Two Funerals in One Week = Chaos

What I Learned Attending Two Funerals in One Week:

Family got the call about the deaths pretty much less than ten minutes apart. My Great Uncle on my Mom’s side and my Uncle on my Dad’s side had passed away. Then we had to wait for the details to see if we could attend both funerals.

It really is true that we never see the whole family on either side unless we’re at a wedding or a funeral. That is the only good part about these things, you get to see family and meet relatives that you may have never met before.

Funeral #1 - the out of town funeral for my Great Uncle (about a two hour drive and a hotel stay.)

* In my defense I’ve never been to a visitation or rosary service before because my family’s not exactly religious.

- #1 thing I learned about myself, I find the whole open casket aspect of funerals pretty darn terrifying. I really like remembering the person from before aka not seeing them in the casket where it just looks like they’re sleeping.

- The back row or as close to the back as you can get of pews/benches is the way to go seat wise.

- #2 thing I learned - I knew most of the rosary thanks to shows like Supernatural where they perform exorcisms...

- Next Day at the Funeral - we walk in and the open casket that I was terrified of is now in the hallway instead of the main chapel… I hid behind my mom and probably whispered pretty loudly that I didn’t know those things were portable.

Funeral #2 - In town funeral for my Uncle.

- Got back in time to go home for about an hour or so and then to the visitation at the funeral home.

- Visitations are weird too, we were there for my Aunt, cousins, and Grandma. It’s a lot of sitting around waiting for people to show up all for two hours. The family handled everything very well.

- From both sides of the family though questionable humor abounds but it is great to see that everybody can still find humor in things even with so much sadness.

- Don’t know what I was expecting at the visitation it was just well kind of like a sad version of a graduation open house.

- Day of the funeral - everyone meeting at the funeral home and then to the cemetery.

- After the prayers and everything at the grave then came the awkwardness of nobody moving after the priest finished for a good five minutes or so. It was like a really sad game of chicken because I know that I sure wasn't going to be the first one to walk away and I'm pretty sure that everybody else was having the same thought.

- What really wrecked me at the funeral was the slide show of pictures at the end.

- # 3 thing I learned was that if you thought you'd seen the last of somebody then you're probably wrong. At the lunch afterward a guy who knew my Uncle and Dad in school walks up to me and says don't I know you from somewhere. I say I don't know. Later I told my parents where I knew him from (this serial killer looking guy, who my Dad confirmed has always been weird, is someone I met via speed dating at the library.) Let's just say that it was at least something funny to end the day with.

Hiatus

Hi everybody,

Bibliognome will be taking a hiatus until Monday March 31st. Have to be with the family this week, we have two funerals this week for a Great Uncle and an Uncle.

Sentence Sneak Peek - Watcher of the Dark

The first sentence from each chapter of Watcher of the Dark, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Provided by the publisher for review
* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

“I bolted awake in the shitty little motel room I’d been calling home for the last three weeks, with my heart jack-hammering in my chest and my skin coated with a thin sheen of sweat.”

“There’s nothing that hones your reaction time like living with the constant fear of discovery, especially when you know that those chasing you are more apt to shoot first and ask ques-tions later.”

“I thought I’d been pretty smart, pacing out that distance and knowing exactly how far I had to go if the shit hit the fan.”

“I’d gotten a look at my latest assailant before my link with the dead girl dissolved permanently and, to my surprise, he was fully human.”

“While we were holed up in the safe house outside of Atlantic City after fleeing Boston, Denise began teaching me how to better understand and control the strange talents I’d gained in the aftermath of the Preacher’s ritual to “see the unseen.”

“Yes and no,” Fuentes said, and I could imagine him rocking his hand in a comme ci, comme ça movement as he did so.”

“Fuentes had my balls in a vise.”

“Of all the places I might have considered as a possible destina-tion for our little outing, a church was not one of them.”

“The stairs were narrow, so we went down them in single file.”

“The spectre let out a bloodthirsty shriek of outrage and dove toward me, its body morphing as it came.”

“The next  couple of days passed without incident.”

“We piled into the Charger just as we had the other night, ex-cept this time it was Rivera behind the wheel instead of Perkins.”

“Perkins stepped forward and stood in the center of the room.”

“In the end, it really didn’t take us very long to do as he’d asked.”

“The next day Fuentes put me to work on one of his crews, hauling construction supplies from one job site to the next.”

“Lend me your eyes,” I asked her.”

“The chill woke me from a deep sleep.”

“Fuentes didn’t have anything on deck for us the next day, so I used the morning to do a little legwork of my own.”

“The sun was going down by the time I made it back to Fuen-tes’s estate.”

“. . . only to find myself behind the wheel of the Charger I don’t know how much later.”

“Durante,” I said, without hesitation.”

“Dawn was edging its way over the horizon when I stepped back inside my bungalow.”

“We retired to the poolroom where Grady had found me talk-ing with Perkins a few days before.”

“How in hell’s name did I end up in bed with Ilyana?”

“I blinked several times, unable to speak.”

“I pretended to feel my way downstairs and reached the car in time to witness the end of an argument between Rivera and Grady.”

“. . . I surged up from a prone position with the remains of a scream fading from my lips.”

“I had the cabbie drop me off down the street from the prop-erty and walked the rest of the way, slipping through the trees until I reached the back wall and then going over the top to keep from being seen by the guards at the gate.”

“That’s how I ended up riding in the passenger seat of Denise’s Charger as Rivera retraced almost the exact same route the cabbie had taken to bring me back just a hour or so again, but in reverse.”

“Rivera was growing impatient at my lack of response, so I figured I’d better say something before he totally lost it.‘

“The Preacher was waiting for me when I got back to my bun-galow later that morning.”

“Midafternoon found me, Rivera, and Ilana back on the street, rousting anyone we thought might have some information about the Key or Grady’s prior affiliations before coming to “work” for Fuentes.”

“I went back over everything that had happened to me since I’d fled the hospital that night in New Orleans: the long, ram-bling drive across the country with stops here and there to deal with some errant spirits, my arrival in Los Angeles and the weeks spent lying low, the discovery by Fuentes’s cronies and his successful attempt to shanghai me into service by threatening Denise’s and Dmitri’s lives.”

“Later that night I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom of the bungalow Fuentes had assigned to me, watching my reflection, hoping to catch a glimpse, just as I had a few nights before, of the rider I was carrying.”

“My intention was to slip off the property, grab a cab to the place where Durante had hidden the final portion of the Key, and return with it before anyone even knew I was gone.”

“Once the decision had been made to meet with Bergman, Fuentes kept the three of us busy throughout the rest of the afternoon, which proved even more frustrating than the morn-ing had been.”

“The sign.”

“The warehouse chosen for the meeting stood by itself at the end of a long pier opposite a massive container ship.”

“When I came to I found I was lying on the floor in the corner of the warehouse, my hands and feet trussed like a Christmas turkey with bailing rope and my head pounding as if the entire drum line of the John Sousa Marching Band was parading through my skull.”

“I laid there stunned, not quite believing my eyes.”

“The Preacher walked up until he stood just a few feet away from the gate and casually examined those of us on the other side.”

“The sun was still below the horizon by the time we reached our destination in the desert outside of Palm Springs.”

Top 5 Sundays - Favorite Book Covers of 2014 so far!

This feature was thought up by the awesome Larissa's Bookish Life

Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.

2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.

3 - Feel free to use the Features image

4 - After you've finished your post, add your link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.

5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)   

Top 5 Sundays - Favorite Book Covers of 2014 so far!

The cover for The Winner’s Curse is beautiful and surprising (I got an ARC of this one and it took me a bit before I noticed the knife on the cover.)

Such a pretty cover Ignite Me kind of looks like it’s looking right at you. :)

With this Alien Collective cover Kitty looks ready to kick all kinds of butt. I love seeing Prince the dog fighting by her side too.

 The Cruel Beauty cover is kind of trippy, I love the staircase/rose effect.

Dorothy Must Die, I love the title and the cover so pretty much everything about this book makes me want to read it.


Bonus 6th Cover - Wow, this is definitely my favorite cover from the Elemental series.

Weekend Read - When Mr Dog Bites

Here's the description from Net Galley:

* book provided by Net Galley.

“A blindingly funny, poignant, and unforgettable story of a teen’s struggle to confront his Tourette’s and to take charge of his life. 

All Dylan Mint has ever wanted is to keep his Tourette’s in check and live life as a “normal” teenager. The swearing, the tics, the howling “dog” that escapes when things are at their worst—nothing about Tourette’s makes it easy to meet cute girls or have normal friends (or many friends at all). But a routine hospital visit changes everything—Dylan overhears that he's going to die. In an attempt to claim the life he’s always wanted, he decides to grant himself parting wishes, or “Cool Things To Do Before I Cack It”. In an intimate portrayal of life with Tourette’s, Dylan’s journey to come to terms with the disorder that has defined his life and his preconceptions about the world around him is hilarious, painful and, ultimately, utterly masterful.”

I love the cover of this one and it looks like it’ll be a very interesting read.

Happy Friday

Who else is excited about seeing the Divergent movie this weekend? True I hated the ending of the series but I do love Four and the story in the first book so I can't wait to see it all on the big screen. :)

Question of the Week - What's the Most Interesting Book You've Recently Read?

The answer for me would have to be Half Bad by Sally Green, that is one weird but really interesting book.

"Waiting On" Wednesday - Ever After High: The Unfairest of Them All

"Waiting On"  Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on... 
Ever After High: The Unfairest of Them All  by Shannon Hale

* Book will be released March 25, 2014

Check out the description from Barnes & Noble:

"It's the aftermath of Legacy Day, the day when the students at Ever After High are supposed to pledge to follow in their fairytale parents' footsteps, and everyone is in a huff and a puff! Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen, has refused to sign the Storybook of Legends, rejecting her story--and putting everyone else's in jeopardy.

The Royal Apple White doesn't want to think Raven is being a rebellious pain, but Raven's choice means Apple might never get the poisoned apple, Prince Charming, and a kingdom to rule. Behind Apple stands the Royals, those who want to play by the book and embrace their stories. The Rebels, supporters of Raven, believe in breaking free from destiny and writing their own stories.

But when the chaos and rivalry land wonderlandiful Madeline Hatter in trouble, Raven and Apple must bring the Royals and the Rebels together to shut the book on their feud before it threatens to end all of their Happily Ever Afters once and for all.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...Who'e the Unfairest of Them All?

Don't miss Book #1, Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends!"

I adore the fractured fairy tale world of this series. It’s just so much fun to read and the characters really are well written and the world is surprising. I’m looking forward to seeing where this story goes.

PRR (Pre Review Ravings) - Watcher of the Dark

These are my P.R.R.(Pre Review Ravings) aka what I think before I write my review.

Watcher of the Dark by Joseph Nassise

* Book read via the publisher for review.

* Sad most of book, missed polar bear man.

* Main character got...interesting.

* Spoiler = hijacked by a murderer, what fun.

* Want to see more of the succubus chick.

* Wonder if the preacher will stay put this time.

* Was worried it would drag, it didn’t.

* Creepy!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day everybody :)

Top 5 Sundays - Auto-buy Authors!

This feature was thought up by the awesome Larissa's Bookish Life

Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.

2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.

3 - Feel free to use the Features image

4 - After you've finished your post, add your link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.

5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)    

Top 5 Sundays - Auto-buy Authors!

I love all of these author's books and always look forward to what they're writing next.