The Winter Sea, by Susanna Kearsley

I haven't done a book review for a while, so here's a quick one.

If you saw my facebook page a few weeks ago, you saw me complain about the comma abuse. I am so glad I didn't stop reading at page 40. She got the commas under control and I LOVED this book!

It was a clean, fast read. Many of my favorite things are contained in the story- history, love story, genealogy, suspense. The story goes back and forth between present day and 300 years ago. This sounds like it would be choppy, but it was beautifully done! I couldn't put it down after a while!

I frequently read fiction by LDS authors. This was the first time I have seen a mention of the LDS Church's extensive family history resources, much less by an author who clearly is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (She got the name of the church slightly wrong. I forgive her!)

I frequently feel compelled to search out my ancestors. This would be a dream come true to be able to understand an ancestor's life so fully!

Pick up this book! You will be so glad. I bought it, if you are near enough to borrow my copy. You'll be glad you did!

Race for Reading

Hey, I've got a great idea! Let's all register for the Race for Reading 5K & Family Fun Run!!

It is Saturday, June 9th in Saratoga Springs & all the money raised goes to the Saratoga Springs Literacy Center! The Center provides tutoring free of charge

You can find more information at saratogasprings5k.blogspot.com.

Even more amazing- have your company help sponsor the race!!

Let me know if you have questions!

A- Z Book Challenge

I love to read and I'm very competitive, so when I saw this reading challenge, I decided to give it a try. I follow a blog called Library of Clean Reads and she posted the challenge, originally from Babies, Books and Signs. I see reading challenges mentioned frequently, but have never done one before. New year, new thing to do, right?

It is pretty straight forward: Read a book that starts with each letter of the alphabet throughout the year. Jenna, Aubrey and I are all going to do this. Some we'll read together, some on our own. We will keep track of them on separate pages over to the right of the posts. We'd love to have you join us! If you decided to do it, let us know & tell us what you're reading! Also go to her blog & sign up. She will send out accompanying challenges to keep you interested.

Here's the info from the challenge host's page:

Technical Stuff

This challenge will run from January 1st, 2012 until December 31st, 2012.

You can join anytime.

If you are blogger, leave the link to your actual post about this challenge.

If you are not a blogger, leave a link to where you will be keeping track of this challenge.

So there are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z challenge.

A - Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet. For example: A - Atonement B- Black Beauty C - The Count of Monte Cristo D - Dances with Dragons etc.

OR

B - The lazy way (how I do it) : Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Hope that by the end of the year you have read one book for each letter. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.




We are going with option B. I am starting with H. I got The Help  for Christmas and I'm loving it. Aubrey jumped right in with The Sneetches for S. Jenna is listening to Anne of Green Gables on CD, but I told her that doesn't count. She is waiting for The Report Card, which the librarian at her school ordered for her. She read a few Diary of a Wimpy Kid books over Christmas break, so I'll give her a day or two...


I'll try to remember to update our progress occasionally, but check out pages for sure! ---->