R4: ~ Digging 4 Books ~ Boston

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Jenne wrote: "Ezi my youngest is that way. When he was little he'd rather sit outside and smash acorns than play with a toy. Last Christmas my sister got a tin jar and filled it with candy. She hid a GameStop gi..."

My kids love to play the cardboard boxes that Sams & CostCo put my groceries in. They push each other around in their "spaceship" and they took turns.

[Mandy]

Hehe I had to check our old game for the format.

It's ok you read more than I do. I've become a slacker.

[Rhonda]

Mandy wrote: "Week:1
Word of the week:
Bonus:
The Trouble With FateBy Leigh Evans
My Letter: N
Finished 07/22/13
Rating ★★★★★
Review

I picked up The Trouble With Fate f..."

Nice job, Mandy. I'm a bit confused though, because I was to do N per post 70. I'm half-way through. My title won't work for E, but yours will with the author name Evans.

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Hi Rhonda,
Mandy's book is for E, she just accidentally typed the wrong letter, as you can see her book wouldn't even work for N anyway :)

[Rhonda]

Ezinwanyi~For you, Agron wrote: "Hi Rhonda,
Mandy's book is for E, she just accidentally typed the wrong letter, as you can see her book wouldn't even work for N anyway :)"

Gosh, I didn't even look to see if it worked for N. I was worried I'd need to find another book real fast. I should have looked at it more carefully.

[Mandy]

I copy and pasted from one if my old posts last challenge forgot to fix that. I'll fix it. Sorry

[Zakiya]

Great job, Mandy! I'm rushing to finish a library book tonight but I'm totes going to focus on my book later and tomorrow :)

Ezi -- not a bad captain at all!

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

I'm 40% into my book and I am really enjoying it. Very cute

[Rhonda]

Week: 1
Word of the week: Nest
Bonus: Newspaper


Book Choice: Buried Secrets
My Letter: E
Finished: 7/24/13
Rating ★★★★

Review: This is the second of Joseph Finder's Nick Heller novels. I've read them both now and really like them. The recurring characters felt like old friends. Nick is a likeable hero. The plot was compelling and the read was easy. A bit of flexibility needed in the believability department, but I've yet to read a thriller that didn't require some suspension of disbelief. Two bits that bothered me a bit more though (view spoiler)[ included the following bit spoken by a 16-year-old boy, "She's the daughter of Senator Richard Armstrong. Taylor and Alexa went to school together." Okay, I've raised 4 kids, all now in their 20's now, and I have to say I have never heard a teenager speak this way. It would have been more like this: Her dad's a senator or Her dad's Senator Armstrong; and this sentence would have been more like this: They went to school together. The words used in those 2 sentences did not feel natural.
AND THIS: "The only sign of the years that had passed were the faint laugh lines etched around her eyes." Helloooooooo - laugh lines are around the mouth and crows feet are around the eyes. I'm well aware because I have all of the above lines in abundance. :-( (hide spoiler)] When all is said and done I found Buried Secrets an entertaining read and I would recommend both Nick Heller books to anyone looking for a decent thriller.


WOTW: Page 358 - "The rat had come out of its hiding place, alarmed by yet another disturbance, maybe fearful that another human being was about to come crashing down into its nest."

BONUS: Page 355 - "As my eyes adjusted, I saw snowdrifts of what looked like shredded newspaper all around me, and a lot of rat droppings."

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Great Job Rhonda. you guys are doing really well.
I am 65% into my book, hoping to finish it tonight but i am really enjoying it.

[Zakiya]

Ive been on a productive streak today and have been doing things around the house but I will be aiming to finish my book tonight or tomorrow morning before dance. At 37%.

Good job, Rhonda!

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Finished my book and it was soooo good. 4-stars :)

[Zakiya]

Woohoo! That's great, Ezi! I'm at 68% in mine. Should finish tonight.

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Week: 1
WotW: Nest
Bonus: Newspaper

Book: by Tracey Gravis-Graves
My Letter: "T"
Finished: 7/24/13
Rating & Review: ★★★★½

What a heartwarming read. I can’t believe that I put this book off for so long. This book reminded me of the movie “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks (and Wilson, the ball), except this book had a woman, Anna Emerson and a young man, TJ Callahan.
Anna Emerson, a 31 year old English teacher, was offered a job tutoring 17 year old TJ Callahan over the summer because TJ fell behind in his school work when he took time off for chemotherapy. TJ had been fighting cancer, while his peers were enjoying their junior year in high school. So TJ’s parents hired Anna to help TJ catch up for his senior year. On their way to the summer vacation house, TJ and Anna’s pilot had a fatal heart attack and the plane crashed in the ocean. TJ and Anna had to figure out what to do until help came to rescue them. Their struggle to survive lead to a deep attachment because they had to rely on each other for just about everything. Anna and TJ’s journey to get back to Chicago took two years and it was just emotional, inspirational and a lesson in resilience. I do not want to detail specific things but there was a lot of growth by both characters. I couldn’t stop reading this book.
I recommend this book to those who love characters with depth and those who love romance. The story was well written, in an alternating POV and I enjoyed the pacing. The author handled everything, and I mean everything, with dignity and integrity. I will definitely be watching for anything written by Tracey Garvis-Graves. What a captivating story.

Nest: I formed the lint and leaves into a little nest. (Pg. 29 in On the Island)

Newspaper: I handed the newspaper to Sarah (Pg. 224 in On the Island )

[Zakiya]

Week 1: Nest & Newspaper

Book: by Sara Shepard
My Letter: S
Finished: 25/7/2013
Rating: 4 stars

Review: This was a great reread for me! I fell in love with the characters all over again. I'm glad I decided to reread and try to finish off the series.

Bonuses:
Nest - "She'd thrown herself off Moshulu's crow's nest..." pg 59
Newspaper - "She headed to the hallway, staring at the newspaper clipping..." pg 135

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Way to go Zakiya.

Good job Team. I have requested our points as our reviews are up. See Post 70 on page 2

[Rhonda]

Yay! We've finished our first week. I'm so excited for week 2 now...

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

We did well. We were the 2nd team to finish :)
Tomorrow is a new word, I'm ready

[Zakiya]

Woohoo! Bring on the next word. So ready lol. Determined to finish my book faster, though.

Thanks, Ezi.

[Zakiya]

Good morning, ladies!

WOW: View
Bonus: Football

[Zakiya]

I'd like the I.

[Jenne]

^^^^^^little over 16 hours to have last weeks reviews in^^^^^^^^^

[Rhonda]

On a quick look, I know I can do the I or the E.


EDITED POST: I can do the V, I, or E..still looking for a W

[Zakiya]

I have all letters, but I'd really like to read the I book.

[Mandy]

I have books for them all. So any letter works for me this week.

[Rhonda]

Okay - I can do any letter and will start as soon as letters are passed out. This is so much fun!

[Zakiya]

I agree, Rhonda :)

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Team Diggin’ 4 Books
WEEK 2: WORD IS: VIEW
Bonus Item: Football

LETTERS:

V: Mandy
I: Zakiya
E: Rhonda
W: Ezinwanyi

V: Almost to Die For (A Vampire Princess of St. Paul Series) Post 162
I: Invasion of the Boy Snatchers (Post 142)
E: Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron (Post 143)
W: Dark Side of the Moon (Dark Hunter #10, Were Hunter #4) Post 152

[Zakiya]

Cool cools. Ezi, what's the earliest you'd want us to post reviews since we're doing the secret-y thing? Because I can possibly have my book done today or tomorrow.

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Zakiya wrote: "Cool cools. Ezi, what's the earliest you'd want us to post reviews since we're doing the secret-y thing? Because I can possibly have my book done today or tomorrow."

Always post when you are done. It's fine. I'm still hunting :(

[Zakiya]

Okay! Just wanted to make sure. Hope your hunting is fruitful!

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Zakiya wrote: "Okay! Just wanted to make sure. Hope your hunting is fruitful!"

found two. Asked jenne about one of them to see if it would work. The other definitely works for both E & W

[Mandy]

I'll let you know my choice when I finish my current read. I have like 8 for V I just can't decide.

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Mandy wrote: "I'll let you know my choice when I finish my current read. I have like 8 for V I just can't decide."

sounds great! I have just started my book :)

[Zakiya]

I wish I had eight V books lol

[Mandy]

Lol it just makes choosing the right one super hard. I have a huge review pile so this is my non-review book for the week. So I have to pick a good one.

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

This challenge last time made me read Vina Jackson two weeks in a row . SMH at that bootleg Fifty shades
(things I do for this challenge.)

[Mandy]

I still haven't read Fifty Shades, too much hype.

[Zakiya]

That title makes me laugh though for some reason.

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Mandy wrote: "I still haven't read Fifty Shades, too much hype."

I enjoyed it but it wasn't worthy of the hype AT ALL

[Zakiya]

That it wasn't. I have the second one waiting to be read, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Zakiya]

Week Two: View & Football

Book: Invasion of the Boy Snatchers by Lisi Harrison
My Letter: I
Finished: 26/7/2013
Rating: 4 stars

Review: I keep being reminded of why I was so obsessed with this series in sixth grade. The characters, although extremely spoiled for their age, are too funny and make you fall in love with them even when you don't want to be.

Bonuses:
View - "...they could get a bird's-eye view of the action." page 232
Football - "The only thing I love more than football is the cute players." page 81

[Rhonda]

Week: 2
Word of the week: View
Bonus: Football

Book choice: Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron
My Letter: E
Date Finished: 7/26/13
Rating ★★★

Review: I liked it. It was fast-paced with a very compelling plot. Lots of tension building throughout and admittedly hard to put down. The problem was the end. It was too neat and tidy. You know, the happy ending, everyone crying and hugging, everything's right with the world. It really was like a Lifetime movie. And I don't like Lifetime movies - so only 3 stars. It was entertaining, but I wouldn't read it again.

WOTW: View - page 30 - "Next door, Mrs. Bindel backed into view."

BONUS: Football - page 88 - "Varsity football had been Mr. Rose's all-consuming dream."

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

Zakiya and Rhonda, you guys are awesome. I am half way with my book, but it's time to do laundy :)
So it's audiobook time.

[Zakiya]

Good job, Rhonda!

Thanks, Ezi! I've got a ton of books I want to finish before the month is over, so I wanted to finish that one and not have to worry about holding you guys up.

[Rhonda]

Thanks, Ezi and Zakiya. And good job, Zakiya. You finished before Friday was even done!

This game is great for cleaning up the TBR. I wish it lasted a bit longer. Does anyone know how long it is between rounds?

[Zakiya]

I have no idea how long the in-between time is.

Thanks, Rhonda :). I was determined to finish it haha.

[Mandy]

I've not even started =*( I'm such a slacker this week!!! I need to decide so many choices.

[Zakiya]

Maybe read the one that calls to you the most? That always works for me.

[Ezi, Factory Superintendent]

I finished mine, so I will write it up tomorrow