Book 5 of 2015

Fibles : Children's eBook by M.R. Everette
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really have mixed feelings about Fibles: Children's eBook by M.R. Everette. The cover is as cute as it can be with the characters in their "12 Grade A Eggs" carton which are a character from each of the 12 stories in the book. Even the small illustrations throughout the book are colorful and geared for children but the stories themselves is what I have the problem with. Although they are animal characters with fun names, the way it is written with the play on words and the subject of things a child wouldn't know (or at least most young children wouldn't know) or understand it makes it hard for me to agree this is a children's book.

I read bedtime stories to my soon-to-be 3 year old grandson and he doesn't have a clue what the play on words are. For example we don't have Ipads so he don't 'get it' that in the story it is an 'Ipaw'. In another story the calves nod in 'udder' agreement but he hasn't a clue what an udder is. Another story is about golf and no way is he going to get the play on the words of "putter" or "par for the course" which leads me to believe it is for older children so I tried it on my granddaughter who is a 6 year old. Again, even at the age 6, a lot of the 'fun' of he book was lost because she didn't understand the concept of Tweeting/Twitter, what Rastafarian is, or who Picasso was. So now I go to my grandson who is 8 and reads to himself. I figured this was perfect since he did read to himself he wouldn't miss the play on words but at age 8, he took one look at the book and didn't want to read a 'baby book' with cute little baby animals on the cover. He was way above that and more into the Harry Potter type books. So although the stories did have; lessons and morals, a cute cover, character names, and pictures, I just don't see where this is a child's book (at least without a whole lot of explaining). I thought it would be a good bedtime story book for the young ones but the purpose for bedtime stories is for the child to go to sleep not ask me questions every few minutes on what that is or what that meant. The only conclusion I come to is that this book is like the cartoon 'Family Guy,' or 'The Simpsons', it looks like a cartoon and therefor appealing to children but it really isn't for children.

Now with all that being said, I did enjoy the stories and during the day I do read to the children so that is when I would read these stories so I have plenty of time to explain and for them to ask questions when they don't understand something. They are good stories to open communication and teach them things like what 'internet' or 'Sears and Roebuck' are. I spend more time talking and explaining the story then actually reading it which means (at least for me) these are not 'quick' stories so I recommend that you should be sure you leave extra time for the explaining/answering questions part too. This way, it is a nice time of reading and talk/learning that you both/all will enjoy.

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Book 4 of 2015

Family Secrets by Donna M. Zadunajsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't realize Family Secrets by Donna M. Zadunajsky was book one of a series (Secrets and Second Chances Series) and it is a good thing because I wouldn't have wanted to read it and would have missed this fantastic story. I am not sure what genre to even put it in it is part fiction but part is based on real people. It is a mystery, detective, suspense, and more plus it is just so addicting, I couldn't put it down.

The main characters in the story are well developed and there is just no way to read this and not 'feel' something for them. I know I could relate and connected with them both; Alexis and her son Colton, right from the beginning of the book. It was sad that they were not as 'functional' as a mother and child should be especially since Colton's father (Alexis' husband) committed suicide some seven months before and Colton basically blames his mother for it. He don't even call her 'mom' or 'mother' but calls her by her name, Alexis. Alexis realizes she wasn't there for her son. She had been so busy with her work as an astronaut she basically missed him growing up and being a part of his life however now she wants to be the mother that he should of had all along and build their relationship. After all, they are all each other had (so they thought).

Now I know that sounded sort of boring but there are just so many twists and turns in this somewhat of a fast paced story that it is far from boring, far from what I expected, and it totally engulfed me. I had no idea where this was going and it was to the point that when someone answered the door, I really darn near fell off my chair. I never expected that! It is just so surprising and non-stopping throughout the story. Just when you think the worse is over, it isn't. When you think this is the person, it turns out it is not. It is just so delightfully full of surprises that I couldn't put the book down.

I didn't notice any format issues and truthfully, I only noticed one typo at the beginning where Alexis is talking to her doctor and said, "These past few days I've spent at home and with my son have [sic] good, and I want to continue spending time with him." If there were any others I was so into the story I didn't notice them so it would be safe to say that if they do exist, they didn't take away from the story.

I totally enjoyed this story and although it is an easy read, some may think it is a YA. I am not so sure due to the content matter of suicide, grief, breast cancer, death, drugs, lies, deceptions. Yeah, I know, it seems like I'm talking about everyday life for many people now-a-days YA are a bit different from when I was one so lets just say I recommend it for the those who would feel comfortable with those subjects.

*I received a free copy for my honest opinion.

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Book 3 in 2015

Gypsy Hunted by Andrea Drew
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gypsy Hunted by Andrea Drew combines two of my favorite genres, mystery and supernatural, into one book. The author wrote a nice description of the story so I am not going to recap it other than to say Gypsy, the main character in the book, is psychic and she witnesses a kidnapping which is where the main plot starts. It grabbed my attention just as the cover of the book did depicting the empty park benches at night with the light illuminating the fact that there was no one anywhere to be seen.

The book looked and sounded promising but I did have some problems with some of the characters as the story switched between them. I really think this was because the narration of the book which was in first and third person narration. In several parts I found that who I thought was talking was not the character talking and although I eventually figured it out, the time I was 'lost' was annoying and did detract from the story.

Another problem I had is the inconsistencies with the events and the time line in the story. The story itself seems to have a time line but the events that take place within the story don't. For example, at the end of chapter five Conner tells Ian that he met a woman at a dinner on Saturday night and then on Monday a girl comes into the station saying her aunt was hurt, witness to a kidnapping. He visited the hospital (although not specified, it leads me to believe he went that same day, on Monday) and discovered it was Gypsy, the woman he met at the dinner. Then he further explains she couldn't talk and one side of her body is paralyzed. Which is fine and made perfect sense but by him describing he met her on Saturday evening and then Monday he found out someone who was a witness to a kidnapping was hurt (turns out to be Gypsy) leads me to believe we are only talking a few days ago because he didn't say "last Saturday" or "Two weeks ago on Saturday," he just said he met her on "Saturday." The same with the finding out on Monday someone witnessed a kidnapping. There was again no mention of it being "last Monday." In the back of my mind we are talking only a few days ago at most was Monday (not long enough to make it "last Saturday" he met her at the dinner so the most we can be talking is five days ago) and Gypsy can't talk and is paralyzed on one side of her body and shortly after this the chapter ends.

Chapter six starts off with Gypsy in her hospital room. Soon a woman comes into her room with a wheelchair to take her to rehabilitation and she was "muttering curses under her breath" and tells the woman, "Not now, I can't. I need to use the phone, find out what's happening, I'm the only witness." The way this is written in the book leads me to believe she said it but yet just a minute ago we learned she can't talk, so how is that possible? Then I thought, maybe she wrote it on her notes and handed it to the nurse but the book just left that part out. Then that didn't make sense because how can she mutter anything or "use the phone"? It also goes on to say she "leveraged" herself into the wheelchair. She is paralyzed on one side of her body so how can she just "leverage" herself anywhere being newly paralyzed? To top it off, she goes to rehabilitation and uses the walking bars. Interesting since she can't hold herself up on the bars with her arms since 'one side is paralyzed' which also means she isn't putting her weight on her foot/leg. And it just goes on how she willed her body to move and how she wished it was still numb so it wouldn't hurt so much. Maybe what I am not getting is that in five days she is able to regain some use of her limbs and has feeling coming back as pain? But that don't explain the ability of her to talk (or not) especially when on the way out someone tells her what a good job she had done and she confirms that she said nothing because she can't talk. Again, then why right before she went to this rehabilitation session was she able to mutter, say she didn't want to go now, and she wanted to use the phone? Maybe I am just over thinking it but it just doesn't add up to me. I find things like this very annoying and hard to get through which again, really disrupts the story and take away from the flow.

But even with the above being said, I don't want you to think this story is all bad and not worth reading. The plot is good, the action was good, and the mystery and physic abilities really kept me interested. A lot of it is memorable and had a few twists that I wasn't expecting. There was also the aspect of the characters in their personal lives that made me read on. I wanted to know if Gypsy and Conner ever get that cup of coffee they said they were going to meet again for. I have a feeling romance is in the air however the author does a great lead-in so I guess I really won't know that or even if this kidnapper acted alone or is there someone else on the list until I read the next book in the series, Gypsy Cradle.

*I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.

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Book 2 in 2015

America: Where Great Things Happen by Donald L. Gilleland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a great book cover! America: Where Great Things Happen by Donald L. Gilleland with the red, white, and blue fonts plus the picture of the American flag sure is fitting for this book which is all about positive things that happen in America. As the author points out in the Preface, wonderful things do happen all across this country however it is barely ever reported. The newspapers and news stations all seem to report on everything negative. If there is a fight somewhere and on the same day a dying woman received a kidney from a stranger, the headline news would be all about the fight and if they even bother to mention the kidney donation from a stranger to save a woman's life, it would be lost somewhere on page 23 or a 15 second quick mentioning used as a filler if time allowed before the news ended. We are bombarded with all this negative news everyday and from every direction and I know I have doubted my faith in humanity many times because of it.

What this book is about is the headlines we don't get to see. It is all true headlines and stories but since they are uplifting and positive, they don't make local or national news. We all hear about how students fail their tests and how they can't even answer simple questions like how many states make up the United States but I don't recall hearing about a seventeen year old in 2012 who developed a test for pancreatic cancer that is 28 times cheaper and faster, and 100 times more sensitive then the current test, do you? (Because I did look it up, I do know these values are now in question.) Even people like Dr. Virginia Apgar, who I do recall the name and what she was known for, I found out a lot more about her and her other achievements that I had no idea she was even involved with.

Due to the nature of the book, there are no characters or plot to speak of since it isn't a 'story'. However, it does cover many different 'subjects' other than people. It includes the Bible, Pledge of Allegiance, and National Monuments just to name a few of them. The timeline is from historical to basically present day events and even the historical are interesting and not common knowledge taught in schools.

I found the book very interesting and easy to read. What I call the "fun facts" came in handy when my adult children came to visit. I worked the them into a conversation which made my children think I 'fell off my rocker' one too many times. (Yes, I had fun with this book.) I recommend this book to everyone.

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Book 1 in 2015

The Candidates: Based on a True Country by Matthew S. Hiley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As the cover of the book depicts, The Candidates: Based on a True Country by Matthew s. Hiley is a comedy. While the description of the book sounded good, I must confess that it isn't my type of comedy. For the most part I found it rude, raunchy, and down right vulgar however I do appreciate the author writing it. I know that sounds a bit confusing but read on and it will be explained.

I won't recap the whole story since the author already written a good description of what the book is about. However what isn't mentioned in the description is the author writing about things others dare not to mention. Things going on today such as prejudice, stereotyping, and the political games being played. I also couldn't help but notice that although it is full of made-up situations and actions, there is plenty of truth in it if you can get past the fabricated and comedy parts. An example of it is that the candidates picked running mates based on how many 'groups of people' that will vote for them. A running mate who is an Asian, lesbian, amputee, would appeal to Asian and Middle-Eastern, LGBT, handicap, and female voters and that is more important than if that person is qualified for such a position. In other words, what they are is more important than their accomplishments, past records, and if what they stand for what is right or good for the people. It is all a matter of getting into office and promoting their own personal agenda even if it means telling known lies and promises which if you watched the political candidates, no matter what office, is what is goes on in many elections to this day.

The characters in this book don't need to be developed like most books do. They are developed enough to understand who and what is going on during the timeline of the book however it is not a kind of book where you would connect with any of the characters or even have any (or much) feelings for any of them. Keeping that in mind, they are amply developed.

The satire in the book is not the kind of comedy I enjoy but I am not saying it is a 'bad' book by any means, I am simply saying I just don't enjoy this kind of comedy. The best way I know how to explain it is that it is like the comedy of 'The Three Stooges." I didn't find them enjoyable either but millions of people did so I am saying this is just because of my personal taste in humor! They don't go around slapping each other on the head or poke their eyes (they do worse) but to me this is the kind of comedy it is. They set out on an important task and mess it up so bad with their faulty reasoning, bad aim, and down right goofiness that it leads into this snowball effect of things they need to do to 'fix' it and still have yet to complete the original task they set out to do.

As I said, this is not my kind of humor but it doesn't mean I didn't like any of the book. There were parts that I did enjoy and any author that can have his characters compare Dirty Dancing (my favorite movie) to Star Wars and pull it off is one heck of a writer!

I do recommend this for adults only due to the content and language.

*I received a free copy for my honest review.

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Book 40 of my 2014 Goal

Elements by Solomon Deep
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Elements by Solomon Deep is not the typical story I would read but it sounded interesting. The simple name, "elements" (How much more basic can you get?) with its simple cover complements the plot of this book. At one point or another I think everyone wonders some basic questions like, who am I? Where do I fit in? What is life about? In this book the main character does more than wonder, he takes us on his journey seeing through his eyes, what he has discovered.

This book is a novel of fiction but the plot of the book is realistic and many of the 'events' in the book can even be applied to what is going on today with a little imagination. An example is the 'sleep-ins' at ValuMart protest which isn't hard to visualize the 'die-ins' around the country currently in the news as well as ValuMart sounding a lot like Wal-Mart in many aspects. So with a little imagination I was even able to relate this to things going on today and how it would look to or confuse people growing up and trying to make it on their own in today's world. However, a lot of the book I found really strange (didn't seem to 'fit' in) and even hard to follow at times.

Since the author expressed that no part of the book can be quoted without his consent, I won't which puts me at a disadvantage for review purposes. Even so, there were many good parts of this book however it did not keep me engaged or interested to the degree I had hoped. To me it seemed to drag in many places and the interesting areas of the book seemed too few and to be rushed. As I said, some of it just made no sense to me to even why it was even included in the book since it only dragged it out instead of getting to the point. I understand what the author was trying to do (express the uncertainty, fears, concerns about life/the future) but for me, it didn't work.

* I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.

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Book 39 of my 2014 Goal

Return of the Dittos by Dale Andrew White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Return of the Dittos by Dale Andrew White is a collection of short stories obvious meant for the reader's entertainment. I think the cover of the book explains it all. It is a picture of an old TV and that is what these stories remind me of, watching old black and white comedies and in some cases, Twilight Zone in the good ole days. The stories are all varied in theme, some are purely humorous while some may use irony. If you don't like one story just keep reading, you may like the next one. It is the perfect book to take with you to enjoy a quick story while waiting at a Dr. office or whenever you have a few minutes because chances are you will be able to read a complete story in just a few minutes.

I only found one story, 'Infatuated,' that I thought was 'sick' for lack of a better way of explaining it. I don't want to give any spoilers away so I really can't explain it but what I mean by it, it is like reading a story about someone who has a foot fetish. This is not what this story is about, it is about something else so be clear on this, I am only using 'foot fetish' as a way to explain it. I do not find feet sexy, nor do I worship them. To me those that do are 'sick' and this is what I mean about this story, it is 'sick'. (Again, it has nothing to do with feet.)

Other stories can possibly be non-fiction although the author has already stated the book is fiction. The story that comes to mind is 'Disappearing Act' which is about a secret experiment concerning the human mind at a college for a Psychology class on Perceptions & Realities. This experiment is done on students through the course of the semester and after reading it, I realized I too believed and wondered what in my life have I (and how many others) perceived as a reality when in fact it was a deception all along. So this story even had me thinking about the statement, "The charade proved that the human mind will gullibly accept a fiction as a fact, if society insists it is so."

Another story that just cracked me up was 'Little Birdie' by the way the narrator was talking to me, the reader. It was if this 'narrator' is a person living within my mind that is the same 'narrator' for everything I do. It is the one that tells me stories when I read a book, it is the same one that tells me what the letter I received in the mail says, and it is the same one from when I was 2 years old. Well, this hilarious story is about what happens because this 'narrator' had enough of the 'me'.

A story that was very deep is 'On Tour with a Confederate Soldier' while I didn't quite know what one other story was about, other than it was ironic. There are so many stories I can't comment on each one but they are such a wide variety in these stories I find it difficult to believe there isn't something for everyone.

Since these are all short stories (approximately 25 of them) there is no real development of characters or plots and subplots or any time lines and such that I can talk about the development of. About all I can say is that each story had characters that were well enough developed that I knew what I needed to know to make sense of the story. Some I liked, some not so much but either way, at least I knew enough about them to draw my own conclusion. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys short stories and has a sense of humor.

*I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.

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