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Have I got a story for you

For your reading convenients below you will find all the have I got a story for you published in 2019

January 2019

Happy New Year Book Friends:
There are a lot of new books headed our way in 2019. Do you have any you are looking forward to reading? Write in and let me know. This month I have for you 2 books, polar opposites, really. One set in the tropics and another one set in a winter wonderland. Let’s go!

Something in the Water
written by Catherine Steadman
reading time: 11 hours and 42 minutes
DB 91350
CELA number DA57435
not on RNIB yet
Suspense Fiction & Psychological Fiction

Have you ever wondered, how long does it take to dig a grave? Erin is a documentary filmmaker on the brink of a professional breakthrough, Mark a handsome investment banker with big plans. Passionately in love, they embark on a dream honeymoon to the tropical island of Bora Bora, where they enjoy the sun, the sand, and each other. Then, while scuba diving in the crystal blue sea, they find something in the water.

Could the life of your dreams be the stuff of nightmares? Suddenly the newlyweds must make a dangerous choice: to speak out or to protect their secret. After all, if no one else knows, who would be hurt? Their decision will trigger a devastating chain of events.

My comments; This is a who done it? But, more important, it’s a what would you do kind of story. Beautiful tropical setting and tons of twists and turns. A fast paced read.

Spinning Silver
written by Naomi Novik
reading time; 17 hours and 58 minutes
DB 91647
not on CELA or RNIB yet
Fantasy fiction

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father's inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty, until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk - grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh - Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered.

Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar. But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.

My comments; This is a retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale. Read by Lisa Flanagan and she does a wonderful job. A sparkling fantasy story filled with folklore and a bit of a mystery. It’s long, but a great winter read.

Until next month, Happy reading,
Carla jo!

February 2019

Chilly greetings book readers,
One of the perks of winter is boots, perfect boot wearing weather here, and 1 more is tucking into a couple of really great books. This month I bring you 3 h’s; Historical, humor and horror.

First, the historical!
The Glass Ocean
written by Beatriz Williams, Karen White, Vanessa Johansson, and Lauren Willig
reading time: 13 hours and 45 minutes
DB92587
not on RNIB or CELA yet

Her finances are in dire straits, and best-selling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history.

Sarah embarks on an ambitious journey to England to enlist the help of John Langford, a recently disgraced member of parliament whose family archives might contain the only key to the long-ago catastrophe.

April 1915: Southern belle Caroline Telfair Hochstetter’s marriage is in crisis. Her formerly attentive industrialist husband, Gilbert, has become remote, preoccupied with business, and something else on which she can’t quite put a finger. She’s hoping a trip to London in Lusitania’s lavish first-class accommodations will help them reconnect, but she can’t ignore the spark she feels for her old friend, Robert Langford, who turns out to be on the same voyage. Feeling restless and longing for a different existence, Caroline is determined to stop being a bystander and take charge of her own life.

Tessa Fairweather is traveling second-class on the Lusitania, returning home to Devon. Or at least, that’s her story. Tessa has never left the US, and her English accent is a hasty fake. She’s really Tennessee Schaff, the daughter of a roving con man, and she can steal and forge just about anything. But she’s had enough. Her partner has promised that if they can pull off this one last heist aboard the Lusitania, they’ll finally leave the game behind. Tess desperately wants to believe that, but Tess has the uneasy feeling there’s something about this job that isn’t as it seems.

As the Lusitania steams toward its fate, three women work against time to unravel a plot that will change the course of their own lives, and history itself.

My comments; Combine political intrigue, a Southern debutante and a couple of con-women, set against the backdrop of the historical sinking of a luxury cruise ship and you get a great story. The book does flip back and forth between the past and the present, but it was very easy to follow and to get caught up in the beautiful tale.

Here’s the humor!
The Undomestic Goddess
written by Sophie Kinsella
reading time: 12 hours and 1 minute
DB60741
RNIB number is TB15218
CELA number is only in braille BR73580

Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She's made a mistake so huge, it'll wreck any chance of a partnership.

Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she's mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they've hired a lawyer, and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can't sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope, and finds love is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake.

But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does, will she want it back?

My comments; This one has some strong language and some descriptions of sex. Kinsella is well known for her sharp, witty novels and this one does not disappoint.

And now for the Horror!
Bird Box
written by Josh Malerman
reading time: 7 hours and 40 minutes
DB79311
RNIB number; TB700689
CELA has 4 formats, but all in French

Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, Malorie has long dreamed of fleeing to a place where her family might be safe. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: 20 miles downriver in a rowboat blindfolded with nothing to rely on but Malorie's wits and the children's trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?

Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey, a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motley group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside and confront the ultimate question: In a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?

Interweaving past and present, Josh Malerman's breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.

My comments; Heads up, lots of graphic violence and strong language in this one. As usual, the book is very different from the hit movie. I’ll not give any spoilers. I’m glad I read the book first. I expect more greatness from Josh Malerman.

Thanks so much to those of you who have written to me, I’ve kept your book suggestions for a future article. There are some really great books to look forward to in 2019.
Until next time, Happy reading, Carla jo

March 2019

Hey Fellow book junkies!
I hope the new year is finding all of you well and well read. I’ve been reading a lot and enjoying every bit of it. Cold weather just makes me want to snug in and read. This month I have 2 books to recommend and a reader sends in her book information. Thanks, Ann, for your book suggestion and good luck with it! It’s exciting when one of our own gets their book put on BARD or is recorded for sale. Read on, or as Ann says, Follow your dog!

Follow Your Dog, a story of love and trust
Written by Ann Chiappetta
Reading time: 4 hours and 27 minutes
DBC11582

Drawing on her skills as a poet and a therapist, the author of this candid memoir explores her life-changing relationship with her guide dog.

Seven Days of Us
Written by Francesca Hornak
Reading time: 9 hours and 36 minutes
DB89399
Not on CELA or RNIB

A warm, wry, sharply observed debut novel about what happens when a family is forced to spend a week together in quarantine over the holidays.
It's Christmas, and, for the first time in years, the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew's elder daughter - who is usually off saving the world - will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is coming home only because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she's been told she must stay in quarantine for a week, and so, too, should her family.
For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity - and even decent Wi-Fi - and forced into each other's orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems.
As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down.
In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who's about to arrive.

My comments; A warm, quirky look at a family locked down together. I don’t know how my family would have taken to this arrangement. A good story.

The Lost Queen
Written by Signe Pike
Reading time: 17 hours and 44 minutes
DB93030
Not on CELA or RNIB

The Mists of Avalon meets the world of Philippa Gregory in the thrilling first novel of a debut trilogy that reveals the untold story of Languoreth - a forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland - twin sister of the man who inspired the legend of Merlin.
I write because I have seen the darkness that will come. Already there are those who seek to tell a new history.
In a land of mountains and mist, tradition and superstition, Languoreth and her brother Lailoken are raised in the Old Way of their ancestors. But in Scotland, a new religion is rising, one that brings disruption, bloodshed, and riot. And even as her family faces the burgeoning forces of Christianity, the Anglo-Saxons, bent on colonization, are encroaching from the east. When conflict brings the hero Emrys Pendragon to her father’s door, Languoreth finds love with one of his warriors. Her deep connection to Maelgwn is forged by enchantment, but she is promised in marriage to Rhydderch, son of a Christian king. As Languoreth is catapulted into a world of violence and political intrigue, she must learn to adapt. Together with her brother - a warrior and druid known to history as Myrddin - Languoreth must assume her duty to fight for the preservation of the Old Way and the survival of her kingdom, or risk the loss of them both forever.
Based on new scholarship, this tale of bravery and conflicted love brings a lost queen back to life - rescuing her from obscurity, and reaffirming her place at the center of one of the most enduring legends of all time.

My comments: Wow! As most of you know, this one is right up my alley! The authors notes at the end of this book were so good. She discovered this Lost Queen and has written a trilogy about her. I am looking forward to the next book.

As always, thanks for those who have written and sent me book suggestions, I love hearing from you.
Until April, take care.
Happy reading, Carla jo.

April 2019

Hello again book friends,
it’s springtime here in Texas! Yeah, for warmer weather. This month I have 3 books for your consideration. A fun, epic road trip, a book that has been turned into a movie and a creepy story written by a long time favorite writer of mine. Let’s go!

Road Swing, One fan’s journey into America’s sports
written by Steve Rushin
reading time:9 hours and 13 minutes
DB50322
Not available on CELA or RNIB

On the eve of his thirtieth birthday, Steve Rushin decided to revisit the twin pursuits of his youth: epic car trips and an unhealthy obsession with sports. So, he jumped into his fully alarmed Japanese S U V and drove to American sports shrines for a year, everywhere from Larry Bird's boyhood home in French Lick, Indiana, to the cornfield just outside of Dyersville, Iowa, where Field of Dreams was filmed. Road Swing is the story of his journey. This one has some strong language.

My comments; Rushin is a writer for Sports Illustrated and now another one of my favorite writers. This is a must read for any sports fan.

The Silver Linings Playbook
written by Matthew Quick
reading time: 7 hours and 20 minutes
DB76245
CELA has this one, but I’m not used to the new website and it’s confusing
Also, on RNIB on demand and for sale

During his years in a neural-health facility, Pat Peoples has formulated a theory about silver linings. He believes that his life is a movie produced by God, that his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and that if he succeeds, his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki.

When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki, and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy. Then, Pat meets clinically depressed widow Tiffany, who offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife - provided he agrees to a secret contract that includes giving up football and performing in the next Dance Away Depression competition.

My comments: This sounds like a heavy read and a few parts are, but overall, it’s a funny read. I listened to the movie with audio description and as usual, very different from the book and as usual, the book is better.

Once Upon A River
written by Diane Setterfield
reading time: 16 hours and 29 minutes
DB93704
available on CELA, but not on RNIB

A body always tells a story - but this child’s was a blank page. Rita reached for the lantern on its hook. She trained it light on the child’s face.
"Who are you?" she murmured, but the face said as little as the rest of her. It was impossible to tell whether, in life, these blunt and unfinished features had borne the imprint of prettiness, timid watchfulness, or sly mischief. If there had once been curiosity or placidity or impatience here, life had not had time to etch it into permanence.

Only a very short time ago, two hours or not much more, the body and soul of this little girl had still been securely attached. At this thought, and despite all her training, all her experience, Rita found herself suddenly in the grip of a storm of feeling. All the old rage at God - for not being kind, for not being fair, and finally for just not being, swept her up all over again and she felt tears of anger on her face. She took the child’s hand in hers, the perfect hand with the perfect 5 fingers, the perfect 5 fingernails and the words fell out of her, the words she did not know were there. It should not be so, it should not be so. And that is when it happened.

My comments; I know, this is a long one, but what a great, creepy story. Part historical fiction and part ghost story. This one is set in England in 1887, on the banks of the river Thames.

Until next time we meet fellow readers,
Happy reading, Carla jo.

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