Music Review: ... Featuring Norah Jones by Norah Jones

Fans of Norah Jones or easy listening coffee shop music will love ... Featuring Norah Jones. I knew I would enjoy this cd, but didn't realize how fun it would be to hear Norah's jazzy music and voice in combination with other great artists including Willie Nelson, The Foo Fighters, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles and many more!

While many people are saying that this cd is very eclectic, with songs ranging from Old Country to Pop, I think the album stays true to the Norah we have come to enjoy. She has put her Norah style (jazzy nightclub voice with piano) to some really great songs.

This is my favorite time of year, and as such, my new favorite song is Baby It's Cold Outside. It is the PERFECT holiday song, especially as it is here, sung by Willie Nelson and Norah Jones. It simply puts me in the perfect holiday mood! Don't get me wrong, all the songs on the cd are great, but given my holiday mood, I could listen to this song over and over all day, and I would have picked up the cd for this one song alone.

Not sure the cd is for you? Head over to Amazon where you can listen to clips of each song. I've spent plenty of nice relaxing afternoons working and listening to ... Featuring Norah Jones... so I hope you'll join me and enjoy the cd as much as I do.



... Featuring Norah Jones
by Norah Jones
Blue Note Records (November 16, 2010) ~ 18 tracks
Music / Pop/ Vocal Pop / Easy Listening

Edition Reviewed: Promo CD ~ Review copy received courtesy of One2One Network, my opinion is my own, and for sharing it, I have been given a chance to win a gift certificate. I am an Amazon Associate, and if you follow an Amazon link from my blog and make a purchase, I will earn a very small amount that will go toward funding my book obsessions!



Perfect For: Background music for dinner party, party, drinks, etc. Background music at coffee shop, restaurant, business party/dinner. Great overall easy listening cd for relaxing, cooking, driving, etc.

Album Tracklisting:
1. Love Me - The Little Willies
2. Virginia Moon - Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones
3. Turn Them - Sean Bones featuring Norah Jones
4. Baby It's Cold Outside - Willie Nelson featuring Norah Jones
5. Bull Rider - Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson
6. Ruler Of My Heart - Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Norah Jones
7. The Best Part - El Madmo
8. Take Off Your Cool - Outkast featuring Norah Jones
9. Life Is Better - Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones
10. Soon The New Day - Talib Kweli featuring Norah Jones
11. Little Lou, Prophet Jack, Ugly John - Belle & Sebastian featuring Norah Jones
12. Here We Go Again - Ray Charles featuring Norah Jones
13. Loretta - Norah Jones featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
14. Dear John - Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones
15. Creepin' In - Norah Jones featuring Dolly Parton
16. Court & Spark - Herbie Hancock featuring Norah Jones
17. More Than This - Charlie Hunter featuring Norah Jones
18. Blue Bayou - Norah Jones featuring M. Ward

About the Artist: (from her Facebook Page - edited for quicker reading)

"For this record, I just had a sound in my head," says Norah Jones. "I wanted the grooves to be more present and heavy. And I also just wanted to do something different—I’ve been hanging with the same group of musicians for a long time, and I thought it was a good time for me to work with different people and experiment a little."

The result of these experiments is the multiple Grammy Award-winner's new album, The Fall. The album is an exciting evolution from her previous three releases, which have sold a combined 36 million copies worldwide.

...

Over the course of her three multi-platinum albums—2002’s eight-time Grammy Award-winning Come Away With Me, 2004’s Feels Like Home, and 2007’s Not Too Late, each of which topped the Billboard album charts—Jones has established a strong identity based around her sultry vocals and jazz-informed, piano-driven pop style. On The Fall, however, in addition to the added emphasis on rhythm, Jones brings her own guitar playing front and center in the sound.

...

Norah Jones is the first to say that she has changed a great deal since she first moved from Texas to New York City at age 20, dreaming of being a jazz singer. Bouncing between jazz gigs and shows at the singer-songwriter haven The Living Room, she started writing songs "sitting on the bed in my little apartment on Thirteenth Street." An introduction to Blue Note Records head Bruce Lundvall eventually resulted in her first album, the diamond-selling Come Away With Me.

...

One benefit of her spectacular success was that Jones was approached to collaborate with a wide range of artists, from Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Ray Charles to OutKast’s Andre 3000, Q-Tip, and Andy Samberg's comedy group The Lonely Island. Being exposed to all of these different sounds and methods helped Jones open her mind toward new ways to create her own music.

Read more on Norah's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/norahjones
* Website: http://bit.ly/norahsite
* Facebook: http://on.fb.me/norahFB
* YouTube: http://bit.ly/norahYT

About the Album: (from the One2One Network Newsletter)

Norah Jones' new album, …Featuring, is a star-studded collection of the multi-platinum selling, multi-Grammy Award winning singer’s musical collaborations from the past decade.

The 18 songs on the album include cool cameos, collaborations and duets with such legends as Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton, and with 21st Century icons from OutKast to the Foo Fighters.

The tracks on …Featuring span Norah’s entire career and reveal her astonishing musical versatility, from jazz to country, hip-hop to rock.

Shutterfly For The Holidays! Create Your Own Holiday Cards, Photo Books and More (Photo Gifts Are GREAT For Family!)

One of my new favorite gifts for the holidays (especially for family) are photo gifts (take a peak at a few of our Christmas cards from years past!)!

To me, photo cards and gifts are thoughtful and serve to share joy with others. For the past few years I've tried to keep the immediate family (especially grandparents) in touch with the lives of our kids (and us of course) by sending them photo creations at Christmas instead of gifts that are often thoughtful but unwanted. SO... bring on the photo books, key rings and holiday cards!

I love to send and receive photo holiday cards. It is fun to share a special moment from our year with everyone, and it is a blast to see those special pictures and moments from friends and relatives who send out photo cards for the holidays.

Now that I have your attention, I'll tell you my BIG secret! I use Shutterfly to make all my photo creations and gifts easily and quickly!!

Why am I telling you about Shutterfly? I have been a huge fan of Shutterfly for about five years, and create photobooks and other photo items every year (not to mention the ease of having pictures printed and mailed to me, or using the 1-Hour photo service at Target via my Shutterfly Account). Also, by sharing my experiences with you here on Wendi's Book Corner as a blogger, I'm going to get 50 free holiday cards... I can't wait!

So want to create your own holiday card this year?

Check out some of these great links... cards are quick, easy, and help you send personalized holiday greetings to your friends and family!

· Christmas cards

· holiday photo cards

· birthday invitations

· calendars

· Christmas invitations

· Christmas gift tags

And just let me add that the cards are great for more than just Christmas cards! They are also great for...

• Birthday Invitations
• Thank you cards (just take a picture of your kid/s and/or family, create the cards, then let everyone add their own "Thank You" signature to the card with a colorful pen or crayon)
• Just Moved notices
• Home Party Invites
• Baby Announcements

Every year Shutterfly comes out with great new designs, and this year they are even better than ever with so many designs to choose from, including some with overlays that look amazing and add layers to the cards. So far, my favorite holiday designs this year are Holly Frame and Peppermint Bliss - what are your favorites?

About Shutterfly: (from their site)

Company Highlights

Founded in December 1999, Shutterfly is an internet-based social expression and personal publishing service. Shutterfly is headquartered in Redwood City, CA with manufacturing facilities in Phoenix, AZ and Charlotte, NC. Shutterfly is publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol SFLY. Shutterfly offers free online photo storage, and has never deleted a photo. Millions of customers have billions of pictures on Shutterfly. The Shutterfly flagship product is its award-winning photo book line, which helps consumers celebrate memories and tell their stories in professionally bound coffee table books. The winter holidays are the peak season at Shutterfly. Popular gift ideas include personalized photo books, holiday cards and calendars. Timeline In Spring 2010, Shutterfly announced the integration of the Simple Path photo book creation experience with Facebook, which allows Facebook users to access their photos and their friends’ photos to create premium quality photo books in minutes. Shutterfly was ranked number one in the "best photo book" category by TopTenREVIEWS.com in January 2010. In April 2009 Shutterfly introduced a new free photo sharing iPhone App that gives customers the power to upload, view and share their Shutterfly photos while on-the-go. The application, also compatible with the iPod Touch, is available free of charge at the Apple App Store. Followed by the initial launch of Designer Stationery in 2008, Shutterfly expanded their photo and non-photo stationery line with new coordinated suites of personalized Baby and Wedding Stationery in early 2009. At the end of 2008, the number of Shutterfly’s transacting customers totaled in 2.8 million people. Shutterfly customers placed more than 7.6 million orders in 2008. In September 2008, Shutterfly launched the Storyboard™ Tool which makes it quick and easy to organize and add pictures to a photo book. Users simply choose the photos they want to include in their book and the Storyboard Tool automatically chooses a suitable layout to fit the number and orientation of their photos. In August 2008, Shutterfly launched Shutterfly Share sites, a service that combines the best of photo sites, blogs, and social networking in a way that allows customers to easily connect and collaborate with friends and family in a safe and secure environment. In February 2008, Shutterfly launched Shutterfly Gallery, a community platform for sharing and connecting with others. This new Shutterfly social network leverages the power and enthusiasm of the viral Shutterfly community, allowing customers to creatively inspire one another by sharing their photo books online and exchanging comments about their experiences.

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post in response to a TwitterMoms RAMBO alert, making me eligible to get 50 free Shutterfly Holiday Cards. You can learn more about Shutterfly at http://www.shutterfly.com.

Review and Tour: The Waiting by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Suzanne Woods Fisher has shown her love and understanding of the Amish and their ways in this stunning inspirational romantic fiction book that will grab your heart and bolster your faith. Book 2 of the Lancaster County Secrets Series can be read as a stand alone, or in addition to Book 1: The Choice.

You will fall in love with the characters and want the story to keep going long after you finish the book. The good news... Book 3 is due early 2011!

The Waiting (Lancaster County Secrets, Book 2)
by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Revell; Original edition (October 1, 2010) ~ 311 pages
Fiction / Christian / Romance

Edition Reviewed: Paperback - Review copy received as part of a blog tour with LitFuse Group, many thanks for sending me a copy to review!
About the Book:

She was waiting for love--and found it in the most unexpected place.

Jorie King's life is on hold. She has been waiting for Ben Zook to return to Lancaster County. Waiting for him to settle down and join the church. Waiting to marry him.

But when news arrives that Ben has been killed, Jorie is devastated. She finds unlikely comfort in the friendship of his brother Caleb. Friendship ripens into love, and two broken hearts plan for a life filled with the promise of a fresh beginning--until their worlds are turned upside down.

With her realistic characters whose weaknesses develop into strengthes, Suzanne Woods Fisher offers a reading experience that rises above the others. You will love growing in spirit with these complex people living the simple life as The Waiting transports you into a world where things aren't as simple as they seem.

About the Author: (from the author's site)

Suzanne Woods Fisher lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has one husband, four children, one son-in-law, a brand new grandbaby, and two dogs.

Suzanne graduated from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and was a free-lancer writer for magazines while her children were growing up. A former contributing editor to Christian Parenting Today, Suzanne's work has appeared in many magazines, including Today’s Christian Woman, Worldwide Challenge, and Marriage Partnership.

Her first novel, Copper Star, a World War II love story, was published by a small press (Vintage Reflections) and received three literary awards. It opened the door to a literary agent, Joyce Hart. The agent knew of Suzanne’s connection to the Plain People—her grandfather was raised Plain—and introduced her to an editor at Revell, a division of Baker Books.

Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World was Suzanne’s first book release with Revell. It’s a non-fiction book of true stories about the Old Order Amish and was a finalist for the 2010 ECPA Book of the Year Awards. It was chosen as a book selection by Doubleday, Crossings, and Book of the Month 2 Clubs.

The Choice, a novel about a young Amish woman, is the first in a three-book ‘Lancaster County Secrets’ series and released in January 2010. It is a CBA, ECPA, and CBD bestseller. Wal-Mart chose The Choice for its January Inspirational Book Shelf, and it was the Main Selection for Crossings Book Club, as well as Doubleday, BookSpan, and Literary Guild.

In August 2010, Suzanne released another non-fiction book, Amish Proverbs: Words of Wisdom for a Simple Life. In October 2010, The Waiting will release; it is the second in the ‘Lancaster County Secrets’ series and is already a CBD bestseller. Six other books—both fiction and non-fiction—will follow into 2012.

Another new venture for Suzanne is Amish Wisdom, a weekly radio program in which she interviews all kinds of interesting guests who have connections to the Amish. Drop by and listen to a show at your convenience. It's on-line at www.toginet.com/shows/amishwisdom.

Tour: Love Finds You Under the Mistletoe by Irene Brand & Anita Higman

Review coming soon!!!!

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Love Finds You Under the Mistletoe Summerside Press (September 1, 2010)

by Irene Brand & Anita Higman





ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Irene Brand has written Sunday School curriculum, edited a two-year series of mission curriculum, and her works have appeared in five program-material anthologies. Her publishers include Zondervan, Standard Publishing, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Fleming-Revell, Barbour Publishing, Kregel Publications, Steeple Hill (inspirational imprint of Silhouette), and Summerside Press. She has had 4 non-fiction books published, and 43 fiction works. Her first inspirational romance was published in 1984.

Award-winning author, Anita Higman, has twenty-six books published (several coauthored) for adults and children, and she has been honored as a Barnes & Noble Author of the Month for Houston. Anita has a BA degree, combining speech communication, psychology, and art. Her favorite things include exotic teas, movies, and all things Jane Austen.









ABOUT THE BOOK

Two Christmas stories - one historical, one contemporary - under one cover!



Love Finds You under the Mistletoe: An Appalachian Christmas



A promise to her dying sister compels Julia Mayfield to take her young nephew to Mistletoe, Kentucky, a tiny town tucked away in the Appalachian Mountains. Sparks fly when she meets David Armstrong, a World War II veteran like herself. Even as shadows from the past weave a dangerous web around Julia and David, will their love flourish like the mistletoe that blankets the nearby hills?



Love Finds You under the Mistletoe: Once Upon a Christmas Eve



Hollie Goodnight's store has just been voted best Christmas shop in America. All the new publicity draws flamboyant novelist Van Keaton to the cozy town of Noel, Missouri, demanding to write Hollie's story - a dramatic tale of misfortune and triumph. She is swept up in his world of beautiful words and fanciful interludes. . .until Owen Quigly, her lifelong best friend, launches a plan to win her back.



If you would like to read an excerpt of Love Finds You Under the Mistletoe, go HERE.



Watch the book trailer:

Tour: A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman

A Hope Undaunted
by Julie Lessman
Winds of Change series
ISBN: 978-0-8007-3415-2
Available September 2010; $14.99

Edition Reviewed: Paperback - Review copy received courtesy of the publisher, many thanks to both the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review!
Review coming soon!

About the Book:

Passion during the Roaring Twenties
New romance series will appeal to fans of Deeanne Gist.

A Hope Undaunted is the first book in the highly anticipated new series, Winds of Change, from award-winning author Julie Lessman.

This highly charged romance takes readers to Boston, while the 1920s are drawing to a close. Katie O'Connor is the epitome of the new woman—feisty, smart and sassy with goals for her future that include the perfect husband and a challenging career in law. Her boyfriend Jake fits all of her criteria for a husband—good-looking, well-connected, wealthy, and head-over-heels in love with her.

But when Katie is forced to spend the summer of 1929 with Luke McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face to face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jake? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever?

A Hope Undaunted has been lauded by Booklist: “A rich girl and a poor boy find that love can be the great equalizer in Lessman’s engrossing tale, which has more awareness and sizzle between the hero and heroine than your average inspirational romance."

Publisher’s Weekly has praised Lessman, saying her “writing skill is noteworthy” in A Hope Undaunted.

About the Author: (from the publisher's tour)

Julie Lessman is the author of A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied. Lessman has garnered several writing awards, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She lives in Missouri.

For more information, visit www.RevellBooks.com.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life. They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

Tour: Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander

Review coming soon!!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Within My Heart Bethany House; Original edition (September 1, 2010)
by Tamera Alexander

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tamera Alexander is the best-selling author of Rekindled, Revealed and Remembered, the critically acclaimed Fountain Creek Chronicles historical series with Bethany House Publishers. Her second historical series, Timber Ridge Reflections (From a Distance, Beyond This Moment, and Within My Heart), penned in her style with deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots, and poignant prose have earned her devoted readers—and multiple industry awards.

These awards include the 2009 and 2008 Christy Award, the 2007 RITA for Best Inspirational Romance, the 2009 and 2007 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, 2007 Bookseller’s Best Award, and Library Journal’s Top Christian Fiction for 2006, among others.

After living in Colorado for seventeen years, Tamera has returned to her Southern roots. She and her husband now make their home in Nashville with Tamera's father, Doug. They enjoy life there with Joe and Tamera's two adult children, and Jack, a precious—and precocious—silky terrier.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Determined to fulfill her late husband’s dream, Rachel Boyd struggles to keep her ranch afloat with the help of her two young sons. But some days it feels as though her every effort is sabotaged. When faced with a loss she cannot afford, she’s forced to trust Rand Brookston, the one man in Timber Ridge she wishes to avoid. And with good reason. He’s a physician, just like her father, which tells her everything she needs to know about him. Or so she thinks . . .

Dr. Rand Brookston ventured west with the dream of bringing modern medicine to the wilds of the Colorado Rockies, but the townspeople have been slow to trust him. Just as slow in coming is Rand’s dream to build the town a proper clinic. When a patient’s life is threatened, Rand makes a choice—one that sends ripples through the town of Timber Ridge. And through Rachel Boyd’s stubborn heart.

From the beloved, bestselling author of From a Distance and Beyond This Moment comes an unforgettable story about faith in the face of fear, about tarnished hopes and second chances, and ultimately about the resilient courage and tenacity of hearts broken––and mended––by love.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Within My Heart, go HERE.