Book Review: A Place Elsewhere

If you like internal monologue, stream-of-consciousness type writing, this is the book for you.

Nigel Joslin is an adventurous hiker whose wanderings take him through the Scottish moors, as well as through many topics of speculation in this book.  I found it a really interesting read.  The only drawback I found was that I couldn't focus on his words for a long time - the deep thoughts required breaks for mental digestion.

With a fiction story I can usually gobble up the chapters and I often have a hard time putting the books down.  This book didn't work that way for me.  I did feel the drive to read it, but it wasn't a story I could get lost in.  Too much philosophizing for me to concentrate on for a big chunk of time!

The topics Nigel discusses are hugely varied, and he approaches and explains his thoughts quite clearly.  Even though he delves into a lot of science, introspection, and even the meaning of life, he doesn't lose the reader (unless they're like me and just need to step away for a few minutes to assimilate all the information he's presenting.)

I didn't know what to expect from this book.  I opened it only knowing it wasn't a work of fiction like most of my other reads lately have been.  The layout is a year in Nigel's life, and each chapter is a month.  The book opens with - you guessed it - a new beginning.  He does reach back through the months as the year flows along to return us to ideas mentioned earlier that he then delves deeper into.

For those of you who like to get inside other people's heads, I'd recommend this read.  Some of the topics and ideas Nigel pulls up and explains do sort of blow your mind.  While this wasn't my most favourite book of the last year or so, it does have the distinction of being the most thought provoking.

Until next time!
~Jess

Book Review: Mind Over Murder - A Jake Roberts Novel

*I was sent this book free of charge so I could read it and create this review*

Reading Cary Allan Stone's next instalment in the Jake Roberts series was more enjoyable than the first one.  The story flowed coherently, the characters were well rounded (bonus - I knew most of them from the previous book), and the third person switches were much easier to follow.

I really enjoyed this detective story.  Another book where you know what happened and who's committing the murders right from the beginning.  It was very enjoyable to follow Roberts along in his quest to figure out "whodunit."

I'm not sure if it's due to the author having more writing experience, but I had a much easier and enjoyable time reading this book.  There were still some comma placement issues, and a few areas where I had to read a sentence over again, but much better writing and grammar use in this story.

There are 2 more books that follow Jake Roberts - I have both to read yet and I'm looking forward to them!  Mr. Stone has created a great character (and he's killed off a few great characters too!) and I hope his next "situations" are as riveting as I found this one.

Book Review: The Dragon Throne by Chrys Cymri

*I was sent this book free of charge so I could read it and create this review*

This is the first book which arrived at my home after I signed up on Tweet My Books.  I've had many, many emails asking me to review books, but so many of them only have e-books available.  As I've said before I'm a physical book person.  So I was glad to see this arrive in my mailbox.

I love fantasy stories.  My first "favourite" author was Terry Brooks (and he's still a favourite), and he wrote epic tales that I loved to get lost in when I was a young teenager.  Or even a "tween" (that's what pre-teens are called now, right?)

When Chrys approached me and suggested she had a fantasy novel that needed reviewing I was very glad to say yes.  And this story did not disappoint.

The Dragon Throne was an easy read, with good character development.  I got to know all the characters well shortly after they were introduced.  My only complaint was that it was a little unclear at the beginning that there were four kingdoms in this land that Chrys created.  I was about a third of the way through the book before I realized I wasn't following that part clearly.  However, a closer glance at the cover of the book revealed a subtitle: The Four Kingdoms Book One.  Oops, looks like that's on me!

If you like fantastic stories, this one has all the necessary components: dragons, unicorns, and a few kingdoms almost on the brink of war.  I'll be honest, at first I thought the unicorns were going to be a silly side story, but it really all tied together.  Unlikely allies are made, strange discoveries await the characters, and it leaves the reader satisfied but still curious as to what comes next.  In fact when I'm done here I think I'll send Chrys a message and see if I can review the next in this line (assuming it's a done deal already.)

Long story short - good fantasy story with mildly complicated plot lines that resolve this portion of the story while leaving you wanting to read more of these characters.  The book has 212 pages and this busy working mom read it in a week.  Chapters are long, but with those nice "space breaks" so you can pause in the middle of a chapter if you need to.

Great book!  

http://www.chryscymri.com/

I'm posting a review also on Goodreads and Amazon

My Musings On Reviewing Books

I've finished reading the first book I received after joining up with Tweet Your Books.  I've had many more people approach me to do reviews, but only one other has already mailed me his books.  E-books are the most popular form offered to do reviews on, but I don't like to read on my electronic devices.  Guess I'm a bit old fashioned!

I also feel like authors don't create physical copies of their books for "testing" purposes.  As a reviewer who has to make time in my life to read the books with my full attention (as opposed to skimming it while kids are talking non-stop in the background) I don't like thinking that the authors don't value my time.  By that I mean that a physical copy of a book has to be created and then mailed (which costs a few pennies, I'm sure) while an e-book doesn't cost anything anywhere along the way.  I'd like to think my time is worth something, so I give priority to authors who are willing to send me a book I can sneak away and read in a quiet corner of my home.

To my fellow readers - there will be more book reviews appearing on my blog.  I hope to keep them well interspersed with my other posts and musings of the world around me.  I'm also reaching out as an influencer so I may be chosen for other reviews (products maybe) which I will also enjoy writing about.  I will always let you know if I'm being paid to talk about an item, or reviewing products I received for free.

Please let me know if you feel I'm doing too many "review" posts and not enough "personal" style posts.  I want to create content people are enjoying, so feedback is really important for me!

In case you aren't aware I do have two other blogs that I post to less frequently than this one.  One is Kingston, Ontario centric - talking about what's on around town and/or what we are about to (are already did) do as family activities.  That one is Modern Mom In Kingston.  The other blog reflects more about my daughters.  What they're doing, how they're growing and changing, and a little about Emma's modelling and acting "career" (where nothing has really happened yet...)  That blog is 2 Talented Daughters.

As always - thanks for reading.  My next post will be a book review but I have few half-formed ideas for other posts floating through my brain as well.  Stay tuned!

~Jess

I'm A Book Reviewer Now - Do I Have Time For It?

I feel like I've gotten myself into a bit of a conundrum.  I don't know if you, my faithful readers, remember a post I created a few months ago about "What's my brand?" (you can click and it'll take you to the post), but I basically said I didn't want to pick a brand because I just post about whatever I feel like.  And then I went on about how much other stuff goes on in the blogging world.

Well since then I haven't done anything about a "Brand" and I've continued to post whatever I want whenever I want.  So I stuck to my guns there.

But what I did do was express more of an interest in reading and doing book reviews.  I even put my name in a database of sorts so people can contact me to read their book.  All well intentioned, but now I have 6 books coming my way (in the mail, I don't like e-reading) and I hope they are all pretty good because I often find it hard to stumble through a book I'm not really into.

Luckily I made a claim that I sometimes am a slow reader (relative to pre-kids and husband) and they can't really pressure me to get things read super quickly.  In fact everyone that has approached me has actually stated in their emails that as long as I do read them and create some sort of review there really isn't a timeline attached.  I'm very grateful that people can be quite understanding.

I love the idea of getting new books (for free!) and especially that some of them are not available to purchase yet, and some the authors will sign their books for me as keepsakes.  And I like the flexibility of reading on my own time and creating a review without so much pressure.  But I'm going to have to start scheduling and replying to these people with something like "I have 6 books ahead of yours, I would love to read yours too but it will be a month before I can even start it."

Here's an oxymoron for ya: I don't want my blogging to be a business, but I would still like to make money and/or get these free things to review.  All I mean by that is I can't take away from my family time with blog-related stuff (especially if there's no payment involved!)  If this interest in my reviewing continues I will eventually have to say no.  Or at least "Not right now."

Today I am excited knowing that 6 books (4 are a set) are on their way to me.  Although I do have about 20 books already in my house that I've borrowed or been given to read, that just makes me feel like I'll have to instate "Mom's Reading Time" in which I get 30 minutes uninterrupted.  Ya, right - like that will happen!

If you're reading this and you have a book you'd like to send (or a product to review), drop me a line at iamjess@gmail.com and I will reply.  I may tell you I need 30 days before I can even look at it, but we can be candid with each other, right?  I'm always grateful for people who give me these opportunities!

~Jess

No Rest For The Wicked - Book Review

*This is a sponsored post - Dane Cobain sent me a copy of his book to read and review*

I read, and enjoyed, Dane Cobain's book No Rest For The Wicked.  This is my first book review, so I hope I can share my opinions in a clear fashion for you readers!

The copy I was sent was a pre-publisher print, so I now have a collectors item complete with a note from the author inside.  This appeals to my inner book nerd.

I took the book with my to the auto shop while I was having work done on my car.  I read the whole book (123 pages) in about one and a half hours.  That was fine, except I still had to wait another one and a half hours before my car was done.  That's a post for another day.

First off, let me say I enjoyed this book.  I did have to check back a chapter or two a few times, but we have to remember I was sitting in a waiting room which is rife with distractions.

The layout is 34 chapters over 123 pages, so not long chapters.  It's also a book that jumps around in time, which I think is where my slight confusion snuck in with my distractions.  I liked that he had a date under each chapter title so you can place the content of the chapter.  As I got further into the book the jumping around was much easier to follow as the character integration and development was more complete.

I'm a sucker for any sci-fi or fantasy story.  Usually the more complex, the better (as long as it's well written, of course!)  This book did not disappoint.  The story managed to explain itself after a few short chapters, and the end was about what you'd expect.  I'd draw a parallel to some Stephen King endings where the resolution isn't quite resolved and it can leave you wondering.

There isn't a lot I can say about the actual story without giving big pieces away.  I will lend the book to my friends and family - it's definitely interesting enough to want to pass along.  If you like supernatural, science-y, sci-fi stories than I would recommend you check out No Rest For The Wicked by Dane Cobain.

I'd love a review of my review.  What else should I be talking about?  Since this is my first one, I'm quite unsure of what I'm doing!  Please leave me a comment below.  And thanks for reading!

Do You Find Time To Read? A Voracious Reader's Decline In The Face Of Family Life

I received the book I'm supposed to review.  Dane Cobain mailed me the book from the UK.  It's a first-run copy, with a personalized note to me in the front.  So awesome!

Angels by Dane Cobain

I am totally a book nerd.  He asked me if I wanted the digital copy.  I don't do "digital" reading, unless it's blog stuff or interesting articles (or anything on Facebook...)  I need a book in my hands, otherwise my focus wanders.  So here is my new book!

So I would like to hear from other busy family people.  If you liked to read before (significant others, kids, careers etc) do you still find time to read now, as much as you'd like?  Now that my daughters are older, I'm finding it a tiny bit easier to sneak in some book time, but it's still rare.

I often try to read before bed.  That is never a good idea, as I drift off after about 10 minutes, unless it's a really (and I mean amazingly, crazy, super) riveting read.  I found the Game of Thrones series great for putting me to sleep - not because it wasn't interesting (I actually loved the series!) but because it was complicated and so many things were going on over so many books I really had to be awake to focus on it all!

On my quiet Wednesdays I can usually carve out an hour, at least, to read whatever I like.  This week it will be this book (to be reviewed as No Rest For The Wicked - watch for that to appear in the next week or so!) and I hope to make a sizeable dent in it.  I'd love to finish reading it for the weekend.

In my previous (before kids) life I could polish this little book off in about 2 days.  I don't think that will happen this week.  When my husband saw it he joked I could read it in one sitting.  It's true there was a time I could, but that time is not now.

This is a pic of the inscription.  In case you can't read it, it says:

Hi Jess, Thanks so much for agreeing to review No Rest For The Wicked.  This is one of fifteen copies that I had printed before I signed with Forsaken - enjoy your rare book. :)
All the best, Dane Cobain

How fun is that??  If my review of this book makes him an international superstar, I'll have a super rare pre-publisher copy!

So needless to say, I'm super stoked to read this book.  It better be good, I don't want to have a write a bad review!  But I don't want to start reading it until I know I have some serious time to devote to reading.  Occasionally I have a tough time getting into a story, and I don't want that to be the case here.

How do you find time to read in your busy family lives?  Short of going outside to read on the deck, I find it hard to fit reading into the daylight hours.  Well, unless I'm at work where I can read on my breaks.  But then it's getting through a book in 15 minute chunks which isn't ideal (at least for me and my reading style).  And then I often have 2 books (at least) on the go, one at work and one at home, which can cause it's own confusion if they're similar at all.

Well, wish me luck setting aside time to get lost in my new book.  And watch for my review sometime in the next week.  I'm sure I'll enjoy this story, and hopefully you'll enjoy my review of it as well!