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This week’s question:
A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.
Ted asks:
Have you ever used a book to instruct someone of something or is there anyone for whom you would like to do that? (I don’t mean a text book for a class, but a work of fiction or non-fiction that would get a certain message across either through plot or character). What is the book and what do you wish to impart?

My answer:
Hard question this week.   I really can’t think of a book where I would “instruct” someone.   However, I have strongly encouraged a lot of people to read The Left Behind Series, which is a story that is written as fiction but based upon a non-fictional book, The Revelations in the Bible.

My bff had tried talking me into reading this series for quite a while but I thought it would be full of theology.  She begged for a long time and said to read, at least the 1st book, because she knew “I wouldn’t be able to put it down”.  Knowing she isn’t a reader but so enthusiastic about this book, I had to see.   She loaned me the 1st book.  And she was right, I couldn’t put it down and read the entire 13 books in a matter of weeks. That was 5 years ago and to this day, when something happens in the world, we will call each other to say “that was in the book”.

I strongly suggest (instruct) others, to read this series for both believers and non believers.  What do I wish to impart?   To take stock of one’s life and preparation.

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The Good Father by Noah Hawley
Published by Doubleday
Publication date: March 20, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-385-53553-3
At the request of Doubleday, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (from publisher):
An intense, psychological novel about one doctor’s suspense-filled quest to unlock the mind of a suspected political assassin: his twenty-year old son.

As the Chief of Rheumatology at Columbia Presbyterian, Dr. Paul Allen’s specialty is diagnosing patients with conflicting symptoms, patients other doctors have given up on. He lives a contented life in Westport with his second wife and their twin sons—hard won after a failed marriage earlier in his career that produced a son named Daniel. In the harrowing opening scene of this provocative and affecting novel, Dr. Allen is home with his family when a televised news report announces that the Democratic candidate for president has been shot at a rally, and Daniel is caught on video as the assassin.

Daniel Allen has always been a good kid—a decent student, popular—but, as a child of divorce, used to shuttling back and forth between parents, he is also something of a drifter. Which may be why, at the age of nineteen, he quietly drops out of Vassar and begins an aimless journey across the United States, during which he sheds his former skin and eventually even changes his name to Carter Allen Cash.

Told alternately from the point of view of the guilt-ridden, determined father and his meandering, ruminative son, The Good Father is a powerfully emotional page-turner that keeps one guessing until the very end. This is an absorbing and honest novel about the responsibilities—and limitations—of being a parent and our capacity to provide our children with unconditional love in the face of an unthinkable situation.

My Thoughts and Opinion: Outstanding!   This may be the book of 2012!!   Could not put it down!!
This novel was written in a first person narrative through the eyes of a father about unconditional love, guilt, pain, denial and looking in every corner for that glimmer of hope.   Moving!!!   The author interweaves into the story real life events, that at times, I felt I was so caught up in the story that it read like a non-fiction.   Engrossing!!   When or can a parent stop loving unconditionally?   The novel had me asking myself how I would feel if this was to happen to my family?   Thought provoking!   This author writes an emotional yet disturbing story about today’s culture and fate of families.   The research was phenomenal, bringing in past real life incidents that mirrored the fiction of the story line.   When does a parent finally accept the truth?   Are parents to be blamed?   Are they victims too when the unimaginable is brought upon a family? Emotional!!!   Until reading this novel, I never gave any thought to one incident that occurred in real life.   But after reading the facts, my thinking changed, and that was quotes from a book written by one of the Columbine shooter’s mother.   This book will stay with me for a long time, one that will not be forgotten.   Well written, character development superb, suspense extreme and a page turner.   Brilliant!!   As a parent, touched me to my core.   Heart wrenching!!   A powerful read!!   This book, at least my opinion, is off the charts!!   Piercing!!

Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I am going to alter from the usual Teaser Tuesday format.  Instead, I will be posting a review and giveaway for a book that, in my opinion, was a 5+.   A Teaser Tuesday Special.  Stay tuned…..

……..for THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION by Mark Hyman, M.D.

• 50 Shirley Greenawalt Zolenski Tweet About the Giveaway
  36 Bonnigene Cloud “Like” the Blog Post
  18 angie Leave a Blog Post Comment
  
  
  An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered.
  
  
  03/15/12  Addendum:
  Due to the non response of 1 winner, according to rules and regulations of the giveaway, another winner has been chosen and will now have 48 hours to respond.
  • 10 Mary Calabrese “Like” the Blog Post

  
  

You know, even after 2+ years of being part of this wonderful neighborhood of book blogging and reviewing, I still wake up every morning and look forward to turning on my computer to see what awaits me.    And it still amazes me that me, a (I was going to say how old but let’s skip that part lol) little ole blogger from the smallest state receives emails from publishers asking if I would like to review a book.   Well, that happened again a few weeks ago.   Kristin from Simon & Schuster sent me such an email.

Since I am slowly getting back into my reading routine, I have once again started accepting reviews that I feel I will 99% truly enjoy.  And after reading the synopsis of today’s guest debut novel, not only did I agree to read it, I asked if she would stop by and visit.  She accepted.  Please help me welcome Ka Hancock to the CMash blog!

ABOUT KA HANCOCK

KA HANCOCK makes her fiction debut with Dancing on Broken Glass. She has two nursing degrees and has specialized in working with psychiatric and substance abuse patients. She lives in Salt Lake City with her husband and has four children. Visit her at www.kahancock.com

GUEST POST

I think I was nine when I crafted a story about my mean teacher who was found dead in his stinky house, which explained why he wasn’t at school. I have to admit that as a child, I was a bit overwhelmed by my absolute power to write someone dead. So much so, that I brought Mr. Meany back to life—albeit with an intractable ear infection. I was pretty much hooked on writing—the power of writing—from then on. But I had to learn how to do it because these were not natural bones for me and I knew interest, obsession, and irrational self-confidence were never going to be enough. It got a little tricky because I had to learn this craft while I wasn’t busy doing other things like getting a couple of nursing degrees and raising a few kids. But spare moments yielded pages and, despite my busy life, I soon learned that, for the writer in me, nothing was ever going to be wasted. Every good, bad, bizarre, heartbreaking, or embarrassing experience was somehow destined for the compost heap of my brain. There, it all simply ferments until it surfaces as an idea or the perfect detail in a story.

Dancing on Broken Glass started out as a very sparse idea. Two sisters, cancer, an unplanned pregnancy, and a little town were all I had to go on. Those four elements woke me up one night like a whisper from God. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was enough to keep me very preoccupied with the possibilities. My hero came later when I needed a good reason for his ill wife to give their child up as opposed to trusting him to raise her. So Mickey showed up as a man afflicted with bipolar disorder, which seemed like excellent reasoning on my part. Silly me! I don’t outline, so Mickey’s story was not immediately clear to me, but I wasn’t worried because I’m a psych nurse and the compost heap was teeming with material. It wasn’t until a major revision brought Mickey’s mental illness to the forefront of the story that it became a driving force—when I knew him, the story blossomed. My process is flawed, to be sure, but it works for me. I should probably outline (it would undoubtedly save me some time), but I kind of like stumbling around in the dark; I like the discovery. I should also write every day, but I don’t do that either. What I shoot for is the completion of two chapters a month, minimum. I meet with my highly intuitive writer’s group—two other novelists and a mega-reader—every other Wednesday. My goal is to come prepared to read a polished chapter, about 20 pages. If I can do that, I’m a happy writer.

Next up for me: The story of a heroine who was a piano virtuoso before she suffered a traumatic brain injury. I have no piano experience I can pluck from the compost heap, not a single note. So, I’m taking lessons. LOL! How’s that for process?

ABOUT THE BOOK

An unvarnished portrait of a marriage that is both ordinary and extraordinary,  DANCING ON BROKEN GLASS  (Gallery Books; on-sale March 13^th , 2012; Trade Paperback; $15.00) takes readers on an unforgettable journey of the heart.

Lucy Houston and Mickey Chandler probably shouldn’t have fallen in love, let along gotten married. They’re both plagued with faulty genes – he has bipolar disorder; she, a ravaging family history of breast cancer. But when their paths cross on the night of Lucy’s twenty-first birthday, sparks fly, and there’s no denying their chemistry.

Cautious every step of the way, Mickey and Lucy are determined to make their relationship work – and they put their commitment in writing. Mickey will take his medication. Lucy won’t blame him for what is beyond his control. He promises honesty. She promise patience. Like any marriage, there are good days and bad days – and some very bad days. In dealing with their unique challenges, they make the heartbreaking decision not to have children. But when Lucy shows up for a routine physical just shy of their eleventh anniversary, she gets an impossible surprise that changes everything. Everything. Suddenly, all their rules are thrown out the window, and the two of them must redefine what love really is.

Inspired by her years as a psychiatric nurse, Hancock’s debut novel showcases her deep understanding and empathy and brings to life a story of imperfect love, loss, and bipolar disorder. Her underlying faith in the resiliency of the human spirit, despite the challenges of mental illness, shines through in this powerful first novel.
Watch for my review in the coming weeks.

THANKS TO KRISTIN FROM SIMON & SCHUSTER,
I HAVE 3 COPIES OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.