Review – Page 10 – Book Journey

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Published on February 14, 2015February 14, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

Cody and Meg were best friend. Considered inseparable all through their school years the girls were constantly together until Meg receives a full scholarship and goes away to college. They still communicated by email and phone calls but life gets busy… and the calls are more infrequent…

Then Cody is shocked when an email arrives from Meg telling Cody that by the time she read the message, it is already too late.

And it is.

Cody is confused by her friends suicide. What signs did she miss? When Cody goes to Meg’s college to collect her things she learns a lot more about the girl she thought she knew. As Cody looks through Meg’s laptop she finds things that may be clues, including an encrypted file in the recycle bin that may hold more that Cody bargained for.

I enjoyed listening to I Was Here on audio. This book deals with the hard subject of suicide and what happens after to those who are left behind. Jorjeana Marie was an excellent narrator for this book, she held the right voice.

The basic story line of this book is good and I think author Gayle Forman in on the right track with Cody discovering a side to her friend she didn’t know existed, however some things did not work for me in the story.

Meg’s parents come off as distant and I get grief, but the fact that they did not go to the college themselves to pick up Meg’s things seemed odd.

Cody’s actions throughout the book are off as well. I felt as though in the end I knew Meg more than I knew Cody.

Do not get me wrong, I did like I Was Here as a whole. It tells a good story of a major loss. I was very impressed with the epilogue which included the author giving a statement on suicide as well as help lines(including phone numbers!) for those who are having suicidal thoughts.

While I did not fully connect with the book, it was a good listen.

Gayle Forman is also the author of the book If I Stay which this last year was a major motion picture.

Listening Length: 7 hours and 42 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Listening Library
Audible.com Release Date: January 27, 2015

One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis

Published on February 13, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

Emily and Caroline are surprise twins. By surprise, I mean that their mother did not know that she was going to have twins until… they were here. Emily slips from her mother perfect and easy, shortly after along comes Caroline, blue and not breathing… a struggle from the moment she is born.

As the girls grow to adults, Caroline who knows she is not loved by her mother as Emily is, lashes out in her own ways with respect for no one’s time and a liking to the shocking as well as to alcohol.

Yet as the story opens, Emily is fleeing her life and her husband. She is changing her name, picked up a new job, and remaining hidden… although we do not know why. What has happened to this girl who by all outward looks seemed to be the one that had it together?

Told in alternating voices and in flash backs, slowly the puzzle begins to clear… and that one step too far… means so much more than you think.

Side story. I love the Renaissance Festival. My very first time I went as I walked down a narrow wooded dirt path to the entrance with my friends a costumed man sitting up in a tree above me hollered down with an accent, “DO NOT STEP IN IT!”

I of course stopped and looked at him. Then I glanced around. There was nothing there but trail. “What?” I responded.

“DO NOT STEP IN IT!” he cried again more urgently.

I giggled, this being my first introduction to the Renaissance and it was a fun exchange. “I do not see anything to step in,“ I responded.

“IT! IT”, he said loudly with anxiety in his voice and pointing at the ground. “DO NOT STEP IN IT!”

I then looked down and seen right where I stood in the trail, the word “IT” was scratched into the dirt.

I was not even in the front gate yet and already loved the Renaissance Festival.

That may seem like a random story for a review, but it actually fits. I thought of that story as I listened to this book on audio, mainly because as I listened I could not help but feel as though I had stepped in IT. And… like that day at the Renaissance, I loved it.

One Step Too Far starts out with a lot to take in. You have the girls and their mother… you see that Caroline is a bit of a struggle. So when Emily is the one who seems to go a bit nutty… it is shocking and you spend much of the book learning what has happened.

And when you know…

whoa.

I really enjoyed listening to One Step Too Far. I admit I was a bit nervous when the audio started and it seemed as though I had found my way to yet another read that is told from multiple perspectives, flashes back and forth… and quite honestly, I have had enough of that style for a bit. Yet, One Step Too Far pulled away from that format by engaging me fully into the story. In the end, I was impressed.

Elizabeth Knowelden and Paul Fox are excellent narrators for this book. Flawlessly, they complimented each other.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Harper Audio
Audible.com Release Date: January 27, 2015

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce – Audio Review

Published on February 10, 2015March 30, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)53 Comments

Harold Fry now in his 60’s, retired and living with his wife in their English village home has come to expect…

nothing.

Life is quiet and unsurprising. Each day his mere existence and his wife’s avoidance makes the silence between them earth shattering loud. Retirement is not awesome.

Then one morning a letter comes in the mail. It is from a co-worker that Harold once had named Queenie Hennessy. She has terminal cancer and has written to say good-bye.

Harold is struck by this message with a deep sadness. He quickly writes a response to her, tells Maureen his wife that he is heading out to the mailbox and walks out of the house. As Harold passes his own mailbox, and heads into town where he passes two more, he has an encounter with a young girl at a restaurant who inspires him (unaware) to deliver Queenie’s letter in person. Harold believes that as long as he is walking to Queenie, she can not die. With only his boat shoes and a light jacket, Harold starts the 600 mile walk from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick… meeting along the way kind people who take him in. As Harold’s pilgrimage continues he has a lot of time to think about his past, his wife, his son… losses and regrets… and of course, what he has never told Queenie.

You know those books you always mean to read but never seem to get around to doing it? That is what The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was to me. When recently it was on a sale at Audible.com, I snatched it up on audio.

Harold Fry was a likable protagonist who had carried a lot of memories both good and bad, throughout his 60+ years. As life tends to do, Harold stayed busy moving forward and never dealing with his past. His Pilgrimage gave him the time he needed, alone to sort through what his life has been… and what it could still be.

This book is brilliant. While on one hand you could say an elderly man trucking 600 miles with no plan is a bit ridiculous – it works. When you understand that Harold needs to have a mission in his life and this is the moment he chooses… it works. It really does.

Jim Broadbent was an amazing narrator, he handled the different characters in the book smoothly. His tone made for an excellent listen, very well paced and fit for what I would imagine Harold Fry sounding like.

Overall this book is surprisingly deep and one that really makes you think about your own life. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Update: I recently acquired an audio version of the follow up to this book, The Love Song Of Miss Queeny Henessy. I am so excited to get to this listen and am curious about the narration of Celia Imrie who I believe is a new narrator to me.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 9 hours and 57 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Random House Audio
Audible.com Release Date: July 24, 2012

Forever Odd by Dean Koontz

Published on February 8, 2015February 8, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)3 Comments

Odd Thomas is indeed properly named.

While having maintained a job as a fry cook in a desert town of Pico Mundo, Odd also communicates with the dead.

Seriously.

He sees dead people. In particular, he sees Elvis a lot, who for some reason hangs out in Odd’s apartment weeping and pacing. While Odd does see dead people, the dead can not speak back so he has no idea why Elvis is so upset. Sometimes he is not upset… sometimes Elvis is funny. He pretends to pick his nose and flick it at Odd. A ghost has no reason to pick its nose. The dead, often come to Odd. Especially after they have just died… sometimes looking for comfort, somehow they know that Odd is able to see them.

Such is this particular morning.

When the father of his childhood friend Danny appears before Odd, Odd knows something has gone wrong. He follows the man back to his home wondering what he will encounter, but knowing for sure he will find this man’s body. What he finds is the man has been murdered, and Odd’s handicapped friend Danny, has been taken. Odd never knows how he gets himself involved in these things, but he knows it is up to him to make things right if only he can.

A little note about me and Dean Koontz…. I adore his writing and have for years. Koontz writes like Stephen King, but at a lesser creep level. He is not as intense, and more so, something I appreciate, he has a great sense of humor that shows up in his books.

I have read a few of the Odd Thomas books along the way. Not consistently, but they are the type of books that you do not need to follow all along. What I like about them is that I imagine they are like desert to Dean Koontz. Odd is a different character than you will find in his other books. He not only sees dead people, but he has a dry sense of humor, as well as everyone else who pops up in the book. They are fun reads. They are funny reads.

I like that.

In Forever Odd, I just had to smile at the familiarity of the character, the unwilling passage to the dead. Odd didn’t ask for this gig… but it is his. The whole Elvis line (that follows through all of the Odd books) is a fun one. At the end of this book Odd explains why he feels Elvis will not continue his journey to the after world…

I think what he says is spot on.

If you have not experienced Odd Thomas, I suggest you give him a try. They are fun reads with a mystery mixed in.

The audio is narrated by David Aaron Baker. He was the right voice.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 8 hours and 37 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Random House Audio
Audible.com Release Date: November 28, 2005

This Is What You Just Put In Your Mouth by Patrick Di Justo

Published on February 7, 2015February 7, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

At one time or another you have probably wondered what some of the ingredients listed on a package really are. And, if you are like me, you soon forgot you were curious because a) the item is tasty good, b) who has time to look that stuff up, or more than likely c) do you really want to know?

Author Patrick Di Justo wrote the articles called What’s Inside for the magazine Wired. He took his investigation of products to the CEO’s of companies (who may or may not get back to him with his questions). He also researched deep into the archives on Google and followed products back to their beginning.

The result? Patrick discovered some interesting things about the foods we put in our mouth. Some are interesting, some are disgusting, some are funny… and some… involved a call (or two or three) to the FDA.

So what really does make that Cheese Whiz can eject that line of cheese product? If I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter isn’t butter…. what is it? And do we want to know what is in a Slim Jim or would we rather just enjoy the spicy snappy flavor and not think about it?

Now before you decide this book if this book is for you, hear me out.

This Is What You Put In Your Mouth is actually an interesting read and not necessarily as disgusting as you may initially think. Sure there is talk about dies that are not good for us, and ingredients that are not only in chewing gum that can also inflate a tire…but for the most part you are not reading about to many gross and disgusting things.

The layout of the book is a product will be listed with its ingredients and a description laid out of what the ingredients are. Occasionally Patrick will add his own funny take on an ingredient. Then, there will be a “backstory”. This is where Patrick shares what steps he took on this product to track down the makers for more information. AT first they would be excited to hear that their product would be featured in a magazine. That is, until they read the magazine and seen what Patrick really wrote about. The cooperation of the company or not did not change the fact that Patrick would write about it.

Not everything in the book is for eating. Patrick also talks about cleaning products, fire starter logs and gasoline.

Here is a fun little video – see below to get what is going on here.

This video is actually about one of the products that Patrick had written about (and he talks about in the book about this product, and this video). What happened was PBS ran a segment called What’s Inside. Watch between 1:30 and 1:33 on the video. You will see there is a product on the table that Chris does not talk about. At the end of the video there are clearly 10 items on the table by Chris only talks about 9 of them. The item that was deleted off the video (cut during those three seconds) was sexual lubricant. PBS did not want this talked about on air so it was cut before the show aired.

While the book was interesting, it is more of a book you want to skim and look for items you are interested in knowing more about than trying to read like a regular book.

I will be adding this to Weekend Cooking as this post is about food. Sort of. 😉

Print Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (February 3, 2015)
Sold by: Random House LLC

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Published on February 5, 2015February 3, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Darcy Partell’s dreams are coming true! At eighteen years old her first novel, Afterworlds has been picked up by a publisher. Darcy has received a nice advance towards this book and the sequel.

Now what?

Putting college plans aside much to the dismay of her parents, Darcy moves to New York to put herself in the heart of the publishing world. Parties and meeting other young debut authors “the debs” is what life becomes about.

In alternating chapters, the fictional protagonist of Darcy’s book, Lizzie, survives a near death experience in an airport that puts her in a place where she can travel between the real world, and the after world.

Now with the pressures of rewrites, a love interest, and deadlines (pun intended),Darcy feels the real pressures of becoming a writer at such a young age.

Afterworlds was a book I was interested in since it first came out. I had picked up the book months ago and wound up putting it down (life gets in the way….). More recently, I downloaded the book on audio and enjoyed it in that format.

Afterworlds could easily become hard to follow if you did not have the facts going into the book. Darcy’s world is real and happening in real-time. Lizzie, carries the story of the book Darcy wrote. Actually – it is a brilliant way to write a book and it is like you are getting a book within a book. (Darcy even goes to BEA!!!)

I really enjoyed Afterworlds. Author Scott Westerfield did a wonderful job pulling this one-off. This would make for an interesting movie. Awesome YA read!

Audio CD: 12 CDs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (September 23, 2014)

My Father’s Wives by Mike Greenberg

Published on February 4, 2015February 3, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Jonathon Sweetwater has a pretty wonderful life. He has a good paying job, a beautiful wife, and two children he adores. When he comes home early from work one afternoon… things suddenly look as thought they could change in ways that Jonathon never anticipated or wanted.

Now, Jonathon is holding on to a secret that is ripping him apart. As he questions how his life has gone wrong, he is brought back to the memory of his father who left when he was 9 years old and proceeded to marry again 5 more times. His father now having passed away, Jonathon knows he does not want to follow down the same path his father went when it came to women. Jonathon decides that maybe now is the time to search out each of these past wives and find out more about the man who was his father, a man he hardly knew, and maybe at the same time answer questions about himself.

I first read author Mike Greenberg in his book, All You Could Ask For. I have to say, for being a radio host for ESPN and ABC, the man can get in touch with great protagonists, both male and female.

In My Father’s Wives, I enjoyed the flow of this book about a man searching for answers to help him with his own life and his own marriage. Clearly left with issues from his father’s departure from his life at such a young age, it was an interesting take to search out each of the wives. Once again, I am impressed on how well Mike Greenberg can write female characters. Right along this story line is also Jonathan keeping up with an unusual boss, his desire to be with his family, and working out the proper steps to take in his marriage that may or may not be in jeopardy.

I really enjoyed this read. It moved well from page to page and I had no trouble finishing this read in one sitting. I was thoroughly engaged in what would happen and how it would all work out. Mike Greenberg is an author I keep an eye on. A quick and enjoyable read.

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (January 20, 2015)

Thank you to TLC book tours for giving me the opportunity to read and review another excellent book by Mike Greenberg

Anything That Moves by Dana Goodyear

Published on January 30, 2015January 31, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

We live is a crazy exciting and sometimes strange world. In today’s day and age we find adventurists of all sorts… extreme sports, people pushing themselves to lengths they never had before, and yes – extreme eaters as well.

There is a movement of adventure eaters – the more unusual the ingredients, the more rare (even illegal), the better. In Anything That Moves they eat live octopus, shark fin, blood coffee, foie gras, pig snout, raw goat milk…

Health benefits to eating raw and unprocessed? The history of the food we eat? It’s all here.

I am the person who watched Survivor or Fear Factor and when it comes to the gross food challenges (unhatched birds, grub worms, bugs, etc…) I immediately announce to the TV screen and to my husband that I am out. As I watch the people gag on the TV I wonder why they even try to eat it when they know they can not win this one. For the record, Al calls that he is out on all height challenges.

At points in this book I am appalled. At other times fascinated. Not being an extreme eater myself, I am not entirely sure if I am impressed or disgusted with extreme eating… I think both. Dana Goodrow handles this book with facts. She takes the reader into restaurants like Nose to Tail where they literally eat everything in between. A party called the Weed Party where the host puts marijuana in all the dishes to his fully aware guests. Stinkbugs with a slice of apple. Extreme? Indeed. At least to me.

I enjoyed this book learning about foods that I am pretty sure I would not consider eating. I liked learning about some of the traditions in other countries. Anything That Movies is written with humor. As a foodie I am glad I read it. I now know facts that will disgust my friends.

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Trade; Reprint edition (November 4, 2014)

This review is linked to Weekend Cooking

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Published on January 28, 2015January 27, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Retired Cop Bill Hodges was pretty proud of his career record. Most of the crimes he was involved in solving were brought to completion.

Most.

One crime, still unsolved, still haunts Bill. Months earlier, a group of people waiting in line at a job fair were plowed down by a man driving a Mercedes. Not only did he run over the people with no mercy… he backed up and hit them again leaving 8 dead and 15 wounded. The driver was never caught.

Now, Bill has received a letter. A letter from the man who claims he committed this crime and egging on Bill about leaving this crime unsolved.

Well… retirement was boring anyways.

Stephen King is an author that I seem to be surprised that I still read. I read him often in High School, but after graduation found him to be a bit too much for me and I moved on. In recent years, mainly due to his surprise hit of 11-22-63 (so good – do not miss it!), I tend to drift back to his newer writing… cautiously testing the waters. While his writing is still King, his writing seems some what smoother… still spooky topics, but either I have mellowed…. or he has.

Perhaps… it is both of us.

I think Mr. King tested me a bit on this one. While a pretty good story line (hit and run criminal contacts retired cop and taunts him about being unable to find him), I struggled with some of the actual situations in the book. Think Norman Bates awkward relationship with his mother but more…more. Ugh more.

The story line is what held me to this audio, I did want to know what would happen in the end. Yet even more than the story line, Will Pattons narration was a home run for this audio. I am pretty sure if not for the excellent narration I would have probably let this one go as a DNF. Will Patton had just the right voice for narrating a retired cop. I really enjoyed listening to him.

Over all… Mr. Mercedes is not a win for me. This is supposed to be a trilogy buy I can not imagine that I will carry on with the story line… however, I never say never.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 14 hours and 22 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Audible.com Release Date: June 3, 2014

Murder At The Book Group by Maggie King

Published on January 6, 2015January 5, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

Hazel and her friend Carlene headed a murder mystery Book Club group that met in members homes. They would read cozy mysteries set in a certain location and then all join in the meeting to discuss what they read over coffee, tea, and tasty treats.

Imagine Hazel’s surprise when at one such meeting at Carlene’s home, Carlene takes a sip of her tea and collapses in her chair, dead, with a suicide note next to where she has collapsed. Hazel is skeptical… Carlene had just spent a lot of money on a spa weekend and having her hair done… who does that before planning to check out for good? Plus Carlene was way more of a “setting the scene” type gal… she would more likely have planned a suicide in her own bed wearing her best nightgown and robe with her hair beautifully spread out around the pillow… not like this, not with foam hanging from her open mouth.

As Hazel starts to look more closely at each of the groups members she discovers more than she bargained for. She discovers secrets that Carlene had worked hard to hide… and more than one person in the group would have motives to take her out for good.

Cozy mysteries are not really my thing. While if you suspend reality they can be fun to read, I rarely pick one up. I find I have to many questions… too many things that can slide in these books that I think, “no, no it could not have possibly happened that way,”…

However… if you add the words “Book Group” in a title, it could be a dictionary on book clubs and I would want to read it.

Murder At The Book Group was a fun change from my normal reads. The murder, happening during the groups regular book club meeting puts them all as suspects. It was not like their now dearly departed hostess was a great person… she actually had many flaws and many people had reason not to like her. In fact, the more Hazel digs into what happened, the more she finds out how truly unlikable Carlene was.

I did enjoy the book, I probably will never be a big cozy mystery fan but the occasion dip into these fun reads works for me.