He's Gone: Perfectly Captured

Deb Caletti's book, He's Gone took me on quite a mental trip. When Dani Keller awakes one morning, her head is throbbing, her shoes are muddy and her husband is missing. She can't remember what happened.

Caletti's lyrical turns of phrase painted amazingly clear scenes and brings in a chef's blend of quirky people. Dani is the girl next door on her worst day. The thoughts she reveals as she goes through the process of discovery was frighteningly real in its insight regarding abusive men.

She bares the raw truth of what many women go through in less than ideal marriages and the tailspin that sometimes follows. It's a story that heats up one degree at a time until you are sweating the end.

I was pulled along from page to page, every chapter ending on a cliff hanger. It was the last thing I read at night before sleeping and the first thing I read when I came home from work.

For my conservative friends, there are several f-bombs and an occasional irreverant curse words. The book discusses adultery at length and other adult themes; nothing gratuitous or graphic.

A fantastic work. Don't miss out on this writer.


I received this book free from the Amazon Vine Program in exchange for my honest opinion.

Spark Lit a Bonfire

Jason Jaggards's book Spark was the book I've been looking for. I knew that there were lots of things I wanted to accomplish with my life. During the day, I was treading water in a job I didn't like working with people I loved, but that could not encourage me in the ways I needed. It left me exhausted and frankly, without much hope for my future.
It was clear, it was time to move on.
Well, you know what the economy is like, what the job market looks like? And my hours were finally right where I wanted them. Never mind the stress of looking for a new job. The stress from the current one drove me to take a risk. That scary 4 letter word.
Risk is the name sake of this book. Intentional and healthy risks.
If you are ready to cast your stone onto a still pond, to make changes in your life, and even the world, this is the book you have been looking for. And, you can start making changes this week, by getting Spark.
Spark is what I needed to feel encouraged about making positive changes in my life. I now have a better job that leaves me feeling energized and allows me to pursue other risks. Check it out. I'm glad I did.

I received this book from Waterbrook for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

Soderberg's The Andalucian Friend: A Thrilling Masterpiece

The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Soderberg is an excellently written, riveting novel with a cast of characters you won't soon forget. I could barely put this book down to go to work or even sleep. I couldn't wait to continue reading it the second I got home. Soderberg weaves an interesting and complex tale covering four countries, and had me guessing every inch of the way.

Though at times violent, it was graphic without being gratuitous and at times so suspenseful I forgot to breathe. Soderberg's words paint scenes so well, they bloom like a motion picture in the mind. When I first began reading, the book was a daunting 400 plus pages. By the second day I was halfway through it and at the end, I was sad to be finishing.
For my conservative friends: there are several degrading references about women, quite a lot of killing which is at times very unsettling, a healthy sprinkling of F-bombs and one character deals with some drug abuse which is not the least bit glamorized. The Andalucian Friend is the first in a trilogy that I cannot wait to read. Five stars. By all means, add this to your summer reading list. You won't be disappointed.


I received this book free from the Amazon Vine Program in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Godfather's Daughter

THE GODFATHER'S DAUGHTER by Rita Gigante with Natasha Stoynoff is not another mobster tale. Interestingly, this story picks up where I left off reading The Valachi Papers in the Genovese family, just as Vincent "The Chin" Gigante rises through the ranks to become the Godfather. One of his youngest children, Rita, tells what life was like as a child in the home of one of the most powerful men in New York City.
Her engaging tale is not at all what I would have expected, and seems to be a life filled with heart-sickening surprises. Among her earliest questions was, "What does my dad do for a living?" A question that went largely unasked and unanswered until she was well into her teens. Her own personal evolution was of interest to me as I watched how she went from not being able to speak in truth about the reality of her world to anyone, sometimes because she didn't know, or because of the" unspoken rule" don't ask questions.

I found the family dynamic interesting because, while my family was not connected, they were Catholic as was Gigante's family and there were other parallels I could appreciate. The judgmental attitude of the Catholic church, and living a lifestyle that goes against the grain. I Think it is commendable that Rita Gigante was strong and brave enough not only to pursue her own truth despite brutal beatings, family denials and threats, but that she found her own healing as a result. Although the author and I are far apart on many of her beliefs and ideas, it took a lot of guts to stand up for what she believes, right wrong or otherwise.

 I really don't know what to think of this book. It went in directions that seemed completely unreal to me. I am not comfortable recommending this to anyone. There are f-bombs and other profanities, and toward the end, the author moves into rather sensitive areas about her own sexual identity. I'll give it four stars for just being gutsy. The book on the whole was a relatively quick read for me, and if you are interested in Mafia tales, you might enjoy this unusual one.

 This book was given to me by the Amazon Vine Program in exchange for my opinion.

Schroder

Schroeder opens with a young man making a change for the better, at least in his mind. I couldn't wait to start the book, wondering what anyone is thinking when they begin to change identities. My questions are how long did they do it and get away with it? They are of course answered in this highly entertaining tale by Amity Gauge. At times I laughed out loud, marvel at the way the character went full bore forward with his idealistic plan. With summer just around the corner (even though March has barely stepped through the door) you will definitely want to put this one on your summer reading list. It's serious with out being heavy, light-hearted, self-deprecating and droll, with flashes of grandiosity, but Gauge pulls it off in elegant style. I'm already looking for what else she's written.


I was given this book for free from the Amazon Vine Program in exchange for my honest opinion .

Mookeys: In a City Near You?

MOOKEYS by MORGAN R. BRAMLET is a walk down the what-if? path. Have you ever wondered what might happen if we could purchase genetically engineered pets? How perfect would they be, if they had all the best features anyone could ever ask for and could talk? Imagine that. Talking pets. Would you be the first among your friends to own one?

Engage with Morgan R. Bramlet as he explores this line of thought through his fictional novel, Mookeys. I found the book fascinating with a little science that was not over my head, a little too believable, and placed in 21st century United States, with an amazingly real scenario: a journalist receives one to take home to his family.

I fell under the spell of the story and let it unfold. I intended to read a few pages a day over the Christmas holidays. But the hook of this story embedded itself in my backbone, on which I lay for hours, too curious about the next event to put the book down.
 When I reached nearly the last plot twist of the book, the turn was so unexpected I had to take a moment to consider what I had just read. I almost put the book down. After careful thought, I decided to see where it would go. Glad I did. I commend the author on how he left the door ajar for future stories. Not sure if there’s anywhere left to go, but this author’s imagination challenges predictability. Check into it if you like sci-fi.

Just an FYI I recently acquired Bramlet’s book: Gargoyles. Stay tuned for that review by month’s end!

How Do You Become Unstoppable?

I had seen Nick Vujicic (pronounced Voo-yi-chich) on You Tube before I found out about his book.  But once I saw it, it was on my mind for days until it showed up.
All of us have had or will eventually have challenges that will threaten to completely undo us. Loss of loved ones, loss of job, an unforeseen event. We come to a cross roads where a decision must be made: to be crushed, limp along or become unstoppable. UNSTOPPABLE is the newest book by Nick a man born with no arms or legs who used the challenges of his own life to encourage others.

It is at times laugh-out-loud funny, and other parts had me in tears. He addresses many difficulties facing many people today including personal crises, bullying, self-destructive thoughts, emotions and addictions as well as relationship issues. Along with his unswerving belief  that God made each of us unique and for a purpose, ha share  amazing personal tales of faith in action. Not only that, Nick has been a speaker around the world, and has brought back incredible stories  of others from his journeys.

Nick lives a full and interesting life which has included scuba diving, surfing and most recently, marriage. If you or someone you know needs a shot in the arm, needs a hopeful reminder about who is in control, this book could be exactly what you’re looking for. Are you ready to be UNSTOPPABLE?

 "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."

Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah Illustrated

 Olga and Aleksey Ivanov beautifully illustrated this one-song book Hanukkah oh Hanukkah!
  It's light and fun and festive entertainment for the little ones. The first page is a sheet of
music, and a modern family is depicted enjoying the holiday. Hanukkah oh Hanukkah! is
about as long as the song, but the illustrations are wonderful.
WARNING: One illustration isn't Kosher.





This book was given to me free by the Amazon Vine Review Program in exchange for my honest opinion.

Have You Checked Your Pulse?

Are you FULLY ALIVE? I had to admit I’d stalled a little. I had just survived one of the most brutal years of my life. I had reached the other side of it, happier but exhausted. My low physical activity job left me psychologically tired at the end of each and every day. I had even gained weight.

KEN DAVIS’ book, FULLY ALIVE caught my attention “A Journey that Will Change Your Life.”  I’d heard Ken Davis on Christian radio stations off and on for years. He offered short snippets of encouragement each day. I wanted some of that.

Ken talks about his life and reaching a goal he didn't want: being overweight, often battling depression and out of breath.  His journey involved setting new goals and breaking those goals into hard but obtainable steps forward. He reminded me that anything worth having is worth going for. It was how I had ended up on the other side of such a tough year. I had realized that my life was nose-diving and I needed to make a change. I had changed, but I still wasn't the best version of myself.

Change is exhilarating, disconcerting and sometimes exhausting. What I needed now, was encouragement and new goals. FULLY ALIVE is packed with tales  and vignettes from the life of Ken, his friends and acquaintances that motivated me. He covers something that I have known for a while but his book was the proof I needed. I hit a major milestone in my life a few years ago. On that day, I said I wanted the next same number of decades to be more exciting than the first. So far, it has been. But with this book as a reminder, I not only believe it will continue to be, but I hope to exceed my wildest imagination.

 If you're someone who needs a jump-start, who feels like there’s more out there to experience, that if there’s one more drop of life to be had don’t want to miss out, I recommend this book.

I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. I received no monetary compensation for my opinions. A copy of the book was provided for me to read, in exchange for my honest opinions of the book.

Entangled in Escape

ESCAPE by Perihan Magden would be best described as a psychological thriller, and is easily one of the most disturbing and haunting books I have read in a long time. The format of the book took a little getting used to.
 The story is told from the eyes of the young daughter sometimes  speaking to her mother, and alternately describing their arrivals and the minutia the make up their days. Her keen perspective begins innocently, and evolves as the girl grows older. She knows they are always traveling light and running.

From who? For what? While these questions bubble like winter stew in the back of your mind, Bambi and Mother (not their real names) land in cities and seaside hotels around the world where they collect pebbles and shells and other daily accouterments needed to make the hotel room “theirs.” Inevitably, some dark event presents itself causing them to leave everything behind and run off to the next city, country or continent.

Every few chapters, would be a bit from someone who saw them. After reading the book for three days after work, it was getting under my skin. It became clear what was happening, and I had reached a point that they either needed to stop running or I had to finish the book.

When I finished ESCAPE I had no preconceived notion of how the book would end, or even how it could end. It was very surprising and unsettling. ESCAPE is told in such an unfamiliar way that it could be used as a study in style. To say I enjoyed the book would be a stretch.  I give it four stars for keeping me completely captivated and 5 for the way I will be thinking of this book for many years afterward. I dare you to read it.

I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. I received no monetary compensation for my opinions. A copy of the book was provided for me to read, in exchange for my honest opinions of the book.

Smashing Word Press Not for the Faint of Mind

I have often thought myself a glutton for punishment. Anyone who has just begun figuring out Word Press, might agree that it's more than a little daunting. I need help and Smashing Word Press/ Beyond the Blog by Thord Daniel Hedengren was going to be my salvation. For some reason, I just wanted to hop around the chapters of the book, taking what I needed and moving on; but it seemed necessary to start at the beginning.

 The computer language was a bit mind numbing. I restarted the book three times before I could get in to the language. Many ideas for blogs have presented themselves to me, and getting the polished look of Word Press is like finding the Holy Grail. The book at times, seems one step removed from computer programming. The investment in the start-up cost motivates me to learn Word Press, Smashing Word Press is helping me do it.

You may remember that I just reviewed another book: Visually Learn Word Press. Between the two I'm making better headway. (It would be wonderful if they were synched books, but they aren't.) They are both helpful in their own right, but Smashing Word Press literally walks one through the process and the computer codes. They tell you where you can go safely and where you might not want to tread carelessly. A wonderful site can be put up with this book and whether you learn every single thing in it or not, you will have accomplished a very nice finished product. It is my goal to conquer Word Press, and this in-depth book, is the bible I'm reading to reach that goal. The main thing is, you have to be willing to invest the time it's going to take to LEARN Word Press. If you are interested in all the bells and whistles that make a good site a great site, and you love page building, you will probably enjoy this book. I have found it very accurate, user friendly and after a period of time, it really did start to make sense to me. It's a book I will keep on my shelf as a reference. I give it five stars.


 I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. I received no monetary compensation for my opinions. A copy of the book was provided for me to read, in exchange for my honest opinions of the book.

You Can Get There From Here

The title of Gene Edwards book grabbed my attention straight off. I hadn’t been good at living close to God for a long while. As of late, I’m not great at morning devotionals, don’t usually have a list of prayers at the ready, nor will you find me burning out my kneecaps in hours of prayer. Somedays I need a drive-thru church, prayers that I can say while reheating my morning coffee in the microwave and sound bites from my Heavenly Father. I had fallen under the spell of “too-busy.” Add to that, I was thrown into heavy duty life changes every other year.

What I also noticed, however, (and usually late at night) is the insidious, ever-widening gap between me and God. Gene Edwards reveals that for him connecting with the almighty in a real way was elusive, not only to me and others,but to him, a pastor. I had beautiful seasons, life on the edge seasons, breath-taking, white-knuckle seasons, hold-your-breath-until-this-is-over seasons. When there is God or nothing, I choose all God. But honestly, outside of a crisis, when everything is going right, I didn’t know how to connect.  So how does one cross the threshold into continuous, meaningful relationship with God?

I found Gene Edwards answers surprising and simple. Almost too simple. He explains the entryways that led him to the heart of God, and profoundly impacted his journey. I appreciated Edward’s honesty that as a pastor he struggled in many of the same ways I did: falling asleep while reading the word or praying, running out of things to pray or talk to God about and his feelings of inadequacy.

His steps to living in communion with God are so easy anyone serious about their journey can follow. At the back of the book were exercises and questions that could be utilized alone, with another or in a small group setting. I will be sharing this book with my fiancé and in the fall, our writers group. I’m giving this book 5 stars.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Thick as Thieves

Thick as Thieves by Peter Spiegelman

When this book showed up at my door and I saw the page count of 295 I groaned. I didn’t remember ordering the book, and wasn’t quite sure I was ready for it. After putting on my sunning clothes, pouring an iced-tea then grabbing my mp3 player, I reluctantly picked up the novel that Lee Childs called “slick, sophisticated and satisfying” and set out to lounge in the chaise.

My plan was to read the first chapter, close my eyes and listen to music while napping in the afternoon sun. It was the phrase at the end of the first sentence… "Carr hears voices in the walls." that reached out like a tentacle and grabbed hold of my imagination. The next thing I knew, my skin was slightly burnt, my ice tea was empty and I was closing the book on chapter ten. I felt like I was in the middle of the tropical heat they were experiencing in Miami.

While I went about my day, I couldn’t stop thinking about Carr, Latin Mike, Bobby Dennis and haunted by Val. I wonderer what Carr was going to do about his father, and this team—that didn’t seem quite loyal—that he’d just begun to lead on the Prader job.

I fell in love with the story. I’d read a few chapters and stop intentionally to see if I could figure out how things would play out. In this way, the story seemed more real, more surprising ( I was wrong about the way it went) that reading it straight through. I savored that story as much as I could.

Even as the chapters wound down, and I was desperate to see how it all turned out,  didn’t want the story to end. If you like intelligent thrillers that always keep you guessing, Spielgelman’s Thick as Thieves won’t disappoint.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 

The Adjustment Bureau

I saw The Adjustment Bureau movie trailer only recently and really wanted to hear more. When I found the audio book, only then did I discover it was a Classic Paranoid Story by science fiction author, Philip K. Dick. I had to get it. With an hour drive time everyday, I was hoping it would be a longer story, but found it entirely entertaining.

When this curious tale began with a Clerk talking to a dog about upcoming changes to sector T137, I wondered, where is this going? But when the dog answered him, I had to see what happened next. I down loaded the disc to my MP3 player and listened to it on my way to work.

The story takes place in the day of Ed Fletcher, a real estate agent. All appears to be typical until the sun winks out, and Ed finds himself in world made of grey ash. What happens after that, will have you pondering the subtle changes in your own surroundings for days, possibly years.

Phil Gigante’s excellent performance gave a distinctive voice, tone and cadence to each character, making it easy to follow them through the hour-long drama.

The quality of this recording by Brilliance Audio was clear with Gigante maintaining a consistent volume and no distracting background noises. (In some other audio books I’ve heard cocks crowing and children and those elements weren’t part of the story.) Gigante’s spectacular enunciation kept me tracking with the story to its surprising conclusion. If you enjoy audio books, make time for this one.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this audio book free through the Amazon Vine program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

How Would You Like to Live in Victory?

Thirty One Days of Power
Learning to Live in Spiritual Victory

by Ruth Myers with Warren Myers

The world is a messy place these days. The stress of getting through a “normal” day seems to escalate. Traffic jams, calamities, disasters, people losing their livelihood and homes, crime, war... The worries seem to multiply and the world seems an increasingly dangerous place to live.

Are you really living? Or just surviving? At the end of a typical day, you might feel like you haven't any power left. Even though most Christians understand that Satan seeks to destroy our lives and souls, it seems not quite as many know how to fight this centuries old battle.

Wouldn't it be nice to rise above the turmoil of the day and enjoy some measure of real peace? How would you like to take a deep breath and be refreshed? Where can you plug into a major power source to be re-energized?

My husband and I began reading Ruth Myers book, Learning to Live in Spiritual Victory in morning over breakfast before leaving for work. The verses feel like a cup of hot tea with a friend, warming and comforting. They began positively affecting me from the beginning of chapter one: “Father in heaven, I lift up my heart to You... “

Instead of magnifying the problems, the daily prayers and praises of this devotional point to the answer: Almighty God. I read each prayer, weighing it in my heart, reminded that God is in control and far more worthy of my attention. He is ever present, waiting for me to call upon Him.

Since we began reading the book, I sleep better at night, feel closer to God and don't worry as much. When I begin feeling anxious, I go back to reread the devotion for that day. As I draw near to end of the book, I feel as though I have put on the armor of God, equipped to live in spiritual victory.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Waterbrook Multnomah book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255