June 2009 – Page 4 – Book Journey

Dragon House by John Shors

Published on June 9, 2009August 4, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

I just received in the mail the new John Shors book, Dragon House, to review before the September 2009 release date. Having worked with street kids in Honduras, I am excited to see what John has to offer in this read.

Dragon House tells the tale of Iris and Noah—two Americans who, as a way of healing their own painful pasts, open a center to house and educate Vietnamese street children. In the slums of a city that has known little but war for generations, Iris and Noah befriend children who dream of nothing more than of going to school, having a home, and being loved. Learning from the poorest of the poor, the most silent of the unheard, Iris and Noah find themselves reborn. Resounding with powerful themes of suffering, sacrifice, friendship, and love, Dragon House brings together East and West, war and peace, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.

Every once in a while a book comes along that is written so well that the words wrap around you a nd carry you through page by page. This is such a book.

Dragon House is a fiction book themed around Vietnam street children. Having worked with street kids in Honduras since 2004, I was amazed to see the likeness between these two areas of the world. John Shors captures the street children’ life in his words, words that at times hit so close to home that I could see and smell what he was describing. I was able to get a real sense of Vietnam and feel the hope that comes with a place that works towards a world without children living on the street.

Well written, a real page turner. I will definitely be looking for more books from this author. Dragon House will be available to purchase in September of 2009:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

**Here is a link to more information about Dragon House and the homeless children John is trying to support. Please check it out, this is an amazing thing that he is doing. Click here

Book Blogs

Published on June 6, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)Leave a comment

Ok…. so I just have to share whats been happening in my world. Earlier this week I stumbled onto a link that took me to a site called Book Blogs. “DANGER – Will Robinson!” Finding this site was like a kid with a sweet tooth stumbling into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

This is a book lovers – no, book bloggers dream! There are book reviews, book discussions, book giveaways (and lots of them), authors offering their books to be read before release and all in groups by genre so you can pick through what interests you and avoid what does not.

Within a few days I have linked into conversations with authors, have a couple sending me their book for reading and reviewing before date release, and entered contests to win books of interest. In return – I review the book on my blog.

Reading some of these other book blogs will really improve how I review a book in the future. There is even a discussion on how to do a good review without giving away too much of the book yet coming through strong.

I started a group tonight for Minnesota Book Bloggers to connect and share what they are reading off of the Book Blog site. I am hopeful that over the next few months here my reviews will become a real source for people to research a book they may want to read. I am very excited to see how these different books and authors will expand my reading.

I wonder how much sleep I really do need a night….

Walking in Circles Before Lying Down by merrill markoe

Published on June 4, 2009January 14, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

This is our June book club read. I just got the book in my hand today and have to admit that I am skeptical going in. I hate to say that because I try to keep an open mind on our book choices – and I really am hoping that the book proves me wrong….

Stay tuned…

Twice-divorced Dawn is the product of a fantastically dysfunctional family (Dawn’s sister, Halley, is an overly enthusiastic life coach, her mother is a struggling entrepreneur and her former smalltime rockabilly musician father invests “a lot of time into perfecting… authentic fifties outfits”); her dog, Chuck, begins talking to her after dud radio-DJ boyfriend Paxton dumps her. Though other dogs can also suddenly communicate with Dawn (including Johnny Depp, a friend’s dog), Chuck remains the leading pooch as he plies his master with sage advice and astute observations—”He seemed humpy,” Chuck opines about one suitor; “Who doesn’t like puppies? That’s psychotic,” he muses about Paxton—as she negotiates the standard fare of chick lit (losing her job, getting mixed up with wacky beaus, aiding her friends through their respective crises, finding a place to live). Until, that is, Chuck runs away, forcing Dawn to realize her true love may not be a biped. Off-beat enough to stand out of the pack.

The book gave me a “Janet Evanovich” feel almost from the start. The quirky too involved family members rang a little too “Stephanie Plumisk” for me and while I am well aware of the great following the Plum series has drawn… I am not one of the fans.

I do have to admit that this book while in parts offensive (Halley dating Scott Peterson hit me as tasteless and insensitive)… there were other times I caught myself laughing out loud with some of the humor.

Overall the book was a skimmer. I did not find any likable characters – not even the dogs. The only person I think I liked was Collin. The ending tied up a few wildly loose ends but the overall point of the book was missed, at least by me. I can’t rate this beyond a 2.5.

June 14 (update from our Bookies book club review): Our book club met last week to review this read. It is always fun to see if it just me when I find a book “incredible!” or “disappointing!” In this case, while for the most part we all agreed that this book was not in the running for our Bookies read of the year, the group found it a slightly below average read.

A couple of the girls rated it extremely low… agreeing that character development was not strong, the book had no real plot… to a few of the girls finding it just a humorous fun read that you don’t take too seriously just enjoy.

It’s Here! The Sun is Here!

Published on June 2, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

FINALLY! It is that time of year again…. the weather is turning nice… the draw to be outside during these beautiful days is overpowering. This is the start of the season that the TV is turned on very little, and even sitting in the house playing on the computer is hard to do when the outdoors is calling.

For me – this is a huge reading time. I love nothing more than to sit on my back deck in the sun and read. And – as always, my “to be read” list is taller than me. Here’s a sample of what I plan to be reading over the next few months:

The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis: The true story of thirteen women who took a risk on an expensive diamond necklace and, in the process, changed not only themselves but a community.

The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan : In 1967, Bashir Al-Khayri, a Palestinian twenty-five-year-old, journeyed to Israel, with the goal of seeing the beloved old stone house, with the lemon tree behind it, that he and his family had fled nineteen years earlier. To his surprise, when he found the house he was greeted by Dalia Ashkenazi Landau, a nineteen-year-old Israeli college student, whose family fled Europe for Israel following the Holocaust. On the stoop of their shared home, Dalia and Bashir began a rare friendship, forged in the aftermath of war and tested over the next thirty-five years in ways that neither could imagine on that summer day in 1967. Based on extensive research, and springing from his enormously resonant documentary that aired on NPR’s Fresh Air in 1998, Sandy Tolan brings the Israeli-Palestinian conflict down to its most human level, suggesting that even amid the bleakest political realities there exist stories of hope and reconciliation.

Clutter Free Christianity: It’s time to cut through the clutter and get to the heart of what it means to please God. In this liberating look at the core principles of faith, Dr. Robert Jeffress reveals the truth about what God wants from you-and what he wants to do for you-as he points you toward a revitalized faith centered on becoming more like Jesus Christ. You’ll learn how to partner with God in the process of spiritual transformation as you choose to follow Christ in forgiveness, obedience, trust, contentment, service, and prayer.

The Power of a Praying Wife: Today’s challenges and pressures can make a fulfilling marriage seem like an impossible dream. Yet God delights in doing the impossible if only we would ask!

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince (re-reading for the July release of the movie)

Rebecca: With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten—a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house’s current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim’s first wife—the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

Between the Tides by Patti Callahan Henry

Published on June 2, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

Until age 12, Catherine “Cappy” Leary lives, grows and plays with the neighboring Loughlin family in the South Carolina lowcountry town of Seaboro. After the accidental death of the Loughlins’ youngest son, a tragedy for which Catherine blames herself, her father moves the family across the state. Fast forward to Catherine’s 30th birthday, when she reluctantly returns to Seaboro for the first time in 18 years to scatter her father’s ashes. As she reconnects, she uncovers new information about her father’s ties to the area that help her release her guilt and learn to love freely. Henry’s warm, smoothly paced novel explores well-traveled themes of reconciliation and rebirth with fresh energy.

I think I found this one at a garage sale. I found the book not a very good read. The flashbacks were way too frequent and with every current happening it seemed the author had to take us back to the 12 year old Cappy to relive it… there were times in the book I had to pause to get a grip on if the author was talking current time or the past. A lot of the time the clues to this were if the conversation included Cappy’s dad who was not dead, so then I knew we were once again flashing back. Due to this continuous “where are we now” flashes, I found it hard to really get into the characters or the story. I did not find the characters to be well defined and could not get a real picture of who Cappy (Cathryn) was as a person or even what she looked like. The best description I recall is that she was attractive – color of hair, length, eyes, etc…. I have no idea.

You may be wondering why I bothered to finish the book and i wish I had a really inteligent answer here – but I don’t. I just kept plugging along – perhaps to see if Cappy was strong enough to stay away from her obviously wrong for her boyfriend…. maybe to see who she wound up with – or maybe to find out the mystery behind Sam…. for what ever reason it was, I need not have bothered… none of the answers were fulfilling to my imagination.

C-