Read A Banned Book Reading Challenge!

As I already mentioned in my blog post two days ago, Banned Books Week is happening next month from September 30th through October 6th. 

What better way to celebrate Banned Books Week than by organizing a Banned Book Reading Challenge? My goal is to encourage readers to read one banned book during Banned Books Week. If you have time to read more than one banned book during Banned Books Week, then by all means go for it!

Wikipedia has published a List of most commonly challenged books in the United States, which is a good starting point to search for a book to read for Banned Books Week. Also check out the American Library Association website for a list of banned and challenged books.

During Banned Books Week, I will be reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. 

From the Wikipedia website, comes the following quote about The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian "The novel is controversial for some of its content on issues such as alcohol, poverty, bullying, references to masturbation and physical arousal, as well as for the tragic deaths of characters and the use of profanity. As a result, some schools have banned the book from school libraries or inclusion in curricula."

According to the Banned Books Week website, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie was one of the ten most challenged book titles of 2011.

Join me in reading a challenged or banned book during Banned Books Week!! Which book will you read during Banned Book Week? Post your book selection below. I'm curious to see which book you'll read during Banned Books Week!

I'll make another post during Banned Books Week, where you can share your thoughts about the banned book you read! I'll be sharing my thoughts about The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian as well. 

Until my next post, happy reading! 

Banned Book Week T-Shirts!

I purchased a really fun t-shirt from Cafe Press in preparation for Banned Book Week at the end of next month!! 

 

There are a bunch of fun, cute book related t-shirts for sale on Cafe Press for men, women, and children! 

I encourage readers to purchase and wear banned book related t-shirts during Banned Book Week from September 30th through October 6th. Promote the freedom to read the books we choose! End censorship!

The five t-shirts seen here are just a few of the of many banned book t-shirts that are available for purchase from Cafe Press. T-shirt designs come in a wide variety of selected sizes and colors to choose from. Visit Cafe Press by clicking on the link above.

You may search for banned book t-shirts on Cafe Press by doing a keyword search in the search box at the top of their homepage.

Until my next post, have a great day reading a book!

Banned Book Week 2012

Banned Book Week 2012 is coming up next month from September 30th through October 6th. Celebrate the freedom to read!! I hope you choose to read a banned or challenged book this year during banned book week.

Checkout the following Wikipedia link regarding the List of most commonly challenged books in the United States. 

Also, visit the American Library Association (ALA) website for more information about Banned Book Week. The ALA website states the following:

The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. This event is observed during the last week of September of each year. 

Ban ignorance, not books!

Valley Books in Solvang, California

Valley Books Storefront

While in Solvang, my husband and I also visited Valley Books Bookstore as well. Valley Books is a small, but charming used bookstore, which offers a book trade policy. 

Valley Books has a wonderful coffee bar with a wide array of espresso drinks to enjoy. We each enjoyed an iced toffee beverage, which was basically a coffee drink with milk and almond roca syrup and made cold.

We then sat a on comfy leather chairs near the entrance and enjoyed our beverages while using the free wifi offered at Valley Books. The owner was also awesome and very friendly.

The Book Loft Bookstore in Solvang, California

The Book Loft Storefront

A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I took a day trip to Solvang, California, which is about an hour's drive north of where we live. I love visiting Solvang, which happens to be a very charming, Danish inspired town!

During our visit to Solvang we visited many of the shops and enjoyed lunch there too. 

I especially enjoyed visiting The Book Loft Bookstore during our visit to Solvang. The Book Loft Bookstore is a two story bookstore with both new and used books for sale and has been in business since 1970. They carry a nice selection of Scandinavian books both in English and other foreign languages. I also enjoyed the Out of Print book t-shirts and other knick knacks for sale at The Book Loft. The Book Loft staff is friendly and helpful. 

Printing Press

As an added bonus, adjacent to The Book Loft Bookstore is the Bulldog Cafe, which serves coffee, desserts, and sandwiches and also offers free wifi for guests wanting access to the internet.

The Hans Christian Andersen Museum, which celebrates Denmark's most famous writer, is also located adjacent to The Book Loft Bookstore.

So, if you happen to visit Solvang and are looking for something to read, then visit The Book Loft.

Bibliotherapy: How Books Can Treat Anxiety & Depression

I've always known that reading books for pleasure and relaxation has been helpful in making me a better, more well-rounded person. Additionally, reading is both entertaining and educational. So, the benefits of reading is no surprise to me. But can reading truly be used to treat or even cure depression & anxiety?

The term "Bibliotherapy" is a new one to me. I came across "Bibliotherapy" in an article titled Bibliotherapy: How Books Can Treat Anxiety, Depression recently published on the Huffington Post website. According to the article Bibliotherapy: How Books Can Treat Anxiety, Depression:

This is the idea behind Bibliotherapy, a supposed cure for depression and anxiety being implemented by author Alain De Botton at his London company, The School of Life. De Botton is the author of "How Proust Can Change Your Life," a book that blends literary fiction and self-help. He says academics "could never forgive [him]" for making Proust accessible, but personally believes books are more than works of art to be admired.

Whether or not a book can single-handedly tackle a person's depression is difficult to determine, but positive thinking has been proven to help. According to a Psychology Today article titled "Depression Doing the Thinking," "One of the most powerful actions you can take in combating depression is to understand how critical the quality of your thinking is to maintaining and even intensifying your depression—and that the quickest way to change how you feel is to change how you think." The article goes on to explain how negative thoughts can enter one's mind subconsciously, and therefore seem more raw or true to the depression sufferer than their own moods and feelings. 

Bibliotherapy is an interesting concept/therapy. I wonder how successful it is in treating those suffering from depression & anxiety?

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

"Reading is not walking on words, but grasping the soul of them." Paulo Freire

15 of the World's Top-Earning Authors

James Patterson tops the Forbes list of world's highest earning authors! Patterson's earned a whopping $94 million and according to Forbes, "Unlike many of the authors on this list, Patterson earns nearly all his money from his gargantuan book sales and relatively little from TV and film royalties. He published 14 new titles in 2011." Wow, James Patterson is one prolific writer!

J. K. Rowling also made the list of world's highest earning authors, but I was surprised she wasn't higher on the list. 

Find out who else is listed as one of the world's highest earning authors, by clicking on the link above.

Great Works of Literature Written in Prison

I was actually surprised to discover which ten works of literature were actually written in prison in an article published on Flavorwire titled 10 Great Works of Literature Written in Prison and written by Heba Hasan. 

Any guesses as to which works of literature were written in prison? Click on link above to find out which works were on the list!

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

The V-Day Edition

As a woman, I've been curious about the The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, which won an Obie Award for Best New Play. I've heard about The Vagina Monologues being performed across the nation and around the world, but I've never seen a performance to date. 

So, I did the next best thing and read The Vagina Monologues: The V-Day Edition! Now I want to see a live performance of the The Vagina Monologues after reading it.

I thought The Vagina Monologues made for an interesting read. "Hair" and "I Was In The Room" were a couple of my favorite monologues. The Vagina Monologues are about women getting in touch with their inner selves on many levels.

I especially enjoyed reading Gloria Steinem's foreword as well as Eve Ensler's introduction in the V-Day Edition of The Vagina Monologues. I also enjoyed reading about the V-Day movement, which is a global movement to end violence against women and girls. 

Below is a performance of "Hair"... Enjoy!

Is Alice in Wonderland About Drugs?

The BBC News Magazine recently published an article titled Is Alice in Wonderland really about drugs?, which I found to be an interesting to read as I'd read Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll a few years ago. After reading Alice in Wonderland myself, I'd wondered if it was about drugs too or if Lewis Carroll had been under the influence of drugs while writing the novel.

In any case, the BBC News Magazine shed some light on whether or not Alice in Wonderland is really about drugs! Click on the above link and read the story for the full details.

The Forty Fathom Bank by Les Galloway

I really enjoyed reading The Forty Fathom Bank by Les Galloway. It's the first time I've read anything written by Les Galloway and I was really impressed by his talents as a writer!

The Forty Fathom Bank is a 108 page novella set in San Francisco in the early 1940s. This novella is a real page turner and a quick read for those readers looking for a book that is both suspenseful and adventurous with the its tale of deep sea fishing off the coast of San Francisco. 

I found the writing in The Forty Fathom Bank to be vividly descriptive, surreal in parts, with a dream like quality... Especially when the two fisherman were out at sea. Because the storyline was so well written, I couldn't wait to finish reading this novella to see how it ended. I enjoyed The Forty Fathom Bank from start to finish!

The quoted material below was written by Kirkus Reviews about The Forty Fathom Bank in 1994. I discovered the Kirkus review of The Forty Fathom Bank on the Amazon website.

In 1940, the unnamed 29-year-old narrator buys a small boat, hoping to keep his wife and children out of poverty by leading fishing expeditions. Then the Nazis cut off Scandinavian fish exports, a major source of vitamin A; at the same time it is discovered that shark livers contain staggering levels of the expensive and rare vitamin. High demand for sharks drives prices through the roof and creates prospecting opportunities in San Francisco's fertile waters comparable to those of the Gold Rush. The nervous narrator, an unskilled fisherman, avoids going out for sharks until the last weekend of the season. Then he hires ``weird and honest'' Ethan May, an expert shark hunter, who leads him to fish at the 40 fathom bank (where sharks usually feed) after they agree that the narrator will keep the first three tons of shark they catch and May will take the rest, which could be 20 tons or more. The silent loneliness of the sea (May is not a conversationalist) and the interminable waiting involved in catching sharks gives the narrator too much time to let his expansive imagination wreak havoc. In between vivid descriptions of life at sea and the shark-hunting process, he indulges in reminiscences of his childhood, dreams, and concerns about his family. This, combined with his tendency toward Poe-esque paranoia, leads him to the unfounded conclusion that May is a malicious money-grubber. He projects his manic, vacillating temperament onto the hunter's quiet, unflappable one until May appears as an epic monster in his avaricious eyes--a determination that leads to the tale's violent, inevitable denouement. A pithy one-hour read for literary fishing enthusiasts.

 Until my next blog post, happy reading!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

"Book lovers never go to bed alone." Anonymous

You Are Most Definitely What You Underline!

Check out this wonderful post from the Little Brown Pen website titled You Are What You Underline! Evan, the creator of this art project, wrote the following:

The best thing about paperbacks (apart from the smell, of course) is that when a little jewel of a sentence grabs you, you can underline it. If you’ve only ever read a book on a screen (hey, it’s not far off), then let me explain: Underlining something in your book is the original “interactive” media. Think of it as a hyperlink that redirects to your own thoughts, and like a hyperlink, it can leave the rest of the story behind and open up a new window of ideas, insights, musings.

That’s the spirit of this series of illustrations. I took little snippets of text and ideas from some of my favorite authors (with some notable exceptions that I’m saving), and let the words be a springboard for an illustration. The illustrations incorporate and interact with the text and hopefully add up to something that engages the mind as much as the eye.

What fabulous idea! I love it! The illustrations and quotes are nicely paired together.

10 Underdogs in Literature Not to be Missed!

The Flavorwire website never disappoints when it comes to interesting topics related to books! I like Emily Temple's recent article titled 10 of the Greatest Underdogs in Literature. Here's to the underdog!!

Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales

Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales by Jen Wylie & Sean Hayden is a collection of fifteen, well written, short stories.

Both authors are new to me and I was very impressed with their writing styles. Their stories are fun, engaging, and quirky. Each story is written by Jen Wylie or Sean Hayden and each of them has their own unique writing style and way of telling a story. 

One of my favorite features of this collection of short stories is that each author writes a brief explanation of what inspired them to write that particular short story.

The stories in this collection are a mix of horror, science fiction, and some are purely fun to read. I highly recommend reading Flashy Fiction and Other Insane Tales and hope you enjoy reading this collection of short stories too!!

I look forward to reading more of their published works in the future.

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

I love reading books by Jerry Spinelli. His novels are awesome and Love, Stargirl is no exception!

I first became acquainted with Jerry Spinelli's novels last year when I was given a copy of his novel, Stargirl, from a friend as a gift. Incidentally, Stargirl is the first novel of a duology with Love, Stargirl being the second novel in the duology.

I enjoyed reading Love, Stargirl just as much as I enjoyed reading Stargirl. Love, Stargirl is a little differently written from Stargirl in that it is written as a series of letters that Stargirl writes to her former boyfriend, Leo Borlock, whom she hopes will be her boyfriend once again in the future. Stargirl doesn't send off all the letters she's written to Leo until the end of the novel. This gives the novel the feeling you're reading someone's personal diary, not a series of letters. Plus, we have insight to Stargirl's personal feelings written in the letters to Leo that we might not see otherwise expressed in a traditionally written novel.

I liked reading the letters Stargirl writes to Leo. The letters contain information about her new life in Pennsylvania, away from Mica Arizona, and all the new people and adventures she has. I love all the new characters and people Stargirl meets while living in Pennsylvania with her parents. I love that Stargirl is a free spirit and independent thinker who thinks outside the box. What a great role model for teenage girls!

Below is a YouTube trailer of Love, Stargirl. Enjoy!

Hottest Sex Scenes in Literature

I have not read the runaway bestselling Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by E. L. James, but it seems people either love this trilogy or think it's pure hooey. 

So, I couldn't help but wonder what makes for great erotica? Yes, I understand that some people aren't into this genre and everyone's taste varies on the subject, but I do wonder if writing and storyline make a huge difference on the subject matter? I think it definitely would make a huge difference. Yes, "sex scenes" are a crucial part of erotica, but if the novel, novella, or short story, does not contain a well written storyline, then it is pure hooey.

I stumbled upon an article titled 10 Hottest Sex Scenes in Literature by Jef With One F. In the article, Jef With One F shares ten books that contain steamy sex scenes. I haven't read any of the recommended books mentioned, but if you're looking into dipping you're big toe into the erotica scene, maybe the ones mentioned are for you.

Board Games For Book Lovers!?!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night Board Game

Wow, here are some unique board games for book lovers!!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night is a board game for people who love to read!

According to the website from the makers of the It Was a Dark and Stormy Night board game, it states the following about their product:

You and your friends will have fun—and some great conversation—testing your book smarts. Just listen to the opening line or two from a book and identify its title or author. It’s that easy…and that challenging!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night covers everything from novels to poetry, from mysteries to children’s books, from science fiction to books made into movies, and six other categories. You’ll know more than you think, and you’ll get introduced to some great new reads along the way!

Trivial Pursuit Book Lover's Edition

Also, checkout Hasbro's Trivial Pursuit Book Lover's Edition. I haven't played Trivial Pursuit in a very long time! I've never even heard of the Book Lover's Edition of Trivial Pursuit, but it does sound like fun to play. 

So, if you like reading books and playing board games, then both of these games may be the perfect fit for you! Have fun & game on!!

Until my next blog post, happy reading! Or should I say, happy playing?

I Won!!! I Won!! How Exciting!!

I'm an active member of Bookcrossing and have been a member for a number of years now. Earlier this year, in June, another Bookcrosser hosted the International Audiobook Sweepstakes. 

I thought this sounded like a fun sweepstakes to enter, so I decided to join along with other Bookcrossers from around the world to see if I would be selected as the winner of this sweepstakes, as I enjoy listening to audiobooks. If I didn't win, then c'est la vie, it wasn't meant to be and I'd happily send along an audiobook to the winner!

To my surprise and delight, I won the International Audiobooks Sweepstakes. I've received many audiobooks from other Bookcrossing members who live within the USA and abroad. 

I'm so grateful for the generosity of my fellow Bookcrossers! I've received approximately seventeen audiobooks in all thus far and am looking forward to listening to them.

In a couple of months, I look forward to hosting the next round of the International Audiobooks Sweepstakes on Bookcrossing.

Kindlegraph

Do you use an electronic reading device to read books? Have you ever wished you were able to have the author autograph your copy of their e-book for you, along with a personalized inscription? 

Well, wish no longer, because now you can have your dream fulfilled in the form of a Kindlegraph!! 

So, what's a Kindlegraph, you ask? According to the "About" page on the Kindlegraph website, it states that the "Kindlegraph lets authors send personalized inscriptions and signatures ("kindlegraphs") directly to the electronic reading devices of their fans." Pretty cool stuff, right?

To learn more about the Kindlegraph, checkout their website by clicking on the link above. Also, view the following YouTube video of Evan Jacobs, the creator of Kindlegraph, talk about his creation! 

Bookish Quote of the Day

"If I was a book, I would like to be a library book, so I would be taken home by all different sorts of kids." Cornelia Funke

10 Bookstores with Cats as Mascots!!

Gotta love independent bookstores with cats as mascots! Checkout Miss Cellania's post on Mental Floss titled 10 Excellent Bookstore Cats to see which cats made the shortlist!

Incidentally, Spike, cat number six on Miss Cellania's list of 10 Excellent Bookstore Cats, was recently named 'Cat of the Year' at Book Expo America. See my previous post for more details.

Bookstore Cat Wins 'Cat of the Year" Award

Cats Rule! In an article for KPLR in St. Louis titled,  Bookstore Cat is Given Top Honors by Patrick Clark, Mr. Clark writes the following:

It’s not the year of the cat, but this is the cat of the year. Left Bank Books mascot mouser Spike is heads and tails above the competition.   He was recently named bookstore cat of the year at Book Expo America.

Gotta love bookstore mascots!! I've seen a cat or two as mascots in my day and I love them. Cats, or any cute animal for that matter, makes visiting bookstores that much more fun. 

Click on above link to read the full story and view a brief video news clip about Spike!

Latte 101 Coffee House & Official Bookcrossing Zone!

Latte 101 Coffee House in Ventura, California!

I've been visiting the Latte 101 Coffee House in Ventura, California off and on since the summer of 2008. 

It's a charming coffee house located in your typical strip mall. The ambiance is warm and friendly. The staff is also friendly and they make awesome beverages... Everything from smoothies, iced blended drinks and your run of the mill espresso beverages. Latte 101 even has pastries for your eating pleasure. Plus, I enjoy the board games they have on hand to play during one's visit and free wifi!

Best of all, Latte 101 is also the location of an Official Bookcrossing Zone (OBCZ)!! There is a tall, black unit lined with several bookshelves inside Latte 101. Just turn right after you enter Latte 101 and you'll see plenty of books lining the bookshelves, making this a well stocked OBCZ. 

There use to be regular Bookcrossing monthly meet-ups at Latte 101, but I haven't seen one there in a while. So, I wonder if they're still going on? Bookcrossing meet-ups are a great way to meet other avid readers to discuss the books you've read or would like to read and also exchange books!

Last weekend, I left thirteen books registered on Bookcrossing on the bookshelves at Latte 101 and came home with three cozy mystery novels. 

Before I left Latte 101, I ordered a hot, spicy chai tea latte, which is one of my favorite drinks to enjoy at Latte 101.

Until my next post, happy reading!

My Latest Book Adventure!!

Little Free Library

This past weekend, I visited my very first Little Free Library in Ventura, California with my hubby!! It was a fun and awesome experience to find this cute Little Free Library in a charming Ventura neighborhood. 

I'm posting two photographs of this extremely cute, little free library box, that I discovered planted at the edge of someone's residential property. 

This particular little free library is well maintained and nicely decorated. It was also filled with a nice selection of paperback books in almost new condition. Most of the books were children's books, but there were some books for adults. I ended up leaving two books registered on Bookcrossing inside the little free library and taking two books to read at my leisure. 

Little Free Library

I'm hoping that whomever finds and reads the two books I left inside the little free library will also become a member of Bookcrossing and make a journal entry for both books. It'll be exciting to see where these books travel.

For more information about the Little Free Library, please click on the above link. Until my next blog post, happy reading!!

Anne Rice Re-Releases Her "Sleeping Beauty" Erotica Trilogy

Thirty years before the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy made it big, Anne Rice had published her own erotica trilogy under the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure. Now Rice's Sleeping Beauty trilogy --- The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty’s Punishment and Beauty’s Release is being re-released.

CBC News has published an article titled Anne Rice re-releases her erotic trilogy. In the CBC News article, it states the following:

Rice said she’d begun reading the Fifty Shades of Grey novels and speculated they are seeing a such popularity because women feel more comfortable expressing a wider range of sexuality now than they did 30 years ago.

“I think people are much more open and frank about this kind of fiction because they feel empowered,” she said.

Click on the above link to read the full story and listen to a 17 minute and 42 second audio interview of Anne Rice talking about her erotica trilogy.

I've not read either the Sleeping Beauty trilogy or the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Has anyone else read either trilogy and if so, what did you think about the trilogy? 

Frankly, I didn't even know Anne Rice wrote an erotica trilogy!!

35 Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

I rarely visit the Mental Floss website, but I am glad that I recently did as I came across a good article by Lucas Reilly titled 35 Modern Words Recently Added to the Dictionary. I was familiar with most of the newly added words to dictionary. Although, I hadn't heard of Crunk (adj): Very excited or full of energy, until I'd read the above mentioned article.

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

“Books may well be the only true magic.” Alice Hoffman

Will These 10 Pickup Lines For Flirting At The Bookstore Work For You?

I came across the following article, 10 Pickup Lines For Flirting At The Bookstore by Chelsea Aaron, on The Date Report website.

I'm married (happily --- by the way), but I wonder if the pick up lines in Chelsea Aaron's article would really work? If I was single, I can't imagine the following pick up line, “I see that you can read. That shit’s hot.”, working on me. 

What's the best pick up line you've ever been told? Have you ever been hit on at a bookstore? All the pick up lines I've been told over the years were completely cheesy..... I've never been hit on in a bookstore before.

I've Been Decluttering My Reading List!!

It's been a week since I've read and posted an article here on my blog titled Declutter the Reading List. This article really struck a cord with me. Since then, I've gone through my Mount Everest sized stack of books to be read and downsized my reading list! I passed along 33 books last month and have another 17 books set aside to be passed along shortly. It feels good to have scaled down my reading list as I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of books I had waiting to be read.  

Don't get me wrong, I love being surrounded by books. However, there were plenty of books I had been given that I didn't have the desire/interest to read. Or books I had picked up for myself that I was no longer interested in reading as tastes change over time. So, it was time to move these books along and keep only those I want to read. 

I still have a boat load of books to read, so I'll be focusing on reading more of these books first before buying anymore books for myself. It's been easy to buy books for 50 cents to 2 dollars at our local Friends of the Library Used Bookstore in town as the books are inexpensive and the money helps support local libraries... But, I need to be more selective about my reading choices to avoid an out of control reading list!

Reading in Bed

I came across an article in the Los Angeles Times titled Reading in bed: a duvet cover as bedtime story by Carolyn Kellogg, which put a whole new spin on reading in bed! Ms. Kellogg writes the following in her article:

It started as a design project. Tiago da Fonseca, whose work can be found at Moss, has created a duvet cover called Bedtime Stories. It's bedding, printed with a story. Which makes so much sense.

This is a particularly sophisticated duvet cover. Layered like the pages of a book, it can be turned as it is read -- or for warmth. On his website, da Fonseca explains it this way: "'Bedtime Stories' completely involves the reader in the story and each page adds or removes a layer of comfort to each side of the bed – more pages makes you warmer and comfier, hopefully guiding you and your partner into a pleasant night’s sleep.... It is even possible to remove pages, just like you would do in a book (if you dare!)."

But what kind of story will you fall asleep under? How about a fairy tale.

I'm not sure I'd want this duvet cover on my bed, but it is an interesting concept for sure!