Mar 24

Sunday Salon 03.24.12

By Stephanie book challenges, book reviews, books & movies, books & tv, sunday salon 12 Comments »

I’m joining the Sunday Salon party a little early today, as Sunday is going to be a busy day! Not only do we have church, CCD and Chinese school, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to finalize the purchase of our (new) pre-owned vehicle! In the meantime, I’m happy to tell you all about what I’ve been reading/watching recently.

For all of us living in the Northeast, these last few weeks weather has been unseasonably warm, which in turn gave us incentive to fire up our grills, sit out on our back decks and get some reading done! I’ve had the pleasure of reading some pretty good books while enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. The first one was Wonder by RJ Palacio, a novel that was surprisingly touching and one in which I can’t wait to share with my almost ten year old daughter (to find out why, check out my review here). I also finished Heft by Liz Moore, White Horse by Alex Adams and Daughters for a Time by Jennifer Handford, all three of which I received from their publishers. I’ll be reviewing each one in April.

At the moment I’m re-reading the John Irving classic A Prayer for Owen Meany, a book that I read probably ten years ago and one that has a special place in my heart. It’s the story of Owen Meany, a boy who believes there are no “accidents,’ that he’d been specifically selected to carry out the work of the Lord, that he was an instrument of God. Told by his best childhood friend Johnny Wheelwright, the story is set during the 50’s in New Hampshire, and Johnny, now a grown man, is reflecting on his extraordinary friendship with Owen.

I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice – not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.

A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of those rare novels that is thought provoking, extremely touching and will have you laughing out loud. HarperCollins recently re-issued A Prayer for Owen Meany in paperback (and also as an ebook!) so now is the time to get lost in this modern American classic.

I also saw that Carl V. has announced his sixth annual Once Upon a Time reading challenge! I hope to put together my list of must-reads for OUaT over the next few days. If you’ve signed up for OUaT, which books are you thinking about trying to read during the challenge? For right now I know that I’ll definitely read the upcoming The Age of Miracles by Karen Thomspon Walker (which I’ll be reviewing for TLC Book Tours this June). I also hope to get a copy of the graphic novel The Walking Dead Compendium One to read, as I’m having withdrawal fits ever since AMC’s season two of The Walking Dead ended last week. If you haven’t seen the TV show, which is a survival story of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, then you are missing out on one of the best shows on television. Usually a TV show about zombies isn’t my cup of tea, but the story isn’t really about zombies. It’s much more a story about the people left behind and whether or not an individual’s humanity, or internal moral code, can survive in a new world. The first two seasons are now available on DVD to rent and I would highly suggest catching up with the series before it returns to AMC this fall.

Lastly, I hope to get to see The Hunger Games in theaters within the next week or so. I really don’t like to watch movies in a crowded theater (that is why we just saw The Lorax on Saturday morning – a grand total of ten people were in the theater)! I’m anxious to see how The Hunger Games translates to film and am thinking it might be a good movie to see with my husband after a dinner out for a date night.

Sep 21

When She Woke

By Stephanie book challenges, book reviews 17 Comments »

Ever wonder what would happen in a futuristic United States where there is no separation between church and state? If so, then you have to check out Hilary Jordan’s newest book When She Woke. Jordan tells the story of Hannah Payne, a 20 something girl who has an adulterous affair with her pastor Aidan Dale (who is also the Faith Leader of the United States). She finds herself pregnant with his baby and decides to get an abortion to protect Aidan’s identity. But abortions have been illegal for years, after the world was devastated by the “Great Scourge” which affected the fertility of millions of women. Since the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, Hannah finds herself having to find a doctor willing to perform the illegal procedure. Afterwards, Hannah is caught and refuses to tell even her own family who the father of the baby is. Her punishment is chroming, in which she is injected with a virus that turns her skin color a bright red (the color identified with murderers) and she is released back into society to fend for herself. Disowned by her fundamentalist mother and bigoted brother-in-law (only her father tries to help her out) Hannah soon finds out that the real world for a chrome is a dangerous place. Between religious zealots trying to convert wayward chromes with unconventional and sometimes cruel methods and vigilante groups who kidnap chromes, Hannah has to look deep within herself to find the strength to survive.

Yes, When She Woke is an examination of the role that religion plays in our society, about a woman’s control over her own body and even to some degree the current state of our prisons in America. But it is, at a deeper level, much more of a story about one woman’s struggle to survive, a journey from her deepest shame to finding a pride for herself that she never knew she had. Hannah struggles with her own faith throughout the novel which leads to a beautiful transformation of the main character. The story is really secondary in When She Woke, but through Jordan’s writing the character of Hannah shines.

Having said that, I can understand that some readers might not like When She Woke, as I felt it had a pro-choice agenda underlying the story. But if you are open minded and like a good story, then you should give this book a try. I also noticed that other reviewers felt that this story was too similar to Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter. The author acknowledges the link between her story and The Scarlet Letter in her acknowledgements, which makes me think that this was more of a futuristic re-telling of Hawthorne’s classic novel than a outright rip off.

In the end, I closed the book with a satisfied sigh. Well written and fast paced, When She Woke was a thought provoking story, an excellent dystopian novel that kept me turning the pages. I’ve never read Jordan’s first book (the bestselling Mudbound) but after reading When She Woke I most definitely will pick it up.

I read When She Woke as part of Carl’s RIP challenge. Even though you wouldn’t think that this book would fit in with other RIP reads (especially the creepy, gothic books I’ve been reading for the challenge) the subject matter was extremely frightening and the struggle Hannah went through horrifying (and frightening and horrifying sound like two words perfect for RIP)! I’ve also done a buddy review with Kailana over at The Written World! Make sure to stop by her blog to check out her review of When She Woke!

I received a copy of When She Woke directly from the publisher. The book will be published in October 2011.

Sep 10

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

By Stephanie book challenges, book expo america, book questions, books & movies 23 Comments »

While walking around Book Expo America this past May, one of the best book covers I caught a glimpse of (in big poster format no less) was the cover of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs at the Quirk Books booth. Right away I thought to myself that this would be the PERFECT book to read for Carl V.’s RIP challenge. I was extremely excited to get a copy of the book from the publisher and as soon as RIP started I dug right in!

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a Young adult novel, a coming of age story about Jacob, a teenager living an oh-so-normal life with his parents in Florida. Jacob has a very close relationship with his grandfather Abe, even if Abe seems to be a bit on the eccentric side. When Jacob was little, Abe would tell him fantastic stories of a children’s home in Wales where he claimed to spend a good portion of his own childhood, being sent there when the Nazi’s invaded Poland. He showed Jacob a few photographs, all of children with strange, super-natural abilities. As Jacob grows older, he starts to doubt his grandfather’s tall tales and isn’t forced into thinking about them until, with his dying breath, Abe cryptically encourages Jacob to find The bird on the island where the supposed Children’s home stands. When Jacob and his father trek to the remote island, Jacob only finds the ruins of the home, left over from bombings during WWII. But with the finding of a chest full or strange photographs, what is real and fantasy blur and Jacob finds himself face to face with some very strange, very peculiar children.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is an fantastic gothic fantasy, made even better with hauntingly beautiful vintage photography collected by the author. Riggs masterfully weaves the photographs and story together, until you can hardly tell the difference between truth and fiction. I found myself drawn to Jacob’s character (and all the children in the book) and was really rooting for Jacob in his search for the truth.

I don’t remember caring so much about a young protagonist since I read 12 year old David’s story in John Connelly’s The Book of Lost Things (my review here) which was another beautifully written fantasy novel, with creepy undertones. I would also say that this book reminded me of a children’s book that I read a few years ago – The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (my review here). Even though Stewart’s book is far less sinister than Miss Peregrines (and targets a younger audience – my nine year old is currently reading it) I think that they are both extremely imaginative, whimsical stories that are fully realized.

Overall, I loved Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and enjoyed spending time in the incredibly inventive world.

Great news for fans of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children! Quirk books just announced that there will be a sequel to the book (currently untitled) due out Spring 2013. Also, film rights have been sold to Twentieth Century Fox! Thanks again Quirk for sending me this wonderful book for review. I read this book for Carl’s RIP challenge.

Aug 31

RIP is here!

By Stephanie book challenges, book events, books i want, cool blogs & sites 33 Comments »

RIP2011

A week ago we experienced a really strong thunderstorm which quickly dropped the temperature outside. For once over this hot summer we opened our windows to a wonderfully cool breeze and slept under goose down comforters all nice and cozy. Since then we ’ve weathered a hurricane here in the North East (luckily for my family we still have power and did not have any fallen trees on our property) and the temperature at night is still pretty comfortable. These cooler late summer nights reminds me that right around the corner is my most favorite season, Autumn, and with the fall comes my most favorite reading challenge, R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (R.I.P.), which is hosted each year by the super cool Carl V of Stainless Steel Droppings.

There are many different ways you can participate in RIP VI (and for all you weary reading challenge folks, there is even an option to read one book during the challenge or watch spooky movies or tv shows)! In other words, even if you don’t think you have the time for another challenge, I would encourage you to give RIP a try and just sign up to read or watch just one thing. Easy, right?

I’ve decided to participate in Peril the First, in which I try and read four books between September 1st and October 31st. You can see what books I’ve decided to try and read from the photograph above. I received When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, The Legacy by Katherine Webb, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs and The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson from publishers (and in fact I already started reading Miss Peregrine while hunkering down during the hurricane). I picked up an ARC of Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon at Book Expo America (BEA) in May, had Neil Gaiman sign a copy of The Graveyard Book for me at a previous BEA and The House at Riverton: A Novel was sitting on my bookshelf.

I also plan on participating in a read-a-long hosted by Carl for the book The Lantern. The group read will take place during a three week period in October (find out how to sign up here).

The only other book I hope to read (which is not pictured) is Erin Morgenstern’s highly anticipated The Night Circus. Unfortunately I did not get a copy of the book in advance, so will have to wait until it hits bookstores mid-September. It was hyped up at BEA this past May and then when I read Alison’s review I just knew that this sounded like a book I have to read.

If you are interested in joining Carl’s challenge (and I would highly recommend it, as he is the KING of challenge hosts) you can sign up here!

Aug 26

My hurricane preparedness kit!

By Stephanie book challenges, cool blogs & sites, life 19 Comments »

photo (2)

Bring it on Irene, I’m ready!! All kidding aside, we are getting ready for the big hurricane coming up the East Coast of the United States. Except for the fact that you cannot find a D battery anywhere in the state of New Jersey, I am more than ready for power outages and rainy weather. We’ve got canned food, plenty of bottled water and a propane tank (which comes in handy since it provides gas to my cooktop) so I should still be able to cook my Chinese Shrimp and Bok Choy Noodle Soup for dinner on Sunday. I’ve also stored the patio chairs under our deck, flipped over the glass outdoor table and made sure that all the kiddie toys are safely in the shed. I live inland of the coast, so it shouldn’t be as bad here as it will be at the Jersey shore, but I do in fact worry about the large trees surrounding our house.

I also have plenty of reading material in the house to keep me busy for days! Any day now Carl should be announcing his annual RIP challenge, so I thought I would get a head start and picked up Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children out of my TBR pile. It looks like the perfect creepy read for a windy, rainy weekend. Stay safe everyone!

May 29

Don’t Breathe a Word (review & giveaway)!

By Stephanie book challenges, book reviews, giveaway, guest posts 17 Comments »

I might have to dub this Jennifer McMahon month on this blog, since this is the third book by the author I’ve read and reviewed in May! Don’t Breathe a Word: A Novel is McMahon’s newest book which was just released last week. I’ve given two favorable reviews to her books Island of Lost Girls and Promise Not to Tell and think that McMahon is a talented writer. I’m happy to say that she hasn’t lost her touch with her new novel.

Lisa, a twelve year old girl, has disappeared without a trace. Her little brother Sam, always the non-believer, was told by his sister Lisa that she would be going off into the woods to become the fairy Queen. Fifteen years later, Sam is an adult and is dating Phoebe. After Sam receives a strange phone call telling him that Lisa will be coming back from the fairy world at the next full moon, strange things begin to happen to the couple. Sam adamantly denies the existence of fairies, but after Phoebe realizes that as a kid Sam made a terrible promise to the supposed King of the fairies, they are in a race to save themselves and all that they hold dear.

Don’t Breathe a Word has a more fantasy element that her other books (and is also quite a bit longer) and just like I mentioned in previous reviews, she has the formula for a good old fashion creepy read down pat. The book alternates between two points of view (Lisa during the last few weeks before her disappearance and Phoebe while she and Sam try to figure out what is really happening). The plot keeps you guessing, not quite sure whether the supernatural element is real or just the overactive imagination of the characters. Even though I felt this book had a plot a bit more far-fetched that her previous books, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. With an ending that left chills up my spine, Don’t Breathe a Word was another great one from McMahon.

Giveaway details!

The publisher has offered to send a copy of Don’t Breathe a Word to one lucky winner (US or Canadian residents only)! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post (with a valid e-mail address) by 12 noon on Thursday, June 2nd and I will randomly pick one winner. For an additional chance, tweet this giveaway: (Stop by @SWrittenWord for a chance to win @JenniferMcMahon book Don’t Breathe a Word http://tinyurl.com/4yjysp8 #giveaway)

I will e-mail the winner directly. GOOD LUCK!

Thank you TLC Book Tours for helping me discover this great novelist! Please make sure to stop by the author’s guest post to see what inspired her to write Don’t Breathe a Word. For more information about Jennifer McMahon you can visit the her website here. I read Don’t Breathe a Word for Carl’s Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Check out Jennifer’s other tour stops here:

Tuesday, May 17th: Wordsmithonia
Wednesday, May 18th: Tina’s Book Reviews
Thursday, May 19th: Crazy for Books
Tuesday, May 24th: The Lost Entwife
Wednesday, May 25th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Thursday, May 26th: Unabridged Chick
Wednesday, June 1st: The Bodacious Pen
Thursday, June 2nd: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books
Monday, June 6th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Wednesday, June 8th: In the Next Room
Monday, June 13th: A Bookworm’s World
Wednesday, June 15th: Rundpinne
Friday, June 17th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Apr 03

Sunday Salon 4.3.11

By Stephanie book challenges, book events, life, read-a-thon, sunday salon 12 Comments »

I had this really wonderful post written out for all of you. It was about the upcoming Dewey’s Read-a-thon and how, even though I would be surrounded by eight third graders during a sleepover party to celebrate my daughter’s ninth birthday, I was FINALLY (after years of trying to commit myself to the read-a-thon) signing up to participate! I figured that I had to stay up anyway to make sure no one got into trouble and what better way to keep my eyes open than with a good book. Sounds like a crazy time to do a read-a-thon, right? Only I had the date all wrong.I thought the read-a-thon was this coming Friday (the day of my daughter’s party) but after writing up the whole post I realized that in fact the read-a-thon is the following day, Saturday the 9th! I know that after a night of crazy girls with pizza, pigtails and pjs, I will be exhausted and probably won’t get a lot of reading done on the scheduled date.

So, even though I again won’t be able to participate in Dewey’s read-a-thon, I do plan on getting lots of reading done on Friday in between picking up balloons, handing out slices of pizza, singing happy birthday and yelling “lights out” probably a hundred times!

What am I hoping to read on Friday during all the chaos? I started The Host by Stephenie Meyer on Friday and am already over 200 pages into this pretty intense novel. I hope to have it finished by this coming Friday but if not then I’ll work first on finishing it up. I would also like to make a dent in my Once Upon a Time Challenge list and have Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon, Savvy by Ingrid Law and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin sitting on my side table.

Want to join the read-a-thon on it’s correct date (Saturday, April 9th)? Check out how to join everyone else for Dewey’s Read-a-thon here! I hope to post in between the chaos that is a sleepover party and will hopefully get some quality reading time in. And while the rest of you are reading like crazy on Saturday, I plan on getting some shut-eye after cleaning up from the party! Wish me luck!

Mar 27

Sunday Salon 3.27.11

By Stephanie book challenges, life, new books, read-a-thon, sunday salon 21 Comments »

snoopy

This is snoopy. Snoopy has been a lifelong resident of my parent’s basement for as long as I can remember. Once a year, they would move the old and decrepit stuffed animal out to the curb for the garbage man. Inevitably, either my mom or dad would feel guilty that poor snoopy was sitting outside next to the trash and then he would make the treck back downstairs to the basement. I’m not quite sure how old snoopy is (or whether or not he was mine or my sister’s stuffed animal) but while spending the last few weekends cleaning out my parent’s house and getting ready for an estate sale, I came upon snoopy sitting next to the oil tank in the basement. If there was one thing that I couldn’t throw out, it was snoopy. Snoopy reminds me of all that was good about my parents, of how they cared for my sister and I when we were little, of how they loved their grandchildren and friends, of how big their hearts were. Snoopy reminds me of my parents and for that reason he will now be taking residence in my own house.

I’m still trying to get used to the fact that I’ve lost both my parents in the last two and a half years (my dad just a few months ago) all the while dealing with my father’s will, getting the house ready to put on the market and all the other little stuff that gets overwhelming after someone dies. Some days I feel like I’m moving forward, other days I am still dealing with my grief. And so when I found snoopy hidden away downstairs, it made me smile. He reminds me of both my parents and so, just like them, I didn’t have the heart to throw him in the trash. My kids of course were thrilled to bring snoopy to our house, even though his nose has almost fallen off and he is loosing mass amounts of stuffing. But that doesn’t matter to them, or to me. I love snoopy as much as both my parents did.

As I mentioned above, thanks to the tireless efforts of my husband Joe and countless cousins (who have gone through every piece of paper and cleaned out every closet) we are having an estate sale at my childhood home this weekend. I stopped by on Saturday afternoon to bring everyone lunch and to see how things were going (I’m home with the kids while Joe and my family actually work the sale) and it’s pretty interesting to see how many people show up at an estate sale. I think that the turnout for the first day was pretty decent, but there is still a lot of stuff on tables and counter tops. I’m hoping that we get a good turnout today. Whatever doesn’t get sold will be donated.

OK, so now onto book talk! I just finished Michelle Moran’s newest historical fiction novel Madame Tussaud and will be reviewing it soon. I also recently finished The Postmistress by Sarah Blake and My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones, both for TLC book tours and will be letting you all know what I thought of the books in the near future. Now I’m going to focus on the fantasy books I’ve signed up to read for Carl’s Once Upon a Time challenge and stockpiling books for my first ever 24 hour read-a-thon (of which I will attempt to read books with eight screaming nine year old girls running around – I’ll tell you guys all about that next week)! In the meantime, tell me what you’re reading this weekend?

Mar 20

Once Upon A Time Challenge V

By Stephanie book challenges, book events 38 Comments »

It’s that time of year again! Spring is in the air and around the blogosphere that means that Carl V.’s Once Upon A Time Challenge is here again! This time Carl is celebrating his fifth year as host of Once Upon A Time (OUAT) and I’ve been spending the last few days trying to figure out what books I would like to read for the challenge. Some of my best reads and favorite books have been discovered through this challenge. I’ve read the lovely Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells, enjoyed Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon (and then got to meet her at the book blogger convention at BEA last year), was enthralled by Keith Donohue’s The Stolen Child, fell in love with Shannon Hale while reading Book of a Thousand Days and The Goose Girl, discovered the classic Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt and absolutely fell in love with The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. Without Carl and his fantastic fantasy challenge, I’m not sure that I would have ever picked up these books (and what a shame that would have been).

There are various ways to participate in OUAT and I have decided to participate in The Journey which means I’m committing to reading at least ONE book for the challenge (and for all of you guys who say “I can’t commit to another challenge” well, you just have to pick ONE BOOK PEOPLE – and I promise, Carl won’t spam you if you don’t finish – he’s a real nice guy)!

Even though I’m only committing to reading one book between March 21st and June 20th, I’ve got a whole stack of novels to choose from (and hey, if I read more than one, then all the better for me). Here’s my list of possibilities!

Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon
Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon
Savvy by Ingrid Law
The Kitchen Daughter byJael McHenry
Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris (which shamlessly has been on my OUAT challege list before)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L ‘Engle (again, this isn’t the first time this book has made an appearence on my list)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

I hope you consider joining in on Carl’s challenge this year. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the beautiful spring weather than with a great book!

Jan 04

Times Square wasn’t the only place to “drop the ball!”

By Stephanie blogging, book challenges, book reviews, books i want, everything austen II, life, new books 23 Comments »

It has been a super busy, jam-packed and fun Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday and I’ve totally dropped the ball when it came to keeping up with my blog over the last six weeks. I posted a grand total of ONE book review in the month of December and didn’t even have a chance to write up a wrap-up post for my own Everything Austen II challenge.

I’ve also been AWOL on Twitter and e-mail and only get to check Facebook once a day or so. It was unintentional, but I feel like I almost totally unplugged myself from cyberspace these last few weeks and I must admit that it was nice to have a bit of a break. I’m hoping now with the new year in full swing I’ll be back to sharing my thoughts on books with all of you!

I’m currently in the middle of two facinating (albiet totally different) books. The first one is The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, which is a huge book that looks into the origins of cancer and of what patients have had to endure over the centuries when faced with this devastating disease.

Most notably, I was shocked at the chapter describing the Radical Mastectomy, which was a well practiced surgery in the early nineteen hundreds. To think that many women had to go through such radical procedures, not only removing breast tissue and lymph nodes, but in some cases chest muscles, ribs, even collar bones all in the hope to “take out the cancer” is saddening and mind-blowing. It sure did make me appreciate that I was able to take advantage of modern medicine and techniques while being treated for my own breast cancer.

The second book I’m reading is Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Beroll, a totally smutty continuation of Pride and Prejudice. In fact, I’m pretty certain that this book would make Jane Austen roll over in the grave. Having said that though, it is a entertaining book if a bit on the raunchy side.

And speaking of dear Jane, there seems to be a huge wave of new Austen-ish fiction on the horizon, including Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman by Maria Hamilton (May 1, 2011), Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise (March 1, 2011), Darcy and Fitzwilliam: A tale of a gentleman and an officer by Karen Wasylowski (February 1, 2001), Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg (released already on January 1, 2011) and Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford (February 1, 2011), a sequel to his really fun novel Jane Bites Back. All of these titles have been added to my ever growing TBR list.

In addition, some of my favorite authors are out with new books! Syrie James (who is a great writer – I’ve read and reviewed two of her books already) is out TODAY with her new novel Nocturne. Then Laura Fitzgerald is coming out with her new book in February, Dreaming in English, which is the sequel to her very successful book Veil of Roses. Then on March 22nd the uber talented Sarah Addison Allen is coming out with her new book The Peach Keeper. Also in March is Meg Waite Clayton’s newest book The Four Ms. Bradwells: A Novel. I can’t wait to read all four of these books as well!

Thank you all for checking in at Stephanie’s Written Word over the last few weeks of my absence. I I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and wish you a happy and healthy 2011!