Saturday, April 7, 2018

Double your pleasure with BookSparks #PopUpBlogTour times TWO!

Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

I know, I know.  I've been a bit quiet recently, but the reading is still getting done; it's just the reviewing that's had to take a backseat to work, work, and more work.  *ugh*  Anywho, you didn't come to read about my long days and tiresome nights...and I don't blame you!  So, let's get to the books because it's time for another round with Booksparks and a double dose of bookish fun with their ...


#PopUpBlogTour!
That's right!
It's time for another FABULOUS #PopUpBlogTour thanks to the wonderful folks at Booksparks who are eager to put YOU right there with the best of the best of recently released titles. Take today's for example...or rather take BOTH of them.  That's right.  I'm doubling up on the tours in todays post because there's actually a common thread despite the difference genres.  If you've been in the blogosphere or on social media, at some point you've heard about "white washing" when it comes to stories, and covers.  Personally, it doesn't matter to me the color or nationality of a character, I'll read them all, but it seems that some get better feedback or more interest shown when used above others.  Fair?  No.  Right?  Certainly not.  The case here?  Nope.  In fact, BOTH of the titles I'm featuring today feature leads foreign in ethnicity (and proud of it!) on their journey from fledging newcomer (whether to this country or simply to life in general) to soaring success...well, okay, that's not actually the case for the one, but, ah, well...you'll see.  Anywho, let's get to popping!





by
Krishan K. Bedi
9781943006434
SparkPress

About the book...
Krishan Bedi came to the United States in December of 1961 at the tender age of twenty. He had only $300 in his pocket, and he had made it out of his small village in India on sheer faith, determined to get education in the US. For him, there was no option but to succeed―so he began his new life in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he had to adapt to the culture shock not only of being in the US but a Punjabi man in the South in the 1960s.

Engineering a Life is an examination of Bedi’s life, and how he has handled the plethora of curve balls thrown his way with determination, humor, and an unwavering faith that everything would work out. This is a book about values and faith and the importance of friendship, family, and hard work. It’s a story about achieving the American Dream, proving that no matter how thoroughly you map out your life’s journey, no matter how many blueprints you draw up, when you veer off the course you’ve plotted―as we all do, somehow, in the end―you end up where you’re supposed to be.


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So...this one I had mixed feelings about...and being that it's a memoir, I find that perfectly acceptable.  After all, it's not a fictional creation, it REALLY happened, and while no one can (or should!) pass judgment on another's life, it's doesn't mean you can't comment on the journey shared. 

There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Bedi lived a varied life, filled with ups and downs and in betweens, but while some of his anecdotes were entertaining, I've an issue or two to contend with when dealing with a few situations. For example, how the whole academic achievements were actually achieved (no one should get special exceptions simply because you're also working, or what have you...) as well as the misadventures in bus driving (yes, I cheered about throwing the rule breaker off, but driving people to their homes, demanding the route be told to you from passengers and using your temporary assignment status as the "get free" card didn't sit right with me).  

Once I reached the end, all I could say if what a journey it was! He came from nothing, built a life of merit through struggles and trials, returned a "made man" only to have his dreams pulled out from under him, leaving him to start over once again. He definitely had perseverance, and the support of his family was certainly a cornerstone for his ability to reinvent himself later in life.  Certainly a story readers can look to while in pursuit of their own evasive dreams...




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by
Ron Bahar
9781943006441
SparkPress

About the book...
Ron Bahar is an insecure, self-deprecating, seventeen-year-old Nebraskan striving to please his Israeli immigrant parents, Ophira and Ezekiel, while remaining true to his own dreams. During his senior year of high school, he begins to date longtime crush and non-Jewish girl Amy Andrews―a forbidden relationship he hides from his parents. But that’s not the only complicated part of Ron’s life: he’s also struggling to choose between his two passions, medicine and music. As time goes on, he becomes entangled in a compelling world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Will he do the right thing?

A fictionalized memoir of the author’s life as a young man in Lincoln, Nebraska, The Frontman is a coming-of-age tale of love and fidelity.


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Upon starting this book, I promptly got lost in our leading man's...or should I say the frontman's story. Ron is your average teen just trying to get it right.  From the start, we know he's going to be a handful, of course having a friend that would PRETEND to electrocute themselves will do that to you (SO not funny), but hey, we all have our challenges in life.  Though not doing too bad for himself in high school thanks to a killer voice and an aptitude for science (hello future doctor!), all good things must come to an end...especially after prom feelings combine with too much happy juice and an "opportunity" he never saw coming.  Let's just say, he totally screws up...but then again, it doesn't look like the love of his life (Amy) is staying white as snow either. Payback is a word that I won't mention here and I was truly hoping they would rise above, but they're teenagers so yeah, the eventual letdown wasn't exactly unexpected either.  Life goes on, though in some aspects it ground to a complete halt...almost depressingly so...and as other dreams were chased, that crushing of his heart lingered, kept alive by the dying hope of another chance someday.

By book's end, we sorta kinda see his holding on come to fruition, but it was more of a non-ending. Like if someone took a handful of pixie dust, blew into their outstretched hand, and let things fall where they may. Did it work?  I suppose so, I mean it's fact based fiction, so on some level it must have...I was just hoping SOMETHING would be tidy in this one. Cie la vie...still an interesting ride with a frontman you won't soon forget.



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Special thanks to Leila at Booksparks for the chance to bring these titles to you as well as the ARCs for review!  (THANKS!)  For more information on these titles, the authors, the publisher, or the promotion team, feel free to click through the links provided above.  Both titles are available now, so be on the lookout for them on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!





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