My Book Retreat

Another week has passed. We had a good week with my daughter's 9th birthday and a sleepover on the weekend. She had lots of fun with her friends. I can't believe my baby is 9!! When I started blogging she was only 2!! I also had my neighborhood book club meeting last week. We discussed The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, which everyone enjoyed. I got some reading done this past week but no blogging. Someday I'm going to take time to write a bunch of reviews and you'll all finally know what I thought of all these books I've been reading. What I'm reading I read Maisie Dobbs by Jacueline Winspear this past week. It was a nice change from all the nonfiction I've been reading lately. My review will be published tomorrow for the blog tour. Now I'm going to pick up North of Here by Laurel Saville, which is my next tour review book. What my kids are reading [Harry Potter Spoiler Alert to follow!!!] M, who is in 3rd grade, is mere pages

It's Monday! It's been two weeks since my last update. So much for my commitment to participate in this meme every week this year! I have to say I'm just not as motivated to write anymore. I have so many reviews outstanding but I just never feel like getting on my computer in the evenings and writing reviews. I need to snap out of it! I had a great couple of weeks, topped off by a 5 mile hike with Carter on Sunday while my husband and daughter went horseback riding with their Y Guides tribe. We went to a local park and hiked 5 miles. It was mostly due to my book selection for the week, which you can read about down below. Blog posts and reviews Last week, I reviewed Thinner in 30 by Jenna Wolfe. That's it. I really need to find something to motivate me to write!! What I'm reading I finished The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. I'm heading to book club tomorrow to discuss this book and I'm looking forward to it. After that, I read

Ready to make a change for the better but not willing to make a huge commitment? Jenna Wolfe, the Today Show’s Lifestyle and Fitness Correspondent and NBC News National Correspondent, has written a book that just might help. Thinner in 30: Small Changes That Add Up to Big Weight Loss in Just 30 Days is just what the title says: a set of small changes that can lead to big results. Since this is a self-help book, I feel I must review this from both the reader perspective and the perspective of someone trying to implement her changes. As a reader, Wolfe grabbed my attention right away. Her writing style is open, casual and humorous, and she got me excited about her program. Each small change is highlighted in its own chapter, starting with a quick summary up front for those who don't want to read an entire chapter to get the gist of it. Then she gets into some details as well as tips and tricks to make it work for you. I enjoyed her personality and tone, and the easy-to-r

It's Monday! I'm dragging a bit today after staying up too late last night. We had a Super Bowl party here, which was fun from a social standpoint but incredibly disappointing from a game standpoint (I do live in North Carolina, after all). Once everyone went home and the house was fairly cleaned up, I sat up until midnight reading! I'm finally getting toward the end of my book so I couldn't resist. It's going to be a long day. Blog posts and reviews Last week, I reviewed The Ex by Alafair Burke. I also posted an update on my Bookish Resolutions challenge. What I'm reading I'm still reading The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. A neighbor who is in my book club mentioned it was a slow read but worth it, and I have to agree. I am enjoying it but it's not something I can read quickly. I hope to finish tonight and move on to something new. Not sure what yet. What my kids are reading M, who is in 3rd grade, is almost done with Ha

In January, I set some goals for the year and now it's time to see how I did for the first month. The challenge is called Bookish Resolutions , and it's hosted by Laura @ trips down imagination road and Michelle @ Because Reading . I didn't set my goals until midway through the month, and I must admit that I did not do well in this first month. But it sounds like this may be considered a bit of a practice month! Here are my goals and my progress for January: Reading Goals Read 60 books by the end of the year ~ I've read 4 books so far. 4x12 is only 48... Read 5 books that I already own as of today (1/17) ~ 0 Read every book chosen for my book club this year ~ so far on track Commit to reading no more than 2 review books per month ~ I read two in January Blogging Goals Write a weekly reading recap every week ~ I missed last week but hit all the others Write at least one review each week ~ I missed one week Visit and comment on 5 blogs per week ~ not do

Twenty years ago, Olivia Randall ruined Jack Harris's life. Now her ex-fiance is accused of a triple murder and his daughter has convinced Olivia to take on the case as his defense attorney. She is sure that there's no way he could have committed the crime, but the prosecution is convinced otherwise. She needs to help him prove his innocence to make up for what she did to him so long ago. It looks like he may have been framed, but can she prove it? How can she get at the truth? The Ex by Alafair Burke is a combination of legal and psychological thriller. Olivia spends a lot of time going through the evidence and trying to unearth the proof they need to show Jack's innocence. There isn't a lot of courtroom time but there is a lot of investigating and digging into the details of what actually happened. There's a whole psychological aspect to the story as well. First, there's the relationship between Olivia and Jack and the effect it had on the course of th