Bea Reviews The Myth of the Spoiled Child by Alfie Kohn

Publisher: Beacon Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: March 8, 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* (different edition)  | iTunes* (different edition) | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Somehow, deeply conservative assumptions about how children behave and how parents raise them have become the conventional wisdom in our society. It’s widely assumed that parents are both permissive and overprotective, unable to set limits and afraid to let their kids fail. We’re told that young people receive trophies, praise, and A’s too easily, and suffer from inflated self esteem and insufficient self-discipline. However, complaints about pushover parents and entitled kids are actually decades old and driven, it turns out, by ideology more than evidence.

With the same lively, contrarian style of Alfie Kohn’s bestselling books about rewards, competition, and traditional education, The Myth of the Spoiled Child systematically debunks the story that we hear with numbing regularity. Kohn uses humor, logic, and his familiarity with a vast range of social science data to challenge media-stoked fears of spoiling our children. He reveals that the major threat to healthy child development isn’t parents who are too indulgent but those who are too controlling.

Small Town Romance Sale - 60 Books, $30!!

If you're a lover of small town romance or are looking for the perfect place to start, you do not want to miss this sale! 30 authors have come together with an incredible sale. Find out more about the books and get your hands on them here!

Bookish Things I'm Wondering About

I was on Facebook earlier and several posts got me thinking, wondering really, and I decided I didn't want to be alone in my musings. Maybe you all will be able to offer enlightenment. If not, I'll happily accept coffee and chocolate in place of enlightenment. :P

The first was a comment that an author casually threw out in a FB group. She stated, as if it were obvious to anyone with half a brain, that putting the table of contents at the back of ebooks is aesthetically pleasing. I must have half a brain or less because I don't get that. At all. First of all, I utterly fail to see what is aesthetically pleasing about putting it in the back. I just don't see it.

Sunday Book Share #176

 I'm participating in The Sunday Post, hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer; Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews; and Bought Borrowed and Bagged, hosted by TalkSupe. It's a chance to share the print and digital books we've received and posts and events on the blog.

Wow, it's been six months since my last Sunday Post. Life has been kicking my butt with work keeping me busy, and with health, family, financial, and car troubles. Things are still not calm but they're calmer. Additionally, with my work schedule, I just couldn't maintain the blogging schedule that I had. Blogging wasn't fun anymore, but a chore. So, I cut way back, took an extended break. Jax, Steph, and I have all had a lot going on and the blog took a backseat to real life.

Calling All Readers and Authors: Help A School, Donate Books!

 

This article about a school library has been all over my Facebook feed this week and I decided to share on here for those of you who may not have seen it.

There's a school in Nevada that hasn't had a working library for about a decade; they haven't had any new books for eight years. None. Not one. I have a hard time fathoming that. I was fortunate with my school libraries and am fortunate now with my local libraries. They had/have budget issues but there are always new materials. Now, this school's library is being restarted and they need books, movies, and music. From the article -

We need racially diverse books. We need graphic novels. We need women’s studies. We need science. We need series. We need film. We need comics. We need music. We need biographies of important people. Looking for Young Adult. Classics. We want zines! Contemporary. Poetry. Everything that would make a difference in a young person’s life. Writers send us YOUR BOOK.

They have an Amazon wish list, or you can send them something that you think will spark a teen's mind, have relevance to them. It can be brand new or a gently loved item from your own collection. Please, nothing in poor shape. Don't send them your trash.

I've gone through my collection of unsolicited YA review books and will be shipping them out, probably on Monday. Want to save some money on shipping and you're in the US? Check out the postal service's media mail option. It's how I send books. It can take several weeks to ship but it can be significantly cheaper than shipping first class.

Also, I love that the students have a say in the new library and are an active part of designing the space. How awesome is that? Their input is wanted and solicited and they'll be more invested in using and taking care of the space. Just wonderful. <3

ETA: All the information you need about the school and donating can be found in the original article, here.

A final word from the article -

So here’s what I’m asking. Will you donate a book? A real book. Something literary or fun—something that speaks to your truth, their truths. Something that teaches them something about the world. Makes them feel less alone?

I’m not asking for money. I’m asking for you to send a new book or film or cd to us to help us build a library we can be proud of. Just one book.

Bea Reviews The Long Night by Jessica Scott

Publisher:  Jessica Scott 
Source: the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 16, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Kobo | Jessica Scott | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Whatever it takes, just come home to me. Promise me, Sam.

In eight months, Staff Sergeant Sam Brown will become a father. But first, he has to survive his fourth tour in Iraq. On his last night home, he tries to pretend that everything is fine, that the war is fine, that his life is fine.

But as he returns to the war zone, things are anything but fine and the promise he made to his fiancé takes on a desperate edge. As things spiral down, Sam starts to wonder about that promise.

How high is the price he will pay when the long night comes to an end?

Bea Reviews The Demons We See by Krista D. Ball

Series: The Dark Abyss of Our Sins #1
Publisher: Krista D. Ball
Source: the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: June 10, 2016 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Kobo | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Society was rocked when the Cathedral appointed Allegra, Contessa of Marsina, to negotiate the delicate peace talks between the rebelling mage slaves and the various states. Not only was she a highborn mage, she was a nonbeliever and a vocal objector against the supposed demonic origins of witchcraft. Demons weren’t real, she’d argued, and therefore the subjection of mages was unlawful.

That was all before the first assassination attempt. That was before Allegra heard the demonic shrieks. All before everything changed. Now Allegra and her personal guards race to stabilize the peace before the entire known world explodes into war with not just itself, but with the abyss from beyond.

So much for demons not being real.

Excerpt & Giveaway: Snow Wolf by Heather Long

National bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does. (She's also fun on Facebook ~ Bea)