Outlander Read-A-Long

Come join me next month as I participate in the Outlander Read-A-Long. I've had this book on my TBR wishlist for quite some time now, but like many of the titles on that list, it has sat there waiting and waiting for me.

The read-a-long is paced reading, with questions posted weekly by the hosts. You can find out more about the read-a-long at Gone With The Words. Here is the reading schedule:

June 11th – Questions for chapters 1-7 announced at Gone with the Words

June 18th – Questions for chapters 1-7 answered & questions announced for chapters 8-14 at Stalking the Bookshelves

June 25th – Questions for chapters 8-14 answered & questions announced for chapters 15-21 on Tangled up in Blue

July 2nd – Questions for chapters 15-21 answered & questions announced for chapters 22-28 on Into the Hall of Book

July 9th – Questions for chapters 22-28 answered & questions announced for chapters 29-35 on Logan E. Turner

July 16th – Questions for chapters 29-35 answered & questions announced for chapters 36-41 on The Reading Housewives

July 23rd – Questions for chapters 36-41 answered on Gone with the Words. The end.

Read along with me!! It's always fun to read with a friend.

Happy reading, everyone!

Bean

Wine to Water Book Review and Giveaway

My rating = 5 stars (Gibbee!)

(Goodreads review)

Doc Hendley never set out to be a hero. In 2004, Hendley- a small-town bartender- launched a series of wine-tasting events to raise funds for clean-water projects and to bring awareness to the world's freshwater crisis. He planned to donate the proceeds through traditional channels, but instead found himself traveling to one of the world's most dangerous hot spots: Darfur, Sudan. There, Doc witnessed a government-sponsored genocide where the number-one weapon wasn't bullets-it was water. The Janjaweed terrorists had figured out that shooting up a bladder containing 10,000 liters of water, or dumping rotting corpses into a primary water source is remarkably efficient for the purposes of mass extermination. With limited funds, Doc realized that he couldn't build new wells costing $10,000 a pop, but he could hire local workers to restore a damaged well for a mere $50 each. He'd found his mission. Today, Doc and Wine to Water continue to help stricken peoples repair and maintain water-containment systems in places like Darfur, Cambodia, Uganda, and Haiti.

I can't say enough good things about this book! First of all, it is written and organized very well. It grabs your attention immediately, and holds it throughout the entire story. Hendley's plain-spoken style is easy to read and relate to. Second, this book is so inspiring! That is the reason I am giving away my copy of this book. Usually I keep all of my Gibbee books because they're so good I want to have them always. But it doesn't seem right to keep this one all to myself. 

As I read Hendley's story of bravely working in war-torn Darfur, it inspired me to find ways I can help in my community. Being a stay-at-home mom of four young kids, it's not the easiest thing to do to find free time and money to volunteer anywhere I want. It's easy for me to make excuses and stay in my own little 'bubble.' This book made me reassess my situation and excuses, and look for opportunities that fit my schedule and resources. 

I hope everyone enters this giveaway, because this is a book not to be missed! It may even change your life, and that is what Gibbee is all about!!!

Happy reading, everyone!

Bean

Piling Up on Friday May 11th

This weekly meme is hosted here at Finding Your Gibbee. Feel free to play along, and post a link to your blog in the comments below. List all the books you have added to your To Be Read wishlist this week. (These don't have to be titles you have actually purchased.)

I got a fun opportunity to volunteer at a local Scholastic book warehouse this week. They are holding a book sale for teachers, homeschoolers, and other educators at the warehouse. I went and helped restock shelves, process returns, and fill orders during my shift. As "payment," I got a voucher for some free books. Most of the books I got were for my kids - comic books, Magic Tree House, Big Nate and a few others. I also got two books for myself - One Summer by David Baldacci, and Dewey by Vicky Myron. I loved Baldacci's Wish You Well so much, I knew I would love One Summer. I'm hoping to get the Hunger Games series, but those are in such demand, they may not be available at all.

I signed up for more volunteer shifts this next week, and we'll see what other treasures I get to bring home. 

This week's additions to my TBR wishlist:

One Summer by David Baldacci

It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care for them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country. Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together. Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie's death, he reunites everyone at Lizzie's childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack will begin to learn to love again, and he and his children will learn how to become a family once more.

Dewey by Vicki Myron

How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch? How is it possible for an abandoned kitten to transform a small library, save a classic American town, and eventually become famous around the world? You can't even begin to answer those questions until you hear the charming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa.

The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler

Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, self-dependent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. Unhesitatingly he marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy’s unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. 

Piling Up on Friday May 4th

This weekly meme is hosted here at Finding Your Gibbee. Feel free to play along, and post a link to your blog in the comments below. List all the books you have added to your To Be Read wishlist this week. (These don't have to be titles you have actually purchased.)

I just finished reading a fabulous book this afternoon. It's called Wine to Water by Doc Hendley. It's the story about a bartender who decided to help bring clean water to developing countries, and started his work in the heart of Darfur during the humanitarian crisis of 2004. My book review is coming soon, so stay tuned. I'm even doing a giveaway for this one!

Here are some fun and fascinating titles I have added to my TBR wishlist this week.

The Vanishers by Heidi Julatvis

Julia Severn is a student at an elite institute for psychics. Her mentor, the legendary Madame Ackermann, afflicted by jealousy, refuses to pass the torch to her young disciple. Instead, she subjects Julia to the humiliation of reliving her mother's suicide when Julia was an infant. As the two lock horns, and Julia gains power, Madame Ackermann launches a desperate psychic attack that leaves Julia the victim of a crippling ailment.  Julia retreats to a faceless job in Manhattan. But others have noted Julia's emerging gifts, and soon she's recruited to track down an elusive missing person—a controversial artist who might have a connection to her mother. As Julia sifts through ghosts and astral clues, everything she thought she knew of her mother is called into question, and she discovers that her ability to know the minds of others—including her own—goes far deeper than she ever imagined. 

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances—and of her mother’s suicide—she moves to America, leaving the company in the hands of her brother Robbie. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing—leaving a dead body in his wake—Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind. Back in Paris to investigate her brother’s disappearance, Jac discovers a secret the House of L’Etoile has been hiding since 1799: a scent that unlocks the mysteries of reincarnation. The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac’s quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.

The White Forest by Adam McOmber

Young Jane Silverlake lives with her father at a crumbling family estate on the edge of Hampstead Heath. Jane has a secret—an unexplainable gift that allows her to see the souls of manmade objects—and this talent isolates her from the outside world. Her greatest joy is wandering the wild heath with her neighbors, Madeline and Nathan. But as the friends come of age, their idyll is shattered by the feelings both girls develop for Nathan, and by Nathan’s interest in a cult led by Ariston Day, a charismatic mystic popular with London's elite. Day encourages his followers to explore dream manipulation, with the goal of discovering a new virtual reality, a place he calls the Empyrean. A year later, Nathan has vanished, and the famed Inspector Vidocq arrives in London to untangle the events that led up to Nathan’s disappearance. As a sinister truth emerges, Jane realizes she must discover the origins of her talent and use it to find Nathan herself, before it’s too late. 

The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler

Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, self-dependent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. Unhesitatingly he marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy’s unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. Gradually he discovers, as he works in the family’s vanity-publishing business, turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trials of life, that maybe for this beginner there is a way of saying goodbye. 

 

My current read is:

Inspiring Experiences That Build Faith by Thomas S. Monson

President Monson recalls tender and inspiring personal experiences that will build faith and testimony for every reader. Taken from events throughout his life, these accounts are organized into sections: Service to others, Faith Precedes Blessings, Prayer Availeth Much, Missionary Moments, Testimony Teaches Truth, Example of the Believers, and On the Lighter Side. One experience tells of an elderly man in oppressed Hungary. He had collected his tithing for forty years until he met a patriarch who could deposit it for him. Also, the man had tried unsuccessfully for many years to get permission to leave Hungary to attend the temple. Following a special blessing, his passport was finally approved and this faithful man received the temple ordinances. This example and many others depict the happiness that comes from obedience to the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ. Readers can find renewed strength in their testimonies through these faith-promoting experiences.

Free Comic Book Day

This Saturday, May 5th, is Free Comic Book Day! I didn't even know this day existed, but it sounds like so much fun. It's definitely something the little ones in my house will want to participate in.

Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May each year - when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores.
Click here to find a participating store near you.

Happy reading, everyone!
Bean

2012 Where Are You Reading Challenge - Update

View 2012 Bean's Where Are You Reading Challenge in a larger map

It's time for an update on the 2012 Where Are You Reading Challenge. This challenge is hosted by Book Journey. I created a Google map for this challenge, and I place a marker for each book I've read this year. If it's a book that doesn't have a specific location, I mark where the author is from.

Here is where my reading has taken me so far in 2012:

Texas - Six Weeks to Yehidah

Imperial, Nebraska - Heaven Is For Real

Colorado Springs, Colorado - What a Son Needs From His Dad

Austin, Texas - Out of the Spin Cycle

Salt Lake City, Utah - Timepiece

Franklin, Tennessee - The Total Money Makeover

San Francisco, California - The Bonesetter's Daughter

London, England - Postcards From Berlin

Gibraltar - The Alchemist

Columbia, South Carolina - The Secret Life of Bees

Where has your reading taken you this year?

My Dream Home

I made such an awesome discovery today, I just had to share!!!

When I was little I lived in Des Moines, near Drake University where my dad was a student. We always lived in old houses, old bungalows, probably because they were cheap and close to campus. I particularly remember the last house we lived in. It had a large front porch, a big kitchen (well, it was big to a five-year-old), and the staircase had its own doorway. I had lots of fun playing in that house. I remember helping my mom take the laundry from upstairs all the way down to the basement. She would put the laundry in pillowcases, and then my sister and I would pretend we were Santa, dragging the pillowcases down the stairs and saying "Ho, ho, ho!"

If I could choose the exact house I wanted to build and live in forever, it would be that house. I also loved my gramma's house, another old bungalow with lots of character, but my house was the best! So tonight I was playing around online, looking at bungalow floor plans (yes, I am quite weird). Suddenly, I came upon this picture:

THIS IS MY HOUSE!!!! I looked over the floorplan meticulously and was so amazed to find it was exactly the same! My house was painted white, the roof was red-shingled, and we didn't have a fireplace. We also didn't have flowers strewn all over the place, but I sure would have loved that. Isn't it just darling?? Someday, maybe in heaven, I will live in this house once again. I guess you could say this is my Gibbee house.