Books

Summer Reading List Recommendations

May 13, 2014 2 Comments

Do you like to read? I am an avid reader… I’ve even spoken about it before on the blog, like here where I talk about getting your children to love reading. I read at least one book every two weeks. And that’s at the VERY least, sometimes, depending on the book and what’s going on in my life it’s more than that. My secret lately? I got a reader app on my cell phone. I sit and read while I’m feeding my daughter, or waiting on the hubs. I even sneak a chapter with my phone on dim right before I go to sleep.

I’ve read several really great books lately. Some newer releases, some older favorites, but all books that if you haven’t read them yet, I’d highly recommend adding them to your summer reading list. If you have read them, I would love to know your thoughts!!! There’s a little something for everyone, so if one genre doesn’t suit your fancy, keep reading there are more options!!!

Here is my summer reading list recommendations for 2014!

The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
SUCH a good book. I just happened upon it in my free library app and adored it. It starts off a bit slow with getting to know the main character, but you’ll understand why the further in you get. Based in the present day it flashes back to the 1940s. A time when our country was at war and women were a little less valued for their talents then they are now. You’ll fall in love with the characters and enjoy each surprising twist this story takes.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed
After losing her mother to cancer, Cheryl finds herself living a life she doesn’t want. Based on a true story, she recounts how she decides, plans for and ultimately hikes the Pacific Crest Trail on her own. Turns out she isn’t as prepared as she thought. Honestly, I have no compassion for the terrible life choices she made before the trail, even if she lost her mother. Everyone loses someone at one point or another. That doesn’t mean you get free rein to be a bad person… BUT I am seriously impressed with her for sticking with the trail and coming out a better person on the other side!!!

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Fans of the Stephanie Plum novels, you’ll love the first book in Evanovich’s new series. It follows an FBI agent, Kate O’Hare who is forced to team up with the criminal she’s been chasing for years to catch an even bigger criminal. Kate is fiesty, Nicolas Fox, the criminal is even feistier! It’s the perfect summer evening read!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
If you’re looking for a fluffy, just for fun series with some yummy recipes included, this is the one you’ll want to read! I’ve read through to the 17th book and enjoyed every one. It’s based on Hannah Swenson, a bakery owner in a small town that turns into a accidental detective. I get a little annoyed with Hannah’s love life, two boyfriends, really?!? And her cat gets on my nerves… haha but overall it’s just a fun, light read to enjoy poolside.

A Wife for Mister Darcy by Mary Simonsen
Lovers of Pride and Prejudice, will love this alternate take on the love story of Elizabeth and her Mister Darcy. It’s really a what if scenario of if this had happened during the story instead of this what would have turned out. Really enjoyed it!!!

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Another book I just happened upon in my free library app, but really enjoyed. It’s about an English gentleman who has lost his wife, has a son that things he’s becoming an invalid, but through it all he has a wry sense of humor, traditional attitude and a sweet side. He begins spending time with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, also a widower, but someone society considers to be an outsider and a foreigner. All in all, it’s a sweet love story of a couple that makes it against the odds.

The Black Ice by Michael Connelly
Sequel to Connelly’s The Black Echo (so read it first if you haven’t yet), Detective Harry Bosch is at it again. His unconventional methods and pension for doing what he wants gets him into a lot of trouble, but they also help him solve the case. This is one of those murder mysteries that although realistic, didn’t scare me to death to read alone at night. It involves the death of a cop Harry knew, drug dealers and rings from Mexico to California and a detective who won’t let it go… But that’s for the better.

So there you have it. A few of my recommendations for this summer’s reading list! I have several other reviews of books I’ve read lately and in the distant past on my Goodreads account if you’re interested. If you have an account add me as a friend! I’d love to see your reviews as well!

If you have read any of the books I shared here, I would love to know your thoughts! In the meantime, tell me, what book would YOU recommend I read this summer?

Filed Under: Books

The Black Shard; A Sequel and A Giveaway!!!!

June 13, 2013 1 Comment

Hey there lovelies! Remember the giveaway I hosted a couple of weeks ago for The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox? Well today I have a fun treat for you! The sequel to The Magic Warble entitled The Black Shard is now available and I have THREE e-book copies to share with three lucky Truly Lovely readers!!!

First, a little bit about the book…

The Black Shard is 267 pages long with 1-2 pictures per chapter. It’s listed at a middle-grade read, ages 9-13. This story picks up where The Magic Warble left off, of course. It leads our main character, Kristina back to the magical world of Bernovem to be reunited with old friends from the first book. I was able to review The Black Shard and much like The Magic Warble, I found it to be a clean, fun read. Quick and easy to breeze through as an adult but the perfect story for the 9-13 age set.

And now, an excerpt from The Black Shard by Victoria Simcox….

_____________________

Chapter 5, Recalling: Excerpt

While she was speaking, Kristina suddenly felt a tug on her pant leg. She looked down, and flabbergasted, her mouth dropped open. “Did I surprise you?” a familiar voice said.

“Oh, my gosh! Raymond!” Kristina said, full of surprise. Her eyes filled with warm tears as she bent down and scooped her former pet rat into her arms. After a long, heart-filled hug, Kristina placed Raymond down again. She noticed that Raymond had grown a little larger, mostly in his belly area. “Wow, Raymond, somebody must be feeding you very well.”

“Yes, I must say, maybe a tad bit too well,” Raymond said, standing on his hind legs and patting his full belly.

Kristina looked behind Raymond and saw another rat, patiently waiting for him. “Are you going to introduce your friend to me?” she asked Raymond. Raymond turned to look at the other rat. “Come a little closer,” he whispered nervously.

Timidly, the other rat went to stand beside him. “Kristina, this is my girlfriend, Lilly,” Raymond said. Kristina’s eyebrows rose and the first thought that popped into her mind was, your girlfriend? Uh … You didn’t ask my permission to have a girlfriend.

Lilly lowered her head in a humble bow and then held out her little pink paw toward Kristina. Kristina crouched down and shook it.

“Pleased to meet you, Kristina,” Lilly said. “Raymond has told me wonderful stories about you and him.”

_____________________

So fun, right!?! Raymond is back! 😉 NOT to give away an spoilers or anything… Now onto the giveaway! Again, we’ll have three winners, the giveaway is open to both U.S. and International participants. Please enter using the Rafflecopter form below. The giveaway will end on Thursday June, 20th at midnight and the winners will be announced the following day!

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Thanks for entering and good luck!!!

Filed Under: Books, Giveaways

What I’ve Been Reading Lately and a Giveaway!

May 6, 2013 6 Comments

Hey there lovelies! According to my 20 Wishes list I am well on my way to reading my goal of 50 books that I WANT to read in 2013.

2013 Reading Challenge

Kassi has
read 22 books toward her goal of 50 books.

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22 of 50 (44%)

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I’ve read 22 so far this year and I’m working on the 23rd as we speak. I enjoy looking through other reading lists and finding fun reads to add to my own, so I thought it would be fun to share what I’ve read lately in case anyone is looking for something similar. Oh, and at the end of this post you’ll find a fun book giveaway!

So first up, the Beautiful Creatures series. First of all, the first book came out as a movie a couple of months ago, which caught my interest, and thanks to one of my favorite book bloggers (shout out to Marissa of Rae Gun!) I joined a book club on GoodReads where they were listed. They are in the young adult genre, something along the lines of Twilight or Divergent. The stories are a little bit darker than most YA books I’ve read, but I still thought it was a fun read overall. The writing is not at a level of other popular YA books, but if you’re looking for a breezy read just for fun, here you go!

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Next up, The Dirty Life: On Farming Food and Love. I really enjoyed the story behind this book. It’s a true life story written by a woman that goes from city living in New York City to farm living in up state New York with her soon to be husband. It’s really a fun take on the city girl goes country theme made popular by The Pioneer Woman. My entire background is based in agriculture, it’s what I studied in college even so I wasn’t surprised by some of her more detailed farm adventures… But a word to those that aren’t as acclimated in agriculture… Don’t read this book around lunch time… There may or may not be detailed stories of the cooking of ALL animal parts… Just sayin…

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Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay is my new go to gift for new moms or baby showers. This book is HILARIOUS. I marked it 5 stars on GoodReads! It’s one woman’s take (a comedian no less) on the advice that gets thrown at you from the baby books, well meaning acquaintances, your mother in law… as soon as you get pregnant. It really helps to make light of the situation and just really helps calm your nerves about people sharing opinions you didn’t ask for, or about things you are certain you might be doing wrong because ‘perfect’ moms don’t do it that way. Such a good book!!!

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Now that brings me to my fourth book. Technically it was a book I read as part of my 2012 reading challenge, but I enjoyed it and would like to share it with you today! 😉 The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox is the story of a young girl suddenly pulled into a magic world that includes fairies, a prince, talking animals and more. I think this is the perfect story for kiddos of the say 9-13 age range, give or take a few years. But even as an adult I found it to be a fun, easy read.

Here’s a little ditty about the author…

“Victoria was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She now lives in Western Washington with her husband, Russ and their three children, Toby, Kristina, and William. Her other family members are a Chihuahua, named Pipsy and two cats, named Frodo and Fritz. Besides being an author, Victoria is a home-schooling mother of twelve years and an elementary school art teacher of eleven years. In her spare time, Victoria enjoys managing her two older children’s Celtic band. She also loves writing, reading, painting watercolors, hiking, good movies, and just simply hanging out with her family and friends.“

You’ll find that the main character in The Magic Warble is named for her daughter, Kristina… Too fun, right!?!

Today Victoria is offering not one but THREE lucky Truly Lovely readers their very own e-book copy of The Magic Warble!!! Enter below using the Rafflecopter widget. The giveaway ends at midnight on Mother’s Day and the winners will be announced on Monday May, 13th. Thanks for entering and good luck!!!!

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Tell me friends… What have YOU read lately???

Filed Under: Books, Giveaways Tagged With: Books, Giveaway

What I’m Reading

January 7, 2013 23 Comments

Hi there friends!
I don’t normally post about books, but I am an avid reader. Always have been. I guess I’ve talked about that fact before, but actually blogging about what I’m reading hasn’t really been a thing here. But the New Year is a time for new things, right, so today let’s talk books!

To start off 2013 I’m thinking 50 new books for this year’s reading challenge. I did 30+ for 2012 and I didn’t really start the challenge until well into the year… So I’m thinking I can handle it. Right now I’m at zero, but it’s only the second week of 2013 and I am actually reading something as we speak. So off to a good start, yes? 😉

2013 Reading Challenge

Kassi has
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0 of 50 (0%)

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I’m currently reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. My sister in law brought it to me over the holidays and raves about it. She normally has good taste, so it should be a good one. 😉

On my soon to read list are the Stephanie Plum novels Four through, well, how many are there now… Eighteen? I really enjoyed the first three, it’s just a matter of rounding up the rest to read.

New on my reading radar thanks to Amanda of Serenity Now’s reading list is One Bite at a Time and Lights Out. The first is a compilation of 52 projects for making life simpler, and who doesn’t want that!?! The second sounds like an interesting read, the electricity goes out everywhere and the main character has to protect his family in this new world without things we all take for granted.

Once in awhile I like a non-fiction sort of autobiographical book… So right now I’m looking forward to reading Gabby, A Story of Courage and Hope and A Stolen Life. I feel like there’s always something to be learned from our own trials but also the trials of others.

You can see the rest of my To Read list on GoodReads here.
So tell me… Have you read any of the ones I mentioned? What’d you think?
What are you reading now or looking forward to reading in the new year?

Linking this here:

Filed Under: Books

The Love of Reading

October 2, 2012 16 Comments

Since it’s my birthday week…
{Come back for the Big Birthday Bash Giveaway on Thursday!}
I’d like to share about one of my greatest loves with you dolls today.

Books. The love of reading.

I’ve always loved to read. I have a strong inkling that it’s probably my parents’ fault. Weird right… parents’ encouraging their children to read?!? 😉 I grew up with BOTH parents reading me and my siblings a bedtime story. I watched my mom AND dad head off to read their favorite book before bedtime. To this day when I’m visiting my parents if you can’t find either of them a good place to look is their room with a book in hand.

I think I need a bigger bookshelf… ;)

As a kiddo it was a treat to get to choose a new book when we went to the store. At the time it was just my brother and I… he’d choose something most likely related to cowboys or Davy Crockett… Me on the other hand? I loved it all. Ponies, princesses, wizards… you name it I read it!

With new technological developments like the e-reader and being able to download an entire book onto your cell phone reading has become even easier to access. BUT you still hear people say they hate to read! The hubs is one of those… He’s getting better here lately I’m sure because I love it so much it might be rubbing off on him… 😉 Regardless I have this irrational fear of someday having my own children and not knowing how to encourage and teach them to love reading.

Source: via on

Of course I know how my parents’ encouraged me… they both loved it. I saw that and copied them. Easy enough right!? But my plea to you friends, is what if that doesn’t work? What if it’s not that easy??

I would love to know how you learned to love reading? If you don’t love it, why not?
What methods have you used to encourage your own children to love to read?

Because come on… doesn’t everyone want this relationship with the ones they love??? 😉

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Happy reading lovelies!

By the way… Are you on Goodreads?? Let’s be friends!

Filed Under: Books, Kassi Tagged With: Birthdays, Books, Favorites

Campus Book Rentals and Operation Smile

April 30, 2012 1 Comment

Hey friends! It’s Kayli!

So for those of you that don’t know, I’m just finishing up my Freshman year as an Aggie at good old NMSU! {Hallelujah! 1 down!} I’m currently studying Secondary Education with an emphasis in Language Arts. I’ve loved a lot about my experiences as a new college student, it’s been an adjustment but it’s been fun. I’ve embraced late night paper writing and night after night of ramen noodles. But one thing I will NEVER embrace? The awful gut wrenching feeling of handing over half of my summer savings for textbooks. I’m sure you all know about The Freshman Curse. I see it in the terrified eyes of the new kids registering for next semester, and now I see that my first semester, I fell into it too. As a brand new college student, I was convinced that I needed to do everything EXACTLY the standard and perfect way. Despite many warnings, and lots of advice on how I could get my books online and that I should wait a week, and that I could rent, I went into the bookstore a week before classes started and bought every single book on my class list. Mainly out of fear. THAT is the Freshman curse.

Supporting our Aggies as Freshmen!!!

I was out A LOT of money and I didn’t even use some of the books I bought. To top it off, the bookstore would only buy back a few of my books, so I still have a few that I never have and will never use. And mine is just one of the millions of horror stories. Luckily, I grew out of the curse- and so can you!

Enter Campus Book Rentals! campusbookrentals.com is a super convenient way to get your hands on the books you need for a lot less! Here are some sweet perks!

*Saving 40-90% off bookstore prices

*Free shipping BOTH ways

*You can highlight in the textbooks

*Flexible renting period

AND

*Campus Book Rentals donates to Operation Smile with each textbook rented!!

Want some proof? Check out THIS book. Do you see that mind blowing price? Yeah, I actually bought that book last semester {I’m telling you, it’s the curse} and I could’ve rented it several times from Campus Book Rentals for the amount I paid for it.

So let’s put an end to the madness shall we? Save the students in your life from the curse {freshmen or not} and let them know about Campus Book Rentals.

If you still have questions- feel free to give this little video a watch. It’s informative AND highly entertaining. {Shake that fringe, girls.}

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Campus Book Rentals. All opinions shared here are my own.

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Sponsored

Fancy This 68 and… THE HUNGER GAMES!!!

March 23, 2012 7 Comments

It’s here!!! It’s HERE!!! Oh my goodness you guys… So excited!

Source: snarkfood.com via on

Kayli and I are both self proclaimed Hunger Games nerds. Absolutely.
We may or may not have named one of my dad’s logging skidders Katniss because it was painted red at one point, then orange over the top… Now the orange is peeling and so it’s this reddish-orangish jumble of painted machine…
Get it… The girl on fire. Yep, Katniss it is. 😉

If you haven’t read the books, do. They are so good. Well written, captivating. You’ll like them. Promise.

Until then, hopefully we’ll get into a showing over the weekend. At least that’s the plan. And while we wait… patiently… sort of…. We’d love to see what you fancied up this week!!!

Fancy This Fridays Rules:

1. Please link directly to the project post on your blog.

Not the blog itself.

2. Please link only your OWN posts.

We prefer to see what YOU have been up to… not someone random.

3. Please grab a button and display it somewhere on your blog. On your sidebar, on your posts, on your linky party page. We aren’t picky!

4. We would LOVE if you would comment on at least one other link.

Just pop over and say “Hello, coming by from Truly Lovely”, or something more clever… You know. 😉

Thanks for linking lovelies! Have a fun weekend… And may the odds be ever in your favor! 😉

Filed Under: Books, Fancy This Fridays Tagged With: Movies

Fancy This Fridays #36 & Mark Montano Book Giveaway!!! – CLOSED

August 5, 2011 18 Comments

Happy Friday sweets!!! Guess what we have today!?!?

A SURPRISE giveaway from the AMAZING Mark Montano!!!

Yep… THE Mark Montano. As in the one from HGTV and TLC.

He has GRACIOUSLY offered a FUN giveaway especially for Truly Lovely readers!!!

His NEW book, Pulp Fiction, Perfect Paper Projects!!!

Source

I’ve checked it out and its full of fun and unique paper crafting ideas!!

So, how can you win this lovely??

In the words of Mark Montano himself, you’re gonna have to “work for it”! 😉

MANDATORY:

1. Be or become a follower of Truly Lovely via GFC and leave a comment that you are.

2. Be or become a follower of Mark Montano’s Big Ass Blog and leave a comment that Truly Lovely sent you! AND a comment below that you did all that biz.

Other Entries:

3. Follow on twitter and leave a comment that you do.

4. Follow on twitter and leave a comment that you do.

5. Like on facebook and say hello on our wall.

6. Share this giveaway on facebook and tag @Truly Lovely

7. Share this giveaway on twitter and tag @kassarie and @markmontano

Like so, “I just entered a FUN #giveaway from Truly Lovely @kassarie and @markmontano http://bit.ly/qrGRn4 “

8. Like Pulp Fiction on

9. Link up a project to Fancy This Fridays below.

That’s NINE ways to win!!!
WE would REALLY love if you would complete them all…

SO you get an EXTRA ENTRY if you complete all nine entries and leave a comment below saying you did.

Here’s the Fancy This Fridays Party Rules!!!

This week’s link up will be open until NEXT Friday with a double feature next Monday to allow you to enter projects for the giveaway for the whole week!!

1) Must be YOUR OWN project (we’ve had a few sharing other people’s stuff… That’s awesome, but we wanna see what YOU did!)

2) Must be linked to that project’s specific post within your blog,

not the blog itself

3) Grab our party button so others can party too!

4) Share some linky love with the other participants, by visiting and commenting on their projects as well! We ALL love comments!!
(And it would be SUPER COOL of you to say your stopping by from the Truly Lovely or Fancy This Fridays link up!)

Thanks for linking lovelies and for entering the giveaway! Good luck!! Giveaway will be open UNTIL midnight on Sunday August 14. Winner announced Monday during the Double Feature!

Filed Under: Books, Fancy This Fridays, Giveaways