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Showing posts from August, 2013

Review: Haint She Sweet

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I received this book free from Pocket Books in exchange for an honest review.  I did not receive any form of compensation. Haint She Sweet is basically about a teenage girl who has the ability to see spirits and assist them in passing over to the other side.  In the southern US, these restless spirits are called haints.  Of course, the haints that Heather deals with make her life a living hell.  They cause her all kinds of grief.  And as you can imagine, being a freshman in high school that is no easy task. This was unfortunately the first in the series that I had read.  I say unfortunately only because I now really want to read the first three books.  I really enjoyed this one.  I was able to follow along even though I had missed out on the first three.  However, there were a few situations that I really would have loved to know the back story on even though it wasn't really necessary for this story at all. The haint that is bothering Heather in Haint She Sweet is a lunch-lady who

Udemy: Becoming A Writer: Why?

I had a bunch of things come up lately so I didn't have much time to do the classes in Udemy that I had wanted.  I am now picking them back up where I left off.  Most of the classes that I have aren't interactive.  You just listen to the lectures.  However, my becoming a writer class has lessons that have "homework".  So here is my next lesson.  I need to spend 3 minutes writing to answer the question of why I want to write.   I have always been interested in writing and storytelling.  As a child, my brain was always wandering off into far off fantasy worlds that I had created and even some that I hadn't created.  I would pretend that I would step into a TV show, movie, or book and join my favorite characters.  This was how I would spend hours entertaining myself as a kid.  That passion grew into writing stories as I got older.  I remember in high school, me and two of my other friends started working on a novel together.  We would each take turns writing a chapte

Farewell to Reality

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Description From acclaimed science author Jim Baggot, a pointed critique of modern theoretical physics In this stunning new volume, Jim Baggott argues that there is no observational or experimental evidence for many of the ideas of modern theoretical physics: super-symmetric particles, super strings, the multiverse, the holographic principle, or the anthropic cosmological principle. These theories are not only untrue; they are not even science. They are fairy-tale physics: fantastical, bizarre and often outrageous, perhaps even confidence-trickery. This book provides a much-needed antidote. Informed, comprehensive, and balanced, it offers lay readers the latest ideas about the nature of physical reality while clearly distinguishing between fact and fantasy. With its engaging portraits of many central figures of modern physics, including Paul Davies, John Barrow, Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, and Leonard Susskind, it promises to be essential reading for all readers interested in

Udemy: Becoming A Writer: Lists

So I stumbled upon a great website called Udemy the other day.  Basically, its an online learning platform.  Some classes you have to pay for and other classes are free.  I decided to give it a try.  I signed up for a few of the free classes.  One of the classes I tried out was called Becoming a Writer.  I will be posting my "homework" on my blog.  Its one of the suggestions for the class.  That way other people can view and critique your work. The very first lesson is to make a list.  It can be a list of anything at all.  You have 3 minutes to write the list. TV Shows I watch now or in the past NCIS NCIS:  LA Charmed CSI CSI:  NY Law & Order Law & Order:  Criminal Intent Who Do You Think You Are? Next Food Network Star Chopped Storage Hunters Container Wars Star Trek Star Trek:  The Next Generation Star Trek:  Deep Space Nine Star Trek:  Voyager Star Trek:  Enterprise Firefly Once Upon A Time Would You Do That? Tanked Tree

Song of the Shaman

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  I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  I did not receive any form of compensation. This was the first book that this author has had published.  She has also had a short story published. The timeline in this book goes back and forth between present day and the past.    I loved being able to compare and contrast the modern world of today with the shamanic world of the past. As my family's resident genealogist, I do have to say that you can learn alot about yourself and your parents by learning more about your ancestors.  And it is through finding out about her ancestors that Sheri is truly able to discover herself. I love how she found out about her ancestry though.  I guess being a pagan and a Unitarian Universalist, I have a much more open mind when it comes to past lives and shamanism.  The fact that these were featured prominently in this story was a huge bonus for me. I feel that Annette really did a wonderful job on creating believable cha

The Waiting Game

I have never really been a patient person.  Now more then ever. So here I sit, waiting.  Waiting to find out if my life will irrevocably change.  I already know that no matter what the diagnosis, I will still require surgery.  It's just whether or not I will receive the big C diagnosis.  I am so scared right now.  One of the worst things is that the sister I live with won't let me just be scared and cry it out.  That is what I need.  The only time I can do that is when she isn't around.  Otherwise, she tells me that I am being silly.  That I just need to think positive.  That everything will turn out fine.  WELL, I'm sorry if I am human and knowing that I might have cancer is completely freaking me out.  I'm sorry if me showing that I have emotions is the wrong thing to do.  Why can't she just let me express how I feel instead of repress it?  I just really need a shoulder to cry on.  Unfortunately, I just don't have one. My best friend hasn't been around

Sea of Sorrows

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I received this book free from Pocket Books in exchange for an honest review.  I did not receive any form of compensation. I really love the video game tie in books.  I guess its because one of the things that I love about many video games is that there is a great story line involved.  If there isn't a great story line, then I get bored playing the game really quick.  I guess that is one reason why I get bored with straight forward FPS games.  I love games that are more RPG or MMORPG. One of the first MMORPG games that I had played was Guild Wars.  I loved the rich story lines and full immersion into the culture of the game.  The one thing I didn't like was that you reached max level too quick, but that is besides the point.  Especially since this is for a review of a book based on the game and not the game itself. Sea of Sorrows is based in the time period between Guild Wars 1 & Guild Wars 2.  I loved how it helped to catch us up to what caused some of the things we experi

Rose Harbor in Bloom

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I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  I did not receive any form of compensation in return. First, I would like to say that I have been a HUGE Debbie Macomber fan for many, many years.  If I remember correctly, one of the first books I had read by her was one in where the main character's aunts sent her on a trip to Alaska to be a mail order bride.  Of course, she had no idea that was the reason they sent her on the trip. Any fan of Debbie Macomber knows all about her Cedar Cove series.  Well, the Rose Harbor series is a spin off from Cedar Cove.  It has many of the characters that we have come to know and love and a whole new cast of characters. Like any of Debbie's books, I could not put this one down.  It was so awesome catching up with some of the friends from Cedar Cove (even if it was only quick glimpses at them).  I absolutely love the new inn that is being featured.  I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book.  Hopef

Review - Disenchanted & Co., Part 1: Her Ladyship's Curse

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  This book was received free of charge from Netgalley with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. One of my recent loves is anything steam punk.  I have always had an interest in Victorian England.  Then throw in the "tech/mech" side of it and it gets even better.  Well, this wasn't just regular old steam punk, Lynn Viehl included a great story, wonderful characters and magic! Tougher than nails Kit was not used to being pushed around.  However, she definitely got in over her head when she took the case for a member of the Ton up on the Hill. I could clearly picture each of the characters as clear as day.  Dredmore definitely leaves you questioning as to his intentions.  I do really wished that she would have built more up about Tommy.  I am hoping that she does in the second part.  Of course I loved sassy Rina as well. The only problem is that this book definitely makes you want more.  There are a ton of questions that are left completely unanswered, which is

Review - Someone Else's Fairytale

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  I received this book free of charge from Netgalley with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. I had requested this book on a lark.  I thought that it was going to be a cute piece of fluff to while away the time.  Well, I was completely wrong on that account!  It was much more then I could have imagined. I fell absolutely in love with this book from the first chapter.  The author, E.M. Tippetts, does an excellent job of creating lifelike characters.  I loved snarky "older by 3 minutes" sister Jen.  The repartee between Jen & Jason was great.  It sort of sounded like me & my sister Brenda when we get on a roll.  We just through the little barbs back and forth for the fun of it. Chloe is a really deep character.  Her dark past has her fearing that she will never get the fairytale ending that she wants.  So much so, that she has even stopped fantasizing of what that fairytale life could ever be like.  That is until Jason shows up in her life. There was a poi

Review - Ancient Sounds, Modern Healing

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This book was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge and with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. I had already known some of the basic ideas behind using sounds for healing.  This book took it many steps farther though. I was completely enthralled when the author, Jill Mattson, was discussing Cymatic Patterns.  If you look on YouTube, you will be able to find all different examples of this.  Basically it shows how sounds can interact with the world around us.  Back in the 1960s, a Swiss scientist had performed some experiments using sand and sound.  The results were truly amazing. There was also the history of various cultures and how they utilized sounds.  In fact, she discussed how many religions around the world have in their sacred texts that the deities created the world through sound. The author not only provided the ancient history about the use of sounds and music, but also the more modern scientific beliefs behind it.  She also provided

Review - Magick Rising

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This book was provided to me from NetGallery for free with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. I have always been a huge fan of the fantasy genre.  One of the things that I love about reading anthologies is that not only do you have the big named authors, but also other authors that you may not have heard of previously.  So it allows you to get a glimpse at their writing styles and possibly discover a new author whose works you will love. Magick Rising has 6 novellas that are vastly different.  The unifying theme is that all stories revolve around a supernatural or magickal being. This anthology has it all:  vampires, shapeshifters, magickers (the term used in one story for magick users), werewolves, ghosts, and much more! My favorite story was Spirits Rising by Evelyn Vaughn.  I loved the interplay between the very much alive Penny and Richard the ghost she falls in love with.  And let's not forget Manon!  I definitely would not want to be on the wrong side of her wr

Early Review: Inner Guidance

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As a child, my parents had always taught me to keep an open mind about religions.  They taught me that the only way to truly understand another religion is to read about it and experience it for myself.   This ties in greatly with my Unitarian Universalist beliefs now.  We are always open to learning more about various religions and cultures. So when I was given the opportunity from Netgalley to review Inner Guidance by Anne Archer Butcher, I leaped at the chance.  This book was provided to me free of charge and with no compensation in exchange for an honest book review. This book was written by Anne Archer Butcher.  It is her account of how she came to learn about Eckankar and how it changed her life.  It was interesting to see how she started out by getting in touch with her higher self and channeling various philosophical quotes for her students.  But it was only when she started channeling quotes that could not be attributed to the ancient philosophers that her curiosity was truly

Life update

It's been awhile since I have written a blog post giving an update on my life and my health. Things have been pretty crazy here.  My health has been in a really steep decline.  In fact, I have been in the hospital already twice this year.  Both times I needed blood transfusions due to severe anemia.  Come to find out that one of my medicines was actually exacerbating my problems.  So I can either continue to take the medicine and have issues with one problem or not take the medicine and have issues because of another problem.  It just seems like I can't win. I had a biopsy about a week and a half ago.  I go for the results on Friday.  I certainly hope that it isn't the big C.  Too many in my family have been taken because of that disease.  I don't want to be added to that number. Even if it isn't cancer, they are still planning on doing surgery to remove the issue.  So I will be in the hospital for almost a week post op.  Maybe more if I end up needing more blood. 

Review - Mrs. Poe

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One of my all time favorite authors is Edgar Allan Poe.  So when I heard that they were making an historical fiction book based on his life, I was super excited.  I was even more excited when I found out that I would get the chance to review it. I received this book from NetGalley with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. I ended up reading this book in one night!  The author went to great lengths to get the majority of details as close to real as possible.  I felt transported back through time so that I would be spending the evening chatting with Edgar Allan Poe and many of his other peers. I loved the fact that she didn't go down the route of Edgar Allan Poe being completely insane and drug addled.  Many literary scholars now believe that version of Poe's life was falsified after postmortem by one of his rivals.  Yes, he had his demons.  He was a heavy drinker which seems to be extremely common during that period in history.  However, he did go on the wagon once