Tuesday, June 23, 2015

"Among the Ten Thousand Things" by Julia Pierpont


Image result for among the ten thousand things julia pierpont

I was very excited to receive an ARC of this book after the good press I read concerning it. But I quickly found out that there are some points in your life in which you read a book and just do not get it. This must be such a point for me with "Among the Ten Thousand Things" by Julia Pierpont. The book started off interesting enough, with the children receiving old emails from their father's out-of-favor mistress. The emails were rather graphic and made quite a splash in everyone's life. After that, the book just did not go anywhere for me. The writing was well done, but I must not have been the right one to read this book. This book has good reviews and I am sure it will find the audience for which it is intended. And I have found out from from my book club's choices, sometimes it is just not your turn to enjoy a certain book. 
Happy Reading to all who do enjoy this book! :)

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Patty Pick for 6/18/15 is "The Flying Circus" by Susan Crandall!

Susan Crandall's next book is coming out in July! Her last book, "Whistling Past the Graveyard" has turned into one of my favorite books of all time. You have to love the characters, especially Starla, and the subtle message in that book. Starla stole my heart from the first chapter.

I was lucky enough to win a copy of Susan Crandall's soon-to-be-released "The Flying Circus"! It will be available on July 7th!! It has a more adult cast of characters but we learn that their childhoods are continuing to play a role in their reactions to life. Three unlikely companions team up to become a troupe of traveling daredevils. The stunts come in the air with Gil and his Jenny airplane and on the ground with Cora and her motorcycle. All the while Henry works to hold them and their machines together with his mechanical acumen and a lot of luck.
The group slowly reveal the reasons they are all running away from their former lives. Henry
has the most to lose as we, the readers, find out early on that he is a wanted man. Henry came
from a German family of immigrants that suffered much tragedy before and during World War I.
As we meet him, he has become an orphan that was adopted by a kind farmer with a passel of daughters. The older girls are jealous of Henry and stymie his attempts to become part of the family
at every turn. Then one day, Henry finds Emmaline murdered. Henry makes the worse choice he can make, he runs.
He meets up with Gil and Cora after witnessing their race against each other in a pasture along the
quiet road he is traveling. Cora shows up unexpectedly on the road to join them as they start their trip to Chicago. The group of three work their act across the country to make money and we continue to learn the facts about the families and hardships they have left behind. They form a tight group that will be tested all in many ways.Read this and enjoy the trio! You will be rooting for them around every page. Again Thank You to Susan Crandall for giving a few of us an opportunity to win one
of her wonderful books!!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Patty Pick for 6/4/15 is More Time to Write!

I met with another writer recently to get advice and ask questions. 
He helped me to realize that to be a better writer what I need to do 
is WRITE! I have been stressing out so much on sharing my love for 
reading and posting book choices every week that I sometimes forget 
that I need to spend my limited time writing also! 

I recently finished "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr!



It is a great book and I enjoyed it very much. It was my Patty Pick last week. 
The richness of the writing makes the characters come alive in your imagination's eye. One part of writing that I struggle with is dialogue. Anthony Doerr's writing is a textbook 
on dialogue! I hope to continue to study other writers as I share their wonderful books 
with you. 
I will be making my Patty Picks a biweekly event for a while, as I work on my own 
writing. I am searching for an agent for my first book and researching and writing 
my second book. Hope you all understand! Look for my next Pick on the new 
book by Susan Crandall titled "The Flying Circus" on 06/18/15! :)