Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon ~~~ Day 1 Update!

Yesterday, was the first day of the Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon!! It was a great day reading day for me overall. I finished reading and also reviewing Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb. 

I also participated in the first read-a-thon challenge, Bookish Survey, hosted by Writing My Own Fairytale.

How did your first day of reading go for the Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon??

Top Ten Tuesday --- Ten Authors I REALLY Want To Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

This is an easy topic for me this week, as my Top Ten Tuesday post for Tuesday, January 20, 2015 addressed this topic!!

1. Lissa Rankin MD --- I read Lissa Rankin's nonfiction book Mind Over Medicine and loved this book! I follow her on Facebook and am inspired by her passion for what she does. I would so love to meet Dr. Rankin in person at a speaking engagement or lecture she is giving.

2. Margaret Atwood --- I'm a longtime fan of Atwood's works. She's a fabulous writer and I would love to meet this amazing woman in person some day!

3. Diana Gabaldon --- I first discovered Gabaldon's novels from my maternal grandmother, who is also an Outlander Fan. I've read several of her novels and have even listened to podcasts she's done. It would be fun to meet her in person.

4. Jerry Spinelli --- Okay, I was first introduced to Jerry Spinelli's novels by a former college professor... I read Stargirl and was instantly hooked on Jerry Spinelli's writing and have read several more books since then.

5. Geraldine Brooks --- I've also been a longtime fan of Geraldine Brooks's novels. She's a fabulous writer and would love to meet this amazing writer in person some day!

6. Tamar Myers --- I've almost read the entire Den of Antiquity Mystery Series, so would love to meet the author behind this cozy mystery series. I find the novels in this series have quite a bit of humor in them, so one assumes the author is quite witty herself in real life as well...There are also some other questions I'd love to ask Ms. Myers regarding the Den of Antiquity Mystery Series!!

7. Amy Stewart *** --- I read both Wicked Plants and Wicked Bugs. I loved reading both of these nonfiction books!! They are filled with so many interesting facts about plants and bugs that I never knew before. Who knew that reading about plants and bugs could be so much fun?

8. Sherman Alexie --- I've only read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie, but it is really well written and gave me a whole new perspective on the Native American experience from the point of view of a teenage male.

9. Robin LaFevers --- I loved reading the His Fair Assassin trilogy!

10. Garth Stein *** --- The Art of Racing in the Rain became my favorite read for 2013. This novel is really well written and had me in tears while reading certain scenes. One of the leading characters is a dog... I love dogs, so this novel really touched my soul. My oldest dog, Roxy, past away last November and I'm once again reminded of The Art of Racing in the Rain. If you've read this novel, you'll know what I mean.

*** Exciting news, I actually was able to briefly meet Garth Stein at an author event/book signing event at a local, indie bookstore on Friday, March 6, 2015 at Town Center Books in Pleasanton, California!  Check out my blog post regarding this fun author/book signing event.

I was also able to briefly meet Amy Stewart at the Bay Area Book Festival on Sunday, June 7 2015!! Check out my review of time spend at the Bay Area Book Festival.

Which authors would you like to meet in person?

Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb

Unabridged Audio Version

I recently listened to the unabridged audio version of Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb and read by Susan Ericksen. Total playing time for Innocent In Death is approximately 12 hours, 30 minutes. Innocent In Death is also the 24th novel in the 'In Death' series by J. D. Robb.

I thought that Susan Ericksen did a good job of narrating Innocent In Death. A good narrator and good audio production makes all the difference in the world when it comes to listening to audiobooks.

As far as the novel goes, I enjoyed Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb overall. I like the leading character of Lieutenant Eve Dallas and that of her sexy, Irish billionaire husband, Roarke, in the In Death series... They are such opposites when it comes to couples, but they make it work. 

Anyway, in addition to the well developed characters of Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, I thought all the characters in Innocent In Death were well developed and interesting characters to read about in this novel. The killer was not who I expected it to be and that made this novel all the more interesting to me.

I also liked the storyline... That it's set in the not so distant future is a plus. I like that the Innocent In Death is a mystery/thriller novel with romance elements added in as well. J. D. Robb does a fantastic job of creating a novel with two storylines in one. Not only do we have a mystery/thriller, but there is also a side drama on the side between Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, that is well played out for the most part... Although, so of the side drama is a bit over the top in a couple of areas... Had the side drama not been over the top in a couple of parts, I would have given this novel a perfect 10 star rating. I am also surprised that Roarke, is able to help out his wife on her cases at times... As a successful billionaire with his own enterprises to oversee, I'd think he's be too busy to help Eve out on occasion.

The following is the publisher's summary of Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb from Audible:

The death of history teacher Craig Foster devastated his young wife, who'd sent him off to work that morning with a lovingly packed lunch. It shocked his colleagues at the Upper West Side private school. And as for the 10-year-old girls who found him in his classroom in a pool of bodily fluids, they may have been traumatized for life.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas, of course, is more hardened to murder cases. And this is clearly a murder case. That lovingly packed lunch was tainted with deadly ricin. And Mr. Foster's colleagues, shocked as they may be, have some shocking secrets of their own. It's Eve's job to get a feel for all the potential suspects, and find out why someone would have done this to a man who seemed so inoffensive, so pleasant...so innocent.

Now Magdelana Percell - there's someone Eve can picture as a murder victim. Possibly at Eve's own hands. The slinky blonde - an old flame of her billionaire husband, Roarke, from his days on the wrong side of the law - has turned up in New York, and she's anything but innocent.
Unfortunately, Roarke seems blind to Magdelana's manipulation, but not to her shapely figure and flirtatious ways. And he insists that the occasional lunch or business meeting with her is nothing to worry about...and none of Eve's business.

Eve's so unnerved by the situation that she finds it hard to focus on the Foster case. Still, she'll have to put aside her anger, jealousy, and heartbreak, for a while at least - because another man has just turned up dead, and the case is taking some strange turns and hitting some frustrating dead ends.

Eve knows all too well that innocence can be a façade. Keeping that in mind may help her solve this case at last. But it may also tear apart her marriage.

I really enjoyed reading Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb, so I am giving it rating of 9 stars out of 10 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Survey --- Bout of Books 13.0 Challenge #1

Yes, the first Bout of Books 13.0 Read-A-Thon has begun!!

I am really excited to be participating in this read-a-thon 

and also participating in the 1st Read-A-Thon Challenge!!

Thank you to Writing My Own Fairy Tale 

for hosting the Bookish Survey!!

Below is the Bookish Survey Rules and the Questions along

with my Answers to each of the Questions!!

Enjoy & Happy Reading!!

Bookish Survey

Today’s challenge is very easy and a great way to meet people and get to know your fellow readers! All you need to do for this challenge is answer the questions below on your blog, Twitter, YouTube, or wherever you happen to be updating your read-a-thon progress! Then come back and link up your answers (or answer, I know Twitter will be tricky with this so you can just link up one tweet here). It would be great if you visited other’s challenge answers and chatted with them, since part of this whole thing is creating a reading community, but it isn’t required.

The Questions: 

1. How do you organize your shelves?

Sadly, my books are not currently organized in any way, shape, or form at the moment. Most of my books are still in boxes from when we moved a year ago. The rest of them, with the exception of thirteen books, are stacked willy nilly around our spare bedroom. The remaining thirteen books are stacked on a side table waiting to be read by me.

2. What is one of your favorite books that’s not in one of your favorite genres?

I am not a huge horror genre fan. However, earlier this year I read a short story titled Peeler by Gord Rollo that was pretty creepy and horrific... It's a psychological thriller that made my stomach churn!! I am not sure that Peeler is my favorite horror read, but it definitely grabbed and kept my attention.

3. What is the last 5 star book you read?

I don't give out 5 star reviews very often!! Rain Gods by James Lee Burke comes the closest to a recent 5 star review.

Basically, I read a wide variety of books from most genres!

4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon?

I'm most excited about reading Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb during the read-a-thon.

5. What book do you recommend the most?

Oooo, that's a difficult question to answer as I recommend a lot of  books!! For fiction, I loved The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and have recommended it to others. For nonfiction, I really enjoyed reading Mind Over Medicine by Lissa Rankin MD.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

Bout of Books Read-A-Thon 13.0 Sign-Up

I wasn't sure if I would be signing up for the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon 13.0 or not as May is a busy month for me between Mother's Day, my mom's birthday and my birthday and other things that always seem to come up during the month of May... But I've decided to participate in this round after all!! Yippee!!!

Below is the official blurb Bout of Books Read-A-Thon 13.0:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm so glad that the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon is a low pressure read-a-thon... I have decided to set some reading goals for this read-a-thon. My goal is to finish listening to the audio version of Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb, to finish reading Duplicity by N. K. Traver and to read graphic novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi.

Even though Bout of Books Read-A-Thon 13.0 starts tomorrow, there's still time to sign up for Bout of Books Read-A-Thon 13.0 through Tuesday, May 12th!!

Novellas, Do You Read Them? Do You Enjoy Reading Them??

I enjoy reading novellas as they are usually fast, fun reads!! Novellas are also a great way to discover new (to me) authors or genres. In recent years, I've read more novellas that I can recollect. Some novellas were good, some were atrocious, and still others were somewhere in between.

Below is a short list of some of the novellas I've enjoyed reading and reviewing in recent years.

The Forty Fathom Bank by Les Galloway

The Diaries of Adam & Eve by Mark Twain

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Larger Than Life by Jodi Picoult

Appalachian Serenade by Sarah Loudin Thomas

Macaron Murders by Harper Lin

The Love Thief by Daisy Jerico

Press One For Yes by Falafel Jones
Midnight in Death by J. D. Robb

Laid Bare by Cathryn Fox
Ivan (Her Russian Protector #1) by Roxie Rivera

Sheriff in Her Stocking by Cheryl Gorman

Lustbound by Natasha Storm

I'm sure I have forgotten to list a few of my favorite novellas.

Which novellas have you enjoyed reading??

Do You Read Celebrity Memoirs/Biographies?

Honestly, I normally don't read many celebrity memoirs or biographies as their lives are already pretty much 'open books' as it is. Today it seems like so many of the current celebrities live their lives on public display through reality television shows... Or their lives make headlines on a wide variety of television news shows and/or talk shows, as well as through a myriad of gossip rags that reading about the lives of most modern day celebrities isn't normally something I gravitate towards.

However, earlier this year I received a free copy of Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir  by Toni Braxton from Dey Street Books through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program. I recently read and posted my thoughts about Braxton's memoir here on my blog... Before reading Toni Braxton's memoir, Unbreak My Heart, I was familiar with her songs Breathe Again, Unbreak My Heart, and Another Sad Love Song. But I wasn't familiar with Braxton's personal life at all... Like her strict religious upbringing, two bankruptcies, that Braxton's youngest son was diagnosed with autism or that Toni Braxton herself was diagnosed with Lupus... Let alone that she has starred in her own reality television show titled Braxton Family Values!! So, needless to say, much of what I read in Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir by Toni Braxton was news to me.

I found reading Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir to be entertaining and informative. I liked that it wasn't too heavy and that Ms. Braxton covered a lot of things that happened in her life both good and bad. I am now willing to explore other celebrity memoirs and biographies.

Do you read celebrity memoirs and/or biographies? Which ones have you read and would recommend reading?

Friday Finds # 80

Friday Finds is a book meme hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. Friday Finds is a chance to share and show off the books you discovered during the week and would like to add to your reading list... 
 
Or a place to simply feature the books you've actually purchased throughout the week and have added to your to be read pile!

This week I have added two nonfiction books to my ever growing 'to be read' pile as follows:

Enough Already: Create Success On Your Own Terms by Mike Iamele
Switch On by Nick Seneca Jankel

Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir by Toni Braxton

I received a free paperback copy of Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir by Toni Braxton for free through Goodreads First Reads. The following is my unbiased review for Ms. Braxton's memoir.

Before reading Toni Braxton's memoir, Unbreak My Heart, I was familiar with her songs Breathe Again, Unbreak My Heart, and Another Sad Love Song. But I wasn't familiar with Braxton's personal life at all... Like her strict religious upbringing, two bankruptcies, that Braxton's youngest son was diagnosed with autism or that Toni Braxton herself was diagnosed with Lupus... Let alone that she starred in her own reality television show titled Braxton Family Values!! So, needless to say, much of what I read in Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir by Toni Braxton was news to me. 

Honestly, I usually don't read celebrity memoirs as their lives are already pretty much 'open books' as it is. Their lives are on public display through television news shows/talk shows, as well as through a myriad of gossip rags. And of course with the advent of reality television shows, their lives are readily on display for public consumption. So, most of the time it's doubtful one will learn anything new from reading a celebrity memoir. 

Even though I'm not a huge Toni Braxton fan myself, I was curious enough about her life to want to read more about it. She is a talented singer and always seemed to have a squeaky clean image, at least to me anyway.

For me, as I've already stated, I learned a lot of new things about Toni Braxton that I never knew about her before reading her memoir. However, if you're already a huge fan of Ms. Braxton's music, then much of what is written may not be all that newsworthy to you. 

As far as a memoir goes, I felt it was well written and flowed fairly well. I liked that it wasn't too heavy as far as memoirs go and that Ms. Braxton covered a lot of things that happened in her life both good and bad.

The following is a summary of Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir by Tony Braxton from Amazon's website:

In this heartfelt memoir, six-time Grammy Award-winning artist and star of WE TV’s reality hit Braxton Family Values, Toni Braxton writes about her personal life decisions and their impact on her health, family and career.

While Braxton appears to be living a gilded life—selling 60 million records, appearing in sold-out Las Vegas performances and hit shows like Dancing with the Stars, and starring in her own reality series—hers is in fact a tumultuous story, a tale of triumph over a life filled with obstacles, including two bankruptcy filings. The mother of an autistic child, Braxton long feared that her son’s condition might be karmic retribution for earlier life choices, some of which will shock fans. But when heart ailments began plaguing her at the age of 41 and she was diagnosed with Lupus, Braxton knew she had to move beyond the self-recrimination and take charge of her own healing. Intensely honest and deeply inspirational, Unbreak My Heart is the never-before-told story of the measures Braxton took to make herself and her family whole again.

I'm giving Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir by Tony Braxton a rating of 7 stars out of 10 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!