Reading A-Z!

Everyone else is doing it and I have insomnia, so.

I first saw this on Jodie's blog, and then saw it on a bunch of other blogs!

Author you've read the most books from:

Haha, I have no idea. I think this is a case where blogging really changed how I read because instead of consuming an author's entire backlist once I discovered a new one I like which is what I did pre-blogging, I actually fell behind on reading new books from beloved authors. But there are a lot of authors I read series for pre-blogging especially in the crime genre, like Faye Kellerman or Elizabeth George, or Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham--I'm behind on her books right now, but when I first discovered them I couldn't read them fast enough. Plus all the Christian fiction authors like Francine Rivers, Beverly Lewis etc. So I really don't know as I don't keep great stats on this subject.

Best Sequel Ever:

I agree wholeheartedly with Ana on The Ask and the Answer...it's a brilliant book that deserves more scholarly examination in my opinion (maybe it exists and I just don't know about it) but I also love Ink Exchange in Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series. I know this book is divisive, a lot of people disliked it, but I love it so much.

Currently Reading:

The 34 Ton Bat which is the history of baseball as told through artifacts. This is a great read for right now as I keep my fingers crossed for the Cardinals. I also have several other books in various stages of completion. Such as War & Peace.

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Water.

E-reader or Physical Book?:

Both! I love how ebooks save me space. I also like that there are frequent deals that allow me to get them for cheap or free.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

I hate questions like these because I don't really think like this...like I wish I could date this character! or Whatever. But maybe Sam from Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series...if he wasn't a wolf, lol. (also did you hear about Sinner?!?)

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

Oh my gosh so many! I am not the best judge of the things I will like. Like, I totally thought I hated zombies and then I read a zombie book and I was like OH!! Most recently, I'm super glad I read The Brides of Rollrock Island after struggling with Tender Morsels. I'm sure there are others!

Hidden Gem Book:

I still think The Heart is not a Size is an underappreciated Beth Kephart. (and it also remains one of my favorite titles ever), The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas, in the larger book reading world, Levi's Will and the The Daughters of Caleb Bender series by Dale Cramer.

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

Um. I honestly don't know how to answer this question. I can't pinpoint any specific moment that was super important. I think my reading life has been made up of many small encouraging important moments.

Just Finished:

Parasite by Mira Grant and it is soooo good. I sped through it quickly and was legit let down when it ended. I can't remember the last time I was so eager for a sequel!

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

Um, anything that looks Lord of the Rings fantasy-ish. Fluffy self-help. (by which I mean books of little substance), I'm sure there's plenty more I'm just not thinking of. Erotica maybe.

Longest Book You’ve Read:

Not sure...I'm reading War & Peace. Gone with the Wind or Lonesome Dove? They seemed long but they were mass market paperbacks.

Major book hangover because of:

The time I remember this being the worst was post-Mockingjay.

Number of Bookcases You Own:

2

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

Harry Potter series. The Hunger Games series.

Preferred Place To Read:

in my bed, lol

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

I am the worst at keeping track of quotes, but from Jellicoe Road:

I remember love. It's what I have to keep on reminding myself. It's funny how you can forget everything except people loving you. Maybe that's why humans find it so hard getting over love affairs. It's not the pain they're getting over, it's the love. (the last sentence especially)

Reading Regret:

The Bronze Horseman

(j/k to be honest I really have none!)

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):

lol how about Dorothy Sayer's Peter Wimsey books?

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

Silence by Shusaku Endo
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

Books! okay Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series? The Hunger Games even though it's starting to become uncool? Vampires! Zombies! YA!

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

Lol, is it fair to say book 2 in the Parasitology series? Because I wish I had that now!

Worst Bookish Habit:

Book Acquisition

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (I really should read that soon, huh)

Your latest book purchase:

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It was also the first physical book purchase I'd made in a really long time!

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

I remember staying up late to finish Reconstructing Amelia. Such a page turner!

Wow, that ended up being harder than I thought.

But yay books!

Telling You About Me

Andi from Radiant Light tagged me for this award/meme and since it's been ages since I've done one of these and this one is easy I thought I'd play along!

The rules are:
I am supposed to tell 7 things about myself.

1) My favorite movie is It's a Wonderful Life
2) I don't enjoy hot beverages, therefore I have never been much of a coffee drinker. I keep trying to get attached to them, and I keep failing.
3) Even though I am well out of high school, I still enjoy listening to The Cure. Back when I was still in high school people told me this would not happen.
4) I think the Paranormal Activity movies are fun and I guess they are also a guilty pleasure I don't know anyone else who enjoys them.
5) I would pretty much watch anything with Timothy Olyphant in it. Example--I watched I Am Number 4.
6) I prefer Togo's to Subway.
7) Those Christmas peppermint flavored Tootsie Pops are one of my favorite things ever.

Feel free to tell me seven things about you too! I know you want to! :)

6 Things That Make Me Happy

Lady Vampire tagged for me this meme...so here goes!
Link to the person who has tagged you.
Write down six things that make you happy.
Post the rules, tag six others and let them know you did it.
Then tell the person when your entry is complete.

1) Seeing a freeway that is moving, well, freely. I despise traffic and I hate that it takes me 45 minutes to get to my job which is 15 minutes away.

2) Getting packages of books in the mail!

3) Reading a book that I don't want to put down, consumes my thoughts, and changes me just a little!

4) Hearing from a dear friend.

5) Laughing so hard it hurts and thinking life just doesn't get any better than the simple act of shared humor.

6) Brilliant sunsets that make my heart ache with longing for the world unseen.

I tag: Euphrony, Kristin, Julie, Kristina, Holly, and Lynda!

News! Awards! All the Good Stuff!!

First off, do you read lit blogs? (hint: if you're reading this, you read at least one!) Do they impact your book buying decisions? If so, please head over to the fabulous Literary License and take this survey to tell the world! :)

Secondly, I get a slew of press releases and information people want me to pass on to you in my inbox. I don't actually have the opportunity to post about them very often, but I thought that some of you might be interested in this one as I know quite a few of you enjoy Masterpiece! PBS Engage is featuring Masterpiece's award winning executive producer, Rebecca Eaton, as part of an ongoing series called 5 Good Questions. If you have questions for Ms. Eaton, please visit this post and leave a comment with your question! This is a new to me blog, but it looks pretty fantastic.

Next, the wonderful S.Krishna tagged me for this award. You have to earn the award by answering a bunch of questions, so here goes:

7 Things I Did Before:(the wording on this really confuses me...does it mean 7 Things I've done? 7 things I used to do?)
1) Taught English in Japan
2) Got abandoned at the Mongolian airport
3) Lost money in Las Vegas
4) Volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club
5) Stood in the longest line of my life to see Darlton at Comic Con
6) Dressed up as a maiko
7) Worked as a telemarkter

7 Things I Do Now:
1) Read
2) Blog
3) Watch some TV--I didn't really start watching TV until I lived in Japan...go figure.
4) Work with adults in improving their reading skills
5) Contemplate my future
6) Sponsor children through Compassion International
7) Go to church

7 Things I Want to Do:
1) Go back to Japan for a visit or maybe even for a longer period of time
2) Visit Australia and all of my wonderful friends there
3) Speak another language fluently
4) Write a book
5) Study more history
6) Make a positive contribution towards literacy
7) Surrender more fully to God's will

7 Things That Attract Me to the Opposite Sex:
1) Love for God
2) Intelligence
2) Depth
4) Humor
5) Compassion
6) Down to earth
7) Integrity

7 Favorite Foods
1) Potatoes
2) Suki Yaki
3) Yaki Niku
4) Teppanyaki
5) Lasagna
6) Shabu Shabu
7) Stuffing

7 Things I Say Most Often
1) Cool
2) For sure
3) Yeah
4) Have a wonderful day
5) Yay
6) What?
7) I agree.

Okay, seven is too high a number for these things!

And finally, the delightful Sheri of A Novel Menagerie gave me this award!

This award was created by Joanne of Book Zombie for the blogs you can't wait to see updated. Look, I have at least 20 blogs in my favorites folder, so in attempt to keep some mystery here, I'm only going to share 4 of them with you!

The Book Lady's Blog -- Rebecca is such a great writer! She always has something interesting to say as well.

S.Krishna's Books -- she loves chick lit, other good books, and LOST. Seriously cool girl!

Caribou's Mom -- I just love Wendy. I think she's wonderful and she has great taste in books.

She is Too Fond of Books -- Dawn's blog has such great warmth and she shares about so many different books. I think she's tops.

That's it!

Books for the Holidays Meme

Jeane at Necromancy Never Pays passed on this this little meme from Harriet about the books we're buying for the holidays, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I can't actually give specific titles because a lot of the people in my life read this blog. ;)

Here are the questions:
What books are you giving this Christmas? Well I can tell you that about 95% of my gifts are books. I can't tell you the titles.

What makes a book a good gift book?
I think that the book needs to be a good one. That's the only requirement.

Do you give the same books to a lot of different people or pick out books individually?
I usually pick out different books for different people. I might buy a lot of a book I really love. But I can't actually remember the last time I did that. I'm kind of picky about gift giving so it works better for me to find a book the recipient will know is for them.

Do you always give books you’ve read yourself, or are there occasions where you give something that you haven’t read?
I definitely give books I haven't read. I don't have the same taste as a lot of people I know. In fact, I think of all the books I'm giving this year I may have only read one them. In this case, I know I selected a few titles based on recommendations of book bloggers.

That's it! The other ladies didn't tag specifically, but I think I will. I'm going to tag a few folks working on the Buy Books for the Holidays blog.

Deborah
Ali
Rebecca
Christy
Becky

I hope they do it! Feel free to play along on your own blog or answer in comments!

7 Random Bookish Things About Me

Karla, Deena, and Sher all tagged me for this. I do so enjoy chatting it up about myself and my bookish habits and trends. So here goes...

1) When I find an author that I love, I try to immediately acquire everything they've ever written, however, once I get up to that last book or two I just can't bring myself to finish it off and know that it's over.

2) I genuinely like just about everything that I read, as I enjoy being able to slip into someone else's world for awhile. I can buy lots of strange plot twists. I'm often surprised to read other reviewers think certain things aren't possible or didn't make sense...I guess I'm willing to make quite a few leaps of belief. :)

3) I enjoy deep 3rd person POV the most. For some reason, it always takes me awhile to get into a first person narrative.

4) I have a hard time reading non-fiction. I usually love it when I do read it, but it's hard for me to pick a non-fiction book first.

5) I used to "play" my favorite books when I was little. I was really bossy about it too. In first and second grade I insisted on being Nancy of Nancy Drew. When I was obsessed with the Baby-sitters' Club in 4th grade, my friends and I each pretended to be one of the baby-sitters and even asked our teachers to call us by those names. This is tremendously embarrassing to share. I even joined a club through the book order (remember those...man they were awesome!) that sent me Baby-sitter's club junk. (like stationary and pencils and stuff)

6) I didn't read for pleasure in college much b/c I was very busy reading textbooks and socializing. However, one day I picked up Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah and got totally sucked in. I could not put it down to the detriment of my school work and classes!

7) One of my favorite feelings in the world is having a book totally surpass my expectations.

Bookworm Award and Yes I'm a Book Nerd

Lesa at Lesa's Book Critiques and Sheri at A Novel Menagerie gave me the Bookworm Award! I'm so happy, because I enjoy being a bookworm.

Here are the rules:

Along with the award, there are a few rules. Open the closest book to you—not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment—to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence as well as the next two to five sentences. Pass this on to five blogging friends.

Well, the book closest to me is the book I'm currently reading, The House on Tradd Street by Karen White.

"He took her hand in both of his, and I thought I saw her melt a little as he smiled down at her. "Jack Trenholm. And the pleasure is all mine."

Good grief. Karen White is a fantastic writer who spins gorgeous sentences I can only envy and that is what comes up? Please be sure to check out her books anyway. They are so lovely.

Anyway, I'm tagging some people who probably already did this, but I lost track...
Julie of Booking Mama
Jen at Devourer of Books
Dawn at She is Too Fond of Books
Jennifer of Literate Housewife
Elizabeth at As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves


Now, just to give you some extra evidence that I'm a total book nerd, I was at Target the other looking at the books (as I always do) and heard a woman muttering under her breath as she looked for the book about bees. Now maybe normal people would just go along, but not me. I feel duty bound to help people find books. So I suggested she might be looking for The Secret Life of Bees (she was). This is the power of book bloggers people....I know that happens to be a bestselling book, but we are influencers for books even out there in that thing called the real world! We are so well informed from keeping up with each other's blogs that we know about books. Anyway...

Second bit of evidence is that when I went to see a life changing movie (if you've read this blog for any length of time you might know what I'm talking about, but probably not) and a preview came on, I knew within one second what it was for...Angels and Demons, which I read a few years ago.

What's your recent book nerd evidence?

6 Things about my Jury Duty

Sarah at The Library is a Hospital for the Mind tagged me for the six things meme awhile back. I honestly have been feeling a little swamped lately, so it's taken me a bit of time to get to it, but I've decided to tweak it a little, since I think you all have heard just enough random things about me!

6 Things about my Recent Jury Duty

1) Last year when I had jury duty, I got two books read and sat in the waiting room all day. I brought three books this time and expected the same sort of day. No such luck. I was in the first group called to go to a courtroom.

2) Judges are less likely to let you off the hook for short trials. If they don't let you off the hook, you might want to rack your brain for anything in your past that would conflict with your ability to be fair and unbiased. I was amazed at how the people who tried to get off on a hardship, also had extensive backgrounds in the issue at hand.

3) Crime affects a lot of people. I was really sad to hear so many stories from prospective jurors about terrible violent acts committed against them and their loved ones in their past.

4) Reading legal thrillers really did help me know exactly what was going to happen! Voir dire was exactly as I expected, except much more boring. They can skip over a lot in the books and focus on the interesting jurors. Plus, it seemed like there was an endless supply of pre-emptory challenges for the lawyers.

5) Our lawyers didn't seem very skilled. In fact, during deliberation, some jurorists theorized it was the prosecutor's first case. The judge made a little bit of commentary on that as well. It's just as well because...

6) This case felt like a huge waste of tax payer dollars. We all felt that way.

Having said all of that, in a way it was fun, and I enjoyed getting to know the others on the jury. I hope I get picked again sometime for a more interesting case.

Have you ever been on a jury? What was the experience like for you?

Saturday Christian Fiction Carnival Week 1: Why Christian Fiction?

Why do I read and review Christian fiction?

Well the first and obvious answer is that I'm a Christian. I enjoy reading stories with characters that identify with my faith and values. I also like the relief of knowing a book will not have an overwhelming amount of sexual content or foul language. I am often challenged by Christian fiction in specific ways in regards to my personal faith.

I review Christian fiction because I find a lot of it to be fantastic. So many of my "heart" books are Christian fiction. (Daughters of Boston, Mark of the Lion, the Josey series) Yet, even though I know that there's a lot of excellent, edgy Christian fiction out there, it seems that message has not been delivered to everyone else. So by reviewing it I hope to attract other Christians to the genre so they can discover books that share their values but are still excellent challenging literature and also people who don't share my faith but might still enjoy good story-telling.

I do not exclusively read Christian fiction as readers of this blog know. I read general market books as well because even though someone doesn't share my faith it doesn't mean they don't have something to teach me. I have been profoundly challenged (in a good way) by some general market books I read this year. I read just about everything in truth, though I don't think I've ever read a proper western.

The simple truth is that I love to read. Read everyone else's answers here.

(I'm participating in the 24 read-a-thon at The Friendly Book Nook, so if I don't visit your blog today I'll definitely visit it tomorrow! Thanks!

Tagged!

I go away for a weekend, and everyone tags me! I like to be tagged though, it's fun, but it seems this is all for the same meme, so I'm only going to do it once. Many thanks to Critty Joy, Serena, MJ, Mimi, and Cindy for tagging me!

Six Things About Me
1) I love Christmas music. When I lived in cooler climates, I would start to listen to it as early as September. In SoCal, I'm still sweating in October so the Christmas music season is shorter lived for me now. But I still love it. I can't wait to get a bunch of new Christmas cds this year. ;)

2) My weakness is diet Mountain Dew. It seems everything else I can figure out how to get rid of but I still crave that sicky sweet stuff. The other day I was drinking my diet Mountain Dew at lunch and someone I've never spoken to before said, "that's really bad for you." Ouch.

3) I am addicted to books. You may think I'm just exaggerating...I'm not. I am very addicted to books. It's an actual scientific addiction. Look at my life and you'll see it's true.

4) The less I know about the plot to a book or movie the better, however, I can't help but look up spoilers to my favorite tv shows. Especially if they leave me in the lurch with questions like, "What happens to the people still on the island?
" or "Will Chuck and Blair ever get together???"

5) My ten year high school reunion was this year. I didn't go. I only remember my best friends from high school.

6) I am terrible at mailing things. Please forgive me.

That's it! If you like, consider yourself tagged! :)

Blogging Changed My Life

Veronika at God-Writing tagged me for this. It's a fun one, because it's all about blogging!

Here's the idea:
Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.

1) I care more and know more about people in the world in need. This is a result of reading blogs, more than actually blogging. But seeing the powerful way that blogs can spread ideas and get things done has been very cool.

2) People I don't know in real life are more inclined to read what I have to say than people I do know. Ugh. This is kind of negative for me, but I think it's more a result of how people either get blogging or they don't. I do have some real life friends and family who read...so...thank you!

3) I read more. It's true. In fact, I have a reading schedule. Books that have to be read and reviewed within certain time frames for both blogs. I've always read a lot, but now it consumes more of my life.

4) I've found people who share similar interests. This has to be coolest thing about the internet. Real life friends, bless them, can get tired of talking about your interests that you don't share. But online you can talk obsessively about books, or LOST, or theology and people are thrilled to join in.

5) I win things. Seriously, I never won anything before I entered blog contests, but I won the 14 book giveaway from Hachette at Bookroom Reviews out of like, 1,000 entrants! And I've won other books and DVDs. Still waiting for Compassion to invite me along on a trip, hint hint! ;)

This is actually a terribly fascinating topic to me, and I'd love to know other people's responses. so, I'm actually going to tag a few people and see if anyone plays along.
J.Kaye (she's always blogging! so I must know her answers!)
Kat --she was like, my blogging mentor.
Booking Mama --she obviously spends a lot of time on her blog
Euphrony --because I can
I guess that's all for now.

Inside the Reader's Studio

Deena at A Peek at My Bookshelf tagged me for this fun meme that was started by Rebecca at The Book Lady's Blog. You should check out both of their blogs if you haven't already...they are both BBAW participants and cool people!

In the spirit of continuing my “getting to know you” theme from last week, I thought I’d borrow this questionnaire from my good buddy James Lipton (love him!) at Inside the Actors Studio and try to get a fun little meme started at the same time. So, I’ll answer the questions and then tag three of my blogging buddies, who will then tag three more, and well…you see how it goes.

What is your favorite word?
What? Just one? Without doubt hope.

What is your least favorite word?
Um, pretty much any racial slur.

What turns you on (creatively, spiritually or emotionally)?
Other creation. Either God's creation..nature, or other people's beautiful and moving creation. Um, like a gorgeously written book with a true and hopeful story or a fine piece of music.

What sound or noise do you love?
Rain. Oh my gosh I never hear it in Southern California!

What sound or noise do you hate?
Bare feet shuffling on the carpet. I don't know why, but it gives me chills.

What is your favorite curse word?
erm, crud?

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I think it would be fun to write for television.

What profession would you not like to do?
Anything related to cleaning. Or executing people. I'd really hate that.

What one book, other than the Bible, do you read again and again for inspiration? (added by ME!) (I think that me is Deena)
I rarely re-read books.

If (Which I'm changing to BECAUSE Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Well done my good and faithful servant.

Tag yourself if you want to play along..I'm so behind on google reader due to BBAW that I have no idea who has already been tagged!

What's On My Nightstand

I don't even know where to start. I'm so completely deliciously and wonderfully overwhelmed with books at the moment!

But..I'm currently reading The Making of Isaac Hunt by Linda Leigh Hargrove.

And coming up next? I have At His Command by Brenda Coulter, which I've actually started. It's a Love Inspired book, which is the inspirational imprint of Halequin. These books are hit or miss with me, but this one is a hit so far! I also have the Lost Diary of Don Juan by Douglas Carlton Abrams, and The Last Queen by CW Gortner waiting as well. I'm really looking forward to reading both of these!

If you're visiting for the first time, I just wanted to let you know I have a couple of bookish giveaways you might be interested in entering.

I'm giving away copies of Julie Lessman's A Passion Redeemed with some other prizes here.

And I'm giving away a copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin here.

And of course don't forget to go back to 5 Minutes for Books to see what is on everyone else's nightstand!

Book Buzz Tag: General Market

I am stealing this idea from Becky Miller at A Christian Worldview of Fiction. I am doing one for general market books because I just love the idea of this meme so much! (and quite frankly I know more general market book bloggers--it's actually really hard for me to separate the two because I read a good mix of both!)

Here's the idea (you can copy this paragraph to use in your post):
I am going to list three categories of books. 3 MUST Read Books, 3 Keep Your Eyes on These, and 3 Look For These Soon. Keeping with the theme, I am going to tag at least 3 bloggers. They should put these same lists on their blog but SUBTRACT one book from each list and ADD one of their own. Then they should tag at least 3 more bloggers. It will be fun to see how the lists change as it goes around the blogosphere. Please come back to this post and leave a comment so I can see how the lists are changing as they go around the blogosphere. Since this is Book Buzz...please keep your lists to titles released in 2007-2009.

3 MUST Read Books:
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
Somebody Else's Daughter by Elizabeth Brundage
The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

3 Keep Your Eyes on These:
The Memory of Water by Karen White
Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer
Names my Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane

3 Look For These Soon:
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

I tag...
Julie at Booking Mama!
J. Kaye at J.Kaye's Book Blog
Shana at Literarily
Jennifer at Literate Housewife

I hope you guys play along!

Book Buzz Tag: Christian Market

Let's try something fun, created by Becky Miller over at A Christian Worldview of Fiction!
I was tagged by So Many Books...So Little Time!

Here’s how it will work....

Becky has provided a list of her five MUST Read novels and five Keep Your Eyes on These Novels, then tagged five bloggers who she is asked to post her list on their site. They may then add one book to each list but must also subtract one book. Finally they should tag five other bloggers, link here at A Christian Worldview of Fiction, and comment to this post so visitors here know to check out how they may have changed the list.

Note from Amy: I starred the books that I added.

FIVE MUST READS: ( Note from Amy...A Passion Most Pure is the only book I've read on this list! I added it, hee)

*A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman (Revell)
A Promise to Remember by Kathryn Cushman (Bethany House)
Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins (Tyndale)
Zora & Nicky by Claudia Mair Burney (David C Cook)
Miss Match by Erynn Mangum (NavPress)

FIVE 'KEEP YOUR EYES ON THESE': (whew I'd read a couple of these!)

*Taming Rafe by Susan May Warren (Tyndale)
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (WaterBrook)
Searching For Spice by Megan DiMaria (Tyndale)
Shadow of Colossus by T L Higley (B&H Publishing)
Suspicious Minds by Christy Barritt (Kregel)

MY FIVE BOOKS TO LOOK FOR SOON:

Field of Blood by Eric Wilson (Thomas Nelson) (note from Amy...just got my ARC for this I am so excited to read it!)
Stepping into Sunlight by Sharon Hinck (Bethany)
Faking Grace by Tamera Leigh (Multnomah)
Home Another Way by Christa Parrish (Bethany)
*A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lessman (Revell)

Tagged Bloggers:

Most of the Christian lit bloggers I know have already been tagged, but I will tag Brittanie at A Book Lover!

Wow, I Was Tired and I was Tagged Again

One of my favorite indulgences has nothing to do with chocolate or bookstores.

It's what I like to call...sleeping until I wake up. I know what you're thinking...don't we always do that?

What I mean is, sleeping until I wake up without the aid of an alarm clock or the neighbor's dog or a bad dream or having to go to the bathroom.

Unfortunately, there's really only one day a week when it's possible and there's usually something else that I want to do on that day. (Saturday) (And moms...I know you're hating me right now, because it's not ever really possible for you. Sorry! We singles and childless have to find the benefits of our lives where we can. ;) I haven't been able to indulge for weeks, and this week, I decided to do it.

Of course yesterday, A Passion Redeemed showed up in my mailbox and I started to read it before going to sleep. But even with that, I don't think I was up that late.

I slept until 2:40 p.m.!!!! I'm so embarrassed! I can't remember the last time I slept that late! It's got to be at least 12 hours of sleep!! I missed all that precious reading time and Olympic watching time, etc. So I definitely had a lazy Saturday, but wow! I think it's the heat. It must be the heat.

Anyway, I've been tagged a few more times, so find my answers below. This tag was from Megan, whom I haven't heard from in ages!
What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was getting ready to go to college. I cannot believe that. How has it been ten years? So I was probably saying good-bye to people, packing up my life with panic, and just all around being dead nervous.

What are five things on my to-do list today?

1. Sleep, apparently.
2. Read A Passion Redeemed
3. Write 2 reviews for The Friendly Book Nook
4. Finish organizing Book Blogger Appreciation Week. (ha, not happening)
5. Respond to all my emails.

Snacks I enjoy:
Junior Mints
Popcorn
Those Reese's Fast Break things are a recent addiction
Grape Tomatoes

Places I've lived:
Georgia
Iowa
Missouri
Japan
California

Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Pay off debt
Pay of families debt
Buy a house
Quit my job
Sponsor some more Compassion children and make some donations to Compassion, International Justice Mission, and Voice of the martyrs
Write a book
Travel the world

Alyssa over at Plans for Hope tagged me for this one:

Q1. If you were to be in ministry 10 years from now (whether you’re in ministry now or not) what would you like to be doing and where?

My dream would to be in France or Japan working with groups of believers in a "cell" church type of ministry. I would happily teach English or something full time.

Q2. If you could wake up tomorrow with a degree and all the learning that would have gone with it from any seminary which one would you pick and why?

This is something I have not considered for a long time, so I don't know.

Q3. What’s your poison: donuts, beer, wine, pizza, chocolate, Twinkies, key-lime pie?

I think this question is funny after the first two. Probably pizza. I do enjoy wine, but it's not, er, a weakness. I hate beer. Donuts are good, but I'm not sure I've ever had key-lime pie. My true weakness is Diet Mountain Dew.

I'm not going to tag anyone for these, but feel free to play along if you like!

Me the Weirdo

Alexis from Ramblings from Life has tagged me to tell you some more strange stuff about me. Because I'm strange and therefore full of strange stuff.

By the way, check out that pic of David Cook on her blog. Wow.

Ok the rules. Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 6 people to be tagged, list their names & why you tagged them. Don’t forget to leave them a comment saying “You’re it!” & to go read your blog. You cannot tag the person that tagged you, so since you’re not allowed to tag me back; let me know when you are done so I can go read YOUR weird/random/odd facts, habits and goals.

Anyway, here's my best shot....

1) I am very particular about the condition of my books. I'm a huge fan of bookmarks, I hate to see people fold covers back on any book (but especially one that either belongs to me or needs to be used by many students), and I love a book that smells and looks brand new. I have often gotten away with passing my gently read books off as new.

2) I sometimes buy clothes hoping to become more daring in the fashion department. I'm pretty conservative, but wish I was one of those girls who could get away with wearing totally outrageous things. As long as they're cute of course.

3) I own a playstation 2. I bought it because they lowered the price and I visited my brother and had so much fun playing with his. I don't think I've played it in a long time now. It's good to have someone cool who knows lots of tricks (like my big brother) to play with.

4) I've never been stung by a bee. However, in my imagination, it's the worst thing ever. I hate bees and I'm terrified of them. Plus, if I get stung by a bee, I won't be able to say I've never been stung by a bee anymore.

5) I'm a PK! (pastor's kid) Certainly that's a weird thing, right? Or maybe it just makes me weird!

6) I really enjoy time by myself. All day at work, I need to be upbeat, enthusiastic, and extroverted. I have to be patient, kind, and unintimidating. This takes a lot of energy for me because I'm introverted. I love my students dearly, though, and I want them to feel safe. They deserve the best that I can give. But I enjoy stealing away to be by myself when I can, like at lunch. However, this causes the other people in my building to feel shunned so lately I've been trying to hang out with them more.

7) I really like ice in my drinks. I will always pour a can of soda over ice if I can.

8) I have 370 blogs in my google reader. I just realized that when Anne Jackson asked on her blog. That's appalling, I know. Don't worry, I don't read them all everyday, several of them are news/review blogs (that I will often hit mark all as read on), and a bunch of them are no longer active. I need to go weed through them. I sort of think of it as my virtual TBR pile.

9) I'm very unskilled at all the things women are supposed to be good at...like sewing and knitting. I wish so much I could do those things, but nothing ever comes out right.

10) I still enjoy coloring books...when my nieces visit.

I am now meant to tag six people....

1) Melissa. Because she's a new blogger and a sweetheart.
2) Elizabeth. Because she tagged me awhile back and I enjoy revenge.
3) Christel. Because I want to learn more about her.
4) Chaotic Hammer. Simply to see if he'll come out of blogging hibernation.
5) Angie. Because she signed my first ever Mr. Linky first! And she might say something interesting about her cat.
6) Barb. Because she's Brody's mom and so full of life and love on her blog.

6 Things About Me

Elizabeth at the aptly named As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves blog tagged me for this. Oh the fun of talking about myself!

1) I hate it when people refer to babies as its. This right here is a perfect example. Um, Shiloh is a she, not an it. Oh how we objectify celebrities!

2) When I get a new CD, I usually find one song that hooks me and then listen to it a million or so times in a row. I can listen to one song only in my car for more than a solid week.

3) I hate getting my hair cut and styled. This is one of those artificial social situations. People always think I'm ten years younger than I am. I have a baby face. Also, they never understand my job. So I always have to explain that I've actually been graduated from college for awhile now, and no the people that I work with are not necessarily stupid.

4) When I went to Japan, I was terrified to do karaoke. I imagined all karaoke was like that scene in My Best Friend's Wedding. It's nothing like that in Japan, and I quickly realized it was one of my favorite ways to burn through 50 bucks and an evening. I miss it, though I've done it a bit at parties here.

5) The first time I got contacts, I couldn't put them in and had to leave the eye doctors after a good 45 minutes of trying without my contacts. Now I put them in half asleep with no mirror. It's weird how our brains work, huh?

6) I am really inarticulate in person. I can never express myself well, and stumble all over my words. I far prefer to write and hope that RL friends feel like they know me better from reading my blog. Since, you know, I can't express myself well through talking. ;)

The rules of this meme are:
Link to the person who tagged you in your blog post
Write your six random things
List the rules somewhere in your blog post
Tag 6 more lucky people to join in the fun
Let them know they've been chosen by commenting on their blog
Let the person who tagged you know that you've posted your entry

I'm going to break the rule of tagging more people because I feel I've tagged you all out. But, if you want to play grab the meme and let me know you did so in comments and I'll link to you. :)

More Stuff You've Been Dying to Know!

Tagged by Jen of Daily Mish Mash (which I hope you're reading)

Four Jobs I've Held:
1) Sales Associate at a card and party shop. Ooodles of fun. It's where I finally learned how to tie a balloon at age 16.
2) Telemarketer. For hearing exams. Everyone would say "what? I can't hear you?" And think they were the funniest person on the planet and absolutely original. I'd only heard that joke 25 times already that day.
3) Custodian. Worst. Year. Of. My. Life. Ok, maybe not that bad, but let's get real. It was only part time, like an hour a day, but I hated it.
4) Conversational English Instructor. Love it.

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:

1) French Kiss. I even went to a Sacred Romance conference once and learned exactly why this movie is my favorite. It's terribly deep. If you're dying of curiosity, ask me!
2) Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Love it. Always get chills during the church scene at the end.
3) The Joy Luck Club. So cathartic. I just weep at the scene at the end when her momma says, "I see you" But the whole thing is fascinating and depressing.
4) Little Women. Jo March was and always will be one of my greatest literary heroes. I love this movie! (and book)

Four Places I've Lived:

1) Mason City, Iowa.
2) St. Louis, MO
3) Tokyo, Japan
4) Toccoa, Georgia

Four TV Shows I Like:

1) LOST
2) The Closer
3) 24
4) American Idol

Four Favorite Foods:

1) Potatoes
2) Suki Yaki
3) Korean Barbeque
4) Teppanyaki

Four Places I Would Rather Be:

1) Scotland. I've always wanted to go.
2) The Beach. It's beautiful today. If I could teleport and skip traffic, I'd so be there.
3) Costa Rica. Visiting my sister and delivering a bunch of books to her!
4) Australia. I need to go visit old friends.

Tagging four People:
I'm going to do this a little differently.
I'm going to tag two bloggers and two non-bloggers. Non-bloggers can answer in comments. Anyone else can join in as well!
Bloggers: Julie P aka Booking Mama
Thomas
Non-bloggers: Leah (my sister)
Carole

Some Memes

I was recently tagged by Stacy aka Vader's Mom and she just did another meme and so I've decided to do both! :) Because I know you are all simply dying to know as many details about me as possible and that you like to read about me almost as much as I like to write about me, lol!!!! :)

8 Things I'm Passionate About:

1) Loving God
2) Compassion International
3) Family and Friends
4) Blogging
5) Good books
6) Going new places
7) Excellent Reading and empowering others to read excellently
8) Good food

8 Things I Want to do Before I Die:

1) Hug my Compassion kids
2) Explore Italy
3) Be a mom
4) Own a kitten
5) Do something extraordinarily wonderful that I never imagined
6) Explore Australia
7) Publish a book
8) Speak another language fluently

8 Things I Say Often:

1) Was that excellent?
2) I don't know
3) Focus on what the author is saying
4) awesome
5) wait, what?
6) Have a wonderful day
7) It doesn't work like that
8) splendid

8 Books I've Read Recently:
Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay
Only Uni by Camy Tang
A Soldier's Promise by Cheryl Wyatt
Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh
Death of a Six Foot Teddy Bear by Sharon Dunn
Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer
Silence by Shusaku Endo

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over:
1) "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own" u2
2) "The Blower's Daughter" Damien Rice
3) "Falling Slowly" The Once soundtrack
4) "In the girl there's a room" Sara Groves
5) "More" Andrew Peterson
6) "The Cut" Jason Gray
7) "Make it Matter" Natalie Grant
8) "Anna Begins" (the gorgeous live version) Counting Crows

8 Things that Attract me to my best friends:

1) Sense of humor
2) Authenticity
3) Sense of adventure
4) Kind hearted
5) Compassionate
6) They need to get that I'm ADD and if I zone out, it's not because I don't love them :)
7) Forgiving
8) Shared history

8 People I Think Should Do Crazy 8's:
Texas in Africa (finally revenge mwa ha ha. jk!)
Milk in the Closet
Jen
Lisa
Thomas
Beth
Krista
Flora

Ok and now the other tag! (if you're still reading...)
The Rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

The closest book is A Soldier's Family by Cheryl Wyatt (which I'll be reviewing next week)

This is a Love Inspired book!

"She fought to keep her voice from quavering. "Obviously you have some idea of how this should go." She licked her lips, dry from anxiety of how she was going to pay for the fence and that scooter."

Doesn't that make you want to read the book immediately?

The end!