Lin Ryals's Blog, page 22

Down the TBR Hole #4

Do you ever look at the TBR list on Goodreads and feel completely overwhelmed? I do!! That’s exactly why I LOVE this idea!!! 

Down the TBR Hole was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story to help decrease the size of our TBRs.

HOW IT WORKS:

Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.Order on ascending date added.Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) booksRead the synopses of the booksDecide: keep it or should it go?



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Elske

Two Women 
Elske — a girl with no future, until her grandmother’s sacrifice saves her from certain death 
Beriel — an imperious princess, determined to claim the kingdom that is her birthright 
Fate brings them together, both exiles, one servant to the other. To Beriel, the mistress, Elske offers steadfast loyalty and courage — hard to come by in her dangerous quest to regain the throne she has been denied by treachery. To Elske, the handmaiden, Beriel’s proud example provides a perhaps even more precious gift — the strength to find her true self.

I don’t see myself making time to read this one.

Final Verdict: GO

Inkheart

One cruel night, Meggie’s father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART– and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever.

This is INKHEART–a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud.

I have always wanted to read this one. I just haven’t yet. I’d still like to try.

Final Verdict: KEEP

Julie

Julie Wallace has always wanted to write. Trying to escape the Great Depression, Julie’s father buys The Alderton Sentinel, a small-town newspaper in flood-prone Alderton, Pennsylvania, and moves his family there. As flash floods ominously increase, Julie’s investigative reporting uncovers secrets that could endanger the entire community.

Julie, the newspaper, and her family are thrown into a perilous standoff with the owners of the steel mills as they investigate the conditions of the steelworkers. Battle lines are drawn between the steel mill owners and their immigrant laborers. As The Sentinel and Julie take on a more aggressive role in reforming these conditions in their community, seething tensions come to a head.

When a devastating tragedy follows a shocking revelation, Julie’s courage and strength are tested. Will truth and justice win, or will Julie lose everything she holds dear?

Did you ever see the old TV show “Christy” or the book Christy? Well, it was written by Catherine Marshall. I LOVE that TV show. I even watched the movies they made later to finish the story, even though they did use a few different actors for some of the main characters (so annoying). I read the book, and loved it, too! I wanted to read Julie, because I assume it’ll be the similar to Christy. I just haven’t had time and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Final Verdict: GO

The Wizard Heir

Sixteen-year-old Seph McCauley has spent the past three years getting kicked out of one exclusive private school after another. And it’s not his attitude that’s the problem: it’s the trail of magical accidents – lately, disasters – that follow in his wake. Seph is a wizard, orphaned and untrained, and his powers are escalating out of control.

After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys’ school on the coast of Maine. Gregory Leicester, the headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and initiate him into his mysterious order of wizards. But Seph’s enthusiasm dampens when he learns that training comes at a steep cost, and that Leicester plans to use his students’ powers to serve his own mysterious agenda .

I have to find time to finish this series!! I read the first book and loved it. Bring it on!!

Final Verdict: KEEP

Things Fall Apart

More than two million copies of Things Fall Apart have been sold in the United States since it was first published here in 1959. Worldwide, there are eight million copies in print in fifty different languages. This is Chinua Achebe’s masterpiece and it is often compared to the great Greek tragedies, and currently sells more than one hundred thousand copies a year in the United States.

A simple story of a “strong man” whose life is dominated by fear and anger, Things Fall Apart is written with remarkable economy and subtle irony. Uniquely and richly African, at the same time it reveals Achebe’s keen awareness of the human qualities common to men of all times and places.

I’d love to expand my genre a bit and try this one. The truth is, I have so many review books to read that I don’t think I’ll have time to read this one.

Final Verdict: GO

Review: We got rid of 3 books this week. That brings the total down to 655. Hmmmm… I still have a looong way to go! LOL!

Friday Blog Hops: Everything I Do

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Robin Hood is about to steal your heart.

A robber and a princess.
A girl disguised as a boy.
A medieval reimagining of the legend of Robin Hood packed with adventure, sacrifice and romance.

Robin Hood, hidden deep in the Sherwood Forest, is fighting to restore the crown to its rightful king, surrounded by faithful friends, green leaves and clear skies. Burdened with secrets, betrayal and an incredible responsibility, he struggles to stay alive and keep the starving people fed. One day, a boy saves him from the Sheriff’s poisoned arrows. Robin, impressed by the slender youth’s courage and skill, takes the boy with him to the forest. 

Only, the boy is not a boy.

In the castle of Nottingham, a maid who used to be a princess is forced to obey the wishes of a tyrannical Sheriff. She dons on male clothes and trains to become a fierce assassin, vowing to catch the greatest criminal in the kingdom. But when she saves Robin Hood’s life nearly losing her own, she is rescued by the outlaws.
When Robin and the “boy” meet, two worlds collide, resulting in unimaginable danger and intense romance. Who will survive when they learn each other’s secrets? What happens when the assassin falls in love with her victim?

Filled with danger, intrigue and slow-burn passion, this is a Robin Hood story unlike any you have ever read before

Goodreads

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https://www.rosecityreader.com/

“Listen closely. This is your task: You will put yourself in harm’s way deliberately. You will appear to the outlaws as a hero.”

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http://www.fredasvoice.com/

A visible tremor passed through Robin’s body at her words, and Ru wondered why the same tremor shook her own limbs. It was those words. ‘Holy Maiden.’ Those cursed, un-holy words. She’d once trembled with another kind of emotion on hearing them; they’d once awoken reverence within her. Now they made her fingers itch for her poisoned blade, hungry to use it as soon as they were free of the nuns.

Book Blogger Hop

Question:
Do you check how many views your posts have received?

Answer: ALWAYS!!! LOL!

Book Review: Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows

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Genre: Children’s Middle Grade, Fantasy

Publish Date: Feb 2 2019

Synopsis (Book Cover):

Magic is real, Thomas. No matter what happens, always remember that magic is real.

Seven years have passed, and Thomas hasn’t forgotten. He hasn’t forgotten the blue of his dad’s eyes either, or the tickle of beard on his cheek as they hugged goodbye. Last moments with a parent are memorable, even if you don’t know that’s what you’re having at the time.

Now, with his 13th birthday rapidly approaching, Thomas’s search for magic is about to take a radical and unexpected turn. At an out-of-the-way shop filled with dusty leather books, a strange little man with gold-flecked eyes offers him an ancient text called The Book of Sorrows. The price is high and the rules are strict, but there’s no way Thomas can resist the chance to look inside.

With the mysterious book guiding the way, a strange new world is revealed – a world in which Thomas has a name and destiny far more extraordinary than he ever imagined. But time is short. Even as Thomas uncovers his secret family history, enemies emerge, threatening to end his rise to power and destroy everything he holds dear.

Plot (5 Stars): Whatever you imagined from the above description, it’s probably better. This is such a great storyline. In my head I remember thinking, “The Neverending Story?” Nope, it’s nothing like that. The story is engaging and keeps the reader entertained throughout the entire thing.

Characters (5 Stars): The characters are well developed with their own personalities. I am the mother of a 13 year old and these 12 year old boys – Thomas and Enrique – act like 12 year olds. Their pranks are a bit annoying and my son would get into so much trouble, but it’s realistic. Enrique and Thomas are a great team with wonderful mentors, even if they are a bit eccentric.

Writing (5 Stars): The writing was great. I was engaged, not bored at any point. The dialogue was GREAT! I have no complaints about the writing at all.

Overall: I loved this book!!! I’m so excited I was sent a paperback version because I want my kids to read it as well and they don’t like reading ebooks. This is a fantastic book that I’m recommending to EVERYONE!!! Young and old! I can’t wait for the other two books in this trilogy to come out.

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J.M.’s debut fantasy/magic series originally started as a bedtime story for his oldest son. The story turned into a saga, and one book turned into five. The first book in the series, Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows, is scheduled for release in February 2019. When J.M. isn’t working on the Thomas Wildus books, you can find him playing with his kids, napping, or dreaming up new adventures. If you ever meet him and can’t think of anything to talk about, you might ask about Herman the Shark, the Kai and Eli stories, or why Riddle-Master by Patricia McKillip is his all-time favorite book. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ll have questions and stories of your own (if you do, he’ll think that’s far more interesting).

To learn more about the author, click HERE.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sneak Peek of Chrome Mountain (Chapter 1)

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Trey and Sonya couldn’t be more different–yet their divergent lives are about to converge, with a bang. As Sonya evades the biker gang she was once involved with, she befriends Trey, a scientist, and helps him evade the Chromes, the most successful terrorist organization in the world. Trey and Sonya have more than their own lives to consider; the free world will change for the worse if the Chromes gain Trey’s priceless knowledge.

In the thriller Chrome Mountain, Ben Schneider explores one possible future our real world could be racing toward. Readers will find this story, driven by the female protagonist, a page-turner but without the darker tactics of similar sci-fi thrillers. The characters of Chrome Mountain tell their stories with clean humor, no profanity, a lot of advice from God, and action–lots and lots of action.



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Ben Schneider was born in Oklahoma. In 2003, he earned a B.A. in Graphic Design at Oklahoma University, married his fiancée, and joined the Air Force. Ben and his wife, Suzy,
have been stationed in Italy, Okinawa, and Alaska. Aside from writing fiction, Ben’s other interests include drawing cartoons–primarily his Airman Artless comic strips. Chrome Mountain is his debut novel.

To learn more, go to his website HERE.

Ready for a preview of the book? Ben Schneider has provided me with the first chapter to share with all of you. Enjoy! 1

1

CALIFORNIA: PRESENT DAY

Astride her rumbling Harley-Davidson, Sonya McCall waited impatiently for the green light. She’d traveled northeast along I-80, turned south on River Road and, for a few miles, followed another road edging the north side of Lake Tahoe. She gazed over emerald treetops to feast her eyes on the expanse of azure water that sparkled beneath the high noon sun. While enjoying the vista, she hoped to reach her destination before dark. To her, it would be bliss to see Becky Lugo again. They could talk and laugh about the lawless life in Sacramento she was leaving behind. So far, Sonya’s favorite moment of the year had been when she’d phoned her distant friend, explained her plight, and was sincerely invited to come live with her.

Out of utter boredom, Sonya studied the eighteen-wheeler in front of her. The forty-foot trailer had a faded paint job with vertical red and yellow stripes backgrounding the words FUN ZONE CIRCUS on both sides. She guessed the circus had been officially shut down and the trailer was sold to some company prepared to repaint it once it arrived. To the right of the bold rococo text was a laughing clown’s disembodied head, large enough to swallow her two-wheeler. It seemed as if the cartoon clown found hilarity at her misfortune––being stuck at a red light that seemed to have no intention of turning green.

She glared at the portable, trailer-style traffic light, barely visible with the semi in front of her. Boulders had fallen from the pine-cloaked mountainside, limiting the road to one lane. She counted five cars going the other way and hoped the light would not stay red much longer.

Songs from jays in the nearest trees competed with the distant growl of another motorcycle. Beneath her German half-helmet with a maroon paisley pattern, Sonya’s raven-black curls flew in the wind as her head spun to see behind her. Beyond two SUVs, the road curved behind a cliff. Then the second Harley appeared.

Even from two hundred yards away, she recognized the rider, Brock Laxdal––third-in-command of the malicious biker gang she’d once been a part of. With pearl-white hair flying from his chin and helmetless balding pate, Brock quickly closed the gap between them, passing the innocent motorists. Sonya realized that even if Brock had never seen her before, he could still confirm her identity by reading LVISCHK on her license plate. Brock parked his Fat Bob left of her Low Rider. Sonya remembered the skewered skull tattooed on his muscular arm bared by his denim vest. While struggling to hide her tension from being caught in the act of desertion, she lowered her sunglasses. Frown lines, wrought from years of stress, were flanked by almond-shaped eyes of deep blue––one ringed by purpled skin that had recently met her ex-boyfriend’s fist.

“What do you want, Brock?” she asked in her typically forceful but weary voice.

“Levi has every last one of the Screamon Demons looking for you, Sonya!” he bristled, keeping his shades on. “You have some explaining to do, girl! You left our leader confused and heartbroken last night. He also said that thousands of our hard-stolen cash went missing from his safe. I’ll bet my left eye that bread is in your backpack. And you won’t answer your phone!”

Sonya remembered the hell she’d gone through during a lunch stop in Colfax. After reading a few of Levi’s threatening texts and hearing one of his nasty voicemails, she’d made herself unreachable via phone. It had been a hassle, blocking some of the gang-related numbers in her list of contacts while dealing with interruptions from other numbers before she could get to them. She’d almost been incited enough to let the costly smartphone follow her burrito wrapper and empty soda cup in the waste bin.

“And…I see you’re not wearing your vest with our gang’s emblem,” Brock added. He would have mentioned one more thing had he known about it––she’d stolen Levi’s license plate and put it in her saddlebag as a keepsake while giving the cops an excuse to pull over the revolting ringleader sometime in the near future.

As he chewed on a wad of smokeless tobacco, his eyes examined her shapely figure. Over a tie-dye T-shirt with six shades of blue, she wore a multi-pocketed jacket of washed black leather. Her faded blue jeans were mildly tattered and tucked down black biker boots adorned with studded straps. Fingerless gloves of goatskin leather protected her palms from blistering as a camouflage bag with four tones of gray was slung across her back.

“Do you have something to tell me?” he asked scornfully.

“Yeah. You might get run over if you don’t move,” she sneered. The next westbound motorist honked his horn and swerved to avoid Brock; his wheels were a foot left of the road’s centerlines.

“You always did have a smart mouth and too much spirit. I guess that’s why Levi liked you so much. So, tell me something, girl. Why’d you leave town…and where you headed?”

“Sydney.”

Her true destination in the Silver State was the last thing she wanted anyone in the gang to know; if they found out, it would put Becky in jeopardy.

“Sydney…what? Is that some town in Utah? Idaho?”

“Australia, you geographically challenged halfwit! I’m going to Sydney, Australia.”

“Very funny! I’ll tell you where you’re going.”

“Where?” He can’t know where…can he? she thought nervously, certain she’d never left any clues behind.

“Back to Sacramento.”

He doesn’t know. Thank God. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Yes! You! Are!” He spat dark brown gunk on the blacktop, stressing his demand. “Don’t tell me ‘no,’ stupid girl! Turn that bike around. I’ll follow you. Levi wants you back. He may even forgive you for what you did.”

“What I did? What about what he did to my eye?”

“I’m sure you said something to deserve it.”

“No, I didn’t!” She wasn’t about to explain how Levi had come home drunk after a very bad day and started the altercation by pestering her for sex, even though he’d forgotten to buy more rubbers. Then he’d ended the fight by assaulting her for not making an exception. After punching out her will to resist and having his way with her, he’d added insult to injury by boastfully admitting she wasn’t his first victim and probably wouldn’t be his last. With his massive limbs, mixed martial arts training, and years of street-fighting experience––three things she didn’t have––the “gentle” giant had shown her what a monster he truly was.

Weeks ago, the odious gang had unknowingly revealed to Sonya that robbery was no longer the most severe of their felons. She’d been planning to leave the Screamon Demons after observing the murdering and torturing. Her last night with Levi had expedited that plan. There was no doubt in her mind if she stayed with these sordid lawbreakers much longer, she’d end up rotting in a ditch somewhere.

“Where’s the cash, Sonya?” Brock scowled. “I need to know before we go back.”

“What cash?” she shot back.

“Don’t play games with me. The dough is in that backpack, isn’t it?”

“See for yourself!”

While pushing her wraparound shades back up her aquiline nose to hide the direction of her eyes, she could feel her heart thumping; it knew exactly what she was steeling herself to do. She set her kickstand and dismounted her ride, reminding Brock of her seventy-one-inch stature. The straps of her backpack were shrugged off her leather-clad shoulders as her veiled eyes noted the lower tip of his gun’s holster exposed by the hem of his vest.

“Here, Brock, have a look.” Her right hand dangled the bag over his bike’s handlebars.

Brock reached for it, not seeing her left hand filch his Smith & Wesson.

With an adrenaline-fueled shove, she put the crook and his ride on their left side––a move she’d never thought herself bold enough to do.

Knowing the attack would fan the flames of his temper so hot that he might rashly pull another gun and start shooting, Sonya acted quickly. Her right hand shot under a flap of her open jacket and came out gripping a shimmering Beretta; she didn’t know if Brock’s revolver was loaded. With a leg pinned under his motorcycle, he stared down the barrels of her gun and his. Then she moved her pistol to his front tire, thumbed down the safety, and turned her face away while squeezing the trigger.

BOOM!

With a shrill hiss, the wheel deflated, tossing her black mane with foul air. An empty shell plinked across the asphalt as acrid smoke escaped the muzzle, now trained between Brock’s eyes again. His brawny arms raised in surrender as onlookers in the SUVs froze. His soot-black vest hung open, and she briefly scanned the front and other side of his waist. No weapons.

Sonya casually tossed Brock’s revolver behind her. Dismayed, he watched the gun––a gift from his mistress––vanish over a cliff. Straps securing a Mossberg shotgun to the Fat Bob’s rear fender captured Sonya’s attention. Velcro ripped as she undid the straps and chucked the twelve-gauge firearm off the same ledge.

“Lose the rest of your weapons!” she ordered her superior, glaring down at him while re-donning the knapsack––a bag filled with cash adding up to seventy thousand dollars.

“What weapons?” he bit back.

“Last chance!” She held the firearm closer to his face.

“I don’t have any, crazy broad!”

I think he’s telling the truth, she thought as he continued ranting. I really don’t feel like frisking this pathetic pig; he’d like it too much.

“I hope you know what you just volunteered for: weeks of more pain than you can imagine…times ten!” he carried on. “Levi will––”

“Levi will do nothing to me again! Now, do yourself a favor, lowlife! Go tell that sad pile of excrement that you couldn’t find me. I’m done with him, I’m done with Sactown, and I’m done with the Screamon Demons. He can lead all you unholy scum to the bottom of the Pacific for all I care!”

The Beretta was returned to the holster harness under her jacket as she mounted her ride.

✞

Brock wriggled out from under his fallen Harley. The woman’s long hair flew as her Low Rider roared away, passing the semi and the now-green light. The trucker had been too mesmerized by the scene to notice the light change.

“Stupid whore!” Brock snarled, glancing at the punctured front tire of his beloved Fat Bob. Now, I need a different ride. Oh, I forgot, I do have one more weapon. He got to his feet, pulled a snub-nose revolver concealed at his right ankle, and sprinted for the Kenworth tractor. Seeing the criminal hold the small firearm high, the scared driver raised both hands out his window. “Get out!”

The trucker didn’t hesitate to open his door and vacate the driver’s seat. Once he was standing on pavement, the revolver’s short barrel was pressed under his chin and the trigger squeezed, producing a resonating POW! Taking no time to watch the driver crumple, Brock climbed in, recalling experience he’d had in such vehicles. While growing up with his truck-driving mother, she’d trained him to operate semis to put in more hours while sleeping.

He disengaged the air brakes, put the Kenworth in gear, and stepped on the gas, spewing a noxious cloud from the exhaust stack. The rearview mirror showed him the adults coming out of their now-distant

SUVs. They raced over to see if the dead trucker could be saved. Brock decided once he’d made his leader’s double-crossing lover just as lifeless as the tractor’s previous driver, he’d be done killing for today.

“I told you, boss!” he grumbled to himself, imagining Levi sitting next to him. “I told you last year that spirited whore looked like too much trouble! Why wouldn’t you listen to me? What were you thinking, letting her become one of us?”

Brock remembered he’d not yet texted the leader of the pack, letting him know he’d found Sonya. It can wait, he decided.

Teen Tuesday: The Mysterious Benedict Society

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Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Publish Date: April 1, 2008

Synopsis (Goodreads):
“Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” ad attracts dozens for mind-bending tests readers may try. Only two boys and two girls succeed for a secret mission, undercover and underground into hidden tunnels. At the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, the only rule is – there are no rules.

Review by Brandi:

This brain racking tale includes so much logic, puzzles, and mystery. In the very beginning, I knew it was going to be a good book.

I absolutely love how different the author made the characters. They all have their own, unique personalities that are bound to make the reader laugh. The way these four kids manage to bond enough to practically save the world is mind-blowing and life inspiring.

    My favorite character is Constance. She cracks me up all the time. Her rude attitude and impudence is hilarious.

The entire story constantly keeps the reader intrigued. I could never predict what was going to happen next. It never got boring or long-winded. There were several laugh-out-loud moments, roller-coaster experiences, and witty remarks being passed from character to character. I also loved how the ending managed to completely tie the story together. This book was an amazing read with an on the edge feel. I rate this book five stars.

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Author:
Trenton Lee Stewart is the author of the award-winning, bestselling Mysterious Benedict Society series for young readers; The Secret Keepers, also for young readers; and the adult novel Flood Summer. He lives in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Top Ten Rainy Day Reads

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week, we’re talking about Rainy Day Reads. We’ve had a lot of rainy days here lately. Honestly, I think any book could work for a rainy day read, but here are my top 10 choices.

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What makes a book a rainy day book? To me, it’s an easy to read book that I could read over and over again. It’s one that I can just curl up with and read all day because it pulls me into their world.

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The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard PyleAlice in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollThe Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WildeThe Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsThe Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS LewisPersuasion by Jane AustenThe Phantom Tollbooth by Norton JusterThe Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Be sure to check out the other lists around the blogosphere!

Podcast Episode 1: Fairytale Retellings – Second Star

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I have secretly been working on this project and am so proud to finally announce it! YAY!!! I have been wanting to start a podcast for a while now. I’ve been playing and throwing ideas around, talking to authors…etc. I want it geared to readers. So, here it is!!! However, since I’m just trying it out, I’m doing a free podcast host which means my content will only be available for 90 days. If people like it, then I may decide to pay for the host and it’ll be available for longer. My plan is to get them out 2nd and 4th Mondays. So, without further ado, here’s the first episode of my podcast!!

Weekly Wrap up

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This is a blog hop hosted by the Caffeinated Reviewer. 

Sunday night was stressful. My cat (we’ve had her for 16 years and she’s now 17-18 years old) was very sick. I thought she had a stroke or was having seizures or something. When these “episodes” happened, she cried. It was terrible. As soon as the vet opened on Monday, I took her in. Turns out she wasn’t dying. YAY! Instead, she was diagnosed with Feline Vestibular Disease (really bad vertigo) and was put on 2 types of medicine. She’s doing so much better though. YAY!!
My husband is still home from the lay-off, but he starts his new job on Monday. I’m pretty excited to get my life back to normal. We did work on some pretty big projects around the house this week, though. That was awesome. YAY!
On to the books!!!

Books I read last week



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Books that entered my home last week



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Currently Reading



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On the blog last week:

Monday: MicroBrew Monday, my favorite and least favorite book genres and why.

Tuesday: Teen Tuesday was a Book Review from our teen reviewer, Jade. She reviewed the Shadowverse.

Top Ten Tuesday I discussed the top ten crazy things I did for the love of books.

Wednesday: Interview with Candace J Carter author of Muddy Waters.

Thursday: Book Review of Squire Hayseed by SE Zbasnik

Friday: Friday Blog Hops

Saturday: Down the TBR Hole #3 where I discuss books that need to stay or go in my to read list on Goodreads. One day I’ll get that thing narrowed down.

Art accomplishments this week



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Writing accomplishments this week

writing: I’m working on Camp NaNoWriMo. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea. However, I am not getting the word count up that I need to achieve this thing by the end of the month. This week, I wrote 6,915 words.

I’m also editing The King’s Advisor. This week I edited 7,139 words. I have a lot of friends who really want this one published. I’m trying, y’all! I’m trying!

Well, that’s all for this week. Happy Reading, all!!!

Down the TBR Hole #3

Do you ever look at the TBR list on Goodreads and feel completely overwhelmed? I do!! That’s exactly why I LOVE this idea!!! 

Down the TBR Hole was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story to help decrease the size of our TBRs.

HOW IT WORKS:

Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.Order on ascending date added.Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) booksRead the synopses of the booksDecide: keep it or should it go?



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Before Green Gables

A must-read for generations of book lovers. This remarkable and heart-warming prequel to the classic Anne of Green Gableswas specially authorized by L.M. Montgomery’s heirs to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of the original novel. 


Before Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley’s life before her arrival at Green Gables-a heartwarming tale of a precocious child whose lively imagination and relentless spirit help her to overcome difficult circumstances and of a young girl’s ability to love, learn, and above all, dream. 


Published in 1908, L. M. Montgomery’s coming-of-age classic Anne of Green Gables has enchanted generations of readers, both children, and adults. The story of the spunky red-haired orphan from Prince Edward Island is known to millions, and copies of the eight titles in the series have never gone out of print. 


But when readers first meet Anne, she is eleven and has just been sent from an orphanage to meet her new family. No one ever learned the events of Anne’s life before she arrived at Green Gables. 


Until now. 


For the millions of readers who devoured the Green Gables series, Before Green Gables is an irresistible treat; the account of how one of literature’s most beloved heroines became the girl who captivated the world.

Honestly, I don’t remember ever wanting to read this book. LOL! It’s not even written by Montgomery.

Final Verdict: GO

Enslaved by Ducks

When Bob Tarte bought a house in rural Michigan, he was counting on a tranquil haven. Then Bob married Linda. She wanted a rabbit, which seemed innocuous enough until the bunny chewed through their electrical wiring. And that was just the beginning. Before long, Bob found himself constructing cages, buying feed, clearing duck waste, and spoon-feeding a menagerie of furry and feathery residents. His life of quiet serenity vanished, and he unwittingly became a servant to a relentlessly demanding family.

Whether commiserating with Bob over the fate of those who are slaves to their animals or regarding his story as a cautionary tale about the rigors of animal ownership, readers on both sides of the fence have found Tarte’s story of his chaotic squawking household irresistible–and irresistibly funny.

I kind of laughed when I read this. I don’t know what this is either.

Final Verdict: GO

Fablehaven

For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite.

Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken — Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good — powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most.

I want to read these! I have wanted to read them for a long time and we HAVE them! They’re on my bookshelf.

Final Verdict: Keep

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as “The Thunderbolt Kid.” 

Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends. 

Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.

I don’t have anything against this book, I’m just not sure that I have a great desire to read it.

Final Verdict: GO

The Woman Who Walked to Russia

From the moment Cassandra Pybus first heard about Lillian Alling’s trek across North America, she couldn’t get the story out of her mind. This is how it went: Desperate with homesickness, Lillian Alling, a recent immigrant to the United States from the Soviet Union, haunted the New York Public Library, studying the atlas to establish the most direct route home to her native Russia. Her English was poor but she understood the hieroglyphics of cartography. In the spring of 1927, aided only by a hand-drawn map, she started to walk home. Pybus searched for clues about this enigmatic pedestrian. When her historical sleuthing yielded little, she set out on her own trek to trace Lillian’s route through the wilderness of northwestern Canada and subarctic Alaska and Siberia. The result is an entertaining travel narrative that pieces together Alling’s journey through the natural beauty and rich history of northwestern North America — a story never before told.

This looks interesting, but there are a lot of books I’d like to read more. This is one I’d probably keep putting off if it stays on my list.

Final verdict: GO

Review: I got rid of 4 books this week! That brings the total down to … um… 657. That’s the same that we brought it down to last week. I may have added more. ooops…. [image error]

Friday Blog Hops: Grimoricon

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A mysterious book leads to an adventure of a lifetime… 

Twelve-year-old Ethan knows it all, and if it doesn’t involve fantasy or video games, he isn’t interested. On a trip to an antique store with his father, Ethan comes across the mysterious book, Grimoricon. Unaware of the secrets this book holds, Ethan soon finds himself in the unfamiliar world of Terah, a world that brings to life all the wondrous and terrifying things from Ethan’s fantasy books. 

Aided by a teenage huntress named Nera and her bear companion, Ethan must travel through this unfamiliar world of magic, danger, and intrigue all in an attempt to find his way back home. 

However, dark forces have learned of Ethan’s arrival and are seeking to capture him before he can find the doorway between worlds. It will take all of Ethan’s courage and the help of his friends to overcome this enemy and open the doorway.

Goodreads

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Ting-a-ling!

The small bell on the door chimed as Ethan and his father entered the antique store. Ethan immediately saw the large library of books they had, and his mouth dropped open as he glanced around the store.

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Yemenaris looked at Nera and Ethan, gaining their attention, “I can understand wanting to help a family member, so I will grant this request. Just know that the north can be dangerous and once you cross that border, you will not have the help of my people,” he warned.

Book Blogger Hop

Question:
When reading a series, do you re-read the previous book/s before reading the newly released book?

Answer: Yes, I do. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read Harry Potter, because every time I knew book would come out, I had to re-read all the previous ones. I have to do it! A book normally comes out a year later, by then I’ve forgotten all the details and need a refresher.