Reading Challenge

Review – Rouge: A Novel of Beauty and Rivalry by Richard Kirshenbaum

June 25, 2019

Do you love espionage and spies?

Do you love historical dramas?

Do you love murder? Mystery? Mob stories?

And do you want it all while wearing the best mascara MAC has to offer?

Because holy moly this book had it all.

This week, I had the pleasure of reading Rouge: A Novel of Beauty and Rivalry by Richard Kirshenbaum. When I was contacted about reviewing this book, the jacket copy definitely caught my attention.

Rouge is a sexy, glamorous journey into the rivalry of the pioneers of powder, mascara and rouge. It gives readers a rare front row seat into the world of high society and business through the rivalry of two beauty industry icons (think Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden).
This fast-paced novel examines the lives, loves, and sacrifices of the visionaries who invented the modern cosmetics industry: Josiah Herzenstein, born in a Polish Jewish Shtlel, the entrepreneur who transforms herself into a global style icon and the richest woman in the world, Josephine Herz; Constance Gardiner, her rival, the ultimate society woman who invents the door-to-door business and its female workforce but whose deepest secret threatens everything; CeeCee Lopez, the bi-racial beauty and founder of the first African American woman’s hair relaxer business, who overcomes prejudice and heartbreak to become her community’s first female millionaire.
The cast of characters is rounded out by Mickey Heron, a dashing, sexy ladies’ man whose cosmetics business is founded in a Hollywood brothel. All are bound in a struggle to be number one, doing anything to get there…including murder.

My Top 10 LGBT+ Books

June 19, 2019

We’re just past halfway through Pride Month, so it seems like the natural time for me to share with you my top 10 favorite LGBT+ books. Because, you know, I’m known for being consistent and timely.

As I compiled this list, I thought about how limited my experience actually is with books featuring LGBT+ protagonists. I know I’ve spoken about it before, but I am painfully aware that the Queer Lit I have read has feature predominantly male protagonists. Yes, part of this speaks to my own bias as a reader, but it also speaks to the biases of the publishing industry and how far we still have to go to achieve actual representation in the publishing world. (I said we there as if I’m part of the publishing world. I’m not. The closest I’ve gotten was standing outside of the Random House offices and screaming, “publish me, publish me, publish me” over and over until my best friend got embarrassed and made me leave.)

I don’t have a rubric or scoring system to rank these books. The way I’ve chosen to order these books is based 100% on the way these books made me feel. So, without further ado, here is my list of my Top 10 LGBT+ Books to Read During Pride Month.

Review – How to Experience Death for Beginners by Jessica Branton

February 14, 2019

So many updates in the Pluckyverse, I don’t even know where to begin. The semester started off crazy with me taking on way more responsibilities than I could manage and somehow getting them done. What that meant, though, was my reading life suffered and my blogging life became nearly nonexistent.

But I am back and ready and rearing to reclaim my time. I’ve got so many amazing ARCs I’m working through, and at some point, I’ll even update you on my 2018 reading challenge. Did I meet my goals? Did I keep up with my Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge? Did I change the world on page at a time?

You’ll have to wait to find out. Until then, please enjoy this review of How to Experience Death for Beginners by Jessica Branton.

So, if you know anything about me, you know that I love crime shows, movies, books, podcasts, etc… I love crime so much, in fact, that I started a podcast, Lifetime Sentence, with my friend Erin. When I say crime, it’s not like I want there to be people running around with guns or knives or whatever committing heinous monstrosities around the world. What I mean is I find the psychology of crime fascinating. I like to study it in a purely scientific kind of way. And before I make myself sound any more like a madman that I already have, I will tell you why this is an important thing to mention.

A clairvoyant introvert can enter the minds of people at their moment of death. When a serial killer emerges in her small town, she receives audacious advances from an enigmatic newcomer. While dodging detectives and falling in love, she joins forces with the FBI to take down the killer.

Review – Becoming Starlight by Sharon Prentice, PhD

December 26, 2018

A few months ago, I was contacted and asked to review a book about a Shared Death Experience (SDE). Honestly, I was a little leery. I had to do some research on the author and on the concept of SDE before I would commit to a book about it. But I do enjoy learning and experiencing new things through books, so eventually I agreed.

I was so excited when it came in the mail, I set it on my nightstand and made it my priority to read next. And then the end of the semester happened. Very quickly October became December, somehow along the way, I had been pulled under a deluge of papers to grade, lessons to plan, concerts to play, and functions to attend. Do you notice something very important missing in that list?

That’s right. Reading. I have had a very large book-shaped hole in my life since October, being so consumed with work that I have not been able to read anything, save for what we have been reading for school.

Banned Books Week – Looking for Alaska

September 23, 2018

It’s my favorite literary week of the year! Happy Banned Books Week, reader!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Banned Books week I’ve provided some information, before I begin talking about my favorite banned books.

What is Banned Books Week?

Banned Books Week is the annual celebration of the freedom to read. Every year, books are challenged in public schools and libraries around the world for their content or their ideals. Banned Books Week is a chance to raise awareness of these challenged books and the silencing of stories that results.

Why celebrate Banned Books Week?

Every year people try to take away readers’ power to decide what is right for them and their children to read by bringing challenges to remove books from school and public libraries. This ultimately takes away the freedom of choice and the important stories told through books. Banned Books Weeks is an opportunity to celebrate and educate people in the importance of diverse stories.

What kinds of books are being challenged?

All kinds of books are being challenged: historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, religious fiction, narrative nonfiction, self-help books. You name it, there has been a book in that genre that has been questioned. (Okay, to be fair, I’m not sure about cookbooks, but I wouldn’t doubt it.)

It’s important that we don’t allow our right to choose what we read be taken by somebody else. And it’s important we continue to fight for the freedom for authors to publish the stories they need to tell. Books are important. The stories they tell are important. Lives are changed by books daily, The limiting of stories limits voices, and diversity, and freedoms in ways that are unacceptable.

Review – The Storm Runner by J. C. Cervantes

September 18, 2018

Some time ago, I read that Rick Riordan was opening his own publishing imprint. As an avid reader of Riordan’s work, I was pumped. The more I read, the more excited I got. Not only was he starting an imprint, he was going to use this imprint and his influence to publish original middle-grade works by authors of color.

His goal, as he has stated on his own website, is to publish authors of various cultural backgrounds to retell the stories of their mythologies, the way he has with Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology.

I love few things the way I love a modern retelling of an ancient culture or mythology. I gobbled up the Percy Jackson books like they were candy. I swallowed up The Kane Chronicles whole. The Heroes of Olympus books held me captivated. And I’m not typically a serial reader. But these series were all so entrancing and wonderfully, brilliant delivered.

Book Tour – I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel

August 25, 2018

Today is an exciting day as I get to be part of Anne Bogel’s release tour for her new book, Reading People: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life, which will be released September 4, 2018.

Last year, I was chosen to be part of Anne’s launch team for her first book, Reading People, and that experience is what prompted me to launch The Plucky Reader. Having the opportunity to support her second book–after having been so inspired her in the past–is an incredible opportunity. But being chosen as part of her Book Tour is an even greater honor.

I’d Rather Be Reading could very well be the title of my autobiography. I say this phrase at least six times a day. I think it probably several hundred times more. And if you’re reading this blog, chances are you’ve had this thought a time or two.

Cool June Morning Musings

June 1, 2018

It’s a cool and breezy morning as I sit to write this post. The temperature has been in the low- to mid-90’s this week, so sitting outside has not been on the top of my to-do list. But for whatever blessed reason, today it’s in the mid-80’s and breezy And I’ll take that any day.

I’m enjoying the weather and I’ve brought with me my colored pencils (teachers love fun school supplies) and my highlighters to work on the first novel I’m teaching next school year. I’ve brought my Kindle to read some ARCs to review here. I’ve brought my headphones and my smile. It’s the perfect morning.

Now that this school year is over and I’ve had time to reflect and look back at my blog, I see that I am happiest when I am outside in the beautiful weather with a book in my hand. The problem is I’ve been working basically two full-time jobs since 2011. There hasn’t been nearly enough time for my to sit outside in the sunshine and read books.

Review – Just Under the Clouds by Melissa Sarno

May 29, 2018

This weekend, I had the immense pleasure of reading a soon-to-be-released book. One of my favorite things about book blogging is getting to read amazing books before they come out, and Sarno’s Just Under the Clouds is exactly that.

Always think in threes and you’ll never fall, Cora’s father told her when she was a little girl. Two feet, one hand. Two hands, one foot. That was all Cora needed to know to climb the trees of Brooklyn.
But now Cora is a middle schooler, a big sister, and homeless. Her mother is trying to hold the family together after her father’s death, and Cora must look after her sister, Adare, who’s just different, their mother insists. Quick to smile, Adare hates wearing shoes, rarely speaks, and appears untroubled by the question Cora can’t help but ask: How will she find a place to call home?
After their room at the shelter is ransacked, Cora’s mother looks to an old friend for help, and Cora finally finds what she has been looking for: Ailanthus altissima, the “tree of heaven,” which can grow in even the worst conditions. It sets her on a path to discover a deeper truth about where she really belongs.
Just Under the Clouds will take root in your heart and blossom long after you’ve turned the last page.

Just Under the Clouds is middle-grade fiction, which I don’t usually read, but as I’m switching out of the music room and into the English classroom, I’m making a concerted effort to fix that. And something I’ve realized as I’m making that effort? A good book is a good book–regardless of its intended audience–is a good book.

What I’m Reading Next

April 25, 2018

The school year is wrapping up and I’m finally reclaiming my time to read as voraciously as I want to. While most of my colleagues are planning their vacations or how they’ll spend time with family, or what shows they’re going to binge on Netflix, I’ve been working on my list of summer reads.

To be fair, I’ve planned all of those other things, as well. I’ve found a cabin to rent on a lake in the middle of nowhere where I intend to read by the water and get a tan and turn off my cell phone. I’ve already planned to watch my way through The Mary Tyler Moore Show this summer. So it just came down to books.

I have a stack of books I have on my TBR and I can’t wait to tear into them. But the books I’m most excited to tear into are ARCs I’ve received that I haven’t had time to read. I can’t wait to spend my days with debut authors and brand new characters.

What is Banned Books Week?

Why celebrate Banned Books Week?

What kinds of books are being challenged?

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