Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun

This was a great book by Lois Winston. It's her first in a new crafting mystery series.
Anastasia Pollack is a crafts editor for a second-rate magazine. Her husband dies at a gambling table, leaving her completely broke with two teenage boys, a Communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a demon dog she calls Mephisto. She also finds out there is a loan shark after her because her husband owed him $50,000.

But it doesn't end there. She goes to her office and finds the fashion editor dead and glued to her chair by her own glue gun. Anastasia soon ends up the primary suspect in the murder. She has to find out who the real killer is and also get the loan shark off her back.

Only 3 days in...

And I've already finished 2 books.

The first was The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card (one of my favorite authors). This is the first of a new series he has started. It follows Danny North, a young man who comes from a Family of mages from the world of Westil. The Family has been cut off from Westil by Loki, a gatemage, who has not only closed all the gates in the world, but has taken them away. The North Family is living in western Virginia now, where they can keep to themselves and still practice their magery. Everyone thinks Danny is a Drakka, or one born to mage parents, but with no magic of his own. He soon finds out he is really a gatemage. But he can't let anyone know. It was decided long ago that no one Family can have a gatemage who could open a gate back to Westil. Any child who shows signs of being a gatemage is to be killed instantly. Danny fears for his life and runs away from the Family compound. He soon takes up with another kid named Eric. Together, they beg, steal, and hitch their their way to Washington DC. They find Ced and Stone and live in Stone's house for a while....
Well, I won't go into anymore details. You will just have to read it for yourself!

The second book I read was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. A very interesting first novel by Mr. Riggs. This book combines fiction and photographs into a thrilling read. Jacob experiences a terrible family tragedy and sets out on a journey to a remote island off the coast of Wales. He grew up with stories from his grandfather about a home he lived in during WWII where the children seemed to be fantastical. Jacob was shown pictures of some of the children. They were just too hard to believe. Anyone could have Photoshopped the pictures to make them look different. He soon grows tired of the stories and believes them to be just that, stories. But his grandfather always insisted they were real. While on the island of Cairnholm, Jacob finds the ruins of the once great home. Inside he finds a locked trunk. He breaks it open and finds more of the pictures like the ones his grandfather had. He starts wondering if the stories were true afterall and if the children did not die during the war, but are still living. Buy or borrow this book and find out what happens. The pictures will amaze you!

I did it!!

Yeah!!! I read 75 books this year with a few days to spare! This was a wonderful challenge for me. There were times when I thought I wasn't going to make it. Thank you to my old friend Emily Sonderegger for inspiring me to do the challenge in the first place.

For next year, I think I'm going to up my number to 80 books. Wish me luck!

Oh, and I hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a wonderful New Year. Stay safe.

And tell everyone about my blog!!!

The Year is Almost Over

I only have 2 weeks left of the year and need to read 4 more books. Well, about 3.5 books really. I'm in the middle of reading The Death Cure by James Dashner. Such great books.... and he's a local author. If you haven't read The Maze Runner trilogy, I highly recommend them. Very well written.

Anyway, I have been updating my Books I've Read page with all the ones I've finished, but haven't really taken the time to write on this page. Sorry about that. If you want to know what I thought about any of the books I've read, just let me know. I would be happy to give you a review. Check out that page to see my newest books.

Good Reads

I love this website!

They have lots of giveaways for books. Ones that have been released and ones that are pre-release copies.

I signed up for a bunch last week and was surprised to get an advance copy of the book Storm Damage by Ed Kovacs. Now I just need to read it and post about it on the site.

If you are interested in free books, check out goodreads.com.

Numbers Update

So my goal is 75 books by the end of the year.

I am now at 52!!!

I really didn't think I was going to make it. Checking books out from the library has really helped my numbers though.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the library. I remember as a kid spending lots of time at the library during the summer months. I was always winning those reading contests they would hold! I would check out 8-10 books at a time and return a week later having read them all and filling my arms with more. It was a long walk from home, but my siblings and I really enjoyed going. When I was in my early teen years, I would check out poetry books and type up all my favorite poems on my Mom's typewriter (yes, an actual typewriter, not a computer!) I think I still have my file in one of my boxes in storage.

Anyway, I love the library. I love reading. I love that my kids love to read!

See ya later!

So much to catch up on!

Wow! I didn't realize it had been so long since I got on here. Sorry to all my followers for that.

Well, I have many books to tell you about. Here is a list of what I have read since July:
- Murder by the Book by Betsy Brannon Green
- Hitched by Carol Higgins Clark
- Popped by Carol Higgins Clark
- Jinxed by Carol Higgins Clark (yes, I'm catching up on all my C.H.C. books!)
- Laced by Carol Higgins Clark
- Naked Heat by Richard Castle
- Killer Keepsakes by Jane K. Cleland
- Silent Auction by Jane K. Cleland
- Murder by Design by Betsy Brannon Green
- Cursed by Carol Higgins Clark
- Death Walker by Aimee & David Thurlo
- Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark
- The Second Sun by Chris Stewart
- The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum
- The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum
- The Forgotten Locket by Lisa Mangum

So that is 16 more books. Plus I am reading Michael Vey: the Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans right now. Next will by Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. And I'm headed to the library later today to pick out a few more.

I have really been enjoying the Carol Higgins Clark books. It's been fun to read how Regan Reilly and Jack (no relation) Reilly met and fell in love and married and had lots of adventures together! I have been a fan of Mary Higgins Clark (Carol's mother) for years and have read a few of the books the two wrote together, but I didn't read any of Carol's books until recently. She writes just as well as her mom does!

Richard Paul Evans has been one of my favorites for a long time. When I heard about his new Young Adult novel, I knew I was going to have to buy it! I even got a signed and numbered first edition.

I think that's going to be all the update for now. I might get into a little more detail later. We'll see how it goes.

Keep reading and support your local library!