Eternal on the Water by Jospeh Monninger

Eternal on the Water is the new book by Joseph Monninger. It is due to be released on February 16, 2010. The following is the synopsis from Barnes and Noble:

From the day Cobb and Mary meet kayaking on Maine's Allagash River and fall deeply in love, the two approach life with the same sense of adventure they use to conquer the river's treacherous rapids. But rivers do not let go so easily...and neither does their love. So when Mary's life takes the cruelest turn, she vows to face those rough waters on her own terms and asks Cobb to promise, when the time comes, to help her return to their beloved river for one final journey.

Set against the rugged wilderness of Maine, the exotic islands of Indonesia, the sweeping panoramas of Yellowstone National Park, and the tranquil villages of rural New England, Eternal on the Water is at once heartbreaking and uplifting — a timeless, beautifully rendered story of true love's power.

The synopsis is attention-catching but does not in any way convey the utter beauty of this book. Mr. Monninger is an exquisite writer. Every word and piece of detail in his story holds substance and meaning for the story itself. Cobb and Mary's story is about their true love but it is also about a shared love, regard and appreciation for nature. In our rapidly moving, constantly plusgged-in world, this story of love, nature and the cycles of life is a true gift. For me personally, this book is now one of my three all-time favorites.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief is the first book in this series. I really wanted to like this book. Actually, I did like it until about halfway through and then I got annoyed and bored. Sad but true.

Why was I annoyed? One, because I was seeing similarities to Harry Potter that I felt were cheap imitations. Even the way the title is presented; Percy Jackson and... is exactly the same. Also, the three main 'child' characters are two displaced males and a bookish female. Come on, some originality, please. Second, I really dislike glaringly obvious mistakes that an editor, proofreader, someone within the process to publication should have caught. For example, at one point in the book there is a reference to something that happened 'two weeks' ago. Two or three pages later, the same event had occurred 'one week' ago. I know it's kind of petty of me to be annoyed by this sort of thing but I can't help that I am.

When I got annoyed, I also found myself getting bored. I finished this book and it was all right but not so great that I want to read the rest of the series. I actually think the movie looks better than the book and I never feel that way.

Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays are hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page.

This week, Rebecca asks:

Where do you keep any books borrowed from friends or the library? Do they live with your own collection, or do you keep them separate? Do you monitor them in anyway?

Although it is rare, I do have a few books a neighbor loaned me sitting on my shelf. Along with five books I have checked out from the library. They are sitting in separate piles on the same shelf in my bedroom. This way, I see the books regularly but they are separate from the ones I own. I'll try to read the books from my neighbor as quickly as possible - simply because it makes me uncomfortable having them around. That sounds weird but I am super picky about the condition of my own books and would really dislike messing up another persons property. As for the library books - I need to finish those first and foremost because they are due back this week. :)

Rain, Rain, Go Away

As I told my BFF - I know I sound like a whiny baby, but I am so sick of the freezing cold rain! I want it to be done and go back to being sunny in Southern California! Seriously, I'm over it! It's awful to drive in and soaks through all of us and freezes us. Plus, my kids haven't been able to play outside and they are going nuts! Which, in turn, is driving me nuts! Okay, enough whining, back to reality. :)

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. It is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I am liking it so far. Teaser, from page 130: I had to stop them. I didn't know why. But the harder I ran, the more the wind blew me back, until I was running in place, my heels digging uselessly in the sand.

Musing Mondays

Musing Monday is hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page. Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about tidy reading around people.

When is it inappropriate to read in front of others? Is it ever appropriate?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

I carry a book with me everywhere I go. And I do mean EVERY where! I read every chance I get - as long as I'm by myself or on the rare occassions my kids are asleep in the car and I'm waiting for whatever reason. However, if my kids are awake - I'm interacting with them. Often lately, I'm talking to a mom or moms of my kids' pals.

If I'm on my own though, and it's safe, I'm reading. I don't feel it's rude, either. It's my free time and I can use as it as I please. My kids have even gotten into the habit of taking books in the car. I love it and it makes me proud. My husband just shakes his head and smiles.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

I told myself that I would write some sort of review of each book I read in 2010. I realized that I have been remiss in writing one for The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

This book is told from the point of View of Enzo the dog. I wasn't sure how I would like this but it went over really well for me. Enzo is a puppy when Denny picks him from his litter and takes him home to Seattle. We see - through Enzo's eyes - as Denny falls in love with Eve, marries her and they have a daughter named Zoe together. We also see the trials, tribulations and successes of human life as a dog might see them.

Enzo is a dog who longs to be human. So, as we see his humans go through their ups and downs, we understand Enzo's longing for humanity. And his absolute love for auto racing. he is convinced that he will live another life as a human race car driver.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is a wonderful and touching book. I highly recommend reading it with a box of tissue nearby.

Finally Feeling Better

YAY! I hate being sick and I hate being in a funk! I am truly happy to say that I am feeling better on all fronts! In fact, I even got a decent amount of writing in today. Writing that I am happy with, too. :)

I also got caught up with a book I was behind on reading. It's Barnes and Noble's First Look choice, Eternal on the Water. It's an incredibly beautiful book but I was just behind where I needed to be in order to discuss it.

Now it's time for some more family time. Truly a wonderful day and the start to what I hope is going to be a great weekend!

I'm Over Feeling Blah!

I am so sick of feeling uninspired and basically blah! Granted, I am feeling a little better today than I have for a while, but still. This is so unlike me and it is beyond frustrating! I WANT to write but by the time I have time at night - I am so tired I can't concentrate. It sucks and seriously needs to pass! Maybe I just need to force myself to write something and see what I get out of it. Hmmm - that's an idea worth considering. Of course, now that I'm complaining about it - all will be well. LOL!

One Sick Daughter and Her Toddler Sister

Oh boy, what is my day going to be like? Well, if this is any indication; the sick girl is achy and feverish while the toddler just bit her big sister. Hard. Hard enough to make her sister cry and immediately bruise. So now, both of my girls are crying and peeved. One because she's sick and just got bit. The other because she's in trouble and in timeout for the biting. I love them both dearly but I have a feeling I'm going to have a LONG day.

The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

The Ghosts of Belfast is published in Great Britain as The Twelve. This is an astonishing debut novel and I personally hope to be able to read quite a lot more by Stuart Neville.

Gerry Fegan is an ex-IRA hit man. He is being haunted by twelve ghosts of innocent people that he killed. The ghosts want revenge and Gerry wants redemption. I found this book extremely compelling and often disturbing. I also found it to be enlightening about a part of Irish history that I have heard quite a lot about. This is an amazing work of fiction but I still feel like I understand more about the people who were involved in this time in history.

I don't want to give any more of the storyline away. However, I think it's a book well worth reading!

WriYe in 2010

After completing NaNoWriMo in November (and winning it with 53,700 words) I went in search of another writing challenge. I found this one called WriYe which means writing year and was born from (but not by the same people) NaNoWriMo. Basically, you choose a word count that you want to achieve during the twelve months of a calendar year and go for it. Thankfully, it's acceptable to adjust your word count if necessary. I chose to do 500,000 words and already I'm wondering if 365,000 may have been more sane. Time will tell, I suppose. I'm anxious to get started, though. I discovered that I like having a deadline to meet. The challenge begins on January 1st and runs through December 31st and anything written goes. I'm anticipating getting a lot done in 2010. Of course, I still say I'm getting published next year, too! :)

The above was my original LJ post on 12/30/09. Since this year has begun - I've written only slightly more than 3,000 words. I've been so tired and not really feeling that great. I hope I snap out of it soon so that I can get moving on the writing again! :)

Importing LJ blog - BLAH!

Well, I've slept and still I can't seem to import my LJ blog. I've even used the help option and all I've learned is that a lot of people have had this same problem. Lovely. So, I'm just going to copy and paste the posts I feel are relevant from the past couple of weeks. Oh well, I guess it's not that big of a deal.

A little annoyed

I can't figure out how to import my LJ blog to this new one! UGH!! I read the 'import' directions and it is still NOT working for me!

I'm tired! I'm going to bed and will come back to this tomorrow. Maybe it'll make sense/work once I've had some sleep.

Update on the new blog

As previously stated, I will be using this blog for book writing/publishing purposes. However, I am also going to convert from LiveJournal to this format. I've been pondering this possibility for a while and have finally decided to just do it. I have a family blog in this style that I like quite a lot. Plus, a couple of my friends use blogger and I like the format. AND, quite a lot of the blogs I read somewhat regularly are also on blogger. So, it seems that this community just has more to offer in terms of what I want my blog to look and feel like. There, enough said, change being made.

New Decade, New Blog

I've decided that I need a blog that is specifically designed to discuss my writing and reading goals and habits. With an emphasis on my writing career. Thus, the reason this new blog is simply my name. I hope to be a published author sometime very soon; and see this blog as a fun and helpful place. For myself, family, friends and fans alike. Oh, how I love the power of positivity!