UPDATE - TBR 2010 Challenge

I just wanted to post a quick update on how I am doing with this challenge.  As of December 2, 2010, I have finished this challenge.  YAY!!!  I read 8 books from my original list and 4 from my alternate list. 

Information about the 2010 Original TBR (To Be Read) challenge can be found on the Should Be Reading blog hosted by MizB.

1. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes - Completed and reviewed - Jan. 23, 2010
2. A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat by Zell Miller - Read May 6, 2010
3. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs - Completed and reviewed - Feb. 10, 2010
4. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James - Completed and reviewed - April 10, 2010
5. Treason by Don Brown - Read May 3, 2010
6. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - Read - July 27, 2010; Reviewed - August 27, 2010
7. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
8. Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky - Completed and reviewed - Feb. 10, 2010
9. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory - Read August 6, 2010
10. The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace - Completed and reviewed - October 30, 2010
11. When Character was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan by P. Noonan - Completed and reviewed - Nov. 23, 2010
12.  Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper - Completed and reviewed - Dec. 2, 2010

The books I plan to read:

1. Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
2. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Márquez
3. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
4. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - started

My alternate list of books to read:

1. The Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas H. Cook
2. Dark Places by Gilliam Flynn
3. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
4. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
5. Sashenka by Simon Montefiore
6. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
7. Common Sense by Glenn Beck
8. Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

Buy One Book and Read It 2010!

Buy One Book and Read It 2010

Review - Anderson Cooper: Dispatches From the Edge

I wondered how I would feel about this book since I typically don't enjoy listening to CNN anchors whenever my husband turns on CNN. I found myself having a hard time putting this book down.

While I hadn't forgotten the events that Mr. Cooper writes about, I had not thought about them in quite this context.   It's one thing to see these events reported on television.  A viewer gets an idea of what is happening, and may even have a personal connection to the event, but if the viewer is not actually there, the seriousness of the situation truly does not really sink in.  Reading Mr. Cooper's first-hand experiences during these events, as well as the information about his past, made for a very interesting story.

I think that I am going to have to give Anderson Cooper a second chance.

Review - Happy Ever After

Happy Ever After is the final novel in Nora Roberts' romantic series, The Bride Quartet. Four childhood friends who have turned a favorite childhood game, Wedding Day, into a successful wedding planning business, Vows, in Connecticut.

Happy Ever After is Parker's story.  I really enjoyed watching Parker and Mal. Then again, I've enjoyed watching all four couples come together. They all work so well together, even if they might not have seemed to be logical at first. I think that of all the couples, these two were my favorite to watch. I also enjoyed seeing Mac and Carter's wedding at the end.

I just wish that I could have seen all four weddings.

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year.  During the holiday season, I love to send Christmas cards to my family and friends.  My husband says that I send too many out.  I don’t agree with him.  Christmas cards are my way of letting everyone know that I am thinking about them during the holiday season.  Since we started a family, they are also my way of showing family and friends, who don't get to see them, how much the girls have grown in the last year.   I also love getting Christmas cards from these same people.  It’s always a good time to open a card and see how much families have changed over the last year.

When a sorority sister and friend blogged that Shutterfly is giving 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers, I emailed her for the details.  I had recently received their mailer, about Christmas cards and Christmas gift ideas, and was already thinking about what I would like to do this year.  We had a family photo taken on Thanksgiving to use with our cards this year even before this, so I'm excited. 

Here are my favorite Christmas cards in no particular order:

I’m also considering photo books as gifts for the grandparents this year as well as making a calendar for my husband.  He really liked that idea, now to figure out a style to use and the pictures to go in it.

Review - When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan

When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan by Peggy Noonan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Have you ever read a book and wanted to meet a character from it? Well, after reading this book, I really wish that I had had a chance to meet Ronald Reagan at some point.



Ronald Reagan is the first president that I have clear memories of, although I do have a vague recollection of Jimmy Carter. So many historic events happened under Ronald Reagan's watch and it was interesting to read about his thought process and how his character shaped his actions while in office.



I've heard Ronald Reagan referred to as one of the greatest presidents of our times and I have to agree. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.



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Review - Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead

Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead by Nick Drake

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


What can I say? I wasn't that impressed with this book. I had a hard time reading it because it really didn't catch my interest as I thought that it would.



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