Book Review:In Leah's Wake

Do you have favorite authors? I do too. My favorites write stories in a style that I like and have proven to be creative in their writing.

I find that, personally, I don't tend to follow some of the more popular authors. You know who they are, they've written so many bestsellers that their new books debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. I've found, over time, that some of these authors tend to become cookie cutters, pumping out novels to fulfill a publishing contract. They lose creativity sometimes.

In the last 3-4 years, I've tended to seek out and read newer authors. You'll find my book reviews reflect that. You'll see authors here that may not be familiar to you. I hope to help you discover a bit of freshness, offer opportunities to introduce you to some lesser known but very talented writers.

This past week I read In Leah's Wake by Terri Giuliano Long. This is her debut novel and I was very impressed.
The story is about a family with 2 daughters. It explores issues that many parents are dealing with...teens smoking, dating, experimenting with drugs. Yep, we've all read these before. Terri Giuliano Long takes these issues to new depths, adding in the instability of marriage, the economy and it's affects on the members of the family. As in real life, nothing about this family is neat or easy.

This is a complex story with compelling characters. At one point, I felt like it was almost too intense...partly because I'm not a parent. I find that I can avoid some of the worries about what kids these days are dealing with. There were times when it reminded me of Go Ask Alice, which I read in the 70's, when the story was told from Leah's perspective.

The characters are imperfect, make mistakes. You cannot walk away from this without thinking about your own teen years, the mistakes you've made as a parent.

As I was reading this ebook, I had to keep reminding myself that it was Terri's first book.
It's fiction but I can imagine similar scenarios taking place in many households across the country. I would go so far as to suggest this is a must read for parents of teens.

I purchased this book from Smashwords but it's available in ebook format at all the usual sites.  The limited first printing of paperbacks seems to be sold out on B&N and Amazon.

Check this out and you are guaranteed to be impressed!

Happy reading,

Pauline







A Book's Purpose...

I've spent a lot of time thinking and talking about this book in the past year. It was released in hardcover July 6, 2010 and I read it a few weeks later. How many books leave that kind of impression on you? I've read a lot of really great books, this one really stands out.

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron spent many weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list but never quite made it to the top 10. You may have never heard of it but I felt like it was my responsibility to spread the word. Some of you have heard me talk about this book before and I may even have dragged you into the world of Ethan and Bailey reluctantly. But I doubt any of you have regretted the journey.

This story has quietly gained a foothold amongst dog lovers all over the world.

It's a sweet journey that will make you laugh, cry and hug your pets just a little closer while you read. Some people have compared it to Marley & Me but to me, it's more like The Art of Racing In the Rain, without the racing. If you've read The Art of Racing In the Rain, you must read A Dog's Purpose!

I'll give you a little hint about this book-the dog dies several times. Please don't let that turn you away...it really becomes part of the story, part of the journey we all take with our pets. The tale is told by the dog, the main character in the book.

This book will help you heal from the loss of a dog in your life. It will make you look deeper into the eyes of every dog you encounter and wonder what's going on in there.

You will definitely want to gift this book to other dog lovers in your life. I lost track of how many copies I have gifted already.

Here is a link for the FB page-



http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thomas-J-OConnor-Animal-Control-and-Adoption-Center/31823504517?sk=wall&filter=1#!/Adogspurpose

You will NOT be able to resist these stories.

And the reason that ADP is in the forefront of my mind again? Because I'm seeing it in bookstores everywhere, in paperback now!

If you've read it, leave a comment! If you haven't....go get your copy asap!

Happy reading,

Pauline



Smash-ing

My Kindle has opened my world to many sources for finding ebooks. One of those is Smashwords.
http://www.smashwords.com/
I was a bit confused about this site when I first read about it. But recently I've purchased 2 books there and found it very easy to use. Today, I'll share a little about Smashwords, you can check it out and hopefully enjoy some new reading.
What is Smashwords?
Smashwords is an ebook publishing and distribution platform, serving authors, publishers, readers and major ebook retailers. Smashwords is ideal for publishing novels, personal memoirs, poetry chapbooks, short and long-form fiction, and non-fiction. If you've written it, they will help you share it and sell it.
As a reader, it's a place to find free books, very low priced books and terrific new authors.

The very fact that this site allows self-publishing means that we get opportunities to read many stories that may never make it to the big publishing houses. Did you know that Kathryn Stockett received over 60 rejection letters before finding a company to publish The Help? How many other authors with terrific stories are wading through rejection letters? It also means that you may find a few that don't meet your usual standards...that's why you should read a sample of the book before making a purchase!

Once you make a purchase, you can download the file to any e-reader-the books are available in many formats and can even be read on a pc without an ereader app. It's downloaded as a pdf for that purpose. For my Kindle, I have to connect via the USB cable to my computer and transfer the file manually. It can't be moved wirelessly the way Amazon books are transferred.
The Smashwords website says the books cannot be shared because of licensing. I haven't tested this yet.
Happy hunting (for new books/authors),
Pauline

That's A Lotta Books!

I've seen other people blogging but never really felt like anything I had to say would be important to other people. If not important, maybe just a bit interesting? So, ok, maybe I'll give it a try!

I read a lot. I sometimes read when I should be doing other things...I don't think I'm alone though. Since I bought a Kindle, I read more than ever. It's so easy to have a book available at all times. Then I must confess another problem...I read about books too! I have so many resources to find new books to read. I've downloaded many more books than I think I can possibly read this year.

Facebook has made more books available to me...just "like"-ing pages opens the door to finding new books AND new authors. I "like" a lot of the authors whose books I enjoy reading. What I've discovered is that these authors are terrific about cross-promoting other authors. They do giveaways too.

Through this blog, I'll give you my personal review of the books I read, plus share information about books I'm hoping to read and sources for finding books.

I could never overlook the most obvious resource-the library! I'm so excited that Kindle will be adding access to library lending by the end of the year!
Best,
Pauline