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Saturday, September 30, 2017

Fall Fright Readathon


Hi Everyone!

Stopping by to let you know about a fun readathon. More details here.

Will you be participating?

Happy Reading!

Friday, September 29, 2017

Book Review: Ten Kilo and One Million



Author: K.J. Hannah
 
Summary from Goodreads: 
Until she collected one million dollars, mild-mannered Professor Tabatha Davis knew no one-eyed, steampunking oncologist, ate no anatomically correct marzipan, and paid for no Catalina Islands trip. Nonetheless, after winning the FurMeet's jackpot, she became shadowed by a second rate media crew, befriended by a peanut butter and jelly sushi entrepreneur, and was blamed for the python strangulation of a horse whisperer. What's more, she was abandoned by her cat, stumped by infatuations, and nearly killed by a draft horse.

Tabatha's snort-chocolate-milk-through-your-nose-funny story is a must read! Ten Kilo and One Million entertains with stoned visual artists, wild thespians, random academics, and a confused HVAC technician, while, more importantly, examining self-discovery and challenging the worth we attribute to fame.


Personal Review:
This book was a quick read with an interesting story line. Several times during the story, it made me laugh. There are some interesting ideas throughout the book and I think they are intended to be symbolic of other life situations.

I enjoyed the story and could see it coming to life for a production. There was a lot of vivid images that happen as you read the pages of this book.

I appreciated the opportunity to read this. Thank you.

 Disclaimer: I was awarded this book from the author. Though I did not pay for the book, the opinions are strictly my own.

Happy Reading!

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Book Review: The Four Tendencies



Author: Gretchen Rubin
 
Summary from Goodreads: 
In this groundbreaking analysis of personality type, bestselling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin reveals the one simple question that will transform what you do at home, at work, and in life.

During her multibook investigation into understanding human nature, Gretchen Rubin realized that by asking the seemingly dry question "How do I respond to expectations?" we gain explosive self-knowledge. She discovered that based on their answer, people fit into Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and engage more effectively.
 

More than 600,000 people have taken her online quiz, and managers, doctors, teachers, spouses, and parents already use the framework to help people make significant, lasting change.
The Four Tendencies hold practical answers if you've ever thought...
· People can rely on me, but I can't rely on myself.
· How can I help someone to follow good advice?
· People say I ask too many questions.
· How do I work with someone who refuses to do what I ask—or who keeps telling me what to do?
 

With sharp insight, compelling research, and hilarious examples, The Four Tendencies will help you get happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. It's far easier to succeed when you know what works for you.

Personal Review:

If you guys follow my blog at all, you know that I love Gretchen Rubin's, The Happiness Project. I have also enjoyed her other books. To that end, I had to get this one. I am so glad I did.

I really enjoyed this book. In this book, Gretchen further expands her research on the tendencies and what motivates us (or not) to do what we do. I really appreciated the book because it gave me a new frame of how to make sense of the world around me. It also builds on her theories about habits, how we create them, and where we go next.

This book was informative and engaging. I am glad I had a chance to read it.


Disclaimer: I was awarded this book as part of the Blogging for Books program. Though I did not pay for the book, the opinions are strictly my own.

Happy Reading!

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday: Artemis




Hi Everyone!

Stopping by to let you know about a book coming out in just a couple of months. This is by the author of The Martian, which I really enjoyed. I look forward to this one as well.


Artemis
Author: Andy Weir
Release Date: November 2017

 
Summary from Goodreads:
Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first

 
Happy Reading!

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Feature Characters Who Hike


Happy Tuesday! This week is a freebie topic, so I have decided to feature books about characters who enjoy hiking. It is fall and a great time to get outside to take a hike!
















Happy Trails and Happy Reading!

Monday, September 25, 2017

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date. I learned about this meme from Lori at Palmer's Page Turners. Thank you for sharing this fun meme! 



What I Just Finished Reading



A great book! :)

What I'm Currently Reading



What I am Reading Next

TBD!



Happy Reading!

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Guest Post with Ivette Garcia Davila

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to be here today to bring you a guest post from Ivette Garcia Davila.

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 I remember the day I fell in love with writing. Well, I was in love with it already, but the day I found out “we” were meant to be. I was in the second grade and I had to write a paper on my favorite thing. 

I remember the yellow #2 dancing across a blue page, my little self trying to think of ways to describe my obsession with that cold, creamy, gooey ball of goodness that always leaked through the precipice at the end of the sugar cone and left me with sticky fingers, no matter how fast I tried to suck it all up. As I wrote, I wondered ‘if this is homework, how come it feels so good?’ Imagine my delight when my paper on ice cream was chosen to be displayed on the school’s bulletin board.

I recall standing in front of my essay, crucified with thumbtacks and protected by a sliding plexiglass door. I was quite proud in spite of the one typo the teacher caught (which still bugs me to this day). In composing that essay, I had found the writer’s high and I’ve been chasing it ever since.

Much later (and after spending most of my teenage years writing bad poetry), I went to college and earned a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing and a Master’s in Film. I then moved to Los Angeles where I started writing screenplays instead of short stories and at some point, moved to the Philippines to teach screenwriting. I thought I’d found my jam. I loved writing scripts. Then, I got pregnant. And then, I had my baby. 

Some moms suffer from postpartum depression. My baby gave me something far more menacing to me (cue in sinister music): writer’s block. I couldn’t come up with any fictitious ideas or characters. Every time I found the time to hit the keyboard, I could only think of my current life as a mom to a nursing newborn. My hands were all wrapped up in making swaddles for my infinitely beloved daughter. My brain was stuck somewhere between the weird limbo sleepless nights and the never ending breastfeeding (Why did no one tell me how much it would suck?!). My intellect was occupied with constantly second-guessing my maternal abilities to raise a child. 

This “performance” anxiety led me to start re-reading notes and links I had collected during my pregnancy in the hopes of preparing myself for what was to come. I did more googling to find cures to current afflictions which led me to cross reference the heck out of everything. Always the nerd, I jotted my thoughts and findings. I also bought books to help me deal with my new responsibilities but none felt like they spoke to me, or if they did, they felt devoid of facts. I wanted to learn so much about motherhood, but also have a good time while doing so. 

Something clicked. I thought, maybe, just maybe, I could write the book I would’ve liked to read before I had my baby. And so I begun to shape those jumbled tidbits into coherent paragraphs that started to breed into pages and pages. I couldn’t stop — I was getting high! In fact, I started to get my fix every morning while my little girl napped from 4:30 - 8:30am. People say: ‘sleep when she sleeps’. I say, ‘write when she naps’.

In three months, I had a very rough draft. I spent the next three years flushing it out, re-writing, editing, re-writing, reading, finding more topics I had to add to the book, re-arranging them, researching to make sure I had all the facts straight, and then re-writing some more. I was tweaking till I was told I could tweak no more. 

My second baby, “I’m The One Pushing: A Practical and Renegade Guide to Choosing Your Own Motherhood Adventure,” was born past its due date, but thankfully before my (real) baby boy is born in October. We’ll see what writing he inspires. But till then, I’m happy to report I still love ice cream as much as ever. 

LINKS:

buy book on Amazon:

Buy book on Nook:

Buy on Kobo:

link to buy book via create space

youtube book trailer

follow author on amazon

link to podcast

link to subscribe to Push News:

Instagram: @imtheonepushing
Twitter: @imtheonepushing

Facebook:

Website:

ivette garcía dávila
@imtheonepushing
Buy book 
listen to podcast

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Thanks for being here today!