Bestsellers: USA Today list

Just came across this article on the novel A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. It's number 12 on USA Today's bestselling list.

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is number one on the list no doubt because of the movie. I enjoyed the movie, by the way now showing at the movie theater, and I am glad I read the book first. I was able to appreciate the storyline better.

Nicholas Spark's Dear John follows as number 2 on the list. Again the movie previews are out so it must be pushing the sales.

Stephenie Meyer holds on strong to the number three and four slots on the USA Today bestselling list. Meyer is promoting the YA book, The Lonely Hearts Club by Elisabeth Eulberg, on her site.

Haiti Disaster: Text Yele

I experienced an earthquake January 13, 1993 in Jamaica and it was absolutely nothing like January 12, 2010 in Haiti. I thought the earth was going to open up and swallow me. C0incidentally today is the anniversary of the 1907 earthquake that hit Kingston and Pt. Royal, Jamaica.

I just gave to Wyclef Jean's organization http://www.yele.org/. Will you do the same? Only $5.00 donation by texting Yele at 501501. My heart goes out to the Haitian people and the Haitian diaspora.

Shine your light oh Lord, and guide rescue workers to find those who are buried and still alive.

Haiti will rise from the rubble.

Game Change Revelations

OMG! The book, The Game Change, has got to be the political book of the decade. It's stirring up so much controversy even though one amazon reader/reviewer calls it "gossipy garbage". Here are some of the revelations from the book in this article.

New Books

I received excerpts of these new books from an online bookclub :

Becoming Jane Eyre by Sheila Kohler

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig

Also, take a look at the link to the International Thriller Writers Debut Authors. Never can tell Drue Allen, Lisa Brackmann, Carla Buckley, and the others may one day become household names with future bestsellers.

Read a book a week in 2010!

Happy New Year everyone! I wish for you job security, much laughter, and wisdom in all things this 2010.

I saw Karl Rove briefly on Fox network this morning saying he's going to commit to reading a book a week. I definitely can't commit to that. I am still reading Macedonia Passage. It's taking me a long time to read but it really is interesting. A lot of shipping terms are used that I just skip over but the storyline is good. For those of you who can manage it, go for it, read a book each week.

Note for Anna: This is my mother's pride and joy, her garden!

Happy holidays I will be reading...

Macedonia passage: Dangerous Cargo by Wright Gres! That's what I' ll be reading during the break. I met the writer at the Okefenokee Public Library some months ago so I'm looking forward to an interesting read. Five star rating by six amazon readers so far.

Enjoy the holidays y'all.

Curiosity + Library Book = Success for William Kamkwambe

Just finished reading the book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwambe. It's a very interesting story told in the voice of a teenaged boy. William was 14 and a high school drop out when he built his first windmill.

The idea to harness the wind did not come up until page 153. This means quite a bit of the book is about William's life in Malawi: the traditions, the superstitions, the poverty, and the hunger. I was eating while reading about William's intense hunger and had to skip a few pages. This is a book that will awaken all kinds of emotions: anger at the indifference of government, horror at the awful famine, and tears of joy when William's story receives attention from the Malawian journalists.

This is the story of a curious innovative young man who discovered marvelous science books within a very disorganized library and did wonders for his family and community with his primitive creation.

Check out William's blog!

Books into Movies: Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones, one of our bookclub selections in the past, is now available in film format. Hope they do the book justice.

It is a story told from the point of view of a dead teenaged girl, Susie Salmon, from heaven. She watches from heaven how her family deals with her death and how they track her killer. Sounds morbid but it was extremely well written.

Having written about death, I feel like I should take a moment and pause to remember two men who passed this year; Buffalo Soldier and faithful Kiwanian Lester Young and faithful Rotarian Akinyele. May their souls rest in peace. It was a joy to have known them both in Waycross.

New Garwood Book: Sizzle

It's cold and a good time to get sizzling hot with a book day or night :). That's my cue to segue to my book of the day. I got an email from Julie Garwood promoting her latest book, Sizzle. It will be in stores December 29. Ms. Garwood says in the email that "you will meet Lyra Prescott, a film student working on a documentary project, who soon discovers that nothing is as it seems. Lyra has two great obsessions: movies and chocolate". Ms. Garwood is therefore giving away a box of her favorite chocolates from Andre's Confisserie and also a $100 gift certificate for AMC Theaters.

Go check out her really cool website for more information.

TOP Five Best Sellers

According to USA Today, these are the nation's best sellers:

Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin

Eclipse, New Moon, Twilight, and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

No big surprises there.

Butterfly Beauties

I took this pic of these butterfly beauties last week in Gainesville, Florida.

Now let's get back to books. I am trying to read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind byWilliam Kamkwamba in preparation for book club meeting in January.