stories

To E-Read or Buy the Real Deal

Angela8 Comments

It seems there is quite the battle between those who have given up their paper books for electronic readers, and those who refuse to use one. I have to admit that last year I got Barnes & Noble’s latest HD electronic reader, and have read some stories on it. I have people that ask me to review their books, and in some instances this is the only way I can access their stories.

I also said I would never own one. Because I could never give up my paper books. This is still the case. I have not even turned it on in at least 3 months. My excuse for getting it was I wanted to use it for my magazine subscriptions since I do not like throwing away magazines after I read them. I do get some subscriptions sent to my reader, but, as I haven’t used it in months, I am proving to myself that I just do not care for it all that much.

With that being said, I have crossword apps on it, and I love doing crossword puzzles. I have used it for that more than anything. But alas, I am too busy with other things to even have time for that.

I do not believe that the electronic reader will ever replace “real” books, and I would be devastated if that ever happened. But with so many authors finding it easier to publish, or self-publish this way, the brick-and-mortar publishing companies are possibly seeing a decline in manuscripts being sent to them.

Another reason I prefer real books? The fact that in most of the cases, that person writing that book had to endure the lengthy process of finding a publisher to accept their book, print it, and market it. Although I have never tried, I think it is safe to say this is no easy task. That doesn’t mean you still cannot come across a real book that does not completely suck, but the chances of you seeing spelling, grammatical, and story line errors are no where near as likely to happen.

I have read some pretty terrible things from self publishers. And I have also read the most amazing stories from self publishers.

How do you feel about the electronic reader?

The Haunting of Reindeer Manor – Concluded

AngelaLeave a comment

Kevin Guests' books as a series
Kevin Guests’ books as a series

Remember how I said yesterday that this story was fairly light on the blood-and-guts gore and I would have no issue with my teenage girls reading this?

Yeah. Never mind about that. Apparently all the blood-and-guts gore is in the second half of the book. It suits the story, and is a necessary part of setting the scene as this story comes to its conclusion. There is no need to be concerned about reading violence and brutality that is added just to add it; it is a part of the story and its conclusion and is just as necessary to the flow and feel of the story as the characters themselves are.

So, I generally try to not give any spoilers about books, and this one is no exception. It ended just as strong as it started, and this is certainly a book that needs to be put towards the top of your Read-by-Halloween list! What I can and will tell you, is that the 5 characters in this story were haunted more by their own demons of their past behavior compared to anything the entities in the house could do to them. Maybe that is the true moral of the story; the things that haunt us on the outside is due to the things we bury on the inside.

Next on my Halloween list!
Next on my Halloween list!

Since this book had a forward that stated it was part 1 of “The Haunted Houses of Anderson”, after the final chapter there is a teaser section for part 2 of “The haunted Houses of Anderson”, which is titled “The Chronicles of Foxwood.” I hope to be able to have this read before Halloween arrives, and any others that are in this series.

More to come!

Fireproof – Eric Wilson

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Such an amazing, powerful story! The movie is just as good as the book, and for me to say that is pretty much a miracle!

I love reading books that are based around religion (I am of the Lutheran faith, a denomination of Protestants). This story really touches home on how to save a marriage, when most are willing to go to the lawyers, sign some papers, and try to make it disappear.

A firefighter is losing his marriage; his wife is done with being ignored, and he is done with her not taking care of him. So his father gives him a pact to follow for a month, no matter what. Do what this journal says, and if it doesn’t work, then you should probably get divorced.

Fireproof cover

We watch as he does everything required, yet is met with brick walls from his wife. He has a major issue with his mother anyhow, so he is curious to see how his father made this work.

I am not one big on giving spoilers, but when he realizes his mother was actually the one to give this “contract” to his father, he finally understands some of the many components of making a marriage work.

This book is a must read; it is not filled with religious overtones if that is not your thing. It definitely shows you the important things in life. How to live your life, how to forgive, and how to be great!

The Lightning Thief (book 1) – Rick Riordan

Angela2 Comments

You may have likely saw the movie, but hopefully that did not prevent you from reading the story. We all know that books are always better than their movie counterpart, right? Although I do thoroughly enjoy the movie version, I have read The Lightning Thief several times. It is that good.

It is funny, it can be sad. It will make you laugh out loud, and make you angry. You will certainly be rooting for the success of Percy Jackson on his mission. Being the son of Poseidon, Percy has a lot to learn about thy mythology side of his life, while trying to save his life.

Grover and Annabeth, best friends and residents of Camp Half-Blood join Percy as he tries to find the stolen lightning bolt, and save his mother’s life at the same time. You’ll meet Medusa, Hades, Athena, and many more Greek gods.

This is a lengthy series, but one you do not want to miss. Once again Rick Riordan delivers characters and storylines that you want to read again and again!

Irish Tweed – Andrew Greeley

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Irish Tweed Book CoverI absolutely love the “Irish” series of books by Andrew Greeley. He was the subject of one of my Author Information posts, and is absolutely one of my favorite authors. He was a Catholic Priest (he has passed away) and wrote many books that were full of mystery and suspense. You would never know he was a priest from reading his books, so if you have never read his work before, you should really try one of his books. It is not all religion and scriptures. At all!

His Irish series are centered on Nuala Anne McGrail, her husband Dermot Michael Coyne, and their children. The number of children increases as you continue through the series! There is always mystery, danger of lives lost, and also a good amount of history about Ireland. Not the boring history though, just the good stuff!

In Irish Tweed, Dermot is pouring over the memoir of a woman from Galway, who came to America after her family died in the famine. While Dermot is doing this, Nuala and her teenage daughter are knee deep in taekwondo classes, thanks to the bullies at the school across the street from their home.

The backstory of the Galway woman weaves in with the current plot of the story, which seems to put the family right in the middle of tensions from days gone by.

I have to say, I read so many of these books right in a row, that I began talking with the Irish dialect that is prevalent throughout the Irish series of books. It took a while to stop doing it, and people looked at me weird when I said something that sounded off-the-wall to them. Such as, instead of saying “yes”, I would say “’tis true.” People who irritate are called eejits. It was rather embarrassing, but there are 12 books in this series and I read them within less than a couple months.

I highly recommend giving one of the books in this series a try. Once you do, I promise you will need to read them all!