My Wish List

There are so many books on my shelf (and in the stores) that I am coveting to read. I look forward to my time off so that I can finally, truly sit down and read. Getting a small piece at lunch and before and after work, is just not enough for me. Sigh. My Wish List is to get through my list.

Here is my list of books waiting on my Nook to be read -
Solid by Shelley Workinger
The Summer We Came To Life by Deborah Cloyed
Good As Gold by Louise Patten
Everything I Was by Corrine Demas
This Girl Is Different by JJ Johnson
The Lightkeepers Ball by Colleen Coble
Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon
Miss Timmins' School for Girls by Nayana Curimbhoy
among a handful of christian fiction books

Here are the books falling over and out of my nightstand waiting to be read -
Lullaby and The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
James Patterson's Women's Murder Club Series books 3-9
I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
A Race To Splendor by Ciji Ware
This Life Is In Your Hands by Melissa Coleman
and those are only the ones on the floor in front of my nightstand

Here are the books I wistfully gaze upon while at work; to name just a few -
Laura Fitzgerald's new book, Dreaming in English
The Sorcerer's Apprentices by Lisa Abend
IBM and the Holocaust by Edwin Black

IBM and the Holocaust is the stunning story of IBM's strategic alliance with Nazi Germany--beginning in 1933 in the first weeks that Hitler came to power and continuing well into World War II. As the Third Reich embarked upon its plan of conquest and genocide, IBM and its subsidiaries helped create enabling technologies, step-by-step, from the identification and cataloging programs of the 1930s to the selections of the 1940s.

AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR -

Lauren Kate's PASSION
Fallen #3
JUNE 14th
Oh yeah, baby!!

Review - This Won't Hurt A Bit by Michelle Au

Title: This Won't Hurt A Bit (and other white lies)
Author: Michelle Au
Publish Date: May 11, 2011
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Hardcover, 336 pages

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I read this book on a plane coming back from my vacation with Saint and meeting his parents. It was the perfect book to read while stuck on a ten foot wide plane because every five minutes or so I laughed out loud and a couple of times I laughed so hard, I snorted. People kept looking at me and I just shrugged because seriously, what could I do? I would have loved to have the book itself on this one so I could have done some major advertising for Michelle Au by holding the book up and wandering up and down the aisle.

From the moment Michelle Au talks about getting a fecal sample from a patient, I was hooked. (and a little grossed out, but that's beside the point here) This was one of the funniest books I have read in a long time and it was so poignant. I remembered why I wanted to secretly become a doctor too. And then was immediately reminded why I didn't go that route when she is covered in blood or vomit.

I found it amazing to see her go through Pediatrics and feel the doctors side and then later she has her own baby and feels the parent side. It's a bit sad when the mother can't have it all, in the same way a man can. Michelle Au did an incredible job (if you ask me) juggling both. Some of my favorite times in this book were when she was experiencing learning with her seniors and how they made her feel and what horrible jobs are parted to the beginners as a rite of passage.

Seriously PICK THIS BOOK UP!!

Summary of book -
Michelle Au started medical school armed only with a surfeit of idealism, a handful of old "ER" episodes to reference, and some vague notion about "helping people." This is the story of how she grew up and became a real doctor. Through her years in medical training, she also attempts to maintain a life outside the hospital as she and her resident husband decide to have a baby. A new mother struggling to balance long days and nights in the hospital with her "real" life, Au finds herself in the classic struggle of working motherhood, trying to do two equally high-stress jobs without losing her sanity or sense of humor. THIS WON'T HURT A BIT is a story about the imperfect, occasionally ridiculous, never boring process of medical training and life outside it, where an ordinary person can learn the kind of doctor and mother she wants to be under the most extraordinary circumstances.

Blog Tour & Giveaway - Broken Wings by Carla Stewart

Title: Broken Wings
Author: Carla Stewart
Publisher: FaithWords
Publish Date: June 3, 2011
Paperback, 272 pages

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Mitzi Steiner is a jazz singer who volunteers at the hospital when she runs in to Brooke Woodson who has had an unfortunate "accident." Out of no where these two form a friendship and in turn help each other out along the way.

Mitzi is a strong and wonderfully kind woman whose husband is going through Alzheimer's. She has lived a full and vivacious life as told here. Her story is one of intrigue and excitement. I loved this story instantly and wanted to skip ahead to the chapters that told of her plight to find out what happened to her mother and how she became a jazz singer.

Brooke Woodson on the other hand, has yet to start her life and the life she has been building is falling apart starting with the man of her dreams who has a temper, and a right hook. It took everything I had to read about Brooke and Lance. I wanted to kill him. He is a horrible man, even with his shortcomings I felt no sympathy for him.

Broken Wings was such a great story of love, friendship and the trials and tribulations of both. It was such a nice read. I loved the little bits of religious quotes that were interjected here and there. It was sweet and made me warm all over. It had depth and meaning and touched my heart and soul. I especially enjoyed the part where Mitzi included some of the lines she sang. It just made it that much more real.

I can't wait to get my hands on Carla Stewart's first novel, Chasing Lilacs. Read the first chapter here.

Summary of Broken Wings -

Onstage, the singing duo of Gabe and Mitzi Steiner captured America's heart for more than two decades. Offstage, their own hearts have throbbed as one for sixty years. Only now, Gabe has retreated into the tangles of Alzheimer's, leaving Mitzi to ponder her future alone.

On the other side of Tulsa, everyone believes Brooke Woodson has found the perfect man—a handsome lawyer with sights on becoming Tulsa's next District Attorney. If only Brooke felt more sure. If only her fiancé could control his anger. If only love didn't come with so many scars.

When an accident lands Brooke in the hospital where Mitzi volunteers, the two women quickly develop an unlikely friendship birthed by providence and bathed in grace. And with Mitzi's help, kindness, and insight, Brooke learns how to pick up the broken pieces of her life.

WIN A FREE COPY OF
BROKEN WINGS BY CARLA STEWART

Rules for the Giveaway -
1 Paperback Copy of the Book
US Residents Only
No PO Boxes
Winner will receive the copy courtesy of FaithWords

Leave a comment answering
WHY YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ THIS BOOK.
**Comments that DO NOT answer this question will be disqualified.**
Winner will be contacted by email.
Once contacted, winner will have 3 days
to reply with their address.
If winner does not reply within allotted time,
a new winner will be picked.
Contest closes June 6th.


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Wordless Wednesday - Vulture

Wordless Wednesday

Review - The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane

Title: The Girl Who Disappeared Twice
Author: Andrea Kane
Publish Date: June 1, 2011 (first published May 18th)
Publisher: Mira
Hardcover, 400 pages

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Read an excerpt here

I usually use thrillers and mysteries to fill in the void when I am not sure what to read. I enjoy the brain busters and trying to figure out what will happen next before they tell. These types of books don't tend to keep my attention like others, but this one was OH SO GOOD!

I loved the story line of this book. It was fascinating from the moment I picked it up. It's about a set of twin girls who are sleeping in the same bed together and one of them is taken. It's about the lives of the parents, the other sister and how they survive - or try to. It is then pulled even farther into chaos when as a mother, the twin sister not stolen has her own daughter taken! The story of how and why all of this happened had me gripping the edges of my Nook white knuckled. I really had fun trying to figure out who was guilty of what and why. It was ONE OF THE BEST THRILLERS I HAVE READ.

What a breath of fresh air to read a new and exciting plot. I had a few main points figured out, but the author did a phenomenal job of keeping me guessing. Oh yes, it did beat out James Patterson's, Women's Murder Club. (oops did I say that out loud?) It wasn't just fun, it was exciting.

I loved the characters too. Casey, my favorite, has started a company called Forensics Instincts using the best of the best to solve the crimes the police and FBI cannot. They use methods that are not considered good ones, but they get the job done. I loved the way they used body language to tell guilt when questioning the suspects. I had fun with the way she wasn't afraid to follow her instincts even if it led to trouble (as it did). Casey is strong, brilliant and a sexy woman character who is a wonderful parallel to Hutch who is the FBI agent she is sleeping with. So awesome the way Casey didn't give up her secrets just because she is sleeping with him.

I would really love to see this become a series of books. I can picture each of the Forensics Team playing out their roles in depth and delving into their personal lives - or rather what lives they may have with a job like this. I have read a few things online about it being a series, but nothing concrete yet.

Summary of the book -
If she'd only turned her head, she would have seen the car containing her daughter, struggling to escape her kidnapper. Despite years determining the fates of families, family court judge Hope Willis couldn't save her own. Now she's grasping at any hope for Krissy's rescue. She calls Casey Woods and her team of investigators, Forensic Instincts.

A behaviorist. A techno-wizard. An intuitive. A former Navy SEAL. Unconventional operatives. All with unique talents and reasons for joining Casey's group.

Able to accurately read people after the briefest encounter, Casey picks up signs of a nervous spouse, a guilty conscience, a nanny that hides on her cell. She watches as secrets creep into the open.

But time is running out, and the authorities are bound by the legal system. Not Casey's team. For they know that the difference between Krissy coming back alive and disappearing forever could be as small as a suspect's rapid breathing, or as deep as Hope's dark family history.