Tuesday, February 9, 2016

I show you my books, you show me yours vol.13

Hey, Hey, Hey!  It's Show Us Your Books day!  It's also my guy's birthday! 
 

This guy:

Now, we got that outta the way.  (Don't worry, he doesn't read my blog.)  It's "Show Us Your Books" time!  (I'm pretty wordy this month........if you want to skim, just look at the ratings.)

Books I've read since last link-up:

1.  Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol - Most of you know that I'm a rock bio fanatic.  I've read quite a few.  I even have a goodreads "shelf" of them (if you're interested).  I must admit.  I had pre-conceived thoughts about Billy Idol's book.  Yes, as expected, there are stories of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll.  What was unexpected is how insightful, articulate, and seemingly intelligent he is.  He gives credit and lists many influences, so when David Bowie died as I was reading this, all of his nods of respect to David Bowie became so poignant and meaningful.  (This is what Billy had to say about David Bowie's death) 4/5

2.  Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew QuickI am on the fence with this book. Parts of this story frustrated and annoyed me, and I felt disconnected. Other parts were so sad, so real, and so heart-wrenching that I was engulfed with the story. 3/5

3.  Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington/Nugi Garimara - I talk specifically about this post in this post.  3/5

4.  The Silent Girls by Eric Rickstad - This book is a reason that I enjoy book challenges so much. I came up with this category for Book Challenge by Erin 4.0: to pick an author currently popular from Amazon's hot 100 that I'd never read before. I had never even heard of Eric Rickstad, but the book sounded like one I might like. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, the characters, and how the storyline came together with some loose ends that left me wanting more. 4.5/5

5.  Child of God by Cormac McCarthy - My initial response when I closed this book: " I need a shower after reading this book. McCarthy paints a disturbing picture of severe depravity. This is one effed up book." Cormac McCarthy gave us Lester Ballard in 1973.  This demented soul, this backwoods murderer, this terrorizing necrophiliac, this guy is creepy beyond creepy...if this guy doesn't keep you up at night, I don't know who will.  4/5 (wasn't a perfect score, solely because the language of 1973 and the pace of 1973 took some time to get used to)

6.  Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction by David Sheff - Last month, I read Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff, and thought it was a harrowing, heartfelt book from a young drug addict.  I knew I needed to read the companion book released by his father.  So, I did.  Maybe it's because I've read Tweak, so I know how much of the story unfolds, I wasn't as enthralled with this book. Maybe it's because I am not a parent. There are many gut-punching moments that I'm sure a parent of an addict experiences.  I am a step-parent and could relate to the stepmother, but neither book is her voice. I can't put my finger on why this book didn't move me as much, but I do feel like I have an interesting insight reading both perspectives of the same occurrences. What I took from these books?  Meth is bad.  Evil.  Stay away from meth.  3.5/5

7.  Guilt by Matt Nable - Another Aussie Author Challenge book, and I discuss it here 2/5

8.  Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent - A memoir that is impossible for me to "review".  Uplifting, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking. Culturally and socially, this book is educational. Morally, this book is inspirational. Lessons of love, faith, forgiveness, change, philanthropy, and more.   5/5

Bare with me as I share a personal story...my dad's second wife, my step-mother, passed away from brain cancer in 2003.  When her body was riddled with poisons and drugs and cancerous cells, she told us she believed in the power of prayer and became a believer that angels existed.  When I questioned, she told me that she saw them, heard them, and felt them.  There is a part of this book that made me SOB as a cancer sufferer tells her family she sees angels.  I respected the honest (sometimes brutally, painfully honest) description of the pain and suffering of a terminal illness.  It made the other parts of the story carry merit and truth...parts that a reader could assume were sensationalized or exaggerated.  For any person of faith, read this book.  For others, read this book. 

Starting Tonight:  The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi

On Deck:  Kill Your Friends by John Niven, This House of Grief by Helen Garner, Please Come Back from the Moon by Dean Bakopoulus

Life According to Steph

As always, thanks to Jana & Steph for hosting this fabulous community of book lovers.

34 comments:

  1. I will definitely have to check out The Silent Girls! Have a good one!

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  2. I haven't read any of these, but I HAVE learned about the rabbit-proof fence via a history podcast :)

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  3. happy birthday to your hubby! I hadn't heard of a lot of these books - looks like a diverse month of reading for you!!

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  4. happy birthday to your hubby!!

    hugs re your last review. i wish i had helpful words, but hugs instead. i am definitely skeptical and cynical sometimes (all the time) so i love that you shared that and i will add it to my list and keep you in my mind when i read it :)
    the silent girls sounds interesting and terrifying. adding it!

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  5. happy birthday to the mister! and oh my goodness, thank your sweet heart for sharing that story. now i want to read that book even more. sounds amazing.

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  6. I read Beautiful Boy and don't remember it being that meaningful for me either.

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  7. Silent Girls is on my list, it's always good when someone gives a good review to something waiting on my TBR list.

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  8. I'm reading Silent Girls right now. I like it so far.

    Happy happy to your husband!

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  9. I didn't think this was long at all. I love reading book reviews! Happy Birthday to your man!

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  10. I added Tweak to my to read list after reading your review. books like that are extremely fascinating to me. I'm going to look into The Silent Girls too, sounds like something I would like!

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  11. DEAN B. IS ON YOUR LIST!!! YAY!!!

    I'm basically just copying your entire list of books this month. The ones that aren't already on there.

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  12. I got chills at your personal story... I truly believe in angels. I'm so glad you loved that book - its one of my favorites.

    I didnt know about that billy idol book - I need to check that out - love him!

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  13. Some heavy books in here, wow. I've read a few reviews of Cormac McCarthy books and I decided long ago that I don't think I'll ever be able to read anything by him. I'd like to, but I can't handle it! I'm a wimp, for real.
    On a brighter note, happy birthday to your guy!

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  14. Same Kind of Different as Me was already on my to read list. I just added The Silent Girls. And happy birthday to your guy!

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  15. Hmmm The Silent Girls sounds interesting. Never read or heard of any of these books but if I am looking for some heavier stuff I think I am going to check some of them out!

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  16. Added Same Kind of Different As Me, The Silent Girls, and Child of God to my to-read list! I'm nervous about Child of God because of your thoughts after. I've never read Cormac McCarthy though and I feel like I need to.

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  17. I'm definitely intrigued by The Silent Girls and Child of God and adding them to my list. I've already Tampa and Pretty Girls from Jana, so I have some dark reading ahead of me. :) Thanks for sharing!

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  18. Definitely added The Silent Girls to my to-read list. I love a good mystery!

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  19. I added Rabbit-Proof Fence to my list after reading your previous review. After reading this post, I've now added The Silent Girls, Child of God, and Same Kind of Different as Me.

    I love when you can really connect to a book (or song or movie) on some very personal level, so I really appreciated that you shared why Same Kind of Different as Me was so moving to you.

    On a lighter note, happy birthday to your guy! I hope you guys have a great time celebrating! :-)

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  20. Just added the Billy Idol to my to-read! (And now I'm sad about Bowie all over again.)
    And Happy Birthday to your man!

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  21. Putting The Silent Girl on my reading list!

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  22. Oh, I love how much you read in a month! I haven't heard of most of these, but I'm definitely going to check out The Silent Girl!

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  23. I love Same Kind of Different As Me. One of my friends gave it to me and I just loved the story. You'll have to read What Difference Do It Make now. ;) And... Cormac McCarthy always leaves me feeling like I need a shower.

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  24. Happy birthday to your guy! Hope he gets plenty of cake. I'm a fan of a rock biography too, so I might check out Billy Idol. What's the best musician's auto/bio you've ever read?

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  25. First of all, happy belated birthday to your guy. :)

    Secondly, I have The Silent Girls on my Kindle right now. I get a free book from Amazon every month & I choose that one. I just started a different one but might have to put this one next.

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  26. Wow, a lot of heavy material here. The Silent Girls sounds like something I would like too. Happy belated to your man!

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  27. Added the Silent Girls. So interesting, the timing of your reading Billy Idol's book when David Bowie died. Happy Birthday to your guy (by now it's probably two days past)!

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  28. It sounds like I'll need tissues handy for not only The Nightingale, but also Same Kind of Different As Me! The Silent Girls and Child of God both sound like really interesting books! I love me some crazy people!

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  29. Oh I want to read same kind of different as me! I need to add that I meant to a while back!

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  30. I've heard about Child of God from a few people, but not described quite the way you did. Haha! I still want to read it though. Please Come Back from the Moon is on my list too, but my libraries don't have it and I don't know if I want to pay for it. I can't wait to see what you think!

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  31. I love the work of Erin tulismu. thanks for his writings, you can visit me back at http://obatherbal-14.blogspot.com/2016/01/cara-mengobati-polip-hidung.html

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  32. Silent Girls looks really good and I loved f'ed up stories so adding Child of God to my list. I watched The Road years ago and it was the most depressing movie ever. So much that I completely lost interest in ever reading the book.

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  33. Adding The Silent Girls to my list (been on a mystery kick) and Matthew Quick is hit or miss. I liked Silver Linings Playbook but didn't like Love May Fail.

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  34. Silent Girls is going on my list! I had a Massive crush on Billy Idol when I was a teen. None of my friends knew who he was though LOL

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