Welcome to the July 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com! Almost from the time we began dating in 1993,…
6 CommentsRelevant Fiction for Body & Soul
Tag: book reviews
When the sparklers have fizzled, the grill has cooled, and even the lightning bugs have taken to their beds, I have the perfect book for you! The final installment of Theresa Linden’s Liberty Trilogy is available today. You’ll want to start with the first book, Chasing Liberty. (I interviewed Theresa about the book when it was first released.) Now that the series is complete, you can read straight through Testing Liberty and then Fight For Liberty, because, believe me, you’ll want to!
Because it’s a holiday and your concentration may be sapped from fun and sun, I’ll make this simple.
Top 5 Reasons You Should Read the Liberty Series:
- Liberty. She’s strong, brave, and bursting at the seams with heart and integrity. Which makes up for her tendency to be impatient and impulsive.
- Dedrick. A gentleman through and through, he’s had his eye on Liberty for a long time. Chivalrous, courageous, and can also kick some butt when the situation warrants.
- The Evil Villain. Dr. Supero is the guy you love to hate as he doggedly pursues Liberty. [Insert maniacal laugh.]
- Edge of your seat. That’s where you’ll be throughout this fast-paced dystopian series.
- American as apple pie. Rather than letting that burst of patriotism dim with the last flickering firework, take a little time to reflect on the foundations of the United States. Good fiction deepens your understanding of concepts and values in a personal way. Let Liberty remind you of the importance of faith, family, and freedom by showing you what a world without them might look like.
Without intending to, I read a lot books in a short period of time in which the main characters either endured or were removed from traumatic childhoods. (Except in the case of The End of the World, in which the characters moved from bad to worse in moving from home to foster care.) I suspect fictional characters experience rough childhoods at a higher rate than the real-life populace. At least I hope so! After all, childhood trauma makes a great back story and provides the motivation needed for a strong character arc. The older I get, however, the more I see what profound effects a family origin has, even well into adulthood.
You may notice I removed the stars from my Goodreads ratings below. Truth be told, I hate star rating systems. I get that they’re a simple snapshot that indicates the reader’s satisfaction with a book, but, most of the time, I struggle with assigning stars. And looking at the books below, I don’t think my assigned stars correlated to how well the books were written when you look at these books side by side. (I had assigned them all four and five stars, but still . . . ) I’d rather let the written reviews stand on their own.
In looking over this list of books, I have to say, months later, the one that still makes my heart clench is The End of the World.
Leave a CommentWelcome to the June 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com! My kids and I gave Drinking with the Saints:…
6 CommentsWelcome to the May 2016 edition of An Open Book, now hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com! While my husband read this book last…
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I stray just slightly from all fiction this month as I review a couple of prayer books for children. I titled this Catholic Books for “Kids,” but this selection covers a wide range and includes a board book, two picture books, a chapter book/coloring book, and a novel for teens and up.
I’ll let my (short) reviews speak for themselves save for three notes:
Leave a CommentI’m linking up with The Broke and the Bookish (which describes me quite well) for my latest 5-star reads! I know first-hand the importance of reviews, so I review most – but not all – books I read. I reviewed each of the books listed below on Amazon and Goodreads. Each was read sometime between early January 2016 and now, and for those who are concerned with such things, all are “clean” reads. I’m kind of surprised as I look over this list that only two are standalone novels – Jenny B. Jones’s I’ll Be Yours and Quenby Olson’s The Half-Killed. Now, on to the list!
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Welcome to the inaugural An Open Book Link-Up! Let’s get started.
My husband is reading a couple of Star Wars books: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig and The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Of the former, he says it’s taken him way too long to read because “he can’t stand it.” I’ve never heard him complain about writing before, but apparently the author’s style does not agree with him. At all. I think it has something to do with a multitude of sentence fragments. He’s not alone. With more than 2,000 Amazon reviews, it’s rating is 2.6 of 5 stars. More than a third of the reviews are 1 star.
I imagine writing for a rabid fan base like that of the Star Wars franchise would be a challenge for most anyone. I’ve not glanced at Aftermath (which takes place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens), but I’ve read some of Chuck Wendig’s often-salty writing posts. Perhaps he’s an acquired taste.
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