Series Sunday: What is a Book 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.

A book series is a sequence of books, by the same author, having certain characteristics in common that are identified together as a group. It may feature the same main character or a family. Book series are found in almost any genre: paranormal, romance, mystery, thriller, chick lit, erotica, etc. Some of my favorite series that are featured on this book meme are:

• Blessings 
• Reverend Curtis Black
• Maggie and Odessa
• Women's Murder Club
• Alex Cross
• Kinsey Millhone Alphabet

Stay tuned for more reviews on my Series Sunday meme. Share your favorite series too.

 

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.

"It was all because of the Berlin Wall. If it wasn't for the Berlin Wall Cecilia would never have found the letter, at the kitchen table, willing herself not to rip it open."

 
~ The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty 

Read along with us at the Chick Lit Book Club on Goodreads. It is our October BOTM.

 

The Fault in Our Stars

"Without Pain, How Could We Know Joy? (This is an old argument in the field of Thinking About Suffering, and its stupidity and lack of sophistication could be plumbed for centuries, but suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not in any way affect the taste of chocolate.)" ~ pg. 29

You meet the love of your life in the strangest of places. Seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters (diagnosis: osteosarcoma) and sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace (diagnosis: Stage IV thyroid cancer) meet at a Cancer Kid Support Group. Having cancer is unfair and both teens are afraid of loving each other, knowing time is not on their side. To be with each other hurts—inevitably.

If I ever wanted to write a review full of gifs, this would be it. I am speechless. I cannot pull my thoughts together to form a clear review. No order of words can accurately describe The Fault in Our Stars. I cannot even begin to describe Augustus and Hazel Grace's relationship. Just know that I was all up in my feelings and had to take a reading break when I got that lump in throat right before crying. A couple hours of not reading and the story was haunting me. I had to finish. And when I did? I sobbed. Bookhearts, my only recommendation is that you read The Fault in Our Stars for yourself preferably before the movie releases.

P.S. to John Green: Please write and publish an epilogue to An Imperial Affliction.

Ansel Elgort (Augustus) & Shailene Woodley (Hazel Grace)

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Published: January 2012
Pages: 198
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

 

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.

"You think Martha Stewart shoves her clutter in a gun cabinet?"

~ The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING, or Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog by Jen Lancaster

 

September eMags

September is my favorite month (birthday, fall fashion, bonus-sized magazines and more). I am Living La Vida NOOK with these awesome September eMags:

Writer's Digest ~ Kimberla Lawson Roby Interview

The Writer ~ 10 Common Mistakes To Avoid in Legal Fiction

MacLife ~ Make Your Mac More Secure

Vogue ~ Fabulous Fall Fashion; Girl on Fire: Jennifer Lawrence Gifted, Unguarded and Gorgeous

Marie Claire ~ Fall Fashion: Bags, Shoes, Plaids, Prints, Leather & Lace—What to Wear Now!

Elle ~ Biggest Fashion Issue Ever: 650+ Pages Coats, Shoes, Dresses, Bags

National Geographic ~ Can We Fly?

Ebony ~ We Are TRAYVON

Essence ~ Fall Style Guide: 200+ Hot Ideas for Every Budget

XXL ~ The 150th Issue: Drake Watch the Throne

Rolling Stone ~ The Triumph of Michael J. Fox

Us Weekly ~ Khloe's Private Hell

Entertaiment Weekly ~ Fall TV Preview: Get The Scoop on 119 Shows

  

Necessary Lies

"All at once, I felt overwhelmed by the fear they must have felt back then, and by their courage." ~ pg. 12

Picture a small southern town fifty years ago. Fifteen-year-old Ivy Hart is a tenant on a tobacco farm. Unlike other young girls her age, she is the head of household. Ivy cares for her grandmother, older sister and baby nephew. With her grandmother's aging, her older sister's mental illness, her baby nephew's slow development skills and her own epilepsy, Ivy struggles to hold it together.

Jane is a newlywed who wishes to be independent and work. To her husband's dismay, she takes on a position as Grace County's newest social worker. Turns out Jane is too nice for social work. Before you know it, Jane becomes emotionally attached to the Hart family and at a crossroads whether to take a step back or risk her career to help clients.

"You haven't been comfortable with the program from the start, have you?" ~ pg. 140

The characters in Necessary Lies are fictional but the Eugenics Sterilization Program is very real. According to the Author's Note, North Carolina sterilized over 7,000 of its citizens. North Carolina is the only state that gave social workers the power to petition for sterilization of individuals. If it weren't for Diane Chamberlain, this program would be unknown to me. Color me thankful to the author for bringing awareness, then color me appalled that so many individuals were affected by this program from 1929 until 1975.

Diane Chamberlain is an international bestselling author. I have read three of her twenty-two novels (The Good Father, The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes and The Midwife's Confession). All of the books I've read are highly recommended. The stories are deep, detailed and touch your heart. After reading the prequel The First Lie, I was anxious to see the story unfold and was satisfied with the full-circle ending of Necessary Lies. I will not hesitate to read a Diane Chamberlain novel and hope to catch up on her earlier released novels. I suggest my bookhearts do the same.

Title: Necessary Lies
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Published: September 2013
Pages: 313
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡

 

Series Sunday: James Patterson Rant

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 rant about James Patterson, author of the following series:

•  Alex Cross
•  Women's Murder Club
• Michael Bennett
• Private
• Confessions
• Maximum Ride
• Daniel X
• Witch & Wizard
• NYPD Red
• Middle School

What happened to James Patterson doing his best to make sure his books are as best as they can be? I see now why Stephen King and other authors have taken shots at him for years. I really wish James Patterson would revamp his writing process. For those unfamiliar, he writes an outline specifying what is to happen in each scene. The co-author submits pages every two weeks or so, then JP re-writes them. I appreciate his willingness to mentor new authors and co-author books to get their names out there. I am sure his process saves lots of time, but is it the best way?

I get the impression that James Patterson is more concerned with quantity over quality. He's admitted to writing four outlines in five weeks. Dude...slow down! I understand writers have streaks but c'mon! Out of all the books published in the last year, only one was a page-turning thriller full of suspense. The others? Not even close. I find myself keeping up with James Patterson's series out of habit, not because I think the books will be worth reading.

Respectfully, sir, this new process of yours is not working. Stop slapping your name largely on book covers when you KNOW it's a flop, JP. Not cool. Not fair. Not considerate. This is not the way to treat your die hard fans. Being the country's top-selling author means nothing if you are publishing 10+ shitty books every year. Stop with the mass publishing of commercial fiction and give us well written thrillers again.