The Wonders of the Library

Do you not read because books are so darn expensive? Have you gotten a library card but you hate walking up and down the aisles looking for books or they never have what you’re looking for? Are you sick of spending your whole paycheck on downloading songs from iTunes or renting movies from Blockbuster? Well, believe it or not, the Harris County Public Library has the answer to all of your problems!

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can “shop” for books, movies and CDs that are available at the library online. It can’t get any easier than this! You can query a specific item or just browse genre or author/actor/artist. And yes, I said movies and CDs too. They have a ton of stuff from Mary Poppins to Wedding Crashers, from Ashlee Simpson to Eminem. (And it won’t cost you anything to borrow a CD from the library and download it to your iPod!)

Once you find the item you’re looking for, you put in a request for that item. There’s no need to worry that they don’t have that item at the branch closest to you. If it’s at another branch, they will transport it to the one closest to you at no cost.

The only drawback is that if you request something that is very popular, like a hit movie that just came out on DVD or a book on the NY Times bestseller list, there will probably be a very long waiting list. But, if you’re in no hurry, you can just sit back and relax. They will let you know when it’s your turn to have the item and it’s been delivered to your ‘home’ branch.

*Now, I’m only speaking about the Harris County Public Library System because that was the closest branch to me for most of my life, but I’m sure that the Houston Library System or the system wherever you live has something similar!

The Da Vinci Code

Just in case you have been living on another planet for the past 2 years… A movie based on Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code will be released in theaters on May 19th. I for one will definitely be in line that day to check it out.

I’m not going to do a review on this book because the book has been on the NY Times Bestseller List for over 160 weeks and I’m sure you’ll be going to see the movie soon if you haven't already read the book.

Now, I do feel that I need to give my 2 cents about some of the controversy that has been surrounding this book. Some people have said that this novel is anti-Christian. That’s a bunch of crap. People have totally lost sight of the fact that this is a work of fiction. Artwork, landmarks and documents in the novel all exist but this book is fiction. The Da Vinci Code does, however act as a catalyst for people to explore their faith or find out how strong it is (which I personally think is a good thing).

For those of you who haven’t read it yet… Either you’ve been under a rock, lost your library card, or have been waiting for it to come out in paperback. Well, get to it! J This is a SERIOUS page turner and it’s so easy to read. Short chapters and you just want to keep going to find out what’s going to happen. This is a great book and I’m sure it’ll be a great movie!!!

Chasing Destiny

Currently #6 - NY Times Bestseller List

Click here for a synopsis of the book.

I had been anxiously awaiting EJD’s new book. I had even placed a request for it before it was even released. When I went to pick it up I was a little surprised. This is by far the longest book he’s ever written (432 pages). Once I finished reading the acknowledgements at the end of the novel, I realized why. This book was 8 years in the making. And I’m happy to report that it was well worth the wait!

It took me a couple of chapters to really get into it. You see, most of the main characters are motorcycle riders and that is a world that I am extremely unfamiliar with. There’s still some “motorcycle slang” in this novel that I don’t understand. (EJD, can we get a motorcycle phrase dictionary in the appendix?)

But once I really got into it, I didn’t want to put it down. I read the whole thing in 3 days. I went through a gamut of reactions while reading this book: No she didn’t!... That dude is wack!... Business cards on computer paper? LOL!... How can he go back to her?..... Her little hot a** needs to sit down!... Awww, that’s so sweet! Damn, that must have hurt!... He’s got game!... No, she didn’t just do that to that girl!... This B is crazy!.... Gasp! That’s who tried to kill her?! Why does she think she’s Loraina Bobbit!

Really, EJD keeps you flipping the pages to find out what happens next. And he does an absolutely amazing job intermingling the lives of all of the characters. Talk about 6 degrees of separations! (more like 2 or 3 in this book) The characters are dealing with struggles in their lives and those of their close loved ones, trying to figure the mystery behind who did what crime. Little did they know that a friend/relative of a friend did it. I’d love to give you an example but I don’t want to ruin it for you!

I’m giving this book two thumbs up. Definitely in my top 5 favorite EJD books.

Welcome to the Book Nook!

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve always been an avid reader. My younger days were spent reading Dr. Suess, The Berenstain Bears, Beverly Cleary (Can you believe she just turned 90? You go girl!), Judy Blume, Sweet Dreams Series, and R.L. Stine. Now, I mainly stick to African-American fiction and NY Times/USA Today/Publisher’s Weekly best sellers that catch my interest.

On this blog I will share my reviews on my most recent readings and highlight my favorite authors. (You’re always free to post comments if you’ve read the same books!) You will also find other related news about authors and books, such as book releases and signings, plays/movies based on books and anything else that I think might be of interest.

Now, I pride myself on the fact that I have read every novel by my favorite authors. They are Eric Jerome Dickey, Bebe Moore Campbell, Terry McMillan and Omar Tyree. Not only have I read all 12 of EJD’s novels, but I’ve seen 2 stage plays based on his works. His latest novel, Chasing Destiny, was just released on April 11th. So, be on the lookout for my review on that in the very near future!