Book Review: More Than a Bucket List

Katie December 16, 2012 0 Comments

More than a Bucket List is a really neat book.  It is all about making your dreams, passions and faith a reality.  It has lists of places to go and people to see in order to fill in your bucket list.  It was fun to read and see what places they suggested that I have been to already!   It also includes ways for you to improve your faith and how you should treat others (and yourself!)

You can read it a few different ways… all the way through in one sitting (which is what I did, but I’ll probably go back and take some notes on things to add to my bucket list and what ones Ive already done since right now my bucket list is just in my head) or you can just read a little section a night and think more about it as you go along… or read a few sections at a time – it is up to you but it is designed in such a way to make reading a little bit at a time very possible and not confusing at all 

About the Book

Fun ideas of things to do, places to see, and ways to make a difference!

Everyone dreams about places to see, people to meet, and things to do in their lifetime. But too often we lose sight of those dreams and get buried in everyday busyness and demands. More Than a Bucket List will inspire you to seize and act on a range of dreams—anything from visiting the Holy Land, donating your time at a soup kitchen, learning to climb a tree, or helping a child learn to read. The book also includes ideas to make lasting memories as you marvel at a new sight, laugh like crazy with an old friend, or change a life.

The compilation of bucket list items is divided thematically and blended with Scripture and personal stories. Pages at the back allow you to write your own bucket list items. Are you ready to finish this life well and start checking off items from your bucket list?

Book Review: Dark Places

Katie December 15, 2012 0 Comments

Dark Places is another book by Gillian Flynn, who has quickly become one of my favorite authors. The book centers around Libby Day.  When she was 7 her 2 sisters and mother was brutaly murdered in her home.  She ran off and was able to stay safe and testified that her older brother Ben had killed them all.  Now it is 25 years later, Libby is in her early 30s and her brother Ben has been locked away all this time and she has never visited him.

When she is approached by the “Kill Club” to come to a meeting, she decides to check it out.  She has no money and is told that the members of the club may be interested in buying mementos from her family.  The club urges her to think about her testimony and get to the bottom of who really killed her family – they don’t believe it was Ben.  The more Libby thinks about that day, the more her memory is coming back to her.

She goes to talk to Ben, she tracks down her father and slowly begins to piece together information from letters and other items she finds in boxes that she has had stored away for years.

The book alternates between Libby’s present day adventures and what happened back in 1985 as told by her mother and Ben.

I was all over the place with who I thought did it, and the answer kind of came from left field, at least I thought so.  My mother also read the book and said she had no problem with the ending and didn’t think it was as strange of an ending as I did. *shrug*

Overall, it was another great book by Gillian Flynn and I am bummed that I have now read all 3 of the books that she has had published!  I need another!

I was not asked to write this review nor was I compensated in any way.  It is an interesting book that I read for myself and decided to review on the blog.

About the Book

I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

Book Review: Look Twice

Katie December 14, 2012 0 Comments

Look Twice is the sequel to Blaze of Glory which I reviewed last year. I have been anticipating the second book since I finished the first, and was beyond thrilled when I was contacted by the author and told that it was out and ready for me to review!

If you haven’t read the first book then I wouldn’t recommend this review until you have – unless you don’t mind being spoiled.  This book revolves around the big secret that happened at the end of the first book.

(You’ve been warned.)  Tea (Tay-a) and Jaden are “cousins” – Tea’s mom married Dec when she was young and Jaden is his nephew.  But they grow close and begin dating.  Most of the book is them trying to convince their family that it is not strange and they are not really cousins and love each other.

A sub story is that Tea and her twin brother Seth are trying to find their biological father.  Their mother has since passed away and they were raised by their step father Dec.  The know nothing about their father but try to get some help from a woman that they meet through the farm and horses who is an immigration lawyer.  They call everyone with his name asking if he knew their mother and explain they are trying to find their father.  The name is pretty common and they have a lot of people to talk to – will they eventually find the man who is responsible for giving them life? And what will the stepfather who raised them think once he finds out what they are up to?

I have to say I think I liked the first book better, not to say that this one was bad, but this one set up a lot of things still to come, so I am looking forward to seeing how all those stories end up turning out in the 3rd book which should be coming out sometime in 2013.  It also got picked up to be a TV Show so I am very much so looking forward to seeing who gets cast as all the characters and to see how that ends up bringing the book to life!

I received a free e-copy of this book from the author in order to write this review.

About the Book

The eagerly anticipated sequel to ‘Blaze of Glory’ – soon to be a major new television series!

Blood is thicker than water.
I didn’t understand that expression when I was a kid. I only knew that I was closer to my brother Seth than to anyone else in the world. He was the calm to my storm, the light to my dark. We were tied to the rest of our complicated family by bonds beyond blood—love, loyalty, convenience—but as it turns out, the pull of blood is strong. Maybe even strong enough to tear me away from the person with whom I shared my very first breath.

Book Review: The Fart That Saved Christmas

Katie December 13, 2012 0 Comments

 The Fart that Saved Christmas is a hilarious adult take on Santa and the elves on Christmas Eve! The reindeer are going on strike and don’t want to pull the sleigh.  They have a list of demands and want to go to war with the elves.  Santa has had enough and doesn’t want to hear it.  He wants to deliver presents one last time before he has had enough too!

Then – Santa lets one rip and everyone starts laughing and Christmas is back on!

This book is short – only about 40 pages and the story is written as a rhyme. (These books always impress me because I’ve tried and can not write a decent rhyming story to save my life!)  It is a hilarious (adult) story and has some great illustrations to go along with the story as well!

If you feel the stress of Christmas is getting to you – definitely check out this book  It should give you a good laugh!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

The Fart That Saved Christmas Book Summary:

Jacob Morningside‘s Bio: 

Jacob Morningside’s Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fart-That-Saved-Christmas/136942536447992

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

The Fart That Saved Christmas blog tour site:
http://thefartthatsavedchristmas.blogspot.com/

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Mr Darcy

Katie December 12, 2012 0 Comments

Have you ever wondered what Fifty Shades of Grey might be like if it took place in the 1800s? Then Fifty Shades of Mr.Darcy, a spoof on the popular series is for you!
The book chronicles the relationship between naive, innocent Elizabeth and Mr Darcy. They set up an agreement for their relationship in 1814. There are various jokes made about the reader and how things are sped up so we don’t get restless. There is also no technology so letters are passed between the two via Mr Lapptop and Mrs blackberry. (Ha.ha.)
The only odd thing was the mention of Phil Collins of genesis fame… I am pretty sure he was not around in the 1800s!
It is a quick and amusing read, not as good as other parodies I have read, but entertaining none the less.
I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in order to write this review I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Why did her heart race, and her bloomers quiver, at the thought of submitting to Mr Darcy’s every whim?

When Mr. Elliot Bingley comes to court Lizzy Bennet’s sister, she meets his mysterious, grey-eyed friend, a Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. After only a couple of balls, Lizzy is lured into Darcy’s secret world of lascivious practices and lusty urges.