Category: General Fiction/Literature Page 18 of 49

Anna by Laura Guthrie: A Charming Look at One Girl’s Pursuit of Happiness


Anna

Anna

by Laura Guthrie

PDF, 180 pg.
Gob Stopper 2020

Read: June 9-11, 2020

I knew this should have been a happy thing. Maybe happiness just didn’t feel like how I thought it ought to feel. It certainly seemed a small reward for such a lot of chasing by so many people in so many different times and places. But if Dad seemed to think it was worth chasing as hard as he did, for as long as he did, and in the many different ways that he did, then there must be something to it.

Anna is a thirteen-year-old girl with Autism Spectrum Disorder (she identifies as Asperger’s syndrome), we meet her on a bus bound for her mother’s house in Scotland. Her father has recently died (under circumstances it takes us a while to learn), and after a brief period in Foster Care, she’s on her way to live with her mother—a woman she has had no contact with for over a decade.

It takes no time at all for the reader to see that Mom wasn’t ready to take custody—in any sense. Anna’s confused by her new reality—as anyone would be, exasperated by ASD. She wanders around the neighborhood meeting people. There’s a varied and colorful cast of characters that we’re introduced to—of various ages, social levels, professions. Anna’s interactions with them tell us plenty about her as well as them all.

Anna’s a delightful girl with her own particular way of looking at the world. It’s a pleasure to see things through her eyes and watch the way her mind works. The people she surrounds herself with—both by circumstance and choice—are almost as fun and rewarding to read about. For example, her mother learns how to be a mother—actually, she learns how to be Anna’s mother—and finds some healing for the circumstances that led to her separation from Anna and her father.

Happiness is the theme—and not a subtle one—of the book. Anna’s focus on it is one of the first things we encounter when we meet her and she doesn’t let us lose sight of it. She sees a lot of different ways that happiness can be found/expressed, but her goal (something her father taught her) is to find it in all circumstances. This perspective is catching, and her new friends and family start to do it—I think I spent a bit more time looking for it while I read the book, too.

An unexpected highlight for me was the way Guthrie used Christians and Anna’s mother’s church in this book. This is not Christian Fiction—and bears none of its hallmarks. But it is filled with solid, believing, Church-going people. Not morally perfect, hypocritical or judgmental, or any of the too typical ways that Christians are generally depicted. But people of faith, who’ve made mistakes, sinned against each other, and have found/are finding restoration—and along the way, are aided by the others in the church. I also liked the church services—the way Anna’s mother explains them to her brought a huge smile to my face. There’s no preaching to the reader involved, but we get to see faith in action and its effects.

I have two, related, complaints with the book. The first is that the book is just too short—this is really more of a backhanded compliment. I think each member of her extended family could’ve used more time, more character development. Maybe it’s just because I enjoyed spending time with all of them—and it’s clear that we only get the highlights of the relationships in the novel. But I think it’s a little more. If scenes had been given just a little more space to develop, I think it’d have been a little stronger of a novel.

The second complaint is along the same lines—it was too rushed, too compact. It felt like Guthrie knew where all the plotlines were supposed to resolve and didn’t want the book to go beyond a certain page count. So, the material we get in the last 10% of the book feels like it should’ve been given at least twice (maybe three times) the number of pages.

This is a charming read, full of heart, humor and love. It’s not what I typically read—but when I find this kind of book, it makes me happy. I hope this sounds like the compliment it’s supposed to be, but Anna feels like it’d be the kind of thing to introduce to your older MG/younger YA reader if you want them to grow up into a Fredrik Backman reader—the same kind of collection of interesting characters, an idiosyncratic protagonist, and a heartwarming feel. Guthrie’s not in Backman’s league—yet—but I can see her getting there. I’d enjoy reading more by her in the future, and in the meantime, I’m glad I got to read this—and recommend it to anyone else.


3.5 Stars

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided.

Love Books Group

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Anna by Laura Guthrie

Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the Anna by Laura Guthrie. A few weeks ago, I was pleased to take part in the cover reveal for the book, and now it’s time to talk about the book! Following this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?


Book Details:

Book Title: Anna by Laura Guthrie
Release date: June 25, 2020
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Publisher: Gob Stopper
Length: 180 pages

Book Blurb:

Every cloud has a silver lining. Doesn’t it?

Anna is thirteen years old, lives in London with her father, and has Asperger’s syndrome.  When her father dies she travels up to the Scottish Central Belt to live with her estranged, reclusive mother.  With little support to help her fit in, she must use everything her father taught her – especially her ‘Happy Game’ – to integrate into her new  community, connect with her mother, discover her past, and cope with the challenges along the way.

Anna is on the Scottish Book Trust’s ’30 novels to look out for in 2020’ and Books from Scotland’s ‘Who we’re watching in 2020’.

‘Guthrie has an unerring instinct for the darkness that can daunt lives and for the robust spirit of optimism that time and again saves us.  Narrated with simplicity and sincerity, the reader will be swept up in the adventures and misadventures of Anna.’

 

About the Author:

Laura GuthrieLaura Guthrie grew up in the rural Scottish Highlands (“I come from where the planes don’t fly”). Her creative influences include Nessie and the elusive ‘Caiplich Beast’, as well as some choice authors and their works.

She has an honours degree in biological sciences from the University of Edinburgh, and a PhD in creative writing from the University of Glasgow.

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided..

Love Books Group

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: A Book About Bob by J.L.Newman

I just don’t have time to read every book that comes my way, but I’d like to do my part to expose them to as many eyeballs as I can. So, from time to time, I’ll post a Spotlight to lend a hand. If this looks like it’s up your ally, you should jump on it.


Book Details:

Book Title: A Book About Bob by J.L.Newman
Release date: June 1, 2020
Format: Ebook
Length: 107 pages

Book Blurb:

This is a book about Bob. That’s really all you need to know as almost every page within this book is about Bob. Bob, is a lovable overweight man with his mind constantly on food. He wakes up one day to accidentally become a ******. I would like to tell you what he becomes, but if I told you he was a secret agent/spy then it would no longer be a secret. As the story unfolds, things get more complicated and his full potential is unleashed upon humankind. This is a story of romance, scantily clad grannies, overeating, things that go “bang!” and a lot of nonsensical ramblings. Readers should be warned that the story involves much gibberish and twoddlesnaps, a fair amount of bumble harnessing and several accounts of Moo. The amount of sheer lunacy within the pages of this book are known to leave lasting mental scars on its readers and we take no responsibility for any of it unless we want to. Overall this is a book about things, happenings, occurrences and stuff. More than anything else, however, this is a Book About Bob! Enjoy!

About the Author:

J.L.NewmanBorn in England, residing in Panama and on the road to insanity. My humour is my greatest gift so I should be greatly pitied in many regards. I used to try to attempt to write complex novels until I realized that being ridiculous, nonsensical and unorthodox was by far the easier route less travelled. I aspire to write in a style between Mark Evans, Roald Dahl and Douglas Adams. However, in reality, I am much more inclined to write like a deranged Chimpanzee on a typewriter with delusions of grandeur and a penchant for self-invented language. I don’t plan on making much money but I hope I can bring some laughter to peoples lives and that people remember me like that guy, you know, the one who wrote that really funny book. I always liked to read and write and I have been able to do both without too many grandmar or spilling errors for a couple of years now. My dream is to have many people read my books and then I’m falling from a plane and then I’m a dinosaur, no wait! I’m in bed, why is my dog talking? Anyway, I hope you enjoy my books and you don’t suffer too much trauma as a result. As a great philosopher once said: “Brenda you burnt the toast again”. With that, I bid your farewell and good teatimes.

Social Media

Instagram ~ Website

Purchase Link

Amazon

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Memoirs of a 20th Century Gentleman by James B. Hansom

I just don’t have time to read every book that comes my way, but I’d like to do my part to expose them to as many eyeballs as I can. So, from time to time, I’ll post a Spotlight to lend a hand. If this looks like it’s up your ally, you should jump on it.


This week—June 15-19—the author is running a Free Book Promo. This looks like it should be an interesting read—might as well get it for free, right?

Book Details:

Book Title: Memoirs of a 20th Century Gentleman by James B. Hansom
Release date: June 8, 2020
Publisher: Valdivia Books
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 187 (135 E-book)

Book Blurb:

Recounting his journey over the years, from a little village in England to the deserts of the Middle East, private boarding schools to children’s care homes, world-wide trade oil tankers to a 19th Century tall ship, working as an escort to setting up an accountancy firm, James’ story is honest and compelling.

Explaining how each chapter of his life shaped him, James discusses in a frank and open manner his struggle with bipolar disorder, and how he was able to survive an early childhood of neglect, deciding at the age of nine to take some semblance of control, to his search for a family to love.

Taking a philosophical approach to life’s twists and turns, James retells of his experience of travel, love, family, business and adventure. Explaining how his childhood experiences affected his approach to life in later years, his struggle with mental health issues of bi-polar mania and depression and how, over the years, society’s own views on the subject changed to include a more open and honest acceptance for people to begin to try to better understand.

Analysing how an understanding of history can help see the present through clearer eyes in order to better prepare for the future; James shares his own take on humanity’s long journey through time and space to give those who have an interest in the next generations a warning of what to expect if the opportunity to make immediate changes is not taken.

Memoirs of a 20th Century Gentleman is not only a tale of adventure, family, childhood and travel but a thesis on humanity and how lessons forgotten through the distraction of social media may lead to the repetition of failures of the last fifty years in the dawn of this new 21st Century.

Conversing directly with the reader, James takes you on a journey of a lifetime, initially titled ‘Extracts from a Hell of a Life’, using humour and charm, James is able to give an experience of joy, sorrow, heartache and hope, unique in its style and delivery.

About the Author:

James B. Hansom, born in 1976, lives with his wife and daughter in Warwickshire, England. Written under a pseudonym, Memoirs of a 20th Century Gentleman is the first published work under that name.

James champions the use of creative writing as a therapeutic way for people struggling with their past to find peace, helping first-time Authors to publish and turn their experiences into a useful tool for the future.

For more information or to contact James visit: memoirsofa20thcenturygentleman.com

Social Media

Goodreads ~ Website

Purchase Links

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

BOOK BLITZ: A Thin Porridge by Benjamin Gohs

I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for Benjamin Gohs’s A Thin Porridge today—it’s Publication Day and we’re celebrating with a little Blitz to get some eyeballs on it.

Book Details:

Book Title: A Thin Porridge by Benjamin Gohs
Release date: June 15, 2020
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 367 pages
Purchase Link:Amazon UK / Amazon US

Book Blurb:

When 19-year-old Abeona Browne’s renowned abolitionist father Jon Browne dies in summer of 1860, devastating family secrets are revealed, and her life of privilege and naiveté in Southern Michigan becomes a frantic transatlantic search for answers—and someone she didn’t even know existed.

Still in mourning, Abeona sneaks aboard the ship carrying her father’s attorney Terrence Swifte and his assistant Djimon—a young man with his own secrets—on a quest to Africa to fulfill a dying wish.

Along the journey, Abeona learns of her father’s tragic and terrible past through a collection of letters intended for someone he lost long ago.

Passage to the Dark Continent is fraught with wild beasts, raging storms, illness, and the bounty hunters who know Jon Browne’s diaries are filled with damning secrets which threaten the very anti-slavery movement he helped to build.

Can Abeona overcome antebellum attitudes and triumph over her own fears to right the wrongs in her famous family’s sordid past?

So named for an African proverb, A Thin Porridge is a Homeric tale of second chances, forgiveness, and adventure that whisks readers from the filth of tweendecks, to the treachery of Cameroons Town, across the beauty of Table Bay, and deep into the heart of the fynbos—where Boer miners continue the outlawed scourge of slavery.

About the Author:

Benjamin J. Gohs is a longtime award-winning news editor whose investigative journalism has included stories of murder, sex-crime, historical discovery, corruption, and clerical misconduct. Benjamin now divides his time between writing literary thrillers and managing the community newspaper he co-founded in 2009.

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour.

Love Books Group

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK VIII., i.-iv.

Fridays with the Foundling

Tom Jones Original CoverI sat my laptop down after I’d started this post, and Windows decided that when I said I wanted to install updates later, I didn’t mean a half-hour later after I stopped working for a couple of minutes. I lost a couple of paragraphs of this—my reconstruction might be a little rough. We’ll see.

We start Book VIII with the typical digression from the story. This time, we get “A wonderful long Chapter concerning the Marvellous; being much the longest of all our introductory Chapters.” He really believes in truth in advertising, it’s a long chapter. A long discussion about the “marvelous,” or supernatural in fiction. It’s pretty interesting but has as little to do with the novel as any of the other first chapters. I’d love to take the time and work through the allusions and footnotes (added by the editor of my edition), because that’d be a fascinating study.

We return to Tom’s room as he continues to recover—the Landlady shows up and introduces herself to Tom. Thanks to some intelligence from the Lieutenant, she pretends to know Sophia. Which gets Tom to open up to her about his life—she quickly learns that he’s no gentleman at all, but a broke castout. Which pretty much means that she’s done with him. As Fielding notes:

for the lower sort of people are very tenacious of respect; and though they are contented to give this gratis to persons of quality, yet they never confer it on those of their own order without taking care to be well paid for their pains.

(that’s horribly cynical, but…probably holds more than a kernel of truth)

The doctor comes back and argues with Tom about his treatment (getting a little more lampooning). Afterward, he talks to the landlady and discovers that Tom can’t pay him, either. Which (not surprisingly) gets him very angry. He argues with Tom some more and gets shooed off.

Which brings us to the barber—Fielding puts him on the same level as barber from Don Quixote and The Arabian Nights. He’s a jolly sort, given to quoting philosophers. He tells Tom it’s crazy to join the army with head injury he’s sporting. The Table of Contents tells me we’re going to get more of him soon.

Not a lot happens again, but (like last week) it’s all about the way that things are told. It’s fun and I’m looking forward to seeing what the barber’s really about.

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK VII., xi.-xv.

Fridays with the Foundling

Tom Jones Original Cover

The inn Tom’s staying in is suddenly full of British soldiers and Tom spends some time socializing with them—and buys them a few beers. Making him a well-liked fellow straight-off. The serjeant tells his lieutenant that he has two new prospects—a wonderful gentleman, who’d make a great officer, and Tom, who’d do be okay to serve at the rear rank (as anyone who’s ever marched in a parade behind horses can tell you, this is not a compliment).

Amongst the two companies of soldiers are two lieutenants—the commanding officer an a French lieutenant

who had been long enough out of France to forget his own language, but not long enough in England to learn ours, so that he really spoke no language at all, and could barely make himself understood on the most ordinary occasions.

a childish line, but one that made me grin.

Not everyone gets along with Tom, the other new recruit (Northerton)starts to verbally joust with him a bit. They trade barbs, including this nice little rejoinder from Tom:

“Oh! sir,” answered Jones, “it is as possible for a man to know something without having been at school, as it is to have been at school and to know nothing.”

Things get a little heated when Northerton talks about Sophia sleeping around a lot, and things start to get physical. The “gentleman” smacks Tom with a bottle and drops him. Northerton is confined to quarters and Tom’s bleeding head wound gets him medical care.

We get a little more satirization of the medical profession–Fielding did not have much respect for doctors. I almost hope we see a few more people gravely ill or grievously injured just so we get more of this.

Tom’s been injured pretty bad three times so far–twice because of an assault. For a guy as wild has he supposedly is, he cannot take a punch.

Some shenanigans ensue around a proposed duel between the injured Tom and the assailant Northerton. Things get strange and Northerton books it.

These chapters are a bit more my liking than the last few—Fielding’s wit is easier to find, and there’s plenty of action (the former weighs more than the latter). Really, not much happened—but it was the way in that not much happened that made me enjoy these chapters.

I’m not going to talk about City of Hate by Timothy S. Miller today…

City of Hate

City of Hate

by Timothy S. Miller

PDF, 236 pg.
Goliad Media Group, 2020

Read: May 27-30, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


I have spent the last two nights staring at my laptop trying to will words on to the screen to tell you about this book. And nothing is coming out. I’ve written and deleted one sentence several times, and it’s getting the best of me–and I’m more than frustrated. I think I’ll take a break tomorrow, and maybe try to write about something else. But City of Hate was published on Monday, and I received an ARC so I feel compelled to say something about it as soon as possible. So, I’m just taking a moment to say that this is a complex novel that demands thinking about before you try to say much.

In the meantime, here’s the blurb:

The Virgin Mother’s image — a moldy shadow with patches of holy light — has appeared under the Triple Underpass right next to the Grassy Knoll. The image of the Virgin Mother — so close to the site where JFK was assassinated — brings believers to pay their respects and to ponder its meaning.

But Hal Scott has more to worry about than the Virgin Mother.

Recovering alcoholic, lover of secrets, and quickly approaching middle-age, Scott discovered his best friend dead in his downtown Dallas apartment. And all fingers point to Scott as the murderer.

There is a conspiracy underway, and it’s tied to a gubernatorial campaign, illicit photographs, and a video that will undermine the election. And more than likely get Hal Scott killed.

The only one Scott can turn to is Lemon — the self-proclaimed bastard son of Lee Harvey Oswald. Lemon’s mother owns Conspiracy Books, just blocks away from the old Texas School Book Depository, and she used to dance at the Carousel Club, owned by the notorious Jack Ruby. The FBI, the CIA, and the John Birch Society all want what Lemon has discovered in her mouldering attic. What he found is bigger than them all, and there will be a price to pay for its exposure.

While I’m at it, here’s the trailer:

You’ll be hearing more about this from me soon (I hope).

20 Books of Summer 2020

20 Books of Summer
One summer.

Three months.

93 Days.

20 books.


Here’s the kickoff post on 746 Books in case you want more details. I’ve seen people do this the last couple of years, and it seemed like fun. I’ll be reading more than 20 books over this period, anyway. I’ve found myself having a hard time staying focused lately when it comes to reading lately–although the WWW Wednesdays have helped a bit. I figure this is the same principle, just expanded over a few weeks rather than the next couple of days. Anyway, here’s my list (subject to change, but I’m going to resist the impulse to tweak as much as I can).

1. The Black Line by John Altson
2. The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold
3. Screamcatcher: Dream Chasers by Christy J. Breedlove
4. The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton
5. Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
6. One Man by Harry Connolly
7. The Curator by M. W. Craven
8. The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge
9. The Rome of Fall by Chad Alan Gibbs
10. American Demon by Kim Harrison
11. A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne
12. Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
13. Imaginary Numbers by Seanan McGuire
14. Curse the Day by Judith O’Reilly
15. Of Mutts and Men by Spencer Quinn
16. Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin
17. Muzzled by David Rosenfelt
18. Bad Turn by Zoë Sharp
19. The Silence by Luca Veste
20. The Border by Don Winslow

20 Books of Summer Chart

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK VII., v.-x.

Fridays with the Foundling
Tom Jones Original CoverI assume the problem is with me, I really do. But man, oh, man—Book VII is just not clicking with me. The story’s fine, but I’m not crazy with the pacing. Fielding’s narration isn’t doing much for me, either.

So, there’s some (figurative) kissing and making up between Sophia and her father as well as her father and her aunt. Which starts to give you a dash of hope, but then Blifil and Mr. Western get their heads together and things go downhill. We’ll start with Western talking Sophia into another meeting with Blifil.

Scenes like this, when painted at large, afford, as we have observed, very little Entertainment to the Reader. Here, therefore, we shall strictly adhere to a rule of Horace; by which Writers are directed to pass over all those Matters which they despair of placing in a shining Light;—a Rule, we conceive, of excellent Use as well to the Historian as to the Poet; and which, if followed, must at least have this good Effect, that many a great Evil (for so all great Books are called) would thus be reduced to a small one.

I do appreciate him sparing us that scene.

Blifil is so determined to beat Tom that he cons both Blifil and Allworthy (the former being very predisposed to believe him) into thinking that Sophia’s come around and arrangements are made to get married the next day. Her maid overhears Western making further arrangements and informs Sophia.

Sophia considers suicide at this point, but her maid dissuades her from that. So, she decides to run away from home—she has a friend in London who’ll take her in for a bit.

We get a quick glimpse of Tom—he gets some bad directions and ends up in a different location than he’d intended. He finds himself in an inn with a Quaker gentleman distraught over his daughter’s marriage to a poor man. So, that goes over about as well as you’d think. Details about Tom’s background and circumstance are circulated amongst people at the Inn—suddenly, his Quaker friend makes himself scarce and the landlord decides that he can’t use a room. So, Tom sleeps in the dining room—where it’s easy to keep an eye on this obvious scoundrel.

Hopefully, things get a bit better (in my own mind or the book, whichever is applicable) from here. There’s still a long way to go in this book, there’s plenty of time for that.

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