July 2016

Book Review: Awesome America

Katie July 29, 2016 No Comments

Awesome America is made by Time For Kids and is “Everything you ever wanted to know about the history, people and culture”.  Each chapter is broken down into 3 points – “Find Out” with a question that will be answered in the chapter. “Learn” with what you will learn by reading the chapter and “Take a Closer Look” with some other interesting tidbits related to the content of that chapter.

The book starts with the history of America – and talks about how Columbus was NOT the one to discover America.  I know that every October there is a lot of controversy involved with “Columbus Day” and I liked that this was brought up first thing in this book.  It then goes into bios on each of the founding fathers with a timeline of their life events.  In the chapter on the government, there is a nice break down of the bill of rights and its amendments.

There is even a chapter all about touring the 50 states and some great images of the country. (And yes, even some pics of Buffalo)

This book makes learning fun, with a lot of color photos and info graphics to help explain things.  Honestly if books like this were used in my history classes growing up, I may have actually paid attention and retained a lot more information than I did!

About the Book

TIME For Kids explores America from sea to shining sea!

Discover what makes America unique in this comprehensive timeline and photographic overview of American history–pre-Columbus through the present–highlighting the milestone events and important people that have made America awesome.

Perfect for both dip-in reference and longer-form reading, Awesome America is organized into thematic sections, each comprised of bite-sized articles, engaging factoid sidebars, colorful charts, graphics and interactive quizzes to help make learning about American history interesting, interactive, and fun. From America’s early history all the way to present day, kids will learn about what it was like to grow up in the 1700’s, 1800’s, 1900’s and today and discover the inventions, innovations, and important social movements great American’s have created over the years.

Book Review: This One Moment

Katie July 22, 2016 No Comments

I liked This One Moment because in addition to being a rock star romance, it also had the element of a mystery with it. The story follows “Tyler” who is in the band Pushing Limits.  Before he ran away from his old life and became Tyler the rockstar, he was Nolan Kincaid.  He pretty much “ghosted” his best friend Hailey in an effort to leave everything from his past behind, despite the fact that he has been in love with her.

When he gets a call from the only friend from his old life telling him that Hailey is in a coma, he rushes home to be by her side.  Both of their lives have changed significantly since Nolan skipped town and I can’t help but think that things would have been a lot different for these two if they just communicated! (But then we wouldn’t have a book to read, would we?)  Nolan doesn’t want to leave until they find out who attacked Hailey, but is forced to head back to LA to do some damage control and work on his bands new album.

Will they find out who attacked Hailey? Will Nolan choose to be in a fake relationship with the starlet Alyssa? Can Nolan face the demons from his past and move on from them? Find out all this – and more! in This One Moment.

This seems like it is the first book in a series, so I am interested in seeing what the rest will be about – whether it be more of Nolan or the rest of his band.  I liked this author’s writing style and although I should have gone to sleep and left part of this book for another day, I had to stay up all night to finish it and see what happened!

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

About the Book

Fame, fortune, and stadiums full of screaming fans are right around the corner for the rock band at the heart of Stina Lindenblatt’s steamy, intense Pushing Limits series. But it’s an epic love affair that steals the show in this opening act.

When Nolan Kincaid skipped town to chase the music career of his dreams, he knew he wouldn’t miss the reminders of his broken family—he wasn’t so sure he could forget the girl he left behind. Now his band is touring nonstop, the recording sessions go all night, and the groupies are crazed. But when he hears that Hailey Wilkins is in trouble, he drops everything.

Hailey thought she’d missed her chance with Nolan. Five years ago, the moment she realized she loved him was the moment he decided to leave. Now, when a brutal assault lands her in the ICU, Nolan flies straight to her bedside, acting like nothing’s changed. What’s a rock star like him doing, canceling shows and risking his record deal, just to nurse an old friend back to health? And why should Hailey believe he’ll stay this time?

With her attacker still at large, Nolan’s ready to rise to the occasion. He knows he let Hailey down once before, but he’s ready to give her everything, heart and soul—and he’ll fight for the chance to prove it.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Book Review: Bars, Booze and Blues

Katie July 15, 2016 No Comments

I always enjoy compilation books such as these because I like reading about everyone’s different experience on similar topics.  Bars, Booze and Blues has a bunch of stories from different bars relating to blues music.  Each story begins with a small bio of the person who is telling the story. Where they are from, who they performed with, etc. Their story follows.  A lot of cool stories throughout. An interesting read.

It’s always hard to sum up these kinds of books though.  There are some photos, some stories make you wish you were there and some make you glad you weren’t.

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

About the Book

True accounts from musicians, bar owners, and regulars at the crossroads of good times and despair

Bars, Booze, and Blues collects lively bar tales from the intersection of black and white musical cultures in the South. Many of these stories do not seem dignified, decent, or filled with uplifting euphoria, but they are real narratives of people who worked hard with their hands during the week to celebrate the weekend with music and mind altering substances.

These are stories of musicians who may not be famous celebrities but are men and women deeply occupied with their craft. These are professional musicians stuck with a day job.The collection also includes stories from fans and bar owners, people vital to shaping a local music scene.

The stories explore the “crossroads,” that intoxicated intersection of spirituality, race, and music that forms a rich, southern vernacular. In personal narratives, musicians and partygoers relate tales of narrow escape (almost getting busted by the law while transporting moonshine), of desperate poverty (rat-infested kitchens and repossessed cars), of magic (hiring a root doctor to make a charm), and loss (death or incarceration). Here are stories of defiant miscegenation, of forgetting race and going out to eat together after a jam, and then not being served. Assorted boasts of improbable hijinks give the ‘blue collar’ musician a wild, gritty glamour and emphasize the riotous freedom of fans, who sometimes risk the strong-arm of southern liquor laws and gets into company car accidents to chase the good times.

Emily D. Edwards, Greensboro, North Carolina, is a professor of media studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She is also an independent filmmaker, whose work includes the documentary, Deadheads: An America Subculture, which is distributed nationally on PBS stations, and two feature films with blues music scores, Root Doctor (2005) and Bone Creek (2009).