Book Twang

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Updates, Changes, And a New Beginning

I have to apologize for for the lack of updates over the last few months. (This poor and neglected book blog. Bless its heart.) Life honestly just got crazy. Before I get into that, let me say that I've finally bit the bullet and decided to merge all my blog content into one blog which is now at Jennswt.com. I kept the swt for a throwback to my Spake With Twang blog and it better ties into my youtube channel of the same name.

What does that mean for this blog?

Other than this post and any comments with questions that may arise, I will not be adding any new content here. All my new content will be on jennswt.com. All the bargain, wax, book, polish, and the whole mess that is me will be on there.

For the time being, I am going to keep all the old blogs live at the current urls. So all the old content will be here at least for awhile as I've already got most the domain names paid for quite awhile.

Sorry for any inconvenience this causes for anyone. It isn't easy for me to pretty much rebuild from he ground up either. Truthfully, this move as been a long time coming.

I think one of my biggest regrets was starting side blogs in the first place or trying to limit the content into specific subject matter. It just didn't work for me and I felt boxed in.

As for why my life as been crazy, for those who are curious or nosy :)

Well, to start last year I pretty much unable to do much of anything due to health issues. 2015 was an all around crap year. So, let's talk about the whirlwind that started late 2015.

Around September, I finally got put on some new meds that have really helped me a ton. I went from being in constant pain and having no energy to mostly functional.

I was feeling so much better in fact that I applied to a retail job at one of my favorite stores for a seasonal holiday position. This was also a desperate need as the magic pills I was prescribed come with a not so magical price tag. Surprisingly, I got the job. It was amazing as I'd been job hunting with zero luck for over a year.

If you've ever worked retail, you know how that time of year is. You don't get to have a life. I also got hired 2 days beofre Black Friday. So, you can imagine. It was very difficult for me to get back in the swing of things, but I managed.

After the holiday, I ended up being offered a permanent part time position which I am still currently working. The hours dropped dramatically after the holiday madness died down. I went from having 35 or more hours weeks to only having 10 hours some weeks.

So, I got so mad over my abysmal hours one week that I just went on a job search site and applied to a ton of jobs including some that were a distant dream.

I didn't hear anything back and just continued to work the retail job.

Fast forward over a month and I get a call from this place at which I could only dream of working. It was surreal. And after weeks of interviews, tests, security checks, and more, I got offered the job.

It has regular hours, hour lunches, and even a restroom not open to the public. (If youve worked food or retail, you know what a blessing that is. Customers are nasty animals in public restrooms. Haha.) It's a job in which I'm able to use my degree and has career potential.

That's where I stand right now. I am working the new dream job and still working the retail job on nights and weekends until I am done with my extensive training.

Life has always been crazy for me, but I'm thankful it's the good kind of crazy for once.

Y'all truly never know what life has in store. I was at rock bottom last year. Things were not good at all. In the last month and a half, I have felt like my life may actually go somewhere for the first time since I was a naive high schooler with delusions of grandeur about how the world worked.

It's weird to be in a decent place for once. I'm not without problems. Shoot, I still have some crazy health issues and things. For once, I have a peace that I've never had. A feeling like things are gonna work out and go somewhere. It's oddly comforting.

And I have my snazzy new blog at jennswt.com. (Had to end with some cheese)

Love y'all even if my sporadic posting didn't show it.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

Julie and Julia

(Julie Powell)

:Teaser:

You have Julie. She's a 29 year old at a seemingly dead end point in her life of which she can't make any sense. So, she throws herself into learning how to cook and daily blogging--something very laborious, routine, and highly structured--to see if she can once again find some meaning in her life over the course of a year and the 524 recipes included in Mastering the Art of French Cooking

I Live!!!

It's Jenn, once again.

So, I was thinking about restarting this blog again since I have gotten back into reading. I was out of it for awhile, because I had to get rid of most of my books for a couple moves. It just took the love of it out of me for awhile.

So, I get on this new spiffy blogger to check over this account and...

~~Lo and behold...~~

My site isn't working. More specifically, the domain to which blogger it is redirecting is not working at all. Problem is that I have no control over that domain at the present time. It is under a family member's account. So...

After trying to get in touch with them to resolve the issue for over 2 weeks with no response, I just decided to unlink the domain for now. Thankfully, my posts are at least visible at the moment again.

But...this basically screws up all my post links, amazon links, and a whole lot of other fun stuff that I worked very hard to create back in 2008-2010. It's just zero fun all round with this whole issue.

~~I just couldn't stand waiting anymore. I may change the url back to the original if this issue ever gets resolved. That is my eternal hope as to how this situation plays out.~~

~~Worse case scenario is that I have to change the name all together which is something I'd rather not ever do. I also loathe even thinking about migrating all these posts over to a new place.~~

~~I will keep y'all posted as I know more. I have done all I can at this point. So, it's just a waiting game. Unfortunately, I am not good at waiting.~~

UPDATE:

Situation is over. Everything is working again. I have all the redirects and whatnot fixed hopefully. Yay! My dumpy little book blog lives again. :)

I'll be going through and checking the links in old posts and related things over the next bit. So, excuse any mess that pops up. It appears that I am the queen of messes at the moment.

-----

Also, just an FYI for all my frugal book lovers:

Dollar Tree has been getting in a lot of books from the Target book section. They have all kinds of hardbacks and other fascinating finds for just $1. I picked up quite a few, because I love being able to expand my literary horizons on the cheap. Basically, if a book ends up not being to my liking, I only spent one dollar. :)

Friday, January 24, 2014

Hi guys,

It's Jenn. (I'm not dead! Yay!)

Seeing as that it has been more than 2 years since my last post, I think we can safely say that this isn't a regular thing for me anymore.

This blog was very fun for me to do, and kept me more sane while clunking my way through college courses and whatnot.

I could give excuses all day long, or ramble on about the all the craziness that has gone on in that time, but....nah! I would like to keep it positive.

I was actually planning on deleting all the posts just like I did on my other one, but I have had a few people ask me to keep them up. So...I'll do that for now. I may still delete in the future though.

Will I ever do book posts again? Most likely not, but who knows? (That was super helpful, huh?)

Read on people,
Read on,

Jenn <3 br="">

PS - I am toying with the idea of starting up my main blog again (Spake With Twang) again. It will be more focused on product reviews, couponing, subscription boxes, and random stuff. So, if you want to find me, that's probably where I'll be. :)

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden (Molly Murphy Mysteries 7)

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden

(Rhys Bowen)

:Teaser:

Since returning from Ireland, Molly has had more cases than she can handle. So, when she finally has a free afternoon, she is excited to be spending it with her long time beau, Daniel. They go to the park for a romantic stroll through the freshly fallen snow. Molly is having a wonderful time until she stumbles upon a young girl buried under the snow. The girl is alive, but she remains in shock. She doesn't talk or seem to understand anyone. Molly takes it upon herself to find the girl's family and to find out what terrible thing could have happened to her.

:Short Thought:

This book is chock full of exciting cases, major character developments, and interesting new people and places. It is truly a exciting ride from start to finish. This is my new series' favorite!

:Expanded Thoughts:

(Very Minor Spoilers)

This is definitely the best in this series so far! Tell Me, Pretty Maiden doesn't waste any time engaging us and continues to gain momentum until the fantastic finish. There are four major cases/mysteries, and each are well developed and deliciously interesting. I still can't believe that they were all in this one book.

These cases take us to many wonderful new places, such as: backstage at a theatre, inside a college dormitory, and behind the gates of a sanitarium. You are never really sure where the cases will lead you next. Even a seasoned mystery reader will be delighted by the wonderful twists and turns incorporated.

Daniel and Molly's relationship strengthens tremendously in this book. Thus, we are treated to many sweet moments between them throughout the novel. They have always been close because of their deep feelings for one another, but their professional lives cause each other frustration for a variety of reasons. Daniel has never liked Molly's choice of profession nor has he ever really respected her investigating skills. Daniel's negative views have plagued Molly as the couple gets closer to the point of marriage.

Daniel's view really begins to change when Molly offers him a temporary partnership to help with her many ongoing investigations. (Daniel is out of jail, but he is still unemployed and not getting paid.) While working together as equals, we see what a great team they truly make. Daniel begins to acknowledge her investigating skills, and Molly sees that she can learn a few things from the former police captain.

:Additional Notes:

Series Info: Tell Me, Pretty Maiden is the seventh book in Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy Mysteries series. As of this post, the books available in this series, in order starting from the beginning, are:

Author's Sites: Want to know more about the author? Here is a list of Rhys Bowen's sites: