Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday (#7)

Hosted by Breaking the Spine



Title:  Small Great Things
Author:  Jodi Picoult
Expected Publication:  October 11, 2016

Goodreads / Barnes & Noble


Summary:

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.




I'll just sit here and "patiently" wait

Friday, September 30, 2016

Review: The Shining

Title:  The Shining
Author:  Stephen King
Rating:  5/5

Summary:

Past horrors and evil lurk in Colorado's Overlook Hotel, threatening winter season caretakers Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, and their young son, Danny. Gifted with the shining, a clairvoyant Danny must battle the darkest evil in the remote hotel in an attempt to save his family from its influence.

Review:

Holy hell this book.  Can I start off by saying it's not only the first book I've finished in well over a month, but the longest book I've read this year at 683 pages?

It was amazing!

I had seen the movie some months ago and was like "ehh, not sure why this is a classic horror movie, but that hedge maze was kinda cool."  Then I read the book and was like "why the hell did they put that stupid hedge maze in the movie?  These hedge animals are way creepy!"

Also, the twins:




Yeah, sorry, they don't exist in the book as something Danny ever sees.  But the dog man makes up for the creepy factor by far!

Also, the movie never went into exactly what "the shining" ability that Danny had exactly was.  In the book that's the main focus, obviously!  He would have a good career in ghost hunting with those abilities honestly, or as a human lie detector.

Only Stephen King can write 200 pages worth of background before a story really kicks off and keep me on the edge of my seat.  He also writes this in a way that follows usual human thought, which means it diverges unexpectedly into a character's thoughts or feelings with no warning.

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes horror books.  And if you've never read Stephen King before (like I hadn't) this is a great book to start with.



Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Top Ten Books on my Fall To Be Read List

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish


I forever have a million books on my TBR list!  But there are a few specific ones I'm looking forward to in the near future.

1.  Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur


2.  Freedom: My Book of Firsts by Jaycee Dugard


3. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

4. Wicked by Gregory Maguire


5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling


6. Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
7. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo


8. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig


9. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson


10. Eleven Hours by Pamela Erens



Sunday, September 25, 2016

Banned Book Week 2016



I LOVE banned book week!  I love that there are banned books.  Why?  Because that means we're all human and different and there is adversity that should be explored!

Now, I don't have time to do a read-a-thon of any type for it this year because my new job takes up all my time and brain power.  So, I have decided to highlight five of my favorite banned books I've read in the past.






A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard
Reasons for being banned:  Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Reasons for being banned:  Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Reasons for being banned:  Offensive language; racism

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Reasons for being banned:  Occult/Satanism

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Reasons for being banned:  Language and sexual references


Happy reading!



Thursday, August 25, 2016

Reader Confession Tag

Reader Confession Tag

Found over at Book Coma Blog


1. Have you ever damaged a book?

The worst I've done is spill juice on my copy of To Kill A Mockingbird, it was painful

2. Have you ever damaged a borrowed book?

I've broken an already breaking spine of a library book completely in half... oops...

3. How long does it take you to read a book?

If I have my way then about a day or two, if I don't, could be months.

4. Books that you haven’t finished?

So many...

5. Hyped/Popular books that you don’t like?

Pretty much every vampire book every written, glad that trend ended.

6. Is there a book you wouldn’t tell anyone you were reading?

Heh, yeah, I do have an author who is  my guilty pleasure that I don't advertise.  And I'm not going to admit to it yet!

7. How many books do you own?

Last count was in the 200s I think, and that was months ago.

8. Are you a fast reader or a slow reader?

Fast!  I fell like I devour good books.

9. Do you like to buddy read?

I've never had anyone to buddy read with, so I have no idea if I would like it.

10. Do you read better in your head or out loud?

In my head.  I stumble over literally every second word when reading out loud.

11. If you were only allowed to own one book, what would it be and why?

One?  Well, to own I suppose the first Harry Potter book.  I've read that series so often it could never get old.

I tag all my fellow book bloggers because book tag is fun! =)