Highlights: May 2012

Hello readers!

This has been one hectic month for me! Here's what's been going on:


Books:

This month I read the following:

The Modern Girl's Guide to Life by Jane Buckingham
Rating: 3/5          Pages: 362           Page Goal: 8,830/15,000
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
Rating: 3/5          Pages: 514           Page Goal: 9.344/15,000


Pretty slow month for reading, huh? :( These two books total only 876 pages for the month of May.

Those of you in the book blogosphere are probably well aware that next week kicks off BEA, or Book Expo America. I will not be participating in the BEA conference this year in New York; I will, however, join in Armchair BEA. In celebration of Armchair BEA, I will be doing a giveaway of my copy of Fifty Shades of Grey, so be sure to check back between June 4-8 to enter!


School:
My summer session started May 29th. I only have one course I'm taking, a marketing course, and it goes until July 25th. That will be a nice break, I think, before school picks up again on August 20th. I'm a little nervous about squeezing school into my PACKED July schedule, but I've got no other option than to find a way...and pull a few all nighters in doing so...


Crafts:

As odd as it may sound, I've been sewing a bench cushion cover for work. I never sewed one before, but was asked to sew one for a bench giveaway. It turned out pretty good...I'll grab a picture if I have the chance.


Travel:

I feel like all I did this month is travel. I went home to B-town for Mother's Day weekend. Then I left on Saturday the 19th for Dubuque, Iowa for a conference for work. It was a lovely trip! And then I went back to B-town for Little Bro's high school graduation. Total mileage: 3,150. Time spent in a car: approximately 46 hours. I'm just thankful to finally be home!

Personal:

I finally got a Twitter account! @LHess10. Follow me for bookish (and other) news!

Future:

June is much more of a calm month for me than May was. With a relatively flexible work schedule (yay for summer hours!), I'm hoping to spend more time garage sale-ing, reading, and relaxing. *fingers crossed*

Picture:

My friend Kari (on left) and I at the Field of Dreams!

So, readers, what were your May 2012 highlights?

Jumping on the Twitter Train

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let you know I'm now on Twitter!

You can follow me @LHess10. I'll be posting about everything, including books and reading!

Book Review: Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood

Hi, readers!

I hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday! Mine will be wonderfully lazy--I just submitted my final paper for my class! What a relief! I still have a test to take, but it isn't due until Thursday, so I'll give my mind a day or two of rest.

In the meantime, I'm hoping to catch up on some book reviews--I'm not sure how I got so far behind!

A couple of weeks ago I read my first Julie Garwood novel, Fire and Ice. Here's the summary, courtesy of Goodreads:


Sophie Rose is a crime reporter at a major Chicago newspaper and the daughter of Bobby Rose, a charming gentleman and big-time thief. When asked to write an exposé about her notorious father, Sophie quits and goes to work at a small newspaper, covering local personalities such as William Harrington, the 5K runner whose trademark is red socks. Those socks—with Sophie’s business card tucked inside—are practically all that’s found after Harrington is killed near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, seemingly in a brutal polar bear attack.

Sophie heads north to investigate, but danger follows in her wake. After one attempt on her life, she’s assigned brash but sexy Jack MacAlister as a bodyguard. But Sophie and Jack will soon be fighting more than their growing passion for each other. Powerful forces will stop at nothing to prevent the exposure of the sinister conspiracy Sophie and Jack are about to uncover.

I was pretty impressed with this novel, considering I hadn't really heard much about Julie Garwood as an author. The characters were extremely likeable, albeit stupid at times, and I definitely found myself rooting for Sophie and in love with Jack MacAlister. The novel was very fast-paced, and I was able to get through it in no time. I was pretty addicted, too--thinking about it all the time, wondering what happens next. That's the mark of a good, intense thriller. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good thriller with a hint of romance. Julie Garwood, I will definitely be picking up more of your novels in the future!


And here's where this book has gotten me to date:
Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 375
2012 Reading Goal: 8,044/15,000


Happy reading! :)