It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be, reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.
I just finished two audiobooks this past week (At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities and North of Nowhere) while driving for work and driving to and from our future retirement house in Bryson City. They were both fantastic and I’ll be posting the reviews this week. I also read and reviewed a Christian devotional, Bouquet of Wisdom, and that review can be found here.
This coming week, I’m trying to scale down the Netgalley shelf a little bit. First up is The Beautiful Risk by Lynn Hightower, and then California Golden by Melanie Benjamin. I’m also beginning a long read of The Reformatory (576 pages) for Historical Novel Society.
California Golden: (from Amazon) Southern California, 1960s: endless sunny days surfing in Malibu, followed by glittering neon nights at Whisky a Go Go. In an era when women are expected to be housewives, Carol Donnelly breaks the mold as a legendary female surfer struggling to compete in a male-dominated sport—and her daughters, Mindy and Ginger, bear the weight of Carol’s unconventional lifestyle.
The Beautiful Risk: After her husband dies in a plane crash on Mount Blanc, Junie has returned to America. She is grieving her husband, and her dog, Leo, who ran off after the crash, is still missing. Then she gets a call from the man investigating the crash in France. Leo has been seen with a man closely resembling her husband! Junie must return to France to try and find out the truth.
The Reformatory: (From Amazon) Gracetown, Florida, June 1950: Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his older sister, Gloria. So begins Robbie’s journey further into the terrors of the Jim Crow South and the very real horror of the school they call The Reformatory. Robbie has a talent for seeing ghosts, or haints. But what was once a comfort to him after the loss of his mother has become a window to the truth of what happens at the reformatory. Boys forced to work to remediate their so-called crimes have gone missing, but the haints Robbie sees hint at worse things. (Based on a real school of horrors in Florida)
My goal for Netgalley is to get 30 days ahead of my list, and I’m not even close right now.
Indie Weekend is my effort to help Indie Authors with marketing. Marketing is probably the biggest task authors have, and if I can help even a little, I’m happy to do it. You can help too by sharing this far and wide with your social media followers. Below please see a description, review, and buy links for Bouquet of Wisdom by Deanna Nowadnick.
BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM AMAZON)
Bouquet of Wisdom is a book of thirty reflections from the garden, personal stories paired with a flower and a lesson. Deanna looks back on a little girl who found courage in a bouquet of sticky dandelions. She remembers the teenager who wilted in the spotlight of a daffodil pageant. She treasures Christmas memories that included poinsettias in a hospital, paperwhites sitting on rocks, and beautiful blue hydrangeas in Brazil. Some blossoms remind her of God’s faithfulness; others emphasize his care. Each experience was a lesson learned-in season and out of season, in the garden and in life.
BOOK REVIEW
*Click on the cover for the buy link.
This is such a beautiful book of devotionals that pairs flowers with life situations and bible verses. Some of my favorites are “Soothing Lemon Balm,” which talks about the loves and daily trials of a grandmother and pairs it with Isaiah 41:10, and “Bishop’s Weed and Saving Grace” about a lost phone. Another favorite was “Violets and Peace,” about recovery and moving forward. The study questions at the end take you even deeper inside your own journey.
This book really is a treasure trove of devotionals that Christians will appreciate. I loved the idea of flowers inspiring each story. My Mom was an avid gardener and she would have really enjoyed this. I plan to delve deeper into the study questions, which I think will be rewarding.
I received a free print copy from the author, but I also purchased a copy for a friend. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deanna Nowadnick is a writer and speaker who loves helping women of faith connect our delightfully ordinary stories to God’s extraordinary love and faithfulness, so we can be encouraged and empowered knowing God’s been in the details—always has been, always will be.
Deanna is the author of three books, Fruit of My Spirit, Signs in Life, and Bouquet of Wisdom, reflections celebrating not only God’s love but also His care. Yes, lots of stories.
When not writing, Deanna manages an investment advisory firm on Mercer Island. She’s active in her church, enjoying Bible study and also serving on the leadership team. Her leisure time is filled with knitting and needlepoint, bike rides in the sunshine, and vanilla ice cream bars with a high calorie count.
Deanna lives in Monroe with her husband, Kurt. She is the mother of two adult sons and the mother-in-law of two delightful young ladies. She is also the grandmother to Enzo Antonio, Austin William, and Cameron Spencer. Playdates are the best!
*If you read the book, please leave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, as well as anywhere else you review books. Some people feel very daunted by writing a review. Don’t worry. You do not have to write a masterpiece. Just a couple of lines about how the book made you feel will make the author’s day and help the book succeed. The more reviews a book has, the more Amazon will promote it.
*Please click on the “share” buttons below and share these books with your Twitter, Facebook, and WordPress followers. A little bit of help from all of us will help Indie authors go a long way!
*A mini review contains a book description, buy links, and review.
BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM AMAZON)
Joan Sample is not living the life she expected. Now a widow and an empty-nester, she has become by her own admission something of a recluse. But after another birthday spent alone, she is finally inclined to listen to her sister, who has been begging Joan to reengage with the world. With Emmie’s support, Joan gathers the courage to take some long-awaited steps: hiring someone to tame her overgrown garden, joining a grief support group, and even renting out a room to a local college student. Before long Joan is starting to feel a little like herself again.
Across town, Maggie Herbert works mornings as a barista, tending to impatient customers before rushing to afternoon nursing classes. She lives with her alcoholic father, ducking his temperamental outbursts and struggling to pay the household bills. But her circumstances brighten when she finds a room for rent in Joan’s home. In the unexpected warmth of her new situation, Maggie finds a glimmer of hope for a better life. But will Maggie’s budding attraction to one of her favorite customers ruin the harmony she’s only recently found with Joan? Meanwhile, what is Joan to make of the mysterious landscaper who’s been revitalizing her garden—a man who seems to harbor a past loss of his own?
As Maggie and Joan confront difficult life choices, they draw strength from this new friendship in surprising ways—discovering in the process that “found family” is often the very best kind.
BOOK REVIEW
This is a sweet, comforting story of second chances. There are two romances, but the strongest theme concerns two women helping each other in tough times. Joan is a widow of four years who just can’t seem to start over again. Maggie is a young woman trying to move forward in life, but she is constantly pulled down by an alcoholic father. When Joan offers to rent Maggie a room, things begin to look up for both of them. The themes of loss, starting over, and helping others shine through.
Debbie Macomber’s books are always comfort books to me. They wrap you in a warm hug and take you on a journey with friendly and likable characters who learn life lessons and experience a bit of romance along the way. This is a heartwarming story of finding family in unexpected places. Any fan of family fiction and romance will love this story.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
Book Blogger Hop is run by Billy @CoffeeAddictedWriter. The aim of the blog hop is to provide bloggers with an opportunity to follow other blogs, discover new books, make friends with other bloggers, and gain new followers for their own sites. Today’s question is “What is Your Favorite Plot Twist?”
Just like any other genre, it depends on the book. I have read some memoirs that I loved, and some that fell short. Below are a few of the memoirs that I loved.
This book is hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking. Allison Arngrim is honest about abuse in her past but also wonderfully funny. She talks about her castmates in such a loving way, for the most part. Nobody liked Mary apparently. Melissa Gilbert’s memoir, which wasn’t my favorite, stated the same.
Lauren Graham’s memoir is just super funny and we get a great inside view of The Gilmore Girls and Parenthood.
Spare talks about the less glamorous side of being a Prince. Here’s my review. I loved it.
Not all the memoirs I’ve read were well-written and some of them were not what I expected. So again the answer to the question is: Sometimes.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books With One-Word Titles.
This week’s topic is: The Top Ten Most Recent Books I Did Not Finish. I’m just posting a top ten, regardless of when I did not finish them, so they are not necessarily the “most recent.” Most or all of them are from the last two or three years.
I have nothing against any of these books. Some of them turned out to not be what I thought and some were not just a good fit for me. One was a popular book that apparently everyone liked but me, and one was the result of not paying enough attention to the book description. For the audiobooks, it is always because I just couldn’t connect with the narrator. Nothing against the book or the narrator, but if I can’t connect with them, then I can’t follow the book.
Midnight Sun: Although I loved Twilight, I just could not get into this retelling of Twilight from Edward’s point of view. It just didn’t work for me.
Malibu Rising: So many people were praising the books of Taylor Jenkins Reid that I picked this up. It just wasn’t for me at all, though most people seemed to love it. I couldn’t keep interested enough in it to finish it.
A Half-Baked Murder: This was a total lack of attention on my part. I was looking for a food-themed cozy mystery. It’s called “A Half-Baked Murder” and there are macarons on the cover. Apparently, I didn’t notice the pot leaf on the macarons, and I didn’t notice the name of the series was “Cannabis Cafe Mysteries.” It’s set in a bakery/cafe that uses cannabis in their products! I won’t be using that ingredient. Lol! Not what I was looking for and I should have paid attention to the cover and the book description.
Tick Tock: This was one of several Fern Michaels books that were put on Netgalley. After some disappointing reads, I gave up when this one wasn’t working for me either.
The Mountain in the Sea (Audiobook), A Botanist’s Guide to Flowers and Fatality (Audiobook) The Rescue (Audiobook): All three of these were just a case of not connecting with the narrator.
The Ferryman just couldn’t hold my interest and I couldn’t get through it. A lot of people loved it.
Little Red House and Small Game: Both of these were too dark for me personally.
When you are roaming through Netgalley looking for books, you don’t always pick the right one, and that is the case for most of these. I am not bashing the books in any way. A lot of people loved these books.
What about you? Are there any books that just didn’t work for you for whatever reason?
Recently, during a Twitter discussion (argument) a question was asked: Is AI writing real writing? My position is No, it is not. Artificial Intelligence does not have imagination. AI “learns” writing from already published books. So if AI writes a story, it will probably contain elements of published works, and that could be plagiarism.
The opposing view from another person in the discussion was that everyone retains elements of books they have read in their writing and that is used to come up with their own published works. In their opinion, AI is no different.
While this is a fair point, I maintain that the human ability to imagine and create cannot be duplicated by AI. They must use already created works and don’t have the human imagination to make the work original.
In order to test out this theory, I went to Chat GPT and asked it to write a story about a boy wizard who goes to wizarding school. It quickly wrote me a story. Below I will mark how many times it uses elements of the HARRY POTTER series. Each paragraph that contains elements of Harry Potter is highlighted in red.
CHAT GPT STORY:
Once upon a time in a magical realm, there lived a young boy named Ethan. He was an ordinary boy in many ways, but there was something extraordinary about him – he possessed magical powers. Unbeknownst to Ethan, he was a wizard, and his life was about to change forever.
One fateful day, a letter arrived at Ethan’s doorstep, sealed with wax and bearing the emblem of a magical school named “Havenbrook School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” The letter revealed the truth about Ethan’s magical heritage and invited him to attend the prestigious school.
Overwhelmed with excitement and curiosity, Ethan’s parents explained everything to him. They revealed that they had kept his magical abilities a secret to protect him from the dangers that often lurked in the magical world. Now, it was time for him to embrace his destiny and embark on a new adventure.
With his parents’ blessing, Ethan set off for Havenbrook School. Upon arriving, he was awestruck by the magnificent castle-like (HOGWARTS?) structure nestled amidst lush, enchanted forests. The school was a hub of magic and mystery, where wizards and witches from all corners of the realm came to learn and hone their powers.
Ethan soon found himself sorted into one of the four houses at the school – House of Aurelius. (HOGWARTS SORTING) He made new friends like Lily (HARRY POTTER’S MOM IS NAMED LILY), a kind-hearted witch with a talent for potion-making, and Oliver, a mischievous yet lovable wizard who excelled in charms. (HARRY POTTER ALSO HAS TWO CLOSE FRIENDS, A BOY AND A GIRL)
Their first year at Havenbrook was filled with fascinating classes like Transmutation, Elemental Magic, and Magical History. Ethan discovered his affinity for wandless magic and became adept at summoning objects with a mere thought. Despite some initial struggles, he found himself growing stronger and more confident with each passing day.
However, as the year progressed, a shadow loomed over Havenbrook. Rumors of a mysterious dark force spreading across the magical realm began to circulate. It was said to be led by an evil sorcerer seeking to control all magic for his wicked purposes. Whispers of the sorcerer’s return ignited fear and uncertainty among the students. (VOLDEMORT?)
As the darkness crept closer, Ethan and his friends knew they had to be prepared to face it. They sought wisdom from their wise headmaster, Professor Alaric, who had seen his share of dark times and triumphs. Under his guidance, they formed a secret study group (DUMBLEDORE’S ARMY, ORDER OF THE PHOENIX) dedicated to strengthening their magical skills and unraveling the secrets of the dark sorcerer.
With each challenge they faced, Ethan discovered the true value of friendship, courage, and perseverance. His loyalty to his friends and unwavering determination to protect the magical realm transformed him into a brave and powerful wizard.
As the school year neared its end, the tension escalated. It was time for the annual Havenbrook Magic Tournament, (THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT, GOBLET OF FIRE) a prestigious event where students showcased their abilities in various magical disciplines. Little did Ethan know that this tournament would become the battleground for the final showdown between good and evil.
During the intense finale of the tournament, the dark sorcerer and his minions infiltrated the school. (THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE) Chaos ensued as spells clashed, and the school’s defenses were tested. In the face of adversity, Ethan and his friends stood together, united by the strength of their bonds and their shared commitment to protect all they held dear.
Through ingenuity, courage, and self-sacrifice, Ethan confronted the dark sorcerer (DEATHLY HALLOWS). Drawing upon the lessons he learned at Havenbrook, he faced the darkness with hope and determination. In a spectacular display of power, the young wizard overcame the sorcerer’s malevolence and banished him back into the depths of the shadows.
With the threat eliminated, the magical realm rejoiced. Ethan and his friends were hailed as heroes, their bravery celebrated throughout Havenbrook. As the school year ended, Ethan returned home for the summer, eager to share his magical adventures with his amazed parents.
And so, the young boy wizard’s first year at Havenbrook School of Witchcraft and Wizardry marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey. Filled with newfound knowledge, cherished friendships, and an unwavering sense of purpose, Ethan looked forward to the many magical adventures that lay ahead. The tale of the boy wizard and his quest to protect the magic of the world had only just begun.
END OF STORY.
As you can see, a lot of this compares closely to Harry Potter and in my opinion, this story is not original. There are other problems, of course. It is all “telling,” with no showing, and AI does not seem to have the ability to evoke emotion or suspense. The rules of writing a story can be learned by an AI, so it could improve this story. But what it can’t learn is real emotion and imagination. But will it be allowed to steal phrases from a published story to make it seem as if it can evoke emotion? Can it steal pieces of the plot like it did above?
Of course everyone can recognize the similarities to Harry Potter. But what if it was a lesser-known book the AI was stealing from? The person using AI to “write” the story may not know they are plagiarizing.
I would love to have your opinion on this serious issue. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
I didn’t get an update done last week, but the last two weeks have been busy. Doug came back home from working on the house in Bryson City, and he’ll be going back next week. I’ve been working hard at my day job as usual. I’m back to getting a normal amount of sleep. It’s harder to sleep soundly when Doug is gone. I hear every noise when I’m in the house alone.
Things are moving right along, and in honor of the “Full Steam Ahead” title, here is a picture of the Steam Train in Bryson City at Smoky Mountain Railroad.
I finished my excerpts for the first round of the Book Bloggers Novel of the Year (BBNYA) Award. I’m looking forward to seeing which ones made it to the second round.
I’m trying still to catch up and organize all of my submissions for Indie Weekend, so bear with me.
Tomorrow I will post my thoughts about AI in “writing.” I went to Chat GPT and asked the AI to write a story, and what I got back was interesting to say the least, and definitely supported my thoughts on the subject. This all stemmed from a Twitter discussion (argument) about whether AI was real writing.
On Tuesday I will participate in Top Ten Tuesday and take on the topic: Ten Most Recent Books I Did Not Finish.
On Wednesday I will post a review of The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos.
On Thursday I will post a review of Must Love Flowers by Debbie Macomber.
On Friday I will participate in Book Blogger Hop and answer the question: Do you enjoy reading memoirs?
And I will review two books for Indie Weekend.
BOOK HAUL
I took on a lot of new books in the last two weeks! Three of them are audiobooks so I can listen to them while driving for work.
Audiobooks
Hardcover Books
Yep, I got this book in hardcover too! Forge had sent me an email a while back asking if I wanted a finished copy and I said “Sure!” and forgot about it. Then I requested and got approved for the audiobook, and the next day the hardcover shows up. So I got it twice. lol.
Below is the cover and description of Katherine Reay’s new book, The Berlin Letters. Please share it with your followers.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Near the end of the Cold War, a CIA code breaker discovers a symbol she recognizes from her childhood, which launches her across the world to the heart of Berlin just before the wall comes tumbling down.
November 1989—After finding a secret cache of letters with intelligence buried in the text, CIA cryptographer Luisa Voekler learns that not only is her father alive, but he is languishing in an East German Stasi jail. After piecing together the letters with a series of articles her grandfather saved, Luisa seeks out journalists Bran Bishop and Daniel Rudd. They send her to the CIA, to Andrew Cademan—her boss.
Luisa confronts Cademan and learns that nothing is a coincidence, but he will not help her free her father. So, she takes matters into her own hands, empties her bank account, and flies to West Berlin. As the adrenaline wears off and she recognizes she has no idea how to proceed, Luisa is both relieved and surprised when a friend shows up with contacts and a rudimentary plan to sneak her across the wall.
Alternating storylines between Luisa and her father, The Berlin Letters shows the tumultuous early days of the wall, bringing Berlin, the epicenter of the Cold War, to life while also sharing one family’s journey through secrets, lies, and division to love, freedom, and reconciliation.
AUTHOR MESSAGE
Dear Readers,
Thank you so much for your extraordinary support for my current novel, A Shadow in Moscow. I am still on tour right now sharing the story with libraries and bookstores, and I am beyond grateful each day as I see your reviews and support on social media. So, again, thank you!
I want you all to be the first to see the cover for my new novel, The Berlin Letters, which will be released March 5th, 2024. After A Shadow in Moscow, it was the book I had to write. While Ingrid’s and Anya’s stories were sometimes difficult, they were also fascinating and took me to places I had not anticipated. The ideas of sacrifice, freedom, courage, love, hiddenness, and the shadows between perception and reality, rose within that novel and wouldn’t let me go.
While still pondering a lot of those themes, I came across these photographs and many more. They are of the very early days — even the first day — of the Berlin Wall in 1961. I read stories of mothers passing their children over the barbed wire. I read of one East German soldier jumping over it himself. I began to envision what might happen… To the mother. To the father. To the child passed over the Wall on that August morning in 1961.
Luisa Voekler, the story’s leading character, is that young girl and she doesn’t know of this past until the Wall’s final week in 1989. Then, like me, she can’t let it go. She starts a search. She plots a rescue mission. And in the process, she finds her father and she finds herself.
Like A Shadow in Moscow, this is a split-time story. One POV will take you behind the Wall with Haris Voekler, Luisa’s father, while Luisa will tell you her own story and carry readers from Washington DC to Berlin. There are, of course, a whole host of other characters as well — some you’ll love, some you’ll question, and others you’ll simply worry about. You’ll worry because The Berlin Letters is a race, a chase, a spy novel, and a love story. And, I must say, there’s an old friend who comes to Luisa’s aid I developed a little crush on — you might find yourself sighing and swooning over Daniel too.
Thank you so much for sharing the cover of this new story — I love it! You see Luisa front and center, in the exact outfit she wears during a scene in East Berlin, and you see her resting on a Trabant, just about the only car East Berliner’s could purchase at the time. I love the fact that the car is yellow too! And doesn’t that font just scream 1980s?
And while the themes within this story focus upon many of the questions in our hearts, there is so much lightness and fun as well. And, once it’s out in the world, I hope you each will close that final page with a smile, a sigh, and a deep sense of hope.
All the best to you!
Katherine
AUTHOR BIO
Katherine Reay is a national bestselling and award-winning author of several novels and one work of nonfiction.
For her fiction, Katherine writes love letters to books, and her novels are saturated with what she calls the “world of books.” They are character driven stories that examine the past as a way to find one’s best way forward. In the words of The Bronte Plot’s Lucy Alling, Katherine writes of “that time when you don’t know where you’ll be, but you can’t stay as you are.”
Indie Spotlight is my effort to help Indie authors with marketing. Marketing is probably the most daunting and time-consuming task authors have, and if I can help even a little bit, I’m happy to do it. Please see below a book description, author information, and pre-order links for A Tryst in Paris by Anne Armistead.
BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM THE AUTHOR)
When Mirabelle Montgomery visits the Luxembourg Carousel in Paris, a mysterious time shifter sweeps her into the Carousel’s time travel vortex and transports her to 1900 Paris. Her return will be allowed once she completes her mission to restore a man’s fate gone wrong. But whose?
Upon meeting dangerously sexy Jacques Thibaut, Mirabelle believes she has found her man. His life’s purpose as a stellar police detective has been derailed by accusations of his plotting with anarchists to overthrow the French government.
If she proves Jacques to be innocent, his life will be reset to its rightful providence. He will win back his job and those who once believed in him, including the woman he planned to marry. Mirabelle’s determination to complete her mission kindles passion between them. But their falling in love will jeopardize everything, for his true destiny does not include her. Besides, even if her heart desires, she cannot remain in 1900 Paris . . . can she?
Join Mirabelle Montgomery and her adventures as a time traveler in Paris of the past. A Tryst in Paris is Book One of The Carousel Time Traveler series.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anne Armistead earned her English literature degree from the University of Georgia and her MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University and is a member of the Georgia Writers of Romance (GRW), Atlanta Writers Club (AWC), and Historical Novel Society (HNS).
The damaged hero wins her heart and the hearts of the heroines in Anne’s stories. Her novels include the historical romances Dangerous Conjurings and With Kisses from Cecile , and her sweet contemporary romance A Christmas Cannoli Kiss. Her recent release is A Tryst in Paris, Book One of The Carousel Time Traveler historical-fantasy romance series, which introduces Mirabelle Montgomery as a time traveler in 1900 Paris and Jacques Thibaut, a dangerously sexy French rogue who steals her heart.
Book Blogger Hop is run by Billy @CoffeeAddictedWriter. The aim of the blog hop is to provide bloggers with an opportunity to follow other blogs, discover new books, make friends with other bloggers, and gain new followers for their own sites. Today’s question is “What is Your Favorite Plot Twist?”
That’s a hard question to answer. I’m not sure I have one favorite. Here are a few below.
I like plot twists similar to the “I Am Your Father” twist from Star Wars. I also like the long-lost family idea as a whole, especially if they leave our main character something of value, but attached to a mystery of some kind.
I like the plot twist of discovering you have special powers, like in Harry Potter. Or discovering an amazing new world, like The Chronicles of Narnia.
I like mysteries that tie in famous people, like Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge, in which Julia Child is a supporting character.
I like stories where someone buys a house or a shop and finds out it’s haunted. But only if the ghost is not terrifying.
And I love almost any twist that brings in time travel, as long as it’s actually about time travel and not basically a romance.
Those are just a few plot twists I like. What about you?
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