Smashed is a brutally honest memoir about what it is like to have a drinking problem that begins years before you become the legal drinking age. What makes this book different from many other books about drinking is that the author, Koren Zalickas, was not actually addicted to alcohol in a physical way.
Instead, she was using it as an emotional crutch. I think most people are aware of the physical consequences that can happen after years of binge drinking. What isn’t talked about are the social and emotional aspects. Smashed shines a light on what happens to a girl who starts drinking at a young age and who continues through young adulthood.
Continue Reading “Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood – by Koren Zailckas”
Slim MacKenzie (known by some as Carl Stanfeuss) has a gift that can also be viewed as a curse. His strangely colored “Twilight Eyes” are a sign of psychic ability. They allow him to see through the human disguises of hideous creates that he calls Goblins. He is in a self-imposed mission to kill them all. There are times when he wishes that he had a different gift – such as the gift of healing that his mother has.
To be honest, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this book when I first picked it up. It came to me through a book club that I completely failed to keep up with. I wasn’t entirely certain whether this book was supposed to be fiction or non-fiction, and I had not heard of the author.
Lee Fiora was very much looking forward to attending Ault School in Massachusetts. Both a boarding school and a prep school, Ault was a place that Lee had been fantasizing about attending. Her attraction to this particular school started when she first picked up a brochure.
Far Shore is the third book in the After series. I highly recommend that you read 
American Gothic is a book that is about the painting titled “American Gothic” that was painted by Grant Wood. The painting is famous for several reasons, and has generated more controversy over the years than I’d realized.
Cold Light is the second book in the After Series by Traci L. Slatton. The first book is called 
Bebe Baker has always been pretty, right up until the car accident. She survived, but came away from it with scars all over her legs and hands. In addition, she was left with some extremely deep emotional scars. Her boyfriend, Aaron, who she was madly in love with, did not survive the accident.
501 Minutes to Christ is a collection of personal essays written by Poe Ballentine. They are in the first person viewpoint, as one would expect with stories that are taken from the author’s real life experiences. This book is not one of those Christian inspiration books that include short stories that attempt to restore a person’s faith and make them feel uplifted. It is not a book of prayer.
Malcolm Gladwell is the author of The Tipping Point and Blink, two books that, in my estimation, became popular shortly after they were released. Outliers: The Story of Success is the first book of Malcolm Gladwell’s that I’ve read. I am left with the feeling that there is some wisdom in what this author has written. I would be interested in reading more of his work.