The Sunday Salon

Look over at my sad list of followers on Facebook. Just 5. Understandable, really. I am just not sure how to go about utilizing that page. Ideas? I must say, I am doing much better on Google +. I am actually liking it a lot better for keeping up with followers and those in your Circles. Are any of you on G+? What do you all think of it? You can find me at http://gplus.to/marireads.
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Anyway, this has been a lovely long weekend with my mom in town. We have gone on walks all over the city- Golden Gate Park, The Presidio. Today we went to Sausalito and had lunch at the Buckeye Roadhouse.  Tomorrow-Union Square for some shopping. Emma is loving having her grandma here.
It was also great to have her watch the little girl Friday night while the hubby and I went to dinner at Kiss Sushi before going to a performance of the SF Symphony. James Lipton hosted the performance, which was Music from the Movies. Lots of really great movie music...Hagrid's Theme, Love theme from The Godfather, James Bond theme, ET! The whole second half was John Williams. I was in heaven. It was a great date night. The hubby and I hadn't had one in awhile.
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Can't believe July is over. Went by very quickly. Here's a list of books I read and reviewed this month. Only three. 
Samson's Lovely Mortal by Tina Folsom (review)The Ambition by Lee Strobel (review)State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (review)
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Happy Sunday!
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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

It's Monday!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading This Week?

I can't believe I have never participated in this meme before. What a great way to keep myself on track. It is a weekly event to list the books completed last week and the books currently being read. It is hosted by Sheila from One Person’s Journey Through a World of  Books so stop by and join in!

Books Finished Last Week


The Ambition by Lee Strobel (review)
Samson's Lovely Mortal by Tina Folsom (review)

These are two very different books. Two very different genres.

Currently Reading

The Fall by Guillermo del toro and Chuck HoganTen Good Reasons to Lie About Your Age by Stephanie ZiaGhellow Road by T.H. Waters

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

Book Review: Samson's Lovely Mortal by Tina Folsom

Samson's Lovely Mortal by Tina Folsom

I got this book as a free ebook download from Amazon a few weeks ago. I was looking for something light and fun. Vampires, a mystery and a little sex (ok, a lot of very explicit sex) seemed like just what I needed. I wasn't expecting much from a free book but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying the characters, their predicaments and the fast paced, fun writing of Tina Folsom's.

Samson is a vampire who is having some impotency issues that are only resolved when he unexpectedly finds himself attracted to a human, Delilah. She is in San Francisco to perform an audit but finds herself in some unexpected trouble that leads her to Samson's doorstep. Fun ensues.

I see there are a few more books in this series, The Scanguards Vampires. I am looking forward to reading them.

3.5/5
Source: ebook for Kindle



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

Sunday Salon: Playing Catch Up

I am trying desperately to catch up on the blog, reviews and life in general. 
Current Reads

The Fall by Guillermo del toro and Chuck HoganGhellow Road by T.H. WatersTen Good Reasons to Lie About Your Age by Stephanie Zia

Next books TBR and reviewed:
Ada: Legend of a Healer by Connor McDonaldHappy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe

On The Blog
GiveawaysCheck back soon
New Reviews
The Ambition by Lee Strobel (review)State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (review)Dead Giveaway by S. Furlong Bollinger (review)The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton (review)
On the Needles
I finally finished the blanket I have been working on for months. Yay. Pics to come.
Here is what I plan to work on next:http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEff11/PATTkindling.php
Mommy News

The little girl is getting so big! She is ten months old and has quite the personality. She still isn't crawling but she is trying. She will be mobile soon. I really need to get this place baby proofed.
Happy Sunday!_________________________________________

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

Book Review: The Ambition by Lee Strobel

The Ambition by Lee Strobel


Filled with scandal, corruption, murder and a couple of miracles, The Ambition is definitely a page-turner. Author Lee Strobel puts everything he's got into this first novel that won't disappoint his fans. He has taken his experience in law, journalism and religion to produce quite an entertaining tale. Strobel is a best selling author of Christian non-ficion. His Case books are very popular, though I have not read or heard of them before reading The Ambition. It seems he has quite a big following in the Evangelical Christian community who have found his non-fiction books helpful in their lives.

His strong Christian beliefs make there way into this novel as well, which is understandable since it is considered Christian fiction. His characters' beliefs are always shared and there is some preaching (amongst the characters). Though prominent, it doesn't get in the way of the story. In fact, considering the subject matter- it fits. The Ambition is also a thriller. As mentioned previously, there are mob hits, corrupt judges and possible scandals within a large Church. Strobel does a good job of weaving together these two seemingly different genres.

I had a couple minor issues. One- there are many characters to keep track of- a pastor looking to leave his church to get into politics, a corrupt judge, a gambling addict who is a disbarred lawyer, and a journalist looking for a story to help keep his paper afloat.  I managed to get confused with who was who quite a bit in the beginning. Once I got more into the story, and their importance to the story revealed itself, I no longer had any issues following along with each character.

[SPOILERS]

Second, I would have liked to seen a little more bad in the good. What I mean is the characters that are supposed to be good guys were and the bad were bad. There wasn't much in the way of surprises in the end. The agnostic becomes a believer, the pastor returns to his flock, the gambler turns to God and the bad guys get caught. 

[END SPOILERS]

All in all, it was an enjoyable read even for someone who doesn't normally read Christian fiction.

3.5/5

Source: publisher/publicist for review. Thanks to Anne of Authors on the Web.

For more info on the book and the author visit LeeStrobel.com.

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

Always finding books I want

Monday, while waiting to see my chiropractor, I was looking through a People magazine and found new books I want. Yes, I know I just said that I will not be getting any new books, but these look so good and the Tess Gerritsen one is in a series I love. Ack.

So, here are the books that are calling to me but I will resist... for now.

The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Schultz

Both of these were released this month.



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

Current Read and Teaser: The Ambition by Lee Strobel

The Ambition by Lee Strobel is the book that has the place of honor on my nightstand right now. It is the one I pick up every night before going to bed. Hoping to finish this week, but the little girl is having difficulties sleeping so not getting much reading done. I keep falling asleep.


So far, finding the book interesting. Lots of characters to follow including Eric Snow.

Oh sure, he still prayed--after all, he's a pastor.But more often than not, his impromptu petitions were now tossed hurriedly toward heaven. pg.62

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (I am usually not so random)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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

MariReads gets Social

While giving the blog a new look, I also got on Google+. My hubby asked if MariReads had a Facebook page, too. When I said, "no", he was amazed. I have a Twitter account, a G+ account- why not Facebook? I hadn't really thought about starting one before, but thought, "why not?". 
So, here is where you can all find me:
Twitter: @marireadsFacebook: MariReadsGoogle +: MariReads
Facebook page is a bit sad with no Likes, so if you are on there and you are a Follower of MariReads, stop by my page. :)
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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

Mailbox Monday

Thankfully, the number of books coming into my house has lightened up. I say thankfully, because I am getting way behind. (If you are waiting to see a review of your book here, bare with me.) I am finding it difficult to find enough time in the day to get anything done, including reading and reviewing.

I did, however, get one book last week. I think it will be the last book I accept until the new year.
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Fall. Can't wait to read. I reviewed The Strain last year and am very interested to see what happens in this sequel.
Mailbox Monday is being hosted this month by Gwendolyn at A Sea of Books.
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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

Updating the Blog

Cleaning up the blog a bit and making it look new and shiny. Couldn't get the share buttons to show up on other template so figured it was time for a change. I like the green. I like how easy it was to make it three columns. There was no need to go mess with the code. 
However, I am not liking the placement of the title and description. I would very much like it to be on the right of the picture as it was before. I can't seem to figure out how to do that with this non-classic template. Do any of you know how? I would appreciate the help.
I would also love to know what you think of the new MariReads. Look good or should I keep working on it? What am I missing that I need to add?
Also, if there are any of you on Google+, you can find me there as Mari Reads. _________________________________________

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

Book Review: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
State of Wonder is very different from Bel Canto, the only other Ann Patchett novel I have read, but in some ways it is also very similar. It has the same subtle but hypnotic prose that draws you in. Every word written with purpose, every nuance of character important to the story. It was so hard to put down and so hard to stop thinking about when I did.
When I started reading I immediately started drawing parallels to Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Dr. Marina Singh is sent to the deep jungles of Brazil to try and find her former teacher, Dr. Annika Swenson, who has stopped communicating with the pharmaceutical company that is funding her research for a new fertility drug. She has ensconced herself in the village of the Lakashi, she rarely leaves and no one knows if any progress is being made. I kept expecting Marina to go down the river to Dr. Swenson's hidden lab in the jungle and find a Kurtz like character.
It wasn't quite that dark of an adventure into the jungle once Marina gets on the boat, but Dr. Swenson is definitely a different person from spending years away from civilization, immersed in her work in the jungle. You learn more and more about her and the others as you delve deeper into the jungle and into the story. 
I absolutely enjoyed reading State of Wonder. There is a bit of everything I like in my books- adventures in a foreign country, medical/science questions and ethics and a slightly mysterious death. 
5/5Source: pubisher for review
State of Wonder was released on June 7th in Hardback.
For more information about the book and author visit Ann Patchett's website.For other reviews, here is the list of others who participated in the book tour.

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

Books to Movies

I have been noticing that many books that I have read/reviewed in the past few years will soon be made into movies. These are a few I am excited to see. Austenland (review)(imdb)The Perks of Being A Wallflower (review)(imdb)The Hunger Games (review)(imdb)
Any others that I should be looking out for?_________________________________________

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

Wizards amongst us

I was walking down the street the other day when a balding man in a long purple trench coat and what looked like bell bottoms came walking past at a quick pace. He was looking side to side suspiciously but never slowed. I watched him as he continued down the street until he jumped on the MUNI train. I looked down at Emma and told her, "That was a wizard, Emma. Did you see what he was wearing?"
Do you ever think that there could be Wizards living amongst us as in the Harry Potter World of JK Rowling? It is fun to imagine at times and actually pretty easy to do here in San Francisco. The Wizards would blend in here quite easily.
 I believe I am actually just preparing myself for the end of the Potter movies next week. The last movie will be released and that will be it. At least, I thought that until I learned about Rowling's plans. How many of you are excited t hear about Pottermore? I can't wait to reread my books now, and have this site to get even more info on the characters I love. Sounds fun and I won't have to say goodbye to Potter et al after seeing Deathly Hallows pt. 2.
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FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.