Bookish Quote of the Day!!

"Plant trees. They give us two of the most crucial elements for our survival: oxygen and books." A. Whitney Brown

What is Bookshout!?

It's amazing to me all the social networking websites that keep popping up. I've recently come across BookShout!, which sounds like another interesting way to connect with other readers to discuss books.
 
According to the BookShout! website:

BookShout! is a social reading application where users can create reading circles, share reading notes, and invite others to join in on reading a particular book. BookShout! is a cross platform application which runs on iOS, Web, and Android. The user can save and access notes and books across each platform.

 Watch the following video about BookShout!

Anyone out there using BookShout!? How do you like using the BookShout! application? 

Hay-On-Wye is the Bibliophiles' Mecca

I came across an article on Oddity Central website titled Hay-on-Wye – The Bibliophiles’ Mecca by Spooky. The following is a quote from the article by Spooky:

Home to the largest secondhand bookstore in the world, Hay-on-Wye is more than just a little town on the border between England and Wales, it’s book heaven on Earth.

The history of Hay-on-Wye as the “town of books” began on Fools’ Day of 1977, when during a bold publicity stunt, bibliophile Richard Booth announced the independence of Hay-on-Wye as a kingdom of books, with him as the monarch. Ambassadors were sent to the International Court of Justice, in Hague, and a rowing gunboat started patrolling on the river Wye. Since then, he managed to establish a healthy tourism industry based on books, and thousands of visitors come to Hay-on-Wye every year, to look for whatever books they need.

I now want to visit the town of Hay-On-Wye! I love visiting bookstores so, why not make a visit to visit to the largest secondhand bookstore in the world??

Click on the above link to checkout the pictures of the bookstores!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Want to Reread

Normally, I'm not a person who rereads books or at least not very often. However, every once in a while I find myself wanting to reread a book I read years ago that was particular well written and struck a cord with me.

The following is my top ten list of books I'd like to reread:

1. The Master and Margarita by Mikail Bulgakov
2. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
3. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
5. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
7. Grayson by Lynne Cox
8. Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
9. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
10. Queenie by Micheal Korda

So, which books do you want to reread? Give me your top ten list!

Bookish Quote of the Day!

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it." J.D. Salinger

Yuletide Yarns by Gail MacMillan

I loved reading Yuletide Yarns by Gail MacMillan last year around the holiday season!

Yuletide Yarns is filled with several, holiday themed short stories, and many of the stories feature animals in them. The stories contained within Yuletide Yarns will appeal to a wide audience of all ages! 

So, if your looking for a quick holiday read this season to delight the senses, then this may be the book for you!

Blame It On The Mistletoe by Lily Graison

Book Cover

Blame It On The Mistletoe by Lily Graison is another fun, fast, holiday romance, short story filled with charm that will warm the soul. 

Here's a synopsis of Blame It On The Mistletoe from Lily Graison's website:

When Macy Carter’s parents order her to bring her live-in boyfriend Sean home with her for Christmas she has no idea that her little white lie is just about to snowball into a fabrication of monstrous proportions. Sean isn’t her boyfriend, he’s her boss. Now she has to reveal the lie she’s been telling her family for the past two years or hastily concoct an elaborate ruse to fool them instead.
When Macy tells Sean Mathis of her predicament he does what any gentleman would - he laughs and then agrees to help her out. Little does he know that one misplaced word in their little scheme will backfire and land them both in the hot-seat.

Secluded in the mountains, surrounded by snow and good will, Sean and Macy can’t help looking like the perfect couple. So perfect that the family decides a Christmas wedding will make it a holiday none of them would ever forget!

If you're a sucker for fun romance stories with a happy ending, then you'll enjoy reading Blame It On The Mistletoe!! Blame It On The Mistletoe is approximately 68 pages in length and I was able to download it for free from Amazon earlier this year to my iPad.

Vampire For Christmas by Felicity Heaton

Vampire For Christmas by Felicity Heaton is yet another holiday themed novella I've read this year just in time for the start of the holiday season. Vampire For Christmas is a steamy paranormal romance.

I enjoy the holiday season, but I wanted to move away from traditional holiday tales and read something slightly different this season. I felt that Vampire For Christmas by Felicity Heaton was off the beaten path as this novel combines the romance, Christmas and vampire genres together.

The basic plot summary for Vampire For Christmas involves Shannon, a demon hunter with the undisclosed agency, who is working her last assignment with Rafe, a reformed vampire, before being transferred to a new location and working solo assignments as a demon hunter. Together Shannon and Rafe have been perfect partners in saving humankind from the demons that have plagued the mankind. Together they keep the world safe.

Shannon can hardly wait to complete her last assignment with Rafe and move on with her life. She can't stand vampires or any other type of demons, which is why she hunts them down. Even though Rafe is a reformed Vampire, Shannon still doesn't trust him. 

Rafe has fallen in love with Shannon during the two years they've been demon hunting partners. Yet Rafe has been unable to share his feelings with Shannon and he realizes he must do so soon or risk losing her forever. 

Will Rafe share his feelings of love with Shannon before it is too late? If so, will Shannon reciprocate his feelings? Or will her past continue to haunt her and keep her from falling in love with a good man despite the fact he's a vampire?

Merrie Axemas by M. R. Sellers

I enjoyed reading Merrie Axemas by M. R. Sellers. It was a free download from Amazon that I was able to read on my iPad.

Merrie Axemas is described on the author's website as:

A creepy, holiday-themed, paranormal thriller novella.

Little Merrie Callahan is all grown up now.
She doesn’t believe in Santa anymore.
But she still has an axe to grind with the man in the red suit…

And, for FBI Special Agent Constance Mandalay, the Christmas Holiday will never be the same again.

Something happened in Hulis, Missouri on Christmas Day 1975, and for the residents of the small town it changed the season forever. Now, it’s happening again. For FBI Special Agent Constance Mandalay what starts out as a perplexing case turns into a waking nightmare, and the Christmas Holiday will never be the same for her again.

I don't usually read many 'paranormal thrillers', but had decided to expand my horizons by reading more books from different genres. I'm glad that I chose this particular novella as it is well written and I can see why it has received so many good reviews on Amazon's website. 

I enjoyed the fact that Merrie Axemas is a nontraditional holiday themed work of fiction, which made it more intriguing to read. Even though, this novella is billed as a 'paranormal thriller', I'd also think it would fall into the horror genre as well.

I also understand that Merrie Axemas is a shorter version of M. R. Sellars full length novel, In The Bleak Midwinter, which I look forward to reading as well.

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

"A library is thought in cold storage." Herbert Samuel

Bah, Humbug! by Heather Horrocks

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is two days away... Plus, Christmas is right around the corner and will be here before we know it!  

Are you looking for a feel good novel to get you in the Christmas spirit? Then I may have just the book for you to put you in the holiday mood and it's called Bah, Humbug! by Heather Horrocks. Bah, Humbug! is described as a romantic comedy Christmas novella and it is about 100 pages in length. It's an ebook that you may download from Amazon.com. Plus, Bah, Humbug! is a fun, fast, feel good read with an entertaining storyline and enjoyable characters.

The following is a product description of Bah, Humbug! that I found on Amazon:

Lexi Anderson is an up-and-coming, Martha Stewart-type TV hostess whose two kids love the Jared Strong adventure novels, which happen to be written by their new neighbor, Kyle Miller.

For the first time in his writing career, Kyle has writer’s block--until he sees the snowman on his lawn and realizes it’s the perfect solution to his plot problem. He digs in and discovers two things: one, his villain’s weapon will fit inside a snowman's body, and two, this particular snowman was supposed to be the backdrop for Lexi’s next show.

From this improbable beginning comes friendship, but can there be a happy ending for a woman who is afraid to get close again and a man who has shadows from his childhood?

Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.

I hope you find this book to be a wonderful read like I did!! Happy reading until my next post!!

Happy International Men's Day!!

International Men’s Day "is annually held on November 19 to improve gender relations and promote unity." 

Since I spotlighted International Women's Day earlier this year on March 8th, I think it only fair that I also spotlight International Men's Day as well. 

I'd like to promote my favorite male authors as a tribute to the many authors who are men out there that have written books I've enjoyed reading over the years!

J. D. Salinger
Jean de Brunhoff
Jerry Spinelli
John Steinbeck
Jules Verne
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Lermontov
Robert Ludlum 

Please share your favorite male authors in celebration of International Men's Day today.  

Have a great day celebrating International Men's Day

Holiday Reading

With the holiday season upon us, do you find much time for reading during this time of year? I still continue reading books this time of year. I just don't have as much time to devote to reading as I would like due to the busyness of the holiday season.

Do you make any special attempt to read holiday themed books during the holiday season? I have some holiday novels, novellas and short stories lined up to read this season. I'll just have to wait and see how many of them I'll be able to read during this busy time of year.

Until my next post, happy holidays to all!

Holiday Gift Ideas For Book Lovers

It Was a Dark & Stormy Night

The holiday season is upon us and this has me thinking about gift giving for the book lover in one's life. Some of the gift giving options are obvious and straight forward, like giving a specific book that is on a book lover's wishlist or a gift card to a bookstore for that avid reader to enjoy picking out their next reading adventure!

But what other book related items make for that special holiday gift for that book lover in your life? Below is a short list of items to fit all budgets.

Personalized Bookplates

Personalized bookplates make great gifts.

Cafepress has many cute t-shirts that pertain to reading.

Out of Print Tee

Out of Print Clothing has t-shirts printed with vintage book covers.

Board games for book lovers like Trivial Pursuit Book Lover's Edition or It Was a Dark and Stormy Night Board Game.

An eReader, like the Kindle from Amazon or the Nook from Barnes & Noble.

Fabric Book Covers

Book covers for real books or eReaders is another great gift idea for the book lover in your life.

If you're good at making crafts, there are various DIY book themed craft projects; like book themed earrings. purses made from books, according style books, and so on! The choices of DIY book themed projects is endless!!

Which book related gift items do you enjoy giving and receiving during the holiday season?

Friday Finds #4

Friday Finds is a book meme hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. It’s a chance to share and show off the books you discovered during the week and would like to add to your reading list. Or feature the books you've actually purchased throughout the week and have added to your to be read pile!

This week I've added the following book to my wishlist:
  
The Divinity of Dogs: True Stories of Miracles Inspired by Man's Best Friend by Jennifer Skiff

I'm a dog lover, so couldn't resist adding this lovely hardback book about man's best friend to my wishlist!! 

The online reviews of this book sound awesome, so I look forward to reading this book in the future.

Sex & World Peace by Valerie M. Hudson

What Does Sex Have to Do with World Peace? Good question, I wondered the exact same thing when I came across the Ms. Magazine Blog post with the title What Does Sex Have to Do with World Peace? by Soroya Chemaly.

Apparently, sex has a lot to do with world peace. Here's a quote from Soroya Chemaly's article:

Last year, a quiet but powerful book, Sex and World Peace, was published by an interdisciplinary group of researchers and scholars. The authors, Valerie M. Hudson, Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill, Mary Caprioli and Chad F. Emmett, set out to demonstrate and document the complex but evident relationship between how girls and women are treated and the security of the states in which they live. The authors took the question, “How does a nation’s security affect the status of its women?” and asked instead, “Does the status of women affect a nation’s security?” The answer was a resounding, “Yes!” And their results and recommendations are startling in their power and clarity. 

The book’s conclusions are compellingly derived from the authors’ construction and use of the WomanSTATS project and database, which contains more than 148,000 data points and includes more than 375 variables for 175 countries. It is the most comprehensive bank of data on the status of women in the world today, including information about everything from domestic violence, maternal mortality and rape to education and women’s political participation

Soroya Chemaly interviewed author Valerie Hudson about her book Sex & World Peace. Click on What Does Sex Have to Do with World Peace? to read the interview.
 
Until my next post, happy reading!

Boo, the World's Cutest Dog!!

Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog

I must admit that I am partial to the Pomeranian breed of dogs as we have two of our own Pomeranians, Roxy & Koko. 

Boo: Little Dog in the Big City

When I learned about Boo, The World's Cutest Dog, who is also a Pomeranian, I couldn't help but fall in love with him too!

Boo is quite the celebrity as he has his own Facebook fan page, two books out on the market, a calender, and even a stuffed animal in his likeness!

I have not purchased the two hardback books on the market about Boo yet, but will be adding both Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog and Boo: Little Dog in the Big City to my holiday wishlist this year!

Check out the following cute YouTube Video of Boo!

Yes, Boo is very cute!! It's wonderful to see a Pomeranian in the spotlight.

Do You Read Books While On Vacation?

Choosing to bring a book to read while I'm on vacation depends on several factors --- Like how long I'm going to be on vacation, the itinerary of my vacation, and so on. 

If I take a mini vacation somewhere, like a long weekend getaway with my hubby, I may not bring a book with me at all to read as I won't have the time for it. Or I may only take an audiobook to enjoy on the car trip to and from our destination.

If I go on a longer vacation, I'll usually bring a book or maybe two along with me to read depending on our itinerary. I usually manage to accomplish some reading while waiting at the airport to board our flight or during the flight itself. 

Then enjoy some reading at our destination if it's a relaxing vacation or as time permits. Otherwise if we have a lot planned during our vacation, then I won't have time for reading much, if at all.

Do you read books while on vacation?

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

"To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations -- such is a pleasure beyond compare." - Kenko Yoshida

Arctic Hero by Catherine Johnson

I listened to the audiobook version of Arctic Hero by Catherine Johnson. I enjoyed listening to the true story of Matthew Henson, an African-American explorer, and his journey to become the co-discovery of the North Pole, along with American explorer Robert Peary, in 1909.

Matthew Henson

I'd never heard of Matthew Henson until listening to the story of his life in Arctic Hero. What a wonderfully told story about perseverance, overcoming adversity and racial inequality. Matthew Henson is quite a hero.

The reader of this audiobook did an awesome job of reading Arctic Hero, which engaged the listener.

A big thank you to Catherine Johnson for writing a biography of Matthew Henson and sharing his story with the world.

Books Begging to Be Finished!!

Do you have books in your collection that you've started reading, but haven't yet finished reading? 

I have a short stack of books that I began reading at various points in time over the past couple of years and have yet to finish reading. The book titles are as follows:

Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen

Fish on Friday by Brian M. Fagan

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Butterflies of Grand Canyon by Margaret Erhart
Room by Emma Donoghue

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy reading these books at the time. Quite the contrary. I guess you could say that it just wasn't the right time to be reading them due to various things that come up in life. 

Sometimes you lose the momentum to continue reading where you left off in a book. This is what happened to me, so I found myself moving onto other books. 

Now, I'm trying to decide what to do with regards to reading the above mentioned books. Do I start reading them from the beginning all over again? Or, do I continue where I left off, hoping that I can pick up the storyline and plot details?

Friday Finds #3

Friday Finds is a book meme hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. It’s a chance to share and show off the books you discovered during the week and would like to add to your reading list. Or simply feature the books you've actually purchased throughout the week and have added to your to be read pile!

 This week, I've added a coffee table book to my wishlist. The book is titled Dali's Mustache by Salvador Dali & Philippe Halsman.

I think Salvador Dali's art work is very cool! I've enjoyed his art work for over 20 years now ever since taking an art appreciation class in college.

In 2008, I even had the opportunity to visit the Dali Museum in St. Petersberg, Florida with my husband. What a wonderful experience to see his original art work in person verses photographs in a book! A docent guided tour of the collection, gave me a whole new perspective on Salvador Dali's talent.

I am also slowly becoming familiar with famed photographer,
Philippe Halsman's work.

So, which new books have you added to your wishlist or to be read pile?

The BFG by Roald Dahl

As a youngster, I had enjoyed reading Roald Dahl's novels, James & the Giant Peach and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

So, when I had received the audiobook version of The BFG by Roald Dahl from a fellow Bookcrosser, I looked forward to listening to it.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to The BFG!! It's an amazing story --- well written, fun and engaging! The audiobook dramatization of this children's novel was superb and only enhanced the already wonderful story.

The following is an Amazon Review of The BFG:

Evidently not even Roald Dahl could resist the acronym craze of the early eighties. BFG? Bellowing ferret-faced golfer? Backstabbing fairy godmother? Oh, oh ... Big Friendly Giant! This BFG doesn't seem all that F at first as he creeps down a London street, snatches little Sophie out of her bed, and bounds away with her to giant land. And he's not really all that B when compared with his evil, carnivorous brethren, who bully him for being such an oddball runt. After all, he eats only disgusting snozzcumbers, and while the other Gs are snacking on little boys and girls, he's blowing happy dreams in through their windows. What kind of way is that for a G to behave? The BFG is one of Dahl's most lovable character creations. Whether galloping off with Sophie nestled into the soft skin of his ear to capture dreams as though they were exotic butterflies; speaking his delightful, jumbled, squib-fangled patois; or whizzpopping for the Queen, he leaves an indelible impression of bigheartedness.  

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Jasinda Wilder -- Author Spotlight!

Book 1

I've recently become acquainted with the writing of author, Jasinda Wilder. I've read the first three  short stories in Ms. Wilder's 'Big Girls Do It' series:

Big Girls Do It Better, Big Girls Do It Wetter, and Big Girls Do It Wilder. 

There's even a 4th short stories in this erotica series titles Big Girls Do It On Top, which I have yet to read. All 4 short stories are eBooks and may be purchased through the Amazon website individually or all together as a boxed set.

Book 2

As I'm sure you've guessed by the title, the lead character, Anna, is a plus sized woman. She's a disc jockey with an amazing voice who finds the hottie of her dreams, Chase (aka Mr. Sexypants), while working as as a disc jockey at a club with her DJ business partner, Jeff. Anna hooks up with Chase in book #1 for quite a hot romance.

Book 3

In book #2, Anna hooks up with her DJ partner, Jeff, after Chase leaves for New York to record a record with his band. 

Jeff has had a crush on Anna forever and the two of them connect in 'Big Girls Do It Wetter'.

In book #3, Anna is invited to New York to reunite with Chase, but is only burned by him in the end. Chase becomes a scoundrel in my eyes in the third installment, 'Big Girls Do It Wilder'. 

Book 4

I only wish that Anna hadn't suckered up and gone running back to Chase when it seemed like she had a good thing going with Jeff, her DJ partner in Big Girls Do It Wetter.

I'm looking forward to reading Big Girls Do It On Top in the future.

Until my next post, happy reading! 

Personal Library Kit

Personal Library Kit

The 'Personal Library Kit' is perfect for the bibliophile who enjoys sharing their books with other family members, friends & other book lovers!

I first came across the 'Personal Library Kit' on the Mental Floss's online storefront and is being sold for $14.95. The 'Personal Library Kit' is described as follows:

Revive old-fashioned library circulation techniques for fun and book retention with the Personal Library Kit!

• The perfect gift for the generous reader
• 6 x 7.5 x 1.25 inches; 20 self-adhesive pockets and checkout cards; date stamp and inkpad; pencil

I totally love the idea of the Personal Library Kit!! What a cool novelty item!! Would you use something like this?

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

"A good book is the purest essence of a human soul." - Thomas Carlyle

Coffee Table Books

I don't know about you, but I truly enjoy hardback coffee table books! I don't own many coffee table books, but the ones I do have are true treasures to me. 

I pretty much like the following subjects when it comes to coffee table books: 

Architecture, Cityscapes, Gardens, Art, Fashion, Jewelry, Optical Illusions, and so on.

How about you? Do you like coffee table books? Share with me a few of your favorite coffee books from personal collection!

I own perhaps 10 to 12 coffee table books. I'd say my top three favorites at the moment are as follows:

Iconic Audrey Hepburn

The Audrey Heburn Treasures: Pictures & Mementos from a Life & Style with Purpose by Ellen Erwin and Jessica Z. Diamond.

I wouldn't say that I'm a huge Audrey Hepburn fan, but I've always admired her personal sense of style. 

The Audrey Hepburn Treasures is a large hardback book that I received as a gift from my mother a few years ago for Christmas. This book is set up to look like a scrapbook in many ways. It is filled with pictures of Ms. Hepburn and little mementos, giving this book a more intimate feeling when viewed by the reader. It almost feels like I'm looking at something that Ms. Hepburn may have put together herself.

Beautiful 37 acre estate!

Lotusland: A Photographic Odyssey by Theodore Roosevelt Gardner and William B Dewey is another favorite coffee table book of mine that I've had for years! I love botanical gardens and estates. I've had the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G opportunity to visit Lotusland in Santa Barbara, California multiply times over the years. Lotusland is an unbelievably gorgeous place to visit and unlike any other botanical garden in the world. Words alone cannot describe the beauty of this 37 acre estate created by the late Ganna Walska, a socialite & opera singer, originally from Poland. She devoted some 40 odd years creating several beautiful gardens on her estate. When Ganna Walska passed away in 1984, Lotusland "became a nonprofit botanical garden and opened to the public in 1993." Lotusland: A Photographic Odyssey is a wonderful, visual keepsake of my visit to Lotusland.

National Historic Landmark

Casa Del Herrero: The Romance of Spanish Colonial by Robert Sweeney & Matt Walla is another fabulous coffee table book! Casa Del Herrero is also a phenomenal place to visit and I have been there several times over the years as well. 

Casa Del Herrero was the home of George Fox Steedman and his family. The following quote comes the Casa Del Herrero website:

Few of Montecito’s legendary estates remain essentially unchanged. The Casa del Herrero, designed by architect George Washington Smith and completed in 1925, is noted as one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in America, is included on the National Register of Historic Places, and in January 2009, was designated a National Historic Landmark by then Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.

I hope you enjoyed today's post. I look forward to reading which coffee table books you enjoy! Until my next post, happy reading!!

Library Bars

I've now heard it all!! The library bar is a new and unusual concept to me. I'd never guess that a bar would ever be combined with a library, but in downtown Los Angeles there is a library bar called, what else, The Library Bar! There are also several other library bars in the Los Angeles area as well, like The Wellesbourne and XIV.

See The Library Bar's website for more details by clicking on the link above. 

Or visit the Jetsetta link titled, Library Bars, for the awesome pictures of some of LA's unique library bars!

Friday Finds #2

Friday Finds is a book meme hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. It’s a chance to share and show off the books you discovered during the week and would like to add to your reading list. Or feature the books you've actually purchased throughout the week and have added to your to be read pile!

This week I've added the following book to my wishlist:

The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World by Laura J. Snyder

15 Authors' Epitaphs

I always end up finding some interesting articles to read on the Flavorwire website. I recently found one article written by Emily Temple titled Famous Last Words: 15 Authors’ Epitaphs, in which Temple writes the following:

In this the spookiest of months, we find ourselves occupied with the world’s darker themes, and we got to wondering — what words have sent famous men and women of letters into the great unknown? Or perhaps more precisely, which words were chosen to honor them for eternity? From the tongue-in-cheek to the ponderously serious, from the knightly to the poetic, and even one that doubles as a grave robber’s curse, we’re fascinated by the epitaphs of famous authors, so we’ve collected a few of them here for your shivering pleasure.

Check out the link above to read the last words of some very famous writers! 

Until my next post, happy reading!!