Friday Finds: September 28th

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!

I normally don't review Romance Books (even though I do read them on occasion) but here are two books that caught my attention and have great reviews.

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

Friday Finds: September 21

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's Friday Finds theme is Non-Fiction.  I always try to sprinkle a little Non-Fiction into my reading list.  I don't read as much Non-Fiction as I would like but I try.

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

From A Book Blog. Period.

From Under My Apple Tree

From Bermudaonion's Weblog

From Farm Lane Books Blog

From Regular Rumination

What did you find this week?

Teaser Tuesday: The Darkness by L.A. Banks

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 The Darkness (A Vampire Huntress Legend Book #10) by L.A. Banks

Carlos kissed her before she could utter any words of self-defeat, and when he pulled away, she touched his chest.  She didn't have to say it.

-page 235 (paperback)

Don't forget to post a link to your teaser!

I want to read it.

20% Rule: I'm Only Human After All by Alex Rogers

Genre: Non-Fiction (Inspirational)
Series/Standalone: Series
Version: eBook (epub)
Publication Date: August 2011
Publisher: Alex I. Rogers (self-published)
Source:  Authors Requesting Reviews

Synopsis (GoodReads):

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

Why I Quit:

I'm Only Human After All is one of those books that all I can really say about it is that it was not for me.  When I requested I'm Only Human After All, I was expecting to like it.  And for the most part I did.  I just found it really hard to get into and it took me 3 days just to complete 32% of the book.

The main problem that I had with novella is that as Rogers was telling his story, he would throw in little words of wisdom or what he was thinking at the time.  I had a hard time buying that a middle-school or high-school kid would have such deep thoughts at emotional pivotal points in their lives.  Not that it doesn't happen but it sounded more like the author had time to reflect on the situations.

I do think there are people that will get a lot out of Rogers story. It might be the prefect book for a teenage boy having a problem with bullying and fitting in.  The GoodRead rating is favorable, 4.00.

I think I would have enjoyed finished this if it had been presented in a different "form".  Maybe more linear?

Completed: 32%

FTC Disclosure:  I received a free copy of I'm Only Human After All in exchange for an honest review.

Stacking The Shelves #9

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!

I was walking in Barnes & Nobles the other day.  I had to pick up a technical book that I had purchased.  I wasn't suppose to buy anything else.  But somehow I ended up in the clearence section and somehow I ended up buying two books that I wasn't suppose to buy.

Both books were from authors that I have read before and whose books I enjoyed.

From Audrey Niffenegger:

I read The Time Traveler's Wife and cried like a baby at the end.  I also passed it on to my roommates.  One in which also cried and the other could not get into it and gave up.  I don't know if it is fair, but I have high expections for Her Fearful Symmetry.

From Yann Martel:

I read the Life of Pi and even though it did not make me cry and I did not enjoy the end.  I did enjoy the journey enough to remember the authors name and to pick up Beatrice and Virgil without hesitation.  

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Friday Find: September 14

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 I decided to focus my Friday Finds on The Young Adult Genre.

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

BBAW: Day Three Meme

Day 3 of  Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2012.  This is the first time that I have participated in BBAW and I am excited.

Today's Meme:  What does book blogging mean to you?

This is a tough question for me to answer.  Primary because I have never really thought about what book blogging means to me.

When I started this blog in 2008, I did it because I wanted to discuss the books that I read with someone.  I had just moved to Florida and it is easier to get involved with communities online then it is in the real world.  I  knew absolutely no one and my roommates did not read the same kind of books that I did.  So, while we could discuss popular books like Twilight (which I only read because one roommate was a fan), other books  not so much.

My memory tells me that when I started there were a lot more General (Non-Genre) fiction book blogs around.  I found tons of books that I would have never heard of and even read books that had been sitting on my shelf forever.

Because of book blogging, I found Shelfari.  Which at the time was my go to bookish community until it was acquire by Amazon and I got locked out of my account and it took almost a year for me to get someone to fix it.  Because of book blogging I found GoodReads, where I am not active in forums but more like I record my reading journey.

There was a two or three year time period where I basically stop blogging and for the most part stopped reading.  During that time there were a lot of changes in both publishing and the book blogging community.  Young adult fiction became a huge success and some of the blogs that I had once followed had disappeared.

These changes have been interesting to watch.  Specially what ends up being the next big thing and watching how the long it last or how fast it disappears.  Especially in the young adult genre (and sub-genres).

Unlike some blogs out there I don't have a lot of followers and because of my reading taste I  rarely get review request.  So, it is always interesting to look at other peoples blogs and see what is coming out and what they thought about it.  Amazon/GoodReads/Shelfari are great to read reviews but for some reason I trust someone that has a blog.  Because I know the time it takes to maintain and I have followed them for awhile and I can go back and look at what they read  and reviewed.  It is almost like a background check.  I feel that I can trust what a blogger (at least most) a saying about a book.  Sometimes an incident happens where people are less then honest but it hasn't happened to any of the blogs that I follow.

One thing I noticed is that my reading taste have not changed.  It just has become a little harder for me to find books that match what I like.  Books that can catch my interest because there is some much focus on genre fiction.  It feels that my choices of literary/contemporary fiction are getting smaller and smaller every month.

In fact, this year I am still looking for that one great fiction read.  The one that blows my mind and has me thinking about it for days after.  The one that I rave to all my friends that I love.  While I have read some good books, none have been that one, yet.

My blog still primary functions as an avenue for me to record what I read and what I thought about it.  I don't have a lot of followers so it is always nice when someone comments on my post or an author ask for a review.  I get a lot of joy and pleasure out of the fact that maybe one person has stumbled across my little corner of the web, read my review, and then read the book and enjoyed it.

Being involved in the book blogging community has been a great ride so far.  I am looking forward to see where it all goes with the changes occurring in publishing

BBAW: Day One Meme

It's Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2012.  This is the first time that I have participated in BBAW and I am excited.

Today's Meme:  Share with your readers some of the blogs you enjoy reading daily and why.

I subscribe to tons of book blogs.  I try to read as many as possible but there are not enough free hours in my day.  I am a literary/contemporary fiction reader (if you haven't noticed) but most of the blogs that I subscribe to are genre based.  A lot of them are YA focused and/or Paranormal focused.  Now, while I read very little YA and Paranormal, I do like reading these blogs to see what is going on in the book reading world and to keep up on the trends.

While browsing through my Google Reader for books to showcase, these 7 were the ones that jumped out at me.  All these bloggers have taste similar to mine and I have become aware of some very good books because of them.  

• Reads for Pleasure - Focuses on contemporary and literary fiction with a emphasizes of authors of color.
• Carabosse's Library - A good mixture of all genres with dash of non-fiction sprinkled in.  I have found tons of books from Carabosse.
• Page Plucker -  I have been following this site for a while and like Carabosse's Library have become aware of loads of books because of reviews from there.  
• Library of Clean Reads - Reviews a range of books from children's to adults.  As the name implies they are "clean reads"  free of explicit sex, profanity, graphic violence and paranormal themes.
• A Morose Bookshelf - Amber reviews a wide range of genres and I really enjoy reading her reviews.
• Bibliophile By The Sea - is another blog the reviews primary literary fiction and has contributed to my exploding TBR list.
• Devourer of Books - I have found some great books to add to TBR list because of this blog.  She listens to a far amount of audiobooks and I like reading her thoughts on the audiobook production and the stories.

There are plenty of others that I frequent but I am going to keep this list short.

Review: The Cursed by LA Banks

Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars
Pages: 468
Genre: Paranormal
Series/Standalone: Series (Vampire Huntress Legend #9)
Publication Date: July 2007
Version: Mass-Market Paperback
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: From Private Collection

Synopsis (GoodReads):

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.

Review:

I am taking a break from my normal format and am going to make this short and sweet.

The Cursed only gets 3 stars because it is one of my least favorite books in the series.  Nothing much happens.  All the prerequisites were there, fighting, romance, sex, etc.  But it fell flat.  Mainly, because The Cursed felt like a "filler" book.  All the events that took place in this book were just setup of the final events to come, possibly in book 12.  This alone made The Cursed one of the most difficult books in the Vampire Huntress Legend for me to read.  It took me almost a week to get this one done. Normally I can plow through one of these novels in a weekend, if I have nothing else to do.

It all felt a little drawn out.  I like that Banks could have achieved her goals in this novel in fewer pages.  There was way to much crying.  There was tons of crying.  It was driving me insane.  Every scene someone was brought to tears.

I did like how Banks handled Lilith's as the new Councilwoman.  Instead of using brute force think her male Council members to achieve her goals.  She used mind games and cunning.  Which was neat to see.

Overall Recommendation:

Overall, The Cursed was just so-so.  It's a means to a necessary end, the furthering of the series.  I thought that it could be have been shorter.  If it wasn't part of the series I would say skip it but I am sure it will be needed to understand future books.

Winner: Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal

The winner has already claimed her prize.  But I thought that I would announce it just so that participants would know that I didn't forget about this contest.

Vicky G.

20% Rule: The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer

Pages: 367
Genre: Thriller
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Version: Hardback
Publication Date: February 2007
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: Private Collection

Synopsis (GoodReads):

In Boston, a disgraced medical student is sent to deliver a research paper that could save her career. . . . Four thousand miles away, in a jungle hospital in Cameroon, a brilliant, reclusive scientist, dying from an incurable disease that threatens to make each tortured breath his last, is on the verge of perfecting a serum that could save millions of lives, and bring others inestimable wealth. . . . In Chicago, a disillusioned private detective, on the way to his third career, is hired to determine the identify of a John Doe, killed on a Florida highway, with mysterious marks on his body.

Three seemingly disconnected lives, surging unrelentingly toward one another. Three lives becoming irrevocably intertwined. Three lives in mounting peril, moving ever closer to the ultimate confrontation against a deadly secret society with godlike aspirations and roots in antiquity.

Medical student. Scientist. Private eye. Three people who will learn the deeper meanings of brilliance and madness, truth and deception, trust and betrayal.

Three lives linked forever by a single vial of blood--the fifth vial.

Why I Quit:

I didn't even make it to 20% of The Fifth Vial before I decided to throw in the towel.  For a thriller it starts out incredibly slow.  Maybe, I have been spoiled by the few thrillers that I have read because they all just jumped right into the action.

Palmer spends the first 50 pages (probably more but I didn't wait to find out) developing the characters and I did not care for the ones that I had met.  They had interesting backstories and I thought that he did a nice job of create a history for them.

Overall, the writing was just not engaging enough of me to continue.  It was too easy for me to put this one down and forget about it.

Page Completed: 52

Reflecting On August

It's the last day in April and time to reflect on what I accomplished in my book reading adventure this month.  April has been by far the best month for me yet.  Nothing earth shattering has happened but I did participate in a Read-a-Thon that did give me an extra need boost in my reading.

Reviewed in August:

• Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal

Read But Not Reviewed in August:

• The Cursed by LA Banks
• Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now by Toure

Completed Challenges for 2012:

• None

Challenges Still in Process:

• 1% Well Read - Completed 0 out of 10 Books (0%)
• Unread Book Challenge - Completed 5 books
• Self-Published Reading Challenge - Completed 4 out of 10 Books (40%)
• Why Buy The Cow? Reading Challenge - Completed 1 out of 12 Books (8%)
• Battle of The Prizes - Completed 1 out of 3 Books (33%)
• The Pulitzer Project  - Completed 2 out of 5 Books (40%)
• 2012 Reading Challenge - Completed 19 out of 50 Books (38%)

Reading Plans for September:

• I'm Only Human After All by Alex Rogers
• Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle
• The Darkness by L.A. Banks
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter
• The Shadow Speaker by NNedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Stacking The Shelves #9

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's been an easy week for me acquisition wise.  Not much has come and not much has left.  Nothing new.

From Miami-Dade Public Library:

Purchased From Local Used Book Store:

What did you add to your shelves this week?