Weekend Reads

Weekend Ramblings 3

I’ve been on a reading tear since my reading block was lifted. I hope to have reviews of the following posted within the next few days: Love At Absolute Zero by Christopher Meeks and I Loved You First by Reena Jacobs (don’t forget to enter the giveaway for the ebook). I’ve also reread several Anne Frasier stories, namely Hush and Sleep Tight.

I’m travelling this weekend with family (a cousin, her daughter and my niece) to Georgia to attend JapanFest. For those of you close to Atlanta, GA you don’t want to miss this two-day festival celebrating all things Japanese. This year 100% of the revenue from ticket package sales will be going to earthquake and tsunami relief. Some of this year’s activities include: Ikebana (flower arranging), Sumo wrestling, Taiko drumming, Kite making, Japanese Embroidery, Chado Urasenke (Tea Ceremony) and more. This is the 25th year for this multicultural festival and not to be missed. In honor of JapanFest, I’ll be reading The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa.

What are you reading this weekend? Do you have exciting weekend plans? If so, please share. Have a great weekend and happy reading!

Weekend Reads 2

I spent the weekend doing a lot of leisure reading in addition to reading for review purposes. All of my leisure reads were taken from books in my personal ebook stash. These weren’t necessarily on my TBR list but simply remained unread on my reader. My best guesstimate is that out of the 1400 titles on my ereader, at least 350 are unread and about 235 are actually on my TBR list. Since my unread and TBR list seemed to be growing exponentially, I decided to whittle both down a bit.

This past weekend’s reads included some romance reads and a few short stories: Here to Stay by Catherine Anderson, Ryder’s Wife by Sharon Sala, Roman’s Heart by Sharon Sala, Royal’s Child by Sharon Sala, The Lake by Tananarive Due, Itsy Bitsy by John Ajvide Lindquist, and Hearts on the Run by Bonnie Humbarger Lamer. The last book was actually a review read and I hope to have the review posted within the next few days.

I’m also hoping to have a review posted on A Crack in Everything by Angela Gerst by this weekend. I currently have plans to take my 14-year-old niece and 16-year-old nephew to see the UniverSoul Circus on Sunday (praying traffic won’t be too bad this holiday weekend). I am hoping that I can spend Saturday reading more from my unread and TBR ebooks. (Monday is dedicated to continued unpacking…I didn’t know I had so much stuff!) I don’t know which titles I’ll be reading but I’ll keep you informed. Happy reading…

Early Weekend Ramblings

I’m happy to report that the recent reading and writing block have passed. Of course the blocks could have been due to a series of seriously severe migraine headaches. Thankfully the headaches appear to be diminishing in severity. Now that school has begun and I’ve finished helping my niece and nephew prepare, I can also relax from the recent back-to-school shopping frenzy. Now on to the fun stuff…reading updates.

I’ve just finished reading Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren and Call Me Princess by Sarah Blaedel. Reviews for both books will be posting soon. I’m currently reading Reign of the Nightmare Prince by Mike Phillips and The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams (to be released on 08/30/11). I hope to have these completed and reviews posted by early next week. Other books to be read over the upcoming week include: Under The Dog Star by Sandra Parshall (to be released on 09/06/11), Murder in the 11th House by Mitchell Scott Lewis (to be released on 09/06/11), A Crack in Everything by Angela Gerst (also to be released on 09/06/11), and more.

Under the Dog Star

Murder in the 11th House: A Starlight Detective Agency Mystery (Starlight Detective Agency Mysteries)

I hope you’ll take a moment and share what you’re currently reading and/or your weekend reading plans. Happy reading…

More Ramblings and Weekend Plans

I haven’t forgotten about you…I’ve been busy reading and will be posting reviews of Heart of Evil by Heather Graham, The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer, and Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart over the weekend. I’m currently reading The Evil Inside by Heather Graham (release date 08/30/2011) and hope to have the review up this weekend as well.

Regrettably a series of migraine headaches slowed me down this week so the reviews are a little slower to post. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on these reads with you, especially The Canary List.

Other than reading and writing reviews, my weekend plans include a quick drive down to Beckley WV to visit the Library of Congress Gateway to Knowledge traveling exhibit. The exhibit will be available at the Raleigh County Public Library in Beckley from 9-5 today and tomorrow. This wonderful exhibit has traveled across the US and provided the opportunity to learn about the history of the Library, view facsimiles of a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, and more. If you’re in the area don’t miss out on this opportunity.

What are your plans this weekend? Hopefully it includes reading!

Weekend Reads – Revisiting an Old Friend

I know, I should have spent the weekend reading the large number of titles in my TBR and Reviewed pile, but I decided to take the weekend off. I indulged myself by reading a few books on my new NookCOLOR (loving it BTW), as well as re-reading some old favorites. One old favorite that I revisited was For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. Now I don’t normally read poetry just for the sake of reading poetry, but I was introduced to this book while I was in high school. I was so enthralled by the sentiments expressed that I used several of the poems to compete in poetry interpretation contests. I was later fortunate enough to see the Broadway production (a birthday present from my beloved older brother – RIP Vondal Jr.). Of course I had to re-read the poems before going to see the show and fell in love all over again.

Some of these poems are raw and harsh but they are always real. For me they packed a powerful and visceral punch because I had never been exposed to poetry that left such a lasting impact. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read poetry that I’ve loved. Most of these poems were written by people long gone and in a language style that isn’t used anymore, but nothing ever cause the reaction that these poems did. Perhaps it was because I was an extremely sheltered, introverted, academically-inclined, book loving young black woman from a conservative Southern Baptist family in the late 70s. (My brothers will probably say it was because I always had my face in a book and didn’t get out into the real world.) Whatever the reason, I fell in love with these poems and still have an attachment after 30+ years. I don’t have a favorite per se, but I’m rather fond of Toussaint. This was one of the poems I used in high school poetry competitions and it simply felt right every time I read it…maybe because it started off talking about the library and the discovery of the adult section.

Poetry may not be for everyone and these poems may not ring true for all readers. For the more adventurous readers I highly recommend that you read this at least once. If you do then I hope you’ll find the same pleasure that I have with each reading.

I took a break from unpacking (recently moved) and reading for reviews and chose several books from my personal stash to read this weekend. Most of these fall into the romance genre, with one possibly being considered romantic suspense and another paranormal romance. A few were short stories or novellas and the others were full-length novels. I enjoyed all of my reads but some stories just felt predictable, in that I knew how it would be resolved before I was finished reading half the story. Others just had a been there, read that feel, especially those from authors I’ve read in the past.

Now I could be getting jaded in my middle-age or perhaps its just that some books, especially those from authors that have written a number of books, contain many of the same elements to the point that all new books read like past books. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying these authors (or any author) should stop writing even if this is the case. I applaud each and every author that publishes and/or gets published. Writing is hard work and the creativity involved in coming up with different plots, characters, sequences, etc. is mind-boggling to say the least, not to mention the amount of research involved in setting up believable character backgrounds, scenarios and locations. The problem seems to be finding something new to say and an interesting way to say it so readers stay involved.

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed all of these stories. Some of these I received as free reads through the Barnes and Noble Nook store (btw, I’m loving my new NookColor!), others I had received free or purchased through the Sony Reader Store (for use with my PRS-600 Touch Reader). Please check out my GoodReads.com link to read my brief reviews on these stories.

Weekend reading list: Almost Home by Mariah Stewart, Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts, Famous Last Words by Regan Black, Heart of the Witch by Alicia Dean, Sheltering Hearts by Robyn Carr, and Deadlier Than the Male by Sharon Sala and Colleen Thompson.

What was on your weekend reading list?