March 28, 2011

NOOK Loves the Kids

There's nothing like cuddling with my NOOKcolor and snuggie. Now my little munchkins, and your kids, can enjoy it too. According to Media Bistro, Nickelodeon will release its first children's eBooks available exclusively in the NOOKbook Store. There will be approximately thirty (30) interactive Nickelodeon eBooks by the end of next month. Featured titles include Happy Birthday, SpongeBob! and Dora Helps Diego! These titles are available on NOOKcolor and NookKids iPad app only and priced low as $3.99.


I don't know about sharing my NOOKcolor with the little ones, but it's a great tool for quality time reading. If you have a Nook, please add me as a friend so we can share books. If you don't have a Nook, what are you waiting for? Jump on the eReader bandwagon!


In other news, Amazon Kindle Wifi now supports audible downloads.

March 27, 2011

Series Sunday

Series Sunday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Post a review/recommendation on your blog, FB, Twitter, Goodreads, or Shelfari pages.
  • Share your review/recommendation by posting the link in the comments section below.
  • Include the title, author, and name of the series so that other Series Sunday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.
My Series Sunday pick is Fools Rush In, the first book in the Weddings by Bella series by Janice Thompson. Bella Rossi is a 29-year-old single Italian with a wedding facility named after her. When her parents hand over the family wedding planning business, Bella is determined to be successful. Her first theme-styled booking is a "Boot Scoot'n" wedding. But Bella knows nothing about country music or Texan life. Her pizza-making Uncle has mob ties; her Aunt chases neighbor kids, and they only listen to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Will she pull it off in time?

The entertaining part of Fools Rush In is Bella's lively family that lives under one roof. They remind me of the Italian version of The Plums (Stephanie Plum series). I would have preferred the romance portion to not move so fast and easy. Although, the title of the book is about fools rushing in. The odd part of the book was the many religious references and praying. This is not the norm for light chick lit, making it borderline Christian fiction. I wasn't surprised to learn that the author is a Christian freelancer. Rest assured, this book is not preachy. 

I can't say that I'm in amore with this series, but I will give it another try by reading the second and third book (priced at $5.59 each for the NOOKbooks). A part of me wants to know how the entertaining, funny Rossi family fares out. 

Title: Fools Rush In
Author: Janice Thompson
Published: September 2009
Pages: 272
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♡

March 26, 2011

US vs. UK

"US vs. UK" was created by Jenny from Wondrous Reads and it compares covers from books released in the two countries. 
US

UK
Today's comparison is Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin. The US version of Emily Giffin's novels all look the same. The author's name is at the top in lowercase letters with the book title centered on the cover. It gives no indication of the book's subject. The UK version offers a blurb that says, "The people you love most are the hardest to hold on to." It also has the image of a woman leading a small child. Even though the US cover is bland, I still favor it more. Giffin's covers are now familiar and I trust anything she writes. The UK cover looks like it's a sad story of a woman who wasn't able to hold on to her child. Very misleading!


Which cover do you favor?


Total: US 1, UK 1 

March 25, 2011

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 
  • Grab your current read.
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.
"If Uncle Lazarro hadn't left the mob, I probably wouldn't have a story to tell."

~ Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson
If you haven't already, grab the free full eBook by clicking the title or picture above. Yes, FREE!

March 23, 2011

Coming to America

Naive Chinese girl, Ah-Kim Chang, and her mother immigrate to Brooklyn. Back in Hong Kong, Kimberly was an honor student and her mother was an established pianist. Here in the United States, Kimberly struggles to perfect her English while working in a Chinatown clothing factory into the wee hours of a weeknight with her mother. After leaving the sweatshop, they head to an unsuitable apartment full of roaches and without heat. 


At eleven years old, America was quite a culture shock for Kimberly. She had never seen black or white people before. She was never allowed to walk barefoot. She had never even experienced hot tap water because the water in Hong Kong was cold and had to be boiled before every use. Despite these odds, Kimberly excels in academics. She was determined to create a better life for herself and mother.


This heartwarming coming-of-age story held my interest throughout the entire book. It is not the average story of hardship, but a love story of making the right choices and overcoming obstacles in life. I was pleased to discover that Chinatown, New York really does look like Hong Kong. I also learned a few Cantonese phrases while reading. I don't want to lose the purpose of a review and ruin the story, but Kim's journey of translating to English language and American culture was very well written with a perfect sequence of events. I imagine this is how every young immigrant feels, no matter his/her origin. Although the story mirrors the author's life, it is not a memoir. Thanks Jean Kwok for writing such a good debut fiction novel!


Check out the video below featuring the author, Jean Kwok, for more information.


Title: Girl In Translation
Author: Jean Kwok
Published: April 2010
Pages: 213
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

March 22, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Literary Marie's Tuesday Teaser:

"One thing about Italian women - our timing might not be that great, but we sure knew how to feed our men. Only, Bubba wasn't our man."

~ p. 83, Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson

Click the picture below for the free eBook. Yes, FREE!

















March 20, 2011

Series Sunday

Series Sunday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 

  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Post a review/recommendation on your blog, FB, Twitter, Goodreads, or Shelfari pages.
  • Share your review/recommendation by posting the link in the comments section below.
  • Include the title, author, and name of the series so that other Series Sunday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.

My Series Sunday pick is Fade Away, the third book in the Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben. Sports agent Myron Bolitar went back to his roots: basketball. The original person who recruited him into the NBA has called in a favor. He wants Myron to find a missing team member before playoffs. All Myron has to do is go undercover...as a basketball player. You'd think it would be an easy task, but instead it brings up old feelings of Myron's short-lived professional basketball career before the tragic injury. In this installment, we learn more about his background and relationships. 


Harlan Coben's writing made it hard to put down. I was swiping those e-pages with the quickness, eager to read more. The book is fast paced with a twisted ending that I never saw coming. Fade Away is my favorite of the series so far. Can't wait to start reading the next one!

Title: Fade Away
Author: Myron Bolitar
Published: December 1996
Pages: 272
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡

March 19, 2011

US vs. UK

Everyone knows I'm completely obsessed with the UK. While reading Ashley's Bookaholic Does Blogging, I came across a new bookish meme called "US vs. UK." It was created by Jenny from Wondrous Reads and it compares covers from books released in the two countries.


US
UK
Today's comparison is Tick Tock by James Patterson. The US version is bold and focuses on the book's title. The UK version gives a brief synopsis of the book with the image of a man presumed to be Detective Michael Bennett. Although I don't imagine the main character in this series to look like the image, I favor the UK cover. It grabs my attention and isn't as bland as the US cover.


Which cover do you favor?


Total: US 0, UK 1

Generation Debt


We're three months into 2011 and I'm on a kick of reading personal finance books. I'm sure many of you made resolutions to save money, spend less and pay off debt. Most of us are still recovering from 2008, the year that recession really hit America. The auto companies went bankrupt. Laborers were laid off or forced to retire early. The foreclosure rate increased. The stock market took a dive. The government was forced to bail out major institutions. Many Americans lost their homes and jobs. I could go on and on, but you get the drift. Since then, I've been getting more requests than ever to create personal budgets and to provide financial consulting. Basically, we're a bunch of hot broke messes.

Author Nancy Trejos is a personal finance columnist for the Washington Post. Frugality isn't new to her. She grew up middle-class with parents who made $60,000/year combined, with two siblings in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Hot (broke) Messes is mostly about her own life experiences with a few tips mingled in. I personally didn't learn much, with the exception of a beauty tip for skin (Use Johnson & Johnson baby oil gel in the shower for greater skin moisture). It offers standard guidelines: 
  • Determine financial goals.
  • Keep all receipts.
  • Ask for freebies.
  • Find dual uses for items.
  • Assess your needs.
  • Shop online for bargains.
  • Find a personal finance consultant.
If you are unsure how to handle your own personal finances, then this book will offer basic tips to get started. If you already abide by a personal budget, then it's not worth reading unless you need a refresher.


Title: Hot (broke) Messes: How to Have Your Latte and Drink It Too
Author: Nancy Trejos
Published: May 2010
Pages: 320
Edition: Paperback
Rating: ♥♥

March 18, 2011

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 
  • Grab your current read.
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.



"Dear Diary, Tomorrow morning, my journey as an English teacher officially begins. Since first impressions are so important, I wonder what my students will think about me."

The Freedom Writers Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell

March 16, 2011

Open & Shut

Susan B. Anthony Rabinowitz Gersten lived the American dream. She had a perfect marriage with a loving husband and four-year-old triplets. Then one random morning, Susie wakes up to an empty bed. Her husband was missing! 


Popular plastic surgeon, Dr. Jonah Gersten, is found stabbed to death in the apartment of an escort/call girl. Now Susie is left with four-year-old triplets and mind full of unanswered questions. Who killed her husband? Was he a client of the escort? Why was he stabbed only twice? The police believe it is an open and shut case, but Susie's instincts lead her to think there is more to the story. 


As widow Susie searches for answers, we see her personal growth. I kept reading to find out if Dr. Gersten was faithful to the end, or if he was secretly disloyal to their marriage. It was a good balance of dialogue and description, but at times the main character seemed to ramble. Perhaps this was the author's way of expressing Susie's anxiety, confusion, and eagerness to find the truth. Like the author stated in an essay, what kept me interested was Susie's puzzlement. I also liked her stylish sidekick, Grandma Ethel.  It wasn't long before I too was trying to solve the murder mystery. In that sense, it reminded me of a Matlock episode.  


As Husbands Go is not Susan Isaacs' best. Faithful readers of this author may even be disappointed and deem it not worthy of reading. Nevertheless, this is a good book club selection for middle-aged settled women. For a complete reading group guide, click here


Title: As Husbands Go
Author: Susan Isaacs
Published: July 2010, Paperback April 2011
Pages: 342
Edition: ARC
Rating: ♥♥♡

March 14, 2011

All Right

She is one of the greatest entertainers of our time. Although she is the youngest of the famous Jackson family, don't call her "baby." Her name is Janet. Ms. Jackson, if you're nasty. 


Her professional career started at the age of ten with her acting debut as Penny on Good Times. She recalls that before production even began, she was told two things: she was fat and needed to slim down. Sure she was used to her brother Michael's teasing, but this was Hollywood. And so begins her habit of turning to food for comfort and struggling with fluctuating body weight. It took most of Janet's adult life to accept who she is. This is not an autobiography. Janet insists this book is a journey, that admittedly she is still taking. Through sharing personal stories of herself, family, fans and friends, readers are taken along this journey of finding and loving your true self. Her goal is to help people find answers and understand why we do, what we do. 


Fan mail, personal recollections, fitness secrets, customized recipes, and life-changing tips are revealed. Rumors are addressed, and never seen before pictures are shared. I had to take a moment of silence when I read the dedication page: "To Mike." So simple, yet so meaningful. As I read further, I empathized with her self-esteem issues. I overstood her addiction to food. She's not perfect. She's flawless. She's highly emotional. In fact, her feelings translate through the page and I even teared up a few times. I thank Janet for putting it all out there in the format of a book. Trust me bookhearts, we can all relate. It's all right to be different. It's all right to show the true you. 


"I am me, the true me; you are you, the true you -- and that's good. That's beautiful. That's enough." ~ Janet Jackson


Enjoy the video clip below of Janet's interview with Piers Morgan - Part 1. Pick up the book today and/or post your thoughts.





Title: True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself
Author: Janet Jackson with David Ritz
Published: February 2011
Pages: 259
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

March 13, 2011

Series Sunday

Series Sunday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 

  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Post a review/recommendation on your blog, FB, Twitter, Goodreads, or Shelfari pages.
  • Share your review/recommendation by posting the link in the comments section below.
  • Include the title, author, and name of the series so that other Series Sunday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.
My Series Sunday pick is Semisweet, the third book in the Maggie & Odessa Mystery series by Jill Brock. Maggie & Odessa are back! Wife, mother, and private eye to-be Maggie Swift takes on her first solo case. Enlisting the help of best friend, dessert chef Odessa Wilkes, they investigate whether a groom-to-be is marrying for love or for an ulterior motive. In between looking for clues and planning a wedding, Odessa is being stalked by a psycho bug exterminator who tries to kill her in the opening pages. 

I love this series! Jill Brock's details and realistic characters are quite entertaining. The book is a great blend of chick lit, mystery, light suspense and humor. My only pet peeve with Semisweet are the sprinkled typos and grammatical errors. The text is peppered with question marks instead of periods, "than" instead of "then," "to" instead of "too," "pass" instead of "past," and "of" incorrectly placed with "off." After the first few detected errors, I wondered if the final draft was reviewed by a professional editor. Without the misspellings and errors, it would be an excellent book. Nevertheless, it didn't take away from the story. As always, I look forward to reading the next installment in the Maggie & Odessa Mystery series. What a sweet slice of mystery!

Title: Semisweet 
Author: Jill Brock
Published: October 2010
Pages: 338
Edition: Paperback
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

March 11, 2011

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 
  • Grab your current read.
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.

"I was born with a talent. Not for dance, or comedy, or anything so delightful."

Girl In Translation by Jean Kwok


















March 8, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Literary Marie's Tuesday Teaser:

"My childhood was a powerful and often perplexing combination of experiences that were wonderful as well as challenging. One of the more challenging experiences happened when I was nine and attending public school."

~ p. 37, True You by Janet Jackson & David Ritz
















March 6, 2011

Series Sunday

Series Sunday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 

  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Post a review/recommendation on your blog, FB, Twitter, Goodreads, or Shelfari pages.
  • Share your review/recommendation by posting the link in the comments section below.
  • Include the title, author, and name of the series so that other Series Sunday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.
My Series Sunday pick is Drop Dead Delicious, the second book in the Maggie & Odessa Mystery series by Jill Brock. (I originally read & reviewed this book about a year ago & wanted to recap for new followers.) Odessa Wilkes and her best friend, Maggie Swift, are back in another hilarious mystery. Odessa has recovered from her anxiety attacks and started a new life. Comfortably baking desserts at her family's restaurant, The Blue Moon, and settled into her new romantic relationship, all seems well and calm. Then Odessa's embezzling ex-boss from Eastman & Kendrick, Burke Peterson, comes back. Did he make some kind of deal? Why is Burke back in town? Is Odessa going to kill him like she always planned?

Much to everyone's surprise, Odessa has the opposite reaction. She greets Burke Peterson with a huge warm hug. Maggie is confused. Lee goes into crazy boyfriend mode and shows a jealous streak. Candace just wants everyone to stop making a scene in front of the customers. Burke soon obliges the crowd and makes an exit, leaving behind his wallet. Its not long before Maggie & Odessa try to find out why Burke has returned and if he's really guilty of embezzlement.

Meanwhile, Odessa has entered a Bake Off contest. She needs to determine the best recipe ever in order to win. If only her Aunt left behind the recipes to her delicious cakes like she left behind handmade quilts.

This book is filled with comedic adventures of the amateur detectives. The plot has multiple storylines, but very easy to keep up with. The characters are just as memorable and hilarious as when we first met them
.

Title: Drop Dead Delicious
Author: Jill Brock
Published: December 2008
Pages: 316
Edition: Paperback
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

March 5, 2011

Fiction Soapbox

What if an innocent man is about to executed for a crime he didn't commit? Young college football star, Donté Drumm, was blamed for the murder of a cheerleader. The body was never found. Nine years later, it is time for the execution. Travis Boyette, a repeat sex offender, suddenly comes forward and confesses the crime to a minister. But is it too late?


I haven't read a Grisham book in a while, and I suddenly remember why. The details are drawn out. He has a way of dragging out chapters with too descriptive scenes. The author's message has always been to point out major flaws in our judicial system. His fiction is to prove a point about our legal system, especially the death penalty. In that respect, The Confession meets the requirements. 


Title: The Confession
Author: John Grisham
Published: October 2010
Pages: 375
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥

March 4, 2011

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a new bookish meme hosted by yours truly, Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. 
  • Grab your current read.
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists.
"I stood in the middle of a near empty restaurant with Horace Fouke. He held a knife to my throat and threatened to cut me open like a turkey on Thanksgiving Day."

~ Semisweet by Jill Brock