Each of the genres that I read regularly do contain elements of romance. After all, love and human interaction are part and parcel of that which makes the world go 'round, but reading the same basic story, over and over, where just the names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent is boring and not for me.
I have been an avid reader since the age of 7 which means I have been reading good books and bad for the past 60+ years. This gives me some perspective on the way books, and particularly American books, have evolved over these several decades.
When I was 8 or 9 years old, my grandmother told people that I was "good read and bad read," meaning there was nothing in the house that was forbidden reading matter. Yes, I was reading some adult books at that time. I would add that adult books back then were quite different from adult books today. I don't recall that any of the books in the house had foul language or explicit sex in them, but I was just a kid, and kids pick up as much as they can understand. I have reread some of the books that I read way back when, and, through older eyes, the stories do seem quite different. I still pick up books written in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, and I find that my recollection of no foul language and no explicit sex, is pretty accurate.
I read fiction and non-fiction with equal enthusiasm. I prefer certain genre fiction above all else. The genres I read are horror, science fiction (speculative fiction), mystery, thriller, and police procedural. I am not a big fan of the romance novel, but I have read and enjoyed the occasional Nora Roberts trilogy when it falls into one of my other genre favorites.
When I was in junior high, my favorite non-fiction books were medical history books. Most of them were 10-pound, illustrated tomes that I would drag to school so I could read them at lunchtime. I would read them word for word, and examine all the pictures, much to the dismay of my classmates. Once things got too modern - post Joseph Lister - I would trudge back to the library in search of another one to read.
I used to read a lot of what I classify as speculative non-fiction. Into this category, I include Erich Von Daniken's iconic CHARIOTS OF THE GODS and THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE by Charles Berlitz. Now, when there is nothing else worth watching on TV, I watch the alien shows on H2, and I confess to being a fan of Giorgio Tsoukalos, you know, the guy with the hair.
When I retired in 2009, I moved from a fairly large house in Connecticut to a pretty small house in Florida. I had a book collection that numbered over 5,000 books -- hard covers, trade paperbacks, paperbacks, pamphlets, you name it, I had at least one. One of my tasks before moving was to whittle down my rather large physical library. Fortunately, I was already a huge fan of Amazon's Kindle which made the process so much easier.
I got my first Kindle the very day that the first Kindle 2 started shipping. My husband had ordered a Kindle for me for Christmas in 2008. Before Christmas an email arrived saying that Amazon was canceling the order for Kindle and would be replacing it with a Kindle 2, and that I would be among the first to receive one. I was thrilled. Before Kindle, I had had an eBook reader that was pretty clunky and didn't work all that well. I don't even recall the name of it. Then, while visiting with my sister, she showed me her Kindle, and I knew that I had to have one.
When my Kindle arrived, the first thing I did was buy UR, by Stephen King. How could I not buy this Kindle exclusive, when I already had just about everything King had ever written. I marveled at how quickly the book was on my device.
When my Kindle arrived, the first thing I did was buy UR, by Stephen King. How could I not buy this Kindle exclusive, when I already had just about everything King had ever written. I marveled at how quickly the book was on my device.
My next big Kindle moment came when I was attempting to read CATHEDRAL OF THE SEA, by Ildefonso Falcones, and found that my arthritic fingers were protesting the heavy hardcover. If ever a though balloon appeared over my head, it was the moment that I decided to pick up my Kindle and buy the Kindle edition. The book was on my Kindle in about a minute, I found where I had left off reading and proceeded to read for perhaps another hour and a half in total comfort.
I am mentioning books along the way in order to introduce you to my rather eclectic taste in reading material. I read books that my friends recommend - A GOOD AND USEFUL HURT by Aric Davis is such a book. I reviewed it on Amazon and Goodreads and gave it 5 stars. Another such book is RAVENSCRAIG, by Sandi Krawchenko Altner. Although I didn't review it, I did lend it to several people who all expressed pretty much a 5 star liking of the book.
I am both a reader and a writer. I enjoy writing book reviews for the pleasure of writing them. I don't do spoilers, so I have to craft my sentences in such a way that I entice a reader without giving anything away. My philosophy is pique my readers' interest then let them read the book for themselves.
Although I will be emphasizing e-books here, remember that most of them are also available in printed form. I will also give you a lot of reasons why reading e-books can be an excellent experience that has nothing to do with saving trees. Paper is made from trees that are farmed for that specific purpose, so I have no problem with the printed page.
I will try to feature books by Indy authors who write well. If I run across a really awful book, and by awful I mean one that it shows poor command of the English language, or is otherwise poorly written, I will give you a heads up.
Initially, it is my plan to post the reviews I have already posted on Goodreads, Amazon, BookBub, and NetGalley to get this blog up and running. The idea for this blog has been several years in the making. From first concept to actually making this first post, I have posted any number of reviews online, so I will post a few of those as quickly as I can. Over the last couple of years, I have been contacted by both authors, publishers, and publicists requesting that I review particular books. It has been my honor and pleasure to have read quite a few five-star reads because of these contacts.
Join me on my literary journey through authors established and new, books long and short, and welcome to my world of Unbound Book Madness.
You can see my Amazon reviews at https://smile.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHEWHKCWQ2762QFKWMOFQP3MJXYA?ie=UTF8&preview=true
^v^ Madelon (Mad, Maddy) Wilson ^v^
