My Humble Opinion on The Fault In Our Stars... Audio Book

This may not be the most reliable review on a book that I have ever done, simply because of those words I added on at the end of the title. 

Audio book

I tried to listen to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn in audio book quite some time ago and was not impressed by the book OR the reader. So while I waited and waited (and waited!) for the 2 library copies of The fault In Our Stars by John Green to be returned so that I could check one out, I disregarded the option of the audio version sitting on the shelf, lonely and ignored, until I finally ran out of patience with the disrespectful young adults that were dominating the copies of a young adult book coveted by adults.

I checked out those CDs doubtfully. I loaded them onto my computer, transferred them onto the tablet AND bought a new set of ear buds. I quickly discovered that if I am not busy doing things while listening I will 'zone out'. You know what I mean, the voice or music is going in one ear and out the other while my brain is contemplating something thrilling like the grocery list or lesson plans. 

Also, I found that by listening instead of reading I never formed an emotional attachment to any of the characters. At all! It was disturbing to say the least. I am usually overly attached to fictional characters!

Anyway, John Green (according to his author page on goodreads.com ) has spit out 4 decently popular books in the past 8 years. I consider that impressive, having never written anything decently popular in quadruple that amount of time. 

This is a tear jerker people. Before I even opened the cover... er... CD case... I knew it was a love story about two teens with cancer, at least one of them terminal. Some people would cry over that in itself. 

It is the story of Hazel, who meets Gus at a cancer support group. It is the story of their friends from before they were diagnosed and the story of Isaac, a friend who also has cancer. It is the story of siblings, parents and doctors who love and treat them and others. 

*Side note: I love the names in this book. They are not totally common or uncommon. The purpose of that? Who knows. I, however, prefer to think that it is because they need to be viewed as individuals, not just another John or Jessica, but they also need to be considered as people you could meet at the local high school or supermarket.

These teens are avid readers and deep thinkers. Whether that is because they were born that way or if it is a 'side effect of dying' is not made absolutely clear, but my guess is that we are expected to deduce that they became that way after they were diagnosed. 

This is not just a story of first love. Nor is it simply a story of cancer. It is a tragic and heroic story of living & dying, love & anger, despair & hope. Life. It's a story of the realities of life.

So what is my opinion?

I liked it. I wish I had read it instead of listening to it but, eh, so it goes.

Read it, tell me what you think. Okay? Okay.

Dear Authors

Dear Authors,

Let me start out by saying that you are amazing. I am in awe of the fact that you can create worlds and people that feel real to us, the readers. I am constantly surprised that there are still fresh ideas and complicated plot twists for you to share with us. What you do is like magic to me.

I admire your bravery at pouring out a piece of yourself and putting it out there, never knowing what kind of reviews or criticism you will have to endure. I hope that the raves make you feel appreciated, but I imagine that a few of the less enthusiastic assessments sting a little. Therefore, I always try to be sensitive in the honesty of my responses to your work.   

That being said, I hold you up to pretty high standards and expect a lot and often. Sometimes I think readers like me forget that you are real people with real lives and (sometimes) jobs other than catering to our literary needs. I have been trying to be more realistic now that some of my friends are published authors and I am (Facebook) 'friends' with a couple more.

It is difficult for me to except that not every single sentence of your writing will be amazingly perfect and exactly what I wanted and expected, but really that is what keeps things exciting. How boring would it be if every book panned out just the way I thought it would?

My main frustration comes when you drop off the face of the earth. Please stop doing that. Your may not know it but your readers miss you. Maybe we are not good at expressing our hurt. Maybe you don't know that we even know you are not writing anymore. We are and we do. 

Worse than disappearing is not finishing a series or trilogy. I recently gave up all hope of the third book in the Exiles trilogy by Melanie Rawn ever being written. I may be the last person to let go, but I finally did. She was ill for awhile and then when she came back she moved on and wrote different books. No 3rd book. Ever. I am frustrated and disappointed and angry and discouraged and many other things. I am boycotting her other books and from the looks of the Amazon reviews I am not the only one. It is sad.

I suppose my point is that you will have to forgive us our unrealistic expectations and impossible standards, with the understanding that we are dependent on you for our literary friends and worlds. We can't do this without you!

Sincerely,
Readers everywhere

My Humble Opinion on Reasons My Kid Is Crying

I was recently sent a copy of Reasons My Kid Is Crying by Greg Penboke for review.

 

GREG PEMBROKE is the father of two sons (and the husband of one wife) from Rochester, NY. He works part time as radio advertising copywriter three days per week and stays home with his young sons two days per week.

It just happened to arrive on a very busy day of work, and vacation bible school. Before I knew it, or had a chance to even open to the first page, my bible study friends were sitting around my livingroom, passing this book around, laughing and reading excerpts out loud to each other. 

"This book is hysterical!" 

 "My daughter has to see this!" 

After they left I sat down alone with it and had to completely agree with them. This book IS hysterical and oddly comforting. It is a collection of pictures of young children completely frustrated with the incompetence of the world around them. 

To see that other parents are helpless to prevent these complete meltdowns over things like "A fly landed near him" and "her popsicle was cold" is nice to know. Especially during the terrible 2s and horrible 3s... or if, like me, you always have a couple of kids in your house who have, as Pembroke describes it, "insanely specific goals" and "great expectations" for their lives and routines each day.  

If you are loving the idea of this as much as I was you can check it out on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter! 

I received this book from Blogging For Books for this review.
 

 

Brutal and Bloody

Facebook pages are amazing. The spread of humor, encouragement and information on those things delights me! I am currently addicted to several. 
Book Haven,
Books Rock My World,
Coffee and a Good Book &
I Have More Books Than Friends
to name a few. I am always amazed that there are people that feel the same way I do about books. Things I go through that I thought made me incredibly strange, are commonplace to these people... You know... Like how I hyperventilate at the end of a book.

About a month ago one of those pages posted an invite for everyone to recommend their favorite books to each other. To quote from a movie that got me interested in Thomas More, "I could no sooner pick a favorite star in the heavens" then come up with ONE favorite, and there were already HUNDREDS of comments, so I said nothing. 

I did, however, read through quite a large chunk of the suggestions and found one for a Japanese book published in the 90's titled Battle Royale. I did some research and people are claiming that it is the 'original' Hunger Games, but more brutal and bloody. I ordered it immediately. 

After 50 pages I had to admit that while I don't like to suspect people of ripping off the ideas of others, Suzanne Collins should probably publicly explain why her idea so closely resembles a book published 10 years earlier. You know, just to squish the rumors and so I don't continue to feel disappointed in myself for not suspecting she got the idea from somewhere else in the first place.

After 120 pages the cat got mad at me. Apparently I kick her a lot when I am having terrifying dreams about children killing each other and blood splattering on my face.

I am currently taking a break from reading to write this... Simply because I think I can't handle reading too much of this book at once. 

FYI:
This book is intense. The goodreads reviewer who recommends this book for "people who don't throw up a lot" and the one who recommends it for "the non-squeamish" were not exaggerating. 

Circle In The Sand

I just finished an advanced reader copy of a new book by Lia Fairchild called Circle in the Sand. She is a new author for me so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was feeling daring. 

Turns out this book was well worth the risk! With the chapters being told from the point of view of the different characters it really allowed me to understand and connect with each of them. 

I really loved how the author portrayed the complicated progress from simple childhood friendships to friends with separate lives and relationships but still a close connection and love for each other. While some books stick with a purely 'peaches and cream'- everything is wonderful depiction of friendships and others focus mostly on the difficulties and negative aspects, I found this book to be a really charming and realistic mix.

I would recommend this book in a heartbeat to anyone looking for a story of love, loss, and the friends that stick around through it all.

Four life-long friends bound by two decades of laughter, love, promises, and secrets. Once inseparable, the four grow into independent adults pursuing very different paths.

Sage, raised by career-driven parents, follows a carefully laid out future of success that leaves her wondering what she’s missed out on.

Emily, the college drop-out, now has three children that have become her whole life. She's slowly lost herself, subconsciously seeking dangerous ways to cope. Can she find herself in time?

Jax always lived on the edge, skating through life with no apparent ambition, yet remained the energy and emotional cement of the group. She longs for her friends to accept her without trying to fix her.

Ned, Emily’s twin brother, yearns to stand up and be counted. But his old loyalties and new feelings for one of the girls has him pulled in different directions.

Will the ties that held them together as kids be strong enough for them as adults? These four friends will discover the true meaning of friendship and unveil truths about themselves they never knew existed.

Lia Fairchild is both a traditionally published and independent author who writes contemporary fiction, chick lit, romance, and mystery/thriller. Fairchild was born and raised in Southern California and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a multiple-subject teaching credential. She is a wife and mother of two teenagers.

MORE ABOUT THIS AUTHOR 

Website:  http://www.liafairchild.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lia.fairchild.author

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LiaFairchild

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4671039.Lia_Fairchild

To Purchase from Amazon Click Here

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Dependable Book Reviews

Some of you may know that I have always been more comfortable with my daughter reading books that I have read first and given my seal of approval.

*Don't look at me like that! There are a lot of parents that do this.

You may also be aware that this beautiful child of mine now reads at a 5th grade reading level and as quickly as I do. I love it, of course! Unfortunately, I do not have as much time to read as she does... You know, because little things get in the way. Like my job and house and teaching a homeschool curriculum. So I have been searching for a web site that I can trust for book reviews of the books I have not had a chance to pre-read. Thanks to suggestions from my friends on Cafemom I have found several great resources.


Common Sense Media
I have used this website for movie reviews in the past, but somehow didn't realize that there were book reviews as well! This site allows registered members to give the book a

• Star Rating
• Age Recommendation
• Rating for topics such as Educational Value, Positive Messages, Positive Role Models, Violence, Sex, Language, and Drinking Drugs & Smoking.

Christian Book Websites
Christian book distributors usually only carry books that have been carefully reviewed. One is The Way Station


Another is ChristianBook.com which allows customers to review books and give the book a

• Star Rating
• Rating for Quality, Value, and Meets Expectations

Sparknotes
Remember these? The old fallback for when you didn't do your high school summer reading? Well, now they can help you find out the ins and outs of a book even if you don't have time to read the whole thing before your speed-reading child! (Or if, like with me and Gwen, you and your child have differing opinions on what you like to read) This website seems to have everything the books have, including, but not limited to

•  Plot Overview
• Character Analysis
• Themes
• Breakdown of Chapters
• Explanation of Important Quotes
• Key Facts

Thriving Family
This is my favorite site of the ones I have found. It doesn't feature as many books as I had hoped, but I love the quality and breakdown of the reviews. It supplies

• Age range
• Plot Summary
• Christian and Other Beliefs
• Profanity/Graphic Violence
• Kissing/Sex
• Discussion Topics

And more!


Books About Books!!
When in doubt, look in a book!!!
 
Honey For A Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt is out in it's 4th addition. It is a guide of wholesome books for ages 0-14. Honey For A Teen's Heart is in it's 1st addition and lists over 400 titles!


The Hand That Rocks The Cradle by Nathaniel Bluedorn was revised and updated about 5 years ago. This book includes summaries, reading levels, and settings for 400 classic read-a-loud books.

Happy Reading/Reviewing!!!!

Hello Again

I feel like I should tell you the truth right now. The truth is- I have stopped myself from Blogging for the past couple months. It was one of the restrictions I put on myself during a time when I had nothing good to say, but it was because of my attitude, not my situation that I had nothing good to say.

I don't care what is going on in my life, if I can feed and house us and if we are healthy, I should not have nothing good to say. (Did you follow that?) I succumbed to a bad attitude. I was ungrateful and bitter and sad and angry when I could be, because it meant I didn't have to be sad. I have still not completely smacked myself back into place yet, but I feel I have earned the right to continue my blog through my good behavior on facebook :)

So what did I read when I needed to escape from myself? What else but Harry Potter?

  

The first four in paperback and the last three in hardcover. By the time the last three were published I was one of those crazy people at the midnight release... therefore, I had to splurge for hardcover.

We also discovered this adorable young readers series called Seekers. They are a series of books about the travels and adventures of four bears. Two grizzly bears, a polar bear, and a black bear that start out in totally different situations and locations and end up united in purpose and traveling together.

     

They are told from the point of view of the bears, which is exactly what Gwen loves! Barnes and Noble.com says they are for ages 10-12... what kind of age range is that?? Honestly! Who comes up with that stuff anyway?

What have you been reading?

How Was The Movie- Hunger Games

OK. My friends know that they can pretty much count on me to not like a movie if I love the book it's based on. I get very attached to silly things like story lines and characters and when they get 'cut' from the movie I tend to be a little critical.

There are exceptions. I was very pleased by The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, and the first two Harry Potter movies. I even enjoyed the Percy Jackson movie, although I thought it was a little racy considering the age group the books are intended for.

So please take that into consideration when I tell you that I saw the Hunger Games last night and, well...

It could have been worse

It could have been better, too

The books started out right up my alley. Fast paced and not overly descriptive. Science-fiction-y with strong main characters. I little like City of Ember, meets The Blue Sword, meets The Blending (Except much more well written then the Blending!).

I read the first book in one day... I read the next one, Catching Fire, in less then a day. They were well organized and well thought out and highly entertaining. Forcing teenagers from 12 different districts (like colonies) to enter into a drawing and if they are chosen they must travel to the capital city (that doesn't offer up any of it's children, by the way) and enter a playing field specifically designed to be lethal. Once there they must kill each other. The last kid breathing wins and doesn't have to work for the rest of his or her life.

You may have noticed that I didn't mention reading the third book, Mockingjay. I read it, but it took me a few days. It was very good, but the main characters were a little annoying to me in the third book.

So. The Movie.

Woody Harrelson was a pleasant surprise.

District 12 looked absolutely nothing like I imagined it, but we didn't spent much time there, so it wasn't a big deal. I liked all of the actors/actresses they picked for main parts except perhaps Gale. He's supposed to be a teenager!

I forgave them for that bit of bad judgement when I saw who they cast for the part of Cato. Even though his character is nasty, I was sad that he wouldn't be in the second movie... He would've been a great Gail, in my opinion.

Almost everything was created very similar to the way it was described. They really didn't play up the cuddly/kissy stuff enough to make the uncomfortable relationships believable for the next movie. So I'm interested in how they are going to pull it off. And some of the action/fight scenes were done with way too much shaky camera footage. Was so they didn't have to put a lot of effort into them??

The crazy dogs near the end were better then I imagined though. Just really cool.

The end result is that, surprisingly, I liked this movie. What did you think?

More Lost Than Found by Jared Herd

In More Lost Than Found, Jared Herd comes alongside anyone who has ever struggled with faith to reengage them in the truth they long to hear. If you have ever felt you didn't fit at church or had questions about God, maybe it's time to give your faith another chance.
God wants to find you where you are.

Upon receiving a free digital copy of this book from booksneeze in exchange for an honest review I was anxious to get started. I have several friends who thoroughly enjoyed it so I was expecting to be immediately engrossed.

Unfortunately I struggled with it for several weeks before finishing it.  In a couple of places I thought he was crossing into a place that was too liberal for me then, after I reread it, I realized he was doing no such thing... hence the struggle.

I liked the way the author welcomes us into his experiences with religion with refreshing honesty and hope. He encourages us to reevaluate our faith with humor and points out the problems in our society with acceptance, not condemnation.

I really appreciate where the author was going with his book. As I understand it, it's all about getting back to the basics- God, Jesus and the Bible. In my opinion, that makes all the work of reading it well worth it. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Happy 200th Birthday!

I was recently enlightened to the fact that 2012 is Charles Dickens 200th birthday. Well... great, you say. But who cares?
I do :)

It just so happens, that I have never, in my life, ever, read ANY, not even one, of his books! I'm not usually one for classics... even though I have much of The Secret Garden memorized and can point out all the difference between the book and at least 3 of the movies.

Anyway, I am reading a booksneeze book right now called More Lost Than Found. So after I review that I am going to dig into some Dickens. I have a plan (sort of).

Oliver Twist

Great Expectations

David Copperfield

Penwick Papers

and A Christmas Carol

Hopefully it won't take me till Christmas to get to A Christmas Carol... but I've never taken on a challenge like this, so who knows! Maybe after that I'll try the Fellowship Of The Ring again... Maybe.

What are your reading challenges?

Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks by K.D. McCrite

11 year old April Grace Reilly lives in a small town in the 1980's with her teenage sister & her parents and just across the field from her Grandmother whose love life is interesting to say the least. She has all the struggles of a girl entering middle school including a friend who is no longer friendly and a boy that won't leave her alone, but that is nothing compared to the drama at home. The St. James's have moved into her house until they can fix up their own. If Isabel St. James isn't enough to deal with now April's mother is hiding something from her.

I stalked Booksneeze.com for a free copy of this book because I love young adult books and anything with Ugly Sticks in the title is right up my alley. The reflections of this preteen had me chuckling over and over. All kids this age are overly sensitive and dramatic, but April Grace approached everything with a strong sense of self and an amazing heart for others. I would highly recommend this book, though since all of my experience is with kids 9 yrs old and younger I am unsure whether 11 is old enough for some of the content. I advise parents to preview it and decide for themselves.

Imagine A Day

When kids ask to borrow books over and over from the library. That's what makes them special. Imagine A Day by Sarah L. Thompson is a special book. Renowned Canadian artist Rob Gonsalves stretches the limits of visual exploaration with his breathtaking paintings and encourages parents and children alike to look beyond the limits of the everyday world and imagine.

The text on this page says: Imagine a day when you don't need wings to soar. 

Look closely at the picture. That's what the kids have been doing to every page in this book. I can't wait to borrow the companion books. Imagine A Night and Imagine A Place. They're on thier way from other libraries.

   

Heaven is for Real for Kids by Todd and Sonja Burpo

A little boys astounding story of his trip to heaven and back as told by Colton Burpo to his parents Todd and Sonja Burpo. Illustrated by Wilson Ong.

 

Colton Burpo came back from heaven with an important message to share. Jesus really loves children and heaven is an amazing place that we will really like. Using simple words to describe his experiences Colton takes us on a journey with him to an amazing and wonderful place. He touches on a lot of the things that are important to children from boo-boos to animals to family and many more things.

I liked this free ebook from booksneeze.com at about 3 stars, until I read it to children. I enjoyed the letter to the parents in the beginning and liked that they had questions (and answers to the questions) that children might ask at the end of the book. When I sat on the couch, though, with a 5 year old on one side and an 7 year old on the other and all of their attention was unwaveringly on this book I knew it was a great resource.

Even in black and white on my little NOOK screen they enjoyed the pictures. They both said that they liked ALL of it until I asked if there was anything they didn't like and then the 5 year old only said that he didn't like when Colton had to go back to the hospital.

Death is a scary unknown for adults, but even more so for children who can't always understand the explanations to the questions that they have. This book does not talk down to children as some books tend to do. It uses simple language in definite terms and backs it up with short passages from the bible.

I think this book is wonderful. I will be purchasing it in hardcover to add to my children's book collection.

J.R.R. Tolkien by Mark Horne

Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. But all, through their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires, uniquely illuminate our shared experience.

In this short biography Mark Horne gives us an inside peek at the joys and struggles that made up the life of the man who brought the world The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings. Which, while definitely his most popular works, were just a portion of the literature penned by this man in his lifetime.

I am admittedly a fan of fantasy writing and thoroughly enjoyed The Hobbit, so when I saw this biography on booksneeze.com (for free in exchange for a review) I was excited to learn more about Tolkien. I was fascinated by the fact that his religion and love of languages began with his mother's instruction and continued at the encouragement of his guardian Father Francis Morgan for whom Tolkien had the utmost respect. It was a very informative book which gave me a large amount of facts about Tolkien's life, but the author failed to make me feel as though I could understand any of the thoughts or urges which led J.R.R. Tolkien to lead the life he did or write the books which made him famous.

It's a Book

It's a book. That is the title of a hardcover picture book that I paid almost full price for and have absolutely no intention of reading to the children I watch. My child, however, loved it as much as I did... and so did my mother!

I was standing in the children's section of a soon-to-be closed Borders bookstore when I found this book. Most of the customer friendly things had been removed or sold, but there were plenty of vultures people milling around to take advantage of the 30% store wide savings. Gwen was nonchalantly perusing the shelves nearby while me and 3 other women where trying to pretend to stay out of each others ways without giving an inch in case we were all looking for the same book and there was only one copy left. I, of course, was not looking for any specific book, I was just being spiteful because they were in my way. Note to all readers: deep down inside, I have a mean sense of humor... but I'm usually good at hiding it.

So anyway, I see this spine titled It's a Book and I must pick it up and stand there reading it. Not only because I was intrigued, but also to annoy the women around me :). I read a page, I smile. I read a page, I smile. I read a page, I smile... and then I reach the last page. Into the almost silent bookstore I let out a good loud laugh. Not a giggle or a chuckle, a full laugh. Everyone stares at me (except Gwen who is used to my crazy ways), but I ignore them and laugh again. Yes. It was that funny!

The author, Lane Smith came out with a similiar book in board book version, but the Barnes and Noble website is mad at me tonight and will not assist me in sharing the title. The point though, is that the board book is not funny! Don't bother to read it. After the hardcover book, the board book is sad and dissapointing, but it is a children's book appropriate for children, while the one I love so much uses the name 'Jackass' for the donkey and I am sure many parents will object... I don't. I read it to my daughter immediately.

I Love Books!!!