ARC 2011 Reading Challenge Completed!

Well I am very excited to share with you all that I have completed the ARC Reading Challenge for 2011!  Although I only signed up for the Bronze Level, which is the lowest level possible, I am still happy to have completed it!  I want to give a special Thank You to So Many Precious Books, So Little Time for hosting this challenge this year.  So even though I signed up for the Bronze Level, I'm hoping to finish at a higher level as I will keep adding books to this post that are acceptable for this challenge.  Here is the list of books that I have read for the challenge and you should be able to click on the title if you would like to read my review:

1. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez--Completed 1/6/2011
2. The Missionary by William Carmichael and David Lambert--Completed 1/14/2011
3. The Brave by Nicholas Evans--Completed 2/1/2011
4. Sweetie by Kathryn Magendie--Completed 2/6/2011
5. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin--Completed 3/17/2011
6. The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry--Completed 3/22/2011
7. Night Road by Kristin Hannah--Completed 4/09/2011
8. The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair--Completed 4/24/2011
9. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin--Completed 5/23/2011
10. The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson--Completed 6/15/11
11. Too Jewish by Patty Friedmann--Completed 6/27/11
12. Sweet Jiminy by Kristin Gore--Completed 7/2/11
13. Dreams of Joy by Lisa See--Completed 7/17/11
14. Lamb Bright Saviors by Robert Vivian--Completed 7/25/11
15. The Traitor's Wife by Kathleen Kent--Completed 8/19/11
16. The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard--Completed 8/30/11
17. Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand--Completed 9/6/11
18. The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy--Completed 9/10/11
19. Everything We Ever Wanted by Sara Shepard--Completed 9/24/11
20. To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal--Completed 10/7/11
21. The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta--Completed 10/31/11
22. One Summer by David Baldacci--Completed 11/12/11
23. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley--Completed 11/15/11
24.  Iron House by John Hart--Completed 12/14/11
25.  Room by Emma Donaghue--Completed 12/20/11
26. The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck--Completed 12/24/11
27. All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson--Completed 12/27/11

Blog Tour-Giveaway and Guest Post by Kathleen Kent!

I could hardly contain myself when Kathleen Kent offered to submit a Guest Post for Jo-Jo Loves to Read!!!  I was asked to think of an interesting subject for Kathleen to share with us.  I pondered the idea for a bit and then it came to me that I was curious to find out what it would be like to learn that one of your descendents was prosecuted as a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.  This brought about my idea for a guest post entitled Embracing Your Family Heritage.  Here are Kathleen's thoughts on the subject:

  For quite a few people, discovering their heritage and history comes later in life.  School, career, and raising children will often take precedence over the time and resources necessary to pour over genealogy charts, family bibles or even old photographs.   Our extended families becomes scattered geographically and generations tend to live apart.   Older relatives, repositories of a wealth of details of life gone by, pass away, and when the storyteller is gone, often, too, is their story.

   I was incredibly fortunate then that my grandparents gave to me at an early age family stories about Martha Carrier, my grandmother back nine generations and one of the nineteen men and women hanged as a witch in Salem in 1692.   Some of those stories were taken from documented history of the trials, but some of them were a recounting of rustic life in 17^th century New England, passed down through generations of Carriers for over three hundred years.  In both my novels The Heretic’s Daughter, and the newly published The Traitor’s Wife, I incorporate many of those tales in tribute to my colonial ancestors.

   The first time I remember hearing about Martha was when I was a child, visiting my grandparents’ house in Pennsylvania for the summer.   I sat at the kitchen table listening to my mother and grandmother talking about family members, some of them long dead.   I hadn’t been paying them much attention until I heard my grandmother say something about a relative who had been hanged as a witch.  Intrigued, I asked her if Martha Carrier was truly a witch, and she said, “Sweetheart, there are no such things as witches, merely ferocious women.”

   From that moment on, at every family gathering, I asked my grandparents and great aunts and uncles for stories about Martha Carrier, and of her husband, Thomas, who has his own fascinating history.   From them I learned that Martha was indeed a ferocious woman; courageous, outspoken and steadfast in denying being a witch.  She is perhaps the only person recorded during the witch trials who called her judges to task for giving credence to the accusing girls’ testimony by saying, “It is a shame that you should listen to these folks who are out of their wits.”

   Thomas Carrier, Martha’s husband, was a man who, according to my grandparents, lived to 109 years of age, stood seven feet tall and was one of the executioners of King Charles I of England.   My book research substantiated the first two claims.  As to the rumor that Thomas was involved in a king’s death, the story may never be proved, but it has, to date, not been disproved either.  Following the publishing of The Heretic’s Daughter, I was contacted by many fellow Carrier descendents, most of whom I had never met before, who told me that they also had grown up hearing the same legends about this remarkable man.

   Embracing my family history from such an early age helped define who I am.  It instilled in me pride in the bravery and steadfastness of the family that came before me, who suffered and overcame so much injury from social intolerance and superstitious dread.   Looking at the “ferocious women” in my family helped to nurture my own sense of the value of passionate hard work and perseverance.   It also gave me a profound love for history, especially early American history, and for the settlers who risked so much for the ideals of individual freedoms.    Those family stories were a gift; a gift which I hope to pass on to the generations that come after me.

Now for the giveaway!
I will be giving away one book for every 10 entries with a maximum of three books to give away.  The first name drawn will also receive a copy of The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent.

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household, which means if you win the same title on another blog you will receive only one copy of the title.

To enter this contest you must be at least 18 and live in the U.S. or Canada. No PO Boxes please.

For one entry leave me a comment including your email address below.

For another entry share something interesting about your personal family history.

For two additional entries, blog about this contest or add the link to your sidebar.

Please include your email so I will have a way to contact you if you win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as myemail.address AT gmail DOT com or myemail.address [at] gmail [dot] com.

You will have until October 16th to enter and I will draw for winners on or after October 17th.

Good luck everyone!

**This giveaway is closed**

Blog Tour and Review: The Traitor's Wife by Kathleen Kent

I was very excited to be a part of this blog tour as I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent.  Even though The Traitor's Wife is the second novel by Kent, it is actually a prequel to The Heretic's Daughter. I also want to give a special Thank You to Anna from Hachette for inviting me to be a part of this special blog tour!

Here is a summary of the book from the Hachette website:

In the harsh wilderness of colonial Massachusetts, Martha Allen works as a servant in her cousin's household, taking charge and locking wills with everyone. Thomas Carrier labors for the family and is known both for his immense strength and size and his mysterious past. The two begin a courtship that suits their independent natures, with Thomas slowly revealing the story of the role he played in the English Civil War. But in the rugged new world they inhabit, danger is ever present, whether it be from the assassins sent from London to kill the executioner of Charles I or the wolves-in many forms-who hunt for blood. At once a love story and a tale of courage, The Traitor's Wife confirms Kathleen Kent's ability to craft powerful stories from the dramatic background of America's earliest days. 

My Review:
In The Traitor's Wife, Kent takes us back even further in history than she did in The Heretic's Daughter.  We are taken back to 1649 England in an effort to help us understand why Thomas Carrier fled from that country and tried to live as secretly as possible when arriving in America.

Martha Allen is already living in America with her family, and as a young woman her father only hopes that she will marry soon.  He sends her away to help her pregnant cousin Patience maintain her household, but little does Martha know that she will be treated like a common slave upon her arrival.  It is at her cousin's home where Martha crosses paths with Thomas Carrier, and it is only a matter of time until they become one anothers friend and confidant.

A good portion of this story is about Thomas Carrier and the secret of his past that will follow him for the rest of his life.  I will not give this part of the story away, except to say that it really was sad that this conspiracy against Thomas would always follow him.  I couldn't help recalling the story of The Heretic's Daughter and realizing that Thomas' secrecy, along with Martha's no-frills attitude and her home remedies, helped persuade all of the neighbors to convict her as a witch.

Life for Martha was hard as she tried to help her cousin the best that she could.  Patience very quickly makes it known that she is the woman of the house and everyone will abide by her rules.  When Martha makes suggestions or blends a special concoction of herbs to make the pregnancy easier for Patience, she finds that Patience no longer trusts her and even thinks that Martha may be harboring ill feelings or spells towards her.  I can only imagine how hard life was back then and to add a long and cold winter on top of it, yikes!  I'm sure it wouldn't take much for tempers to flare.

I loved how this story was written in a way that showed how gentle, but yet strong Thomas was.  Although we know the hardships that Martha endured during this time, I feel that I came to know Thomas more for some reason.  This was a great story with themes of love, secrecy, and loyalty that would make for either a great book club selection or to read for personal leisure.

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  This e-book was provided to me by the publisher through the Netgalley program in exchange for an honest review.

Winner of Southern Fried Women!

How exciting to announce the winner of Southern Fried Women by Pamela King Cable is.........

traveler

Congratulations traveler!  I will be emailing you shortly to get your mailing information to forward on to the publisher to send out your book.  Thanks to all who entered!

Audiobook Review: The Camel Club by David Baldacci

Title:  The Camel Club
Author:  David Baldacci
Narrator:  Jonathan Davis
Unabridged Length:  16 hrs, 10 mn.
 

Here is a summary of book from the Hachette website:

Welcome to THE CAMEL CLUB.Existing at the fringes of Washington, D.C., the Club consists of four eccentric members. Led by a mysterious man known as "Oliver Stone," they study conspiracy theories, current events, and the machinations of government to discover the "truth" behind the country's actions.Their efforts bear little fruit-until the group witnesses a shocking murder...and become embroiled in an astounding, far-reaching conspiracy. Now the Club must join forces with a Secret Service agent to confront one of the most chilling spectacles ever to take place on American soil-an event that may trigger the ultimate war between two different worlds. And all that stands in the way of this apocalypse is five unexpected heroes.

My Review:
The Camel Club is the first novel in a series by David Baldacci that introduces us to an extraordinary group of individuals that have their own way of trying to keep our country safe, even from people that would not usually be suspected.  Jonathan Davis narrated this audiobook and did a great job of building the action and suspense within the novel.

There are many characters that are introduced within the book, but Oliver Stone, who also leads the Camel Club is the character that we get to know the most.  Stone is quite a mysterious man as he doesn't seem to have a past but yet knows many of the in's and out's of secret government issues.  When the Camel Club gathers for a meeting in the beginning of the novel, they unfortunately witness a murder, which lands them knee deep in the middle of a conspiracy that will add excitement to all of their lives.

Shortly after the murder takes place, we learn about a plot to kidnap the President of the United States.  Plans have been in place by a terrorist organization that include people that have been working as nannies to medical doctors.  Once the President is kidnapped the Secret Service picks up a trail that somehow leads them right in the path of Oliver Stone and the rest of the Camel Club.

These events are somehow linked to the conspiracy and the Camel Club finds themselves working with the Secret Service to unravel the mystery.  As I indicated, this audiobook is full of action and suspense to keep your attention through most of the book.  I did find my attention wavering in a few parts, which is why I am going to give this audiobook just an average rating.  I'm sure that Baldacci fans will eat this one up though!

My Rating:  3/5

Disclosure:  I borrowed this audiobook from my local library and listened to it for my own entertainment.

Wondrous Words Wednesday-Sept. 14

Bermudaonion asks you to share new words that you have learned during your reading adventures in the last week. Feel free to join in the fun!

Last week I learned a couple of new words while reading an Advanced Reader's Edition of The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy:

Kestrel: a common small falcon.

Here is how kestrel was used on page 88:
I think of his face, which has the sharpness of a kestrel, his gaze, which looks right into you, and his twisted body, the way he drags his right foot.

Eiderdown: a thick warm cover for a bed, made of two layers of material enclosing a soft filling.

Here is how eiderdown was used on page 267:
I fetch her eiderdown and make her a bed on the sofa, with her Buckingham Palace jigsaw on a tray.

Well that is it for my new words this week.  I have heard of goosedown but eiderdown was a new one to me!

Teaser Tuesday-Sept. 13

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading.  TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

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!

This week my teaser is from The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy:
"We aren't going to let them get away with it, Auntie," he says.  "We're going around painting swastikas on their houses."

pg. 190
***Please note that this is from an Advanced Reading Copy so the final printing may change.