Raising a Son

by Don Elium & Jeanne Elium
Guest Review by Lew K.

This is a great read.  It was written by a husband and wife team about their experiences and the experiences of others raising boys.  They each provide their own challenges and successes, also bringing in the stories of many other parents. The book is well organized with very specific titles, an additional resource list at the end of every chapter, and a 15+ page in depth index.

The book discusses 3 main themes:  what it means to be a male in today’s society, parenting as a team (applies to divorced and single parents too - it takes more than one person to raise a healthy boy), and the psychology of every major stage of development from newborn to twenty-nine.

It is written in a very personal format.  It is easy to read and to relate to.  The Elium’s are very clear in their call to hold parents accountable for being involved in the lives of their children.  Their insight delves into the world as we know it - everything from ADD to sexuality.  I love the numerous quotes from parents sharing their very personal struggles and joys.

This book has become a significant resource for my personal journey as a father raising a son.  I continue to reread it for enjoyment as well as gentle reminders and tips about the responsibility I have to my son.

Product Details:

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Celestial Arts; 3 edition (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587611945
• ISBN-13: 978-1587611940

Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding

by Lenore Look

Jenny’s uncle Peter is getting married in a big, traditional Chinese wedding and her entire family is happy about it, except for Jenny herself.  Peter is her favorite uncle, and she doesn’t want to lose him to his new bride Stella or to the pageantry of the wedding.  All through what should be a joyous celebration, Jenny is unhappy – like “an umbrella turned inside out” -  until she receives an unexpected gift that lets her know she’ll be an important part of Uncle Peter’s new life.

Like Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, this book is the story of a young girl’s worry about losing her favorite uncle to marriage.  But it’s also about the mixed joy and sadness that we all feel as our families grow and change.  Uncle Peter is at its most eloquent, almost poetic, when describing Jenny’s unhappiness in terms that even young children can understand.  And woven in between the story of Jenny’s feelings, we also get a glimpse of Chinese culture and how traditions can change over time.  That’s an awful lot to be packed into a little story, and this book is one that both adults and children may find more affecting than they first expect.

Read other reviews:

• Paper Tigers

Product Details:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689844581
• ISBN-13: 978-0689844584

Wordless Wednesday: Me & D

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeline L’Engle

A Wrinkle in Time is a well-loved classic of children’s literature that has remained popular throughout several generations.  It has the additional distinction of being a Banned Book.  But it’s also a wonderful examination of a young girl’s changing relationship with her father, and of how both fathers and children need to change as children go through the process of growing up.

Meg Murray is a young teen who somehow just doesn’t fit in or even know who she is inside.  Her normal pains of awkward adolescence are made worse by the fact that her famous scientist father disappeared mysteriously several years earlier, leaving her scientist mother to raise Meg and her three brothers alone in their small town.

Meg’s older brothers are as normal as apple pie, but her younger brother Charles Wallace is … different.  Brilliant for his age, Charles Wallace also seems to sense and understand things that others can’t.  That makes him even more of a misfit than Meg, and inspires a fierce protectiveness in her.

Everything changes for the Murray family when three eccentric and otherworldly women appear – Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit – and whisk Meg, Charles Wallace, and their new friend Calvin off on a mission across the universe to rescue Meg’s father.  Soon the children are embroiled in nothing less than the eternal cosmic war between Darkness and Light, and Meg will have to be more brave than she can possibly imagine.  And when she finally finds her father, Meg will have to confront the fact that her father is, in fact, only a man – and Daddy can’t make everything better this time.  It will take Meg and her father working together, and confronting both of their deepest fears, before the Murray family can be reunited again.

There’s a little of Meg in all of us, when even as adults we sometimes feel awkward or unsure of who we are.  Meg struggles to hold onto her love for her father as she also learns to see him for the human being that he is, and learns how to stand on her own two feet.  And there’s a little of Mr. Murray in all of us who are fathers as well, as we learn that we are not gods to our children but only mortal men, and that sometimes we have to learn to let them go.  Madeline L’Engle wrote with deep compassion and understanding for both fathers and children, and indeed for all humanity.  She never forgot what it was to be a child, with a child’s wonder and the sense that there is an entire magical world just beyond the edge of our perceptions if we could just pull back the veil.  A Wrinkle in Time’s reputation is a timeless classic with lessons for both fathers and children, and will remain so for countless years to come.

Read more reviews:

• Ex Libris Book Reviews
• Teen Reads
• Devourer of Books
• The Open Critic
• Russ’s Book Reviews
• Books Love Me
• 3M’s Reviews
• Rebecca Reads
• Quixotical
• things mean a lot
• Maw Books Blog
• SMS Book Reviews

Product Details:

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Square Fish (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312367546
• ISBN-13: 978-0312367541

Sunday Salon: Pumpkin Picking

I’m sorry to say, I did not read a single thing today.  While waiting this afternoon for my partner to return from a seven day business trip, I took my son out for the afternoon.  We went to Liberty Ridge Farm to go pumpkin picking and to get somewhat lost in a corn maze.  I took a couple of photos, but as usual he can’t keep a straight face for pictures lately.

October Carnival of Children’s Literature at The Well Read Child

The October Blog Carnival of Children’s Literature is being hosted by The Well Read Child.  The theme is “Snuggle Up With a Children’s Book”, a perfect fall activity.  There are over 30 blog postings listed of book reviews, author interviews and other fun stuff in the world of Children’s Literature.  I see a few books we want to check out for Book Dads.  The next Blog Carnival of Children’s Literature will be hosted by Karen at Mommy’s Favorite Children’s Books!

Visit the Well Read Child, a great blog, looking to “Instill the joy of reading in your child”.

Help Good Blogs Get More Readers

I Sleep at Red Lights

by Bruce Stockler
Guest Review by Callista at SMS Book Reviews

I love reading books about multiples. Before I had any kids I always said I wanted twins but now that I’ve given birth to two children, I don’t wish for them quite so much. I can’t even imagine having triplets but I still love reading multiple memoirs. I’ve read quite a few.

It was refreshing to read a parenting book from the father’s point of view. This is a rare occurence in this world although it’s happening more and more frequently. He’s got just the right amount of humour and just the right amount of seriousness and he knows when to dish out each. Bruce tells it like it is, which caused me to roar with laughter on many occasions. I’m sure it wasn’t funny to him at the time but I hope he can laugh at it himself now. The only problem with multiple memoirs is I always wonder how the kids are doing now and most of the time there is nothing on the net about them.

Their family is sadly unusual in that the father is the Stay-at-Home parent. Also the mother is a workoholic. So the father truly does do everything for the kids. He’s a great role model and it’s amazing what he handles on his own.

Product Details:

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312315295
• ISBN-13: 978-0312315290

Friday Finds: Recommendations

We’ve received several recommendations in the book recommendation contest we are having at Book Dads and I am listing some of them here.  We also received two offers by email this week, our first ever, to send us review copies of children’s books.  They both look interesting, one doesn’t really fit the Book Dads theme but we have been considering adding an “other books we like” category.

Our Friday Finds are: Read more

Wordless Wednesday

Teaser Tuesdays: More Harry Potter

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

I’m still reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling and I’ve barely made a dent in it.  To make matters of time worse, my partner is gone to a conference for the week and I’m single parenting.

Here is the teaser: Read more

Nominations for the 2008 Cybils Awards

The 2008 Nomination lists for the Cybils Awards are done.

Take a look through the lists for your favorites.

The Categories:

Easy Readers
Fantasy & Science Fiction (Middle Grade)
Fantasy & Science Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels (Middle Grade)
Graphic Novels (Young Adult)
Middle Grade Novels
Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Poetry
Young Adult Novels

Lots of interesting stuff in Fantasy & Science Fiction that we’d like to read ourselves. Read more

Musing Mondays: “Why Women Read More Than Men”

THIS week’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about a “reading” survey, and what it had to say…

An article found (here), discusses, “why women read more than men“. In it, author Ian McEwan is quoted saying:

“When women stop reading, the novel will be dead.”

Do you believe this to be true? Why, or why not?

Speaking as a man who reads, I do think women read more than men, and what men do read is usually very different.  I also think reading in general is on the decline.  I have many friends, coworkers and family who never read anything unless required to.  Many Americans would not, or could not, read even one book, let alone nine books in a year.   I taught high school science briefly many years ago in an urban neighborhood school district and nearly all of those children would never voluntarily pick up a book, and no one at home is modeling reading for them either. Is this good? No, it’s a damn shame and something we should all be concerned about as avid readers. Read more

Big Red

by Jim Kjelgaard
Guest Review by William Bentrim from Pick of the Literate

Big Red is the name that Danny Pickett gave to Mr. Haggin’s show dog.  As much as Danny and Big Red recognized that they should be together, the $7,000.00 that Mr. Hagin paid precluded that.  Danny and his Dad, Ross were squatters on Mr. Haggin’s estate.   As squatters, they had little or no income and Danny could never, ever afford to buy Big Red. Ross Pickett was raising his son as best he could.  He taught him woods craft and a love of dogs.  As a father, he stood behind his son in what he did. The villain of the story is Old Majesty, an ill tempered, killer bear that had devastated the area live stock for years.

The interrelationship between Danny and Big Red, Danny and his Dad and the surprising relationship between Danny and Mr. Haggin are the key factors to the story. There is plenty of action and adventures for Big Red and Danny that are the color and substance of the book.  A good story for 4th grade and up, it will put a smile on your face.

Read More Reviews:

• Reading Review
• Book Press

Product Details:

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (February 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553154346
• ISBN-13: 978-0553154344

Halloween Book Contest at Books Books and more Books!

Here’s another box of books to win just in time for Halloween.  Ruth at Book Books and more Books! has box of books to give away from the Hatchette Book Group. The contest will end at 11:59pm Eastern Time on 10/31. Please visit here for contest rules and to enter.

Sunday Salon: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This will me my first time participating in Sunday Salon. I won a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling in a contest a couple weeks ago and I am hoping to spend a little time this afternoon reading it.

I’ve been having a hard time finding the time to read much lately just for myself.  I guess you just have to do it and let life’s other obligations go for an hour or two.  I listened to this book as an audiobook many months ago, but I have a tendency to get distracted during audiobooks and not hear entire sections of a book so I have been wanting to read it.

We’re having a book recommendation contest at Book Dads if anyone has any ideas for us.

Book Recommendation Contest

Book Dads is having a contest.

We started this blog just two months ago as a site for anyone to find books and book reviews that have positive views of fathers and fatherhood.  We would love to hear any recommendations of books, from you the readers, that would be appropriate for review on Book Dads.

For this contest we are giving away an Amazon.com Gift Card worth $25.00.

Contest Rules:

1. The contest runs from today through Saturday, November 1st at 6PM Eastern Time (two weeks).
2. The winner will be notified by email the evening of the day the contest ends. You must have a valid email address for us to send the gift card to you by email. You will have 3 days to respond, if no response is received in that time, a new winner will be chosen.
3. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere who can receive the gift card by email and use an Amazon.com gift card in the denomination of $25 in U.S. currency.
4. To qualify for one entry in the contest you must leave a comment on this post recommending a book with positive views of fathers or fatherhood that would be appropriate for reviewing and posting at Book Dads.

Bonus Entries:

To receive three entries in this contest, write a post about this contest on your blog, including a recommendation of a book, and link back to this post here. You can use Mr. Linky below to link to your post.

To recieve five entries in this contest, guest blog on Book Dads by writing a short review of your book recommendation.  The guidelines and submission form are here.

Friday Finds: Courage in Patience by Beth Fehlbaum

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Our Friday Find for this week is Courage in Patience: A Story of Hope for Those Who Have Endured Abuse by Beth Fehlbaum.  Beth commented on our blog earlier in the week to tell us about her book. It has a positive portrayal of a father and she also tells us there is an anti-homophobia message in the book. We found it available at our local library, so we’re going to give it a read and see if it’s something we want to review at Book Dads. Read more

Spooky Book Giveaway at The Hidden Side of a Leaf

Want to win a box of spooky books just in time for Halloween. Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf has a box of books to give away from the Hatchette Book Group.  The contest will end at noon PST, tomorrow Friday, 10/17. Please visit here for contest rules and to enter.

Piglet and Papa

by Margaret Wild

Little Piglet is roughhousing with her Papa when she bites his tail a little too hard.  Piglet isn’t sure how angry her Papa is with her, and whether he still loves her.  So she goes off to ask the other animals on the farm whether they love her.  Horse, sheep, duck, donkey and dog all reassure Piglet that they love her, but tell her that there is someone who loves her much more. And when she returns home, Papa tells her who it is himself.  A good book for reassuring children that fathers love them even when we are cross or need to discipline them, as well as for children who are learning to roughhouse.

Read Other Reviews:

• Books For Kids Blog

Product Details:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081091476X
• ISBN-13: 978-0810914766

My Great Grandpa

by Martin Waddell

This unusual book is about the special relationship between a young girl and her maternal great-grandfather.  She and her Great Grandpa sneak out for a trip around their neighborhood, and although there are lots of things he can’t do, he also tells her lots of things that no one else knows about.  This gentle story acknowledges both the special limitations of the very old, and the ways they can also enrich our lives. Besides the girl and her Great Grandpa, Mom and Grandma are the only other family members that appear in the story.  The detailed illustrations nicely complement the story and could also serve for an impromptu game of “I Spy” for younger readers.

Product Details:

• Paperback: 25 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books Ltd (February 5, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0744578655
• ISBN-13: 978-0744578652

Teaser Tuesdays: Luna’s Earrings

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

My teaser is: Read more

Tuesday Thingers: Early Reviewers

Today’s question: Early Reviewers- do you participate? How many books (approximately) have you received through the program? Have you liked them generally? What’s your favorite ER book? Do you participate in the discussion group on LT?

We just started the Book Dads blog in August and joined Library Thing last month. We requested several books through Early Reviewers for September and received a note a week or so ago that we had not snagged any of the books. We have not participated in the discussion group on LT.

It’s difficult to tell from the short description if the book will be appropriate for Book Dads but we’ve decided to branch out occasionally into other things we like. We requested the following books from the October list. Read more

We’re Off to Look For Aliens

by Colin McNaughton

This clever book-within-a-book (literally) is about an author father whose new children’s book arrives from the printers.  Dad hands the book to his family to find out what they think and then goes out to walk the dog.  When you turn the next page you are presented with a copy of the book he’s written, pasted into the pages of the original book.  It’s a rhyming story about a man and his dog who go off to look for aliens, meeting only outrageous and unfriendly alien monsters until they meet a lovely alien woman and bring her home.  When dad returns home, both he and the reader and surprised to learn what his family really thinks!

Read more reviews:

• Becky’s Book Reviews
• Pink Me
• My Children’s Book Reviews
• Young Readers

Product Details:

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (June 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763636363
• ISBN-13: 978-0763636364

Musing Mondays: Favorite Genre

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS asks…

Could you narrow down your reading to a favorite genre and author? Why, or why not?

I most certainly can narrow down my reading to a favorite genre and a favorite author.  While my reading has branched out some as I’ve gotten older, my favorite genre is science fiction. As a child I read pretty widely, at one point I had read almost everything there was to read in the children’s section of our small town library. I then began a campaign to convince my parents that I should be allowed access to the adult section.  I don’t really remember how old I was at that point, but I was still reading everything from non-fiction to novels of most genres and even read James Michener’s Hawaii in 6th grade. Read more

An Octopus Followed Me Home

by Dan Yaccarino

A little girl arrives at her house with an octopus that followed her home, but when she asks her daddy if she can keep him, he reminds her of the other pets he has let her keep.  That would be the crocodile, seals, giraffe, grizzly bear, penguins, mountain goats, rabbits, and elephants that are already cluttering up their home.  The silly story and bold colors of this book will certainly appeal to young children. This is another disciplinarian father, but with such a house full of animals who can blame him for saying “no”?

Product Details:

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; Library Ed edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670874019
• ISBN-13: 978-0670874019

When Daddy’s Truck Picks Me Up

by Jana Novotny Hunter

The little boy in this story is excited because it’s daddy’s turn to pick him up from school.  His daddy drives a big red tanker truck, and is returning home from a long way off.  The colorful and hyperkinetic drawings underscore the boy’s eagerness to see his dad, and his father’s race to make to school on time.  Great for kids whose fathers travel, or who don’t get to see their fathers as often as they would like, or who just plain love big trucks!

Product Details:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company; 1 edition (September 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807589144
• ISBN-13: 978-0807589144

King Dork

by Frank Portman

Tom Henderson is King Dork, an outcast in his high school and pretty much in his entire life.  He and his fellow outcast Sam Henderson spend their time creating imaginary punk rock bands and trying not to get beaten up by their classmates or terrorized by their teachers.  Everything begins to change for Tom when he finds his dead father’s copy of Catcher in the Rye, containing a secret code and some obscure clues.  Suddenly Tom is trying to unravel the decades-old mystery of his father’s death, meeting not one but two semi-hot girls, learning how to say “whips and chains” in French, and generally turning his life upside down.

Portman’s portrayal of the confusion about ourselves and other people that often typifies adolescence is both occasionally painful and also grimly humorous, and Tom is a likeable narrator despite his flaws.  Especially touching is Tom’s ongoing attempt to understand his father’s life and death across the gulf of time, typical of the struggles that so many of us undergo to understand our fathers even while they are still alive.  Tom’s relationship with his hapless hippie stepfather, Little Big Tom, also explores this same issue.

This book does contain some portrayals of teenage sexuality, although the scenes are not graphic.  The excellent audiobook reading (ISBN 0739331132) includes a revealing interview with the author – a member of the influential punk band MTX – and performances of several original songs written for the book.

Read more reviews:

• Common Sense Media
• Teen Reads
• Librarina: Great Books for Tweens & Teens
• Mr.Quale.com

Product Details:

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (February 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385734506
• ISBN-13: 978-0385734509

Booking Through Thursday: Fundamentally Books

I’ve seen this series of questions floating around the ‘net the last few days, and thought it looked like a good one for us!

What was the last book you bought?

WordPress For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson

Name a book you have read MORE than once

Dune by Frank Herbert

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

Oh yes! See the last question.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

A combination of all those things.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

I prefer fiction, but have been reading a lot of non-fiction lately.

What’s more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

I think every novel needs both.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)

Harry Potter / any of the Harry Potter books.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

• The Sacred Depths of Nature by Ursula Goodenough
• How To Raise An Amazing Child The Montessori Way by Tim Seldin
• Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
• Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
• Exultant by Stephen Baxter
• Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?

WordPress For Dummies, finished earlier this week.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

Many times, including a few that I’ve given up on after the first paragraph or two.

My question:  Have you ever read half way through a hauntingly familiar book, only to realize you had read it before?

The Third Annual Cybils Awards

The Annual Cybils Awards, the premier children’s & young adult bloggers’ literary awards began to accept nominations in nine categories of children’s literature on October 1st. Nominations are made by the public and then books are read and prizes awarded by bloggers. Please visit the nominations page to nominate your favorite books, you may make one nomination per category.

Important Dates:

• Oct. 1-15: Nominations are open.
• Jan. 1: Finalists announced.
• Feb. 14: Winners announced.

Nomination Rules:

1. One nomination per genre per person.
2. The book must be published between Jan. 1 - Oct. 15 this year.
3. English or bilingual books only (the second language doesn’t matter).

The book genres are:

• Easy Readers
• Fantasy & Science Fiction
• Fiction Picture Books
• Middle Grade Novels
• Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books
• Non-Fiction Picture Books
• Poetry
• Young Adult Novels

Take a look at the 2007 Finalists and the 2006 Finalists.

Teaser Tuesdays: In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

From page 92, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Not everyone, though, bought into the idea that chronic disease was a by-product of Western lifestyles and, in particular, that the industrialization of our food was taking a toll on our health. One objection to the theory was genetic: Different races were apt to be susceptible to different diseases went the argument; white people were disposed to heart attacks, brown people to things like leprosy.

Musing Mondays: How Has Your Reading Changed?

MUSING MONDAYS today asks…

How has your reading changed over the years? Have you started reading more “meaty” books (books with more substance)? Or, have you gone to more “fluffy” reads? Perhaps you’ve done neither, and you’ve just always read the same type of thing! If that’s the case, why? Are you willing to step out of your reading ‘comfort zone’ and try something new? What would you recommend to someone who needed to “branch out”?

My reading habits have changed over the last few years, almost entirely due to having a child in the house.  I can’t say for sure if the reads are “fluffy” or “meaty”, those are entirely subjective terms and I’m sure they would be defined differently by each reader.

Most of what I used to read for pleasure was often science fiction and that seems to fall into the “fluffy” definition for many, but I disagree. When we decided to become parents through adoption I became immersed in a series of non-fiction books about adoption and parenting.  Those books were the only reading I did at all for awhile.

After the adoption we became entirely focused on what to read to our son, which eventually turned into the Book Dads blog.  He is now 5 years old and I occasionally get to read something else, but still rarely find the time to read for pleasure.  Even on a vacation this summer I found my self reading some non-fiction books.  I do have a stack of science fiction waiting for me, maybe soon.

Friday Finds: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This weeks Friday Finds asks:

What great books did you come across this week? What did you add to your TBR lists, or your own shelves?

I won a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling during Book Bloggers Appreciation Week from Rebecca Reads and it arrived this week.  I’ve listened to this on audio book a while back, but I always get distracted when listening to books, so I’ve been wanting to read this one.

Friday Fill-Ins: October

1. October has my favorite weather!

2. Sarah Palin scares me!

3. Leaves are falling all around, it’s play time.

4. My favorite horror movie is the original version of The Haunting because it scared the heck out of me when I was 7 years old.  I didn’t stop having nightmares about it for years.

5. Cape Cod = good memories.

6. It was a dark and stormy night and I sat down and relaxed with a good book.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to dinner out maybe, tomorrow my plans include working out and Sunday, I want to relax!

Book Giveaway at Blood of the Muse

Blood of the Muse is giving away a copy of Paul of Dune written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

You’ll need to send an email, following some specific instructions, so check out the blog entry for details. Deadline is October 31st.