I'm moving my blog over to Wordpress!

Hey, all my loyal followers. I'm moving my online blog over to wordpress. You can now follow me over there at: https://passionatebklvr.wordpress.com/  

Thanks for following me on here and I'll see you over there. Thanks, Sherri

Bout of Books 12.0 Progress

I was very excited to learn this past weekend that the Bout of Books 12.0 readathon was happening this week. I've been progressing with two books and added a third tonight. I don't really have a plan and am going by instinct. I think it's more fun that way. So here is my progress on what I'm reading so far...  I'll also be posting my updates to my twitter @sherrisue76 . Good luck and happy reading!

Love,
Sherri aka Passionate Book Lover

First listen... about half way done last night.

Second read...only 30pgs in.

Third read...only 1% finished. Looks compelling though!

HOUR 12 — MID EVENT MEME! Halfway Done!

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?

    Still reading The Star Attraction By Allison Sweeney. A bit disappointed by it because I expected her first go at fiction to be a lot better. Maybe the next one will be. She is my favorite actress and love following everything she does!

2. How many books have you read so far?

   

    Sadly this is my first book and had nine books lined up. Since I'm so slow I'm planning on reading my shortest reads so maybe I can finish some more reads. I'm not doing the full 24 hours and plan on stopping my reading around 10 or 11pm. 

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

     The book I was looking forward to during the Read-a-thon I most likely won't get to. It was The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld. I plan on saving it on my tbr for after the readathon. Anyway, I'm looking forward to my two shortest reads The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1) by Lemony Snicket and Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm. They are both under 200 pages so I at least have a small chance of finishing them.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

    I had to work in the morning so part of my day I couldn't read. Other than that, I cut my usual nap after work short so that I could get more reading done. 

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

    Besides work, I took an hour and fifteen minute nap. Had some leftovers for dinner so I didn't have to go anywhere and be too distracted from the -thon. I wish I could read more but I've been so fatigued from work that I'm only doing about eight-ish hours.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

    I like it because everything over at the read-a-thon site seems much more organized than past years. It just makes the whole process much easier. I've been following over there, on blogger, and on twitter.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

   

None that I can think of. I really do love how well everything is organized. It's much more enjoyable this year then in past -thons.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

    If I could possibly get the day off I could devote more of my time to getting more read. I might even take the Monday after the read-a-thon off so I'd have extra time to catch up on sleep. I did this on another one and it worked very well for me. I enjoyed and felt accomplished when I made it to the 6 am time. I wish I could do it this year but I have too much going on. 

9. Are you getting tired yet?

    Well I took a short nap but I am feeling a little bit fatigued. I don't plan on staying up much past 11pm so I should be okay. 

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

     Well for myself I find it makes it easier to type up a list of all the books that I plan on reading. I sorted the list by shortest to longest reads and I noted if they where kindle books or not. Other than that, not I don't really have any tips. I do enjoy the whole blogging process and only do it during the read-a-thon because it's the only time of year I'm motivated enough to blog. I always want to write reviews on here about books but I'm just not good at expressing my opinions like others are.

Hour 0 - Kick off Meme

What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

I'm reading from Wynnewood Pa. But can't start until after 1pm because I'm working this morning.

Which book in your stacks are you most looking forward to?

I'm reading Alison Sweeney's first fiction book, The Star Attraction. I'm very excited to see what happens in it and if I love it. 

Which snack are you most looking forward to? 

Since I'm seriously watching what I eat in preparation for my cruise in 19 days I'll mostly be eating fruits and veggies. Mostly power foods. I did buy one bag of pretzels and sandwich cookies but I'm trying to keep them to a minimum. 

Tell us a little something about yourself. 

I love to be crafty but lately I haven't had time for it. I took one cake decorating class at Joann's last fall and loved it! I also love to garden, too.

 If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

Lately I haven't been sleeping well so I'm only doing about 8-10 hours of the readathon. I'm also working this morning and won't be able to do the first few hours, 😿. 

Can't Wait for Dewey's Read-a-Thon

So I've been making preparations all week and even had some help picked out some short reads. I have a list of nine books that I plan on attempting to read. I'm only participating in I hope 8-10 hours. Just don't think I can do it to the extent that I used to. So much is going on with preparing for my cruise in twenty days and planning my summer health plan to lose weight. 

So my list of about nine books are as follows:

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (kindle) 108 p.

The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1) by Lemony Snicket 188p. (kindle)

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm 191 p.

Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce 241 p.

The Star Attraction by Alison Sweeney 259 p. (kindle) Current read

The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld 261 p. (kindle)

Tender at the Bone Ruth Reichl 282 p.

Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper 299 p.

The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag 304 p.  (kindle)

I hope to finish at least two and will follow some of the blogging suggestions that I found on the Dewey site. Since I'm not so good at this. Good luck everyone! I'll be tweeting a lot too!

Review: Jabberwocky By Daniel Coleman

Jabberwocky

Author: Daniel Coleman

Summary

(From Goodreads)

The story behind Lewis Carroll's masterpiece poem. You know how it ends, but you won't believe how it happens.

My Thoughts

This was a very hard book for me to get interested in. I kept thinking as I was reading it that it would get better. Boy was I wrong. It really seemed as if this story was very plot driven and I just didn't get the point of it. As a result of that, I only gave it one star. I really wanted to rate it better and never rate so lowly typically. 

Tjaden is the main character who is becoming an elite and marrying his sweetheart Elora.  Along with his best mate Ollie he must save the town from the Jabberwocky. I felt like there was a lot missing from these characters and I've read better Fantasy books from this genre. 

I wish I could say more about the storyline as so many reviews on both Goodreads and Amazon just love the storyline. I just don't get it and was very upset that for the first book I finished in the new year I didn't absolutely love it. 

My Ratings

Wish I could rate it better but this one just wasn't for me. I didn't see the point of it!

AUTHOR WEBSITE / GOODREADS / AMAZON

Sherri 

Books Read In 2012

Well, I was very disappointed with my reading in 2012 since I didn't attain my goals like I usually do. As a result of this, I'm unchallenging myself.  2013 will be a year  more simplified by only setting an overall goal of 30 books.  It was much harder to participate because I usually enjoy doing these challenges with my best reading friend and since she moved out of the area I didn't have anyone to motivate me on to continue.  Anyhow, for the two years I participated in these challenges I had a lot of fun.  I just need to find new things to get me motivated and focus more on my social life and to meet Mr. Right!

2012 Pages Read Challenge
Goal: 14,000 pages
YTD: 7,322 pages = 52% of goal completed!

January: 1,846 pages.

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 404 pages
2. Beastly  by Alex Flinn 300 pages
3. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater 390 pages
4. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater 362 pages
5. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater 390 pages

February: 164 pages.

6. The Woman In Black by Susan Hill 164 pages

March: 208 pages.

7. The Vow: The True Events that Inspired the Movie by Kim Carpenter,Krickitt Carpenter,Dana Wilkerson 208 pages

April: 419 pages.

8. Bewitching by Alex Flinn 336 pages
9. The Grimm Curse by Stephen Carpenter 83 pages

May: 0 pages.

June: 696 pages.

10. Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson 387 pages
11. Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1) by L.M. Montgomery 309 pages

July  707 pages.

12. Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables, #2) by L.M. Montgomery 276 pages
13. Night by Elie Wiesel 144 pages
14. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 287 pages

August  0 pages.

September 0 pages.

October 1,612 pages.

15. The Awakening and the Struggle (The Vampire Diaries, #1-2) by L.J. Smith 500 pages
 16. The Fury and Dark Reunion (The Vampire Diaries, #3-4) by L.J. Smith 520 pages
 17. Nightfall (Vampire Diaries: The Return Series #1) by L.J. Smith 592 pages

November 1,103 pages.

18. Shadow Souls (The Vampire Diaries: The Return #2) by L.J. Smith 612 pages
19. Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman 164 pages
20. Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison 327 pages

December 567 pages.

21. Midnight (The Vampire Diaries: The Return, #3) by L.J. Smith 567 pages

Books Read in 2011

Well, I did it again!  I surpassed my previous year's goals and read way more books while at the same time enjoying keeping track of my Pages Read Challenge which was my first time partaking in.


Goal: 10,000 pages
Total: 13,517 pages = 135% of goal completed!


December: 843 pages. Completed 8% in December!
42. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 283 pages
41. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 80 pages
40. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 480 pages

November: 1,948 pages. Completed 19% in November!
39. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer 756 pages
38. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer 629 pages
37. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer 563 pages

October: 1,762 pages. Completed 18% in October!
36. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 498 pages
35. Grimm's Fairy Stories by Jacob Grimm 144 pages
34. The Secret Circle: The Captive Part II and The Power by L.J. Smith 400 pages
33. The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I by L.J. Smith 416 pages
32. Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum 304 pages

September: 1,371 pages. Completed 13% in September!
31. The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum 352 pages
30. The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum 312 pages
29. The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum 264 pages
28. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White 184 pages
27. Strike Zone by Kate Angell 259 pages

August: 600 pages. Completed 6% in August!
26. Curveball by Kate Angell 292 pages
25. Squeeze Play by Kate Angell 308 pages

July: 495 pages. Completed  4.9 % in July!
24. Remembering South Cape May: The Jersey Shore Town That Vanished into the Sea by Joseph G. Burcher, Robert Kenselaar 128 pages
23. Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont 26 pages
22. The Beach House by Jane Green 341 pages

June: 816 pages. Completed 8.1% in June!
21. American Gods by Neil Gaiman 304 pages
20. Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara 512 pages

May: 0 pages.  Completed 0% in May =-(

April: 1,428 pages. Completed 14.2% in April!
19. The Cat Who Came In From The Cold  by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson 107 pages
18. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 214 pages
17.  Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum 272 pages
16. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells 104 pages
15.  A Little Princess  by Frances Hodgson Burnett 186 pages
14. Ozma of OZ  by L. Frank Baum 210 pages
13. The Woggle-Bug Book  by L. Frank Baum 48 pages
12. The Marvelous Land of Oz  by L. Frank Baum 287 pages

March:1,424 pages. Completed 14.2% in March!
11. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  by L. Frank Baum 240 pages
10. Alice I Have Been: A Novel  by Melanie Benjamin 400 pages
9. ArchEnemy: The Looking Glass Wars, Book Three  by Frank Beddor 384 pages
8. Seeing Redd: The Looking Glass Wars, Book Two  by Frank Beddor 400 pages

February: 1,700 pages.  Completed 17% in February!
7. The Looking Glass Wars  by Frank Beddor 358 pages
6. There's No Place Like Here  by Cecilia Ahern 341 pages
5. The Iliad  by Homer 614 pages
4. Lady Whistledown Strikes Back  by Julia Quinn, Suzanne Enoch, Karen Hawkins, Mia Ryan 387 pages

January: 1,130 pages. Completed 11.3% in January!
3. The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown  by Julia Quinn, Suzanne Enoch, Karen Hawkins, Mia Ryan 391 pages
2. On The Way To The Wedding  by Julia Quinn 371 pages
1. It’s In His Kiss  by Julia Quinn 368 pages

I've decided for 2012 that I'm going to do three challenges in order to make things more fun as far as my reading.  I'm doing the Pages Read Challenge, Reduce Mount TBR, and the 1001 books you must read before you die challenge all over at bookcrossing.com.  My goals are to read 14,000 pages, move 45 books from my TBR shelf, and to read six 1001 books.  I'm super excited for this new year to read a lot and burst my previous goals from 2011.  Happy 2012 everyone and happy reading!

Dewey's Read-a-thon Hours 1-8

 1)Where are you reading from today?
        Wynnewood, PA, United States

 2)Three random facts about me…
 a) I've met my pages read goal for the year which was 10,000 pages.  That's thanks to my Kindle for speeding up my average reading speed!  Yay!
 b) I joined Eharmony again to try to meet someone.  I'm hopeful it'll work this time.  I only joined for three months!
c) I love to cook and bake on occasion and may be making thanksgiving dinner this year.  I can't wait!


3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
 I have 22 books on my TBR pile.  I've finished one so far!  Ten are kindle books and the rest traditional books.


4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
 I'd like to finish a few books by the end of the readathon although I'm not planning on doing the whole 24 hours.  I didn't get up today until 10:30am since it's been a rough work week.  My goal is to do a few blogs and post on goodreads, Facebook, twitter, etc.


5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
 Take plenty of breaks and have some good snacks handy.  I took a lunch break to go to McDonalds and picked up some cookies and things at CVS.  I didn't prepare as much for this one which is usually good to do those preparations before the readathon starts!


So in the first few hours of the readathon I finished one book, Grimm's Fairy Stories.  It was very interesting to see how different the stories are from the ones I remember.  Next up I'm planning on reading a regular book since I read this one on my kindle.  I'm excited to get a few books finished and to update my pages read stats for bookcrossing later!  I hope everyone is having fun and happy reading to all!

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon

     So I'm preparing for Saturday's 24 hour read-a-thon.  This time I don't have the need to cram into a short span because I've surpassed my reading goals for the year.  I'm just planning to enjoy myself and have fun.  Which means that I'm planning on getting up a few hours later than the normal start time.  My plans are to participate in about twelve hours of the read-a-thon.  I didn't get any snacks this time around but I'm hoping to just find stuff from around the house.  This read-a-thon is starting on Saturday, October 22 at 8 am in my area.   If you are interested in signing up for this read-a-thon you can go to the site at http://24hourreadathon.com .



Here is the list of possible reads which I'm keeping track of on Goodreads:

Treasure Island  by Robert Lewis Stevenson 160 pages (Kindle)
Cinderella  by Henry W  Hewet 24 pages (Kindle)
Stuart Little by E.B. White  144 pages (Kindle)
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom 192 pages (Kindle)
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells 192 pages (Kindle)
For One More Day by Mitch Albom 197 pages (Kindle)
Elliot and the Goblin War by Jennifer A Nielsen 208 pages (Kindle)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 208 pages (Kindle)
February Flowers by Fan Wu 256 pages (Kindle)
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau 270 pages
Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire 280 pages
Dancing on Sunday Afternoons by Linda Cardillo 288 pages (Kindle)
A Little Love Story by Roland Murillo 288 page (Kindle)
Wuthering Bite by Sarah Gray 362 pages
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire 372 pages
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 374 pages (Kindle)
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater 400 pages 
Wicked by Gregory Maguire 406 pages
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne 432 pages
The Awakening and the Struggle by L.J. Smith 492 pages
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer 498 pages
Grimm's Fairy Stories by Jacob Grimm, Carl Ludwig 609 pages (Kindle)


Total Possible Pages: 6,652 


Good luck to everyone!  I'll be doing my usual updates on all the social sites and trying to participate as much as possible in the challenges.  I love winning free books! Happy Reading All!

Summer Reading fun with The Richmond Rogues

This summer my books of choice for a fun summer read where Kate Angell's Richmond Rogues.  Over the last few weeks I've been reading the first three books in the series and they where a fun, light read.  I highly recommend her books if you love a romantic story with a twist of baseball mixed in.  At first, I didn't think I would enjoy this series as much as I did.  Each story was romantic and fun and kept me laughing at times.  

The first book is Squeeze Play and here is a brief description of the story:

Risk Kincaid and Jacy Grayson have known each other since high school, when, after seeing her crying because her prom date dumped her, Risk volunteered to be her rebound guy. Whenever she broke up with someone, she could call him, and wherever he was, he'd show up for a few days to "console" her. Years later, Risk, now a team captain of a World Series-winning baseball team, returns to their hometown of Frostproof, Florida, for a benefit. He has seen eccentric Jacy every six months or so for years, and he now plans on asking her to marry him. Jacy has never had anyone in her bed but Risk, her true love. All those boyfriends were just a way to keep him in her life. But now she is afraid of changing the status quo. No fan of the genre should miss Angell's surefire romance, and all readers who enjoy light fare will like this amusing and sexy tale and its terrific, likable characters.

 

 

The Second book in the series was Curveball and here is the summary:

Angell continues her pairing of baseball and romance following Squeeze Play (2006) with a sexy, quick-paced tale about the Richmond Rogues. On Media Day, the three members of the "Bat Pack," the Rogues' power hitters, get into a very public altercation that ends with their suspensions for 13 games. Nicknamed Psycho, Chaser, and Romeo, they are left at loose ends. Psycho holes up in his historical Richmond colonial and is surprised when a down-on-her-luck young woman shows up professing to be an interior designer. Chaser hangs out with his childhood friend, who has inherited the ballpark concession stand. They've always been close, but will one accidental kiss lead to more? Challenged by the indifference of a reporter, aptly named Romeo redoubles his efforts to win her over. Ultimately, all three gentlemen meet their perfect match in Angell's sporty romance.  

 

 

 And finally the last book that I just finished tonight was Strike Zone  and here is the summary:

She's back in the game. Faced with the love of her life waiting at the altar, thrill-seeking adventure guide Taylor Hannah lost her nerve and ran. Three years later, the gutsy blonde is back in Richmond to reclaim handsome Rogues pitcher Brek Stryker before he makes another trip down the aisle. From dressing as a giant baseball to pummeling the other team's mouthy mascot, this former fiancee is pulling out all the stops. Trouble is, her ball player refuses to believe she's finally ready to play by his rules.

Stryke hasn't forgiven the woman who left him on their wedding day, but he can't ignore the chemistry that sizzles every time he and Taylor meet. The fireworks between them could light up the ball park, but Stryke won't lose his heart again unless he knows the score. If Taylor steps into his strike zone, she'd better be ready to go past third base and all the way home. 

 

 

Finally the last two books in the series which I have yet to read are Sliding Home and Sweet Spot (which is to be released 5/1/12).   The summary for the story of Sliding Home is:

WHO’D BEEN SLEEPING IN KASON RHODES’S BED? The left fielder for the Richmond Rogues had returned from six weeks of spring training in Florida to find someone had moved into his mobile home. That person was presently in his shower. And no matter how sexy the squatter might be, Kason wanted her out. He had his trusty dobie, Cimarron; he didn’t need anyone else in his life. Not even a stubborn tomboy who roused all kinds of wild reactions in him, then soothed his soul with peace offerings of home-cooked meals and kindness. The bad boy of baseball was ready to play hardball if need be, but with Dayne Sheridan firmly planted between his sheets, he found himself. . .SLIDING HOME

 

 

Now that wraps up my fun summer reading and I plan on moving on to a few more serious reads now that the fall approaches.   Next, I plan on reading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White and then I'm going to watch two of the movies which I rented from Netlix.  I'll be in the process for preparing for the next Dewey 24 hour readathon on October 22.  Happy reading all!

 

Hour 19 update! Finished my second and final book!

My Book Progress:

~Beauty and the Beast  24 pages (Kindle)

~ A Little Princess 186 pages (Kindle)

~ The Secret Garden 214 pages (Kindle)

~ Cinderella 24 pages (Kindle)

~ The Story of Doctor Dolittle 176 pages (Kindle)

~ A Midsummer Night’s Dream 128 pages (Kindle)

~ The Time Machine 104 pages (Kindle)

~ The Invisible Man 208 pages (Kindle)

~ Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 188 pages (Kindle)

~ Stuart Little 131 pages

~ Winnie-the-Pooh 161 pages

~ For One More Day 197 pages

~ The Cat Who Came In From The Cold 107 pages

~ The Bridges of Madison County 171 pages

Total Possible Pages 2,019

I'll post a more detailed blog about the Time Machine at some point on Sunday!  This was fun and hopefully I won't forget the next one!  Yay for April 2011 readathon!