TBR Stacks~Do you have any?

I have to admit that TBR(To Be Read) stacks of books cause me great stress! Seriously! I'm the type of person that likes to complete a project before moving on to the next. As a reader/reviewer I have found that the TBR stack NEVER gets smaller! NEVER! This has really messed with my "finish the project" mentality over the years. Usually I end up going through my TBR stack and weeding out books once a year.

Here are a stack of books that I have really really wanted to read. Some have languished on the shelf for years, but I just can't bring myself to get rid of them because I really want to read them!! I just somehow manage to find other books hot off the presses that I want to read more:

Here are my "next up" books to read:

They aren't in any particular order, I know Divergent comes first ;)...speaking of which, my daughter Joy just finished it. In one day!! She's been in a reading slump because of some rough hours at work(graveyard shift really sucks!), so she needed something to kick start her into reading again. Divergent did it! She's moved on to Insurgent now. I hope it is as good so she can move through that one as well. Anyway, after my current book(Beowulf by Ronie Kendig) I will pick something from this stack.I'm hoping to finish this stack before the end of the year.


Here are a couple of books that a friend loaned me. While I really love John Grisham books, admittedly I just don't have time for them now so they will probably go back to her unread. She keeps all of her books so someday maybe I will have a chance to borrow them again:

And lastly there is my Kindle. I can't even fathom how many books are currently on there waiting for me to delve into as it would make me hyperventilate!

So is there a solution for the TBR stack? I doubt it! As it is even with all of these books waiting for me(and a few more residing in my daughter's bedroom) I have 3 books on pre-order from Amazon!

How about you? Do you have a large TBR stack or a small TBR stack? How do you tackle that stack of books? How much time do you devote to reading a day? As much as you want or are you like me and wish there were more hours for reading? How many books have your read this year? Do you keep track? I like to keep track and challenge myself. This year I challenged myself to read 125 books. Unfortunately I'm not going to make that goal. Next year I will lower that expectation. Do you have responsibilities that take you away from doing the reading you would like to do? I have a hobby that takes my time, especially around this time of year. Check out My Other Pastime to see what, besides family, takes my time.

Felicia has spent the last 4 years of her life reinventing herself into a woman that she feels would be the perfect minister's wife. Unfortunately when the minister she has set her eyes on marries another woman Felicia believes that she will now become an old maid at the ripe old age of 24. Felicia is determined that if there is ever to be a man in her life he must accept her as she is.

Grayson has spent many years in China dealing in the opium trade. When a rival family murders his employer and family Grayson escapes with his daughter to America. Not able to forgive himself for being a part of the opium trade he believes also that God will never forgive him.

When Felicia and Grayson meet there is an instant attraction. But Felicia has a talent for getting into trouble and Grayson is leery of becoming involved with any woman. When curiosity about Grayson's past has Felicia visiting an opium den to dig up answers Grayson is less than happy to have to rescue her. When his past catches up to him will it put both of them in danger?

I found A Talent for Trouble to be an entertaining read. Felicia's character had me laughing out loud at some of her antics. With humorous dialogue and a bit of danger and romance thrown into the mix A Talent for Trouble was enjoyable to read. This is book #3 in the Ladies of Distinction series. I haven't read the first two books. While I did enjoy the humor of the story I did find a couple of things that were a bit over the top. Having the characters cross-dress to disguise themselves while visiting an opium den was a bit much for me. While it did lend some humor to the situation I just found it a bit false to the story. Other than that I enjoyed the romance between Grayson and Felicia and liked their characters very much.

Thanks to Bethany House publishers through NetGalley for my review copy of A Talent for Trouble. This review is my honest opinion.

Haunting Joy by Lena Goldfinch-BLOG TOUR

MY REVIEW:

Joy’s usual attire leans more towards jeans and t-shirts or tank tops. Joy’s grandmother is a great thrift store shopper and Joy is used to sharing some of her grandmother’s finds with her best friend. When Joy finds a dress from her grandmother in a Target bag her first thought is to give it to Emily. For some reason Joy feels compelled to try the dress on though. It fits her perfectly and she decides to keep it. A pair of flip flops came with the dress and all of the items have the name “Beth” written on them. Joy begins to wonder about Beth’s story, how did her clothing end up in a thrift store? When Joy wakes the next morning and hears a mysterious sigh coming from the same area that the dress is in she once again tries on the dress and feels an immediate connection to its former owner. So starts Joy’s quest to discover why Beth is haunting her. 

As I said during the COVER REVEAL for Haunting Joy, it is the perfect month of the year to read a ghost story. I also mentioned that with the flowers as the dots over the i and J in the title that it gives the impression that the story is maybe more light-hearted than scary. While yes, there were elements of the story that were creepy (seriously who wants to be haunted by a ghost?), the story itself was sweet. All Joy wants to do is help Beth. In the process she gets to meet a cute guy who may or may not become her boyfriend. Beth is not a malevolent ghost, she doesn’t wish Joy any harm, she just has a purpose to fulfill and Joy is her conduit to help her. Haunting Joy is book 1 in the Haunting Joy series. I highly recommend this book for YA readers and those that like a good ghost story. The next book Haunting Melody comes out in 2014. We get a sneak peak of the first chapter at the end of Haunting Joy and I can tell you I am hooked and cannot wait for it to come out! Oh and just wait until you see the cover! Just as amazing as the cover of Haunting Joy! 

BLOG TOUR INFORMATION: 

Amber at Seasons of Humility is hosting the blog tour. For information and updates check out her blog

Tuesday, October 22nd

·         Introduction to the tour at Seasons of Humility

·         Spotlight at The Edible Bookshelf (?)

Wednesday, October 23rd

·         Interview at The Enchanted Inkpot

Thursday, October 24th

·         Review at My Favorite Pastime

Friday, October 25th

·         Review at Kelly Hashway

·         Spotlight at The Cover Contessa

Saturday, October 26th

·         Review at The Wonderings of One Person

Sunday, October 27^th

·         Review at Michael SciFan

Monday, October 28th

·         Review at Paranormal Point of View

Tuesday, October 29th

·         Review at i blog 4 books

Wednesday, October 30th

·         Review at Donnie Darko Girl (?)

·         Spotlight at Edgy Inspirational Romance

Thursday, October 31st

·         Conclusion of the tour at Seasons of Humility

·         Twitter chat or contest, with e-book giveaways! Details TBA (via @SeasonsHumility and @lena_goldfinch, #HauntingJoy)

   ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lena lives in a scenic small town in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and a very spoiled Black Lab. She writes fiction for young adults, mostly light fantasy with a healthy dose of "sigh-worthy" romance. You can visit her online at www.lenagoldfinch.blogspot.com.

Author’s Links

Website: http://lenagoldfinch.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lena_goldfinch

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lenagoldfinch

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4412038.Lena_Goldfinch

Newsletter sign-up: http://lenagoldfinch.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d20c77e0f3ef8dff993ecfcf7&id=6b1c2994d1

GIVEAWAY: 

In honor of the release of Haunting Joy, Lena Goldfinch is giving away a few spooktacular prizes! The giveaway is open internationally, and there will be three winners (randomly drawn) – one winner for each of the prizes listed below:

·         A glass heart necklace (like Joy’s!)

·         A signed copy of Haunting Joy (paperback)

·         An e-book copy of Haunting Joy

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

EXTRA THOUGHTS:
Since this is the month for all things scary do you plan on doing anything for Halloween? Do you go to any parties? Do you dress up? Or are you like me and have never really been "into" the whole Halloween celebration? Do you totally ignore the day or do you get the kids all dressed up for trick-or-treating? I always let my daughters dress up for school parties but since we have pretty much always lived in the country their experience with trick-or-treating was pretty minimal. Here is a picture of my oldest daughter when she was in kindergarten. I talked her into letting me dress her up as a sad clown(which I collected at the time), I think she looked pretty stinkin cute! The other picture is probably the last time the girls ever dressed up. I also think it may have been the first time they ever went trick-or-treating in a neighborhood. We were getting ready to move across country and we were staying with my parents(that's my dad in the picture with them). Someone loaned us the costumes and I painted their faces. They had a great time:

Sadly those were taken many years ago. Now my oldest daughter is married with children and my youngest is finished with college, working and has prospects of opening her own business. Where does the time go?

And what about GHOSTS? Are you a believer or a nay-sayer? Me? I'm a nay-sayer, but I do love a good ghost story and if you read HAUNTING JOY you are going to be in for a real treat!

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