Book Journey

Masters Of DOOM by David Kushner

Published on February 15, 2014February 15, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

Note: You do not have to be a gamer to enjoy this read,Masters Of Doom is a story of friendship and living the dream of success and feeling the deep cutting pain of success as well. Do not judge this book by its topic. You will do yourself a disservice.~Sheila

Masters Of Doom is the true story of John Carmack and John Romero, two young gamers from broken homes that teamed up together to create games for the personal computer that changed the gaming world (and the real world) forever. They took the flat screen square looking graphic games and brought them to life by adding screen scrolls, better graphics, and eventually… more violence. Their biggest success DOOM was what finally tore them apart. This book (audio) is their story from rags to riches, from binding friendship to a major falling apart of the two John’s.

Today, more money is spent on video type games than is spent on movies. Does that not blow your mind? Many of the population would rather spend time in a virtual world solving puzzles, crimes, or shooting or blowing things up.

Beyond my desire to know more about this story, was the narration of Wil Wheaton. Seriously – the guy would read the newspaper to me and I would be thrilled. If you listened to ready Player One on audio, that’s the guy!

Masters Of DOOM was an incredible listen. I am not a big gamer, I did play some games as a kid but I was never hard core and never played DOOM or Quest (nothing bloody for me thanks), two of the games designed through this team. I do however love the stories behind the success. As I love the movie Social Network (the story behind Facebook), and the audiobook JOBS (the story of Steve Jobs success with Apple), I also really enjoyed listening to the rise to the top of two computer geeks who loved what they did and created an empire.

Gamers will love the behind the scenes insight of how the games were developed. Non gamers will enjoy the amazing story of friends who were just having fun and stumbled on to something bigger than they ever could have imagined.

Published on February 15, 2014April 26, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)

Morning Meandering…. Board Games And Locked Out!

Published on February 15, 2014February 15, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

Good morning! Hope you are all having a wonderful start to your weekend. I am enjoying coffee that my cousin brought over. mmmmmmm

A few weeks ago I had went to our cabin with friends for a weekend of celebrating my friend Sheila’s birthday. It was the weekend that we went dog sledding – and this is the rest of the story of that weekend for this weekends Saturday Snapshot. (Check out other peoples pics at this link)

First up – gamers. I love board games and the new one I bought up for the weekend was Quelf. This is a great party game! There are cards like STUNTZ where if you draw a STUNTZ card you may be told to do something like “set the timer and find three things you would find in a first aid kit before the time runs out”…. or it may ask you to hum the star spangled banner. Many of the STUNTZ cards will have bonus points for the rest of the players if they react or do something that plays into your STUNTZ card.

QUIZZLE cards: Trivia cards from hilarious to impossible… or so you think 😉

ROOLZ cards: follow the ROOLZ on the card – if you do not, pay the penalty

SCATTERBRAINZ cards: gets everyone shouting , but you must stay on task!

SHOWBIZ cards: You are in the spotlight… shine baby shine – do what the card says 🙂

We had a blast with this game! Laughing so hard we were crying.

Then… that Sunday morning the plan was I was going to leave earlier than the girls as I had to be back in Brainerd, drop the dog off and go to a work retreat that afternoon. In order for me to do that successfully my plan was to leave at 10 am. I loaded my car with all my goodies – used my super cool electric starter to warm it up, threw my purse and keys in the passenger seat and went in to tell everyone good-bye.

When I went back out to my car to go – it was locked. My keys were inside. I was in Finland Minnesota… on a Sunday morning, no idea who to call, and my phone as well as my jacket, purse, and KEYS, were all inside the car. 😯

Thank God for friends to the rescue. While I was knocking on doors at the neighbor’s house, Farrah jumped on her phone and found me a guy out of a town near by who would come in about 30 minutes. It was closer to 45 minutes, but he did arrive.

As all good friends would do… they took pictures from inside the house of our progress of getting the car unlocked. 😛

I was late to my retreat in Crosslake Minnesota, but only by about 15 minutes. I made up time by not stopping on my way home at all and dropped the dog off quickly. It was about a 5 hour drive total from the North Shore to Crosslake. 😀

Morning Meanderings…. A Couple Of Winners :)

Published on February 14, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

Good morning… late morning but morning all the same. Honestly… I just want to read today but have a pretty full afternoon and possibly a dinner and movie thing with the hubby tonight.

Which reminds me…

♥Happy Valentines Day!♥

I have a winner to draw for the Literary Blog Hop that I participated in this past weekend. Using random.org the winner is:

Helen from My Novel Opinion

Woo hoo! Give it up for Helen!!!! YAY! She already mentioned in her comment she would love a copy or Orphan Train so that is what will be sent to her 🙂

I also had a bonus give away for my birthday, a $10 Amazon gift card. This one was for the awesome people who searched out my Easter Egg on the blogs and found it at Always With A Book (thank you Kristin for keeping the egg for me 😀 )

Earl Dizon!!!!

Way to go Earl – I will email that card out to you hopefully some time today.

There it is… I have a review coming up later… hope you will stop by and see what I have to say.

Every Day by David Levithan

Published on February 14, 2014February 14, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

He or she goes by the name of A. A lives an unusual life. Every day that A wakes up in the morning, A is in a new body. A may be a teenage boy or A may wake up as a teenage girl. No matter who he/she is, the only constant is that A will be 16. A is not sure why life is this way but it is and because of this A has set up a few ground rules:

1. Never get attached

2. Live low… do not do anything that will draw attention to you

3. Do not do anything that will disrupt the life of the person he/she is for the day

And all of that is working out swell until one morning A wakes up as a boy named Justin, and A meets Justin’s girlfriend Rhiannon. Rhiannon is sweet and kind and way to good for this boy named Justin who A can tell does not value her. And now things are all messed up. A’s rules no longer apply… all A does is think about Rhiannon and want to be with her.

As A continues to “body jump” , A spends his time trying to find where Rhiannon is… and this is dangerous as A is taking the person he/she is inhabiting, male or female, out of their own routine to be with Rhianon.

How do you love someone who is never the same person on the outside – but always the same person in the inside? How do you have feelings for someone who is one day a boy, and possibly the next day a girl?

Oofta. When I picked up Every Day on audio at our library I had no idea what I was about to listen to. David Levithan truly has a gift of thinking outside the box as it was a struggle for me to keep up with who A was next. Defining a character as neither male or female was brilliant on Levithon’s part (even writing this review was hard not to refer to “A”as either he or she), but tricky for me, as my mind automatically made “A” male because of his love for Rhiannon.

Tricky stuff her Mr. Levithan…. tricky tricky…

Because of all of this I have a hard time saying how I feel about this book. The ending to me felt like I needed something more solid even though A had nothing solid to hang on to him, errr… herself. It felt as though there should be a second book but I do not see any mention of this being part of a series of books. It definitely fits into my love of books that are completely different than anything I have read before. I still am struggling to come up with a good solid response here.

So -I can say this. If you are looking for something completely different, give Each Day a try. David Levithan was co author of the book Will Grayson, Will Grayson (which I loved!) and he also wrote the books Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Two Boys Kissing which I have heard good things about but have not read.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – Bookies Review

Published on February 13, 2014February 13, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

This past Tuesday the Bookies gathered to discuss Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. This is a book that will be hard to discuss here without spoilers so I will keep this light. To see a review with more detail and a spoiler page, see my review of Me Before You here, and for another great review by our Queen (front and center in picture), see it at her blog By Book Or by Crook.

A brief synopsis of Me Before You: (Setting – London village) Louisa Clark has recently lost her day job and at 27, still living at home but trying to get moving on life – this is not cool. She applies for a temporary position at a nearby castle for a rich boy who is not wheelchair bound due to an accident. Extremely unqualified, Louisa is shocked when she is given the job. Will Trainer (ie. “Rich boy”) is a bitter 30 something. He once had the world at his finger tips; skiing with friends, trips to beaches and around the world… now confined to the limitations of movement and a chair.

Louisa (probably due to her lack of professional training for this type of work) will have none of Will’s attitude. At first she is careful and shy but soon finds she is dealing with a sort of spoiled whiny baby who’s toys have been taken away. By Louisa calling Will out on this, Will develops a respect for Louisa and a friendship slowly grows.

Louisa soon discovers why her job taking care of Will is temporary and this knowledge changes everything. Now Louisa’s drive is to show Will that this new world of wheelchairs and limited movements is worth living in – and she only has so much time to convince him.

The Bookies rated this one fairly high. We seen “5” ratings out of people who rarely if ever give 5’s. (We rate on a scale of 1 – 5, 5 being the best). A book such as this brought out (as I had hoped) some deep discussion. We discussed choices and when do family and friends have a right to step in, and if they do – how much is permissible… how much is too much.

We were surprised to learn that we have a girl in our group who has a relative that has a similar story of living a full vibrant life and then an accident causing her to become a quadriplegic. To actually hear about someone who has gone through this was interesting and brought the book even more fully in focus.

Of course… we had food and wine with our discussion 🙂

Why is this a great book for book clubs?

There is great discussion points within this book. Hard questions come to the surface that will make for a lively and passionate discussion on both sides. If you like books that can get a rise of emotion out of your group let me say this is a book that will do just that.

Morning Meanderings… Gone Are My Innocent Days Of Gilmore….

Published on February 13, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

In Winters past I have spent the slower months of the year watching all the seasons of The Gilmore Girls in the cool evenings. This was a tradition I loved, steeping myself with hot cups of tea while watching the fast paced dynamic duo of Lorelai and Rory. The coffee swigging mom and the bookish references made the show even more enduring to me. Oh how I longed to live in Star Hallow.

And then…. this year I was introduced to the Walking Dead by so-called friends (oh you know who you are…. 😉 ) A crazy zombie show that I thought I would never get into and then there I was buying all three seasons at the Thanksgiving Day sale and then proceeding to devour them with my husband… fully immersed in a story line of survival in the craziest of circumstances.

But oh no…. the three seasons were watched quickly and by the end of January it was still full on winter here in Minnesota and my evening fix was gone…. so I moved on to something more hard-core…

Breaking Bad.

Yes yes you goof ball people who said “It’s amazing!” as I shook my head furiously and responded, “It is a show about making meth? How can that be awesome?” Yet, in a desperate move for something interesting to watch last week Al and I pulled up the first season episode one on Netflix and wow…. a teacher who makes and sells meth to earn money for his cancer treatments and to provide for his family….

we are addicted.

I feel I am now ruined for all things cutesy and sweet. Now I am hard-core zombies and meth. 😯

Seriously…. who am I?

Spring can not come soon enough… clearly I need to get out of the house.

I Am Abraham by Jerome Charyn

Published on February 12, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

Abraham Lincoln was not always the President Of The United States. He was once a young man filled with spirit and dreams. Before he was the man we have read about and look upon the penny and the five dollar bill, he was just a poor boy from Kentucky. He was a lawyer. he was a member of congress. He was a husband, and a father.This is his story.

Jerome Charyn takes what we know of Lincoln’s life from beginning until the end, and breathes life into the gaps in between using Lincoln’s own voice to tell this first person fictional masterpiece. In fact, I Am Lincoln, begins with the end…. in a theater in Washington DC with only the soft sound of movement and then a sting behind his left ear…

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I have always been fascinated with Lincoln’s life and death. He has always been my favorite of the presidents even though clearly we have never met nor even lived in the same century. 102 years after his death, I would be born.

Lincoln was the man who led us through the civil war, who pushed back against slavery, and did so with integrity. When this book was offered up for review, I did not hesitate on saying yes.

Jerome Charyn writes I Am Lincoln from an amazing perspective; Lincoln’s. For this I give him credit as those are big shoes to fill. Jerome Charyn not only lets us see history unfold, but through Lincoln’s own eyes and words is something pretty close to brilliant.

I adored this book and lapped up each page seeing Lincoln’s life as I never had before. Being able to write this review on Lincoln’s birthday is a great honor to me to be able to speak so enthusiastically about this book.

Thank you to Tribute books for allowing me a chance to bask in this incredible read on Lincoln’s life.

Morning Meanderings… The Morning After Book Club

Published on February 12, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

Picture this.

Hair in my eyes, sleep pants and slip on sandals (I know… I know…), face still sleep lined but smile intact.

😀

That’s what the night after book club looks like.

Always.

After an evening of sharing food together, discussing the book, a glass of wine (or two), choosing the next book and just hanging out with a great group of girls…I always come home spent.

BUT in such a good way.

I marvel at this motley crew of girls from different backgrounds, assorted ages… and we all gather in a room and we send a book through the process of well.. whatever we do with it… love it – hate it – in between. Together we have shared tears, laughter, anger… but the cool thing is –

we genuinely care about one another.

AND THAT…

is the BEST part of Bookies. 😀

We reviewed Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I knew it would be a great discussion. And afterwards we decided to use our book in the bag money we collected (A library program where ten copies of the same book are checked out at once for groups) and purchase Me Before You so other groups can discuss this one as well.

Next up… Secret Life Of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. An older title but I do not believe any of us have read it yet.

On another completely (COMPLETELY) random note – I bought a Modern Family calendar in January. I bought is because I LOVE the show and they are so funny… I have been meaning to put the quote each day up here and I forget. I will put today’s up now – and if you do not get it – you MUST watch the show…. even if you do get it – you must watch the show. Hilarious 😀

Claire: Nothing from the mini-bar, and no pay-per-view

Manny: Can we at least –

Claire: No, you can not send things out for pressing.

Have an AWESOME start to your day 😀

That Part Was True by Deborah McKinlay

Published on February 11, 2014February 11, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

I found McKinlay’s writing so delicious I had to say some of the lines out loud just to savor them on my tongue ~ Sheila

Eve Petworth finds her 40’s to be a bit of a rocky road. Living in London on her own after a divorce, and struggling as her own adult daughter is about to be married and leaning a little too hard on Eve, Eve takes solace in books written by a popular American Novelist, Jackson Cooper. When Eve writes to Cooper informing him of her appreciation of his books and comparing one of his lines about a watery summer day to ripe fruit, Cooper to her surprise, writes back.

Jackson Cooper has his own tales of love and loss. Now in his 50’s and divorced twice, he really does not know what he wants. Women fall all over him, and if that is what he wanted he would be set, but really he just wants to write that next book that seems stuck in his head without all the – well lets call it what it is: Drama. Writing to Eve in London is like writing to an old friend. They share recipes, they talk about books and the weather…

and both wonder in the middle of this messed up life… if their might be something more…

I am not even sure if I can tell you how impressed I am with That Part Was True by Deborah McKinlay. Even now weeks after I have read the book, I glance over at it as I type with a little smile on my face.

This book reminds me a little of the flow of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, but with a gentler flow to it. This one grabbed me as I enjoyed Eve and her struggles with her every day life as well as Jackson’s struggles as he continuously (sometimes hilariously) messed everything up.

This is the book I recommended for February in the Blogger Recommended publication. I hope you too will take a closer look at this book and give it a read. I seriously enjoyed it.