So Many Books, So Little Time

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger and That's What I'm Talking About. Hey everyone!  Tonight I'm feeling pretty good about my fitness goals because I actually lost weight (only a pound but still).  I've been at the same weight for the month of July so it was nice to see the numbers go down.  Last week was so bad with regards to eating.  There were a ton of work luncheons and family obligations and I think I ate out at least once a day (if not twice) almost every day.  Needless to say, I was not surprised that my weight didn't go down.  I've lost approximately 8 lbs and am hoping to keep on losing; my goal is 4 more pounds by the middle of September. I have stuck with working out five days a week which I'm super proud of.  Both last week and this  I ran for 40 minutes three times a week and did Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred twice per week.  I HATE Level 3!  It's hard but not in a good way; the moves are incredibl...

From Goodreads: Rachel Blum and Andy Landis are eight years old when they meet late one night in an ER waiting room. Born with a congenital heart defect, Rachel is a veteran of hospitals, and she's intrigued by the boy who shows up all alone with a broken arm. He tells her his name. She tells him a story. After Andy's taken back to the emergency room and Rachel's sent back to her bed, they think they'll never see each other again. Rachel, the beloved, popular, and protected daughter of two doting parents, grows up wanting for nothing in a fancy Florida suburb. Andy grows up poor in Philadelphia with a single mom and a rare talent that will let him become one of the best runners of his generation. Over the course of three decades, through high school and college, marriages and divorces, from the pinnacles of victory and the heartbreak of defeat, Andy and Rachel will find each other again and again, until they are finally given a chance to decide whe...

Happy Wednesday y'all!  I'm linking up with Bookish (And Not So Bookish) Thoughts over at Bookishly Boisterous today. 1.) I have purchased so many ebooks this month.  It's kind of ridiculous.  I get completely sucked into the Kindle Daily Deals and all of the $1.99 ebooks at Amazon and Barnes and Noble plus I really needed some retail therapy this month.  I finally added up how much I spent and it came to around $27; I was shocked because $1.99 here and there doesn't seem like much.  I guess I will be slowing down on that next month.   2.) I have no more shelf space at home and no room for more bookshelves.  Our local library has been having book sales more often and the Dollar Tree has actually had some good books recently so I have added a lot to my shelves in recent months.  I just cannot pass up cheap books!  I'm going to make a concerted effort this fall to read books I own so that I can start purging my collection....

Synopsis:   The red-headed Karin is strong-willed and determined, something she inherited from her father. She tries to keep her true nature a secret to avoid being deemed a traitor by those loyal to the king. Karin and her father butt heads over her duty to her family and the Czech Crown. She is then sequestered to the Royal Viscount’s hunting lodge. Not aware of everything that is happening, she becomes the target of an individual with murderous intent. Her heart soon becomes entangled though her father intends to wed her to another. The turmoil inside Karin deepens and reflects the turmoil of her homeland, on the brink of the Hussite Wars. My Thoughts:  The Lady Bornekova is a delightfully entertaining read.  It has a great plot, interesting characters and the just the right touch of romance as well as a unique historical backdrop.  I had never heard of the Hussite Wars prior to this book and after finishing it, had to resort to Google ...

It's time for another Mailbox Monday post!  Once again I could not resist the cheap ebooks that Amazon and Barnes and Noble were promoting this week.  I really need to stop!  I already have more than I can read.  I also was able to spend a little time browsing at the library and I came home with a nice stack of books.  These days, I hardly ever get to spend time at the library by myself for more than a minute or two so it was wonderful to have time to just wander and see what I could find. Purchased (for kindle): The Color of Secrets by Lindsay Ashford The One I Was by Eliza Graham House of Bathory by Linda Lafferty   Purchased (for nook): One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore  Becoming Queen Victoria by Kate Williams From the Library: The Messenger by Daniel Silva   The Ripper's Wife by Brandy Purdy Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner Brazen by Katherine Longshore What books did you get...

NAKED: A NOVEL OF LADY GODIVA by ELIZA REDGOLD Publication Date: July 14, 2015 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Formats: Ebook, Paperback Pages: 320 Genre: Historical Fiction We know her name. We know of her naked ride. We don't know her true story. We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. So the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. Lord Leofric demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. There are various endings to Godiva's ride, that all the people of Coventry closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady (except for 'peeping Tom') and that her husband, in remorse, lifted the tax. Naked is an original version of Godiva's tale with a twist that may be closer to the truth: by the end of his life Leofric had fallen deeply in love with Lad...

Synopsis:  On a hill overlooking the Aegean Sea in Turkey, an international team of archeologists discovers a stone box that first-century Jews used to rebury their dead. The box’s Aramaic inscription: Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. Sophia Altay, the beautiful French-Turkish archeologist who heads the team, tries to keep the discovery secret until she can authenticate the ossuary. She knows that people will kill to obtain the relics—and to suppress the box’s other contents, documents that could alter Western history. Joseph Travers, an American sent to Turkey to evaluate the archeological dig, soon finds himself pulled into the web of betrayal, reprisal, and violence. In his journey through Istanbul’s mosques and palaces, the archeological sites around ancient Ephesus, and, ultimately, the strange and mystical terrain of Cappadocia, he comes to understand the epochal meaning of the bone box. My Thoughts:  Bone Box is a great thriller with a uniqu...

Welcome to Mailbox Monday !  I  went a little crazy with inexpensive Nook and Kindle books.  I just cannot pass up a good deal on ebooks!  Now if only I had enough time to read all of them! Purchased (for Kindle):   Mila 18 by Leon Uris One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis Finding Rebecca by Eoin Dempsey Purchased (for Nook): The Highlander's Sin by Eliza Knight The Good Girl by Mary Kubica The Silent Girls by Eric Rickstad For Review (from NetGalley): The End of Tsarist Russia:  The March to World War I and Revolution by Dominic Lieven   What books did you get this week?

#FitReaders is hosted by The Geeky Blogger and That's What I'm Talking About . Hey y'all!  This is my first #FitReaders checkin in months but I'm glad to be back!  I had a really good week.  I jogged on the treadmill 3 days for 40 minutes and then did the 30 Day Shred Level 2 on the other 2 days.  I've actually done really well at consistently working out five days a week for the past two months or so. My eating this week was spot on.  Even when we had pizza at work yesterday, I still managed to stay within my allotted MyFitnessPal calories.  I had a terrible week last week so I'm really trying to get back on track.  I know next week will be tough (there are a lot of food related events next week) but I will do the best I can. I got on the scale this morning and while I was sad that I hadn't lost any weight, I didn't gain either which is good considering how many bad eating days I had last week.  I'm still at 7 pounds lost but I r...

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley This is an older Susanna Kearsley book that was recently re-released.  It has both historical and mystery aspects to the story and was a pretty fun read.  Some of the twists were obvious but I still found it to be an enjoyable and engaging story.  I loved the author's description of the workings of a play as well as her descriptions of Venice.  She truly brought the city to life.  Celia, the main character, was young but well-developed and I enjoyed watching her grow as a character throughout the story.  3 1/2 stars. The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian This book was so odd.  I really loved it in the beginning, the story was super creepy and I could not wait to see what would happen next.  However, it eventually seemed to take a strange turn and the completely diverged from the original story.  This new 'turn' was still interesting and kind of creepy so I kept reading....but the end...

I'm linking up with Mailbox Monday again this week! I got a TON of books this week.  It's actually more than I planned and I'm slightly overwhelmed with stuff to read.  I wish I could just read for a living!! For Review (ebooks): An Immortal Descent by Kari Edgren Bone Box by Jay Amberg Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner From the Library: The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain Making the "Terrible" Twos Terrific! by John Rosemond   Purchased at the Library Book Sale: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George Rulers and Victims: The Russians in the Soviet Union by Geoffrey Hosking What Happy Working Mothers Know by Cathy Greenberg and Barrett Avigdor What books did you receive this week? 

Sorry for so many non-bookish posts but I have to talk about my sweet Julia's birthday.  She turned two on June 28!!! I can't believe she's two already!  Julia loves the movie Frozen so her birthday party was Frozen themed. I made her Anna and Elsa cakes and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.  I don't love Elsa (I had lots of problems with her) but I think Anna turned out pretty good! I also ordered some really cool Frozen themed cookies from a local bakery.  They turned out great!! We had about 10-15 kids under the age of five so I had to come up with some fun activities for them.  We had a water table and some other outside toys and I made 'snow' and homemade sidewalk paint.  They were a HUGE hit.  The kids had such a blast.  The snow was messy to make but the kids loved it!  I don't have any pictures that I can post but here is a link to the recipe I used.  I wasn't a huge fan of the sidew...

In the Fall, I posted about taking a Laura Ingalls Wilder course and rereading some of her books.  At that time, the class covered the first four books in the Little House series.  This Spring, I took the second half of the Laura Ingalls Wilder class and we read the last five books in the series.  These books show a more mature Laura and the reader gets to see her get her first job, get married and have a child.  I really enjoyed rereading all of them but there were a few that stood out more than others. Little Town on the Prairie has always been one of my favorites in the series and it still is.  I love the descriptions of life in DeSmet and the creation of Mary's college clothes.  It's such a light-hearted read after the seriousness of The Long Winter and for once Pa and Ma aren't pinching pennies and struggling to make ends meet.  I kind of feel like These Happy Golden Years and Little Town on the Prairie could be one long book...

Publication Date: July 6, 2015 Publisher: Carina Press eBook; ASIN: B00XCYM8XS Series: Goddess Born, Book Three Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Romance As a goddess-born healer, Selah Kilbrid wants nothing to do with the goddess of death and disease, nor any of her human progeny. But when the two people she loves most disappear—her dearest friend Nora Goodwin and her betrothed Lord Henry Fitzalan—Selah has no choice but to leave London in pursuit of Death’s most powerful daughter. Accompanied by a ragtag group of travelers, Selah follows a treacherous path across the Irish Sea to the long-forgotten prison of a witch who once nearly destroyed Ireland. Selah would face any danger to protect those she loves, but what if it means unleashing a greater evil on the human world? Could she risk the lives of many to save a few, or are some sacrifices too great? An Immortal Descent Available at Amazon Barnes & Noble iTunes About the Author Kari Edgren is the author of the Goddess Born series. I...