Love-A-Thon Mini-challenge #3: Book Spine Poetry

Love-A-Thon
February 20-21, 2016
hosted by:
Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books
Cee @ The Novel Hermit
Hazel @ Stay Bookish
Mel @ The Daily Prophecy
One of the most popular Love-a-Thon challenges is returning this year! All you have to do is create book spine poetry. (If you guys don’t know what that is, it’s basically using book titles to write your own poems.) You can type out titles, take a photo, or design a collage. All creative ideas are encouraged!

fates and furies
postcards from the sky
the cuckoo's calling
soundless worlds of ink and shadow

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* links to more book spine poetry (here)

* image source: aurora borealis

* Love-A-Thon schedule

Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix by Erin Seidemann

Postcards from the Sky:
Adventures of an Aviatrix
by Erin Seidemann

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website
Blog
Facebook

Just released: November 10, 2015
Publisher: She Writes Press
Genre: Memoir, Travel
Paperback: 231 pages
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
I am an unlikely traveller.

The aviation world is a man’s world―it always has been, and it continues to be so today. In fact, women make up a mere 5 to 6 percent of the total pilot population worldwide. But from the first time Erin Seidemann experienced what it was like to see the world from a small plane’s perspective, she was hooked―and she’s spent much of her time since then fighting her way into becoming one of that 5 to 6 percent.

Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix tells of the struggles and adventures one encounters as a woman in the male-dominated space of aviation. With humor and equanimity, Seidemann recounts her varied experiences as a female pilot―from the chauvinistic flight instructor she makes the mistake of falling in love with to the many, many customs agents who insist she can’t possibly be her plane’s owner (“Where’s your boyfriend?”)―while at the same time giving insight about just what makes flying so incredible . . . and so very addictive.

Frank, funny, and full of adventure, Postcards from the Sky is an entertaining foray into a world few women have dared enter.

My two-bits:

Very enjoyable read that gets into the life of a modern day female pilot. Her passion to fly is impressive and inspiring to read about.

I liked reading (and living) vicariously through Erin's stories that include her adventures and experiences flying solo to island locales.

Loved the photo inserts.

About the author:

Erin Seidemann was born and raised in New Orleans in Southeastern Louisiana, a part of the state often described as “south of the South.” Erin is as Southern as a rich café au lait enjoyed in a rocking chair in 100% humidity! She attended Loyola University New Orleans and graduated cum laude with a degree in English Writing. Her professional career started with a job in San Francisco editing financial research. Since that paid about what you’d expect any English degree job to pay, she became licensed as a Supervisory Analyst, someone who approves research for compliance, making sure all the rules are followed. While working in San Francisco, Erin took up flying lessons and immediately became addicted. She bought her beloved plane, which she named Orion, while she was still a student pilot. She also took up tailwheel flying, aerobatics, and helicopters, always in search of the next aviation thrill. After four years in San Francisco, it was time to move back home. Her flying base and essentially second home is Lakefront Airport New Orleans. In the little bit of time she doesn’t spend working or flying, Erin is also a voracious reader, a rabid runner despite the threat of heat stroke, and insatiable traveler. She recently earned her commercial pilot license. She owned a Cessna 172SP for over ten years and recently bought a Piper Seneca.

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* review copy courtesy of BookSparks Fall Reading Challenge 2015 (details) @booksparks #FRC2015

Stacking the Shelves - 12.19.15

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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For Review:

Storming
by K.M. Weiland
A Dieselpunk Adventure
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads -giveaway, expires Dec 21

Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix
by Erin Seidemann
-Memoir, Travel
courtesy of BookSparks Fall Reading Challenge 2015 @booksparks #FRC2015 -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Twelve Days in December
(A Hearthfire Romance)
by Michele Paige Holmes
courtesy of eBooks for Review -get free ebooks to review (here) -Thanks!
-Historical, Romance
Amazon | Goodreads

A Midwinter Ball
(Timeless Regency Collection)
by Heidi Ashworth, Annette Lyon, Michele Paige Holmes
courtesy of eBooks for Review -get free ebooks to review (here) -Thanks!
-Historical, Romance, Short Stories
Amazon | Goodreads

That Girl, Darcy:
A Pride and Prejudice Story
by James Ramos
courtesy of eBooks for Review -get free ebooks to review (here) -Thanks!
-Jane Austen, Romance, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
From Library: audio

Wishin' and Hopin"
A Christmas Story
by Wally Lamb
-Holiday, Humor
Amazon | Goodreads | my rating: 5
Wally Lamb, the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hour I First Believed, I Know This Much Is True, and She’s Come Undone, delivers a holiday treat with Wishin’ and Hopin’—an unforgettable novella that captures the warmth and joy of the holiday season. Poignant and hilarious, in a vein similar to Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story and David Sedaris’s The Santaland Diaries, Lamb’s Christmas tale focuses on a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello—a distant cousin of the iconic Annette!

=====> A treat to listen to for the holiday season with scenes from the 60's and hilarious school Christmas show episode.

UNBOXING:

From Uppercase package (details & signup):
A hand-selected young adult book & fun bookish item, delivered monthly #UppercaseBox

NOVEMBER Box includes:
- Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom
- Signed bookplate from Eric Lindstrom
- Wood Cherry Blossom Bookmark from Mitercraft
- 2016 YA Quotes Calendar (Uppercase exclusive)

Not If I See You First
by Eric Lindstrom
-Disability, Romance, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
The Rules:

Don't deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.

Don't help me unless I ask. Otherwise you're just getting in my way or bothering me.

Don't be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I'm just like you only smarter.

Parker Grant doesn't need 20/20 vision to see right through you. That's why she created the Rules: Don't treat her any differently just because she's blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. Just ask Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart.

When Scott suddenly reappears in her life after being gone for years, Parker knows there's only one way to react-shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough on her mind already, like trying out for the track team (that's right, her eyes don't work but her legs still do), doling out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death three months ago. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened--both with Scott, and her dad--the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, some Rules are meant to be broken.

Combining a fiercely engaging voice with true heart, debut author Eric Lindstrom's Not If I See You First illuminates those blind spots that we all have in life, whether visually impaired or not.

Won from contest:

Various Quirk-ish swag
from Quirk Books - Thanks!
=====> Especially love the tote bag - book themed ones are so cute AND come in so handy these days.

OTHER things on my shelf: kinda book-related

Joined this...

Clean Slate Read-A-Thon
January 10-18, 2016
sponsored by Latte Nights Reviews, Novel Ink & Lost in Lit
Details & signup (here)
=====> Looking forward to catching up.

AND listened: online - podcast

Serial
Season 2, Dustwun
-nonfiction | website
In the middle of the night, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl grabs a notebook, snacks, water, some cash. Then he quietly slips off a remote U.S. Army outpost in eastern Afghanistan and into the dark, open desert. About 20 minutes later, it occurs to him: he’s in over his head.

=====> SO excited that this podcast has started up again. Episodes one and two are available to download.

AND watched: on DVD

Dark Places (2015)
Director: Gilles Paquet-Brenner
Screenplay by: Gilles Paquet-Brenner
Based on book by: Gillian Flynn
Starring: Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Christina Hendricks
-Drama, Mystery, Thriller | imdb | my rating: 4
Libby Day was only eight years old when her family was brutally murdered in their rural Kansas farmhouse. Almost thirty years later, she agrees to revisit the crime and uncovers the wrenching truths that led up to that tragic night.

=====> Followed the book pretty well.

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Writers: Kay Cannon, Mickey Rapkin
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld
-Comedy, Music | imdb | my rating: 4.5
After a humiliating command performance at The Kennedy Center, the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American group has ever won in order to regain their status and right to perform.

=====> Just as entertaining as the first one with more glitz.

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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers

Fall Reading Challenge 2015

Fall Reading Challenge 2015
sponsored by BookSparks
(details here)
The Fall annual reading challenge sponsored by BookSparks is starting up next month!

JOIN in and treat yourself to some amazing reads!

Here are the books I plan on reading:
SEE details (here) for complete list

Crooked Little Lies
by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Amazon | Goodreads | my reviewCourse Title: Manipulation Sciences
Department: Suspense
Course Date: September 7
Description: Seeing is not always believing. Unravel the mysteries behind Crooked Little Lies by Barbara Taylor with this deep dive into the deceptions lurking within your own memories.

The Legacy of Us
by Kristin Contino
Amazon | Goodreads | my reviewCourse Title: Ancestry 101
Department: Women’s Fiction
Course Date: September 28
Description: Track one woman’s journey through the generations and learn to identify key heirlooms and clues in tracing your lineage with The Legacy of Us taught by Kristin Contino.

The Admissions
by Meg Mitchell Moore
Amazon | Goodreads | my reviewCourse Title: Sociology 101
Department: Women’s Fiction
Course Date: October 5
Description: Put today’s modern “has-it-all” family under the microscope in this revealing course by Meg Mitchell Moore.

Sleeping With The Enemy
by Tracy Solheim
Amazon | Goodreads | my reviewCourse Title: Scandal Studies 101
Department: Romance
Course Date: October 12
Description: Study heartbreak, jealousy, attraction and grudge-holding during this juicy course by Tracy Solheim.

The Good Neighbor
by A.J. Banner
Amazon | Goodreads | my reviewCourse Title: Bad Behavioral Studies
Department: Suspense
Course Date: October 19
Description: Examine community and neighbor relations under a microscope in this mysterious course from AJ Banner.

Beautiful Affliction
by Lene Fogelberg
Amazon | Goodreads | my reviewCourse Title: Anatomy & Physiology
Department: Memoir
Course Date: November 2
Description: Take an honest look at growing up on the verge of death by following the life of Lene Folgelberg, a double open-heart surgery survivor.

The Word Game
by Steena Holmes
Amazon | Goodreads | my reviewCourse Title: Advanced Trauma & Recovery
Department: Women’s Fiction
Course Date: December 7
Description: Go inside the complicated world of sisterly relations, family secrets and unthinkable acts with this course by Steena Holmes. Past students are still talking about it!

Put A Ring On It
by Beth Kendrick
Amazon | Goodreads

Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix
by Erin Seidemann
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

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* head over to get more details and to signup for this challenge (here) - books provided for honest reviews