Deadline extended...

So we are clearly past our posted deadline for our Christmas stories. I am choosing to let the deadline be next Saturday (December 7th) and then we will have the entire month of December all the way up to January 5th to discuss this book while we eagerly await The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak which we will begin on the 5th. I hope that sounds like a good plan to everyone!! Because I know it does for me since I need to get on the ball and finish the books!!

Happy Reading!

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

I found this book at the dollar store...Now there is the start of a blog post I NEVER thought I would say. We went there this past weekend to look for cheap Christmas bulbs for a craft I plan to do and decorations for the outside. And as I was walking around to see what this store had to offer I found that this particular store had a book section! And not just books no one really wanted to read, but books I wanted to read and since it was at the EVERYTHING'S a dollar store, the books were cheap enough for me to buy without even knowing if I will like it or not. Because if I think the book is terrible, I am only out $1. I think I can handle that.

I believe by the title you may have figured out why I picked up this particular book. But after reading the synopsis you will know why I decided this book was worth the whopping $1 price tag.

"In the tradition of 'The Orchid Thief', a compelling narrative set within the strange and genteel world of rare-book collecting: the true story of an infamous book thief, his victims, and the man determined to catch him.

Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.

Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. 

Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. 
Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love." 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6251543-the-man-who-loved-books-too-much?from_search=true

Happy Reading!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Tangled Web Book Club. May your day be filled with love and blessings! 

A Duty to the Dead Review

If you remember I wrote about this book a few months back because I had come across another book in this series and it sounded interesting, and though I am TRYING to steer clear of series this one is different. It has a Sherlock feel when it comes to mysteries (I said feel, not completely as compelling but close). Its not the same plot line throughout all the books like a lot of series tend to be. This is the same characters just different mysteries to solve. I believe I can handle that.

I love that this story is placed during WWI, that era is one I enjoy reading about (Maybe that steamed from reading the Chronicles of Narnia...) I enjoy the manners that existed back then, I wish that would happen again in our world honestly...

The main character is Bess (Elizabeth) Crawford, and she is a nurse in her Majesties Army on a hospital ship, she meets Arthur Graham who entrusts her with a message to deliver to his brother Jonathan in the event of his inevitable demise. Bess honors this request and travels to Arthur's hometown and delivers the news to his brother, Jonathan seems not to take this message too seriously and this concerns Bess. This leads her to start digging into the Grahams past, and finding out a secret no one meant for her, or anyone else for that matter, to know. She then has to decide what is important to her and how to bring justice when there seems no possible way.

I strongly recommend that you pick up this book, it is a nice refresher to every day life and a quick and interesting read. A good weekend book (which is how long it took me to finish this one) So head over to your local Library or log on to their website and check it out. And don't forget to let me know what you thought.

Happy Reading!

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

My dear friend Renee has shared this book with me, I have not read it yet but it is on my hold list at the Library and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. She has promised that this book will change my life, and when someone whom I hold dear to my heart tells me this, I listen.

I try not to talk about religion too much on this blog because I know it is a touchy subject with some people. But as most of you know it is a part of me. My faith is strong and I do not mind sharing it, I am far from perfect but I know I am saved my God's grace. That being said I also respect the feelings of you who do not share my faith, but I wanted to share this book despite the controversy this has the potential to be.

Here is what Goodreads.com has to say about this soon to be life changing book;

"California's gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.

Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.

Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father's heart in everything, Michael obeys God's call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel's every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw.

But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband's pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does ... the One who will never let her go."

What do you think? Are you ready for a change in perspective? Will you read this book?

Happy Reading!

Next up on my reading list...

As you all know we just finished up reading The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston and while I was adding that to my hold list at my local Library (Which I am sure the Librarians are starting to hate me because I have a request list that is never ending...) I saw that this was another book by Brackston and it sounded equally as intriguing.

Now I will be the first to say that I was not a fan of The Witch's Daughter honestly. I enjoyed parts of the story, I just feel there were a lot of un-explainables and I am not a fan of un-explainables in books. And by un-explainables I really mean things that just didn't add up or that could have been explained with better deatil. Though that is all personal preference. I know some of you truly enjoyed the book and all for different reasons, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that the book did not live up to my expectations, but that did not detour me from reading more of Brackston's books. I am praying this one lives up to my expectations. The story line sounds extremely intriguing so fingers crossed.

Here is what Goodreads.com has to say about The Winter Witch

"In her small Welsh town, there is no one quite like Morgana. She has never spoken, and her silence as well as the magic she can't quite control make her a mystery. Concerned for her safety, her mother quickly arranges a marriage with Cai Bevan, the widower from the far hills who knows nothing of the rumours that swirl around her. After their wedding, Morgana is heartbroken at leaving, but she soon falls in love with Cai’s farm and the rugged mountains that surround it, while slowly Cai himself begins to win her heart. It’s not long, however, before her strangeness begins to be remarked upon in her new village. A dark force is at work there—a person who will stop at nothing to turn the townspeople against Morgana, even at the expense of those closest to her. Forced to defend her home, her love, and herself from all comers, Morgana must learn to harness her power, or she will lose everything..."

Goodreads also makes a point to say that if you are a fan of Discovery of Witches than this is the book for you...so again this makes me think I will enjoy this book immensely because I am a HUGE fan of The Discover of Witches.

Happy Reading!

Going against the Series...

As many of you know I have been trying to get away from reading a series, I feel like most are not worth my time and effort to finish because they drag out happenings that could be written well in 1 book (2 max).
 I follow the blog http://bookrevels.wordpress.com/ , and on her blog Ellie wrote about 25 Standalone books to read after series burnout and I made a mental jump for joy! Because here is a girl who understands my pain!! So take a moment and head on over to Book Revels and see what you think about her list. I think there are some amazing options on there to add to my never ending reading list.

Happy Reading!

A discussion about The Witch's Daughter

Fellow bookworm Rachel and I were emailing back and forth about the Witch's Daughter and I wanted to take some time and share our discussion with you to see if this can generate some more feedback. This one had a lot of you talking and I love it! So I don't want to cut it short because as much as I love reading books, I love talking about them almost as much.

Rachel: 

• I was far more interested in the history of Bess than the present. I didn't really care about Tegan, and I honestly was thinking she might be Gideon...hoping that it wouldn't be so simple. I thought the end was very anticlimatic and almost seemed like a set up for a sequel, which I HATE!! I would have rather read about the battle between Bess and Gideon than have it laid out by a vapid teen. I was not a fan of her the entire book. The real story was more about Bess's history, so I was pretty disappointed in the way it ended.
  
  Myself: 
• I agree I was far more interested in Bess's history. And I agree I thought Tegan was Gideon as well at first. And I did not like her story line. I felt it mundane and I was not a fan of her recapping the fight scene...and I expected the fight scene to be a little more climatic...I was very disappointed. I currently have the Winter Witch by her as well so we will see how this story line goes....
  
  (SIDE BAR: Look for a post this week about the Winter Witch)
  
  Rachel:

  • Is that a sequel?
    
    Myself:

    • No it's a totally different story line. Sounds more interesting honestly. I actually was not a fan of how dark she took this story. I don't mind with craft I was just uncomfortable with how crafty she took it.
      
      Rachel:

      • I thought it would go darker. It seems like past the initial talk of imps, there wasn't much else. She could have had Gideon using demons or something. For as evil as she wanted us to think he was, he didn't do much more than stalk...apart from the ripper stuff. The ripper and bian didn't seem like the same warlock, so I had a hard time with understanding how threatening he was supposed to be.
        
        Myself:Yeah it seemed stupid for him to stalk her for that long. Okay he loved her but not really he just was infatuated with her power and she was probably the first woman he ever let close so he was emotional connected to her...but to just stalk her when he was bored was kind of ridiculous. And if he was so powerful I think he could have just found her easily
        
        Rachel:
        • The Gideon/Bess relationship could have been developed more. I still don't know if she was actually interested in him or seduced by magic. I think the latter. His past is a complete mystery as well. I didn't get how he found her or how long it took or how long he waited. I'd rather have more of his story than the Tegan stuff.
          
          Myself:
          I agree.
          
          What do you all think? Care to share your thoughts?

Hiatus?

Please excuse the posting hiatus I seem to have taken. Real life has caught up with me as my work season is winding down. I am planning a blogging session this weekend so get ready for some new posts!!! 

November Book Selections...

Well I know it is early to be celebrating Christmas, but since I am giving you all next month off because of the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season I wanted to be sure we celebrated a little Christmas Cheer together. So here are the three options choices for books to read. 

(We opted to all read a different book because as far as I could tell everyone wanted to read a different one and I wanted to be sure we all celebrated and read a book we would all enjoy.) 

The synopsis from Goodreads.com is as follows...

"Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien’s children. Inside would be a letter in a strange, spidery handwriting and a beautiful colored drawing or some sketches. 

The letters were from Father Christmas.

They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how the reindeer got loose and scattered presents everywhere; how the accident-prone North Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas’s house; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden; how there were wars with the troublesome horde of goblins who lived in the caves beneath the house.

Sometimes the Polar Bear would scrawl a note, and sometimes Ilbereth the Elf would write in his elegant flowing script, adding yet more life and humor to the stories."


The Christmas Bus is the second option for a book this November. According to Goodreads.com the synopsis is:
"The people of Christmas Valley always celebrate Christmas to the fullest extent. The mayor plays Santa, every business is holiday themed, and there's a nativity for the kids each Christmas Eve. This town knows Christmas. But this year nothing goes according to plan. Shepherd's Inn is full of strangers, Mad Myrtle is causing problems, and a young couple with a baby due any minute rolls in to the middle of town in their Partridge Family-style bus. It's hardly the holiday Christmas Valley wanted--but it may be just what they need. This charming novella is sure to become a new Christmas tradition for readers who love a great holiday story."









Our Final option for this month is The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and again thank you to good ol' Goodreads.com the synopsis is:
"The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married--and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day--she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays. 

But the wedding isn't Gaby's only surprise--she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever."