King Arthur Movie Tristan

I want to wish you all a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Thank you all for your friendship and support, I enjoy sitting at my computer with my cup of tea and reading your comments, posts, reviews and book recommendations.
You guys always keep things lively and interesting.



This was a great reading year for me, I have 72 books in 2008, which is amazing for me. I used to read about 12 books per year before I started my book blog. Thanks to book blogging, i've met some wonderful bloggers online and had some great book recommendations. This past year I discovered the works of Alice Hoffman, Neil Gaiman, Catherine Ryan Hyde and Ann Brashares just to name a few.

This past year I also have met some wonderful authors online and had some great author interviews.


So, thank you all for stopping by my little corner of the web and reading my posts, as boring as some of them may be, you take the time to leave me a comment. I appreciate that!






Here are my Top 20 Favorites Reads of 2008, in no particular order, linked to my reviews: (it was hard to narrow down to just 20)



1. The Ice Queen

2. Snowflower and the Secret Fan


3. Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife



4. Heart Shaped Box


5. The Shining


6. The Ruins


7.Carpe Demon


8. The Darkest Night

9. All The Pretty Girls


10.
A New Earth


11. The Host


12. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict



13.
Perfect on Paper The (Mis)adventures of Waverly Bryson



14. Persuasion


15.
Coraline




16. The Constant Princess

17. Beneath A Marble Sky


18. Chasing Windmills



19.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares



20. Eclipse

I found this site over @ c.j.'s blog: http://photofunia.com/

And as you can see by the photo above, I had fun superimposing Gerard's image onto that coffee cup. Nice way to enjoy a morning cuppa!

(you can probably expect a few more photos like this one at my blog...lol)


As far as books go, I'm still reading Inkheart! I know, i've been reading it the entire month of December. I am enjoying it very much, and I have about 150 pages left out of the 563 pages.


Happy reading everyone.

Teaser Tuesdays asks:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

How many nights had he fantasized about being with her like this again? They had covered a lot of ground and righted a lot of wrongs, but was it enough?

-Line of Scrimmage by Marie Force.

I am happy to say that Ruth Ann Nordin, the author of An Unlikely Place for Love, has taken time out of her busy schedule to grant me a blog interview! Thank you Ruth Ann.
I recently read & reviewed An Unlikely Place for Love, click here to read my review.

Now, onto the interview.....









Bookworm: Welcome Ruth Ann, and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to grant me a blog interview. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Ruth Ann: Thank you for interviewing me, Naida. I appreciate it! I am a stay-at-home mom of four young boys and the wife of an active duty military member. When I'm not running around doing the wife and mom thing, I read and write. I began reading and writing since I was 13 and it's bloomed into something I am passionate about. It's the one thing that gets me through some of my hectic days when I'm doing the fourth laundry load of the day, giving another bath to one of my sons, cooking a different meal because I have a picky eater, etc. I don't care what anyone says. Motherhood is the toughest job on the planet. :)



Bookworm: What inspired you to write An Unlikely Place for Love?


Ruth Nordin:
I love to read books and watch movies where the woman is disguised as a man because there are so many funny things that can happen, specifically when another woman happens to find the disguised woman attractive. There's just too many interesting ways to handle that situation.





Bookworm:What was the hardest thing about writing this book? How long did it take you to write?

Ruth Nordin: The hardest part about writing it was how to handle Chad finding out that Kate was disguised as Billy. Originally, he was angry because he felt betrayed, but that didn't seem to work with the comedy part of it. I wanted to keep it fun and upbeat. So I rewrote the part where he found out about four times before I got it right. Because of this part of the book, it took me three months to finish the first draft. Typically, it takes me two months to finish a story.




Bookworm: In An Unlikely Place for Love, Kate Tanner goes from being Kate to playing the part of Billy. This has her on a huge run-around, and it all seems so hectic for her. She gets herself into some very funny predicaments, I was laughing out loud when she was dancing with Lacy. How did you come up with these different scenarios? Was it difficult writing funny scenes?

Ruth Nordin: I'm glad you found those parts funny because my favorite parts of this book are whenever "Billy" and Lacy were together. The first two times Kate (as "Billy") and Lacy were together came naturally. I just kept asking myself, "What is it that men do that disgust me?" But as the story progressed, I did have trouble thinking up new ways for Lacy to be attracted to "Billy", no matter how badly "Billy" appeared. The hardest part was how to end it so that Lacy and "Billy" could be happy, especially when "Billy's" wife showed up. I rewrote Lacy's reaction to that three times.




Bookworm:This book is part of a trilogy, with The Cold Wife and An Inconvenient Marriage being the other two books. Which of your own characters is your favorite? Which book are you most proud of?


Ruth Nordin: My favorite character is Kate Tanner. She was as strong-willed as my other female leads but she had a carefree attitude about things and could bend into unfamiliar situations and win people over. I am most proud of An Unlikely Place for Love. It is, to date, my favorite one.




Bookworm:Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?



Ruth Nordin: I love to hear from my readers. It's the highlight of my day. I systematically add additional chapters of my books on my website http://www.ruthannnordin.com so readers can get an idea of what my writing is like and see if what I'm writing is something they are interested in. I am also going to offer two or three of my books for free, starting in late January. I am still working through some last minute revisions on a book not published yet. I am going to offer a contemporary romantic comedy called With This Ring, I Thee Dread about a couple forced to marry and stranded in a remote cabin in Alaska. I am also going to offer An Unlikely Place for Love. I still haven't decided on what or if there will be a third book available. I do offer sample chapters of my works in progress on my website as well for anyone interested in what I'll be publishing in the future.





Bookworm: Who are your favorite authors and what is it that really strikes you about their work?


Ruth Nordin: My favorite authors are as follows: Carolyn Davidson (writes historical romances) because she writes tender romances with old fashioned values. Lois Lowry (who wrote The Giver) because her book, though sad, had me turning the pages until I finished it in one sitting, and she had great ideas that I thought were intriguing. Sarah Pawley (who writes historical fiction) because her romances are realistic. She's done her research and I love her writing style. Nathaniel Hawthorne because I read that he was ready to give up writing when his wife encouraged him to keep at it and that's when he wrote The Scarlet Letter. The book was required reading in high school, but the twists and turns in it captivated me and he was one of my top favorite authors ever since.




Bookworm: Do you have any advice for other writers?


Ruth Nordin: The best advice I can offer is to write what you are passionate about. I have tried writing stories that others wanted me to write but the quality wasn't what it could have been. These days I write what I'm inspired to and I am eager to get out of bed in the morning. Now learning how to improve my writing is also fun because it's something I want to do. Passion really does make all the difference.




Bookworm: Last but not least, if you were stranded on a deserted island, and were allowed to bring 3 items with you, what would they be?

Ruth Nordin:
This was the hardest question to answer. :) This is what I finally decided on: the Bible, a pop-up tent for shelter, and a thick blanket. (I was going to mention a couple of other books but I like so many I couldn't decide which to take along, and I'm no good at building things, so I'd better bring the tent and something to keep warm on the cool nights.)

Again, thank you Naida for the interview!



Bookworm: Thank you Ruth Ann, it's been a pleasure. And wow, a mother of 4! I agree motherhood is the toughest job.
Best of luck with everything!


---------------------------


If you haven't read An Unlikely Place for Love yet, I do recommend it. There's romance, humor and a clever plot in this fun and entertaining read.

Musing Mondays :

How often do you recommend books to others, and who do you recommend them to? Do you only recommend books to your “reading friends” or to anyone you think might find the book interesting? What does it take for a book to make it to your ‘recommendation’ list?

I recommend books all the time to anyone who will listen.. lol. Family members, friends, co-workers even random people in the bookstore. I've struck up conversations with cashiers while paying at the bookstore about the books I was buying, and I either ended up recommending books to them or vice versa.



I also tend to swap books with my sister and sister in law. We just pass books along to one another so we end up reading the same books.


I feel bad for people who tell me they don't enjoy reading. What a shame! I have so many book recommendations to give them :P

If I really enjoyed a book, I will recommend it.




What about you? Do you give book recommendations to others?

title: An Unlikely Place for Love

author: Ruth Ann Nordin
genre: Romantic Comedy

pages: 328

published: 2008




first line: Kate Tanner felt awkward dressed in men’s clothes, wearing the short haired black wig and black beard.

rated: 4 out of 5

When Kate Tanner witnesses the murder of her parents, the wealthy Virginia Sen. Murphy Tanner and his wife, Abigail, she knows she needs to disappear - and fast - until the killers are behind bars. So she dons what she thinks is a foolproof disguise - masculinity - calls herself Billy Ingram, and travels to the country to find work. It's her way of laying low until justice is served, but it isn't long before she's getting more than she bargained for. Now, on a North Dakota farm, this former city girl struggles to convince her employer, the handsome Chad Walker, she has what it takes to handle demanding farm chores. Meanwhile, the men who killed her parents are searching for her, a woman named Lacy Montgomery is infatuated with her, and Kate's fallen in love with Mr. Walker. Then she's seen without her disguise - and the excuses start to really make things interesting. Can Kate survive long enough for the charade to reach a happy ending? In the spirit of Shakespeare's As You Like It, Ruth Ann Nordin's An Unlikely Place for Love might just convince you the oddest circumstances make the perfect settings for Romance.

Kate Tanner saw her parents killed by two men. She is on the run now in fear of her own life. She comes from a wealthy home and her father was a politician. Kate disguises herself as a man and winds up on a country farm in North Dakota looking for work in order to blend in and hide out. She is hired by a man named Chad Walker. Chad was once an accountant, but fell in love with a country girl, moved to North Dakota and became a farmer. His wife was killed in an accident, so Chad was left to run the farm on his own with her family as hired help.



Turns out Chads late wife, Georgia, wasn't all that she pretended to be. She had many people fooled, but Chad knew her true nature. Georgia was cold hearted and cunning, and told many lies to get her way. She even tainted Chad's reputation.
Georgia's brothers now work for Chad, though they barely do any real work and think Chad is a joke. The other guys that hang out with Chad's brothers don't respect the farmer either and believe all the lies Georgia told about him.




Kate wears her disguise and goes by the name Billy, but Chad does notice something is odd about 'Billy'.
Meanwhile the townsfolk all like Billy and there is one lady, Georgia's sister Lacy, in particular that has her eye on him! Kate becomes closer to Chad, and begins to fall in love with him. Problem is, he knows her as Billy. She wants to meet Chad as her true self, not disguised as Billy. Eventually the opportunity presents itself, Kate shows herself to Chad, pretending to be Billy's sister. Chad quickly becomes smitten with Kate. And to Kates dismay, a few of the other men from town are attracted to her too. These guys will stop at nothing to win Kate and even start a bet as to who will get her.

She was surprised that she had such a profound impact on him. She couldn't help but fall in love with him. He was the first man who seemed real to her. It was ironic that such a thing would happen in the midst of her own deception. She only hoped that when the time came for her to reveal the truth, he would understand.

This was a great, entertaining read. It takes off from the start and keeps going.
Ruth Nordin's style of writing draws you in. The storyline is funny, romantic and fast paced. The characters are well written and likeable.


I liked Chad, he's just a modest farmer who wants to keep to himself. I did want him to kick Georgias brothers off his farm though, and stand up for himself more.
I liked Kate right away, she finds herself in some funny predicaments while disguised as Billy and trying to ward off advances from other ladies. I liked the one part where Billy tries to scare off Lacy, by dancing wildly and even tossing her towards a dog at one point. I was laughing out loud at that scene. Another funny thing was how Kate kept trying to play dumb in an effort to make herself less appealing to some would be suitors. She tries to act as if she doesn't know a thing about where babies come from, telling these men that she thinks the stork delivers babies. They fall for her act and offer to bring her a book so she can read about the birds and the bees. Kate tells them she can barely read! lol.




If you're in the mood for a clever plot and a sweet romance, pick up a copy of An Unlikely Place for Love. You won't be dissapointed.


Special thanks to Ruth Ann Nordin for sending me a copy of her great book to read and review.



**Stay tuned** Ruth Ann Nordin is stopping by my blog for an author interview! I will be posting that soon.

Happy Sunday Salon everyone. I hope you all had a good Holiday. With the hustle and bustle of Christmas, I haven't been able to read and blog as much as I'd like. I hope to catch up on my reading and reviewing now that Christmas is over.

So for today, i'm posting a fun meme, feel free to play along! Consider yourself tagged if you are reading this :)



Mariel tagged me with this fun Bookshelf Meme.



The Rules

1. Tag 3-5 people, so the fun keeps going!

2. Leave a comment at the original post at A Striped Armchair, so that Eva can collect everyone’s answers.

3. If you leave a comment and link back to Eva as the meme’s creator, she will enter you in a book giveaway contest! She has a whole shelf devoted to giveaway books that you’ll be able to choose from, or a bookmooch point if you prefer.

4. Remember that this is all about enjoying books as physical objects, so feel free to describe the exact book you’re talking about, down to that warping from being dropped in the bath water…

5. Make the meme more fun with visuals! Covers of the specific edition you’re talking about, photos of your bookshelves, etc.




1. the book that’s been on your shelves the longest



I have a few books that i've had since I was about 12 years old. Here's a few of them:






2. a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time, etc.)

My son gave me a copy of the new Stephen King for Christmas, so I know i'll always think of that when I see this book. He's so cute, he knew I wanted the new SK and had my hubby take him Christmas shopping so he could grab a copy of it. He wrapped it himself and added a giant blue bow on top. Then as he placed it under the tree, he told me 'Sorry ma, the new Stephen King book was sold out so I got you something else instead'. He really wanted me to be surprised....lol.











3. a book you acquired in some interesting way (gift, serendipity in a used bookstore, prize, etc.)
I have received some wonderful bookish gifts this year for Christmas.


My friend JulieAnn sent me an amazing gift basket all the way from California, she included a copy of Brisingr. A few years back, sent me a copy of Eragon and got me into the series then.










She themed the gift basket as a 'Treasure Theme' so everything was gold and sparkly. Being a fellow crocheter, she even included some pretty sparkly yarn.
She added a stuffed golden dragon and chocolate gold coins.







My Secret Santa Serena from Savvy Verse & Wit, sent me some amazing gifts as well this Christmas. It was part of the Book Bloggers Christmas Swap 2008. You can see my full post here, she sent me some great goodies including a book light, lipbalm and a pretty journal.




Here's a few pics of the books she sent.

Seriously Cute Crochet patterns (I can't wait to get started and make some cuties using these patterns):




Just Ella and Stardust:






So now, I have plenty new books added to my TBR mountain and even yarn and patterns to keep me extra busy.



4. the most recent addition to your shelves
I recently bought Ann Brashares' 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood'. Okay, I know i'm weak! But I truly loved the first two books and must read the rest in the series.







5. a book that’s been with you to the most places

I think the Harry Potter series, when I began reading those, I took them with me everywhere I went and could not put the books down. I read the series twice.







Enjoy your Sunday and thanks for stopping by! If you play along with this meme, leave me the link so I can come visit.

title: You've Got Mail


genre: comedy/romance

Release Date: December 1998

Plot: Two business rivals hate each other but fall in love over the internet.

rated: 5 out of 5





Some of you may know, i'm a big fan of chic flicks. One of my all time favorites is
You've Got Mail. It's such a cute film. It's got some of my favorite things involved in the plot:

1. The two main characters meet online through IM'ing each other. (computer)

2. The two main characters own bookstores. (books)

3. Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) loves the book Pride & Prejudice and carries it around with her. (Pride & Prejudice)

4. Romance.

When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.

Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) owns a small children's book store.
When Joe Fox (Tom Hanks), opens his book store called Fox Books, around the corner from Kathleen's little shop, she is in danger of closing down to the larger store. Fox Books has everything from a larger selection of books to coffee and sweets, to discount prices. So these two become arch enemies, they meet and cannot stand one another. What they don't realize is that the romance they are conducting anonymously on the internet is with each other.

Joe Fox: Then why don't you run off with him? What are you waiting for?

Kathleen Kelly: I don't actually know him.

Joe Fox: Really?

Kathleen Kelly: We only know each other - oh, God, you're not going to believe this...

Joe Fox: Let me guess. From the Internet.

Kathleen Kelly: Yes.

Joe Fox: You've got mail.

Kathleen Kelly: Yes.

Joe Fox: Three very powerful words.

Books are largely involved in the plot, both main characters own book stores, so books and reading are discussed often. Kathleen defends one of her favorite books to Joe, Pride & Prejudice:

Joe Fox: I didn't know you were a Jane Austen fan. Not that it's a surprise. I bet you read it every year. I bet you just love Mr. Darcy, and that your sentimental heart beats wildly at the thought that he and whatever her name is are really, honestly and truly going to end up together.


Kathleen Kelly: The heroine of Pride and Prejudice is Elizabeth Bennet. She is one of the Greatest and most complex characters ever written, not that you would know.

fun fact: The movie is based loosely on the now-classic 1940 film, "The Shop Around The Corner," which starred Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. The two leads played a man and woman who shared a mutual animosity for the other but who nonetheless fell for each other through letters they write to each other anonymously.

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
~Edmund Burke

Hello everybody, I hope you are having a Merry Christmas! I'm able to log on now for a bit, i've missed by blog friends these past few days. We had a great day here, the kiddies got what they wanted from Santa. We got to spend time with family and friends, and although it's been fun, i'm relieved the hustle and bustle is over now. Things can get back to normal.


Here's today's Booking Through Thursday:




Booking Through Thursday:

What I want to know today is … what are the most “wintery” books you can think of? The ones that almost embody Winter?

Here's a couple of novels that make me think of Winter:


Little Women: It mostly takes place during winter, and I can picture the March family sitting cozy in their home while it snows outside.





Harry Potter books: I guess mostly because by the time Harry goes to school in the beginning of the books, it's Fall then Winter begins. And Mrs Weasely knits them all those cool sweaters for Christmas.







The Shining: The family is stranded in the Overlook hotel for months during the Winter.






The Lord of the Rings: Mostly because I read these books one Winter a few years ago. I would snuggle up with a cozy blanket and read these on cold Winter nights.




What about you? Which books remind you of Winter?

Tink has awarded me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks Tink!

The idea is to:

Decide on six values that are important to me, six things I don’t support, and nominate six bloggers.

6 values that are important to me: honesty, loyalty, strong sense of faith, good sense of humor,
patience and respect.

6 things I don’t support: prejudice, rudeness, lies, abuse of any kind to anyone, hate and conceit.

6 bloggers i'm nominating : Alice, Dar, Joanne, Paxton, Nymeth & Serena.










Kailana and Melody have awarded me the Christmas Spirit Award
. Thank you :)

Here are the rules for the Christmas Spirit Award:


"You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award.

The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.

Link back to the person who gave you the award.

List 5 things that you love about Christmas.

If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space!

Pass the award along to as many people as you like.

That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you!

But keep the Christmas cheer going!

Let your recipients know that you have
tagged them by leaving them a comment. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award."

5 Things I love about Christmas:

1. Seeing my kids making thier letters for santa. My youngest (8) still believes, and it's so cute to see how much thought she puts into her list! lol

2. Putting up the Christmas tree.

3. Buying the perfect gift for everyone on my list. I find it fun, before the holiday rush starts though.

4. All the holiday cooking. We bake cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve and I love to make a big meal on Christmas day.

5. Seeing my kids faces light up on Christmas morning.