Another Piece of My Heart

Author: Jane Green
Goodreads Rating: 3.60
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 352 Pages


Another book I got on advance from my mom. She brought home the audiobook for me and I got to listen to it (obvo). If anyone else has noticed the cover for One Pink Line, as Dina Silver says "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." As long as she's taking it like a champ. Both books were great, so no complaints here. 


Goodreads Synopses:


From the New York Times bestselling author of JEMIMA J, and THE BEACH HOUSE, comes Jane Green’s most emotional and powerful novel yet:  a story that explores the complications of a woman marrying into a ready-made family, and the true meaning of motherhood. Andi has spent much of her adult life looking for the perfect man, and at thirty-seven, she's finally found him.  Ethan--divorced with two daughters, Emily and Sophia--is a devoted father and even better husband.  Always hoping one day she would be a mother, Andi embraces the girls like they were her own. But in Emily’s eyes, Andi is an obstacle to her father’s love, and Emily will do whatever it takes to break her down. When the dynamics between the two escalate, they threaten everything Andi believes about love, family, and motherhood—leaving both women standing at a crossroad in their lives…and in their hearts. ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART is a novel that illuminates the nuances and truths about relationships and is Jane Green at her absolute best.


My review after the jump!

Q&A with Dina Silver, author of One Pink Line

Author: Dina Silver
Goodreads Rating: 4.27
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pages: 260


Because this post is a special one, its going to go a little differently than before. For this post, the wonderful Dina Silver has agreed not only to a question and answer but also to giveaway a copy of One Pink Line. I personally won a copy of One Pink Line and that was how I found this book (that I loved) and author(who I also love). I have a shorter review of the book posted here rather than the usual longer post as well as the synopses.


Goodreads Synopses:


Can the love of a lifetime be forever changed by one pink line? Dina Silver’s tender, absorbing novel, One Pink Line, is the warmhearted, wry story of love, loss and family, as seen through the prism of one singular, spirited young couple who find themselves in a predicament that changes the course of their lives, and those closest to them. With heart, humor and compassion, this debut work of women’s fiction is certain to stir anyone who relishes a good laugh, can stand a good cry, and, above all believes in the redemptive power of love.  


My Review:


I really enjoyed this book because it has all the best things in Chicklit; young romance, babies, children, pregnancy, girlfriends and mothers. I had few complaints about the book, and my only one was too much detail about insignificant characters, other then that it was fun and flirty, and a lot of fun as you started to connect the dots as the story of Grace and the story of Sydney unfolds. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun girly story. (Because with that much pink on the cover you can't get any more girly.)


Q&A with Dina Silver after the jump!

Top 10 Favorites

There is no way that I could limit my favorite books to just five. In fact, its hard to even limit it to a top 10. There are so many books spanning so many genre's and years and authors, all of those factors made picking just 10 that made a lasting impression that much harder.

Here's the list:

The Mercy of Thin Air
By Ronlyn Domingue

This was one of those finds that happens by luck. I picked this book up from the bargain section in my mothers store and it happened to be one of those books that reaches out to you and makes you feel. Taking place split between the 1920s and present days, we learn two different stories about two different women from two different times; one of them has a tragic love affair, the other is trying to figure out who she really is. I read this in high school



Life of Pi
By Yann Martel

I wish that I had not waited several months to read this book and that I had read it instead of listening to it. I picked up this book because it was touted as an amazing book, and I decided I would read it. It sat on my shelf for a very long time until I found the audiobook at the library. I think that listening to it may have made me like it a little more because the narrators accent made it more authentic, but regardless, I would have been grabbed at the beginning when Pi started to talk about zoology and sloths.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
By Mary Ann Shafer and Annie Barrows

As a lover of historical fiction, this book was recommended to me by a friend at Barnes and Noble. Although it has been years since I read it, the story of how World War Two affected a small island off of England. The book is written in part as letters going back and forth until our humble narrator Juliet travels there herself and falls in love with this island and its inhabitants. It is yet another gushy historical fiction.



Sarah's Key
By Tatiana De Rosnay

This is one of those books that could make you cry the whole way through. Focused around a little known event that happened in France during the Holocaust, the story of a little Jewish girl named Sarah is uncovered by a reporter named Julia. Knowing that this has to do with Holocaust and deals with a child is enough to bring tears to someone's eyes. I had it sitting on my shelf for a year, but dreaded reading it because of the content. It turns out that I keep pushing off the best books.


Still Missing
By Chevy Stevens

This was the debut book by Chevy Stevens, and I keep waiting for her to release more. So far there have only been two, but Stevens has a clever hand when it comes to writing a good thriller. Rather than telling her books in a traditional narrative, they're told through therapy sessions as the women in these stories attempt to deal with whatever trauma it was that got them into therapy. In this particular book, Annie is a Real Estate Agent who is kidnapped by a psycho. While horrifying, this proves to be a book you won't put down.



Where the Heart Is
By Billie Letts

I saw the movie when I was younger and absolutely had to read the book when my mother told me that it was based on a book. This too is a book that its been a few years since I've read, but I think of it fondly. Where the Heart Is seems to be a polarizing book, but Oprah liked it for a reason, and so did I.

Still Alice
By Lisa Genova

This book was a more recent read. My mom gave me the ARC during summer 2011, and I read it in about three days. This book was another one of those books that opens your eyes to what other people are going through. This book is about a woman who was once a prominent professor at Harvard who finds out that she has Alzheimer's Disease. Heartbreaking and brutal, Genova was able to paint a clear picture of what happened as this disease worked through her.



One Pink Line
By Dina Silver

I won this book as part of Goodreads Giveaways and I'm so glad that I did. The premise of the book is that an unplanned pregnancy has the potential to derail the love of a lifetime. This was Silver's debut book, and it was a great one at that. The characters were real and it is a situation that has happened before in life. When I read the synopses I knew that this was the type of book I would love, and it was a fairly quick read.

PS. I Love You
By Cecelia Ahern

I have talked about this book several times mostly because when I think of a book bringing me to tears, this is one where I couldn't stop crying. Ahern is able to provoke those emotions by putting you in a situation you pray you will never be in. The entire book is an emotional rollercoaster, and I think there is a reason that it was turned into a (not as great as the book) movie. I am a huge fan of all of her works but I think this one is by far her best.



Far From Here
By Nicole Baart

Since I just reviewed this book I don't think that I need to go into a lot of detail, but this book is just like PS I Love You because it puts you in that position where you imagine "What would I do if that happened to my significant other?" and lets be honest, that is a painful place to let your mind wander. This is a great book to figure out when is the right time to let go and when you're carrying a torch that has long since been extinguished. You can read my more in depth review Here.

Goodreads.com

If you haven't noticed, in nearly every post, I mention a website called Goodreads, whether it be winning free books or getting the synopses and rating from this website. I tell everyone I know who loves books that this is the best website and if you aren't already a member, I'm going to tell you more about this website that has amplified my love of reading.

Giveaways

This is one of my favorite parts of this website. Although there are so many people on the website, and so many books to enter to win, you still manage to win once in awhile. Since I became a member at the beginning of November, I've entered 270 giveaways and won three books; One Pink Line, 9 Miracles, and the latest is Mr. Churchill's Secretary. I don't discriminate much when I enter, but I have heard of people that limit themselves to specific genre's so they win less often. Since I like to push my boundaries, I'll try anything, and I'll enter a lot of different giveaways. 9 Miracles was not the type of story that I would ordinarily read, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. In my opinion, its free for you and while it's not required to review, it is recommended.



Bookshelves
When you register for your account you have 3 bookshelves; read, to read, and currently reading. To help with sorting the 700 books I've read, I created new bookshelves including, young adult, dystopian, memoirs, historical fiction, among others. While this feature isn't that big, for someone with hundreds, nearly thousands of books, it makes it easy to sift through them and say "Yep, these are my favorites," or "Oh you want a recommendation for a historical fiction? Let me look through and see if I can find any" rather than going through pages and pages and pages of books.

Groups
This is also another fun part to the site because it gets you interacting with other people. I happen to be in about 7 groups that range from Book Buying Addicts Anonymous to Goodreads Feedback to Never Too Young for Young Adult. Many of these groups are also books clubs and discuss a book of the month. I'm not glued to the discussion groups but I can see how you can be dragged into all the discussions. I personally like reading the books of the month although I only just started this month, it helps push me to read more and discuss what it is that I'm reading. These groups are also a great source of information when it comes to company rumors and tech support.

Reading Challenge

This too is a great motivator as far as pushing me to read more. As you can see, Ive set myself to the challenge of reading 150 books in the next year. So far I've read 5 books, and there is a message next to my bar stating "Great work, you're 2 books (1%) ahead" making me feel great about how much I'm reading. It also tells you when you've fallen behind and how many books you need to get back on pace. It also tells you when you've surpassed your goal.

Recommendations
I don't use this feature all that much lately because I have too many books in my possession and on my list to read that I try not to look at my recommendations. What this page does is say "You like these types of books, try these" and not only that but it will recommend books based on the different shelves that you've categorized. It's not the most accurate but it is just going based on the types of books and content, but there are plenty of good books that you can find from it because it doesn't just recommend bestsellers and popular authors but it recommends some of the obscure books and authors.

Choice Awards

Another fun part that is more interactive is the Goodreads Choice Awards. This past year, the three rounds of voting started October 31 and ended on November 30. The first round started with 15 selections with the ability to "write in" nominations, the second round selected 5 of those write ins to becomes nominees and the final round narrowed the nominees to 10. The best part about the Choice Awards was because not only did it also provide great recommendations but it also shows you what other people are reading. Several of the books on my "To-Read" list came from the choice awards.



Final Thoughts
This website has a lot to offer, and it has personally become my new facebook. I have good friends on this site and I continue to make friends on it without having to share all of my information. With the 2012 Challenge and group challenges, I am finding new books and more exciting ways to engage myself in reading.