The Book of Names-Book Review

Ewan and Hadyn Barlow have just moved to a farm in Missouri with their twin brothers and father after the death of their mother. While clearing away a briar patch they find a stone arch carved with ancient runes. They discover that the arch is a magical portal to another world, the world of Karak Tor. Here they learn that they have been called to be Champions and save the world from evil and darkness brought by The Devourer and the witch, Nemesia. The boys, on their journey to find a way home, meet friends and enemies, adventures and dangers.

It was an enjoyable read with lots of action and suspense. Very similar to the style of CS Lewis or JRR Tolkien. The book is published by a Christian Publisher so there are some parallels with Christian theology. I have to say that this is the first Christian Fiction book I have read and was pleasantly surprised. I admit, I was slightly apprehensive. Worried that the book would be preachy. With some Christian symbolism, the book is more about good conquering evil, and the boys' journey to find strength and purpose within themselves. A good fantasy book (which is the first in a planned series) for teens and middle school aged kids.

3/5

Received through Bostick Communications.

Selbu Modern in progress

fair isle
Originally uploaded by my_weezy

Here is what I got so far. As I get further along I am able to see how much stretch I have along the brim and it is looking promising. I may be able to get it over my head. It may be more of a fitted hat rather than beret-ish, but whatever. It is going to fit! Positive thinking. :)

Sunday Salon (11/9/08)

A week after Halloween and I finally have all the decorations down and put away in their boxes. Now, all I need to do is take the boxes dow stairs and put them in the closet under the stairs. I wish I had some fall decor, it would make the transition from Halloween to Christmas so much easier. :)

Well, this past week has seen slow reading. One book has been read all week. I haven't done that in a long time. It is over 300 pages long, though, so...

I am almost finished with The Book of Names. Just a few more chapters to go. I should have a review up later tonight or tomorrow. I find that writing my reviews as I read helps a lot. If I wait to the end, I forget what I felt when I started or in the middle of the action. I don't want then ending to cause me to forget things I liked/didn't like early on. Does that make sense?



Anyway, I have a couple hours then I am off to Town Lake for a walk. After that... green chili cheese fries. Kind of cancels out the walk, huh? Oh, well.

attempting fair isle

I have started a new project. I went to Gauge Thursday night for a knitting group. I bought yarn and started a hat. A very cute hat that requires me to do fair isle. I have only done this, kind of, on Knitty's Center Square.

So, this hat is knit on US2's and I am using 4 ply yarn. It may take me awhile. I am also worried that it will be small despite the fact that I got gauge. I have a big head and I seem to knit tight when knitting fair isle. I love the colors I am using and would hate to have to give this away. Is that wrong? :)

Anyway, question.

How do you hold your yarn when you knit fair isle? Do you pick up and drop the yarn with each color change? Do you hold both strands on one hand? Or do you knit English and continental with your two yarns?

Which is the best way to keep tension even?

Winners!!!

We have some winners!










The Wonder Spot goes to Staci.

The Chrismas Tree goes to Ginny.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging goes to Rebecca.

and

The Gifted Gabadon Sisters goes to Meredith.

Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the blog. I hope some of you will stick around. :)

USA TODAY Top Selling books Meme

Here are the rules:

Bold what you've read, italicize what you own, star* books on your TBR list!

1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
2 Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution - Robert C. Atkins
3 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
9 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre
10 Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson
11 The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston
12 Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
13 Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
14 What to Expect When You're Expecting - Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway
15 The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren
16 The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
17 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey
18 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
19 Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray
20 The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
21 Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter
22 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
23 Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... And It's All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson
24 The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
25 Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
26 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
27 The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
*28 The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
29 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
30 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
31 A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
32 Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr. Seuss
33 The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
34 Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
35 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
36 Body-for-Life - Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso
37 New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
38 Night - Elie Wiesel, translations by Marion Wiesel and Stella Rodway
39 Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
40 The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw
41 Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
42 The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
43 Wicked - Gregory Maguire
44 Good to Great - Jim Collins
45 Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
46 Eragon - Christopher Paolini
47 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells
48 Your Best Life Now - Joel Osteen
49 In the Kitchen With Rosie - Rosie Daley
50 Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach
51 A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer
52 A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
53 The Testament - John Grisham
54 Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger
55 Deception Point - Dan Brown
56 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
57 Marley & Me - John Grogan
58 Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter - Robert C. Atkins
59 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
60 The Brethren - John Grisham
61 The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide - Arthur Agatston
62 The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - John Grisham
63 For One More Day - Mitch Albom
64 The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg
65 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
66 The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
67 What to Expect the First Year - Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, Sandee Hathaway
68 Love You Forever - Robert Munsch, art by Sheila McGraw
69 Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
70 A Painted House - John Grisham
71 The Rainmaker - John Grisham
72 Skipping Christmas - John Grisham
73 Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
74 The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
75 Life Strategies - Phillip C. McGraw
76 Seabiscuit: An American Legend - Laura Hillenbrand
77 The Summons - John Grisham
*78 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt
79 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
80 The Runaway Jury - John Grisham
81 Goodnight Moon Board Book - Margaret Wise Brown, art by Clement Hurd
82 The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger
83 Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson
84 The Giver - Lois Lowry
85 Embraced by the Light - Betty J. Eadie
86 The Chamber - John Grisham
87 You: On A Diet - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
88 The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson
89 Holes - Louis Sachar
90 Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
91 The Shack - William P. Young
92 The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger
*93 Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
*94 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
95 The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav
96 Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
97 The Partner - John Grisham
98 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
99 Eldest: Inheritance, Book II - Christopher Paolini
100 The Broker - John Grisham
101 The Street Lawyer - John Grisham
*102 A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 1: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
103 The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
*104 Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
105 The King of Torts - John Grisham
106 The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
107 The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans
108 Hannibal - Thomas Harris
109 The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
110 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
111 The Glass Castle: A Memoir - Jeannette Walls
112 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
113 The Last Juror - John Grisham
114 The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
115 Left Behind - Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
116 America (The Book) - Jon Stewart and The Writers of The Daily Show
117 The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
118 John Adams - David McCullough
119 The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans
120 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares
121 Sugar Busters! - H. Leighton Steward, Sam S. Andrews, Morrison C. Bethea, Luis A. Balart
122 Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
123 The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
124 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life - Don Piper, Cecil Murphey
125 The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
126 1776 - David McCullough
127 The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller
128 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts
129 The Ultimate Weight Solution - Phillip C. McGraw
130 Protein Power - Michael R. Eades, Mary Dan Eades
131 Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
*132 Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
133 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
134 Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
135 You: The Owner's Manual - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
136 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List - Patricia Schultz
137 Self Matters - Phillip C. McGraw
138 She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
139 1984 - George Orwell
140 The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
141 The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko
142 The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
143 The Zone - Barry Sears, Bill Lawren
144 The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
145 The Lost World Michael Crichton
146 Atonement - Ian McEwan
147 He's Just Not That Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo
148 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
149 The World Is Flat - Thomas L. Friedman
150 Cross - James Patterson

Found this over at J. Kaye's Book Blog.

I have read 47 books off this list.

An Abundance of Katherines-Book Review

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

For some reason I have been unable to make myself write a review of this book. It's hard to put into words what made this book so enjoyable. I loved the relationship between Colin and Hassan. Hassan's humor is so refreshing and hilarious. I was laughing and reading quotes to my husband every ten minutes or so. The mathematical analysis of Colin's relationships with all 19 Katherine's was interesting and not too over my head. It was an added element to the story that gave insight to how Colin's mind works and his heart.

This is Colin's story and journey to discover how his life can matter in the great scheme of things and that a Katherine isn't needed. All that was required: a road trip with a friend to Gutshot, TN and a chance encounter with a non-Katherine, Lindey Lee Wells, her friends and mother and surprisingly, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

5/5

halloween cats (WOW)

halloween cats
Originally uploaded by my_weezy

The last bit of Halloween. Tomorrow it all goes bye-bye. All back into the boxes and into the closet under the stairs. :(

Until next year.

November Book Releases

These are the books I am looking forward to this month:

November 11th

Just After Sunset by Stephen King

a mercy by Toni Morrison

November 17th

Cross Country by James Patterson

November 25th

Your Heart Belongs To Me by Dean Koontz

Book recommendations and a Giveaway

These are the wonderful recommendations I have received so far from Monday's Giveaway. Some I have heard of, others are already in my want-to-read list or have been read, and for others this is the first time hearing about them. Thank you all for sharing your favorite books with me. I can't wait to get started reading some of these.

Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage and Mark Zug
Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall
The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen M. Beckett
The Negotiator Trilogy by C.E. Murphy
An Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish
Joe Pickett series by CJ Box
Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins
Roanoke by Lee Miller.
Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta
Phenomenal Girl Five by A.J. Menden
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
ANYTHING by John Green
The Host by Stephanie Meyer
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
Practical Demon-Keeping or The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
The Killing Jar by Nicola Monaghan

So, how about another Giveaway?

I have another book for you.

The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters by Lorraine López



I got the book as a gift from my "Boo Buddy" on Friday at work and a surprise copy came in the mail on Monday as one of my prizes from Jen. So, I have two copies. One copy can be yours.

Do you want it?

To enter leave a comment. For an extra entry, "Follow My Blog". That's it! Easy.
You have until midnight (CST) on Friday, November 7th.
Winner will be announced over the weekend.


Contest closed. Winners announced here.