Video: Weekly Reading Update

 

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a weekly meme hosted at Book Journey.

Finished:



The White Thread (The Gateway Chronicles) by K. B. Hoyle

For a year, Darcy Pennington has agonized over the fate of her dear friend Yahto Veli who sacrificed himself to set her free at the end of her last year in Alitheia. As her third trip to the magical land approaches, Darcy wonders if the daring rescue she desires to launch will be allowed to go forward. Darcy soon comes to realize, however, that much more is at stake than merely the rescue of her friend. Her return to Alitheia is marked by the mysterious disappearance of Colin Mackaby, and a new message from the Oracle adds to the riddles that the Six must decipher if they are to expell Tselloch from the land. Along the way relationships will be created and destroyed, and for some characters, the deepest scars are those that cannot be seen. From Goodreads.com

Listening to:

 

Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

In the tradition of Marisa de los Santos and Anne Tyler comes a moving debut about a young mother's year of heartbreak, loss, and forgiveness...and help that arrives from unexpected sources

Four months after her husband's death, Janie LaMarche remains undone by grief and anger. Her mourning is disrupted, however, by the unexpected arrival of a builder with a contract to add a porch onto her house. Stunned, Janie realizes the porch was meant to be a surprise from her husband—now his last gift to her.
As she reluctantly allows construction to begin, Janie clings to the familiar outposts of her sorrow—mothering her two small children with fierce protectiveness, avoiding friends and family, and stewing in a rage she can't release. Yet Janie's self-imposed isolation is breached by a cast of unlikely interventionists: her chattering, ipecac-toting aunt; her bossy, over-manicured neighbor; her muffin-bearing cousin; and even Tug, the contractor with a private grief all his own.
As the porch takes shape, Janie discovers that the unknowable terrain of the future is best navigated with the help of others—even those we least expect to call on, much less learn to love. From Goodreads.com

Still Reading:

 

A Bit Strange: We, Robots

We, Robots, a novella of the Singularity by Sue Lange
ebook, 64 pages
Published March 2010 by Book View Cafe

Read November 2011

This was a strange little story. Not in a bad way, just in a different kind of way. When the author sent the book to me, the description reminded me of a movie I watched as a kid. I don't remember the name of it, but it was about a family and the mother died. The children were upset and the father worked for a company or something like that and was offered a robot housekeeper of sorts. The family got to go the factory and choose everything about the woman who would take care of them. I remember the little boy had a special marble that was used for the robots eye color (I'm describing the movie because I'm hoping someone else remembers watching it and can tell me the name so I can stop driving myself crazy trying to remember).

Anyways, as I was saying. The description reminded me of this movie which I enjoyed as a child so I thought I would give the book a try. I did not see the cover until I went to load it on to my Nook. Probably had I, I would not have accepted the book for review. There is just something about the cover that at first glance kind of turned me off to the book. Maybe it was too cartoonish? I'm not sure and now having read the book the cover isn't so bad. Though there is still something a bit off for more.

The story was interesting. The domestic robot is telling the story and it gives the reader many things to think about without really drawing conclusions for the reader. This would be a great book for discussion on what it means to be human, how technology can be "good" or "bad" and is there a point in the advancement of our technology that is too far.

The story was well written, but it isn't anything fabulous. It is the part of sci-fi that I don't generally enjoy - the opening pages describing what Singularity is was a bit confusing to me. I'm just not a big fan of reading about technology. There wasn't really anything that made me "not want to put it down", but equally there wasn't anything about it that made me not want to read it. For these reasons, I gave it 3 stars (Oh my gosh, just had a flash back to my 4-H judging days with that sentence).

This book would have made a good topic for my college computer science class (the class focused a lot on the use of technology, not how to use computers per se). If you are looking for thought-invoking short story, then I would recommend We, Robots.

Note: Since I posted the review the cover has changed. This review now displays an updated cover photo.

Related articles

• Charley is my domestic Robot. (gerard5819.wordpress.com)

It's Monday! What I'm reading...

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. It is a time when we share what we've read, currently reading, or what is up next on our reading list.

Finished:


Slave (Finding Anna #1) by Sherri Hayes. See my review.

Stephan has lived the lifestyle of a Dominant for five years. After several rebellious teenage years, it gave him the stability and control he had been seeking after his parent’s death.

As president of a not-for-profit foundation, he knows what his future holds and what he wants out of life. All that changes when a simple lunch with his college friend and Mentor, Darren, leads him to buying a slave.

Thrust into a situation he never thought he’d be in, Stephan can’t walk away. He is compelled to help this girl in the only way he knows how.

Brianna knows only one thing, she is a slave. She has nothing. She is nothing.

Can Stephan help Brianna realize that she is much more than just a Slave? From Goodreads.com

 


We, Robots by Sue Lange

Avey, a personal robot purchased as a companion for a child, must learn how to think like a human. From Goodreads.com

Currently Reading:


Stuck in the Middle (Sister-to-Sister #1)

Joan Sanderson's life is stuck.

When a hunky young doctor moves in next door, Joan sets out to catch his eye. But it won't be easy. Pretty Tori flirts relentlessly, and Joan is sure that she can't compete. But with a little help from God, Allie, and an enormous mutt with bad manners, Joan begins to find her way out of this rut and into the life she's been hiding from.

Her older sister, Allie, is starting a family, and her younger sister, Tori, has a budding career. Meanwhile, Joan is stuck at home with Mom and her aging grandmother. Not exactly a recipe for excitement--or romance.

Book 1 of the Sister-to-Sister series, Stuck in the Middle combines budding romance, soul searching, and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry that is sure to make you smile. From Goodreads.com

 
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens (Completed by David Madden)

Too Tempting: Slave

Slave (Finding Anna) by Sherri Hayes
paperback, 267 pages
Published July 2011 by The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
ISBN 9781612130484
Read November 2011

The publishing house I work for sent me some of their damaged stock to see if I could figure out what to do with it. I knew some of the books are missing pages and I have a cool idea for them (I just hope it turns out as well as it does in my head). So I was flipping through the books in the box to see which ones where cosmetically damaged and which where missing pages. Slave was in the box. And it was too tempting not to sit down and read it. So that's what I've done for the past 5 hours. (It's Saturday; I can be lazy!)

I first learned of Sherri's writing in our online writing community about 2 years or so ago. She was working on this story. I was intrigued because as you know I have an affinity for books about troubled people - if the character has been kidnapped, abused, suffers from mental illness, then I have to read it. Sherri took an extra step with hers and placed her troubled heroine in the world of BDSM. I'm a bit fascinated with the lifestyle. Not so much for the kinky sex, but the deep emotional connection the partners have with one another.

Outside of some kissing and a few mentions of masturbation, there is no sex in this romance novel. It was all about the two main characters learning to communicate and connect with one another. However, this is just book one of the series, so I can imagine that it could get rather steamy in future books.

Like I said I read a draft of this story through our writer's group, but as it is meant to be a forum to explore your creativity and hone skills often the finished product is quite different than where it started. Though the general back bone remained in tack, the fleshing out of the story was quite well done. Many of the questions readers in the writing group where left with were addressed in this published version. Like I said, it's a series and so not everything was answered. But I was quite satisfied. I was happy to see a particular part near the end. It was something that was not included in the original draft and many readers were upset about it.

As it is the publishing house I work for who published Slave, I have read many reviews. Some readers seemed upset about the ending. I thought that it was a great ending. It it tied up some of the story lines presented in the book, while at the same time setting the stage for the next chapter in Brianna's and Stephen's lives.

GoodReads Choice Awards 2011

Yesterday Goodreads.com announced their nominees for their 2011 Choice Awards. A few books that I have reviewed made the shortlist in their respective categories and many more that I've not read but want to! I'm also excited as a book published by my publisher made the short list in Best Romance.

The winners are chosen by public vote and you can even do a write in vote if your favorite isn't listed.

See my reviews of shortlisted titles:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

My write in vote for Favorite Book: Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Now go vote for yours!

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards: Favorite Book of 2011 Vote now for your favorite books!

A Roller Coaster Ride: The Undertaker

The Undertaker by William Brown
ebook, 322 pages
Published February 2011 by William F. Brown
ISBN13: 9781617505119
Read October 2011

The Undertaker is definitely a roller coaster ride, complete with the slow standing in line start. Seriously, for about the first third of the book I questioned if it was going to be worth it - just like when you stand in the long line inching forward and you see the ads for the ride and maybe a glimpse of the fun in action on a video screen, but aren't sure the shuffling pace of the line will really be worth it in the end. Boy, am I glad that I didn't hop out of line on this book.


It is a thriller involving the mafia, government, and cover-ups - all the right ingredients for a great read in my book. But there was just something about Peter's character that made it difficult for me to buy into him jumping to the conclusion of a conspiracy or scam. If you follow my Goodreads.com updates you know that I thought Peter must be really stupid for not seeing that it was the witness protection program. While I do still stand by the claim and I did finally jump on the conspiracy bandwagon around the half-way mark and that is when the ride got wild.


For a thriller, it didn't really require much thought to keep up with the story. Brown uses pretty stereotypical characters, which might be why I had problems with Peter. An aeronautical engineer (aka rocket scientist) from California does not scream conspiracy nut to me. Maybe it was the death of his wife, but I would have thought he would have been more logical.

I really liked the supporting characters of Sandy and Gino. It would be cool if there was a book that focused on Gino. Sandy was a bit unstable (I could totally see her jumping to the government conspiracy theory). Her character though served more to reinforce my opinion that Peter shouldn't have gone down that path so quickly/easily. 


The Undertaker isn't meant to be a book that you think too hard about. If you do, you just start seeing more problems and lose some of the thrilling fun that it is meant to be. It was pitched to me as a great summer beach read and it definitely would have been if I could have gotten to it this summer. For a reader who doesn't really care to read fluffy chick-lit, but still wants a light read The Undertaker is perfect! (I can say it's a fluffy thriller?)

Related articles

• Review: The Undertaker - William F. Brown (bookbagsandcatnaps.com)
• Didn't connect: Amongst My Enemies (girl-who-reads.com)