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2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

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Some "Lucky 13" Winners
Thirteen years ago today, my new husband and I were driving from Washington State back to Provo, Utah, where we both attended college at BYU. We were driving a luxurious Chrysler, the nicest car either one of us had ever been inside. A week earlier, we'd gotten up bright and early to pick up our rental car and head to Washington to get married. When the guy at the rental place learned that we were only 21, he explained that we were too young to rent the car we had reserved. Needless to say, we were a tiny bit frantic. When we told him that we were heading to Washington to get married, he not only changed our ages to 25 on the computer, but he upgraded us to a luxury vehicle. The good thing about driving all that way is that we did it in style! We were giddy about getting back to our crappy Provo apartment and starting our "real life" together. Thirteen years have gone by fast and they've been very, very happy. I'm grateful for a loving husband who supports his family, dotes on his kids, always puts my needs before his own, and does it all with kindness and good humor. I think I'll keep him around for a while :) The hubs likes to call himself my second love (after this blog), so I'll stop gushing and get back to business ... I (Random.org, actually) picked the winners in the two giveaways I've been running:
Susan G. won an ARC of Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
&
FieryIceFantasy won an ARC of Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Congratulations! FIF, if you'll email me your snail mail address, I'll get the book out to you ASAP. Susan, I know where you live (unless you've moved in the past 2 years??) - if you'll shoot me an email, we can arrange a time for me to drop the book off at your house.
Thanks, everybody, for entering! Stay tuned for more fun giveaways.
P.S. Please remember that ARCs are unedited copies of new books. It's illegal to sell or auction them off. They cannot really be donated either. After you've read the ARC, feel free to keep it for yourself, pass it on to a friend or recycle it. Thanks for respecting the ARCs! I, for one, would be devastated if publishers stopped offering ARCs because of people using them irresponsibly.
Dairy Queen Udderly Satisfying
's Wisconsin. Ever since D.J.'s dad messed up his hip moving the manure spreader, her mother got a second job to take up the slack, and her older brothers took off to pursue their football careers, it's been up to D.J. to keep the farm running. She's been doing a pretty good job of it, thank you very much, not that anyone ever acknowledges her hard work. The Schwenks are too busy ignoring their problems to focus on hers. Scholastic Loves Me, This I Know ...
My Facebook status for Tuesday read: Scholastic loves me, this I know, for the brand-new, free copy of Mockingjay sitting on my doorstep tells me so! You can imagine how many jealous comments I got, which is exactly why I posted it, of course :) I was thrilled to get the book, especially since so many people didn't receive their copies that day due to shortages. So, a huge shout out to Scholastic. They've always been incredibly generous to me and this just proves what a rocking company they are. Woot!- Speaking of Facebook, check out that fancy badge on my left sidebar. I really only use Facebook to keep in touch with family and IRL friends, but I'd love if you became a fan of my BBB page. Now that I have the page, I'm not exactly sure what to do with it. Advice?
- My sister is hosting a book giveaway over at her homemaking blog, Martha-wannabe. The titles up for grabs are Once A Month Cooking and Once A Month Cooking Family Favorites. She hasn't had too many entrants, so the odds of winning are very good. While you're over there, give her some love - her birthday's on the 2nd, and her husband will be leaving soon for a long deployment in Afghanistan. Follow her, enter her contest, give a supportive Navy wife
some encouraging words. Love ya, Pee Wee!
- It's been a few weeks since I participated in the Book Blogger Hop. Shame on me! Join in the fun over at Crazy for Books. The question of the week has to do with rating books. As you can see, I "grade" the books I read according the American grading system. It's sometimes hard to determine if a book deserves an A, B, C, D or F, but I try to be fair. I think it works pretty well. What do you think?
If you're here for the first time because of the Hop (or for any other reason), welcome! I'm always excited to hear from new readers and to discover new book blogs. Have a wonderful weekend, everybody.
You Can't Go Home Again - Or Can You?
(Image from Barnes & Noble) 
Readin'
Liberty Street by Heather Marshall
Listenin'
The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson
Followin' with Bloglovin'
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2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction
2020 - Middle Grade Fiction


