Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
ISBN: 9781595141712
Publisher: Razor Bill/2007
Pages: 288

I won Thirteen Reasons why from Dewey in a book giveaway. Frankly, I was not sure what to expect, although I had read Dewey's review. After I picked it up, I simply could not put it down. This is Jay Asher's first novel and he has truly done a good job of it.

Clay Jensen receives a package with no return address. When he opens it, he finds seven cassette tapes. Those have been recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate who had committed suicide two weeks ago. He had secretly been in love with her but never had the courage to tell her about it.

There for awhile I thought I would never finish another book in the first year of Ethan's life!! So what should have taken me a few days to finish took me a month!! But it was worth it. Amy Grant wrote a fantastic journey of her life so far. Even though it wasn't a straight timeline like most bios, it was a great collection of pieces or what she refers to as a mosaic. She talks of family, divorce, remarriage, her music as her passion and much more. If you are a fan of her music, there are lyrics to selected published and unpublished songs that go along her stories. All in all it was a great read!

I wanted to read this book because I saw (a long time ago) a trailer for the TV show called the Dresden Files on the Sci-Fi channel. I thought this book was just ok...not what I expected at all. I thought it would be a mix between Harry Potter and The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. It was more like an old-fashioned, who-dun-it mystery where the main character (and a few others) just happen to be wizards and magicians. Throw a little good versus evil in there and ----voila!-----magic mystery!

Seriously though, good story, didn't blow me away though. It had the same elements as one of those who-dun-it mysteries.

I have wanted to read this one for a long time! I heard from a few people that it was a great read. I'm so glad I started this Newbery Challenge because it gave me the reason to read a book that has been sitting on my shelf since I was probably 10!

This is a great story of a futuristic world. One in which we were only allowed to have 2 children, which only certain women can give birth to. A world that chooses our jobs for us and we start them at 12 years old. It's a story that wasn't necessarily given a moral but if it were to have one I believe it would be not to take anything for granted. This is another Newbery Award Winner that I thoroughly enjoyed!

During Ethan's sleep breaks (lol..enjoy them now right?), I take the opportunity to catch up on some reading if I'm not sleeping myself! I have read a few books and here are the reviews.....

Whew! This has to be the longest it's ever taken me to read a book...a small book at that! But, I guess that's what it means to be a new mommy =) I'll take it!
Frank Peretti is one of my favorite authors, along with Ted Dekker. Both men write Christian Thrillers. This is not a thriller by any means. This is a very heartfelt short story with a moral included. A man and his wife have a secret, one that they haven't spoke of for 9 years. It takes one glance at a familiar face to bring it all flooding back. Tilly is definitely worth the read...and it may only take you an hour...unless you have a newborn lol.

I came across this article on Yahoo's front page this morning about the World's Most Expensive Homes. I clicked on that article, read it, and then clicked on the box that gave me more pictures....and oh my goodness! I thought, if I lived in a house like that, I would have though I'd died and gone to Heaven!!

I've spent all morning, and most of the afternoon, trying to kill time before I can get outta work! While browsing and catching up on everyone's blogs, I noticed something really strange and just had to ask....what are these strange but beautiful creatures??

I found this one on the Bookfool's blog......

I went on a shopping spree and got 14 books for $11!!! I was so excited that this weekend is the annual used book sale at our mall. And it all benefits our children's hospital, so it's for a great cause! I might even go back tomorrow and Sunday as well. So now I need to get to reading while Ethan is asleep!

The word "wow" comes to mind after I read this book. It's really setup in a format that I like to refer to as coffee table books...more pictures than words. But the whole idea is that one day, Frank Warren printed up a whole bunch of blank postcards and placed them all around town. On the postcards were instructions to send in a postcard, no names of course, with your secret on it. The only rules are that it must be true, it must not have been told to anyone, and you must get creative. "Let the postcard be your canvas." This is just one of many books that Warren has put together. It is a collection of some of those postcards.

Now, I can only imagine what kinds of things the world has to say, especially when no one knows who you are. These secrets range from mild like "I don't think anyone likes me." to severe like "He's in prison because of something I did." I read this in afew hours and now my husband is devouring it. Warren has put together a very intriguing set of books!

I've been so busy scrapbooking! Pictures of my son are flooding the living room so I figured I'd better do something with them!
Emily Neville wrote this book in 1963 and it won a Newbery Award. And since it was written in 1963 it was hard to follow some of the slang of the times even though it is a young adult book. Emily writes about a boy named Dave and his cat....named Cat. Through his adventures, Cat leads Dave to meet new people. This cat is always leading Dave astray but some of his mischief leads to good, like meeting a new girl. One thing I kept noticing about this book was the amazing way that Dave could walk out the door and go anywhere he wanted to without letting anyone know. I guess you could still do that in the 60's lol. Anyway, it was a really good book and I would recommend it to anyone, especially those with children. It also filled a lot of my challenges!! Woo Hoo!!

Just Ella
Margaret Peterson Haddix
218 pagesYoung Adult Fiction
I picked this book up because of Susan's review at Bloggin' Bout Books. I was nuts about the story of Cinderella when I was younger, simply because I wanted a dress like that! What little girl wouldn't? That's why her review appealed to me.

When I picked up Coraline, I was in the mood for light, quick, and fun. I got all three with this one. It sort of reminded me of The Nightmare Before Christmas. A young girl named Coraline (not Caroline) gets bored and "explores" a lot. In her very own apartment there is a door which is always locked. One day her mom opens it and it's all bricked up, but she forgets to lock it back. Coraline goes back and it is a doorway to the other part of the house which looks exactly like her apartment. Inside everything is like over on her side, only not like it at all. It contains a hint of magic and wonder.....I loved it!

I'm probably the only person left alive on Earth who has never seen this movie or read this book! Since the book is usually better than the movie (shhh don't tell Oprah) I decided to start with the book.
The way Alice Walker set up this novel was fantastic. It is written in diary and letter form. So the chapters are short and sweet, which I think makes for a quick read.

I am in such a reading slump!! Nothing I pick up captures my interests, I can't stand it. And of course this would happen in the midst of what I believe to be the best reading year that I'm going to have! I have so many challenges going on! So my question is.......What to you all do when you are in a reading slump that you can't seem to get out of?

I chose this book because of a sentence in the back cover description: "Over the course of two centuries, many will call this place home, each linked by the past left between its walls." That sentence sums up this entire book.

I really never thought I'd make it through this book. I'm the kind of person who stops reading if, by page 75 or so, it still doesn't have my attention. By page 137 (out of 225), I still wasn't sure why I was continuing with this story. I almost put it down right then, but something was telling me almost urging me to keep reading. Keep reading I did, and it paid off in the end.

This is getting insane!! I've joined three more challenges. I have got to stop browsing other blogs at work (downtime is wonderful isn't it?).

I'm back!! I was admitted into the hospital on November 12th for severe preeclampsia. On November 14th, they took me for a C-Section and Ethan Paul was born at 9:55am. He was 10 weeks early but he's being a very strong little boy in the NICU. I was in the hospital until November 21st while the docs tried to get my blood pressure and the preeclampsia under control.

To my surprise, I came home and received Undercover in the mail today!! I won it from the author Beth Kephart by way of a contest at Em's Bookshelf. I am so excited to start reading this one!! Thanks Em and Beth!!

Twilight
Stephenie Meyer
2005
498 pgs

This book was fantastic!!!! I can't believe I'd never heard of it until my sister came plowing through my door last week handing me not one, but the first two books. By now I'm sure a lot of you have already read it.

Here is another contest in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month!! iMommies is giving away an iPod....hot pink....you know, for breast cancer awareness! Just visit the website, subscribe via email and (voila!) you are entered!!

Ok, I know I'm crazy but this is THE LAST ONE! It has to be, I have no more room on my sidebar and I'm going to have to buy Barnes & Noble, or rent a room in the library if I keep going. So, I've joined another challenge. But this one will fit with my other challenges (likely excuse right?). I've joined the A to Z Reading Challenge hosted by Joy. If you think this will fit into your challenges, head on over to Thoughts of Joy and sign up like all us other crazy people =) I will add the Authors and Titles as I go along!

A -
B -
C -
D -
E -
F -

Violet Lady is hosting a give-away for her 105th blog post!!! Wow.....I can only aspire to have 105 posts one day.... Anyway, click here to comment on her post and be entered into her give-away...Good luck!
Thanks to Lynne for the link!!

As a member of Bonnie's Book Buddies, we chose Mary Lawson's book as our October read. For this review and probably for future reviews, I've stolen a format from Dewey at Hidden Side of a Leaf. Thanks Dewey!!

The Title & Author of the book? The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson

Fiction or Non-Fiction? Genre? Fiction

5 Minutes for Mom is rolling in the contests right now! Here they are giving away a Pink Casio Digital Camera. Just leave a comment and the name will be drawn October 26th.