October 30, 2015

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"At dusk they pour from the sky. They blow across the ramparts, turn cartwheels over rooftops, flutter into the ravines between houses. Entire streets swirl with them, flashing white against the cobbles. Urgent message to the inhabitants of this town, they say. Depart immediately to open country."

~ All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

 

October 27, 2015

The Facts of My Life


"You really don't get to write your own script in this life, do you?" ~ pg. 70

We know her as Mrs. Garrett from the TV series Diff'rent Strokes and its spinoff The Facts of Life. Charlotte Rae is an actress, comedienne, theater performer and entertainer. Her career spans over 70 years. She is hilarious and quick to make someone smile whether on stage with her or through the television screen.

"I had so many feelings, deep feelings, and I used them as an actress." ~ pg. 8

So I was expecting a funny memoir, one with anecdotes and behind-the-scenes comedy. I was prepared to read interesting tales of her on set with fellow co-stars of the popular TV shows with just a sprinkle of personal facts. Instead the book starts off about her autistic, schizophrenic, epileptic son and other challenges in her life such as alcoholism, a broken marriage with her bisexual husband, financial crisis and stardom. After all these years I had no idea of what was going on with the woman who played Molly the Mail Carrier on Sesame Street. The facts of Charlotte Rae's 89-year-old life is full of joy and personal tragedy.

"For months at a time, I craved solitude–the total escape from the world's observations and judgments." ~ pg. 19

This memoir is well written (co-authored with her son) and recommended for those who grew up watching Mrs. Garrett. After reading it, I can watch her on TV with a renewed sense of awe and appreciation. As evidenced in some of the chapter titles (Geometry and Bourbon, Highs and Lows, Strokes of Good Fortune, and Cold Hard Facts), Charlotte Rae is living a full life. The Facts of My Life will be published November 1, 2015.



DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: The Facts of My Life
Author: Charlotte Rae and Larry Strauss
Published: November 2015
Pages: 264
Edition: Galley
Challenge: New Author; Popsugar A Memoir
Rating: ♥♥♥

 

October 25, 2015

Series Sunday: Coastal Cottage Calamity

(Logan Dickerson Cozy Mystery #2)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is Coastal Cottage Calamity, the second book in the Logan Dickerson cozy mystery series by Abby L. Vandiver. Young black archaeologist Logan Dickerson returns to find out who murdered playboy Oliver dead. Everyone wanted him dead: the three blondes he promised to marry, his long lost cousins, his fishery partner and goodness knows who else. Miss Vivee, the voodoo herbalist, even added her own daughter's name to the suspect list.

"My two best girls thinking they're in an Agatha Christie novel." ~ 31%

There is never a dull moment in Yasamee, Georgia. Why, oh, why do dead bodies turn up wherever Logan is? And why is she always recruited by Miss Vivee and old friend Mac to help solve the murder? Coastal Cottage Calamity is another cozy mystery with amateur sleuths that occupied a couple of my hours during this year's 24-Hour-Readathon. It was short and interesting as cozy mysteries should be. I recommend it for a light read for a women's book club and definitely recommend this series featuring a brown main character.

Title: Coastal Cottage Calamity
Author: Abby L. Vandiver
Published: June 2015
Pages: 144
Edition: eBook
Challenge: Diversity on the Shelf
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

October 23, 2015

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"She is closer to me than my shadow."

~ A Moment of Silence: Midnight III by Sister Souljah

 

October 21, 2015

Our Souls at Night


"What do you do before you sleep?" ~ pg. 16

I am not the neighborly kind but this bittersweet inspiring story pulled at my heart strings. Sometimes neighbors really can come together, even in advanced age, to support each other during events in their life. Seventy-year-old neighbors Addie Moore and Louis Waters live in Holt, Colorado. Their spouses died years ago and their children live hours away. Both have been living alone with no one to talk to and lonely nights. So Addie makes a proposal to Louis: come to her house and sleep with her. No sex, only companionship and someone to get through the night with.

Kent Haruf is a new author to me. Our Souls at Night is a good example of American literature. From the first chapter, my heart warmed to Addie and Louis. It took a few chapters to get used to Haruf's writing style of no quotation marks for dialogue, but it somehow helped to move the story along. I would like to see this book adapted to a TV movie; it seems perfect for Lifetime Movie Network.

I recommend Our Souls at Night for a quick read during a chilly fall night in front of your fireplace. I didn't care for the abrupt ending but tis is how real life is. It will also make a good book club for mature middle-aged women. Bookhearts, this is grown romance.

Title: Our Souls at Night
Author: Kent Haruf
Published: May 2015 
Pages: 127
Edition: eBook
Challenge: New Authors
Rating: ♥♥♥


 

October 18, 2015

Series Sunday: Secret Brother

(The Diaries #3)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

"A family was like a fortress, I thought. When one important member died, there was a big hole through which everything bad could have an easier time getting to you." ~ pg. 43

My Series Sunday pick is Secret Brother, the third book in The Diaries series by V.C. Andrews. One ER. Two boys. One elderly man's choice. Grandpa Arnold lost his grandson Willie in the same ER where a young boy is dropped off, poisoned and left for dead. Wanting to help, Grandpa Arnold hires an investigator to find the boy's family but hits a dead end. He takes this as a sign and moves the boy into his wealthy estate to recover and raise alongside his grieving granddaughter Clara Sue.

Clara Sue is appalled and ashamed of her new secret brother. How could her grandfather try to replace the biological brother she suddenly lost? What exactly is this boy's past? Where is he from and whom does he belong to?

"I lost my little brother, and this...weird kid is living in his room, wearing his clothes, taking everything that was his, even his name!" ~ pg. 197

Flowers in the Attic holds a special place in the fictional series portion of my heart. The Dollanganger family goes on for generations and this is a new branch of the family tree. Just when I warmed up to the new characters—distant relatives—featured in the previous two (2) Diaries books, here comes more new folks. Secret Brother is narrated by Clara Sue, a smart good girl that deserves a break. Her parents were killed in a boating accident. Her grandmother passed away and her brother was hit and killed by a drunk driver while riding his bike on the sidewalk. Then here comes a strange little mute boy, literally overnight, who is being raised as her secret brother. It's a bit much for an adolescent girl.

I empathized with Clara Sue but also prepared myself for the V.C. Andrews formula of tragedy and possible incest. No spoilers but the ghostwriter knows the V.C. Andrews formula well. I'm looking forward to the next installment of this new and expanded Dollanganger/Diaries series.

Title: Secret Brother
Author: V.C. Andrews
Published: May 2015
Pages: 248
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: ♥♥♥

 

October 16, 2015

First Lines Friday: READATHON


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s) for READATHON!
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.


"Can you tell me how to get, how to get to...Bellevue?"  ~ The Facts of My Life by Charlotte Rae

"They partied in Pleasantville that night, from Laurentide to Demaree Lane."  ~ Pleasantville by Attica Locke

"It stopped me at the door and sent chills up my spine."  ~ Coastal Cottage Calamity by Abby L. Vandiver

"Oh Crap! The skeleton tumbled from its makeshift perch in the dirt wall and onto me."  Maya Mound Mayhem by Abby L. Vandiver

 

October 14, 2015

Between the World and Me


"I write you in your fifteenth year. I am writing you because this was the year you saw Eric Garner choked to death for selling cigarettes; because you know now that Renisha McBride was shot for seeking help, that John Crawford was shot down for browsing in a department store. And you have seen men in uniform drive by and murder Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old child whom they were oath-bound to protect. And you have seen men in the same uniforms pummel Marlene Pinnock, someone's grandmother, on the side of a road. And you know now, if you did not before, that the police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body. It does not matter if the destruction is the result of an unfortunate overreaction." ~ pg. 10

Between the World and Me is easy to explain but hard to review. It is the most sincere realistic concerns of a black father to his 15-year-old son. In the form of a letter to his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes about the history of our country and its current crisis. In a "keeping it real" type of way, he gives his son advice on how to live within a black body. This personal narrative is emotional as it takes readers through history, current events and a future from a black male's perspective.

I can offer no other review than to simply recommend reading Between the World and Me. In fact, it should be required reading for adolescents regardless of race, if only to provide insight into a mind (un)like your own. Watch the interview below first of national correspondent Ta-Nehisi Coates discussing his book and race in America.


Title: Between the World and Me
Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Published: July 2015
Pages: 98
Edition: eBook
Challenge: New Author; Diversity on the Shelf
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡

 

October 13, 2015

Pretending to Dance


"My mother murdered my father."

Molly and her husband Aidan are trying to adopt a baby because they are unable to have a child on their own. The process brings up questions about their past and family. Problem is, Molly left her family and secrets behind twenty years ago in Morrison's Ridge, North Carolina. Not even her husband knows the truth. He was told Molly's mother was deceased, but she is very much alive. Her and Aidan just wants to share their love with a baby she can't carry. Molly discovers the truth behind her father's death and it affects her present.

Like Molly, there are days you think you're over something that happened in the past. Then the slightest thing will send memories crashing to the forefront of your mind. This made Pretending to Dance a realistic story. Her emotions were well portrayed and so were the reactions of her husband Aidan. Diane Chamberlain has a special talent of connecting with readers like myself in a genre all her own: grown woman fiction.

Pretending to Dance just released October 6, 2015. Do your mind a favor and read this new novel. Diane Chamberlain does not disappoint.

DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: Pretending to Dance
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Published: October 2015
Pages: 352
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

October 11, 2015

Series Sunday: Upcoming Releases

(Any and All Series)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is a list of series installments I am looking forward to:

  • Shopaholic to the Rescue (Shopaholic #8) by Sophie Kinsella ~ Oct 27, 2015
  • A Moment of Silence (Midnight #3) by Sister Souljah ~ Nov 10, 2015
  • Cross Justice (Alex Cross #23) by James Patterson ~ Nov 23, 2015


 

October 9, 2015

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"Son, last Sunday the host of a popular news show asked me what it meant to lose my body."

~ Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"I don't think I shall ever forget the exact time and what I was doing that second Saturday in October."

Secret Brother by V.C. Andrews

 

October 7, 2015

Cram Season


EEK! Where did the year go; it's already October! I am just realizing that I have less than three (3) months to read all books from my TBR pile that were released in 2015 along with certain recommendations. I feel like I'm a schoolgirl and the teacher has announced, "Five minutes left to turn in exam!" Then I look down at my place on the exam and realize I might not make it to the end. Time for cram reading!


So how do I cram? First, I scroll through my TBR pile/bookshelf and rearrange the order. I move all books released in 2015 to the top of my pile followed by recent recommendations from bookhearts. Then I quickly check my progress with reading challenges. I move more books toward the top of my pile that will help in meeting my reading challenges goals. I check my calendar and designate specific days just to read, as well as sign up for Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon (Saturday, October 17, 2015). To stay on task, I immediately write and post a review after finishing a book. This allows me to move on to the next novel with a clear angular gyrus (part of brain associated with reading, writing and comprehension).

With books organized, snacks and liquid crack on deck and scheduled time to read/write, I am all set for cram season!

Happy Reading, Bookhearts!

 

October 4, 2015

Series Sunday: M is for Malice

(Kinsey Millhone Alphabet #13)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is M is for Malice, the 13th book in the Kinsey Millhone alphabet series by Sue Grafton. I wasn't too enthused about the previous installment in this series so I gave it a long break, one year to be exact. Head clear. Ready for a good mystery. Wanting to get lost in a familiar character's fictional world.

Malek Construction is a $40 million company that remains in family hands. Eighteen years ago, one of the sons of the family went missing. Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone has been hired to trace the lost son's whereabouts. Of course she succeeds in her search but the family does not welcome the prodigal son back into their life or the family business. Before you know it, "m" stands for murder.

"What's done is done. What is written is written. Their work is finished. Ours is yet to do." ~ pg. 220

Sounds like a good summary, right? Le sigh; nope. So much disappointment when I unlocked the eBook and started reading. It was too predictable. Thank goodness it was only 220 pages long. Nevertheless, Sue Grafton pulled me back in with no repetitive background info and writing more about Kinsey's personal life. I enjoyed this part of the book far more than the mystery case itself. For this reason alone—my nosy curiosity into the main character—I will continue reading the Kinsey Millhone alphabet series.

Title: M is for Malice
Author: Sue Grafton
Published: November 1997
Pages: 220
Edition: eBook
Challenge: Perpetual Kinsey Millhone Challenge
Rating: ♥♥