What to Read Next?!?! Poll Included(Ended!)

Update:

This poll has ended.

Results as follows:

With a whopping 7 votes total. LOL

Yes, 7!(poll fail)

There was a tie for first place!

3 votes- Before Women Had Wings

3 votes-What Alice Forgot

1 vote- The Lost Hours

0 votes- Obedience

I have decided to go with Before Women Had Wings.

Although the poll lasted for a week. The 3 votes for this book were all voted for on day 1.

Therefore, I will consider it the most popular vote.

Thank you to those who voted. I hope you enjoyed.

Happy Reading!

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What should I read next?

I wanted to do kind of a fun post. Not only do I need help deciding what I should read next, but I also wanted to have a way to get more readers engaged in my blog/reviews. I thought this would be a neat way to see what books others are reading or recommending. I also included an "other" option! Please, feel free to share a book you suggest. Comment on any that you have read.

(By the way...I'm also testing to see if this poll actually works. I've never done this before.Well, not since Blogger took the easy click gadget away.)

The books I have chosen to add to this poll are completely random. Just 4 that I own and have been sitting on the shelf. 

Snipits for each:

Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop

Set in contemporary and WWII France, this is the story of Sister Bernard: her forbidden love, her uncertain faith, and her guilt-ridden past

The Lost Hours by Karen White

When Piper Mills was twelve, she helped her grandfather bury a box that belonged to her grandmother in the backyard. For twelve years, it remained untouched.

Before Women Had Wings by Connie May Fowler

My name is Avocet Abigail Jackson. But because Mama couldn't find anyone that thought Avocet was a fine name for a child, she called me Bird. Which was okay by me.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So, imagine Alice's surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over-she's getting divorced, she has three kids, and she's actually 39 years old.

I think any of these would be a great choice. I hope you will join in and make sure to vote in the poll!
The poll will be up for one week
August 31, 2018- September 7, 2018

What book should I read next?

The Lost Hours by Karen White

Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop

Before Women Had Wings by Connie May Fowler

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Other

Please Specify:

Created with SurveyMaker


Happy Reading!

Audiobook Mini Reviews: Crime, Suspense, and Mystery

I'm super excited to get these audiobook reviews finally done!
I know y'all have been waiting patiently and I really appreciate it!
For the most part, I can get these audios "read" much faster than actual books, so I decided to try and do a round-up 3.
These are the three that fell into the category of crime, suspense, and mystery.
I'm hoping to have a theme similar with each set of mini reviews I do.
That may mean larger gaps between reviews, depending on what I read and how I can categorize them. Just bear with me.

*This post contains affiliate links.

1. The Life We Bury~ Allen Eskens

(Detective Max Rupert #1)

mystery/fiction/thriller

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing suspect. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Iverson is a Vietnam veteran- and a convicted murderer.

My Review:

This book had so much going for it. Joe has enough of his own issues going on, home life, a dysfunctional mother, college, an autistic brother, a crush on his neighbor. The last thing he needs is a murder mystery to solve. Yet, that is exactly where this story takes us.

Joe wonders how this respected veteran with his loyal friend and stories of heroism can be convicted of such a violent crime.

Joe, with the help from his girl neighbor, are determined to find the truth. Will it be too late?

A must read.

2. Adam~ Ted Dekker

Christian fiction, mystery, horror, thriller

FBI Behavioral psychologist Daniel Clark has been made famous by his arguments that religion is one of society's greatest antagonists. What Daniel doesn't know is that his obsessive pursuit of a serial killer known only as "Eve" will end in his own death at Eve's hand. Twenty minutes later, Daniel is resuscitated, only to be haunted by those twenty missing minutes of life.

My Review:

Dekker! (swoon)

I truly do love all of his books. I love his writing style and how he combines his Christianity and beliefs into real scenarios. Real stories that will not only grip you from the beginning but also give you tons of food for thought.

Adam is a twisted mix of obsession, pursuit, capture, release, mind altering, abuse, trauma, consequences, and beliefs. It truly has a little something for everyone.

For myself, this books real question...the real "take-away" is; Which is better or right. Facing our demons and finding release to heal. Or hiding them, hoping they go away from fear of what happens when they are revealed?

3. Harvest~ Tess Gerritsen

mystery, thriller, crime, suspense

Medical resident Dr. Abby Matteo is elated when the elite cardiac transplant team at Boston's Bayside Hospital taps her as a potential recruit. But faced with a tormenting life-and-death decision, Abby helps direct a crash victim's harvested heart to a dying teenager -- instead of a wealthy older woman who was supposed to receive it. The repercussions leave Abby shaken and plagued with self-doubt.

My Review:

I fell in love with Gerritsen's writings through her Rizzoli and Isles series. I have continued to enjoy many more of her books.

Harvest is a stand alone book. It was such a great book without the commitment of getting sucked into another series.(I just don't have time at the moment).

This story very much could be true. I'm sure it has happened to some degree, somewhere. Greed is everywhere and the fight to live only fuels that. What would you be willing to pay to save a loved one?

Would you be willing to look the other way in order to save one of your own?...For the right price.

Dive into this twisted mystery and find out how it plays out.

I just checked the website, Thriftbooks,  This Link Here! All three of these books are now available in copies for $3.79 and up depending on condition!

Go, buy the book!

Seriously, you can also join their amazing awards program and earn points towards FREE books!

Book List: Memoirs and Biographies of Child Abuse

Sometimes, reality is scarier than fiction.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone had a magical, care-free childhood?

Memories filled with loving families, summer vacations, and holiday traditions.

Unfortunately, that isn't the case for far too many.

This article here quotes: "Approximately 3 million cases of child abuse and neglect involving 5.5 million children are reported each year."

That is absolutely tragic! Can you imagine how many go unreported???

Fortunately, there are so so many survivors that have come forward. To raise awareness, to tell their stories, and to help those in situations who are too scared to speak up.

I always find these stories so heartbreaking, yet the victims courage is empowering. Even if you aren't a victim yourself. It gives us some glimpse of hope that we can do better, as a society. As humans!

I have read several books

focusing on many forms of abuse. To me the most heart wrenching are always the ones about children. They are usually born into these situations with no defenses and most times, they aren't aware that what is happening is wrong, or bad. It is the only thing they know until they are shown or learn different.

This list is only the beginning of so many books in a horrific genre of...

Memoirs and Biographies of Child Abuse

* This post contains affiliate links. If you follow a link and make a purchase I will receive commission at no extra charge to you.

1. Sickened- Julie Gregory (several)

2. A Child Called "IT"- Dave Pelzer (and his series) (several)

3. The Glass Castle- Jeannette Walls (several)

4. Pieces of My Mother- Melissa Cistaro (3 copies)

5. Mommy Dearest- Christina Crawford (out of stock)

6. Broken- Shy Keenan (1 copy)

7. Hope's Boy: A Memoir- Andrew Bridge (several)

8. House Rules- Rachel Santag (2 copies)

9. Running With Scissors- Augusten Burroughs (several)

10. Living With Evil- Cynthia Owen (1 copy)

11. Damaged: The Heartbreaking true story of a forgotten child-Cathy Glass (several)

12. Another Forgotten Child- Cathy Glass (several)

13. Street Kid-Judy Westwater (several)

I have listed beside each title the numbers of copies that are currently available at Thriftbooks at the time this post was published.

If you would like to follow the link below

Shop now for thousands of quality used biographies & memoirs books starting at under $4 I love this site and have used them for years.
They always have a huge variety in any genre I am looking for.
Several of my other posts show my loyalty to them...even before I became an affiliate.

I hope you enjoy this list and always check back for more lists, reviews, TBRs and much more!
Happy reading!

"Family is supposed to be our safe haven. Very often, it's the place we find the deepest heartbreak."

Iyanla Vanzant

Book Review: Wonderfully Dysfunctional

Wonderfully Dysfunctional,

it must be genetic

by 

Buffi Neal

Quote: "To be dysfunctional, you have to not function as a family. We function great as a family." ~ Randi pg. 92

Started: June 22, 2018

Finished: June 30, 2018

paperback~ 198 pages

From the cover:

Buffi's mother refused to wear a bra and her father refused to leave his first wife. Her brother slept in a kitchen cabinet, her sister was kidnapped by her grandmother, and the rest of the family had an uncontrollable urge to laugh at funerals. Buffi always knew her family was unusual, but she was lucky enough to have escaped that gene. Or was she? In a nursing home, seated next to her dying grandmother, Buffi looked around at her family and realized she fit right in; no bra, dirty sneakers and a new ex husband. Maybe it really is genetic- maybe she never had a chance. Buffi began a journey to find normal, but found herself instead.

My Review:

This book had me hooked from page one!

I absolutely loved it from cover to cover.

Buffi Neal is unashamedly honest and quirky. That is my kind of girl!

She now embraces her odd, unusual...dysfunctional family.

Aren't we all somewhat dysfunctional?

I think that is what drew me in, and why I loved it so much. Through out her life she was fighting,...running from what was, in her own mind, "not normal".

Through ups, downs, ins, outs, and life...she realizes she is, has become, exactly what she thought was dysfunctional. What wasn't the norm. And is now accepting of that, and of herself.

The book is written in clips/chapters of memories and events of her life. It has everything most families have.

Buffi Neal shows us that no matter what strange things or people you share DNA with, we all have the same concept that our family is the odd one, the dysfunctional one, the strange one.

Guess what? That makes us all the same. Just filled with different people and places.

Does that make dysfunctional...normal? Who know?

We all have the eccentric aunt, the criminal uncle, the hermit grandpa, the hoarding friend, the crazy cousin, the weird sister, the forgetful grandma, the annoying brother, the dangerous nephew...

They are all among each of us, maybe, somewhere?

Buffi has opened up Pandora's box into her own family and now embraces who she is. Who she shares her genes with. Even if we don't agree with them or desire to be like them. They are a part of who we are. Genetics are no joke.

I liked that each chapter starts with a quote. There are several great ones!

"While people may never change, the way you see them often does."

"Which is stronger: the physical will to live or the mental will to die?"

"People have both good and bad in them; you can choose to see either."

This book, for me, was one where I had a lot of those moments where I kept catching myself laughing out loud or thinking, Oh, I know where she's coming from! I love a book where I can connect with the author or the story. this definitely was one of those books! It will stick with me...probably when I am thinking of something...odd about my own family.

I hope you've enjoyed my review and that you will give this book a read, if you haven't.