Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "favourite"

My favourite books - March

Those of you who follow my blog will know that this year I've started a new series. Each month I will recommend one of my favourite books.

So far, here are the recommendations:

In January I recommended the wonderfully romantic, The Day The Flowers Died by the talented Ami Blackwelder

The Day the Flowers Died by Ami Blackwelder

In February, my pick was the entertaining murder/mystery Caviar Dreams by Judy Nichols

This month, I'm recommending a book by one of the first authors I met here on Goodreads, Horse Latitudes, by Quentin R. Bufogle.

This is one of the funniest books I've ever read, and anyone who follows Quentin's blog here on Goodreads will know that he is a very funny man. He can always be trusted to raise a smile with his original stories and blogs.

I think everyone should read Horse Latitudes. It's the kind of book that many people will be able to relate to, because although there is a humourous edge to the writing, the underlying story is one about a man who is looking for his purpose in life.

Here's the review I wrote when I read the book:

"In the Sargasso Sea there is no wind. Many, many years ago, when ships travel by sail, they would sometimes get stuck here. For weeks and weeks they would sometimes drift, waiting for the wind to come. The sailors called this 'The Horse Latitudes'."
Chester Sprockett receives this definition of the Horse Latitudes from the owner of a little coffee shop after he explains he has writers' block. In fact most of Chester's life has become stuck, he feels he is always waiting for something... Once a high school football star, now he is unemployed, has split up with his girlfriend and his dream of writing a bestselling novel seems unreachable as he is suffering from writers' block.
'Horse Latitudes' is almost like a book of short stories; each chapter describes a significant event in Chester Sprockett's life. The stories are like different parts of a jigsaw puzzle that make up the whole book.
Chester is in his mid-thirties living alone in the house he was born in. He lives with regrets of what could have been - holding on to the past - wishing he had been braver and told Beth how he felt about her way back then in high school; wishing he had not let the chance of a football scholarship slip through his hands...
Chester's father had run up debts on credit cards and after he died there is a threat that Chester could be forced to sell the house the pay off the debts. He tries to find work and is disillusioned when he joins a firm of salesmen, knowing that his real dream is to write the bestseller.
His late father visits him one day when Chester is suffering from fever; his visit helps Chester realise that he needs to be liberated from everything that is holding him back from following his dream...liberated from the Horse Latitudes.
This book is full of hilarious and insightful observations. It was a joy to read and I would recommend it to everyone!! As I was reading it, I thought it would be excellent if this book was made into a film, it definitely has a 'Hollywood' feeling about it. It will make you laugh out loud. One example is when Chester is looking at Beth: "She was just standing there in her bikini holding the ice cream... In fifty years she'd be old and wrinkled. In a hundred fertilizer. It didn't matter." There's plenty more laughs where that came from. Do yourself a favour and buy 'Horse Latitudes'. It's a tonic we all need in the credit crunch era!!

I hope you'll try the book. It's available at Amazon in paperback and also in Kindle format:

Amazon

It's also at Barnes and Noble in paperback and Nook format:

B&N

Look out for another recommendation next month.

Happy reading!

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Published on March 13, 2012 05:20 • Tags: book, favourite, horse-latitudes, humour, quentin-r-bufogle

My favourite books - April pick

As regular followers of my blog will know, I am running a series this year where each month I will recommend one of my all time favourite indie books (self-published or small press). These are books that I think are amazing and deserve to be bestsellers.

Here's the list of my picks so far:

January: The Day the Flowers Died

February: Caviar Dreams

March: Horse Latitudes

This month, I would like to recommend Into The Light by Darcia Helle

To be honest, I could have chosen any one of Darcia Helle's books as my favourite. I've read, Hit List, The Cutting Edge, Quiet Fury: An Anthology of Suspense, The First Kill and Enemies and Playmates. I thoroughly enjoyed all of those books. She is a very talented author with a talent for suspenseful writing. She also has a fabulous sense of humour that comes across in her writing.

Here's my review of 'Into The Light':

This is a wonderful story on so many levels. It contains humour, romance, and an element of mystery. It's a supernatural tale about a ghost, Max, who refuses to go `into the light' until his killer can be brought to justice.
Max, in life, was a very ordinary man, in fact he died feeling like a failure and as if his life had been in vain.
What Helle's book teaches us is that there are many things we do on a daily basis that have an effect on other people's lives, for good or bad. Max is forced to confront issues from his past when he dies, and this multi-layered story perfectly highlights the fact that we are often unaware of other people's thoughts and feelings and that makes all the difference when looking at the effects of things we do. Many readers will be able to relate to Max, and also the private investigator, Joe, who is roped in to help Max find his killer. Their relationship is an odd one, but they each learn something from the other as they both try to come to terms with their problems.
The book deals with the subjects of divorce, regret, relationships, insecurity, and miscommunication, among other things. It's a fun and often comical read, but also contains very deep thinking on human behaviour and relationships.
The underlying message appears to be that when we die we leave behind an imprint based on everything we have done, thought, and said... it's definitely food for thought.

Look out for my next selection in May!

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Published on April 04, 2012 11:31 • Tags: book, darcia-helle, favourite, ghost, humour, into-the-light, paranormal, supernatural

My Favourite Books - June Pick

Those of you who follow my blog will know that I am running a series where each month I pick a book that is one of my favourites. I am doing this because there are so many self-published books that deserve to be read by a much wider audience, but they are often overlooked in favour of the bestsellers. I have chosen books that can enrich your life in some way, either by entertaining you or educating you, or just making you think about life differently. All the books I've chosen so far have left an impression on me so that I will always remember them. I would love you to also fall in love with them and perhaps spread the word about them, as much as I would love you all to go and buy my books.

So far, I've chosen:

January:

by Ami Blackwelder - historical romance

February:

by Judy Nichol - murder/mystery

March:

by Quentin R. Bufogle - humour

April:

by Darcia Helle - paranormal/suspense

May: Various books with a musical theme

33 Days Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream. by Bill See

Pixels of Young Mueller by Jerry Schwartz

Ladies and Gentlemen...The Redeemers by Michael Scott Miller

My June selection is Beyond My Control: One Man's Struggle with Epilepsy, Seizure Surgery and Beyond by Stuart Ross McCallum

This book is very special to me because it helped me to make a decision in my own life that I now feel was the right one and was one that I may not have been brave enough to do if I hadn't read this book.

This book is about one man's struggle with epilepsy and his road to recovery. It's written by a man who is also a gifted writer, in my opinion. His book is inspirational.

Here's the review I wrote when I first read it:

Wow! This book is a fascinating read of Stuart McCallum's experience with Epilepsy. I must admit that I knew very little about Epilepsy before reading this book, only that it was a condition causing random seizures. This is such an important book because it documents one man's experience of this very cruel condition which will help others who are going through the same or similar problems, and anyone who has a loved one battling against this condition. On a wider scale, it is also a story of great courage, strength of character, faith and determination. The great thing about this little book is that Stuart McCallum is a very ordinary man, he doesn't have any great or mysterious character traits which would set him apart from you or I, and he tells his story in a way that can be understood by everyone. It could be anyone's story; everyone struggles in one way or another in life — we all have our cross to bear. Stuart's story is valuable as a lesson to us all that the human spirit is capable of facing many adversities and surviving. Most of all it is a message to never give in, and to carry on enjoying life, being grateful for what you have. It is not bogged down in medical detail, but does explain the ins and outs of the condition very well. It is written with humour, showing how this courageous soul was able to come out of life threatening surgery and retain a very positive view of life. I really enjoyed reading the book and congratulate Stuart McCallum on writing such an inspirational book about his journey. It was very well written, and even though there were a few editorial issues, these did not distract from the story because it is a very fast paced read.

This book helped me to decide to go ahead with an operation to cure my heart defect (SVT). All operations have their risks, but when I was weighing the pros and cons, I always thought of how brave Stuart Ross McCallum was when he went through his operation. For that reason, this will always be one of my favourite books and very close to my heart.

Look out for my next recommendation in July!

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Published on June 01, 2012 01:34 • Tags: beyond-my-control, book, epilepsy, favourite, stuart-ross-mccallum

My Favourite Books: August Pick

This month, I have chosen a wonderful novel, one that I absolutely fell in love with. The characters are so realistic and the story had me hooked.

Crooked Moon by Lisette Brodey

Every once in a while you read a book and know it will be lifelong favourite. 'Crooked Moon' is one of those books for me. I also love the cover art.

Here's the review I wrote after I read it:

I really enjoyed this book.
Frankie and Callie were childhood best friends, more like sisters than friends, living next door to each other in Rainytown, a less than desirable neighbourhood. Their friendship was something that helped them through life's hard lessons. When Callie moved out of the neighbourhood she left her friend behind and always regretted doing so. Her life had changed and her social circle was not one where her friend would have felt comfortable. Twenty three years later, Callie is back in Rainytown after her Aunt's death, and the two girls meet again. Whilst Callie dearly wants her best friend back in her life, Frankie is bitter and resentful about the way Callie had written her out of her life years before. We follow their turbulent struggle to get their friendship back on track, and encounter many colourful and believable characters along the way. It's a very entertaining read and in parts is unputdownable. The ending is very moving.
All of the characters seem so real, it almost feels as though you are watching them living their lives as you read the book. By the end of the book I felt as if I really knew them.
The book is very well written. There is one small issue that was slightly distracting for me: when the author is describing characters' movements she does like to say 'left hand' or 'right hand', 'left foot' or 'right foot' when it really would suffice to say 'a hand' or 'his foot'. There are quite a few occurrences of this, e.g. 'he placed his right hand on her left shoulder' - too much information, sounds a bit clumsy and only slows down the action, in my opinion. But this is a very minor issue.
To sum up, this story is about everyday people and everyday lives and deals with subjects to which we can all relate; friendship, trust, loyalty, family secrets, bereavement, forgiveness.
Lisette Brodey has painted the characters in her novel like an artist with a brush, breathing life into them so that they come off the page. There is depth and insightfulness in her writing. There are many thought provoking passages throughout this fabulous work of fiction. I would highly recommend the book to lovers of great fiction.

I hope you'll give it a try!

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