Order of Clockwork Century Books
The Clockwork Century is a series of alternate history/steampunk novels by American author Cherie Priest. It is circa 1880 and the Civil War still rages on, due to interference from the English, a different system of transportation and a discovery of Texas oil that happened 50 years sooner than it did in the timeline we are familiar with. Due to the war, technology has progressed faster, but also brought unfathomable horrors. Many have left the battleground states for a better life out west. (more…)
Order of Cherie Priest Books
Cherie Priest is an American novelist of horror, gothic fiction, science fiction and steampunk novels. She writes the Clockwork Century series. As a child, Cherie was an Army brat, growing up all around the United States. She earned her her B.A. from Southern Adventist University and her M.A. in professional writing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has won the Lulu Blooker Prize, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award and a Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Cherie currently lives in and blogs from Chattanooga, Tennessee. (more…)
Order of Mary Alice Monroe Books
Mary Alice Monroe is an American author of Southern fiction and environmental fiction. Although she was already successful as an author, it wasn’t until Mary moved to the coast of South Carolina when she fell in love with the area and began writing about the environment and conservation issues. She is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and has won the Readers’ Choice, RT Lifetime Achievement and 2008 South Carolina Center for the Book Award for Writing awards. (more…)
Order of Cathy Glass Books
Cathy Glass is the pseudonym of a British author of non-fiction and fiction with the common theme of foster care. She is also a freelance journalist. Cathy uses the pen name due to the sensitive nature of the topic. In her non-fiction (which is the lion’s share of her work), the names of the subjects she writes about are also changed. Recently, Cathy has also started writing fiction as well. Cathy has been a foster parent for 25 years and has cared for over 100 children. She has three children of her own – one of which is adopted. (more…)
Order of Sons Of Encouragement Books
Sons of Encouragement is a series of Christian fiction novellas by American author Francine Rivers. Each novella follows a different character who was in the shadow of a hero and quietly changed eternity. The characters include Aaron (the priest), Caleb (the warrior), Jonathan (the prince), Amos (the prophet) and Silas (the scribe). Each of these characters gave their all, even though their reward may never come until the next life. (more…)
Order of Lineage Of Grace Books
The Lineage of Grace series is a series of Christian fiction novellas by American author Francine Rivers. The series is about five women – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary – each of whom is faced with a challenge that will define them. Each of the women will play a part in the lineage of Jesus Christ. The series won the 2009 Retailer’s Choice Award. (more…)
Order of Francine Rivers Books
Francine Rivers is an American author of romance novels, including Christian fiction and romance novels. She writes the Lineage of Grace and Sons of Encouragement series. Francine had wanted to be an author since she was a child. She got her B.A. in English and journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno and went into a career writing for a newspaper. She started writing historical romance at the beginning of her career and became a born-again Christian in 1986. Francine lives with her husband in Northern California. She has three children and five grandchildren. (more…)
Book Review: The Three Count by Jimmy Korderas
Written by Graeme McGaw
I’ve read practically every wrestling related autobiography there is, so when I heard that ex-WWE referee Jim Korderas was reading a book, I was quite excited. I was very curious to see how things would be from a new perspective. I’ve read enough books from wrestlers – it’d be interesting to see a referees take on it.
The book is entitled The Three Count: My Life in Stripes as a WWE Referee. Released at the beginning of April in 2013, it is published by ECW press and comes in at approximately 234 pages. Here is the Amazon Listing.
If you’ve read any wrestling autobiographies, you know that many of them go the big “tell-all” route, where many secrets are spilled both good and bad about wrestlers and things going on inside the industry. The sort of book that provides lots of water cooler talk with your friends after reading.
This is not that sort of book.
Instead, this is the book of a wrestling fan, who happened to get his dream job – working within the wrestling industry. As he wasn’t a wrestler he was never really dragged down with the politics and usual things that go in inside the wrestling business, so he is able to come out of it still full of optimism and happiness, with no bitterness at all.
While this isn’t the type of book I could read often – it was a very refreshing change from the usual wrestling autobiography. It was a very pleasant read, and one that left me with a smile on my face. Korderas is someone who has so much enthusiasm for the business and throughout the book, his enthusiasm never waned. This was someone who lived their dream.
There was no real negativity, either about the wrestling business or certain wrestlers. Often that will occur in a book because the author is still trying to get back into the WWE – but with Korderas, that really wasn’t the case. Early in the book, it’s established that he is a very positive, optimistic thinker who has a strong passion for the wrestling business. While writing the book, it’s obvious that the lack of negativity is not about politicking – but more just because he IS that sort of positive person.
Jimmy takes us through his career from starting, to refereeing such matches as The Undertaker versus Edge at Wrestlemania. He also provides a lot of education into the referees perspective – something most of us never consider when watching wrestling. It was fascinating to read, and really see what it takes to be a referee and what is involved with that.
Jimmy also shares a lot of stories from the road. Again, these are more of the “tame” variety but they are still fun to read. It was good to hear stories about the wrestlers at the hotel and what they do, and the games that they play.
Korderas also doesn’t fade away from the controversial topics. He was the referee in the ring when Owen Hart sadly died, and he dedicates a whole chapter to that. He also has whole chapters dedicated to both Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit.
There was quite a few things about the writing of the book which bothered me, and makes me wish he had a co-author to assist him. Jimmy would often preface a story with “Okay, let me tell you what happened”, “Let me Explain”, or something similar. It was a small thing – but it came up so often that it frustrated me – just tell the story, we know you’re going to tell it. In another spot while talking about bad flights, he later states “Oh I forgot to mention something about Ric Flair on the flight”…why not just go back and edit it in? Maybe that was intentional but it just came off amateurish.
A lot of that is probably to do with Jimmys post-WWE career. Korderas went into both radio and television as a wrestling analyst. The style of writing is the type that would be perfect for telling stories on radio and television, so that’s probably how this sort of style came about. It doesn’t put you off the book at all – it’s just a slight annoyance that occurs.
Overall, this was a very refreshing perspective on wrestling, and one I really enjoyed reading. It’s hard not to get hooked as you can really tell right from the beginning the passion that Jimmy had for the business, and his job. While I much prefer books like Bret Harts, Chris Jerichos and Bob Hollys – I’d recommend reading this because you’ll gain a lot more respect for referees in general, and it’s the type of book that will put a smile on your face reading the writers enthusiasm.
It is available in both Kindle Edition and Paperback. The Kindle edition is just $9.64 – well worth it – available here.
Order of Gallagher Girls Books
Gallagher Girls is a series of YA chick lit novels by American author Ally Carter. The main character is a teenage girl named Cammie, who Ally describes as having average looks (such as average height, average weight, etc.), but prettier than she gives herself credit for and intelligent. The novels are told through her perspective. Cammie is a student at the Gallagher Academy, an all-girls school that produces spies. (more…)
Order of Ally Carter Books
Ally Carter is an American author of chick lit novels, including novels for both adult and young adult readers. She writes the Gallagher Girls series, Heist Society series and the Cheating at Solitaire duology. Ally attended Oklahoma State University and Cornell University and then went into the agricultural industry before switching careers to become a writer. Her novels have been published in over 20 countries and have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Ally lives in Oklahoma. (more…)