Tags

book reviews, books, christian fiction, i am so excited i am doing a little happy slippers dance, writing, yes i wear slippers all the time

As I go through the year, sometimes I read. Sometimes I don’t but mostly I do. I sometimes end up just getting lost. Which is nice, because normally I know exactly where I’m going.

Like most other bookworms, great books make their way onto my “things I’m thankful for” list every year. It’s hard to choose favorites, but I went ahead and picked five books I read in 2015 and am thankful for.

1. The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis: When the mind is muddled and confused and the world just seems too complicated, I can always rely on Lewis to be light and clarity and sense. *throws Lewis’s books at the people who are deliberately muddying the waters* BEGONE!
2. The Negotiator, by Dee Henderson: I know this book is a bit older (published at least ten years ago!), but it’s still a fresh read and a realistic build. Henderson is one of the few romance authors I can stand, and a fantastic suspense author. Kate/Dave was my first OTP.
3. For the Temple, by G.A. Henty: There’s going to be a couple controversial choices on this list, and probably a lot of historical fiction. This one is both. I know people who hate Henty, but for me, he brings Palestine under Roman occupation to life in a way that relates strongly to us today. Maybe it’s not politically correct, but it’s an engaging (and approachable–take that, losers!) read, with a very balanced take on the historian Josephus.
4. The Hornblower series, by C.S. Forester: Horatio was the first example of a literary character who I found out about who had internal dialogue a bit like mine. I am represented in fiction! Yay!
5. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien: When life is too complicated, too full of deadlines, I think about the months the Fellowship spent in Rivendell, waiting and essentially doing nothing. Another mind-clearing read.

So basically, I read like the most politically incorrect college student on the planet. Ha-HA!

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to another great year of reading! Speaking of more reading, here’s one more thing to be grateful for. Books on sale! In honor of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a group of independent Christian authors banded together to offer over seventy discounted books on Nov 27-30. There’s literally something for everyone.

Every single book listed on Indie Christian Books is on sale in one or more ways. Find discounted paperbacks, dozens of books offered with free shipping, $0.99 ebooks, package deals and more. Even if you have a budget of $0, new reading material awaits you.

Don’t know what to pick? The fearless Indie Christian Books team created a quiz that will generate a book list perfect for you! Check it out!

What awesome reads of 2015 are you grateful for? What books are you looking forward to reading in 2016?

A note on the Ebooks Only page. All books are listed as “Sold Out.” This only refers to paperback copies of these titles. Please click onto the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Leah E. Good for her work organizing this sale, Gloria Repp for completing the time consuming job of uploading book info to the sale website, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics. Hannah can be contacted at hmills(at)omorecollege(dot)edu for more information about her design services.

Rebel for a Day: Independent Christian Authors Black Friday Book Sale

Tags

be a rebel!, books, independent authors, reading, writing

It’s a little less than a week until Thanksgiving, and I know what I’m thankful for–the wonderfully creative community I’ve discovered here on WordPress.

I’ve met dozens or even hundreds of people and each of them has a story to tell–wonderfully unique, fantastic, original stories. Even more incredible, every last one of these people is a maverick. There is something marvelously refreshing about independent filmmaking, fiction, and music production. It doesn’t stick with rigid firmness to “what’s selling” right now. It makes its own market, and it caters to a specific group rather than trying to please everyone. This is my radical side: I’m a maverick in my tastes and I snootily turn my back on the media and entertainment establishments. Quite frequently, actually. When you’ve got all this amazing work, why even bother with the bland identical-plotted books that get published every year simply because they’re the trending genre?

To put it plainly, I love the beautifully organic way the Internet links people with their audiences and I’m not about to stop now!

Now I’m going to do what I can to give back to them. I’m not actually published myself yet, so I’m not actually taking part, but at least I’m going to get the word out about the Independent Christian Authors Black Friday Book Sale, hosted by Leah of Leah’s Bookshelf.

A bunch of us here on WordPress are a) still minors, b) broke college students (you are HERE,) or c) some other option who still can’t afford lots of stuff anyway. So this sale is great news for us, because we still need something to occupy our minds. (Good fiction is a basic human need–seriously, if you don’t believe me, go read psychology textbooks and I think you’ll find that I’m right.)

With all these authors participating, there is something for everyone in this book sale. Go check it out!

Visit Leah’s blog here.

Here’s the list of participating authors.

And the survey (which might not be closed yet) about the sale.

Be a rebel for a day. Let’s get out there and support these indie authors, people!

September Not-Quite-TCWT: What Books Have You Thrown Across the Room?

Tags

babysitters' club, books, fantasy, frustration, how to train your dragon, long rants, reading, reviews in a nutshell, teens can write too (sort of), writing

Well, obviously, the ones that were horrible!

I’ve thrown one of my notebooks when my sister was naughty. I’ve thrown board books. But never really an actual novel.

I did sort-of throw this “Babysitters Club” thing across the room. All they did was fabricate a mystery and do such stereotypical arts and crafts that I wanted to throw my latch-hooking, well, hook at them! Oh, and don’t forget the knitting mushroom. And the afghan hook. And the crochet hooks. And the needle-nose pliers. AND the knitting needles! Augh! Without exception the worst book I have ever read. How did it even get published!? Better stories get turned down all the time!

Seriously, if you write me a story about a boy who does something with his hands, I don’t care what kind of craft it is, I will love you forever. Especially if it’s because it’s stress relief, or maybe if it’s his therapy. That would be nice…

(Please ignore the faces. Look at the HANDS.)

Seriously. Sometimes I get distracted by what they’re doing with their hands. Which is okay–sometimes the real tension comes across in the hands. Net win. Great actors have really expressive hands. They don’t just use their faces, they use their entire bodies. I think one of the most powerful scenes from the Christopher Eccleston era of Doctor Who was in Dalek–you could tell the tension of the scene just from the way he held himself, his posture… And when Martha was meeting the Doctor, it was a bit like a Meet-the-Doctor scene for the viewer as well. “Barefoot on the Moon!” and when he wiggled his toes, I thought, “That’s pretty much all you need to know about the Doctor in one three-second shot.”

Wow. That got off-topic really quickly.

Anyway.

Moving on.

I did throw one of my schoolbooks on the ground and stomp on it, but it was softcover so I didn’t damage it. I was just frustrated that I wasn’t supposed to annotate it sarcastically. It was a horribly skewed history book, if anyone is interested in knowing. I really hate history books that just BREEZE through everything and don’t take it seriously! I love real, in-depth history that’s about people and culture. I hate history that is written bland and watered-down and colorless and includes no background. I hate history that ends up with a skewed perspective because the author’s bias leads him to write it from a white, Anglo-Saxon, male, Protestant, Western, modern perspective. Even a progressive perspective. Not a historical perspective! If you’re writing about the Bolshevik revolution, please write from an Orthodox Christian (or otherwise accurate religion/atheism), Russian perspective! Give us the points of view of the people! Give us the freaking BACKGROUND MATERIAL! Don’t just call Benjamin Franklin a ladies’ man, tell us WHY!

Okay, I think I may have just… um… ranted…

Yeah, I have a history thing. Don’t judge. History is awesome. When it’s done right.

Okay, so that’s all the books I’ve thrown across the room. (Though I did throw one of the How To Train Your Dragon books across the room because I was mad at my sister–it wasn’t because of the book at all…)

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

“Paralyzed Dreams” Book Tour

Tags

books, c.b. cook, life, paralyzed dreams, reading, reviews

Good morning!

Today, I’m joining in the Paralyzed Dreams book tour, in order to get the word out about my good friend Proverbs31teen’s new book. She’s published, people! It’s seriously exciting! 😀

While I have not yet read this book, it looks like a great story about faith and overcoming adversity. Here’s the blurb:

Fourteen-year-old Pam Wilson’s life is going perfectly. She and her best friend, Lauren, are becoming an amazing volleyball duo, and her dreams of playing in the Olympics are coming along wonderfully.

Then a car accident paralyzes Pam from the waist down, and her dreams for her life are shattered. No more volleyball, no more walking, no more future.

Now, I’m going to pass the post on to Proverbs31teen!

I’m working on typing up yet another fanfiction piece when I hear a knock at the door. “Yes?” I call.

Benedict, my secretary, sticks his head into the room. “Bri, Pam is here.”

I smile. “Okay, send her in.”

Benedict ducks back out, and then a dark-haired teenager comes in. She looks like she’s about fourteen or fifteen. She’s wearing a navy blue volleyball uniform, and her smile lights up the room. I make a couple notes on her appearance and smile back at her. “Hi, Pam. Go ahead and take a seat.”

Pam obeys and leans forward. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to change after practice. I’m super excited about all of this.”

I smile. Teenagers always seemed to have this extra energy flowing out of them… well, the athletically inclined ones, at least. “I’m glad to hear that. I know you’re short on time, so we’ll keep this fairly short, all right?”

She nods. “Okay. I’m ready.”

“How old are you?” I ask.

“Fourteen,” she answers, grinning. “Fifteen in a couple of weeks.”

I type in her answer. “What do you love doing?”

Pam gives a little bounce on the edge of the chair. “Volleyball. I want to be an Olympic volleyball player someday. Lauren and I are both helping each other out.”

I nod. “And Lauren is…”

“Lauren’s my best friend,” Pam says, leaning forward even more. “We’ve known each other for ages. Volleyball is one of lots of things we have in common. She’s amazing, the best friend I could ever ask for.”

I grin. “It’s always nice to have a really good friend. What would you do if you couldn’t play volleyball anymore?”

Pam’s face turns serious, and a bit of confusion flickers over her face. “Not… not play volleyball?” She bites her lip and stares at the ground. “I don’t know. Volleyball’s all I really ever want to do. There’s no way I could give it up.”

“Ah.” I make a note of it. “Well, what are some of your favorite things?”

Pam smiles. “Chocolate, hanging out with Lauren, church, volleyball…” Her face gets red. “Talking about guys with Lauren,” she admits.

I laugh. “Sounds like pretty much every teenager.”

She blushes and glances down at her watch. “Oh, I need to get going. Anything else before I leave?”

I glance over my notes. “Your personality…” I pause. “In three words.”

She stands up, grinning and heads to the door. “Fun, energetic, and passionate,” she calls over her shoulder.

I smile as the door closes behind her. Somehow, she reminds me of myself. I type the last few words onto my laptop and shut it, leaning back and wondering what will happen next.

But that’s a story for another day.

---

C.B. Cook is a teen author with many short stories under her belt, and now a published novella, Paralyzed Dreams. She has been blogging for over a year and is working on writing a middle grade fantasy series. When she’s not balancing homework or writing, she can often be found messing around in Photoshop or talking to her dog. You can visit her at www.theworldofthewriter.wordpress.com.

Well, that’s all for today! Don’t forget to drop in for the rest of the Paralyzed Dreams virtual book tour and go visit her web site! Thanks for reading, and God Bless. 🙂