*CLOSED GIVEAWAY*

 

I am pleased to announce the second giveaway on A Reader's Diary!

Here's how it works:
Email your first and last name to jessicalynn1784@gmail.com

  I will pick one lucky reader to receive the copy of My Heart and Other Black Holes shown above! 

Another way to enter is by following areaders.diary on Instagram!

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Lucky winner:

Instagram user lottiesbookshelf!

Thanks to everyone for entering!
Follow A Reader's Diary for more giveaways and chances to win!

 If you haven't heard of this YA novel, check out my review: My Heart and Other Black Holes!

Tales of a Receding Hairline

Tales of a Receding Hairline is a collection of poems that show us the life of a guy that is truly down on his luck. This entire collection has a deep, deep south feel to it. While I was reading, I was imagining dive bars, trailer parks, the open plain, and the smell of moonshine. The old rock 'n' roll side definitely kicked in too! For someone who doesn't enjoy poetry, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. I kept imagining them as songs, not to mention they rolled right off of the tongue (highly recommend reading them out loud). But one band stuck in my mind when reading, Old Crow Medicine Show. Each poem would sound absolutely amazing if performed by them. K.W. Peery does an amazing job of incorporating his songwriting skills into his poetry. Some of my favorites included Born to Trouble, Darkness, and Drifter! 

Ball is in your court now Peery, we need another collection!

Special thanks to K.W. Peery for sending me a copy of Tales of a Receding Hairline via Goodreads Giveaways!

Rising from the Mire

Special thanks to author Christine Grace for setting up a Goodreads Giveaway, which allowed me to receive a copy of Rising from the Mire!

This collection of short stories caught my attention from the very first one. Leya's Serengeti begins with a woman who walks us through her past. Someone who was completely against having dogs, but after her children's first dog passed away she couldn't imagine life without one. This story leads into the second story, The Neighborhood. A block party where all but one set of neighbors get together with friends, family, and pets to learn more about each other. While those two stories are companions to each other, the others are not. A Sharp Mind, Infinite Compassion, The Indian Affair, and Across the Saraha Desert have a very different feel to them. These short stories made me feel like an outsider, while I was still part of the story I truly imagine myself as a bystander watching the story unfold...However, that may just be in introvert in me. The last story, The Presence, has me dying for more. I want to know Emma's background I want to know what Victoria's thinking. I want to know why Sydney sees what she can see. I want to know so much about these three characters that I need Christine Grace to expand this story and give me more!! If anyone knows where I can find a copy of Sydney's Skeletons, please let me know!

Tru & Nelle

Tru & Nelle will be THE book of 2016.

We get to explore the eccentric friendship of Truman Capote and Nelle Harper Lee in this wonderful book for children. In Monroeville, AL, a tomboy girl and an ever so proper boy become close friends when discovering their shared love for Sherlock Holmes and unsolved mysteries. These two outcasts, and cousin Big Boy, start their own detective agency in their treehouse headquarters. They grab a few crimes that are far too big for their little agency and find themselves in over their heads. They come face to face with some of the horrors in their little Alabama town. They even create a few horrors of their own. 

Throughout the whole novel you begin to see how Tru and Nelle worked together to become the writers they are known to be today. They challenge each other. They want the other to succeed as much as they want to themselves. G. Neri, the author, even hinted toward Truman's nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood. 

Whether you are young or old, you will love this book.

If you are a fan of Truman Capote, Harper Lee, or both, you will love this book.

If you live in Alabama or know any of the history, you will love this book.

Get your hands on a copy of Tru & Nelle, YOU WILL LOVE IT.

Looking for the rest of the series?
Tru & Nelle: A Christmas Tale (Tru & Nelle #2)

Looking for books by Truman Capote?
In Cold Blood
Other Voices, Other Rooms
The Grass Harp

Breakfast at Tiffany's

The Complete Stories of Truman Capote

Music for Chameleons

Answered Prayers

Looking for other books featuring Truman Capote and Harper Lee?
No Saints in Kansas

Evicted

While I understand that this is a book about poverty and how badly poor communities are treated, I couldn't help but get mad at the tenants, the landlord, and the author. Most of the tenants in this book are portrayed in such a negative light. They can't pay their rent for any variety of reasons. One tenant said she couldn't because her sister died, another said he couldn't because her kid needed new shoes, another straight up told his landlord he wasn't paying because he, without notice, decided to repaint the inside of his house and would like that deducted from his rent. The landlords, oh the landlords. These landlords did not make it easy on the tenants. One of the landlords refused to fix broken sinks, refused repainting, refused plumbing; yet she and her husband went on a Caribbean vacation off of the rent money they collected. She also let tenants that were previously evicted continue to stay on the property with the new tenant, but will deny that in court, I'm sure. She was probably the worst landlord in the book. Many of the other landlords continuously let tenants fall behind on rent, but not evict them. They would give these tenants time and time again, knowing nothing was going to change. However, these same landlords understood how awful it is to live in poverty and would actually buy clothes and groceries for their tenants. Because the tenants would spend their allotted food stamps on one meal as soon as they received them! Now for the author, Matthew Desmond can write. From what I understand, he personally works with those living in poverty. He wants to make a change in the way America treats the poor. But at times, Evicted felt like a feature magazine article that ran 350 pages.... Overall, it was a good read and I'm glad Blogging for Books gave me the opportunity to review Evicted!

Every Moment Counts!

I am so stoked for the @SourcebooksFire #everymomentcounts challenge! http://books.sourcebooks.com/whereitends/ #thisiswhereitends 

Help us create moments this summer!

If you haven't read This is Where it Ends, get a copy today! 

Let me see the moments you guys are creating this summer!

Creating my first moment next week, I'M GETTING MARRIED!

Feelings

 

A big thank you to the author, Garfield Whyte, for sending me an ebook of Feelings to review! 

When I first came across this book I expected something completely different. It was described as an environmental photography and poetry book. Personally, I have never book a big fan of poetry, but the environment is something I have always been passionate about! While this collection of poems did have some very strong points, it completely threw me through a loop because it was not poems about the photography in the book. It was poems to make you feel a certain type of way, with photographs of the beach and mountains and various outdoor places. The poems paired with the photographs were meant to make the reader feel and understand the mood of the poem. I had two poems that I thoroughly enjoyed, The Inevitable Lover and As the Sun Sets. 

As per the author, I have been granted access to an exclusive excerpt from one of the poems in Feelings! Take a look below. :)

The Little That We Had

The little that we had was grand wonderful and true

The little that we had filled me with joy and gave me hope to see the

sunrise and inevitably caused me to glory in the blissful moments we shared

It brought tranquility to my human heart to patiently wait to see you again

And it's all because I cherished more than ever the little that we had

The little that we had was treasured gold

Many have lived a lifetime in search of what we had

It filled my innermost vacuum with love to the overflowing.

And.....

Although we never reached the top of the mount'

You meant more to me than you'll ever know,

Because in my memories you reign supreme,

And here I am desperately in need of just a little of the little that we once had.