FREE BOOKS for September

September 2, 2008January 27, 20095 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment and I’ll get the book to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon. They are all in good shape and have been read once or twice.

Once you’ve ‘won’ the book I can get your shipping address if I need it. Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want.

1. Ricochet by Sandra Brown (hardcover book club copy) Brown is always reliable for a fast paced thriller for Yessenia

2. When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman (paperback) the first of the Alex Delaware mystery series for Donstuff

3. Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg (paperback) Berg is one of my favorites for womens fiction for bermudaonion

4. Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (paperback) If you like romances you must read Phillips. She’s one of my favorites.

Thanks for helping me make room for new books on my bookshelves. Happy Reading!

Inside Out Girl, by Tish Cohen

September 1, 2008January 19, 20093 Comments

Finished 8-31-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2008

“Wasn’t that one of the cardinal rules of the road? If someone needed help and you weren’t prepared to offer any, glance away and feign ignorance.” Chapter 4

Rachel Berman is head of a Perfect Parentmagazine and single mother of a 12 year old boy and a 14 year old girl. Len Bean is a widower and father to a ten year old daughter, Olivia, who suffers from NLD, nonverbal learning disorder. Rachel and Len meet and suddenly their lives and the lives of their children are blending into a family, if not a dysfunctional one. Olivia is a joke at school and Rachel’s kids, Janie and Dustin, are not inclined to make her life any easier. Janie is dealing with her own hormonal and sexual issues that take center stage.

There are a few surprises here and there, but I don’t want to give any away. This was a very enjoyable book about issues that most families are dealing with. I loved her writing style and the story moved at a fast pace. I think you will enjoy getting to know Olivia, as I did, and becoming a little more informed about a disorder that is closely linked to autism (but not the same). And Janie’s story will bring back the early teen years when whatever someone said about you at school one day had the ability to ruin your whole life. My only complaint is that some things were a little too convenient. As readers, we are agreeing to suspend our disbelief, but that only goes so far.

I received this book for free to review and it exceeded my expectations. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good family-oriented story, or someone interested in reading about a child with special needs. Olivia is a wonderful character and you will fall in love with her. Tish Cohen’s first book, Town House, is being made into a movie. www.tishcohen.com

How Not To Write A Novel, by Mittelmark & Newman

August 26, 2008January 21, 20131 Comment

How Not to Write a Novel. Finished 8-26-08, rating 4.5/5, how-to/writing, pub. 2008

“As a writer you have only one job:to make the reader turn the page.” page 1

If there is one thing this How-Not-To book does it is to make you turn the page. You won’t want to stop, really. This hilarious book focuses on the 200 most common mistakes that unpublished authors make and offers solutions. It provides examples of the bad writing that it is offering up for ridicule, followed by an explanation and how to fix it (if you want to be published). Let me provide a couple of examples…

“While it is your job to know a great deal about your characters, it is seldom necessary to share it all with the reader, and by ‘seldom,’ we mean ‘never.’ ” page 10

“…you should think twice before using an exclamation mark. If you have thought twice and the exclamation mark is still there, think about it three times, or however many times it takes until you delete it.” page 111

The book covers all points of your novel from plot and style to dealing with the publishing world. This is a must have for anyone writing, or even just thinking about writing, a novel. Every fiction writer will gain insight from this book and be completely entertained along the way. I found myself laughing out loud more than once, shaking my head at the poor writer being scorned until I came to the next mistake and realized that the poor writer was me. Highly recommended for all writers of fiction.

“However, if you have perversely refused to use the lessons offered in this book as we intended, and instead avoided each of the mistakes we describe, perhaps you now find yourself a published author. In that case, our follow-up book, How Not to Make a Living Wage, will be indispensable.” -the last page

The Coffin Dancer, by Jeffery Deaver

August 24, 2008January 18, 20095 Comments

Finished 8-23-08, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 1998

I am surprised after I loved the first in this series, The Bone Collector, so much that I like the sequel even better. Quadriplegic forensic specialist, Lincoln Rhymes, is back with his protege crime scene specialist, Amelia Sachs, in an all new and more personal race against the clock to catch a killer. There is no down time. From the opening pages where a federal witness is blown to bits while landing his plane to the shocking conclusion I was riveted.

The Coffin Dancer is a hired assassin that has fooled Lincoln before. A few years earlier the Coffin Dancer, named that because of a tatoo on his arm, had killed two of Lincoln’s techs and Lincoln was still incensed that he had gotten away. One of the two witnesses that Lincoln must protect is Percey, a woman pilot who has a lot in common with Lincoln. This closeness sparks Amelia’s jealousy and there is tension between Lincoln and Amelia as they race to catch a killer.

Lincoln is such a great character because he shows his strength through his intellect and not physical power. In this second book Lincoln has more electrical gadgets and is able to do more with what he has than he did in the first book. This is a top rate page turner that does not disappoint. The twists and turns are many and the writing is taut. I think this is a don’t miss for thriller fans. My only recommendation…don’t read this on a plane 🙂

How the States Got Their Shapes on CSPAN2

August 23, 2008August 23, 20081 Comment

I don’t know how many people watch cspan2 on the weekends, but if the tv is on and I’m aimlessly clicking I always see what’s on. For those who aren’t familiar, it is Book TV on the weekends and has a series of one hour book talks with various non-fiction authors. The hour takes place in a bookstore and the author talks about his book and then takes questions from the small audience. Many of them are political and if they lean too much either way I usually skip them, but sometimes you’ll find an hour of fun learning, like l did today.

Mark Stein wrote How the States Got Their Shapes and it was published in May. I’ve always looked at the map and accepted the way the states were shaped because I assumed there was a good reason for it and now that I’ve heard from Stein I find that there are a multitude of reasons behind the funny shapes. Some of the larger influences were water, mountains, railroads, and slavery. There was also the time tested power of bribery (Montana, Missouri), some religious mistrust (Utah), and voluntary ceding of land for political purpose (Kansas) involved in the decisions. It really was fascinating.

Stein said that he wrote the book for a family on vacation and not a true scholar and that is the appeal I think. I have a new way of looking at a US map and although I have not read the book I have to recommend at least watching the cspan segment. There is a Watch Now option on this cspan2 link and also a schedule of upcoming book talks.

http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=9604&SectionName=History&PlayMedia=No

I really enjoyed the hour (except for 5 minutes one man in the audience wasted with his question) and plan on checking out the book to learn a little more about the lines of Ohio, which he barely touched on at all during this hour. If you’ve read the book let me know what you thought.

Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley

August 19, 2008January 19, 20091 Comment

Finished audio 8-18-08, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 1990

Easy Rawlings lives in 1948 Los Angeles and is a black man who is proud of owning his home and the little bit of land that surrounds it. He has just lost his job at the plant and he is in his friend’s bar nursing the sting of being fired. Mr. Albright walks in and is hoping to hire Easy to find a white girl, Daphne, who frequents black jazz clubs. As soon as he takes the job Easy is thrust into the middle of a web of lies, threats, and lust.

I listened to this on cd and the reader, GC Simms, was wonderful. His rich voice drew me in immediately and I’m pretty sure that he could have been reading anything and I’d have been entertained. This book addresses the racial reality of the 1948, yet it feels completely current. I’d recommend it. I’ve got the movie waiting on my dvr, I’ll let you know what I think later.

When A Man Loves A Woman, by La Connie Taylor-Jones

August 17, 2008February 11, 20092 Comments

Finished 8-17-08, rating 3/5, romance, pub. 2008

Let me start by saying that I was sent this book to review for this blog. I was curious to read it since I like romances. This is most definitely a romance, but it was more than that. Long after the romance had sorted itself out there was a mystery to be solved.

A.J. loved Vic and wanted nothing more that to spend the rest of his life married to her. Vic was not willing to let her heart get broken again and resisted the urge to find love in his arms. Their large families wanted them together as did A.J.’s twin daughters and A.J. was willing to use them to help his cause. A car accident forced them into close quarters and into the middle of a police investigation.

This book has a lot to offer – A.J. is as close to perfect as a hero can get, Vic was a ‘hot’ size 14, there is a large cast of characters, and there is no shortage of action. It was also wonderfully written. That being said, some of these things were also a detriment. I don’t trust a perfect man. Even in romance there should be no such thing. And the extra storyline stemming from the car crash was a little too convenient and somewhat unbelievable.

This was the second book written about the Baptiste family and I would recommend starting with the first one, When I’m With You. Taylor-Jones plans to continue writing about this large family and another Baptiste brother in her next novel. She is a talented author who received writing awards for her first book. I don’t think that you will be bored or disappointed with this book.

I’ve been tagged!

August 16, 20081 Comment

Don over at http://donstuff.wordpress.com/ tagged me with this. I’m so new at this that I’m not exactly clear on what I need to do, but here goes.

Here’s how it goes (by Trish):

My Friend Amy (actually Trish’s friend Amy according to Don) started the whole thing and said: I am going to list three categories of books. 3 MUST Read Books, 3 Keep Your Eyes on These, and 3 Look For These Soon. Keeping with the theme, I am going to tag at least 3 bloggers. They should put these same lists on their blog but SUBTRACT one book from each list and ADD one of their own. Then they should tag at least 3 more bloggers. It will be fun to see how the lists change as it goes around the blogosphere. Please come back to this post and leave a comment so someone can see how the lists are changing as they go around the blogosphere. Since this is Book Buzz…please keep your lists to titles released in 2007-2009.

(Bold Blue is mine. Red belong to donstuff):

3 MUST Read Books:

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Testimony by Anita Shreve

3 Keep Your Eyes on These:

The Woods by Harlan Coben

Odd Hours by Dean Koontz
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

3 Look For These Soon:

Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You by Judith McNaught (5/09)
Bones: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Heather’s note: The 12th and final book in the Wheel of Time series, coming in 2009 – I can’t wait!)

Now I’ll tag three, but if I didn’t tag you, feel free to participate anyway.

Follow Your Heart, by Susanna Tamaro

August 14, 2008January 19, 20092 Comments

Finished 8-14-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1994

“As you grow up, you’ll often get the urge to change things, to right wrongs, but every time you do, remember that the first revolution, the first and the most important, has to take place within yourself. Fighting for an idea without having an idea of yourself is one of the most dangerous things you can do.” -December 22

This is the brutally honest letter a grandmother who is nearing death writes to the granddaughter she raised alone. Her granddaughter is obviously a headstrong young woman who has moved to America leaving her grandmother in Italy heartbroken and alone.

The grandmother can feel death coming and wants to leave her granddaughter a letter of history and hope for the future. She pulls no punches. She is not afraid to illuminate her own shortcomings as well as those around her, granddaughter included. It is difficult to read that she did not think about her daughter for several years after her death or that she did not love her daughter enough without your heart breaking a little. This is a woman who was not going to spare her granddaughter the truth.

I was pulled in right from the beginning. It was real and honest and a great story of three generations of women who all seemed to be fighting the past. It is definitely a worthwhile read. It was translated from the original Italian.

Reading

August 12, 20084 Comments

Stacy's Books

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