Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick is:

The Moment of Letting Go by J. A. Redmerski

Pub date: April 25, 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

Sienna Murphy never does anything without a plan. And so far her plans have been working. Right after college, she got a prestigious job and gained the stability she'd always craved-until work takes her to the sun-drenched shores of Oahu and places her in the path of sexy surfer Luke Everett. For the first time, she lets her heart take control. Drawn to his carefree charm, she makes a spontaneous and very un-Sienna-like decision to drop everything and stay in Hawaii for two more weeks.

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme by Tynga's Reviews.Its all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course e-books!

From the library...

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Right Thing by Amy Conner

The Skinnytaste Cookbook by Gina Homolka

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Showcase Sunday

Showcase Sunday is a meme hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea that highlights your newest books you received over the week.

I got these from the library.

Book Review: The New Colored Pencil: Create Luminous Works with Innovative Materials and Techniques by Kristy Ann Kutch

Title: The New Colored Pencil: Create Luminous Works with Innovative Materials and Techniques

Author: Kristy Ann Kutch

Publisher: Watson-Guptill

Pub date: 5/20/2014

Source: Blogging for Books

Summary from the back of book:

Master the Latest Breakthroughs in Colored Pencil Art

If you want to create colorful, radiant works of art, colored pencil and related color media (wax pastels, watercolor pencils, and so on) provide you with limitless options for adding vibrancy to your creations. In The New Colored Pencil, artist and instructor Kristy Ann Kutch guides you through the latest developments in color drawing media with examples of and recommendations for the newest pencil brands, drawing surfaces, and groundbreaking techniques (including using the Grid Method, grating pigments, blending with heat, and more). Supported by step-by-step demonstrations and showcasing inspiring art from some of today’s best colored pencil artists, The New Colored Pencil shows you how to use color theory to your advantage, combine color media, create and enhance textures, and experiment with surfaces to create interesting effects. Whether you use traditional wax-based, or watercolor colored pencils, The New Colored Pencil will take your art to the next level.

My Review:

This book is a great guide for those who want to get started in the medium of color pencil or for artists who are already familiar with the medium and want more tips and techniques. This would be a great addition to any artists' art book collection. There are a lot of beautiful color illustrations through out the book. The book is divided into three parts: Wax-Based Traditional Colored Pencil, Water-Soluble Colored Pencils and Wax Pastels and Combining Colored Drawing Media.
      My favorite part of the book besides the paintings is the appendix where the author lists the different brands and types of colored pencils along with their colors. I didn't know that there were so many different brands of colored pencils! I only own three of the brands that are listed. Of what I have learned from this book, I have a good overall range of colored pencils but I think I want more. This book was very informative and I recommend it to any artist who wants to learn more about colored pencil techniques or to anyone that is curious as to how to get started in creating luminous colored pencil paintings.

FTC: I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for review.

Feature and Follow Friday

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

 This weeks question:
 What is the biggest city you live near (or interesting landmark)? Show us a postcard picture.

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Its all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

From the library:

Review: All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner

Title: All Fall Down

Author: Jennifer Weiner

Publisher: Atria Books

Pub date: 6/17/2014

Source: Library








Summary from Amazon:

Allison Weiss got her happy ending—a handsome husband, adorable daughter, a job she loves, and the big house in the suburbs. But while waiting in the pediatrician’s office, she opens a magazine to a quiz about addiction and starts to wonder…Is a Percocet at the end of the day really different from a glass of wine? Is it such a bad thing to pop a Vicodin after a brutal Jump & Pump class…or if your husband ignores you?

The pills help her manage the realities of her good-looking life: that her husband is distant, that her daughter is acting out, that her father’s Alzheimer’s is worsening and her mother is barely managing to cope. She tells herself that they let her make it through her days…but what if her increasing drug use, a habit that’s becoming expensive and hard to hide, is turning into her biggest problem of all?

With a sparkling comedic touch and a cast of unforgettable characters, this remarkable story of a woman’s slide into addiction and struggle to find her way back up again is Jennifer Weiner’s most masterful work yet.

My review/thoughts:

All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner is different from all of her other books because this one deals with addiction. Allison seems to have it all: the husband, the child and career, but being a wife, mother and daughter gets to be too much for her so she innocently enough starts using her pain pills to get through the day. This story lets you inside the head of a person who is dealing with addiction. You see the struggle Allison has within herself. You also see how she tries to overcome her addiction to come out on the other side. This story is engaging and a page turner.

Teaser Tueday

                      Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along. Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! 

• Share the title and author too for other TT participants can add to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

Erased (Altered #2) by Jennifer Rush

My teasers:

"How much?" Sam asked carefully. "A mile? A county? A state?"
 Nick shoved  his hands in his pants pockets. "As much space as I can get."

pg. 31

Showcase Sunday

Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky of Books, Biscuits and Tea.



From the library:

Review: Psychos: A White Girl Problems Book by Babe Walker

Title: Psychos: A White Girl Problems Book

Author: Babe Walker

Publisher: Gallery Books

Pub date: 4/29/2014

Source: NetGalley









Summary from Amazon:

If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands who devoured Babe Walker’s New York Times bestselling novel White Girl Problems or one of the million people who read her blog or follow her on Twitter daily, then you’ve obviously been waiting with bated breath for her hilarious follow-up novel, Psychos.
Fresh from a four-month stint in rehab for her “alleged” shopping addiction, Babe Walker returns home to Bel Air ten pounds lighter (thanks to a stomach virus), having made amends (she told a counselor with bad skin she was smart) and confronted her past (after meeting her birth mother for the first time—a fashion model turned farmer lesbian). Although delighted to be home and determined to maintain her hard-won inner peace, Babe now faces a host of outside forces seemingly intent on derailing her path to positive change. Not only is she being trailed by an anonymous stalker, but she’s also reunited with the love of her life, a relationship that she cannot seem to stop self-sabotaging.
Babe’s newfound spirituality, coupled with her faith in the universe and its messages, leads her all over the world: shoulder dancing in Paris, tripping out in Amsterdam, and hooking up in the Mediterranean, only to land her back in New York City, forced to choose between a man who is perfect in every way (except for one small detail) and a man who could be The One if only he didn’t drive Babe to utter insanity.
Unapologetic and uproarious, Psychos is the send-up of the season—already as timeless as vintage Dior.

My thoughts/review: 

Psychos is the sequel to the first White Girl Problems book. Babe Walker returns home from rehab and takes readers on a wild ride with her as she travels from Paris, Amsterdam, Switzerland and New York because she is running from a crazy stalker. This book was over the top, crazy and fabulous because Babe is crazy. Like seriously. For some reason while I was reading it, I pictured Babe as a young Rachael Zoe. I think its because Babe loves fashion and has a California vibe. There was never a dull moment because I didn't know what Babe or Babette would do next. This book is a fast paced hilarious read with some twists and a mystery element to it.

Review: Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton

Title: Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir

Author: Toni Braxton

Publisher:  It Books

Pub date: 5/20/2014

Source: Edeilweiss

Summary from Amazon:

In this heartfelt memoir, six-time Grammy Award-winning artist and star of WE TV’s reality hit Braxton Family Values, Toni Braxton writes about her personal life decisions and their impact on her health, family and career.
While Braxton appears to be living a gilded life—selling 60 million records, appearing in sold-out Las Vegas performances and hit shows like Dancing with the Stars, and starring in her own reality series—hers is in fact a tumultuous story, a tale of triumph over a life filled with obstacles, including two bankruptcy filings. The mother of an autistic child, Braxton long feared that her son’s condition might be karmic retribution for earlier life choices, some of which will shock fans. But when heart ailments began plaguing her at the age of 41 and she was diagnosed with Lupus, Braxton knew she had to move beyond the self-recrimination and take charge of her own healing.  Intensely honest and deeply inspirational, Unbreak My Heart is the never-before-told story of the measures Braxton took to make herself and her family whole again. 

My review:

I've been following Toni Braxton's career since the early 90s and recently I've been watching her and her sisters on Wetv. So I was happy to read her memoir. She talks about everything from her strict childhood upbringing to the bankruptcy she went through twice and to how she got diagnosed with lupus. In interviews, she touches on all of these subjects but the book gives a little more detail about what happened. This was an entertaining and fabulous read.

Waiting on Wednesday: Psychos: A White Girl Problems Book by Babe Walker

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that showcases upcoming titles we are anticipating.


My selection this week is:

Psychos: A White Girl Problems Book by Babe Walker

Release Date: April 29, 2014

Publisher: Gallery Books

Summary:

If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands who devoured Babe Walker’s New York Times bestselling novel White Girl Problems or one of the million people who read her blog or follow her on Twitter daily, then you’ve obviously been waiting with bated breath for her hilarious follow-up novel, Psychos.

Fresh from a four-month stint in rehab for her “alleged” shopping addiction, Babe Walker returns home to Bel Air ten pounds lighter (thanks to a stomach virus), having made amends (she told a counselor with bad skin she was smart) and confronted her past (after meeting her birth mother for the first time—a fashion model turned farmer lesbian). Although delighted to be home and determined to maintain her hard-won inner peace, Babe now faces a host of outside forces seemingly intent on derailing her path to positive change. Not only is she being trailed by an anonymous stalker, but she’s also reunited with the love of her life, a relationship that she cannot seem to stop self-sabotaging.

Babe’s newfound spirituality, coupled with her faith in the universe and its messages, leads her all over the world: shoulder dancing in Paris, tripping out in Amsterdam, and hooking up in the Mediterranean, only to land her back in New York City, forced to choose between a man who is perfect in every way (except for one small detail) and a man who could be The One if only he didn’t drive Babe to utter insanity.

Unapologetic and uproarious, Psychos is the send-up of the season—already as timeless as vintage Dior.

 

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I got these from the library.

For review:

Review: Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair) by Rosie Perez

Title: Handbook for an Unpredictable Life...

Author: Rosie Perez

Pub date: 2/25/2014

Publisher: Crown Archetype

Source: Edelweiss









My thoughts/review:

Rosie Perez is a survivor. I was curious to read her memoir because I remember growing up watching Soul Train and seeing her in movies. I barely remember the tabloid stories that she mentions in the book since I was so young but I remember her. This was a fast read and very entertaining. This book felt like a friend talking to you rather than an impersonal memoir. Her personality shines throughout the book. Something parts were sad but she showed how she overcame her situations. 

Review: The Love Playbook: Rules for Love, Sex, and Happiness by La La Anthony

Title: The Love Playbook: Rules for Love, Sex and Happiness

Author: La La Anthony with Karen Hunter

Publisher: Celebra

Pub date: 1/28/2014

Source: Library








My Review:

This book is described in the flap as a "guide to finding love, building healthy relationships and being true to yourself". La La takes from her own life experiences and gives examples of what to do and what not to do in romantic relationships. This book felt like an autobiography with relationship and life advice mixed in coming from a long time friend over coffee. I got an insight into who La La is as a person not just the celebrity we see on TV. She is a real down to earth person with really good advice  La La uses basketball analogy to get her point across in each of the chapters. Overall, this is a fabulous read that gives a modern take on advice on love and life.

Waiting on Wednesday: Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata, My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling With Great Hair

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. Its a way to share with other readers books we are anticipating reading.



This weeks anticipated read:

Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata, My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (With Great Hair)

By Rosie Perez
Publication date: February 25, 2014
Publisher: Crown Archetype 



Summary from Amazon:

Rosie Perez first caught our attention with her fierce dance in the title sequence of Do the Right Thing and has since defined herself as a funny and talented actress who broke boundaries for Latinas in the film industry. What most people would be surprised to learn is that the woman with the big, effervescent personality has a secret straight out of a Dickens novel. At the age of three, Rosie’s life was turned upside down when her mentally ill mother tore her away from the only family she knew and placed her in a Catholic children’s home in New York’s Westchester County. Thus began her crazily discombobulated childhood of being shuttled between “the Home,” where she and other kids suffered all manners of cruelty from nuns, and various relatives’ apartments in Brooklyn.

Many in her circumstances would have been defined by these harrowing experiences, but with the intense determination that became her trademark, Rosie overcame the odds and made an incredible life for herself. She brings her journey vividly to life on each page of this memoir—from the vibrant streets of Brooklyn to her turbulent years in the Catholic home, and finally to film and TV sets and the LA and New York City hip-hop scenes of the 1980s and ‘90s. 

More than a page-turning read, Handbook for an Unpredictable Life is a story of survival. By turns heartbreaking and funny, it is ultimately the inspirational story of a woman who has found a hard-won place of strength and peace.

 

Review: Who Asked You by Terry McMillan

Title: Who Asked You?

Author: Terry McMillan

Publisher: Penguin Publishing

Pub Date: 9/17/2013

Source: Library









 Summary from Goodreads:

Kaleidoscopic, fast-paced, and filled with McMillan’s inimitable humor, Who Asked You? opens as Trinetta leaves her two young sons with her mother, Betty Jean, and promptly disappears. BJ, a trademark McMillan heroine, already has her hands full dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams—all while holding down a job delivering room service at a hotel. Her son Dexter is about to be paroled from prison; Quentin, the family success, can’t be bothered to lend a hand; and taking care of two lively grandsons is the last thing BJ thinks she needs. The drama unfolds through the perspectives of a rotating cast of characters, pitch-perfect, each playing a part, and full of surprises.

Who Asked You? casts an intimate look at the burdens and blessings of family and speaks to trusting your own judgment even when others don’t agree. McMillan’s signature voice and unforgettable characters bring universal issues to brilliant, vivid life.

My Review:

Who Asked You? by Terry McMillan chronicles the lives of Betty Jean, her family and friends and their lives in Los Angeles. Although Betty Jean (BJ) is the main character, this book is also told in everybody else's voice such as her husband, her best friend Tammy, her two sisters and Nurse Kim. This is a big book but once I started reading I got lost in the story. My favorite characters were: Luther and Ricky, who are Betty Jean's grandkids, and her best friend Tammy. This book deals with real life issues such as drug addiction, identity, loss, love, and overall family drama.