just how scary these movies are. Kile had to sit on our laps or hide during several moments. He was sure the big bad wolf was going to get the three little pigs or red riding hood. He really enjoyed the songs “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” and “Lambert the Sheepish Lion.” His 17-month old brother Danny enjoyed them too and had fun dancing to them whenever they played on the TV. I think the music was the best part overall for the boys. Overall we enjoyed all of the movies, but I think Lambert the Sheepish Lion and Elmer Elephant were our favorites.

Side note – I certainly did not remember how Chicken Little ended. Luckily I don’t think Kile understood what was going on, but I was horrified. My husband thought it was really funny. Has anyone else seen this old Chicken Little movie? I’d like to discuss!

A Treasury of Curious George by Margret and H.A. Rey

My sister Katie gave this great book to my son Kile on his first birthday. Since then we have read and reread all of the stories in this book to Kile. He has a great love for all things Curious George. We put the book away for awhile, and then pull it out again a few months later to read and enjoy again.

This treasury contains many great tales including: Curious George Takes a Train, Curious George Visits a Toy Store, Curious George and the Dump Truck, Curious George and the Birthday Party, Curious George Goes Camping, Curious George and the Costume Party, Curious George Visits the Library, and Curious George in the Big City. The table of contents has a picture next to each title, which allows my son to identify and to easily point out the story that he would like to read.

Each adventure is beautifully illustrated. Curious George always starts off visiting somewhere with his friend, the man with the yellow hat. There is some mishap, but Curious George always manages to save the day. His mishaps are very funny to my 3-year old son. His favorite lately has been Curious George Goes Camping. He likes how George stinks after being sprayed by a skunk.

Kile also likes to “read” this book by himself and look at the pictures. He likes picking out different stories to listen to during nap time. He also likes rediscovering it again after I’ve put it up for a few months. Curious George and his adventures are timeless, and this is a great collection of his adventures.

Giveaway - Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell and The Whitechapel Conspiracy by Anne Perry

In order to celebrate Halloween, I will be giving away two gently used mass-market paper back copies of Jack the Ripper thrillers. These Jack the Ripper thrillers are Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell and The Whitechapel Conspiracy by Anne Perry. In a matter of full disclosure, I used white-out to clear my name off of Portrait of a Killer on the first page. One winner will win both books. More about the novels:

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell (description from front page summary in book): Between August and November 1888, at least six women were murdered in London's Whitechapel area. The gruesome nature of their deaths caused panic and fear in the East End for months, and gave rise to the sobriquet that was to become shorthand for a serial killer - Jack the Ripper.

For more than a hundred years the murders have remained among the world's greatest unsolved crimes, and a wealth of theories have been posited which have pointed the finger at royalty, a barber, a doctor, a woman, and an artist. Using her formidable range of forensic and technicall skills, bestselling author Patricia Cornwell has applied the rigorous discipline of twenty-first-century police investigation to the extant material, and here presents the hard evidence that the perpetrator was . . . The answer lies within.

The Whitechapel Conspiracy by Anne Perry (from the back of the book): In 1892, the grisly murders of Whitechapel prostitutes by a killer dubbed Jack the Ripper remain a terrifying enigma. And in a packed Old Bailey courtroom, Superintendent Thomass Pitt's testimony cuases distinguised soldier John Adinett to be sentenced to be hang for the inexplicable murder of a friend. Instead of being praised for his key testimony, Pitt is removed from his station command and transferred to Whitechapel, one of East End's most dangerous slums. There he most work undercover investigating alleged anarchist plots. Among his few allies are his clever wife, Charlotte, and intrepid Grace, the maid who can travel unmarked in Whitechapel. But none of them anticipate the horrors to be revealed. . .

Giveaway Details:

There is one gently used mass market paperback copy of each book , for a total of two books for one winner. If you would like to enter this contest do any of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include an email address in at least one of your comments. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway or post about it on your sidebar. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Become a follower or leave a comment that you already are a follower of this blog. (1 entry)

There are three ways to enter, but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count.I will be using random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

The deadline for entry is midnight, Friday October 16th. Good luck!

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (audio)

I finished this audiobook just in time, the morning I received An Echo in the Bone. I was very glad to receive An Echo in the Bone as the ending of A Breath of Snow and Ashes left me wanting more. Four years after I first read A Breath of Snow and Ashes while suffering from extremely bad morning sickness with my first son, I will finally get to read the continuation of the story. Can you tell I’m excited?

A Breath of Snow and Ashes is a riveting read. While The Fiery Cross was a slower book that dwelled on the wonderful details of life in the eighteenth century, A Breath of Snow and Ashes gets back into the action. Kidnapping and daring rescues are included for several key plot points. There is also more on the mysterious Jacobite golden treasure and Claire discovers another traveler from the future. The action continues right up to the end of the novel!

I love the description in Gabaldon’s novels. One of my favorite things is her detailed descriptions of the scientific experiments of Claire and Brianna to create things that we take for granted. I’m an engineer and I love the scientific detail! I love how Gabaldon’s background is in science. I have also always been a fan of novels of pioneer life, and I enjoy the story of how Jamie, Claire and the other inhabitants of Fraser’s Ridge carve their lives out of the wilderness.

I once again listened to the abridged version of the novel read by Geraldine James. She did a fantastic job and the music was very good. I am glad I listened to the abridged version as I only finished the book up right before I received my copy of An Echo in the Bone. As I have stated on previous reviews, the abridged versions in no way compare to the actual full length novels and leave out many important details. They are a good refresher for those who have read and loved the novels. I need to listen to the full length audiobooks one of these days as well as actually reread all of the novels.

SPOILER ALERT. My favorite scene of this book is when Jamie rescued Claire from Hodgepile’s gang. I loved the entire scene from the drumming in the woods to the vengeance that Jamie takes on the men. From the description, you could see a highland army of men mysteriously in the woods wrecking havoc on the kidnappers. It was frightening, and riveting.

Smash! Crash! Written by Jon Scieszka Illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon

My 3-year son recently discovered Smash! Crash! at the library and loves every book of the Trucktown series that we can find. Smash! Crash! is the story of two friends, Jack Truck and Dump Truck Dan as they smash and crash their way through town and are pursued by a mysterious entity.

My son enjoys the smashing and crashing, but also enjoys identifying the trucks and their friends. He also loves the lesson that you may be scared of something, but if you face it, it could end up being a positive thing.

The only negative with this book is a technical negative. My husband and I are engineers and it bothers us that Cement Truck Melvin appears to mix sand and water to come up with cement. In reality he should be mixing cement, sand, and water to produce concrete. It just seems that you should be technically accurate, even in children’s books!

I love that the author started this series to get boys interested in reading. I know this is a problem, but luckily my 3-year old son is as addicted to books as his parents. Hopefully we can get my 1-year old as addicted!

My son just wants to find a Trucktown book that Pumper Pat and Hook and Ladder Lucy in it. Has anyone else found such a book?

Sheep Blast Off! Written By Nancy Shaw and Illustrated by Margot Apple

We found Sheep Blast Off! at the library and my son loves it. It tells the simple story of an alien vessel that lands on earth and a group of sheep that inadvertently take off in the ship and have a space adventure. The wording is very simplicistic, but the pictures tell a thousand words. My 3-year old son likes filling in the story by telling me what is going on with each page. If your child loves anything to do with rocket ships as mine does, they’ll be sure to enjoy this book!