Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Friday, April 21, 2017

Dream Author Panel


Have you ever dreamed about meeting some of your favorite authors? Or thought about how amazing it would be to hear them speak about their books, characters and life in person? I think about this ALL the time when I’m reading a book by an author that I really love.

Recently, I was inspired by Eventbrite to come up with a dream author panel. No limitations – if I could put anyone together in a room, who would it be? Sign me up.

Eventbrite has a great tool on their website to help anyone plan and execute events in their local areas. With an awesome tool like this, maybe some of these dream author panels really can come true!

I thought a lot about who I would want on this panel and it was not an easy choice. I finally decided though that if I had this ONE shot, I would want to see a panel full of bad-ass female authors. Remember, there are no limitations with this so, it’s really not a lot that I’m asking for some of these authors to come back to life for this event.

Here are my choices:

Virginia Woolf



Woolf is one of my absolute most favorite female authors of all-time. She was such a free-thinking, influential author of her time that I just can’t help but be inspired by her. To imagine hearing this woman who gave us the quote, “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” in person…I would not be able to contain my excitement.

Margaret Mitchell



Mitchell is not quite the same feminist powerhouse that these other authors are but I couldn’t leave her out of this. Gone With the Wind is my favorite book and I would love to see her in the company of these other powerful women. Mitchell was much more understated in her rebellion and dealt with a lot of struggles in her short life, including spousal abuse. I believe, that rather than incorporate feminist themes in her work, she preferred to offer a more romantic view of life and love to fill those gaps she had in her own life.


Jane Austen


It’s hard sometimes to remember that Austen was writing novels during the late 1700’s. She consistently pushed the boundaries with strong female characters who challenged the social and economic status of women. It’s not surprising that her characters, themes and messages have stood the test of time and ring true still to this day.

Toni Morrison



There is no denying Morrison’s influence as an author. She wrote novels with complex, rich characters and deep, meaningful themes. There’s also no doubt that she is a strong, opinionated woman. However, she is careful to somewhat distance herself from the term feminism and offered up a different view on her writing when she said “In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand articulation, rather than to close it, to open doors, sometimes, not even closing the book – leaving the endings open for reinterpretation, revisitation, a little ambiguity."

Margaret Atwood


The Handmaid’s Tale is one of Atwood’s most popular novels and due to the recent social and political climate in America, it’s been making a resurgence. Atwood consistently portrays female characters in her novels that are held down by an overpowering patriarchal society. However, it appears that Atwood prefers to take a more “realistic” approach to her world than a feminist one. Regardless of how you coin her, Atwood absolutely tackles gender and societal issues and would be incredible alongside these other writers.


Who would be on YOUR dream author panel? I want to know!



Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Guest Blogger - Nathaniel Danes





We have a special guest on the blog today - author Nathaniel Danes talking about his new book, BattleMaster. The book's release is April 20, 2017: BattleMaster, military science fiction. Book one of The BattleMaster Corps Trilogy. 

Bio:
Nathaniel Danes is a self-diagnosed sci-fi junkie and, according to his wife, has an over active imagination. Mostly blind, he writes to create universes where he has no limitations. He lives with his wife and daughter in the Washington, DC area.

Excerpt:
His eyes shifted toward his own line. That’s when he saw her, saw the BattleMaster. The twin moons stood at her back, illuminating her presence with a mystical glow. She was alone on the ridge but not for long.
Eight machines-of-war, battle-drones, emerged along her side. Half were small tracked vehicles with twin fifty-calibers and rocket launchers on a turret. The rest looked like six-legged spiders with a ball-shaped laser cannon and mortar tube on top.
She flung her arms forward and her minions erupted.



Check out what he has to say about his inspriation for this book!



Seeds of Imagination

            I can't speak for any author other than myself but I find the world ripe with seemingly insignificant scraps of information begging to be nurtured, grown into a story. I look at my ordinary life with the goal of finding hidden adventure.
            I'm low vision, functionally blind in most situations. As you can guess, my degrading retinas restrict what I can do in the real world. I love skiing, scuba diving, and a host of other activities I can no longer do, or do how I want to do them. This fighting retreat has been the story of my life since being medically discharge from the Army at the old age of seventeen, following my diagnosis.
            Simply put, I can't live the life I want to so my imagination has become my keep. My final impenetrable stronghold, impervious to the ravages of my affliction. I can go anywhere and do anything. It's an escape I utilize regularly.
            Maybe it's just me because my mind is so desperate for new material to chew on but I'll grad ahold of a minor piece of information and build an entire universe around it. That's how my latest novel, BattleMaster was born.
            Several years ago I saw a short segment on TV about the US Air Force's experiments with craft controlled by a pilot's brainwaves. The pilots were hooked up to simulators but the results were still very interesting. A female subject remarked that initial findings suggested women were better at this method of operation.
            The seed had been planted.
            That fact whispered in my ear for years and I combined it with others I picked up. Such as, knowledge the female brain is wired to maximize multitasking while males are superior at focusing on a single objective. Both have their advantages and are likely a result of survival demands Datong back millennia. Men hunting and providing protection while woman cared for the young and performed any number of important tasks.
            These two bits of information are what formed the roots of BattleMaster. I asked myself, if women are better at multitasking and the future of warfare is drone based, wouldn't they one day reign supreme on the battlefield? My imagination went from there and the story blossomed until it found its way to the page. 
            So, pay attention to the world around you. Seeds of imagination are adrift everywhere. 


Author Links:

Book Links:





Thursday, March 2, 2017

Let's Celebrate - Read Across America Day




I love all of these fun National Holidays – especially ones that celebrate books and reading. I was so lucky to be raised in a household that loved and encouraged reading. I think it is so important, especially in today’s tech-driven world, to encourage kids to read. Reading is such a great habit and hobby to have in your life!



Read Across America Day was started by the National Education Association in conjunction with their Read Across America initiative. Read Across America Day is always celebrated on March 2nd – Dr. Seuss’s birthday! This holiday is meant to motivate and encourage children from every community across America to celebrate reading. The first Read Across America Day happened back in 1998.

“Ok”, you say, “I’m in – how do I celebrate?”

Well, it’s pretty simple. All you have to do is pick up a book and read! It’s even better if you have children in your lives that you can read with to celebrate this day. If you are into the social media thing then make sure you share your reading adventures with #ReadAcrossAmericaDay or #DrSeussDay.



If you really want to go all out for this fun holiday, I’ve got a couple ideas to share. Since this is also Dr. Seuss’s birthday – make the whole day Dr. Seuss themed! Cook up some green eggs and ham for dinner. Have craft time with your kiddos and make some cute Cat in the Hat cardboard hats. After dinner, sit down and read together.

Another fun idea to keep the reading celebration going all month – or all year -  is to do some reading challenges. These are great for kids and adults alike!

  • -          Hot Fudge Sundae Challenge: challenge yourself or your kids to read a certain number of food themed books. If they complete the challenge – take them out for ice cream!

  • -          Read Your Bookshelf Challenge: if you are anything like me, you have a number of books on your shelves that you’ve never read. There’s no good reason for this, it’s just how it is. Make it a point to finally read those books! Reward yourself with a trip to the bookstore for a new find.

  • -          Book Club: Start a book club with some of your friends or with your family. Make a night out of it once a month and do pizza (and wine for the adults!) and talk about the book. If you do this with your family, let your kids pick out some of the books that you all will read.



No matter how you celebrate – JUST KEEP READING!


Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore




Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Publisher - Picador
Publish Date - September 2013
Genre - Fiction
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads














I received this book as a gift for Christmas from my brother. I love getting and finding books that were never on my radar. I had never heard of this one so I was excited to read it. He knows me well too, because I love reading pretty much any book that has to do with a bookstore or Paris. Don’t ask me why, it’s just how it is.

The premise of this book is interesting. It focuses around Clay who is desperately unemployed in San Francisco. He stumbles across this 24-hour bookstore who just so happens to be looking to hire a night-shift clerk. After a few days on the job, he starts noticing that some of the customers that come in to the store are a bit strange. There is an entire section of the bookstore that these customers do not buy from, but rather check out these very odd, large volumes that don’t seem to make any sense.

Clay gets some of his interesting friends involved to solve the mystery – including his girlfriend who works at Google and a wealthy college friend who tends to invest in bizarre things. It takes them on a wild journey to discover the secrets behind Mr. Penumbra’s bookstore.

I’ll be honest when I say that after reading the summary, the book ended up being nothing like what I expected. That’s not a bad thing – it was just surprising. I didn’t expect the book to delve as deeply into the world of coding as it did. But it made for a fun, modern day twist on a bookstore that seems to be based in a time centuries ago. Even though parts of the book were a bit wordy, this was a quick read, I finished it in one day. It was the perfect “break” book for me in between the Game of Thrones series that I’ve been reading lately.


If you are into mysteries, adventure or computers then check this one out. It’s a fun read!


Pair This With: Mad Duck Zinfandel Lodi


I happened across this wine one day when I was "label shopping" in Total Wine. This 90 point wine is everything you want a Zinfandel to be - rich flavors of black cherry, easy drinking but bold. You can't beat the price either!

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Seriously Underrated Books You Need to Read


I recently came across a Buzzfeed article that shared some of the most underrated books that their audience thought should be on people’s lists. Well, a few of them definitely made my to-read list and I thought I would share them with you today!

A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott



We all know Louisa May Alcott for Little Women. Alcott was a woman straight out of the pages of women’s suffrage history as the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts. Little Women was a semi-autobiographical account of her childhood. I loved Little Women and was excited to see another book with Alcott’s name on it. A Long Fatal Love Chase was published in 1995, well after Alcott’s death. It takes you on a journey with a young woman during Victorian times who flees her husband and then pursues her across Europe.


The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks



The cover was the first thing that caught my attention with this novel (I’m often time a cover shopper). Then I looked up the book on Amazon to get the summary and I was hooked. It sounds so bizarrely entertaining!

Meet Frank Cauldhame. Just sixteen, and unconventional to say the least: 

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim. 

That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again. 


Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn




The English geek in me was absolutely intrigued by the concept of this novel. Dunn takes us on a fun linguistic journey through South Carolina and the home of the inventor of the phrase “The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog”. The townspeople erect a statue in his honor but one by one tiles begin falling off the statue. The leaders of the town see this as a message from beyond and ban the use of each letter as it falls. The book progresses with fewer and fewer letters until only a few remain and Ella discovers the phrase that will save their language. Seriously ordering this one NOW.



Friday, February 10, 2017

Top 10 Most Popular Books In The World



I did some internet surfing recently to see if I could find some inspiration for new blog topics this year along with some new books to add to my list. It got me thinking about what the most popular books ever are. Of course, if you Google this, you will get a lot of different answers.

So, I decided to try to take some of these varying responses and put together my own Top 10 list of the most popular books. These are all based on the number of copies sold over the past 50 years and there are some good ones on here! Amazingly enough, I’ve actually read every single book on this list so let’s just say I have good taste. How many have you read?

Full disclosure – this list purposefully excludes the Holy Bible as it is EASILY number 1 on every list with almost 4 billion copies sold. My list here focuses on mainstream literature.


Here we go:






Tuesday, January 31, 2017

To Read Tuesday



I have to admit, over the past couple of months, my To-Read pile has been getting bigger and bigger. And I haven’t been doing much reading to tackle it. The holiday months seem to just be so busy that I don’t get to take much time out to read. Now that my calendar has slowed down a bit though, I’m getting back to it!

If you saw my Game of Thrones Book Club post, you know that I decided to finally read the book series. Game of Thrones was one of those incredibly rare times where I watched the show BEFORE reading the books. My husband and I both really enjoy watching the show and he didn’t want me to know what happens by reading ahead, so I agreed to wait. Aren’t I sweet?

Anyways – back to what else is on my To-Read list!

Here are two books that I received for Christmas that I can’t wait to dive into.




Robin Sloan

Amazon’s Description:

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything―instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele's behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends. But when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore's secrets extend far beyond its walls. Rendered with irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave.



Les Parisiennes – Anne Seba

Amazon’s Description:
Paris in the 1940s was a place of fear, power, aggression, courage, deprivation, and secrets. During the occupation, the swastika flew from the Eiffel Tower and danger lurked on every corner. While Parisian men were either fighting at the front or captured and forced to work in German factories, the women of Paris were left behind where they would come face to face with the German conquerors on a daily basis, as waitresses, shop assistants, or wives and mothers, increasingly desperate to find food to feed their families as hunger became part of everyday life.
When the Nazis and the puppet Vichy regime began rounding up Jews to ship east to concentration camps, the full horror of the war was brought home and the choice between collaboration and resistance became unavoidable. Sebba focuses on the role of women, many of whom faced life and death decisions every day. After the war ended, there would be a fierce settling of accounts between those who made peace with or, worse, helped the occupiers and those who fought the Nazis in any way they could.




Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Guest Post - Speed Clean Your Bookshelf




If you are one of those people who are lucky enough to have a big bookcase or a lot of shelves with books, and we all know that books and knowledge are wealth, then you must be very happy and wealthy. But with that much wealth comes a great deal of cleaning.

The bigger the bookcase, the more cleaning it will need. That is why most people only do a thorough cleaning of their bookcases once or twice a year. And usually, this should be enough, if it was done properly and thoroughly. As it is not easy to take down all of your books and put them back up again on a regular basis.

If you are trying to find a routine that suits your cleaning needs and more specifically cleaning your bookcase, read on.

For starters, remove all books from the shelves. Put them aside while cleaning your bookcase. If it is as big as the wall feel free to use a small ladder or a step stool to climb on and easily reach the top. Then here is a tip for a very quick removing of most of the dust from the shelves – use your hair dryer to blow the dust off the top and the rest of the shelves.

This method will help you greatly especially if you have not had your bookcase cleaned in a while and there are thick layers of dust. If it is possible, you should also try to clean behind the bookcase – you can even try using your vacuum cleaner if there is too much dust or cobwebs. And if you do not wish to use the blow dryer on the bookcase, you can just use your vacuum cleaner with a smaller attachment to vacuum the bookcase entirely.

Once your bookcase has been cleaned from most of the dust, get a wet microfibre cloth and clean the rest of the dust, edges and details of your bookcase. A microfibre cloth will collect all of the remaining dust quickly and easily.

Some people like using their feather dusters to dust their bookcases but I personally like to use a microfibre cloth on as many surfaces as I can because it is much more efficient and helps me clean faster than any other normal piece of cloth or paper towel.

When your bookcase is all dusted and wiped clean I would recommend you to use a very simple mixture of essential oils to polish the wood provided by cleaning group se13. What you will need is a ¼ cup of white vinegar, ¼ cup of olive oil, and 10 drops of lemon or any other essential oil of your choice (or you can make a combination of a few essential oils).

It might sound like a lot of work, but it really is not. The cleaning and polishing of the bookcase itself do not require a lot of time, it is the cleaning and rearranging of the books that might take a bit more time.

I would also recommend you that you wipe down or use a feather duster on your books as well, they must have at least a thin layer of dust on them. Just give them a quick and light wiping before putting them up on the bookcase.


And here is another tip – place the large and heavy books flat and the smaller ones upright. And you can use your annual cleaning to sort your books and decide if you want to donate some that you no longer want and make some space for new ones. 

Monday, January 23, 2017

Let's Celebrate - National Reading Day




I hope that everyone’s social media feeds today have let them know that today is National Reading Day. If it hasn’t – now you know!

National Reading Day is an annual celebration to encourage young readers to pick up books (instead of the TV remote!) in order to build a strong foundation for learning. You don’t have to be a young child or have a young child to participate in this holiday though.



Here are some ways that you can take part in this celebration:

Plan a trip to your local library

When was the last time you’ve been to your local library? In today’s technological age where we have pretty much everything we could ever want to read at our fingertips, we often forget about the library. Libraries are a treasure trove of fun and knowledge – and they are free! So take a trip and spend some time browsing the aisles. You’ll never know what you might find!


Do you have one of these in your neighborhood? If not, consider starting one of your own! These little miniature libraries are such a great addition to any neighborhood. Not only does it promote reading, but it fosters relationships with your neighbors and helps your bookshelf from becoming too cluttered. Here's the one that's in my neighborhood.



Pick up your Favorite book

Go dust off your favorite book – you know the one – the one that you’ve read 100 times but it never gets old. Curl up on the couch or go grab a latte at your local coffee shop and transport yourself away to that special world that only a book can take you to.


Do you have other ideas on how to celebrate National Reading Day? I’d love to hear them!


Happy Reading!



Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Last Minute Gifts for Kids




The countdown is on so I’m sharing my last Gift Guide installment for your last minute shopping ideas. If the kids in your life are anything like mine, they all have way too many toys. I buy for a lot of kids at the holidays and one theme I always stick to is books. No matter what, they all get at least one book.

I’m such a big advocate for promoting reading – especially in the fast paced, technology driven world that we all live in. There’s just nothing like curling up on the couch with an actual, printed book in your hands.

Here are some great children’s series that you should share with the kids in your life.


I recently discovered this company and I LOVE their books. You can find a book for every age child. The best part is that all of their books are so unique and interactive. And, they cost the same as you would spend at one of those big chain stores. I bought a ton of books this year from them for kids aged 6 months to 11 years!




I feel like this series goes without saying for those kids 7 and older (or so). I read this series as an adult and loved it. It’s so well written and transports you to the most fun, imaginative world. If no one has read this series – start them on it now!




This was one of my favorite series growing up and was so happy to see that you could still find these books in stores. They tell the story of 4 orphaned children who make a home in an abandoned boxcar. They eventually turn into amateur sleuths and solve crazy mysteries. The best part is that there are over 137 books in the series so, as long as you keep track of which ones you’ve bought, you’ll never go wrong!




If you haven’t ever heard of this series, please go look it up right now. Amelia Bedilia is such a fun, lighthearted children’s series that while dates back to the 60’s, still remains a classic today. The series follows the hilarious day to day activities of Amelia, a maid who is always taking things her employer says literally and ends up in comical situations because of it.





This series is a newer one that my niece recently introduced me to. There are 10 books that follow the life of a meek middle schooler who struggles to fit in. The books are filled with fun drawings and hand written notes that make it look like a child’s diary. Perfect for any kid on the brink of (or in) middle school.



HAPPY SHOPPING!!!



Sunday, December 4, 2016

Gifts for Book Lovers



For the second gift guide installment, I bring you great gift ideas for the book lovers in your life. If you missed the gifts for wine lovers – go check it out!
When I am shopping for loved ones for the holidays, I always try to pick something out that they wouldn’t typically buy for themselves. Make it fun, make it personal and make it something that they will actually WANT to use and not stuff in a drawer to be donated later. These bookish gifts should be the perfect fit!


If you know someone who is a true bookworm, they LOVE the smell of old books. There is just something so comforting about it. With this candle, they can enjoy it anytime they want!



This neat little gadget is the perfect way to personalize the books in your library. It’s also helpful to remind people who they borrowed a book from so you can actually get it back.




Who doesn’t love scarves? They are so stylish and practical. This book scarf is the perfect wardrobe addition for any book lover. This one is Alice and Wonderland but there are other fun ones out there like Pride and Prejudice and The Raven.




Um – someone please buy this for me NOW. It’s always so awkward to read in bed. You end up at weird angles, your arms fall asleep and you get a crick in your neck. Problem, solved with this handy gift.




Most book lovers will unanimously agree that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie. Let them express their opinion loud and proud with this cute and cozy sweatshirt.




Happy shopping!