Mailbox Monday
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The April host is Cindy’s Love of Books.
A couple of new books arrived last week, even though I said I wasn’t requesting any. The Age of Miracles is for a tour in June and I couldn’t pass up The 500, an upcoming novel from Regan Arthur Books. They both sound so good.
For review from the publisher:
The 500
by Matthew Quirk
Mike Ford is a former con artist who’s been plucked from his Harvard Law School classroom to be an associate at The Davies Group, Washington’s most high-powered and well-respected strategic consulting firm. Their specialty: pulling strings and peddling influence for the five hundred most powerful people inside the Beltway, the men and women who really run Washington — and by extension the country, and the world. Quickly pulled into a seductive, dangerous web of power and corruption, Mike struggles to find his way out.
For review from TLC Tours:
Age of Miracles
by Karen Thompson Walker
On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life—the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.
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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
Share what you read last week and what you are currently reading.
Gardening season means more audiobooks and less print books for the past few weeks.
In my mind I am developing a landscaping project that I have wanted to start for several years now. And since I still haven’t found a new job, now would be a perfect time to put all this extra energy (haha) into digging up some of the front lawn and replacing it with native wildflowers and shrubs.
Any good landscaping books or plant recommendations would be appreciated. My library has so many choices I’m not sure where to start!
Finished Listening/Reading Last Week:
Unnatural Acts is the latest Stone Barrington novel (#23) by Stuart Woods. Although better than the previous book, sometimes a series just runs it’s course.
I listened to The Gunslinger for The Stephen King Project. It wasn’t what I expected and I’ll have more on that soon when I post the review.
Stay Awake was a delightfully creepy selection of short stories. Short stories don’t always work for me but these were exceptional with only a few misses out of the twelve.
After listening to Wicked Plants I can’t look at my garden the same way again!
Reading/Listening This Week:
Reading Whole Latte Life by Joanne Demaio for her book tour. Just started it last night so I’m only 50 pages in.
Listening to Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. Starting this one today. I’m in the mood for a baseball story and I hear this is a good one.
What Are You Reading?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Congratulations!
Here are the winners of the giveaways that ended last week. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to enter. [Winners selected by random.org.]
Maureen
and
Georgette
Wanna Get Lucky?
[No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop]
Aline Tobing
Susan from Suko’s Notebook
and
windicindi
More Opportunities To Win
Check the sidebar for current giveaways both here and hosted on other blogs. There will be more giveaways coming in the next few weeks.
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a camera with live streaming video on a Red-tailed Hawk Nest. It is best to watch during the daytime hours. This cam has one of the clearest images of any that I’ve seen. However, at night it goes to black and white and the image is difficult to view.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
This past week the eggs hatched and there are now three fluffy white chicks in the nest. I watched mom feed them a meal of a medium size bird and then a vole for dessert.
It will be another six weeks or so before the chicks leave the nest so there is plenty of time to watch them grow up.
History of the Nest
The pair have been nesting on a light pole nearly 80 feet above Cornell University’s athletic fields for at least the past four years. From banding records it is known that the female is nine years old and the male is at least seven. The female is slightly larger than the male and has darker coloring on her head. The birds have been given the nicknames of Big Red (female) and Ezra (male).
There is a fascinating behind the scenes video showing the installation of the camera in the nest.
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
A humorous novel or memoir is a hit or miss thing for me. I can’t always tell from reading reviews or blurbs whether or not a book in the comedy genre will be to my liking. What one person finds extremely hilarious, another may be rolling their eyes or scratching their head and thinking, “just not funny”. I never know until I read it for myself and decide.
While both of these were very funny, the humor in each was quite different as were my reactions.
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Bossypants
by Tina Fey
Narrated by Tina Fey
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publish Date: April 5, 2011
Format: Audio, 5 hours | 35 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 5 of 5
This is Tina Fey’s memoir beginning with her early years, on to her time at Second City and Saturday Night Live, and finally 30 Rock. She also includes personal stories on growing up, getting married, surviving her honeymoon (that was really funny) and having a child.
It only took me two days to listen to this book and if I had one complaint it would be that it wasn’t long enough. All of her stories were both interesting and funny, especially the Saturday Night Live portion. I’ve seen most of those episodes, am familiar with the other comedians that were on the show with her and enjoyed her insight on Lorne Michaels and the production of the show itself.
The book is narrated by the author and she does a superb job. This is the perfect book for non-audio folks to try an audiobook. No complex plot lines, one narrator, and no problem staying interested.
I’m not sure why I waited this long to listen to this book. It is hilarious and laugh-out-loud funny. Highly recommended.
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Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
by Jenny Lawson
Narrated by Jenny Lawson
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: April 17, 2012
Format: Audio, 8 hours | 41 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 4 of 5
A mostly true memoir by Jenny Lawson, also know on the internet as “The Blogess“, there appears to be no subject that Jenny won’t discuss, in detail!
Until I listened to this book I had not heard of The Blogess. I hadn’t read her blog and was quite unprepared for the ensuing entertainment. Her tale begins with her childhood and her unconventional upbringing, her high school years and not fitting in, dating and eventually marrying Victor (the man must be a saint!).
Some of her stories venture into the “should I even be laughing at this?” area, but Jenny just lays things bare and talks about it all. Mental illness, her dog dying, body parts and body functions … all fodder for comedy. And for the most part it, works. Some of the funniest stories involve her days working in the corporate world in the HR Department. The things people do on their computers! You can’t make this stuff up.
The book is narrated by the author. While she does speak quickly, her voice is clear and easy to understand. She occasionally addresses the audience directly which makes it sound more like she is speaking to her listeners rather than reading a book. There is quite a bit of off-color language and some adult topics making this unsuitable for children or more sensitive listeners. If you don’t fall into those groups and want a rollicking good laugh, give this a listen.
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Source: Bossypants: Public Library. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Lifeboat
by Charlotte Rogan
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Publish Date: April 3, 2012
Format: Hardcover | 288 pages
ISBN: 9780316185905
I haven’t had an opportunity to read The Lifeboat yet but I plan to listen to the audiobook in the next week or two. With the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic this month, a book about shipwrecked passengers from an ocean liner and the ensuing conflict for survival piqued my interest.
About the Book
From the publisher:
Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life.
In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying her and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize is over capacity. For any to live, some must die.
As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace recollects the unorthodox way she and Henry met, and the new life of privilege she thought she’d found. Will she pay any price to keep it?
The Lifeboat is a page-turning novel of hard choices and survival, narrated by a woman as unforgettable and complex as the events she describes.
About the Author
Charlotte Rogan studied architecture at Princeton University, graduating in 1975. She lives in Westport, Connecticut. This is her first novel.
Follow Charlotte on Facebook or Twitter.
Visit Charlotte’s webpage.
Giveaway Information
The publisher has generously offered two copies for giveaway.
- Contest is open to those with an address in the US or Canada.
- To enter leave a comment. It is not necessary to be a subscriber or follower to enter but new subscribers are always welcome.
- For an extra entry, tweet or blog the giveaway. (Leave me the URL of the link.)
- The deadline for entry is Sunday, May 6th. I will draw two winners who will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address. Only one winner per household.
[Contest now closed]
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost Wordless: Seen on a walk in Lincoln Marsh. This wildflower was so pretty it was begging for a photograph.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
What Was World Book Night?
World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. Held in the U.S. and the U.K. on April 23, 2012, tens of thousands of people went out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out World Book Night free paperbacks.
Late yesterday afternoon I headed out to distribute 20 copies of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for the first World Book Night held in the U.S. It was a beautiful, sunny day so I decided to hand out books to people outdoors in the business district of my town.
My first attempt was at the train station. The people there were not overly receptive and I was met with a little suspicion. I abandoned that idea and moved across the street to an outdoor table at one of the coffee shops. That worked out great. A few people hesitated at first, they didn’t believe the book was “free”. Some just kept walking and mumbled no thanks, but most were friendly and stopped to chat. A few people had already heard about WBN. The local news had mentioned it earlier in the day.
In the end I spent an hour and a half speaking with people going into the shops, walking down the street or sitting down to have a coffee or snack. A few people sitting at nearby tables were helping me out and telling people that yes, this was for real. It was a great time and I hope to be able to participate again next year.
To the left is a photo taken at my local bookstore. They were the pickup location for the givers in my area. They had a reception for us last Thursday with cake and snacks. The cake even had the WBN logo on it!
Did you participate in World Book Night or see anyone passing out books?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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