How is everyone's summer treating them thus far? Hopefully it's been filled with some sun, a good read or two (or three or more, if you're crazy like me *wink*), and new memories!
My family and I just returned on Sunday evening from Portland, Oregon (shout-out to Amber, though she's gone for a bit right now). Portland is beautiful, much to your surprise. Lol!
It was a lot of fun and we saw lots of different things. One of my favorite places that we visited was the Portland Rose Gardens. If you are a fan of flowers, or if you just think they're pretty, GO HERE! I took ALOT of pictures of these magnificent flowers, but haven't had a spare second to put them on the computer yet. Sorry about that....will do it as soon as possible, hopefully *grin*
Just thought that I would share some of that with you. Have any of you been to Portland, Oregon? Visited the gardens? Let me know....
NOW onto our next scheduled event:
WWW Thursday (again) *slaps hand* Bad Hannah!
Remember that you can find this meme on MizB's blog.
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?
My answers this week:
Currently reading: The Last Child by John Hart
I have to make a note about this book. It. Is. Phenomenal!!! If you like mystery, crime, murder, action, sad books, this book is for you : ) Seriously though, I started this Sunday night and have about 50 or less pages left: there are 432 pages! I am in love with this book and plan on finishing it tonight!
Anyway...
Just finished: Vision in White by Nora Roberts
AND...
When the Heart Cries by Cindy Woodsmall
(Sidenote: LOVED both of these books!!! Highly, highly recommend both. I think I might be doing my first reviews of these books because I LOVED them so darn much (then I will do The Last Child, lol!))
AND...
Critical Care by Candace Calvert
Next read(s): When the Morning Comes by Cindy Woodsmall
AND...
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Yet again, another sidenote: Sarah Addison Allen is a wonderful, newish author. I have read one other book of hers, Garden Spells, and it was enticingly enchanting and magical! I am extrememly excited to read this book as well as her third and only other book that I haven't read: The Sugar Queen. She does not disappoint...
Okay, so that's how I've done recently. On a five day vacation, I read three books, not bad, eh?! I'm hoping to keep up this reading stamina because I'm zipping through books and they've all been good, too! I would be reading Bed of Roses (the sequel to Vision in White by Nora Roberts), but sadly it's checked out of the library currently *tears* They're going to call me when it comes in though!! Keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be any day now *wink*
I'd love to hear what you've been reading!
I wanted to put out a quick THANK YOU to everyone that wished me well during graduation. Sorry I did not reply and haven't been around since then, but it's been crazy! Now hopefully it'll calm down a bit and I can stay around, as long as my new job doesn't get in the way!
Talk to you soon and happy reading!!!
Hannah
P.S. I'm SERIOUSLY working on the awards banquet!!! Everyone's going to hate me because they give me one and then "ignore" it. Well, it's in the works people, please hang in there with me!
Hi Hannah! Just got your comment over at Amber's blog :) Thank you SO much for your kind words! I would like to start a blog someday, but then the "chicken" in me comes out in full cluck and I feel like I wouldn't know what to blog about, LOL! But, I thank you for your encouragement and will definitely pray about it ;)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of a blog- yours is GREAT!! I love all the books you're reading (and have read)! I have a great big list for 2010, too, and have most of them in my TBR stack as we speak (type, rather) and some whose release I'm anxiously awaiting!! Yes, I got a bit by the bookworm, LOL!
Hannah, those pics are just BEAUTIFUL!! Thank you for sharing them! I LOVE roses! Actually, "Rose" is my middle name- seriously, it is :) You have a WONDERFUL blog and I will definitely be back soon!!
Blessings,
Amanda Stanley
Told you I'd be back soon, LOL! Silly me forgot to answer your questions...
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading "Seeds of Summer" by: Deborah Vogts. I recently finished reading "Courting Morrow Little" by: Laura Frantz (LOVE her and LOVE the book!). And my next read will be "The Falcon and the Sparrow" by: MaryLu Tyndall. Though, I just received her just released book "Surrender the Heart" via UPS today and I might devour that one fist? Either way, I have a summer full of books ahead of me :D
Again, GREAT blog Hannah! Praying you have a wonderful 4th of July!!
Blessings,
Amanda Stanley
Hey Amanda!
ReplyDeleteSo good to see you here : )
You really should consider starting a blog. It doesn't matter what you blog about as long as you have the time to blog. That's what I'm running into now. I have this summer and then heading off to start freshman year of college : / Scary, new, and time consuming!
Rose is a really pretty middle name. One of my friends' middle name is 'Rose'. It was her grandmother's name....hope you get a chance to go there sometime maybe : D
Lol! I guess you did come back soon! *wink* I'll have to check those out. Okay, I finished The Last Child last night....SHOCKING ending! Seriously, didn't see it coming at. All. Crazy good book! This morning I started Cindy's book. Not into it enough to have an opinion yet, but so far so good. I don't doubt that it will be fantastic!
Please, come by anytime! I'd love to have you : )
Talk to you soon,
Hannah
Hannah, lovely job and I'm amazed at how well you're handling the multiple spinning plates in your life right now, and that gives me great and totally awesome confidence that you'll rock the big Kahuna in college.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, wonderful! So stinkin' proud of you.
I'm eating 4th of July barbecue in your honor.
:)
Hugs and kisses,
Ruthy
Hi Hannah! I love your site. Like Ruth said above, you have a LOT going on. I am very impressed. Thanks a ton for coming over to the Petit Fours and Hot Tamales blog and commenting. We love to see who our readers are AND it brought me over here.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Portland. My husband’s grandmother lived there and we remember the visits to see her were always fun. I was surprised that it did not rain as often as everyone in the “real world” thought it did.
I JUST bought The Girl Who Chased the Moon. I was thrilled to see it on your list. Can’t wait to dive in.
Again, thanks for your wonderful post. I’ll have to read back through the others now.
Tami Brothers
High Hannah, just popped over from the Petit Fours & Hot Tamales, great blog!
ReplyDeleteMy niece graduated last week too...
Great adventure of life you have in front of you. Enjoy!
Kathy,.
Hi Hannah, Skipped over here from Seekerville-- I'm a fan of PF&HT also (I know some of them from GRW)!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, congrats on graduation, new job (YAY for you!); love the pix of Portland -- the roses must be absolutely breathtaking in person -- I love public gardens! Come to Bellingrath, come to Callaway, come to Atlanta Botanical Gardens in early spring if you can-- azaleas paint the world pink & purple down here!)
BTW-- I loved Vision in White too -- dontcha love Nora's dialogue? And how she takes a geek & hunks him up? *grin*
Happy 4th! Go Braves!
Oh! Can I tell you what I'm reading???
Deanne Gist's Courting Trouble, and sequel, Deep in the Heart of Trouble (good 4th of July books); Lisa Wyngate's Tending Roses (melancholy); Kathryn Mackel's The Surrogate (psych scary); AND if I can find it Ruth L Hernes' Waiting Out the Storm
Awwww...Ruthy! A barbeque in my honor? Sounds appropriate...what with the food and all : P
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the support that you, the Seekers, and all my other blogger buddies have provided me. You're all so great
: )
I'm proud to 'know' you!
Hannah
Hi Tami!!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, welcome to my blog! I never expected to get people to come over from PF&HT lol! And thanks for signing up to be a follower : ) I'll try not to be boring!
Yes, Portland was great! And since it's all the way across the country from me, it was neat to get over there - not that I'm any new to traveling.
Tell me how you like The Girl Who Chased teh Moon! I'm SOOOOO looking forward to digging in : )
Talk to you soon,
Hannah
Hi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
Congratualtions to your niece. It's a big step, indeed!
Hope to see you more,
Hannah
Pamela,
ReplyDeleteI love the energy you're bringing to my comments section today : ) Hopefully you'll continue to stop by and grace us with that more often!
Girl, Nora knows how to write, that's the truth! Have you read Bed of Roses? I'm waiting for it to return to the library....grrrr! I want to read it now : D
It sounds like you've got your hands full of books right now. Please tell me how you like them because I might have to add them to my list!
Thanks for stopping by, you're welcome here anytime. Happy Fourth!!
Hannah
Hey Hannah,
ReplyDeletePortland sounds wonderful. Thanks for the virtual tour since I won't be stirring from home this summer! Love hearing about what people are reading.
Just finished: Chalice of Roses -- a compliation of four novellas based on the Holy Grail. Paranormal.
Currently reading: Love Lessons by Margaret Daley (Love Inspired)...revolves around home schooling and I like the fresh perspective.
What I'll read next??? I think you've convinced me to pick up When the Morning Comes.
Oh good!! Kav, I'm so excited for you because I think you really will love CIndy's books. Disclaimer: Make sure you've read the first one (When the Heart Cries) first for this one!! I know you sometimes don't end up reading things in order. This is not one of those kindsd of series. If you don't know what happens in Book 1, right off the bat you will be confused in Book 2. Otherwise, they're phenomenal!
ReplyDeleteGlad to know I could share something new with you : )
Have a great day!
Hannah
Thanks for the tip Hannah -- I've rearranged my TBR pile. When the Heart Cries is at the top -- within arms' reach and likely to be started this evening.
ReplyDeleteOh good! I'm so glad. You have to give it a few chapters (as I remember) to get into it. Then, all of a sudden you beging to really care about the characters and what happens. You won't want to put it down : D
ReplyDeleteHappy reading!
Hannah
P.S. You could read it by candlelight....get into the Old Order Amish spirit
: D
Hi, Hannah! Thanks for the shout-out! Glad you enjoyed Portland--I enjoyed Sunriver! ;)
ReplyDeletePortland is just an hour north of where I go to college, and I've been there several times, but it's such a BIG city (for me, anyway!). I'm glad Corban University is in Salem!
Here's my answers (although I'm late, so I apologize!):
Currently reading: A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin (And I'm going to see what came in the mail while I was gone, hopefully tomorrow! Crossing my fingers that there are some books waiting for me!)
Just Finished: Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren and When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall (Alright I confess--I read the third book instead of the whole series! But I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I absolutely loved the last one, so I know you will, too!)
Will Read: Whatever is in the mail, most likely! ;)
Talk to you soon!
~Amber