King Arthur Movie Tristan

carl is once again hosting the
Sci Fi Experience:

And so with great pleasure I announce The Sci Fi Experience 2009, which will run from January 1st through February 28th, 2009.

As I said last year, this is an experience and not a challenge. There are no reading lists, book requirements, etc. I do not argue about what is or is not considered ’science fiction’. Nothing about this two month period of science fiction celebration should cause anyone to feel obligated to participate. I host two other very involved challenges throughout the year and the last thing I want to do is start a new year adding stress to your busy lives or my own. This is simply a time to experience how exhilarating science fiction can be.



Should you read any science fiction during the months of January or February and wish to link to your reviews I encourage you to do so on the
Sci Fi Experience 2009 Book Review Site.

I wanted to join up last year but didn't get a chance. I don't know which books i'll be reading, but i'll update this post as I read. I like that carl says: this is an experience and not a challenge .



The War of the Worlds by HG Wells

Wisteria is hosting a fun challenge:

2009 Book Buddy Blogger Challenge:

Rules: The challenge will run all of 2009. You will be required to read 5 books from a list of 10 that are recommended by a book blogger buddy. The books should be from their list of best books from 2008. It's that easy. Then let us know what you think of your friend's choices. Do you agree or disagree and why?

I know, I've joined more than enough new challenges this year, but how could I resist this one? It sounds like fun, and Wisteria's puppy, Wizard...(see challenge graphic)... is way too cute.



Here's my list:

1. Blind Submission by Debra Ginsberg /melody

2. Nation by Terry Pratchett/ nymeth

3. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman/Alice

4. Shades of Gray, by Jessica James/ Wisteria


5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy/ Serena

j.kaye is hosting the 100+ Reading Challenge again this year. This is a great way to keep track of the books I read throughout the year. Last year I read 72 books, lets see if this year I can top that number.


1. Inkheart


2. Ralphina, the Roly-Poly


3. The Virgin's Lover


4. In The Land of Invisible Women







5. Stardust




6. An Inconvenient Marriage




7. The Silent Man




8. Heartsick




9. Line of Scrimmage




10. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing


11. The Twist





12. KATKA





13. Legs Talk: A Modern Girl's Dating Tale





14. The War of the Worlds




15. House





16. Enchanted Again




17. Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too!





18. The Kingmaking




19. The Mighty Queens of Freeville



20. The Fearless Fish Out of Water: How to Succeed When You're the Only One Like You


21. The Broken Parachute Man




22. Midnight Bayou







23. Pemberley Manor: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice continues





24. The Traitor's Wife: Betrayal & Murder in the Court of Edward II






25. The Colors of Space





26. The Obama Revolution


27. The Ten Year Nap




28. Just Ella




29. 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea





30. The Soul Collectors





31. Cynthia and Constantine





32. Frederica




33. The Secret Keeper


34. The Convenient Marriage






35. A World I Never Made







36. Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict




37. The Almost Moon



38. No, Never!





39. Best Intentions




40. The Tales of Beedle the Bard



41. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre




42. Still Running


43. Undone


44. Benny & Shrimp



45. Rain Song



46. The Other Boleyn Girl



47. Blackbird House



48. The Treasures of Venice



49. Dead Until Dark

50. Beloved


51. Too Many Tutus


52. Fahrenheit 451


53. Between Me and The River: Living Beyond Cancer: A Memoir


54. Just After Sunset

55. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

56. The Darkest Kiss

57. Tao Te Ching

58. Aurora of the Northern Lights

59. The Lovely Bones

60. The green Green Pear

61. The Wildest Heart

62. Arabella


63. The Handy Answer Book for Kids

64. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair

Hi everyone, I hope you all have a great weekend. I'll be trying to recuperate from the holidays, i'm glad they are officially over. Finally a weekend where I don't need to go to a holiday party, go Christmas shopping, wrap presents...etc...etc. My goal is to finish up reading Inkheart this weekend.

What about you? What are you reading?


I'll leave you all with a cute quiz:



Your Cupcake Says You Are Lovable

At parties, you tend to be laid back and even a bit shy. You are an observer.


You have a fair amount of restraint in your life, but you don't go overboard. You let yourself enjoy life.


The most important thing in your life is fun.


You are laid back, flexible, and easy to get along with. To know you is to care for you.



The Cupcake Test

List of books read and reviewed 2009, linked to my reviews.





1. Inkheart


2. Ralphina, the Roly-Poly


3. The Virgin's Lover


4. In The Land of Invisible Women







5. Stardust




6. An Inconvenient Marriage




7. The Silent Man




8. Heartsick




9. Line of Scrimmage




10. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing


11. The Twist





12. KATKA





13. Legs Talk: A Modern Girl's Dating Tale





14. The War of the Worlds




15. House





16. Enchanted Again




17. Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too!





18. The Kingmaking




19. The Mighty Queens of Freeville



20. The Fearless Fish Out of Water: How to Succeed When You're the Only One Like You


21. The Broken Parachute Man




22. Midnight Bayou







23. Pemberley Manor: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice continues





24. The Traitor's Wife: Betrayal & Murder in the Court of Edward II






25. The Colors of Space





26. The Obama Revolution


27. The Ten Year Nap




28. Just Ella




29. 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea





30. The Soul Collectors





31. Cynthia and Constantine





32. Frederica




33. The Secret Keeper


34. The Convenient Marriage






35. A World I Never Made







36. Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict




37. The Almost Moon



38. No, Never!





39. Best Intentions




40. The Tales of Beedle the Bard



41. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre




42. Still Running


43. Undone


44. Benny & Shrimp



45. Rain Song



46. The Other Boleyn Girl



47. Blackbird House



48. The Treasures of Venice



49. Dead Until Dark

50. Beloved


51. Too Many Tutus

52. Fahrenheit 451

53. Between Me and The River: Living Beyond Cancer: A Memoir

54. Just After Sunset

55. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

56. The Darkest Kiss

57. Tao Te Ching


58. Aurora of the Northern Lights


59. The Lovely Bones

60. The green Green Pear

61. The Wildest Heart

62. Arabella


63. The Handy Answer Book for Kids


64. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair





Short Stories reviewed:

Edgar Allen Poe:

1. The Pit and the Pendulum

2. The Black Cat

3. The Premature Burial


4. Eleonora

After three years, it's time to leave home. Other than some serious downtime when I was converting to new blogger, I have been well served here at blogger.com. However, with possible concerns about what I will be doing to make money it seems a good time to brand myself. This process has begun with At Home in Hespeler moving from it's present location to a new home at my own server.

http://www.briangardiner.ca/hespeler/

Hope to see you there.

title: Ralphina, the Roly-Poly

author: Claudia Chandler

genre: childrens fiction/preschool/early readers

published: 2008









first line: 'I'm lonely mommy,' Ralphina said.

rated: 5 out of 5








In this charming story, Ralphina, the roly-poly, lives in a garden with her mom. Ralphina notices the boy who lives inside the house and wants to be his friend. So to get his attention, Ralphina, digs in the garden to help the tulips bloom. When the little boy sees the pretty tulips, he comes to pick one for his mom and sees Ralphina there. The boy, named Alec, and Ralphina quickly become friends. She teachers him fun facts about roly-polies like herself. And Ralphina isn't lonely anymore because she now has made a friend.

'I am related to crustaceans. I saw a picture once of my cousin, Sir Henry, the crab. He lives in the ocean.'

Ralphina, the Roly-Poly is a wonderful children's book, with sweet a story and beautiful illustrations. At the end of the book there's fun facts about roly-polies and rainbows. Author Claudia Chandler , does a great job in writing the story and illustrating it too.

My daughter(8) enjoyed this book very much, she thought Ralphina was adorable.





about the author:

Claudia Chandler holds a master's degree in elementary education, is an artist of oil paintings, a photographer of nature and is a passionate gardener of thousands of flowers in her Olathe, Kansas home. It is this combination of creative endeavors, along with her experience and passion of educating children, that has brought her to this most exciting and rewarding career - writing and illustrating books for children.

visit the authors website:
http://www.claudiascustomcreations.com/