Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library after a friend recommended it.
I was on track to give this four stars until the end. It just ended a bit too quickly for me. Things tied up a little too neatly.
Up until then, though, the book totally kept my interest and had a great storyline with the topics of homelessness and traumatic brain injury. I think she could have taken both of those topics a little deeper.
Pretty clean. There may have been a few swear words, but I don't remember there being any of the "heavier" ones. People were sleeping together, but it wasn't descriptive. You just knew it was happening.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Friday, May 22, 2020
The Secret Daughter (Kelly Rimmer)
Why I have this book: I borrowed it from Kindle Unlimited (just before I canceled my membership of two months... I just have too many other books to read!)
Kelly Rimmer is quickly becoming a favorite author for me. Granted, this is only the second book of hers I've read, but I have three more in my queue.
I kept thinking this book had to have taken place way earlier than it did. I had no idea there were "forced adoptions" as late as the early 1970's. (This is set in Australia, but I'm guessing not limited to that country.) One thing that threw me off was that an ultrasound was performed in the early 1970's. I didn't think they were in routine use at that time, especially for young women in a maternity home (and thus not wealthy or well-cared for). I question that, but again, maybe things were different in Australia. I couldn't find anything online (of course I did a little research!) that says that was commonplace at that time, so...?
In any case, the emotions and storyline were well-developed, and I looked forward to picking up the book each night and reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer!
Clean. There may have been a few swear words, but nothing that stood out enough for me to remember it!
Kelly Rimmer is quickly becoming a favorite author for me. Granted, this is only the second book of hers I've read, but I have three more in my queue.
I kept thinking this book had to have taken place way earlier than it did. I had no idea there were "forced adoptions" as late as the early 1970's. (This is set in Australia, but I'm guessing not limited to that country.) One thing that threw me off was that an ultrasound was performed in the early 1970's. I didn't think they were in routine use at that time, especially for young women in a maternity home (and thus not wealthy or well-cared for). I question that, but again, maybe things were different in Australia. I couldn't find anything online (of course I did a little research!) that says that was commonplace at that time, so...?
In any case, the emotions and storyline were well-developed, and I looked forward to picking up the book each night and reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer!
Clean. There may have been a few swear words, but nothing that stood out enough for me to remember it!
Monday, May 18, 2020
Is Fred in the Refrigerator? (Shala Nicely)
The title continues with: Taming OCD and Reclaiming My Life
Why I have this book: I bought it in my ongoing quest to learn more about OCD and how to treat it.
This is a fascinating glimpse into one woman's fight with OCD. What's amazing is how this disorder can affect people so differently.
I think she is a great example of taking the advice of qualified experts and actually putting it into action. There's a ton of good advice and information for those who suffer from OCD and their family members or friends. I gave it four stars on Goodreads.
There may have been a few swear words, but I honestly can't remember.
Why I have this book: I bought it in my ongoing quest to learn more about OCD and how to treat it.
This is a fascinating glimpse into one woman's fight with OCD. What's amazing is how this disorder can affect people so differently.
I think she is a great example of taking the advice of qualified experts and actually putting it into action. There's a ton of good advice and information for those who suffer from OCD and their family members or friends. I gave it four stars on Goodreads.
There may have been a few swear words, but I honestly can't remember.
Monday, May 11, 2020
The Monster in Me (Mette Ivie Harrison)
Why I have this book: I borrowed it from Kindle Unlimited.
Okay, so I really like some other fiction (cozy mystery) books by this author... meaning, I like the stories and the way she writes. I DON'T like her obvious gibes at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She's a feminist Mormon, with so many complaints about Church policies and how the men run things. Honestly, so much of her stuff is eye-rollingly inaccurate, but whatever. I can blow it off and read the stories, but I won't even record that I've read them and I definitely don't recommend them to others because of the very negative picture she paints. I completely disagree with her viewpoint.
Anyway, I thought I'd read a different book by the same author. It has nothing to do with religion, so I figured it would be a safe bet.
I could only give this two stars because there were soooooooo many editing mistakes, typos, etc. It also ended a little too abruptly for me which is all too bad because it had such potential. I don't care enough to look up whether or not it was one of her earlier books, but in any case, I don't know why it got published with so many glaring mistakes.
Clean. I don't even remember any swearing.
Okay, so I really like some other fiction (cozy mystery) books by this author... meaning, I like the stories and the way she writes. I DON'T like her obvious gibes at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She's a feminist Mormon, with so many complaints about Church policies and how the men run things. Honestly, so much of her stuff is eye-rollingly inaccurate, but whatever. I can blow it off and read the stories, but I won't even record that I've read them and I definitely don't recommend them to others because of the very negative picture she paints. I completely disagree with her viewpoint.
Anyway, I thought I'd read a different book by the same author. It has nothing to do with religion, so I figured it would be a safe bet.
I could only give this two stars because there were soooooooo many editing mistakes, typos, etc. It also ended a little too abruptly for me which is all too bad because it had such potential. I don't care enough to look up whether or not it was one of her earlier books, but in any case, I don't know why it got published with so many glaring mistakes.
Clean. I don't even remember any swearing.
Saturday, May 9, 2020
You are Worth It: Building a Life Worth Fighting For (Kyle Carpenter)
Why I have this book: My oldest son recommended it, so I bought it... then my middle son read it and really liked it, so I read it, too.
I gave it four stars on Goodreads. I probably would have given it 3.7 or so, but that's not an option. The only reason I say that is because the last couple of chapters seemed to be longer than they needed to be. Otherwise, I did like this book a lot. Kyle's story is incredible, and it reminds readers how much our military personnel and their families sacrifice on our behalf.
Kyle's honesty, humility, and strength is a great example for me. If he can endure and thrive with what he's been through, so can the rest of us with our own challenges.
Clean. There is one section (where he quotes others) that has a few swear words, but otherwise there's no bad language. Impressive! Seems like most books involving people in the military have a ton of heavy swear words, but not this one. Thank you, Kyle!
I gave it four stars on Goodreads. I probably would have given it 3.7 or so, but that's not an option. The only reason I say that is because the last couple of chapters seemed to be longer than they needed to be. Otherwise, I did like this book a lot. Kyle's story is incredible, and it reminds readers how much our military personnel and their families sacrifice on our behalf.
Kyle's honesty, humility, and strength is a great example for me. If he can endure and thrive with what he's been through, so can the rest of us with our own challenges.
Clean. There is one section (where he quotes others) that has a few swear words, but otherwise there's no bad language. Impressive! Seems like most books involving people in the military have a ton of heavy swear words, but not this one. Thank you, Kyle!
Friday, April 3, 2020
Open Book (Jessica Simpson)
Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library.
In all honestly, I didn't know much about Jessica Simpson. I knew she was an actress to some degree, and thought maybe she was a singer... but honestly, I've only ever seen articles about her and have never seen or heard any of her work enough to tell you about it. I just like memoirs, so I thought I'd give this a try.
Her story was interesting, but honestly, she comes across as very shallow and narcissistic. I even watched a few episodes of The Newlyweds (the reality show she did with her first husband) to give her a fair shot, and that made me even less of a fan.
I'm really not going to say more about it because I would mostly be saying negative things about her and her lifestyle.
I can't remember if there was any swearing. She makes a big deal of being a virgin on her wedding night, but once she's divorced from her first husband, she sleeps with the other guys she dates. She's also an alcoholic, and talks about being molested by a girl one year older than her as a child.
In all honestly, I didn't know much about Jessica Simpson. I knew she was an actress to some degree, and thought maybe she was a singer... but honestly, I've only ever seen articles about her and have never seen or heard any of her work enough to tell you about it. I just like memoirs, so I thought I'd give this a try.
Her story was interesting, but honestly, she comes across as very shallow and narcissistic. I even watched a few episodes of The Newlyweds (the reality show she did with her first husband) to give her a fair shot, and that made me even less of a fan.
I'm really not going to say more about it because I would mostly be saying negative things about her and her lifestyle.
I can't remember if there was any swearing. She makes a big deal of being a virgin on her wedding night, but once she's divorced from her first husband, she sleeps with the other guys she dates. She's also an alcoholic, and talks about being molested by a girl one year older than her as a child.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
The Island of Sea Women (Lisa See)
Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library.
Okay, so my aunt (who passed away last year) had recommended this book to me not too long before she passed. She warned me that it wasn't always easy to read due to some atrocities committed against the people in the story. To do more research about this, I read the one-star reviews on Amazon, and the readers acted like this book had so much disturbing stuff in it that they couldn't get it out of their minds. I decided not to read it.
A friend just recently recommended it to me, as well. I asked her about the disturbing stuff, and she reassured me that it wasn't as bad as some other books we had both read, so I decided to take a chance on it.
Oh, my goodness. I LOVED this book. Yes, there are some hard things to read about, but it's not expressed in gratuitous tones. There is so much humanity in this book. So much about friendship, motherhood, womanhood, the longings of our hearts...
I could go on and on about how much I felt while reading this book. It's set in Korean culture and history, which has special meaning to me because my daughter was born there. It was also super interesting to read about the sea women of Korea. I had no idea.
I gave it five stars on Goodreads. I wish I would have read it while my aunt was still alive so I could have talked to her about it.
There are hard things in this book, but most are confined to a section in the middle. It's not as descriptive as it could have been, but it's still hard to think about. The book is open about marital relations (but not descriptive), female bodies, birth, death, etc. I don't recall any swearing.
Okay, so my aunt (who passed away last year) had recommended this book to me not too long before she passed. She warned me that it wasn't always easy to read due to some atrocities committed against the people in the story. To do more research about this, I read the one-star reviews on Amazon, and the readers acted like this book had so much disturbing stuff in it that they couldn't get it out of their minds. I decided not to read it.
A friend just recently recommended it to me, as well. I asked her about the disturbing stuff, and she reassured me that it wasn't as bad as some other books we had both read, so I decided to take a chance on it.
Oh, my goodness. I LOVED this book. Yes, there are some hard things to read about, but it's not expressed in gratuitous tones. There is so much humanity in this book. So much about friendship, motherhood, womanhood, the longings of our hearts...
I could go on and on about how much I felt while reading this book. It's set in Korean culture and history, which has special meaning to me because my daughter was born there. It was also super interesting to read about the sea women of Korea. I had no idea.
I gave it five stars on Goodreads. I wish I would have read it while my aunt was still alive so I could have talked to her about it.
There are hard things in this book, but most are confined to a section in the middle. It's not as descriptive as it could have been, but it's still hard to think about. The book is open about marital relations (but not descriptive), female bodies, birth, death, etc. I don't recall any swearing.
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