Pay The Ghost
Director: Uli Edel
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies
Studio: RLJ Entertainment
Release Date: November 10, 2015
Retail: $29.96
ASIN: B013JA9QDO
Running Time: 94 minutes
Buy Link: Amazon
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

Arriving on DVD tomorrow is the supernatural thriller Pay The Ghost. Directed by Uli Edel, the film stars Nicholas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas) and Sarah Wayne Callies (The Waking Dead). There are no special features or extras on the single-disc.

The film centers on a professor Mike Cole (played by Nicholas Cage) taking his son, Charlie (played by Jack Fulton), to a  Halloween parade, but suddenly loses him within the jam-packed crowd. Panicking, he searches the area for Charlie, but he cannot find him. He returns home hoping that Charlie would be there, but he is sadden to only find his wife, Kristen (played by Sarah Wayne Callies), there by herself.

A year passes by and Charlie is still nowhere to be found. Mike tries to get on his life, but as Halloween nears, he has a strange feeling that his son is somehow trying to contact him from beyond. With the help of his estranged-wife, he investigates other children that have disappeared near the same location that he last saw Charlie alive at.

To retrieve his son, Mike must find the door to a spiritual world, so he can pay the ghost for his child's life.

Driving Heat
Nikki Heat, book 7
by Richard Castle
Publisher: Kingswell
Pub. Date: September 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1401324827
Pages: 336
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:
 
ABC's Castle resumes it's eighth season tonight after a three week hiatus. Castle debuted in mid-season replacement in the spring of 2009 and quickly became a hit with viewers. The series centers on a mystery writer, Richard Castle (played by Nathan Fillion), teaming up with NYPD Detective Kate Beckett to solve murder cases. Working with Beckett gives him the inspiration to create his newest fictional character - Nikki Heat, which is just a copycat of Beckett, as well as the character Jameson Rook, which is a fictional version of Castle.

ABC took advantage of the shows popularity and released the first Nikki Heat novel, Heat Wave, in the fall of 2009, written under name Richard Castle. Five sequels followed, all of which have been bestsellers. While the real author has never been confirmed, some believe it is author Tom Straw.

The seventh book in the series, Driving Heat, arrived in bookstores back in September around the same time season eight of the series premiered. The novel centers on Nikki Heat being promoted to captain of the twentieth precinct. Her excitement about her first day on the job quickly disappears when her shrink, Lon King, is murdered. Things get even more shocking when a video turns up showing Heat's fiance Jameson Rook leaving King's office.

Inside Out
Director: Pete Docter
Voice Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Richard Kind, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Retail: $39.99
ASIN: B00YCY46VO
Running Time: 94 minutes
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD is this year's hit Pixar computer-animated film, Inside Out! Directed by Peter Docter, the film features the voice talents of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Richard Kind, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan. Bonus Extras includes: Story of the Story - Join Pete Docter & the story crew as they walk through the process of finding this story; Paths to Pixar: The Women of Inside Out; Mixed Emotions - Follow the filmmakers as they personify the emotions; Mapping the Mind - Explore the fascinating workings of our minds; Out Dads, the Filmmakers; Into the Unknown; The Sound of Inside Out; The Misunderstood Art of Animation Film Editing; All-New Short: Riley's First Date; and Lava Short Film.

When it comes to computer-animation, there's no company better than Pixar, whom has given us many classics, such as Toy Story & Finding Nemo. Their newest classic, Inside Out, took in nearly $900 million at the box-office over the summer.

The film centers on the emotions - Joy (voiced by Ay Poehler) Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith), Fear (voiced by Bill Hader), Anger (voiced by Lewis Black) and Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kaling) - of a young girl named Riley Andersen (voiced by Kaitlyn Dais). Riley grew up in a loving home in Minnesota, where her favorite passion is playing hockey, but that all changes when her parents, Bill (voiced by Kyle MacLachlan) and Jill (voiced by Diane Lane), force her to move San Francisco. While moving to a new house can be exciting, it isn't for Riley as the moving truck gets lost with all their stuff somewhere in Texas.


During this time, Sadness starts forming a bad habit of touching the happy memories, which turns them into sad memories. This causes Riley's first day of school to be a complete disaster when she cries in front of her whole class; resulting in a sad core memory being created. Joy attempts to stop the memory from being sent to the central hub, but ends up dumping the other core memories, which causes a chain reaction that starts to shutdown the personality islands.

Alert
by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
Publisher: Little Brown & Company
Pub. Date: August 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0316407038
Pages: 400
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Keeping up with every new novel by the bestselling author James Patterson can be a bit exhausting with fifteen to twenty titles being released each year. While most people have either read or heard of the popular Alex Cross novels as well as a young adult (Maximum Ride) and children (Middle School; Treasure Hunters) book series, some might not be aware of his other mystery series - Michael Bennett, which focuses on a NYPD Detective and widow father of 10 adopted children.

The 8th installment of the series, Alert (co-written by Michael Ledwidge), once again centers on Detective Michael Bennett who must team up with his old pal, FBI's Emily Parker, to solve two high-tech attacks in New York City. Of course nothing is never what it seems, so the more they investigate, the more complicated it gets. As the body count rises, they realizes the killers (whom call themselves Mr. Joyce and Mr. Beckett) have bigger and deadlier things in store for the city.

There is a small subplot involving Michael's elderly priest grandfather, Seamus, whom gets lost while on his way to babysit Michael's children. It seems he's starting to show signs of dementia, which just adds to the already high stress that Michael already has in his life.

Blessed, Blessed... BLESSED
by Missy Robertson
with Beth Clark
Publisher: Tyndale
Pub. Date: October 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1496405708
Pages: 264
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

I'm sure that non-Duck Dynasty fans probably cringe when they see a new book by the Robertson clan in the bookstores due to some unwanted controversy from the family's patriarch.


Blessed, Blessed... BLESSED by Missy Robertson (wife of Jase Robertson) and Beth Clark was released last month. Though I don't agree with some of their religious beliefs, I do from time to time find myself watching an episode of Duck Dynasty. I've reviewed a few their other titles over the years, so I thought I would give this one a try as well.

Blessed, Blessed.. BLESSED is in many ways an autobiography about the Missy & Jase's marriage as well as the story of their youngest daughter's (Mia) battle with cleft palate. While at first glance, my first thought was that the book was just about Missy and Jase, but it's about the love for their family, their faith in the Lord and the struggles their little daughter Mia has went through.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews!

As you are reading a book, do you take notes for your reviews, write your reviews as you read, or something totally different?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

   I don't take notes when I'm reading a book, though I sometimes write down a page number to refer to later.

Another Way Home
by Deborah Raney
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Pub. Date: October 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-1426770456
Pages: 304
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/draney
Buy Link: http://bit.ly/1NQhjf8

Review:

With October as well as all the posts for the Halloween Madness event finally over, it's time for me to posts a slew of book reviews, which I'm hoping to get caught up on everything before Thanksgiving comes around later this month.

Last month, I received the third book in the Chicory Inn series, titled Another Way Home by author Deborah Raney. Once again the series centers on Grant and Audrey Whitman, a couple that is trying to run their own bed & breakfast, but their adult children's problems keep interfering with their lives.

Their middle daughter, Danae, and her husband, Dallas, have been trying to start a family for years, but God hasn't blessed them with a child yet. While Danae is considering adoption, Dallas doesn't even want to discuss the topic. Her dream is to fill her days raising their children, but since that's not on the table anymore, she volunteers at a shelter for for abused women that just opened in town. As she gets to know the women there, she starts to wonder if God is nudging her life in a different direction.

The Berenstain Bears: The Very First Christmas 
by Jan & Mike Berenstain
Publisher: ZonderKidz
Pub. Date: October 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0310751021
Pages: 24
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Christmas is less than two-months away and a few of the cable channels are already playing holiday themed movies. Many of these movies as well as countless books feature Santa Claus and elves. While I have nothing against Old Saint Nick, many kids can get confused about what the really meaning of Christmas is.

Now available to own in bookstores is the picture book The Berenstain Bears: The Very First Christmas by the late Jan Berenstain and her son Mike Bernestain (whom has taken over the Berenstain Bears series).

The book begins with the Bear cubs (Brother, Sister and Honey) asking  Papa to read them the story of Christmas from the storybook Bible. From there he tells them the about the birth of Jesus. The entire book is written in a similar style of the other Berenstain Bears' titles, so young readers can easily understand it. The story is accompanied by beautiful illustrations.

Sanjay and Craig: Fight The Future With Flavor!
by Eric Esquivel
Publisher: PAPERCUTZ
Pub. Date: September 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1629913025
Pages: 52
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Sanjay and Craig debuted on Nickelodeon in 2013 and has become one of it's most popular cartoons. The series centers on a  Sanjay Patel, a 12-year old boy,  and his talking pet snake, Craig.  Nickelodeon is joined forces with the publishing company PAPERCUTZ to create new graphic novels.

Released back in September is the first comic adventure featuring Sanjay and Craig, titled Sanjay and Craig: Fight The Future With Flavor! Written by Eric Esquivel and featuring illustrations from Sam Spina, James Kaminski and Ryan Jampole, the 52 pages graphic novel contains six exciting adventures - "Fight The Future With Flavor," "Hot Wings From Heck," "Lord Of The Pipes," Alien Buttospy," "The Buttermilk King" and "Rated 'R' For Radical". It also features several short segments of"Tufflips Movie Trailers."

I've only seen a few episodes of the Nickelodeon series and while it didn't exactly appeal to me, it did have plenty of silliness that would attract younger viewers. Since I decided to feature more children books on this blog, I went ahead and agreed to review the Sanjay and Craig: Fight The Future With Flavor! graphic novel.