Book Review: Vagabonding With Kids: Australia by AK Turner-Non Fiction/Family Travel

Hello dear Readers,

Below my book review of Vagabonding With Kids: Australia by AK Turner.

Title: Vagabonding With Kids: Australia

Series: Book 2 in the Vagabonding With Kids Series.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Non Fiction/Family Travel

Author: AK Turner

Publisher: Brown Books Publishing Group 
Publication Date: December 1, 2016

Language: English

Paperback: 184 pages
Meet the Author: AK Turner
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

AK Turner wants to cuddle with a wombat. She wants it bad. In the hilarious sequel to Vagabonding with Kids, the nomadic family of four continues their journey with a two-month trip Down Under. AK Turner indulges her fascination with prisons, with no understanding of why her husband would rather spend every day at the beach. Their daughters aren't motivated by either, and are instead enthralled with the wonders of public toilets. As the Turners wind their way through Australia, all eyes are on the lookout for adventure. And wombats. New York Times bestselling author AK Turner continues the Vagabonding with Kids series with tales of exploring Down Under in Vagabonding with Kids: Australia. With a keen eye and sharp wit, Turner juxtaposes the intrigue of Australia with stories from an unconventional life on the road. This raucous adventure will inspire digital nomads and armchair travelers alike, and leave readers hungry for the next installment in the series, Vagabonding with Kids: Brazil.

My Thoughts

What an incredible book. AK Turner has the ability to make us feel part of the story from the beginning to the end thanks to a well crafted writing style. I like the humor, the stories, the details, the interactions between all the members of the family, how we get to know them and their journey.I like the way she shares her thoughts on their experiences traveling. 

AK has a story to tell and she does it with an amazing writing style, with a mix of elements, with humor, without letting anything out, the book, the story feels real, human and unique. 

Thank you Brown Books Publishing for sending a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy

NaNoWriMo 2016: Week 4

Hello dear readers and writers,

Today is the last day of Nanowrimo 2016. I  finished the challenge last week, on November 23. My word count that day was 51377 words. Did not wirte anything new the last 6 days due to the Holiday and been out of town did not have time to write. I will be doing some writing at the write in tonight and will be reporting my Final Word Count for November. Another year, another win but more than that I finished project. Before starting Nano this year I did a lot of prep and knew what I wanted to write about. It does not mean the writing process was easier but all that prep helped a lot and now I cant wait for the editing process to start. It feels good to have a finished project, a draft that has more shape and feels more complete comparing to other years. 

Another year of very productive Write-Ins, sharing all that time with fellow writers and friends and meeting new writers, a lot of reading and the satisfaction of completing the challenge one more year.

Hope you all participating in Nanowramo had a fantastic time.

Happy Writing.

Wendy

New Release Tuesday #59: November 29, 2016

Hello dear Readers,

Happy Book Birthday to Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between) by Lauren Graham.

Title: Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between)

Genre: Biography/Memoir/Humor

Author: Lauren Graham

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 29, 2016

Language: English

Hardcover: 224 pages
Meet the Author: Lauren Graham
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

In this collection of personal essays, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood reveals stories about life, love, and working as a woman in Hollywood—along with behind-the-scenes dispatches from the set of the new Gilmore Girls, where she plays the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore once again.

 

In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, “Did you, um, make it?” She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood (“Strangers were worried about me; that’s how long I was single!”), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway (“It’s like I had a fashion-induced blackout”).

            

In “What It Was Like, Part One,” Graham sits down for an epic Gilmore Girls marathon and reflects on being cast as the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore. The essay “What It Was Like, Part Two” reveals how it felt to pick up the role again nine years later, and what doing so has meant to her.

            

Some more things you will learn about Lauren: She once tried to go vegan just to bond with Ellen DeGeneres, she’s aware that meeting guys at awards shows has its pitfalls (“If you’re meeting someone for the first time after three hours of hair, makeup, and styling, you’ve already set the bar too high”), and she’s a card-carrying REI shopper (“My bungee cords now earn points!”).

            

Including photos and excerpts from the diary Graham kept during the filming of the recent Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, this book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and—of course—talking as fast as you can.

Wendy

New Release Tuesday #58: November 22, 2016

Hello dear Readers,

Happy Book Birthday to The Spy by Paulo Coelho. Releasing today the English version of this fantastic book.

Title: The Spy 

Genre: Biographical/Espionage

Author: Paulo Coelho

Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: November 22, 2016

Language: English

Hardcover: 208 pages
Meet the Author: Paulo Coelho
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

In his new novel, Paulo Coelho, best-selling author of The Alchemist and Adultery, brings to life one of history's most enigmatic women: Mata Hari. 

HER ONLY CRIME WAS TO BE AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN

 

When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless.  Within months she was the most celebrated woman in the city. 

 

As a dancer, she shocked and delighted audiences; as a courtesan, she bewitched the era’s richest and most powerful men. 

 

But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari’s lifestyle brought her under suspicion. In 1917, she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs Elysees, and accused of espionage.

 

Told in Mata Hari’s voice through her final letter, The Spy is the unforgettable story of a woman who dared to defy convention and who paid the ultimate price.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Wendy

NaNoWriMo 2016: Week 3

Hello dear readers and writers,

A couple of things to report for week three. I reached the 46k+ mark. I am pretty happy about it but more than that I feel accomplished because I have written most of the stories I planned on writing. Some have come along the way, during the challenge which is ok because for me every story counts. I will have a finish project and that was my main goal for this Nano and now I know I will more likely get to the 50k words which is great as well. I feel confident I will win it.

As always the write-ins have helped a lot and reading has played a major part on my success this year. I am still reading The Best American Short Stories of 2016 and some of the Neruda works and Stephen King have served a lot of inspiration.

See what week four brings.

Hope you all participating in Nanowramo are having a fantastic time.

Happy Writing.

Wendy

New Release Tuesday #57: November 15, 2016

Hello dear Readers,

Happy Book Birthday to Swing Time by Zadie Smith.

Title: Swing Time 

Genre: Women's Fiction

Author: Zadie Smith

Publisher: Penguin Press
Publication Date: November 15, 2016

Language: English

Hardcover: 464 pages
Meet the Author: Zadie Smith
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

An ambitious, exuberant new novel moving from North West London to West Africa, from the multi-award-winning author of White Teeth and On Beauty

Two brown girls dream of being dancers—but only one, Tracey, has talent. The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It's a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either.

Tracey makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend leaves the old neighborhood behind, traveling the world as an assistant to a famous singer, Aimee, observing close up how the one percent live.

But when Aimee develops grand philanthropic ambitions, the story moves from London to West Africa, where diaspora tourists travel back in time to find their roots, young men risk their lives to escape into a different future, the women dance just like Tracey—the same twists, the same shakes—and the origins of a profound inequality are not a matter of distant history, but a present dance to the music of time.

Wendy

NaNoWriMo 2016: Week 2

Hello dear readers and writers,

Just a few things to report for week two. One, as of last night I'm half way through the challenge word count wise, 25k+. It was a very productive week, lots of stories, lots of thoughts on paper. The other thing is I have been reading The Best American Short Stories of 2016 and have found a lot of inspiration and motivation for my own writing. These first two weeks I have been focused on short stories but there are poems that have been in my mind for a long time now that I need to let out as well, which I know will be on paper very soon. Not much of editing or free writing, just writing what I feel I need to write, want I want to write, letting it out, the rest will have its own time.

Hope you all participating in Nanowramo are having a fantastic time.

Happy Writing.

Wendy

New Release Tuesday #56: November 08, 2016

Hello dear Readers,

Happy Book Birthday to The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer.

Title: The Chemist 

Genre: Thriller & Suspense

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: November 8, 2016

Language: English

Hardcover: 528 pages
Meet the Author: Stephenie Meyer
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life. She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. Now, she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon. When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous. Resolving to meet the threat head on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life, but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of. In this tautly plotted novel, Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialized skill set. And she shows once again why she’s one of the world’s bestselling authors

Wendy

NaNoWriMo 2016: Week 1

Hello dear readers and writers,

Week one of Nanowrimo 2016 is over. It went good for me. Had to do a little catch up on Sunday but other than that I managed to reach the daily goal pretty much every day and my project is coming along better than I was expecting it for week one.

I did more prep for this year's Nano than I did previous years and that has been part of why I am doing better in 2016. Had the chance to go into more detail on what I wanted to write and what I wanted to do and have my ideas better organized and a clearer path on where I am going with my project. 

I am working on a collection of Short Stories and Poetry and have realized there are a lot of things I want to write about and I am excited about it. This year I have also discovered even though I want to win it and get to the 50000 words but I am more focused on having a finished project whether I meet the goal or not. All these stories in my head that I need to let out, this year is definitely a different one.

And my writing buddies. A writing group is very helpful for Nano and I am happy to be a part of one, an amazing one. We meet every Tuesdays at Barnes and Noble and on Sundays at the Library, speaking of which I am very, very happy to see how much the Library continues to support us, the Wrimos, they give us a space and tools to succeed in our 50000 words journey. The Write-Ins are definitely something that always help for my November writing month to be a successful one.

Overall, a great week one, and looking forward to what is next.

Happy Writing.

Wendy

New Release Tuesday #55: November 1st, 2016

Hello dear Readers,

Happy Book Birthday to The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon, Author of Everything, Everything.

Title: The Sun is also a Star 

Genre: YA

Author: Nicola Yoon

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: November 1, 2016

Language: English

Hardcover: 384 pages
Meet the Author: Nicola Yoon
Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A 2016 National Book Award Finalist

Be the first to read the dazzling new novel from Nicola Yoon, the #1 New York Timesbestselling author of Everything, Everything

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true? 

Wendy