Win Arrival: The Gift of An Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison

The Gift of An Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir by Katrina Kenison

I won this from Laura at her I'm Booking It blog. Thanks Laura!

From Goodreads:

The Gift of an Ordinary Day is an intimate memoir of a family in transition-boys becoming teenagers, careers ending and new ones opening up, an attempt to find a deeper sense of place, and a slower pace, in a small New England town. It is a story of mid-life longings and discoveries, of lessons learned in the search for home and a new sense of purpose, and the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers--holding on, letting go.

Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life, the very moments that she once took for granted, or rushed right through without noticing at all.

The relationships, hopes, and dreams that Kenison illuminates will touch women's hearts, and her words will inspire mothers everywhere as they try to make peace with the inevitable changes in store.

Teaser Tuesday - September 22

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! 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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

He leaned over with a conspiratorial, flirty whisper: "I took extra care in preparing for this outing, Lady Alexandra. One never knows when one might run into a lady of extraordinary beauty."
She laughed at this bald statement and replied wiith a shake of her head, "You're incorrigible!"
He joined her in her laughter and turned his attention to Blackmoor. "Your companion seems to think I"m rather more than incorrigible, my lady."

From The Season by Sarah MacLean p.100

Review and Giveaway - Singing the Song of Life by Debra Beryle

Singing the Song of Life by Debra Beryle





rating: 4.5/5.0






From the back of the arc:

You’ll be captivated as you read how the author, known affectionately as Dori, bites into the apple of life with deep passion, allowing its juices to run down her chin. Her confidence, her intelligence, and her wisdom will inspire you as much as her intimate relationships will surprise you.

In this dramatic memoir, the author uses popular songs to frame each chapter of her life and each chapter of the book. Every song sets the stage for the author to dance her dreams and shed her tears, all while coping with a terminal thing called life.

Singing the Song of Life is the story of one woman overcoming her obstacles and triumphantly succeeding in both life and in love. Her memoir offers:

• Adventure — a riveting experience with a con man who is living in a fantasy world;
• Sizzling Sex — her husband made her promise to cook in the bedroom rather than the kitchen;
• Friendship — the author’s best friend marries her second ex- husband and the results from their ultimate test of trust are startling!
• And much more, all woven together with touches of humor, Yiddish slang, and, of course, her favorite songs.

My Review:

This is my first memoir. I admit prior to being told about this book I didn't think I wanted to read memoirs. Then Emily Weiss presented me with Singing the Song of Life: One Woman's Symphony by Debra Beryle and I admit I was captivated with the idea behind the book. This author was using different songs as chapter titles to illustrate her life to date. I am a firm believer in a soundtrack of life. I can relate specific songs to specific times in my life and my husband is the same way. A simple line from a song can take you back and it's a wonderful memory or a horrible one, but it's your memory. So I was definitely intrigued and agreed to review the book.

Let me just say now I am so glad I did. I picked this book up yesterday afternoon after being called to pick up my son early from school. I sat on my porch swing with the nice north breeze coming through and the temperature in the 70s. I started the book and I couldn't put it down. Eventually I had to because 8 and 4 year olds don't feed themselves when Daddy works late, but as soon as I could I picked it up again. And I finished it.

It starts with the author as a child and then treks through her life, touching on the times that affected her the most, marriages, divorces, a miscarriage, financial ruin, great highs with her career. We see her as a child, a teenager, a twenty-something, a career woman, a wife, a divorcee, and as a woman coming back from the brink and then finding herself again. We meet her sister, her mother, her father, her best friend and the men along the way. We see all of this through her eyes looking back on her life and through that we see the wisdom she gained in every situation, and her neverending positive attitude. Dori feels real in this book because she is real and that's what really made this book for me. Dori is not a Hollywood starlet, she is an everyday woman, trying to succeed, trying to find love and trying to find peace with herself.

This is an amazing book. I was enthralled. It reads like a novel with never a dull moment, I was always wondering what will happen to Dori next, how she would handle it and hoping for something great for her. It's an inspiring book, because as tough as things got for Ms. Beryle, she never gave up, she kept pulling herself back up. She also does not place blame, which is refreshing. She knows she had some problems and works out where the problems came from but never plays the pitiful me card. She's strong from the word go even when she is searching for her self-confidence. An absolutely inspiring and genuine read, I can't recommend this enough. Even if you don't read memoirs, you should read this one - it applies in some way to all of us. Each one of us has been there and can relate to something in Ms. Beryle's life and hopefully we can take away her strength and become stronger women ourselves. Also you may find yourself singing along, like I did with Ms. Beryle's symphony.

On-sale Date: November 1, 2009


Also I would like to give away my copy which is an arc. I will open the contest today through September 30th. US and Canada residents only please. Please enter by:

1. Commenting on my blog, make sure I have a way to contact you. (+1)
   
2. Become a blog follower or let me know if you are already a follower (+1)
3. Tell me any memoirs you have read and enjoyed (+1)
4. Tweet about this review and giveaway, use @cfulcher in the tweet so I can find it (+1)
5. Follow me on Twitter (or let me know if you are a current follower) (+1)
6. Blog about this contest and let me know the link (sidebar or post is fine) (+1)

So there you go - 6 ways to get an entry into this contest. You can leave them in separate posts or one post, it doesn't matter, I will make sure you get your entries, just make sure to let me know what you do.

Winners!

Since I'm behind on drawing winners - I'm doing one post with my previous winners and also for the BBAW giveaways I ran last week. Congrats to the winners and thank you to all of you for visiting my blog and entering my giveaways. More coming later this week.

Winner of Century: Ring of Fire by P.D. Baccalario: renee

Winner of A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve: cqueen2

Winner of Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Berman: plb8156

Winner of Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf: Julie P.

Winner of Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson: Anita Yancey

Winner of The Last Ember by Daniel Levin: roxxyroller

Mailbox Monday - September 21

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. To see this weeks list of participants go here.

I'm really behind with my mailbox - I have been posting when I receive books and then summarizing during Mailbox Monday, but it's been so hectic around my house I haven't been posting as I have received the books. So here's my mailbox Monday. Click on the books to find out more about them.

ARCs of:

Wins I received:

So that's my mailbox this week - what was in yours?

Sunday Salon - September 13th

A busy week - we had cub scouts one night, DH had his contractor's meeting Thursday night and then we both took the day off on Friday to clean the house for a get-together with three other couples and their children that night. The party was a success and my house is clean so that meant a relaxing Saturday! I spent more time on the porch reading with the nice northeast wind blowing and my youngest keeping me company playing on the porch.

I read quite a bit this week. Here's what I finished:

• Night of Flames by Donald W. Jacobson for a blog tour on Monday
• Winter of the Ice Wizard by Mary Pope Osborne (audio - part of the Magic Treehouse series that DS#1 and I are listening to in the car)
• Relentless by Dean Koontz (library)
  
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (library)
• The Jaguar's Jewels by Ron Roy (audio - part of The A to Z Mystery series)
• Century: Ring of Fire by P.D. Baccalario (for review)
• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (booksfree)
  

I've started using a calendar to keep track of books received and when I need to review them by. That seems to work better than my pile system before.

I'm currently reading:

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (library)
  
• Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning (audio)
• A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve (review)
  

Interesting Blog posts:
Plant a tree for every book you read at Bellas Novella - what a great way to help
The Countdown Challenge at 1 More Chapter - I joined

That's pretty much it for this week. I've posted some reviews and some giveaways and participated as much as my schedule allowed in BBAW, which was fun but I didn't have as much time as I wanted to be a part of it. I'll probably catch up on all the posts this week coming up.

Review: Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine by Tom Jordan

Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine by Tom Jordan





rating: 4.5/5.0






Book Description:

The story of America's greatest running legend.

For five years, no American runner could beat him at any distance over a mile. But at the age of 24, with his best years still ahead, long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine finally lost. Driving alone at night after a party, Prefontaine crashed his sports car, putting a tragic, shocking end to the life and career of one of the most influential, accomplished runners of our time.

More than 20 years later, Pre continues to influence the running world.

From his humble origins in Coos Bay, Oregon, Pre became the first person to win four NCAA titles in one event. Year after year, he was virtually unbeatable. Instead of becoming one of the new breed of professional track athletes, Pre chose to stay amateur and fight for the adequate funding he felt American amateur athletes deserved.

A man of incredible desire and energy, Pre trained relentlessly. In his drive to be the best, he spurred others to do their best. As one racer said, "He ran every race as if it were his last."

But Pre not only touched runners; his exciting technique as well as his maverick lifestyle made him a favorite of the fans. A race with Prefontaine in it was automatically an event.

His brief but brilliant life is the tale of a true American hero.

This is his story.

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative."--Steve Prefontaine

This was an amazing book. Since I have started running I have heard of "Pre" but didn't really know anything about him. So I picked up this book. I learned so much about track and field and also about this man whose life was cut much too short.

It's a very inspiring book and it made me want to go out and run immediately after I finished it. And Pre's story will always be in the back of my mind and I have a huge respect for all people involved in track and field on the national and international level. It takes a great deal of dedication to do what they do and what Pre did and I really admire that.

If you enjoy inspiring stories or running I suggest picking this up. The author doesn't pull any punches, he knows at times Pre wasn't loved by everyone, but he attempts to find what made Pre really tick and I think he does.
Binding: Paperback
On-sale Date: 3/15/1997
Publisher: Rodale Books
Pages: 176