New book discovery.... The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams.

Here is the synopsis:

 

July 1840: The young Queen Victoria has just entered her third year on the throne when a major recession brings London's desperate and destitute into its sweltering streets. While the city crackles with tension, orphaned Catherine Sorgeiul stays locked away in her uncle's home, a peculiar place where death masks adorn the walls and certain rooms are strictly forbidden. Nineteen years old and haunted by a dark past, Catherine becomes obsessed with a series of terrible murders of young girls sweeping the city. Details of the crimes are especially gruesome—the victims' hair has been newly plaited and thrust into their mouths, and their limbs are grotesquely folded behind them, like wounded birds—and the serial killer is soon nicknamed the Man of Crows.

Catherine begins writing stories about the victims—women on their own and vulnerable in the big city—and gradually the story of the murderer as well. But she soon realizes that she has involved herself in a web of betrayal, deceit, and terror that threatens her and all those around her. A remarkable fiction debut, The Pleasures of Men is a gripping and spine-tingling thriller.

Hey guys I won a book....

I won a book from a reading circle I recently joined; I can't wait to read it...

Here is the synopsis to the book: 

Redemption isn’t a word Jim Heron knows much about—his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charge with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he’s good with that — until fate intervenes in the form of a tough- talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. But then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart—and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.

My newest eBook purchases

I finally got a chance to watch the movie now I can not wait to read the book..it's 99 cent on nook; here is the synopsis...

Twelve Years a Slave (1853) is a memoir and slave narrative by Solomon Northup, as told to and edited by David Wilson. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York, details his kidnapping in Washington, D.C. and subsequent sale into slavery. After having been kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana by various masters, Northup was able to write to friends and family in New York, who were in turn able to secure his release. Northup's account provides extensive details on the slave markets in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans and describes at length cotton and sugar cultivation on major plantations in Louisiana. The work was published by Derby & Miller of Auburn, New York, soon after Harriet Beecher Stowe's best-selling novel about slavery, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), to which it lent factual support. Northup's book, dedicated to Stowe, sold 30,000 copies, making it a bestseller in its own right. After being published in several editions in the 19th century, the book fell into obscurity for nearly 100 years, until it was re-discovered on separate occasions by two Louisiana historians, Sue Eakin (Louisiana State University at Alexandria) and Joseph Logsdon (University of New Orleans). In the early 1960s, they researched and retraced Solomon Northup’s journey and co-edited a historically annotated version that was published by LSU Press in 1968. The memoir has been adapted and produced as the 1984 PBS television movie Solomon Northup's Odyssey and the 2013 Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave.

Can you remember the first book you could read on your own?! Mine was In a People House by Dr. Seuss. I was 4 and very tired of waiting for people to read to me. So I sounded it out and read it. I shocked my aunt and Gram. I was a self

Taught reader that progressed into harder books as I aged. 

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The Bookbabe turns 30....

Today the BookBabe celebrates her 30th Birthday and it's only fitting to share 30 Books that have helped shape, motivate, inspire her. The Bookbabe hopes that by sharing a passion for all things books that she can also inspire others to share their passion for reading. Well let's get down to the list! 

1) Charlotte's Web by E.B. White; it was one of the first books I ever remembered receiving as a kid. I remember reading it over and over and falling in love with reading. I wish I could go back to that summer and experience that book for the very first time.

2) A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

3) Night By Elie Wiesel

 

4) A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

5) Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

6) On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King 

5) Love Wins by Rob Bell

6) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

7) The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe

8) The Color Purple by Alice Walker

9) Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

10) He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado; this book changed how I viewed my relationship with Christ.

11) The Shack by Wm. Paul Young 

12) Salem's Lot by Stephen King; that book turned me into a creepy teenager that liked writing about creepy things, horror is perhaps my favorite genre to write.

13) The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch; I read this my junior year of college and it taught me that I can achieve my dreams just by living every day to the fullest and with great joy.

14) Fahrenheit  451 by Ray Bradbury; this book should be suggested reading for all teenagers. I remember clearly thinking that I would hate to live the life that Montag is leading; in a society that is seems so dull and lifeless. Where owning a book is a crime; this book out a fighting spirit in me. It taught me the importance of fighting against censorship. 

15) Girl, Interrupted by Suzanne Kaysen; I read the book a few years before it became a movie and boy oh boy how it effected me. I was about sixteen when I read it and I could identify with Suzanne. I was a confused young lady just trying to get a handle on my emotions and figure out my path in life. This book taught me that the road to self discovery can sometimes be a hard and lonely road; but, eventually things always work out for the best.

16) The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald; one day I will re read this book while listening to jazz and sipping wine. This book is about obsession and lost and hope and excess. What's not to love?

17) Cane River by Lalita Tademy; this book taught me to embrace my family history and it love the store within it. 

18) For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange

19) Letters to my Daughter by Maya Angelou; this book contained all the wisdom that my mother and grandmother forgot to bestow upon me.

20) The Autobiography of and Execution by David Dow; this book displayed all the ugliness of the death penalty in America.

 

21) The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

22) River, Cross My Heart by Breena Clark

23) The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

24) Dear Senator by Essie  Mae Washington- Williams

25) Renee and Jay by J.J. Murray 

26) The Message: Remix (the bible in contemporary language) compelled by Eugene Patterson; this book is by my nightstand and gets highlighted in and carried around. The word of God is more important than anything else I have ever read.

27) Harry Potter and The Half Blood Price by J.K. Rowling

28) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

29) City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

30) What we talk about when we talk about God by Rob Bell  

Summer 2014 Book Suggestions

Hey everyone....this is my first ever book suggest list for the summer. This book list and all book lists to come will consist of new and previously released books. Most of the books listed will be ones owned by yours truly. I will try my hardest to get through all of the books listed within a timely manner so that I can review them. I will also try to give you prices and information on each book and where it can be found for purchase. Now that the formalities are out of the way we can get on with the list!

1) Sally Hemings by Barbara Chase - Riboud (available on Amazon/B&N) Price $13.00
2) Mr. Penumbra's  24 Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan (available on Amazon/B&N) Price $9.00
3) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (pretty much everywhere) Price $12.00*
4) The Demonolgist by Andrew Pyper (available on Amazon/B&N) Price $13.00
5) I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (available on Amazon/B&N) Price $16.00
6) Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (available on Amazon/B&N) Price $8.00
7) The Cuckaoo Calling by R. Galbraith (available on Amazon/B&N) Price $18.00
8) The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillip Sendker (available on Amazon/B&N) Price$ 10.00

*** My copy of The Fault in Our Stars is signed, check your local target for signed copies of the book***