Happy Birthday To My Mom The Bookworm

  My mom loved to read and read all her life.  As a kid, she always loved to read.  She would read up in her room way passed her bedtime.  One of her goals was to read all the fiction books in the library.  She started with the authors whose names began with A.  Her birthday was October 29 and I always think of her more that day than usual.  I still miss her very much and wish she were still here, but know she is enjoying heaven and one day I will join her. 

 

Growing up she always encouraged me to get into reading.  She would read to me and got me a magazine subscription to JACK AND JILL.  I brought them home from dad’s after he died and was going to try selling them on Ebay, but they weren’t in very good shape so I ended up tossing them out.  I still remember reading the witch story that was continued each month.  She also enrolled me in a book club and I still have some of those books.  Two I gave to my nephews as gifts.  One was about trucks and the other about a fish that kept growing because it ate too much.  She also bought quite a few other books for me and my dad built me my own bookcase that was in my bedroom.  Today, it is in my den. 

 

Once I got into school though, I actually had trouble reading because my eyes were bad and I couldn’t see the blackboard.  My first grade teacher held special sessions after school for those who were having trouble reading and that’s when she realized I needed glasses and told my parents.  What a difference it made when I could see.  That teacher, Ms. Franz, was on the ball. 

 

My love for reading never really jelled in spite of lots of trips to the library to encourage it.  I remember getting the shortest books I could find for book reports and reading about some baseball players and Peppi Longstocking.  I would much rather be active and do other things though.  Reading never made my list of priorities.  My mom loved reading novels about other countries and romance.  She liked Danielle Steele and subscribed to The Reader’s Digest book club that sent condensed versions. 

 

When my mom got to be housebound, I would go to the library for her and pick out books.  She was very appreciative of this but sometimes I picked books she didn’t care for.  Most of the time, I did pretty good.  I wish now that I read regularly, she were still here so we could discuss books.  I blew it but know she would be happy now that I am finally reading for pleasure.  It just took me a long time to catch the bug.  (I still don’t care for Danielle Steele books.)

 

What passion do you want to pass along to your children or what did your mom want you to love doing?  Please check out our Spooktacular Stephen King book Giveaway--closes at 12:30 Oct. 31.

Related Posts About Mom:  
A Letter To Mom Because I Can't Write Poems
Me and My Piano
Boo On Halloween

Stephen King Spooktacular Book Blog Giveaway (This is Over)

Winners Announced here!

We are so excited because this is our first “Grab A Book From Our Stack” giveaway! It being Halloween and all and Stephen King being a favorite in our author poll in our side bar, Gerard is graciously giving away the following three Stephen King books:

The Tommyknockers

  Excerpt from the dust cover (558 pages):

Late last night and the night before,
Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers,
knocking at the door.
I want to go out, don't know if I can,
'cause I'm so afraid
of the Tommyknocker man.

It begins with nothing more frightening than a nursery rhyme; yet in Stephen King's hands it becomes an unforgettable parable of dread, a threat from an unimaginable darkness that drags the practical inhabitants of a New England village into a hell worse than their own most horrible nightmares...and yours.

It begins with Bobbi's discovery of the ship in the earth, a ship buried for millions of years, but still vibrating faintly, still humming with some sort of life...faint...weak...but still better left alone.

The townspeople of Haven are "becoming"--being welded into one organic, homicidal, and fearsomely brilliant entity in fatal thrall to the Tommyknockers.

In this riveting, nightmarish story, Stephen King has given us his tautest, most terrifying novel to date.  And the next time someone raps at your door, you may want to keep the chain on.  It just might be the Tommyknocker Man.

Four Past Midnight

(actually this is a collection of four chilling novellas):  Excerpt from the dust cover (763 pages):

One Past Midnight:  "The Langoliers" takes a red-eye flight from L.A. to Boston into a most unfriendly sky.  Only eleven passengers survive, but landing in an eerily empty world makes them wish they hadn't.


Two Past Midnight:  "Secret Window, Secret Garden" enters the suddenly strange life of writer Mort Rainey, recently divorced, depressed, and alone on the shore of Tashmore Lake.  Alone, that is, until a figure named John Shooter arrives, pointing an accusing finger.

Three Past Midnight:  "The Library Policeman" is set in Junction City, Iowa, an unlikely place for evil to be hiding.  But for small businessman Sam Peebles, who thinks he may be losing his mind, another enemy is hiding there as well--the truth.  If he can find it in time, he might stand a chance.

Four Past Midnight:  The flat surface of a Polaroid photograph becomes for fifteen-year-old Kevin Delevan an invitation to the supernatural.  

The Dark Half

  Excerpt from dust cover (431 pages)

Thad Beaumont is a writer, and for a dozen years he secretly published novels under the name of "George Stark" because he was no longer able to write under his own name.  He even invented a slightly sinister author biography to satisfy the many fans of Stark's violent bestsellers.  But Thad is a healthier and happier man now, the father of infant twins, and starting to write as himself again.  He no longer needs George Stark, and in fact has a good reason to lay Stark to rest.  

When Homer's pick-up truck truck is found, the bloody fingerprints of the perpetrator are all over it.  They match Thad Beaumont's exactly.  Armed with hard evidence, Pangborn [the sheriff] pays the Beaumonts a visit, and suddenly he too is thrust into a dream so bizarre that neither criminal science nor his own sharp mind can make sense of it.

At the center of the nightmare is the devastating figure of George Stark, Thad Beaumont's dark half--impossibly alive and relentlessly on the loose--a killing machine that destroys everyone on the path that leads to the man who created him.

Here is the The Dark Half, a tale of terror so real and fascinating that Stephen King's growing legion of fans will find themselves squirming in the master's heart-stopping, blood-curdling grip--and loving every minute of it.

Anyone in the United States Can Enter! This is open to anyone in the U.S., not just our followers or other bloggers! (We will be having a Follower Appreciation giveaway in November just for our followers as well as another open giveaway on Book Blog Jog Days.)

Easy To Enter:

(1) Just leave a comment here letting us know which book(s) you would like with a way of contacting you should you win (blog URL or email) or send an email to spunkydoodle[at]sbcglobal[dot]net with “Spooktacular Giveaway” in the subject line.

3 Optional Easy Ways To For Additional Entries:

(1) Leave us a comment on any of our other posts on this blog, mentioning the book(s) you would like to win. After all, we would like you to look around our blog a little bit.

(2) Add Grab A Book From Our Stack (www.ourstack.blogspot.com) to your blog roll—let us know you did it in your comment or email.

(3) Twitter (including #bblog in your tweet if you remember) or blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post or your Twitter ID in your comment or email.

Winners will be announced here Sunday Night, October 31. We will do our best to contact the winners personally on Halloween and give them until November 3rd to email us their address so we can send the book(s). If we do not have an address for them by then, another winner will be chosen instead.

Entries close at 12:30 p.m. EST on Oct. 31. There will be separate drawings for each book on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. EST. Since the Browns have a bye week, this will give me something fun to do! We wish everyone a fun week and a happy and safe Halloween!

I included this post in the Saturday Sampling over at Half Past Kissin' time where you can link the best posts of the week.

"Castle In The Mist" by Robert J. McCarty

Castle In The Mist by Robert J. McCarty is the second book in his “Planet Of The Dogs” series.  Stone City has been at peace and prospered for a year since the dogs came to show them a better way of getting along but that is all about to change when Bik, the leader of Stone City finds his children have been kidnapped by two traitors who took them to mean Prince Ukko, leader of the Black Hawk Tribes who holds them prisoners.  Once again, the dogs from the Planet of the Dogs devise a plan to rescue the children before Bik leads Stone City into a war. 

I liked how the dogs were once again successful in winning over the mean leaders.  The dogs are clever, brave, helpful, loyal and loving.  I recommend this series for children ages 6-12 and to dog lovers of all ages.  It is a quick read but one that I enjoyed.  Of the three books in this series (the other two are Planet of the Dogs and Snow Valley Heroes--A Christmas Tale) I liked this the least just because Prince Ukko were very mean wanting to capture and destroy all the dogs!  At least he changed his attitude in the end!

To read a sample chapter, order a book or for more information visit www.planetofthedogs.net and the blog at http://barkingplanet.typepad.com.  We received a complimentary copy of this whole series from Barking Planet Productions to review this book and will include it in a November giveaway. 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Teaser Tuesday: 3 Books About The Brain, Dogs and Cats

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following:          

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

Karen's:

Research shows that 87% of illnesses can be attributed to our thought life, and approximately 13% to diet, genetics and environment.  Studies conclusively link more chronic diseases (also known as lifestyle diseases) to an epidemic of toxic emotions in our culture.

from p. 4 of Who Switched Off My Brain?  controlling toxic thoughts and emotions by Dr. Caroline Leaf

The all stood there listening, until with anger in his voice, Prince Ukko gave Narro an order.  "Send out a fast warrior group to capture or kill those dog creatures.  They are evil and must be destroyed."

from p. 4 of Castle In The Mist--Planet of the Dogs Vol. 2 by Richard J. McCarty.

Gerard's:

Dewey stared up at the toy, then looked down.  He can't do it, Yvonne thought.  Then Dewey turned and sprang--like a rocket, as Yvonne remembered it, just like a rocket--and grabbed the oy our of her hand.

From p. 31 of Dewey's Nine Lives--The legacy of the small-town library cat who inspired millions by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter.

If you like Stephen King, be sure to see our Spooktacular Giveaway!

"Buzz: A Year Of Paying Attention" by Katherine Ellison

Buzz by Katherine Ellison is a true story of Katherine who takes a year off from her job to pay attention and be with her son, Buzz, who has Attention Disorder Deficit (ADD).  Katherine finds out she has ADD too.  She tries to help both Buzz and herself. 

I think this is a great book for parents going through this because there are lots of tips and resources in it.  It's a good story too!  I'm rooting for you, Buzz!
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?