Amazing ARTOBIOGRAPHY Giveaway

Have you ever heard of ARTOBIOGRAPHY? If you're an artist, maybe you'll know what I'm talking about.
The Storm of the i: An Artobiography by Tina Collen is part memoir part scrap book, part portfolio and it is beautifully put together. It is a joy to look at but it is also a joy to read about this woman's journey to self-discovery.

The author, Tina Collen is giving away a signed copy of the book to anyone whose answer to this question she finds worthy:

"Oftentimes the objects we hold onto contain cryptic clues that point towards something deeper about ourselves. Take a look around your house (or your room) at the things with which you have surrounded yourself. Is there anything you are still hanging onto that seems to contain a hidden message for you? What do you think it is?"

Do you have objects that you are holding on to? Perhaps you have a book of stamps, shoes, old appliances, vinyl records, or karaoke machines stored in your basement or attic? Do they hold special meaning or contain a hidden message for you? Go leave your story on the Storm of i review on Found Not Lost and you might win a free copy of the book! It's really amazing. You'll enjoy it.

Do You Love to Read?

Are you a bookworm? Can you not let a day go by without reading? Then you're a book lover like me and you're probably obsessed about books and getting them any way you can. No? Well maybe you're not quite as obsessed as I am yet.

If you're interested to know what I've read lately, visit my review site, Found Not Lost. I review the books that I've read and also other things from food, websites, gadgets and even nanocleanse reviews when the right sponsor comes along. I just posted about some great giveaways sponsored by the publishing house I have been reviewing for. If you love to read, check out these great giveaways for book lovers.

How to Run a Book Club

Have you ever joined a book club, all hyped up and looking forward to the experience then have your hope dashed not long after you joined? Have you ever thought of forming your own book club? Well if you've even considered what it takes to run a successful book club, then check out the guest post on Found Not Lost which will give you 10 Tips for Running a Successful Book Club.

If you're really serious about having a successful and highly organized book club, a barcode scanner might come in handy. Most libraries now use a barcode system, afterall. Why not a book club? It would probably help if you have a complete inventory of what books everyone else has.

But, read on to the 10 tips for some really useful tips that you may not have even thought of.

Book Review: Desiree - Napoleon's First Love

There's nothing like good books as natural fat burners. If you've ever picked up a good sized book and become mesmerized from the first page, then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

This is a reprint of an old novel which was originally published in German by Annemarie Selinko. It is based on the true story of a girl named Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, the daughter of a silk merchant who was also Napoleon Bonaparte's first love and who became the Queen of Sweden and Norway. Sound interesting enough for you? Are you intrigued already? If you like historical romances then you will love this one. It is full of historical references and woven just so that it is all plausible. You will become so enmeshed in the lives of the characters that you'll have a hard time putting the book down.

A Naruto Obsession

Two of my daughters are big fans of Naruto. If you don't know what Naruto is, it is a Japanese manga comic book. My daughters and their friends are into manga and anime and Naruto is one of their favorite characters. See, Naruto is a teenage ninja warrior who like most teens, is also still finding who he is.

Manga, as I've said, is simply a genre of comic books that originated in Japan and are now hugely popular among American kids. The Naruto series has sold millions here and in Japan and it is well liked because of the engaging story line and illustrations. My daughters can spend a whole afternoon browsing the graphics section of our local book store reading through their favorite episodes. Most times, they buy at least a couple of books to take home with them and they are not cheap! They average about $10 per book and they can go through them in an hour or so. Good thing they also like to keep them in their book collection. My daughters have hundreds of manga books on their bookshelves and every time I look at them, I can't help but cringe at the amount of that investment. Well, I don't know that 'investment' is a good word to describe their collection of books, but they enjoy it so I leave them alone. I guess they could be obsessed with worse things. I'm just waiting until the day that they can support their own habit.

Best Sellers at a Bargain

I love to give books as presents. But as we book lovers know, they don't come cheap. One way that I have found to get books is to enter giveaways online like the ones I hold on this site. Another way to get books cheaply is to keep an eye out for Promos or Sales. Stores should be holding a lot of them now that the holiday season is officially underway.

Here are three sources for great book bargains:

Books-A-Million is what my daughters call the Barnes & Nobles' poor cousin. That's not a bad thing, mind you, Books-A-Million deals are some of the best bargains around!
Indigo Books and Music sells new and used books, and their outlet section features some unbelievable deals.
BookSwim is perfectt if you like to read but aren’t interested in building up a book collection. They offer a service similar to that of Netflix, only with books instead of DVDs. This is like the library gone online!

Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway for this book, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms by Jane Doiron. The book is an amazing collection of easy meals that you can prepare ahead of time; making your weekdays hassle free while also providing healthy and delicious meals for your family. In addition to great recipes, Jane also provides tips on how to manage your meals and plan them ahead of time so you're not going to be tempted to go for fast food.

These are simple, family recipes that I am sure most moms are already familiar with I'm sure everyone will find something new or inspirational in this book. For instance, I did follow her advice on cooking extra to freeze for a later meal. I made lasagna, almost like she has it in the book, but of course, I never could leave a simple recipe alone.

I kind of made my lasagna a little more complicated and less desirable if you're on a weight loss kick, but it sure was delicious!

Visit my food blog and enter the giveaway for this book today!

Free Books!

I presently have two book giveaways going on and more to come. Come on to my review site and enter to win these books:

I am extending the giveaway for the book, Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer. You will have another week to enter so get on over there and leave me a comment or click the reTweet button. It’s that easy! It is really a great and inspirational book for every mom or mom to be.

I'm giving away 5 copies of OFF SEASON by Anne Rivers Siddons. This book is a love story about love and lost. “It is a story about those simple truths that often elude us, even when they are in front of our eyes, OFF SEASON explores the hidden places of the heart that continually surprise us.” - from the backcover

Dusting off the Bookshelves

I've been sprucing up my book collection both at home and online. The photo above is my headboard. As you can see, it also doubles up as my bookshelf. I lay on it, books that I just finished reading, am currently reading, or plan on reading. Well after a while, it starts to become messy and unmanageable where I can't even find what I'm looking for anymore. My husband has also complained he's gotten hit by a falling book while he's sleeping. oops!

So I've been taking all extra books and putting them away on the real bookshelf, not my headboard, and I also tried to organize my books that are posted online. For one, I think I will revive my Online Bookshelf on blogger. I know I'll be posting about books, I just don't know yet what format I'm going to take, whether it's going to be a review or just a list. Speaking of lists, I've also created a new page to list books that I've read recently. I know I've probably just created more work for me by reviving another blog, but I had fun sprucing it up so whether I do more to it or not, we'll just have to see, won't we?

At least now that the weather is cool or more accurately, colder, we'll be staying home more and maybe I'll have more time to blog.

Summer Reading

With Jade working at the library this summer, we've taken up a new interest in the library. We've been spending way too much time at Barnes & Noble, Borders and Walden Books and our (well more like MY) pockets have been getting lighter. So re-discovering the library has been a treat! We had to reactivate our library cards, and even paid extra for lost cards, but the cost does not even compare to what we spend at book stores. Anyway, we've checked out several books to complement our reading list.

The Clone even joined a reading club. I think she did it just to get the weekly prizes though. LOL!

Anyway, here are a couple of book reviews of what we've read so far:
American Gods from me, and
For Matrimonial Purposes from Jade.

The Clone opted not to review her book. Actually, she's still reading :)

Summer Reading

Summer reading is on at our house. The Clone decided to join our local library's summer reading club. She's trying to win a laptop from their monthly drawing. Well, anything to get them and keep them reading, eh? Anyway, we've been making weekly trips to the library for her to check in with the club and get more books to read.

The funny thing is, she checks in with the librarian in the children's section on the first floor, then proceeds to the teen and fiction section of the library, on the third floor, to pick out her book. The librarian had to laugh when we first went to sign up because she proudly told The Clone to go to the table and pick any book she wants and she can have it for free just for signing up for the club. So my 10 year old goes to browse the free books table and comes back empty handed. She said the books there were too easy for her. Which, they were. They were the easy-reader type books. So the librarian pulled out a secret stash with teen paperbacks for the Clone to choose from. :)

Personalized Gifts for Children

The girls have always loved reading. When they were younger, one of their favorites were books that had their names and photos. They had a couple of these personalized books given to them as gifts and they couldn't stop reading them! Or should I say, they wouldn't let me stop reading them!

Personalized Gifts for Children, especially books is a great idea. They love seeing themselves in the story. They would giggle when the character, named after them, would do something silly or get in a funny situation. They are proud of themselves when their character accomplishes a daring feat during an adventure. It is just easier for them to relate, especially when they are so young. In "My Special Christmas Adventure", for instance, they get to go with Santa Claus. Whatever interests them at this point in their life, there is a book that is sure to catch their attention.

Get the Career and Life You Want

I took the evaluation quiz, and it says I have nowhere to go but up. I have never been what I would call an assertive woman. I have always put others before my own needs. They didn't ask me to, I just felt that it was something I had to do. I know I have strengths and talents that could be better cultivated, but they are often put on the back burner while I attend to other things and other people.

Inside Every Woman is a book by Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSD, JD. This book helps women like me realize their vision and potential, now. Who says that we have to give up the people we love and the things that we are doing for them. We don't have to do that. What this book teaches us is to garner our innate strength as women and use that to energize ourselves in order that we may "unleash the forces within". The first chapter holds five promises that you must make to yourself and for yourself in order to live better and attain the goals that you have always dreamt of. The book aims to be your coach in your life and in your career.

You can get a copy of this book on Amazon if you feel you are ready to get the career and life you want. You can also get a free "Inside Every Woman" bookmarks by emailing your request to Vickie@InsideEveryWoman.com.

Harry Potter Exposed

My daughters and I are huge Harry Potter fans. They read all the books, seen all the movies and have even had their share of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Yep, even the booger, vomit and earwax flavored ones all for the love of Harry Potter. You know it, they will be in line, in a few weeks, for the movie and for the final book.

For the past weeks since they got out of school, they have been re-reading all the past volumes. My youngest, The Clone, is now on the fourth book and fully intends to finish all the volumes before the next one comes out in three weeks. I'm really proud of her because she has seen all the movies so she knows the plot of each one, but she just decided to take this one for herself.

Then I received a forwarded email that claims a hack has inside information on the plot of the final Harry Potter book. The article is here.

It is sad how some people just have nothing better to do than spoil other people's fun. This Gabriel person says he released the spoilers "So we make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring."

Maybe the guy should read more to expand his narrow mind. I thought about posting the spoilers here, but my girls read this blog. So I won't spoil their fun. But you know what, I bet even if they did know the plot ahead of time they will still read the final book. Because they have learned early on that it is not the ending of the book that is important, it is the journey they take to get there that is their reward. Obviously this Gabriel person has not learned that.

Summer Reading

The girls are in their first week of summer vacation and already the reading extravaganza has begun. This is something the girls and I do whenever they have a break from school. Exciting, ha? Well it really is exciting when you have a housefull of bookworms.

I will be reviving the bookshelf just to keep track of what we've read so far.

Free E-books

This is how my headboard looks most of the time. Yes, I do sleep with my books. I haven't really had much time to read lately, but who knows maybe by sleeping next to them they will somehow seep into my brain. I may not have a lot of time to read (not as much as I would like anyway), but I still manage quite a bit of reading in between household chores, the girls and work. I like to read relaxing, stress free novels.

One activity that the girls and I love to do is to browse through bookstores and book sales. We go to the mall even when we're broke and can't shop because we know the book store is free :) We can go and spend hours browsing through books. I love that places like Barnes & Noble make their stores conducive to reading. I take a stack of books and retreat into a corner and be lost for hours. My girls do the same thing.
Then one day some time ago, I ran across e-books during my bloghopping. Then I realized that you can get some of them for free!

So I thought I would share some of these links with you. I have downloaded some already, and have read a couple so far. You may be interested to know that some books especially the classics, are now available. I just finished re-reading Pride and Prejudice, and I am now deciding which one to go for next. I've downloaded several different genres so I guess it will depend on what mood I am in.

I just realized while reading the last book though, that I miss holding paper in my hand. I find reading it on the computer to be troublesome. So I think I may print out the next book.

Here are a few links where you can get some books.

Got this link from the gothic babe: eBookstation. I like this one as most of the books are in PDF format. Much easier for me to read and/or print out and I don't have to download another reader.

Books Download

The Gutenberg Project

Planet PDF

I'm sure there are plenty more sites out there. If you know of other sites, please let me know by leaving a comment.

A ball is a ball is a ball...

This issue can be so funny if it wasn't for the deeper implications it raises. Here is an article about another book that is being criticized for a word used within the first pages. What one word could possible raise such a ruckus? SCROTUM. Did that shock you? Did it offend your moral sensibilities to hear the word?

It doesn't really do anything for me but apparently it raises the hackles of some people. I have to admit that I hadn't read the book yet, but I will just to see what the fuss is about.

The children's book written by Susan Patron, The Higher Power of Luckyis this year's Newberry Medal winner and it is recommended for children from grades 4-6. The story is about a 10 year old girl named Lucky whose mother is struck by lightning and dies. Lucky's father then asks his ex-wife to take care of Lucky while he is off elsewhere. This is about Lucky and her friends going through the usual angsts of growing up, and growing up without her real parents at that.

The fuss about the book comes about from the reference to the dog's scrotum being bit by a snake (sounds pretty funny to me) at the beginning of the story. Apparently, because of this word, the work becomes unsuitable for reading aloud, and some would even insist not suitable for reading in silence either. Because of the S word. I do not understand what is so wrong with the word. It is the correct term for that body part, right? That body part does exist and not just an imagined perversion, correct? So you would call your head a head, your arm an arm and not think twice about it; so why not call a scrotum a scrotum? I tried to think of other euphemisms (some have suggested it could have been implied in another way) but could only come up with balls. How about you? How many other ways can you call "the thing"?

I know many of us were raised with funny (and I really do mean funny)
ideas about sexuality, but I would like to think that as we grew older and more educated that we have shed some of the puritan ideas we have about sex. I remember my mom having a hard time explaining sex to us and even referred us to the dictionary when cornered with a word she couldn't explain without blushing. I'd like to think I'm a little better with my girls. At least they know their 'thing' is called a vagina and not 'pek-pek'. OK, my mom will argue that pekpek is a word. Yes, but it's a ilocano/filipino word and even at that it is not the proper name for the proper name is also considered vulgar even in the Philippines. Thank goodness for a second language to mask our inhibitions about calling body parts their proper names! But really, what is it about calling IT by it's proper name? Why is that bad?

Besides, most kids nowadays, unless they have been cloistered, will know all these terms by the time they are 9 or sooner (and at least 10 euphemisms to boot). At least mine do... and sometimes in a second language, even!

Words are only dirty when you make them to be.

The Final Chapter

It's almost sad to think about it. I had relished waiting for the books to be published, then for the movies to be released. My girls practically spent their early reading years with Harry. We read the first book together, aloud. They grew up with him! Now the final book is set to be released, and I almost don't want to see it come out because it will be the end. Harry is all grown up. I suppose it's time to let him go.

I think he has already started to fly from the nest. Check this out about Daniel Radcliffe, not the Harry you know.

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY NOW!!