Thursday 30 November 2017

Booktuber of the month


Hi Everyone

Technically it is the 1st of December here today so I am a day late!  But... for many of you it is still November so I am going with the fact that maybe, you will all just like a Booktuber to look in on 😀

This month I want to highlight Hannah from Beginning to bookend, I like the variety she reads and the maturity that she brings to her clips.  In the clip above, she talks about how she can manage to read so much in a month.  Like me, she reads across a variety of genres and age groups.  This draws me to listening to her.  When I find someone who posts across genres and age groups, I find them interesting.  They bring a variety to the book world and a certain honesty.  To me, it shows that they read for the joy of reading not just ratings on the Web.  Hannah brings this to the Booktubing world and hence, I highlight her today so that if you want to swing over to check out booktubers you will find someone who brings a unique variety to the Booktubing world also.

As Christmas will quickly sneak up on us now, as we all bounce into December as the next few hours tick by, I hope you will all find some great books to give/read this Christmas. 

Happy reading


Friday 24 November 2017

Today's quote


Hi Everyone,

Sorry I have been a little slow on the posts in the last couple of weeks... Exam season!  It is nearing the end of our school year and the young people all have exams, and end of year assessments/tests, so I have been busy with extra tutoring, exam nerved students, and helping to encourage and support the kids with their individual goals.  It has been quite a few couple of weeks, but we have all made it through and all seem to still be able to smile.  All the kids have worked so hard to get to where they are this year and I am proud of every single one of my students.

As we near Christmas the sun is continuing to bless our days here, so we can all enjoy the days off and the longer nights with friends and family.  I have a couple of books finished and ready for reviewing so I will get to work and write my responses to each one very soon for you.  I hope you all have a good book ready for the Christmas break.

Happy reading

Monday 20 November 2017

Unbearable Lightness

Unbearable Lightness
Author: Portia de Rossi
Read by: Portia de Rossi
ISBN: 9781743105634

Hi Everyone

For years I watched the TV programme Ally McBeal and grew to love every character in their own little way, little did I know of the people behind the acting.  Isn't it funny how we like a character and they take it on as the person behind the character as well.

So, flicking through Bolinda Box for an audio book lead me to Portia De Rossi's autobiography.  It started off as any normal celebrity ideal story.  She starts as a model and then progresses to TV.  She diets right from the start.... as one would expect.  

But, what progresses through out is the most outstanding truth of bulimia and anorexia that I have ever heard.  Some of the extremes left me gasping for air.  I couldn't believe the extremes she went to without even realising she had a problem.  She still thought she was in control and needed to lose more weight.  

I have watched movies of the sort before, but I think this was real and honest.  I admire her for telling her story it can't be easy to put oneself out to the world, especially when your in the lime light for being a 'particular' way.  

Well worth reading, but if you have a girl with such an issue I would recommend reading this yourself first and analysing the content.


Description:

"Breathtakingly honest, brutal and beautiful."  —  Jonathan Safran Foer
"A cautionary tale, an inspiration, and a triumph."  —  Publishers Weekly
"A stark, well-written portrait of how de Rossi lost control of her life as she became consumed by her struggle for perfection and acceptance."  —  The Washington Post 

Portia de Rossi weighed only 82 pounds when she collapsed on the set of the Hollywood film in which she was playing her first leading role. This should have been the culmination of all her years of hard work - first as a child model in Australia, then as a cast member of one of the hottest shows on American television. On the outside she was thin and blonde, glamorous and successful. On the inside, she was literally dying.

In this searing, unflinchingly honest book, Portia de Rossi captures the complex emotional truth of what it is like when food, weight, and body image take priority over every other human impulse or action. Even as she rose to fame as a cast member of the hit television shows Ally McBeal and Arrested Development, Portia alternately starved herself and binged, all the while terrified that the truth of her sexuality would be exposed in the tabloids. With the storytelling skills of a great novelist and the eye for detail of a poet, Portia makes transparent as never before the behaviours and emotions of someone living with an eating disorder.


Happy reading





Description taken from: 
https://fe.bolindadigital.com/wldcs_bol_fo/b2i/productDetail.html?productId=BOL_005686&fromPage=1&b2bSite=3104





Thursday 16 November 2017

Her Christmas Chance



Hi Eveyone

Well here is is a little treat for all you who enjoy a little romance book here and there.  I really liked this one.  Bella and Chance were the most unusual couple I have read about for a while. but they where also the most brilliant pair together.  To read a book with the main character having a disablility really made this book a winner for me.  Bella captured my heart as she was unique, sincere, honest and alive, all that the same time.  As for Chance, he had been in prison and really wasn't considered right for Bella.  There wasn't a lot let out about the why's of his story until near the end.  This kept me guessing but I could tell there was more to him.  Because I thought there was more to Chance, I found Bella's family really annoying!  You think the cat was a problem? I thought the cat was the least of Bella and Chance's problems 😺

Then again the cat did add interest to the sitiuation and I did really like him.  

Overall this is a beautiful romance where you are left thinking that everyone has more to them than what is first preceived. Even the cat!

Happy reading


NEW RELEASE….
Will her cat ruin her Christmas chance for love?

Bella Tallahan has always hidden behind her twin sister, Tally. She was born with cerebral palsy and even though she has finished college, she lives vicariously through her sister’s adventures.

It worked, until her sister married writer Lucky Lenigan, and Bella developed a crush on Lucky’s brother—a bad boy with a shady past.

Chance Martin made one mistake growing up—one that landed him in prison. After his release, he spends his days restoring antique furniture and his nights alone.

When Mr. Klutz, Bella’s fat tabby cat, wreaks havoc in the furniture workshop, Chance confronts Bella and finds himself with a dilemma. He’s not the right kind of guy for a woman with disabilities, but at the same time, he can’t get her out of his mind.

Will the trail of destruction left by one naughty cat bring Bella her Christmas chance for love? Can Chance rise above his past and convince Bella that she is truly worth loving? Or will the secret he is keeping horrify Bella enough to send her back into hiding?

Author’s Note: Although part of the Christmas Creek Romance Series, Her Christmas Chance is a complete and standalone story. Bella Tallahan appears in a previous story, Lucky in Laguna, where her sister Tally Tallahan meets and falls in love with Lucky Lenigan.


A Christmas Creek Romance Series
Book 1: Holly & Gordon, Deck the Hearts
Book 2: Bella & Chance, Her Christmas Chance

Audiobook also available
 

Available to buy from...... 

"I loved this story! Rachelle Ayala is a powerful writer" - Francis Cristina

"WOW!!!! I absolutely fell in love with this story. This book is emotionaly heartfelt." - Bookworm K

"A perfect heart warming christmas story to read & cherish. I recommend reading this sweet christmas story as you will not be disappointed." - Sophie Koufes
Above reviews from Amazon.com




Also available in A Christmas Creek Romance
Each book may be read as a stand-alone novel, or as part of the series.
Deck the Hearts (A Christmas Creek Romance Book 1)


Deck the Hearts (A Christmas Creek Romance Book 1) by [Ayala, Rachelle]
Opposites attract and sparks fly in the delightful small town of Christmas Creek.

Holly Jolly lives for Christmas. It’s the only time of the year, as far as she’s concerned. 

Gordon Gills doesn’t need a reason to hate the holiday season. He doesn’t see the point. 

Gordon returns to the mansion he inherited and finds Holly making a mess with her Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, his great-aunt’s will stipulates that he must make merry every Christmas if he wants to keep his inheritance. 

Holly is determined to infect the grouchy Gordon with every dose of Christmas cheer she can muster and show him what Christmas is really about. 

Will Gordon prevail and turn Holly into a Grinch, or will a sprinkling of Christmas magic show Gordon that there’s no fighting love, especially when it’s wrapped up in a gorgeous redheaded package of jolly holly?


Available to buy from ...

About the author
Rachelle Ayala is a bestselling author of dramatic romantic suspense and humorous, sexy contemporary romances. Her heroines are feisty and her heroes hot. She writes emotionally challenging stories but believes in the power of love and hope. 

Rachelle is an active member of the California Writer's Club, Fremont Chapter, and a volunteer for the World Literary Cafe. She is a very happy woman and lives in California with her husband. She has three children and has taught violin and made mountain dulcimers.

Sign up for her NEWSLETTER to get a FREE surprise ebook (or two), and her latest book news HERE!

Visit her Reader's Guide HERE

Find the author on the following sites...


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Tuesday 14 November 2017

Titch the Itch

Titch the Itch
Author: B. C. R. Fegan
Illustrated by Lenny Wen

Hi Everyone

I have had the pleasure of recieving another one of B. C. R Fegan's books.  I am now officially a keen reader of this author!  Three books and I love them all 🙌

On the first page... Titch is introduced as a 'no-reason-at-all-itch'.  I found this interesting to start with.  A 'no-reason-at-all-itch'.  I know its a minor thought but I thought this was a very clever beginning.  He proceeds to try and make friends but nobody wants him around.  Okay lets look at this concept... It is a very good talking point with young children.  How often do they come across the unfriended kids at daycare, kindergarten and school?  Sometimes these kids are even annoying just like an itch, but they still have feelings.  Good talking point!

The next few pages are brilliant illustrations introducing the family in which Titch thinks he is just being a friend with.  Until the dad doesn't want him around.  This makes Titch state "didn't friends stick together - no matter what?  

Get the idea!

This book is brilliant.  Just wait till you see where it leads. I am going to use this book for more than just a picture book to be read at bed time.  


Description:

When Titch discovers that no one in his family wants him, he sets off on a journey to find someone – anyone – who would be willing to live with an itch. With every step he grows less hopeful. That is, until he meets an old friend.
Sometimes in life we come up against big problems. At other times, they are only Titch problems. Titch the Itch gently explores the idea that living with small problems is a reality of life. Whether we sustain an injury, lose our homework or have an itch that just won’t scratch, not all problems can be fixed right away. But that’s okay – because sometimes these problems just want to be friends.


This is available from:


Happy reading



Friday 3 November 2017

An accidental messiah

An Accidental Messiah
Author: Dan Sofer
ISBN:

An Accidental Messiah: A Novel (The Dry Bones Society Book 2)

Hi Everyone,

I am extremely happy that Dan Sofer sent me the second edition to The Dry Bones Society series An Accidental Messiah because now I have a few things cleared up after the first instalment of this awesome series.

I now know what is happening with my favourite character Eli.  I have to admit I wanted to skip pages to see what he was up to.... but I was controlled, just!

After reading the first book An Unexpected Afterlife I couldn't wait to start this book, so I downed all the rest on my TBR list and started on this one.  There were so many questions I had waiting to be answered.  So, I found out the answers to my questions only to be left with more.  I now want to know what is going to happen to the Rev.  Dan Sofer, you will need write faster 😀 I have been hooked big time into this series.

Sometimes when you read a good first novel it can be disappointing to read the second.  Not in this case, this book is brilliant.  I was taken down avenues I hadn't considered during the first book.  Although this one keeps to the storyline of the first, it has more twists and turns.  There are a few more characters added and they bring more to the story.  And I am still following where Eli will take me next.

Overall I am really enjoying the unique plot of this series.


Description:

HE DEFEATED DEATH. WILL HE BEAT BUREAUCRACY? 

Rooms at the Dry Bones Society are filling up as more and more Israelis leave their graves to rejoin the living. But not everyone is happy to see them.

When Moshe Karlin stands up for their rights, his quest for a brighter future leads through a minefield of treacherous politicians and brutal criminals. Will he usher in an era of peaceful Utopia or trigger a civil war?

Elsewhere in Jerusalem, a recovering prophet hides his apocalyptic delusions, a scientist unearths the shocking secret to peace in the Middle East, and a lovesick suicide bomber wanders the streets in search of his own personal redemption.

In the midst of it all, one chronic latecomer is on everyone’s mind—the Messiah!



This is available from: Amazon


Happy reading