The Noticer Project - What is it?

Last week I received an email from Amy at Phenix Publicity about participating in The Noticer Project.  You can bet I was intrigued!  I have received requests to do book reviews for Phenix, but this was different, I could tell.  There's a book to review, so how can it be different?  I mean, that's what this blog's about, right, books?  You're right, but there's more to this than just a book and a review.  One, I don't even have the book yet, so why am I posting?  Two, the blog tour is not until the end of the month, so what's going on?  It's a teaser, to get you interested, so you'll participate.  Participate in what?  Well, let me introduce you to The Noticer Project.  Here is the press release, that explains it much better than I ever could.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Noticer Project: Who will you notice?
Movement invites people everywhere to recognize five inspirational people in their lives

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In the current climate of economic strife and social strain, it has become more important than ever for people to take a step back and realize just how fortunate they are. On April 7, 2009, a viral grassroots movement called The Noticer Project (www.TheNoticerProject.com) will answer the need for a little hope and a fresh dose of perspective by calling on people everywhere to "notice" the five most influential people in their lives. What better way to count our blessings than by recognizing the special people who inspire and encourage us every day?

Based on the central message in The Noticer (Thomas Nelson | April 28, 2009 | 978-0-7852-2921-1 | Hardcover |$17.99) by bestselling author Andy Andrews, The Noticer Project is meant to encourage people to step outside their busy schedules to take notice of five special people who have made a positive impact on their lives. As a result, participants in The Noticer Project not only acknowledge the contributions of other people on their lives, but they also gain a fresh perspective on their own journey.

"In times like these, it's important not to get wrapped up in what we don't have or what we're lacking, but instead to focus on the simple things in life that give us hope," says Andrews, an internationally renowned speaker and author of The Traveler's Gift. "It is most often our friends, family, teachers, spiritual leaders and heroes who truly inspire us. With The Noticer Project, I want to encourage folks everywhere to give the gift of noticing someone today, and gain perspective on their own lives in the process."

Andrews says noticing five people can be as private (just a letter or email) or as public (posting to a Facebook page or joining The Noticer Project Facebook group) as participants choose. Whether thanking a high school English teacher in an email for the motivation to pursue the dream of writing, or posting a note on Facebook recognizing Martin Luther King for his historic civil rights legacy, participants in The Noticer Project utilize the "pay it forward" concept to offer hope and encouragement through the simple act of recognizing someone significant.

Andrews' new book, The Noticer combines the author's true life story, fiction and allegory to reveal the healing power of perspective. It follows "Jones," a mysterious older man who enters into the lives of people in the midst of crisis - on the brink of divorce, on the verge of financial ruin, about to give up on life - to impart sage-like wisdom on how to change their view of the world to move past life's biggest challenges.

"When we notice things about ourselves and other people that allow us all to regroup, take a breath, and begin our lives again, the best is surely yet to come," writes Andrews in The Noticer.

Andrews, whose combined works have sold millions of copies worldwide, resides in Orange Beach, Ala., with his wife and two sons. His popular book The Traveler's Gift is an international bestseller with more than a million copies sold. It was an ABC "Good Morning America" book-of-the month selection, the subject of a two-hour PBS special and landed spots on The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. Learn more about The Noticer Project and The Noticer at www.TheNoticerProject.com.

Are you teased?  Well, come back tomorrow to see my public post about the 5 people I am going to "notice."  Who will you notice?  What will you do to let them know?  I encourage you to join in with me tomorrow as I take on this project with many other people.  If you are choosing to participate, let me know in the comments, then come back tomorrow and in the comments of that post, leave the link to your post or just a description of what you did to participate.  In a world where so many notice the negative, let's turn it around and choose to notice the positive.  Are you with me?

Mailbox Monday - 4/6/09

This was an interesting week for books coming into my house.  I got books via the mailbox, and the bookfair at our school.  This edition of the mailbox will look differently because of that.

Here's is what came into my house last week:

In the Mail

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (ARC), by Katherine Howe - from Shelf Awareness.  I actually received 2 of these, not sure why.

The Lace Makers of Glenmara (ARC), by Heather Barbieri - from Harper Collins

Secrets of Happiness, by Sarah Dunn - from Hachette

Middle School: How to Deal, by Sara Borden, Sarah Miller, Alex Stikeleather, Maria Valladares and Miriam Yelton - from @HulaMonkey on Twitter

Reclaiming Children: Exposing the Nets That Snare Them, by Robby G. Dixon - from Bostick Communications

The Light, The Dark & Ember Between, by J.W. Nicklaus - from author, extra copy to giveaway during blog tour

Against All Odds, by Irene Hannon - from Deena's Bookshelf, won in a giveaway.

Gooney Bird is so Absurd, by Lois Lowry - from Houghton Mifflin

Girls in Trucks, by Katie Crouch - from Hachette

Maybelle, Bunny of the North, by keith Patterson - from Nancy at Bees Knees Books

The Turnaround, by George Pelecanos - from Hachette

Personal Finance for Dummies - from John Wiley and Sons

The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life (ARC), by Dennis Merritt Jones - from Tarcher, gift

The Housekeeper and the Professor (ARC), by Yoko Ogawa - from Picador

Willow, by Julia Hoban - from Amazon, pre-ordered for a contest

The Horse Boy, audio - from Hachette

Bought at the Bookfair

For my grandaughter:  

Fancy Nancy and the Boy from Paris & Fancy Nancy Sees Stars, by Jane O'Connor

For my nephew:  

Somebunny Loves You, by Rachael Hale

For my classroom:

Pictures of Hollis Woods, by Patricia Reilly Giff

Vet Volunteers series bk 3,4,5,6, by Laurie Halse Anderson - Trickster, Manatee Blues, Say Good-bye, Storm Rescue

Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning, by Danette Haworth

Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 1, 2, & 3, by Jeff Kinney

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls 1 & 2, by Meg Cabot

Fever, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Sorry for not including pictures and links this week, but there were just too many to do.  To see what others go, visit Marcia at The Printed Page.

Review: The Anatomy of Wings

 

Title:  The Anatomy of Wings

Author: Karen Foxlee

Review Copy Provided by: Curled Up With a Good Book

About the Book:  Ten-year-old Jennifer Day lives in a small mining town full of secrets. Trying to make sense of the sudden death of her teenage sister, Beth, she looks to the adult world around her for answers.
As she recounts the final months of Beth’s life, Jennifer sifts through the lies and the truth, but what she finds are mysteries, miracles, and more questions. Was Beth’s death an accident? Why couldn’t Jennifer—or anyone else—save her?
Through Jennifer’s eyes, we see one girl’s failure to cross the threshold into adulthood as her family slowly falls apart. 

My Review:   I've been trying to write this review for 2 days.  I can't seem to get this book out of my head, and that's not a bad thing.  On the back of the ARC is this quote: "Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished, just to stay near it.  The Anatomy of Wings is one of those books." - Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief.  That's the way I've felt, but I was unsure of how to convey that to you, the readers of this blog.

The Anatomy of Wings touches on so many subjects: death, loss, grief, sex, suicide, family, and social situations.  Reading this book took me through a gamut of emotions.  There were times when I just wanted to reach out to Jennifer, the main character and narrator, hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay.  How do you deal with the tragic loss of a sibling?  I can't even imagine it at my age, much less at the age of 10.  Jennifer's family doesn't deal with it well at all, as a matter of fact, they more or less fall apart.  Jennifer's mom won't get off the couch, dad drinks, Nanna's been ostracized for saying Beth was talking to angels, Danielle is just sad, and Jennifer just wants to find her singing voice and to know what really happened to her sister.

This book is by a new author, Karen Foxlee, and I have to say, for a debut, this is a good one.  It is written in a backwards sort of way, starting with the day of Beth's funeral and then going back to where it all started, when Beth fell at the lake, and then forward from through the story until after the funeral.  In a way, it was hard to get used to the back and forth of it all, because it would go from Jennifer and her friend Angela, in present day, back to Jennifer telling Beth's story, in the past.  Once I got used to the format, it was easy to follow.  It made for a very different read; one that I found very interesting.  Way to go, Karen, for giving us a format that is different and intriguing!

I loved the storyline, as I feel that it is one that many teenagers go through and have to figure out how they will deal with the peer pressure.  Beth was sexually active at 13 and didn't choose the best group to hang out with.  All the pleading of her parents just pushed her further away, to where she would run away for days and they wouldn't know where she was.  She rebelled, as many teens do, but I don't think she really liked who she was becoming.  I like that Foxlee tried to bring her back, but in the end, it was just too much for Beth to handle.  It's a very well written book that touches on a lot of delicate subjects.  Not a book I would recommend for anyone under high school age.  A true YA novel.

This review originally written for Curled Up with a Good Book and crossposted on their site.

Blog Link-Up #10 - 4/5/09

It's time for this week's blog posts from my fellow blogging buddies group.  This is not an exclusive group, so if you'd like to join, please let me know and I'll let you know how it works and what to do.  

Sharing these posts is the highlight of my week.  All of these blogs are ones I read daily, so it's great to see the posts they choose every week as their favorite or ones that they would like to see get more exposure.  That is the gist of this project: to support each others' blogs and expose some of our posts to others that don't normally read them.  Here is what I have for you today.  Please stop by one or all of these posts and let them know what you think.

Funny the posts we choose, because most of this week's are book reviews.  If you are looking for that next book to read, or one to add to your TBR pile, here are some good ones.

Devourer of Books reviewed a book that I have heard lots of good things about.  This is one that I'm looking forward to reading.  Her thoughts on A Reliable Wife, "This is a lovely piece of fiction that should appeal both to those who like mainstream fiction (’literary’ fiction) and those who lean more towards mysteries and thrillers.  Definitely anyone who appreciates good writing with great characters should go straight out and get this book to read."

Beth Fish Reads has reviewed a book that many of us are reading for a book club, Thirteen Reasons Why.  I just finished this one last night and will have my review later.  Please read her thoughts as she was able to read the book as well as listen to it on audio.  She also has links to other bloggers' reviews so that you can get other perspectives as well.  She has also reviewed the first book in a series of children's books, Swallows and Amazons.  This is a series I had not heard of, so I was very interested in reading this one.

The Lost Hours by Karen White is a book that many of us are touring this month for Pump Up Your Book Promotions.  S. Krishna reviewed it on her blog this week.  She says, "I thoroughly enjoyed The Lost Hours and am very glad I read it." She also reviewed A Reliable Wife, so you can see what she thinks about the same book that Beth Fish read.

Over at My Friend Amy's blog, she did a review with Ali of Worducopia.  Their review of Etta is actually the conversation that they had, via Google chat, to discuss the book.  See what they have to say!

Looking for a fun Harlequin romance with that happily ever after ending?  Then take a look at Wendi's review of Married by Mistake.  If that's not your genre of choice, then she also has a non-fiction review of Thrive, Don't Simply Survive.  This is a FIRST Wild Card tour book so you can read about the author and read an excerpt of the book.

Books and Movies has a review of Sea Changes this week.  I hadn't heard of this one, an d after reading her review, it looks and sounds like an interesting read. 

The last two reviews are from Linus's Blanket.  First, she reviewed The Light Across the River.  Here's a quote from her review, "This novel is a great mix of love, duty, mystery, suspense and history. The Light Across the River by Stephanie Reed was an exciting read, and definitely a page turner."  Her other review is for the book Will Marry for Food, Sex and Laundry.  The title itself piques your interest.

Other posts of interest:

Many bloggers do a Reading Wrap-Up for the month.  Here is what Devourer of Books accomplished in the month of March.  Wow! She read 20 books last month!

April is National Poetry Month.  Books and Movies has a post about her favorite poets and peotry collections. 

Don't forget about my April Fool's Giveaway or my Name the Baby contest!

I hope you enjoy this week's picks for the Weekly Link Round-Up.  Come back next week for more.

Snapshot Saturday #10 - Name the Baby Contest

For this week's Snapshot Saturday, I thought I'd share our good news of the week. Those of you who follow know that we have been waiting on our mare to foal for a month now.  A horse's gestation period is 11 months, but it is not usually to the day, which means they usually go 11 months & 11 days, or more.  Ours was the "or more."  Well, early Monday morning, we got the phone call, "You have a baby!"  It was the news we'd been waiting to hear.

Cat, our mare, has been in Angleton, at the vet's, since right before the rodeo.  we knew we weren't going to be home much, and the girls would be there to watch her if she foaled.  We made it through rodeo with nothing, and then last weekend, while we were there, she bagged up really big, so we thought she was close.  We were right!

Here is our new little girl...

 

No, she doesn't have a name yet.  Our mama is Doc's Top Cat (Cat), a sorrel and white paint horse, and her daddy, our vet's stallion, is One Cool Customer (Golden Child), a sorrel paint horse.  The names in parentheses are their barn names.  When we get ready to register the baby, we have to turn in 5-7 registerd names that we like.  They don't care about the barn name, that's just for us, like a nickname.  So far, I think we've decided on the registered name, but can't seem to come up with a barn name, so for now, we're just calling her "little girl."  

That's where you come in.  Will you help us name the baby?  Just leave your name suggestions in the comments.  If we use yours, I will send you a $10 Amazon or Powell's gift card, your choice.  If we don't choose one of your suggestions, I'll put all the names in a hat and draw a winner for the gift card, just for helping us.  Sound like a deal?  Let me know what you think.  I will be sure to post her name, along with a new picture, once we have one.

Friday Fill-Ins 4/3/09

1. Angel or not, I will be a safe driver.


2. Bend me, shape me any way you want me. (I think it's an old song lyric or something?)

3. As my mother used to say, you're full of crap.

4. I like to eat after I'm done working out or doing something strenuous.

5. Even in the most crowded of rooms I can find a place to hide.

6. A bad day at work is a day fraught with peril.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finishing The Anatomy of Wings and starting Thirteen Reasons Why, tomorrow my plans include a funeral for a friend's dad and Sunday, I want to read, please?!

April Fool's Giveaway

THIS IS NOT A JOKE!!

What better day then today to post my new giveaway?T  here will be no practical jokes here, just a great giveaway!

Hachette has sent me some great books to review and giveaway.  5 lucky readers will each win these books.  Here's what's up for grabs...


On a hot summer afternoon in 1972, three teenagers drove into an unfamiliar neighborhood and six lives were altered forever.
Thirty five years later, one survivor of that day reaches out to another, opening a door that could lead to salvation. But another survivor is now out of prison, looking for reparation in any form he can find it.
THE TURNAROUND takes us on a journey from the rock-and-soul streets of the '70s to the changing neighborhoods of D.C. today, from the diners and auto garages of the city to the inside of Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, where wounded men and women have returned to the world in a time of war. A novel of fathers and sons, wives and husbands, loss, victory and violent redemption.

Sarah Walters, the narrator of GIRLS IN TRUCKS, is a reluctant Camellia Society debutante. She has always felt ill-fitted to the rococo ways of Southern womanhood and family, and is anxious to shake the bonds of her youth. Still, she follows the traditional path laid out for her. This is Charleston, and in this beautiful, dark, segregated town, established rules and manners mean everything.
But as Sarah grows older, she finds that her Camellia lessons fail her, particularly as she goes to college, moves North, and navigates love and life in New York. There, Sarah and her group of displaced deb sisters try to define themselves within the realities of modern life. Heartbreak, addiction, disappointing jobs and death fail to live up to the hazy, happy future promised to them by their Camellia mothers and sisters.
When some unexpected bumps in the road--an unplanned birth, a family death--lead Sarah back home, she's forced to take another long look at the fading empire of her youth. It takes a strange turn of events to finally ground Sarah enough to make some serious choices. And only then does she realize that as much as she tried to deny it, where she comes from will always affect where she ends up. The motto of her girlhood cotillion society, "Once a Camellia, always a Camellia," may turn out to have more wisdom and pull to it than she ever could have guessed.

I tried to get to 100 comments on my 100th post, and although we got close, we didn't make it.  So, I'm going to try something else to get the comments up there!  When we go OVER 100 comments, 1 random person will win the following books + 2 surprise books from my personal stash!

How do you enter?  Just leave me a comment telling me why you like or don't like April Fool's Day.  You can earn extra entries by doing any of the following:

• Follow my blog either in Blogger or a reader +1 entry
  
• Tweet about this contest and leave me the link to your tweet +2 entries
• Blog about this contest +3 entries
• Send someone new to my blog to enter the contest and have them tell me you sent them +3 entries

That's a total of 10 possible entries that you can get.  You may put it all in one comment or individual ones.  I'll count up your entries, so don't worry.  This contest is open to US and Canadian addresses ONLY; no PO boxes.  Please leave your email, in code, in your comment so that I can reach you if you win.  Since this is an April Fool's contest, I'll run it for 3 weeks and announce the winners in the last week of April.  Last day to enter will be, Wednesday, April 22nd.  I will post the winners on this blog on Wednesday, April 29th.

 

Wednesday Wanderings 4/1/09

I wander around the blogosphere and bring you what I find!

Saints and Spinners has a new contest that starts today titled, Children's Book Sequels That Never Were.  Here is the "jist" of the contest:  "Between April 1—10, we invite you to submit your book titles and 2-3 sentence synopsizes to the Unnecessary Children’s Book Sequels That Never Were contest. For simplicity's sake, the books should be either picture books or early readers such as the"I Can Read" books."  I know there are some creative and witty people out there, so head on over and check this one out!

Kylee's 2009 Blog has 5 copies of  The Crimes of Paris to giveaway.

Over at Bookfoolery and Babble, you can enter to win a copy of Colleen Gleason's As Shadow's Fade.

5 lucky readers could win A Lucky Child from Drey's Library.  You have until April 12th to enter.

Bookworm Readers is giving away a copy of Violet in Private by Melissa Walker.  I recently won this one and can't wait to get it in the mail!  She also has a copies of My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald, and Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley.  This is all part of her March Madness feature.

HUGE contest!  The Story Siren is giving away a 10-pack of ARCs.  Can you get excited about that?  You still have time to enter, so get over there!

Hope you win something!