Reading Excursions

MY REVIEW Mass Market Paperback:  336 pages Publisher:  Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Reissue Edition (June 4, 2019) Language:  English ISBN-10:  1496439503 ISBN-13:  978-1496439505 Click Picture for Purchase Information “ When a damaged young woman is given a chance to reclaim her life in a small South Carolina town, she must reckon with the dark secrets she left behind in order to accept the love she deserves. On the run from a violent past, Leah Allen arrived in tiny Rivertown, South Carolina, battered and broken, but ready to reinvent herself. By a stroke of fate, Leah is drawn to the Southern hospitality of a small café, looking for a warm meal but finding so much more. Lulu, the owner, offers her a job, a place to stay and a new lease on life. Through Lulu’s tenacious warmth and generosity, Leah quickly finds herself embraced by the quaint community as she tries to put herself back together. Given she’s accustomed to cruelty, ...

MY REVIEW Hardcover:  272 pages Publisher:  Thomas Nelson (February 12, 2019) Language:  English ISBN-10:  1400208122 ISBN-13:  978-1400208128 Click Picture for Purchase Information “ New York Times  Bestseller: The moving, entertaining, never-before-told story of how one man found his calling: to see that those who defend this country and its freedoms are never forgotten. "The book is called Grateful American, and I promise you after you read it you will be grateful for what Gary has accomplished and contributed to our country." -- Clint Eastwood As a kid in suburban Chicago, Gary Sinise was more interested in sports and rock 'n' roll than reading or schoolwork. But when he impulsively auditioned for a school production of West Side Story, he found his purpose--or so it seemed.  Within a few years Gary and a handful of friends created what became one of the most exciting and important new theater compani...

Up until about the fall of 2017, there were only so many genres I would read. And, admittedly, I still do. I have my set preference. I do like Romance, Romantic-Suspense, and True Crime (Ann Rule – “And, Never Let Her Go”; “If You Really Loved Me”, etc). I also don’t stray from my tried and true authors. I didn’t get into historical fiction (still not 100% there), psychological thrillers (nowhere close to 75% liking them), or biographies (I’ve read two; have two on the TBR [to be read] list). But, anyone looking at my GoodReads account wouldn’t know that. [One of Summer 2019's thrillers - Alex North's "The Whisper Man"] [The description of it. I considered it a "Slender Man" meets "Silence of the Lambs"] So, why the change? I started getting what was called “Advanced Reader Copies” or ARCs as they are commonly called. These are usually unedited, paperback editions of the “to-be-released” book. The main idea of an AR...

Good question. I know – they’re wordy  🤦🏻‍♀️ Sometimes they’re too wordy for some retail sites – Barnes & Noble, Christian Book, Books A Million … so I’ve had to whittle them down to bare bones which isn ’ t easy. So, why I am wordy? In short? To cover what the book is about, my feelings on the book – characters, story line, length – those things. For me a review is much like a book report. * What is the book about? * What do you like about the book? * What do you dislike about the book? * How did you relate (or not) to the characters? * Why did you choose the book * What drew you to the book? * Are you familiar with the author and if so – how does it compare to previous works? * Where could the author have expanded and/or what could the author have left out? * How did the book make you feel? * Recommending the book – why or why not? Allotting 50 words to each question can get into 400+ words easily. That’s prett...

No, I don’t do eBooks 😔 I know, for someone who loves to read and review books, eBooks should be a part of that. And, sadly they’re not. It’s just not something I can do or get into. I have two very solid reasons and one strong preference: REASON #1.) I don’t own an eReader This is the main reason. And, as we have limited funds, I don’t plan to get one anytime soon. I have to account for how well my money is spent. I can’t justify the cost of one. Then again, I really can’t have one … REASON #2.) I cannot use an eReader I spend a lot of time on my computer as it is – budgets, my writing, photography, social media, posting book reviews … the last thing I want to do at night is read from an electronic device. That’s why I prefer physical books – hardback or paperback. It’s easier on my eyes with the lighting in my room. Yes, there are some devices out there that have different lighting options – but again, it’s still an electronic device. ...

HELLO!! While I have blogs for my other interests, and have very much neglected them (I am so sorry about that) – this new one has been created for a special reason. A lot has changed since I created the other ones – which I am going to try to give a bit more attention to. This one is solely for the books I’ve read – the Advanced Reader Copes (ARCs) of upcoming novels, some launch team books I’ve helped with, along with some “social media” tours I’ve done. All of which I hope to continue to do in the future. The title for this blog was a bit more difficult to come up with. I thought of “Book Nook”, “The Bookshelf” – yet nothing stuck. Then, in desperation I chose … READING EXCURSIONS It seemed to fit and the description? Well … it was pretty easy to come up with. I do believe that reading is an excursion – either a temporary getaway, or a vacation. Reading takes us to different towns (even countries), even takes us to different times, it help...