My October Book Box…

…Has now become my Autumn book box!

I did not know planning a wedding would take up so much of my time! Especially when my daughter and son-in-law did the majority of the work 🙂

I do not want to rush putting the boxes together so I can ship them out this week and have them received well before Halloween. I have a bit of tweaking to do and want to add a couple other items. I do not see any reason why they will not be shipping before the end of October, and they will still be filled with Fall goodies!

I am so glad now that I did not buy Halloween-specific books, and focused on mystery books instead!

And I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but here in West Michigan, it is sunny and mid-seventies all week. Which does not make me a happy girl…I am ready for 50 degree days, scarves, and crisp air!

 

 

Book Review: Time to Lie -Phil Taylor

(Landon Bridges’ Story Book 1)

I randomly found this book while going through blog posts about book reviews. Boy am I glad I did! After I had purchased it, Mr. Taylor sent me a digital copy which I gifted forward to another lucky reader.

Time to Lie Book Cover Image

This was a fun read that was exciting and humorous at the same time. Landon Bridges (Yes, that is his name), discovers his college Physics professor has discovered how to time travel. Landon therefore acts before listening, fails to follow the rules, and gets himself into any number of sticky situations. Most of which he tries to fix by travelling back in time; again.

We’ve all wondered what we would change if we could go back in our past and do things differently. This book will show you exactly why we are always moving forward, and that changing the past has irreparable consequences. It would be hard to resist the temptation though, wouldn’t it? 

I’ll keep the spoilers to myself on this one. Landon has a small group of people who are aware of time travel, and they try to protect him from doing the wrong thing. He is your typical college student who enjoys life, enjoys school, and has a hard time taking orders.

There were some grammatical errors in the book, but nothing that made me stop reading it. I am looking forward to the second installment in this series, and was sad to see it won’t be released until 2018.

You can find the author’s Amazon page here: Phil Taylor Amazon Author Page

If you could travel back into your past, do you think you could resist the urge?

Judas: The Iscariot Warrior Series (Book 1) – Roy Bright

Disclaimer: This book has grammatical and punctuation errors throughout. I talked to the author personally, and the book is currently undergoing a 2nd edit. It is nothing unbearable that does not allow you to read the book; I have seen far, FAR worse than this. I loved this book so much I am recommending you read it before the 2nd edited version gets uploaded if you have the time.

I am not sure where to even begin. Have I ever insisted you buy a book? I do not recall that I have. Well; I am now. This book is f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c! I would label this story as an action and adventure novel. I am also going to try to avoid giving away any spoilers, while at the same time describing just how great this book is.

Judas Book 1 cover image Roy Bright

The plot and descriptions are well written: you get the right amount of descriptions to see the scenes in your mind, without any areas that feel long-winded, drawn out, or just way more descriptive than necessary. There is plenty of action, it is fast paced, and keeps you from wanting to put the book down. I’ll give you fair warning that there is plenty of foul language throughout the story, but it suits the story and is a necessary part of the theme throughout. I also have to add that this is not a “religious” book as you might expect it to be. Hopefully I’ll be able to explain that in the following paragraphs 🙂

Judas Iscariot, thee Judas who was responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, has been alive and wandering the world for all of these centuries. He did attempt suicide as we are all aware, but was cursed by God for his sin to live forever, never being able to benefit from anything good, enjoy anything in life, or experience love.

While he has performed various tasks for God throughout the years, he is tasked with the most important one of his life. Charlotte Hope, the 2nd child God is sending to Earth, needs to be protected from Lucifer and his armies until she turns 7 years old, and saves the world from their path of destruction. Luckily for Judas (or unlucky?), this is happening in a time frame of hours versus weeks or months.

Judas is told that the usual restrictions he has been bound with have been lifted, and he can protect this child by whatever means necessary. Also; that if he succeeds he will no longer be punished as he has been for the past centuries. 2000 years of pent up frustrations are about to be let loose, and with the help of a few key characters along the way, Judas is literally in for the ride of his life.

I will say no more, as this truly is a book you need to read for yourself. I have put some important links below, and if you are lucky enough to read this story, I hope to hear what you thought of it!

You can purchase this book at the following links:

From Amazon US: Judas Book 1 (USA Customers)

From Amazon UK: Judas Book 1 (UK customers)

You can visit his personal website here: Author Roy Bright

 

Don’t Miss Out on This!

In an effort to get more exposure for my book, I’m looking for online blog reviews. If you are willing to read my book and post a review on your blog and in the Amazon book store, I will send you a gift copy of the e-book. I want to make it clear that although […]

via Want a Free Kindle Copy of Time To Lie? — The Phil Factor

A Quick Survey About Subscription Boxes!

If you have not completed a survey on subscription boxes for me, and can spare a couple minutes (It really is only a couple minutes!) I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks! More bookish things coming tomorrow!

You can find the survey here: Subscription Box Survey

Mark Twain’s Connecticut Farm for Sale

What a beautiful house and property! I knew I should have played the Powerball this past week… The house was actually bought for his youngest of three daughters, Jane “Jean” Clemens. Mr. Twain lived next door for two years before passing.

You can see this beauty here: Mark Twain’c Connecticut Farm

This story was originally posted on abcnews.go.com and written by Joi-Marie McKenzie.

I love Mark Twain’s stories, although I have to admit I have not picked one up for a re-read in quite some time. Winter goals!

Coming Soon; Your October Book Box!

So, I have had this idea bouncing around in my head for the last month or so, of starting a Subscription Box Business. Featuring, of course…books.

And I searched all of the available ones already out there, and there are a bunch! One to never be deterred, I kept the idea in the back of my mind, still bouncing around on a daily basis.

I researched custom boxes, personalized shipping tape, printed tissue paper, what to call this business, how to start a subscription box business, what platform to use, etc. etc. etc.

Trust me, the list goes on, and on.

Do I use my already licensed business name of Books and Opinions, which I have trademarked, paid for, and created a logo for? Probably not. Enter more licensing and trademark fees, creating a new website, and giving myself one more thing to manage.

I have reached out to various authors for buying bulk quantities of their books for a specific month (I have a theme going on here!), and the response has been fantastic!

It is nearly September; school starts again in a minute, my weekly church activities start back up at the same time, and my oldest daughter is getting married the first weekend of October. Never one to give up, here is what I am going to do…

…I love Autumn, Fall, Halloween, October, November, I think you get the idea. So I have to have a box for October. And I do!

I just bought some great mystery books, and mystery magazines (think Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen!). Add some Autumn Spiced tea, gourmet cookies or chocolate, and a handmade gift or two, all in the Spirit of Spookiness! I am still “building” this box, so some more items may be tossed in!

So I have some questions. If you could be so kind as to complete the attached 8 question survey, I would greatly appreciate it! You can find the survey here: Subscription Box Survey

You can also copy and paste the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VYPGX5N

I would also love to hear about any subscription box success or horror stories you may have in the comments below!

 

Nancy Drew – The Series

Can you believe that I had never read a single Nancy Drew book while I was growing up? The same goes for The Hardy Boys. I’m not sure why, as I saw them every time I was in the library. Which was a lot.
What I was reading included The Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, and Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators. Throw in some Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume, and you get an understanding of how I spent my younger years.

Judy Blume cover imageEncyclopedia Brown Cover ImageBeverly Cleary Cover ImageThe Boxcar Children Cover Image
I picked up 4 Nancy Drew books at my library this weekend; books 1, 3, 5, and 6. Of course books 2 and 4 were nowhere to be found. I’ll get those later if I come across them. I enjoyed reading these books. They are quick, and easy to read. I love the old-school storytelling and the nostalgia of the stories. No cell phones, internet, social networking, etc etc. All the things we cram our lives with now to make ourselves busier than we should ever be, are nowhere to be found here. I find a sense of comfort in these stories as well as the others I read while I was growing up.
My very favorite book growing up? This one~

Adventures of the Black Hand Gang Cover Image

What was your favorite series growing up, and like me, do you go back on occasion and read them again?