Review: E-Learning 101: It's Not As Tough As It Looks

Title: E-Learning 101: It's Not As Tough As It Looks

Author: Dr. Liz Hardy

Publisher: Self Published

Published: April 2nd 2012

Format: Kindle

Pages: 50

Date Read: March 29, 2015

Source: Received from author 

in exchange for an honest review

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My Rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis:

E-learning 101 is an e-book that will cheer you on, while it shows you the ropes.

It’s just like having your own personal e-learning coach.

This e-learning resource can do three things for you.

1. Save you time – by quickly explaining how everything works (it’s much faster than guessing on your own).

2. Stop you worrying – by replacing your fears with action and progress.

3. Make you more confident – by giving you step-by-step strategies for dealing with the tricky parts.

E-learning 101 can help you if you’re:

• Somewhere between slightly nervous, and frankly terrified

• Frustrated with having to guess about what to do next

• Too busy to wade through enormous books about online learning

• Keen to make progress on your course right now.

In 6 short lessons, you’ll find the solutions to your biggest e-learning questions.

And you’ll discover that e-learning’s really not as tough as it looks.

Melissa's Musings: 

This book is very straighforward and to the point. Broken down into 6 lessons, the information is easily read and absorbed.

I wouldn't say that I learned anything prolific or even anything new really. Given that I do have some experience with e-learning having taken some online courses during my college career, none of the information was new to me. But, I can see how it might be helpful for someone who doesn't have much experience with technology or online learning.

The chapters have nice summaries at the end with the points the author wants you to take away from reading them, as well as simple tasks to help you stay on track. The most important lesson that the book stresses is time management, and fitting studying into a busy schedule.

The one thing that didn't really work for me is the pictures of the dogs on the cover and throughout the book. I'm not sure what the author was aiming for in using these, but I found them distracting.

I would say that this is a good book for a quick read and some easy to follow tips.

Have any of my blog readers taken any online courses? Do you have any tips about e-learning to share?

Book Tour Review: Comfort of Fences

Hello fellow readers! Welcome to my stop on the tour for Comfort of Fences by Stacy Overman Morrison.

Title: Comfort of Fences

Author: Stacy Overman Morrison

Publisher: Telemachus Press

Published: October 17, 2013

Pages: 244

Format:  E-book

Source: Received from author in exchange

for an honest review

My Rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis:

Ruth is dying and her 52 year old daughter Denise has never paid a bill, lived on her own, or had a romantic relationship. Ruth knows she has been overprotective, but hoped that she would outlive her special-needs daughter. Metastasized cancer crushes that hope and forces Ruth to find a way to provide for Denise once she is dead. First Ruth turns to Social Security for Disability benefits. After tests, pokes and prods, doctors, nosy psychologists, and ill-furnished waiting rooms, the government declares Denise not eligible for benefits. Mad at the world and daring the government to arrest her so they will have to take care of her since they wouldn't her daughter, Ruth takes up smoking pot in the backyard. A few joints in, Ruth begins to realize her anger is self-directed. She doubts every decision she has ever made in raising her daughter that doctors, in the 1950s, labeled "retarded." Partially to coax her mother from the backyard and partially because Ruth will not speak of the past, Denise asks her mother to write down their history of which Denise has no memory. Trying to atone and explain how she could be so obtuse, Ruth agrees. Telling her story becomes an obsession for Ruth who sees the history as her only chance to leave a place for herself in the world since cancer is steadily eating away her physicality. While Ruth writes, Denise begins to pursue her own independence, despite the minor setbacks of a chopped off fingertip and chemo poisoning. She begins to make choices for herself and finally tells her mother pieces of her own truth: Denise stayed with her mother because she chose to, because she loved her mother more than any life she could make for herself. In claiming her own truth, Denise also chooses silence about the biggest secrets of all. Comfort of Fences explores the messy business of mothering. It is a story about the love between a devoted mother and her special daughter that exposes the irony that the people we love the most can also be the ones we underestimate the greatest.

Melissa's Musings:

Comfort of Fences is slow to start, but once it's up and running, you become involved and interested in the lives of the characters. 

Ruth is the glue of the story and her evolution throughout the book is the most interesting. I felt for her at first, because she seemed so stifled by her upbringing, and at the same time so naive. My opinion of her changed throughout the story as I personally don't agree with some of her choices, especially those involving Denise. 

This book is all about choices. It begins with Ruth's choice to pursue a romantic relationship with a man who turns out to have his own demons, that are ultimately too much for him. It follows Ruth through her life as she chooses to keep and raise a baby eventually on her own, after her parents try to interfere in a way that she doesn't like. 

The book deals with subjects that may be sensitive for some readers. It deals with alcoholism, mental disability, and cancer, to name a few. It is also what I would call heavy with religious elements. If any of those themes make you uncomfortable, I wouldn't recommend this book.

The format of the book is one that worked well for the story. When Ruth learns that she is dying of cancer, she decides to write down her story for her daughter, rather than try to explain it all to her. I think this was a nice touch, as it gives Denise a physical keepsake of her and her mother's lives together. Plus it ties the story together well.

As Ruth writes out the story, it the novel weaves in and out of the past and the present. As Ruth's battle with cancer becomes more serious, you get the sense of urgency in the telling of the story for Denise.

Of all the character's Georgia is my favorite. She's full of spontaneity and energy. But she also has a sadness to her that is so human. As happy and independent and carefree as she seems, she's just as weighed down by life as anyone else.

I felt that Denise's character was the most flat. She felt stifled, suffocated even. Both literally and figuratively. And maybe that was the point, as part of Ruth's evolution at the end of the novel is that she only hopes that Denise can see why she made the choices she made, and why she felt she had to stifle Denise. It was to protect her from all of the negativity in the world. I do understand where the development came from in terms of the story itself, but in terms of reality or real world application, I felt that the expectations for Denise were stereotypical, and that felt slightly demeaning in a way.

This book isn't without its flaws, but the overall story of friendship, and the demonstration that all the choices we make have an impact on the outcome of our lives are poignant themes that will stick with you after you finish this book.

ARC Review: Broken Truce

Title: Broken Truce

Author: D.D. Chant

Series: Broken City #2

Publisher: Self Published

Published:  February 1, 2014

Source: Received from Author in exchange for an honest review

Format: Document format

Pages: 342

My Rating: 3 Stars

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Synopsis:

Life isn't turning out the way that Deeta thought it would. With the Lewises defeated and peace between the tribes, she'd believed that the dark times were in the past.

However troubles between the tribes continue and the Andak council has selected Tom as their ambassador and chief spokesman to the other tribes.

Deeta knows that there is still much resentment against the Andak, that Tom is in danger every time he leaves the safety of Andak city.

Struggling with her own complicated feelings against the tribe that she is now a part of, Deeta tries to ignore the changing attitudes growing within her.

Then Tom is betrayed and with the whole City thrown into great danger, Deeta finds that reality can't be ignored forever..

Melissa's Musings:

The book starts out with us finding out that Tom and Deeta are now married, as are Jan and Tom's brother (one of many) Ryder. There is a fragile truce between the tribes as they struggle to rebuild and possibly find peace in their broken world. But, they are being threatened by a tribe who is not happy with Andak rule.

There is a lot of banter between the characters throughout the book. Deeta and Tom, Jan and Ryder, and Deeta and Jan all have good ebb and flow of banter within each of their relationships. I liked it as a tool to break up the action and serious points, but toward the end of the book it did feel like it was starting to wear  somewhat thin.

The main focus of the book felt to me to be the action between the tribes and how Jan, Tom and Deeta all get caught up right in the middle of it. The book is very fast paced, so anyone who likes a page turner will enjoy this.

The familial relationships and friendships still feel somewhat confusing to me, even with the background of having read the first book in this series. I just feel that there are too many relationships and too many brothers and uncles etc. to keep them all straight. I like that the author is promoting the strength (or in some cases lack thereof) of family bonds, but I think this could have been more simply executed.

The dialogue felt a little, lax in some places. It felt too informal, so I couldn't really get into the story quite as much. But I also think it worked in some spots, just in terms of the personality of the characters. I'm not sure if I really like this element or not. 

Overall, this is a solid story, and I'm interested to see how it will end.

Blog Tour Review: Hopsice Voices:Lessons For Living At The End of Life

Hello all. Welcome to my stop on the tour for Hospice Voices: Lessons for Living At The End of Life Read on to discover more about this book.

Title: Hospice Voices: Lessons For Living At The End of Life

Author: Eric Lindner

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: October 6 2013

Format: Kindle

Pages: 232

Source: Received a copy in order to participate in this tour

My Rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis:

As a part-time hospice volunteer, Eric Lindner provides companion care to dying strangers. They re chatterboxes and recluses, religious and irreligious, battered by cancer, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer s, old age. Some cling to life amazingly. Most pass as they expected. In telling his story, Lindner reveals the thoughts, fears, and lessons of those living the ends of their lives in the care of others, having exhausted their medical options or ceased treatment for their illnesses. In each chapter, Lindner not only reveals the lessons of lives explored in their final days, but zeroes in on how working for hospice can be incredibly fulfilling. As he s not a doctor, nurse, or professional social worker, just a volunteer lending a hand, offering a respite for other care providers, his charges often reveal more, and in more detail, to him than they do to those with whom they spend the majority of their time. They impart what they feel are life lessons as they reflect on their own lives and the prospect of their last days. Lindner captures it all in his lively storytelling. Anyone who knows or loves someone working through end of life issues, living in hospice or other end of life facilities, or dealing with terminal or chronic illnesses, will find in these pages the wisdom of those who are working through their own end of life issues, tackling life s big questions, and boiling them down into lessons for anyone as they age or face illness. And those who may feel compelled to volunteer to serve as companions will find motivation, inspiration, and encouragement. Rather than sink under the weight of depression, pity, or sorrow, Lindner celebrates the lives of those who choose to live even as they die.

Melissa's Musings:

Initially I felt somewhat put off by this book. The whole feeling and flow of it seemed choppy and disjointed. As I continued to read, it grew on me, though. 

Over the course of several chapters we learn how Eric becomes a hospice volunteer, the impact it has on him, and the difficulties the process entails. It's a tough line to toe, knowing what to say and do, and how to say and do things, and when. Dying is a subject that no one likes to bring up. And sometimes, when we don't know what to say, we say exactly the wrong thing, as is evidenced in some of Lindner's experiences with his clients.

There is quite the interesting mix of people that Eric comes into contact with over the course of his time as a volunteer. Each is unique, with their own quirks, and stories. Sometimes, he gets to spend a great deal of time with these clients, other times, the time spent is much shorter. Each has their own lesson to impart, and the impact of these lessons is easily apparent.

The one thing that put me off about the book is that the feel is very choppy, and disjointed. As much as it put me off though, I understood it. Life is never straightforward, never really linear, and neither is the process of dying. And so as off putting as the format was to me, I do understand it more now that I've thought about it. 

It might seem like this would be a very downtrodden or depressing book, but it's not. The experiences are mostly positive, and the lessons can be taken to heart by readers very easily.

I have to say it must be very difficult to be a hospice volunteer. To be able to try to know just what to say and do all while also knowing that more than likely your client will not be getting better. I couldn't imagine doing it. This book gives an in depth look at at that experience and just may inspire readers to volunteer themselves.

Review: My Year As A Clown

Hello everyone! Welcome to my tour stop for My Year As A Clown which includes my review.

Title: My Year As A Clown

Author: Robert Steven Williams

Publisher: Against The Grain Press

Published: December 20, 2012

Pages: 272

Format: E-book

Source: Received in Exchange for an Honest Review

My Rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis: 

Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

With My Year as a Clown, Williams introduces us to Chuck Morgan, a new kind of male hero—imperfect and uncertain—fumbling his way forward in the aftermath of the abrupt collapse his 20-year marriage.

Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get lucky. But as his emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by the suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex.

Edited by Joy Johannessen (Alice Sebold, Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom), My Year As a Clown will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta. Like others in that distinguished group, Robert Steven Williams delivers a painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.

Melissa's Musings:

I have very mixed feelings about this book. What initially drew me to the story was the fact that this was divorce told from the male perspective. So often, we read stories that are centered on women and their heartbreak and pain after divorce, rarely do we see the same situation told from a male perspective. The story itself is interesting, and the writing flows really well. It's written in a journalistic style, chronicling the first year after Chuck's wife leaves him. Sometimes the style can be clunky or awkward, but this is executed well.

There were things I liked about Chuck, and things that annoyed me. I liked the fact that he actually acknowledged his emotions instead of always trying to bury them. He did a lot of that too, with drugs and alcohol, but there were times when he tried to work through his feelings and actually worked on his own self improvement. It may have been with alterior motives involving women, but there was a genuine edge to it as well.

One of the more frustrating aspects of his character was that many of the major life events that he recalls are hinged on the football season. Maybe this was the author's way of making it more palatable, but I found it irritating. He and his wife's honeymoon was pushed back a day due to a football game. Another time, Claudia proposes that they move to England, and again, it's declined on his part in majority (I felt) due to football playoffs.

Claudia was just as frustrating as Chuck's character, but in a different way. We don't really see much of her, mostly just Chuck's recollections. And there's not really a buildup leading up to her departure. Although if I were her and married to someone who pushed back important life events due to sports, I'd probably be peeved too. There is a lot more to the reasons they split than that, but that's a sore point throughout the novel.

Both of them come out to be jerks, (although Chuck does redeem himself by the end.) and there were times where I just wanted to smack both of them because they couldn't get it together.

I wish that the music aspect had been explored more thoroughly. I felt kind of smothered by Chuck's writing material. I also didn't care for some of the religious/spiritual aspects of the book. I understand that it was Chuck exploring his heritage and his connection to that, but I feel that the whole drama with the rabbi and especially the twist on that were completely unneccessary. I was more interested in hearing about past endeavors with musicians, and really liked the interactions between him and Sally.

Overall,  I'm still not sure how I feel about this. I liked the writing a lot, but some of the plot points were unneccesary. I'd be mildly curious to see what happens further with Chuck. All in all, the book was okay. Not bad, not great, just middle of the road for me.

That being said, if you're looking for a unique perspective on divorce, I'd recommend giving this a try.

Review: Strike: Dawn Of The Daybreaker

Title: Strike: Dawn of the Daybreaker

Series: The STRIKE Trilogy Book 2

Author: Charlie Wood

Publisher: Createspace

Published: October 9, 2012

Genre: Young Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 211

Source: Received from author

Read: March 13-23 2013

My Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads: Add To Your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

It has been seven months since Tobin Lloyd became the superhero known as “Strike,” and the city of Boston, Massachusetts has never been safer. Yes, it turns out Tobin is pretty good at this superhero-stuff…even if he has to balance it with hanging out with friends, doing homework, and trying to graduate from high school.

However, a threat is looming that Tobin is unaware of: the red giant named Rigel—the last follower of the super-villain Vincent Harris—is still alive, and he is plotting to continue Vincent’s invasion and enslavement of the planet Earth. To do so, he is searching for a bizarre creature known as “The Daybreaker,” a super-villain so powerful that no one on Earth (or Capricious) will be able to stop it.

Will Tobin and his friends—Orion, Keplar, and Scatterbolt—discover Rigel’s plan before it is too late? Exactly who is this Daybreaker, and where did he come from? And even if the heroes succeed, will anything ever be the same again?

Featuring new characters, new locations, and new revelations, STRIKE: DAWN OF THE DAYBREAKER is the thrilling sequel to the young adult fantasy novel STRIKE: THE HERO FROM THE SKY.

Tobin Lloyd’s adventures are about to continue…whether he is ready for them or not

Melissa's Musings:

Tobin's adventures pick up 7 months from where he left off. He's still trying to find a balance between normal life and that of a superhero, and it's definitely a challenge for him.

This book is full of action and cool stunts, and quip filled dialogue. While the action is full, as are the twists and turns to keep things interesting, I have to say that for me, this book suffered a bit of the sophomore slump. 

Yes, there's action, yes there are twists and turns, but it feels like the author was struggling a bit in this middle book of the trilogy, leaving the really juicy dialogue and descriptions for the last book in the series. Some of the descriptions are repetitive in spots, and some of the sequences just seem a little too formal, they don't mesh with the flow you might expect.

In other spots, some of the action sequences in particular, I could really imagine the scenes as they were happening. At a few points I found myself thinking that this set of books with some polishing would make a really neat superhero franchise.

There are a few elements that I really liked. For instance, the introduction of Adrianna as a love interest for Tobin. She's supposed to be on the opposing team, but then she ends up helping Tobin out a few times as well. The love interest element is simple, and not overdone, which is great.

I also like the attention to some of the smaller details such as the Chrono Key. I really like the fact that this super hero gadget allows the user to travel through time, but only into the past, because the future hasn't happpened yet and is constantly changing with every decision that's made. Often times, stories with elements of time travel can account for suspected futures, but it makes a person wonder what they're really based on and what shaped these futures. The past has already happened, so you have a solid base to go back to, and as a reader you (usually) know what has happened so it's easier to navigate through than imagined futures might be.

That's not to say that I don't like stories with future time travel, I just think that the author made a wise choice in making it so that the Chrono Key can only take someone into the past.

The copy that I have has a different cover than the one posted here, and  I have to say I like the cover on my copy better. The cover pictured above is just cold and a bit stiff. The one I've got is more vibrant and colorful which is why I enjoy it more.

The story is solid and sets up well with an enticing cliffhanger that makes you wonder just how it's all going to turn out in the end. I'd recommend this for anyone who likes stories about superheroes.