Review: Finding Gideon

If you know me, you know that I am a HUGE fan of Eric Jerome Dickey. Besides Elin Hilderbrand, Kimberla Lawson Roby, and maybe a few others, he is one of the few authors that I closely follow. When one of his books come out, I try to read it immediately. I am that kind of fan of his...

With that being said, I was not that thrilled with Finding Gideon. I'm not sure if it was because it has been years since the last installment of the series came out or what. It's not hard to forget what happened in a series and that is exactly what I did...I completely forgot everything about the Gideon series, except for the fact that Gideon was an international assassin. There were characters that I should have remembered, but I didn't. Midnight was one of those characters. I struggled remembering his backstory. While Dickey did a great job of bringing his readers up to speed as to who Midnight was and his relationship with Gideon (because it was the focus of this story's plot), he did not necessarily do that with many of the other characters.

Another reason why I think I struggled with this book was that it was just difficult to read. Dickey has a way of writing in which he throws several allusions at you at once and you spend so much time trying to keep up with them, that everything just becomes confusing. Dickey is the KING of allusions - I just wish that he paced them out a little.

The plot itself, however, was very interesting. I am trying to figure out how Eric Jerome Dickey does not have a screenplay out there, because he could write the best action film in the world. This book was nothing but sex and action! Those moments in his book were the best. They read like a movie scene - but better than any I have ever seen. The premise of Finding Gideon is that Gideon discovers that his father, Midnight, is actually alive, even though he presumed him dead after he shot him in the face decades prior. Midnight wants to exact revenge and Gideon wants to finish what he started. This feud takes the reader to Brazil, London, and Smyrna, Georgia, as the two men and their posses battle it to the end.

Although this wasn't my favorite book by Dickey, I am still a huge fan. There is so much passion in his work that it is hard not to enjoy his writing. I'll definitely re-read Finding Gideon once I re-read the previous books in the series. In the meantime, if action is your thing, do yourself a favor and pick this book up! You will definitely be entertained!

Until we read again...

Review: I Can't Make This Up

Without a doubt, Kevin Hart has taken over the comedy world by storm within the last few years. He has been in several movies, has done stand-ups, and he has even become a fitness inspiration as a face for the Nike running club. Now he can add author to his accolades.

I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart is a memoir of Hart's life and basically how he has gotten to where he is today. He grew up in Philadelphia with his mom and brother and he didn't have many aspirations for himself until after he graduated school and someone told him that he was funny. It was then that he thought that he could make a career out of telling jokes.

As Hart details his upbringing, he drops some nuggets of wisdom along the way. For example, he said repeatedly that if it weren't for his humble upbringing, that he wouldn't be as successful as he is today because he would not have worked as hard and would have taken each opportunity presented to him for granted. Another of his life lessons was that you can't control what happens in life but that you can control your response and your outlook (something that I struggle coming to terms with!). This was a key theme in his life.

Although all of this sounds very serious and sobering, Kevin Hart managed to keep his book light. Although you're reading about the time his father got axed in the head for some ambiguous reason, you're not left feeling sad, disgusted, or in shock...it is more of a "WHAT!" Even when Hart discusses in detail his strained relationship with his ex-wife, you won't feel anger or disgust for either...you will laugh and say "WHAT!" He truly couldn't have made anything of this up! (Read the book and you'll understand! lol). I don't remember if Hart said this, but with each of these moments, he reinforced the thought that you just have to laugh at life and not to take it so seriously.

I can honestly say that I appreciate Kevin Hart so much more after reading his book. For the last year or so, he has just been annoyingly everywhere! But, now that I see how long it took him to get where he is, I get it. Even when  he was making it and making money, he faced many setbacks  - financially, in his relationships, and with his family, to name a few - setbacks so deep that he questioned everything. This was a very inspirational and motivational book (which I was not expecting) and it has given me the "umph" to keep pushing towards what I want in life.

**SIDENOTE** Don't read the print version of this book...listen to his audiobook, which is read by Hart himself. You will thank me later!

Until we read again...

Half Year Reading Check-In

How is everyone managing their reading goals so far? I made a goal to read 65 books this year and so far, I have read 42! 13 more books to go! Here's a list of my absolute favorite books that I have read this year...

1. Small Great Things - Jodi Picoult
2. The Sleepwalker - Chris Bohjalian
3. The Shack - William P. Young
4. Flowers in the Attic - V. C. Andrews
5. The Eli's Cheesecake Cookbook - Maureen Andrews
6. Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
7. Born a Crime - Trevor Noah

Without a doubt, I highly recommend any of these 7 books - I don't know anyone who would be disappointed reading them. 

How many books have you all read so far this year? Are you on track to meeting your reading goals for 2017? Follow me on goodreads - it's pretty cool to keep up with what everyone is reading on the social site. 

Until we read again... 

Barnes & Noble Membership Benefits

For all of my bibliophiles out there, you should seriously consider purchasing a Barnes & Noble membership card, especially if you frequently purchase books. For only $25 a year, you receive a ton of perks, which are listed below...

1. Free shipping on online orders with no minimum order. This is YUGE! It takes the guilt out of online shopping for me because I can save money on gas and I still receive my books in a reasonable amount of time (1-3 business days). I recently bought three books for $13.88 from B&N and did not pay a lick for shipping! 
2. In-store savings. This is also a huge thing for me. Books can be expensive! Especially hard-cover books. With the membership, I receive 40% off on hardcover bestsellers (hello Elin Hilderbrand), and any other books that I purchase, I receive 10% off of those. 
3. Additional savings. Throughout the year, I will receive coupons to use in-store and online. These range from an additional 20% off one item, a percentage off of select items, and discounts on food from the cafe. 

It's easy to see that you receive a lot of benefit for only $25! This year alone, I've probably saved at least $50 by using my membership card! Quite recently, I discovered that they offer a kids club membership, in which you can save money on books as well. For every $100 spent on a kids book, you receive a $5 reward. I spend a lot of money on children's books throughout the year, so this works well for me. 

I'm not a huge fan of store membership programs but the B&N membership just makes sense for me and my family. We frequent the bookstore a lot and it saves us a lot of money. Does anybody else have a B&N membership? How is it working out for you? Are there any other membership programs that work well for you in saving money on books? Drop a comment below!

Until we read again...

Summer Reading Kickoff

Our local library hosts a summer reading kickoff event every year for the kids to get them excited to read. It's a pretty awesome event. They hire a children's performer who plays music, sings, gets the kids dancing, and has lots of bubbles (you can never go wrong with bubbles). In between the fun, he will encourage the kids to read. This year's theme for summer reading is to build a better world, so he was diligent in stressing this point. At one point, he told the kids that if they read and learn as much as they could, they could make a difference in the world - they could even become the president! Like I said, it is a pretty awesome event and very encouraging.

How's everyone's summer reading coming along? Hopefully, it is just as fun as ours is!

Until we read again...

You've Got Mail!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my son absolutely loves Captain Underpants. We finished the first book in the series and he was instantly ready to read the second book! Unfortunately, it's difficult to borrow it from the library due to the recent release of the movie, so I decided to order it online from Barnes & Noble. I have a membership with them, so I get free shipping - so yeah...basically it's worth having it shipped as opposed to driving to the store. Now they say a picture says a thousand words...





















The excitement on his face when he opened up his package was PRICELESS! Have you ever seen a child so excited to get a book? This is what reading is all about!

Until we read again...

News Worthy

http://ew.com/books/2017/06/12/hunger-games-girl-saves-friends-life/

How cool is this?! Who says you can't learn something from leisurely reading?

Review: Petals on the Wind

I finally finished the second installment in the Dollanganger series, Petals on the Wind by V. C. Andrews. I actually finished it a week ago but I've been at such a loss of words about it. When I ended this book, I was left wondering, what did I just read?

For those that don't have a clue who the Dollanganger's are, please stop everything that you are doing immediately and go read Flowers in the Attic (I promise that you won't be disappointed). For those that have read Flowers, Petals is the next part - in which the surviving kids escape the attic and are en route to Florida by bus. Before they even get out of South Carolina, however, they are forced to get off the bus and seek out a doctor, because Carrie is terribly sick from arsenic poisoning. They find their doctor, Dr. Paul, who nurses Carrie back to health and ultimately takes all three of the kids as his wards. This is where the story takes a turn for the interesting...

At this point, Carrie is of reasonable health, and struggles with her image. Cathy and Chris struggle with their feelings towards each other. Cathy is seeking revenge on her mother and grandmother. Chris would rather move on with their lives, start fresh and become a doctor. Relationships (many of which were completely inappropriate, in my opinion) pursue amongst each other, there are engagements, marriages, several more deaths, and plenty of heartache. This was the ultimate soap opera of soap operas! If you could think of the absolute impossible, then V. C. Andrews went 100 steps beyond that and wrote about it.

Overall, this book was just a mental mind screw. For all the psychologists/psychiatrists out there, you will have a field day with this book - some themes of this book were incest, the influence of money, the importance of health, and how one's childhood significantly affects their adulthood. I already purchased the next book in the series, If There Be Thorns, but I need a break - this book was wayyyyy too heavy for me.

Until we read again...

Review: Can I Say

Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums Drums Drums by Travis Barker was one hell of a read (or listen in my case)! It's interesting that I even considered reading this book, let alone purchased it, because I have never been a huge fan of Blink-182 and I didn't know much about Travis Barker. I liked Blink's song "All the Small Things" and I occasionally watched "Meet the Barkers" on MTV, but there was nothing that stood out to me, except that I knew that he was a rockstar. After reading his autobiography, my perception of him has completely changed.

Barker starts his autobiography detailing his childhood; how he grew up in humble beginnings, how the end of his parent's marriage affected him, how his mother's death impacted him, and how he came about playing the drums. His early life was surprisingly very relatable - like, he could have easily been somebody that I went to school with. 

Beyond his childhood, he talked about how he came about drumming and more specifically drumming for Blink-182. I never knew that he was not a member of the band to begin with. He actually started with Blink-182 years after they were established, as he was filling in for their previous drummer. Not only that, but he was not exclusive to Blink-182. He played for at least 2 other bands simultaneously. Throughout the years, he also juggled a clothing line, a restaurant, his own band, and other side gigs. Very impressive. One theme that was resounding in Barker's book was not to judge a book by it's cover. He detailed several occasions in which people expected him to be some lazy stoner that was in and out of jail; yet, he turned out to be one of the hardest working men in the industry! 

I think I really picked up this book because I was interested in the plane crash that he, DJ AM and two of their friends were in. I remember when it happened and that Travis Barker suffered PTSD from it and it ultimately was a factor in DJ AM's death, but beyond that I didn't know much. Barker did a great job describing what happened and it was unbelievable. I never knew that he had 3rd degree burns over 65% of his body. He ended up having to get over 20 surgeries because of the crash, yet, he managed to persevere through it all. If anything, the plane crash is a huge testament to the strength and willpower that Barker has.

While this was a great story, it wasn't the best to listen to. I do not recommend listening to the audio version of this book - at all. Throughout his book, Barker has important people in his life tell stories of their own about him and in the audio version, it was difficult to tell when their story ended and Barker's continued. There was no significant pause indicating that their anecdote was over, no change in inflection on the narrator's part...nothing. So every once in a while, it became confusing. 

If you are/were a fan of Travis Barker's or Blink-182, I encourage you to pick this book up. I can appreciate why so many people have so much respect for him and why he has been so influential in the music industry.

Until we read again...

Pros and Cons of Audiobooks

I know that I've briefly talked about audiobooks before, but I only really talked about why I liked them. I never really elaborated on the pros and cons of them...so for those of you who are still on the fence about whether to utilize them, here goes...

Pros

1. You can do virtually anything while listening to them. 

Like I've mentioned before, I typically am cleaning, driving, or doing something relatively passive while I am listening to audiobooks. As a working mother, I have a TON of things to do - my to-do list never gets smaller, it only gets longer. So, in order to read as much as I want to, I have resorted to audiobooks. This allows me to read (or listen) to as many as 20 extra books a year. Just think about it...if you have a daily commute to work that averages 30 minutes a day, each way, that is an hour of listening you could do. You could listen to a 5 hour audiobook in a week! I know some people who train for half marathons or marathons and they listen to audiobooks while they run. Depending on how fast you are running, you could almost listen to a complete audiobook!

     2. Better reading experience for auditory learners.

Just as many of us probably know, there are many different styled learners. This also applies to readers! Some readers prefer the actual act of turning pages and visually reading words, whereas other readers may prefer being read to. They are better able to process what they are reading when they are listening to someone else read the material to them. For those readers, audiobooks are your friend!

    3. Convenience.

Without a doubt, it can be burdensome to carry a 400 page book along with me every where I go. Yet, I always have my phone on me! As an Audible subscriber, I am able to go anywhere I want with my purchased books. So, that means that I can listen to my books wherever I am. On the plane, on the beach, in my car, at the park, in the grocery store...wherever. I no longer have to worry about lugging J. K. Rowling's hefty masterpieces with me in order to read them - I can keep them conveniently in my back pocket!

Cons

     1. Hard to focus.

Sometimes (even for myself), it can be hard to focus on what is being read to you - especially if it is a slow story or the narrator has a less than desirable voice. There have been plenty of times that I have unknowingly drifted off to sleep while listening to an audiobook. It's actually quite frustrating; however, most times, I attribute it to the book that I am listening to. There are some books that are simply not meant to be read.

    2. It's hard to judge your progress.

One thing that many people, as well as myself, enjoy about reading, is watching the progress being made while you are reading. It is rewarding to see a bookmark being placed further and further through the book, until voila - finished! This is a little harder while listening to audiobooks. Sure, you can gauge it by the time elapsed and time remaining but it isn't the same. There is nothing in this world as holding a 400 page book and feeling the accomplishment of getting through it (for anyone who has ever read Don Quixote...you know what I mean).

     3. You become a recluse.

It's hard to engage with others with headphones in your ears. Sure, while you are reading a print book, that is indicative to others that you don't want to be bothered, but people tend to feel more comfortable interrupting you in that scenario than when you have headphones on. As a result, while listening to audiobooks, you tend to take on an anti-social approach, especially if you listen to them for long amounts of time. I know that I have to catch myself sometimes and force myself to stop listening so that I can interact with others; however, if it is a book that has caught my attention and the narrator is doing a phenomenal job ("Flowers in the Attic" by V. C. Andrews, narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan), it is hard to pull yourself from those headphones. 

The audiobook that I am currently plugging through. I listened to almost 4 hours yesterday (anti-social, I know)...review to come soon.

For those of you still on the fence about whether to try audiobooks or not, head over to your local library and rent one first. You may be pleasantly surprised! In my experience, the best audiobooks are biographies that are read by the author, fiction with action (like the Hunger Games trilogy), and humor; however, it goes without saying...whatever floats your boat. It truly is all about preference.

Until we read again...

The Amazing Captain Underpants!

As everyone probably knows, Captain Underpants premiered last Friday in theaters. When I saw that they were making a movie out of it, I knew that I had to take advantage of it as an opportunity to get my son interested in the books! Once I showed him the trailer, he instantly wanted to go see the movie, so I asked him if he knew that Captain Underpants was a comic book. His eyes lit up like a light bulb! He loves comic books, but the problem with most of them is that they are geared towards older readers - so this was perfect. We started borrowing copies of the series from the library and he was immediately hooked! After a short while, he was dressing up like Captain Underpants and running around screaming TRA-LA-LAAAAA - it was nothing short of awesome!

My superhero

Naturally, we went to go see the movie the day that it premiered. My son loved it! He was sitting on the edge of his seat for most of the movie, he was laughing and dancing - it was great. Afterwards, we took a trip to the bookstore and picked up some Captain Underpants books (one thing that I hate when a book inspired movie comes out, is that they are no longer to be found in the library - but it was a good opportunity for us to start this collection in his own personal library).

Movie time!

We started reading the first book in the series earlier this week before bed. We would read 4 chapters a night - which is a huge step in his reading journey. Prior to Captain Underpants, he has not read any chapter books. Without a doubt, kids like to emulate what they see, so when he sees me reading chapter books, he wants to do the same. As each night passed, I would show him the progress that he was making and it was exciting for him. It was rewarding for him to see that he was making progress on a "big boy" book. In turn, it was rewarding for me to see that he was excited to read each night and looked forward to finding out what happened next in his book.


Captain Underpants is the perfect book to get young readers involved and interested. My son could recognize many words in the book - he could even read several strings of words together. In terms of the illustrations in the book - I loved them because they weren't overwhelming. Sometimes when we are reading other books, I notice that the illustrations are so colorful and take up the entire page that it almost distracts my son from the story. He ends up making a story up from the pictures because he is not paying attention to the words. In Captain Underpants, there weren't pictures on every page and if there were pictures, they were in black and white and they were kept to a small size relative to the words on the page. One other thing that I loved about this book was the flip-o-rama - for this to be like an introduction to "big boy" reading, the author kept it fun. There was a small section in the book where you flip one page quickly back and forth to see some sort of animation. It was fun for both my son and I.

I'm really happy that they came out with the Captain Underpants movie because my son and I have turned a new leaf in this reading journey of ours due to it. Now that we have finished reading the first book in the series, it's time to go back to the bookstore and grab a few more. He's already looking forward to it.

Until we read again...

Summer, Summer, Summer...Reading

It's that time of year again!! Summer reading has officially commenced!!

This has always been an exciting time of year for me, because this meant that school was out and I could devote as much time as possible to reading (on a slightly related note and oddly enough, every year for our reading assignments that were due back on the first day of school, I procrastinated until a few days before to read the book and write a report on it).

Personally, summer reading was a time of escape - I could delve into the worlds of Harry Potter, Captain Nemo, any of Judy Blume's characters, or the magical land of Terabithia. Now that I am older and am not in school, but in fact, work year-round, summer reading isn't quite the same, but I still look forward to it.

Part of my excitement for summer reading is due in part to my local library. Each year, our library hosts a themed summer reading event, with the allure that some lucky reader could win an iPad or something of equal value. In past years, they have also rewarded readers each time they read 4 books with a free book of their choice. About two summers ago, I really racked up and ended up with almost 10 books! So, yes, each year I look forward to signing up for summer reading with the hope that at the end of the season I will win big (however, so far no luck).

My attempt at summer reading as a mom!

This year is still the same, but there are some differences. Our library has decided to allow readers to keep track of the books that they have read online - which is pretty cool. One other difference is that they aren't giving away free books for every 4 read (I'm actually pretty bummed out about this). There is only one opportunity to win a free book and that's when one successfully completes their "Library Bingo" card.

My kind of BINGO!

The theme this year for summer reading is to "Build a Better World", to "encourage us to look at our home, community, and planet." I think most readers can relate to building a better world, because when you read, you become exposed and open-minded to other viewpoints differing from yours. You truly do travel to different lands with every book that you read, and it allows you to become more empathetic to others, which in turn can help us build a better world around us. I'm all for it.

For anyone reading this blog, I encourage you to reach out to your local libraries and sign up for summer reading. Pick up a book that you wouldn't normally read. Get recommendations from your librarians, other library patrons, Goodreads, etc. How can you translate this theme of Building a Better World to a book? I'd be excited to hear what everyone has on their list to read this summer. As for me, as I stated in a previous post, I am planning on re-reading the Harry Potter series. I am also planning on finishing the Dollanganger series. I love reading chic-lit during this time of year (especially by the beach or somewhere outdoors, preferably with a nice glass of wine). The world is at our library cards (fingertips work too)! Shoot a comment below and happy summer reading!!

Until we read again...

Review: Hey Harry, Hey Matilda

When I first started Hey Harry, Hey Matilda by Rachel Hulin, I immediately had to put it back down. The format of the book was hard to get into, I struggled following the conversation between the two characters, Harry and Matilda, and quite honestly, they were annoying. After putting the book down for a week or so, I picked it back up again and gave it another try - while it wasn't my favorite book, it was okay.

The premise behind Hulin's debut book is an email chain between a set of twins discussing their lives and what they are going through. Matilda is a drunk photographer who can't seem to cope with much or support herself on her own. Harry, who isn't much better, is a professor seeking tenure, who creates a less than desirable situation for himself. The two of them go back and forth, detailing events such as impregnating a student, genetic testing, plagiarism, being unsatisfied in relationships, strained parental relationships, and being unfulfilled in one's career. *yawn*

Enjoying the warm weather and a book

This was a quick read and it kept my interest for the most part but it wasn't really memorable. Matilda drove me bat crazy with her constant whining and Harry was such a weeny (for lack of better words). This book wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a quirky book detailing the email exchange between a set of twins but it wasn't quirky - it was just weird (especially the genetic testing bit). One thing that I did like about this book, however, was the random fact dropping - for example, there was a email from Harry in which he asked his sister if she knew that the days of the week were named after the planets. I did not know that! I love when I read a fiction book and learn something new! Besides this though, I'm glad that this book is finished.

Until we read again...

Review: Mind Over Meds

Mind Over Meds: Know When Drugs Are Necessary, When Alternatives Are Better - and When to Let Your Body Heal On It's Own by Andrew Weil, M.D. was an awesome read. I could be slightly biased because it validated my own beliefs regarding the pharmaceutical industry, medication, and the healthcare system, but I encourage even skeptics to read it - you may be surprised by what you learn. This was not a book written by a conspiratorial kook who wants people to live a hippie lifestyle. He just wants people to be better informed.

In Weil's book, he dedicates a chapter to common classes of drugs and in each chapter he discusses why they are prescribed, what they do to the body, and alternative therapies to try instead of resorting to them. He discussed opiods, antihypertension medication, psychotic drugs, and diabetic medication to name a few. One resounding theme amongst most, if not all of the drugs, is that they should be a last resort for the typical user. Weil described how, too often, doctors push medication on their patients in an effort to correct a medical issue, however, the drug often aggravates the condition and forces a person to continue the medication. This is especially evident with opiods.

One thing that helped distinguish Dr. Andrew Weil's book from others, is that he was not suggesting that people shouldn't take medication at all. He asserted that people should become more discerning in what they are taking, ask their doctor's questions, and make lifestyle changes for a healthier body. For those with chronic diseases or such, he does not suggest that they shouldn't take medication - but he does suggest that they consult with a pharmacist to ensure that the medication that they do take does not conflict with any other medication that they are prescribed. He argues that doctors do not have as well as a sound training in drugs and drug interactions as pharmacists do and he questions why pharmacists are so underutilized.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. I read it in one day - it wasn't a hard read and it was easy to follow. I learned a lot and appreciated everything that was said. Check it out, and drop your opinions on Mind Over Meds below!

Until we read again...

The Summer of Harry Potter

Much like most weekends on Freeform, this past weekend was a Harry Potter one. If you know me, you know that I am a seriously huge fan of everything Harry Potter - so naturally, when there is a Harry Potter weekend, you know where to find me (seriously).

While I was watching the movies this weekend, I became quite nostalgic. This was the time of year that school was letting out and each summer I would read the Harry Potter series up through the current book that was released at the time. I probably haven't done this in over 10 years and I got to thinking...a Harry Potter weekend won't suffice anymore. I am looking forward to another Harry Potter summer. So, this summer, I pledge to read all 7 of the books again! Now this may seem like an easy feat, but I'm a working mother of a 5 year old that has the same amount of energy as the Weasley twins combined. However, I am ready to relive the excitement of the magical world of Hogwarts. I think as I read them, I'll drop my thoughts on the blog - whether the books are still as magical to me now at 28 as they were at 11, tidbits that I forgot, etc. etc. 

How many of you all out there are huge Harry Potter fans? Was the summer also a time to indulge in the series? Drop a comment below!

Until we read again...