Upcoming Release #4: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Hello dear Readers,

A new book coming out next week. Who else is excited about Rainbow Rowell's new book. I'm. I love her writing style and how unique her stories are. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, out next Tuesday.

Title: Carry On

Genre: YA

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: October 06, 2015

Language: English

Hardcover: 528 pages
Meet the Author: Rainbow Rowell
Buy Me: Amazon 

Book Description

#1 New York Times bestselling author!

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen.

That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right.

Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here--it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.

Carry On - The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.

Wen

Book Review: The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke/Comtemporary-Romance/Published in 2015

Hello dear Readers,

Below, my book review of The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. 

Title: The Status of All Things

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Publication Date: June 02, 2015

Genre: Contemporary-Romance-Womens Fiction

Author: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke 

Publisher: Washingtong Square Press

Language: English

Paperback: 304 pages

Buy Me: Amazon 

Book Description

What would you do if you could literally rewrite your fate—on Facebook? This heartwarming and hilarious new novel from the authors of Your Perfect Life follows a woman who discovers she can change her life through online status updates.

Kate is a thirty-five-year-old woman who is obsessed with social media. So when her fiancé, Max, breaks things off at their rehearsal dinner—to be with Kate’s close friend and coworker, no less—she goes straight to Facebook to share it with the world. But something’s changed. Suddenly, Kate’s real life starts to mirror whatever she writes in her Facebook status. With all the power at her fingertips, and heartbroken and confused over why Max left her, Kate goes back in time to rewrite their history.

Kate's two best friends, Jules and Liam, are the only ones who know the truth. In order to convince them she’s really time traveled, Kate offers to use her Facebook status to help improve their lives. But her attempts to help them don’t go exactly as planned, and every effort to get Max back seems to only backfire, causing Kate to wonder if it’s really possible to change her fate.

In The Status of All Things, Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke combine the humor and heart of Sarah Pekkanen and Jennifer Weiner while exploring the pitfalls of posting your entire life on the Internet. They raise the questions: What if you could create your picture-perfect life? Would you be happy? Would you still be you? For anyone who’s ever attempted—or failed—to be their perfect self online, this is a story of wisdom and wit that will leave you with new appreciation for the true status of your life.

My Thoughts

What would you do if you could literally rewrite your fate—on Facebook?  Isn't that a question that can make us see life in a very different way? For me it is and this is the main reason why I absolutely love this book. Makes me think about it. Would I change my fate, my destiny if I could?, would I like to change the way things are, to make wrong things right? What would I do if I had the power to change my life just by updating the status on my Facebook?. It also makes us think of the impact posting our lives on Facebook has not only on our own lives but also on other people lives. 

The Status of All Things follows the story of Kate, a girl who is obsessed with Social Media and how the day before their wedding, her fiance Max breaks up with her to be with Kate's best friend and coworker Courtney. After this happens, feeling sad, devastated, confused and heartbroken Kate finds out whatever she posts on her Facebook wall becomes a reality and for this reason she travels back in time to rewrite her story in the hopes of changing her destiny and get married to Max like it should have happened. But in no time Kate discovers that changing her destiny is not as easy or as fun as she thought it would be and that it can be very painful because and the end she might end up not getting what she wants. It is easy to post something on Facebook and make people believe that is how our life is, the reality. In Kate's case, she posts things and things change, like what she does for her friends Jules and Liam, giving Jules a killer body and Liam a famous and gorgeous girlfriend so that they believe her when she tells them she travels back in time thanks to her status updates ,but she starts realizing the consequences of doing that for her friends, the consequences of trying to change her destiny.

Fate is a very powerful subject, one that matters and is very important to many people.I like the way it is presented in The Status of All Things. Interesting, engaging and a very different perspective. I like how reliable and believable the characters are. I like how this story, this book is full of heart and humor, and how it makes us think about friendship, happiness, love, family, about forgiveness and how hard it is sometimes to accept how things turn out in life, we may not like it but there is always a chance to deal with it and make it better. 

I could not put it down. I wanted to keep reading and see what was in store for the characters. I like the writing style and how the characters evolve throughout the book and the part each one plays and brings the perfect balance to the story, specially Ruby who helps Kate to understand why she was given the chance to go back and rewrite her story.

Overall, a cute, fun, beautiful and enjoyable book. With a powerful message for the readers, sometimes real life is not what we see on Facebook.

 Wen

Boise Book Fest 2015

Hello dear readers,

Just one more day for the Boise Book Fest 2015. Please find all the information below (taken from their website). If you live in the area, something you will definitely want to check out.

Hope you enjoy it.

Wen

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http://www.boisebookfest.com/

Boise Book Fest Author event came about with the sole purpose was to connect book lovers in the Northwest Region to meet with authors at a focused level.

Come and meet some of your favorite Young Adult and New Adult authors at the first annual Boise Book Fest Author signing event on Saturday, September 26th, 2015 from 8:30 a.m to 5 p.m. at: Courtyard Boise West/Meridian — 1789 South Eagle Rd. Meridian  ID  83642

If you love reading fiction books, don’t miss out on this opportunity to meet some truly amazing authors that have made it to New York Times, USA, and Wall Street Bestselling list repeatedly!

Meet authors such as: Cynthia Hand, Rachel Van Dyken, Jessica Sorenson, Colleen Houck, Amy Harmon, and many more!

Have you always wondered why your favorite character had to die or if those two characters really needed to be together? Well, this is your chance to ask those questions during roundtables. Really almost nothing is off limits.

And this is all just the beginning! During the signing — Starting at 2:15 p.m. going all the way to 5:00 p.m.– you can bring your own books OR buy them at the event! Get them signed, take a picture or 10, and get another chance to talk to the authors!

There’s an author for every book lover! With 26 authors that write Contemporary to Fantasy, you’ll find a new story you could get your hands on or fangirl over an author you adore!

Tickets are now on sale for only $10 for general admission and are LIMITED. So don’t wait any longer to get your tickets!

—–>   https://www.eventbrite.com/e/boise-book-fest-2015-tickets-14535402781  <—–

For this low price you get:
1) Admission for the entire day filled with:
— Panels where authors talk about how they build worlds or about writing their character
— Roundtables where YOU get to sit with an author and talk… Anything can go!
— Signing from 2:15 – 5 p.m.
— A totebag, while supplies last!
— A raffle ticket to enter for a chance to win one of MANY giveaways that’ll happen through out the day!  Remember, the MORE involved you get the more chances you’ll have to WIN the giveaways! The giveaway bags are filled with signed paperbacks, swag, Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon GC worth upto $50!

So, get your questions ready and come join us on Saturday, September, 26th, 2015. Registration starts at 9 a.m. with the Keynote speaker opening statement beginning at 9:30 a.m.!

This year, we’re aiming to raise $1000 for Saint Jude’s Children’s hospital, where no child is turned away due to lack of money. To learn more about them,click here and here to donate!

Connect with us!

Stalk us on social media for get up-to-date information about the event!

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/BoiseBookFest
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/566071943533889/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoiseBookFest
Instagram: https://instagram.com/boisebookfest/
BUY tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/boise-book-fest-2015-tickets-14535402781

We hope to see you there!

New Release Tuesday #9: September 22, 2015

Hello dear Readers,

This week, a Memoir. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson.

Title: Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things 

Genre: Biographies and Memoirs

Author: Jenny Lawson

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publication Date: September 22 2015

Language: English

Hardcover: 352 pages
Buy Me: Amazon 

Book Description

In Furiously Happy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea.

But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.

As Jenny says:

"Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.

"Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked-up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' Except go back and cross out the word 'hiding.'"

Furiously Happy is about "taking those moments when things are fine and making them amazing, because those moments are what make us who we are, and they're the same moments we take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence. It's the difference between "surviving life" and "living life". It's the difference between "taking a shower" and "teaching your monkey butler how to shampoo your hair." It's the difference between being "sane" and being "furiously happy."

Lawson is beloved around the world for her inimitable humor and honesty, and in Furiously Happy, she is at her snort-inducing funniest. This is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are - the beautiful and the flawed - and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. Because as Jenny's mom says, "Maybe 'crazy' isn't so bad after all." Sometimes crazy is just right.

Wen

Book Review: What It Looks Like by Marta Maranda/Biographies-Memoirs-/NETGALLEY ARC/Published in 2015

Hello dear Readers,

Below, my book review of What It Looks Like by Marta Maranda. 

Title: What It Looks Like

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Publication Date: September 8, 2015

Genre: Biographies-Memoirs

Author: Timothy Snyder 

Publisher: Alchemadhi Publishing

Language: English

Paperback: 432 pages

Buy Me: Amazon 

Book Description

Marta Maranda, despite not having the substance or behavioral addictions generally associated with rehab, checked herself into a five-week addiction treatment program--one week after a family member checked out--to discover her part in the dysfunction in her life.

Inspiring and personal, What It Looks Like tells the compelling tale of what led to her decision to enter rehab voluntarily and sober, her five weeks in the clinic alongside approximately seventy addicts, and the changes she made in her life following her stay. Her journey takes her inward on a quest of self-exploration and healing, out into the world as she makes her way through the wars, politics, history, sports, and spirituality that deeply altered her course, and finally home as she rebuilds her life piece by piece. Her reflections about America and the world pre and post 9/11 provide a rich context for anyone who believes that the choice to heal within also comes with the responsibility to help heal our world.

What It Looks Like is an intelligent story of accountability and vulnerability, awareness and acceptance, and, ultimately, transformation and redemption. Rich in detail and powerful stories, Marta Maranda's book will leave you feeling informed, enlightened, and emboldened to take your own steps toward changing and healing your life.

My Thoughts

I think this is a very unique book. The ideas are well presented by the Author. Marta's perspective on the subject, Rehab, is very interesting. 

The idea of checking herself into Rehab was fascinating because for a person to go through all that process and try to find her place and try to understand the circumstances around her and all the things going on in her life, not many people would do it. I like how she embarks in that journey and then shares it so that it can help others to find healing, change, to make a person think and reflect about their own lives, how they can transform their lives. Very interesting all the information she shares not only about her experience in Rehab but about the other people with her.

What it looks like, a book I totally recommend, a great journey, lots of things we can learn and take for our own lives, informative, sincere, well explained and presented.

Wen

New Release Tuesday #8: September 15, 2015

Hello dear Readers,

This week, a Young Adult  release, Dumplin' by Julie Murphy.

Title: Dumplin 

Genre:YA

Author: Julie Murphy

Publisher: Balzer+Bray

Publication Date: September 15, 2015

Language: English

Hardcover: 384 pages
Buy Me: Amazon 

Book Description

For fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell comes this powerful novel with the most fearless heroine—self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson—from Julie Murphy, the acclaimed author of Side Effects May Vary. With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

Dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom, Willowdean has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American-beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . .  until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back. 

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

Wen

Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir/Sci-Fi

Hello dear Readers,

Below, my book review of The Martian by Andy Weir. 

Title: The Martian

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Publication Date: October 28, 2014

Genre: Sci-Fi
Author: Andy Weir 

Publisher: Broadway Books

Language: English

Paperback: 387 pages

Buy Me: Amazon Barnes&Noble

Book Description

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. 

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

My Thoughts

A new favorite. I still have a smile on my face. I love, love, love it. What a brilliant story. I'm so glad a read this book. From page one Mark Watney made me feel welcomed to his world and all the things happening in it. There were times I wished he was a real person so I could just hug him and tell him that everything was going to be ok, that there was nothing to worry about. 

I have to say Mark Watney has become one of my favorite characters ever. I admire his sense of humor, even in the most difficult times. I love how his character is portrayed and how much we can learn from him.

Perfectly paced, well written, believable and reliable characters. I think is it very smart the way it is told, journal entries. It is clear all the research and hard work the Author put on this book. I appreciate that for being the first Sci-Fi book I read, it was not hard to read. 

I love all the feelings and emotions this book made me go through. Humor, sadness, happiness, difficulty, serious and real things the characters go through and have to deal with that it was almost like it was happening to me. I love how real the book felt to me. It made me think a lot about life and how much our lives can change in a matter of minutes, like Mark's. Made me think of what is really important in life, what really matters.

The Martian, a book that will remain with me for a long time. One I totally recommend. One that can change the way you think about life, about people and what is really important.

Wen

New Release Tuesday #7: September 8, 2015

Hello dear Readers,

This week, a work of Fiction. This is your Life, Harriet Chance! by Jonathan Evison.

Title: This is Your Life, Harriet Chance!  

Genre: Women's Fiction

Author: Jonathan Evison

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Publication Date: September 8, 2015

Language: English

Hardcover: 304pages
Buy Me: Amazon 

Book Description

With Bernard, her husband of fifty-five years, now in the grave, seventy-eight-year-old Harriet Chance impulsively sets sail on an ill-conceived Alaskan cruise that her late husband had planned. But what she hoped would be a voyage leading to a new lease on life becomes a surprising and revelatory journey into Harriet’s past.There, amid the overwhelming buffets and the incessant lounge singers, between the imagined appearances of her late husband and the very real arrival of her estranged daughter midway through the cruise, Harriet is forced to take a long look back, confronting the truth about pivotal events that changed the course of her life. And in the process she discovers that she’s been living the better part of that life under entirely false assumptions.In This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! Jonathan Evison has crafted a bighearted novel with an endearing heroine at the helm. Through Harriet, he paints a bittersweet portrait of a postmodern every woman, her story told with great warmth, humanity, and humor. Part dysfunctional love story, part poignant exploration of the mother-daughter relationship, nothing is what it seems in this tale of acceptance, reexamination, and forgiveness.

Wen

Book Review: Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning by Timothy Snyder/Non Fiction-History-Adult/NETGALLEY ARC/Published in 2015

Hello dear Readers,

Below, my book review of Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning by Timothy Snyder. 

Title: Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Publication Date: September 8, 2015

Genre: Non Fiction-History-Adult

Author: Timothy Snyder 

Publisher: Tim Duggan Books

Language: English

Hardcover: 480 pages

Buy Me: Amazon Barnes&Noble

Book Description

In this epic history of extermination and survival, Timothy Snyder presents a new explanation of the great atrocity of the twentieth century, and reveals the risks that we face in the twenty-first.  Based on new sources from eastern Europe and forgotten testimonies from Jewish survivors, Black Earth recounts the mass murder of the Jews as an event that is still close to us, more comprehensible than we would like to think, and thus all the more terrifying. 

The Holocaust began in a dark but accessible place, in Hitler's mind, with the thought that the elimination of Jews would restore balance to the planet and allow Germans to win the resources they desperately needed.  Such a worldview could be realized only if Germany destroyed other states, so Hitler's aim was a colonial war in Europe itself.  In the zones of statelessness, almost all Jews died.  A few people, the righteous few, aided them, without support from institutions. 

Much of the new research in this book is devoted to understanding these extraordinary individuals.  The almost insurmountable difficulties they faced only confirm the dangers of state destruction and ecological panic.  These men and women should be emulated, but in similar circumstances few of us would do so.  By overlooking the lessons of the Holocaust, Snyder concludes, we have misunderstood modernity and endangered the future.  

The early twenty-first century is coming to resemble the early twentieth, as growing preoccupations with food and water accompany ideological challenges to global order.  Our world is closer to Hitler's than we like to admit, and saving it requires us to see the Holocaust as it was -- and ourselves as we are.  Groundbreaking, authoritative, and utterly absorbing, Black Earth reveals a Holocaust that is not only history but warning.

My Thoughts

I have read many books about the Holocaust, Hitler, the Jews, World War II. Some of them works of Fiction that in one way or another take place in World War II, but most of them, works of Non Fiction, which have followed the same pattern, focusing on the mass killing perpetrated by Hitler, the concentration camps. However, Black Earth has been one of the most complete and fascinating books I have read on this topic.

I like how the Author not only concentrates in one aspect, the killing of Jewish people, but also we can see different perspectives, the political, social and historical view of one of the most devastating periods in history. It is always hard to read about this topic for all that it represents but Black Earth takes it to another level. A level where the Author, Timothy Snyder, gives the readers a better and deeper understanding of the events leading the Holocaust, Hitler;s motives and the impact it has had in our World. Another aspect of this book that personally it was what made reading it such a different experience is how it shows us that differently from what most people have thought (including myself), the Holocaust is far from being a thing of the past, maybe we are not seeing exactly the same things that happened back then but in so many ways all the current events are a warning that something like that can happen again. It is very interesting how something that happened a long time how can be described as something that could have been a warning of what is happening today.

Black Earth, a different, challenging, provoking and interesting book. Either you are a history teacher, a Historian, an expert on the subject, or just a  person who likes reading about the Holocaust, I totally recommend it.

Thank you Crown Publishing and Netgalley for sending the ARC copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Wen

Upcoming Release #3: The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone

Hello dear Readers,

A new book coming out in October. For fans of The Guild, New Girl, Scott Pilgrim, Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars, or anyone who has ever geeked out about something.

Title: The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss

Genre: Fiction/Mystery/Thriller

Author: Max Wirestone

Publisher: Redhook
Publication Date: October 20, 2015

Language: English

Hardcover: 320 pages
Buy Me: Amazon 

Book Description

For fans of The Guild, New Girl, Scott Pilgrim, Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars, or anyone who has ever geeked out about something.

The odds of Dahlia successfully navigating adulthood are 3,720 to 1. But never tell her the odds.

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. Unemployed broke, and on her last bowl of ramen, she's not living her best life. But that's all about to change.

Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own she's offered a job. A job that she's woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?).Turns out unfortunate decisions abound, and she's just the girl to deal with them.

Wen

New Release Tuesday #6: September 1, 2015

Hello dear Readers,

This week, a Memoir. Is not a new book but a new release on Paperback. Yes Please by Amy Poehler. One of the best books I have read this year.

Title: Yes Please  

Genre: Biographies/Memoirs

Author: Amy Poehler

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: August 25, 2015

Language: English

Paperback: 352 pages
Buy Me: Amazon 

Book Description

Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous,Yes Please is full of words to live by.

Wen