Book Club Friday

Hi everyone, I thought I'd join in with Heather again this week for Book Club Friday. I'm still reading Harry Potter, and loving it!  I finished the third book last week and we watched the 3rd movie - The Prisoner of Azkaban, last weekend too. It was a little more scary for Kristen, poor thing didn't even want to go to the bathroom on her own after she'd watched it. Not sure she'll want to watch any more after this one until she's a bit older? 

So, this week I'm reading book #4 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.It's over 700 PAGES!!!!

 Harry Potter is midway through his training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup. He wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened for a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. But unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal - even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly.

700 pages? Wow, I can't remember when I read such a long book!  This one is a little more slow going for me, not that it's not good, it's just that I'm not getting much time to read this week except for half an hour at bedtime. I want to read through it quickly, so I can watch the movie too, but it might take me a couple of weeks at this rate. Still, I'm enjoying them. I feel like I can't even think about reading any other kind of fiction til I get all these books finished with? But who knows, I may take a break and read others in between.

This week has gone really quick. Kristen seems to be having a good first week at school. She brings homework home for the first time today, and they have until next Friday to complete it. I'm curious to know what kind of homework she gets as a 5th grader. Homework in the past has always seemed pretty simple and basic, it hardly seems worth doing at all!

I'm going to try and make a PW recipe this weekend too, and I think I might try to start sharing them on Monday morning. I figure the weekend is a good time to make them, because if we can't manage to eat them all (or don't want to eat them all because of the calorie content!, we can always share it with the neighbors) ;-) Still leaning towards the scones, but I need cream and maple extract in first. 

Have a great weekend. I'll be back Monday.

Book Club Friday

I did it! I read the second Harry Potter book last week after watching the first movie (again) but this time with Kristen. She kept saying she didn't want to watch it, but she sat all the way through it and later admitted she really liked it. That is the reason I picked up the 2nd book last week, and I read it in just 3 days.

 

 So, this week for Book Club Friday, I'm reading book # 3, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Oh, and for the record, we watched the second movie (as soon as I'd finished reading the book) earlier this week!  I am loving the books. I forgot how great a read the first one was, how I couldn't put it down. And the second book was exactly the same, even though I had seen that movie a few years before - still a fantastic read.  I loved watching the second movie straight afterwards too, seeing little differences here and there, but again, still a great movie to watch. I've seen only the first 3 movies of Harry Potter, so after this 3rd book and re-watching the movie, everything will be a new experience for me! 

 

What can I say about this book? Most of you will probably have read it by now (more than once perhaps) but for those who haven't, well I'd have to say, "what are you waiting for?". These books are SO good, the three main characters so endearing. I don't know what else they all get up to in the coming books, but one thing I do know, I've got some good reads ahead of me ;-)

 

Next week is our last full week of Summer vacation! The kids here return to school on Monday, August 22nd. I'm always amazed at how quickly each season of the year passes. Not that we're moving in to a new season yet here in TX, it is still so very hot. Not one day in the 10 day forecast is below 103. We're all just praying for rain right now - surely it must come soon!

Monthly Book Club

 

Wow, doesn't a week go by quickly! It's time for Book Club Friday again :-) And this week I have a new book to share with you. Before I do that, I'd just like to say that I really enjoyed 'Loving Frank' in the end. It took a little time to get in to it, but in hindsight it was a really enjoyable read. Fascinating too, that it was based on real events. If any of you don't know the story of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick I would suggest you don't Google it first if you want to read this book - the ending was a complete SHOCKER to me!!!  We had our monthly Book Club meeting last night about it and as always it was fun and lively.I love my book club because it makes me read books I normally wouldn't bother picking up, and more often than not I'm surprised that I enjoy them, when at the beginning I think I'm not going to!

Whilst I still had a few chapters left of 'Loving Frank' I actually downloaded this book to my Ipad . . . 

 This is our book club read for September (we won't be reading in August, we've decided on a Movie night instead - more about that next month ;-) Here's the synopsis:

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

If I'm honest, I'm not sure what to make of this book. I'm a  christian, I believe in God and Jesus, and I believe we WILL have eternal life if we accept Jesus Christ as our savior. I've heard of a few stories of someone that died and 'went to heaven' (have you read 90 minutes in Heaven?) The thing that got me was that I thought you had to 'die' to even experience anything like that (don't ask me why I thought that, I just did), but this little boy didn't die, he 'slipped from conciousnessl!!  What does that actually mean? Haven't you already 'slipped from conciousness' when you're on the operating table? Did he really go to heaven, or did he just dream he did?  The book mentions a young girl named Akiane who 'paints pictures of Jesus and heaven based on her visits too, but again when I read articles on her, she has never 'died' but says she sees heaven in her dreams! So, I don't really know what to make of it all, but does it really matter? I know what I believe, I know that when I die I'll have eternal life with my Maker, my Creator, and I will be reunited with those I have loved and lost. I am reminded of this verse:

However, as it is written:   No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

I will say, it was a quick and easy read, less than 200 pages.I'm sure it will make for an interesting meeting too!  Wanna know what others are reading? Head over to Heather's for more Book Club Friday posts.

Book Club Friday & Wanna Swap?!!

You all know how much I love books, so I thought I’d join in again with Heather’s Book Club Friday this week, even though I’m still reading the same book I mentioned last week - ‘Loving Frank’ by Nancy Huron.  Book club meeting is next Thursday so I should be finished with by then. In hindsight, I’m rather enjoying the book, and just out of curiosity I Googled Frank Lloyd Wright’s house which is talked about in the book – called Taliesin. Have you heard of it? Seen it? Wow, what an amazing looking structure! Google it if you’re curious ;-)

So this week I thought I’d review a book I read a few months ago for Book Club.

Here’s the synopsis:  It's the beginning of a lazy summer in 1950 at the sleepy English village of Bishop's Lacey. Up at the great house of Buckshaw, aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce passes the time tinkering in the laboratory she's inherited from her deceased mother and an eccentric great uncle. When Flavia discovers a murdered stranger in the cucumber patch outside her bedroom window early one morning, she decides to leave aside her flasks and Bunsen burners to solve the crime herself, much to the chagrin of the local authorities. But who can blame her? What else does an eleven-year-old science prodigy have to do when left to her own devices? 

This is the first book in a series of 4 (so far, actually the 4th book is due for release this November!).  Not one of my favorite books! To me, reading about a ‘kid sleuth’ as Flavia is labeled, seems rather disconcerting.  I mean seriously, who lets an 11 year old kid go off to solve a murder on her own?!  And the fact that she is only 11 made me feel like this should be more like a novel for younger readers, yet it obviously wasn’t.

Still, in saying all that I did find myself not wanting to put the book down (like all mysteries, I can’t wait to get to the end to see ‘whodunnit’!) and the meeting we had about it was fun (as always). That’s what I love about being in a bookclub. You get to hear other opinions about the characters and plot, which sometimes lets me see the book in a whole different light.

SO, who’s up for a SWAP? I would like to send this book on to someone else that would like to read it, in exchange for another book that I would like to read ;-)

Top of my list is:

 

OR

 OR

OR

 Or, if you have a book you think I might like to read, and you would like the Flavia de Luce Mystery, then just send me an email: denise at deniseschulz dot com

Also for anyone that is on GoodReads.com you can find me under that email address and I would love to be added to your ‘friends’.

I was going to add ‘Wine’ to the title of this post (Cheryl and I will be trying two new wines tonight ;-) one is a ‘chocolate dipped strawberry wine!!!) but I’ll leave that for the next post.

Strange, I couldn't post this using Live Writer, so went to Blogger to post, but Blogger won't let me leave spaces between the paragraphs? I hope it's not too hard to read!

Have a great weekend!

Book Club Friday!

I didn’t get a chance to join in with Heather last week for her Book Club Friday, but I have the time today to post so here we go . . .

This week I’m reading Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.

 

This is our book club read for July. To be honest I didn’t think I’d enjoy reading this book, the storyline just didn’t interest me at all, but half way through the book the characters are developing and I’m being drawn in to the ‘drama’ so to speak and liking it better than I thought I would.

Here’s the synopsis:

Horan's ambitious first novel is a fictionalization of the life of Mamah Borthwick Cheney, best known as the woman who wrecked Frank Lloyd Wright's first marriage. Despite the title, this is not a romance, but a portrayal of an independent, educated woman at odds with the restrictions of the early 20th century. Frank and Mamah, both married and with children, met when Mamah's husband, Edwin, commissioned Frank to design a house. Their affair became the stuff of headlines when they left their families to live and travel together, going first to Germany, where Mamah found rewarding work doing scholarly translations of Swedish feminist Ellen Key's books. Frank and Mamah eventually settled in Wisconsin, where they were hounded by a scandal-hungry press, with tragic repercussions.

Our meeting is not until July 21st, so I may still be reading this next week – after that we’ll be reading Heaven is for Real, which I’m really looking forward to, and might actually buy it for the Kindle on my Ipad, it will be the first time I’ve read a book on there! I still like the idea of reading a ‘real’ book, but want to give the Kindle a try.

Kristen on the other hand has no problem reading on my Ipad, she’s already read the first book in the Warrior series. As soon as she finished it she asked if I could download the sample of the second book, to which I replied, “I might as well just buy it"!” – and just like that, within seconds she had it in her lap to start reading! Gotta love technology!!!  ;-)

 

It’s another super hot day here in TX, I think I’ll be over in Cheryl’s pool later tonight, and joining her for a margarita . . . or two ;-)  Have a great weekend!

Friday Fun, Cocktails & Books

Yay, it’s Friday :-)  Even when we’re off school and every day feels like the weekend, I still love Fridays! It means hubby will be home with us for two lovely days AND I get to hang out with my girlfriend too because she’s not working for two whole days ;-) And we usually try a new cocktail (or make up one of our favorites!

Last weekend I tried another of Val’s cocktails. The one she featured on her blog was a Lemon Drop Martini.

CHEERS!

Hmmm, I thought I would love it cos I love lemons, and anything ‘tart’, but both Cheryl and I agreed it wasn’t really to our liking. SO, I mixed up another ‘Ice Blue, which I really DO like (you can get the recipe here at Val’s Blog)

This week, I’m not sure if we’ll be trying a cocktail or just having wine. The trouble with cocktails is they can be very high in calories (and carbs) whereas a glass of wine is only about 100 cals.  Although I’m still tempted to mix up just one to try and then have a couple of glasses of wine the rest of the night – what would you do?  ;-)

Last night at book club our host greeted us with leis and served us a Mai Tai as we arrived! The book we had read was The Aloha Quilt so of course she was going with an Hawaiian theme.  The Mai Tai was DELICIOUS, so I’m wondering if I should make that tonight. Val says she has a great one to share this week, but it’s not up on her blog yet! I’ll have to check what the ingredients are for a Mai Tai and get what we need. Slowly but surely I’m stocking my ‘cocktail cabinet’ so I might not need much for it.

Speaking of books, I thought I would join in with the lovely Heather this week, over at Blonde . . . Undercover Blonde, for her

As I mentioned we just finished reading The Aloha Quilt for book club, but I’m not going to talk about that one, (honestly it wasn’t that good a read! imo) I’m going to talk about this one that I’m currently reading on my own (meaning it’s not a book club pick)

Who Is My Shelter by Neta Jackson – this is the 4th book in the ‘House of Hope’ Series. I first read Neta Jackson’s novels in her Yada Yada Prayer Group Series (loved those too) and some of the characters spill over in to this new series.

Here’s the description: Gabby Fairbanks is now settled in her new apartment at the House of Hope. But she is being pulled in several directions at once and has some hard decisions to make. Philip, her estranged husband, is in a lot of trouble with a rogue cop from whom he borrowed money and also with his partner at the commercial development firm after he takes company money to cover his gambling losses. Lee Boyer, the Legal Aid lawyer who has become a friend to Gabby, now wants to be more. Gabby must decide whether to give Philip another chance, as their sons, Paul and PJ, hope, and she turns to the folks at Manna House, where she works, and the Yada Yada Prayer Group to help her discern God’s plan for her.

I don’t know why I love these books so much, but I do! They’re an easy read, and you seem to get to know the characters really quickly. Some books take a few chapters to really get in to, but I find with this series (and the Yada Yada ones) I’m sucked in after just a few pages. I’m only half way through this one but am enjoying it as much as the other 3. I’ll be sad to come to the end of it as it seems to be the last in the series. But I was happy to read on Neta’s website that she’s working on a new series called ‘SouledOut Sister’s, again, using some of the characters from her previous books, and bringing in some new ‘annoying’ ones (as she puts it) too :-)

Ok, before this post gets waaaaaaay tooooooo loooooooong, I’ll jump off here and go clean house ready for the weekend!