Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts

Writer Wednesday Blog Hop #24

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice and new and interesting books to read. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

All About Writers

All About Books

All About Writing & Publishing

Weekly Features

Blogging Events

Join the Hop

Are you highlighting writers and books in your blog for Writer Wednesday? Then add your blog to my new blog hop link group. Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links...

Writer Wednesday Blog Hop #23

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice and new and interesting books to read. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

FYI... Bloodleggers begins today. In honor of our first release, we're holding a drawing to win a free eBook published by eBookUndead. Leave a comment and you're entered to win. Hope you'll drop by Blood Reads to read.


All About Writers

All About Books

All About Writing & Publishing

Weekly Features

Blogging Events

Join the Hop

Are you highlighting writers and books in your blog for Writer Wednesday? Then add your blog to my new blog hop link group. Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links...

Four Kinds of People

With the end of the first half of 2010 rapidly approaching, I've decided to change my mindset for the remainder of the year. So first of all, I'm setting new goals for the next 6 months. Second, I'm pulling out the inspirational books to give myself a much needed pep talk. The first book I pulled off the shelf is Miracles Happen by Mary Kay Ash. No I'm not a Mary Kay Lady. I had used their products for years until my soy and gluten allergies got worse. Enough said. Anyways, the first thing you read in chapter 1 is this:

There are four kinds of people in the world:
  • those who make things happen
  • those who watch things happen
  • those who wonder what happened
  • those who don't know that anything happened!
For this later half of the year, I will be one of those people who makes things happen.

Writer Wednesday Blog Hop #22

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice and new and interesting books to read. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

Spotlight

  • Over on Fools & Sages, a personal friend of mine struggles with her love/hate addiction to the Twilight series in They Sparkle
  • I also chuckled when I read The Spork Theory on Jim C. Hines blog

All About Writers

All About Books

I'm seeing a lot of the same books over and over again, so I don't have much to add here this week. I also need to clean out my book review feed folder. Too much paranormal romance and I'm slowly giving up on this genre.

All About Writing & Publishing

Weekly Features

Join the Hop

Are you highlighting writers and books in your blog for Writer Wednesday? Then add your blog to my new blog hop link group. Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links...

Writer Wednesday Blog Hop #21

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice and new and interesting books to read. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

All About Writers

All About Books

Book reviews that caught my eye this week, and the books that got added to my GoodReads to-read list:

All About Writing & Publishing

Weekly Features

Blogging Events

  • September 13 - 17, Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Join the Hop

Are you highlighting writers and books in your blog for Writer Wednesday? Then add your blog to my new blog hop link group. Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links...

Book Review: Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski

Expiration Date is my favorite read this year and has been added to my all time favorites list. It’s fun. No, I mean FUN! REALLY FUN!! Okay, I’ll stop. What’s it about?

Mickey Wade is a recently-unemployed journalist who lucked into a rent-free apartment—his sick grandfather’s place. The only problem: it’s in a lousy neighborhood—the one where Mickey grew up, in fact. The one he was so desperate to escape.

But now he’s back. Dead broke. And just when he thinks he’s reached rock bottom, Mickey wakes up in the past. Literally.

At first he thinks it’s a dream. All of the stores he remembered from his childhood, the cars, the rumble of the elevated train. But as he digs deeper into the past, searching for answers about the grandfather he hardly knows, Mickey meets the twelve-year-old kid who lives in the apartment below.  The kid who will grow up to someday murder Mickey’s father.

This book originally caught my attention in a review on Bookgasm.  When I read that the main character takes Tylenol from a bottle dated back in 1982 and slips back in time, I couldn't resist.  I picked it up, read it in a few days and loved it.

I found this method of time travel unique and comical, which carried over into the personalities of the characters. In addition, Swierczynski creates real and honest characters that you love and hate. I also loved his writing style. It's fast paced and almost like reading a much longer version of a graphic novel. There were times my heart raced while reading and that's a gift. Can't wait to read more by Swierczynski.

* * *

Blood Reads Blog HopThis blog post has been added to the Frightening Fiction Review, a month long blog hop hosted by Blood Reads eZine, for readers and writers who love the night. Join the hop and share reviews of our favorite dark fiction.

Now That's a Bookshelf

I'm wondering where I can get one of these.

What are your reading habits?

Candace's Book BlogIf I don't get a question from one of my readers, I look for questions on other people's blogs. This week I found a list of questions on Candace's Book Blog, a new blog I added to my read list a couple weeks ago. Click here for Candace's answers.

Here are my answers to the questions. Leave a comment if you decide to share in the fun so I can read your answers.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack:
I don't eat while I read. I guess I'm not coordinated to chew and read at the same time.

What is your favorite drink while reading?
Whatever I happen to have, which is likely coffee, water or ice tea since that's about all I drink..

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
Depends on what I'm reading. I like to keep fiction books pristine, so I'll use a tab sticky if I want to mark a passage. I believe nonfiction books are meant for marking and remarking. Maybe it's a left over feeling from college.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Bookmark, primarily. If I'm just getting up for a few minutes and returning to read, I lay the book open flat.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
Fiction & non-fiction. I've got at least one of each going at any given time.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I can stop anywhere, but prefer to stop at the end of a chapter.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
I've thrown many a books across the room. I do try to give all books I read at least a 100 page read, so sometimes, forcing myself to read on can really piss me off.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
Look it up and write it down so I can use it later in my own writing. Been doing this for as long as I can remember. I don't go back to what I've written down for words though. Writing it down just seems to make it easier to remember the word.

What are you currently reading?
  • White Plague by Frank Herbert
  • Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil: Why Church Fathers Suppressed the Book of Enoch and Its Startling Revelations by Elizabeth Clare Prophet
  • To Your Scattered Bodies Go (Riverworld 1) by Philip José Farmer AWESOME READ!!
You can check out what I'm reading on Goodreads at any time. I'm pretty annal about keeping it up to date.

What is the last book you bought?
Blood Vice: The Nightfall Syndicate, Book 1 by Keith Melton

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
I've usually got 3 or more books going at once. I get bored while reading only one book, no matter how good the book may be.

Do you have a favorite time/place to read?
I start reading every night between 6:00 P.M and 7:00 P.M. When I'm doing research for a book, I read for an hour before, during and/or after lunch.

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
I don't really have a preference, but come to think of it, the only series' I've really gotten into are Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Dune.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Bradley Denton, Christopher Moore & Scott Sigler are three authors I regularly recommend.

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
LOL!! Lately it's been mass chaos. My 'to read' book shelf of paper books I own is a mess. Thanks Amazon for the Kindle! It's much easier to organize your eBooks. If I'm looking for a paper book I own, I usually have some idea where it is. Books from the library are all in one pile with the next book I'll read on top.

Writer Wednesday Blog Tour #17

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice, publishing news and books to read. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

All About Writers

Books I Want to Read

Book reviews that caught my eye this week, and the books that got added to my GoodReads to-read list:

All About Writing & Publishing

Fiction in a Blog

Weekly Features

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Writer Wednesday Blog Tour #16

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice and new and interesting books to read. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

All About Writers

Books I Want to Read

Book reviews that caught my eye this week, and the books that got added to my GoodReads to-read list:

All About Writing & Publishing

Weekly Features

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Writer Wednesday Blog Tour #15

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice and new and interesting books to read. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

All About Writers

Books I Want to Read

Book reviews that caught my eye this week, and the books that got added to my GoodReads to-read list:

All About Writing & Publishing

Weekly Features

Weekly Whine: Breathing is Good

Those damned trees and their beautiful flowers are shutting down my windpipe.  We needed one of our heavy shows to take the flowers off the trees, but it never came.  We had one, but it was ineffective.  I guess I shouldn't complain too much, because it's not actually as bad as I've experienced past years.  And if I take a Benadryl before bed, the day is easier to get through.

I started reading Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski last night and love it!  Finished watching the second season of Lost last week too.  I'm hooked!  I pick up season 3 from the library today...WHOO HOO!  Oh, and we watched the third season of Dexter over the weekend.  Awesome!  Not good for catching up on editing though.  So, I'm cutting the whine short again this week and am off to work on The Courier.

Oops, forgot to mention that my mom finished reading the last chapter I released of The Courier on Textnovel and she loved it.  That'd be the chapter where Barry goes head to head against the hellish monster and gets his head bit off.  She said she'd like to distribute the novel out to friends, especially teachers.  Funny, but I've been thinking of doing the same thing.  I'd really like to get the novel read by young people and teachers are certainly a route.

Writer Wednesday Blog Tour #13

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice and new and interesting books to read. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

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Weekly Whine: Slow Going

Slow going this morning. Hope that's not setting a pattern for the week. I guess it's only 6:00 A.M., but I've been up for two hours. Should have gotten some new writing done, but screwed around on housework and blog posts instead. Guess it all has to get done some time, so at least I'm ahead of the game on a few other "to do" items.

I kept a list of stuff to whine about this morning, so here goes it...

Wine headaches to start. Is it the sulfates, I wonder? I can't seem to drink much more than a glass of wine these days without getting a horrendous headache. Okay, maybe it has something to do with my getting older and my hormones changing. That's the part no one wants to admit.

So incredibly happy to be back at my critique group regularly. Of course, now I'm even further behind on the editing.

I went out to Goodreads yesterday and counted the books I've read this year. 18 completed so far, and 2 thrown against the wall at the 100 page mark. Not too bad.

I picked up a bunch of new releases from the library, so the list of books I'm reading is far beyond the usual four. Angelology, I Am Ozzy, and Expiration Date top the list of new releases. Last week I only finished one book, Children of Dune. LOVED it! Yes I'm becoming a crazy Dune fan. Do they have a name?

Oh, not doing book reviews anymore. Too time consuming, and I'm thinking risky. My reviews had gotten so short anyways. Have also though that as an writer, I can seriously nit-pick at books I'm reading, but do it more as a way to improve my own writing. Also been running into some egos of authors I can see bashing other authors out of spite. Hello people, it's a job, just like when we worked for the man. Oops! Ran into a lot of egos there too. What is it about people needing to feel superior? Maybe I'll save that one for next week. So, if I love a book I'll mention it here. Otherwise it'll get 2 stars over at Goodreads and I'll move on without mentioning it.
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The Short of It

We wrote short stories at the Wicked Writer's blog last week. My post was Served Up Short with a Side of Gore.

Read the other blogger's opinions:
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Writer Wednesday Blog Tour #12

Every week I weed through over 100 blogs, looking for writing advice and new books to add to my reading queue. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link from my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.


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All About Writing & Publishing

Other Blog Tours

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Writer Wednesday Blog Tour #11

Every week I weed through over 80 blogs, looking for new reading material and writing advice. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you’d like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link to my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

All About Writers & Books

All About Writing & Publishing


Other Blog Tours

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Writer Wednesday Blog Tour #10

Every week I weed through over 80 blogs, looking for new reading material and writing advice. Considering how time consuming this is, I share the posts I find the most interesting here every week. If you'd like me to add your blog to my feeder or a link to my weekly tour, leave a comment on the most current tour or send me a link via Twitter @by_wjhoward.

All About Writers & Books

All About Writing & Publishing

Other Blog Tours

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Wicked Book Reviews

This week's posts over at the Wicked Writer's blog were book reviews of recent reads. My post, Hmmm... What to Review? ended up discussing Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert and Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry.

Read the other writer's opinions:

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Writer Wednesday Blog Tour #9

I know, I know. I'm late this week. Read my Monday's Whine and you'll know that I'm behind thanks to another bout with a cold/flu virus. Frankly I'm a little surprised I got this out before lunch.
It's a little short this week and expect lots of typos ;-)
ENJOY!


How to Join the Tour


All About Writers & Books

All About Writing & Publishing


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