The Bout of Books Read-a-thon is officially over, and like others before me, I have survived! Not only that, I had fun and enjoyed chatting online to some new folks. My goals were: 1. Finish Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 2. Read More Than You Know by Beth Gutcheon 3. Listen to Joyland by Stephen King 4. Comment on 3 blogs a day and participate in 2 challenges (besides my own). I achieved all my goals! Yay, me! The challenges…
(image credit: Konstantin Kirillov via Dreamstime) Create a found* poem in three easy steps! Welcome to the found poem challenge at Pen In Her Hand for Bout of Books. I’m thrilled to be hosting this challenge! There is no prize other than the joy of creating, so let’s begin and have fun! Just choose a novel from any genre, print or ebook, that you’re reading or have finished. I used Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison. Pick a number…
The Bout of Books Read-a-thon encourages goal-setting and sponsors several challenges as part of a week long celebration of reading. (Check back on Thursday as yours truly is hosting one!) One of my goals was to participate in two challenges. This one, hosted by Doing Dewey, is my second. The instructions are to introduce a reader to a favorite genre. Today I’d like to introduce you to a sub-genre, paranormal women’s fiction. Paranormal women’s fiction is not Paranormal Romance although the…
Hey, wait for me! I’m jumping into the fray! (image credit: Dannyphoto80 via Dreamstime) So, I wasn’t going to do this, but I kept seeing these great year-end reading lists so decided to jump into the book fray and satisfy your need to know. Without further ado, here are the ten books I enjoyed the most in 2013 in order of preference. Be forewarned, many (though not all) involve ghosts of one type or another. 1. The Orphan Master’s Son…
So, New Year’s Eve, and I found myself alone in the house. I ask you, what better way to ring in the new year than to immerse oneself in a ghost movie? Maybe the ghost can be a metaphor for the death of the old year. Or maybe that’s reaching. At any rate, I rented Haunted, a 1995 movie with a starring cast including Sir John Gielgud, Kate Beckinsale, and Aidan Quinn. Professor Ash, a ghost debunker, journeys to the…
It’s baaaack…Bout of Books Read-a-thon! The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand…
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher I read the first in the Dresden File series as part of the Goodreads October read-a-long. If you’re like me, and you want to start at the beginning of any series, you can access the non-spoiler discussion of the first book, Storm Front, here. I love the premise of a hard-boiled wizard detective though I felt the first book was a little uneven—vacillating in tone between noir and ribald. There is no such unevenness in the…
This House Is Haunted by John Boyne This House Is Haunted is sort of like Jane Eyre meets Turn of the Screw. The author John Boyne writes 19th century sensibilities with the absolute authority of a waistcoat-wearing, mutton chopped Victorian. So much so, I was surprised to see his other books include The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. In fact, these two works are so different, I actually researched the author on Wikipedia! I thought there might be two John…
Exciting news, for all you readers out there! Book2Buzz and Closed the Cover are sponsoring a giveaway of a Kindle HD pre-loaded with over 50 books for one lucky reader. When they asked me to donate Moonlight Dancer, I was happy to participate. I just know it’s going to be exciting for the lucky winner who will receive this gift of reading…and possibly discover some new authors in the process. To join in the fun and enter the contest, head on…
(image credit) Sadly, it’s time to wrap up Readers Imbibing.Peril VIII. It’s fitting that our cloaked heroine appears to be fleeing the scene, don’t you think? I had fun participating for my third time over at Stainless Steel Droppings and even surpassed past attempts. During the challenge, I viewed one movie and read six books. If you missed them, here they are: Ghost Town the movie with Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, and Greg Kinnear Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison The…
Blog Tour and Review: Phantom Summer Welcome to the book review and blog tour stop for Amy Sparling’s Phantom Summer. First, I’d like to thank Dianne from Oops I Read a Book Again for making this process so easy. What a gift it is for authors to have a blog tour coordinator. It is my pleasure to host a blog stop (my first!), so I just hope I’m doing it correctly. Without further ado, here are the details: Title: Phantom…
Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison Olivia will always regret not confessing her undying love to best friend Lucas, for just as she begins to tell him, fate intervenes. The next time Olivia sees Lucas, he’s a ghost. So begins Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison that I read as part of the RIP challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings. Olivia, a promising artist, faces multiple problems for one so young. Someone killed Lucas, and she must discover who…
Celebrate Banned Books Week. I’m going to shock you. This year I am in favor of book banning. Yes, I want to ban. I know, I know, you were expecting my usual response to Banned Books Week: a review of a banned ghost novel and an exhortation to be subversive and read something banned. In the past I extolled the virtues of Beloved, The Lovely Bones, and The Headless Cupid. All banned books. But today, I want to jump on the…