Kate’s 2¢: “The Hollow Inside” by Brooke Lauren Davis

“The Hollow Inside” by Brooke Lauren Davis

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   I enjoyed this story. It had an interesting middle and I approve of the final scene.

http://www.brookelaurendavis.com

Bornin Richmond, Virginia

Brooke Lauren Davis is the author of THE HOLLOW INSIDE (Bloomsbury YA, spring 2021), and she never quite knows what to say when people ask her where she’s from. An unruly child in suburban Virginia, a surly teenager in rural Ohio, and a bewildered college student in small-town Indiana, she’s now a hopelessly book-obsessed adult in Louisville, Kentucky. She loves stories of all kinds, from plays, to ballets, to TV shows, to memories rehashed over the dinner table. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found annoying her cats, haunting bookstores, or shouting Jeopardy! answers at the TV.

From nls/bard/loc       :

The hollow inside DB104223

Davis, Brooke Lauren. Reading time: 10 hours, 27 minutes.

Read by Gabriella Cavallero.

Suspense Fiction

Young Adult

After years on the run, sixteen-year-old Phoenix and mom Nina travel back to Nina’s hometown to get revenge on the man she says ruined her life. Strong language, some violence, and some descriptions of sex. For senior high and older readers. 2021.

Downloaded: October 7, 2021

Kate’s 2¢: “The Judge’s List” by John Grisham

“The Judge’s List” by John Grisham

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   Sometimes, Grisham’s stories seem to get bogged down when there is a trial, but, there’s no trial in this story. It moves right along within the mystery, investigation, and conclusion. Well done.

John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist and attorney, best known for his popular legal thrillers. His books have been translated into 42 languages and published worldwide. Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University and received a J.D. degree from the University of …See more

   Grisham, the second of five siblings, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Wanda (née Skidmore) and John Ray Grisham.[3] His father was a construction worker and a cotton farmer, and his mother was a homemaker.[10] When Grisham was four years old, his family settled in Southaven, Mississippi, a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee.[3]

As a child, he wanted to be a baseball player.[8] As noted in the foreword to Calico Joe, Grisham gave up playing baseball at the age of 18, after a game in which a pitcher aimed a beanball at him, and narrowly missed doing the young Grisham grave harm.

Grisham is a Christian who has described a salvation experience at age 8 as “the most important event” in his life.[11] After leaving law school, he participated in some missionary work in Brazil, under the First Baptist Church of Oxford.[12]

Although Grisham’s parents lacked formal education, his mother encouraged him to read and prepare for college.[1] He drew on his childhood experiences for his novel A Painted House.[3] Grisham started working for a plant nursery as a teenager, watering bushes for $1.00 an hour. He was soon promoted to a fence crew for $1.50 an hour. He wrote about the job: “there was no future in it”. At 16, Grisham took a job with a plumbing contractor but says he “never drew inspiration from that miserable work”.[13]

Through one of his father’s contacts, he managed to find work on a highway asphalt crew in Mississippi at age 17. It was during this time that an unfortunate incident got him “serious” about college. A fight with gunfire broke out among the crew causing Grisham to run to a nearby restroom to find safety. He did not come out until after the police had detained the perpetrators. He hitchhiked home and started thinking about college. His next work was in retail, as a salesclerk in a department store men’s underwear section, which he described as “humiliating”. By this time, Grisham was halfway through college. Planning to become a tax lawyer, he was soon overcome by “the complexity and lunacy” of it. He decided to return to his hometown as a trial lawyer.[14]

He attended the Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, Mississippi and later attended Delta State University in Cleveland.[3] Grisham changed colleges three times before completing a degree.[1] He eventually graduated from Mississippi State University in 1977, receiving a B.S. degree in accounting. He later enrolled in the University of Mississippi School of Law to become a tax lawyer, but his interest shifted to general civil litigation. He graduated in 1981 with a J.D. degree.[3]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The Judge’s list DB105337

Grisham, John. Reading time: 11 hours, 37 minutes.

Read by John Grisham.

Suspense Fiction

Mystery and Detective Stories

Legal Issues

Lacy Stoltz, from The Whistler (DB 86026), is thinking about leaving the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct when she’s contacted by Jeri Crosby. Jeri’s father was murdered twenty years ago and believes a current judge was behind it. Lacy must discover the truth. Violence and strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

Downloaded: December 11, 2021

Download The Judge’s list

Kate’s 2¢: “The Return” by Nicholas Sparks

“The Return” by Nicholas Sparks

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   Perhaps, the benefit of this story is to shed some light on the issues a person faces with PTSD and what strategies could be useful in coping with the physical and emotional feelings.

   The reading time of this story, according to my Victor Stream Reader, is 9:59:03.

nicholassparks.com, WIKIPEDIA:

Nicholas Charles Sparks is an American novelist, screenwriter, and philanthropist. He has published twenty one novels and two non-fiction books, all of which have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 115 million copies sold worldwide in more than 50 languages.[1]

Eleven of his novels have been adapted to film, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John, The Last Song, and The Notebook, with a cumulative domestic box office totaling more than $574M.[2]

Sparks lives in North Carolina, where he contributes to a variety of local and national charities. In 2011, he launched The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences for students of all ages. [3]

Sparks and his then-wife Cathy lived together in New Bern, North Carolina, with their three sons and twin daughters until 2014. On January 6, 2015, Sparks announced that he and Cathy had amicably separated. They subsequently divorced.[11] Sparks still resides in New Bern.

Philanthropy[edit]

Sparks donated nearly $900,000[12] for a new, all-weather tartan track to New Bern High School along with his time to help coach the New Bern High School track team and a local club track team as a volunteer head coach.[13]

Sparks contributes to other local and national charities, including the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame by funding scholarships, internships and annual fellowships. The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, launched by Sparks in 2012, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences for students of all ages was launched in 2011. Between the foundation, and the personal gifts of the Sparks family, more than $15 million dollars have been distributed to deserving charities, scholarship programs, and projects.[14] In 2008, Entertainment Weekly reported that Sparks and his then-wife had donated “close to $10 million” to start a private school, The Epiphany School of Global Studies.[15][16]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The return DB100846

Sparks, Nicholas. Reading time not available.

Read by MaryBeth Wise.

Mystery and Detective Stories

Human Relations

Bestsellers

Romance

When he is sent home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin Trevor Benson inherited from his grandfather seemed a good place to regroup. Trevor feels a connection with local deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson. Some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2020.

Downloaded: November 29, 2020

Kate’s 2¢: “The Last Patriot, A Thriller” by Brad Thorr

“The Last Patriot, A Thriller” by Brad Thorr

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   John Polk  did an excellent job of reading this fast moving spy and counter-spy story.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (September 2019)

   bradthor.com: Bradley George Thor Jr. (born August 21, 1969)[citation needed] is an American thriller novelist.[1] He is the author of The Lions of Lucerne, The First Commandment, The Last Patriot, and other novels. His latest novel in the Harvath series, Near Dark, was released in July 2020. Thor’s novels have been published in countries around the world. He also contributed a short story entitled “The Athens Solution” to the James Patterson-edited anthology, Thriller. Thor also makes frequent appearances on Fox News and The Blaze.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The last patriot: a thriller DB71529

Thor, Brad. Reading time: 10 hours, 42 minutes.

Read by John Polk. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Suspense Fiction

If the ancient prophet Mohammed’s lost revelation can finally come to light, militant Islam will be defeated. This secret, which is connected to Thomas Jefferson, draws Scot Harvath back into covert operative work after a nine-month hiatus with his injured girlfriend. Violence and strong language. 2008.

Kate’s 2¢: “Every Last Secret” by Torre Alexandra

“Every Last Secret” by Torre Alexandra

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   Well done. Nina got what she deserved and got the man, too!  But, what about Cat and what she deserves. She sure lived up to her name.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Torre A Alessandra Torre is an American novelist best known for contemporary romance.[1][2][3] Torre is a New York Times, USA Today,[4] Wall Street Journal[5] and Amazon International bestselling novelist.[6] Alessandra is the Bedroom Blogger for Cosmopolitan.[7] She has been a guest columnist for the Huffington Post, RT Book Reviews, and was featured in Elle Magazine.[1] In 2017, she created Alessandra Torre Ink, an online community for authors, which offers webinars, courses and the Inkers Con conference. [8]

In 2015, her novel The Girl in 6E was optioned for film by EuropaCorp.[9] In 2017, her novel, Hollywood Dirt was released as a full-length movie by PassionFlix.[10] R Every last secret

www.alessandratorre.com

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Every last secret DB103215

Torre, A. R. Reading time: 9 hours, 28 minutes.

Read by Maggy Stacy.

Suspense Fiction

Psychological Fiction

Cat and her husband William live in the privileged California community of Atherton. When new neighbors move in, Cat does the right thing and welcomes them to the neighborhood. But wife Neena soon sets her eyes on William and everything Cat has. Except Neena doesn’t know Cat’s secrets. 2020.