Am I Reading Too Much...Magical Books and Real Life

Am I reading too much? For the last few weeks we have had beautiful fall leaves in our area. Sadly, they are mostly gone because of the rain, and I suppose it is just time for fall to move on... One of the most amazing trees I observed this fall was a sumac tree, a grove of sumac trees. My teenage son and I saw these trees as I drove him to school, down the mountain, each morning. They were small, but stunning and stood out from the vivid oranges, purples, reds, and stately yellow oaks that normally fascinate me.

These normally not-noticeable sumacs are not very tall standing at about 9 or 10 feet. During the summer I suppose they are skinny with a cluster of green leaves at the top. I honestly did not notice them last summer, ( but I will look this spring when the leaves begin to explode into their beautiful green).

But, back to fall and the magical sumac. This cluster of eye-catching trees stood on their spindly legs with fiery tops. If any tree could be ironic - it was this assemblage of sumacs. At the top of their trunk they opened up with a bright fussilade of brilliant red. But then, like a top hat, a deep cap of verdant green sat atop the bloodshot leaves.

If it had not been for the fact that we we going down a backwoods mountain road with no pullover I would have taken some wonderful photos. I have never seen anything like these trees and did not even know what they where. I had to take my mother-in-law for a field trip to let me know what the tree was!

Now...here is the funny, (reading to much), part. As I pointed the gorgeous trees out to my 15 year old son I went into this long description...story...that we could actually brew the leaves of these outrageous  trees and kill someone! They were poisonous.

My husband picked my son up from school several days later. He immediately came to me upon returning home and told me he would never be drinking any tea I made! Maybe he has watched too many Snapped episodes on the Oxygen network? Should I be glad my son, a teenager, listens to me...internalizes what I say, or afraid that he thinks I am some 21st century witch-y woman?

Okay, let's admit it, this past year, there has been a huge slew of witch books. Most of them very good. I loved The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston,  Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz, Daughers of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt, (on my to-read list), A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, and all of the wonderful novels by  Alice Hoffman including Blackbird House and Practical Magic and the books by Sarah Addison Allen like Garden Spells. Whew, there are so many more. I just can't think of them all or type them all. Feel free to comment with your own favorites.

The photo above is one I grabbed from the internet. Sorry it is not a view of the real grove of sumacs that made my son think I am a witch-y mom! Oh, they were so delightful and will stay with me for some time to come! Just one of those how could something so beautiful be so bad....

New Fiction Releases Week of Nov 15 Kindle Hardback More

It is new releases time. Of course, it is November, and we are all still waiting for big releases for the Christmas season - or great reading for the days we have off during the holidays. Some of the biggies have already been released, but more are on the way. Sadly, this was not a week for a huge number of releases. But, there are some interesting releases that will sell big and download to kindle in high numbers.

I hope everyone read the post about #fridayreads on facebook and twitter on Friday's. It is an excellent way to see what everyone is reading - because you know we are all nosey like that, I love to look at other people's book covers or ask what they are reading on Kindle - and #fridayreads also gives you great book ideas for books you may have missed.

My #fridayread last weekend was A Dark and Lonely Place by Edna Buchanan, an author many of you had been telling me to read. Wow, what a great book to start with. I will most defiantly be putting her back list on  my 'to read' list, which seems to grow every minute. This book was so fantastic I finished it way before the weekend was over and started on another recommendation - Dining with Joy. I love foodie fiction just about as much as I love a novel about the south. I don't know how I missed this one. I immediately emailed the author, Rachel Hauck, and she has said she will comment on our blog once I get the review of her book up...

And now, on to a sample of some just released fiction. As always, if you know of any nonfiction or fiction you would like me to post please let me know...

The Angel Esmeralda by Don Delillo
Bones Under the Beach Hut by Simon Brett
Dollhouse by Kim Kardashian
KBL by John Weisman
Kill Alex Cross by James Paterson
Our Man in the Dark by Rashad Harrison
The Silver Lotus by Thomas Steinbeck
V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton

What is the down low on some of these books? A few of them are self-explanatory... we all know and love Sue Grafton and James Patterson. Their books, Kill Alex Cross and V is for Vengeance will be instant bestsellers, great holiday reads for us, and great gifts.

But, what about some of the other books on the list? KBL? This is a novel based on the true event of the death of Ben Laden - KBL...Kill Ben Laden. Okay, I am sure this will be a big seller too. It was a huge pre-order.

Dollhouse is by the Kardashian sisters. On some sites it  is listed as being written y Kim and on others as being written by Kim, Kourtney, and Kloe. The previews give me the impression that the book is a novel about their lives. Another big seller. Look how big their E! TV show is - my Harley riding brother and sister and law are addicted. I guess this could be a Christmas present!

The Silver Lotus is on my SOON to read list. It is listed for fans of Amy Tan, Patrick, O'Brien and Lisa See. Author Thomas Steinbeck's website says he is the oldest son of John Steinbeck - yes, that John Steinbeck. The Silver Lotus follows American Merchant Captain Jeremiah Macy Hammond as he travels throughout the new world trading and facing pirates and more. Along the way he meets Lady Yee, The Silver Lotus, and a great love affair begins. Readers will follow the two across the trading routes of the Pacific Rim and learn about the foundation of the Northern Cali coast. Let me know what you think if you get a chance to read it before I do. I definitely think it is a download it now book.

Veterans Day, Friday Reads, and more

First, a very happy an well meant Veterans Day to anyone who has served, or is still serving, in our armed forces. This is such an important day and I do not know why schools do not focus on it more. My husband just retired from 24 years of service in the Navy so it is one of my 'soap box' issues! When we lived in Virginia Beach, and in other big armed forces areas there were parades and a big deal was made  about the brave men and women who served America. Now that we live in a small village in southern Appalachia it is not such a big deal here. Very sad. But now I am here, the queen of causes, and maybe we can do something at the schools next year to make sure our brave heroes are honored!

Today is Friday. So, I hope everyone in going to facebook or twitter and making their Friday reads known. For facebook fans you only have to like the Friday reads page and then comment on what you are reading. For twitter users, use the hashtag #fridayreads.

When we are in schools with my so called kindle life kares it is amazing how many kids have smartphones. (Although my kids do so I guess I should not be all that shocked). My newest idea is to get these kids to go on to twitter and facebook and list what they are reading for their Friday reads. One of the greatest things about Friday reads is that you get to see what everyone else is reading and get new book ideas. These kids are reading some amazing books. Not all thanks to my so called kindle life kares, but we have taken boxes of books to all of the local schools we are serving now and they are reading some petty exciting and up to date stuff. We know they read the classics in class, ( or they are supposed to), so we are bringing in the types of books that appear to really get kids hooked on reading. Some of our best successes are series in YA. Of course, the Hunger Games, but there are so many more YA series. If any of  our readers have excellent suggestions for us to take into the schools please let us know. So far, we have not dealt with any banning type issues. These schools are just so happy to receive books they don't care! They want their kids to read but don't have the funding to give kids individual books. As readers, we all know what it means to have our own books, whether it be a kindle or a paper book.

So, what I am I reading this Friday for my Friday Read? I downloaded the new Edna Buchanan, A Dark and Lonely Place from amazon for my Kindle and started it earlier in the week. With my crazy schedule this week I did not get to read the normal amount of books I like to go through and am still on this one. However, thanks to all you readers who suggested Edna Buchanan. I cannot believe I never read her before but am glad to start with this one!

And what are your Friday reads?
Get out there and list them so we can all get some great reading ideas. Post some here, too, for our readers...easier to find than plying through the long fridayreads lists.

And....as always, we end with a plea for donations for my so called kindle life kares. If you have been around a while you know what we do, if not read around or feel free to email and ask. Even $1 helps in ways you would not believe. And, if you hit this page from twitter please retweet so all of your friends will have the chance to read about the work we do, and then their friends can retweet, etc....it can be a retweeting revolution for the kids of the southern Apps.

New Fiction November 8

Is it the publisher or is is Amazon? Why are some of the best novels coming out in hardback today and not available for download on our Kindle? I don't have the answer. One entity blames the other. We lose.

What we can do is download the a books in question - this time The Prague Cemetery from the itunes book store and read them on our iphones or ipads. I absolutely hate to recommend this to you. And, not just because this is a kindle blog. I am not a fan of the ibooks user interface, it stinks. If you are a kindle user and use the ibooks user interface you will immediately know what I mean. Pages are harder to turn, there isn't an easy way to keep the page stable if you turn your device - a real problem if you read while in bed. It is slllooooowwww. It always goes back to the bookshelf when you make a purchase. ...Wow, I sound like a whiner and I could go on and on. It is very sad because I am a big apple fan. I love my iphone. It is constantly attached to me, just with my kindle app as my ereader of choice!

But, either big publisher guys or Amazon are not giving us a choice when it comes to release dates. We want to be able to download and read our books on the day they are released. We are kindle lovers. We are not caught up in some 'save the printed book' protest. We just love to read. Anyway, ebooks have made it possible for so many more people to have access to more books than ever before...you don't even want me to get on my soapbox as a mom of a special ed child who used a kindle to improve his reading by amazing stretches!

Okay...I am stepping down. I have to tell you about a book that available on your kindle for download today. A Train in Winter is sure to become one of the next classics in Holocaust literature. It is a magnificant novel. It is sometimes hard to read, sometimes lovely, other times so moving you wonder why you never heard this story before.

I am just going to give you amazon's description of the novel because I am reading it right now and do want to give you any spoilers...oh, it would be so easy to do so:

They were teachers, students, chemists, writers, and housewives; a singer at the Paris Opera, a midwife, a dental surgeon. They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, printed subversive newspapers, hid resisters, secreted Jews to safety, transported weapons, and conveyed clandestine messages. The youngest was a schoolgirl of fifteen who scrawled "V" for victory on the walls of her lycÉe; the eldest, a farmer's wife in her sixties who harbored escaped Allied airmen. Strangers to each other, hailing from villages and cities from across France, these brave women were united in hatred and defiance of their Nazi occupiers.

Eventually, the Gestapo hunted down 230 of these women and imprisoned them in a fort outside Paris. Separated from home and loved ones, these disparate individuals turned to one another, their common experience conquering divisions of age, education, profession, and class, as they found solace and strength in their deep affection and camaraderie.

In January 1943, they were sent to their final destination: Auschwitz. Only forty-nine would return to France.

A Train in Winter draws on interviews with these women and their families; German, French, and Polish archives; and documents held by World War II resistance organizations to uncover a dark chapter of history that offers an inspiring portrait of ordinary people, of bravery and survival—and of the remarkable, enduring power of female friendship.


The Sisters is another new novel coming out today and available for download to your kindle. It is getting mixed reviews. I love a southern novel as you know so it is on my to read list. It is set in rural Kentucky beginning during the great depression. It follows two sisters, Bertie and Mabel, close until one creates a breach in their relationship, through WWII and Vietnam. Sena Jeter Naslund who I love, love, love said it was hard to put down and would become a classic!

Many of you have long told me to read Edna Buchanan. Well, I am starting with her new one... A Dark and Lonely Place sounds like a book I won't be able to put down. I have cleared the weekend and it will probably be my #fridayread for twitter. The story begins over a hundred years ago in Florida with alligators and swamps and the criminals who called Miami home. It is a Bonnie and Clyde that is said to out do Bonnie and Clyde and follows the family to the present day.... if this writer is as good as ya'll say I will be engrossed in this book. I can't wait. Especially because then I will have a long backlist to read!

If you love a good foo novel White Truffles in Winter will get you salivating and dusting off your old Escoffier cookbook. It is about the man and his two great loves and the dishes he created for them and other famous people.

Okay, I have jabbered enough, her are some samples of new releases for today, remember, some books, like Eco's The Prague Cemetery, are not yet available for Kindle. I just had to put them on for you in case you wanted to order a hard copy or stop by your local bookstore.



11/22/63 by Stephen King
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
Battle of the Crater by Newt Gingrich
Blink of an Eye by William Cohen
The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol
A burial at Sea Charles Finch
Coffin Man by James Doss
A dark and Lonely Place by Edna Buchanan
Endurance by Jay Lake
Hot Water by Erin Brockovich
The Ionia Sanction Gary Corby
Love and Shame and Love by Peter Orner
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
Rain Falls Like Mercy by Jack Todd
Scholar by L E Modesitt
The Sisters by Nancy Jensen
The Templar Magician P C Doherty
The Time in Between by Maria Duenas
White Truffles in Winter by N M Kelby

If you know of a book I left off pleas let me know and I will add it...
Plus, if you enjoy this site remember my so called kindle life kares....every dollar you donate goes to purchase books for children and kindles for classrooms along with amazon gift cards for teachers to use with the kindles. We spend approximately 30 to 40 hours in the schools each week working with 'our kids'. They love books. They love to read. They love you - our sponsors who help put new books in their hands. Some librarians in these schools are forced to spend money allocated to the them on 'other things' such as computer software or even textbooks. We we able to bring the Hunger Games to one of our schools two weeks ago and almost the whole school are now fanatics, making up their mini-plays in the class. No reason to wait for a movie up here in southern Appalachia!

Thank you all so much who have already helped!