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to find Patti Singleton these days.

Tag Archives: book review


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About My Book Reviews and Watchdogs: A Novel

I think I need to say something about my book reviews. There are many ways to write a book review and I choose to write a simply review that tells what I liked about a book. I don’t list every character or give a detailed summary of the book; that information is available on all the book sites. I try to give enough information to (hopefully) entice readers to read the book for themselves. So far, I haven’t reviewed books that I don’t like and can’t recommend. I rarely give 5 stars anymore. I decided to save 5 stars for books that are exceptionally well written, with few, if any typos. If my coffee goes cold and I can’t tear myself away to take a bathroom break; that’s 5 stars! 🙂

Watchdogs by Patricia Watts
Watchdogs: A Novel
by Patricia Watts

4 of 5 stars
Read in September, 2014


Several things drew me to this novel and the author didn’t let me down on any of them. The main character, Julia, lives in Seattle and is on a sabbatical in Fairbanks, Alaska. I live in Washington and frequently visit my family in Alaska. The author captured Fairbanks perfectly and gave us a true taste of the beauty of rural Alaska.

Another talent the author has is the ability to juggle plots, sub-plots and hold the tension just tight enough to keep the reader turning the page. There is murder, suicide, and attempts on Julia’s life all the way to the end of the book.

I love Julia’s honesty, with herself and others. As a professor, she sets her students to the tough task of deciding where to draw the line with truth and journalism.

The romance was done well also, and didn’t overpower the rest of the story. I always enjoy characters who wrestle with real life moral and ethical questions, as Julia does. Truth, justice, and how they are balanced with topics of journalism and the media, make this book a winner for me.


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Book Review, Out of My Genre, But Great!

 

Nightwalkers by Inion N. Mathair

Nightwalkers: The Secret of Jessup

by Inion N. Mathair (Goodreads Author)

20986281

Patti Hall‘s review

Aug 26, 14  
I bought and read this book in support of the mother-daughter writing team that I met online. Scary YA books are not my normal genre. I mean, I’m a grandma! From now on, I will read anything they write, no matter the genre.
Teenager, Renni, is a fine character who draws you into her life within minutes after meeting her in the first chapter. She interacts with her family and friends with honesty and openness. I love her curiosity and willingness to dig for answers.
All the characters are very well written and the authors are so good at keeping us guessing who is friend and who is foe. I like that.
There’s mystery, intrigue, first love and, yep, some danger. Nothing is black and white, and the truth is hard to come by, but Renni steadily works her way closer to the secrets of the town and her family.


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Book Review

I know, I know, I have a million books to review and I am so very far behind. I hope to get to more while I’m visiting my folks here in Alaska.

The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier
The Lost Sisterhood
by Anne Fortier (Goodreads Author)

20986281

Patti Hall‘s review 

5 of 5 stars
Read in August, 2014

 

A hefty read at almost 600 pages, but worth every minute I spent reading it. I enjoy strong, brave, and curious female characters who look for solutions and are not stopped by challenges. And, wow, do they have some challenges!
This book gave me two such main characters, as well as a couple of others I admired. The three male leads were never a sure thing—were they good or evil? worthy of our leading ladies?– until they finally showed their true colors.
Every twist and turn, however dangerous or puzzling, fit into the bigger picture on the trail of the lives of the mysterious Amazons. Geography, history, love, mystery and a bit of magic thrown in made this roller coaster ride of a story great entertainment.
Two quests separated by thousands of years, yet both leading to a surprising conclusion. Fact and fiction are stirred together and the reader comes out wondering…hmmm, maybe a little research will quench my thirst for more information about this amazing sisterhood?


by 5 Comments

Book Review: Griefland

Griefland by Armen Bacon
Griefland: An Intimate Portrait of Love, Loss, and Unlikely Friendship
by Armen Bacon (Goodreads Author), Nancy Miller

Patti Hall‘s review

Sep 22, 13  ·
Recommended to Patti by: My cousin, Heather.
Recommended for: Anyone dealing with grief; their own or a loved one’s.
Read from September 17 to 22, 2013, read count: 1
I recently read, Griefland: An Intimate Portrait of Love, Loss, and Unlikely Friendship by Armen Bacon and Nancy Miller. It was a hard book for me to read, as I am in the middle of my own grief process. It is not a long book, but I took it in small bites.
These women are incredibly strong and honest. Most of their strength forms around their honesty; with themselves and each other. They did a wonderful job of synthesizing the experiences of new grief, with a grief a few years further along.
They are gentle with their grief. I have been to their website, and they are just as gentle and loving there, as they are in this book. I am glad that my cousin told me about this book.
The authors are lucky to have found such perfect grief partners. Readers are lucky to find a book that validates the crazy waves of emotions, yet puts such a steady, gentle heart to it.


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I Won Another Book! Memoir, Life in the Land of ‘IS’ from beachboundbooks.com

Just last week I told my mom that this was going to be my lucky year! In three months of blogging, I’ve won two books, just by reading and commenting on blogs that interest me. So, in other words, no talent used here, but still….
Here’s the scoop:
Patti,
 I just wanted to let you know that you are the winner of the Life in the Land of ‘IS’ giveaway. Please let me know where you would like me to send the book. Thank you for taking the time to enter and for adding my badge to your site.
Stacie Theis,  Beachboundbooks.com (see badge on home page)
A quote from the review by Stacie, Life in the Land of ‘IS’ is an amazing story about the unyielding human spirit that catapults a woman from a life shattering accident to an inspiring role model for others.”
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I’ll add my other winning info below and take it off the main page.

“The winner of the Leanne Shirtliffe book, Don’t Lick the Minivan, is Patti Hall. Congratulations, Patti! I’ll be in touch to send your book.”
From http://www.marionroach.com

I received the book in the mail, read it, and sent it on it’s journey to my daughter (who has a minivan, and 3 who may possibly try to lick it), then to my aunt and on to Alaska for my mom to read. They both had station wagons, and 12 kids between them, that I’m sure did much worse than lick the station wagon.The book is hilarious. Thank you Leanne and Marion!

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Thanks for stopping in,

Patti

 


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Copyrights, Tags, and Book Reviews

I started a post earlier today and it turned into an essay of over 1000 words, so I set it aside for another project. It almost feels like I am in a race; against what, against who, I do not know. I’m learning so much that I’ve started using the sticky note program on my desktop. That’s what I’ll base this post on.

I’ve learned that copyright notices are seen as kind of silly in the writing world. As soon as you put your thoughts in writing they are considered yours alone. Now, if you want to sue someone for stealing your work, it needs a copyright. From what I learned, that is pretty rare. The belief that mailing your work to yourself, and then leaving it sealed, will prove ownership has never been cited in any court case. Sorry Gwen. Creative Commons, as I have on the website here, are now the used to let people know what is acceptable use of their writing. The other thing I see a lot is: MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION.

I’ve learned more about the importance of tagging these blogs, so that they get caught in the right search engines. Submitting to online journals will also get my name out into the circle that I want them. Book reviews of books within my writing topic–children’s stories, poetry, and memoirs–also get me in the loop.

Here I go, back to my writing world…

Patti