Here is what is on my weekend reading list:
Readers' Favorite
April 21, 2011
Reviews coming soon...
Reading has been a bit slow this week. I really had hoped to have a new review for you today, but it's not going to happen. I've had computer problems and stress at job 1 this week and it is a week before PUB DAY at job 2, which is always busy, so a new review will be a few days. I did update my blog look, though. Do you like it?
Here is what is on my weekend reading list:
Here is what is on my weekend reading list:
April 14, 2011
Blog Swap with Indie Reader Houston
Have you ever wondered where a book blogger gets her recommendations from? The answer is... other book bloggers. I wanted to share some of the blogs I visit for ideas and discussion. Cassandra of Indie Reader Houston has been kind enough to swap blogs with me today (you can find my review of Showdown on her blog)
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of participating in the discussion following a read-along of Started Early, Took My Dog 
Kate Atkinson. I was a late arrival to the discussion, but I really enjoyed having the opportunity to interact with other readers. Here's what I contributed to the discussion (plus a few points I've thought of since then).
• While STARTED EARLY is definitely a mystery, it is also a fine example of literary fiction. In fact, critics and booksellers have both classified the Jackson Brodie books as mystery and literary fiction. What are some of the elements of this novel that make it "literary fiction?"
This is the first Kate Atkinson book that I have read. I don’t read a lot of mysteries, but I was attracted to this one when I saw that the Jackson Brodie books are often classified as literary fiction. I can definitely see how that description applies. The narrative is rich, detailed, and the characters are dynamic. I will admit that I didn’t get into it right away, but once I had gotten to the scene where Tracy makes her special purchase (the adorable 3 year-old Courtney), I was hooked. I did drift a bit when the story switched to Jackson Brodie. I wasn’t sure how the two stories would come together. Once I started to figure it out, I was completely back on board. Many mysteries end up being formulaic and stale, and that's why I've stopped reading them as often as I once did. Atkinson has convinced me to give mysteries a second chance.
• It was very interesting how the story went back and forth between present day and the 1970s. This format worked extremely well to not only present clues into Hope's mysterious childhood, but it also demonstrated a great deal about the basic nature of human's needs and desires. What were some of the themes about people's behavior that struck a chord with you?
What I enjoyed most about this novel is the attention to detail in constructing the plot. Nothing goes unnoticed or gets left behind (except Courtney’s backstory – I think there’s going to be more there, but perhaps Courtney needs to be a bit older first). Balancing all of those story lines and bringing them together the way that she does is quite impressive, and it makes me want to keep reading the series (and to read the ones that I have missed). I think is at those moments when the story lines intersect that Atkinson says the most about human behavior. Both Tracy and Jackson see someone abusing another living being and react suddenly and decisively. While some people might consider these reactions extreme, they both knew that they could do some good if they acted immediately. They did what so many others wish they had the nerve to do, and that makes them stand apart in the best possible of ways.
• One of the themes that was apparent throughout this novel (and other Jackson Brodie books) is lost or abandoned children. What was the role of "lost girls" in this story? And if you're read any other Jackson Brodie books, how did this theme relate to other lost girls in Jackson's life?
• Another discussion topic that really stood out to me (and definitely caused me to think) was the difficulty associated with becoming a mother. In STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG, the reader sees a number of women who have issues when they discover themselves facing pending motherhood as well as the loss of a child . Discuss some of the characters' different actions in this story as they relate to motherhood.
One of the questions mentioned the “lost girls” who appear throughout the novel, as well as the women who have trouble conceiving. “Lost girls” would seem to refer to girls who have been stripped of their identities. They do not get the chance to pursue the opportunities that would have been available to them. They do not get to be the women that they were meant to be. In this sense, the women who have trouble conceiving are also lost. They miss out on being identified as mothers, and they miss out on the opportunity to bring a new life into the world, and to nourish that life. They do not get to be the women that desperately wanted to be. Tracy is one of those lost girls. She buys Courtney because she is trying to find herself.
• What do readers find Jackson Brodie so appealing? If a movie was being made of STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG, who do you see playing Jackson?
Liam Neeson could be Jackson? Maybe? What are some of your thoughts? Share them here or at the Reagan Arthur Books Challenge Blog.
-Cassandra Neace, 4/13/2011
http://indiereaderhouston.com
I hope you enjoyed reading someone else's perspective on books. I hope you will visit her blog as she includes a wide variety of book related topics. Would you like to see posts from other bloggers I know? Let me know by leaving a comment.
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of participating in the discussion following a read-along of Started Early, Took My Dog Kate Atkinson. I was a late arrival to the discussion, but I really enjoyed having the opportunity to interact with other readers. Here's what I contributed to the discussion (plus a few points I've thought of since then).• While STARTED EARLY is definitely a mystery, it is also a fine example of literary fiction. In fact, critics and booksellers have both classified the Jackson Brodie books as mystery and literary fiction. What are some of the elements of this novel that make it "literary fiction?"
This is the first Kate Atkinson book that I have read. I don’t read a lot of mysteries, but I was attracted to this one when I saw that the Jackson Brodie books are often classified as literary fiction. I can definitely see how that description applies. The narrative is rich, detailed, and the characters are dynamic. I will admit that I didn’t get into it right away, but once I had gotten to the scene where Tracy makes her special purchase (the adorable 3 year-old Courtney), I was hooked. I did drift a bit when the story switched to Jackson Brodie. I wasn’t sure how the two stories would come together. Once I started to figure it out, I was completely back on board. Many mysteries end up being formulaic and stale, and that's why I've stopped reading them as often as I once did. Atkinson has convinced me to give mysteries a second chance.
• It was very interesting how the story went back and forth between present day and the 1970s. This format worked extremely well to not only present clues into Hope's mysterious childhood, but it also demonstrated a great deal about the basic nature of human's needs and desires. What were some of the themes about people's behavior that struck a chord with you?
What I enjoyed most about this novel is the attention to detail in constructing the plot. Nothing goes unnoticed or gets left behind (except Courtney’s backstory – I think there’s going to be more there, but perhaps Courtney needs to be a bit older first). Balancing all of those story lines and bringing them together the way that she does is quite impressive, and it makes me want to keep reading the series (and to read the ones that I have missed). I think is at those moments when the story lines intersect that Atkinson says the most about human behavior. Both Tracy and Jackson see someone abusing another living being and react suddenly and decisively. While some people might consider these reactions extreme, they both knew that they could do some good if they acted immediately. They did what so many others wish they had the nerve to do, and that makes them stand apart in the best possible of ways.
• One of the themes that was apparent throughout this novel (and other Jackson Brodie books) is lost or abandoned children. What was the role of "lost girls" in this story? And if you're read any other Jackson Brodie books, how did this theme relate to other lost girls in Jackson's life?
• Another discussion topic that really stood out to me (and definitely caused me to think) was the difficulty associated with becoming a mother. In STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG, the reader sees a number of women who have issues when they discover themselves facing pending motherhood as well as the loss of a child . Discuss some of the characters' different actions in this story as they relate to motherhood.
One of the questions mentioned the “lost girls” who appear throughout the novel, as well as the women who have trouble conceiving. “Lost girls” would seem to refer to girls who have been stripped of their identities. They do not get the chance to pursue the opportunities that would have been available to them. They do not get to be the women that they were meant to be. In this sense, the women who have trouble conceiving are also lost. They miss out on being identified as mothers, and they miss out on the opportunity to bring a new life into the world, and to nourish that life. They do not get to be the women that desperately wanted to be. Tracy is one of those lost girls. She buys Courtney because she is trying to find herself.
• What do readers find Jackson Brodie so appealing? If a movie was being made of STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG, who do you see playing Jackson?
Liam Neeson could be Jackson? Maybe? What are some of your thoughts? Share them here or at the Reagan Arthur Books Challenge Blog.
-Cassandra Neace, 4/13/2011
http://indiereaderhouston.com
I hope you enjoyed reading someone else's perspective on books. I hope you will visit her blog as she includes a wide variety of book related topics. Would you like to see posts from other bloggers I know? Let me know by leaving a comment.
April 9, 2011
You know what they say about assuming
Spirit Intervention
by Margaret Westpaperback, 118 pages
Published January 2011 by Eternal Press
ISBN13: 9781615722839
Read April 2011
I was contacted by the author to review her book. I said yes because I wanted to try out a paranormal romance. I wasn't sure what the difference between a paranormal romance and a supernatural romance. I sometimes wonder if the publishing world doesn't come up with new genres just to stand out from the crowd. I also wonder how important clearly defined genres will be in the future as we have fewer and fewer physical bookstores (an online bookstore doesn't need a genre per say, but good keywords). But that is a question best suited for a blog that discussed such things (maybe I will mention it to @Indiepride at The Sunday Book Review).
So I start reading Spirit Intervention
. It is short, only about 100 pages for the story. There was not a lot of detail or time given to character development or setting. It took me abut 20 or 30 pages to realize that it wasn't an American book. I don't mind that it isn't, but I would have liked to have it in my head. And not from having the author telling me that when the book is sent, but from the details in the book. As more and more British wording was used, I was confused as to were the story took place and finally London was mentioned. Having a number of British friends and working with a international company, the British English did not bother me too much. For the most part I knew what was meant, but I don't know how well it will translate for the general public on this side of the pond. I like character driven stories. I want to connect with the characters, however, West did not provide enough background on the characters before delving into the plot. By the end I was only mildly interested in what happened to Sally and Emilio.
From the beginning the felt like the movies that I watched in the early nineties. I can't remember the names of any of them (Billy Crystal probably starred in a few of them) because they all kind of blurred into one. They all had themes of star crossed lovers and afterlife. They were usually funny. Again because of the lack of detail to setting I had trouble keeping myself in the present and not wondering back to the 1990s with this story. The book did lend itself more to a movie script than a novel. Maybe West could try to shop her story to some movie producers.
The miscommunication and assumptions that all the characters make about what the others think or feel were almost comical. I say almost because there wasn't anything new or unique about the banter between characters. So while I knew that West was meaning for it to be funny, to be it was liking hearing the same joke for the 10th time. I did chuckle a few times towards the end.
Though I did not find this book to be astounding, I think people that didn't grow up watching the 90s movies where basically the same storyline played out with different actors could find this a witty read. I don't think paranormal romance is my cup of tea - I'll stick more to realistic fiction from now on unless someone out there can recommend a MUST read paranormal romance to me.
As a side note from my commentary on sex in books last week- though you can tell that Sally and Emilio have hot sex I didn't have to share the bed with them.
Next week I am participating in a blog swap with Indie Reader Houston. She will be posting here and I will be posting on her blog. We are shooting for Thursday.
April 4, 2011
Coming Soon...: Mistakes
Mistakes
by A.M. Hayward & L.J. HolderPublished April, 2011 by The Writer's Coffee Shop
ISBN 978-1-61213-032-3
Read April, 2011
My publisher sent me an advance copy of Mistakes to read. It is BRILLIANT! I have followed the writing of the dynamic duo Hayward & Holder online for a while now. It is sometimes a bit scary what their minds can come up with (seriously, I have read some of their online work by peaking between my fingers). But while their online work is good, Mistakes, their first published novel, is absolutely wonderful.
Maddy is a high school senior at a private school where she is a step or two down on the socio-economic ladder of her peers. Her parents have tried to protect her from the snobbishness of the upper crust. However, Maddy is ready to break out of the sheltered bubble and experience the life she has only read about in fairytales.Add in a debonaire college guy that shows her a bit of attention and you have a recipe for disaster.
Hayward & Holder are talented in bringing forth emotion in their readers. By the time Maddy left for Spring Break, my stomach was twisting with the guilt Maddy had for lying to her parents. The desperation and despair she experiences later in the book, combined with the tenderness of fellow captive Dalton, had tears streaming down my cheeks. You can't help but feel connected to these characters.
I started reading Mistakes in the early afternoon on Saturday, by bedtime I still had 30 pages or so to read. There was no way I was going to bed. I stayed up until I finished it. I can count on 1 hand the number of books I have read in one day. Now, even days later, I can't help think about the story and the characters. I wonder how much begging I would have to do to see an early draft of the sequel to this wonderfully suspenseful novel.
Mistakes will be published April 28, 2011. Pre-orders for the paperback are now being accepted at the publisher's website and I encourage you to order it NOW. I should warn my readers that the series does involve human trafficking, but in this first novel there was no graphic sex, though there was a bit of violence. At this point, I think the book would be suitable for high school students (and may serve as a warning to the dangers faced by young adults during Spring Break parties).
April 2, 2011
Light & Fluffy: Anyone but You by Jennifer Crusie
by Donna Huber
After reading many depressing books and feeling a bit depressed myself, I needed something to lift my spirits. I walked into my library and told my librarian I needed a book. She looked at me a bit funny: obviously, I needed a book since I was at the library (though I seem to check out more movies than books). I explained I needed something light and fluffy. She replied you don't read light and fluffy. I love living in small towns where the librarian knows my reading taste. Anyways, she preceded to point out a few books. I picked up one book that was more my normal read - the opening pages mentioned a plane crash in the mountains and a freezing Jack Russell terrier (I have a JR terror), so I decided against it - maybe later I'll pick it up because it did look good. She also pointed me to some "funny" novels about southern society set in Savannah. I might live in the south, but I am not a southerner and southern writing doesn't really appeal to me. Then she handed me a Jennifer Crusie. I recognized the name from someone recommending her to me on Twitter. It mentioned a dog so I inquired about if the dog dies (I typically avoid animal stories because they are almost always sad). She said no so I said yes to the book.
I realized when I got home that it was a Harlequin novel. It's the first one I have ever read. While it was not the trashy bodice-ripping romance I always associated with Harlequin the love scene towards the end ruined an otherwise charming, funny as can be, fluffy novel.
I laughed so hard through the book and not just at the dog antics. I loved Fred. I have a bit of a soft spot for basset hounds because they always look so morose. And animals can be downright hilarious. But I enjoyed the banter between brothers Alex and Max. I was at Chick-fil-a eating lunch when I read the part where Max is telling Alex that 40-year-old women are insecure about their bodies. Alex asked him how he knows what a 40-year-old woman thinks. Max's reply "I'm a gynecologist." The whole conversation is funny and had me literally laughing out loud (which might have drawn a few looks in my direction).
I was telling everyone how funny and good the book was. I couldn't wait to see how it ended. Did Nina get over the 10 year age difference (I totally understand her dilemma. I live in a town where most single men are 18 -24 and I am 34)? Would Alex screw up everything by trying to meet his family's expectations of adulthood thinking it would impress Nina? Then when it seems that Nina and Alex are finally getting there act together, Jennifer Crusie ruins the book from me by providing a detailed account of their bedroom activities. Why must everything have sex in it? I am not prude enough to think that sex should never be mentioned in a book, but I don't want to be in bed with Nina and Alex.
Seriously, I think that is one of the reasons I dislike the romance genre so much. If I want a clean novel it seems that I must read a young adult novel or Christian fiction. In YA, I get silly romance that does not touch on the relationship difficulties that I experience as a 30 something and Christian fiction is so ideal that it leaves me disgusted with my own life. Why do authors of adult fiction feel the need to provide descriptive sex? Or maybe the question should be why do readers feel the need to read descriptive sex? Are there any books out there that don't have descriptive sex, but still deals with the real struggles of finding a date in a funny and upbeat manner?
Up to the sex scene, I would have read another book by Jennifer Crusie as I found Anyone but You to be truly humorous. But the ending upset me and if that is what her other books are like then I might just pass.
Buy Anyone but You at Amazon
 |
| March 2006; HQN Books; 9780373771462 ebook, print (224 pages); romance |
I realized when I got home that it was a Harlequin novel. It's the first one I have ever read. While it was not the trashy bodice-ripping romance I always associated with Harlequin the love scene towards the end ruined an otherwise charming, funny as can be, fluffy novel.
I laughed so hard through the book and not just at the dog antics. I loved Fred. I have a bit of a soft spot for basset hounds because they always look so morose. And animals can be downright hilarious. But I enjoyed the banter between brothers Alex and Max. I was at Chick-fil-a eating lunch when I read the part where Max is telling Alex that 40-year-old women are insecure about their bodies. Alex asked him how he knows what a 40-year-old woman thinks. Max's reply "I'm a gynecologist." The whole conversation is funny and had me literally laughing out loud (which might have drawn a few looks in my direction).
I was telling everyone how funny and good the book was. I couldn't wait to see how it ended. Did Nina get over the 10 year age difference (I totally understand her dilemma. I live in a town where most single men are 18 -24 and I am 34)? Would Alex screw up everything by trying to meet his family's expectations of adulthood thinking it would impress Nina? Then when it seems that Nina and Alex are finally getting there act together, Jennifer Crusie ruins the book from me by providing a detailed account of their bedroom activities. Why must everything have sex in it? I am not prude enough to think that sex should never be mentioned in a book, but I don't want to be in bed with Nina and Alex.
Seriously, I think that is one of the reasons I dislike the romance genre so much. If I want a clean novel it seems that I must read a young adult novel or Christian fiction. In YA, I get silly romance that does not touch on the relationship difficulties that I experience as a 30 something and Christian fiction is so ideal that it leaves me disgusted with my own life. Why do authors of adult fiction feel the need to provide descriptive sex? Or maybe the question should be why do readers feel the need to read descriptive sex? Are there any books out there that don't have descriptive sex, but still deals with the real struggles of finding a date in a funny and upbeat manner?
Up to the sex scene, I would have read another book by Jennifer Crusie as I found Anyone but You to be truly humorous. But the ending upset me and if that is what her other books are like then I might just pass.
Buy Anyone but You at Amazon
March 28, 2011
Another Great Dekker Book: Saint
Saint
(Paradise #2) by Ted Dekkerpaperback, 347 pages
Published 2007 by Thomas Nelson
Read March 2011
It is no secret that I am a Ted Dekker fan. I really tried not to do another Dekker book review because I don't want my blog to become Dekker all the time, but I finished Saint before the other 2 books I am currently reading. Saint is such a good book that I just had to read it whenever I had a chance, though it had tough competition from the Jennifer Crusie book I am hoping to tell you about later this week.
I didn't realize when I picked up Saint at my church's library a few weeks ago that it was actually the second novel in the series. Thankfully I have read enough Dekker to not be too lost. Also this book ties closely in with the Circle series that I reviewed earlier this year. Actually I think the Paradise series (which Saint is book 2 of) will answer a number of questions I was left with after reading Green.
The beginning of Saint is quite intense. The story revolves around a highly trained assassin. Do you remember the television series Alias that starred Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow? If you do, then I can tell you that it has a bit of an Alias feel to the novel. You don't know if Carl is working with a terrorist group or a highly classified off the books government agency. And neither does Carl. To become this highly trained assassin his identity has been stripped from him. His only thought is survival and can only recall information that is needed to insure his survival. Nothing is as it seems. A truth maybe a lie or maybe that is what they want Carl to think.
In some ways this is a very confusing book, but at the same time pretty straight forward. Or as straight forward as you can get with a Dekker novel. I highly recommend this book (though you will probably want to start with book 1 - Showdown
). It is a great mystery, suspense, thriller, government corruption and espionage novel that will have you questioning everything you think you know.
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