A place where I blog the goings on in my own little corner of the world. I like to talk about the books I read, the classes I teach, the homeschooling I plan on doing, weight loss strategies, among other things.
This book was a walk down the 1990's for me!! It's a contemporary novel set in present time but the "country meet rock n roll" was a throwback to this girl. I love how the roles are reversed from what I thought they would be too!
Jamie is into rock n roll, while Clayton is a country crooner. They find themselves collaborating on a song and maybe a few other things in the process. Can one win the other over to their way of music? Can they come to an agreement on how it should be? Is there a consensus on how music should be?
A great enemies-to-lovers read that ends on a happy note!
My rating: 3 of 5 stars If I Stay by Gayle Forman is a book about Mia and her family and the decisions that are made quickly in life. There's a terrible car accident and Mia finds herself having an out of body experience. As she hears about the status of her other family members, she wonders if she's the only one to ever go through what she's experiencing. She sees her family and friends in the waiting room of the hospital, and the way she looks in the ICU hospital bed. Throughout this book, Mia has flashbacks of life before the accident, but she has no recollection of the accident itself. She is faced with the dilemma of whether to go or stay. After a series of one-sided conversations with her family and friends, Mia's mind is at peace with her decision. What does she decide? You'll have to read to find out!
Overall, this book just didn't quite cut it for me. There were parts that I thought drug out a bit. I did like the grumpy vs nice nurse and the scene with Adam trying to get into the ICU. There were parts I laughed, parts that caused me to cry, and parts that downright made me mad. This was an ok book and I would recommend it to the young adult audience.
This book was recommended to me by a student of mine, Mindi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars Can a band comprised of six very talented but very different musicians make a difference with their music?
What made it possible for Diamond Rio to weather the storms inherent in the fickle world of fame and fortune and go more than two decades without a single lineup change? Any reader in search of transparency and a behind-the-scenes look into the life of the band as a unit as well as the individual lives of the players and singers will be well satisfied. Can true loyalty exist within the competitive, seemingly unforgiving music industry? In A Beautiful Mess, Marty Roe, Dan Truman, Jimmy Olander, Brian Prout, Gene Johnson, and Dana Williams each has an entire chapter devoted to his personal and professional life. A Beautiful Mess is a wild ride from the edge of disaster and a little-known secret to an ongoing heart-warming revival.
I have always been a fan of Diamond Rio and when I received the opportunity from Thomas Nelson Publishing to review this book, I was ecstatic! There is so much that I didn't know about this group, from their humble beginnings to their rocky climb into the music industry to the personal lives of each band member. As someone who once pursued the music industry, I can appreciate some of the struggles (I didn't persist as long as they did by a long shot) that they faced. I wondered as I read this book though, did I see THEM at Opryland when I loved the Country Music USA show? I don't remember when I went there!
Getting a "backstage pass" into the lives of these six men put into perspective a little more of what their music actually means. Diamond Rio has always prided themselves on "good clean country" music without the sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
Some of my favorite songs recorded by Diamond Rio include: Meet in the Middle (their first hit!), This Romeo Ain't Got Julie Yet, Bubba Hyde, One More Day, and Beautiful Mess.
Life is a Beautiful Mess, you just have to be prepared for the ride!
Source of book: Received from the publisher, Thomas Nelson. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.
Gone Country by Hunter Snow
