Conquering 2017: News and What's Coming Up

Welcome 2017!

What can I say about 2016? It seemed like 2016 was a pretty rough year for a lot of us. The same can be said for me. Life is about overcoming challenges and obstacles. I can only hope for the best that this year will be better. I can't believe how fast 2017 has been going. It seems like January is flying by.

I successfully completed my 2016 Reading Challenge by surpassing my goal of reading 52 books: I read 56. I also read a good majority of the book themes for the Popsugar challenge. I am doing the same again this year. The number of books on the Popsugar list this year is 52, so as of right now, my goal is to read 60 books. That could change throughout the year. It will be linked down below.

I have already read a few books this year. However, I still have a few book reviews from 2016 to do first. In the beginning of February, I will be doing my 2016 Book Awards after I finish the rest of the reviews. I base it on the books I read in 2016 hence the title.

Next Friday, I will be making a special announcement, so watch out for that.

Popsugar Reading Challenge List

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

~Meg~

The Iron Heel (Jack London) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

56. The Iron Heel by Jack London
      Theme/Topic: dystopian novel

Synopsis:

A dystopian novel about the terrible oppressions of an American oligarchy at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, and the struggles of a socialist revolutionary movement.

My Review:

Jack London wrote a dystopian book mainly to showcase his socialist views. It lacked character growth and development. Most of it was the characters arguing with each other about their opinions on government and the country's development. It was basically one character who felt different than most people and let his opinion known and instigating those arguments with everybody else. There was no real plotlines except for them strongly expressing what they thought about the events the country was going through and the decisions the government made back then. Since this is supposed to be dystopia, it isn't based on actual events (except for the San Francisco earthquake). It was very slow-moving and compared to other works by Jack London, it wasn't good quality writing like he usually wrote.

Oligarchy: the government of a few; a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

❤Meg❤

Petty Cash (Kimberly Vargas) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

55. Petty Cash by Kimberly Vargas
      Topic/Theme: book with a blue cover

Synopsis:

This is the romantic office comedy that human resources warned you about. Florida resident Rebecca Blake works as an assistant to a group of psychologists. She is strikingly beautiful and athletic. People see her as a nice, likable girl who is fine in her role but who could never really aspire to more at the company. Rebecca is told in her performance review that in order to get promoted, she is going to have to work on her credibility. As part of her career development plan, she is sent to a behavioral training course (nicknamed 'Club Detention') at company headquarters in Virginia. In error, she is partnered with Foster Diamond, who has the highest intelligence scores in the company. Even though he is a genius, Foster has own issues around interpersonal skills, attitude and his perception overall. Rebecca and Foster have nothing in common, but between his weakness for her beauty and her admiration of his intellect, they forge an unlikely bond. During the course they find that by pooling their respective strengths, they may be able to improve their careers. Sooner rather than later, their startling natural chemistry begins to take their partnership in another direction, and they must face their glaring differences or part ways.

My Review:

I selected this book for two reasons: one would be the requirement of having a blue cover and second, I thought the plot was unique. I don't believe that there are many office romance books out there. Rebecca gets sent off to a behavioral training course (who knew that even existed) to work on her credibility, making sure that she has the drive to get promoted within the company. For the time there, Rebecca gets paired with Foster, the genius of the company. However, Foster always ends up at Club Detention for attitude and personality issues. As they don't have anything in common, they get off to a rough start. They end up forming a sort of partnership, using the other's strengths to make changes in themselves. Foster doesn't adapt easily to Rebecca's suggestions at first, but eventually she becomes a positive influence to him. Due to their time spent together, they start a romance and discover slight things in common. It's a relationship that has its ups and downs, but comes to a head when an ex of his gets in the way. Foster has to prove once and for all that he's the one for Rebecca. 

Here's my take. While I do believe that opposites attract, Rebecca and Foster literally had nothing in common. Foster was domineering and did things according to his own agenda. To me, a relationship means an equal partnership and each person's opinion matters. I couldn't really see them together or making it as a married couple. This was just alright; the story didn't have the magic spark that I like to have in a book. There were numerous mistakes throughout as well.

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

❤Meg❤

41: A Portrait of My Father (George W. Bush) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

53. 41: A Portrait of My Father by George W. Bush
      Topic/Theme: political memoir

Synopsis:

Forty-three men have served as President of the United States. Countless books have been written about them. But never before has a President told the story of his father, another President, through his own eyes and in his own words. A unique and intimate biography, the book covers the entire scope of the elder President Bush’s life and career, including his service in the Pacific during World War II, his pioneering work in the Texas oil business, and his political rise as a Congressman, U.S. Representative to China and the United Nations, CIA Director, Vice President, and President.  The book shines new light on both the accomplished statesman and the warm, decent man known best by his family. In addition, George W. Bush discusses his father’s influence on him throughout his own life, from his childhood in West Texas to his early campaign trips with his father, and from his decision to go into politics to his own two-term Presidency.

My Review:

First, I just need to clarify that I kind of cheated by choosing this book for the above topic. Technically, it's not a memoir since George W. Bush wrote this about his father, but it's his viewpoints and a little bit is about how his father's decisions in office influenced his own decisions as President. 

Second, my review is not going to be based on what my political party is or my own political beliefs. I'm not someone who would read a political based book in general. Regardless of my registered party, I don't classify myself as a Democrat or Republican as there are issues that I agree with and don't agree with on both sides. 

Since I was really young during George H. W. Bush's presidency, I don't remember his four years in office. From that perspective, I enjoyed learning about his political years. I did like how George Bush wrote about his father's life as a whole. So much of the choices and decisions that we make as an adult are influenced by our upbringing or how we were raised. And that extends to any of the Presidents, past, present, and future, except that they have an entire country who are affected by those choices. It was interesting to get to know more about both of the Bushs' lives, whether that be politically, family life, and everything else in between (well at least when it pertains to #41).

While I can say that I enjoyed reading this book, I can't necessarily say that I liked every decision George H. W. Bush made. No matter the President or a person in general, there's always going to be things I like about what they do and things I don't like. No one is perfect and mistakes do happen. And there are times when the decisions we make don't work out the way that we wanted them to or how we thought they would turn out. 

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

❤Meg❤

Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

46. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
      Topic/Theme: New York Times bestseller

Synopsis:

“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.”

So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank’s father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy — exasperating, irresponsible, and beguiling — does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.
Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank’s survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors—yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.

My Review:
Frank's writing style was a little different from what I'm used to. It did take a little while to grasp that, but once I did, I came to appreciate it. It's a great narration of what it was like to grow up in a time of poverty and the additional challenges of dealing with the alcoholism of his father. Alcoholism is a disease. For Frank's father, it was his way of coping with deaths in the family, especially that of his daughter, among other troubles. It was interesting to read about what life was like in the 1930s and 40s in Ireland. Poverty can affect each and every country and everyone of all backgrounds. Just like the US has experienced the Great Depression and other economic crises, Ireland has also had its fair share of problems. It was such a good attribute of Frank's to be able to write so descriptively of those hard times. To be able to overcome those challenges was incredible. Anything is possible if you're willing to work hard and keep fighting through by not giving up.

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

♥Meg♥

The Tour (Jean Grainger) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

45. The Tour by Jean Grainger
      Topic/Theme: book that takes place in Europe

Synopsis:

Every week, Conor O'Shea collects a new group of American visitors from Shannon Airport, from where they embark on a high end tour of the Real Ireland. But this particular tour, with its cast of unintentionally hilarious characters, presents even seasoned tour guide Conor with dilemmas that render him speechless for the first time in his life. Among this eclectic group are Corlene, a gold digging multiple divorcee on the prowl; Patrick, a love starved Boston cop; Dylan, a goth uilleann piper; Dorothy a poisonous college professor who wouldn't spend Christmas; Elliot, a wall street shark who finally shows his true colours. Then there's Ellen, back on Irish soil after so many years after so many years, to discover a truth no-one could ever have guessed at, least of all herself. And that's just a few of the colourful cast. The locals they meet on their journey, - West Brits, passionate musicians, Ukrainian waitresses and Garda high flyers all help to make this a tour no-one will ever forget. And of course, there's Conor O'Shea in the thick of it all, solving problems and mending hearts, but what about his own? 

My Review:

Conor is at the center of this story, but an eclectic group of people make it even better. Getting to learn about Ireland through Conor's elaborate, but not overly detailed, explanations offered a nice change of pace. Each character brought something different to the table and with that came their own personalities. An assortment of personalities led to some clashes among the group, as they dealt with their own problems and reasons for being there. Conor, the seasoned tour guide, always goes the extra mile to help each of them with their questions and anything else they may need. Not to mention that Conor tends to help them solve their problems (by giving advice for example), showing that he genuinely cares about each member. In the process, he has to deal with his own troubles, but doesn't let it get in the way of everything else. He manages to keep everything under control, even the unforeseeable obstacles that arise. Jean Grainger did a great job at keeping all the main characters at the forefront of the story without getting confused or lost. As you get to know each member's backstory, you can't help but feel for them when they come to terms with some events in their lives.

Despite each character's unique personalities, I can't imagine this story without any of them.

Where would you like to visit someday? And what was your favorite vacation spot?

I would like to visit Australia, France, Ireland,  and England. My favorite vacation spots include Niagara Falls, Yellowstone National Park, and North Conway, New Hampshire.

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

♥Meg♥

Tara Road (Maeve Binchy) Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

44. Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
      Theme/Topic: book from Oprah's Book Club

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Maeve Binchy has captured the hearts of millions with her unforgettable novels. Binchy's graceful storytelling and wise compassion have earned her the devotion of fans worldwide--and made her one of the most beloved authors of our time. Now she dazzles us once again with a new novel filled with her signature warmth, humor, and tender insight. A provocative tale of family heartbreak, friendship, and revelation,Tara Road explores every woman's fantasy: escape, into another place, another life. "What if..." Binchy asks, and answers in her most astonishing novel to date.

My Review:

This was the first book I read by Maeve Binchy and she has an eloquent writing style. Most of this book took place on Tara Road (hence the title) and the people who live there or nearby. In particular, Danny and Ria's house was featured the most because they had people over all the time, some even without invites. Whether it was for talking gossip, business or just spending quality time with friends, there was always something going on. When Danny admits he has been having an affair and they get divorced, Ria still maintains that social life except the ones over for business. Of course, then it becomes all girl talk with the support of family and friends. As the story goes on, you learn that Ria's so called friends aren't always what they seem, well a couple of them at least. Everyone you read about are an eclectic and diverse group of people. I had a love-hate relationship with all of them. I can't imagine the boom without even one of them, though.

Ria can't accept that Danny's leaving her for someone else and has had that affair for quite awhile. We, the readers, can figure that out before he brings it up and all along, Ria thought she was living a perfect marriage, despite all the signs being there. Marilyn, in New York, has been having a tough time coming to terms s with her son's death and separation from her husband. By chance, she just happens to have Danny's number and wants to exchange houses for two months. Ria agrees to the deal and before you know it, everything set up. Danny and Marilyn's husband are reluctant for them to do it, but realize that they're going to do it regardless. They each want the opportunity to get away from it all and their respective places. Both of them are very similar, except that Ria is social able and Marilyn is more drawn to herself. They have no idea that they're going somewhere opposite from what they're used to. For two months, they go on a journey of acceptance, growth, friendship, and so much more. Isn't it funny how escaping to another place makes it easier to come to terms with any situation you may be going through? Sometimes all we need is a break from reality to heal in what may be a sad or stressful (or anything really) time in our lives.

This was an enjoyable read. I do have to admit that it took me a little while to get into it. It's a powerful book about overcoming hard times and the power of friendship.

Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!

♥Meg♥