Jodi Picoult Interview

I enjoyed reading an interview with Jodi Picoult in the New York Times called Jodi Picoult: By the Book!! It was enlightening and wonderful to read. I hope you enjoy reading it too. Click on the link above to read it. Until my next post, happy reading!!

Firegirl by Tony Abbott

I recently read Firegirl by Tony Abbott, which is a young adult novel. I enjoyed reading this novel and was riveted by the writing from the start!

Firegirl is told through the perspective of a 7th grade boy named Tom Bender.  I really like Tom Bender's character. He's smart, sensitive, compassionate and is able to convey the feelings he's experiencing in an articulate and credible manner. It's a pleasant experience to discover male characters in novels that display the kind of emotion sensitivity and feelings that Tom Bender's character expresses in Firegirl. 


I don't want to give too much of the story line away, so will leave
the following overview of Firegirl that I found on the Barnes and Noble website:

"This novel may be brief, but it leaves a big impact."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review) 

"Tom's a normal seventh-grader, negotiating a slightly prickly stage in his long friendship with Jeff...The arrival of new girl Jessica Feeney, however, changes everything; Jessica, who is attending a local hospital for treatment, has been badly burned by a fire, and her terrible disfigurement shocks the class into confusion. This isn't the usual book about adjustment to difference; instead, Abbott brilliantly explores the kids' struggle to manage the intrusion of abnormality in their lives...this is a thoughtful exploration of a brief interlude's lasting impact."
-The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

I'm giving Firegirl an overall rating of 8 stars out of 10 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!! 

Awkward Bookseller Moments!!

Buzzfeed has featured an interesting article titled 12 Awkward Bookseller Moments... In the article, it states:

Being a bookseller is a pretty fantastic job, but booksellers are humans and humans can be very, very awkward. Therefore, booksellers can be very, very awkward. Here are 12 Awkward Bookseller Moments. (No booksellers, books, readers, or bears were harmed in the making of this list. Unless you count feeling awkward as being harmed. In which case, yeah, there’s a good amount of that.)

Checkout the awkward bookseller moments by clicking on the link above!! 

Friday Finds # 54

Friday Finds is a book meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Friday Finds is a chance to share and show off the books you discovered during the week and would like to add to your reading list...

Or a place to simply feature the books you've actually purchased throughout the week and have added to your to be read pile!

The following are my book finds for this week:

1. Lovestruck in London by Rachel Schurig
2. The Potluck Club by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson
3. Double Espresso by Anthony Bruno
4. The Keeper of Dawn by J. B. Hickman
5. The Bad Girls' Club by Kathryn O'Halloran

2014 Nobel Prize for Literature Goes to French Writer Patrick Modiano!

Congratulations are in order for French writer Patrick Modiano! Frankly, I'd never heard of him before today. Have you? I'm now curious about his published works.

In an article I discovered on The Wall Street Journal's website titled, Patrick Modiano Wins Nobel Prize in Literature by Anna Russell and Anna Molin, I read the following:

STOCKHOLM—French author Patrick Modiano won the 2014 Nobel Prize for literature on Thursday, bringing international attention to an author known for his elegant and spare examination of memory, identity and loss. 

The 69-year-old Paris resident received the award from the Swedish Academy in Stockholm “for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation.” 

Mr. Modiano said he was aware that his name featured among potential contenders but was bowled over by the announcement.

“It felt like looking at a double, as if we were celebrating somebody who had my name,” the author told a packed news conference at his publisher’s offices. “I didn’t expect it at all.”

Click on the above link to read the full story. Until my next post, happy reading!! 

Love Music? New Music Related Books in Time For Fall!

I noticed that Parade Magazine had an article titled 17 Great New Music Books for Fall... I've been listening to a lot more music lately, so this article appealed to me!! The above article mentioned that "A bevy of great books by and about musicians is hitting store shelves this fall." 

I definitely wanted to check out which books made this list of music books coming out this Fall!! The Universal Tone by Carlos Santana and The Beat of My Own Drum by Sheila E. sound the most appealing ones to read.

Songs That Reference Books!

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of music. I came across an article on Shortlist.Com titled 25 SONGS THAT REFERENCE BOOKS. In the article, it says:

Songwriting is a competitive business, with each artist keen to prove that they're more knowledgeable and artistic than their peers. So what better way to do that than to name check, or draw inspiration from, a respected book? 

In addition, usefully, it means that you don't have to think too much about the lyrics - so that's half your job done already. 

We've taken a look at 25 excellent examples where the world of music has been inspired by the world of literature. Cross-art-pollination ahoy.

Intrigued by the article's title, I decided to check out which 25 songs reference books!!

DIY Projects Using Old Books!!

Are you a crafty type of person??? Do you love books like me??? Then perhaps you might enjoy re-purposing old books and turning them into the following nifty DIY Projects Using Old Books!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

"These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice...and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart. "

Gilbert Highet

Friday Finds # 53

Friday Finds is a book meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Friday Finds is a chance to share and show off the books you discovered during the week and would like to add to your reading list...

Or a place to simply feature the books you've actually purchased throughout the week and have added to your to be read pile!

I came away with the following two audiobooks this week:

1. Silent Night & All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark

2. Roadside Crosses by Jeffrey Deaver

Plus the following four eBooks from Amazon:

3. Letters From Alacatraz by Michael Esslinger

4. Mad Tinker's Daughter by J. S. Morin

5. All Saints' Secret by Nicole Loughan

6. The Memory Closet by Ninie Hammon

Which books have you added to your reading pile or reading wishlist this week?