Booking Through Thursday - Introductions

Here's this week's BTT questions:

1. How did you come across your favorite author(s)? Recommended by a friend? Stumbled across at a bookstore? A book given to you as a gift?
2. Was it love at first sight? Or did the love affair evolve over a long acquaintance?

Wow, these are good ones. Two of my favorite authors are John Irving and Isabel Allende. I was given a copy of The World According to Garp by a friend who insisted I read it. This was probably my first year in college (but my memory gets hazier as I age LOL). This one really was love at first sight. I then read everything I could find. Unfortunately, the love affair has faded recently. I haven't liked his more recent works nearly as much as his earlier books. I guess love can be fickle.

My husband read a review of an Allende novel and urged me to read it after he was done. It was The House of Spirits which I did like though I'd say this author has grown on me over time. I absolutely adored The Infinite Plan and Paula is probably my absolutely most favorite book.

I have to say that I don't really have any other favorite authors. I tend to move between a variety of different authors. I've found I'm more drawn to a story than the author. There are many authors where I've only read one book, liked it, but never decided to pick up anything else by the author. Maybe I'm tough to court. I have so many books I want to read that I will move on quite rapidly unless an author's style really holds my attention.

I'm off to see what other people had to say!

Blog Readability Level

Online Payday Loans

This is quite an exaggeration!

Blood Work by Michael Connelly

This is my first review for 2008 and part of the A to Z Challenge. Blood Work is the story of retired FBI profiler Terry McCaleb. The reader meets Terry, in this book, after a successful heart transplant when he is confronted by his heart donor's sister. It turns out the sister was murdered, and the case has not been solved. The book revolves around Terry's attempts to solve the murder case while still recovering from the heart transplant surgery.

Strengths of Blood Work: I loved the main character. Terry was very likable yet vulnerable. He was not the hot shot perfect detective you meet in some novels. He was flawed and not all his ideas were correct. The heart transplant also added complexity to his character. According to the author's notes, Connelly talked in detail with a heart transplant patient to portray Terry's physical and emotional responses correctly. The title is also a good play on words and relates well to various points of the plot.

SPOILER ALERT: SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT A MAJOR PLOT POINT REVEALED. Another strength was the plot. Connelly ties the donor's murder to two other murders. He then, further, ties them to an old unsolved case of Terry's from his FBI days. He is able to build a good deal of tension in the story as the layers are revealed. Terry's final confrontation of the killer comes at breakneck speed after the reader thinks it is all over. The last few chapters race by! SPOILER ENDED.

Weaknesses of Blood Work: I really didn't like the romance between Terry and the dead donor's sister. It seemed liked a forced subplot where the author tried to give him redemption for his actions. There was a lot of talk of losing, and regaining, faith. It felt a little too forced to me.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was an exciting read. I'd probably give it a 4 out of 5 - I'm going to experiment with a scale in 2008 to see how I like it. Let me know if you've read this one. I'm also curious. Does anyone know if McCaleb's character is from another of Connelly's books?

Friday Fill-In

1. This year, I'd like to spend the summer traveling.
2. Having lots of spare time is what I daydream about most.
3. My husband is a great cook.
4. I would like to have more laughter in my life.
5. I love to have lots of friends around the house.
6. My daughter makes me smile.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to movie night at home, tomorrow my plans include attending a baby shower and Sunday, I want to spend a quiet hour all by myself!

Blogger Secret Santa

I was going to post a picture of my gift but I'm having camera technology issues so I wanted to let everyone know what I got. My secret Santa was Serena from Savvy Verse & Wit. I'm very excited about my gifts. I got a package of dark chocolate truffles (very yummy!) and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. In my description, I asked for someone else's favorite book so I'm pretty sure this is a favorite of Serena's. I haven't read this one in 20 years so it's time for a chocolate and toasty fire reread!

Thanks to Nymeth for putting this whole thing together. It was lots of fun!

A to Z Challenge List - Revised

Thanks to all the suggestions I've filled in more titles.

This week's BTT question asks about reading plans for 2008. Since I just wrote this post, it seems to answer the question because these are the books I'm looking forward to reading in 2008.

I found this challenge at Joy's and thought I'd join in. It runs all of 2008 so I might have a chance to finish it. As you can see, I don't have a complete list yet so I'm open to suggestions.

Titles

A American Gods by Neil Gaiman

B Bloodwork by Michael Connelly COMPLETED

C Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
D Damage Control by J.A. Jance

E

F Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich COMPLETED

G Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson COMPLETED

H Hold Tight by Harlan Coben COMPLETED

I I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak

J Julia's Chocolate by Cathy Lamb

K Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

L Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack COMPLETED

M My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult COMPLETED

N North of Montana by April Smith COMPLETED

O Odd Hours by Dean Koontz COMPLETED

P Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult COMPLETED

Q Queen Bees & Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman

R The Road by Cormac McCarthy

S Step on a Crack by James Patterson

T The Town that Forgot How to Breathe by Kenneth J. Harvey

U

V

W The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

X

Y Yellowknife by Steve Zipp

Z Zennor in Darkness by Helen Dunsmore

Authors

A The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende COMPLETED
B The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares COMPLETED

C The Hours by Michael Cunningham COMPLETED

D

E Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich COMPLETED

F

G Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore COMPLETED

H A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I

J A Certain Justice by P.D. James COMPLETED

K The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn

L

M A Girl Could Stand Up by Leslie Marshall

N The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger COMPLETED
O

P Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult COMPLETED
Q

R Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

S The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

T The Mysteries by Lisa Tuttle

U The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

V

W The Sculptress by Minette Walters

X

Y

Z The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak COMPLETED

Blogger Blessings

I was just tagged by my friend Presbyterian Gal for a blogger blessing. The idea is to bless and celebrate the people we've come to know in the blogging world and keep the blessings moving. The original thread can be found here.

Here's the description:

The idea… it’s a game of tag with a difference, rather than looking inwardly, we look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for one blog friend. By participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to. If you recieve a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a comment on this thread here so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world!

So I get to choose three people to bless - so I'm sending Happy New Year greetings to these three book bloggers because I enjoy reading their blogs and value their contributions to my blog with their comments.

So, please know you are blessed and appreciated:

CJ from My Year of Reading Seriously

Alison from So Many Books, So Little Time

Literary Feline from Musings of a Bookish Kitty