Mailbox Monday

Lots of books to share today. Yay!
For Review:Merciful Law by Darby Rae (paperback)Blood Orchids by Toby Neal (ebook)A Will to Murder by Hilary Thomson (ebook)Ugly to Start With by John Michael Cummings (ebook)
Purchased:The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (paperback)American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman (e-book)
Go visit At Home With Books,  MM host this month and see what others got and/or share your new books. Happy Monday!_________________________________________

FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

The Sunday Salon: January Wrap Up

The first month of 2012 is almost done. Wow. Time flies, right?I know I should have posted my 2012 goals at the beginning of the month, but I am a little late doing most things lately. Anyway, so February will be my month to start working on these:
1. Turn the TV off while LO is awake. I fear it has been on a bit too much. We do go outside a lot for walks in Golden Gate Park and trips to the playground. Most recently-bike rides! Less TV is always a good thing.2. More Mommy time. I am a stay at home mom, so I am with the little girl all day, every day. I have tried getting some time for myself- I started a book group with friends, but it is not much. Once a month, and when the hubby is out of town for work I either miss or have to take E with me. Am thinking pedicures, yoga class, etc.3. Lose some weight! This has an ongoing struggle. I am more active these days than I have been in awhile, which is good. But my eating habits haven't changed much, which is not so good. I have a Weight Watchers online account that I haven't been using the past couple months. I need to start that up again. As far as being active- daily walks, sometimes walk/run Couch to 5k training- I have a 5K next Sunday, bike rides. 4. Cooking. One thing that would help with #3 would be to eat at home more. We eat out a lot and I know cooking some low cal, healthier meals at home would do some wonders. I have never been a fan of cooking, so this one will be hard.5. Reading. I need to put down the iPad games, turn off the TV and read more. I have missed my nightly reading and have in the past couple weeks started to go to bed an hour earlier so I can read before turning off the lights. Need to continue this.6. Blogging. I want to find more time to get online regularly to post and to read the blogs I have missed reading the past 1+ year. I am also excited to have some books lined up for reviews. It's been awhile since I felt that I had time to accept some.
Current Reads

Blood Orchids by Toby NealA Will to Murder by Hilary Thomson

Next books TBR and reviewed:
Ugly to Start With by John Michael CummingsMerciful Law by Darby Rae
On The Blog
GiveawaysCheck back soon
January Reviews
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson (review)The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (review)
Mommy NewsWant some nuggets with that ketchup? This girl can eat!
The little girl has discovered the fun of climbing! I fear many falls and bumps are in our future. This morning she slipped while trying to climb up on our bed and gave herself a bruise under her eye. Oh boy.

Happy Sunday!

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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

Quick Review: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson

I finally finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third book in Steig Larsson's trilogy. What an amazing end to a great series of books. It is sad to think that there will be no more books by Larsson. He was quite an amazing storyteller.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest starts right where The Girl Who Played With Fire ended and brings all of Lisbeth Salandar's horrors to a satisfying end. I must say, Lisbeth Salandar has to be one of the best characters created in all the books I have read. She is an amazing protagonist and her story, Larsson's story, is just about perfect. She is such a well rounded character- she has weaknesses and strengths, she has a history that captivates and her possible futures intrigues.

These will go on my shortlist of re-readable books.

5/5

Source: borrowed

Author and story: Sweden




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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

Sunday Salon: January 22, 2012

The weeks are flying by! I can't believe it is almost February already. January has been a quiet month in our casa. Not much going on, but it has been nice after the hustle and bustle of the Holidays. Here in San Francisco, the city is gearing up for the NFC championship. So, that is how my rainy Sunday will be spent- cheering on the 49ers.

Current Reads

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig LarssenA Will to Murder by Hilary Thomson

Next books TBR and reviewed:Blood Orchids by Toby NealMerciful Law by Darby Rae
On The Blog
GiveawaysCheck back soon
New Reviews
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (review)
Mommy News

The little girl continues to grow. She is 16 months old already! She requires a lot of time outside, either going for bike rides or playing at the playground. We are having a lot of fun finding out what she enjoys to do, to eat, etc. Her personality is coming on strong and we love it. 

Happy Sunday!

Go Niners!

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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

Book Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

What an amazing story.


The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a couple stories, actually.  First and foremost, it is about Henrietta Lacks. In 1951, Henrietta, a 30 year old wife and mother, is a black women living in Baltimore. After the birth of her fifth child, she is diagnosed with cervical cancer and begins treatment at John Hopkins' Hospital. Unbeknownst to her or her family, cells taken from the large tumor on her cervix were cultured and grown in the lab of George Gey. She died in pain, her body riddled with tumors and charred from the radiation treatments but her cells lived on as HeLa cells. These cells were used in the development of vaccines and in researching diseases and are still used today.
This is also the story of Henrietta's family. Those she left behind and how the cells have affected their lives. Her husband, her children and grandchildren all have dealt with it differently. Deborah, her daughter, is deeply affected by what is said and not said about her mother. She wants her mother to have recognition, and yet the truth of how her mother died, what happened to her sister, and the history of the cells all cause her anxiety and stress. Others have had so much anger with the hospital and doctors for not informing them. And some were just confused about what exactly it meant that Henrietta's cells were still living on. 
Deborah's relationship and interaction with Rebecca, the author, is really quite sweet and the stories she tells in her own words are wonderful. I really felt this was the heart of the book. Ms. Skloot is so open with the family and you can tell she really cared about them not just their story and information they could give her about Henrietta Lacks.
I found this book, deeply touching and very informative. It blended the science, the history and the human interest story so perfectly. I am so glad this one was picked for my book club because I probably would not have picked it up on my own.
 I highly recommend this one.
5/5Source: Purchased ebook

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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

Blogger iPhone app

Has anyone used it yet? What do you all think?

My internet connection is being iffy on my laptop so thought I would see if there was an easy way to post from here.

It's not bad. Pretty basic. I just wish there was an app for the iPad. I have to zoom in to use on here so it is a bit blurry. That would be my only critique so far.

Anyway, happy blogging and TGIF.

Mailbox Monday: Lasts books of 2011

It's 2012! I have a few new books to share, though, that I received in 2011. Christmas gifts from the hubby and a couple ebooks for my new iPad. Here is what I got…
 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
For the iPad, I got…
Bumped by Megan McCafferty
Nation by Terry Pratchett
and 
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (for book group)
What came into your home this past week?
Go visit At Home With Books,  MM host this month and see what others got and/or share your new books. Happy Monday!_________________________________________

FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

TSS: Happy New Year!!

Hope everyone has recovered from their festivities celebrating the new year. I had a lovely time with the hubby and friends but happily made it home and in bed by 12:20am. Needed some sleep before the little girl woke for the day. :)So, saying hello to 2012 means looking back at 2011's accomplishments…Yup, time to look back at what I read this year. Not quite as many books as I usually read, but not bad. 

Books Read in 2011

December
29. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (review)
28. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris = (review)

November
27. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris = (review)
26. Tempted by P.C. CAst and Kristen Cast (review)
25. Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe + (review)

October
24. The Shining by Stephen King (review)
23. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (review)

September
22. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (review)
21. Ada Legend of a Healer by R.A. McDonald + (review)

August
20. Ghellow Road by T.H. Waters + (review)
19. The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan + (review)
18. Ten Good Reasons to Lie About Your Age by Stephanie Zia + (review)

July
17. Samson's Lovely Mortal by Tina Folsom (review)
16. The Ambition by Lee Strobel + (review)
15. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett * (review)

June
14. Dead Giveaway by S. Furlong-Bolliver + (review)
13. The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton + (review)

May
12. Dreamwalk by Sarah MacManus + (review)
11. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth (review)
10. Gone With a Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West * (review)

April
9. Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby by Annabel Karmel (review)
8. Wings by Aprilynne Pike (review)
7. My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones + (review)
6. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson (review)
5. The no-cry sleep solution by Elizabeth Pantley

March
4. Horns by Joe Hill + (review)
3. Electric Barracuda by Tim Dorsey * (review)

February


January
2. Living with the Dead by Kelly Armstrong (review)
1. Final Jeopardy by Linda Fairstein =

* ARC

^ LT Early Reviewers Program

# GoodReads First Reads Program

~ Giveaway Win

+ publisher/author sent for review (not ARC)

= Mooched/Borrowed

   Purchased

Here's to a great book-filled 2012!_________________________________________

FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.