There Is Something about Edgefield – a Review

Title: There Is Something About Edgefield: Shining a Light on the Black Community through History, Genealogy, and Genetic DNA

Authors: Edna Gail Bush and Natonne Elaine Kemp

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.

Genealogy has become something of an obsession for many people today. There have been shows about it, Ancestry makes lots of money off it. It seems that more and more people are driven to discover their ancestral roots.

I am no exception. I am a Latter-day Saint, and honoring our ancestors is an important part of our beliefs. I think this made me a good choice to review this book. In this little book, the authors, both of whom are African American, describe their attempts to uncover more of their family heritage. They combine family stories and photographs with the latest research techniques and new sites that use your DNA to pinpoint your unique heritage.

They also go through all the records they search, looking for the slightest clue to how their ancestors lived and what they experienced. Land records, census, court and probate records all work to complete a fuller picture. It’s not all pretty. Since like many African Americans, some of their ancestors were enslaved and some were the slaveholders, it shines a light on a dark and ugly chapter of American history.

As far as the writing and the style goes, I’m a little torn. They definitely could have summarized more of the steps they took to find out the information, and just included what they found out. Sometimes the actual research parts – what records they found and where – was a little boring. On the other hand, I think this book could also be viewed as an instructional book for other African Americans trying to find out what records exist for their history. I think it could be very valuable in that way. I loved all the stories they included and they way the writers reached out to living family members to hear the stories they grew up with.

In all, I would say this book is not for everyone, but if you are interested in researching your family tree, and especially if you have southern African American roots, this book would be one you’d want to read.

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The Things We Learn When We’re Dead

The Things We Learn When We’re Dead
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/ Humor
Publication Date: January 26, 2017
Summary:
With elements of The Wizard of Oz, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Lovely Bones, The Things We Learn When We’re Dead shows how small decisions can have profound and unintended consequences, and how sometimes we can get a second chance.
On the way home from a dinner party, Lorna Love steps into the path of an oncoming car. When she wakes up she is in what appears to be a hospital – but a hospital in which her nurse looks like a young Sean Connery, she is served wine for supper, and everyone avoids her questions. It soon transpires that she is in Heaven, or on HVN. Because HVN is a lost, dysfunctional spaceship, and God the aging hippy captain. She seems to be there by accident… Or does God have a higher purpose after all?
At first Lorna can remember nothing. As her memories return – some good, some bad – she realises that she has decision to make and that maybe she needs to find a way home.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33142013-the-things-we-learn-when-we-re-dead?ac=1&from_search=true

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Hey bookies! I was asked to review a new book, The Things We Learn When We’re Dead by Charlie Laidlaw. This was a quick read that had me trying to puzzle together the events in our main character’s life to see what lead her to being in HVN. Lorna is a soon to be lawyer on the cusp of a solid career when she’s struck by a car. After that, things get, well, weird. Turn out, Lorna didn’t survive that collision and now she’s figuring out what the afterlife is all about. Turns out it’s NOTHING like she expected.

Lorna has a lot of time to remember the significant events in  her life – vacations with her family, her first love, good times with her best friend Suze – but it’s the final week of her life that she can’t seem to work out. Which is too bad, because it looks like that’s the key to figuring out what she’s supposed to be doing next.

This was a slow, quirky book. I thought the characters were the best parts. Lorna isn’t very happy when she’s alive, but she did seem like a real, well drawn character. The employees at the Happy Mart – great name, BTW – all seemed real too. I felt like it took a little too long to get to the end, but I’m glad I had a chance to read it. And I love the rocket on the cover! So cool.

You can win a copy of this book right now!

Giveaway: 2 Print Copies of TTWLWWD Signed by Author
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Blog Tour Organized By:

http://www.rrbooktours.com

Reading Goals

How are all of you coming along with your reading goals for this year? I didn’t have a lot of goals, exactly, but I had my GoodReads goal of 250 books this year. So far I’m at 139 finished (and it includes books I DNF). That puts me at 56% of my goal already.

Now of my books I was hoping to get to this year. I’m not doing so great at reading the books off my shelves. I keep getting distracted by new releases, books from the library, even new purchases. I need to do better at that. I have gotten rid of some books, though, and I have a few more I need to find a new home for.

I also made some progress on the book video front! We finished filming the video – I won’t tell you what book it is but it’s a YA western – but we’re still editing it. It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with it so far, as a first try.

As far as writing goes, I have barely started a new book and I am not doing so well at keeping up with my writing goals. I need to carve out more time on the computer to actually work on my book.

What about you? How are your reading goals for 2018 coming along?

 

A few reviews

I’m playing catch up with my reviews so I’m going to do a few today.

Let’s start with the one I didn’t like so I can finish strong. The Shadow Rises by K S Marden, Witch Hunters book 1. Witch hunters and witches and inherited powers. A little confused with poorly developed characters. DNF. Not much to say but at least it was free.

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Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott, Sam Capra book 1

Sam works for the CIA. His wife is expecting their first baby. She also works for the Company. One day Sam goes to work and receives a call to from her to come outside right this second. As soon as he does a bomb goes off in the building and she disappears.

Sam is now the only survivor and the chief suspect. He only wants to escape custody and find his wife and baby. To do that he has to make some new allies and go on the run.

I love a good thriller and this one sounded really exciting. It has a great premise, as who doesn’t identify with wanting to find your family and keep them safe? The bad guys were pretty bad,the pace was goos. But the writing kept me from giving it more than 3.5 stars. Also I don’t enjoy political thrillers as much, so it wasn’t quite what I expected.

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Goldmayne by Kate Stradling

Duncan escapes an abusive father to wind up servant to a witch. There he meets a talking 🐎 who helps him escape. They set off for a neighboring country and find work at the castle.

This was a fairy tale retelling of two French stories, Scurvyhead and Goldmayne. I was unfamiliar with either story, so I couldn’t tell at first how it was going to end. It has a happy ending, of course, and the hero gets the girl. Fun stuffstuff. This one is on Kindle Unlimited or it’s only $1.

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Finally my favorite of the bunch, Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

“Far from city politics in the Calderon Valley, the boy Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. At fifteen, he has no wind fury to help him fly, no fire fury to light his lamps. Yet as the Alerans’ most savage enemy – the Marat – return to the Valley, he will discover that his destiny is much greater than he could ever imagine.” Caught in a storm of deadly wind furies, Tavi saves the life of a runaway slave named Amara. But she is actually a spy for Gaius Sextus, sent to the Valley to gather intelligence on traitors to the Crown, who may be in league with the barbaric Marat horde. And when the Valley erupts in chaos – when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies – Amara will find Tavi’s courage and resourcefulness to be a power greater than any fury – one that could turn the tides of war.

I actually liked this better than the Dresden Files. I liked Tavi and Amara better than I like Harry Dresden. It still has some problems, mainly a hyper sexualized female villain (her character does get explained though), but I thought it was a lot of fun. Looking forward to the next book.I

 

Hope this have you done ideas for your next read. See you later!

 

What Are You Reading?

Hey bookies! I’m back from a little break and I thought I’d check in and let you know what I’m reading.

First up is a book I got for Christmas called The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions by David Quammen. I’ve read one of his books before and I really liked his writing. It might sound a little dry, but if you like nature programs or travel adventures, you’d love this. I just finished A section on Komodo dragons and it was fascinating stuff.

I’m also reading The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. This one is for book club and I can definitely say it is not one I would have picked up on my own. It seems like it was written for book clubs, where there’s a lot of vaguely unhappy characters (all White, of course) who don’t do much of anything. Not enjoying it at all.

I hope that you are enjoying your books!

Happy weekend!

Lots of rain ☔ this weekend. 🌼 I think we’re playing Dungeons and Dragons again. I also got my first video review done! It’s all filmed and ready for the post production stuff. My son is going to take care of that this time. It went better than I expected.

What are you reading? I’m currently listening to Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. So funny! Hope you have a great weekend!

Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness – a review

Title: Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness 🐓

Author: David Casarett

Meet Ladarat Patalung – the first and only nurse detective in Thailand. 
Two nights ago, a young woman brought her husband into the emergency room of the Sriphat Hospital in Thailand, where he passed away. A guard thinks she remembers her coming in before, but with a different husband – one who also died.

Ladarat Patalung, for one, would have been happier without a serial murderer-if there is one — loose in her hospital. Then again, she never expected to be a detective in the first place.

And now, Ladarat has no choice but to investigate…

The first novel in a captivating new series by David Casarett, M.D.

Ladarat at works at a large hospital in the tourist town of Chiang Mai, Thailand. She is  a nurse ethicist, which means she helps with tough decisions that doctors and patients make every day. She enjoys her job, but when a friend who is a police officer asks for her help investigating a sudden death at the hospital.

A woman arrived at the emergency room with her dead husband and her marriage certificate, asking if she could get a death certificate. Very odd, she thinks. Even more mysterious when she discovers that the same woman had visited the hospital a few years earlier, with a different dead husband, one with the very same name. The police think it was murder, and that in fact, the woman might be a serial killer. Ladarat isn’t sure she’s cut out to be a detective, but surely finding a killer is an ethical thing to do? Meanwhile, she’s also helping the family of a dying tourist and preparing for a coming inspection by the health department.

I really enjoyed this book. The setting was so refreshing. I found myself drawn deeply into the world of the busy tourist destination. Then the hospital was a great place for the story too – so much human drama. The writer is always comparing the  Thai and American culture.

My one concern – I would have enjoyed this book more of it were an Own Voices book. This was written by an American doctor, so it’s no wonder that he got the hospital part right. But I really wondered how accurate the whole Thai setting was.  In the end though I liked it enough that I would probably read another book by the same author.

Wednesday Wisdom

For today’s post, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes. I

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“Books may well be the only true magic.”
― Alice Hoffman

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

Pirates AND Dragons!

Are you looking for a great escape read? After watching Marvel’s The Avengers: Infinity War – no spoilers, I promise! – I *really* needed something light and happy. What could be better than a fantasy story with a love triangle, pirates, and a little dragon? How about a kick-ass heroine who gets in there and mixes it up? And how about doing it all for less than a dollar?

The book is Moss Forest Orchid, book 1 in the Silver & Orchids series by one of my favorite fairy tale writers, Shari L. Tapscott. I’ve talked about Shari’s books before on here, so you know that I love them, but these books are not based on a fairy tale. They are entirely new.

Lucia is from a family of chicken farmers, looking for a way into a better life. She teams up with best friend (and grandson of the local lord) Sebastian and sets up as adventurers. Unfortunately, she invests all their earnings with a man who turns out to be a con artist, and the two have nothing to show for all their hard work. Then they hear about a new job – bringing back a cutting of a rare flower, an orchid that only grows in a distant and dangerous swamp. The pay would be enough for Lucia to pay back Sebastian and make a new start.

There’s only a few problems with this plan. First, Lucia and Sebastian can hardly talk to each other without fighting, so teaming up is going to be rough. And second, there’s this distracting (and sexy) pirate captain who keeping turning up. Finally, Lucia has hm, acquired a dragon egg, which is going to be trouble. The whole thing is a bit of a mess. But hey, pirates are good!

I loved this one so much that the love triangle didn’t even phase me. Normally I avoid those books, but this one was just done right. I was really deceived by the first book, but as soon as I finished, I downloaded book 2, Greybrow Serpent, and completely switched my ship! The first book is available on Amazon right now for only $1 so you have no reason not to check it out. Love, love this series!

 

 

Coming soon!

I’ve been thinking about doing a Booktube channel. I’m really getting into watching book videos and I thought it would be fun to try making my own. I hesitated though because I don’t know how to do all the technical stuff. Then my son, who wants to get into film someday, was saying that he wanted to make more videos! So we’re going to team up.

Step one is finding a place to film. I’m this crowded little house, that’s a challenge, but we found a place downstairs that needed a little work. Make that A LOT of work. We got some junk hauled out and now we’re ready to clean. I’ll post some pictures of the project so you can see what we’re up to.

 

 

Infinity War tonight!!!!!