The Simple Woman's Daybook -- August 14, 2010

Hosted by Peggy @ The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... Sunny Sunny Sun Sun

I am thinking... how very hard communication can be.

I am praying... for compassion for myself and towards others.

I am thankful... for friends who care for me and friends who listen.

I am going... to be okay.

I am reading... The Jesus Mystery: Astonishing Clues to the True Identities of Jesus and Paul by Lena Einhorn
 

I am hoping... that I will have blue hair at some point ---I've only been wanting it for about 20 years or so.
 

I am hearing... a discussion about Scrooge McDuck's genealogy, pleas to go swimming, and piano music on Pandora

From the kitchen... sauteed beet greens with garlic, olive oil, and lime juice
 

Around the house... getting ready for the school year to start in the midst of lots of other changes.
 

One of my favorite things... getting good mail.
 

The rest of the week.... resting, reading, planning, thinking, figuring out, and a fair bit of crying.. 
 

Pondering these words...  "If a person -- whether she is human or fairy -- spends most of her time thinking of ways to sting, it is bound to show." page 20 in The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Image from here-i-am.co.uk

Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

Hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends
Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

Image via Wikipedia    

* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Twenty minutes later we came out of the forest into a sloped pasture, the silky grass dotted with white and blue wildflowers.

p. 56, The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Becky at Page Turners. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

Cover of The Night Fairy

Flory was a night fairy.

~The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz & illustrated by Angela Barrett

Well, this first sentence certainly sets the stage for the rest of the book.  ;)  I've been reading this book with my six-year-old daughter and our two young housemates (ages 5 and 11).  It's a little tricky as a night-time read with people in three different beds because it's hard to share Angela Barrett's beautiful watercolor illustrations.  But we just make sure to look at a few before we start and more in the morning.  :)

Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell

My six-year-old daughter and I have been staying with friends this past week.  I read Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell, in the space of two evenings and a short span of afternoon, to my daughter, her five-year-old friend, and her almost 12 year-old friend.  All four of us enjoyed the story -- which, in my opinion, is a real feat for any single book. 

Though Isabelle Bean is the type of child who is always ready for something magical to happen, she doesn't expect to fall into another world on the way to the principal's office.  But that's exactly what happens when she opens the door to the nurse's closet.  Isabelle makes her first friend, encounters a witch, cares for an entire campful of sick children, meets the grandmother she didn't know she had, and is surprised to learn that her mother has some magic of her own.  All in all, a very fun read.

W.W.W. Wednesday -- August 11, 2010

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?





I'm reading:

• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Image by Litandmore via Flickr

Recently finished reading:

•  Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell (see tomorrow's post)
  

Next up:

• The Jesus Mystery:  Astonishing Clues to the True Identities of Jesus and Paul by Lena Einhorn

Image via Wikipedia

Teaser Tuesday -- Heist Society by Ally Carter

 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!

Cover of Heist Society

 "I'm going to miss our little chats, Katarina.  You should know that it's out of respect for your mother's family that I have tried to do this in the most honorable way possible." 

~p. 149,  Heist Society by Ally Carter

This was a read for Tattooed Books' YALSA Challenge.  It was a lot of fun to read -- just what I needed right now.  Katarina Bishop wants to leave the only world she's ever known -- thievery and con games with her family -- to lead a normal life -- after one last con, getting herself into a high profile boarding school.  Once in, though, she learns that her father has been accused of a crime he didn't commit.  She finds herself assembling a team to save her father's life and re-steal some extremely valuable paintings.

I love all the names she and her friends have for the various cons -- Mary Poppins, Five O'Clock Shadow, Smokey the Bear, etc., and the one line comments about them.  The whole book reminded me of Oceans Eleven but with a much younger cast -- just as much fun and just as much not like my life.  :)

It's Monday, August 9, 2010 -- What are you reading?

What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted over at Book Journey where bloggers gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.

I finished:

Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers
The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King
 Heist Society by Ally Carter

Cover ofLocked Rooms (Mary Russell Novels) 

Cover of Heist Society

I gave up on:
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready

I'm reading: 
The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais


Up next:
 Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers

I picked up Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos for my six-year-old and I to read together.  It is the first in a series by by R. L. LaFevers. It was interesting to read it so soon after finishing The Red Pyramid, as, like The Red Pyramid, it takes place partially in Egypt and involves Egyptian gods and mythology.

Theodosia is an eleven-year-old girl whose parents are archaeologists and work at/for the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London.  Unlike her parents, Theodosia can sense the black magic and curses that are attached to the artifacts her parents bring back from their digs. 

In The Serpents of Chaos, her mother brings home the Heart of Egypt, an amulet taken from the tomb of Amenemhab.  When Theodosia learns of the evils that will be visited upon not only her family but her native Britain, she knows that she must return the amulet to its rightful place.  (Wacky hi-jinks ensue.)

This was a fun book for my daughter and me. She is quite sure that we need to get the next one in the series (Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris) from the library as soon as possible.  I appreciated the author's portrayal of therelationship between Theodosia and her younger brother, Henry, and am interested to see how it continues to develop.