Tuesday Talks: Dating Non-Readers

Hey guys! I’m here again with another topic for Tuesday Talks. Since I’m only starting this Tuesday, I figured I could back track to the beginning of the year so that I will be eventually caught up. So for a little bit, there will be two Tuesday Talks posts (and videos) until I’m finally on the same page. Again, please feel free to leave me any comments you have, as I would love to delve into discussions with you all.

"How do you feel about dating non-readers?"

For starters, I’ll have to say that every single boyfriend I’ve had has been a non-reader, so to speak. It’s not something that they really had time for because of their busy work schedule. (Both are submariners, and have extremely long work days sometimes). Even right now, my husband (yes,we got married!) is out to sea and I’m not sure if he really has time to read while he’s gone. However, he knows just how much I love to read, and even let me pick out a book series for him to read while he’s gone. I know he’s not much of a reader, even if he does have books in his car. (Yes, his car of all places. More specifically, in the trunk. You know what that means.)

I picked out a book series that I fell in love with from the first moment I read it, but also one that should pique his interest. After all, he is a guy and most of the series that I read probably wouldn’t appeal to him (Vampire Academy anyone?) I gave him all five books of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and told him to start with The Lightning Thief. He watched the movie, just like I did, and he thought it was going to be the exact same. I told him to read it anyway, and let me know how he liked it. It was a gamble, but he accepted my gifts to him and eventually had to leave.

A couple of days ago, I ended up receiving an email from you, letting me know that he’s doing alright and that things are pretty normal. That was standard for us, and as long as I got an email from him letting me know he’s good, then I don’t worry. But he also included something else that I wasn’t expecting, and it actually made me smile.

He told me that he’s already on Chapter 7 of The Lightning Thief. He also told me that even though he watched the movie, he still really likes reading the book. (Not to mention it’s at his reading level, or so he says.) Looks like I did a good job, right?

So even though my husband is not much of a reader, I think it really depends on the kinds of books that he is able to read, or wants to read. So my choice of the Percy Jackson books may have opened up the doors for him to start reading a little more than he already does.

Long story short: dating non-readers isn’t a complete loss, but try to get them to read something they never thought they would like. They may surprise you.

Tuesday Talks: Should there be viewer discretion on books?

Hey guys! While I’m in the process of catching up on my  current books, I thought this would be a good time to start participating in Tuesday Talks. Each Tuesday, there will be a topic or question that I will discuss from my point of view. This would be a great time to hear from everyone on their thoughts and opinions on the same topic, whether we agree or disagree. I love having discussions, especially when they are book related, so please feel free to leave me any comments.

This week's topic is: "Should there be viewer discretion on books?"

Just like with movies, there are different maturity levels that exist in the book world. I don’t mean different genres, like Young Adult, Romance, and others. While some Fantasy books could be enjoyed by readers between the ages of 13 and up, there are some that have explicit content that shouldn’t be seen by younger eyes. This brings us to the topic of viewer discretion.

Have you ever watched a movie or a TV show, where right before it starts, there’s a warning that says “Viewer Discretion is advised?” That is the same concept that I will be discussing today. Is there a way to implement the same warning on the cover of a book, or even on the first few pages of a book in order to warn younger readers that this is not a book for them to read? Or should it be up to the parents, or the readers themselves, to find out on their own what lies between the covers?

Personally, I feel like there should be some sort of warning on what the book contains, whether it is explicit language, sexual scenes, or even gory scenes that involve murder or death, something that is not normal for everyone to read about. That way, if a young reader does decide to read something that has such things, they were warned from the get go. This may also give some protection to authors, publishers, and even libraries for having books that are available for everyone above a certain age to obtain, and won’t lead to any controversy or letters from angry parents.

While I don’t think that censoring books is a good idea, this is more of a preventative measure. This doesn’t mean that whoever is not able to read the book now won’t be able to read it in the future (if they are still interested in it by that time). It just means that they won’t be able to read it until they have reached some level of maturity to handle such content. Of course, not everyone will have the same maturity level at the same age, but there should still be some discretion when it comes to adult content in books.

Long story short, I think there should be viewer discretion on books. What do you guys thinks?

Discussion on The A-List

1. Do you think that relocating from one city to another is enough to change your life? Why or why not?
2. Would you be cruel to someone who is dating your ex?
3. How far would you go to publicly humiliate someone?
4. Would you be able to change your personality in a day?

The A-List by Zoey Dean - Book Review

The ridiculously tacky song was actually delivering an important message - that even though Anna had just had her heart shattered, and even though she had to fight the urge to hop on the next plan for New York, it was all happening on her terms. In essence, it was her time to party. Because for one, Anna Cabot Percy was free.

 If you had the chance to change your life, leave everything behind and make a new name for yourself, would you take it? In a sense, this is exactly what Anna Percy does, trading the lavish life of the Upper East Side for a chance to take on an internship in the oh-so wonderful Beverly Hills. The reason why Anna decides to leave – besides the fact that her internship in the UES fell through – is that she wants to change her life. No longer does she want to be prim and proper, just like her mother. She wants to have an exciting life, like her best friend Cyn, who has done some pretty crazy and exciting things in her 18 years of life. Anna wants to reinvent herself, and moving temporarily to live with her father in Beverly Hills seems like the perfect starting point.

Her adventure begins on the plane, where her first test comes to fruition. The way she handles the situation is the start of the new Anna, and it only goes on from there. She still retains some of her breeding, as that is something that she will not let go of very easily, but from the moment she gets on that plane, she makes decisions in her life that will change the way she takes on new situations. The more the book goes on (and the rest of the books, as this is a series), we see a change to Anna and we can’t help but applaud her.

For every protagonist, there are formidable antagonists, and they come in the form of Samantha Sharpe, Delia Young, and Cammila Sheppard – better known as the Unholy Trinity. Each girl has their own personality, but they are all extremely threatened when they see Anna for the first time. Every book needs their own set of Mean Girls right? Well these three will give you a run for your money, although there may be times where you actually feel sorry for them. Does this change the fact that they can be extremely cruel to Anna for no logical reason whatsoever? Not at all. These three are the type of girls that you love to hate, or are at least grateful that they stir up some drama. After all, Anna’s change of lifestyle can’t be completely conflict-free, right?

All in all, this is a great first book for the series.  Zoey Dean does an excellent job at portraying the colloquialisms of teenage girls that care more about high class, high priced items. She names famous brands of clothes, shoes, purses, and other items that those of the rich and famous would care about. It is also nice to see Anna slowly come out of her shell, despite her inner thoughts telling her otherwise. I look forward to reading the rest of the series in the future.

Rated: 5/5 Stars

The A-List by Zoey Dean

Welcome to The A-List, a wickedly funny and risqué paperback original novel that takes readers behind the scenes of the intoxicating world of Hollywood glitterati. Seventeen-year-old Upper East Side blueblood Anna ("pronounced Aaaanah") Percy is on her way to Beverly Hills, California, where she'll live with her estranged dad for the rest of the school year while her mother travels to Europe with a friend. On the plane, Anna drinks too much champagne and gets hit on by record producer Rick Resnick. Luckily Princeton student Ben Birnbaum is there to save her and he invites Anna to famous actor Jackson Sharpe's wedding, where Anna meets the cast of rich and famous characters who are soon to be her classmates at Beverly Hills High. The fast times of Beverly Hill's most beautiful and glamorous people drive the page-turning action of this juicy new novel.

Synopsis provided by GoodReads. 

Discussion on 1929: Jonathan's Cross

1) How would you react if a secret your significant other kept hidden from you for many years suddenly resurfaced, changing your life forever?

2) Would you choose your friends over your wife, or vice-versa, if the situation called for it? What would be your justification?

3) How far would you go to make someone else’s life a living hell?

4) If you lost everything you worked for in the blink of an eye, would you do whatever it takes to gain it all back?

1929: Jonathan's Cross by M.L. Gardner - Book Review

"Every day we all wake up and struggle to put one foot in front of the other with no promise that at the end of the day, life will be any better. But you get up anyway. You keep breathing and hold on to faith that somehow, someday things are going to change for the better. Probably when we lease expect it." - Aryl Sullivan, p. 198

 What do you do when everything you’ve worked so hard for in life gets ripped away from you in the blink of an eye? Do you give up and throw yourself off the proverbial roof, or do you claw your way from the bottom of the pit and get back on top? This is what the characters of Jonathan’s Cross had to figure out the hard way, and it was a journey that was worth reading.

As we know, the book begins with the tragic Black Thursday event, the day that the Stock Market crashed back in 1929, causing thousands of people to lose everything that they had. It could be called one of the worst economic tragedies in the world, and in this book, our characters lost everything. The firm that they built from the ground up was wiped out, and they had to figure out how to survive with their wives, completely poor with no money to their name.

The character development in this book is one that was very realistic, even to the point of frustration. There were times when I wished that the characters could just listen to reason, and try to work things out. Then again, I wasn’t in their position, and I think that if I were in their shoes facing the exact same things, I would have probably reacted the same way. I believe that this was one of the reasons why I loved the book so much. Even if it meant me having to go through their heartache by witnessing it through words, I could suffer through it if it meant reconciliation at the end.

There were so many unexpected things that happened to this group. One minute, things seemed to be going better than before, everyone a little happier than before. Then, out of nowhere, a bomb goes off and it’s chaos all over again. It wasn’t anything completely out of this world, nothing that seemed to be forced, and those kinds of surprises are the ones that really tested the love that they had for each other. There were so many times where it seemed like things would end badly, but did it? You’ll have to read it to find out.

If you have any curiosity towards the Great Depression, want to read a story about overcoming struggles, or just want to read about real couples dealing with unfortunate circumstances in their own way, this is the story for you.

Rated: 5/5 Stars

1929: Chapter 2 - October 30, 1929

How do you take your entire life with you if you have to walk out the door with only what you can carry? How?

 It’s the aftermath of the crash, and now the men have to figure out a way to continue on with their lives. They are forced to find cheap housing for the three couples and new jobs for the men to have. Luckily, they do succeed on both fronts, but at what cost? Another thing that was important in this chapter was the idea of knowing who your true friends are. Despite the fact that Jonathan no longer had any money to pay his former staff, they were the ones that came back the next day and helped all three families prepare to move, packing anything they could take that wouldn’t get them in trouble, and helping to clean the apartments that they found to rent for the rest of their distant future. When Jonathan ran into someone he considered one of his oldest friends, that man – Milton – immediately dismissed him when he believed that Jonathan was going to beg for money. To think that the ones who were friends with Jonathan when he was rich are the ones that are nowhere to be found when he lost everything was a real eye opener for him, and it taught him a hard learned lesson of character.

I can already see that there is going to be trouble ahead for the three couples, especially Jonathan and Ava since the landlord they are renting from was a very prominent figure from their past. He and Jonathan are arch rivals and it is unsure just how horrible he treated Ava. There seem to be some hints that maybe he was abusive, both physically and mentally, but I don’t want to confirm it just yet. Since he is the only one that has cheap apartments left, however, Jonathan and the rest of the group will have to suck it up and make the best out of their dire situation.

While the men work on moving things over from their lavish mansions to their shoddy apartments, the girls stay home and end up having a little going away party of their own. Ava and Claire were always posh ladies, never wanting to make their husbands embarrassed. Their behavior was always perfect, never straying for anything or anyone. However, Arianna is a different story, and now that they are no longer “proper ladies”, she convinces Ava and Claire to finally try some liquor. This, of course, leads to a drunken party that allows the women to forget everything that is going on around them. Hopefully they will remember that night when they finally have to move in to their new homes.

1929: Chapter 1 - Black Tuesday 1929; 5pm

A figure was free falling from an adjacent building.

 Everything that happened to Jonathan and his two friends Aryl and Caleb occurred in the blink of an eye. I felt like I was in their shoes, watching the world fall apart right in front of me, except I didn’t quite understand what happened. This story takes place in 1929, beginning at the exact time the Stock Market crashed, and as I read through it, all I could think about was just how quickly life could change. It wasn’t just Jonathan and his friends that were affected though. Their wives and the families of everyone investing in stock so heavily at the time lost everything. There was panic everywhere, and I could feel it as I read it. I can only imagine what they plan on doing to survive, a real riches to rags tale that will test the kind of character they have in the worst of times.

It was also interesting to see how each wife reacted in the same situation. Ava (Jonathan’s wife) seemed to be the strongest out of the three, even though when she first heard the news she almost went into shock. She seems like the type of wife to stick with her husband through these troubling times, even if they will have to start all the way from the bottom and eventually work their way back to the top. Not a lot of background is provided on the wives, although there is a story for one of them that will be interesting to read when you get to this section. Claire (Aryl’s wife) and Arianna (Caleb’s wife) also react differently to the news that their husbands bring home, with Arianna reacting in the most dramatic way out of the three.

I will promise to keep this blog spoiler free, so I won’t go into any more details on that bit. Just know that the men have a lot of work to do if they are going to make a living for their wives, and the wives are going to have to decide on whether love will keep their family together, or was the money the reason why they stayed.  Keep on the look-out for another post regarding Chapter 2. Looks to be a long one, so hopefully in the next day or two I’ll have one up.

Happy New Years!

1929: Prologue

Is ea, is cuimhin liom go maith e.

The first part of this story takes place in the distant future: June 1972. Assuming that the main character of the story is Jonathan (as the title of this book is sometimes called Jonathan’s Cross), we first meet him as an old man, bedridden due to a stroke that left the right side of his body paralyzed. He feels like he is a burden to his son, despite what his old friend Maura says. Maura is close to Jonathan, and has been a part of his life for so long that she knows everything about him. He appreciates the little scoldings and quips that come from Maura, and even though he pretends like it annoys him, it is something that he looks forward to. Judging Maura on her actions, we can assume that she either used to work as a maid, or still does. Her first instinct is to clean up the room around Jonathan, even if he doesn’t want her to. As she goes through the room, dusting different pieces of furniture and keepsakes, she silently remembers the story behind each piece, showing the reader that her place in this family goes deeper than just keeping the house clean.

Jonathan’s son, Robert, brings his father a few items that he had requested, most notably an old typewriter and dozens of journals that documented Jonathan’s life. It is then that Jonathan asks Maura to finish his story, write anything and everything that happened to him in his life and give it to his children when he does. Even though she hesitates in the beginning, she eventually agrees, having free reign of where to start this epic tale.

Judging from the prologue, I get a sense that there was something incredible that happened to Jonathan, something that Maura had the opportunity of witnessing first hand. It must be something important enough to make him want to leave it to his children in writing, rather than just telling them the story. His son Robert is already grown, as Jonathan is living in his son’s house rather than his own, although it is not said how old Robert actually is. We also don’t know how many children Jonathan has as of right now, or what happened to the mother of his children. All in all, I feel like the prologue is a great start to what I hope to be a very interesting story of Jonathan’s past, something that shaped his future and made him decide it was worth immortalizing.

1929 (Book 1 of the 1929 Series) by M.L. Gardner

As Black Thursday triggers financial despondency, three young couples in New York City must trade their lives of luxury for poverty, tragedy, and setbacks.

When Jonathan Garrett's brokerage firm collapses on the day of the Stock Market Crash, he unites with his closest friends (and former business partners), Aryl and Caleb, to relocate, track down a low-paying job, and cultivate a new life.

As the three men toil in their laborious jobs, their wives, Ava, Arianna, and Claire, slowly adapt to life in a shabby, rundown apartment, learning to sew, cook, and clean. With the help of their former, outspoken, Irish maid, Maura, and a new, equally Irish friend, Shannon, the wives become even closer than before.

The couples' rocky path leads to more turmoil, however, when a business rival, Victor Drayton, creates one disaster after another. From petty tricks to outright violence, Victor's nefarious mind will stop at nothing to beat down Jonathan's last glimmer of hope.

Despite everything, Jonathan and his friends are fixated on surviving.

Emotional and financial destruction nip at their heels, until finally, with a lucky twist of fate, they escape city life and begin anew in their hometown of Rockport, Massachusetts.

A story set in the past, 1929 is full of romance, drama, and humor. Vivid, expertly crafted characters make this novel more than memorable–1929 is unforgettable.

Synopsis provided by GoodReads.

Introduction

Hi everyone! If you're wondering why this looks familiar, it's because it sort of is. I am basically creating my book blog on both platforms - WordPress and Blogger - so that it reaches a bigger audience. For those who have one and not the other, it will be easier to follow my posts without having to switch platforms. This one may be a little more streamlined though, as I will only be posting the synopses of books that I have already read, not books that I plan on reading. So if you're wondering why there are more synopses on my WordPress blog and not on here, don't worry. They will all match up in the end, as long as I continue to read and stay on track. Any questions? Please feel free to leave me any comments on either blog.

Like I promised on my WordPress blog, I promise to read through every single book on my Kindle Fire. Maybe not by the end of this year, or even the end of next year. I have hundreds and hundreds of books just waiting to be read, and the more I hear about other books, the more I end up buying. But I promise to read more, and I promise to engage in discussions with you regarding them. I can't wait to interact with you all and I hope you enjoy my blog.

-Leelynn