The June Book Club Selection is...

Phew! I am so glad that you all were able to battle it out and come up with a winner! For a while there I was afraid I would have to make an executive decision!
If you are new to my site, and don't know about the Busy Moms Monthly Online Book Club - click here to learn more!

With 35% of the votes, this month's book club selection is...

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them.



If you are interested in participating please leave a comment saying you are on board. Then come back sometime between the 21st and the 30th and answer the discussion questions, comment on other people's answers and in general tell everyone what you think of the book!
 

NEW MEME - Weekly Recipe Swap!

Hi Everyone! Hope you have a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend. I am a little under the weather, so I am staying inside typing away on my computer. Some of your might not know this but I have a Cookbook review blog called Busy Moms Cooking Up Reviews. Today I started a new meme that I think you will all love to participate in: The Weekly Recipe Swap. Each Sunday I will pick a different category for the recipes. To start it off I selected: Your Go-To Potluck Recipe. Please check it out and participate in this fun meme!

Review: Revenge Served Cold by Jackie Fullerton

Revenge Served Cold by Jackie Fullerton


Book Description:

Kathy Spence awakens in the middle of the night and finds herself in a living nightmare. Her husband has been run down and she is the primary suspect. With an eyewitness to the crime and proof that her car was the murder weapon, it appears to be an open and shut case. Terrified for her future, Kathy turns to amateur sleuth Anne Marshall for help. Believing in Kathy s innocence, Anne launches her own investigation, uncovering proof of a conspiracy that reaches from Kathy s past and threatens her own life. In a race against time, Anne must count on her close friends and even the ghost of her father to help her bring a killer to justice before it s too late

About the Author:

Jackie Fullerton is a successful businesswoman and attorney who grew up in rural Ohio.
A mother of five, Fullerton returned to college when her last child was in grade school. She graduated summa cum laude from both Franklin University, where she earned her BS degree in business, and Dayton University, where she earned her MBA. Fullerton later attended Capital Law School, where she graduated cum laude. She was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1993, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, in 1995, and the Supreme Court of the United States in 1996. Although she is not in active practice, Fullerton volunteers her legal services at a local homeless shelter.
An active member of the Columbus, Ohio, community, Fullerton has served on several boards and commissions, including the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse; Franklin County ADAMH (Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health) Board; Community Shelter Board; Habitat for Humanity Board; and Court Appointed Special Advocates of Franklin County, Ohio (CASA).
Fullerton divides her time between Ohio and Florida, with her husband, Tom, and their dog, Flash.
Jackie Fullerton is the author of Revenge Served Cold and Piercing the Veil.


Here's What I Think:
This story grabs me right away. The first chapter throws you right into the crime in question, then takes you back a few days to the events leading up to it, and finally back to the aftermath. It was a very fast read, engaging although choppy at times. I could follow everything but the father's ghost. It just didn't seem to fit as seamlessly as the rest of the story. All in all, I think it was a good plot. It is light enough to take on your summer cruise, without being boring. The story is easy to track and was fun to read. I will be interested to read something more from Jackie Fullerton.

BUY IT! You can buy your own copy on Amazon

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of this book from The Cadence Group (Thanks Rebecca), I was in no other way compensated to write this review.

Please Vote for June Book Club - There is a FOUR way TIE!!

Hello everyone! I want to thank you all for participating in the Book Club Voting. But we have reached a dilemma! THERE IS A FOUR WAY TIE!!! So if you have not yet placed your vote please do so NOW! Only two more days to make your selection. You can cast your vote on the widget in the upper right side bar. To learn more about the the titles click here.

Thanks so much!

Winners of the First Fantastic Follower Gratitude Giveaway

Thanks so much to everyone that enter to win their choice of books in the Fantatastic Follower Gratitude Giveaway. This was a lot of fun for me and hope you guys enjoyed it to! I promise to do it again soon! And without further ado...the Winners are:

Team JC - who selected Queen of Your Own Life
Bakersdozen - who selected Dark Deceptions
JHS.  - who selected Three Wishes

Congrats to you all! And I am so happy that you all picked different books!

Thanks so much to the publishers from which I received these books and please come back often for more great giveaways! Don't forget to add your book giveaways to the new linky posted every Thursday!

It's Thursday What Books Are You Giving Away?

Can you believe that another week has passed?? It's Thursday already and that means it is time to link up your book giveaways!! I can't wait to see all the books up for grabs this week!

You can link up your book (and book related - bookmarks, bookplates, eReaders, book-lights, etc.) giveaways and you can go over and enter to win other books on the linky too! If you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to leave a comment. You are also welcome to grab the code and graphic and add it to your own site, just please be nice and put that you grabbed it from Busy Moms Who Love to Read (with a link back!)
Please use this format:
Blog Name - Book Title - # of winners - end date
And Please use the book cover or your blog button for your thumbnail!

Leave a comment after you link up!
Don't forget to enter my Fantastic Follower Gratitude Giveaway ends 5/28 - and no you don't have to be a follower to enter, but it might help you get more chances!

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE LISTING AN APPROPRIATE GIVEAWAY! I WILL DELETE IT IF IT IS NOT A BOOK RELATED GIVEAWAY! THANKS!

Announcing the Winners for Still the One

Thanks so much to everyone that enter to Win A copy of Still the One. The Winners are:

skkorman
Connie Black
Breanne

Congrats to you!

Thanks so much to Anna at HBG for facilitating this giveaway and please come back often for more great giveaways! And please add your book giveaways to the new linky posted every Thursday!

Whatcha Reading Wednesday with Giveaway!!!

I want to know what you are reading!! No Really I do!

And to prove it, I am going to giveaway one participant in WRW a choice of one of the books on the Fantastic Follower Gratitude Giveaway List

I will randomly select one of the bloggers that posted their WRW teaser to pick on of the books on the list. For an extra entry, leave me a comment telling me which of the books you would like to win. Please use the Linky so that you can post your "Whatcha Reading Wednesdays" teaser on your own blog and then link back to my blog. And yes you can use my graphic, just please mention me in your post! You can also of course just leave a comment here!

So this is how "Whatcha Reading Wednesdays" works

Since there is a prize at stake this week I am going to make it slightly more work: Go to page 50, count down 50 words and then type out the next two full sentences. If it is a spoiler at all be sure to put **Spoiler Alert** at the top of your comment (like if the selection announces the death of an integral character or something).

Here is mine for this week:

Six weeks ago, he'd broken up with Ashley, but it had nothing to do with what had happened that night, the night he could never forget. Most of the time, he was able to keep the memory locked away, but every now and then, at odd times, it all came back to him with visceral force.
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Review: Ransomed Dreams by Sally John

Ransomed Dreams by Sally John


Book Description:

Sheridan Montgomery leads a charmed life as the wife of Eliot, U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. But an attack on their lives cripples Eliot, and they retreat to a remote Mexican village. As Sheridan quietly cares for her husband, she sees her dreams slipping away. Luke Traynor shatters their reverie when he arrives to tell Sheridan of her father’s heart attack and the evidence implicating him in a conspiracy. Sheridan returns to Chicago to untangle the web of her father’s past and is forced to confront her feelings for Luke, a trail of deceit, and the truth about her marriage.
About the Author:

When the going gets tough—or weird or wonderful—the daydreamer gets going on a new story. Sally John has been tweaking life's moments into fiction since she read her first Trixie Belden mystery as a child. Now an author of more than fifteen novels, Sally writes stories that reflect contemporary life. Her passion is to create a family, turn their world inside out, and then portray how their relationships change with each other and with God. Her goal is to offer hope to readers in their own relational and faith journeys. Sally grew up in Moline, Illinois, graduated from Illinois State University, married Tim in 1973, and taught in middle schools. She is a mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. A three-time finalist for the Christy Award, she also teaches writing workshops. Her books include the Safe Harbor series (coauthored with Gary Smalley), The Other Way Home series, The Beach House series, and In a Heartbeat series. Many of her stories are set in her favorite places of San Diego, Chicago, and small-town Illinois. She and her husband currently live in southern California. Visit her Web site at http://www.sally-john.com/.


Here's What I Think:
The main premise of this book is the concept that your life can change in a blink of an eye. The series is aptly named The Side Roads Series, as this book takes you on a journey down the side roads of life that often go unnoticed till some great event forces you off the main road. Sheridan is tooting along in a "charmed" existence only to have the rug pulled out from under her. Within the first chapter, Sally John was able to pull me into this whirlwind of action and suspense. I will say that there are lots of side stories, as is true in life. Sheridan is pulled in so many directions, trying to find some resemblance of her former existence, all the while trying to hold on to her faith. There are some slow point in the book, but all in all it was a good story with well developed plot lines and characters.

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of this book from Tyndale Publishing, I was in no other way compensated to write this review.

Book Review Blog Carnival is Making a Stop Here!!

I am very excited to announce that the Book Review Blog Carnival is stopping on Busy Moms Who Love to Read today!!! What is a Blog Carnival, you ask.

Here are some details:

Description ¤ A carnival dedicated to book reviews. If you review books, please submit a post to and sign up to host, the Book Review Carnival.

Keywords ¤ books, fiction, non fiction, children's books, novels, history, biography
Filed under ¤ art & entertainment

Submission deadline ¤ Midnight, Eastern time, every other Saturday

Submission categories ¤ books, book reviews, fiction, non fiction, biography, history, children's books, novel
Maintained by ¤ Clark Bjorke
Current status ¤ This carnival is ongoing.

In a nutshell - it is a great way to meet other reviewers, learn about some different books and share your love of reading. So the book reviews included in this stop on the carnival are (in no particular order, except the order they were submitted to me=) Please head over and check out some of these reviews, and let them know you found them on the Blog Carnival.

Clark Bjorke presents Man of Constant Sorrow posted at I'll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book!. Dr. Ralph Stanley, old time mountain music singer and banjo player and last surviving member of The Stanley Brothers is still touring with his Clinch Mountain Boys at the age of 92. This is his autobiography. A thoughtful review of the Autobiography of Dr. Ralph Stanley - at talented musician who helped shape the world of country, mountain music and bluegrass.

Sarcozona presents Genome posted at Gravity's Rainbow. A fantastic book on "who we are," from the perspective of our genes. A brief review of a technical book that explains chromosomes.

JHS presents Book Review: Keeping Faith posted at Colloquium. A very thoughtful review by an honest and thorough reviewer. Janie's review of Jodi Picoult's book is worth your time to read.

OutnumberedMama presents Reviews: 25 Essentials: Grilling Fish and Smoking posted at Busy Moms Cooking Up Reviews.  A quick review to cookbooks that focus on two basics of barbecuing.

Yonit presents The 4 Hour Workweek posted at yonitg.com linux server howto. "Working smarter - not harder."

Yonit presents Delivering Happiness – Zappos Style posted at yonitg.com linux server howto. "Interesting book from the CEO of Zappos"

Jim Murdoch presents This is How by M J Hyland posted at The Truth About Lies. "M J Hyland’s latest novel covers the same ground as Camus did in The Stranger (The Outsider, UK), how little does it take for a law-abiding citizen to cross that fine line and become a criminal? And once, having committed a crime, how long does it take before he starts to see himself as a criminal? The book does what it says on the cover, it tells you how but it doesn’t tell you why because why is the question that the protagonist clings to like a life raft throughout this tense and thought-provoking book."



Skip O'Neal presents A Brief Review of Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes posted at THE READING APE. "Matterhorn is a masterly novel that gives a gripping, immersive account of an unimaginable time while managing, in the end, to transcend it. Time will tell, but the Ape won't be surprised to see it one day join the pantheon of American war writing."

Ann Margrain presents Heroin and Cornflakes - Buy the Book posted at Heroin and Cornflakes. “You have a wonderfully twisty-style….I have no idea where I’ll end up, though you safely navigate a very coherent path to a powerful conclusion.“

Jim Murdoch presents Puckoon by Spike Milligan posted at The Truth About Lies. "Spike Milligan was a comic genius most of the time and his first novel, the wonderfully anarchic ‘Puckoon’, is a work of comic genius most of the time. Written at a time when no one had heard about political correctness it makes fun out of one of the most serious events in Ireland’s history, agreeing on the border between Northern and Southern Ireland but that’s only the starting point because Spike doesn’t take anything seriously for long not even writing his own novel. It was first published in 1963 and has never been out of print since."


Jeanne presents The Girl Made of Cool posted at Necromancy Never Pays. "These are short stories written in a sketchy, modernist style. If you're in an arch mood--that kind of cynical, adolescent mood that seems to always have one eyebrow lifted--you'll find that these are interestingly told stories."

The Book Mole presents Cotillion by Georgette Heyer posted at The Book Mole. "A very light and humorous regency romance by Georgette Heyer, with very well-drawn characters and an interesting plot. I recommend this book for the avid romance reader as well as those who are not too fond of the romance genre, but enjoy a well-written narrative filled with humor and delightful characters."




Your Best Library presents How to Start a Conversation posted at Your Best Library. "A review of The Fine Art of Small Talk by Debra Fine."

Jeni presents Beauty Junkies posted at Savvy Skin Care. An interesting review of a book that tackles our coutry's growing obession with beauty and perfection.









KerrieS presents Review: THE SNOWMAN, Jo Nesbo posted at MYSTERIES in PARADISE. Scandinavian crime fiction from a top writer: a real page turner, and will not disappoint.

KerrieS presents THE THIRD GIRL, Agatha Christie - audio posted at MYSTERIES in PARADISE. Hercule Poirot has a client, a young woman, who comes to see him saying she thinks she has murdered someone. She won't sit down and shuffles on her feet, refusing to meet his eyes. And then she blurts out that he is too old and flees.

BWL presents Master Your Debt | Book Review posted at Christian Personal Finance. How Did We Get Here? And Where Are We? The book starts off with a little bit of history concerning the recession that started just a few short years ago and moves into helping us manage our debts better...

Dona Y. presents The Mommy Files: Secrets Every New Mom Should Know, by Jen Klein posted at Allergy Kid Mom. "I highly recommend this book for every new parent to read and am currently looking for someone I can refer this book to."






You can all add your own book reviews to the next carnival at the Book Review Blog Carnival page on blogcarnival.com and you can become a fan on Facebook, where carnival events are posted.

Vote for the June 2010 Monthly Only Book Club Selection

I actually got some suggestiong for this month, so thanks to those of you that gave your two cents. Here are the choices for June 2010. Please use the gadget to the right to place your vote. I will announce the book selection on June 1st If you are new to my site, and don't know about the Busy Moms Monthly Online Book Club - click here to learn more!

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them.

House Rules by Jodi Picoult
HOUSE RULES is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger's Syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject--in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do--and he's usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's--not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect--can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder.

HOUSE RULES looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way--but lousy for those who don't.

Spooky Little Girl by Laurie Notaro Coming home from a Hawaiian vacation with her best girlfriends, Lucy Fisher is stunned to find everything she owns tossed out on her front lawn, the locks changed, and her fiancé’s phone disconnected -- plus she’s just lost her job. With her world spinning wildly out of her control, Lucy decides to make a new start and moves upstate to live with her sister and nephew.

But then things take an even more dramatic turn: A fatal encounter with public transportation lands Lucy not in the hereafter but in the nearly hereafter. She’s back in school, learning the parameters of spooking and how to become a successful spirit in order to complete a ghostly assignment. If Lucy succeeds, she’s guaranteed a spot in the next level of the afterlife -- but until then, she’s stuck as a ghost in the last place she would ever want to be.
Trying to avoid being trapped on earth for all eternity, Lucy crosses the line between life and death and back again when she returns home. Navigating the perilous channels of the paranormal, she’s determined to find out why her life crumbled and why, despite her ghastly death, no one seems to have noticed she’s gone. But urgency on the spectral plane -- in the departed person of her feisty grandmother, who is risking both their eternal lives -- requires attention, and Lucy realizes that you get only one chance to be spectacular in death.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Gollrick
Rural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, haunted by a terrible past and motivated by greed. Her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is that Truitt — a passionate man with his own dark secrets —has plans of his own for his new wife. Isolated on a remote estate and imprisoned by relentless snow, the story of Ralph and Catherine unfolds in unimaginable ways.

With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, Robert Goolrick's intoxicating debut novel delivers a classic tale of suspenseful seduction, set in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.

PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE IN THE GADGET AT THE TOP OF THE RIGHT SIDEBAR!

If you have a suggestion for JULY 2010 please leave a comment with the Title and Author and I will add it to my list.

Books for Our Troops!

Okay - first off let me point out that this is in NO WAY a political post. I do not think that you need to agree with our government's actions to feel the need to support our troops.

Men and Women from all walks of life put their lives on the line every single day to protect our way of life. Which includes our right to read whatever the heck we want to! One of my fellow book lovers and bloggers - Felicia The Geeky Blogger - mentioned two very important websites to me on my post regarding overflowing shelves. I am ashamed to admit that I didn't know about either of these programs. Which is why I decided to publish this post highlighting both of these programs.

Books for Soldiers -

During the first Gulf War, several of my friends from school were in the reserves and were activated to fight the Iraqis. CNN reported that once the soldiers were deployed, they were faced with massive downtime and were restricted to their base due to the travel limitations set by the Saudi government.registered in North Carolina. Books For Soldiers is owned and operated by the Order of the Red Grail, a non-denominational, interfaith outreach ministry and is a 501(c)(3) charity recognized by the IRS. (PDF Approval Letter - 2.2 megabytes)

I am a voracious reader and at the beginning of the Gulf War, I had a closet full of paperback books. Books that were not being used. So instead of selling them at the used book store, I packed them up in small care packages and sent them out to all the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen I had addresses for.
Within a few weeks, I ran out of books before I ran out of addresses. Friends and family members began donating their paperback books and in the end, over 1000 books were sent to the Gulf.
After the war, we received many thank-you notes from soldiers who got one of our books. Unless it was time for them to fly back home, mail-call days were one of the most anticipated events of deployment. Regardless of why the military is deployed, the men and women of our armed services are there for us. They deserve our support and if we can make their deployment easier, then all the better.
BooksForSoldiers.com is a Red Grail charity, a Not-For-Profit corporation

All donations are tax deductible.

Operation Paperback

Operation Paperback collects gently used books and sends them to American troops deployed overseas. Since 1999, we have shipped over 1.1 million books to locations around the globe.

Many of our troops are serving far from home and living in facilities that provide few of the comforts of home. At the end of the duty day, the opportunity to escape into a good book is welcomed. Every week we receive thanks from troops who are glad to be appreciated and remembered.
Our service members make sacrifices every day for our country. It takes so little to let them know that we appreciate what they are doing for us. When you donate to Operation Paperback, you will let our troops know that you support them, and you have not forgotten them.
Operation Paperback is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania. As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, your donations to our organization are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

It is important that you carefully read over the guidelines for each program. Since you are sending books to war zones, you need to meet the Department of Defense's protocol for shipping items to soldiers. This is for the safety of both yourself and the solider. 

As an avid reader, I know how comforting a book can be. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in a place that doesn't even have a library. Many of the soldiers have hours and hours of down time, with little to fill that time. What better way to give them a piece of home than to send them a book. You can really make a soldier's day by telling they are important enough to us, that we take our time to send them a book! So please join me in this endeavor. Sign up to be a volunteer book shipper.

 

Online Book Club Discussion - May 2010 - Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

***SPOILER ALERT*** If you have not yet read this book but intend to you may want to finish it before you read the discussion questions. There are some spoilers herein!

MAY 2010 - Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

At 28, former teen-pop-star Heather Wells feels as though she has lost everything: her family and fortune (her mom fled the country with Heather's earnings), her recording contract, her slender waistline, and her fiance, Jordan, a philandering, boy-band singer. Then Jordan's brother, Cooper, a dreamy private investigator and family black sheep, offers Heather room and board in exchange for clerical work, and she finds an additional job as a residence-hall director at a nearby Greenwich Village university. After several female students turn up dead at the dorm, Heather takes on her own stealthy investigation and finds herself the target of the killer. In the first title in her Heather Wells series, Cabot combines a fairly straightforward mystery with a single-girl-in-the-city plot in which Heather triumphs over cheating guys, bad luck, and a fattist society. Most of the characters are two-dimensional, but Heather's strong, amusing voice, the plot twists, and the possibility of romance will draw mystery and chick-lit readers alike.

Book Club discussion questions: (the answers in pink are my own personal responses)

1.  On a scale of 1 (lamer than lame) and 5(super fantastic) rate the following:
1. Style of Writing - 3 out of 5
2. Development of Characters -  3 out of 5
3. Flow of storyline - 4 out of 5
4. Over all book - 3.5 out of 5
2. Heather has quite a history, what do you think you would do with all of the turmoil?  I would have the most issue with the fact that her own mother took off with all her money! This is my biggest issue with the whole idea of child performers. Their parents get too greedy and forget about being the parent!
3. What was your most favorite part? When Heather called out the store clerk in the first few pages. It was such a "You Go, Girl" moment.
4. What was your least favorite part? Jordan, as a whole! Why is that there is always one character that I just don't like? Jordan was so annoying. I wish he would have stayed a "mentioned" or "referred to" character and not an active part of the story.
5. What did you "not see coming"? Mrs. Allington and her hot mess self! What was up with that? She was so random.
6. The book starts out in a dressing room, would you have done the same this Heather did? Given the same circumstances, YES! Vanity sizing makes me nuts. Just make it the size the label says. The number doesn't make me feel better or worse. I just want to be able to walk into a store grab my size and have it fit.
7. Would you have pursued the issue of murder, if everyone just wanted to brush it under the rug? I think that if I had the same "gut" feeling, that I would have pursued things. But I am not so sure that I would have risked quite as much as Heather did.
8. This is a random question, but did you get annoyed by Heather constantly correcting herself when she called Fisher Hall a dorm? I think that this was supposed to be a funny/fun quirk of Heather's but for some reason it just irked me. I got really tired of reading it over and over.
9. Will you read any more of Cabot's books, specifically the sequel, Size 14 Is Not Fat Either? Although I did enjoy this book, I don't know that I am in a hurry to read the next one. I might try to read another of Cabot's book down the line.

You can post your answers to these questions, as well as any comments and questions to other members in a comment using the link at the bottom of this post. Or you can create a post on your own blog and link back to us using the Linky! Hopefully we can start a dialogue about this book. Please remember that this Book Club is a new concept for me so an constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I want this to be OUR club not MINE!

It's Thursday - What are You Giving Away???

You can link up your book (and book related - bookmarks, bookplates, eReaders, book-lights, etc.) giveaways and you can go over and enter to win other books on the linky too! If you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to leave a comment. You are also welcome to grab the code and graphic and add it to your own site, just please be nice and put that you grabbed it from Busy Moms Who Love to Read (with a link back!)
Please use this format:
Blog Name - Book Title - # of winners - end date
And Please use the book cover or your blog button for your thumbnail!

Leave a comment after you link up!
Don't forget to enter my Fantastic Follower Gratitude Giveaway - and no you don't have to be a follower to enter, but it might help you get more chances!

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE LISTING AN APPROPRIATE GIVEAWAY! I WILL DELETE IT IF IT IS NOT A BOOK RELATED GIVEAWAY! THANKS!

Review & Giveaway: Foxy My Life in Three Acts by Pam Grier

Foxy My life in Three Acts by Pam Grier with Andrea Cagan


Book Description:

Some may know her as hot, gutsy, gun-totin' Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, Coffy, and Jackie Brown. Others may know her from her role as Kit Porter on The L Word. But that only defines one part of the legend that is Pam Grier. Foxy is Pam's testimony of her life, past and present. In it, she reveals her relationships with Richard Pryor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Freddie Prinze Sr., among others. She unveils her experiences as a backup singer and a blaxploitation star. In particularly candid and shocking chapters, she shares-for the first time-her view of those films and the persecution that blacks, especially women, needed to endure to make a name for themselves .

Read an Excerpt

About the Author:

Pam Grier started her career in the early 1970s, starring in a string of moderately successful women-in-prison films and blaxploitation films, and has generally remained in the public eye, starring in movies such as Coffy, Foxy Brown, and Jackie Brown.




After taking a short break from Hollywood, Pam returned to films in the 80s, like Fort Apache the Bronx, Something Wicked this Way Comes, and Above the Law. She also made a guest appearances on Miami Vice and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.


Pam also played Kit Porter on the controversial hit show "The L Word" on Showtime. She occasionally guest-stars in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where she plays a recurring character. She spends her free time on her ranch in Colorado.


Andrea Cagan cowrote the Grace Slick autobiography Somebody to Love?. Her most recent collaborations hit national bestseller lists, including Marianne Williamson's A Return to Love and Diana Ross's Secrets of a Sparrow. She has also written with Lynda Obst.




Here's What I Think:
Often time, autobiographies are full of dates and data that is just not all that interesting. I get frustrated when a biography, especially of a major celebrity, is nothing more than an encyclopedia entry of their life. Grier was able to make me feel like I was sitting in cozy living room with, chatting about the "good ol' days", even if they weren't all "good". I also really enjoyed the breakdown of the book - the three acts. She talks about her childhood and her relationship with her mother. Then it goes into the meat of her acting career - one of my favorite parts is her discussion of what it was like to make movies with no money! And she wraps it up with a very poignant talk of her battle with cancer - proving that she is a survivor through and through. This book was really engaging and I enjoyed it a lot. Sometimes when I read biographies,  I don't feel like I used my reading time wisely. Not the case with this one! I thoroughly enjoyed with read.

WIN IT! - Anna at HBG has agreed to send 3 lucky readers their own copy of Foxy My Life in Three Acts by Pam Grier!




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Disclaimer: Although I did receive a free copy of this book for review (Thanks, HBG), I was in no other way compensated to post this review. These are my real and honest opinions.


If you are an author or publisher and you would like for me to review your book, please contact me directly: polsen11[at]comcast[dot]net

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Mandatory Entry:
Which role of Pam Grier's do you remember the most? I, personally, liked Jackie Brown - also leave me your email address so that I can get a hold of you if you win. (open to US residents only, must provide mailing address - no PO Boxes - if you win)(you must do this one first or I will be forced to remove all of your entries)


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