Wednesday 8 February 2012

Monday 6 February 2012

Book Review -- Fighting for Redemption (Hangambiiki) - Mike Norton

Title - Fighting for Redemption (Hangambiiki)

Author - Mike Norton

Version - Kindle

This is the memoir of Mike, who was brought up by his mother and drug dealer father. After his father died, his mother re-married to a man called Darnell who really had no time for Mike and treated him quite cruelly. His mother changed when she re-married and with a poor homelife, and not really being very well liked at school for being different, Mike spent a lot of time at the home of his friend who's mother Betty treated him like one of the family. He also developed a relationship with an imaginary friend called Nova. On leaving school Mike tried out for the Navy Seals; took up martial arts and got himself a girlfriend. The book then goes through his different experiences in life, through school, work, relationships and an attempted suicide attempt.

Mikes upbringing lead to him appearing to become a fairly strong person on the whole, but to me along with his strength came a sort of arrogance. Whether that is just how he has portrayed himself in the book or not I don't know.

I must admit I did skim alot of the book when it came to him talking about martial arts as this is something I find quite boring. Again, with him talking alot about trying out for the Navy SEALS, I skimmed some of this too. Having said that, and without sounding sexist, a male reading the book may find it more interesting.

I liked the way the author showed his feminine side when talking about his girlfriend Leena, but really disliked him as he talked about another relationship with a girl called Phoebe. Again this may because I am a female listening to a male talk about how he treated another female.

I found the book slightly disjointed at times as it seemed to jump around from place to place. Also in parts he would talk about something as if he had already mentioned it in the book and we were supposed to know what he was on about, when it was the first time we had come across it; in particular relating to Phoebe, one of his girlfriends.

All in all, I found the book quite boring hence why I gave it 2*, but having said that another person reading it who may have interest in reading a large chunk about martial arts, and SEAL training which took up a lot of the book, may find it more enthralling.

Sunday 5 February 2012

Meet Indie author Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali & E-Book Give-away

Authors corner on my blog is for authors to introduce themselves to new readers, or to update those that are already readers of their books. If you are an author who would like to "speak" to my fellow bloggers, then please contact me. I would love to hear from you.

Today meet Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali

About the Author:

Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali lives and works in Houston, Texas as an oncology nurse. She is married and the mother to three brilliant artistic children who far outstrip her in intelligence.
She writes because she loves to and also because she has a story (or two, or three...) to tell.

How did you come to write An Unproductive Woman?


An Unproductive Woman was written almost fifteen years ago. At the time my children were young and our favorite affordable activity was our visits to the library. I read voraciously, willing to try almost any author or genre. I wrote AUW in reaction to what I was, at the time, scarcely able to find in contemporary literature trends. There were some alternative stories, and I devoured them, but I didnt see any representations of myself. In AUW, I wrote the type of story that I would have wanted to read, one that bravely strays away from our traditional western Judeo-Christian sensibilities and offers a valid alternative existence. I hope that Ive been successful

What were some of your influences?

AUW was influenced in great part by watching Nigerian movies. My husband, who is Nigerian, used to rent several each week. They were hyper dramatic and pretty awfully made, though in recent years they have improved greatly. By watching Nigerian dramas I learned a lot about African familial expectations, which are quite different from our own here in the west. I also wrote AUW to answer the question that was most often posed to me by those curious about my faith.

What would you do if your husband married a second wife?


Synopsis:  

After ten years of marriage, Asabe and Adam remain childless. Fueled by desperation and a long held secret, Adam marries a second wife. This decision acts as the catalyst to change no one could have predicted. Read An Unproductive Woman to learn what secrets Adam has withheld that would explain his unreasonable longing and pursuit of a son at all costs.
"Ive found the girl I intend to marry,” Adam announced two months prior. “I know that you do not want me to marry again, but I must. If it disturbs you, if you find it too painful, I will divorce you if you like; but I know of no other man who would want and unproductive woman.”



 Khaalidah is willing to give away three coupons to get AUW for free in ebook format to the first three people who email her.  Reviews requested

Contact her at khaalidahma@gmail.com

Khaalidah can also be found on GoodreadsSmashwords and Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Saturday 4 February 2012

Book Review -- An Unproductive Woman - Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali

Title:- An Unproductive Woman

Author:- Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali

Publisher:- Xlibris

Format:- Kindle version

This was just my kind of book. I have a love of books relating to other cultures like "A Thousand Splendid Suns", "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". Although these books are possibly still in a different league to this and I gave them a 5* rating being my favourite books, I still gave this a 5* rating because I loved it.

The story is about the marriage of Asabe and Adam and his hidden secret. They have been married for 10 years but have not been able to have children. Although Adam loves Asabe and said he would never take another wife, he really wants a son and heir. He therefore takes a second wife Fatima, who is just a mere child. Fatima and Asabe actually become good friends and develop a good relationship. Fatima does eventually give birth to twins, but both her and her son die and Asabe willingly brings up the daughter as her own. Still wanting a son and heir, Adam takes another wife, who he doesn't really love but comes to an "arrangement" with her father. Asabe and this wife definately do not get on, despite being friends in their childhood. I won't tell more, for fear of leaving spoilers.

I really liked Asabe, and although I found Adam somewhat weak I did feel for him. Asabe to me, was written as a strong character and I really admired her. Despite not liking the character Sauda, the third wife, I had such an amusing picture of her in my head. For those who watch the soap Eastenders in the UK, I pictured her as Kim Fox, brassy and over the top with lots of cleavage and heavily made up. That may not be how the author portrayed her but that is the image I got of her. I love a book when you can form a real picture of the characters in your head. I enjoyed reading about the culture of the polygamous wedding which is alien to a westerner.

All in all the book was descriptive, fun, full of content and well written.

This book was provided to me free of charge by the author, but this did in no way affect my opinion when reviewing the book.

For an interview with the author and a free e-book international giveaway please see my upcoming post.

Thursday 2 February 2012

Coming soon - Author host and e-book giveaway

Coming soon I have the author Khaalidah Muhammad Ali, who will be writing about her book An Unproductive Woman. I will also be reviewing the book.

Khaalidah has kindly offered to giveaway copies of her e-book in exchange for a review. She is a new author so needs the support from the lovely readers, bloggers and book reviewers out there. I was impressed with the book so keep an eye out for my review.


Book Review -- Before I go to Sleep - SJ Watson

Title - Before I go to sleep

Author - SJ Watson

Format - Paperback

I had heard good and bad things about this book, but as it was a Richard and Judy Book Club choice, I felt I had to read it as I usually like their choice of books. I also like the reading club questions at the back and the Richard and Judy interview, which is exclusive to books bought from WH Smith (UK).
The book has been described as a thriller, but it's not exactly what I would call a thriller, and the only thrilling part came right near the end. I was surprised to see it said on the book "Winner - Crime Thriller of the Year", as I feel there were better thrillers out there.
Christine has had an accident and had been in a coma. When she comes out of it she has no memories at all, apart from some in her early childhood. She meets Dr Nash who gives her a journal to write daily, and he has to ring her each day to tell her to fill it in, and tell her where she keeps it, as every morning when she wakes up her memories of the day before have gone. She hides the journal from her husband as he has no faith in Dr's and doesn't want her to seeing another one as he feels they have all let her down. Christine through her journal is trying to piece together what happened to her.
I like the journal aspect of the book, where the story is told each day through her journal. Each day is a new journey due to her having no memory of the day before, so each chapter tells a new story. I did feel that some days became a bit repetitive, but for some reason I couldn't put the book down as I was wanting to find out what happened to her. The story telling through the journal carried on through most of the book, which therefore to me, felt as if the ending was a bit rushed. I had partly worked out what was going to happen and wanted a bit more of a twist to the story. Nonetheless I did enjoy the book and for a debut it wasn't bad. The author can only get better and better the more books they write.

My rating

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Film Review -- Eat, Pray, Love - One womans search for everything - Elizabeth Gilber

Author - Elizabeth Gilbert

Director - Ryan Murphy

Starring - Julia Roberts

Rating - 15

Format - DVD

I had actually read the book to the film, and I have to say I was a bit disappointed with it, and skimmed through the pages. I thought maybe it was just me as a lot of people raved about it. I saw the film on offer, and thought I'd bite the bullet and spend some of my Amazon Gift Certificate and buy it.

Synopsis - Believing there's more to life than a husband, house and career, Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) finds herself with a new appetite for life in this inspiring true story, base on the best-selling book. She leaves New York and embarks on a yearlong journey - travelling to India and Bali - seeking self-discovery through good food, mediation and the prospect of finding true love. James Franco, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem co-star in this sumptuous and uplifting adventure filled with humour and heart.

Review - I have to say that I absolutely loved this film. Being a travel buff anyway, I love films that incorporate travels across the globe. Liz travels to Italy, which is a country I love, and is filmed in the beautiful cities of Rome and Naples and the wonderful Tuscan countryside, and I could just picture being there again in the wonderful streets of Rome.

She then travels to the beautiful Island of Bali, where she meets Ketut, a local healer, who has a great impact on her. He was very well acted by Hadi Subiyanto, and was a delightful character. He was portrayed much better in the film than in the book.

Then the trip takes Liz to Ashram in India where she meets a beautiful young girl who is about to become a bride. The wedding is full of all the vivid red and gold colours that come with an Indian wedding, with the atmosphere being portrayed in depth. The filming around the streets of Ashram brought it to life which again was not done in the book.

Her journey then takes her back to Bali, where she reunites with Ketut. She makes many friends on the Island, one being a single mother who she becomes good friends with, and another being a handsome stranger. The characters are all very well acted, both by Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem and all the other actors. Again the filming on the Island (I'm assuming it was filmed on Bali) is well done. The scenery is absolutely stunning.

I am so glad I bothered to buy the film, as I was so disappointed by the book. I didn't have to skip parts of the film like I did the book. From the cinematography to the acting, this was a delightful film from start to finish. So if you've read the book and were disappointed, I recommend you get this film as it is a much better portrayal.

My rating