Sara Reads Things

Title: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs By: Steve Brusatte Genre: Nonfiction Pages: 404 Release Date: April 24th, 2018 Publisher:  William Morrow Rating: ★★★☆☆ Summary from Goodreads:  The dinosaurs.  Sixty-six million years ago, the Earth’s most fearsome creatures vanished. Today they remain one of our planet’s great mysteries. Now  The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs  reveals their extraordinary, 200-million-year-long story as never before. In this captivating narrative (enlivened with more than seventy original illustrations and photographs), Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field—naming fifteen new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork—masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and  new  history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic ...

Title: Wildfire By: Carrie Mac Genre: Fiction Pages: 272 Release Date: January 28th, 2020 Publisher:  Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers Rating: ★★★★☆ Summary from Goodreads:  Into the Wild  meets  The Serpent King   in this story about Annie and Pete, two best friends on a dangerous and emotional trek through the woods. Annie and Pete have been best friends since they were little. They know each other better than anyone, and they've been on more adventures than they can count--they even have a notebook filled with all the times they've almost died. But they  always  survive, because together, they're invincible. And they've always been just friends. But lately, Annie has been thinking that maybe friendship is just the beginning, and she's been mentally replaying all the times they were almost something more. Now they're heading out on their next great quest: a ten-day backpacking trip through the mountains of Washington State...

Monday! Is it really Monday again?! The boys are on Thanksgiving vacation from school and the holiday season is upon us. I really need to start my Christmas decorating and gift buying. Before I know it, Christmas will be here and I will be panicking. This weeks book is Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Its the last book in my 2018 Best of Goodreads Challenge and I'm excited to read it. Lets get to this weeks menu, enjoy! Monday -  Beef Ramen Stir Fry Tuesday -  Sizzlin' Saigon Steak Bowls Wednesday -  Chicken Gyro Couscous Bowls Thursday - Thanksgiving! BBQ a Turkey Oven Roast a Turkey   Friday -  Pulled Pork Tacos Saturday -  Caramelized-Pineapple Burgers Sunday -  Leftovers Night

Happy Sunday. I love this part of the week. Not only is it my lazy day, but its also the day that I recap everything that has happened on the blog this week. Its fun to see what I've been up to and what's to come. I also love to hear what you've been up to and share things that I find on other people's blogs. Leave me a comment below, so I can stop by your blog. Sunday Confessions # 18 ~ Weekly Menu #326 And The Book Of The Week ~ Book Review: Whip Smart by Melissa Febos ~ Book Review: Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede Weekly Menu #327 And The Book Of The Week ~ Book Review: Wildfire Carrie Mac ~ Book Review: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaures by Steve Brusatte ~ Sunday Confessions # 20 All of these books look amazing and I can't wait to read them. I can't wait to hear from you all. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you are reading this week. 

Title: Dealing with Dragons By: Patricia C. Wrede Genre: Fantasy Pages: 212 Release Date: November 1st, 2002 Publisher:  HMH Books for Young Readers Rating: ★★★☆☆ Summary from Goodreads:  Cimorene is everything a princess is  not  supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart - and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon - and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for. Add on Goodreads Review:  I read this book as a child and loved it. Reading this story again was a nice reminder of a simple dragon story with lovable characters. The main character is strong and puts the dragons in their place. I can't wait to read the next book, and to remind myself of my childhood.

Title: Whip Smart By: Melissa Febos Genre: Biography Pages: 289 Release Date:   July 19th, 2011 Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin Rating: ★★★★☆ Summary from Goodreads:  A dark, wild, powerful memoir about a young woman's transformation from college student to professional dominatrix While a college student at The New School, Melissa Febos spent four years working as a dominatrix in a midtown dungeon. In poetic, nuanced prose she charts how unchecked risk-taking eventually gave way to a course of self-destruction. But as she recounts crossing over the very boundaries that she set for her own safety, she never plays the victim. In fact, the glory of this memoir is Melissa's ability to illuminate the strange and powerful truths that she learned as she found her way out of a hell of her own making. Rest assured; the reader will emerge from the journey more or less unscathed. Add on Goodreads Review:  Steamy. What an interesting look ins...

Hey Monday! It's back and you know what that means. Another week of delicious food and the book of the week. I hope you've been doing a lot of reading. I've definitely slowed down, but still on track to read about 200 books this year. This weeks book is The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan. It's one of the last books in my Goodreads best of 2018 challenge. I'm coming down to the wire, so got to finish it. I only have two books left so I think I'll be fine. Already half way through this one, so you have some catching up to do. Lets get to this weeks menu. Enjoy! Monday -  Crispy Southwestern Chicken Cutlets Tuesday -  Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Wednesday -  Pork Carnitas Tacos Thursday -  Mozzarella-Stuffed Little Italy Burgers Friday -  Beef Ramen Stir Fry Soup Saturday - Crack Chicken Noodle Soup Sunday -  Leftovers Night

Hello, and welcome back to my confessions. Its finally Sunday, family day, and its my turn to host family dinner. I'm not sure what I'm going to make, but I have all day to figure it out. I'll probably pick a recipe from the last few weeks that was delicious and easy to make. Any suggestions? Sunday Confessions # 17 ~ Weekly Menu #325 And The Book Of The Week ~ Movie Review: Shaft ~ Book Review: The Finest Hour by Michael J. Tougias Weekly Menu #326 And The Book Of The Week ~  Book Review: Whip Smart by Melissa Febos ~ Book Review: Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede ~ Sunday Confessions # 19 All of these books sound amazing and I can't wait to dive into them. Wildfire is a wonderful book to read if you are needing a book set in Washington . I just finished this book and will review as soon as I can. Stay tuned.  ~ I'm up to 12 books in my read around the country challenge. Its been ...

Title: The Finest Hours By: Michael J Tougias Genre: Historical nonfiction Pages: 197 Release Date: May 19th, 2009 Publisher:  Scribner Book Company Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ DNF Summary from Goodreads:  In the winter of 1952, New England was battered by the most brutal nor'easter in years. As the weather wreaked havoc on land, the freezing Atlantic became a wind-whipped zone of peril. In the early hours of Monday, February 18, while the storm raged, two oil tankers, the  Pendleton  and the  Fort Mercer , found themselves in the same horrifying predicament. Built with "dirty steel," and not prepared to withstand such ferocious seas, both tankers split in two, leaving the dozens of men on board utterly at the Atlantic's mercy. The Finest Hours  is the gripping, true story of the valiant attempt to rescue the souls huddling inside the broken halves of the two ships. Coast Guard cutters raced to the aid of those on the  Fort Mercer , and when it ...

Title: Shaft Genre: Action Release Date: June 14th, 2019 My Rating: ★★★★☆ IMDB Rating: 6.4/10 Cast:    Samuel L. Jackson , Jessie T. Usher , Richard Roundtree Summary from IMDB:  JJ Shaft, a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, enlists his family's help to uncover the truth behind his best friend's untimely death. IMDB Trailer Review: I've never watched the previous shaft movies, but this one was entertaining. There was action and humor. A love story intertwined. It was just enough and didn't overwhelm the story with froufrou kissy kissy crap. A good movie for a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

It's Monday again. I have to say, I only read one book last week and it was a short one. What happened?!?! I guess time got away from me. This weeks book is Abandon by Blake Crouch. One of my book clubs is diving into this one and it looked interesting. What are you reading this week? Leave me a comment below. Let's get to the menu. Enjoy! Monday - Tomato-y Tortellini Soup   Tuesday -  Cheesy Smothered Mushroom Chicken Wednesday -  Balsamic Tomato Parmesan Risotto Thursday -  Ribeye and Roasted Garlic Pan Sauce Friday -  Portobello Burger   Saturday -  BBQ Chicken Tacos Sunday -  Leftovers Night

Hello Sunday, missed you. I threw my back out last Sunday. Couldn't do anything without the breath being knocked out of me. It hurt so bad. Pain under my right shoulder blade. My wonderful husband took care of me. Doing the laundry and dishes and taking care of the boys. Turns out, the very next day when I was feeling better, my husband threw his back out and I was the one to take care of him. Now, we are both semi ok and resting like the old people we are. Lets get on with this weeks confessions, shall we? Sunday Confessions # 16 ~ Weekly Menu #324 And The Book Of The Week ~ Book Review: Novice Dragoneer by E.E. Knight ~ October 2019 Wrap Up Weekly Menu #325 And The Book Of The Week ~ Movie Review: Shaft ~ Book Review: The Finest Hour by Michael J. Tougias  ~ Sunday Confessions # 18 Saw a review for this one around the blogosphere. Took me a while to get my hands on a copy, but I'm excited to dive into its pages. I...