Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books I Had to Read In School and Didn't Like

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated. 

Welcome back to Wednesday. Hope you're having a great week.

Today, we are discussing the books we had to read in school and didn't like. For this post, I stuck to high school, since those are the years when I felt every time I turned around, I was reading another classic that didn't interest me at all. We had to analyze our reading in ways that sucked whatever possible enjoyment you can take out of the required reading, especially because there were tests involved. 

I will never again read The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The passing years have done nothing to dull how much I disliked this book. 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a book I wouldn't want to read again. I think we read it sophomore or junior year. The characters were dreadful. Didn't much care for the decade in which the book is set. And even the cover is creepy to me. 

Our class had to tackle Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott in our freshman year. Though I enjoy historical fiction, this book did nothing for me. The Crusades were not something I wished to learn more about. I certainly didn't want to be tested on what I read, either. 

I feel like if I picked up All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque today, I might find it more engaging than when I read it freshman year. The main character staying true to himself is one of the best parts of the book. 

What books made your list?

First Chapter Review & Giveaway: Omniscience by Janine Frances

 

Omniscience by Janine Frances is a dystopian thriller I found through Goddess Fish Promotions. At the end of this First Chapter Review, you will find a giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card.

BLURB: A family seek refuge in the Australian outback as tyranny takes hold, but who can they trust?

The world is at war and an authoritarian government has taken control in Australia. A terrorist group known as Day One is attempting to destroy civilisation so humanity can start again.

Shareen Miller gets caught up in a bureaucratic nightmare when she’s detained by an Auto-Enforcer for not having the right travel permit on the way to a job interview. Shareen’s detention sets off a chain of events that lead to her five-year-old twins being taken by the government.

With her husband Daniel, grandmother Alma, and sister Layla, Shareen seizes her children and escapes from the city. On the road, she reveals a secret about her missing mother Veronica that she’s been hiding from her family for five years.

What follows is an intense journey into the harsh Australian outback where nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted. As they fight for survival, Veronica’s family finally learn the truth about why she left them.

The stakes couldn’t be higher as the future of humanity hangs in the balance.

COVER: Totally works for the genre and the location. Love everything about it. 

FIRST CHAPTER: Shareen Miller is on her way to a job interview when she is detained by an Auto-Enforcer for not having the proper travel permit. 

KEEP READING: Definitely! Dystopian novels never used to be on my radar, but The Hunger Games changed all that. Since then, I add them into my reading schedule from time to time. 

From the opening paragraph, this novel had me hooked. What Frances has done with Omniscience is create a world where extremes have run amok. Having witnessed the world's evolution and read the news over the last couple of years, some of what Shareen experiences feels like it could happen down the street or in a connecting city. Frances has created a world that is both fascinating and terrifying. Fascinating in the aspect of interesting technology, but terrifying in the loss of everyday freedoms. People being detained only to never be heard from again. No use of cell phones and government run social media. 

Knowing what is in store for our main character, lets the reader know it is going to get worse. Perhaps it won't get better. Therefore, you are drawn into Shareen's story and must continue to see if she and her family can survive. 

Read an Excerpt:

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Miller, but unfortunately, you won’t be able to take your children today.” His tone was perfunctory, as if he was informing her that her favourite brand of toothpaste was out of stock. “Once they’re in the system, they have to be assessed fully. This can take several days or longer based on the complexity of the case. You will be interviewed―” 

“Wait a minute,” she said, leaning forward so that her forehead was pressed against the barrier. This couldn’t be happening. “My grandmother was told we don’t have permission to live at her place, but that’s not true. I have it right here on my iD. I can show you.” She lifted her wrist. 

“That won’t be necessary. Even if it is a mistake, we need to follow protocol. If you’ll just be patient, you should see them again soon.” 

“We don’t need to follow protocol because we’ve done nothing wrong.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not leaving without my children. Either get them now or get a manager out here.” 

He sighed dramatically. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. The best thing you can do is go home and wait until we notify you. I’m sorry you were called in unnecessarily. We take child protection very seriously, and there’s no special treatment for anyone, not even you.”

Purchase this book from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Ot7fwE 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thorpe-Bowker (February 12, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 317 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0645411019
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0645411010

Janine Frances lives in the Hunter Valley, Australia with her partner David and dog Banjo. She loves reading thrillers and decided to have a go at writing her own. 

Janine chose to write a speculative thriller because it’s an exciting genre that asks important questions about the future.

You can find her on:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Omniscience-dystopian-thriller-Janine-Frances-ebook/dp/B09S32YXMG/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22233273.Janine_Frances 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanineFrances5

Janine Frances will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a digital copy of this book from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions. This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books that Make Me Hungry

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Well, well, well, this will be a fun topic. Who doesn't like thinking about food? For the record, I am a junk food junkie. I've simply had to trim back my bad habits as I've gotten older. The funny thing is, I'm not a huge fan of culinary mysteries. Weird, huh?

Top Ten Books that Make Me Hungry

I know I have talked about this book a lot lately, but it really is one of my favorite books since I started blogging. Southern fiction is known for its food, so it should be no surprise you will find recipes in this one.

Amish fiction is one of my favorite genres. The two authors whose work I read the most are Charlotte Hubbard and Vannetta Chapman. Food plays a large role in their Amish communities, and each author has recipes from books on her website. 

I bought the next two because I found I wasn't using my kitchen appliances to their fullest. I've made a few of the recipes from the Air Fryer Cookbook, but I haven't used The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook yet because most of the recipes call for adding gluten, which I don't have here and haven't been able to find.

I cracked this next one open a few times, but haven't really dug into it the way I want to. Netflix created a documentary series based on Salt Fat Acid Heat in 2018. I'm watching it now.

This next book I bought more because of its Little House on the Prairie tie-in than the recipes, but it has 80 comfort food recipes that remind me of the show and of times long ago. 

This next book is all about creating a life-giving legacy in your home through rhythms, routines, and rituals, growing relationships, celebrating life, being in service to each other, and shaping a certain family culture based on love, and combining personalities, history, events, and traditions. For me, part of how I show my love for my family and serve them is cooking--which I truly enjoy. 

The Hunger Games trilogy reminds me of food more because of the lack of it in the districts than because of its abundance in the capital. As part of its summer reading program, our library used to have someone who would teach the kids how to make foods from the series. It was a neat way to celebrate the books. 

Though I mentioned at the beginning that I'm not a fan of culinary mysteries, I don't mind food playing some part in the story, and these next books are fun. Abigail Keam's Josiah Reynolds mysteries have a few titles with food--or drink--in them: Death By a Honey Bee (close enough), Death By Bourbon, and Death By Chocolate. 

That's my list. Do we share any titles? What are some books you think I should add?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books on My Summer 2020 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Welcome to Tuesday. This is an annual topic for Top Ten Tuesday, but I still love it. My hope is that compiling a list helps me read more. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. This will include some books I'm taking on vacation and a few others I want to read.

Top Ten Books on My Summer 2020 TBR

For review

Little House on the Prairie cast member 

Laura Ingalls Wilder tie-in

For review

For review

Next Tradd Street book!!!

Arrived a few weeks ago

Have had this since it first came out. Time to read it!

Kindle freebie set in my favorite place.

Kindle freebie that I really want to dive into. 

What are some books on your summer 2020 TBR list? Do we share any of the same books?

Pre-order Deal: The Aviary by Emily Shore Only 99 Cents!

Serenity wakes to find she's be sold into The Aviary—an elite museum where girls are displayed as living art by day and cater to the lascivious whims of the highest bidder by night. In this elaborate and competitive world, girls go by names like Raven and Nightingale, and will stop at nothing to become top Bird. To escape would mean losing her parents, but to stay means losing herself.

File Size: 6017 KB
Print Length: 346 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing (March 5, 2019)
Publication Date: March 5, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07L8QR6HS

Pre-order here!

Musing Mondays - February 22

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme sponsored by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: How do you choose which books you read?

Here it is, Monday again. I hope you had a great week. Things are going well here and I am slowly making a dent in my TBR pile. That definitely gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I'm currently reading An Amish Market, a short story collection with a story byVannetta Chapman.

I also pre-ordered three books last week:

• A Loaded Gun: Emily Dickinson for the 21st Century by Jerome Charyn
• The Fever Code by James Dashner
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts I & II by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne & John Tiffany

I added these two books to my Goodreads "Want to Read" shelf:

Free Men by Katy Simpson Smith
A Stranger on My Land by Sandra Merville Hart

As for this week's question, I usually read books as they are due for review. I got behind starting in 2011 and never really caught up; so while I do participate in some new tours and am part of a street team for a couple of authors--which brings me a few new books a year, mainly I am working my TBR pile from the bottom up so I can one day be free of overdue book reviews. Authors work so hard to publish a book and they shouldn't have to wait for their promised reviews. When the day comes when I have no more overdue reviews, not only will I celebrate like crazy, I will start reading the books I've bought simply because I wanted them.

What is happening in your reading world this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Were Hard For Me To Read

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 Books That Were Hard For Me To Read (For One Reason or Another)

My Son, John: This is about a family torn apart when the son brutally murders his grandmother. This is a powerful book, but it's not an easy read. Told mostly from the perspective of the mother, Liz, this story takes you through the heartache of realizing children can change and become people you barely know. Ultimately, it is an uplifting story of forgiveness and unconditional love, but it's an emotional journey.

Defending Jacob: Along the same vein is this story about an assistant district attorney's son accused of murdering a classmate. Andy Barber places everything on the line to defend his son, and a past he has tried hard to bury hits him in the face. This is another one of those books that is as frightening as it is powerful.

Shades of Gray: I've read a lot of novels about the Civil War, but I can honestly say that this book made me cry more than any other. James created such realistic characters that I simply couldn't help but bawl my eyes out when anything terrible happened to them. I swear I must have gone through an entire box of tissues reading this one.

The Eleventh Plague: Stephen Quinn is only fifteen years old and living the life of a salvager after a war that has left most Americans dead. By the time the book opens, he has already lost his mother. Then his grandfather dies and his father slips into a coma after an accident. He ends up in Settler's Landing, where he finds some sense of normalcy, but when a prank goes wrong everything in Settler's Landing is changed forever. Dystopian fiction is tough. There's always lots of death and suffering. I really prefer happier stories.

Beyond the Valley:  Sarah Carr's husband drowns when he goes to help after a shipwreck. Pregnant and widowed, she reaches out to her husband's family for help, but they devise a plan to kidnap her and sell her into a life of servitude. This is a frightening prospect. Sarah's was a tough, emotional story to read.

Deliver Me From Evil: This book deals with the topic of human trafficking. It is the first book in a series: all emotional draining reads. Mara is an eighteen-year-old girl who has been enslaved for almost ten years. This book deals not only with a heartrending topic, it delves deep into Mara's state of mind and her lack of self-worth at the hands of someone close to her.

The Innocent: Just as Stephen King did in The Green Mile, Zandri depicts prison life with graphic realism. While a superb story, this one is disturbing. 

The Paris Wife: In my review, I actually admitted this was an emotionally draining novel. A novel about Hemingway could be nothing less. There were days I had to put it aside and not read any of it. I simply had to read something happier and lighter. 

Johnny One-Eye: This is the story of the bastard son of a whorehouse madam and possibly George Washington. The only reason I struggled with this one is because I found so few characters to like.

Virginia's War (French Letters #1): In this book, the author captures the delicate and sometimes sinister intricacies of little town USA. There was not a single character I cared for in this novel set during WWII. I have the second book in this trilogy, but haven't taken the time to read it yet.

What books were hard for you to read and why?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I'd Give To Readers Who Have Never Read...

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.

This is going to be a mish-mash of genres, so hopefully it works.

For those who haven't read Civil War fiction, I suggest The Killer Angels. This book was the basis for the movie, Gettysburg. This novel got me interested in the conflict and led to the many years of reading fiction and non-fiction about this time period.

For those who haven't read contemporary romance, I suggest A Comedy of Erinn by Celia Bonaduce. I don't kill myself looking for this genre, but I loved how the author threw together two characters who weren't necessarily likable when they first met and created a love story with them. 

For those who haven't read funny fantasy novels, check out Magic, Mensa and Mayhem by Karina Fabian. This book had me rolling on the floor laughing, while it also provided a great storyline. Read the book blurb and you'll be ready to pick it up. 

For those who haven't read fiction with a Southern flair, you should consider The House on Tradd Street by Karen White. This is the first book by White that I read and it made me a huge fan of her work. Her books are set in the South, so they are loaded with Southern charm. This one in particular is filled with romance, mystery, and past secrets. 

If you have never read a Christian novel with unusual characters, you must read Ten Thousand Charms, the first book in the Crossroads of Grace series by Allison Pittman. I loved this story of a woman born into a life of prostitution who meets a devout Christian miner when his wife dies in childbirth. Opposites thrown together under difficult circumstances, their love is unexpected. 

If you've never read a novel written by a man in the point of view of a woman, you must read The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner. I became a lifelong fan of Gortner's work because of this book. Eloquently written, this is riveting story filled with complex characters. 

If you've never read a book with an unusual narrator, then perhaps The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a book to try. It took me a while to get into this one because of the odd narrator. 

To a reader who has never read dystopian fiction, I would recommend The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch. Though The Hunger Games remains my favorite book in this genre, I felt more sympathy for fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn than I ever did for Katniss Everdeen. I think that's because Katniss was so self-sufficient and prickly. 

For those who haven't read middle grade adventure stories, I suggest Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool. There is so much conflict going on in this story, and the adventure that Early and Jack embark upon changes their lives. 

If you've never read a children's classic, I highly recommend The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Out of all of Wilder's books, I feel this one has the largest appeal. It's a story of survival and pulling together as a family. It's the story of heroes who risk it all so that a town won't starve to death. It tells the story of a community that truly had to depend on each other just to make it through to spring. The reason it is my favorite--other than that Almanzo Wilder is a hero-- is that The Long Winter displays Wilder's keen eye for detail so well that you would swear you were right there.