Sunday Synopsis: February 7, 2010

DISCUSSIONS:

1. What I Read . . .
2. Fairy Tale Fridays:  Rumpelstiltskin

GIVEAWAY:  Fairy Tale Giveaway . . . The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

REVIEWS: None again this week! :(

CURRENTLY READING:

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (audio; disc 12 of 14) -- I previously had the number of discs incorrect!!!
• Across the Endless River by Thad Carhart (page 127 of 308)
• Magic Tree House #2: The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne (reading with son!; page 10 of 66)

BOOKS RECEIVED:

• Magic Tree House #2: The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne (purchased from Borders)
• The Sisters Grimm #1:  The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (purchased from Borders)
• Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link (purchased from Borders)
• How to Catch and Keep a Vampire by Diana Laurence (won in a giveaway hosted by Lost in Books!!!)

REVIEWS TO COME:

• Magic Tree House #1:  Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne
• Only in New York, Darling by Virginie Sommet (Unable to finish, but will still be writing a review for what was read.)
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Shimmer by David Morrell
• Royal Blood by Rona Sharon
• The End of the Beginning by Avi
• Matchless by Gregory Maguire
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson & Ned Rust
• King by Right of Blood and Might by Anna L. Walls
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
• Arthur's Audio Favorites Volume 2 by Marc Brown
• A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
• Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker
• George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
• Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World by Tracy Kidder
• Fool by Christopher Moore
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
• The Little Island by Golden MacDonald and Leonard Weisgard
• Black and White by David Macauley
• Mei Li by Thomas Handforth
• Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Rocky Mountain Snow Ghosts by Patti Hurst
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary
• Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary
• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Survival of the Fittest by Jonathan Kellerman
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• S is for Save the Planet by Brad Herzog
• The Ugly Duckling by Jerry Pinkney
• Mesmeric Revelation by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Facts in the Case of in M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Spectacles by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• The Haunted Palace by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• Some Words With A Mummy by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• Ulalume by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Oblong Box by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Bells by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• X-ing a Paragrab by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*

*Those indicated with an asterik are actually reviews written!! I have had computer issues this weekend and have written them old school with pen and paper! I will be posting them later this week once I have typed them up in full.

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE:

• The Book Chook has yet another awesome post that I recommend EVERYONE check out . . . What's So Great About Children's Literature?  I cannot agree more and there is no way I could have said it any better or more precise than this!!
• Because I am in need of great help in improving this very site (as well as my others!), I have found the perfect site to help me along the way . . . The 2010 Blog Improvement Project.  I have not yet officially signed up for it, but have subscribed and will be following along with all the great tips and tricks!

FINAL THOUGHTS:  Where does my week go?  I always have these high hopes and then next thing I know, I am writing my Sunday Synopsis again!  I am really going to make it a point to get a large number of these reviews typed up this week and actually posted.  BUT, I'm beginning to wonder if I just need to realize that 3-5 posts a week will just be the norm for me . . . and that is okay?!?  While I ponder this . . .

Congrats to all you Saints fans!!!