Java Davis's Blog, page 33
December 19, 2014
Another tag-team road trip
Like so many other Americans, my husband and I are planning a road trip to see his family. I get to haul both dogs in my cross-over SUV, while my husband will have the luggage in the Mercedes sedan. Heaven forbid he should put DOG PAWS in his car!
My mother-in-law lives several hours away, and we try to stay for more than one day when we go. Strange as this may sound to most people, I wish she would move in with us, but it would mean ripping her away from everything she’s known her whole life. Most importantly, it would mean a separation from her doctors. At 85 years old, there’s no time to break in a new medical team.
As the Jewish people say, it’s such a schlep to get there and back, literally: “a drag.” Not to mention that we’re going for the family’s Christmas celebrations, which still feels odd to my Jewish soul after all these years.
December 14, 2014
Book Review: U Got to Have U Some Fun
Book Review: U Got to Have U Some Fun, by Andrew Harkless (1 coffee bean)
This book is another “ocean voyage road trip.” Having taken a cruise, I can say that the experiences John has on his first cruise are very true-to-life.
But the niceness of this book ends there. I can’t remember the last time I read a book so boring. Often, it is also preachy. If you love boring, this could be the book for you. If not, my recommendation is to shy away.
If you’re still interested, this is the encapsulation (no spoilers): John is a divorced man whose only child was in the military and was killed overseas. John has always lived in his small town in Kansas, married his childhood sweetheart, stayed at his first job, and was living contentedly. His son encouraged him to take a cruise, and an anonymous donor sent him a ticket. John cruises, meeting lots of people and experiencing a great many new things.
This is this author’s “maiden” novel, and I wish him well, despite a lack of connection with me.
December 9, 2014
Author Stroll Q&A – Bookrhythm
Who is your favorite author? What do you think you’ve learned from them and use in your own writing? Which authors have inspired me? Ernest Hemingway for his terseness, Marge Piercy for her ability to get into people’s heads, and Robert Pirsig for showing me the value of a journey.
Which one of your characters keeps you up at night? Hannah, the heroine from my book Triptych. She’s a good-hearted character who deserves a break.
Which one of your characters has changed the most? Jake Ferry, from my book Depression Carpenter. The book is about the changes to his character over the course of a long road trip.
Which book was you most excited to release? I was most excited to release Commune, a piece of boomer, ensemble fiction.
Author Stroll Q&A - Bookrhythm.com
Which one of your characters keeps you up at night? Hannah, the heroine from my book Triptych. She’s a good-hearted character who deserves a break.
Which one of your characters has changed the most? Jake Ferry, from my book Depression Carpenter. The book is about the changes to his character over the course of a long road trip.
Which book was you most excited to release? I was most excited to release Commune, a piece of boomer, ensemble fiction.
December 8, 2014
Not so good
I’m reading a road trip review book that’s not so good. I won’t give details because I’ll be giving a formal review when I finish it. I went to the Amazon sales page to see what other people thought of this debut novel. The 10 reviewers loved it. 4 and 5 stars.
Why?? What do they see in this pedantic and boring tome that I don’t? My conclusion is that people in general have no taste. Strangely, the bio of the author is much more interesting than his novel.
I look forward to giving everyone an editorial review of this road-trip-on-the-water story later on.
December 6, 2014
Road Trip Post from Beth Carpenter
Here’s a nice road trip post from Beth Carpenter, from her own website:
December 3, 2014
Book Review – Ice on the Grapevine, by R.E. Donald (3 coffee beans)
It’s kind of a stretch to review this as a road trip book, but the routes of the long-distance truckers was key to the plot, so we’ll “fudge factor” it in.
It’s difficult to review this book. It has big positives and, what to me, was a big negative. The author constructed a good plot, and the protagonist, Hunter Rayne, a former cop turned long-distance trucker, is a very likable guy. Was it a good story and well-written? Yes.
My problem? The first third of the book held my interest strongly. By the middle of the book, I was getting restless for some action. The book seemed stalled. I got impatient. When I finally finished reading this one, I was relieved. Two of the side plots held more of my interest and engaged more of my emotions. It had me wondering if these side stories were red herrings attached to the murder, or if they were just pieces of a more global picture of the players, or perhaps these are characters who recur in the series.
If another of Ms. Donald’s books fell into my lap, I would probably read it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to chase it down. As my coffee bean rating indicates, this book is “a passable, serviceable brew.”
November 30, 2014
Now in Large Print!
Here is the link to the CreateSpace page:
https://www.createspace.com/pub/simpl...
Thanks for peeking!
