Top Ten Tuesday

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I Resolve to Read in 2013

These are books that I have been meaning to read for a long time or I think everyone should read!

1. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: I feel like the only person in the world who hasn't read this one.

2. Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray: I've been told it's really good.  Many people have recommended it to me.

3. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan: This one's going to be tough, but I have the internet to help me out!

4. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card: A modern classic, I've been told.

5. 1984 by George Orwell: Another one I feel everyone but me has read.  I need to get on with it so I can know Big Brother.

6. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult: I haven't read the book or seen the movie!

7. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan: I have read the first two and I resolve to finish the series this year!

8. Holes by Louis Sachar: I loved his Wayside Stories series and I really enjoyed the movie.

9. The Help by Kathryn Stockett: I haven't read the book or seen the movie.  I'm behind the times!

10. Dracula by Bram Stoker: The only vampire novel I will allow myself to read at the moment.

I could have made it easy and gone with books sitting in my to read pile, but I didn't. I went with books I've been meaning to read for a long time.

Book Review: Following Yonder Star by Martin D. Gibbs

DNF

I feel bad I did not finish this book.  No matter how much I hate a book I will do my best to get to the end.  I didn't hate this book.  Last week was a busy week with Christmas preparations and all that, I found it so difficult to get into this story.  I read without retaining anything.  I was in the middle of the book and the only clue I had to what was going on was that these were The Three Wise Men.  I didn't a recall a star being mentioned or them joining together for their journey.  I was really confused and my brain told me to stop.  I promised to post a review so the following is the Goodreads synopsis for the book.

On a cold December night in Bethlehem, three mysterious foreign rulers paid homage to the newborn King of Man. They promptly vanished into history.

Who were these unequaled men? What hardships did they endure on their voyage? How much did they sacrifice of themselves?

This story details their harrowing journey across deserts, through a suffocating moor, over a towering mountain, and into the chamber of Herod. Throughout, they were tested by the devil and themselves. But at each test, they reaffirmed their strength, determination, and faith. The Three Kings persevered: So can we.

Following Yonder Star is a story that will reinforce the true meaning of Christmas.

Book Review: Running Around (and Such) (Lizzie Searches for Love #1) by Linda Byler

Lizzie questions a lot of things about her Amish life like why can't she wear higher heels and a looser hairstyle?  And most of all, why does her family have to move to a new house to become farmers?  What is she going to do in a new town without a lot of kids her age?  Who will she and her two sisters pair up with if there are not enough boys to go around?

Unlike many Amish stories I have read this one has a very distinct modern feel to it.  Lizzie puts Clearasil on her acne that her sisters, Mandy and Emma, do not have.  The girls are worried about their weight.  Emma and Mandy are thin, but Lizzie is not.  Most Amish stories I've read the characters don't care.  They eat high calorie foods without any thought.  Actually, the thought is they need to nourish themselves well for all the work they have to do.

That's what brings me to the 3.25 star rating.  It was a good story.  Lizzie's not your typical Amish character.  She isn't happy to do all that is expected of her, including and especially being a maude.  The problem is it felt too modern, like these were English (as the Amish call them) characters put in the Amish world.  You know, fitting a square peg in a round hole.  They didn't quite fit.

Of course, who am I to say what the Amish are really like?  This may actually be more indicative of their lives than the other "traditional" stories we have read.  Not having spent much time with them I cannot say I know for sure, but it would seem a little odd that this is the "real" story and the others are not one bit accurate.

I read this as a review request from Netgalley using Adobe Digital on my laptop.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Christmas Videos: Jesus, Savior by Chris August, One Silent Night by Jaci Velasquez, & Gloria by Michael W. Smith

Merry Christmas! Hope you have a very wonderful day. My gift to you are three Christmas videos. I hope you are in the Christmas spirit and if not, I hope these tunes are able to get you there!

♬Jesus, Savior, Son of God, the King of Kings, our salvation has a name♬  The first video I give you is "Jesus, Savior" by Chris August. ♬Our whole world's about to change.♬



Jaci Velasquez's version of "Silent Night" is a harmonious mix of "Silent Night" and her most popular song "For God So Loved the World."



Rounding out the music today is Michael W. Smith, one of my favorite artists, singing his Christmas tune "Gloria (Angels We Have Heard on High)" Can't have Christmas without a Michael W. Smith or two or three...(he's got that many Christmas albums!). This is a very orchestral and choir version of "Angels We Have Heard on High." I thoroughly enjoy it and imagine playing it in the church orchestra myself.



As a bonus I provide to you from Handel's Messiah, "The Hallelujah Chorus" performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!



Yes, this is a 2014 production, but that's because the original video I chose was made private.

Christmas Videos: The First Noel by TobyMac & O Holy Night by Mariah Carey

What I really want to open up with today is Kevin Max's version of "The First Noel". It is so beautiful, oh my gosh. Kevin Max is a former member of DC Talk and the news is he's the new lead singer of Audio Adrenaline! He's got such a great voice. He has also joined former bandmate Michael Tate on a few Newsboys tunes. This tune is so beautiful, like I said, and I can't find a video for it! It makes me sad that no one has put one up on Youtube or anywhere. I can't believe it's not more popular than it is. I heard it a few Christmases ago on XM Radio and haven't heard it since. :(

Since I can't find Kevin Max's version, I've put up a version done by his other former bandmate, Toby McKeehan aka TobyMac. This one features Owl City. It's much more upbeat than the Kevin Max version.



 Being that this Christmas Eve, I give you another video. Mariah Carey's most famous Christmas tune is "All I Want for Christmas is You", but today, I bring you one that I think is much better. Here is "O Holy Night".

Christmas Video: Mary Did You Know by Clay Aiken

I have heard many versions of this tune and Clay Aiken's is my favorite.  It shows the pureness and roundness, if you will, of his voice (and he should have won season 2 of American Idol).

Christmas Video: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Barenaked Ladies

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen does not get it's Christmas due.  I think it's a fabulous song, but it is not heard as much as more popular tunes.  This cover by The Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan is a treat.

Christmas Video: Silent Night by Boyz II Men

One of the most beautiful versions of Silent Night I have ever heard.  I loved Boyz II Men growing up and I still think they're music is pretty cool today, maybe not so much new stuff, but the old stuff, definitely.  It's true, they could sing the phone book a cappella and it would sound good.

Christmas Video: Little St. Nick by The Beach Boys

♬Oooh...Merry Christmas, Santa.  Christmas comes this time each year.♬

I love The Beach Boys and this is my favorite Christmas song by them.  If you haven't figured it out Little St. Nick is not Santa.

Book Review: No Ordinary Excuse by Michelle Adams

A great story for readers at the middle grade level.

Gemma Martin woke up the day her project was due to find she'd forgotten to do it!  She promised her parents she'd straighten up and fly right, but she'd already messed up.  What was she going to do?  In comes her incredible imagination and her dream to be an actress.  She dreams up the most incredible excuse to buy herself some time.

As the days go by the excuse gets bigger and bigger.  It's gone beyond Gemma and her teacher to the whole school.  It's made her popular and made others jealous.  It's taken over Gemma's life and that isn't a good thing!

Michelle Adam's debut junior fiction novel really packs a punch.  It sends an important message all kids should learn.  Excuses can be lies and they can get the liar in trouble.  Telling the truth in the beginning can solve all the problems.  All excuses and lies do are create new ones.  If Gemma had told the truth to begin with she may have gotten just what she wanted--extra days to work on the project.  Although, if she had done the project before it was due she wouldn't have been in the mess to begin with!

I read this review request from Netgalley using Adobe Digital Editions on my laptop.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Christmas Video: Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant

For the final week before Christmas I will be posting one Christmas video day, with two on Christmas Eve, and three on Christmas.

Today's video is "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant.  It's a very beautiful song.  It brought tears to my brother's eyes when he first heard it.  My dad has fallen in love with it this year and has forced me to find our Amy Grant Home for Christmas CD (it's somewhere in the house).  Fortunately, there's this thing called Youtube where I can pull up the video and listen to the song whenever I want even if I don't find the CD.  There is no official music video so I pulled up the best one from Youtube.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  Anyone can playing along!  Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

Be careful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!  You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Before returning to his job, he'd sat down with Swede and me and asked if we felt ready to undertake classes and sociability again, or whether we'd like another week at home.
What do you think we were, idiots?
P. 63 Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Top Ten Tuesday

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I Read in 2012

1. Safely Home by Randy Alcorn

2. Covenant Child: A Story of Promises Kept by Terri Blackstock

3. Redemption: A Rebellious Spirit, a Praying Mother, and the Unlikely Path to Olympic Gold by Bryan Clay

4. Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

5. Room by Emma Donoghue

6. Finding the Baby Jesus by Kimball Fisher

7. The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig

8. Twelve Months by Steven Manchester

9. Wonder by RJ Palacio

10. Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow

It's fun to look back at what I've read this past year.  A trip down reading memory lane it is.  This year I didn't rate anything one star, which is more than I can say for last year when I rated two books one star.  Maybe I'm more lenient on quality and won't rate a book one star unless I absolutely loathe and/or can't get through it.  I rated 9 books 5 stars (one was a re-read of The Hunger Games (Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins) and I think I've got another 5 star rating coming along (at the time of this post I am not done with the book so it doesn't go on the list).  

Book Review: Duplicate by Harris Dickson Shortle

John Laronde thought he had it made.  He had the perfect life in 1934 Louisiana.  A prominent attorney, he lived with his wife and daughter on their sprawling estate.  He was beloved by everyone in the community.

A series of packages containing photographs marked duplicate started appearing on his desk, each sent from a city closer and closer to John's location, turned his world upside down.  What did the man, Pharus Murdock, want with John that he sent these duplicates and moved into John's town?  What did he want with becoming a well-liked member of the community as well?  What was the connection between Murdock and Laronde?

The story did contain that sense of anticipation.  I wanted to know who Pharus Murdock was and why he was after John Laronde.  But, as for the actual story, I didn't care much for it.  Shortle writes very descriptively, so much that it takes away from the storytelling.  Introducing a new character or a new setting brings with it so much description that the story gets lost.  It can get to the point where it becomes hard to keep track of what is going on.

I don't have a clue what the prologue's intentions are.  It doesn't flow with the rest of the story.  It's about John, Helen, and Ruth, as Helen grows up, but Helen plays such a minor role in the rest of the story there isn't a need for her backstory.  It doesn't aid the reader in any way.  The prologue plays a joke telling the reader what the story is not about.

Finding the answers to the questions is great, but the answers themselves?  They didn't fit with the anticipation.  I wasn't satisfied that this was the reason for Pharus Murdock.  It didn't feel enough, especially with the amount of space or lack of space, I should say, given to the ending.  I didn't think it was enough.

I read this book for pure pleasure.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Top Ten Tuesday

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten New to Me Authors I Read in 2012

1. Randy Alcorn (Safely Home)

2. Amy Clipston (A Season of Love)

3. Emma Donoghue (Room)

4. Kimball Fisher (Finding the Baby Jesus)

5. Rolando Garcia (The Sun Zebra)

6. Steven Manchester (Twelve Months)

7. R.J. Palacio (Wonder)

8. Veronica Roth (Divergent)

9. Brian Selznick (Wonderstruck)

10. Randy Singer (The Judge)

Blog Tour: Finding the Baby Jesus by Kimball Fisher

Kimball Fisher delights readers this Christmas with a short story on the topic of finding the baby Jesus.  Twelve year old Chris learns a valuable lesson on the first Christmas without his grandmother when all he wants are two things: a special Tony Hawk skateboard and the tradition of finding a gift in the Christmas tree from his grandmother.

While the title has its metaphorical meaning it also has its literal meaning.  When Grandma became ill and had to be taken to the hospital a fire started in their home causing the figurines of Mary and Joseph to get scorched.  In the fire, the baby Jesus figurine was lost.  Through the tale, Chris and the reader learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Fisher shows one can tell a great story in a few pages.  One does not need to spread things out over novel length.  He created emotion, climax, and wonder through Chris's short story.  If you need or want a wonderful Christmas story this is one you should definitely consider.

I read this as part of the Blog Tour using the Kindle app on my laptop.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Book Review: The Baby Game by James A. Thompson and Vidya Samson

Two babies born via surrogate, two families, two problems.

Samantha Morgan lost her husband two years ago.  She saved his sperm before his death and used that to have a surrogate in India carry a baby for her.

Matthew Carlisle and his wife wanted a baby, but she does not want to get pregnant.  They combined his sperm and her egg in a surrogate in India, of course, to carry the baby to term.  In the middle of all this, Matthew and his wife divorced, leaving him with the baby!

We have one story of two single parents traveling to India to claim their babies when they are born from the surrogates who are twin sisters.  There is a problem with the babies, though, a big problem!  I won't spoil and tell what it is, though.  If you want to find out you have to read the book.

The other plot involves Samantha.  At age fifteen she was seduced by an older man as was a friend of hers.  This incident has been placed in the past as it should be, but with the guy running as the Republican candidate for President of the United States of America, it has been brought to the forefront of her life as someone is now out to get her and her unborn child.

There are two plots going on here involving Samantha and the babies.  What's confusing is keeping up with both plots.  What do we know that the characters don't know?  What do they know and has it been accurately told to them?

There are two authors.  I guess they each had their own plot that was put together with a mighty big seam.  The story did not flow properly for both ideas to work together.  Each one would have made a great story on its own.  Together they just muddle each other up.

Something else I didn't like was the political nature of this book.  I was unsure who was supposed to be the bad guy.  The guy running for office was a Republican but I couldn't tell if the Republicans were out to get Samantha or if it was the Democrats.  Each party had a stake in if the story came out or not.  Each party had people working on it.  It was hard to tell who was involved with which party.

I read this book as a review request using the Kindle App on my laptop.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Book News: 2012 goodreads Awards

This used to a be a weekly meme posted on Thursdays, but I've decided to just move it to whenever there's news. 

The news I have today is the 2012 goodreads Book Awards.  After voting in two rounds by the fans/readers the winners are:

Fiction:  The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

Mystery & Thriller: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Historical Fiction: The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman

Fantasy: The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King, Illustrator Jae Lee

Paranormal Fantasy: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Science Fiction: The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

Romance: Fifty Shades Freed by EL James

Horror: The Twelve by Justin Cronin

Memoir & Autobiography: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

History & Biography: Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith

Nonfiction: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Food & Cookbooks: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from my Frontier by Ree Drummond

Humor: Let's Pretend this Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

Graphic Novels & Comics: The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World by Robert Kirkman, Illustrator Charlie Adlard

Poetry: A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver

Goodreads Author: Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

Young Adult Fiction: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction: Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

Middle Grades and Children's: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Picture Books: Olivia and the Fairy Princess by Ian Falconer

Check out the website for the complete list of winners and nominees.  This is a great bunch of books selected.  While I have not read any of them (I have read a few nominees, though), there are a few on my to reads list that I will be getting to soon!

Book Review: The Fiddler (Home to Hickory Hollow #1) by Beverly Lewis

 

I've read so many Amish Fiction stories, especially ones by Beverly Lewis, that I'm really paying attention to what makes them different.  What makes The Fiddler different is that the focus is on an Englisher, what they call a non-Amish, and it's the boy who wants to run away from Amish life.

Amelia Devries spent her entire life playing the violin and living up to her father's expectations of her becoming a world renowned violinist.  In a self-indulgent move she goes under the alias Amy Lee and plays fiddle for a Tim McGraw opening act.  On the way home, she gets caught in a terrible storm and gets lost all the way to Michael Hostetler's doorstep.

Michael Hostetler is running away, not from God, but from the Amish.  He doesn't want to make a committment to the church.  He has moved out of the Amish community and living on his own when Amelia finds him.  He wants to be a Christian, but he doesn't want to kneel down as a member of the Amish community.

Michael takes Amelia back to his family home in Hickory Hollow.  She spends a few days there, making friends, and relaxing away from the stress of her father's wants as well as her boyfriend, Byron.

Amelia and Michael use this trip and each other to discover who they are and what they really want.  Does Amelia want to travel the world as a solo violonist?  Does Michael want to leave the Amish?

The story focuses on more of the English world than Lewis's stories normally do.  That was a nice change.  The downside is that some things happen in Michael's world without explanation for the reader.  That was not nice.  It felt like an excuse to have things go the way Lewis wants them without having to come up with a way to get there.  It does not take away from the overall story.

One aspect I enjoyed was minor mentions of characters from previous stories set in Hickory Hollow, where Lewis originally set her Amish stories.  It brings her world full circle.

I read this for pure pleasure.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Book Review: Turtle Season by Miriam Ruth Black

Anna's husband passed away a year ago.  Add to that the effects of menopause and Anna doesn't feel comfortable in her own skin anymore.  She's a professor at a local community college, but even there, she's losing touch.  She doesn't want to do it anymore.  She needs a change, so she enrolls in a documentary making class.

I was disappointed with the story.  Not so much because of what happens to Anna, but what happens along the way.  The characterization of men is very bad.  They're either non-existent or evil creatures.  I'm not a man, so I don't take direct defense, but I feel that attitude of that certain type of feminism that hates men.  Anna's son is this self absorbed I don't want to use the word, but I have to say bastard as I can't think of anything else to describe him.  But, her daughter is this beautiful creature who comes to her mother's aide when she feels she is needed.  Quite a contrast.   Anna's been like the perfect wife, but her husband is a cheater.  Anna doesn't find this out until after he's dead, but it makes her look good while he looks bad.  The women get raised on a pedestal while the men get thrown into a fire.  I can understand having either the son or the father being a bad guy in the story, but not both.  There are exactly three male characters in this story, if I recall correctly, and one's dead!

I do like the message that life doesn't end as we age.  Anna's life hasn't ended.  It's just changing.  She's finding a new path for herself.  I do like that.  Our younger years may be behind us but that doesn't mean our life is gone.  As Anna did we can pursue new things.  We can find new loves.  We are not gone.

This story does deal with lesbianism.  It was a bit jarring for me, but that has nothing to do with the rating.  This book just reminds me so much of some of my friends from high school days who were those feminists who hate men.  I'm not one of them, even though they were my friends.  While reading the novel I couldn't get that out of my head and it did end up tainting the story for me.

I read this as a review request using the Kindle app on my laptop (I love this app, btw).  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  Anyone can playing along!  Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

Be careful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away!  You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

"Well, Rank?" John asked when they had come back to the desk and sat down again.  "What do you make of it?"
P. 93 Duplicate by Harris Dickson Shortle

Top Ten Tuesday

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

I have a long list of books I want to read.  These are ten of them I would love to receive for Christmas.

1. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

2. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

3. Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

4. The Bridesmaid (Home to Hickory Hollow #2) by Beverly Lewis

5. How Huge the Night by Heather Mann

6. Harry Potter: Page to Screen by Bob McCabe

7. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

8. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

9. The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

10. Article 5 (Article 5 #1) by Kristen Simmons

Book Review: American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom by Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum served as a US senator from 1995-2007 representing the state of Pennsylvania.  He is better known for his failed 2012 bid to represent the Republicans in the race for the White House.  He is a Catholic and with that conservative.

Santorum wrote this book to chronicle the lives of American Patriots from the early days of the country that we may not be familiar with, the ones that don't get much attention and much focus especially in school where we get most of our history education.

History is not really my thing even when it comes to my own nation.  I think people naturally assume if you love to read then you love history as well, but that's never been the case for me.  However, I do enjoy reading about certain historical figures time has forgotten.  The going story nowadays is that the founding fathers were not as Christian as we like to believe.  Just because it is popular doesn't make it true.  This book gives insight into important historical figures that were religious.  There is more to America than the men  gracing text books.

The book includes a copy of The Declaration of Independence.  The Declaration of Independence is one of the most valuable documents in this nation's history.  I believe it is something every American should read and be familiar with.  What did our founding fathers want for this country?

I read this as a review request from the Tyndale Blog Network.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.

Book Review: Redemption: A Rebellious Spirit, a Praying Mother, and the Unlikely Path to Olympic Gold by Bryan Clay

What does it take to become a decathlete and what kind of person wants to become one?  This story explores the life of the 2008 Olympic Decathlon Gold Medalist, Bryan Clay.  I didn't spoil the ending for one should know this before going into the story!

I love the Olympics and I love reading about Olympians, especially ones who turn to God.  Bryan Clay is all that, but he did not start out that way.  His story shows us God has a plan for us and if we follow Him we can be a part of that wonderful, glorious plan.  God's plan for Bryan was just that, wonderful and glorious.

Clay lived a rebellious adolescence in Hawaii with his mother, stepfather, and various other relatives.  He was headed on a path to nowhere fast.  With prayer from his mother and help from his guidance counselor Clay turns to track and field to curb his rebellious ways.  In this, he finds the decathlon, a torturous two day competition at track meets.  He chronicles the story of his success in high school, college, and the world.  Not everything comes easy, especially for decathletes and their strenuous schedule.

I thoroughly enjoyed Bryan Clay's memoir.  God told his mother of His plans for Bryan and through hard work and dedication Bryan allowed God to work through him to make them come true.

I read this as a review request from BookSneeze using the Kindle App on my laptop.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated for this review in any way.