Book Review: Blues All Day Long

Katie September 19, 2014 0 Comments

Blues All Day Long is the Jimmy Rogers Story written by Wayne Everett Goins with a Foreward by Kim Wilson.  The book is split into 3 parts which take a timeline from 1924-1960, 1970-1989 and 1989-1997.  The end of the book also has a selected discography of some of Jimmy Rogers work.  Each chapter begins with a quote from Jimmy and the story starts when his teenage parents find out that they are pregnant. The book is just over 400 pages, but a lot of it at the end is reference materials.

The book is very thorough and very well written and I learned a lot about Jimmy Rogers – someone I knew nothing about before picking up this book.

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

About the Book

A member of Muddy Waters’ legendary late 1940s-1950s band, Jimmy Rogers pioneered a blues guitar style that made him one of the most revered sidemen of all time. Rogers also had a significant if star-crossed career as a singer and solo artist for Chess Records, releasing the classic singles “That’s All Right” and “Walking By Myself.”

In Blues All Day Long, Wayne Everett Goins mines seventy-five hours of interviews with Rogers’ family, collaborators, and peers to follow a life spent in the blues. Goins’ account takes Rogers from recording Chess classics and barnstorming across the South to a late-in-life renaissance that included new music, entry into the Blues Hall of Fame, and high profile tours with Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. Informed and definitive, Blues All Day Long fills a gap in twentieth century music history with the story of one of the blues’ eminent figures and one of the genre’s seminal bands.

Wayne Everett Goins is a professor of music and director of jazz at Kansas State University. He is the author of Pat Metheny’s Secret Story and co-author ofCharlie Christian: Jazz Guitar’s King of Swing.

Book Review: I Want It That Way

Katie September 19, 2014 0 Comments

I have a really bad habit of picking out books by their titles or covers and not always by what they are about. I obviously picked this one because it shares its title with a Backstreet Boys song. When I first started it, I thought perhaps I need to be a little more selective about the books I was choosing. It seemed to get off to a bit of a slow start. However, I stuck it out and am very glad that I did. About half way through things finally started to pick up and I enjoyed it. Until I got to the end of one part… and then got really, really annoyed (And I’m sure the main character felt the same!) But I continued to stick it out to see how everything would end up : )

The book is about Nadia, a college student who is working on becoming a teacher. She is going to school on scholarship and working at a day-care to help get experience (And some spending money!) She is crushing pretty hard on her downstairs neighbor, Ty. She tells him to enroll his son at the day-care that she works at and he does, and Sam ends up in the class Nadia is helping out in.

It’s pretty obvious Nadia and Ty are in to each other right away, but a past relationship has left Ty vulnerable and he isn’t sure he is ready for a relationship at this time. He is a single dad, works all day and takes night classes and tries to spend as much time as he can with his son Sam, as well.

FINALLY! The two realize that they are into each other and have a lot of chemistry and make some ridiculous “friends with benefits” plan that they can opt out of at any time. Ty doesn’t want Nadia to give up her life for him and Sam so after Sam finds her apartment when he and Ty are sick and he doesn’t know what else to do – Ty thinks that Nadia has started giving up her life for him and calls it off!

WHAT?!

Yeah. So then Nadia is all sad and depressed and on top of that her best friend and roommate is moving back home and Sam is acting out at school because he thinks that Nadia is mad at him. It’s obvious that the two are in love with each other but Ty doesn’t think its the “right time” for love. Can Nadia convince him that love has no timing and end up with them getting back together?

At first I thought there were too many characters in this book – but as the book went on you realized that it could be separated out to Nadia and her coworkers, Nadia and her roommates, Nadia and Ty/Sam and then Nadia’s family. Each had their own little importance to Nadia’s story.

Overall a solid book and a bit of a rollercoaster ride!

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

About the Book
Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she’s determined to make them come true. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, dating’s the last thing on her mind. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B….

Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can’t risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, the last thing he wants is noisy students living in the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia’s and Ty’s paths cross, and soon they can’t stay away from each other.

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can’t know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.

Book Review: Rock Angel

Katie September 19, 2014 0 Comments

I will preface this by saying there was a lot of mentions of drug use in this book and I was tempted to stop reading because of it. (I know, I know, sex drugs and rock n roll and all that – but it’s my free time to read so I can do what I want!) I looked up reviews on Good Reads and everyone was raving about the book so I did decide to stick it out.  But if this is a topic that you’d rather not read about then I would advise you to skip this book. If it’s not a problem for you, then I think you’ll enjoy the book.

The book starts in 1990 and heroin addicted Shan gets an audition for a band instead of just doing solo gigs as a folk singer.  She would be replacing the band’s previous guitarist who is currently in rehab and then going to jail for running a meth lab.  Quinn is the leader of the band and the band is named Quinntessence.  They guys in the band are in their mid 20s so a bit older than Shan is. After joining the band Shan gets in a fight with her drug dealer and Quinn comes to her rescue.  He also lets her know that he doesn’t care what she does on her time, but at their gigs it is a huge no.  Of course, Shan agrees but can’t stick to the promise.  The book goes through 1991 and then 1992-1994.  The only way you can kind of tell it isn’t taking place in present day is there is no mention of cell phones and there was a gift of a pager!

Shan ends up hooking up with another guy in the band, Dave (even though it seems like there is some tension between Quinn and Shan) and he tells her that Quinn was in rehab!  Quinn seems to be jealous of this hookup/relationship/whatever you want to call it.

Eventually, Q and Shan end up finally getting together.  We also find out about Quinn’s past with the girlfriend of another guy in the band… and then Quinn & Shan’s relationship turns into even more of a  rollercoaster ride than you thought possible. (I’m being vague on purpose so I don’t give it all away, sorry.)

Overall, minus the drug use, it was a well written book and a great storyline. Though the book was a bit longer than my usual read at over 400 pages!

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

About the Book

Shan is young, beautiful, talented, and addicted to heroin in Rock Angel, a novel that follows her meteoric rise to guitar goddess stardom in the ’90s. She is discovered in New York by a handsome, arrogant musical genius named Quinn, and sparks fly between them when he hires her as lead guitarist of his band.

Although Quinn is accustomed to bedding a different groupie every night, he can’t ignore his deepening feelings for his new bandmate. From gritty Greenwich Village clubs to L.A.’s Troubadour; gigging and touring the country to the cover of Rolling Stone, Rock Angel is infused with the passionate music and intense sexual chemistry of Shan and Quinn. Shan must work out her personal demons and learn to trust Quinn enough to love him, but still remain true to the music that has always been her salvation.

Book Review: Facing the Music

Katie September 19, 2014 0 Comments

Facing the Music is about Ivy Hudon, pop princess who wrote a song about her highschool sweetheart turned cheating ex called “Size Matters”, word got out who it was about and Blake was not happy.  Everything has seemingly been going pretty well for Blake and Ivy since – aside from Blake’s NFL career coming to an end and him becoming the coach at the high school.  Ivy is out in LA living the rockstar dream.

When Ivy’s hometown is hit by a tornado, Blake’s grandmother suggest that Ivy head home for a charity concert.  At first Blake still seems bitter and doesn’t want anything to do with Ivy, but then he seems to be falling for her all over again. Has Ivy moved on or is she still interested too?

The two end up going as dates to the “prom” as part of the charity fundraisers and then it seems like they are back together.  That is, until Ivy catches Blake with another woman – AGAIN!

Can he be forgiven again? Especially after Ivy has just debuted a new song about how much she loves him?

I thought this book was a bit cheesy and predictable. It was an easy read and not the worst book I’ve ever read but if it was something that I had picked up to read just for fun instead of reviewing it I probably would have ditched it after a couple of chapters. If you don’t read nearly as many books as I do then you may enjoy it more because you’re not jaded by the same ol’ same ol’.  There are more books coming about Rosewood, so we’ll see if I decide to give them another chance.

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

About the Book

In this sizzling and hilarious contemporary e-book romance, pop sensation Ivy Hudson returns to her small town to face her ex. Only trouble is, she made her Taylor-Swift-like career with the hit song “Size Matters”—and the football hero has had to live it down ever since.

Five years ago, high school sweethearts Ivy and Blake’s relationship imploded and both their lives were changed forever. Ivy became a rock star and Blake lost not only his dreams of a successful NFL career, but his reputation. Ivy’s angry song about their breakup, called “Size Matters,” hit the top of the charts and Blake became a national laughingstock. He’s salvaged his career and returned to Rosewood to be the high school football coach, regaining his status as town hero and leading the boys to the state championships.

When a tornado whips through town and destroys the high school gymnasium and stadium, a committee is formed to help rebuild and plan some charity fundraisers. Blake’s grandmother requests that Ivy return to Rosewood for the events. Forced back together for the good of their hometown and their careers, Ivy and Blake have no choice but to put aside their differences, stop running from their pasts, and finally face the music.

For fans of Kristen Proby and Colette Auclair, Facing the Music hits a perfect balance between small-town romance and big-time success. Follow Ivy and Blake as they fall back in love and figure out what does matter in the end…