Me again by Keith Cronin

From the Author

Giving something back . . .

It's a strange thing, writing about tragedy in the name of entertainment. As readers, we seem to have an insatiable appetite for seeing characters undergo terrible challenges and calamity. And as writers, we dig deep to see what we can come up with to feed that hunger.

I wrote ME AGAIN with the goal of creating an entertaining, often funny book that explored some serious emotional themes as it followed the intertwined paths of two young stroke victims. But as the book neared completion, I began to have misgivings about using an affliction that touches so many people - some 795,000 Americans each year, and that's just the victims, not their loved ones - as the basis for a story meant merely to entertain.

So I made myself a promise. If this book sold, I'd use it to help others as well. That's why 25% of everything I earn from ME AGAIN - including my advance - is being donated to the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association that focuses on reducing risk, disability and death from stroke through research, education, fund raising and advocacy.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death, and the leading cause of adult disability. My hope is that my little what-if story can do something to help change that, while still managing to entertain people on airplanes and beaches.

I don't know if I'm allowed to copy and paste this from Amazon, but I did anyway. It's pretty admiral and self-conscious to feel bad about writing something for other's pleasure that some may not find so funny. 

Anyway. Instead of starting the post with something about myself I decided to start the post with something that moved me! Now let's talk about the book. It starts off a little slow, which is imaginable because Jonathan Hooper has been in a coma for 6 years. I was a little afraid that the author would spend so much time going through each stage of recovery that the story would be hindered. But, it was really a quickly moving little story. More about the personal struggles of finding out who you are now that you've gone through this terrible thing. Stroke affect everyone differently, this can include physical ability, muscle weakness, memories, personalities. All kinds of different things can happen. 

The story was well thought out, and definitely has it's moments that make me smile. It makes you think, what would you do if one day you woke up and realized that you weren't the same person anymore? Jonathan wakes up and realizes that he doesn't remember anything or anyone from before. He has to relearn everything from how to move his hands to how to love someone. As you read through the book you piece together the kind of man he was before. So you definitely get to see some great dynamics.

Rebecca is a patient of the stroke unit that Jonathan is. Apparently she had a stroke young just like him 29 I think. After the stroke she finds out that she no longer has the "nice filter". You know, the one that prevents you from saying things you think because they will hurt someone's feelings. Shes funny and oblivious to those things. But she used to be that trophy wife who did everything right all the time. 

Their stories intermingle and they adjust to their new personalities and their new lives. I enjoyed the story, and I'm sure you will to. Give it a try? and 25% of your purchase is donated. :)

I guess you could say this is random?

I'm not posting about a book, but sort of about the blog I guess. I'd really just like to take this opportunity to process a few ideas about what I'd like to continue doing with the blog and just see where I end up. 

I was talking to NickNack about the blog lately and he had some really great ideas about ways to continue to use my blog for growth and ways to introduce it to more people. Obviously as you can tell no one actually follows my blog, but people read it every day! Which is awesome and not so awesome at the same time. I'd like to make this a thing that has some community involvement. It gets difficult choosing books, and I also have no idea what you, as the reader, care about reading. I've recently just been skipping around all over the place in the genres I've been reading. And I've been posting all my blogs on Goodreads as reviews, so I know that some of my increased traffic is coming from that. 

So here are some of the ideas that we've discussed:

1.) Asking authors to do a short online Q&A either in a written format or me figuring out how to make a video thing. I don't know how that would work, but I know I could host a chatroom thing with other readers or something. It's an option to explore

2.) Review new books the week or day they come out. I know that Flame of Sevenwaters has gotten quite a few hits because it's a brand new book, and isn't even out in some countries yet. 

3.) Something I really want to do is start a book club. Which NickNack is talking about something I should do too. And then kind of taking away from that and discussing it weekly or monthly as well. I don't expect people to read at the same speed as me. And I'll be reading less since I got a new job.

4.) Find book signings and go meet the authors and maybe having giveaways of a signed copy of a book? 

There are a lot of other random things that we have talked about as ways to make this not only more interesting to you as a reader, but also more involving for me. I don't know if I'll turn this blog into something more than a hobby, but it could really be fun for me to maintain over the next few months and see where we go from there. 

Harry Steinman who wrote Little Deadly Things sent me an email on Goodreads about how he enjoys reading what I write and that maybe I could really take it some where. I don't know, but I feel like maybe I actually could. NickNack is on board and doesn't seem to mind the amount I read. I think sometimes people get the idea that all I do is read and nothing else gets done. But that's simply not true. I'd read a hell of a lot more books if I didn't have to do laundry and dishes or be a taxi to and from school. 

Every day is an adventure and I plan to keep on being an adventurer. So come along and join me. I think it could be a lot of fun if we do it together. 

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Before I Die, Jenny Downham, David Fickling Books 2007, 327 pgs.

My mom seems to think that I spend all my time reading, and none of it paying attention to my son. That's entirely not true. I however, can see how she would think that. Especially after she walks in the house this afternoon to catch me finishing up this book with tears glistening in my eyes, and my son running amok in the backyard. In my defense I spent the whole day with Ry and I was in the backyard with him physically. I guess she has all the luck to decide to come over right when I finally found the time and motivation to finish the last hundred or so pages of the book. 

Every review I had read before finally picking up this book led me to believe that it would be an emotionally taxing roller coaster. And I'll tell you now, I was right. I was excited when the UPS man brought this book yesterday. It's not very often that I make the decision to buy a book anymore. Budgeting is a terrible thing sometimes. Truthfully though, it was a little hard to get through the first 200 pages. The story is about Tessa, she is a 16 year old girl with terminal cancer. Where the story begins she has already fought against the cancer for 3 years and knows that the best thing she can do now is live as much life as she can. No one wants to die knowing they never lived. 

First things first she wants sex. It's not surprising that a 16 year old girl would want to experience all the things she has read about or watched on TV. Quickly she learns that real life isn't a fairy tale. Tessa is sometimes angry, sometimes sad, lonely, and sometimes she learns to take it as things are. As you follow her through the story you learn to cope with the things just the way she does. The sadness about missing things, the anger about knowing you won't get to do everything that you had hoped in life. I mentioned that the first 200 pages were slow, but the last 127 are painful, emotional and raw. I think the way it's laid out the story just brings you along and shows you to feel the way Tessa does. It's angry, rushed, sad, just like her life. And in the end it goes by so fast that you almost feel like it's not real. 

If books make you cry, you'll cry. I did, and I'm not afraid to admit it. It's a story that you know from the beginning isn't going to end like we all hope it will. There is no fooling yourself, and no sense of false security given. And yet you still get carried along and remain at odds with the cancer battle. I'm glad I read this book. The New York Times Book Review says "I don't care how old you are. This book will not leave you." And I think they are right. It really made me think about all those I've already lost to cancer in my life. None of them were children. I really cannot fathom. Read it. You won't regret it.

Mrs. Tuesday's Departure by Suzanne E. Anderson

Mrs. Tuesday's Departure, Suzanne E. Anderson, Henry and George Press 2012, 268 pages

I said to myself that I'd take a break from this book a day thing, but obviously that didn't work out. I started this book this morning and just kept reading through it. My Kindle Paperwhite told me it would only take me 2.5 hours to read it. I never really pay attention to how accurate that is since I start and stop reading several times while going through books. Maybe one of these days I'll actually time it to see how accurate it really is. 

Anyway, I always seem to start and end my reviews severely off topic. On to the book! I liked and disliked it. The story line was interesting but underdeveloped. What I really disliked was the writing style. Each "chapter" was anywhere from one paragraph up to a couple of pages. Which means that a book that is only 268 pages ended with 87 chapters. There was absolutely no reason to run the story like this, and it actually added to the horribly jumpy feel of the book. 

The book is set in Hungary at the end of World War II. Natalie is a widow left to care for her identical twin suffering from Alzheimer's and suddenly is also stuck with her niece after Mila's abandoment by her parents. What else could go wrong? Mila's stepfather is a Jew which by German laws also means that Mila is a Jew, which puts her and those protecting her in danger. Natalie is fiercely protective of her sister who loses more and more of herself everyday, and because of this bond Natalie herself is put in great danger. 

The book while not well written, still causes me to take a step back and to think about things. If that were my sister, would I be able to give all of myself to be with her? Even when I know there is nothing left of herself, would I still risk everything I know to save her? Or even just to be with her until the end? I think this book deserves three stars for it's overall ideas and concept and the writing would get about 1 from me. It feels like a YA novel even though I know it's not supposed to be. Suzanne E. Anderson is new to the writing game, and I expect that she's only going to get better. I'm looking forward to see what other things she comes out with. It's always nice to watch a writer find their own voice. 

Flame of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

Flame of Sevenwaters, Juliet Marillier, First Roc Printing 2012 433 pgs.

So I did it again. I read this book from start to finish today. I think that makes this the third book the week that I've read. I'm fairly certain that if I don't find a job soon I'll probably start to become a crazy book lady. That is, only if I'm not already a crazy book lady. We won't talk about those things, we are here to talk about the latest book in the Sevenwaters series.

Flame of Sevenwaters is the sixth book in the saga created by Juliet Marillier. I fell in love with the then trilogy and the author in the ninth grade. I'd say that was (doing math, it's a good thing you can't judge how long it's taking me to figure this out) nine years ago! If I were to compare the writing styles between the books I would say that the writing feels better as I read it, but it seems like the story lines are not being as well developed as the first three books. I think it's been two years since the last book came out for Sevenwaters. I'd verify this information but I don't really want to go through the effort. I know it was Seer of Sevenwaters. It was good in the same way this one was. 

I'm not really going to give out too many details about the book's story line because I know that it only came out in the US yesterday and doesn't come out in other countries until next week. I wouldn't want to give any spoilers out. I will tell you this Maeve is just as strong a woman as all her other sisters. I like that Juliet is sticking with the sisters as she continues telling things. It's not as far apart and I know that if she were to continue moving her tales through the next generations instead of staying in one she would lose the time frame of her fantastical tales. Anyway, back to Maeve. If you've read any of the other novels you'll know that in the third Child of Prophecy she was burned and disfigured in a fire, after the fire she was sent to Harrowfield with her Aunt Liadan (My favorite member of the family). Being raised in this stronghold gave her the ability to cope with the damage to herself and to her soul.

In Flame of Sevenwaters Maeve is asked to travel home to Sevenwaters to help her Uncle Bran with a task. Imagine being 20 and afraid to meet the demons you walked away from when you were 10. Little does she know where this homeward journey will lead her, nor just how strong she will really have to be. 

On Goodreads I gave this book 4 stars. I find it difficult to be very harsh on books, but this was still a very captivating read. There is something about the characters that Juliet Marillier brings to life that I identify with. I feel like I may be going back and reading Shadowfell again in order to review it here as well. Shadowfell came out a few months ago and I read it through once like I did Flame of Sevenwaters. Maybe that's what I'll read tomorrow. I've been having a difficult time deciding what I was going to do. My son is out of school though so I won't have as much free time as I've had the past three days. Happy reading all! 

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

Yellow Crocus, Laila Ibrahim Flaming Chalice Press, 2011 240 pages


Alright, I'll admit that I didn't really like it from the beginning. Honestly I thought that I would walk away from the book and start reading Flame of Sevenwaters as soon as it finally arrived, but I didn't! I stuck it out and read it from start to finish today with a few hours dedicated to cleaning and voting in the middle somewhere. Anyway, it's really time to talk about the book and not the random things I did today.

Lisbeth Wainwright is a white woman born on a plantation in Virginia in 1837. At this time it's not proper for a well off woman to nurse her own child, so she is given to a wet nurse and taken out to show off once a week. Lisbeth is raised and loved by a woman named Mattie who was taken from her own 3 month old son to be the wet nurse for Lisbeth. The book is about how Lisbeth grows up with a strong connection to her wet nurse who is a slave of her family. As she grows she learns more about the way the slaves are treated and the different lives that they lead from her. After a time the two women are separated and Lisbeth is left to find out who she is and her own personal opinions on slavery or abolition.

As Lisbeth matures into adulthood she is throw more into the life of a plantation owner and is made more aware of the circumstances that the slaves are forced to endure because of their captivity. She learns compassion for every person, and that no matter what people shouldn't be forced into certain kinds of acts. She is a well developed character who becomes a woman and holds her own. It's not easy to defy your family at 19, and make yourself into your own woman. She marries a great man and becomes the person you hoped she would be the whole time.

It didn't take me long to get through the story, but it was pretty good. I feel like I'm prejudiced against shorter books because I feel like there isn't time to develop the characters. In this instance I appreciate that the author only focused on two main characters and during the more needed times one of the characters sort of disappeared. I appreciate being able to focus on one story line and not have to jump around between too many plot lines. I've noticed lately that quite a few of the books I've been reading have been doing just that: jumping between too many characters. That whole process just leaves things unformed and missing pieces. I give this book 4 stars on Goodreads. Have a Goodreads account? Be my friend!

Things I wish I'd Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman

Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married, Gary Chapman Northfield Publishing 2010 164 pgs

It's true that I am not married yet, but my boyfriend NickNack and I decided not too long ago that this is something that we are going to work towards, and something we are going to do. I won't say anything negative about my family or my parents' marriage to each other, except to say that they divorced when I was 16 and were apart from each other long before that. I know that I have no desire to put my son through anything that is as unfair as that. And because of that desire Nick and I are going through the marriage process with eyes wide open. I found Gary Chapman randomly on Amazon and read the 5 Love languages. It was an incredibly helpful and eye opening experience that I will blog about at a later date. Right now I want to discuss the book that I found because I read the 5 Love Languages.

There are 12 chapters in this book that detail 12 very different things that you may not know or think about until it becomes a problem. Gary Chapman is a counselor for married couples and has been for nearly 40 years. He has had his own marital problems and isn't afraid to use his real life pains and miss communications to show us how important it is that we know and decide these things before we walk into something. One of my favorite chapters in the book is about toilets not being self-cleaning. We grow up not realizing how much our parents do or do not do in our households. We also see that one parent may do the dishes and the other may vacuum the floors, but what we don't realize is that these values are not held across the margins for every family.

One of the major points that I feel like Gary Chapman is making, is that all families are different. As a couple we have to learn to be open and honest about the things we expect the other half to do, or find a compromise that works best between both parties to ensure that the little trivialities don't become all out war at some point in our marriages. Over all I am glad I read this book. NickNack has also read it with me, and it's opened up a few lines of communication that allow us to better understand each other and the ways we are going to continue growing and working together. For any of my married friends who are out there I suggest that you read this, even if you think your marriage is awesome and nothing could ever come between you two. It's really just a few simple things to make sure that you know effective communications skills, and that you are loving each other in the most effective love languages. Gotta keep those love tanks full!