Reader Problems Book Tag

Hey, guys! So recently I have really wanted to expand my blog content more. Right now it is mainly just book reviews, and I thought some book tags would be a fun way for you guys to know more about me. When searching for tags, I saw this Reader Problems Book Tag on Quinn's Book Nook! I really thought it would be fun to try out! 


1.  You have 20,000 books on your TBR, how in the world do you decide what to read next?

I don't actually keep a TBR list honestly. I know that makes me different than 99% of book bloggers. I think personally I will pick out like five books I that look interesting then read the first chapter. After I do that then I just pick the book that captured my interest the most. 

2.  You're halfway through a book, and you're just not loving it.  Do you put it down or are you committed?  

I am so horrible at DNFing books! Although lately, I have been really working on getting better at this for non-review books. So far it has been a slow process. I will keep going for review books, rarely skimming. 

3.  The end of the year is coming, and you're behind on your reading challenge, do you try to catch up and if so how?

I am great at attempting a million challenges and giving up. The only one I stay true to is the Goodreads Challenge. I will do as many readathons as it takes to get caught up. Right now I am 19 books behind schedule, so looks like I need to do some readathons. 


4.  The cover of a series you love do not match, how do you cope?

I don't care about covers, I care about books. 

5.  Everyone and their mother loves a book that you do not.  Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?

I celebrate differences in reading tastes! I don't care if I have different reading tastes over my friends. It makes us each who we are. 

6.  You're reading a book in public, and you're about to start crying.  How do you deal?

I haven't much experience with this problem. I try to pick fun books for public reading because I am typically trying to make time pass faster while waiting for something. I personally don't care if people see me crying in public. Emotions are okay! 

7.  The sequel to a book you loved just came out but you've forgotten a lot of what happens.  Are you going to reread it?

I would have every intention to reread the first book. Although that probably wouldn't happen and it's pretty likely that I'd put the sequel aside until I could reread the first book. Which would mean I will read them both in the next five years. I am so bad at sequels. 

8.  You do not want anyone to borrow your books, how do you politely say no when someone asks?

Thankfully, I don't know many people who ask, or want to read my books. I am not friends with a lot of regular readers. I also think my amount of reading intimidates a lot of my friends, which makes me sad. I'm okay with lending to people if I have read them and if I trust the people. If I am uncomfortable for any reason then I would be polite and explain the reason to them. Most of my friends are adults and wouldn't have a problem!

9.  You have picked up and put down 5 books in the last month.  How do you get over this reading slump?

I hate reading slumps with such a passion! I get in them quite frequently so my go to solution is to listen to an audio book, read an old favorite, then try a new book. This typically works quite well for me. Another solution is just to stop reading for half a year, I did that once! 

10.  There are so many books coming out that you are dying to read, how many do you end up buying?

I don't really buy a huge number of new release books. I think many I have purchased 2 books in the last 5 years the same year that the came out.  A lot of what I read are review books. I'm  also a big fan of my local library. I typically buy second-hand books or books from discount sites if I purchase. 

11.  After you purchase all these books that you're dying to read how long do they sit on your shelves before you get to them?

I read so many books a year, due to review obligations. I also am a double major so there is a ton of reading with that. So this is why I rarely buy books on my own because they will sit there untouched for several months. Under the Dome by Stephen King has been on my shelf four about 3 years I believe! 


This was such a fun tag to do! I hope you all enjoyed reading!  

Book Review: The Road To Jonestown

This was a book that I was surprised by. The author Jeff Guin really digs into Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. He starts by tracing the early days in rural Indiana, where his childhood was experienced. Then it hurls to the last day, November 1978. This is a story that is memorable, so evil you can't understand how it happens. It was very intriguing, mainly because we all know how this tragic story ends. 

When I first checked this story, I was shocked and unsure how things went so wrong.  The research in this book is so deep and broad. He has many different sources and interviews with people. Mainly the people are survivors and defectors, and the records of the supposed church. He also managed to get a hold of Jones' rambling words, the recorded sermons, and journals. 

Nothing is held back. It even included so much that I was unaware of.  It showed the lives and work of people in the Peoples Temple. The things before Jones' took over and turned it into his personal game. There was so much I learned, so much that I don't think many people have read about. Things that are extremely important. 

The main thing I learned was Jones was obsessed with religion, an obsession that possessed him even as a child. But he also enjoyed tricking and harming things. He always seems to have the charm that attracted people. He also really liked being in control. Control is something that consumes people, and for Jones, it became his entire world. 

The biggest shock to me was he really didn't rope people to move to the jungle. Actually, people would really compete for the honor. Which is not what I expected, and is something that is different from other cults. 

The quote that will haunt me forever is from  Jim Jones Jr., one of the surviving sons of Jim and Marceline Jones: 

'Kool-Aid rather than equality is what the rest of the world remembers. The survivors are left to console themselves...' Jim Jones Jr. sighs, smiles, and concludes, 'What I'd say about Peoples Temple is, we failed, but damn, we tried.'

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in psychology and mentality of cult groups. While this book doesn't answer every question we have it does help give some perspective. 

Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster

Goodreads Description: 

By the New York Times bestselling author of Manson, the comprehensive, authoritative, and tragic story of preacher Jim Jones, who was responsible for the Jonestown Massacre—the largest murder-suicide in American history.

In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially integrated, and he was a much-lauded leader in the contemporary civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California. He became involved in electoral politics, and soon was a prominent Bay Area leader.

In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jones’s life, from his extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing to the fraught decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died—including almost three hundred infants and children—after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink.

Guinn examined thousands of pages of FBI files on the case, including material released during the course of his research. He traveled to Jones’s Indiana hometown, where he spoke to people never previously interviewed, and uncovered fresh information from Jonestown survivors. He even visited the Jonestown site with the same pilot who flew there the day that Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered on Jones’s orders. The Road to Jonestownis the definitive book about Jim Jones and the events that led to the tragedy at Jonestown.

Author Interview: John A. Autero

Author: 

John A. Autero

Video Clip

Goodreads link

Amazon link

My Name - I was named after my Grandpa John and my Grandpa Andrew. Grandpa John worked as a machinist at a bakery for almost his entire life. Grandpa Andrew emigrated from Slovakia and worked as a coal miner when he was a young adult and then changed professions and worked as a locomotive engineer.

Interesting Person I Have Met - I met Captain James Lovell (Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, Apollo 13) at his restaurant in Lake Forest, Illinois. After a business dinner, some of my co-workers and I were able to talk with him for ten to fifteen minutes about his days at NASA. I was honored to be able to shake his hand.

Interesting Places I have Been - I have traveled to Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Japan on business. But the most interesting place I have traveled to was to an electric power plant inside the Arctic Circle. The plant used a crane to carry tree bark from a lumber mill to the power plant's steam boiler. The crane was not working properly, so I had to work with them to fix the problem. It took me about sixteen hours of flying and driving to get to the small town where the plant was located. It had one blinking yellow stop light, a KFC and a hotel (that had been built onto the side of someone's house). Even though I went there in June, the high temperature was in the 40s and it snowed overnight.

Most Harrowing Moment - I worked in a chemical plant, as an instrument technician, right after I graduated from college. One day I was asked to test a transducer that was located on the top of a separation tower in the ethylene plant. The tower was over 250 feet tall and was the tallest structure in the county. To get to the top, I rode in the basket of a crane. When I reached the platform that was on the top of the tower, I had to climb out of the crane basket and onto the platform. I was of course wearing a safety harness when I did this, but climbing from the basket to the platform was terrifying.

Prized Possessions - God has blessed me with a great life and numerous belongings. I have a guitar pic that Gene Simmons (bass player in the band Kiss) threw into the crowd during a concert. Actually my wife was the one that was able to get the pic. She was standing close to the stage taking pictures of Gene and he tossed the pic at her. Other fans standing nearby saw Gene toss the pic and a melee ensued. My wife as able to wrestle through the fracas after getting kicked in the nose, grab the pick and stick it into her pocket. She presented me with the pic after the concert. (What a wonderful wife.)

The Questions and Answers:

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? 

I started out writing articles for engineering magazine about ten or twelve years ago. The company I work for helps find magazines that will print them and encourages us to write them to promote ourselves and the company. After having some success with this, about five years I got the idea to write a novel. I didn’t really know what I was doing or anything about indie authorship at that time. It’s funny to think how much I have learned in the last five years, as well as how much more I need to learn. I currently have two independently published novels (Footprints and The Scorpion) and one in the works.

How long does it take you to write a book?

It has taken me about fourteen months to create my first two books. The one I am currently working on will be about the same, as I hope to have it released in November.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I put in a 40-hour work week, so my writing time is limited. I normally put in four or five hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I wish I could spend more time writing but it’s just not possible. But on the bright side, writing a book over an extended period of time gives you a chance to process the story line to make sure it’s realistic and allows you to come up with ideas to make it more enjoyable. I wrote both “Footprints” and “The Scorpion” this way.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Hmmm… this is a tough one. I don’t have any really weird ones like I have to eat green M&Ms or wear the same tube socks while I write. I guess I’m kind of anal about backing up my work. I’m also anal about consistency. If I call a piece of equipment a “handheld”, I want to make sure it is spelled and formatted the same way throughout the entire book. So it’s not “hand-held” in one chapter and “hand held” in another. Other than that, I can’t really think of anything. Maybe I’ll have to invent a quirk so I’m more interesting.

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

Inspiration tends to hit me in a few different ways. Sometimes when I’m reading a novel or a comic book or watching a movie I’ll be listening to the story and pinpoint something very small and trivial happening that might have legs to be its own piece of work. I write these ideas down on a list for possible future stories. Music lyrics tend to hit me like that too. I also have the random lightning bolt that hits me while I’m working on something, like cutting the grass. 

I tend to write about real things and situations and create a story around it. I commonly use Wiki-pedia to get some details on these things and situations. In “The Scorpion” there is a character named the “Folsum Street Avenger”. His name was created from an event that happened about ten years ago in San Francisco. I used Wiki to research the event and then inter-twine it into the story.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

About five years ago, I got the idea to write my first real novel. So that would have made me 46 years old. I guess I’m a late bloomer.

What do you like to do when you're not writing? 

I like to go to the gym. During the winter we like to watch movies. In the summer, my wife and I barbeque and relax on our deck. I like putzing around with my old El Camino sometimes too.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

It’s very difficult to introduce your book to the public. I read that there are 70,000 new books sent to Amazon (worldwide) every month! Having people find your book in an ocean that enormous is very difficult. Getting your book in front of people is so difficult. But I guess organizations like yours and GoodReads and Author’s Den are there to help.

Who are some of your favorite authors that you feel were influential in your work? What impact have they had on your writing?

I tend not to have a favorite author, actor, sports player. My mind never worked that way. I guess I just love to read books (and watch movies) with twisty story lines, and I thought that I could write books with that same kind of excitement. “The Scorpion” really falls into that category. I think it’s great when readers tell me “Wow… I didn’t see that coming!” And once I heard that, I was hooked and I wanted to write more of them.

What do you think makes a good story?

I like to read mysteries and thrillers that have a techy, futuristic aspect to them (think Blade Runner). And that’s pretty much what I write. I love the unexpected and find it really entertaining when the storyline twists you into knots, only to have it become one hundred percent clear in the end. 

I received a copy of a rock-and-roll tell-all novel as a Christmas gift a few years ago and I thought it was incredibly interesting. I’ve kind of followed that band wagon for the last five or six books I have read. While they aren’t necessarily epic novels of exceptional writing, they do draw me in, reminding me of past times and places and I find them hard to put down. And isn’t that what a good book is supposed to do?

Book Review: Broken Branches

Hey guys, today I have a super exciting post to share with you. This new book called Broken Branches is so good. It is filled with mystery and so much suspense. A book about a family curse, this book has all the elements that I love. 

My Actual Rating: is a 4.5 

I really enjoyed this one. We follow a man named Ian Perkins, who has returned to the house in which he grew up in. He is there with his son Harry, and wife Rachel. They have had their own issues, ups, and downs. Ian feels like this house has always had sort of a strange feeling to it, and returning has just elevated all of those feelings. We see a glimpse into his memories and his interactions with some of his family members. One, in particular, is his brother named Stuart. Who seems a bit odd.

The main element I loved in this story is the family curse. Which is sort of cloudy to begin with, is there really a family curse after all? Or is it all just in Ian's head. Never the less he is going to figure it all out. The course is centered around this tree in the families little cottage, which has caused problems for the family for many different generations. He quickly finds there is more here, that he needs to figure out.

There is a sadness to this book due to something that happens in the family, which adds to the emotional rollercoaster this book will put you on. The writing in this book is so moving, so different, and will have you on the edge of your seat. I devoured this book because I had to figure out what would happen, and that is exactly how a mystery book is supposed to be.

The only downside I saw to this book was in parts the book felt slow and I really sort of had to push my way through some of the build up. I also have to admit that it did feel flat in some places. Ultimately though the story was worth it.

The book is being launched by this awesome new publishing company called Hideaway Fall. This is either first book, and as you can see it is such an awesome book to launch with. If this is what is to come, I can't wait to read more books they publish, be sure to check them out.

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest and fair review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Links for purchase: Amazon // Book Depository

Goodreads Description: 

'Family curses don't exist. Sure, some families seem to suffer more pain than others, but a curse? An actual curse? I don't think so.'

A family tragedy was the catalyst for Ian Perkins to return to the isolated cottage with his wife and young son. But now they are back, it seems yet more grief might befall the family.

There is still time to act, but that means Ian must face the uncomfortable truth about his past. 

And in doing so, he must uncover the truth behind the supposed family curse