Waiting On Wednesday - Barnheart

Hosted by Breaking the Spine


Title: Barnheart: The Incurable Longing for a Farm of One's Own
Author: Jenna Woginrich
Publisher: Storey Publishing
Publication Date: November 16, 2011
Format: Trade Paperback
Genre: Memoir

Book Description:

Whether they’re about raising chickens or herding sheep, the tales of Jenna Woginrich have caught the imagination of thousands of young homesteaders. As she learns traditional farming skills by trial and error, Woginrich records her offbeat observations and poignant moments with honesty, humility, and humor.

In BarnHeart, she lands at a small rented farm and struggles to find her place in a reserved rural community filled with working farmers who are scraping by and wealthy vacation-home owners with fancy barns that never house livestock. Although her barnheart — a term Woginrich coins to describe her state of longing for a farm of her own — never subsides, she makes do on her rented farmstead, caring for her sheep, chickens, geese, ducks, rabbits, a goat, and a turkey, until relationships sour and she’s abruptly forced to leave. Where will she and her animals go? Will she finally be able to afford the farm she’s always dreamed of?

Even when dealing with cranky neighbors, small-town politics, and the loneliness that comes with running a farm on her own, Woginrich never loses her sense of humor. Readers will recognize themselves and find inspiration in this appealing story of longing and striving for a more authentic life.

I enjoyed her previous book Made From Scratch and I look forward to reading this one as well.

First Chapter, First Paragraph - Seizure

Title: Seizure
Author: Robin Cook
Narrator:George Guidall
Publisher: Putnam / Recorded Books
Publication Date: 2003
Format: Audio
Genre: Medical Thriller
Source: Library

Hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea

First Paragraph:

6:30PM, Wednesday, February 20, 2002
One Year Later

It seemed to Daniel Lowell that the taxi had senselessly pulled to a stop mid-block in the center of M Street in Georgetown, Washington D.D., a busy four-lane thoroughfare. Daniel had never liked riding in taxis. It seemed the height of ridiculousness to trust one’s life to a total stranger who more often than not hailed from a distant Third World country and frequently was more interested in talking on his cell phone than paying attention to driving. Sitting in the middle of M Street in the darkness with rush-hour taffic whizzing by on both sides and the driver carrying on emotionally in an unknown language was a case in point. Daniel glanced over at Stephanie. She appeared relaxed and smiled at him in the half-light. She gripped his hand affectionately.

Book Description:

What could bring the enigmatic Shroud of Turin, a notorious southern senator, and a gifted, vigorously entrepreneurial researcher together? Religion, politics, and bioscience collide in the latest medical thriller from the master in the field.

Senator Ashley Butler is a quintessential southern demagogue, whose support of traditional American values includes a knee-jerk reaction against virtually all biotechnologies remotely associated with human reproduction. As the chairman of a subcommittee on health policy, he introduces legislation to ban a new cloning procedure that would take stem cell research to the next level. Dr. Daniel Lowell, the inventor of the technique, sees the proposed ban as a blow to his biotech startup, and to people poised to benefit from its promised therapies.

The two formidable egos clash during the Senate hearing, but the men have a common desire. Butler's hunger for political power far outstrips his purported concern for the unborn, while Lowell's craving for personal wealth and celebrity overrides ethical considerations for patients' well-being. Further complicating the situation is the confidential news that Senator Butler has developed a progressive form of Parkinson's disease, which threatens his political future and leads the senator and the researcher into a Faustian pact. After a perilous attempt to prematurely harness Lowell's new technology, the senator is left with the horrifying effects of temporal lobe epilepsy—seizures of the most bizarre order.

With a plot torn from today's headlines, Seizure is a cautionary tale for a time when politics clashes with biotechnology, when we are pulled into a promising yet frightening new world.

Mailbox Monday - Town in a Lobster Stew

Currently on a Blog Tour with a New Host Each Month

Title: Town in a Lobster Stew
Author: B. B. Haywood
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Format: Paperback; Pgs 365
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: Paperback Swap
Series: Candy Holliday Mystery #2

Summary

Things start to boil over at the annual Lobster Stew Cook-Off when an award-winning recipe is stolen and a seven-time contest champion mysteriously disappears—leaving Candy no choice but to find out who in Cape Willington, Maine, would get steamed enough to break the law.

First book in the Candy Holliday Murder Mystery series was:

Town In a Blueberry Jam
In the seaside village of Cape Willington, Maine, Candy Holliday has an idyllic life tending to the Blueberry Acres farm she runs with her father. But, when an aging playboy and the newly crowned Blueberry Queen are killed, Candy investigates to clear the name of a local handyman. And as she sorts through the town’s juicy secrets, things start to get sticky indeed...

B. B. Haywood is a pseudonym of writing team Beth Feeman and Robert Feeman. They conceived the idea for the Candy Holliday mysteries while driving around the Maine countryside, stopping at different small towns throughout the state.

We Give Books

Thanks to An Abundance of Books for leading me to this site.

We Give Books was started by Penguin Group and the Pearson Foundation to "support literacy through programs that engage entire communities through literacy and awareness programs". The We Give Books program is an initiative that allows anyone with Internet access to give books to children in need. When you sign up you can choose from one of five charities. Then you can select from one of 151 digital picture books (both fiction and non fiction) to read online.

This is all completely free for the reader! Simply choose the charity you want to read for and then select the books you want to read. For each book you read online, a book is donated to a leading literacy group on your behalf. So please sign up and support literacy.

Title: Goodnight iPad: a Parody for the next generation
Author: Ann Droyd
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
Publication Date: Ocober 27, 2011
Format: eBook
Genre: Childrens (4 – 7)
Source: We Give Books

It is so much fun to go back and read children’s books. The simplicity and beauty of the story and illustrations are a joy.

Goodnight iPad is a parody of the much beloved Goodnight Moon book. Those of us who have had to battle teens over shutting down their electronics and just reading a book will find the humor not only in the words, but also in the illustration. And if you look close, even the daddy is a bit troubled by having to give it all up for the evening.

A sweet fun book that you will not mind reading over and over to your young ones.


Title: The Snowy Day
Author: Ezra Jack Keats
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: 1962
Format: eBook
Genre: Childrens 5+
Source: We Give Books

This book has been around for 50 years and still holds the magic of the first snowstorm of the season.

In its day, this was ground-breaking work in that for the first time showed a young African American child putting on his snowsuit and having a glorious adventure in the first snow of the season.

A sweet story that is as much fun now as it was when my children were young.


Title: Why Lion Roarrrs!
Author: Tiger Aspect
Publisher: Puffin
Publication Date: May 2011
Format: eBook
Genre: Childrens 5+
Source: We Give Books

Wow, this story has a tale to tell. Poor lion does not feel very big and when crocodile takes over the watering hole and starts to bully the other animals, tiny flea has to help lion discover his voice so he can help all of his friends. Beautiful illustrations and a good starting point to discuss bullying with your children.