WOW! New York City Review

Posted on by Cindy


TITLE: WOW! NEW YORK CITY, imagine a city built with a paper clip
AUTHOR: Puck
ART: Rey David Rojas
PUB DATE: April 2010
PUBLISHER: DUO Press
PAGES: 32
SOURCE: contest win from Julie at Booking Mama

ABOUT THE BOOK
New York City has never been more whimsical than in this visual narrative that uses wire-art sculptures to explore the Big Apple. Everything starts with a paper clip that unfolds to create some of New York’s most famous symbols, including the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Empire State Building. A lively text accompanies the striking visuals, and six pages of information chronicle everything needed to know about the included attractions and landmarks.

OUR THOUGHTS
We LOVED this book. The imagination that went into this book is fantastic. Who would have thought you could do this with a paper clip? Reading this book you will never look at paper clips the same way again.

Although the only down fall about the book is that Michael wants me to visit all those things while I am in NYC. I told him a few things that I will try to get to are the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge. I am planning on visiting Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and perhaps riding a subway.

I am sure I will see tons of taxis and fire trucks as well as hot dog stands and pretzel stands. Any recommendations on where the best ones are?

Another great thing about the book is the fact sheet. Did you know that 12,000 taxis cruise the city every day? Did you know that the FDNY gets 500,000 emergency calls a year? Or that the Empire State Building has 6,500 windows?

I think this is a great book to give someone who is either going to visit NYC or has visited NYC.

If you would like a glimpse into the book look HERE

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
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New York Bound

Posted on by Cindy

I am not a Jay Z fan but I have to admit that I love this song.

So in honor of my trip to NYC & BEA I thought I would start the week off with this video.

This week I have some reviews planned and I am going to try and write up a nightly post about my day in NYC/BEA. Unfortunately I will only be able to share photos when I get back on the 30th because I am going to be on a netbook.

To my blogger readers who are going to NYC and BEA looking forward to meeting you in person.

Have a good week everyone and see you soon.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

We Hear The Dead Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: We Hear the Dead
AUTHOR: Dianne K. Salerni
PUB DATE: May 2010
PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire
PAGE: 428

ABOUT THE BOOK
Maggie:
I began the deception when I was too young to know right from wrong. Only with the passing of time did I come to understand the consequences of my actions.

Kate:
I do not believe that I have ever intentionally deceived anyone. Maggie has a different understanding of the events that have happened. To her the spirits were always a game. For me they were my life’s calling. I have no regrets.

It starts as a harmless prank…then one lie quickly grows into another. Soon Kate and Maggie Fox are swept into a dizzying flurry of national attention for their abilities to communicate with the dead. But living a lie is sometimes too much to handle, even if you have the best intentions. Based on a true story, We Hear the Dead reveals how secrets and lies can sometimes lead you to what’s real and what’s right. And how sometimes talking with the dead is easier than talking with the people around you.

MY THOUGHTS
Another huge thank you goes out to Paul from Sourcebooks for sending me an Advance Readers Copy of this book.

This is Dianne’s debute novel and I have to say that I am looking forward to her upcoming books if they are anything like this.

I love the cover don’t you? Just something about the cover jumps out at you. If I saw this book in the store I would definitely buy it for that purpose.

What I discovered before reading this book is that its a true story of Kate and Maggie Fox. You can check out this site We Hear The Dead. They basically started the Spiritualist craze in the 1840’s. You can goggle them to read more about them.

For now this is a mini review because I haven’t quite finished the book and I am really surprised as this is the first time I didn’t have the book finished by the time I had a scheduled review for it. As I started to read it I became curious about the Fox sisters that I have been goggling left and right to read more about them and quickly became distracted and let the book slip.

The book so far is more about Maggie then Kate. We Hear The Dead is told from their view points. The girls cousin is coming to visit and the girls aren’t happy and try to come up with a way to get her to leave so they make up a pretty harmless prank but it quickly gets out of hand and out of control.

The story of the Fox sisters will truly grip you and keep you reading and wanting more and not wanting the story to end.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Picture The Dead Review

Posted on by Cindy


TITLE: Picture The Dead
AUTHOR: Adele Griffin
ILLUSTRATOR: Lisa Brown
PUB DATE: May 2010
PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire
PAGES: 272 (Hardcover)

ABOUT THE BOOK
A ghost will find his way home.

Jennie Lovell’s life is the very picture of love and loss. First she is orphaned and forced to live at the mercy of her stingy, indifferent relatives. Then her fiancé falls on the battlefield, leaving her heartbroken and alone. Jennie struggles to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, but is haunted by a mysterious figure that refuses to let her bury the past.

When Jennie forms an unlikely alliance with a spirit photographer, she begins to uncover secrets about the man she thought she loved. With her sanity on edge and her life in the balance, can Jennie expose the chilling truth before someone—or something—stops her?

Against the brutal, vivid backdrop of the American Civil War, Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown have created a spellbinding mystery where the living cannot always be trusted and death is not always the end.

MY THOUGHTS
I have to send a huge thank you to Paul from Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an advance copy of Picture The Dead to read. I really enjoyed reading this.

I was pleasantly surprised when I started to read it because I normally don’t read books that take place in this time period. The time period was the during the civil war. History wasn’t my favorite subject when I was in school and since then have shyed away from those kinds of subjects and genres, but that could change.

Before I started the book I decided that I would read the press release that came with the book and they say:
“Picture the Dead, a mystery novel (with extensive graphic elements)”. Which I have to say is very true. I liked how the mystery was built up and it happened gradually.

Jennie is an orphan who is living with her aunt and uncle. She had a brother, Toby but lost him in the civil war. You can see she is trying to fit into this extended family but it seems like her aunt and uncle are anything but nice to her. She fits in more with the hired help then she does with them.

Jennie is engaged to her cousin Will. He is now fighting in the civil war but Jennie fears he is dead because Quinn, Will’s brother returns home wounded physically, mentally and emotionally.

When the family goes to get a family portrait done, Jennie is over come and faints. Its only when she goes back to pick up the portrait that Geist has something to tell and show her? Will she believe what she sees?

Jennie knows only what she is told such as that the army says Will died honorable in battle but Quinn tells her differently and that he died a violent death in prison camp. She quickly begins to realize that perhaps she isn’t being told the truth and doubts everyone. Will she be able to solve the mystery of what really happened to Will?

It took me awhile to get into the book but once I did I really enjoyed reading it and I have to say that I loved all the illustrations that Lisa Brown did in the book. At the starting/finishing of the chapters she drew quite a few illustrations to go with the story. I think that element tied in perfectly with the story. I would have loved to have been able to read some of the letters that were on those pages.

This is the first time I have heard of Adele Griffin and read her book but I found out that she is the author of several books called Rainy Season, Witch Twins, Vampire Island, Sons of Liberty and Where I want to be. Which I am curious to look for and read.

Lisa Brown is also a best selling author and illustrator of books such as How to be, Sometimes and the board book series called Baby Be of Use.


I just wanted to share the cover of the Advance Readers Copy that I got and I have to say that that one is my favorite.

What do you think?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Nice Recovery Review

Posted on by Cindy


TITLE: Nice Recovery
AUTHOR: Susan Juby
PUB DATE: March 2009
PAGES: 272
PUBLISHER: Penguin Group Canada

ABOUT THE BOOK:
“There are families, which, through a combination of genetics, culture, and inclination, produce a startling number of professional athletes, such as tennis players or hockey stars. Then there are families like the Baldwins, which produce a high percentage of actors. My family seems to specialize in people who enjoy drinking. And taking drugs. In such families, there is usually one person who stands out as particularly gifted in the field. When I was a teenager, that person was me. I was the star, the Alec Baldwin, if you will. I started drinking seriously when I was thirteen, smoking pot with a vengeance at fourteen, and getting into cocaine at sixteen. By the time I was twenty I was done. Nice Recovery is the story of how I slipped so far off course, how I got back on track, and, most importantly, what it’s like to come of age as a sober young person.”

MY THOUGHTS:

Thank you to Vimala from Penguin Canada for sending me Nice Recovery to read and review.

One of the benefits to blogging and receiving books is the chance to discover an author you might not have read about and so was the case with Susan Juby. I have heard about Susan Juby but never read her books. She is the author of several books such as Getting the Girl, Alice I think and a few others.

Nice Recovery is Susan’s personal memoir of her alcohol and drug addition when she was a teen until her 20s. What a teen life she lead. Reading Nice Recovery was like watching a train wreak happening and hoping and praying that Susan would see the light and want to come clean.

You can’t help but want to reach in and grab Susan by the shoulders and shake her to make her realize what she is doing and tell her to get help but you can’t do that with a person with addiction. They basically have to hit rock bottom first or they want to get help. Its something that can’t be forced on them.

One thing I noticed while reading the book was how honest she was and wondered how it was possible that she could remember so much of what happened and what she did during those days.

I have to say it took her alot of courage to write about her life and her addiction. It just goes to show that there is more to a person that we might not know about. I am sure its a daily struggle for Susan and I am sending positive thoughts and vibes her way that she can stay clean.

Personally in my life I never was influenced by alchol or drugs even though they were around. I think it was seeing what it does that made me realize it wasn’t for me. I can honestly say that I only got drunk once (that was in high school) and the closest I get to drugs are prescription drugs.

This is a great book for the Susan Juby fan or for someone who is struggling with an addiction problem.

Upcoming events:
Juby will appear at a hometown book launch on May 1 in Nanaimo, at the Saskatchewan Library Association conference on May 6, at Toronto Public Library school events on May 11, the Forest of Reading ceremony in Toronto on May 12, Belleville library events on May 13, and at a Vancouver Public Library event on June 7.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Musing Mondays #2

Posted on by Cindy

Musing Monday’s is a weekly meme that is hosted by Rebecca from Just One More Page. This is only my second time doing this. If you want to take part all you have to do is go to Just One More Page to find out what you have to do.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS question is:

Do you have to carve out time in your day for reading (due to work and other obligations), or does your reading just happen naturally? (Question courtesy of MizB)

Being a stay at home mom I could basically read whenever I want to but I don’t. I tend to reserve my reading time to when I go to bed or in the early evening.

I find if I read for an extend period of time during the day I tend to get sleepy. So during the day (unless I am sick) I will do all the errands and household chores and savour my reading for bed time.

I am not a big TV person (although I do have my favorite must see shows)so I tend to go to bed a little earlier so that I can read for a few hours before I get sleepy.

What about you do you have a carved out time of day to read?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
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Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on by Cindy

Wishing all my mom readers A Happy Mother’s Day.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.