Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up

Well another Spring Reading Thing Challenge has come and gone. I hope you read a lot of good books.

I seemed to get multiple requests for picture books over the last few months.  This is great because I have a lot of grandchildren.  I had 27 books on my original list.  They are denoted below with an *.
I read 54 picture books, 11 Middle Grade/YA Books, and  15 Adult/Misc. books for a total of 80 books. Books on my original list that I did not get two are highlighted.  As always I enjoyed this challenge.  However as I said in my last post, I will not be able to host this or the Fall Into Reading Challenge next year.  I am looking for someone willing to take it over.  I will still participate.  However, extra duties, changes in school and the school district has made it difficult to do this justice as a host.  Please let me know if you would be willing to carry the torch for these two wonderful challenges.

Please write a wrap up post and put your link to your blog in Mr. Linky.  You will have until midnight on the 24th to do so.  I will pull and post the names of the two winners the next morning. I will also send out an email.  You will have 48 hours to reply or I will pull a new name.

Picture Books

6 Activities for Children – Eitan Hana
A Journey Into Imagination - Anat Umansky

*All Sheep Love to Sing – Paula McBride

All the Baby animals in the Wild – Emily Thompson

All the Baby Animals in the Woods – Emily Thompson

All the Baby Animals on the Farm – Emily Thomson
Bear and Bunny Go To Dreamland - Emily Thomson
Ben's Day - Mark C. Collins

Blue Baboon in the Big Balloon – Sarah & Steven Mostyn

*Bob and Larry in the Case of the Missing Patience – Karen Poth

*Casey and Bella Face Their First Bully – Anna Stover

Cat Cabby – Christina Tran

*Chickens In Birthday Suits – Nancy Mauerman
Counting From Creation - Tracy Wainwright
Dirty Bumble and clean Bumble - Anat Umansky
Don't Think You Can't - Anat Umansky

Easy as 1-2-3 Come Learn About Bugs A-Z  -  Kathry L. Novak
Exodus From Egypt - Anat Umansky

Foxy the Fox and the Vineyard – Eitan Hana

Foxy’s Birthday – Eitan Hana
Go Away Scary Thoughts - Anat Umansky

Goat and the Terror Birds – P. J.Gilbers

*Goodnight Farm Animals – Sharlene Alexander
 

Grandma Stinks  Mark C. Collins
*Hero Cat – Eileen Spinelli
How Babies Are Born - Anat Umansky

*It Stinks to be Pink – Kathryn L. Novak

Joey and the Net – Amos Ordan

Magical Toys – Uncle Amos

Maya & Filippo Look For Happiness in Tauranga – Alinka Rutkowsks

Maya & Filippo Look For Whales – Alinka Rutkowska

Maya & Filippo Play Chef at Sea – Alinka Rutkowska
Meet the Bugs! - Mark C. Collins

*Mia’s Tooth Fairy – Yosifia Porat
Momma Bird and Her Chicks - Anat Umansky

Mommy – Sergey Nikolov – Sergey Nikolov

My Brother is My Best Friend – Nicole Weaver

Not Another Boring ABC Book – Sharon Cohen

One Bear – Emily Thomson

Princess Rose and the Golden Bird – Sergey Nikolov
Rainboy Full of Joy - Eli

*Queen-a-Bella Finds a Best Friend – Lisl Fair & Nina De Polonia
Queen Vernita Visits Gator Country - Dawn Menge

Stinky Fumes King of the Wild – Mahamad Ali Elfakir
Tani's Search For the Heart - Keith Egawa

Ten Busy Brownies – Talia Haven

The Ancient Secret of the Leprechauns – Mahamad Ali Elfakir

The Legend of the Black Sea – Sergey Nikolov
The Secret Kingdom - Michele & Richard Bledsoe
The Ten Commandments - Anat Umansky
The Very Best You - Kathryn L. Novak

*Truthy Ruthy – Sari Barel

Why Blue? – Josh Tuininga
Why Did the Leaf Fall - Anat Umansky
Why the Giraffe is Crying - Anat Umansky
Wizard Bill's Secret - Anat Umansky

Middle Grade/Young Adult
84 Ribbons – Paddy Eger

*Across the Tumen – Moon Young-Sook

Ashlynn’s Dreams – Julie C. Gilbert

Championship Expectations – Jim Pransky

*Eye on the Iditarod Aisleys Quest – Hope Irwin Marston

*I Don’t Wanna Be an Orange Anymore – Hank Kellner

Ice Dogs – Terry Lyn Johnson

*Jayden and the Mysterious Mountain

Libby of High Hopes – Elise Primavera

Playoff Run – Jim Pransky

*Sacket’s Harbor Powder Monkey – Hope Irwin Marston

*The Case of Secrets – Alfred M. Struther

*The Rise of Mallory – Roy Huff

*The Sphere – Kevin Turner

*The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High – Roseanne Cheng

*This Star Won’t Go Out – Esther Earl

*Time Square: The Shift – S.W. Lothian

*Touch Down Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader – Peter Guy George

Adult

A Bridge Unbroken – Cathy Bryant

Call Me Clumsy – Matt Weinrich

*Dancing in Rhythm with the Universe – Barbara Miller

Fantasyland – D.J. Starling

*First Light – Alec Frost

Keeping Score – Marc bracket

Life Lived Twice – Sherrie Wouters

Mommy’s a Mole – Eve Carson

Morgan Kane Without Mercy – Louis Masterson

Orenda – Ruth Silva

*Pilgrimage of Promise – Cathy Bryant

Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen – Lauren Leigh

The Hitler Dilemma – Carolyn Twede Frank
The Last Confession of the Vampire Judas Iscariot - David B. Vermont
*The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese
*The Way of Grace – Cathy Bryant

Miscellaneous

How to Promote Your Children’s Book – Katie Davis

Simply Delicious Amish Cooking – Sherry Gore  

Please Link your wrap up post with Mr. Linky Below.

The Last Confession – David Vermont

Genre: Fantasy
Source:  I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

From Goodreads:

Of all the people who ever lived, surely Judas Iscariot, history’s most notorious betrayer, must be in hell. Or maybe not.

After watching the crucifixion of Jesus, Judas despairs over what he has done and fumes that the Messiah he put his trust in has turned out to be just another pretender like all the rest. The toxic mix of emotions is too much for him to bear and Judas commits suicide by hanging himself.

He is restored to life by the Devil and made into a vampire apostle. The Devil teaches Judas to manipulate men and history. He becomes a king, a general, a teacher and a blacksmith, whatever is needed to effect the outcome of history and move it towards the goal of his new master.

Each time he is ready to move on to his next incarnation he must drink the blood of an innocent victim to be restored to his youthful vigor. But despite his many powers and abilities Judas knows there is one thing he desires and cannot have. Finally Judas meets a laicized priest, Raymond Breviary, and tries to steal from him what he was denied two thousand years before.

 

My Thoughts:

This was definitely different from what I am used to reading. After Judas hangs himself, the devil brings him back to life. To stop the burning and torment from hell he is told he must drink the blood of a human.  This gives him power. Satan takes him from that time period and through many more to present day. He uses Judas to bring down those loyal to Christ. Judas is fueled on because he believes Jesus betrayed him by allowing himself to be crucified. However, you must read this book to see if Judas gets what he actively seeks for years. This is one of those books that as you read it you can’t stop. It has a great twisted ending.

About the Author:

David B. Vermont began writing when he was asked to author a series of articles explaining the Catholic faith on the popular blog 52 Prayers.  He now writes regularly about his faith as the leader of an online Bible study group.  The Last Confession of Judas Iscariot is his first foray into fiction. 

He is also an attorney and accomplished litigator.  He has a wife and four children and lives in Fairfax, VA.  

You can visit his website here.

 

  

Spring Reading Thing is Almost Over

Another challenge is coming to an end.  This year's Spring Reading Thing ends at Midnight Friday, June 20th.  Remember You will need to write a wrap up post.  Let us know how you did. On Saturday the 21st I will have a Mr. Linky list up for you to link to your wrap up  post. You will have until Midnight June 24th to post your link.  I will draw a name shortly after that and post the winners on the 25th of June.  Remember I will be giving away two $20 Amazon Gift Cards.

As much as I enjoy participating in this and the Fall Into Reading Challenge I am not going to be able to continue to host them.  My duties at school and with writing curriculum for our county has made it difficult to stay up with the challenges.  If someone would like to take over these challenges please feel free.  I would appreciate letting me know so that I can continue to participate.  I almost forgot this year as I was dealing with my mother's fall where she broke both feet and her right ankle.  This was followed by the death of her sister who fell two days after my mother fell and died a week later. Between that and school I don't feel like I did justice to all of you.  For that I apologize.  I look forward to seeing what you have read.    If you have questions for me after the challenge ends please feel free to contact me with them.  Please be advised I probably won't answer you until the evening as next week is my last week for the summer of curriculum writing.  Thank you for participating.  I have enjoyed reading your list and for some of you reading reviews you have written.  Thank you for joining me in this wonderful challenge.

Sandra Stiles