Bout of Books Day 2 Update

Tuesday was Day 2 of Bout of Books readathon..  I listened to 113 minutes of The Oregon Trail  by Rinker Buck.  The entire book is over 16 hours or so.  I had thought it was going to be a pretty interesting read, but I was sooo bored!  Ended up marking it as a DNF in Goodreads!  I'll try listening to You Can't Touch My Hair  by Phoebe Robinson, while I'm doing things around the house today.  I tried reading it several months ago, but wasn't enjoying it as I hoped; I think listening to it will be better!

I also read another 42 pages in The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell .  I'm really enjoying this book.  Never got to read anything on my Kindle.  Trying to focus on The Land of Stories, while I get the chance to read and luckily, I had no insomnia last night; otherwise I probably would have read from my Kindle while in bed, so as not to wake my husband.  As I think of it, any reading that I would have done during insomnia would have counted  for the next day anyhow. So, I guess I had no insomnia the night before,  Thought I did, but maybe not.

It's also the first day of the ReadTheBookAThon!  Due to the time zone I'm in and the creators/moderators are in today's twitter sprints were at 8AM and the later one today is at 5PM, not really good times for me.  Well better get going with my day!

Books in my Future - The First Half of September

Most of the books I got the 1st part of September were ARCs from NetGalley. 

ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies)

Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge



This sounds really interesting and relevant about all the gun violence in America and the loss of lives of so many children on one particular day in America. 

You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson



An essay collection about race, gender, and pop culture from celebrated stand-up comedian and WNYC podcaster Phoebe Robinson.  I look forward to reading this it sounds like it could be funny, while also discussing relevant topics.

The Chibok Girls by Helon Habila



In April 2014, over 200 Nigerian school girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram.  Helon Habila, an author and journalist born in Nigeria tells the story of the girls and their parents and the background of BokoHaram.  This is a short book of about 128 pages, so I think I will be reading this sooner rather than later.

Substitute: Going to School With a Thousand Kids by Nicholson Baker



This is about the experiences of the author, who appears to be a best-selling author  of non-fiction, as a substitute teacher in Maine.  After getting approved to read this ARC, I' ve noticed a couple things on Goodreads.  The reviews on this are mixed with more 1 and 2 star ratings and reviews than 4 and 5 star reviews and ratings.  Also it shows the page count as over 700 pages!!Hopefully, this is an error; I can't imagine that a book on this subject is worthy of this length.  Because of this, I don't think I'll be in much of a rush to read this in the immediate future.

The Most Wonderful Time by Fern Michael, Stacy Finz, Sarah Title and Shirlee McCoy



Christmas will be here before we know it and Novenber is a perfect time to start your holiday reading.  I wanted to read this mainly for the story by Stacy Finz, which is suppose to launch her new series.  This book comes out near the end of October, so I may be starting my holiday reading early.

Welcome Home for Christmas by Annie Rains



Another ARC for the holiday season  by my newest favorite author and also the last book in her Hero's Welcome series, which I am very excited to read.


Christmas In Eternity Springs by Emily March



I've been reading and review Emily March's Eternity Spring series for the past 3 years or so.  Recently, I've been asked to participate in the Christmas in Eternity Springs blog tour.  I'll be participating on Sunday, October 2nd on this blog.  I'll be reading this as soon as I finish my current book.  Guess that means my holiday reading will start real early this year!


LIBRARY BOOKS

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Njikamp



I had waited on the reserve list for so long for this book and finally got the book on Kindle from Overdrive.  Well, I had seen so many mixed reviews and wanted to decide for myself.  You'll need to check my September wrap-up to see what I thought.

Hillbilly Effigy by J.D. Vance



I am currently reading this for #DiverseAThon, which is a read-a-thon to encourage reading diverse books.  I did not think I was going to be able to participate in #DiverseAThon, since I knew I had to read this book before the library loan ended  and I had requested this awhile ago , but the wait list is even longer now than it was when I first got on it.  I did not think this book would be considered diverse, but after watching someone's video discussing what #DiverseAThon is, I decided that since this book talks about a sub-culture of America and the lower socioeconomic class, it could actually be included in this readathon.  I am only 20% into it and it is quite interesting, but you'll have to wait for my September Wrap-Up post to find out what I think of it.  Here is the Goodreads link if you want more info about it.  Maybe it's not the most diverse book I could have read for #Diverse AThon, but one I read a goodvariety of diverse books and this was where I had to read this or lose the oppiortunity to read this book anytime in the near future.


AMAZON

The Key by Jennifer Anne Davis (True Reign #1)



I was watching a Booktube video by one of my favorite Booktubers at Sarah's Nightstand.  She had just read the entire trilogy and really enjoyed it.  The first book was free as of the other day (it still may be, but I'm not sure).  I've been wanting to try fantasy, since I can't really think of any that I have read (unless you count Miss Perregrine's Home for Peculiar Children) and since she recommended it and the first book was free, I thought why not

Hopefully, I won't get anymore books this month.  I'm getting close on a couple reserves, but I think it will be more like next month.  I suspended a couple holds for a couple weeks, so I think i'll be okay.  My biggest problem, if you really consider it a problem, is requesting and being approved for more ARCs on NetGalley.

T5W: Best Suggested Books You Loved (books recommended to you)

Top 5 Wednesdays are hosted by Ginger Reads Lainey and you can find the Goodreads page here for more information.  I have not participated in  Top 5 Wednesday for a while, as I did not really care for any of the topics.

I read this book almost 4 years ago.  It was highly recommended by the Facebook group, Readers of Kindle Books.  This historical novel takes place in antebellum Virginia, pre-Civil War, which is one of my favorite time periods.  I loved this story and highly recommend it.

The Virgin River series was recommended by many on the Facebook group, Readers of Kindle Books.  There are about 18 books in the series, so reading the series can be a rather big undertaking, but so worth it.  No book received less than 3 stars and most 4 or 5 stars.  One does not have to read them in order, but it is much better that way, since most of the earlier characters appear in later books and characters who have a smaller part in an earlier book has his/her own book later in the series.  These characters feel like friends and family and it is wonderful to visit them in later books.

Another book that was recommended by so many of the good folks on Facebook's Reader of Kindle Books page.  I loved this book and read it almost 4 and a half years ago.  This is ow one of my favorite authors and had it not been for RKB, I don't know if I ever would have read these books.

You guessed it another book that was recommended by those on Readers of Kindle Books' Facebook page.  I'm so glad I read this; it was just hysterical!

 

Although I heard of this book way before, I was on Readers of Kindle Books, it wasn't until I received so many recommendations there and on Goodreads that I finally picked up this book.  I'm so glad I did for it was wonderful, although it is sad that so many people felt that a whole segment of our American population should be treated as sub-human. 

#T5W: Top 5 Books of 2015

Top 5 Wednesdays are hosted by Ginger Reads Lainey and you can find the goodreads page here for more information.
Sorry that I haven't been around here much to post.  Just the usual holiday, family, work busyness.   So without anymore delay, here are my top 5 books that I read in 2015.  For a change, I had 7 or 8  5-star books, so deciding which to include in my top 5 was not easy.

Thunder on the Plain is by my favorite author, Rosanne Bittner.  She's been writing since the 80s and I started reading her books in the 90s.She's written over 60 novels and is still going strong.  Her novels are historical romance novels with usually western themes and with a lot of history written in to make it authentic and written in a way to be very engaging.  This book is about ther building of the transcontinental railroad.  Like most of her books. this story covers a span of time, in this case 12 years. Here's my Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/734411016.

Finding Hope by Stacy Finz was an ARC that I received through NetGalley and thi9s has become my newest favorite series.  This is the second book in the Nugget series, which centers on a small town in the Sierra Nevadas. Reading this book first, really did not affect my enjoyment of this book and seies; actually I found that I enjoyed this book more than the first book, Going Home. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1101248907

Dogtology: Live, Bark, Believe by Jeff Lazarus was another I received through NetGalley.  If one is a dog lover or at least a former or current dog owner, you'd probably appreciate this book. It is so funny and even if you are not a fanatical dog lover/dog owner, you'll find bits of yourself as well as others you know in this book.  Just a very enjoyable and funny book about our love and sometimes obsession in our furry, canine friends.  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1392578757

Red Blood, Yellow Skin by Linda L.T. Baer This was the true story of a young This was more of an autobiography of the author's life, rather than a history of the war.Vietnamese  girl/woman who grew up and came of age before and during the Vietnam War.  This made the story more personal and allowed you to see the Vietnam War through the eyes of a civilian.  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1361578770

Bent Creek by Marlene Mitchell  I read this early in the year when I had a trial period to Amazon Prime and this was my monthly free book.  Although I do not remember a lot of specifics of thisbook, I do remember that I loved the story.  It was written in a way that was very different from other books that I read.  This book took place mostly in Appalachia and you felt immersed in the story https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1210014309

#T5W: Best Audiobooks

Top 5 Wednesdays are hosted by Ginger Reads Lainey and you can find the goodreads page here. 

I just started reading/listening to audiobooks this year and I really enjoy it.  I do it spurts it seems and still prefer to read them usually on my Kindle.  In no particular order:

1.

Summerland was my very 1st audiobook.  It took a bit to get use to.  But I really enjoyed it.  I don't remember a lot of the specifics of this book, but it sure wasn't the light fluffy summer read that I was expected.  It was told in the point view of several characters and revolved around a car accident that claimed the life of Penny Allstair and left her twin brother in a coma, as well as its effect on the passengers who were unhurt physically, but not emotionally.

2.

This was the by the niece of the current leader of Scientology and discusses her life in Scientology (her parents were Scientologists and her eventual escape.  I think I enjoyed this more since I listened to it on audiotape than I would have if I read it.  So much of Scientology is bizarre; one wonders how seemingly intelligent people can buy into it.  It has piqued my interest and I look forward to reading Leah Remini's book, Troublemaker.

3.

Jim Gaffigan, if you don't know is a comedian and by listening to this book.  It was like listening to a very long comedy show by him.  I would have enjoyed this if I read it, but listening to it just increased my enjoyment.

4.

Another book that I enjoyed more on audio than I would have in physical form.  I really enjoyed the short-lived TV show, although some of this book was a lot more raw than the TV show, which was on during early primetime.

This was very interesting.  It was the memoir of a young woman born in Iran, who was imprisoned in a Tehran prison and brutally interrogated for what us, Westerners commonly do. 

Book Review: Dogtology: Bark. Live. Believe.

Dogtology: Live. Bark. Believe.
by Jeff Lazarus
Greenleaf Book Group Press
Advanced Reader Copy, Kindle , pages: 179

5 stars

Brief Synopsis: Live. Bark. Believe. Dogtology is a humorous exploration of man’s fanatical devotion to Dog. In this book, Lazarus makes the case that Dogtology has become a bone-a-fide belief system on par with the world’s great philosophies and religions.

My view on the book: I just loved this book. It is all about our devotion to our four-legged BFF, the dog. I found myself nodding yes, I did this back when I had a dog growing up or yes, so and so does this, who is extremely obsessed about her little "Fi-fi".  I laughed and smiled through out the book and must admit that I am definitely, a Dogtologist, although currently not a practicing one.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book to any dog lovers out there. You are not alone in your love and devotion to this wonderful species.