One for the Books

I just stopped in to say thank you guys for the many years of book chats.  I have gone on to start my own website for books. It would do my heart great joy if you would follow, like, subscribe and share.

One for the Books is now All for the Books.

You can find me at www.allforthebooks.com

Or on Twitter @allforthebooks

Or on instagram @allforthebooksblog

I look forward to chatting more with you all!

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Click the link to check out my review of the new and talked about The Wife Between Us.

Consider me booked for the next few months! Remember a while back when I told you guys that I went to my first book signing and that I wanted to participate in more? Well my favorite little cozy book store here in Houston has released a great lineup of author meet and greets and book signings for the upcoming months. Just in the next few months I am planning  to attend at least 4 events of some of my favorite authors: Miranda James, Walter Mosley, Lisa Gardner, and Jeffrey Deaver. I am way too excited and definitely looking forward to these events.

I am looking forward to see what other events they have in store for the rest of the year.

Let's chat: Have you ever attended an author meet and greet or book signing?  Who would you like to meet?

Hey y'all! I know, I know. It has been a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. In fact, I've been on somewhat of a roll.  In honor of throwback Thursday, check out some of my favorite past reviews!

A Taste of Honey: Stories by Jabari Asim

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Absolutely spellbinding...before I even begin...READ THIS BOOK. I highly recommend it. This is a set of interwoven stories in which everyone is searching (whether consciously or unconsciously) for that beacon of hope. The characters (and there are a lot of them) were amazing! The stories and the prose were well written and very captivating. I could not put this one down and when I did finish I was overwhelmed with joy. I mean I was smiling from ear to ear after reading this. Asim used humor, sincerity, and poetic language to explore sensitive topics like rape, domestic violence, racism, police brutality, and adolescence (to name a few). It was written so well that at times I forgot that I was reading fiction.
Through the short journey, I found myself becoming attached to the characters. I would like to see this as a mini series or on television. I would also like to teach this in my classroom someday.

Go get it, NOW! (sorry I didn't mean to yell :)



View all my reviews

The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir by Jenifer Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Ain't nobody promised you a rose garden without nasty thorns!" Let me preface by saying I didnt read this, I listened to it. The audiobook is phenomenal. It is narrated by "The Mother" herself and she left nothing to the imagination. She was very open in this memoir. Her dialogue, her side notes, her comments were real and hilarious. I laughed with her, I shed a few tears. And most of all, I learned a few lessons. If you cannot handle profanity and "in your face" language then dont even attempt it. I highly recommend this memoir.



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Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really rate this about a 4.5. Fast paced thriller/suspense. Police Chief Kate Burkholder struggles with an inner conflict as her small town and police department are reeling from recent serial killer murders.

Overall, it was very well written. I marked off a half star because the characters were not well developed. There was just enough information for one to distinguish among them but not much information to make them multidimensional. I loved the writing; the sentences seemed to reflect the mood with short, successive sentences speeding up the pace to mimic tension, stress, and suspense. It's told mostly from Kate's point of view but does alternate to a 3rd person omniscient.

Readers beware that it does include very graphic descriptions of horrific murders and violent rapes and torture. Not for the faint of heart.

Otherwise, I recommend it.



View all my reviews

Have you ever read a novel and loved it, yet you couldn't even remember the main character's name?

This happens to me all of the time. I was beginning to think that I was coming down with early dementia or something. I mean there are so many times when I read a really good book yet I can't even remember what it was about when someone asks me a few days later. I can remember the experience of a novel and whether I enjoyed it or not, but I cannot for the life of me remember the details that made the book enjoyable or not. Often times I have even picked up a book to read only to get a few chapters in and realize that it seemed familiar because I had read it before. It had gotten so bad that I started keeping a BOB (book of books). It is where I write down details about books and my experiences with them. I can refer back to this to help refresh my memory.  Sometimes I only need a quick reminder about the book in order to begin to remember it, so a glance at my BOB helps me with that.

I have found that the more I read a text, the better I remember it. However, there are way too many delicious books to be devoured for me to read every book at least twice.  There are some I have read and will re-read though, like the Harry Potter series and Wuthering Heights! Well, let me just say I haven't built my reading pace up enough to be able to re-read novels and keep up with new ones at the same time. Maybe one day...

Anyway, I came across this article one day and it explained the phenomenon of "reading and forgetting". It was very eye-opening and a huge relief to me. I was exhilarated to know that I'm not losing my mind and that I am not alone. Check it out when you have time! 

Let's chat: Have you ever experienced this phenomenon?

First of all, October is one of my favorite months or perhaps my only favorite month! I absolutely love everything about Fall and October...Halloween, autumn smells, the cooler weather, the shorter days, everything!!! So when I found out that October is also National Book Month, you can pretty much guess that I almost lost it!! I mean how  much more amazing can this month get?!!!

To observe this wonderful holiday, I am going to create my first TBR post. My October reads are set to include the following (hopefully, I can indulge in them all!!!):

Salvage the Bones - Jesmyn Ward

This is a read for my book club. A novel centered around a poor family and their issues as Hurricane Katrina makes landfall.

Don't Let Go - Harlan Coben

Nap Dumas is a police detective who is a little obsessed with digging for answers to his brothers mysterious death and his high school girlfriend's disappearance.  However, somebody doesn't want him to.

The Widow - Fiona Barton

I'm listening to this one. 

Jean is a master pretender. Once pretending to be the perfect wife and now that her husband has died, people are searching for the truth. Or what Jean makes them believe is the truth...

Secret Obsession - Kimberla Lawson Roby 

Paige is up to some dangerous scheming as a result of a jealous feud...scheming against her own sister. Sounds like some drama!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie

I told myself that I would like to try and read at least on Agatha Christie a month.

So those are my tentative reads for now. I may get to them all and I may not. I feel like I should add a horror story in honor of Halloween...

What is on your October to read list?

So after booklikes kept having issues, I lost my drive for blogging. I didn't stop reading but I kind of slipped on my reviews but now I'm back. My plan is to eventually shift to my own domain but until then here is where you can find me. Also add me on Goodreads: J. Bentley or follow me on instagram @1_4the_books. I'll eventually make my way to twitter. 

Now on to the good stuff.  This weekend I had the privilege and honor to attend a book talk and book signing. A few weeks ago I told myself that I wanted to attend a book signing.  Well I  didn't even go looking for this one, it just fell in my lap. Let me preface by saying this was my absolute first and it was lovely. And it helped that it happened to be one of my favorite authors. Somebody give me a drum roll, please....Harlan Coben. Mastermind of suspense, thrillers, and mysteries. If you have not checked him out, I highly suggest you do so. He is the author of over 30 books and the mastermind behind two Netflix shows including The Five. Check out my cool pictures and yes I was totally fangirling it. 

I am beyond excited that this book just downloaded onto my kindle. I have been waiting and waiting. I'm pressing pause on real life until I finish...lol. Maybe this is just what I needed to get my mojo back because I felt like I was losing it. Anyway on to reading...I hope that it is as great as the prequel!

If there was any way possible to get a refund on the amount of time that I just wasted reading this book, I NEED IT. I'm probably in the minority on this one but this book was flat and boring. The characters were all so narcissistic and flat and boring. The plot?...good question what was the plot? At times it seemed like it was headed in a good direction which is why I didn't dnf it but then each time it just dropped off.  Let me put it this way...this was like one of those bad Hallmark or Lifetime wanna be dramas (don't get me wrong, ya girl loves Lifetime and Hallmark...but you know there are some cheesy ass wastes of time on there from time to time). Any who I digress...I don't recommend it, this book, that is. The writing especially didn't do it for me. It was like she wanted it to be deep and one of those novels where the writing is poetic and beautiful. But wah wah ...she missed the basket. And not to mention the sprinkling of SAT vocabulary words that had no place in this novel...Annoying. 

School/work has started back and I've found myself in a reading slump. Hopefully, my mojo will return soon. 

Feels like it's been a long time...I've still been reading just haven't felt like doing reviews much. Any who this novel has had me since the first page. I think I may finish it tonight or early in the morning. 

If you read a book that you've read before, do you include it in your reading challenge quota?

Very well written thriller. I could hardly put it down. Just go read it. 

When I read my first Gillian Flynn novel, I was confused, discombobulated, and frazzled when I finished it. I didn't know if it liked it or hated it. But now I'm 3 Flynn novels in and I love her, love her writing.  I'm hooked. This novella is nothing different. It's Gillian all the way! No disappointment here.  If you're familiar with her endings, then you know how it goes- there is no ending. Read it. You won't be disappointed. I also want to add that I despise advertising for novels that say they are the new "Gone Girl", etc. There is no comparison,  she is one of a kind. Summer reading kick off has begun. 

Click the link to enter a contest to win 50 books.... http://www.readitforward.com/giveaways?rf=cae93389a981d80c4a18e49ed8e054d9