As a freelance writer who is just starting out, I have a gaggle of books on writing query letters, writing fiction, finding inspiration and writing exercises.  I love these types of non fiction books as I use them as resources, being able to read them a chapter at a time.  And they are the type of book that you can use and reuse time and again.  With the writing exercise books, it’s good just to open up to a page and go from there.

A good memoir, to me, is better than fiction. It is also a way to learn about something new without it seeming like work.  I find myself reading quite a few memoirs of people from other cultures.  I don’t travel so for me, it’s a way to discover new places from the comfort of my couch.

I’m starting to realize that regardless of the genre, a good book is a good book.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll even give a romance a try.

Ariel takes you from making yourself sit down and write to promoting your finished copy and everything in between.  Interspersed with her story of how she went from a single mother on welfare to a published lit star are interviews with other famous writers.  There is so much  information and tips in this book that every time I picked it up to read  I felt a burst of creative energy.  And it was also encouraging to hear that published authors  sometimes struggle with writing, publicity and marketing.   I actually now feel like I can go out and conquer the literary world once step at a time.

Last night I finished Through the Grinder.  Seems that some of the Village Blend’s female customers are killing themselves.  Only detective Quinn doesn’t think they are suicides and soon neither does Clare. With the help of her ex husband Matt, Clare tries to track down the killer.

Now, almost from the beginning I thought I knew who the killer was.  And I was disappointed .  I’m usually pretty sucky at guessing the killer so if I could figure it out, it must not be a very good book.

But of course I was 100 percent wrong and very surprised by the ending.  I really enjoyed this book. Although it was a murder mystery it was a fairly easy read and sometimes I need that.  I will admit at first that I thought the author went a little overboard with the coffee facts, but once I realized that a love of coffee was a central part to Clare’s personality, it didn’t bother me.  I know I will definitely be reading more from  Cleo Coyle.

Last week on a trip to the book store, I picked up Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast.  While I haven’t had the time to read it yet, I keep looking at it longingly.  I think maybe this week end I’ll treat myself. The book is about a school for fledgling vamypres. Sounds right up my ally.   I’ll let you know how it is.

I loved this book.  Loved it!  While the science and explanations of forensics, particularly the description of cremation were quite graphic, the witty dialogue was the perfect balance.   It was also clear that all of the joking and teasing between the three main characters, forensic anthropologist Brockton, his protégé Miranda and criminalist Art helped them all to keep sane while working some pretty disturbing murders.. And the plot kept me guessing right up until the end.

If you are fan of mysteries, especially forensic mysteries, you have to give this book a go.  I promise you won’t be disappointed

Johnny Maxwell is twelve and can see the dead.  This would be a problem in and of itself, except it seems that in Johnny’s life nothing is that simple.  The town has decided to build on the cemetery, and as you can well imagine, when the dead find out they aren’t all that happy about it.  So they turn to Johnny for help and ask him to stop the construction.  Johnny does the best he can with the help of his friends Bigmac, Yo-less and Wobbler.

I think this was one of the coolest, funkiest young adult books I have read in a while. I have never seen dialogue like this anywhere before.  Witty and fast paced you really felt like you were listening to a bunch of twelve year old boys pick and tease each other.

And I have to say, since Terry is British, there was some dialect issues but nothing too serious.  And I read all the dialogue in my head in a British accent which was heaps of fun.

There are two more books in this series and I know I’ll read them as soon as I buy them.  And then I think I’ll borrow my hubby’s Discworld series.   And since Pratchett has written about a bazillion of them, it should keep me busy for the next little while.

The whole thing is based on a points system.  You get 1/10^th of a point for each book you list in your inventory.  And all you need is one point to start mooching.  It’s one point to mooch from within your country and two points to mooch from anywhere else in the world.  If someone within your own country wants to mooch a book off of you, you get a point.  The best part is, if someone outside your country mooches from you, you get three whole points!  All you have to pay for is the shipping.

Being in Canada, this has been super duper for me.  Basically if someone from the US mooches from me, I get three points.  I can then turn around and mooch three books from Canada.  And as it’s cheaper for me to ship to the States (average is five bucks a book to the US, nine buck within Canada) I’m basically spending five dollars for three books.  Simple, eh?

This is a great way to get introduced to some new authors.  And if you don’t like them?  Pop them back into your inventory.

If you are a book lover like me, I strongly suggest that you sign up on this site.  It’s free and it’s fun!

I often wonder if I am missing out on some great books because of my Oprah prejudice.  It usually doesn’t bother me, but once in a while it nags at the book loving part of my brain.  But I figure there are enough great books out there without relying on Oprah to find them for me.

The main themes of family, love and racism are dealt with in such a brutal way that it is almost painful at times, especially her handling of racism.  Jordan holds nothing back when dealing with the typical opinions towards African Americans during the 1940s.  While some of the language is harsh, none of it is exploitive:  it is all relevant to the larger story of a tragedy that could have and should have been avoidable.

Hillary Jordan’s Mudbound brings the reader smack dab into the middle of her characters’ lives, showing every aspect of their personalities in such a way that even their flaws seem oddly beautiful.   I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from her.

The novel I picked up is The Pact by Jodi Picoult.  As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I’ve never read one of her books, but I’ve heard good things about her writing.  The plot is  a bout a teenage suicide pact gone wrong and the repercussion after. I have a feeling this will be an emotional read.

Two of the non fiction books I bought have to do with green living, which is becoming a bit of a passion of mine. Green for Life: 200 Simple Eco-Ideas for Every Day  by Gillian Deacon will most likely turn into a well used reference book in my household. With each chapter being a how-to filled with green tips,  I can’t wait to dig in and start making some more simple changes.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver has been on my wish list for months now. It’s the story of a family attempting to grow all their own food for a year.  As this is something my husband and I hope to do when we purchase our farm, I think it will be a real eye opener for me.

Three Cups of Tea, written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, is the story of  how Greg has come to build over fifty-five schools in Pakistan, most of them for girls.

I never used to read non fiction, but now I find that they rank as some of my favorite books.  

I honestly don’t know what book to read first.  Look for reviews of all four in the near future.