Desktop Books | LRR Smith

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Desktop Monday 12/19/11

Is anyone excited to see which books have arrived on my desk this week? There are some that look pretty exciting!! :)

Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard
This one won't be published until January but the author went ahead and sent me an epub copy and will send me a paper copy later. :)

Here is what amazon says about it, "Detroit, 1971. Harry Levin, scrap metal dealer and holocaust survivor, learns that his daughter has been killed in a car accident. Travelling to Washington DC, he's told by Detective Taggart that the German diplomat, who was drunk, has been released and afforded immunity; he will never face charges. So Harry is left with only one option - to discover the identity of this man, follow him back to Munich and hunt him down. The first of a two-hander, Peter Leonard's new novel is a classic cat-and-mouse thriller. Told with swagger, brutal humour and not a little violence, it follows a good man who is forced to return to the horrors of his past."

An Anthem for the Battle Lands by Michelle Scott
This was a complimentary copy from the author and here is the description from Goodreads:

"Desperate to maintain their superiority, Magicians are fighting to keep machinery and inventions out of the hands of their serving class, the commons. To this end, the Magicians have waged a war -- a terribly destructive, magical war -- against any and all who dare to allow the unmagical commons to improve their lives through mechanical means.In the midst of this terrible battle, a small group of commons struggles to survive. They make their living by serving the dead, charging five cents to dig a grave, sew a shroud, and ring a peal. And in a land decimated by war, plague, and famine, they have plenty of work.pWhen the group meets a charismatic man by the name of William Rufflit and learns that he is working to build a militia of commons armed with his terrifying new invention -- the fyrestick -- they feel something they haven't experienced in a long time; hope. But what they don't realize is that Rufflit may not be their savior after all. He may, in fact, be an enemy even more fearsome than the one they are already facing."

Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA! by Guinevere Durham
This is a complimentary copy from the author and I'm actually really excited about it. My major is elementary education and I always complain b/c people teach kids information instead of how to learn the information. So... I think this will be interesting! :)

Here is the Goodreads' description, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” (Chinese Proverb) By the same premise, teach children the facts and you prepare them for the test. Teach them HOW TO LEARN the facts and you prepare them for a lifetime. In this age of technology, the teacher’s role is no longer that of presenter, lecturer, or the authority on the material. Today’s teacher is the mentor, guide, facilitator, and supporter. The educator who teaches the facts is now obsolete; now in place is the educator who teaches the student HOW TO LEARN the facts. Teaching methods include the five skills needed in order to LEARN HOW TO LEARN, culminating in being able to access, assess, analyze, and add up all the facts to form a conclusion. This is accomplished through the many avenues of technology.
Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA! identifies explains, and illustrates the competencies needed for this process:
Logic, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Investigating, and Experimenting. The skills may be used either independently of or in collaboration with each other. The learning style of the child, left-brained/right-brained and visual/auditory/kinesthetic modality, is also explained. Five Skills Between Confusion and AHA! is written for both educator and non-educator and provides material to use at home, in a classroom, or in the world.
Educator = everyone in the child’s circle who has a stake in teaching the child HOW TO LEARN for a lifetime."

Arrows of Desire by Sandra Adickes
This was a complimentary copy sent to me from the author.
The following description comes from Goodreads,
"Arrows of Desire chronicles the triumphs and heartaches of three generations of the working-class Benton family as they struggle for Parliamentary reform and social progress in nineteenth-century England."

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Desktop Monday on a Tuesday ;)

Desktop Monday (or, this week a Tuesday) is when I tell you all the new books that have arrived on my desktop this week. Exciting!! :)

The Returned by Dr. Laurence B. Brown (complimentary copy from the author).

Goodreads says, "For brothers Nathan and Mark Jones, the best summer vacation they can imagine is one of wild adventure. That is why they join their college geochemistry professor on a prospecting trip to South America. But what begins as a simple expedition rapidly devolves into a life-altering trip into the darkest corners of the human soul. The brothers’ lives soon morph into a kaleidoscope of the best and worst that lawless human nature and untamed wilderness can dish out. They quickly realize that their survival depends not only upon one another, but upon the native Indians they have been taught to fear—the only ones who can lead them back to civilization.

Forty years later, Nathan returns to uncover the truths behind the deadly expedition. In the process, he uncovers a secret that traps him in a terrifying collision of belief, superstition, and survival.

In the vein of Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man and John Boorman’s The Emerald Forest, Dr. Brown captures with primal ferocity the clash between the west’s fanciful myths of indigenous cultures, and the harsh reality we encounter when our worlds, ideals, and morals collide. Probing the deepest recesses of the human psyche, he lays bare the unadorned savagery not just of primitive cultures, but of all people who are forced into adrenaline-fueled battles of wits and wills to survive. The Returned is an insightful, scintillating, action-packed adventure that illuminates the survival-based instincts that lie dormant in us all—and how choices in desperate circumstances define our characters."

The Fractured Life of 3742 by Rob Cabitto (complimentary copy from the author).

From Goodreads, "The Life of 3743 is a journey, beginning with tragedy, addiction and culminating in redemption born out of desperation.
Rob Cabitto's story of his fractured life being redeemed is a powerful and cautionary tale of how a life can go horribly wrong. When Rob was five, he was put up for adoption because of the severe addictions of his parents.
As is often the case, these early hardships helped to make the man who he is today. Rob tells what it was like to live untethered to any spiritual, tribal or social belief system--and the consequences associated with an amoral lifestyle. He describes exactly what it was like to be homeless, penniless and jobless, with nowhere to go but down. However, what he believed to be his bottom was only a temporary stopping point. He had yet to fall further, and for many years, lived in the abyss of a life without meaning or direction.
This story is about overcoming immense obstacles as a child, the bad choices he made as a young adult and into adulthood, and the resilience of the human spirit. The Fractured Life Redeemed is insightful, captivating and has a universal message for all those who have been hopeless or lost--and that message is hope..."

Words of Inspiration by Rachel Greer (complimentary copy from the author.)

See review here.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Desktop Monday 12/5/11

Let's see what books arrived on my desktop this week. :)

The Blonde Theory by Kristin Harmel (synopsis from Goodreads)

Harper is the youngest attorney in her firm to make partner and, at thirty-five, the oldest one to remain unmarried. It seems the more successful she gets, the faster men run for the door. What to do? Apply her very expensive law school education to the problem, of course! (won on a giveaway)

Closet by Eric John Swanson (synopsis by Goodreads)

It seemed to be an innocent looking book that John picked up from the local bookstore, but late that night, as he read it in the secret of his closet, a creature emerged. Then with arms extended strangled the life out of him, leaving behind Megan and their baby Derek. But as Megan was leaving the house, two other forms attempted to kill her as well. The mysterious creatures were silent for the next two decades and Derek even managed to get married and start a family with a mentally disabled son. He went to seminary and was starting to look for a job. But, after receiving multiple rejections, Derek was at the bottom of despair. Then after a chance encounter with a witch, he picked up a book from the sidewalk that seemed to have all the answers he needed in life. Later that evening, as Derek was reading the book, there was a noise from the closet, and a door was opened to a demonic dimension that a local witch uses to take his mentally disabled son and wife into. Derek then enters the same dimension to save the ones he loves. Along the way he confronts the evil in his own life through the help of the Holy Spirit, who shows up in seven different human forms depending on the situation. After dealing with his own weaknesses Derek has to win back his wife, and confront the two creatures that plagued his parents. Closet captures the attention of young adults and fans of the supernatural. It helps the reader to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer and how the Spirit helps us to not only confront our weaknesses, but to gain victory as well. Also, it helps us the reader gain a better understanding of the plan He has for our lives. (complimentary copy from author for a blog tour)

Mo Wren, Lost and Found by Tricia Springstubb (synopsis from Goodreads)

This is the story of what happened after Fox Street.
Mo Wren knew that eventually she, her dad, and her sister, Wild Child Dottie, would have to move from beloved Fox Street. She just never expected it to happen so soon.
At the Wrens’ new place, things are very different. The name of the street—East 213th—has absolutely zero magic. And there’s no Mrs. Petrone to cut her hair, no Pi Baggott to teach her how to skateboard, no Green Kingdom to explore. She’s having trouble fitting in at her new school and spending a lot of time using the corner bus shelter for her Thinking Spot. Worst of all, Mo discovers that the ramshackle restaurant Mr. Wren bought is cursed. Only Dottie, with her new friends and pet lizard, Handsome, is doing the dance of joy.
For the first time in her life, Mo feels lost and out of place. It’s going to take a boy who tells whoppers, a Laundromat with a mysterious owner, a freak blizzard, and some courage to help her find her way home for good.(complimentary copy from author for review)

First Frost by Jennifer Estep (synopsis from Goodreads)

I am Gwen Frost, and I have a Gypsy gift. It's called psychometry - that's a fancy way of saying that I see images in my head and get flashes of other people's memories off almost everything I touch, even guys.
My gift makes me kind of nosy. Okay, okay, maybe a lot nosy--to the point of obsession sometimes. I want to know everything about everyone around me. But even I don't want to know the secrets my friend Paige is hiding or the terrible loss that will send me to a new school - Mythos Academy, where the teachers aren't preparing us for the SATs, but to battle Reapers of Chaos. Now I have no friends and no idea how my gift fits in with all these warrior whiz kids. The only thing I do know is that my life is never, ever going to be the same. . . (complimentary copy from Barnes and Noble)

Monday, November 28, 2011

Desktop Monday 11/28/11

Because of the holidays, I have not had a chance to make the video so I'm typing out the books I've received this week instead. I hope everyone had a great holiday and is ready to start back into a normal week. I know I'm not!! :)

Invasion: A C.H.A.O.S. Novel by Jon S. Lewis
This is a complimentary copy from the publisher.
The following description is from Amazon.

He didn't ask to be a hero, but now all that stands between us and chaos . . . is Colt.
Colt McAlister was having the summer of his life. He spent his days surfing and his nights playing guitar on the beach with friends. He even met a girl and got his first car. But everything changes when his parents are killed in a freak accident.
He's forced to leave his old life behind and move to Arizona with his grandfather. The only person he knows at the new high school is a childhood friend named Dani. And Oz, a guy he's sure he's never met but who is strangely familiar.
But what if his parents' death wasn't an accident? His mother, an investigative reporter, was going to expose a secret mind-control program run by one of the world's largest companies. Before she could release the story, what if agents from Trident Biotech made sure she couldn't go public?
Vowing to uncover truth, Colt is drawn into a secret world of aliens, shapeshifters, flying motorcycles, and invisible getaways.

The Vagabond King by James Conway
This was a complimentary copy from the author.
The following description came from Goodreads.

When his mother dies and he discovers the man he believed was his father is not, sixteen year old Chris is haunted by a mysterious apparition that forces him to question his pampered existence and embark upon a quest to find himself. Hoping she will “make a man of him”, he seeks sanctuary in the home of Magda, a middle aged waitress with a penchant for sex, only to discover she lives with her father, a cigarette smoking, beer swilling immigrant.

Chris hates his shabby new surroundings at the end of the street and the shabby old man at the end of his life who spends his days listening to old blues records and making Chris fetch him fresh cans of beer. But, when the old man tells tales of Communism, torture, escape and the mysterious medallion he wears, Chris learns that, like the old man’s skipping records, history repeats itself and the roles we play have been played many times before.

Honor & Entropy by Arthur Spevak
This was a complimentary copy from the author.
The following description is from Goodreads.

Telly Brensen longs for his father, missing since WWII, and despises his mother’s suitors; and when her priceless ring disappears, this ignites his long smoldering rage. He hunts down the ring, maiming the thug who has it; and even though this frees a man wrongfully imprisoned for taking it, he is prosecuted into choosing between the Marines or jail. His choice lands him in Vietnam, where he carries out an act of extraordinary valor. This time, though, a gunfight with a jealous NCO turns a Medal of Honor nomination into a dishonorable discharge. Four years later, with reasons to live fading fast, Telly gets a tip concerning his father. He tracks down old friend Arthur Spevak, solicits him for backup, and sets off alone…for Borneo.

Unknown to Telly, Spevak is a tormented soul in his own right. Once orphaned, a sense of worthlessness sabotages his every attempt at romance, and in desperation, he, too, joins the Marines. When sent to Vietnam, though, anger at the world for driving him to such measures will not abate, and he becomes a notorious rogue – until the death of a brave friend sends him home with new self-loathing. By the time Telly finds him, he is living on a Chinese mountainside, alone, aimless, and broke. Now since they never crossed paths in the war, each is ignorant of the other’s disgrace, and they make an awkward pact. Then Telly vanishes, and Spevak reluctantly picks up the trail, unaware of how far the journey will one day take him.

The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonals
This was a Free Friday book from Barnes and Noble
The following description is from Goodreads.

Clever and elegant, this novel forces you to think about how far you'd go to find the truth, and how many lies you'd tell to uncover it. Alice Love keeps her life (and boss, and family) running in perfect order, so when her bank card is declined, she thinks it's just a simple mistake. Sadly, someone has emptied her bank account, spending her savings on glamorous holidays, sexy lingerie, and a to-die-for wardrobe, and leaving Alice with lots of debt. But she soon wonders if perhaps her alter-ego's reckless, extravagant lifestyle is the one Alice should have been leading all along...

Monday, November 21, 2011

Desktop Monday 11/21/11

Desktop Monday 11/7/11

Think of this as the caption. I figured that for those of you who didn't want to watch the video or for my deaf friends that I should still type it out.... :)

Desktop Monday

Saturday, September 17, 2011

My desktop 9/17/11

Okay, before you watch this video know that my children were not obeying and that I said the Banned Book Week is Sept 4 but it's Sept 24th. That was at the same time that my children were not obeying so I'm going to blame it on them. LOL! :) Anyways... Happy Reading!!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Desktop Books for the week of 9/10/11

I realize that it's not quite the tenth but I'm not expecting anymore books this week so I thought I'd go ahead and put this on here!! :) I'm trying something new.... what do you think?