Monday, June 30, 2014

Musing Mondays - June 30



Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musing:

It's vacation time. My hope is to catch up on my TBR Pile a bit, but there are times I feel too much pressure to do that while we're away. This is actually going to be a working vacation for me. I have a client on tour in July, plus I have training DVDs to watch for my real estate job. I think over the last seven years there has been only one where I wasn't working to some degree. Have we just gotten busier or are my time management skills lagging?

Are you going on vacation this year? Will you be using that time to catch up on your reading?

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Currently in My Beach Bag

I wasn't quite sure what I would load into my beach bag before taking off for the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Here are the physical books I packed.


This is a fascinating book that I am reading for review later in the month. Capriola is a gifted writer who presents his position in a thought-provoking way.


I'm reading this to review at Christian Children's Authors. It came with a DVD, which the girls and I will watch soon.


I posted a First Chapter Review of this book at the end of December. I'm trying to get back to it and catch up on my TBR pile. You can read my thoughts on the first chapter at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2013/12/first-chapter-review-while-we-were.html


I've enjoyed Frankel's other pop culture books, so I have high hopes for this one. I was a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan when the show was on. 


Amber Neben is one of  my book tour clients through Pump Up Your Book. I'm eager to read this autobiography. It sounds wonderful.


This book was a gift from someone after I earned my real estate license in April. I'm eager to dive into it.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

W...W...W...Wednesdays - June 25


This meme was created by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…


• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?





Tactics, Trends, & Traits of the Enemy by author Jermaine Gadson is a must have resource for believers who want to be well equipped to be victorious against the strategies of the devil. The devil is cunning and deceptive, and he will stop at nothing to keep God's people from reaching their potential in Christ. In this book, Pastor Gadson discusses how the enemy uses temptation, seduction, fear, isolation, guilt, shame, and other such things in order to steal and destroy a person's life. Satan works tirelessly through various means and mechanisms to keep sinners from hearing and being receptive of the Word of God, in order to prevent them from being saved. If you have family or friends who are not born-again, this resource will help you to identify schemes that the enemy may be using to keep your loved ones from being saved. This book is intended to equip the Body of Christ to wage a good warfare against the strategies of the enemy. It is not God's will for His people to be taken advantage of by the enemy because of ignorance. This book exposes who the enemy is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will try to do in the future, as an enemy of God's people. This book is written for the everyday believer to be able to understand and use. However, it is also a helpful tool for Christian leaders to be able to identify specific ways in which the enemy desires to attack them in order to steal their influence, kill their destiny, and destroy their reputation and ministries. In this regard, it is an encouragement to the Body of Christ to guard and protect their spiritual leaders.

What did you recently finish reading?



As a bright season brings a fresh start to Willow Ridge, Annie Mae Knepp feels she can never make peace with the past. Her disgraced ex-bishop father is furious she has taken her five siblings to live with her. She's never been truly at home in her faith. . .or believing in herself. And Annie Mae fears no man will want to take on the responsibilities she's gladly shouldered. True, her quiet neighbor Adam Wagler has been steadfast and unshakeable helping her through her trials, but he surely couldn't think of someone so lost as more than a friend. Believing she is unworthy because of her doubts, Annie Mae will find in a moment of surprising revelation that God can work impossible miracles--and that love makes all things new.

What do you think you’ll read next?







What does it mean to be One Nation Under God? Our Founding Fathers believed it was more than a political slogan. Have we strayed from their vision? A Nation Under Judgment focuses on issues currently facing our nation including hunger, poverty, the environment and marriage. These and other issues are reviewed from both a Scriptural point of view and a social policy point of view. Readers are empowered to consider whether our nation is moving away from being One Nation Under God.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Book Cover Trends I Like/Dislike


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Book Cover Trends I Like/Dislike


I'm not a fan of books with similar cover art:




I'm not a fan of partial faces on covers:



Not very keen when book covers are changed to tie in with a movie or series (even if I like the movie/show):


Really not keen on creepy or gory covers:



Don't care for book covers that combine strange elements you wouldn't expect to see together:



I like book covers with cats on them:


I like book covers with southern charm:


Love book covers showing the beach:


Like it when book covers include something special from the story:


Love book covers with beautiful fashions:



Hope you'll share some of your likes and dislikes. 



New Poetry Book by Bobby Brown Available on Kindle


"On a summer's Eve in 1976 I had a spiritual awakening. After weeping through the night I awoke the next morning and heard the birds really singing for the first time. I also felt inwardly enriched. The living waters of poetry began to flow like a river and these poems are the result." - Bob Brown

Life is tedious. Sin made it that way. The poems contained in this book are hard to read without having your heart stirred. Bob knows full well that the "Holy Spirit" is living inside of him and it is this Spirit that enables Bob to wake each morning in wonder and awe in spite of all the sin in this world.

These poems will cause you to think, to wonder, to be thankful, sometimes to be enraged, and to experience some of the life that God has designed for you. There is beauty in this world. There is beauty in words. God is the Word! Words are important. My hope is that God will use this book to make a difference in your life, as he has so graciously done in mine.

PURCHASE AT: http://www.amazon.com/Seated-Above-Looking-Below-Bobby-ebook/dp/B00KY44A2G

Bob Brown was born and raised in a classic New England town. He enjoys knowing Jesus as his savior, reading, writing, sports - especially baseball (and mainly the Yankees), walking in the woods, drinking tea, and hot summer days. And probably in that order!

"Seated Above - Looking Below" is his first published book. Interestingly enough, the book title "Seated Above - Looking Below" was inspired by Bob's interpretation of scripture - Eph 2:6 which states "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus." This is an incredible piece of scripture because it show's Gods abundant grace towards us - but note the focus is on God; He raised us up and He seated us with Himself. Also, note the tense of the verse! Read it again!

Bob is an old-fashioned kind of guy who strives to limit the role of technology in his life. Hence, this book has been a long time coming, and yes it has also been a struggle. The good news is that the well runs deep and there are more poems to publish!

A lot of Bob's inspiration comes from deep thinking while in his sanctuary - a place called Ashley reservoir located in western Massachusetts. The book cover is in fact a photograph of a wooded path in this reservoir area.

When asked to describe himself, Bob simply said "I wake up each day with a Holy Spirit within, and I look out in wonder as to why people don't seek the better way."

Monday, June 23, 2014

Book Review: Breath of Spring by Charlotte Hubbard

Spring returns to Willow Ridge, and with it a promising new beginning for at least two of its residents.

Annie Mae Knepp and her younger sister decided not to join their disgraced ex-bishop father when he left Willow Ridge to start a new community. They've had the support of many in Willow Ridge, but Annie Mae knows her father isn't finished with her yet, and she misses her other siblings that went with their father to Higher Ground. Annie Mae feels lost, and though she isn't looking for romance, she's sure no one would take her considering the responsibilities she has on her shoulders.

Adam Wagler hides a secret that fills him with guilt. He keeps busy with his work, but he can't push beyond his past. When he helps Annie Mae retrieve her sewing machine from her father's old house, a friendship begins to develop. Adam soon finds himself helping Annie Mae out of other scrapes and that friendship develops into more--if only Annie can believe she's worthy of love.

I've enjoyed all the books in Charlotte Hubbard's Seasons of the Heart series. Though this is a great stand alone novel, I would recommend reading the entire series because it is wonderful. Readers of the series will welcome catching up with familiar characters, while new readers will enjoy the blossoming romance between Annie Mae and Adam. One of the things I've always liked about these books is that they aren't all sugar and honey. These characters are dealing with real issues: Adam's guilt is eating him alive and Annie Mae fears the repercussions of defying her controlling father by refusing to move to Higher Ground after he is ex-communicated. In the background, other smaller stories develop, which gives this book--like the others--a true community feel.

If you enjoy inspirational romance, Amish fiction, or sweet love stories, you'll want to purchase Breath of Spring by Charlotte Hubbard.


Series: Seasons of the Heart
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Zebra (May 6, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1420133071
ISBN-13: 978-1420133073

I received a copy of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

I read this book for the following challenge:


Friday, June 20, 2014

At Home Again by Lynn Steward, Author of A Very Good Life

Title:  A Very Good Life
Genre:  Literary Fiction
Author:  Lynn Steward
Website:   www.averygoodlife.com
Publisher:  CreateSpace

SUMMARY

Although Lynn Steward’s debut novel, A Very Good Life, takes place in 1970s New York City. it has a timelessness to it. Dana McGarry is an "it" girl, living a privileged lifestyle of a well-heeled junior executive at B. Altman, a high end department store. With a storybook husband and a fairytale life, change comes swiftly and unexpectedly. Cracks begin to appear in the perfect facade. Challenged at work by unethical demands, and the growing awareness that her relationship with her distant husband is strained, Dana must deal with the unwanted changes in her life. Can she find her place in the new world where women can have a voice, or will she allow herself to be manipulated into doing things that go against her growing self-confidence?

A Very Good Life chronicles the perils and rewards of Dana’s journey, alongside some of the most legendary women of the twentieth century. From parties at Café des Artistes to the annual Rockefeller Center holiday tree lighting ceremony, from meetings with business icons like Estée Lauder to cocktail receptions with celebrity guests like legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. Steward’s intimate knowledge of the period creates the perfect backdrop for this riveting story about a woman’s quest for self-fulfillment.
At Home Again by Lynn Steward
About five years ago, I labeled a personal file as “Act Three,” and filled it with creative ideas for a new work-interest. I first enjoyed an exciting career in New York’s fashion industry, then later, via a circuitous route on the way to opening my own boutique Shop for Pappagallo, I established a successful real estate business in Chicago. But I always enjoyed business-related writing and thought a non-fiction self-help book, with life-lessons I learned along the way, was something to explore during this next phase.
But, as often happens when you put yourself out there, I discovered another path and took it: I developed a TV pilot about New York in the seventies because, as they say “Write what you know” and I know New York. I’m a native of Long Island, and between attending school and working, I spent twenty-two years in Manhattan. I was so overwhelmed with ideas, I  created a TV series designed to run for five seasons. Appropriately placed in the New York City of 1975, which was International Women’s Year, the plots in the series intermingled fashion legends, business icons, real events, and untold stories, providing a behind-the-scenes look at inspirational women in the worlds of art, fashion, and business.
After meeting with professionals in the entertainment industry, I realized that the main character needed more drama and the plots had to be developed, and I felt the best way to do that was to write a novel, incorporating the TV stories.  While I still hope to see the characters alive on the big screen, I tremendously enjoy daily researching and writing historical fiction. My favorite time to write is early in the morning, preferably around 5:30 a.m., when my mind is clear, it is peaceful, and there are no interruptions. For at least three hours a day, I am again at home in New York City in the 1970s, creating a life for thirty-year-old Dana, her family and friends: attending parties at Café des Artistes with celebrity guests like legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, a business meeting with Estée Lauder, an art lectures at the Met.. At the same time, raising important questions that are relevant at every age, then and now: how does one find balance and meaning in the daily routines of life? How does one stop counting the candles, a single year or event, and instead, value the tapestry of life? This quest for self-fulfillment is a universal theme everyone can identify.
AUTHOR BIO


Lynn Steward is a successful business woman who spent many years in New York City’s fashion industry in marketing and merchandising, including the development of the first women’s department at a famous men’s clothing store. Through extensive research, and an intimate knowledge of the period, Steward created the characters and stories for a series of five authentic and heartwarming novels about New York in the seventies. A Very Good Life is the first in the series featuring Dana McGarry.  


Thursday, June 19, 2014

First Chapter Review: That Night by Chevy Stevens



A NetGalley copy of That Night by Chevy Stevens was sent to me by the publisher.

BLURB:  As a teenager, Toni Murphy had a life full of typical adolescent complications: a boyfriend she adored, a younger sister she couldn’t relate to, a strained relationship with her parents, and classmates who seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Things weren’t easy, but Toni could never have predicted how horrific they would become until her younger sister was brutally murdered one summer night.

Toni and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison.

Now thirty-four, Toni, is out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Prison changed her, hardened her, and she’s doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back. This means having absolutely no contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in all its forms. But nothing is making that easy—not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who doubts Toni's innocence; and certainly not the group of women who made Toni's life hell in high school and may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. No matter how hard she tries, ignoring her old life to start a new one is impossible. Before Toni can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out what really happened that night.

But in That Night by Chevy Stevens, the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.

COVER: The colors in this one make it a beautiful and appealing cover. Not sure what the design has to do with the book yet, but I'm sure I'll figure that out the farther into it I get.

FIRST CHAPTER: Toni Murphy is released from prison to start a new life.

KEEP READING: Absolutely. Stevens draws you in immediately as you follow Toni through her release day signing for her belongings and meeting with the volunteer who will bring her to the halfway house. The details included offer readers a quick glimpse into how Toni has been changed by her many years in prison, just as much as they hint at what landed her there in the first place. A fabulous and intriguing cliffhanger ends the chapter and begs you to continue reading.

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (June 17, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250034604
ISBN-13: 978-1250034601


This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

W...W...W...Wednesdays - June 18


This meme was created by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…


• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?




As a bright season brings a fresh start to Willow Ridge, Annie Mae Knepp feels she can never make peace with the past. Her disgraced ex-bishop father is furious she has taken her five siblings to live with her. She's never been truly at home in her faith. . .or believing in herself. And Annie Mae fears no man will want to take on the responsibilities she's gladly shouldered. True, her quiet neighbor Adam Wagler has been steadfast and unshakeable helping her through her trials, but he surely couldn't think of someone so lost as more than a friend. Believing she is unworthy because of her doubts, Annie Mae will find in a moment of surprising revelation that God can work impossible miracles--and that love makes all things new.

What did you recently finish reading?




Read me...Read me...Read me and be hypnotized by me. Let your intellectual nipple be open and free so I may tickle it. You may ask yourself in reading this, "Where exactly is my intellectual nipple?" Then you may say to yourself, "Well, if I don't know where my intellectual nipple is then I guess I'm not very intellectual," and you would be right, you aren't. But the intellectual nipple is quite elusive and ironic, and it is just that last thought that may help you to discover your intellectual nipple. Cary Smith will take you on a ride down his life and mind (and it won't be as creepy as it sounds). Along the way you may giggle, you may hate, you may love, and most likely in the amount of time it will take you to read this book, you will fart...this book does not consider itself prestigious or boring enough to deny that fact. Cary Smith will guide you along the way to possibly having your intellectual nipple tickled. Brad Cruise will uninvitingly add stuff to the text and make corrections as a special guest corrector. And most importantly, your intellectual nipple will be tickled, maybe? And according to Brad Cruise, the key to finding out where your intellectual nipple is is to realize that Cary Smith is poop and a writer not worthy of the very worthy literary world which sometimes makes people very sleepy. Once you have this realization your intellectual nipple will bask in tickling pleasure. (That is, if you consider tickling to be pleasurable, because many people don't, and, in fact, many find it torturous.) Just a warning from this summary: if you do find out where your intellectual nipple is (as everyone's intellectual nipple is not in the same place), it is recommended that you not tickle it too much unless you've had a few cocktails. If you just read this summary and said, "What in the hell?" then you are on your way to a discovery of the elusive intellectual nipple. This summary has exhausted itself and is tired of saying, "The elusive intellectual nipple." Please enjoy The Book, hate it very, very much, or go somewhere in the middle with your opinion of it.

You can read my review at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2014/06/book-review-four-corners-or-book-that.html

What do you think you’ll read next?







The Devil never sleeps, but believers can arm themselves with weapons to guard against his scheming ways. In this guide, Pastor Jermaine Gadson reveals how Satan stops at nothing to keep God's people from reaching their potential in Christ. The Devil will use any tool he can, like temptation, seduction, fear, guilt, and shame to prevent people from walking in victory.

If you have family or friends who are not born again, this resource can help you identify schemes that the enemy may be using to keep them from being saved. It also seeks to answer vital questions you may have:

- What methods are the Enemy using to keep Christians from fulfilling their destiny?

- What are the characteristics of a false prophet or false teacher?

- What strategy is Satan employing today that has subtly crept into the church, unbeknownst to many Christians?

Learn who the enemy is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he'll keep trying to do in order to steal souls that belong to God. Whether you're a Christian leader, an everyday believer, or someone who wants to move closer to the Lord, you can be inspired to fight back with Tactics, Trends, and Traits of the Enemy.

What's on your list?

Book Review: Four Corners or A Book That Will Tickle Your Intellectual Nipple by Cary Smith

Four Corners or A Book That Will Tickle Your Intellectual Nipple is an edgy, sarcastic journey through the four years commonly known as high school.

Cary Smith shares those four meaningful years filled with  corrupt administrators, existentialist teachers, "Douche Bag" classmates, difficult parents, and a  deep thinking best friend while he wastes away in a state mandated educational system that is more laughable than useful. His fictional four year prison includes a sheriff who brings along an ex-junkie to share the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and who also stages dramatic displays where students lie on the grass with numbers on their white t-shirts depicting a recent accident that claimed the lives of three people.

Vivid recollections of the Columbine massacre and September 11th are brought to life as Smith recalls the less than helpful ways the teachers and administrators dealt with the violence that rocked everyone's lives. He mocks the insanity of sheltering in place and shines a not so complimentary light on a public school system where all that really matters is what the state mandated test results say and how that translates into funding.

Four Corners is not my typical read, but I enjoyed it. The book focuses on all the garbage teens are dealing with during those four years that sometimes seem to drag on forever. Overall, I liked the style and the format of Four Corners. There were some repetitive elements meant to drive home certain points that I actually found more distracting than funny--like the constant insertion of "DISCLAIMER: I REPEAT, THERE IS NO ONE LISTENING."--and I didn't care for the last couple of pages all that much, but it was worth spending my time on and chuckling through. The author makes some great points using his sharp wit.


Paperback: 268 pages
Publisher: Shakespeare'sFool (February 24, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0991539451
ISBN-13: 978-0991539451

I received a paperback copy of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.


I have read this book for the following challenge:


Tuesday, June 17, 2014

First Chapter Review: The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee



The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee releases today. I received a copy from the publisher.

BLURB:  With the glass kitchen, Linda Francis Lee has served up a novel that is about the courage it takes to follow your heart and be yourself. A true recipe for life.

Portia Cuthcart never intended to leave Texas. Her dream was to run The Glass Kitchen restaurant her grandmother built decades ago. But after a string of betrayals and the loss of her legacy, Portia is determined to start a new life with her sisters in Manhattan . . . and never cook again. But when she moves into a dilapidated brownstone on the Upper West Side, she meets twelve-year-old Ariel and her widowed father Gabriel, a man with his hands full trying to raise two daughters on his own. Soon, a promise made to her sisters forces Portia back into a world of magical food and swirling emotions, where she must confront everything she has been running from. What seems so simple on the surface is anything but when long-held secrets are revealed, rivalries exposed, and the promise of new love stirs to life like chocolate mixing with cream. The Glass Kitchen is a delicious novel, a tempestuous story of a woman washed up on the shores of Manhattan who discovers that a kitchen—like an island—can be a refuge, if only she has the courage to give in to the pull of love, the power of forgiveness, and accept the complications of what it means to be family.

COVER: I love this clever design. The painted Mason jars filled with flowers are the perfect smack of color against that light background. Those colors are continued in the font for the text. I'm guessing there are three to symbolize Portia and her two sisters. This cover is warm and inviting like a kitchen.

FIRST CHAPTER: Portia was only seven years old when she first displayed a special gift. Years pass and Portia meets an up-and-coming state senator. The two fall in love, but Robert doesn't appreciate or like Portia's gift. When tragedy strikes, Portia is determined to ignore her gift and her Gram's restaurant, The Glass Kitchen, for good.

KEEP READING: Even though I'm not a huge fan of a first chapter that sets the entire scene for what follows, I'm so intrigued by this novel I'm still eager to continue. The first chapter of The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee can be seen as a lengthy prologue that spans several years of Portia's life. By introducing the characters this way, you get a well-rounded picture of Portia and the major players in her life, so that when her life is thrown off course there is a breaking point before Portia's new life--the unexpected one--happens.

Lee sprinkles in just the right amount of description and detail to paint pictures for the reader that are just as beautiful as the cover art that graces her book. This aspect helped to charm me as I read through the early part of Portia's life: the part the reader needs to understand so they can appreciate how her plans got derailed.

This is definitely a book filled with characters I want to get to know better; especially because the blurb hints at long-held secrets and I am a sucker for books including those.

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (June 17, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312382278
ISBN-13: 978-0312382278

This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Some people are focusing on books releasing this summer. I simply need to focus on what I already have here. I must whittle away that list of overdue reviews (though I have included a few newer books).

Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10