Books I'm Dying to Read Right NOW!!

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There are just so so many good books out there...well, ones that certainly sound good anyway and it's making me very anxious to read them...just never enough time...here are a few of the ones that I just cannot wait to get into!!

The Art Forger - it's not available as an e-book at the library. it's $14 on B&N and $9 on Amazon (!?!) and I spent my Christmas giftcards already...so I'm trying VERY hard to be patient.


The Dressmaker - I'm #11 on the e-book waitlist at the library for this one and running out of patience. I really need to be more disciplined with book spending (all spending actually) this year and so I'm holding steady on NOT buying it. The library only has ONE copy of it and people can keep it for up to 3 weeks...so with that estimate, looks like it will be at least 33 weeks (!!!) until I get my hands on it. *sad sad face*


On Folly Beach -just got this e-book from the library so it will be next up to read after I finish my current book. So excited to read another about my favorite part of the country and also that it has a tie into WWII - score!!


The Invisible Bridge - I'm next on the library waitlist and there has been a waitlist for this book for as long as I have had my Nook (almost 2 years), so from that I would say it must be good. Another WWII story - my favorite!! It also has a 4.2 on Goodreads, which is pretty high!!

Waiting on Wednesday - The Comfort of Lies

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"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

From Amazon:

Five years ago, Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.

Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she’s questioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.

Five years ago, Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He promised he’d never stray again, and she trusted him.

But when Juliette intercepts a letter to her husband from Tia that contains pictures of a child with a deep resemblance to her husband, her world crumbles once more. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he’s kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. And before long, the three women and Nathan are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted.

This story sounds absolutely wonderful and despite the fact that Meyers' last book, The Murderer's Daughters was not a big hit with me, I am looking quite forward to reading this one!

Books I read in 2012

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I saw this on Dawn's blog and HAD to do my own version here!!

1. Best Book(s) You Read In 2012? 

Hemingway’s Girl by Erika Robuck

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves – I’ll be recommending this one to everyone!!!

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim – this one ended up on my “all time favorites” list.

2. Most Disappointing Book? 

When you read 58 books in one year, there end up being at least a few that fall into this category…the first one I can think of is “The House at Riverton” by Kate Morton. I know some people may absolutely LOVE this book (and the author) and it came HIGHLY recommended to me by two friends (and avid readers)…maybe I missed something but this book did nothing for me. I just wanted to be done with it. I would not say I enjoyed it.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book? 

I would have to say "Yellow Crocus" by Laila Ibrahim. While the cover description certainly interested me enough to read it, I had no idea how wrapped up in the story I would become. The writing was absolutely wonderful allowing me to so easily picture the scenes in my head and feel as if I was watching the action unfold. Loved it!!

4. Book(s) you recommended to people most in 2012? 

I typically recommend “TheSoldier’s Wife” by Margaret Leroy or “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt” by Beth Hoffman – they are two of my ALL TIME favorites though I read them pre-2012.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?
The Lowcountry Tales by Dorothea Benton Frank!! I absolutely love the Lowcountry area, Charleston especially and that love just made reading these books that much more enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed reading about restaurants or places where we have been. It was in these books that I learned of Poe's Tavern, which has quickly become my favorite dining spot in the Lowcountry. 

6. Favorite new author(s) you discovered in 2012?

Laila Ibrahim - author of "Yellow Crocus" - this was such a wonderful book and turns out to be this authors FIRST work. I contacted her after I read it to let her know how I loved it and sadly, she doesn't have anything else in the works right now.

7. Most thrilling, un-put-down-able book in 2012? 
"On the Island" by Tracey Garvis-Graves. Seriously, I read this book in 2 days, which is nearly a world record for me as I rarely get through books that quickly. It was *that* good!!! BTW: I heard they are making a movie out of it. 

8. Book you most anticipated in 2012? 
The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman…which apparently I must have been harboring some high expectations that it didn’t quite live up to for me.

9. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?


10. Most memorable character in 2012? 
I loved Mattie in "Yellow Crocus"!! Absolutely loved her. To the point of wishing I had her to take care of me as  a child. You could not read this book and not fall in love with Mattie. You just couldn't. My heart broke over & over for her throughout this book.

11. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?
I cannot decide. This one may have to be a tie between "Yellow Crocus" and "Hemingway's Girl"...both books were so fabulously written in my opinion. They both fall into that "just can't put them down" category...though real life called so I did have to put them down at times, I just didn't want to. In addition to being full of fantastic characters, both books were also so very easy to read and the stories flowed so well. Definitely two of my favorites of 2012.

12. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012? 
I can’t say any book I read in 2012 made an impact on me.

13. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
I'll have to go with "The Paris Wife". True, it only came out in February 2011, but a few of my Goodreads friends had read it fairly soon thereafter and gave it high ratings, but I continued to push it aside for other books. I even had it on the e-book waitlist at the library and when it came available I passed it up letting others on the list go ahead with it. I may have done that twice! Now that I have finally read it, I am happy to say that I enjoyed the book and honestly, it confirmed all the stories I had already heard about Hemingway's character.

14. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2012?

“The most important thing I learned is that to be truly happy, you've got to pay attention to that stupid inner voice we all have. It knows what you need and will drive you shit crazy until you listen to it.” 
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Isle of Palms

15. Book you read in 2012 that you would be most likely to reread in 2013? 
I do not typically re-read ANY books because there are just too many good ones out there I haven't read yet. Should I someday have a shortage of books on my "want to read" list (doubtful), then I would definitely read "The Soldier's Wife", "Hemingway's Girl" or "On The Island" again. Loved all 3 of them.

Reading Challenge - What's in a Name?

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I've been noticing all the creative reading challenges announced this time of year and a few of them have really sparked my interest. The What's in a Name? reading challenge sounds like so much fun AND a complete challenge but I still felt that I had to join!!

The challenge to read six books, one of each fitting the criteria below:

• A book with up or down (or equivalent) in the title
• A book with something you'd find in your kitchen in the title
• A book with a party or celebration in the title
• A book with fire (or equivalent) in the title
• A book with an emotion in the title
• A book with lost or found (or equivalent) in the title

Looking forward to this one!! I haven't looked yet, but I am hoping that I already have some in my TBR list that will fit this 

Waiting on Wednesday - Looking for Me

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"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I just read on another blog that Beth Hoffman's new book will be released on May 28, 2013. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited because I absolutely LOVED Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and Beth is a joy to chat with via Twitter!! The story sounds great!! 

From Amazon:

Teddi Overman found her life’s passion for furniture in a broken-down chair left on the side of the road in rural Kentucky.  She learns to turn other people’s castoffs into beautifully restored antiques, and opens her own graciously appointed shop in Charleston. Breathing new life into these discarded objects gives Teddi purpose, but has never alleviated the haunting uncertainty she’s felt in the years since her brother Josh’s mysterious disappearance. When signs emerge that Josh might still be alive, Teddi is drawn home to find him. It’s a journey that could help her come to terms with her shattered family—and to find herself at last.

Immigrant Stories Challenge

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I enjoyed participating in this reading challenge last year and have signed up to do it again in 2013. It's really a fairly easy challenge for me since my typical reading genre of choice are books that have taken place during the WWII time frame and in many cases, they include a story of immigration as well.

The books I read for this challenge in 2012 are:
1. The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene
2. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
3. The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy
4. While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin
5. The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani (though I never reviewed this one as I read it in LATE December & finished it on a 5 hour road trip- it was fabulous!!!)

Some of the books I have in mind for my 2013 challenge are:
1. Crossing on the Paris by Dana Gynther
2. The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
3. Bridge of Scarlett Leaves by Kristina McMorris
4. Butterfly's Child by Angela Davis-Gardner
5. Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan

2012 in numbers

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I put together a little review of 2012 in numbers 


40 yoga classes attended

64 blog posts written (lowest # ever!)

18 pounds lost...and counting.

58 books read

134.03 miles ran

2,184 photos taken (actually more as this is not counting deleted pictures)

11,281 miles driven

And I've looked everywhere to try to see how many *tweets* I sent in 2012 but alas, I could not find a program to help me figure it out...I'm sure it's a lot though. :)