TTT - 10 Books I Feel Differently About Now That Time Has Passed

This top 10 weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and can be found HERE.  Each week they focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading.  This week I am featuring books I feel differently about now that time has passed.  

The Library at Mount Char - When I read this, I was constantly going back and forth "Do I love this, do I hate this, do I even LIKE it at all?" Yet this book has stuck with me and I feel I almost could change it to 5/5 instead of the 4/5 I originally gave it.

This Dark Endeavor - I really really really wanted to LOVE this book when I read it and it kind of hit short for me.  However, the more I think about it, I don't know that I have it a fair chance and a reread and then a continuation of the duology may be needed. 

The 5th Wave - I know I am in the minority but I really didn't like this book and the more time passes, the stronger my dislike grows.  (Although strangely enough I enjoyed the movie - it's the rare instance where I found the movie better than the book).

The Undead Series - I loved this series when it first came out in 2004 and thought it was awesome.  While I still enjoy them as light reads, now that I have read TONS more, they just aren't what I thought they were.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - This probably wouldn't have made this list last week, but here's what happened.  I adored this book when I read it in 2014.  I have recommended it so many times and featured it on so many lists.  Then this weekend, I finally watched the movie.  AND it annoyed me.  Now I don't know if the love I felt for the book was real or not.  And to top it off, my husband saw pieces of it and commented that it didn't look like a half bad movie.  Given this is sooooo not his genre, now I am more confused.

So what made you list this week?  I am so utterly baffled by my thoughts on Me, Earl and the Dying Girl that I am quitting at 5.

The Book of Joe - A "Scary" Man and His Dog

TITLE: The Book of Joe: About a Dog and His Man
AUTHOR: Vincent Price
PUBLISHER: Open Road Media
PUBLISHING DATE: April 26, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: In the tradition of classic dog stories like Anna Quindlen s "Good Dog. Stay. "and J. R. Ackerley s "My Dog Tulip," actor Vincent Price shares the heartwarming tale of his fourteen-year love affair with his mischievous yet endearing mutt Joe Actor Vincent Price won acclaim for his performances as a menacing villain in dozens of macabre horror films, such as "House of Wax." Less well known, though, is Price s lifelong love of animals, especially his fourteen-year-old mutt, Joe. From his wife s passion for poodles to film set encounters with all types of creatures, including goats, apes, and camels, Price s life was full of furry, four-legged friends. But it was Joe who truly captured his heart. Intelligent, courageous, and devoted to his owner, Joe was a special dog with a personality all his own. In this touching and light-hearted memoir, with a new introduction by Bill Hader and a preface by Vincent Price s daughter, Victoria, Joe gets involved in all sorts of hijinks: At one point, the actor has to defend his canine companion in court! Despite some bad habits, like stealing guests shoes, pursuing lustful trysts with neighboring dogs, or belly flopping into the garden fishpond crushing more than a few fish Price loves his "Joselito," whose unconditional loyalty more than makes up for his minor indiscretions. And when Price s elderly cousin who comes to stay with him is stricken with cancer, Joe never leaves her side. Price s tender and witty recollections of his time spent with Joe will bring joy to any animal lover s heart. The Vincent Price Family Legacy will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to the Fund for Animals. "

MY THOUGHTS: 
I remember being a young child and my grandmother loving to watch Vincent Price on The Hollywood Squares when I would spend summers with her. Of course, I know him best as the creepy voice on Michael Jackson's Thriller single. However, hearing that voice as a teen was enough to interest me into catching some of his horror movies, for which he is very well known and of which many are classics. I always considered him a classy, although sometimes terrifying individual, so imagine how thrilled I was to see this book (a reissue with a forward by one of his children) where he shared his love of dogs and other furry creatures.

"The Book of Joe" primarily tells of how Price's life was touched by animals, specifically his beloved Joe. Price explains that growing up and all through adulthood, pets were an important part of his life and his caring and adoration comes through in his stories. Joe was 100% mutt but Price felt that made him all the more dog, if that makes sense. And Joe definitely was independent, stubborn and more than anything, lovable. Joe came into Price's life before his second wife Mary, and the transition for her was not always a smooth one. The stories weaved between the cover of this book make for some very interesting tales. I especially love how Joe used to often run the canyon in California where the family lived and one day, they invited their neighbors, who had only lived in the area for 6 months, to dinner. During it, Joe strolled in and the neighbors exclaimed "Brownie, what are you doing here?" Apparently they believed they had taken in the homeless dog and unbeknownst to Price and his wife, Joe had a liter of pups down the block.

If you love dogs and even if like me, you have ever been fascinated with Price and that wonderful, creepy voice of his, then pick up this book and give it a chance. Although there are some autobiographical elements, Price stays true to the novel being a tale about the love of his life, Joe. So if you are looking for something about Price himself, then look elsewhere. But if you want a great take on a relationship between a dog and his man, then this is the book for you.

FAVORITE QUOTE: "Anyone who won't admit that he speaks to his animal fried in special terms of endearment is a liar and a coward. This is the voice of love that needs and gets no answer, and therefore it needs no explanation."

I received this book from Open Road Media and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 4 PAWS

BOOKER T'S THOUGHTS: Joe was an awesome dog!  He had all kinds of ladies and often went out with them for days on end - my hero!  Joe was lucky enough to own a wonderful man (much like me) and this book made Mom chuckle to herself, so that can't be all bad.  Joe had much more freedom than I did, but I guess in the 60's, life wasn't so scary for my 4-legged friends.  I give Joe 5 PAWS!!!!!!!

Weekly Reads (05/20/16) Booker had a Birthday!!!!!

It has been another crazy week here at the farm.  I have had a refresher training all week and have been driving an extra 90 minutes each morning and evening back and forth.  Today is the last day and I am so glad.  At least I have still been home by 5:15 each evening but I am exhausted.  Plus, I've had a few problems with the coworker I have to ride with which are really testing our friendship.  I am confident we can move past them, but it has definitely created some tension.

Booker T turned 6 on Monday and was spoiled rotten with toys, treats, special cupcakes and dinner.  I will include some pics. He is such a special dog and I don't know what our home would be like without him.

And yes, that is his and Cassius' toy box behind him.  Although he blends in too well, you can see Cass in the bottom of the second pic trying to see what his brother was doing (and yes, Cassius got the same thing Booker T did :)

I have two books up this weekend.  "The Book of Joe" seems to be a 3 time repeat, but I am half way through and it is short so hopefully the next time you see it will be in a review (I will spare you another picture of the cover).  Then I hope to get a good chunk of "My Best Friend's Exorcism" done as well. We watched quite a few movies last week. "Deadpool" was very enjoyable but not one to watch if you don't like crude comments.  I LOVED the new Star Wars, and then this week we watched "Witch."  That movie was all kinds of messed up and I will forever see those little evil kids and "Black Phillip" was just terrifying.  It wasn't a bad horror movie, but definitely one that made you think "WTF?"

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  What are your plans?

Waiting on Wednesday (56)

"Waiting on" Wednesday" is weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming anticipated releases.

 

September 20, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: Presented by James Patterson's new children's imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion...

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

WHY I'M WAITING: I am pretty much obsessed with fictional books based on Jack the Ripper so when I saw this it was a no-brainer.  Plus, I really am loving that cover.

What are you waiting for this week?

 

TTT - Top 10 Books I Picked Up On A Whim

This top 10 weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and can be found HERE.  Each week they focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading.  This week we are featuring the top 10 books that were picked up on a whim.

This was the first Huff book and read and while I still need to read the last one in this series, I grabbed it from the library one day because I simply loved the cover.

Another library grab - most of my impulse reads are.

I grabbed this one because it mentioned a crush on David Cassidy and when I was pre-teen, I had a huge crush on his brother, Shawn.  Not a bad read but I recall not really loving it,

Another grab from the "new" shelf at the library.

I couldn't resist the cover or the lion sitting in the backseat.

Couldn't resist the dog on the cover even though I had heard nothing about the book  - so glad I took a chance on this one since I loved it!

Purple is my favorite color so of course I had to read this.

Was sucked in by the shadow of the dog on the cover - nothing more.

I was in the mood for horror when I grabbed this one.  Looking at my Goodreads pages, almost all of my impulse reads have come from the library.  

I read this long before I knew who Libba Bray was and picked it up solely because of the cow carrying the gnome.  It was a wonderful book.

So what have you read on impulse?  Have you read any of these?  Thanks for stopping by!

Stacking the Shelves (65)

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves or TBR piles, may it be physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in a physical store, online, books you borrow from the library or friends, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks! The original meme was started over at Tynga's Reviews.  Clicking on the book should take you to the Goodreads page.  

The past two weeks I have purchased quite a few books and I didn't add them to the haul last week so here are the ones I obtained physical copies of:



I had to order the last two from Book Depository, and even if shipping is free, it seems like they took forever to get here.

I picked up the following for my Kindle:



All of these were $3.00 each or less and "Red as Blood, White as Bone" is a Tor.com novella that I won't lie about, it was strictly a cover buy.

 And finally I received the following ARCs:

So what did you add to your stacks this week?

Night Shift (Midnight, Texas #3) - Stars Hollow For Supes!

TITLE: Night Shift (Midnight, Texas #3)
AUTHOR: Charlaine Harris
PUBLISHER: Ace
PUBLISHING DATE: May 3, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: 
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels—“the Mark Twain of things that live under your bed”*—comes a new novel of Midnight, Texas, the town where some secrets will never see the light of day...
 
At Midnight’s local pawnshop, weapons are flying off the shelves—only to be used in sudden and dramatic suicides right at the main crossroads in town.

Who better to figure out why blood is being spilled than the vampire Lemuel, who, while translating mysterious texts, discovers what makes Midnight the town it is. There’s a reason why witches and werewolves, killers and psychics, have been drawn to this place.

And now they must come together to stop the bloodshed in the heart of Midnight. For if all hell breaks loose—which just might happen—it will put the secretive town on the map, where no one wants it to be...

MY THOUGHTS: I enjoy this series so much and the third book is another great addition. It's always hard to do continuing books in a series justice in a review because you always have to be careful to not give anything away, but I can truly say that when it comes to the Midnight, Texas series, Harris continues to knock it out of the ballpark.

In this installment, some "big bad presence" is slowly taking over Midnight and is causing people to randomly commit suicide at "the crossroads." All of our favorite characters, such as Olivia, Lemuel, Bobo, Figi, Manfred and Rev are back and we learn quite a bit about some additional characters as well, some old and some new. Harris manages to work some history into "Night Shift" that helps the reader better understand some of the players which also ended up making me more invested in the outcome. Also, as the gang works together in figuring out what is happening to Midnight, some new bonds are formed and new alliances are made.

Although I honestly feel that the Sookie Stackhouse series went on too long, I really hope that this isn't the end of the road for Midnight, Texas. I had heard it was originally planned for a 3 book trilogy, but I hope that since it has been picked up by NBC for a movie/series of some sort, that Harris has more to share with us about this quirky small town. I grew up in a small town and although I despised it as a teen, I must have enjoyed it in some fashion because it is an element I often love in the books I read. I have compared Midnight, Texas to Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls in case you live under a rock - just kidding) only with supernaturals and I stand by that comparison. I feel like this gang of characters is one I would like to hang out with, have a drink, do dinner (just not be dinner) and meet on the streets on a regular basis. Please, someone tell me this ride is not over!

RATING: 5 PAWS