Saturday, July 28, 2012

Stacking The Shelves #8


From Tynga's Reviews:

We are all book lovers and the need to share our enthusiasm is sometimes overwhelming. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! 
If you’re anything like me, you are probably hoarding books and even though you are excited about your latest book arrival, it might be a while before you get to review it and Stacking The Shelves is a good way to express your undying enthusiasm for those titles!

My shelves are now bursting, I finally received my shipment of books from Books Closeout. It took me all week to get the pictures and link together for this post.  Only to find out that I already own on of the books in digital form.

From BookMooch:




Purchased From BookCloseout:








What did you add to your shelves this week?

Friday, July 27, 2012

Olympic ReadAthon Plans





I have a problem with signing up for Read-A-Thons.  I just can't seem to make myself stop.  I might have a problem.
    Book List:
    This list is not set in stone
    • The Vampire Huntress Series by L.A. Banks
      • The Cursed (Book #9)
      • The Darkness (Book #10)
      • The Shadows (Book #11)
      • The Thirteenth (Book #12)
    • The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer
    • Food Matters by Mark Bittman
    • A Golden Voice by Ted WIlliams
    • I'm Only Human After All by Alex Rogers
    Goals:
    • 100/daily 
    • 1600 total
    Because this the Olympic ReadAThon last throughout the entire duration of the Olympic Games, I am not going to do a daily update.  I will update every two to three days.


    Are you doing this Read-a-Thon?

    Friday Finds: July 27th

    Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading ask:

    What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

    It's the end of July, so for the last Friday Find of the month.  I am showcasing finds from two different blogs that been introduced me to some really interesting sounding books.

    (Clicking on the image will take you to the books GoodReads page)




    What did you find?

    Wednesday, July 25, 2012

    Review: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout

    Rating: 4 Stars
    Pages: 270 pages
    Genre: Literary Fiction
    Series/Standalone: Standalone
    Publication Date: 2008
    Source: Borrowed from Local Public Library

    Synopsis (GoodReads):

    In a voice more powerful and compassionate than ever before, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout binds together thirteen rich, luminous narratives into a book with the heft of a novel, through the presence of one larger-than-life, unforgettable character: Olive Kitteridge.

    At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer’s eyes, it’s in essence the whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand human drama–desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love.

    At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance: a former student who has lost the will to live: Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

    As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition–its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.
    Review:


    Plot:
        Olive Kitteridge is the story of a woman who is in the last moments of her life.  She is not dying but she is old.  Her only child is grown and has moved away from the small town in which she raised him.  This is a novel about Olive reflecting on her life and how she ends up in the situations that she encounters through the story.

          Intertwined with Olive's story is the story of other residents of her small Maine town.  Some of them have a direct connection with Olive's, while with others the connection is not as strong.  There are stories about about friends, students, and people that she connects with going about her everyday life.

      Olive Kitteridge is very similar to The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, in tone.  It's a character study more than action driven.


    Characters:
         The characters (other than Olive) are a little bit harder to describe.  In some cases, like with Harry Kitteridge, Olive's husband, readers are able to form a strong connection with his character.  They get to know his personality and can see that he is a good decent man that cares about his customers and his family.

         Other characters stories are brief Stout made sure that reader understood the character ultimate purpose, feelings and actions. Stout shows her talent as a writer by being able to tale each characters story and history without making it one large information dump.  There were times when I wondered what connection certain characters had with Olive and then there would be a mention of her.  Stout showed how one person can affect the course of so many lives by actions and words.

        The main character, Olive Kitteridge is not a happy person. She had a hard difficult childhood and it reflected in how she treated the people around her.  Which in turn reflected how they thought and interacted with her.  There were times when I thought that she had to be the most rudest, nastiness, most bitter person around.  Her dog was the only "person" that she displayed a constant display for consideration for, with everyone else she was a constant "hot and cold".   Her attitude tainted the most important relationships in her life, that between her and her son, and her and her husband, Henry.

         Now, while Olive was mean.  She was honest, which I found refreshing even while finding it shocking.

         One of her 7th grade students remembered her saying:
    Don't be scared of your hunger.  If you're scared of your hunger, you'll just be one more ninny like everyone else.
         That's not bad or shocking, it's actually great advice to give a child.  I won't ruin the story for you by telling you what the student did with that advice.


        But of her husband she thought:
    But Henry was pretty irritating himself, with his steadfast way of remaining naive, as though life were just what a Sears catalogue told you it was: everyone standing around and smiling.
         In the end, I liked Olive.  I realized that at the time she thought she was doing her best and she really did not know any other way to behave.  That her rudeness was a shield to hide her true feelings from the world.  That ultimately she was scared of being hurt and in the end I think that she finally realized that two.


    Writing:
         I liked Stout writing style, it was very fluid and engaging.  She was able to masterfully distinguish all her characters and make them all complex.  There voices were unique and never did I get confused about which characters story is was reading.

         The overall tone was solemn, but Stout was able interject humor in just the right places to lighten the mood up when need.  The humor didn't seem forced but flowed naturally with the story.

         One of my favorite exchanges was between elderly father and his son about the whether the son had tried pot and the  definition of the term "fuck buddies". It was funny and charming to see a father trying to bridge the generational gap with his son and make sure that he was "cool".

    Overall Recommendation:


    I found Olive Kitteridge to be a very pleasant story about a woman reflecting on her life mixed in with other stories about people dealing with various situations. It was a smooth read, and while I won't say that it was a favorite novel or that I would give it rave reviews.  I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone or read another one of Elizabeth Stout's novels again.  I think this is the prefect book for anyone that enjoyed The Remains of The Day.

    Tuesday, July 24, 2012

    High Summer RAT Wrap Up



    My final stats for the RAT:

    Books Finished
    • Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (270 pages)
    Books Started
    • Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal (104 pages)
    Total Pages Read: 374 Pages
    Total Time Read: 8 hour 14 minutes
    Pages per Hour: approxiamtely 40 pages
    Thoughts: 

    • I would have done much better if I had stuck with my initial plan.  Which was to read 35% of each book per night.  I didn't on the first night and ended up playing catch up for the rest of the RAT.  Add to that the fact that I did not read on either Thursday or Friday.  But overall, I enjoyed it and the interaction with other participation, especially on twitter.

    How did you do?

    Teaser Tuesday


    TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
    • Grab your current read.
    • Let the book fall open to a random page.
    • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
    • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
    Please avoid spoilers!
    This weeks teasers is from Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal
    "I've done reports on anti-corruption measures in Zambia,"  I say, blandly.  "Zambia, is Africa's leading producers of emeralds and now, here you are, wearing them."
    -Page 83 (eBook)

    I think she is trying to start some trouble.  Hopefully she is not getting too big for her britches.

    Don't forget to post a link to your teaser!
    I want to read it.

    Sunday, July 22, 2012

    Sunday Post #4




    The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
    ~this meme was inspired in part by - In My Mailbox~
    It's a chance to share News.
    A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
    This is your news post, so personalize it. Include as much as you want or as little.
    Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies.

    Tonight is the last day for the High Summer Read-a-Thon...  I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked but it was fun trying.

    What Happened Last Week:
    What's Happening This Week:
    • Reviews:  I plan to have the review for Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout up by Monday and hopeful I will be done with Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal done and reviewed by Wednesday.
    • Weekly Memes:  I am adding a new weekly meme Wondrous Words Wednesday hosted by BermudaOnion's Weblog.

    Happy Reading,
    MoniqueReads

    Saturday, July 21, 2012

    High Summer RAT: Saturday Update



    Thursday and Friday ended up being busy days for me so I got no reading done at all.  But, now I am back and ready to tackle some books


    Currently Reading: Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal (author asked for review)
    Pages Read (since last update): 201 pages
    Total Pages Read: 270 Pages
    Total Time Read:  6 hour 10 minutes


    Thoughts:  I am averaging about 45 pages an hour which is kind of high for me.  Normally, I read about 35 pages an hour.  I did enjoy reading Olive Kitteridge, and I can't wait to review it.  I have so funny quotes to share.

    How are you doing?

    Stacking The Shelves #7





    From Tynga's Reviews:

    We are all book lovers and the need to share our enthusiasm is sometimes overwhelming. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! 
    If you’re anything like me, you are probably hoarding books and even though you are excited about your latest book arrival, it might be a while before you get to review it and Stacking The Shelves is a good way to express your undying enthusiasm for those titles!
    It was another light week here at The Little Reading Nook.  It's really the quite before the storm.  I order 13 books from Bookclosetout.  They were having a 50% off promotion on there scratch and dent titles.


    The Color Purple by Alice Walker
    (Purchased eBook form B&N)

    Celie has grown up in rural Georgia, navigating a childhood of ceaseless abuse. Not only is she poor and despised by the society around her, she’s badly treated by her family. As a teenager she begins writing letters directly to God in an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear. Her letters span twenty years and record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment through the guiding light of a few strong women and her own implacable will to find harmony with herself and her home.

    The Color Purple’s deeply inspirational narrative, coupled with Walker’s prodigious talent as a stylist and storyteller, have made the novel a contemporary classic of American letters.



    The Cursed (Vampire Huntress Legend #9) by L.A. Banks
    (Purchased from Amazon)
    The Chairman has been slaughtered, along with Hell’s first almost-successful attempt at creating an Anti-Christ, using Carlos Rivera’s body-double. Dante’s son has also been vanquished. 
     Now the evil Lilith sits on Dante’s old throne, a prize won in her negotiations with Cain. She is The Vampire Council’s new Chairwoman—and Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. All Lilith needs is Damali’s newly discovered angelic powers to allow her evil progeny to walk through the veil between worlds and usher in the true Anti-Christ. Damali and her crew enter a desperate race against time to stop Lilith—even if doing so brings the Neteru Councils out of the clouds and into the Biblical Holy Lands…and kicks off the Armageddon.

    Friday, July 20, 2012

    Friday Finds: July 20th

    Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading ask:

    What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

    This week all my finds are from Sophia at Page Plunker. I seem to have acquired a lot of potential victims book to add to my to read list (or Mt. TBR) from Page Plunker.  So, please stop by her blog and follow.

    (Clicking on the image will take you to the books GoodReads page)


    What did you find this week?

    Thursday, July 19, 2012

    BTT: One or Many

    This week Booking Through Thursday ask:
    Series or Stand-alone?
    Stand-alone.

    My main reason to preferring stand-alone is because once I finish a book, I like to be done.  I like to move on to the next book, character, world.  I am not a person that likes to linger.  I might wonder what happened to the characters afterwards, but I really don't want to know.  Maybe this ties in with my pet peeves about epilogues.


    I do read series, right now I have five different series in some state of completion.  It was not my intention to start series, but when I started to read urban fantasy/paranormal, most of the books were part of a series.  And I got sucked in.  I do enjoy them, but sometimes I get the feeling that authors keep adding elements to make the series last longer instead of just letting it end.    


    When I read book blogs I find that I don't consider books that are part of a series, especially if it is not a completed series.  I hate waiting and I don't want to start another series until I have completed the ones that I   have already started.

    So what about you?  Series or Stand-alone?

    Wednesday, July 18, 2012

    High Summer RAT: Wednesday



    Currently Reading: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (challenge book)
    Pages Read (since last update): 69 pages
    Total Pages Read: 130 Pages
    Total Time Read:  3 hour 40 minutes
    Books Read: N/A
    Thoughts:  I am a day behind where I want to be, but I am not going to stress it.  I received The Curse in the mail today, so as soon as I finish Olive Kitteridge I can start it and try to finish the series before the month is over.

    How are you doing?

    Review: The Upper Room by Mary Monroe

    Rating: 2 stars
    Pages: ebook
    Genre: General Fiction
    Series/Standalone: Series (Mama Ruby)
    Publication Date: 1986
    Source: Purchased from B&N

    Description (GoodReads):

    Set in the bayous of the Florida Everglades in a migrant labor camp, "The Upper Room" is a powerful, vibrant, and lyrical story, peopled with richly-drawn and unforgettable characters. Most memorable of all, is the indomitable, astounding, larger-than-life Mama Ruby, the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, a woman with healing hands, a voracious appetite, and a switchblade and a crucifix at her bosom.
    Mama Ruby may not be all crazy, but she's at least halfway there. She's known for taking things that aren't rightfully hers, like her best friend's stillborn baby -- a tiny girl that she brought back to life and christened Maureen. She's also rumored to have done away with her husband.

    With her God-fearing neighbors watching her every step, it's all Mama Ruby can do to stay ahead of the law. One desperate night, she flees to Goons, a dirt-poor migrant settlement in the Everglades -- and strangely, it feels like home. And through everything, she remains downright nuts about the one gift God gave her -- her precious daughter Maureen. But growing up with a mama like Ruby is enough to make any half-sane girl wish for something -- anything -- else. And when Maureen gets the chance to explore the "real" world, you can bet she's going to take it...and run like hell.
    Review:

    Plot:

    From the description The Upper Room sounds like it is going to be an interesting read with a Christian slant.    Which is what I expected from an author whose most famous books are part of a series entitled "God Don't Like Ugly".  The Upper Room is not Christian fiction by any stretch of the imagination.  In fact, I don't know what genre to even place it in.

    This was not what I was expecting, in a bad way.  I thought I was getting the book in the description the tale of a women stealing a baby she once thought was dead.  It is and it isn't.  It's really hard to put into words what The Upper Room is about because I am/was so confused.  Instead, of a heartfelt story about a women  wanting a child so much that she is willing to steal her best friends baby, The Upper Room  is about a crazy, overweight serial killer, who just happened to steal the baby girl she always wanted but never had.

    I had gotten to less than 100 pages into the novel when I wen back to re-read the description.  I even went back and re-read the reviews, just to see make sure I  was reading the right book.  After reading the reviews, I figured that somehow I wasn't getting it.  Everyone else seemed to think this book was funny. The star rating was 4 and above.  I wondered if Mary Monroe was using some form of satire that was just going over my head.  I did not find this book funny or even mildly entertaining.

    Characters:

    There is a whole cast of crazy characters.  Characters that I often confused with one another.

    The main character, Mama Ruby claims to be a God fearing, Christian with the devil on her coattails.  In reality, the devil is on her left shoulder with direct access to her whenever he wants it.  She kills people (lots of them) needlessly with out not provocation. If someone wants to collect a debt she kills them, if someone calls her a name she kills them.  She kills anyone and everyone, claiming that they were trying to rape her and she had to "chastize" them.  She is also and alcoholic and is morbidly obese.  Her only redeeming qualities are the she loves her children and if you stay on her good side she is a great friend.

    The daughter that she kidnapped, Maureen, was a underdeveloped.  All she wanted to do was live her life, which would only be possible if she could escape Mama Ruby, who has no intention of letting her go, ever.  I really wish Monroe would have done more with Maureen characters.  Yes, she knew that her mother was a "little" crazy, but she turned a blind eye to her antics, instead pretending that she did not know what was going on.

    The characters that I liked the most were Virgil, Mama Ruby's son, and Black Jack, Virgil's friend.  They were the most believable out of all the characters.  They were the only two people that would say that Mama Ruby was crazy and that Maureen needed to run as far away from her as possible.

    Writing:

    Mary Monroe's writing style is engaging but her writing couldn't cover up what a hot mess this book was.

    There were jumps in time without any indication that time had passed.  One minute Maureen is a baby, then next she is five, then she is 18.  It was confusing and took me out the flow of the story often.

    Monroe wasn't consistent and her ages were off.  At one point I pulled out a calculator to figure out how old everyone was and it didn't match.

    The dialogue was unbelievable.  I understand that the characters are from the south and that because of regional accents some words would have different pronunciations but who was "V-Eight Nam" or "so-wee-side"

    I have tons of highlights with notes that way "!!!What???"  or "WTF".

    The person that edited The Upper Room should be ashamed of themselves.


    Overall Recommendation:


    I would not recommend this book to anyone.  That being said, I am looking forward to reading the prequel, Mama Ruby, which was written about 20 years after The Upper Room.  I have heard that it is a much better book and show Monroe's growth as an author.  I am also looking forward to reading The God Don't Like Ugly series which I have heard good thing about, also.  Apparently, Monroe suffered from a bad case of "horrible" debut syndrome with The Upper Room and her other works are much better.

    Tuesday, July 17, 2012

    High Summer RAT: Update Tuesday



    Currently Reading: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (challenge book)
    Pages Read (since last update): 61 pages
    Total Pages Read: 61 Pages
    Total Time Read:  1 hour 45 minutes
    Books Read: N/A
    Thoughts:  I am behind where I would like to be,  I should be at least on page 95. Not a good start.

    How are you doing?

    Teaser Tuesday: Olive Kitteridge


    TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
    • Grab your current read.
    • Let the book fall open to a random page.
    • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
    • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
    Please avoid spoilers!
    This weeks teasers is from Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout


    For many years Henry Kitteridge was a pharmacist in the next town over, driving every morning on snowy roads, or rainy roads, or summer-time roads, when the wild raspberries shot their growth in brambles along the last section of town before he turned off to where the wider road led to the pharmacy.  Retired now, he stills wakes early and remembers how mornings used to be his favorite, as though the world were his secret, tires rumbling softly beneath him and the light emerging through the early fog, the brief sight of the bay off to his right, then the pines, tall and slender, and almost always he rode with the window partly open because he loved the smell of the pines and the heavy salt air, and in the winter he loved the smell of the cold. 
    -page 1

    That's the whole first paragraph, two sentences.

    Don't forget to post a link to your teaser!
    I want to read it.

    Monday, July 16, 2012

    High Summer Read-a-Thon Plan


    Yes, another Read-a-Thon.

    I was going to continue and try and knock out L.A. Banks' The Vampire Huntress Series but I am waiting for Amazon The Cursed (Book #9).  If the estimated arrival time is right I will not get that until Friday, which means that I could probably knock out a couple of the books in the series on the weekend. *crosses fingers and toes*
    Book List:
    • Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (challenge book)
    • Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal (author asked for review)
    • The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer
    • The Vampire Huntress Series by L.A. Banks
      • The Cursed (Book #9)
      • The Darkness (Book #10)
      • The Shadows (Book #11)
      • The Thirteenth (Book #12)
    Reading Plans:
    • Plan to read at least 35 percent of the book each night, which means I should finish a book in 3 days.  
    • Update every night at 8pm
    • Saturday and Sunday - is all about reading.  I will try to plow through as many books as possible.
    Are you doing this Read-a-Thon?

    Saturday, July 14, 2012

    Stacking The Shelves #6


    From Tynga's Reviews:

    We are all book lovers and the need to share our enthusiasm is sometimes overwhelming. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! 
    If you’re anything like me, you are probably hoarding books and even though you are excited about your latest book arrival, it might be a while before you get to review it and Stacking The Shelves is a good way to express your undying enthusiasm for those titles!

    Another light week for me.  This is just the calm before the storm.  One of my favorite discount book sites is having a sale and I went a bit overboard.  The postman should be bring me loads of books in the next week or so.


    Giveaway Won at The Literary Gothamite:
    The Bay of Foxes: A Novel by Sheila Kohler
    In 1978, Dawit, a young, beautiful, and educated Ethiopian refugee, roams the streets of Paris. By chance, he spots the famous French author M., who at sixty is at the height of her fame. Seduced by Dawit's grace and his moving story, M. invites him to live with her. He makes himself indispensable, or so he thinks. When M. brings him to her Sardinian villa, beside the Bay of Foxes, Dawit finds love and temptation—and perfects the art of deception




    Purchased from B&N:

    City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare 
    When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? 
    This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . 
    Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
    Purchased from B&N:
    Waking Lazarus by T.L. Hines
    Jude Allman is hiding. Hiding from the world and hiding from God. Because when you come back from the dead three times the world wants a piece of you...and it becomes clear that God may have something in mind for you too. When a terrible danger threatens the people that matter most to Jude, he realizes his days of hiding are over. Does he have enough faith in God's faith in him to truly risk living for the first time in years?
    Author Requesting Reviews (GoodReads):
    I'm Only Human After Allby Alex Rogers
    What do you do if you find yourself suddenly, and without provocation, the target of high school aggression, relentless insults, and painful isolation? Such is the dilemma of teenager Alex Rogers, the main character in I’m Only Human After All, the thought-provoking, absorbing novel inspired by the real-life trials of the author by the same name. In this penetrating story, Rogers draws from his personal experiences to offer invaluable insight to students, teachers, and parents everywhere on today’s increasingly common, and highly damaging, instances of bullying and cyber-bullying. The novel’s poignant, reflective first-person narrative details all that bullied young adults confront, casting crucial new light on this timely topic to enable individuals to cope with this pervasive problem. I’m Only Human After All also represents the debut work of fiction in the ongoing "Empowerment" series based on the author’s life that surrounds topics relevant today.