Mailbox Monday (61)

I didn't have a chance to post last week for Mailbox Monday, which you can definitely tell with the amount of books I'm sharing this week. I can't even remember the last time I had a mailbox this big. But alas, picking up so many books also means I have to manage to find the time to read them as well.
From Paperback Swap
A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley
Years ago I read Genna Townley's The Importance of Being Married and thought it was awfully adorable. But I didn't realize until recently there was a sequel. Hopefully when I read it, the parts of the first I've forgotten come back to me, and I enjoy this just as much.

For Review from France Book Tours
Marie Antoinette's Head by Will Bashor
The is a non-fiction book about Marie Antoinette's hairdresser. I always seem to enjoy non-fiction books I read, but never feel like I read enough of them. So I'm definitely excited to get into this.

For Review from TLC Book Tours
Three Souls by Janie Chang
Another type of books I enjoy, but seem to rarely read, are books that take place in China like this one. It's a historical fiction and seems to have a touch of fantasy, which makes me really curious.

At The River's Edge by Mariah Stewart
Last year I read two others in this series and really enjoyed them both. There's some so comforting about romance-y novels like this. Yes, you know exactly what to expect in them, but sometimes, that's a good thing.

Won from Beyond the Aisle
A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
When Heather read this book, I couldn't help but be intrigued, which is why I was so excited when I won her giveaway. This is a YA historical fiction that takes place in London in the early 1900s. From everything I've heard from Heather I'm really going to love this one, so hopefully it lives up to my expectations.

From my Mom
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
I know so many bloggers who really seemed to enjoy this one, so when I saw it sitting with my mom's books I couldn't help but bring it back with me. Knowing how many others felt about this one, I'm hopefully that I feel similar, even though it isn't necessarily the type of book I'd read otherwise.

Borrowed from my Brother
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
My brother read this recently and absolutely loved it, and he wanted me to read it as well. I have read a few Barbara Kingsolver books, and while it has been a while do remember enjoying them.

Have you read any of these books before? And what did you find in your mailbox this week?

Post Holiday Blues {Giveaway}

I feel a little bit like things are starting to settle down and get back to normal, but I'm not quite sure I'd like it. Part of me wishes I could hit rewind and start over from my birthday reliving all of October, November, and December. Unfortunately, that isn't quite possible, but I do have something that will hopefully help you transition back to reality. I'm happy to let you know I'm participating in Dara's January giveaway at Not in Jersey, and hopefully a few prizes will have you ready to take on January!

Myself, and her other sponsors, have come together to giveaway to offer a range of prizes including a $30 gift card to Target or Starbucks (your choice!).

You could also win a canvas from Easy Canvas Print, a company I'm obviously found of since I ordered my wedding canvas from them.
In addition, you could win an LED Teeth Whitening System from Smile Brilliant and copies of Is God Real or Pretend? by Jennifer Horsman and Brady Needs a Nightlight by Brian Barlics. To enter please use the rafflecopter form below, and good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

From the Pacific Theater

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Eppstein
Published: January 13, 2014 by W. W. Norton & Company
Originally Published: March 11, 2012
Through the years I've read a lot about WWII, except I think this is the first I've read that dealt with the war in Japan. Which is a bit ironic in a way, because my own grandfather fought in Japan in WWII. While I've always known that, I've never given much thought to what it must have been like, or what actually happened there till reading this book. (Again ironically the B-52 Mitchell bomber, which my grandfather flew in, is flown by one of the characters in this book.)

My grandfather (front row, center) in Okinawa, 1945The book starts with two chapters before the war, the first in New York and the second in Japan, that set the scene for what's to come. In these chapters we meet 5 specific characters, and from then on each following chapter focuses on a specific individual and how the war has impacted them. But each time we're only given a window into a single, short moment, and it's only together they tell an entire story.

It is an interesting way to tell a story, and while it could be confusing, I thought it flowed beautifully. There are parts you you almost expect, but that's because it's written in a way that it builds towards something specific. And while you don't leave the story with everything tied up in a pretty bow, you did at least by the novel's end have a feeling of completeness about each of the characters.

From my grandfather's WWII mementosI think this book spoke to me in so many ways, partly because of my family history, but also because I've been to Japan. I'd recognize certain districts of Tokyo that I'd been to and recall them in my mind. Except what I didn't realize till later is that Tokyo was almost destroyed during the war, so the Tokyo I visited in 2008 has almost nothing left from before the war.

There is a bit of sadness and awful events in this, but that should be expected in a book about a war. Instead though, the part that brought me to tears wasn't a moment of sadness, but at the novel's close when a character looks back on an almost perfect moment, before everything changed, before the war.

5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

Project 365: Wrapping up 2013

Yes, I did it! I completely my Project 365 and managed to take a photo every single day in 2013. To start, these are my final photos of the year, and afterwards I'll be posting my thoughts on the process.
December 28, 2013 - 362/365: Lunch at Cane's.
December 29, 2013 - 363/365: Playing Carcassone with the boy.
December 30, 2013 - 364/365: Chili for dinner.
December 31, 2013 - 365/365: Ending the year with a glass of champagne and a bowl of peppermint ice cream. Coincidentally, this matches day 1 of my project where I had grapefruit juice in our toasting glasses. Talk about coming full circle.
January 1, 2013 - 1/365: Glass of Grapefruit Juice to Ring in the New Year

I've been wanting to complete a Project 365 since before I started blogging, and am I little in awe I managed to pull it off. Especially on my first try. I was sure I was going to miss a day, and have to try again in 2014 to achieve it, but I kept at it. I do think my photography improved over the course of the year, which I think you can see by comparing the two photos above from the first and last day of the year. Of course, some of that was due to my new DSLR, but I definitely couldn't have pulled the year off without having access to my camera.

I'm definitely happy to have the project behind me. There were definitely days when realizing I hadn't taken a picture all day that I'd feel the need to eat dessert just to have something to photograph. Maybe without that justification, I'll have less dessert in 2014?

I'm definitely not planning a Project 365 for 2014, and in fact didn't take a single picture the first two days of the year. But I would still be up for attempting a project 365 at some other point down the line, since overall I did have a lot of fun doing it.

Have you ever attempted, or completed, a Project 365?

A Novel of the Great War

Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson
Published: December 31, 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks
I'm almost afraid to start this review because it's another that I can't imagine I'll do justice to. Reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I stayed up late to read it, but even more impressive (since I can't ever remember doing this!) I woke up early to keep reading it. That night I dreamed of the book, and that day I couldn't help but relive specific scenes over and over in my head. And don't ask my husband about the lunch we had together where I ignored him because I HAD to keep reading. As soon as I finished it, I was ready to turn it over and start from page 1.

Lily Ashford is the daughter of The Earl and Countess of Cumberland. Her mother wants nothing more than for her to be settled and married, but when war breaks out Lily feels a call to do something more. She leaves her home, family, and all she knows and winds up in France to serving as an ambulance driver for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. This is also the story of Robert Fraser, the son of a dustman and a laundress, who goes on scholarship to Oxford and works hard to become a surgeon. While most of the story is told from Lily's point of view, they are a few chapters where we hear from Robbie and those were my favorite.

I feel like I haven't read a lot of books that take place during WWI. And yet that isn't quite true because some of my favorite series growing up, The Betsy-Tacy Series, Anne of Green Gables, and The All-of-a-Kind Family, all end with a book that takes place during The Great War. But this is the first one I remember reading as a "grown-up," and one where it's a single book instead of the end of a series.

In case you couldn't already tell, I absolutely loved this book, and have a feeling it will be one that stays with me for a while. I did read that the author is planning a follow-up to this for 2015, and while this book doesn't need a sequel and I'd be more than happy with just this single book, I can't wait to be able to check in on Lily and Robbie.

5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

Last Christmas

I feel like everyone's already moved onto New Year's Eve, and even Valentine's Day, but yet here I am recapping a belated Christmas. I actually didn't take that many pictures this year, and most of them have already been posted on the blog for various reasons. But I couldn't help but write one big post with everything in single place.

It actually felt like Christmas was pretty low-key this year. We spent Christmas Eve at home, where the boy and I had a lazy night on the couch watching Love Actually. Then the following morning over a cup of coffee (for me) and a glass of milk (for the boy) we opened the presents for each other.
The boy tends to always buy exactly what I'm looking for, but I try to make sure there's a bit of a surprise by giving him several options to choose from. That way I never know exactly which of those he'll choose. This year was no different and I was gifted both towels and a new pillow from Pottery Barn, as well as my newest obbession, with the Frozen soundtrack. Of course, he still had a surprise for me with a new necklace which I never would have guessed.
We then went over to my in-laws' house where everyone had stacks of presents waiting for them. My stack is actually on the far right, with the boy's next to it. Our niece and nephew's stacks are what you see in the background.
I definitely received far more gifts than needed and definitely felt a bit spoiled in the process. Some of my favorites, apart from the necklace and soundtrack from the boy, are my serving bowl in our china pattern and my new cookbooks.
Another Christmas tradition I've inherited is having scratch off tickets in everyone's stocking, with a bit of a competition to see who can win the most. This was the first year I wound up winning, with close to $50 scratched off.
Once everyone had finished opening, we sat down to a dinner with gumbo, tuduken, and several over sides and finished off the meal with a slice of my peppermint cake.
All in all it was a great day, one where I definitely came away feeling a bit spoiled. Overall a perfect way to end 2013.

Mailbox Monday (60)

It's my first Mailbox Monday post of the new year! For 2014, we're changing things up at Mailbox Monday and instead of having a touring host each month we'll be linking up the recent books we've added to our shelves at The Official Mailbox Monday Site. Here's to a great year of reading, and my first new books of the year!
For Review from Virtual Author Books Tours
Hidden in Plain Sight by Jane Allen Petrick
As you can probably tell from the title, this is about the people in Norman Rockwell's painting. Except not the all-american white families that you picture when you think of Norman Rockwell, but instead his lesser known pieces featuring minorities. While I've obviously heard of Norman Rockwell, I don't know a lot about him, so I'm thinking this will be an interesting look.

Borrowed from a Friend
Splintered by A.G. Howard
This is actually our book club book for the week, but I've been wanting to read it for a while now so I'm happy for the excuse to get to it. It's a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, and since I tend to be a fan of retellings I definitely have high hopes for it. With the sequel about to come out, I've been seeing it around a lot lately, so hopefully it's able to live up to my expectations.

What did you find in your mailbox this week? And what are your views on reading retellings?