Teaser Tuesday

Thank you MizB for hosting Teaser Tuesday.

-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share 2 teaser sentences from that page
-Make sure you don't include any spoilers

Check out Should Be Reading to read more Teaser Tuesdays.

'Because I'm getting married soon, and I would like some advice.'
'You're too old to be getting married,' Mai observed, kindly.

-page 29
Committed
by Elizabeth Gilbert

Invisible Children - A Cause and a Bag

Back in 2006 I came across a video for Invisible Children. It was moving and heartbreaking and I have been paying attention ever since. The video was a trailer for Invisible Children: Rough Cut, check it out:




Invisible Children has set out to raise awareness as well as make a difference in the lives of people living in northern Uganda. One of the ways they do that is with MEND.
From the MEND website:

"MEND is designed to seam a personal connection between products and their makers, while repairing the lives of women in distressed regions of the world.

This is not charity. MEND is a sophisticated, competitive, and internationally inspired brand catering to style and function. A subdivision of Invisible Children, MEND is constructed with the belief that what’s on the outside and what’s on the inside should both matter equally. ™

Our handbags are story-driven. Each piece carries the name of the seamstress who made it. Each individual name unlocks online profiles of each seamstress employed in our program. Through video bios and photos she will share how she is “on the MEND” because of a simple purchase."

MEND Explanation Video from MEND on Vimeo.

I was lucky enough to receive one of these beautiful bags from my husband for my birthday. As stated on the website, each bag is labeled with the name of the person who made it and from the website you can watch a video about that person. My bag was made by Aber Rose:

MEND: Aber Rose from MEND on Vimeo.

I am in love with my bag and they are a great cause to be aware of.
For more information on Invisible Children and ways you can get involved you can check out the Invisible Children website.

For a general look at who they are and what they do check out the video below.



**I did not receive any kind of compensation for this post. I came across the site on my own and decided to share it because I believe in what they are doing.

The Titan’s Curse - Rick Riordan

The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)
By Rick Riordan

Ok, so this is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series and I am finally getting into the flow of the writing. The things that annoyed me in the first two books don’t have as much of an impact.

Percy still annoys me. He irritates me when he sees something and thinks it can’t be real.

“He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but my eyes must’ve been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo’s kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy.”

I mean seriously dude, your dad is a Greek God and you still doubt that something is possible! I have some to accept that I will never love Percy, but Annabeth and Grover (his main sidekicks) are growing on me. Also, just as in book 2, Riordan has created some really entertaining secondary characters so I can almost forgive him for Percy. I have some to appreciate him for who he is.

It’s like Will & Grace, you don’t watch the show because you love Will and Grace! Heck no, they are practically boring. You watch it because Karen and Jack are two of the funniest people in the world of television. It doesn’t matter that the show is called Will & Grace, just like it doesn’t matter that it is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. He is just the glue that holds the story together. You read it for the other characters, the secondary ones who carry the story and make it entertaining. Because although you may not care what happens to Percy, you really want to know how it ends and what the crazy Greek Gods will do next.


Review of Book 1: The Lightening Thief
Review of Book 2: The Sea of Monsters

**Source: this book was bought with my own sweet loot.

Snow Day!!

I was so excited to wake up yesterday and find SNOW!!!!


I love snow and, being from California (ocean-level), I have never lived in a place that snowed. Experiencing snow has always been something that I went to see on a vacation. We would drive to Tahoe for the beautiful snow covered mountains and snowboarding. Never have I been at home, needing to go grocery shopping or do normal everyday things and had snow. I love it!






The bad news is this is probably all the snow that we will get this year (about 1/2 inch), and it is already melting in the sun.

The good news is I get to appreciate the fun of it and not really have to deal with an extended snow storm because I have seriously no idea how to live in the snow. Fayetteville, NC doesn't really get snow so this isn't something I have grown accustomed to since I moved here 3 years ago. I also missed the good snow storm last year because I was in California but this weekend made up for it.

It was mild and fun. My husband and I went for a walk in the morning and and we managed to make it to the bookstore.




This is a sheet of ice that froze over the window. We couldn't see out the window so we rolled it down to try and break it off...probably not the smartest thing to do but it had an interesting effect. The window went down but the ice stayed put in a perfect layer.

In the afternoon I decided I wanted to make a snowman but it had warmed enough that the snow became little balls of ice which refused to stick together. So instead I broke apart pieces of snow already stuck together and made myself a "snow buddy."


I hope everyone else is enjoying the weekend as much as I am.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood - Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
By Marjane Satrapi

Wow! Wow, wow, wow!! What an incredible story. This is the first graphic novel I have ever read and what a way for me to be introduced to them. I never thought a graphic novel could be so powerful.

Satrapi is courageous and funny and so relatable. Her story is enlightening. It is extremely real and enlightening. The illustrations are entertaining while at the same time being extremely powerful. Her story shows the side of a war that is often difficult to depict, the view from a child or teenagers view.

I never thought that a graphic novel would make me cry but Persepolis did just that. Then, that final frame just killed me. I don’t know what I was thinking, buying only the first book and not Persepolis 2. The stores around here don’t have it so I have to order it and wait for it to be shipped. I can’t wait!!! I have to see how it ends! I can’t be left with that final image and not know what’s next. It’s not even like it was a cliffhanger ending, I just need more. Right now!

I can’t believe I waited this long to read this in the first place. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Go buy it now. Run…hurry.


Ok, I realize this review is kind of all over the place but it was my first reaction to the story and as you can see I loved it.

If you are looking for something a bit more coherent here are some great reviews by other bloggers:

Serendipity

The Zen Leaf

Medieval Bookworm

This book was part of my list for the Women Unbound Challenge.


**Source: bought this with my Christmas giftcards...that same way I am going to buy book 2.

Daughters of Eve - Lois Duncan

Daughters of Eve
By Lois Duncan

At Modesta High School there is a chapter of the Daughters of Eve who are sending out invitations for their new members. They have a new teacher, Irene Stark, who is going to mix things up a bit—you know—really get things done. With Irene leading them, this social club quickly turns into a group of girls who will test their social and moral boundaries at every chance they get.

I actually had a hard time with parts of the book. The extreme levels that were taken had me with the feeling that these ideas gave feminism a bad stereotype. I started the book thinking it would be milder but Duncan definitely has you questioning the actions of some of the characters.

I couldn’t wait to get to the end (and boy did it end with a bang!!) to see if I would feel better about their actions. I am pleased to say, when I closed the book and though about their actions as a whole, I was kind of in love with it. I think Duncan was right in writing it with the extremes she did because she smacks you with something that you MUST think about. Irene may be a bit insane at times, but haven’t we all been there? I remember literally seeing red after a comment about women from a guy in college. I was literally blind with rage and wanted to punch him—I didn’t punch him, but I guess I’m a softy that way. The point is that the book was a bit extreme, but I get it.

The best part was that Irene reminded me of a college professor I had for Women’s Studies. She had that passion and enraged fire that made you want to go out and change the world. I love that when I closed the book I felt like I had just gotten out of one of her lectures.

This is an excellent book that may have you questioning both sides but the important thing is that it will make you think.

*I read this book as part of the Shelf Discovery Challenge.

**Source: I bought this book with my own sweet money.

Mailbox Monday

Thank you to Marcia at The Printed Page for putting on the weekly Mailbox Monday, a place where I discover so many wonderful new books.

Check out her blog and post all the new books you acquired last week.


Well, I had a very exciting week. I went a little crazy ordering books online and spending almost all of my gift cards from Christmas. I also got a couple other books in the mail.

Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds by Sanjay Gupta
A contest win from DC Metro Reader

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman
ARE courtesy of Ballantine Books


And the books that I bought for myself:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood


AND my favorite part of this Mailbox Monday....

The Complete Peanuts 1967-1970 Box Set




I grew up in Santa Rosa, CA...the home of Charles Schultz. One of my favorite Christmas traditions was going to Snoopy on Ice at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena. We went every year until they stopped putting it on after Schultz died and it was one of the hardest traditions for me to let go of. From the comic strip in the newspaper to Snoopy on Ice, Peanuts has always had a special place in my heart. I am so excited to have my first boxed set!