Tens of thousands of couples chose sacred seven as their wedding date. Going back a decade, wedding website The Knot usually had around 12,000 couples registered and preparing to unite on any given Saturday in July, but leading up to 7/7/07, there was triple the amount: 38,000, even more than the millennium. (Time.com) Seven is…
via Cowherd and The Weaver Girl – Chinese Valentine’s Day — Bamboo Sketches
This week is about books, some I loved and some…I didn’t.
Generally, I don’t like to talk about books I dislike in a blog post (I save my rants over pet peeves for in person conversations not caught on camera) Putting dislike into words in a blog post just feels too much like a written rejection letter. I would rather stick to the positive and tell you about the books I liked and let the negative be shown subtly by the book’s absence from my list.
But, there’s a downside to positive only comments, it gives the impression I am an indiscriminate reader.
So, I will give you a reason to believe I have opinions about what’s good and what’s not. There were a half dozen books this week that didn’t survive past the first few pages. There were two in particular, though, that caused a high level of disappointment. I had great expectations for them because they were written by popular public figures with something to say. I kept reading longer than usual, wanting them to get better. They didn’t
The first one is an allegory, I’ve read other books in a similar style and loved them, I expected to love this one too. The first off putting thing was, the hype overkill at the beginning of the book. How many endorsements do you really need! The second off-putting thing was, the story didn’t live up to the hype. It was disjointed, hard to follow, and the symbolism didn’t marry well with descriptions and actions, which was frustrating.
The second book was also similar in style to several other books I’ve read and enjoyed recently. My expectations were high because I’ve not seen another book address this particular topic, at least not from this angle. The introduction gave me hope because it talks about how the book came to be, and how it was originally longer but they pared it down significantly. It could have been pared down even more, in my opinion. How many ways should you say the same thing?
The major downfall I see with both of these books; they had something worth saying, but the process of writing is not a strong skill for either of them. An experienced editorial team would have been a great asset.
I give them kudos for trying though because writing a successful book is not as easy as it looks.
So, having mentioned books I didn’t like, it’s time to mention some books I did like, enough to stay up reading half the night in some cases.
Kiya Trilogy – Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh book 1, Kiya: Mother of a King book 2 – Katie Hamstead …… this is a fictionalized story of King Tut, an excellent read and my favorite this week. I’m looking forward to reading book 3
Detective Madison Knight Series – Deadly Impulse book 6 – Carolyn Arnold …… I enjoy Carolyn Arnold and this was another good one from her, lots of believable twists and turns while looking for the killer.
Bridge to Haven – Francine Rivers ….. this story starts when an abandoned newborn is mercifully found by a tender hearted man, under the bridge at the edge of town. Sometimes the sad places of our lives cause us to make devastating decisions. This is a book of second chances. Francine Rivers has been one of my favorite authors for many years and still is.
A Riley Paige Mystery – Once Gone book 1, Once Taken book 2 – Blake Pierce …. a brilliant female police detective with a broken past that makes her more than a little prickly. Blake Pierce is a new favorite author of mine.
The Kate Lange Thriller Series – Damaged book 1 – Pamela Callow ….. Suspense…. recovering from the death of her sister and a messy break-up, Kate finds herself with a new law firm, embroiled in a dangerous mystery.
Skye Cree Thriller – The Box of Bones book 3 – Vickie McKeehan …. a serial killer, dismembered bodies, and not much to go on. This was believable too, a mystery that keeps you guessing to the end, the best kind.
The Retired Gardener – Gideon Williams ….. this is definitely not your usual thriller, a retired gardener who always seems to side step away from harm directed at him. A new slant on thrillers.
As always, I hope you will be on the lookout for good books, there are so many out there waiting to be found.
Happy reading!
There’s not much writing happening at my house this week.
I have a job doing administrative work for a company 2000 km away from where I currently live. I used to live there and worked everyday in the office, for 5 years actually. Now, I’ve been here 5 years, working remotely, and loving it. I moved to be closer to family, and a good move it’s turned out to be. It’s nice getting to spend time with some of my grandchildren, watching them grow up, much to quickly.
I have 7 grandkids, 6 boys and 1 girl…….. she can hold her own with those boys. 🙂
And they aren’t wimps, although they do love their sister so I’m guessing they don’t treat her as roughly as they could – although they might like to now and again.
Getting back to the subject of work. Three weeks of covering for my young colleague while she is even farther away, (5500 km from the office, I am about in the middle, between west and east, big country this) for her wedding, that means there hasn’t been much time for things I usually spend time on, like reading and writing. The work load has been busier than we guessed it would be. Busier is good.
It has been nice doing her job because it gives me more contact with others in the office, more than I normally get with my job description, and I like that. I miss the connection. That’s the downside to this style of working. On the plus side though, in this age of computers and internet you can work almost anywhere.
It’s kind of fun, the contact I have with some of the agencies I deal with, when they have to call me and find out how far away I am from them. It makes me smile to myself when I’m talking to them and think about the fact that at one time I used to live in the city they are in, and shopped just a few blocks from their offices.
This time next week Danielle will be back and life will get back to normal. Although I guess it won’t be quite back to normal as I will have to do some grandma duty while mom and dad are working through the month of August. I love having the boys around. Hopefully they will come to my house a couple of times for overnights and we can have some movie marathons.
I love movie marathons, they bring back memories of when I was a mom. I can remember watching Brave Heart once with my teenagers (2 boys and a girl, who wanted to do whatever the boys did) and some of their friends. I was pretty proud of myself for sticking it out, although I do admit to crocheting at the time, it helped me get through the gory parts. And Princess Bride, I think we about wore that one out, it was a favorite. ” my name is Inigo Montoya…..” there are so many great lines in that movie.
And then there were the all night Rock-A-Thon fund raisers. The teenagers would have to rock, in a rocking chair, all night, no sleeping, and their sponsors would give them money for a group trip they were planning, if they managed to last the night. They would watch movies to help stay awake, and eat pizza and lots of other yummy junk food. Luckily I was there without responsibility so I didn’t have to fight sleep. I could usually make it half way through the night before closing my eyes and abandoning them.
I am looking forward to movies the next few weeks, the boys have their favorites too, although last time we watched some Disney movies since they have been assigned Disney movies as school homework, We watched Beauty and the Beast, their first time. It wasn’t as much of a chick flick as they expected, these fairy tales do have a bit of a violent side to them, which wasn’t a bad thing since they are still in the “ewwww, girls” stage, mostly.
So, that’s how my week is going, nose to the grind stone! 🙂
I downloaded some good books today so I am sure I will be stealing some moments for reading.
Wishing you some good books too and happy reading moments.
I have to share a couple of pictures of my yard. I am blessed with beautiful flower beds, thanks to the previous owners who were avid gardeners. Lucky for me there are many perennials and flowering bushes, saving me from having to figure out what to fill the beds with each spring, and a bonus, their flower choices still grace the yard each summer.
I would share more pictures, more often, but photography is not my strong point. There is a good reason for that, aside from the fact I have a smart phone and no camera. I’m an introvert, someone might see me, standing about, looking for the perfect angle. That would be a tragedy of epic proportions. I check to see if anyone is out and about, or has their curtains open, then take my flower pictures as quickly and discreetly as possible. Once in a while it works out. This next picture isn’t one of those times. 🙂
I had a visitor last night. Don’t know who he belongs to but he decided this was a good place to groom and settle in for a nap. I could have taken my time setting this up, it was a long nap.
I haven’t mentioned books read in the last few posts, so this is catch up time.
A Story of Second Chances – The Heart Mender – Andy Andrews…. This is one of my favorites this week, from one of my new favorite authors. It’s a story of life, loss, and reconciliation. Unlike any other story I’ve read, I like that.
Out of Egypt Series – Counted With the Stars book 1 – Connilyn Cossette … Another favorite this week, the story of Moses and the Red Sea from a different perspective. The protagonist is a beautiful young Egyptian girl, used to a privileged life style, suddenly sold into slavery to satisfy her father’s debts.
Life Unexpected Series – Safe in His Arms book 1- Melanie D Snitker….. a beautiful girl running for her life, I expected it to be a rerun of a familiar theme, I took a chance and it wasn’t. I liked this book a lot too.
Sunriver Dreams Series – A Love to Treasure book 1 – Kimberly Rose Johnson … another familiar theme, the protagonist’s grandmother passes leaving a last request. This book also didn’t meet my low expectations of a rerun. It turned out to be an adventure, with twists and turns to keep things interesting until the end.
Southern Hearts Series – Blown Together book 4 – Janet W Ferguson …. two main characters, each with issues, blown together when a tropical storm rages through. This was a good read, a book I would read again and enjoy.
Ray Elkins Thriller Series – Shelf Ice book 4 – Aaron Stander ….. this book has excellent reviews and I agree with them, it definitely held my attention. I’ve never read anything with shelf ice before, an interesting touch.
Courage to Dream Series – Irish Meadows book 1 – Susan Anne Mason …. this was my least favorite book this time but it was still worth reading. It didn’t flow well at times and was frustrating in spots, I did make it to the end though and was glad I did.
Windswept Bay Series – With This Ring book 6 – Debra Clopton …. this was a fun book. A little boy is determined to have the father he asked Santa for. Makes for some interesting twists and delightfully embarrassing moments.
Elite Guardians Series – Always Watching book 1 – Lynette Eason …. a psychiatrist and radio show host has a stalker, his concerned father hires an agency to supply a body guard, an agency made up of strong, well trained, women. A thriller.
Cowboy Fairytales Series – Once Upon a Cowboy – Lacy Williams …. I’m not a big fan of contemporary retelling of fairy tales but this one worked for me. It was well done and interesting. I wish it had been longer, with a chance to more fully develop the last part of the story, the ending felt hurried and cut short. It was a good read though.
I am currently reading Once in a Blue Year by Michael Durkota, it was a book reviewed by the RedheaderBooklover her glowing review enticed me to check it out to see if I would agree. So far, I am agreeing but will wait for the end to say for sure. 🙂
Hopefully you will find treasures too, in some of these suggestions.
Happy reading! Until next time.
I’ve just started a Facebook page, Janette McCormack-Blogger , that’s the big news for today. There’s not much there yet but at least it is started and I will work on filling it out.
If you like to follow on Facebook I look forward to seeing you there.
This week has been a time of heavy thinking and I’ve needed a little distraction; some of these books have done it for me, a couple of lighter reads along with.. a not so light read.
It has been a good week for downloads too. Some weeks are slimmer than others so a week with lots of good choices feels like Christmas!
Books Read
A Bradford Sisters Novella – Then Came You – Becky Wade
Modern Conveniences Series – Lost in Love book 3 – Leah Atwood
The Mystery: Finding True Love in a World of Broken Lovers – Lacey Sturm….. this is non-fiction, the poignant story of a life of struggle.
Christmas Mysteries Book Series – Christmas Mystery – James Kipling
This is my advice to aspiring writers with a promising story inside.
Read really good books, and only good books. You time is valuable and in short supply, don’t spend it on a book that is less than excellent. I know excellence by the way it captures my interest. Genre doesn’t matter, nor does the reputation of the author. The only thing that matters is the way the story draws you in.
Avidly reading excellent books will impact your writing. It’s like eating gourmet food, it spoils you for anything less.
As you experience phrases like “the blue and red colours of the neon sign bled into the wet street”, from The Poisoned Rose by Daniel Judson, they will stick in your mind and you will automatically know a better way to say things.
Don’t spend too much time over-thinking the choice of book to read. Some of my best finds have been when there was little thought at all, just the seizing of an opportunity.
BookBub, Amazon, Instafreebie, and Gospel eBooks, have become my best friends, I’ve found so many treasures paying attention to their offerings.
Read anything and everything, and then read more of the authors you want to be like, spend enough time with them and you will begin to write like them.
That’s what I am doing…. all of the above, and it is changing me.
Currently reading “The Bone Orchard” sequel to “The Poisoned Rose” by Daniel Judson
To good reading!
I love being drawn in to a story, like I am really there, a fly on the wall watching it all happen. I love feeling the emotions….
NCIS is one of my favorite TV shows…… because the actors are so convincing they make you feel like you are watching their life. You forget it is only a story.
When books do the same thing…. there’s nothing better!
Two books stood out this week.
Tara Sharp Series – Sharp Shooter book 1 – Marianne Delacourt …. this was such a fun read. Tara has the ability to see auras around people, a gift that can be as distressing as it is helpful. Trouble seems to follow her around as she tries to unravel mysteries, using her gift, and that adds to the fun, for the reader.
The Gin Palace Trilogy – The Poisoned Rose book 1 – Daniel Judson…. the thing I loved most about this book was the way details were demonstrated by actions. Daniel Judson has done a masterful job of that. The story was engaging too, enough that I want to read the rest of the series, something I don’t often do.
There was a third mystery this week, it came in just behind these two.
A Spider Latham Red Rock Mystery – Trouble at the Red Pueblo book 4 – Liz Adair…. My favorite thing about this book, aside from the fact it is well written, was the story line. It was fresh, engaging, and believable. It didn’t feel anything like any other book I’ve read. I love originality.
More new books at the end!
I’ve created some new pages as a place to list books read. It’s great to list them at the bottom of each post so we can easily identity what’s new, but afterwards, they kind of get lost. Maybe a separate page would be a good way to find them again. We’ll give it a try.
The new pages are Romance….. Mystery/Thriller……. and.. Other Genres.
Other Genres is pretty much a mixed bag. If ever another category clearly shows up in this list, it can have it’s own page.
Mystery/Thriller has been published for you, the other two are still under construction.
If you find these pages helpful or interesting, leave a comment and let me know. Feedback would be useful I think.
Books read this week – all of them good reads
Unwritten: A Novel – Charles Martin……… as always, this novel is intensely real and engrossing, and, as always with his books, once started I couldn’t stop. I am putting this book under romance because it fits better than in mystery but it’s really not a romance. It’s about people facing life, trying to find a way to live through it.
One Last Summer – Jo Noelle…….. a short romance
The Seventh Sergeant (Three Rivers Ranch Romance Book 6) – Liz Isaacson and Elena Johnson …… I think I’ve read most of the previous ones, this was a good story.
The Hideway – Lauren Denton ….. a romance centered around a group of unusual characters, mixed with family secrets.
Black & Blue (Lord and Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series Book 4) – Emma Jameson ….. I’ve read other book in this series and enjoyed them all.
Finding Courage (Love’s Compass Book 3) – Melanie D Snitker ……. a romance faced with intense family issues, will they survive?
Her Mother’s Hope (Marta’s Legacy Book 1) – Francine Rivers …… we grow up in difficult circumstances and run away to flee that kind of life, but in the end, have we really left it behind? or does history repeat itself anyway?
I have more than one passion I wish to share with the world and, so far, it has been an interesting but unproductive time trying to figure out how to make it work the way I visualize.
It seems to me these passions would be most effective if they were kept somewhat separate, like food on certain people’s plates – not touching. It may be possible, on this site, to do what I have in mind, I won’t declare it isn’t, maybe I just need to learn more about the technical side of blogging to find there is a way it could be done. But so far it isn’t happening for me.
Another option just sort of jumped out at me a couple of days ago, I went with it and started a whole new blog. We will give it a try to see how it goes. Not everything in life is cast in stone, in my opinion, so changes can always be made later if it doesn’t go as smoothly as hoped.
My parallel passion to reading, is music. Two passions that have been with me pretty much my whole life, keeping me sane and happy, through thick and thin.
There are many days a song plays in my mind and I wish I could share it, as encouragement to someone who could use a glimmer of hope. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I have to throw some songs out there if I want a chance to encourage.
The other day I heard a song and wanted to share it here but the only blog option I could see for sharing looked to be on Blogger……. hence the new blog. musictonourishmysoul.blogspot.com …………….. posting as “music lover”
I will keep the discussion of music, and genres enjoyed, confined to the new blog.
If you are booklover reading this blog and you love music too, drop by for some encouragement, and maybe even a little fun now and then. I hope to post more frequently, songs aren’t as time consuming as books, and posts will add up more quickly.
Books won’t be taking a back seat to music anytime soon, there is no threat of that!
Several books are ready….with more on their way.
Any book listed here was read and enjoyed…… just saying!
Drowning For Rainbows – Kristoff Chimes ….. impossible situations threaten the tenuous peace in Bosnia. Follow a police chief, a peace keeping doctor, and a young couple from both sides of the conflict, as they struggle to stay alive.
Any Blooming Thing – Marisa Logan….. a romance , these two books were downloaded from InstaFreebie. it is working out better for me than I at first thought. Give it a try if you are looking for more free stuff
*there is a list of books at the bottom of every post*
A friend told me about a new site called Instafreebie. I am all over freebies so I’ve signed up and downloaded a few things. It hasn’t gone all that smoothly, compared to BookBub. There are more steps to be taken, there’s a bigger learning curve, and sometimes the authors require the reader to sign up for a newsletter first.
It’s unclear, at this point anyway, what the quality of the books will be, I expect the standard could be lower than usual for inclusion in the list and they may all be self published, which may or may not mean anything.
I think I will give it a whirl, to see if it’s worth the extra effort. Many of the books seem to be a little on the fringe, but that could just be my first impression. There could be some real gems in there……. I’ll let you know how it goes.
One of the books to come my way this week is on Austism and is written by a doctor as a story which helps demonstrate concepts she wants to get across. I don’t know enough about this subject to be a good judge of information being presented but this book seemed to make sense to me. And since we need to spread all the knowledge possible on this subject I hope you will give this book a try. I think these concepts will give the general public a better understanding if they should happen to meet up with an autistic person; knowledge and understanding is always a good thing.
Books
Candyfloss Guitar (The Reluctant Pilgrim book 1) – Stephen Marriot…….. he describes this book as the story of a modern day pilgrim taking the first steps on a journey of discovery. Stephen Marriot is a British author inspired by travel and walking the roads less travelled. This was on Instafreebie, and I liked it a lot.
Two Tocks Before Midnight – Clay Boutwell ….. a historical mystery from Instafreebie, a unique and enjoyable mystery. A scholarly club of men with strict rules for their members, and a puzzle to solve.
Autism Goes to School – Book 1 of the School Daze Series – Dr. Sharon A Mitchell…... A single dad facing many challenges……not only is his five year old son an autistic child he has never met, he knows nothing about being a dad and is totally on his own with this, at first anyway.
A Discovery of Hope (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 3) – T. I. Lowe….. another fresh take on life, an engrossing story.
A Fresh Start – Trisha Grace……. Paige leaves everything she knows to get away from something threatening. The theme sounds very familiar but it didn’t feel like I was reading the same book, again. Enjoyed this story.
As always, look these books up on Amazon, or other sites you may know of, for a fuller description, to help give you inspiration. That’s how I get my mine.
Happy reading!
For the Love of Books 