Memories

May 18, 2013 by · 1 Comment

Last night as I was packing up the boys’ books, I felt as if I was packing up memories as well.  My goal was to go through all of the books – the ones that were too “young” for my youngest I would donate, and then the rest would be packed away for the new house.  As I was going through each book, memories started flooding back.  Below are some of our favorites.  Click on the image of the book to learn more about it via Amazon.

Goodnight Moon was a favorite of my oldest son.  The book itself showed wear to prove the gazillion nights we sat reading this classic book.

(Of course I had to get Goodnight iPad: a Parody for the next generation when it came out – a nice treat for Goodnight Moon lovers!)

Some other favorites along the lines of Goodnight Moon were:

It is so wonderful to hear my youngest read these books to me – the same ones I read to him a few years ago.
I love all of the Laura Numeroff books – here are some of them:


The Llama Llama series is another favorite – here are some of them:


Now, my oldest is into the Magic Tree House series.  This series is great because each themed book has a Fact Tracker associated with it.  After N reads, for example book #1 about Jack and Annie’s adventure with dinosaurs, he can then read the Fact Tracker which illustrates what dinosaurs are.
I grew up with Encyclopedia Brown, another great series.  I was so happy when N took to this series as well.
 

I’ll keep posting favorites as I pack them.  What are your favorite childhood books?

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Calling All Book Lovers!

May 13, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

paperbackswap logo

I forgot how I stumbled upon PaperBackSwap…but I am sure glad that I did!  I love to read.

PaperBackSwap allows for you to post the books that you have completed reading, and in turn you can “shop” for books posted by other members that you would like to read.  If a member wants one of your posted books, you’ll receive an email requesting that book.  All you have to do it accept the request and then mail the book out!  PaperBackSwap makes it easy to mail out the books, as you can purchase postage and print shipping labels right on their site.

When I find a book that I want to read, I search for it first on PaperBackSwap.  If it is available – yay!  If not, I add it to my wishlist and once it becomes available I am good to go!  I just ordered Katharine Graham’s book that was recommended by Warren Buffet during his interview with Levo League!

Check out the site, it is very user-friendly!  If you happen to join, please tell them “chotchkie” sent you :)  (that’s my nickname) .

 

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Signed Book Giveaway – Swallowtail!

May 3, 2013 by · 1 Comment

 This fantastic giveaway has been brought to you by 

author Sheri Meshal and Beck Valley Books
Open Worldwide
Ending on Sunday 19th May at 11.59pm EST
Chicago wife, mother and finance executive Claire Cummings, arrives at work one morning to discover her friend Julia has embezzled millions and vanished. Blindsided and devastated by the betrayal, she’s sent home pending further investigation. Claire’s bizarre death the following day sends everyone reeling, guessing and looking for her in all the wrong places. In no time she’s
addicted to an enchanting menagerie of tricks and techniques for getting the living’s attention, but most people are harder to reach than she’d ever dreamed and even harder to set free.
She was still a mother, a wife, a daughter and a friend… she’d move heaven and earth to keep it that way.
Sheri
Meshal’s Swallowtail is a haunting story about life, love, loss and just how far we’ll go to control it all.
This debut from a thought-provoking new voice in fiction begs the question… what would you do if all the rules changed, and you were suddenly bestowed powers beyond your greatest imagination?Enter Below and Good Luck !!

 

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Book Review – Swallowtail

April 17, 2013 by · 1 Comment
Chicago wife, mother and finance executive Claire Cummings, arrives at work one morning to discover her friend Julia has embezzled millions and vanished. Blindsided and devastated by the betrayal, she’s sent home pending further investigation. Claire’s bizarre death the following day sends everyone reeling, guessing and looking for her in all the wrong places. In no time she’s addicted to an enchanting menagerie of tricks and techniques for getting the living’s attention, but most people are harder to reach than she’d ever dreamed and even harder to set free.
She was still a mother, a wife, a daughter and a friend… she’d move heaven and earth to keep it that way.  Sheri Meshal’s Swallowtail is a haunting story about life, love, loss and just how far we’ll go to control it all. This debut from a thought-provoking new voice in fiction begs the question… what would you do if all the rules changed, and you were suddenly bestowed powers beyond your greatest imagination?

MY REVIEW: When you start reading Swallowtail, you think that it is a mystery novel about coworkers that are intertwined in a theft within their company, yet they are innocent.  Then, you are spun in a total 360.  From that point on, I was hooked.  The way that Sheri tells the story of Claire and her attempts to help her family and friends (from the other side) is amazing, chilling, exciting – it really brought me into the story.  I felt like I was right next to Claire, I understood why she did some of the things she did, as a mom and as a wife and friend.

The imagery and thought put into this novel are wonderful.  It was a fast read for me.  Although I didn’t want it to end, I was compelled to read “just one more page”.

About the Author

Sheri Meshal spent most of her childhood on an old farm in Iowa. She is an author by day and chauffeur by night… for a tad bit
longer. Swallowtail took over six years to write and was inspired
by bizarre events which occurred shortly after her father’s passing
in 1998. Best friends, they’d engaged in countless conversations
reagrding the possibility of life after death and enjoyed sharing
books on the subject years before he was diagnosed with lung
cancer. After a myriad of unexplainable events, Sheri realized had
she died first, she would’ve done everything in her power to get
her father’s attention and show him all the things she could do.

 

 

Her father had informed her that she was a writer long before she could begin to accept the possibility.  In her heart, she knew he should’ve been the writer, and if she did possess any talent for it, it was due to his DNA. She began writing for both of them and often wondered if he helped her, as crucial research repeatedly found its way to her by the strangest means. When she met medium Jonathan Louis, he desperately tried to avoid a cliche topic.  Exasperated, he finally gave in saying, “I don’t want to say this.  Whenever I do, the room goes crazy. Sometimes it just is what it is and nothing more, but what does it mean when I say the word butterfly to you?” Overcome with emotion, she confessed she’d written a novel titled Swallowtail about a dead woman communicating with her friends and family. He answered softly with a smile, “He helps you.”

 

Buy the book from ….. 

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com






  printed version           ebook version

I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.

 

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Book Review – GPS Your Best Life

April 5, 2013 by · 1 Comment

 

GPS Your Best Life (Success Strategies): Charting Your Destination and Getting There in Style gives you simple, practical strategies, accompanied by down to earth assessment tools. This book will put you behind the wheel to guide you from figuring out what revs your engine and what’s blocking your view, and following your unique road map to your desired destination while learning to navigate the obstacles and road blocks along the way.

The book helps you determine where you are now, and, through practical strategies and assessments, helps you clarify what you want in your personal and career life, and shows you how to expertly navigate through hidden fears and procrastination so as to get on the road to success now!

International Best-selling author and transformational speaker, Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowski, sought after world class speaker
and Founder/CEO of The Millionaire Woman Club have joined forces to help you create the life you truly want to live.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could figure out your true calling so you could live you best life?

MY REVIEW: I am a big proponent of interactive “self help” books, and GPS Your Best Life was one of them.  When I first started reading the book I didn’t know how it would completed apply to my life, but as I read on, I was surprised at what positive enhancements I could make of my life.  It will take some time, it doesn’t happen overnight, but GPS Your Best Life realistically “drives” you through what you can do to better yourself.
Charmaine Hammond

Charmaine Hammond, is an international transformational speaker and is a #1
international best selling and award winning author of dog book On
Toby’s Terms, a book about Charmaine’s dog which is currently in development to be a motion picture with Impact Motion Pictures, Toby The Pet Therapy Dog & His
Hospital Friends, the next
in the series, Be a Buddy Not a Bully as well as Toby and His Forever
Family will be released early 2013. 

Charmaine is also a founding and board member of the Evolutionary
Business Council, and host of three wildly popular radio shows. She also
teaches and mentors authors on Your Book as a Business. www.hammondgroup.biz    www.ontobysterms.com  www.howtosellandmarketyourbook.com
Debra Kasowski

Debra Kasowski has a BSc in Nursing and has practiced nurs­ing for over
seventeen years. She has combined her passion and love of helping people
with her professional speaking career to inspire and help people
transform their lives; she also leads several workshops and provides
personal strategy coaching. She is the founder of the Millionaire Woman
Club, a global community of women who are highly motivated and
passionate about helping women become”rich from the inside out.”

Debra
is also a founding member of the Evolutionary Busi­ness Council and her newest book, “The Entrepreneurial Mom’s Guide
to Growing a Business, Raising a Family, and Creating a Life You Love!
will be coming out in the spring of 2013. http://www.debrakasowski.com 

Buy the book from 

Barnes and Noble



Book Tour Badge coming soon x





 

 

     printed book              ebook version

I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.

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