Sunday morning, news and more

What a week! It began with enough snow to warrant three snow days in Omaha. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be guaranteed a white Christmas this year.

Conintued growth is my life motto - every year I set goals for myself (I do not like to sit and watch life, I want to participate). I have been doing this since I was a teenager when I gave up candy for a year.  I have had 'trip to Africa' on the list for years but I have also had run a marathon, learning to drive a motorcycle and scuba dive.  The year I put 'scuba' on my list, my family selected a vacation destination that allowed me to meet this goal.  Many of you know that my BIG item next year is to run an ultramarathon.  Since this is such a big/time consuming goal, I need to add some ying to my yang.  I need to spend some time finalizing my list over the next two weeks.

This Week:
- The Omaha Bookworm’s meet on Tuesday to discuss Rooftops of Tehran with author Majbod Saraji.
- The Manic Mommies book club is discussing Oxygen Wednesday evening with author Carol Cassella. If you are reading with us or have read this book and would like to participate, I will post the discussion questions online on Wednesday for those not able to join us for the discussion. We want everyone to have an opportunity to participate.

News to Share:
-  I will be a guest on That’s how I Blog in March, reading/discussing Double Fault (written by Lionel Shriver) with Nicole from Linuses Blanket. Nicole’s show is available on iTunes, you can also listen online.
-  Book Giveaway's are back!  Thank you to all of you who answered the survey last month - watch for more giveways (about two a month) for 2010.

What I'm Reading this week: The Woman who named God (written by Charlotte Gordon) is the Omaha Bookworm’s March selection. I started this book over the weekend and it is packed with information/knowledge. I’m about 40 pages in and so far it is really interesting.

Synopsis: The saga of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar is the tale of origin for all three monotheistic faiths. Abraham must choose between two wives who have borne him two sons. One wife and son will share in his wealth and status, while the other two are exiled into the desert. Long a cornerstone of Western anxiety, the story chronicles a very famous and troubled family, and sheds light on the ongoing conflict between the Judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds.

How did this ancient story become one of the least understood and most frequently misinterpreted of our cultural myths? Gordon explores this legendary love triangle to give us a startling perspective on three biblical characters who—with their jealousies, passions, and doubts—actually behave like human beings.

Links worth clicking to:
-  Hear the Author is available online and on iTunes. These are 10-15 minutes interviews with authors, and worth listening to
-  What were your worst books of the decade?
-  Border’s online book club (video discussion and interviews) – recently added: Greg Mortenson, Janice Lee, Julie Powell and Suzanne Collins. A must listen! Also available on iTunes