Book Journey

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Published on May 12, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Camille Preaker would have been just fine if she had never stepped foot in her hometown again. Yet working as a reporter comes with its nasty bits.

When two young girls are murdered where Camille grew up, her boss finds this to be a good opportunity to go back and investigate the story, after all these people know her and will open up to her. Camille, knows better.

Back in her neurotic mothers home with her step dad and half-sister, Camille has unpleasant memories rush back. As she investigates the story behind the two little girls, Camille is finding things to be too close to her own demons she carries… and what she is about to find out, may very well be the thing that unravels life as she knows it.

I listened to this audio for several reasons. 1. A friend of mine recommended this book a few years back before Gone Girl ever existed. 2. This is the author of Gone Girl which blew me away. 3. Sharp Objects is going to be a movie and I had to take the time to know the story.

Results? Sharp Objects, if you can believe it – is a darker story than Gone Girl. There are not very many likable qualities in Camille and her actions along the way felt jumbled for me and took away from the story line. I personally feel that this protagonist could have been written in a completely different way and come out better. But, that is just my opinion.

The creepy dark nature of many of the cast in this book left me with a bit of an uneasy feeling. I didn’t love that feeling. I wanted to know what was going to happen but over all I think if I would have been reading this book instead of listening to it I probably would have given up on it, or at least skimmed through some very strange parts. (I will not even get started on Camille’s 13-year-old half-sister whose actions I felt were far-fetched and unbelievable.)

Sharp Objects has its mind-blowing moments. Especially towards the end of the book I am tossed upside down and Gillian Flynn pulls an amazing flip of what I thought to be true and left me going…. “Holy Smokes”. The woman can write amazing stories… this one just wasn’t for me. Jury is still out if I will see the movie, I think some of the main subject lines will make this one a pass.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on May 11, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Hey there! Welcome to It’s Monday, What Are You Reading!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Fair warning… this meme tends to add to your reading list!

I just returned this afternoon from being gone all weekend for our College Sons graduation. It was an excellent time but I am wiped out so I am hopefully going to keep this short and sweet 🙂 Here is what I posted this past week:

The Storied Life of A J Fikry – there is something about this story…

Blogger Recommend for May – are you signed up to receive this awesome monthly guide?

The Accidental Book Club by Jennifer Scott – it had me at “book club”

The Memory Garden by Mary Rickert – fantastic fantastical reading on the power of flowers

Straight Flush by Ben Mezrich – great listen, the movie 21 was made form this true story

Bob Harper Skinny Meals – delicious recipes!

How Do You Receive Advanced books for review?

Not a bad week, thanks to a few reading times I did have a run on books and a couple more yet to review and a couple I should be finishing up in the next few days. The plan for this week is:

For My Ears

From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath.

Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.”

For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner thirty Academy Awards. The joyousness of the storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, in this book, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable.

As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah, where many computer science pioneers got their start, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the thirteen movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as:

• Give a good idea to a mediocre team, and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team, and they will either fix it or come up with something better.
• If you don’t strive to uncover what is unseen and understand its nature, you will be ill prepared to lead.
• It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them.
• The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them.
• A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody.
• Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change—it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board.

Twenty years ago, one man’s murderous rampage destroyed his own family . . . and devastated a community. Now the only survivor – his daughter – tells her story at last.

On April 14, 1989, for reasons still debated today, Mexican immigrant RamÓn Salcido went on a violent rampage in the idyllic Sonoma Valley wine country where he lived and worked. In the course of just two hours, he killed his wife, Angela, her two younger sisters, his mother-in-law, and the man with whom he suspected Angela was having an affair. He then slashed the throats of his three young daughters – four-year-old Sophia, three-year-old Carmina, and twenty-two-month-old Teresa – leaving them for dead in the county dump. A little more than a day later, the bodies of his daughters were discovered. Miraculously, tiny Carmina was still alive and able to tell her rescuers, “My daddy cut me.”

In Not Lost Forever, Carmina Salcido explores the events surrounding these headline-making murders with extraordinary clarity and composure. Reaching back to understand the events that traumatized her in childhood – and weaving them together with the recollections of detectives and witnesses – she reconstructs the story of her father’s crimes, and their aftermath, in sobering detail.

Yet Carmina’s story doesn’t end there. Those who remember her as the tiny victim of these murders will also be shocked by what followed: how she was adopted by a Catholic extremist family who tried to change her name and bury her past; how she tried to escape their sheltering influence by joining a Carmelite convent and then a ranch for troubled girls; and how the psychological trials she endured along the way nearly broke her spirit – until, at last, she found peace by turning to the one relative still alive to share her grief: her grandfather.

As a young woman, Carmina returned to California to share her experiences and discover the family that was brutally taken from her. The devout Catholic also returned to look into her father’s eyes on death row and confront the man who took away her entire family. With clear-eyed candor, courage, and grace, this brave young woman takes readers along on her miraculous journey of survival, discovery, and hope.

I dont think I will add any books, I still have last weeks to finish 🙂 What are you reading? Please add your Its Monday What Are You Reading post link below where it says click here.

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For those of you that read mainly middle grade and children’s books, be sure to also link to the younger version of It’s Monday by using the link below!

How Do You Receive Advanced Reading Copies of Books for Review? (Or…how do I get books for FREE?) ;)

Published on May 11, 2014May 11, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)45 Comments

For new book reviewers, this can be a big draw…. a chance to receive books (Glorious books!) in the mail not only before they are released to the public (insert squueeee here) but also at no cost to you.

When I first discovered that publishing houses and authors would offer you their books to read in exchange for hopefully a review on your blog… that was so exciting. And for the record…

I totally blew it.

By blew it I mean…. when offers started coming in for books I said Yes. I said Yes to just about everything – books I may or may not be interested in, self published books because I wanted to help the author… and when the books arrived… I knew I had agreed to read them and now it felt like work. A few of those books… I never did review and I still feel bad about that.

For the record – you do not want your love of reading and enjoying books to feel like work.

So – with that little trip down memory lane, let’s get back on track here and let me share with you a few tips to bringing books to you for review. 😀

First and foremost, I am not an expert. I am not the first person to write about this topic and I am more than likely not the best source for this topic. I am mainly writing this post because I am often asked through email and through posts, how does a newer book blogger connect to the authors and publishers, and for those who are asking for the right reasons – to be able to read a book prior to publication and post reviews on these books, I am more than happy to offer what little knowledge I have gathered through the years. I hope something here is helpful.

Before you start looking for publishing houses to start pounding down your blogs door… ESTABLISH your blog and its name. How do you do that? Do what your blog was set up to do… write reviews. Write reviews on books you have read, write reviews on new books you have purchased, write reviews on books you check out from your library. Basically write reviews. A publishing house usually likes to see several months of reviews happening. They like to see what you are reviewing and how you review. It’s your blog… do it proud. *insert chest bump here*

Write a review policy. That may seem premature. Maybe it is – but I know once I started looking at the blogs that I admired, they all had one. And you will find out it is a life saver at times to spell out exactly what your policy is. Here is mine, tweaked and re-tweaked through the years but it is a necessity for those interested in you reviewing to know what you are able to do and what you are not.

Have a way for people to email you that is not hidden. A contact me area on your blog is essential. If a publishing house likes what you are reviewing, they need to be able to connect with you. Make it easy to find your “contact me” area. Most people will not work for it.
- As a side note here – I created a new email for all of my bookish/bloggish emails to go to. I personally would recommend that. It is nice to have one email to go to for all my blog conversations and book review requests. It is also nice not to have the book emails mixed into my personal emails.

Post frequently. It does not have to be every day, but 3 -5 times a week is a good standard to set. If a blog sits idle, it is hard to increase readership. It is hard to establish good connections with publishing houses if you do not have a readership. During your start up period this is a great time to work on your readership as well. How? Write interesting reviews and bookish topics. AND – read other blogs AND comment. Your interest in other blogs does bring readers to you – it is how I established this blog… I set a guideline of visiting and commenting on twenty blogs a day and I did it. Most of those bloggers, visited me in return. I believe it works. Put yourself on social network sites – Facebook, Twitter… it is hard to make your blog grow if you write a post and then sit back and wait for people to notice. Keep up these practices – your blog will grow.

Now you may be thinking, “Wow Sheila… all I wanted to know is how to start receiving books for review in the mail and I get all this extra stuff to do!” Well, that extra stuff is important and should help you to start building relationships in the publishing world to start receiving the books you wish to read and review.

Ok…. so you have done all of the above. You are excited…. in fact, you may have already had contact from an author or publisher and you about wet yourself. Been there… I get it. But remember what happened to me…. proceed with caution.

Remember you are a professional. Maybe you didn’t think you were… you are just writing a fun blog about books… but once you are making contact with the publishing houses and authors- surprise…. you just upgraded to professional. This basically means…. act it. Do not approach a publishing house with your long list of book requests – ESPECIALLY when you are new. Introduce yourself. Link to your blog. Tell them a little bit about what you review, how often you review and your readership. You may be thinking, “Really Sheila? Isn’t that a bit TMI?” In which I look at you dead pan and say, “It is not.” This is information many may ask from you anyway. After introductions, request an advanced copy of a book (yes one). If they send it…. READ IT. REVIEW IT. Then – email the person who sent it to you thanking them for the opportunity to read the book and link your review. Relationship established… or at least the beginning of one.

Always ALWAYS be professional when inquiring about books for review. At the Book Expo one year publishing houses told horror stories of how some bloggers have made requests for books – practically demanding books, or as I mentioned before, requesting long lists of reads and even to the point of becoming angry with the publishing house when their request was refused. You would think common courtesy would be a no-brainer but as a book blogger; this sort of poor behavior gives us a bad name. So – I say it out loud. Introduce yourself – inquire nicely – if you are turned down – do what has been asked (establish blog more, have more reviews, work on readership…) and politely try again at a later date.

Do not make promises you can not keep. Sure things come up occasional that were unanticipated, however if you are telling an author or publishing house that you can review within a certain amount of time or on a certain date – you should do your best to do so. This is an important piece of my review policy – with my busy schedule I no longer can give a time frame when I will be able to review a book. As an established blogger, I suspect I have a bit more leeway because most of the publishing houses know me. When I started blogging however, my policy said I would read and review within 6 weeks.

As I mentioned – it is easy to get in over your head and as book lovers it is not hard to act like a kid in a candy store and want and want and want. Start slow…. receive a few books, review them… repeat. As you do this – you may be surprised how the publishing houses start to find you. Remember – you never know who is looking at your blog…. maybe they found it by searching for a particular book title…. so keep it professional. I dont mean don’t have fun… of course have fun…. just remember if you want to grow the blog – your reviews need to be something that publishing houses want their books on.

Here are a few suggestions of places other than the publishing houses to possibly pick up a review or two:

TLC Book Tours – A great group to work with that connects to book reviews to books to review on specific dates

Netgalley – books to download to your phone or e reader.

Blogging For Books – the more established you become – the more book choices will be offered.

Library Thing – you can request books and they go into a drawing to see who receives the copies, a lot like Good Reads Giveaways.

Booklook Bloggers – a lot like blogging for books.

BookBrowse.com – sign up and receive a monthly list of available books

Audio Jukebox – for those who like to listen to and review audio

Receiving great reads and reviewing them can be a lot of fun. I really enjoy it and I have been doing this since 2009. I still am not as organized as some with their contacts list and knowing which books I want to pursue months in advance. Some day… I hope to get there 😀

Fellow book reviewers – please feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments – I am sure there are vital steps I should have mentioned and neglected to 🙂 Newer bloggers, if I didn’t answer something – please inquire about it in the comments and I will answer it then. 🙂

Morning Meanderings From Mankato

Published on May 11, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

Good morning! We are still in Mankato this morning, having brunch for Mother’s Day with the College Grad before we head back home. The past two days have been fun hanging out with our youngest, chilling a bit in Mankato and trying out a few restaurants.

Not much reading happening but I am about half way through with Molokai by Alan Brennert and the book just took an interesting turn… I will be digging back into it this morning.

Happy Mothers Day to everyone out there 🙂

Bob Harper Skinny Meals / Weekend Cooking

Published on May 10, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

You know him from the show Biggest Loser when he is pushing contestants to their limits. Bob is also a personal trainer, as well as some one who takes care of their own body and what they put in it.

As Bob says in the forward of this book, what he is sharing here is the same foods and meals he eats and encourages those he works with to eat. Healthy eating habits and working out are the keys to a fitter, fuller life.

As soon as I seen this book on-line I knew I wanted to own it. Lots of delicious looking recipes that did not seem to be above my cooking skills. No recipe over 350 calories and balanced so your carbs are eaten by mid afternoon and your suppers are balanced with the fiber and calories you need for burning them through the night.

The forward to the book are basic steps for balancing your meals and not over eating. Bob says always drink a full glass of water before any meal. Even take a glass of water by your bedside so first thing in the morning you can drink it. Not only does it help you feel fuller before you eat, it also helps flush out the things your body does not need. He also suggests no eating after 8 pm and go to bed hungry. Your body starts to burn fat around 3 hours after eating. Why not deal with those “hungry hours” while you are sleeping? 😉

Since purchasing the book I have made several recipes out of it, planning to use it more in the future as well (there is a spaghetti squash recipe filled with vegies I have my eye on to try).

Here is the Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Cream Sauce I tried. Or I would like to call it, “you had me at avocado!”

Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 large zucchini (approx. 2 cups worth)

Avocado Cream Sauce

1/4 avocado
1 cup arugula
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup low sodium broth (either veggie or chicken)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz roasted, boneless, skinless chicken breast

Directions

Slice zucchini very thinly lengthwise. Then cut each piece into thirds, lengthwise so that they are like thick noodles. Steam “noodles” for 2-3 minutes or until they are just cooked through.
In the meantime, blend avocado, basil, broth, lemon juice, garlic, and Parmesan in a processor or blender.
Toss “noodles” with sauce and cubed chicken, and serve.

Nutritional Information

258 calories, 27g protein, 19g carbs, 11g fat

My thoughts – I love the use of strips of zucchini as the “noodle”. It just felt fresher. The avocado sauce was delicious! I enjoyed this very much, it was easy to make and I will make it again. 🙂

This recipe was posted for Weekend Cooking. Stop over and see what other people are cooking up!

Straight Flush by Ben Mezrich

Published on May 9, 2014May 9, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

When a group of College Frat boys in Montana stumble across an idea from taking their weekly poker game to an online game where people all over the world can play for real stakes, they had no idea what they were about to unleash.

Absolutepoker.com became one of the biggest online poker sites in the world, at one point making nearly a million dollars a day. The group of misfit college boys took the business to Costa Rica where they lived a high life of booze, women, and cars dodging accusations of the United States of illegal handing of the games and new laws coming in to play for online gambling.

Nothing that grows that big that fast can stay on top forever….

I wanted to listen to this audio because I really enjoyed and recommend the movie 21, which is based on this same story. A group of college guys create something they think will be fun and maybe bring them in a little spending money and of course what happens in much bigger than any would have dreamed.

While based on a non fiction take of what happened, many online articles and reviews grumble at the accuracy of this book. I for one enjoyed the listen, finding it interesting, just as I did with Social Network. If not for the move 21, and this book, I would know nothing at all of this scandal that all came crashing down in 2007.

Going To Mankato – NOT Little House Style

Published on May 9, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

Good morning! Happy Friday. Miserable and wet here all week in Minnesota. I really am looking for anything in the forecast that is not cold or wet.

Anyhoo… in brighter news, College Son graduates tomorrow in Mankato Minnesota and Hubby (Pa) and I will be heading to Mankato this afternoon for the weekend. This will be fun but a 3 1/2 hour car ride… need to pick out a good audio that maybe we both will like 😉

Every time I mention Mankato I have flash back to Little House On The Prairie and the Ingalls’ family going to Mankato for supplies or for a doctor for Mary.

1caa — **We however will be going by car….**

Also – if you are friends with me on Facebook you may have seen my saga with the bird. For two days he keeps hitting my windows. I am so afraid he/she is going to hurt or kill himself but I can not get him to go away. I have shooed him, put tape on the windows, covered them with post its… he just keeps coming back. Sigh.

Books going on the trip are the Book Club Book Molokai and Chevy Stevens new read, That Night.

The Memory Garden by Mary Rickert

Published on May 8, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Bay Singer knows nothing of her past. She lives alone with her mother Nan who is mocked by the community as a “witch” of sorts, putting out shoes all over the lawn with flowers planted in them. While Bay is protective of her mother, she is getting to the age where she wants to know more about her life and about her secretive mother. Nan is just not sure if Bay really knows what she is asking… the secrets of her birth… the caul… the box… and of course Nan’s own teenage past and the tragedies it holds within.

Reading The Memory Garden was like walking through a fairytale that shimmers with fantasy but at the same time feels so real. I liked Bay, and I liked Nan, and I really liked the two mysterious friends of Nan’s who come popping out of the past to help set things right after so many years.

The chapters each start with a flower or budding plant and gives you a little sample of what this flower can be used for:

PUMPKIN The round, edible fruit of a trailing vine, pumpkins are a symbol of fertility. Dead spirits are invoked by the pumpkin when faces are carved into it, and it is lit from within. The spiral of life is represented by the pumpkin; the harvest brings death, but the seeds bring birth.

It is a delightful fun romp of friendships and fantasy, secrets and celebrations, and well worth a read!

The Accidental Book Club by Jennifer Scott

Published on May 7, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

Recently widowed Jean Vison never dreamed she would be running a book club. Yet when you gather a few friends together to come over and bring food and wine, you pick a date, and you talk about a book…

Jean guessed that it what it was.

Loretta finds what she is lacking in her marriage within the pages of the books she chooses to read.

Dorothy’s home life with her out of control sons makes book club the idea l place to take a break from the norm.

May is always good for sharing her latest dating disasters.

Mitzi who always finds some underlying political agenda in every book – EVERY book.

And quiet Janet who keeps her voice low, her nose in the book, but can speak up when she needs to.

When Jean’s life takes an unsuspected turn and she is asked to take care of her delinquent granddaughter Bailey while Bailey’s parents try to salvage their marriage… things in book club become real very fast.

There’s something about a book club that brings everyone to a deeper level….

It’s not hard to please me. Put a word in a book title like “book Club, book store, _____________’s wife”, and I take a closer look. Yes, The Accidental Book Club drew me in by its title…. but it held me, with the story line.

Set with a cast of mismatched characters (as any book club will have) The Accidental Book Club is just what it should be…. a hot mess of women centered around a good or not so good book. Toss is a little teenage angst and you have yourself a story!

Our protagonist Jean is still recovering from the loss of her husband. Inviting a group of women in to her home and into her life is a big step for her but she is enjoying it. Add in a granddaughter she barely knows and things become a bit crazy not only for Jean, but for the rest of the book club as well.

Hey… we all have our stuff right?

The Accidental Book Club is a quick fun read with a cast of assorted characters that will keep you wondering, what will they read next?