Pamela’s Book Spot and other interesting things

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly  meme hosted by Sheila @  Book Journey  where you can share  what you are reading each week. Be sure to visit Book Journey to link up  if want to join in!  I am well and truly back into the swing of things at work, hence the lack of reading and posts! :( No worry though, this week I am aiming to make up for it.  I am going to put Cutting for Stone down and come back to it later - only because I find it hard to read two pretty heavily themed books at the one time as I am also still reading All That I Am by Anna Funder. Instead of Cutting For Stone, I'm going to read The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag because I have been hanging out to read some more Flavia!!! If you haven't read any of the Flavia de Luce series, then you should!! lol :)

Hosted by  Freda's Voice I have had a difficult week and find myself taking a step back from life to remember what is important to me and who I am. The universe has a way of helping you along when you are struggling and it took me to this beautiful quote by Audrey Hepburn. Hope you like it to. "For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." ~Audrey Hepburn  1929 – 1993 ~ British Actress and Humanitarian

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 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! This weeks Teaser Tuesday comes from All That I Am By Anna Funder. I love it when you come across observations in a book that really resonate with you. This weeks teaser was one of those moments for me... "Children are the only people who can see adults from inside their lives, permitted to observe every small thing, as if their forming minds are incapable of judging what they see, or as if it does not lodge there, somewhere, permanently." (p. 40)

Hosted by  Freda's Voice I am going back to work on Monday and can't wait to see the beautiful kids in my class after their holiday, so this week I thought I'd quote about children. The passage by Kahil Gibrahn is one of my favourites. If you haven't read his work in 'The Prophet', try and get yourself a copy, it is simply beautiful. A child can ask a thousand questions  that the wisest man cannot answer.  Jacob Abbott 1803 - 1879 We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children  that makes the heart too big for the body.                       Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 - 1882 Your children are not your children, they are the sons and daughters of  life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts for they have their own though...

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda over at  Freda's Voice . The rules are simple: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56. *Find any sentence that grabs you. (I cheat sometimes and put a little more than a sentence!) *Post it. *Add your post URL to the Link. Today's Friday 56 comes from another of my favourite reads titled 'Wide Sargasso Sea' By Jean Rhys which was written as a prequel to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre although it does also stand on it's own. Wide Sargasso Sea tells the story of Bertha Mason, who was Mr Rochester's first wife, the madwoman in the attic of Thornfield Hall. Jean Rhys uses such beautiful, sensory descriptive language and this was one of the things I loved most about Wide Sargasso Sea.  "Christophine cried bitterly but I could not. I prayed, but the words fell to the ground meaning nothing." (p. 55/56)

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 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! Well, here is my teaser for this week....taken from The Earth Hums in B Flat By Mari Strachan. "'If you're clever you'll get on in this old world,' says Tada. 'No-one will think Gwennie's clever if she goes around saying she can fly and dead animals are resurrected,' said Mam. 'I think it wants me to help it,' I say. 'I think it wants a decent burial. Like we gave Siani Nanti.' (p. 56)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila @  Book Journey  where you can share  what you are reading each week. Be sure to visit Book Journey to link up  if want to join in!  Well, before I talk about what I am reading this week, let me just say that I finished The Fault in Our Stars By John Green on Saturday and oh my goodness what an amazing read...just, wow! So raw, honest and heart wrenching....you have to read it. Review will be here soon :)  This week though, I am excited to be starting Cutting for Stone By Abraham Verghese and The Earth Hums in B Flat By Mari Strachan. Cutting for Stone By Abraham Verghese is one that I have wanted to start reading all year!  The Earth Hums in B Flat By Mari Strachan is one that has been on my TBR pile forever and is also part of my Mount TBR challenge...yay!! 

Hosted by  Freda's Voice A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not. ~Ernest Hemingway  1899 – 1961~ Author and Journalist If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow, but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much. ~Mark Twain  1835 – 1910~  Author and Humourist I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior. ~Hippolyte Taine  1828 – 1893~ French Critic and Historian

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda over at  Freda's Voice . The rules are simple: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56. *Find any sentence that grabs you. (I cheat sometimes and put a little more than a sentence!) *Post it. *Add your post URL to the Link. Today's Friday 56 comes from a great book that I read a couple of years ago called 'The Poisonwood Bible' By Barbara Kingsolver. It was one of those books that sat on my TBR pile for ages and ages, but then once I finally read it I couldn't put it down and could not believe that I had let such a wonderful book sit on that pile for so long! lol :) "The River Kwilu is not like the River Jordan, chilly and wide. It is a lazy, rolling river as warm as bathwater, where the crocodiles are said to roll around like logs. No milk and honey on the other side, either, but just more stinking jungle laying low in the haze, as far, far away as the memory of picnics in Georgia." (p.56)

I love Emily Dickinson's poetry so much and was reading some this afternoon when I came across this bookish themed poem that I hadn't seen before! How had I never seen it before???!!!  Anyway, hope you like it! IN A LIBRARY. A precious, mouldering pleasure 't is To meet an antique book, In just the dress his century wore; A privilege, I think, His venerable hand to take, And warming in our own, A passage back, or two, to make To times when he was young. His quaint opinions to inspect, His knowledge to unfold On what concerns our mutual mind, The literature of old; What interested scholars most, What competitions ran When Plato was a certainty. And Sophocles a man; When Sappho was a living girl, And Beatrice wore The gown that Dante deified. Facts, centuries before, He traverses familiar, As one should come to town And tell you all your dreams were true; He lived where dreams were sown. His presence is enchantment, You beg him not to go; Old volumes shake their vellum he...

Title : The Snow Child Author : Eowyn Ivey Published: Headline Review 2012 No. Pages: 432 Themes: Life, love, belief Genre: Fiction Rating : 5 stars The Snow Child was one of the most beautifully written and paced stories I have read in a really long time! I was so very surprised by how much I loved it because it wasn’t a novel I had heard anything about prior to picking it up at the bookshop and to be honest, it was the beautiful cover art that initially sucked me in! The Snow Child is based on the Russian fairytale Snegurochka which is about an old man and woman, unable to have a child of their own, who build a snow child that magically comes to life. In Ivey’s novel, the magical is masterfully weaved into the reality of a couple’s struggle through life after the loss of their own child, and you find yourself lost in a story that is ultimately very real and heartwrenching. The descriptive language is simply beautiful and the characters are so well developed that by the...

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by   The True Book Addict . Go over to her site to join in the fun. ....oh, you wanted to use the computer?...sorry the computers taken, it is my personal heater....ohh you wanted to do some gardening??.....sorry plant pots taken too, it is my personal sun bed.....ohhh you wanted to go to bed???, sorry the pillows taken also, it is my personal mattress!! LOL :) Does anyone else out there living with a beloved four legged friend have a similar problem to me??

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 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! Well, here is my teaser for this week....taken from Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children By Ransom Riggs. "I thought about how my grandfather's family had been taken from him, and how because of that my dad grew up feeling like he didn't have a dad, and now I had acute stress and nightmares and was sitting alone in a falling-down house and crying hot, stupid tears all over my shirt. All because of a seventy-year-old hurt that had somehow been p...

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila @  Book Journey  where you can share  what you are reading each week. Be sure to visit Book Journey to link up  if want to join in!  This week  I am going to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which has been sitting on my shelf for a few months now. I am curious about this book, I don't really know what to expect - perhaps that is a good thing!  I am also reading The Fault in Our Stars By John Green. I got my copy last week and have been looking forward to this book because everybody I have spoken to loves it. I am extremely excited to get started on Catching Fire By Suzanne Collins, which is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. Yes, I know I have been a bit slow to get into this series but I kept avoiding it for some reason - probably all the hype which usually makes me run the other way!! But, I can truly say that I am glad I finally read The Hunger Gam...

Title : The Art of Racing in the Rain Author : Garth Stein Published: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd No. Pages: 336 Themes: Love, life, loss Genre: Fiction Rating :   ★★★★☆ The Art of Racing in the Rain is the story of a family’s journey through life told through the eyes of their beloved dog Enzo. Stein’s personification of Enzo throughout this novel brings a beautiful innocence to the telling of a story that is both heartwarming and heartwrenching. Enzo is used to having his owner Denny all to himself, but when he marries Eve, Enzo has to adjust to sharing the time and attention he is accustomed to. As Denny and Eve’s lives unfold, and they welcome their daughter Zoe into the world, Enzo comes to love them all dearly, so when tragedy strikes and all their lives are turned upside down, Enzo’s unconditional love helps them through. At times you will cry, but at others you will catch yourself laughing out loud. I think everybody will enjoy this book, but particula...

I loved this book so much! If you haven't read it yet, you should definitely get your hands on a copy. I cannot wait for the sequels and am going to have trouble waiting for them to come out!! Here is the book description from Amazon .... Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .  Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. .....and here the trailer on YouTube to get yo...

Hosted by Freda at  Freda's Voice " What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies. "  ~ Aristotle   (384 BC – 322 BC)  ~ Greek Philosopher "Friendship is always a sweet responsibilty, never an opportunity."  ~ Kahil Gibran  1883 – 1931 ~ Artist, Poet and Writer "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." ~ Mother Teresa 1910 - 1997 ~ "I will speak ill of no man, and speak all the good I know of everybody."  ~ Benjamin Franklin 1706 - 1790 ~

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda over at  Freda's Voice . The rules are simple: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56. *Find any sentence that grabs you. (I cheat sometimes and put a little more than a sentence!) *Post it. *Add your post URL to the Link. Today's Friday 56 comes from The Snow Child By Eowyn Ivey which I am currently reading (and enjoying!!).  "During the next several days the skies cleared, a deep cold settled on the valley, and the child's tracks became edged in frost. They trailed sparkling and delicate through Mabel's thoughts, and left her feeling as if she had forgotten something" (p.56)

There are no words to describe that feeling you have when someone you love - be they person or pet - is sick or in pain and you can't fix it for them.

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 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! Well, here is my teaser for this week....taken from The Snow Child By Eowyn Ivey. "He walked to the woodpile, then turned back to the cabin and saw the snow child, or what was left of it. Still just a shapeless pile of snow. No scarf. No mittens. Just as it had been last night, but now exposed as truth in the light of day." (p. 52)

This week I am reading 2 great books! The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins, which I am sure you have all heard more than enough about!!!...but I am nearly done and have really enjoyed it. Will post a review sometime throughout the week. The Snow Child was an impulse buy from the bookstore while I was waiting for a prescription to be filled at the chemist. I cannot seem to go to the chemist without finding my way to the bookstore and returning home with another book or two.....eeeek! Oh well! :) But, as always, I am drawn to beautiful cover art that is backed up by the promise of a great story and this seemed to fit both those criteria for me. I read the first few pages and the writing is beautiful, so I am really looking forward to reading The Snow Child By Eowyn Ivey.  Here is a trailer from YouTube .