Review Copy Arrival: Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby

Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby

I received this from Golriz Fanai, Marketing Manager of Ecky Thump Books.

Publisher: Ecky Thump books
Publish Date: September 1, 2009
Pages: 284
Age Level: 9-12

From the book cover:

Enter the magical festive world of the Christmas 'Tree-Dwellers', as Larry, a Christmas snowman, wakes up after the long sleep in the Christmas box, to find his brother is missing.
Desperate to find him before Christmas, Larry, along with his girlfriend Debbie, a newcomer Splint, and Larry's companion Tinsel, break the laws of the 'Tree-Elders' and escape down the tree and away into the house, to look for clues.
Away from the safety of the tree and in an unfamiliar world, the Dwellers stumble upon a dark and sinister secret that threatens their entire world. Can Larry and the group make it back to the tree in time to warn the others, and finally uncover the truth behind the 'Secrets of a Christmas Box'?

I am very excited about this one. I plan to share it with my 8-year-old for our reading time as school starts back up in a few weeks. I was even more excited to learn that Steven Hornby is the one who animated Gollum in The Lord of The Rings trilogy (the recent movies). I knew I had heard the name somewhere. This looks to be a very fun book.

The Sunday Salon - August 9th

This is my second week joining in on The Sunday Salon which is hosted here.

Time spent reading - A trip to Duke early in the week and then back to work on Wednesday plus evenings at the pool with the hubby and children put a major crimp on my reading time this week. Not even a relaxing day out in the boat added much to my time yesterday. But it was a great week. It felt good to be back to work and in the regular grind again. I feel like everything is really getting back to normal. And the evening time in the pool was a blast especially since I am allowed to actually get in again now!

What I read:

I didn't finish a book this week but I worked on:

• I Can See You by Karen Rose (only about 50 pages left in this one - I started it last Saturday and it is good - just haven't had the time to read)
• Seven Up by Janet Evanovich - started this one at the gym this week (hardbacks easier to read in the book holders) and it's a laugh a minute - probably not the best book to read at the gym since I almost fell off the treadmill laughing.
• Reunion in Death by J.D. Robb - my audiobook that I listen to in the car to and from work.

I did finish one thing - the August issue of Family Circle - I read that on the boat yesterday.

Thoughts on my reading:

• No new-to-me authors this week. I've read Karen Rose, Janet Evanovich and J.D. Robb before.
• I had thought about the fact that I haven't read a lot of romantic suspense lately, well I guess I'm working on that now :)
• I usually listen to the Stephanie Plum books on audio, but have been limited by library problems, so I checked out the books. It's funny how much I hear the voices that the reader uses for the characters while reading this.
  
• Only one of the books I'm reading this week is a review book - I Can See You by Karen Rose which came out this week. The Evanovich is a library book and the J.D. Robb is an audiobook from audible.com.
• I will finish a book today!
  

What I'm reading now:

I Can See You by Karen Rose (an ARC - it came out last week)
Reunion in Death by J.D. Robb (on audio in my car)
Seven Up by Janet Evanovich

Up Next:

Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak (review book)
Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse challenge)

DH and I will embark on another day of our kids-free weekend today, but I believe the boat is out as he has a sunburn and I have a little bit of one, but yesterday was a blast. Not sure what is in store for us today, but I will get some reading done and some blog-hopping too. Our kids are having a blast with my parents, going to minor league baseball games and playing in the hotel pool. They'll be back home tomorrow night.

Everyone have a great week!