
A review of the essay collection Note To Self: 30 Women on Hardship, Humiliation, Heartbreak and Overcoming It All.
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A review of the essay collection Note To Self: 30 Women on Hardship, Humiliation, Heartbreak and Overcoming It All.
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Short reviews of Jellicoe Road, The Sense of An Ending, The Future of Us, Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries, One Last Thing Before I Go, People Who Eat Darkness and Moranthology.
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Short reviews of Robopocalypse, The Twelve, The Graveyard Book, The Journal of Best Practices, and Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake.
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Short reviews of A Grown Up Kind of Pretty, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, How To Be A Woman, and The Casual Vacancy.
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Short reviews of Broken Harbor, So Cold The River, I Am America (And So Can You), Losing Clementine, and I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands: The Other Side of OCD.
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Short reviews of State of Wonder, Take the Cannoli, The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Wild, State by State and Savages.
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Book reviews: Devil in The White City; After The Quake; Gang Leader for A Day; Dear American Airlines; and Heft.
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A collection of short book reviews, including: When Will There Be Good News; Started Early, Took My Dog; The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat; Girl In Translation; Curtains; and Game Change.
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In honor of Thanksgiving, Tag Chicken with Trisha turns into Tag Turkey. Still fun ... but it will put you to sleep faster.
Read more →We got through Hurricane Sandy safely.
Read more →A review of Harry Harrison's 1966 book, Make Room! Make Room!
Read more →A review of the second Simon Serraillier novel, The Pure In Heart, by Susan Hill.
Read more →Trisha asks me more questions and I answer them. More interesting than it sounds. (Almost)
Read more →A review of Richard Matheson's book I Am Legend.
Read more →A review of John Ajvide Lindqvist's vampire horror book Let Me In.
Read more →Look at what Mr. Jenners made!
Read more →So I'm playing with Words with Friends .... badly. Would you like to crush me too?
Read more →Mini reviews of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, The 500 by Matthew Quirk and The Taker by Alma Katsu.
Read more →Tag Chicken is back after a long hiatus and perhaps an inappropriate celebration by Trisha who mistakenly thought she was the victor.
Read more →Short reviews of three audiobooks: Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach and The Odds by Stewart O'Nan.
Read more →Catching you up on our birthday celebrations and a recommendation to RUN (not walk) to the theaters to see Looper.
Read more →Some random stuff ... includes dog photos!!!!!
Read more →An open letter to my son on his 8th birthday!
Read more →A review of Lisa Genova's new novel, Love Anthony, which deals with what it is like to be autistic and parent an autistic child.
Read more →Mini reviews of three great reads: 11/22/63 by Stephen King, Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood and Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon.
Read more →My line-up of scary and creepy books for the RIP event.
Read more →Introducing the latest (and rowdiest) member of the household -- Juliet the Havanese puppy!
Read more →Long long long overdue giveaway winners.
Read more →Five super mini book reviews of I Am The Messenger, The Call, Lamb, The Lifeboat and The Sugar Queen
Read more →Wrapping up the series of posts about our cruise adventures.
Read more →A letter to my father on the third anniversary of his death.
Read more →Here is even more stuff we did on our cruise vacation.
Read more →More stuff we did on our cruise vacation.
Read more →We went on a cruise. Here is some stuff that we did.
Read more →Super mini reviews of Olive Kitteridge, Drop Dead Healthy, Steve Jobs, Fun Home and Perfection.
Read more →A review of I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits.
Read more →A review of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.
Read more →A review of Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. I LOVED it!
Read more →A review of Lisa Lutz's fifth book in the Spellman series, Trail of the Spellmans.
Read more →A review of The Human Bobby by Gabe Rotter. Sooooo good!
Read more →A review of The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty.
Read more →I'm checking out AGAIN!! Blame the Olympics and a cruise.
Read more →Reviews of Graceling, Divergent and A Friend of the Family.
Read more →Blabbing about various things.
Read more →Super Mini Reviews of five books: Earth: The Book, A Northern Light, Revolutionary Road, The Namesake and The Slap.
Read more →The umpteenth round of Tag Chicken with Trisha makes another appearance.
Read more →Mini Reviews of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, The Book of Joe and Everything Is Wrong With Me.
Read more →Bits and pieces about this and that.
Read more →A review of Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life From Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed.
Read more →I'm unplugging ... again.
Read more →Lessons learned while supervising a kid-run lemonade stand.
Read more →A review of the audiobook version of Watership Down by Richard Adams—one of my rare 5 star reads!!!
Read more →Another round of tag chicken with Trisha!
Read more →A review of the audio book version of Neil Gaiman's American Gods (The Tenth Anniversary Edition).
Read more →No, no, no … I’m not performing acoustic versions of my greatest hits. Instead, I’m unplugging from the computer (as I shall be doing at various times throughout the summer, when my blogging usually goes to hell in a handbasket due to the 24/7 presence of BB). But never fear, I’ll be back in a few...
Read more →A review of Mark Haddon's latest novel, The Red House.
Read more →Another game of Tag Chicken with Trisha!
Read more →A review of the YA dystopia The Death Cure by James Dashner.
Read more →A review of the YA dystopia book The Scorch Trials by James Dashner.
Read more →A review of James Dashner's YA dystopia, The Maze Runner.
Read more →A review of Flawless by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell.
Read more →A review of Lisa Genova's novel Left Neglected.
Read more →The winner of my Norwegian Wood giveaway is announced.
Read more →Tidbits about our 10th anniversary trip to Vegas.
Read more →Jenners and Mr. Jenners, you're celebrating 10 year of marriage. How do you plan to celebrate? Easy, we're going to...
Read more →A Mother's Day post. Don't read if you don't want to be totally jealous of my wondrous bounty.
Read more →A review of Susan Jane Gilman's utterly absorbing and fascinating travel memoir, Undress Me In the Temple of Heaven. I LOVED it!
Read more →Mini reviews of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Chosen by Chandra Hoffman and Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
Read more →Announcing the winners of my April Giveaway.
Read more →A review of the audiobook version of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.
Read more →Tag Chicken with Trisha continues with 11 more questions answered and asked.
Read more →A review of Matthew Norman's debut novel, Domestic Violets.
Read more →I admit defeat on A People's History of the United States ... but I claim victory on turning my leaky fountain into a container garden.
Read more →A review of Haruki Murakami's memoir about running and being a novelist, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
Read more →A photo essay about making pysanky -- Ukrainian Easter eggs.
Read more →A review of Bill Bryson's excellent and informative book, A Short History of Nearly Everything.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop post that looks inside the mind of Romeo the Pup.
Read more →A review of the audibook version of The Emperor of All Maladies by Dr. Siddhartha Muhkerjee.
Read more →I check off one of my bucket list items by riding a Segway.
Read more →Continuing A People's Readalong with a discussion of Chapter 12: The Empire and the People
Read more →A review of Christopher Moore's latest book, Sacre Bleu: A Comedy D'Art.
Read more →Another round of Tag Chicken with Trisha.
Read more →Announcing March winners and new books up for grabs in April.
Read more →I'm going to read nothing but non-fiction in April. Wish me luck!
Read more →A review of the audio book version of Every Last One by Anna Quindlen.
Read more →Writer's Workshop time again! This time out, I'm writing an imaginary scene between the four different types of sentences.
Read more →Romeo is one muddy little dog!
Read more →Thoughts on Chapters 10 and 11 of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. (A bit incomplete on my end as I didn't quite finish the reading.)
Read more →A review of Anne Lamott's Some Assembly Required: A Journal Of My Son's First Son
Read more →What if there were three of me? Nightmare or dream come true?
Read more →A review of Lauren Hillenbrand's book, Unbroken.
Read more →Reviews of Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Skipping A Beat by Sarah Pekkanan and Cruising Attitude by Heather Poole.
Read more →Trisha tagged me. Then I tagged her. Then she tagged me again. So now I'm back to tagging her. This is primarily for my own amusement. Feel free to skip this post if you'd like.
Read more →Covering Chapters 8 and 9 of Howard Zinn's book A People's History of the United States.
Read more →I forgot all about picking and announcing winners for the Feburary giveaway. That is what happens when you let it run for a full month! Anyway, I finally got my act together and the winners are: Alyce from At Home With Books won Between A Rock and Hard Place by Aron Ralston Caite from...
Read more →Mini reviews of Attachment by Rainbow Rowell, The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore, and V Is For Vengeance by Sue Grafton.
Read more →The other day when I wrote about hobbies I’ve tried and quit, I did leave out “obsessive blog redesigning.” If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I change up my look every few months or so. Each time, I vow that I won’t do it again. But...
Read more →Writer's Workshop post on the many hobbies I've tried and quit.
Read more →A review of Helen Oyeyemi's book Mr. Fox. I was not a fan.
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Discussing Chapter 7 of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, which focuses on the Indian Removal policy.
Read more →Mini reviews of The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman and Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber.
Read more →A poem by James Whitcomb Riley entitled "He Is Not Dead."
Read more →A People's Readalong moves into Week 6 with a look at how women in early America were oppressed.
Read more →A review of S.J. Watson's novel Before I Go To Sleep.
Read more →A review of Why We Broke Up, which is written by Daniel Handler and illustrated by Maira Kalman.
Read more →I answer some questions and post some questions.
Read more →It is Week 5 of A People's Readalong and we're learning about the American Revolution.
Read more →A review of Dan Chaon's collection of short stories, Stay Awake.
Read more →Writer's Workshop time! This week, I'm writing a post in the style of the "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" books.
Read more →A People's Readalong tackles Chapter 4: Tyranny Is Tyranny, which looks at the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence.
Read more →The January giveaway winners are announced, and now you can enter to win for February.
Read more →A review of Kate Atkinson's second Jackson Brodie mystery, One Good Turn.
Read more →Romeo gets a makeover!
Read more →Time again for A People's Readalong. This week, we're looking at Chapter 3, Persons of Mean and Vile Condition.
Read more →A review of Aron Ralston's real-life survival story, Between A Rock and A Hard Place.
Read more →I write about my two prom experiences. Yes ... I went to the prom. I know it is surprising.
Read more →A People's Readalong continues with a discussion of Chapter 2: The Color Line.
Read more →It is the first giveaway of 2012. Up for grabs: What I Hate From A to Z by Roz Chast and The CHICK-tionary by Anna Lefler.
Read more →A review of Sandra Newman's snarky guide to Western lit, The Western Lit Survival Kit.
Read more →A poem called I Found Such Joy by Grace Noll Crowell. A simple poem that just spoke to me.
Read more →A People's Readlong of Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States, begins with Chapter 1: Columbus, The Indians and Human Progress.
Read more →The conclusion of the Treasures from My Past series, in which I discuss my once mighty unicorn collection.
Read more →A review of the audiobook version of Jen Lancaster's memoir, My Fair Lazy.
Read more →It is time to start reading for A People's Readalong. Not convinced you want to join in, check out Jill's post to find out more.
Read more →A post about three random things.
Read more →A review of New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast's book What I Hate from A to Z.
Read more →I was once on a competitive canoe team. (Yes ... you read that right.) Here is the proof.
Read more →An attempt to get others to join Fizzy Jill and I in our superslow readalong of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.
Read more →The winner of the Take A Chance Challenge 3 is Jean at Howling Frog Books.
Read more →A list of the books I read in 2012.
Read more →Reviewing 2011 in haiku form
Read more →The highs and lows of my 2011 reads.
Read more →Winners of my December giveaway and holiday wishes from Romeo the Puppy!
Read more →I'm joining the TBR Double Dare in an effort to clear out my bookshelves (and replace them with more books).
Read more →A review of the audiobook version of Mary Roach's book, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.
Read more →A short story that contains all 100 titles of the books I read in 2011.
Read more →A review of The CHICK-tionary by Anna Lefler.
Read more →Let's take a look at some patches I made ... and my extensive and useless patch collection.
Read more →Somebody (OK … it was me) accidentally deleted the entries for the December giveaway from the database. If you entered, please enter again!!! Here is the link to the entry form. Sorry … I are an idiot.
A review of the collection of Christmas-themed stories "BLUE CHRISTMAS: Holiday Stories for the Rest of Us."
Read more →I write an open letter to Santa Clause covering a few critical issues.
Read more →I’ve had a few e-mails asking if I was going to do the Take A Chance Challenge for 2012. The answer is no. I’m burnt out on reading challenges in general, so it seemed hypocritical to host a challenge. Perhaps taking off a year from reading challenges will get me back in the mood...
Read more →Enter my latest giveaway to win two books.
Read more →A review of the latest Flavia de Luce book, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley.
Read more →What do sushi, books, yaks and chocolate have to do with each other? Well, read this post and find out.
Read more →A review of Amy Chua's controversial parenting memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.
Read more →Romeo announces the winners of the November giveaway!
Read more →A look at the flair I wore on my Catholic school uniform.
Read more →A review of The Redbreast, a Harry Hole book by Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø.
Read more →Musings on some of the wonders I've seen in my lifetime.
Read more →A review of the audiobook of Anthony Bourdain's collection of essays, Medium Raw.
Read more →Once again, we're looking at artifacts from my past to make fun of them. This post features my wallet from high school!
Read more →A review of the adventure/survival book The Ledge by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughn.
Read more →A review of the adult dystopian book The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist.
Read more →My brother recently sent me a box of stuff with "treasures" from my past. I decided it would be fun to look at these treasures and mock them. First up, my rolodex from high school.
Read more →I'm giving away two books in November. You can enter here.
Read more →A review of the audiobook version of Lionel Shriver's So Much For That. I wasn't the biggest fan.
Read more →What is Romeo the Puppy's days like? Why don't I let him tell you.
Read more →I seem to have misplaced today’s post over at Alyce’s wonderful blog At Home With Books. Actually, today is my day to be featured in her fun Best & Worst series, where various book bloggers make their choices for the best and worst books by a particular author. Today I’m praising (and then trashing)...
Read more →I'm back to blogging after a week-long break ... plus Mr. Jenners shares some Halloween observations.
Read more →Coming up on three years of blogging, I’m finding myself feeling a bit burnt out by it. As I promised myself earlier in this year, I’m going to take a break until I feel rejuvenated and refreshed. So I’ll won’t be posting or visiting blogs during this time (yes … I’ll be marking the...
Read more →A review of Laura Lippman's most recent novel, The Most Dangerous Thing. I think she stumbles with this one.
Read more →A review of Demetri Martin's very funny book This Is A Book By Demetri Martin. (The book title might also be This Is A Book. It was hard to tell.)
Read more →I've got three winners from my birthday giveway ... plus some rather amusing shots of Romeo on a very windy beach!
Read more →A review of the fourth book I read for the RIP Challenge, The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff.
Read more →Writer's Workshop time! This week, I'm writing a list of 10 things you should NEVER ask your spouse.
Read more →Three great things happened to me last week. Want to know what they were?
Read more →A review of the excellent YA dystopian book The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Read more →There is a dispute at the Jenners household and we need your help in settling it. Vote now!
Read more →Mini-Reviews of three very different books: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer.
Read more →A break from book talk to do a music meme!
Read more →A review of Ernest Cline's deliriously fun thrill ride of a book, Ready Player One. I just LOVED IT!
Read more →Romeo the Puppy demonstrates his superhero powers! Not cuteness ... flying!
Read more →A review of Belinda Bauer's novel, Blacklands. A creepy book that features a cat and mouse game between a young boy and a pedophile/serial killer.
Read more →Someone on this blog is turning 44 today and giving away some stuff.
Read more →An open letter to the child formerly known as the Little One on the occasion of his 7th birthday.
Read more →A review of Marisa de los Santos's new novel, Falling Together.
Read more →A little photo essay to document my first taste of coffee. It isn't pretty.
Read more →A review of Tana French's excellent novel Faithful Place. I swear this woman cannot write a bad book!
Read more →The winners of my recent giveaways are announced. People who entered named Amy, Avital and Karen will be happy.
Read more →Introducing the newest member of our family ... Romeo the Puppy!
Read more →I'm not here today but I wrote something for you at another blog. Go check it out!
Read more →BBAW 2011 kicks off today. Today's daily topic is some of the book bloggers who hold a special place in our hearts.
Read more →I have a giveaway for BBAW -- a book of your choice from Amazon worth up to $20!
Read more →An audibook review of Jon Krakauer's thought-provoking and intense Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman.
Read more →If I was a hoarder, what would I hoard? You get ONE guess. I'm sure you'll get it right. Read on to get the answer.
Read more →It is time for the R.I.P. Challenge. Are you in?
Read more →In which I'm unable to hide my giddiness for the start of the school year.
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A giveaway for a chance to win The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta either in book form or audiobook form.
Read more →A review of Tom Perrotta's new novel, The Leftovers, which (despite its wild hook) presents a lived-in and authentic look at life in modern-day suburbia.
Read more →The third post in my unplanned "What is green..." series.
Read more →The winner of the Fox Inheritance audiobook giveaway ... Heather from Raging Bibliomania.
Read more →Hurricane Irene turns out to be "just another storm" around here. And I redesign my blog. Again.
Read more →A book review of Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis.
Read more →Earthquake in NJ!!! It is now 1984 in my house now! And a photo by Mr. Jenners.
Read more →A review of the third book of Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking Series, "Monsters of Men."
Read more →The winner of Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon.
Read more →A review "The Ask and the Answer", the second book of the Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness.
Read more →A freaky looking visitor from the backyard.
Read more →Information on Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) 2011.
Read more →A book review of "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness.
Read more →Some photos that Mr. Jenners took of some tiny visitors that have been flocking to us all summer long.
Read more →Winners of the July giveaway and a new giveaway for an audiobook version of The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson.
Read more →A book review of John Verdon's second mystery/thriller featuring Dave Gurney, "Shut Your Eyes Tight."
Read more →A post in which I natter on about various things. But there is an important poll for you to help decide a critical thing in my life!
Read more →Mini book reviews of The Fox Inheritance, Faking Smart! and When You Reach Me.
Read more →Some highlights from my recent trip to Montana, focusing mainly on our days in Glacier National Park.
Read more →I'm off on a rather big adventure. Find out where I'm going and why.
Read more →My review of The Rose Trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly, which offers densely plotting historical fiction that packs in the action, drama and romance.
Read more →Book reviews of books by two comediennes: Tina Fey's Bossypants and Chelsea Handler's My Horizontal Life.
Read more →Giveaway time! Choose from Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl or Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.
Read more →Our vacation to Ocean City, MD from A to Z.
Read more →I'm taking a week long break and stepping away from the computer and blogging to recharge my batteries. See you when I get back!
Read more →Mini book reviews of three different books: The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson and Ten Degrees of Reckoning by Hester Rumberg.
Read more →Uninspired and tired, I give the Four Things Meme a whirl.
Read more →A book review of Chevy Steven's second thriller, Never Knowing, which is being released on July 5.
Read more →A prayer for stay-at-home moms during summertime.
Read more →A book review of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, written as a letter to the author.
Read more →My handy guide to dressing like me. Only read if you are ready to take some chances with your fashion!
Read more →Three book reviews of The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall, Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl, and The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell.
Read more →Time for the June Giveaway. Here is what's up for grabs: Strange But True by John Searles and What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell.
Read more →For this week's Writer's Workshop, I'm writing six word memoirs about various times in my life.
Read more →Three mini book reviews of The Happiness Project, What the Dog Saw and Born Standing Up
Read more →Another Book Blurb Friday entry. And, once again, I have to go down the silly path.
Read more →A book review of Stephen King's Under the Dome written as a news story.
Read more →A book review of What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.
Read more →In honor of our 9th wedding anniversary, a little slideshow of some of my favorite moments from the past decade with Mr. Jenners.
Read more →Three mini book reviews of The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray (Walter Mosley), Strange But True (John Searles) and The Virgin of Small Plains (Nancy Pickard).
Read more →A silly fake book blurb created for Book Blurb Friday.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop post in which I share some things about Mr. Jenners that I used to find charming but now ... not so much.
Read more →My review of Lisa Gardner's latest mystery/thriller, "Love You More," which I found lacking.
Read more →Another silly entry for Book Blurb Friday.
Read more →A giveaway for the month of May.
Read more →In which I imagine what The Hunger Games might be like if Anne Shirley was a tribute.
Read more →Reviews of Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown, Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
Read more →Thoughts on how time-consuming blogging is, giveaway winners, a plug for 127 Hours, and my new hairstylist.
Read more →I'm taking a little break from blogging ... but I left you some nice parting gifts in this post.
Read more →An epic tale of Yes Day, an event that you want to avoid having in your own home.
Read more →A review of the Meghan O'Rourke's beautifully written, insightful and candid memoir, The Long Goodbye, which deals with the topics of grief, bereavement and mourning.
Read more →Another Friday, another fake book blurb!
Read more →In this edition of Writer's Workshop, I discuss the moments that made me feel like a grown-up ... and imagined what the future might hold for the Little One.
Read more →A review of "A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan—a time-shifting, non-linear story that picks up and drops writing styles as it moves along.
Read more →A book review of Darin Strauss's powerful memoir, Half A Life.
Read more →Another week, another fake book blurb for Book Blurb Friday!
Read more →With tongue firmly in cheek, I document my 15 minutes of fame for a Writer's Workshop entry.
Read more →A book review of "Heads You Lose" by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward, a collaborative comedic murder mystery that has been described as "Weeds crossed with Adaptation." I adored it.
Read more →A review of artist Shaun Tan's book, "Lost & Found," which contains three lavishly illustrated stories/fables.
Read more →Winners of my March giveaway ... and a new giveaway to enter.
Read more →Book Blurb Fridays asks participants to write fake book blurbs for pretend book covers. This week I'm delving into paranormal romance with "His Cold Hands."
Read more →My latest contribution to Writer's Workshop about my favorite tweets.
Read more →A review of Jasper Fforde's witty and whimsical book "The Big Over Easy."
Read more →My first stab at Book Blurb Friday, which involves writing book blurbs for fake books based on a supplied cover image.
Read more →A contribution for Writer's Workshop that involves me digging out my old journals and sharing some really bad poetry I wrote in my younger years. Complete with present-day self commentary!
Read more →Book review of Jeff Klima's humorous (but gross, graphic and profane) memoir "The Dead Janitors Club." I happened to love it ... but it definitely isn't for everyone.
Read more →Taking the Lazy Blogger's Easy Way Out by posting some random thoughts from this past week.
Read more →Book reviews of two ghost-themed books: Laura Kasischke's "The Raising" and Laura Brodie's "The Widow's Season." I liked one a lot more than the other ... find out why!
Read more →Things my mother taught me ... and I rejoin Twitter at Mr. Jenners urging.
Read more →A review of Rob Sheffield's book "Love Is A Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song At A Time."
Read more →A list of songs that transport me instantly to another time and place when I hear them. What songs do that for you?
Read more →A review of a diet/exercise book called "The Great Fitness Experiment: One Year of Trying Everything" by Charlotte Hilton Andersen.
Read more →For a President's Day project, the Little One had to come up with some new laws he'd like to see enacted. I decided to join in the fun as well.
Read more →Book reviews of "Complications" by Atul Gawande, "Strangers at the Feast" by Jennifer Vanderbes, and "Backseat Saints" by Joshilyn Jackson
Read more →I compare what I was blogging about this time last year ... and somehow get caught up in writing about Peeps!
Read more →March giveaway of two books: "The Nobodies Album" by Carolyn Parkhurst and "Still Missing" by Chevy Stevens
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Some fun with some silly tools (including a Paranormal Plot Romance Generator) found at Warpcore SF.
Read more →Book reviews of "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, "Fool" by Christopher Moore and "The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 by Sue Townsend
Read more →I redesign my blog ... again. But this time I swear it wasn't my fault.
Read more →A review of Tana French's The Likeness, which is a follow-up of sorts to In The Woods.
Read more →A photo of my mom and dad back in the day ... and how touching it was to get a copy in the mail after my mom's death.
Read more →In this Writer's Workshop post, I write about a memorable vacation.
Read more →Life...With Books resumes giveaways after a short break.
Read more →A review of Carolyn Parkhurst's novel The Nobodies Album.
Read more →I recently got an iPhone ... and I love it. Here are some of my favorite apps.
Read more →A review of Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt. Surreal, silly but great fun.
Read more →A look inside the Little One's diary ... complete with his drawings.
Read more →My list of books for the Take A Chance Challenge 3.
Read more →My thoughts on being an orphan at the age of 43.
Read more →A review of Still Missing by Chevy Stevens--an edge-of-your-seat thriller.
Read more →A list of my rather dubious accomplishments. You'll feel better about yourself after reading this post.
Read more →The winner of the Take Another Chance Challenge.
Read more →The Where Are You Reading Challenge and a cool reading site I came across.
Read more →A review of Jonathan Franzen's much anticipated novel Freedom.
Read more →A post in which I write about Mr. Jenners and how he came to my "rescue" ... in his sleep.
Read more →A review of the genre mash-up book Pride and Predjudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.
Read more →A post with a bunch of unfortunate, twisted, heavy-handed and silly metaphors.
Read more →A review of The Inner Circle by Brad Metlzer. Although I like this author, I wasn't a fan of this book.
Read more →Some of my New Year's Resolutions. I guarantee I will do less than 5% of them.
Read more →A review of Zoo Story by Thomas French, which provides an inside look at Tampa's Lowery Park Zoo.
Read more →Here is the place where you can post your finished entries for the Take A Chance Challenge 3.
Read more →A description and the book I'll read for the What's In A Name 4 Challenge.
Read more →A list of books I read in 2011. For my own amusement and records.
Read more →A eulogy for my mom, who died suddenly on December 23.
Read more →One of the many reasons why I love the Little One: his very low-key Christmas wish list.
Read more →Want to join in a reading challenge that asks you to find books in unusual or random ways? Consider the Take A Chance Challenge 3. Click to find out more and sign up!
Read more →Want to know my favorite books from 2010? Well, now you can in this wrap-up of books that thrilled me, chilled me, and disappointed me.
Read more →Someone in our family didn't photograph well for this year's holiday card. I'll give you one guess who it was.
Read more →A few things I realized about myself this week.
Read more →A review of Red in the Flower Bed by Andrea Nepa, a children's book about interracial adoption.
Read more →A review of Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, a thought-provoking and disturbing look at one man's experiences before, during and after Hurricane Katrina.
Read more →I'm an idiot. Here is why. Learn from me.
Read more →A review of Gary Klaben's "Changing the Conversation," a book about financial planning for families that I found more philosophical than practical.
Read more →The post in which I announce the latest addition to our little family. Although you may think you know what I'm going to say, I've used misdirection and outright lies to fool you. (Insert evil laugh here.)
Read more →A review of the Young Adult (YA) novel, "Before I Fall," by Lauren Oliver, which I found to be memorable and notch above the other YA books I've read.
Read more →Wondering how I spent my Thanksgiving holiday? Well, we took a little trip to New York and saw some amazing things flying above the city.
Read more →Chronicle Books is having a contest where I (and one lucky commenter on this post) might win $500 worth of books! Find out more details in the post.
Read more →A discussion of Book VII of Musashi, an epic novel of the samurai era written by Eiji Yoshikawa ... and the conclusion of the Musashi Readalong.
Read more →A review of The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook by Matt Dunn, which could be characterized as "male chick-lit."
Read more →I write an open letter to a celebrity whose name begins with T and ends with G. (You'll never ever guess so don't even try.)
Read more →I was tagged to answer four questions. So I did. Then I asked four new bloggers four of my own questions. And so on and so forth and there is too much math in this excerpt.
Read more →A review of Emma Donaghue's stunning book, ROOM. I found it riveting and could not put it down.
Read more →A discussion of Book VI of Musashi, an epic novel of the samurai era written by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Read more →In which I "proudly" display some of the Little One's latest artistic endeavors.
Read more →The winners of my October giveaway, some bad news about future giveaways, and this darn cold!
Read more →A discussion of Book V of Musashi, an epic novel of the samurai era written by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Read more →A review of Laura Lippman's book, "I'd Know You Anywhere," which I listened to on audio. I found it a compelling bit of psychological suspense.
Read more →In which I rant about a grievous offense committed in our neighborhood.
Read more →A review of Bill Bryson's latest book, "At Home: A History of Private Life," which I found utterly fascinating.
Read more →In which I finally participate in the Have You Ever? meme.
Read more →A discussion of Book IV of Musashi, an epic novel of the samurai era written by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Read more →The last book I read for the RIP Challenge, We Have Always Lived In The Castle was author Shirley Jackson's final novel. I suspect you won't forget the narrator Merricat and will drawn into this wonderfully creepy tale.
Read more →In which one of my dreams as a mother is fulfilled bringing me great joy and happiness.
Read more →I finally get around to reading Daphne DuMaurier's classic book "Rebecca" and find it wonderfully creepy.
Read more →What event in all of history would I be a part of? Find out in this Writer's Workshop post.
Read more →A review of "The Gargoyle" by Andrew Davidson, a supernatural historical fiction tale about past lives and how they might follow us into the present.
Read more →A 100-word story for Saturday Centus using the prompt "This is the scariest story I've ever heard."
Read more →A review of David Rakoff's collection of humorous essays "Fraud." I liked it. A lot.
Read more →A discussion of Book III of Musashi, an epic novel of the samurai era written by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Read more →A little quiz about what has been going on in my life.
Read more →A book review of Mary Roach's book "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers," which proved to be amusing, educational, fascinating and gross all at once.
Read more →Some interesting photos that Mr. Jenners took this week.
Read more →A review of "Superfreakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. This accessible and fascinating book looks at a variety of topics from an economic viewpoint, including monkey prostitution.
Read more →A review of The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris, which I found to be a haunting, compelling story of personal dystopia that I could not put down.
Read more →Reasons I seemed liked the perfect babysitter ... until you hear about my dark side.
Read more →A review of Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan, an involving domestic drama with magical elements.
Read more →A discussion of Book II of Musashi, an epic novel of the samurai era written by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Read more →A book review of an amazingly funny but terrifically raunchy memoir by Rachel Shukert called "Everything Is Going To Be Great."
Read more →My final post in the epic readalong of The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I found the book to be overly long, rambling, and boring. I was thrilled to finish it.
Read more →Jobs I'd never want to have in my life.
Read more →The winners of my September Giveaway.
Read more →A book review of Scott Sigler's sci-fi thriller "Infected," which I found to be fast-paced but very gross and light on characterization.
Read more →My adventures on the roof. Yeah ... you read that right ... the roof.
Read more →A summary of Book 1 of Musashi, an epic novel of the samurai era written by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Read more →Enter to win one of these five books: In The Woods, Case Histories, Middlesex, What The Dead Know, Sum: Forty Tales of the Afterlives.
Read more →My 10 favorite things about the fall season.
Read more →A 100 word story plus a rundown on my son's birthday party and gifts I received for MY birthday.
Read more →A book review of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice ... as written by a teenage Valley Girl!
Read more →A book review of Kate Atkinson's book Case Histories, which proved to be a multilayered, humorous and compelling mystery.
Read more →A letter to my son on his 6th birthday. Click on title to read full article.
Read more →Announcing my decision to consolidate my two blogs and move to a self-hosted WordPress blog. Click on title to read full article.
Read more →Book review of Tana French's novel "In The Woods." I found it to be an involving mystery and police procedural that fully engaged me.
Read more →Book review of Lee Child's "One Shot" featuring Jack Reacher. A well-done action thriller with a hubba-hubba hero.
Read more →A book review of Jeffrey Eugenides's novel Middlesex written as a recipe.
Read more →An interview with book blogger Tony Malone of Tony's Reading List. Click on title to read full article.
Read more →Some brief thoughts on Suzanne Collin's book "Mockingjay" ... plus a giveaway. Click on title to read full article.
Read more →A 100 word look at my personal history with the date of 9/11. Click on title to read full article.
Read more →The third update in my slog through Fyodor Dostoevsky's epic novel "The Brothers Karamazov."
Read more →A book review of Jonathan Tropper's novel This Is Where I Leave You, which I found to be a surprisingly funny yet emotional read.
Read more →A review of David Eagleman's unique little book Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives.
Read more →Writer's Workshop asks me what freedom means. I answer.
Read more →A review of Laura Lippman's What the Dead Know.
Read more →An invitation to join me on a read along of the classic samurai novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Read more →Saturday Centus time again! This time the prompt is "It was a dark and stormy night."
Read more →A review of Abraham Verghese's novel Cutting for Stone.
Read more →I'm joining the RIP V Challenge and reading spooky books.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop prompt asks me to write a letter to a celebrity. I choose Robert Pattinson.
Read more →I'm nominated for Best Eclectic Book Blog. Yay me.
Read more →A review of a collection of non-fiction essays, The New Kings of Non-Fiction, edited by Ira Glass.
Read more →Our vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC from A to Z.
Read more →A review of Susan Beth Pfeffer's YA dystopia, Life As We Knew It.
Read more →A review of David Nicholl's book, One Day.
Read more →A post about the time I went parasailing.
Read more →A book review of The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. This is a rare and wondrous book.
Read more →Another post for The Brother's Karamazov Readalong.
Read more →A letter to my dad on the first anniversary of his death.
Read more →A review of Jodi Picoul's novel, House Rules.
Read more →A post about things I find impossible.
Read more →A review of Emily Giffin's book, Heart of the Matter.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop post about things I was obsessed about as a child.
Read more →A post about how karma came back to bite my husband in the ass.
Read more →A book review of Michael Chabon's brilliant The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Don't let it scare you like it did me. It is fantastic and fascinating read.
Read more →I'm trying Saturday Centus with the prompt of "I listened to them from my perch on the top step and didn't know whether to laugh or to cry."
Read more →A review of Marisa de los Santo's lovely book, Love Walked In.
Read more →A book review of James Patterson's book 1st To Die, written as a letter to the author.
Read more →For Writer's Workshop, I'm remembering an ill-advised canoe trip I once took. It was bad. Very bad.
Read more →I am busted by Mr. Jenners for doing a bad thing.
Read more →I wrote a guest post. Here is a link to it.
Read more →A post about the time I kissed the Blarney Stone!
Read more →A review of Justin Cronin's epic "The Passage." It is NOT a vampire book!
Read more →I attempt Saturday Centus with the prompt "Objects in the rear view mirror are closer than they appear."
Read more →A review of Nelson DeMille's latest John Corey thriller, The Lion.
Read more →A review of Lee Kravitz's memoir, ...unfinished business.
Read more →A write about some long drives for Writer's Workshop.
Read more →Some random thoughts from our recent Florida vacation.
Read more →A review of The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind--an uplifting and inspiring story that warmed my heart.
Read more →A review of Jen Lancaster's weight loss memoir, Such A Pretty Fat.
Read more →The first post for the Brothers Karamazov Readalong.
Read more →Some recommendations for books on real-life survival, writing and spirituality.
Read more →A review of Sloane Crosley's book of essays "How Did You Get This Number?"
Read more →A post about the time I went swimming with dolphins.
Read more →A review of J.M. Coetzee's novel, Disgrace.
Read more →I respond to a Writer's Workshop prompt about a movie I'm regretting.
Read more →A review of Catherine O'Flynn's novel, The News Where You Are.
Read more →A review of Columbine by Dave Cullen, a non-fiction look at the events surrounding the school shooting at Columbine High School.
Read more →A post about my adventure of riding a horse bareback in the ocean!
Read more →A review of Kazuo Ishiguro's book Never Let Me Go.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop prompt asks me to comment on headlines at the Today Show web site. So I do.
Read more →Book recommendations for restaurants, motherhood and offbeat contemporary fiction.
Read more →A review of Lisa Gardner's Live To Tell.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop post in which I talk about the soundtrack for my life.
Read more →A sum up the week and talk about the books I've been reading and ones I've added to my wish list.
Read more →A review of Joyce Carol Oates's novel, We Were The Mulvaneys.
Read more →A review of John Verdon's thriller, Think Of A Number.
Read more →My bucket list (circa July 2010).
Read more →A list of stats about my reading so far at the midpoint of 2010.
Read more →At the midpoint of 2010, here is a list of the 10 best books I've read so far.
Read more →50 (more) things about me.
Read more →A review of Garth Stein's book "The Art of Racing In The Rain."
Read more →Don't have time to talk except for these few meaningless tidbits.
Read more →A review of Rhoda Jantzen's memoir, Mennonite In A Little Black Dress.
Read more →Recommendations for thrillers, women's fiction and memoirs that don't focus on drug/alcohol/sex abuse or mental illness.
Read more →A thunderstorm knocked a tree into my house. Here are some photos!
Read more →A Writer's Workshop post about how the Little One reminds me of myself.
Read more →This week’s question comes from Nise’ at Under the Boardwalk who asks: What book or books do you find yourself recommending over and over? This is simultaneously an easy question and a hard question. For a book recommendation to be worthwhile, it has to fit the needs of the person asking for the recommendation....
Read more →Doing the Always, Sometimes, Never meme because I'm too tired to come up with my own post idea.
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 book I read: “The Host” by Stephenie Meyer 2 words that describe the book: Sci-fi lite 3 settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: Planet Earth (mostly in and around Arizona), sometime in the future Wanderer is a “soul,” a type of...
Read more →Four mini book reviews of An American Family by Pam Spaulding, About Alice by Calvin Trillin, Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris, Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need by Dave Barry, and Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop post about my Bosses From Hell.
Read more →Showing you what picture sums up my reading tastes.
Read more →Nominating myself for the BBAW awards.
Read more →Fun and Games with Jenners involves everyone writing the next line of a story.
Read more →A review of The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.
Read more →A rare contemplative essay about when did we lose our sense of possibility.
Read more →A review of The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by Michele Young-Stone.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop post about my summertime plans.
Read more →A rather long discussion of ranking books.
Read more →Meet Paco -- the slightly creepy paper bag puppet made by Mr. Jenners.
Read more →A review of Michael Perry's memoir COOP.
Read more →A review of Bite Me by Christopher Moore.
Read more →Its Fun and Games With Jenners. This time we're writing 6 word memoirs.
Read more →A review of Andrew Martin's comic guide for housekeeping for men, How To Get Things Really Flat.
Read more →A Writer's Workshop post in which I answer a series of questions Have You Ever...
Read more →An account of our not so great trip to Great Adventure.
Read more →Writing about my week alphabetically.
Read more →A movie review of the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! I’ve been taking a little break from FreeVerse to recharge my poetic batteries and find some new poems that make me say “Hmmmmmm.” But on Monday I spontaneously decided to make it Steig Larsson Week on my blog to celebrate the release of the final book in the Millennium...
Read more →It’s Writer’s Workshop time again!Join the fun over at Mama’s Losin’ It This week, I’m choosing prompt 1: Describe a time when you had difficulty communicating with someone who speaks a different language than you. (inspired by Jen from Hamster Central) This prompt jumped out at me … but I’m taking it in a...
Read more →A review of The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson. (Includes a summary of the previous two books.)
Read more →This week’s question comes from Kathy at Bermudaonion’s Weblog who asks: If you could be a character from any book, who would you be? You mean aside from being Bella and having hot vampire sex with Edward Cullen? Well, the very first person who popped into my head is Lisbeth Salander … AKA The...
Read more →Another new week and I still have no post ideas. Why is my muse missing in action? Is she on vacation? So I’m forced to answer another question from a reader. This time, the question comes from Grace’s Mom who asked: If someone was to make a made-for-tv movie about your life, who would...
Read more →A review of Marisa de los Santo's charming book, Belong To Me.
Read more →Waiting for Columbus Thomas TrofimukDoubleday, 2009ISBN: 978-0385529136336 pagesGenre: Literary FictionMy Rating: 4 stars Book Description from Shelfari A man arrives at an insane asylum in contemporary Spain claiming to be the legendary navigator Christopher Columbus. Who he really is, and the events that led him to break with reality, lie at the center of...
Read more →It’s Writer’s Workshop time again!Join the fun over at Mama’s Losin’ It This week, I’m choosing prompt 4: What ‘chapters of your life’ would there be? Make a list of your life’s chapters. Choose one. Write five possible opening sentences to that chapter. Then write five possible ending sentences to that chapter. (inspired by...
Read more →Eight years ago today, Mr. Jenners and I were married. For our anniversary, I thought it would be fun to remember our wedding day and share some thoughts about what I’d do differently and what would stay the same. What I’d Do Differently: I would have asked for more of the mini hot dogs...
Read more →“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spinethat spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill BrysonRelease Date: October 5, 2010 Why I Want It: As I mentioned in my Monday post, I adore Bill Bryson and will read...
Read more →Remember when I was doing my FAQs and I told you that you had one last chance to ask me questions? Well, I’ve been saving these questions up for days when “I got nothing.” Today is one of those days. All the questions today come from Angie at Seven Clown Circus. (The fact that...
Read more →This week’s question comes from Jackie at Farm Lane Books Blog who asked: Which book has changed your opinion of a subject, making you look at something in a whole new light? This was a hard one to answer! In looking over the books I’ve read in LibraryThing, these were the ones that jumped...
Read more →Hosted by That’s A Novel Idea 1 book you read: Dogrun by Arthur Nersesian 2 words that describe the book: East Village life 3 settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: the East Village in modern-day NYC Mary Bellanova is a wannabe writer who works at a series of unrewarding temp...
Read more →Jen over at Buried with Children has the cutest new memecalled Kids Make the Darndest Thingsfeaturing kid artwork. I’m a sucker for kid art and have much enjoyed reading Jen’s posts so I thought I’d share some early artwork from my own Little One this week. We call this series “First Stick Figures,” which...
Read more →Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer Harper Perennial, 2002 ISBN: 0-06-052970-9 276 pages Genre: Fiction My rating: 3.5 stars I don’t really know how to start telling you about this book! It is far from a straightforward narrative so it is probably best to start by describing the three primary story arcs: The narration...
Read more →It’s Writer’s Workshop time again!Join the fun over at Mama’s Losin’ It This week, I’m choosing prompt 5: imagine your life is now a book. In 100 words, write the blurb for it. (It’s what people will read on the back cover.) Chocoholic: One Woman’s Lifelong Struggle with The Brown Devil In this riveting...
Read more →“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spinethat spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. Because I’m technically under a Self-Imposed Book Buying Ban for 2010, I tend to shy away from getting too excited about books that are coming out as I can’t buy them anyway. But,...
Read more →This week’s question comes from Kelly at Kelly’s Thoughts and Ramblings who asks: How often do you ever have to actually buy a book? Do you get most of yours through swaps and drawings? Do you frequent used book stores a lot? Sorry…more than one question, but all related. I’ll forgive you the barrage...
Read more →So Kari did this first, then September Mom did it, so I had to do it too. (And, yes, I would jump off a bridge if they did it.) Naturally, I can’t just provide the answers; I had to add a little commentary as well. Instructions: 1. Put your iPod or MP3 player on...
Read more →… you can check out this interview with me over at Stacy’s delightful blog, A Novel Source. Oh … and guess who scored a $50 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble and a $50 gift certificate from Amazon and a Carvel chocolate fudge ice cream cake for Mother’s Day? Me!!!! I truly feel like...
Read more →A review of Josh Bazell's Beat the Reaper.
Read more →Here are the links for the first part and second part of this series. Now on with the post. When I last left you, I was up to some fairly standard stuff (writing bad poetry, fancying myself as an equal to Anne Frank, envisioning future invasions of New Jersey). But the diary took a...
Read more →It has been awhile since I wrote about a book the Little One and I got really excited about (probably because we’ve been alternating between Star Wars books, Dr. Seuss books and life cycles of various animal books). But on our recent library run, we found a book that really excited both of us...
Read more →Time for Writer’s Workshop again! This week I’m choosing Prompt 1: Open letter to new moms. And by “new moms,” I mean brand-new, first baby moms in the first few weeks of their motherhood. Dear New Mom, So now you know, huh? All the daydreams you had when you were pregnant of your adorable...
Read more →A review (of sorts) of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. It is difficult to discuss the book without giving too much away but I try my best.
Read more →This week’s question comes from Jen D. at Not Now … I’m Reading. What’s the last book you read that had a totally unexpected ending? I picked this question because I’m going to review the book I’m about to answer the question with later this week so I thought it would be timely. And...
Read more →I don’t want to scare you or anything, but I believe I’ve seen the first sign of the Apocalypse. In Book 5, Chapter 12 of Revealations, it clearly states: And lo, the first sign of the Coming Doom shalt be a thick coating of yellow sneeze powder — not more than 1/8th of a...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “Bloodsucking Fiends” by Christopher Moore 2 Words that describe the book: Vampire comedy 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: Modern-day San Francisco Jody—A fledgling vampire who had her new lifestyle thrust upon her with no warning or...
Read more →Rumor Has ItJill MansellSourcebooks Landmark, May 2010404 pagesGenre: Fiction, “Brit Chick Lit” or “Women’s Fiction” or “A Fun Frothy Beach Read”My rating: 3.5 stars Story Overview This is the story of what happens when a girl from the city moves to a little town and finds out what happens when people stop being polite...
Read more →Time for Writer’s Workshop again! This week I’m choosing Prompt 3: List five things you would do different if you started blogging today. And believe me when I tell you that this is a subject I’ve actually thought about more often than I should. So let’s step into The Way Back machine and see...
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! As you probably already know, April is National Poetry Month. Serena over at Savvy Verse & Wit has organized an amazing poetry blog tour that will be going on all month. Since Serena pretty much has so many of the “professional” or “published” poets covered, I thought I’d use...
Read more →As you may know, my Little One is in Kindergarten. His class has this program called the VIP, in which one kid gets to the be the special person for the week (i.e., they get to run errands for the teacher). When you are VIP, you get to choose a friend to go with...
Read more →This week’s question comes from Beth F at Beth Fish Reads. She asks: If you could travel to any world described in a novel, which one would you go to? Why? And don’t forget to tell us the title of the novel. In thinking about this, I realized it was so much easier to...
Read more →Whilst blogging the other day, I came across the following poem at a blog called Necromancy Never Pays. The poem just tickled me and seemed just perfect for a meme. So, I thought I would go ahead and answer the questions posed in the poem for an easy, no thinking post. (Perfect as we...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “Julie & Julia” by Julie Powell 2 Words that describe the book: Cooking quest 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: Modern-day New York City Julie Powell—A disgruntled New York secretary, Julie Powell feels like her life is...
Read more →After my dad died last year, I developed more than a passing interest in what happens after we die. In an effort to find out more, I read the following two books at roughly the same time. In retrospect, I realize these books are like night and day: one is a religious text from...
Read more →Time for Writer’s Workshop again! This week I’m choosing Prompt 5: List 10 rules you’ve unlearned (meaning 10 things you thought were expected of you or were the “right way” of doing things, but that you now ignore). Never eat raw cookie dough because you’ll get salmonella. Pish posh. If this was true, I...
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! As you probably already know, April is National Poetry Month. Serena over at Savvy Verse & Wit has organized an amazing poetry blog tour that will be going on all month. Since Serena pretty much has so many of the “professional” or “published” poets covered, I thought I’d use...
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere! The Little One has been quite imaginative lately … turning almost anything he sees into something to play with. It occurs to me that perhaps I no longer need to spend money on toys...
Read more →This week question comes from Steph The Bookworm: Has any book you’ve ever read been life changing for you? Probably the most life-changing thing I’ve ever read was the instruction booklet for an over-the-counter ovulation test kit that ended up giving me the Little One. But technically that was a pamphlet and not a...
Read more →I think I’m finally back on the blogging train after getting off for my recent vacation. Before I begin this week’s ramblings, check out these neat purses made from book covers. Thanks to Ter from With An Angel on My Shoulder for sending me this link. If Mr. Jenners wasn’t already so annoyed at...
Read more →Last week, I asked you to create fake books and/or magazines. I have to say, this is probably the most fun I’ve had with one of my “games.” I can totally envision repeating this one again. I hope you had as much fun with it as I did. Anyway, here is what I came...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri 2 Words that describe the book: Short story heaven 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: This is a collection of short stories by the writer I consider to be the master of...
Read more →I’m very much asleep … dreaming about a room in my house that I had never seen before. A small voice calls out … penetrating my dream sleep. “Moommmmmmmyyyyyy….” I stagger to his room. Eyes puffy with sleep. “What, hon?” “I know how the first person got alive.” This is too much for me...
Read more →The Survivors Club Ben SherwoodGrand Central Publishing, 2009ISBN: 978-0-446-69885-6373 pagesNon-fictionMy rating: 3.5 stars Book Overview The subtitle of the book, “The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life,” pretty much sums up what this book is about—learning about what it takes to survive and determining what type of survivor you might be. The...
Read more →It is time once again for the erratically appearing but always a good time Fun and Games with Jenners! This time out, the game was inspired by two people. The first is Lacey from Don’t Make Drugs, who is inspiring so many posts on this blog lately that I should give her a cut...
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! As you probably already know, April is National Poetry Month. Serena over at Savvy Verse & Wit has organized an amazing poetry blog tour that will be going on all month. Since Serena pretty much has so many of the “professional” or “published” poets covered, I thought I’d use...
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere! The inspiration for this post about firsts that DON’T make the baby book came to me while doing laundry recently. Wonder what the inspiration was? It is the very first Post-It. I’m sure you...
Read more →This week, I couldn’t resist answering Rebecca at Lost In Book’s recent question from her wonderful Book List Meme about the best and worst book covers. (I usually freeze up for this meme and draw a blank, as if I’ve never read a book in my life. But for this question, I was able...
Read more →A book review of Whacked by Jules Asner.
Read more →Apologies for the Borat photo I left you with … that was mean. Next time I’ll give you a warning. To make it up to you, I’m sharing photos of my vacation to San Diego … and there isn’t a lime green bathing suit to be found. See … I’m not lying! How pretty...
Read more →First of all, apologies for the Borat photo. I know that image was cruel and unusual punishment so to make up for it, I’ll show you some photos from our vacation to San Diego. (Yes … that is where I was this past week. We met up with my mom and brother out there....
Read more →A review of the second Flavia de Luce book by Alan Bradley, The Weed That Strings That Hangman's Bag.
Read more →Sorry for this particular photo … but I just couldn’t resist.I’m taking a brief blogging break, but I’ll be back before you know it! Doing something that may or may not involve a beach and a lime green swimsuit,
Read more →Hosted by The Unread Reader Dates: March 23, 2010 to June 23, 2010 (three months)Rules: Read (or reread) the three books in Christopher Moore’s A Love Story Vampire Trilogy: Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck and Bite Me. Details: If you’re already started the series, you can still participate. Either start all over again as as...
Read more →If you want to read the first installment of this series, click here for some really embarrassing attempts at poetry and proof that I have always lacked stick-to-it-tive-ness. So let’s continue on, shall we? We were in 1979 if I recall correctly, specifically December 26th. A QUIZ FOR MY FUTURE SELF After providing a...
Read more →The Circle of Friends, Book V: HeatherL. Diane WolfeDancing Lemur Press, 2010ISBN: 978-0-9816210-5-0282 pagesGenre: Fiction, Young Adult Today, I’m thrilled to welcome L. Diane Wolfe, author of the Circle of Friends books. Diane’s fifth book in her Circle of Friends series, Heather, was released on March 16. The book focuses on Heather Jennings, a...
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere! Today I thought I’d list all the concerts I’ve ever attended that I can remember. This list in no way reflects the full extent of my actual music tastes. To say that I am...
Read more →Time once again for the Question of the Week. This week’s question comes from Caitie at Pub Writes who asks: If you could only take five books with you on a ten day trip, what would they be? Funny you should ask this, Caitie, as I’m preparing for an upcoming vacation and the FIRST...
Read more →Before I start yapping about what I did this week and what I’ve been reading, I wanted to share some interesting things I came across and thought you might be interested in. Bookswim.com. I found this in the latest issue of Real Simple magazine. It is like Netflix for books! What you do is...
Read more →So remember back in February when I got my horrible haircut? Well, one month later, it is finally where I want it to be. But let me tell you, it was a tough month. It just warms my heart that the post about my horrific haircut was one of my commented on posts EVER!...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “Crazy for the Storm” by Norman Ollestad 2 Words that describe the book: Survival memoir 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: late 1970s California and Mexico Norman Ollestad Jr.—The author had a unique upbringing in the uninhibited...
Read more →Inspired by this post of Lacey’s over at Don’t Make Drugs, I realized I was sitting on a gold mine of blogging material in the form of my childhood diary (which spans the years 1979 to 1983 yet, oddly enough, is only half-filled. What can I say? I wasn’t a prolific diarist.) So let’s...
Read more →A review of Liz Allison and Cecil Murphey's beautifully illustrated book on grieving, Words of Comfort For Times of Loss.
Read more →Time for Writer’s Workshop again! This week I’m choosing Prompt 5: Why didn’t they ask you? Write a list of 5 or 10 sentences that begin with the words “No one ever asked me,” then write about one in detail or use them in a poem or use several in a personal description of...
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! This week, I’m sharing a poem Cheryl Marie Wade, who is a playwright, poet, performer, video-maker, and disability rights activist. This poem was one of those that I found in the zine I used to publish. When I came across it again, I was blown away by its vibrancy...
Read more →Last week I asked if you had any questions to ask me. (And you still can if you want.) I thought I would answer one question a week. And, if I run out of questions, I might ask myself some (as it just now occurs to me this might be a fun way to...
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere! Lately, I’ve been exercising. (Gasp!) The only way I can make the time go by without being miserable is to watch movies (in 20-minute increments). For the past few weeks, I’ve been watching the...
Read more →The Girl With the Dragon TattooThe Girl Who Played With FireSteig LarssonKnopf, 2008 and 2009Genre: FictionMy rating: 4 stars for both Here is the description for the Become A Character part of the Take Another Chance Challenge: For this challenge, you can read any book you want. However, you have to write about the...
Read more →So I missed my week in review last week due to excessive business so I’m catching up with this post. What I’ve Read or Am Reading Julie & Julia by Julie Powell – A foul-mouthed New York secretary, Julie Powell was a blogger with a project long before bloggers were as numerous as they...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “The Devil’s Punchbowl” by Greg Iles 2 Words that describe the book: Suspenseful thriller 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: Natchez, Mississippi, modern times Penn Cage—A former DA and now mayor of his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi,...
Read more →So remember how I’ve been answering all your questions in a series of posts that I’ve been able to drag out for months now? Well, I’m down to your last questions. (Or am I? Read to the bottom to find out why this might not be so.) Although I categorized these questions as “smart...
Read more →I’ve been answering questions from my devoted readers at my personal blog. It has a been fun answering them, not to mention an easy way to crank out a post or two (or three or four or five). So I thought I’d give all of you a chance to ask me questions as well....
Read more →Time for Writer’s Workshop again! This week I’m choosing Prompt 1: If you had to relive a day in your life what day would it be? As soon as I saw this prompt, I immediately thought “August 21, 2009.” In all respects, August 21, 2009 was an ordinary day. In fact, the specifics of...
Read more →A book review of Michael Chabon's brilliant collection of essays, Manhood for Amateurs. The book that introduced me to Chabon's genius.
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! This year the official first day of spring is Saturday, March 20th. One of my traditions with my dad was to listen to Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana on the first day of spring each year. When I lived at home, we would listen to it together. After I left...
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere! Slowly realizing the depth of my blogging problem,
Read more →If the Church Were Christian Phillip GulleyHarperOne, 2010191 pagesGenre: Non-Fiction, SpiritualityMy rating: 3.5 stars Book Overview Philip Gulley is a long-time Quaker minister who has written several books on Christian faith, including If Grace Were True and If God Is Love. In other words, this book is written by someone who has been involved...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “A Dirty Job” by Christopher Moore 2 Words that describe the book: Dying (of) Laughter 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: San Francisco, CA, modern times Charlie Asher—a normal guy (a “Beta Male”) with a normal life...
Read more →On Monday, I challenged you to write a story incorporating as many song titles as you possibly could. My story is below (and for extra bonus points, my story title is a song title too). All song titles are in bold. I’ve included Mr. Linky at the end for you to link up your...
Read more →Bad MotherAyelet WaldmanDoubleday, 2009ISBN: 978-0385527934224 pagesGenre: Non-Fiction Memoir, Parenting, EssaysMy rating: 4 stars Overview For the All in the Family part of the Take Another Chance Challenge, I had to read two books by writers who were related to each other in some way. I chose Michael Chabon (the husband) and Ayelet Waldman (the...
Read more →My Old Man … 41 Years Old Today! Today is Mr. Jenners’s birthday! In honor of this day, I thought I would write down 41 things I love about him (one for each year of his life). He keeps going in Super Mario Brothers Wii after the Little One and I fall in the...
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! Did I ever tell you I used to publish a zine? (A zine is a term for self-published magazines … kind of like a precursor to blogging.) It was really a newsletter for my friends to keep in touch after college, and I wrote book and music reviews, shared...
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere! Dispensing advice to world-famous comedians since 2010,
Read more →How I Became A Famous NovelistSteve HelyGrove Press, Black Cat, 2009ISBN: 978-0802170606224 PagesGenre: Fiction, HumorMy Rating: 4 stars The Set-Up To impress his former girlfriend at her upcoming wedding, Pete Tarslaw decides to become a famous novelist. Figuring it couldn’t be all that hard, he spends an afternoon at a bookstore studying bestselling books....
Read more →It has been a long time since I had a Fun and Games with Jenners so I thought it was about time to play the most sporadically appearing meme in the blog world. This time, the idea is to write a story incorporating as many song titles as you possibly can. Your story can...
Read more →Things are looking up weather wise. The snow is almost melted, and it was actually kind of sunny and a little bit warm today. Keep it up Mother Nature! And I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but I deleted my Twitter account (due to some problems with unwanted contacts and direct messages) and decided...
Read more →A review of Lisa See's wonderful book, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
Read more →Raven Stole the Moon Garth SteinHarper, 2010ISBN: 978-0-06-180638-4Genre: FictionMy rating: 3 stars Story Overview On the surface, Jenna Rosen has it all: a husband who loves her, a comfortable life in Seattle, and good looks. But Jenna is troubled; it shows in her excessive drinking, Valium addiction, depression and the increasing discord in her...
Read more →Time for Writer’s Workshop again! This week I’m choosing Prompt 5: Who blind-sided you? Write about a time someone caught you totally off guard. (writingfix.com). First of all, you should know that I am extremely easy to fool. Gullible is my middle name. (And if you believe that, you’re even worse than me.) I’m...
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! In college, I took a class called African-American Poetry. It was a fantastic class, and the highlight was having Rita Dove come in to read her poems to the class. Her book of poems, Thomas and Beulah, won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. It was a thrill to...
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere! Loving Peeps best once they’ve been in the freezer,
Read more →Talking about the excellent children's book, Animalia, by Graeme Base.
Read more →Snow again! If Mother Nature keeps this up, I’m going to have to call a meeting with Her and beg for mercy. I can’t take another snow day with He Who Talks All The Time (aka my Little One). I’m hoping March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lamb this...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “Empire Falls” by Richard Russo 2 Words that describe the book: Small town life 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: Empire Falls, Maine, not too long ago but not present day Miles Roby—The quintessential “nice guy,” Miles...
Read more →When I mentioned in a previous post that I once performed a stand-up comedy routine, many of you asked for details. Being willing to whore myself out for attention a friendly and responsive blogger, today I’m going to tell you about it. And, if you are willing to send me a VCR and a...
Read more →Reviews of three dystopic tales, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and In A Perfect World by Laura Kasischke.
Read more →Time for Writer’s Workshop again! I didn’t do this last week because of the 2010 Haircut Fiasco. But I’m back, and this week I’m choosing Prompt 1: 10 Reasons why you’re better off without him….or her….or it. Mr. Jenners is always going on about his life would be so much better without me and...
Read more →Hosted by Cara at Ooh…Books! Today I thought I’d share a poem by another “new to me” poet named Ted Kooser. I found this poem in a book I got at the library book shop. The poem appealed to me because the poet’s vision of his reader was so specific … and he was...
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere!
Read more →The Impostor’s DaughterLaurie SandellLittle, Brown and Company, 2009ISBN: 978-0-316-03305-3246 pagesGenre: Memoir, Graphic NovelMy Rating: 3.5 stars The Basic Story The book is a memoir of the author’s struggles to understand her father, who lied about almost everything in his life and screwed a lot of friends and family members. As a result, the author...
Read more →I was a little out of sorts this past week and had a hard time getting into blogging. This happens from time to time, I’ve found. When it does, I just take a break and come back to it when I’m more enthused. Do you find that happening to you? Part of it was...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn 2 Words that describe the book: “Who Is The Killer” thriller (more than 2 words, I know. So sue me!) 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: Kansas, present day and 1985 Libby...
Read more →First, I just want to thank all of you for your support with my horrible haircut, (and it is, despite your supportive comments). The fact that I got 45 comments and two phone calls (from real-life friends) to offer me consolation, support and advice just proves to me why blogging is so wonderful. For...
Read more →Where The Mountain Casts Its Shadow Maria Coffey St. Martin’s Griffin, 2003 ISBN: 0-312-33901-1 229 pages As many of you already know, my father died in a mountaineering accident this past August. It was a shocking loss for our family. You’re never really “ready” for someone you love to die, but when they die...
Read more →So I got my hair cut today. I told them I wanted it “close-cropped.” I was envisioning something like Judi Dench. What I got was more along the lines of cancer patientor recent Marine enrollee. Mr. Jenners literally backed away in horror when he saw me. Holy Crap! This is not quite what I...
Read more →A review of Lisa Genova's excellent and moving novel about Alzheimer's, Still Alice.
Read more →Check out more Post-It Note Tuesday posts over at SupahMommys.It is the funnest and most colorful meme in the blogosphere! Look what I made!!!Craft project gone amok or OCD? You be the judge!(I think I’ve been trapped in the house for too long.)(Oh yeah…the other sides are filled with stickers too.)
Read more →The premiere of The Amazing Race is coming on soon so I don’t have a lot of time to write a post but I wanted to tell you a few things. Go see Up in the Air starring my new boyfriend George Clooney. Mr. Jenners and I saw it over the weekend, and it...
Read more →Happy Valentine’s Day! Mr. Jenners and I got to go away for a night by ourselves at a hotel last night. It was wonderful and restful. (Nothing like getting to sleep in without a little voice calling “Mooooommmmyyyy…I’m up” at 6:00 a.m.) We went out for dinner and a movie. We saw “Up In...
Read more →A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea 1 Book you read: “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt” by Beth Hoffman 2 Words that describe the book: Southern healing 3 Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: 1967, Savannah, Georgia CeeCee Honeycutt—a lonely 12-year-old girl who has had a difficult childhood coping with her...
Read more →I’m wondering if all you folks who live in places where snow is common think us people on the East Coast of the United States are a bunch of whiny weenies when it comes to significant snowfall. Do you get tired of our storms being national news? Do you think: “Get over yourselves! We...
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