Book Recommendations and The Stories of Mental Illness

I had hoped to post a blog with BookBloggers International for their Mental Health awareness month series. But, I totally dropped the ball. Ain’t that the way? Anyway, here’s the post I would have posted for them.

I thought it would be easy to write a post about a book or two that I have recommended to my patients to read about depression or anxiety or whatever other things are going on for them. And I think it would be one way to go with a Mental Health-focused post. But, that’s not what I’m going to write about, exactly.

Books are a great way to learn about individuals and their stories as part of a way to increase awareness, understanding, and perspective taking. But this post is really more about how you don’t want to get too caught up in just one story.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Feel Differently About Now

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Broke and Bookish

May 24:  Ten Books I Feel Differently About After Time Has Passed (less love, more love, complicated feelings, indifference, thought it was great in a genre until you became more well read in that genre etc.)

I love this topic!! But once again I am going to split it up a little bit because I’m not sure I can think of ten things.

For me, because I read so much, I lose details of books pretty quickly so I’m mostly left with how I FEEL about a book: good or yuck?

Book Review: Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

You know what I hate about books like this? They make me want to read about history. I hate history. Honestly, if I ever go back in time and am expected to profit from my knowledge of events, I’m totally screwed. I think it’s interesting that people who get sent back in time in books always seem to know what the hell is going on… I mean, seriously. Eleanor of Aquitaine? As far as I know that name is completely made up!

But I digress. This was another book I read for my Rochester Teen Book Festival challenge. (I’m almost done talking about that for a while, so hang in there y’all!)

 Goodreads Summary:

When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing.

My two cents:

Book Review: One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

I read this book because a member of my book club said that I had to. I’ve heard great things about the author but hadn’t gotten around to reading anything by her.

Here’s the Goodreads Summary:

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages... maybe ever.

What can I add to that:

RocTBF2016 Recap Post

All right. My two month OBSESSION is over and done with. The 11th Annual Rochester Teen Book Festival is DONE. I have already started stalking the web site for plans for next year, but apparently, no one cares about MY needs!!

As you may know, the plan was for me to read (or have read) one book for each author that would be at TBF. Once again, I was so close to completing this goal that I could taste it! One barrier was that I was scheduled to participate in a book tour for a ginormous book during the final week of the challenge. Hashtag bad timing. I ended with three measly authors to go! However, I read a few books by authors I already knew and loved, so no tears from me. I guess.

I was an adult Author’s Assistant again this year. This basically means I was the Head of an author’s entourage. Here’s a picture of the team and the Spectacular Cathleen Davitt Bell.

Bout of Books 16 - Recap Post

I used my first Bout of Books readathon challenge to support my Teen Book Festival Challenge goal. While I did not end up reading each author that was at the Rochester TBF (I WAS SHORT BY THREE PEOPLE, DAG- NABBIT!!), I did read a butt ton and got pretty close.

Book Review: Two Audiobooks by Steve Sheinkin (RocTBF2016)

I wish that I had understood that history is basically a bunch of stories that really happened back when Social Studies was my least favorite subject in school. Of course, all that memorizing names and dates would have killed the intrigue, anyway, but maybe I would have hated it less.

Speaking of which! On my journey to Teen Book Festival madness, I picked up two books by Steve Sheinkin that were available through Overdrive as audio-books.

Both were excellent. They are told with narrative and supported with information from research letters and testimony from witnesses and participants in the events.

Lincoln’s Grave Robbers is the story of counterfeiters who decide to concoct a plan to free their previous boss and make their own big pay day by stealing the body of beloved President Lincoln. The plan will go down on election night in 1978. What could possibly go wrong!? There’s a lot of information about the Coney Men (counterfeiters) and the secret service that I never knew.

The Port Chicago 50 is about the 50 black navy men who were charged with mutiny after “refusing” to return to work following an explosion on their ammunition loading dock. The case became part of Civil Rights history as it forced folks to consider segregation and the fake notion of Separate but Equal in the military during World War II. This is a great story that includes a look into the experience of men who fought for a country that was simultaneously denying them basic rights. There's a scene where one of the men can't eat in a restaurant and watches prisoners of war being served and treated well that made me grateful for my own place in time.

Related Post:

Book Mini- Reviews: Three TBF YA Authors I'll be Fangirling Tomorrow (Talley, Hopkins, Anderson)

The problem with trying to read ALL THE BOOKS at one time is that I don’t have time to review them in a way that gives them justice. And I could say something ridiculous like, “oh, I will just review them later.” But when I say things like that, my psyche physically steps from my body (like Peter Pan’s shadow) and slaps me HARD across the face. She’s kind of a bitch, actually, but she’s right. It’s just not going to happen.

But I want to pause in my brain numbing readathon and post about the last three books I finished. Two were written by authors I had already read and one was an author discovery. They are all planning to be at the Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival tomorrow. [Click here for the last update on my RocTBF2016 challenge.]

Each tells the tale of a teen on the brink of adulthood who have to figure out what they believe about themselves after a life time of input from parents and peers. Many of whom have their own baggage and agendas.

Robin Talley's book, Lies We Tell Ourselves is set in 1959 during the forced integration of a white school in Virginia. The story the experience from the point of view of two characters: 1) Sarah, a talented Black senior whose family has moved to the South to be part of the movement, and 2) Linda, a White classmate who is the daughter of one of the most outspoken anti- integrationists in the land. Linda's been given a great deal of miseducation her whole life about Black people in general and learns a lot about race and about her self as she gets to know Sarah. And they both discover their feelings for each other are much more complicated than they expected they ever could be.

Smoke is the sequel to Ellen Hopkin's Burned, a book I read for last year's TBF challenge. Burned FLOORED me last year. It tells the tell of a teenager who is being raised in the Mormon tradition. She's the oldest and has taken the brunt of her father's drunken abuse over the years. When she is sent away to live with her Aunt, she discovers love and her own strengths. The book's ending was... well... I still can't talk about it. Smoke was a great book of redemption and a wonderful wrap up. The feels just keep coming with this book set and I will definitely be checking out more of Ms. Hopkins shenanigans.

Twisted was written by Laurie Halse Anderson, an author I already love based on several other books I've read. I also met her in person last year at Book Riot Live, which made me love her all the more. We hugged. I'm just saying... Anyway. Twisted is about Tyler, a 17- year-old nerd boy who is on probation for a stupid prank he pulled last year. He's getting some new attention this year as a senior from the most popular girl in school, and the girl's brother who has been Tyler's bully since middle school. Tyler goes through the year trying to figure out how to handle his new attention, his new stronger body (built from doing community service), and his ever- present hard on in the context of an emotionally abusive father. For a while, Tyler isn't sure that he can cope and he struggles with a serious decision. I loved the ending of this book for many reasons. But I don't want to give it away.

What I've Been Reading (Outbox May 11, 2016)

My last outbox post was on April 20^th, probably when I started focusing on getting the TBF books read. I’ve read 15 books since then and done book reviews for many of them. 

I did a blog tour for the Double and for Friday Evening, Eight O'clock, the only two "adult" oriented books I've read that weren't audiobooks.

I posted an update about how the TBF challenge is going and it has links to the related book reviews over there [Link here]. I’ll give you a little bit of a highlight reel for my overall outbox and then I gotta get back to business!

Bout of Books Update, Midweek!

This week is all about binge reading all the books to complete my RocTBF2016 Challenge. I’ve joined the bout of books readathon for the first time mostly to support the goal. It’s super fun. The other people participating are nice and run some great blogs. Follow the hashtag #boutofbooks on twitter if you don’t believe me. I'm sure you can follow it on other platforms, but I'll leave that all up to you to figure out!

Since Monday I've:

• 972 actual pages 
• Listened to about 8.5 hours of audiobook
• Finished 4 books (completing one that was already started before the challenge started).
• Participated in 1 twitter chat (monday)
• Been tweeting encouragement to other #boutofbooks tweeps

Currently reading:

  

Up Next:

Bout of Books Challenge

May 11: Bout of Books Challenge today is “Five Favorites”

So… My Five Blog Posts (Don't judge me for being overly self- focused! I needed something quick!! Plus, it is *my* blog!)

1.    My post about the Unofficial Book Riot Book Crawl last year.

2.    A post about what I do in my "spare time."

3.    This post about my favorite Bookish people in the 'verse.

4.    This one from when I got my Little Free Library posted!

5.    My post after Broadway con in January.

Book Review (Blog Tour): Friday Night, Eight O'clock by Nino Gugunishvili

I received a copy of the ebook for free in exchange for a review and participation in the blog tour, going on right now!

What Goodreads had to say:

Tasha is a dreamer in search of a new dream.

She's bored with Pilates. She's never tried yoga. She doesn't even have a driver's license. She lives a pretty ordinary life as a freelance writer who battles the occasional flow of melancholy with the regular flow of martinis. Nestled into her couch, her television remote in one hand and a cold adult beverage in the other, she's found a favorite way to pass the hours on a Friday evening. It's comfortable and familiar, but it's not exactly an exciting way to live. With two of her closest friends, a bossy mother, an eighty-two-year-old grandmother, and Griffin, her fat yellow Labrador at her side, she knows that there has to be something better out there.

But where?

When she gets an unexpected offer to relocate to France to write a magazine column, she thinks her circumstances are improving. But life in a new country isn't all pêches et la crème. Now far away from her comfort zone, Tasha must find the inner strength to start a new career and navigate the bizarre and unknown world of professional jealousy, intrigue, and conflicting personalities in a very foreign land.

It's enough to make a girl yearn for those quiet nights on the couch.

My two cents:

Bout of Books 16 - Master Post

 What do I need to push through the last week before TBF? A reading challenge! Yes!! Enter: Bout of Books 16. This will be my first one.

Official Blurb:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Reading Goal:

My goal is to read the 10 books I need to complete my TBF reading challenge goal!! Of course, there's work to deal with.

Challenges/Giveaways

Monday 5/9
Introduce Yourself #insixwords
My post: Kenya, here! Bookish, nosy YA enthusiast.

Tuesday 5/10
Show Off Your Shelves Photo Challenge #shelfie4boutofbooks

My post: Here's an old #shelfie #shelfie4boutofbooks. Hey!

I'm wearing those headphones I lost!

Wednesday 5/11
5 Favorites - Update post

Thursday 5/12
If you like this, try this...

My Posts:

#boutofbooks challenge: If you like @cw_spn #Supernatural, try Anna Dressed in Blood by @KendareBlake #YaLit

#boutofbooks: If you liked American Boys by @KielyBrendan and @JasonReynolds83 then try Lies We Tell Ourselves by @robin_talley #RocTBF2016

Friday 5/13
Freaky Friday Photo Challenge #freakyboutofbooks
 

My Post: The most horrifying picture on the Internet: my coffee cup is... EMPTY!! #boutofbooks #freakyboutofbooks 

Saturday 5/14
Share your favorite Bout of Books moment - Fail! I just shared and RTed other people's moments!

Sunday 5/15
FREE DAY!

Recap Post

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Related Posts: