Monday Musings

I thought it would be fun to start a Monday musings and to try and get my blog out there so that more people can find me. So Here's how it works Please post this on your blog or facebook with your answer then make a comment on this post that you have done it with a link to your blog or facebook so I can check it out. I cant wait to see your responses! :) So without further adieu the question is...

Who taught you how to read?

A lot of my early reading memories was sitting on the couch reading to my dad. I can remember being teased by a girl in kindergarten quite fiercely because I didn't know how to read when I started and having a determination to read. I believe my mom helped me out a great deal as well but the one very vivid memory I can remember is sitting on our floral print couch next to a lamp with my fathers arm around me trying to read a book about an elephant. :) After I learned how to read I couldn't stop...I was hooked.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit By: J.R.R. Tolkien

I first started to read this when I was waiting for the 5th book of Harry Potter on Barnes and nobles one of many midnight parties. This may shock some of you because The Hobbit is one that is read in school. I don't know why I didn't read it there. I will say that when I first read it it did take me awhile to get into it but once I did I couldn't put it down. This is one of my favorite books and I love how it starts into the Lord of the Rings series with characters that I already knew, it was like being reunited with old friends. This was a book that I have been listening to on audio while I drive to work and while I sit at my computer. Some listen to music...I listen to books. :) I think this is a classic that everyone should read at least once in their lives. This is a great book that I love to pick up again and I know I already said this but I really mean it. Picking up this book is like stepping into a different world, time and place and is like reuniting with old friends and reliving adventures. :) one of the many reasons I love books.

Hazardous Duty

WOW What great book! :) My friend lent me this book and told me I really needed to read it, I didn't know what to expect but wasn't disappointed. Then I got to the end and all I can say is that I cant wait to read the next one and find out what happens to Hack, Doc, Caroline and most importantly Savannah and Dane.

"Hazardous Duty (May 2007)Savannah McLaughlin is desperate. Her six year old daughter, Caroline, has been kidnapped and neither the police nor the FBI seem able to find her. Finally Savannah turns to Major Christopher Dane, her husband's best friend and her former fiance for help. He'll help her only if she agrees to his painful terms. In the end they find Caroline and the love she thought they'd lost."

Blogiversary giveaway

Hey Everyone,
Have you checked out the Book Worms Library Yet? If you haven't now is a good time, She is celebrating 1 year on her blog on Aug 27. HOORAY! She is also having a giveaway to say thanks for reading. To enter please click HERE to zoom over to her blog and check it out. Happy reading and Congratulations again to the Book Worms Library for a great year.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard By: J.K. Rowling

Over the weekend I thought it would be fun for my husband and I to read the Tales of Beedle the Bard together. I introduced the world of Harry Potter to my husband one day when I just happened to have the 1st book with me on our way to work one day. :p (In Salt Lake almost an hour away) I started reading it to him as we traveled to and from work together and that's pretty much how we got through the whole series. It was a lot of fun so I thought it only fitting to read this book the same way. This is a compilation of fairy stories from the wizarding world. :)

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers’ attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger’s new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” and of course, “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” But not only are they the equal of fairy tales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter.The stories are accompanied by delightful pen-and-ink illustrations by Ms. Rowling herself, featuring a still-life frontispiece for each one. Professor Dumbledore’s commentary—apparently written some eighteen months before his death—reveals not just his vast knowledge of Wizarding lore, but also more of his personal qualities: his sense of humor, his courage, his pride in his abilities, and his hard-won wisdom. Names familiar from the Harry Potter novels sprinkle the pages, including Aberforth Dumbledore, Lucius Malfoy and his forebears, and Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington (or “Nearly Headless Nick”), as well as other professors at Hogwarts and the past owners of the Elder Wand. Dumbledore tells us of incidents unique to the Wizarding world, like hilariously troubled theatrical productionsat Hogwarts or the dangers of having a “hairy heart.” But he also reveals aspects of the Wizarding world that his Muggle readers might find all too familiar, like censorship, intolerance, and questions about the deepest mysteries in life.Altogether, this is an essential addition to our store of knowledge about the world and the magic that J. K. Rowling has created, and a book every true Harry Potter fan will want to have for their shelves."

I agree with the above, if you are a Harry Potter fan The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a book you must add to that Collection.

Alaine - Queen of Happy Endings: 2010 Fantasy Reading Challenge

Alaine - Queen of Happy Endings: 2010 Fantasy Reading Challenge

I am coming into this challenge well into the year but I am very excited about it and I am ready to tackle it. :)

Here is some more info about this challenge...

Challenge Guidelines:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. There are four levels:
-- Curious – Read 3 Fantasy Fiction novels.
-- Fascinated – Read 6 Fantasy Fiction novels.
-- Addicted – Read 12 Fantasy Fiction novels.
-- Obsessed – Read 20 Fantasy Fiction novels.

3. Any book format counts.

4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010. Only books started on January 1st count

towards this challenge.

I love fantasy but to be conpletely honestI dont always know what books are classified as so I don't want to bite off more then I can chew so I think for now I am going to start out under Addicted. I dont want to read a whole slew of books to find out that they are just non-fiction books rather than fantasy so wish me luck. Here are the books I think are fantasy that I have so far read in 2010.

1. Twilight

2.The Halloween Tree

3.The Tale of Despereaux

4.Fablehaven 5

5.The Tiara Club

6. The Prophecy of the Stones

7.The Short Second life of Bree Tanner.

To complete my list here are (as of right now) what I want to read in no particular order.

8. The Last Battle

9.The Hunger Games

10.The Last Apprentice Revenge of the Witch

11.The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

12. The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer By: Mark Twain

Believe it or not but this was the first time I had read this book. I have seen a lot of different movies and TV shows with a take off the book but this was my first time reading it. I was really excited about this book and loved every minute of it. The movie that I had seen and "grown up with" I guess you could say was Disney's Spin off of the story with Tom and Huck. After reading the book I realized that the movie was nothing compared to the book. (which was good cause I never really liked that movie anyway) Tom,Huckleberry, Becky as well as the rest of the characters were pictured a lot differently in my head. Younger and everything that comes with being a kid. The only thing I did find a little hard was in the beginning of the book Mark Twain says that this book is for kids about the joys of being a kid and he hopes adults will read it too. 34 chapters later I was thinking, there is no way a kid would want to sit down and read a 34 chapter book. Well at least not the age group I had Tow Sawyer pegged at. I know my niece Abby would but reading for her is a passion and it's hard to find kids who like books that much. But I did really enjoy this book and hope to either have my kids read it someday or read it to them.

What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Single

What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Single By: John Bytheway

John Bytheway is an LDS motivational speaker he has spoke at a lot of different venues and loves to do it. This book was given to me by a friend and even though I am already married I though it would be fun to give it a look anyway. Single or not I really like his insights into different spiritual topics and life as well. I really enjoyed this book.

"Trying to find the right companion, struggling with the dating game, or even thinks about marriage, John Bytheway knows how to fight the good fight. In his book What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Single, Bytheway teaches readers to see past the game and look for what is important in an eternal spouse.This well-known motivational speaker for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and author of LDS youth books such as What I Wish I'd Known When I Was in High School and Dating 911 uses his extensive knowledge of gospel doctrine and personal experiences to put common marriage phobias to rest. Bytheway communicates with singles after spending the years following his LDS mission in search of an eternal companion. Bytheway currently works as an institute teacher at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.Using the format of a piano concerto, Bytheway starts with the "Program Notes" and continues until the "Finale: Crescendo." The nine movements give advice on everything from who you should and should not date to dealing with a failing relationship.Although this is not a work by a church authority and is, therefore, the author's own ideas, readers can easily relate to the straightforward tales of love and relationships.The insightful words of ecclesiastical leaders, parents, and entertainers combine to form a guide for readers who are clueless about single life.Through humor and common sense, readers will be thrilled to learn that hope exists for all of us who are sick of that four letter word: Date."