2009 Challenges

Here are the challenges I have slotted for 2009:

Young Adult Romance Challenge (5 out of 6 needed) - Feb 28
Themed Reading Challenge (4 out of 4 needed) - Feb - July - Jane Austin Theme
Romance Reading Challenge (5 out of 5 needed)
Read Your Own Books Challenge (25 out of 25 needed)
Support Your Local Library Challenge (12 out of 12 needed)
PUB Challenge (9 out of 9 needed)
Christian Readers Challenge (4 books out of 4 needed)
The Numbers Challenge (5 out of 5 needed) - January - August 1
Audiobook Challenge (12 out of 12 needed)
Book Awards II Challenge (1o out of 1o needed) -June 1

I am sure more to come!!

Magic Hour - Kristen Hannah

Rating: 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 480

Challenges: None

Synopsis (from BN.com)

Until recently, Dr. Julia Cates was one of the preeminent child psychiatrists in the country, but a scandal shattered her confidence, ruined her career, and made her a media target. When she gets a desperate call from her estranged sister, Ellie, a police chief in their small western Washington hometown, she jumps at the chance to escape.

In Rain Valley, nothing much ever happens—until a girl emerges from the deep woods and walks into town. She is a victim unlike any Julia has ever seen: a child locked in a world of unimaginable fear and isolation.

When word spreads of the "wild child" and the infamous doctor who is treating her, the media descend on Julia and once again her competence is challenged. State and federal authorities want to lock the girl away in an institution until an identification can be made.

But to Julia, who has come to doubt her own ability, nothing is more important than saving the girl she now calls Alice. To heal this child, Julia will have to understand that she cannot work alone and must look to others—the people in the town she left long ago, the sister she barely knows, and Dr. Max Cerrasin, a handsome, private man with secrets of his own.

Then a shocking revelation forces Julia to risk everything to discover the truth about Alice. The ordeal that follows will test the limits of Julia's faith, forgiveness, and love, as she struggles to ascertain where Alice ultimately belongs.

Review

I thought this book was ok. It was very easy to put down, but I did want to know how it ended which kept me reading it. I liked Firefly Lane more than this one.

Wednesday Sisters - Meg Waite Clayton

Rating: 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 288

Challenges: Pub Challenge

Synopsis (from BN.com)
Friendship, loyalty, and love lie at the heart of Meg Waite Clayton’s beautifully written, poignant, and sweeping novel of five women who, over the course of four decades, come to redefine what it means to be family.

For thirty-five years, Frankie, Linda, Kath, Brett, and Ally have met every Wednesday at the park near their homes in Palo Alto, California. Defined when they first meet by what their husbands do, the young homemakers and mothers are far removed from the Summer of Love that has enveloped most of the Bay Area in 1967. These “Wednesday Sisters” seem to have little in common: Frankie is a timid transplant from Chicago, brutally blunt Linda is a remarkable athlete, Kath is a Kentucky debutante, quiet Ally has a secret, and quirky, ultra-intelligent Brett wears little white gloves with her miniskirts. But they are bonded by a shared love of both literature–Fitzgerald, Eliot, Austen, du Maurier, Plath, and Dickens–and the Miss America Pageant, which they watch together every year.

As the years roll on and their children grow, the quintet forms a writers circle to express their hopes and dreams through poems, stories, and, eventually, books. Along the way, they experience history in the making: Vietnam, the race for the moon, and a women’s movement that challenges everything they have ever thought about themselves, while at the same time supporting one another through changes in their personal lives brought on by infidelity, longing, illness, failure, and success.

Humorous and moving, The Wednesday Sisters is a literary feast for book lovers that earns a place among those popular works that honor the joyful,mysterious, unbreakable bonds between friends.

Review

I thought this was pretty good. It was a good discussion book for our reading group and was a fast read.

Capital Holiday - Janet Dailey

Rating: 3.5 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 352

Challenges: None

Synopsis (from BN.com)
"All I Want for Christmas..."
Life in the White House means never having a moment to yourself. As the President's daughter and official hostess, Jocelyn Wakefield longs to escape the media circus that surrounds her every move for just one day. Impossible? Not with a wig, some very different clothes, a secret tunnel, and a grandmother with a butler, both of whom are willing accomplices...

But being anonymous in Washington, D.C. at Christmas time may turn out to be an impossible dream after all when she collides with political columnist Grady Tucker—a man who could publish her exploits in papers nationwide. But Jocelyn is about to discover that Grady is more than just a journalist looking for a story—and that the magic of love can never be disguised...

Review

This was a fun, easy read for the holiday season. It is engaging and kept me interested.

Dewey - You are missed!

I just learned that Dewey at The Hidden Side of the Leaf passed away this week. I am so saddened to hear the news. I don't think I have the words to express my sorrow. I helped Dewey with the read-a-thon this fall and had a ball. She was so laid back and didn't stress over it it was so refreshing to work with her. I am now sad that my pregnancy kept me from participating this fall - had I known it would be our last together I would have made every effort to participate.

My sadness is a little shocking to me - it is amazing how much impact a person can have on you that you have never met! If you would have told me a year ago before I started blogging that someone would pass away that I never met would make me so sad I would have never believed it. For me Dewey's passing hits home to how my "blogging" friends have become true friends. They are here when ever I want them to be (by popping to their sites) and sharing my passion and love for reading. Thanks to all of you for opening my world and impacting my life! And to you Dewey - I will miss you dearly!

16 Lighthouse Road (Cedar Cove Series #1) - Debbie Macomber

Rating: 4
Pages: 377
Challenges: 1st in a series

Synopsis (from BN.com)
Olivia Lockhart16 Lighthouse Road Cedar Cove, WashingtonDear Listener,You don't know me yet, but in a few hours that's going to change. You see, I'm inviting you to my home and my town of Cedar Cove because I want you to meet my family, friends, and neighbors. Come and hear their stories - maybe even their secrets!I have to admit that my own secrets are pretty open. My marriage failed some years ago, and I have a rather . . . difficult relationship with my daughter, Justine. Then there's my mother, Charlotte, who has plenty of opinions and is always willing to share them.Here's an example: I'm a family court judge and she likes to drop in on my courtroom. Recently I was hearing a divorce petition. In Charlotte's view, young Cecilia and Ian Randall hadn't tried hard enough to make their marriage work - and I agreed. So I rendered my judgement: Divorce Denied.Well, you wouldn't believe the reaction! Thanks to an article by Jack Griffin, the editor of our local paper (and a man I wouldn't mind seeing more of!), everyone's talking.Cedar Cove - people love it and sometimes they leave it, but they never forget it!See you soon . . . Olivia

Review
This was a really good book! I liked all the characters and want to know more about them. She left some mysteries of the characters and what happens hanging so it makes you want to read more. Luckily I have the next book!

Fields of Gold - Andy Stanley

Rating: 4

Pages: 144

Challenges: none

Synopsis (from bn.com)

A practical and inspirational book based on the principle of sowing and reaping. If we sow fear, what will be our harvest? And conversely, if we sow faith, what will we grow? This book moves the reader beyond fear and guilt about giving and into confidence, security, and excitement. Andy Stanley unpacks our irrational fears about money, helping us to discover that generous giving is actually an invitation for our heavenly Father to get involved in our finances and resupply us with enough seed to sow generously throughout our lifetime.

Review

This book gave me a new perspective on giving. One of the concepts that made me think the most is Jesus having dinner. If Jesus was coming to dinner would you give him leftovers or would you go the the store and prepare a special meal? Most likely I would make a special meal, but if that is the case why do I give him the left overs of my money...and giving to the church is not the first thing I give my money to? It is a concept I have been mulling over and changing my perspective on. Andy Stanley really has a way of making you think about different perspectives. Listening to his lessons are always enlightening.