My Love Of Books

Hi everyone! After finding some new and awesome book blogs out there via the Book Blog Hop, I came across this persons blog and she had an entry up about her reading story. How much she loved books, the things she remembers growing up, etc. It inspired me to post my own reading story! After reading mine and leaving comments about your reading story, head on over to her BLOG HERE and read hers!



Growing up, I don't really remember my parents reading to me. And, I don't remember being TAUGHT how to read. I just remember that I had numerous books that were my favorite, and I would read them. Over and over and over again.

I lived in a very small town here in Michigan, with a population of about 500 or so. We had a very small Carnegie Library. It didn't have a whole lot of book choices, but that didn't seem to matter to me. I'd go in there and spend HOURS looking at the little kids books. I remember reading all of the Full House: Stephanie books, (my name IS Stephany! Haha), and getting the Little House on the Prairie books as well.

We had this small grocery store in a town about 10 minutes next to us, and when we'd go there, we'd always go down the little kid/toy aisle because they had sections of books that I loved! Do you all remember the golden books? They're the little books with the golden spine? I loved those books! We'd always buy one of those!

Some of my other favorite kids books were The Bernstein Bears! I was collecting all of those when I was younger. I now wonder what happened to them all? I also collected Little Critter books! When/if I ever have children of my own, I want to buy all of my childhood favorites for them!

I remember one of my all time favorite books as a little kid was a book about counting. It had a big as the main character too. I want to say the name of it was Little Pig's Counting Book. Although, I can't seem to find it on any of the book stores websites, or anything. I'd love to get my hands on that book. I do remember my Mom reading that to me, before I could read well myself.

It's so amazing to think about to when I was a little girl and all of the books I had, and the books I read. I remember when I was 6 years old, I finished my very first chapter book. I wish that I knew the name of it, so I could read it again!!! Haha. I woke up during the night to finish reading it. It was like 2am and I woke my Mom up and said, "I just finished reading my book!" She was happy and a little angry all at the same time. It was 2am after all! Haha.

At my school, we had a book fair every year. We could buy books before, and after school. We also were able to go down as a class during the week, once a week during the book fair to buy books. I remember seeing a book down there called "Somebody and the Three Blair's". This book was a MUST in my household, because it was our last name!

We also had this other thing at school, where we got to go into a room and pick out ONE FREE book during the year. I loved this time too!!

So, as you can see, I can remember as far back as a little thing reading books! I don't know how I learned to read, or why I loved books so much, but I did! And I still do!

That's my story on my love of books, and how I've read so many since I was a little girl!

What is your story on loving books?

Book Blogger Hop!

It's that time again already! It's time for the Book Blogger Hop!

If you're one of the loyal followers who do this meme every week with Jen at Crazy-for-books, you must know that there has been some small, but VERY important changes to the rules, due to a few people ruining it for everyone!


When writing your blog hop post, you MUST LINK BACK to the ORIGINAL post that Jen created for the Book Blogger Hop, not just her site. Also, when you're entering your link into the linky widget, you've got to enter the link that goes DIRECTLY to the post you wrote. Does that make sense? If you have any questions, you can go to her blog and read her entry on the rules!

Those of you who are knew to this meme, all you have to do is follow the rules mentioned above, and make sure you answer the question that Jen posts every week!

So, without further ado, make sure you go visit Jen's post about her Book Blogger Hop and start hopping!

This weeks question is:

What's the ONE GENRE that you wish that you could get into, but just can't?

MY ANSWER:

I would have to say the Paranormal/fantasy genre. I'm not sure that "Twilight" is considered paranormal, but that would be the only book/series I've EVER been able to get into. I've tried and tried to read other authors like Stephen King, and even more books by Stephenie Meyer, but I just can't seem to get into it for some reason!

Don't forget to follow, follow, follow and let me know what you answered!

Book Blogger Hop!

Hey Everyone! It's time for another Book Blogger Hop!! I seriously look forward to these EVERY week! not only because they're fun, but you get to see all of the AWESOME book blogs out there and meet new people!! 


In case you don't know what Book Blogger Hop is, it's a meme created and hosted by Crazy For Books. All you have to do is go to her blog, read the question she posted (a different every week!), enter you information into the linky widget, and start hopping to different blogs and leave them comments letting them know you've stopped by! It's that simple!



This weeks question is:


How/where do you get your books? Do you buy them, or go to the library? Is there a certain website you use, like paperbackswap?


My answer:


I do a variety of things when I get new and/or used books. I like to go on Goodreads.com and enter to win some books through their contests! I also like to buy them from Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Target, and other places like that. I'm also a reviewer for a few different publishing companies, so they send me some stuff sometimes. And also I go to the library! Unfortunately I can't get to the library nearly as often as I'd like, but I do go when I can!


What about you? Where/how do you get your books? Don't forget to leave me a comment telling me what you think! 


SIDE NOTE: Jen, at Crazy-for-books, is in the need of new questions for the Book Blogger Hop! She has a forum up for any and all ideas!! CLICK HERE to go to the forum to post your ideas!


Don't forget to go put in your link in the linky widget and start visiting other bloggers!!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Authors I'd Die To Meet!

It's Tuesday! Do you know what that means? It means it's Top Ten Tuesday time!!!

In case you're not aware of what Top Ten Tuesday is, it's a meme/feature created by the lovely bloggers over at The Broke and the Bookish! To participate, all you have to do is a post like mine listing your Top Ten Authors You'd Die To Meet, link back to The Broke and the Bookish, then add a link to the linky widget and you're all set! But, don't forget to visit other peoples blogs to see their lists too!

So, without further ado, here is my Top Ten Tuesday for this week!

TOP THEN AUTHORS I'D DIE TO MEET

1.) Karen Kingsbury: Of COURSE I'd die to meet her! She is probably my all time favorite Author ever. She is a Christian/Inspirational author. I've read every book shes written and she has never let me down. I have been able to relate to each and every book of hers in some way.

2.) Jodi Picoult: She was my all time favorite author until I discovered Karen. But, Jodi is definitely my next close favorite! She writes books on life its self, sometimes it may seem a little cliche-ish, but she does a good enough job and research to make sure that it seems more "real". 

3.) Janet Evanovich: If you want a laugh-out-loud funny book, this is the author you should choose! Her Stephanie Plum novels are HILARIOUS! I have yet to read one of her books that didn't make me laugh. 

4.) Nicholas Sparks: For some reason, not very many people on the blogosphere seem to like Nicholas Sparks. Yeah, his books are kind of the cheesy, movie-like stories, but I still love them. His writing itself is really good too.

5.) Jennifer Weiner: She is definitely in my top favorites. I've only read a few of her books, but she's a good author.

6.) Sarah Dessen: She is rapidly becoming a new favorite. I've read two or three of her books and she's a GREAT Young Adult author!

Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with a full list of 10 Authors that are my FAVORITE. I've read a lot of authors that I like a lot, but these are my most favorite authors!

Now, be sure to comment below with a link back to your blog, so I can come see your list! Also, don't forget to visit The Broke and the Bookish to enter your link, and link back to them!

Book Blogger Hop!!!

Hey hey hey!! I decided to start doing Book Blogger Hop again! It's been way too long since I participated last!!

In case you don't know what Book Blogger Hop is, it's a meme created and hosted by Crazy For Books. All you have to do is go to her blog, read the question she posted (a different every week!), enter you information into the linky widget, and start hopping to different blogs and leave them comments letting them know you've stopped by! It's that simple!

This week isn't really a question. This week we are going to promote at least one giveaway from someone you may, or may not be following.



I already posted one entry for this girls blog-anniversary giveaway, but I decided to promote her again!!!

You can enter Tynga's giveaway by going to her blog! All you have to do is repost word about her giveaway, and leave a comment letting her know what books you'd choose IF you were to win! So, head on over to Tynga's reviews to enter her giveaway!!!

Follow Friday!

Hey Everyone! I haven't participated in a Follow Friday in quite a long time. I'm trying to get more traffic on my blog, and I want to follow more book bloggers, so I wanted to start participating in this meme again!

In case you're not aware of what Follow Friday is, it's a meme created by Parajunkee over at Parajunkee's View that allows you to post a link to your very own blog after posting an entry answering a different question every week. After posting your entry, and your link, you need to go to other peoples blogs to visit them and start following them!

So, this weeks question is:

Q. Let's step away from besties.. What is the worst book that you've ever read and actually finished?

I'm not sure that this was the WORST book I've ever read, but it was a book that came to mind that probably comes really close to it. It was one of the very first books I ever reviewed on my blog (before I knew much about it). The book is Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky. You can find my review HERE. It just wasn't a very well written book. It was boring, stereo-typicalish and dry.

What about all of you? Have you ever read a book that was just horrible, but you HAD to finish it? Leave a comment and let me know. Don't forget to FOLLOW ME!

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

I know how EVERYONE who is a bookish freak like myself, LOVES book giveaways! Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews is hosting a giveaway for her 2 year blog-anniversary!

She has some AWESOME prizes available, probably one of the best prizes I've seen yet. So make sure you head on over to her blog and check her out!!

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Title: Lock and Key

Author: Sarah Dessen

Where I Got It: Borrowed it from my roommate

Why I Read It: I've heard numerous times that Sarah Dessen is a great author

Rating: 3/5 stars


Overview from Barnes and Noble:

"Ruby is used to taking care of herself. But now she's living in a fancy new house with her sister Cora - a sister she hasn't seen in ten years - and her husband Jamie - creator of one of the most popular online networking sites. She's attending private school, wearing new clothes, and for the first time, feels the promise of a future that include college and her family. So why is she so wary? And what is Nate - the adorable and good-hearted boy next door - hiding behind his genial nature? As Ruby starts to see, there's a big difference between being given help, and being able to accept it. And sometimes, in order to save yourself, you've got to reach out to someone else."

This book was an okay book. It wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't horrible at the same time. I think my biggest issue with it is that it started off really slow. And it doesn't go into a whole lot of detail why Ruby and her sister Cora had a bad childhood with their Mother. Don't get me wrong, it does explain it enough for you to understand, but in the same token, I feel like there could have been a little bit more information to make the story better. Does that make sense?

Ruby is the type of plain clothes person, who is happy with what she has. She doesn't expect more from people, and she takes what she can get. She understands that happiness comes from what you have, and you just have to take it as it comes. 

When Ruby is forced to move in with her sister, she had to change all of her beliefs about being happy with what she had, because Cora and Cora's husband Jaime were most "high class" than Ruby was ever use to. Ruby has a hard time dealing with this, and wants nothing more than to go back to taking care of herself. She wants to know who told on her, and who found out that she was the one taking care of herself, instead of her mother. She also wants to know what happened to her Mother. 

Ruby has been hurt so many times throughout her life, that it's hard for her to trust anyone. So, when Cora's neighbor Nate befriends her, she's very cautious and stays clear of him as much as possible.

As the overview states, this book is all about taking a deep breath, and being able to accept the help that's given, rather than saying that you're fine without the help of others. It's also about GIVING help to others, even while you need it yourself. 

As I stated, the book was a good book. Don't get me wrong, but it was just a slow starter. I think that's the main reason I gave it the 3/5 stars. If it would have caught my attention from the very beginning, it would have been at least a 4/5. 

I do recommend this book to those who like Young Adult books and/or Sarah Dessen. It's worth a read if you just want an easy read. It is quite a thick book, but it's a smooth reading book, so you can get through it at a decent pace, once the book starts getting interesting. 

Find Sarah Dessen online: www.sarahdessen.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/sarahdessen

My Rating:

One True Theory of Love by Laura Fitzgerald

Title: One True Theory of Love

Author: Laura Fitzgerald 

Where I Got This Book: From the Dollar Tree

Why I Read It: I was looking for a few new books, and this one caught my eye. I read the back of it, and instantly wanted to read it.

Rating: 5/5 Stars


Overview from the back of the book:

"Meg Clark believes in the "hokey pokey" theory of life, which demands that you put your whole self in; she even teaches it to her kindergarten students. But after  the love of her life betrays her, and her father takes a flying leap off the pedestal she set him on, Meg has a hard time putting this theory into practice. What's the point of opening yourself up if your heart comes back a little more broken each time?

Not only one man receives Meg's full devotion: her nine-year-old son, Henry. She's happy with her single-mom life. She and Henry are taking on the world in their own lively way, and it's enough. Still, sometimes love finds you, whether you're ready or not.

Love comes to Meg in the form of Ahmed Bourhani, an exotically handsome Iranian-American who befriends her and Henry over a game of chess in a coffee shop. Meg knows that second chances require a leap of faith, and the result more often a complicated mixed bag than a neatly packaged happily-ever-after. Sometimes in order to heal you have to hurt, but most of all you have to live your life and put your whole self in...."

This book was AMAZING! I don't know if any of you have Dollar Stores in your area, but it's probably one of the best places to buy books. I only spent $1.06 on this book and it was the best $1.06 I've ever spent. 

I love books that I can FEEL something from. I think that I could feel something so strongly because I have been going through a heartbreak for a while now. I'm a lot better than I was almost two years ago, but there are still those days where the pain comes back a little more, and you think that you'll never be able to love again, or be whole again. This book teaches you that you can't let yourself go, that life isn't always guaranteed, and that you have to "Put your whole self in." It's the only way to go about life, heartache, betrayal, and everything else that goes into living life. 

Laura did a fantastic job at bringing her characters to life. She gets deep into the personalities, the life, and relationship between her and her son Henry. While reading this book, you will feel like you KNOW these two, as well as the other characters through out the book. 

This book taught me that even though you're hurting now, and you think that you can't ever love again, you WILL find love again. This book teaches you that there is such thing as second chances at love. And, as the back of the book says, "Sometimes in order to heal, you have to hurt, but most of all you have to live your life and put your whole self in..."

I'm not a big fan of rereading books, but after doing this review (I read this a couple months ago), I am about 100% positive that I want to, and probably will, reread this book again. It's an amazing book. 

This book is for those people who have loved and lost, who have been hurt, who think they can never love again. It's for those people to teach them that it WILL be okay, the pain lessens, and you will be able to love again.

I really can't think of anything about this book that I DIDN'T like. It was just all around a fantastic book.

I highly recommend this book to you. Go out and buy this book, ask a friend for it, just make sure you read it. 

Visit Laura Fitzgerald online: http://laurafitzgerald.com/

My Rating:

Dream House for Bookish People!

Hey everyone! Just a quick bookish entry for all of you! I know i've been MIA, and hopefully all of you are still following me. Its just been an interesting couple of months. But, i'm going to try my hardest to get out of this slump and back into reviewing/book blogging! Anyways.

Here's a bookish entry for you.

I was reading Yahoo News (I am a huge News freak!) and came around this article titled: House of Shelves. It's this house that has been built out of shelves. Shelves and shelves and shelves for this person (or family), to put thousands of books inside of it! It's structurally safe to withstand earthquakes and what not too! When I came around this, I said that I NEEDED a house like this!

Now, for all of your bookish people out there, have you ever dreamed about what would be in your house for all of your books? In the years that I've been reading, I've always said I wanted a room that was my library. I want 3 of the 4 walls covered in book shelves from floor to ceiling filled with books I've read and/or wanted to read. Now, after seeing this article, and seeing the pictures, I may have decided I want a house like this one!

Make sure you check out this article/picture by clicking HERE. Let me know what you think. What are your dreams about your house, whether it's the one you live in now, or a future house, so that all of the books you've ever wanted would fit?

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Title: Sing You Home


Author: Jodi Picoult


Where I Got It: Bought it from Target


Why I Read It: Jodi is a favorite author, and I've read all of her books!


Rating: 5/5 stars




Overview from Barnes and Noble:

"Every life has a soundtrack. All you have to do is listen.

Music has set the tone for most of Zoe Baxter’s life. There’s the melody that reminds her of the summer she spent rubbing baby oil on her stomach in pursuit of the perfect tan. A dance beat that makes her think of using a fake ID to slip into a nightclub. A dirge that marked the years she spent trying to get pregnant.

For better or for worse, music is the language of memory. It is also the language of love.

In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people—even those she loves and trusts most—don’t want that to happen.

Sing You Home is about identity, love, marriage, and parenthood. It’s about people wanting to do the right thing for the greater good, even as they work to fulfill their own personal desires and dreams. And it’s about what happens when the outside world brutally calls into question the very thing closest to our hearts: family."

While attempting to write the review for this book, I was trying to decide whether or not I should elaborate more on what the book is exactly about. I don't want to give away too much information, or spoil anything though. But after careful consideration, I decided to go into a little bit more detail.

This book is about loving someone you didn't think you'd ever be able to fall in love with. You know how the saying goes, "You can't help who you love." Zoe, one of the main characters in the book, falls in love with a woman at the school she does music therapy for. Zoe has never before been interested in other girls, and was married to her husband for a significant amount of years. Sadly, Zoe wasn't able to get pregnant, and the long hauls, trials and tragedies that most couples go through while trying to get pregnant, tore her and her husband apart. As Zoe falls in love with this woman, Zoe's family, including her ex-husband, ridicules her left and right for who she fell in love with. 

As I said, I don't want to give too much away. A lot more happens in this book that makes you take a look at your life and ask yourself, "What would I have done in a position like that?" And in the end, you really don't know until it's happened to you.

I know what it's like to be judged for the person you love by your family. I dated an African-American for 7 years and no one, except my Dad, Sister and Brother accepted it. My Mom tried for years to break us up, and did everything in her power to make her out to be incredibly racist. So, this book touched my heart in certain aspects, only because I know what it's like to be judged for loving someone "different". 

As you've probably guessed, a lot more happens in this book. But it's about finding new love, unexpected love, loving yourself, loss, happiness, and proving to others that all love, is good love.

I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE!! Especially if you think you in some way could relate. Jodi Picoult is an AMAZING author, and she does extensive research in all of her books, making her books very real.

On a side note, Ellen DeGeneres has bought the movie rights to this book. She plans on making the movie almost identical to the book. You can find more information about this by clicking here.

Let me know if you any of you have already read this book, and if not, when you do read it, let me know what you think of it!!! 

Find Jodi Picoult Online: www.jodipicoult.com

My Rating: