Read it or unhaul it - second chance pile edition

 I've done the read it or unhaul it challenge before, but right now I have two piles of books I need to go through. I'm motivating myself to finish my book cleaning project. I intend to finish it this year. If I'm going to do that, I have to rid myself of the second chance pile before Christmas. Today's challenge is only the second chance pile. 

Courtesy of Dreamstime

1. I pick up a book at random from the pile. 

2. I read at least 5 chapters. 

3. I decide if I keep going or DNF (do not finish) it. 

4. I review it. 

The process above is what'll happen to these books. I'm trying to do at least three per blog. If I DNF two in a row, I pick five. If I'm not enjoying myself and I'm not compelled to keep reading I will put it down. Onward!

Sundays In Fredericksburg by Key, Sowell, Stevens, and Vawter

Courtesy of Ebay.com

I read five chapters and didn't dislike it. However, I was not compelled to keep reading any further, mostly because it was just okay. I need to keep plowing through the books on the pile, so I have to be cut-throat on what I keep and don't keep. I put this one down, mostly because I wasn't intrigued enough to keep reading.

 If you like cute, Christian romance you'll like this book (with four romances included). If you want faith-based romance in your library you can check it out for yourself. The writing is good, the faith message is sincere, and anyone could read it (since I don't anticipate steamy scenes in this). I just don't have the motivation to keep going through it. 

Courtesy of Barnesandnoble.com

Soul Tattoo by Samuel Kee

I started with the prologue and it had my attention right away. This one had a possibility of being finished and fully read (especially after it's only 200-some pages) because it was not shallow like the other faith books I'd picked up. Chapters later I was still tuned in and saw no reason to stop. And I didn't stop. Nothing was shallow, nothing hit me as off. This was a solid four-star book. 

The best thing about this book was that all levels of faith could read it. A new Christian could read it and an established one (me) could thoroughly enjoy it. It hit on deeper content and didn't hide from it. It was not a surface-level faith book. I was glad I didn't impulsively donate the second chance pile before I reached this one. 

Why Her? by Nicki Koziarz

I thought I'd DNF this book right off the bat, but no, it started speaking to me. I don't necessarily find myself playing the comparison game consciously. Despite that, when I started reading this book I became aware that I might be and not realize it. The concept of this book is beating the comparison game through your faith in Christ, and being okay with yourself wherever you are standing. Then I got to chapters three and four (as I counted the prologue as a chapter for the five-chapter-rule) and my interest waned. It went from 3.5 to 3.75 stars to a 3-star book. Which means I DNFed it because it was less than compelling by chapter four. 

Courtesy of Proverbs31.org

This book was not horrible, nor was it the greatest. It was just okay. Just okay does not stay on my bookshelf and won't be remaining in my home. I have to be decisive on this challenge because this is my donate or keep it decision. I stopped reading at chapter four and placed it on the donate pile. She also focused on comparisons with other women, while I do not struggle with comparisons with other women - I compare myself to other authors who are doing better than me, if I'm honest, and gender doesn't actually factor into it. That's where she started losing me. Everything else was nice, but it didn't have to be a she I was comparing to. 

An Island At War by Deborah Carr

I read the prologue and the book was already quite heavy. I tend not to read this heavy of content. The last time I did it was worth it, but it took a lot of energy and dedication to finish. I started with the prologue and read up to chapter four. I was still not sure I wanted to continue. In that spirit, I pass on this one. I realize war is dark. This was on the second chance pile for a reason. In complete honesty, it isn't a bad book, but I need to make hard decisions while going through my second chance pile. 

Courtesy of Audible.com

The plot of this one revolves around a family on the Channel Islands, where the military left the Channel Islanders to their own devices without support. They were swiftly occupied and those that were there were on their own. If you couldn't get off the island you were stuck there. It is set in the 1940s through about 1944 (I looked ahead).  Our main character has lost her father to bombing and gunfire in the prologue and has just sent her sister on the ferry to London despite her sister's cries and begging. She has her and her grandmother, both working on a farm together. If I wanted to struggle through this one and shove through the darkness and emotion attached I would, but I was still on the fence. That's a neon sign for "donate me to someone who likes this genre more". Well written, but just a little too dark for my taste. 

At Home In Mitford

Okay, so this one I gave up on because I couldn't play the audio book CD on my disc-drive-less laptop. I looked it up on YouTube and couldn't find much, either. To be fair, I did judge it for being a Hallmark and I don't actually know enough to feel I'm missing out on anything. My coworker liked it, but that's all I know. I can't play it on my laptop to even test it. Long story short, I want to get on with the clean up. 

Courtesy of Amazon.com

Is it bad that I'm not giving it much of a chance? If I can't even play it, no. I can't even test it. It's worth nothing to me. I can donate it and give it to someone who can play it. I honestly believe that one might have left on its own, anyway, thus I don't feel guilty for plopping it into the donate pile untested. 

conclusions

I'm doing this to motivate myself. I need to get through the large stack of books and decide whether to donate or keep them. I'll do this again because it's worked so well. Some of you might be wondering why I don't just dump the whole lot of it into a donation bin and be done with it. I've donated 4 out of 5 books in this blog alone. The reason is simply this; I found diamonds among the rough in this pile and don't want to lose out on good books out of laziness. Most of the pile is being DNFed rapidly, yes, but I'm giving them five chapters to prove they are worth keeping. Soul Tattoo is just one example of a diamond in the dirt.

Why five chapters? Easy, by then you should be into it. If you are not into the book you can stop wasting your time on it after those five chapters. If you are into it you'll go way past five and read the whole thing. This method ensures I waste no reading time. I can stop before that if it is worse than mediocre. Try this method at home to see if your shelf is truly representing you. It works.  

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

When you need to finish your book faster

 Ever been in a situation where you need to finish the open books on your shelf faster? I have. I didn't finish books for two months at one point this year. Today we discuss the strategies you can use to finish that open book pile.

Courtesy of Pixy.org

So you have five books open, or three or two. Let's get those finished quicker, shall we? Today I give you multiple strategies for reading a book faster (whether you have one open or five). I typically have at most three open, which is bad because my reading speed gets chopped in half with every added book. I have two open right now. I need to finish and review Eragon and read my Second Chance pile (literally, donate or keep pile). 

Some of these methods require time or multi-tasking. I know some of us don't do well with either. If you're so busy you don't have time to sit down and read, I understand. Life kicks us hard sometimes. And sometimes we just don't have the motivation to do anything, even if time is available in bulk. Do what works for your life and the time available. 

Just Do It

This is when you sit and open the book for as long as you possibly can. Depending on how big your book is or how small it is, you can even move on to another book (assuming time is on your side). This depends highly on how much downtime God gave you. If you can do this multiple days during the week you'll finish it in no time. If you have one day every week you'll still make a sizable dent. Grab your tea, coffee, snacks, and a cozy pillow. Settle in for a readathon. 

Chip Away At It

This is the method you might use when time is not on your side. A few chapters here and a few chapters there will add up. One chapter a day is even worth it. Maybe set aside a certain amount of time a day to read, making the time to finish that novel you opened two months ago. When you can spare an hour during the day pick up the book. While waiting for the time clock to strike the right moment pull out the novel. Before you know it, you'll hit the last page. 

Courtesy of Winkgo.com

Multiple Methods of Reading

That's right, you can read the same book in multiple forms throughout the day or week. I have read audio and physical books alternately (as long as you bookmark where you stopped in the physical book). It's worth it to find the library audio book and read it in your car on long trips. Even twenty minutes in your car will help you get farther into a book. While I'll admit it isn't as effective as just doing it, it means I can read my book while putting away laundry and doing dishes. 

Choosing the Right Form of Book

What do you read more often? Some people do better with audio, some with ebook, and then others with physical books. Keep this in mind. If you like audio better than physical or physical better than ebook, you'll help yourself finish it. For instance, an ebook will take me longer because I can't stare at my laptop too long. I vastly prefer physical bound books and audio books. This means I choose the form of book carefully. The tip here is to cater to what you like and will read more often. 

Set Goals

This goes with chipping away at the book, but is definitely a step past casually doing so. Set a goal of time or pages every day. You have two hours free every day? Set the goal to read at least one hour or more. You want to make at least fifty pages per reading session? Go for it! You might get more read this way than if you didn't set those goals. You can also go a step farther than this by setting a goal of when you want to finish your book. 

Make A Reading Routine

A reading routine will help you get through multiple books. If you make it a habit, purposely, to sit down before bed with a book you'll create a reading routine. You could also make this a breakfast routine, a mid-day routine, or a bi-weekly routine. Whatever routine you can set to make sure you're reading your books will work. We are all different and prefer different types of books and times of day. Whether you drink tea, coffee, or water is up to you. Whatever routine you set for yourself, it'll help you read more than just this stack of books long-term. 

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

Silent Film Review - Go West 1925

 Go West (1925) is a Buster Keaton film, directed and written by him. It's just as adorable as everything else he's starred in. Here is my review of it. 

Courtesy of cowboysindians.com

Go West from 1925 stars Buster Keaton. It is the story of a man trying to make it out west. He jumps onto some railroad cars, wanders onto a ranch, and proceeds to not know anything about ranching (he still gets hired somehow). He creates a friendship with this heifer (female cow) as he hilariously bumbles many of his tasks, somehow getting a few of them done. 

The main conflict of the story is simply the rancher having one chance to make it - and he'll only make it when the cows reach the slaughterhouse. When the time comes, he insists on taking the heifer. He doesn't give it to Keaton's character to spare her. Keaton hides on the train to free her when the train gets there. The train is held up. After a gunfight he manages to get on the train that is freely going down the track on its own. He stops the train at the station and, through many antics and silly moments, gets the herd to the stockyard. The rancher then lets him have the heifer and they drive back to the ranch. 

My Review

This film is adorable. You have an adorable heifer following Keaton around everywhere, the silly antics of Keaton, and enough of a plot to have some stakes. It could be summed up as a man's friendship with a heifer. The main character bumbled his way into saving the day. Being from farm country makes this even funnier. Keaton's character doesn't know how to milk a cow, doesn't understand branding and why it's done, leaves gates wide open, doesn't know how to herd cattle, and is probably the worst hand there. And yet he's allowed to remain. 

We have a woman involved here, but she doesn't have much to do with the plot. Keaton's character focuses his attention on the heifer he's befriended. They make a joke of this at the end. The rancher offers anything to Keaton and his response is "I want her" (pointing behind him, where the rancher's daughter stands), then clarifies by walking past the daughter to pull the heifer out from behind the fence by a halter and rope. The farmer laughs and allows him to keep the heifer. 

I liked it and found it adorable. I give it 10 out of 10 stars. Anything by Keaton is worth watching. This wasn't actually my favorite one, but it was good. Be aware some YouTube recordings can have sound coming and going (background music - even silents aren't fully silent). I had to go between two recordings to get all the background music. 

Courtesy of IMDB.com - Buster Keaton trying to milk a cow 
by looking at it. 

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

Silent Film Review - It 1927

 No, we are not talking about clowns. We are talking about a silent film from 1927. Starring Clara Bow, it is all about the idea you have "it" or you don't. "It" is essentially sex appeal that gets you what you want. Here's what I thought of it. 

Courtesy of TCM

I both do and don't like the main characters. Clara Bow is an actress beloved to silent film. She can cry on a dime (sadly, because she had a terrible childhood). This is the romance between Betty (Clara Bow) and Mr. Waltham - who had a girlfriend this entire time and ignored her like she was chopped liver. It starts with Betty working at Waltham's Store, where she sees the new boss (Mr. Waltham) and falls in love instantly. This whole time Monty (Waltham's friend) is reading an article about "It" - sex appeal that guarantees you get your man/woman. 

Courtesy of Pinterest-
Clara Bow

Betty comes home to her roommate (who has a child). Poverty stricken as her friend is, things look kind of desperate for her friend. She goes to the Ritz after being asked out by Monty, purely to sit at a table near Mr. Waltham - who is with his girlfriend and her mother. This is after she created a dress from her work dress (because her work dress isn't good enough for the Ritz). At any rate, she gets herself noticed by Waltham, who then conveniently forgets his girlfriend exists several times when talking to her. 

When he sees her at work, she collects on her bet that he wouldn't recognize her next time he sees her. To compete with the girlfriend (this I don't like at all) she says "take me out to the beach for dinner" and he literally ignores the fact his girlfriend had asked and he said yes to that. In other words, he brushed off his girlfriend to go out with Betty. I don't like that Betty did this or that our main man treats his girlfriend like she's nothing important. I hate it, actually, but let's move on. 

She comes home and welfare is trying to take her friend's child. She has no means of support and these two older women want to take the baby from her. Betty races up the stairs, takes the baby in her arms, and claims she has a job and it's hers to save her friend. This I do like. She even tells the welfare women that "if women like them had babies instead of doing this they'd be better off". She tells them off and then some. This gets back to Waltham through Monty, though, and he thinks badly of her because he thinks the baby is hers. I don't like our main man. She literally should have taken Monty and been done with it. 

Betty gets to work and he's suddenly cold to her. She quits her job. Betty then gets a visit from Monty, who then realizes his mistake - in actually thinking she had a child. They then concoct a plan to get back at Waltham for not giving her the benefit of the doubt. Monty gets her into the yacht for the week long party and she manipulates Waltham into proposing, only to laugh him off, then cry because it wasn't funny after all. No kidding, Betty, no kidding. This I don't like her for. Monty spills that it wasn't her child and then the two get together (despite a girlfriend who's literally treated like she's wallpaper) after Monty steers a boat into another boat. The two women fall off the boat. Waltham, once again the boyfriend of the year, gives his girlfriend a life preserver and swims to Betty. At the end Monty and the girlfriend watch them flirt while standing on the anchor attached to the boat. 

My Thoughts

It must be said that I appreciate Betty defending her friend from Welfare workers. It also must be said that I don't endorse manipulation and think our main man is a dirtbag. He treats his long-term girlfriend like she's wallpaper and doesn't exist. He says he'll dine with her, then goes to the beach with Betty. We see no apology and the girlfriend looks like she's miserable. I don't think it takes a detective to find out why. These characters are not nice people. 

Courtesy of Alamy - Clara Bow

The point of the film and the idea of "it" is you can get exactly what you want with sex appeal - as long as you have "it". You have it or you don't. It means you effortlessly get what you want by being yourself. Or using your sex appeal to get it. "It" in this scenario is charm and charisma, and being attractive to others. Long story short, Betty had "it" and got the man she wanted. I feel so bad for the girlfriend. And Monty. Seriously, if you don't like your girlfriend you should break up. Don't just go all in on a side chick who has no shame in being a side chick. 

My rating 

To say I didn't enjoy myself would be a lie. I did enjoy myself. I would give a it a 7 out of 10, just because the main man and the main woman were not the type I'd root for. I'd argue that both are equally making bad choices. One is throwing away a relationship of many years and not just breaking up, and the other is homewrecking. 

The good part of the rating comes from great music, great acting, excellent dialogue, and an engaging film. I was never bored. Clara Bow had an amazing performance with emotion and drama, as well as those tears she could conjure in seconds. Well worth watching. You should see what you think. 

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

alice in wonderland review

 I picked up an ebook of Alice In Wonderland. It included Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Through The Looking Glass, and The Hunting of The Snark. I'll review them individually. It's been a fun ride. I don't regret spending money on this. 

Courtesy of Pinterest.co.uk

Below I have reviewed my ebook copy of Alice In Wonderland, which includes Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Through The Looking Glass, and The Hunting of The Snark. I'll review them one at a time for you. These were all read in the span of half a day. Maybe five hours and these were reviewed. It won't take long to pick these up. 

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

You start with a bored little girl, drop into a silly, absurd storyline, and come back to a little girl who's fallen asleep on the grass. My description of witty puns, funny conversations, odd images, and genuinely weird situations won't do it justice. Read it yourself. It isn't something you can easily describe, nor does it make sense. Given that it ends up being a child's dream, that makes sense. If you read it, you know how absurd it gets. It doesn't become disturbing, though, so your child can easily read it, with some help for younger children. 

Courtesy of Pinterest

I give this four stars. From the puns to the silly characters, to the absurdity of the entire story, I love it. It made me laugh. The book was a joyous experience paired with "Have I eaten drugged food lately?". We have hedgehogs and flamingoes as croquet balls and mallets (understandably trying to flee) , Alice conversing with a bunch of birds, a tea party with people who angered Time and paid the price, and a court with no order whatsoever.  You step into a world of odd creatures and the imagination of a child. Read it sometime. You'll all love it. 

Through The Looking Glass

This story was slightly less whimsical but just as ridiculous. You have some overlapping character profiles in it, too. It is clearly a different story, though. Alice is 7 and 6 months. She's seeing nursery ryhmes come to life in the dream she's having. Once again, she has drifted off to sleep, and this time she's woken by her cats, whom she started the story talking to. She walks into the mirror, goes into a world where everything is done and read backwards, and follows a chess board pattern of squares to become queen. It is disjointed because it is a dream. She blends from location to location as the story goes. It's slightly more coherent than when she was younger, but not by much. 

Courtesy of alice-in-wonderland.net

I give this one five stars. I can see where Tim Burton got some of his ideas about the Hatter from this. I can also see where he got Alice going through a mirror. It is the first whimsical thing in the story. I love that she's talking to kittens. It brings me joy to see her interact with them. You can see what she's remembering as you see events unfold. The hilarious thing about this one is when everyone she meets insists on reciting poetry or singing her the song of their people - none of which make any sense at all. This one was slightly easier to follow, but not really. Reading the first story primed me for this one. Still, Alice is older, so she's not as imaginative as younger Alice. You get the sense she's growing up. 

The Hunting of The Snark

This is poetry, not a short story, but it tells the story of a bunch of silly sailors hunting a snark. It's ridiculous and adorable at the same time. If you liked the silly poetry in the Alice stories, you'll like this. I imagine a snark is just an imaginary creature. Or not. The poetry is clear as mud on that. The snark is not really the point - the people are the point. They find it. It kills one of them because it was a Boojum. Makes no sense. It wasn't really supposed to, I think. It was just a fun ride. 

Courtesy of Alamy

Five stars to the poetry that made me giggle over one line: "They charmed it with smiles and soap". I would read more of his poetry any day of the week. It was clever. It referenced the Bandersnatch and Jubjub bird. It made me smile. There was also a beaver making lace. Who doesn't like a beaver making lace? 

Ending Thoughts

When reading this stuff, don't expect much to make sense. Poetry galore fills the pages and Alice just rolls with the weird, obtuse, absurd world she's fallen asleep into. You can tell she grew up in the second one. The bonus poetry is worth checking out. My ebook included it with the Alice stories. My version came from Kobo and I'd suggest getting the version with this poetry included. I even got personal letters from Lewis Caroll in between. It was one dollar and six cents on Kobo. 

A note, there is one lost chapter that has been found for Through The Looking Glass and you can find the original shorter manuscript Alice's Adventures Underground (the pre-published Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). You'll find the whole package of that in Kobo, too, as well as some that have the children's condensed version for younger kids (Alice Nursery). Whatever you want to read of all that, you can find on Kobo and probably anywhere else. I didn't need all of it. You can feel free to indulge yourself because it is less than five dollars on Kobo to get all of it. 

Also, it's short. I read it in half a day and I wasn't even home all day. You can easily swing this if you're an avid reader or you have time to kill before the kids get home. You could read this to your kids. It's nonsense poetry and silly characters. I call it safe to read at an age. The only caution is big words. That's why Alice Nursery exists. 

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

seeing faces everywhere

 Face Pareidolia is not a phrase most people utter, but yet it happens daily to most of us. What is it? It is the ability of the brain to see faces in everyday objects. Let's dig into the concept. 

Courtesy of happybirthdayall.com

Have you ever stared at your bathroom floor and seen what you think looks like a face or an outline of a dog, or an outline of an object? I have. I continue to see various shapes in my bathroom floor linoleum pattern, as well as several faces of different types in the wood grains of doors. This is a real thing. 

 I do know that it's just my brain making sense of the world and that it's not really a face. I understand such things. You have no reason to question my sanity in this scenario if you were concerned by the previous paragraph. The human brain is finding patterns where there are not patterns. That's the real reason you see a face pattern in a light switch or bathroom linoleum. 

Why our brain does this

Many reasons for this exist, including looking for predators and the social instincts of humans. Imagine you are trying to hide from a tiger. If you see its face first you'll live longer. That's the idea behind seeing faces in other things. When anxiety levels are higher you see even more faces. We need to know friend from foe, so it is much safer to mistake something that isn't a face for a face than the other way around. You'd get killed by that tiger, otherwise. 

Courtesy of Rd.com

Your eyes send a signal to the brain, which then translates what you see. Seeing what looks like two eyes, a nose, and a mouth will come back as a face. Another consideration is what you expect to see. If you were told a face was in the image, you'll see a face most of the time - even in static. An experiment was done that proved this. You'll see it in the first source link. "Jesus in toast" is the name of the study. 

What we know as a friend is shaped by early face shapes in life. We see familiar face shapes and features as safe. This is what we take into account without even realizing we do it. It's a survival instinct. Combatting racism, for instance, can be done in early development by showing an infant all races of people in the first nine months of life. 

The brain assigning meaning to the world around us happens every minute of our lives. We do it automatically. It makes sense that we'd see shapes and faces in wood grains, flooring, outlet covers, rock formations, and other surfaces. Confirmation bias influences what we see. Not everyone sees the same shape in the clouds or the shape of a mustache in the flooring. 

Other types 

Motion pareidolia is a real thing, too. Did you see motion? Was it really there? Maybe you didn't really see it. Your brain can be wrong. If you are already keyed up and freaked out, you'll think something moved. This is why you don't watch horror films or creepy videos alone. 

Sometimes this can feed right into superstitions. Superstitious people who see what they expect to see can take it as a "sign" and be wrong. There are times that something is a sign, but there are also pareidolia moments full of confirmation bias. Double-check your "signs" with people you trust. You might be off a little. Or not. It's never a bad idea to ask those you trust for wisdom. 

Courtesy of justsomething.co

You also give emotion and personality to faces. Think of emojis. This is how emojis actually work and provide meaning. You can see a sinister face in wood grain or a friendly laughing face in a pot hole, or a shocked face in an outlet. 

Another thing to take into account is how much you see faces in stuff. High anxiety causes this to happen more. Schizophrenia causes this to a very high degree. No, you are not crazy if you see faces in wood grain and other pictures. All of us see it, but many who have disorders related to Schizophrenia see it so much more than others. 

Sources:

Pareidolia: Why We See Faces in Almost Everything | HowStuffWorks

Pareidolia | Psychology Today

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.

Reviewing my TBR

 I had a fabulous time reading four books. Let me tell you all about them. On this week's TBR we have With A Mind To Kill, Role of Honor, Only To Sleep, and The Rising Sea. All of which come from a series of books. I'll get into what series in my four sections of reviews. Let's dive in. 

I read four books in a week. Upon finishing them, I can recommend all of them. Below I'll outline exactly why I loved the book and who would most love it. Let's get to the reviews. 

With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz

The premise of this book requires you to have some knowledge of previous books (Ian Fleming books), but he does explain in the first two page what you need to know. It is set two weeks after Scaramanga was killed in Jamaica. Before the events of Scaramanga in Jamaica, James Bond had attempted to kill M because KGB brainwashed him while he wandered with Amnesia. This plot sends Bond back to the people who brainwashed him in order to get more information (after he's been recovered and fully himself again). He's replacing an informant who was found out and was hammered to death. I'll stop there and let you read it yourself. 

Courtesy of Amazon.co.uk

It picks up the style of Ian Fleming, with less sexism. The ending is not to be spoiled. This is the third Bond novel Horowitz has written. I give it five stars. I want this one to be made into a movie. I would watch it in film form in a heartbeat. Please, make this one into a film! It'd be worth the money. 

The main reason I loved it was the high stakes. It had high stakes all through it, due to the mission only being known about by M and M's Chief of Staff. Bond has to pretend to be brainwashed this whole time and make it look good. He nearly slips up at one point. His own service (minus M and Bill Tanner) don't know he isn't brainwashed anymore. This means he's almost on his own. The High Stakes of the mission leave you on the edge of your seat. He's practically solo and could have been found out at any time. 

If you love James Bond films and books, you'll love this one. If you like high stakes, top secret missions, cold war espionage, and spy thrillers you'll want to the pick this one up. I'd also get acquainted with the Ian Fleming Bond if I were you. You'll see lots of references to those (though you don't need to know all of them to understand the plot). 

Role of Honor by John Gardner

Another bond book, this one by Gardner, who picked up the series after Ian Fleming died. Several authors have done the same. Bond could live in fiction as long as Scooby Doo, which is to say as long was people will read him. And they do. Author aside, this one has a similar concept to the first but a different plot. Bond is on a mission for M and Bill Tanner that eventually involves Spectre. It takes place in the 1980s. We hear all about computers and war gaming (which sounds like risk and some of the war games I see ads for). The basic gist of it is that Bond has to pretend to leave the service and be for hire. He came into money after an uncle died and M saw that as an opportunity to break into a group, a group that uses it's tech simulations to train criminals (so, think some plotlines of Grand Theft Auto, only its really a tutorial for a real heist). 

Courtesy of Kobo

I give this one five stars, too. The stakes are also high. Again, only M and Bill Tanner know he's not leaving the service. Again, he has to look bad and play the role of a man for hire. He has the challenge of getting word out to M of what is going on, but still not being found out. He has to use other agents he encounters to help him. His telephone in his car is eventually disabled by Spectre and the main villain, giving him no or limited ways to contact M. He was forced to get creative in order to get to his car phone before it got disabled. It ended badly for the lookout, but he did get there. 

I'd recommend this to any Bond fan. Gardner has several books, all of them excellent. I'd go in order, maybe start with Fleming's work and go into Gardner's collection. This one doesn't require you to have any previous knowledge of Bond history, with the exception of knowing what Spectre is. Even that can be figured out by context. You won't be confused by anything if you don't know what Spectre is. Gardner makes it clear it's a rival organization, which is really all you need to know. 

Only To Sleep by Lawrence Osborne

Any fans of the Philip Marlowe series (by Raymond Chandler) will be thrilled to find out that many have continued the Marlowe series in standalone. I loved this one. I collect both this series and the James Bond series. The main plot of this one starts off with a retired Marlowe, who comes out of retirement to look into a sketchy life insurance case. A man died in Mexican waters and the life insurance company is in doubt about the whole thing. They think they were scammed. Marlowe bribes some locals in the area to find out that the man found dead wasn't the man named by the police. His ID didn't match his face and the man who "died" and gave his widow money was very much alive. He spends the rest of the book chasing the man and the "widow". 

Courtesy of audible.co.uk

I give this one five stars. I loved it for many reasons, one of which being Marlowe's wit. It had the same feel as the Chandler books. The more Marlowe did on the case, the more the old wit came back. The sarcasm of Marlowe is one reason I love the series. 

If you like sarcastic private investigators whose cases start simple and get complicated, you'll love anything Philip Marlowe. If you love the trope of the investigator being told to go home and walk away, and they don't, you'll love Marlowe. I'd suggest reading the original Raymond Chandler Marlowe before reading this, just to get the feel for what your main character is like. Retired Marlowe had lost some of his spark at the beginning of the book and had regained that spark as he finished the case. 

The Rising Sea by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown

The NUMA files are a series I also collect, all of them great and exciting adventures. The plot centers on NUMA, the National Underwater and Marine Agency, investigating the reason the seas are rising rapidly. The plot also ties in the history of two swords and the legend that went with them. The Chinese are mining with robots and making them more and more human this whole book. Like every NUMA files book I've ever read, the prologue ties into the plot perfectly, intersecting with the economic disaster NUMA is trying to prevent. Our main characters Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala are amazing, as usual. It's easier to read the book to understand how all this comes together. I won't spoil it for you. 

Courtesy of audible.ca

This is another five star read. The reason I loved it so much has a lot to do with loving the characters. You care about them and their adventure. Their banter is funny, the excitement doesn't end, and the end is satisfying. Everything ties neatly into a bow, creating a satisfying ending. 

If you like tidy endings, economic disasters, fantastical plots, political intrigue, fight sequences, and general adventure and antics you'll love this. It has some spy plot aspects to it. It's not a spy novel, but behaves like one at times. Lovable heroes make the whole thing fun to read. 

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.