Oooo, 10 Games For Book Lovers That You'll Want!

Are you a book lover who enjoys playing games? Then you may be interested in reading the following article I discovered on the Bustle website titled 10 Games For Book Lovers Looking For Spice Up Their Next 'Readcation' by Kristian Wilson. In her article, Kristian Wilson writes:

Book nerds aren't exactly known for being the most social people in the world. Find the right games for book lovers, however, and you'll see us spring out of our shells. If you're looking to spice up your book club's next readcation, any of the games on this list would be a perfect choice.

Plenty of Hasbro titles — including Monopoly, Risk, and Clue — have had licensed literary versions available at some point. To save from overwhelming you with these familiar offerings, I've limited their inclusion on this list. Instead, I want to showcase lesser known entertainment here, to give those who haven't been thrilled with traditional board games the chance to find a title that really speaks to them.

Click on the top link to read the full article and discover games that will delight the book lover within in you!

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Top Ten Tuesday -- Top Ten Bookworm Delights

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

The following are my top ten bookworm delights in no particular order of preference:

1. Bookcrossing --- I've been of Bookcrossing since January 2007. I love the community on Bookcrossing! I am active on the Bookcrossing forums. I have enjoyed exchanging books with other avid readers around the world. I've attended Bookcrossing meet-ups and left books at Official Bookcrossing Zones. I've also had fun participating in various book sweepstakes hosted by various Bookcrossers and participated in read-a-longs as well. Plus so much more!

So what is Bookcrossing:

It's the World's Library. It's a smart social networking site. It's a celebration of literature and a place where books get new life. BookCrossing is the act of giving a book a unique identity so, as the book is passed from reader to reader, it can be tracked and thus connecting its readers. There are currently 1,597,913 BookCrossers and 11,434,915 books travelling throughout 132 countries. Our community is changing the world and touching lives one book at a time.

Bookcrossing's mission is "to connect people through books."

2. Visiting Little Free Libraries --- I love the idea that folks out there have created and maintain these cute little libraries within their own community as a way to connect readers with books!

I also love it when various businesses (like coffee houses) or other places within the community offer a free way to exchange books, whether it's a Little Free Library or not.

3. Independent Bookstores --- Need I say more?? I love promoting small businesses over big chain bookstores. Indie bookstores offer great services like staff picks, book signings, book clubs, and so much more! Some of my favorite indie bookstores include Bart's Books in Ojai, California, The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles, California, Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, Elaine's Book Mark - The Paperback Exchange in Escondido, California, The Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, California, and Chaucer's Books in Santa Barbara, California.

4. Book Festivals --- I don't like crowds all that much, but am willing to deal with large crowds of people to attend book festivals. I attended the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley, California last year and enjoyed my time there immensely. I look forward to attending other book festivals in the future.

5. Attending Author Signings/Events --- It's so fabulous to meet favorite authors at author signing events at book festivals and independent bookstores. Last year, I met Judy Blume, Garth Stein, Paula Hawkins, and Amy Stewart.

6. Meeting & Discussing Books with other avid readers! Need I say more?? I really do enjoy discussing books with other readers it's so much fun. Especially, when you inspire another person to read a book they haven't read and they end up liking it as much as you do! Plus, I enjoy reading other books that readers recommend to me. I end up discovering new to me authors that I most likely wouldn't have learned about on my own otherwise.

7. Bookplates --- Although, I don't use them very often (because I read a lot of ebooks and listen to audiobooks from Audible), I do like unique bookplates. One of these days, I'll have to start using bookplates more regularly.

8. Magnetic Bookmarks --- This is another one of those bookworm type of items I really like using. However, due to the fact that I read a lot of ebooks & listen to a lot of audiobooks throughout the year, I rarely use magnetic bookmarks as much as I would like to these days... And when I do use bookmarks, I usually end using whatever bookmark is handy.

9. Cloth Bookcovers --- Yup, love these too! I use to use them more frequently in the days before ebooks and also before I became a huge audiobook listener... I only have cloth book covers for mass market paperbacks, so when I read trade size paperbacks or hardback books then using my cloth bookcovers are out of the question.

10. Just About Anything Book Inspired ---- I love book inspired clothing (I recently bought a pair of leggings with a vintage comic books printed on them), book inspired jewelry, totes, etc.

So, which bookworm delights make you a happy camper?

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

Unabridged Audio Book

This past weekend, I finished listening to the unabridged audio version of The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox and narrated by Tavia Gilbert. Listening time for the The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox is 9 hours, 24 minutes.

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox is the first novel in the paranormal/fantasy 'Demon Slayer' series.

Paranormal/fantasy novels are normally ones I do not gravitate towards all that frequently. This year, however, I have been listening to or reading paranormal novels more than usual (it seems) for me.

After reading the plot summary for The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox, it captured my attention. So, I decided to download this novel from Audible. The narrator, Tavia Gilbert, is really good and the premise of The Accidental Demon Slayer seemed like a good one... But after listening to The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox, I was pretty let down... The novel just didn't do it for me. 

So what didn't I like about The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox? Where should I even begin? 

* The leading character, Lizzie Brown, is really wishy-washy, which is annoying. She seems to lack confidence one moment and then the next moment she's bursting with confidence, which sometimes seems like misplaced confidence. Lizzie appears to be overconfident for reasons that are naive on her part at times.

* Lizzie's talking dog, Pirate, is annoying... Pirate is very, very annoying!

*The entire paranormal demon, witch coven, griffin thing is so unbelievable and unconvincing that it wasn't worth reading about. The author didn't capture my attention or my interest in the paranormal events she wrote about in her novel at all. The storyline and plot weren't that great overall. I almost gave up listening to this novel several times.

* Lizzie was given up for adoption at birth. On her 30th birthday, Lizzie is reunited with her biological grandmother, who happens to be a witch. Lizzie and her grandmother essentially have an 'instant' relationship from the get go that seems unbelievable. Lizzie meets the rest of the coven of witches her grandmother is part of and Lizzie couldn't be more different from this strange group of witches if she tried.

* Lizzie even meets her biological mother during the course of the novel and that was an odd/random event that happened for no reason that I could see.

The only thing that was even remotely good/entertaining in The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox was the 'love scene' between Lizzie and Dimitri Kallinikos (the handsome shape-shifting griffin)... Otherwise, The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox was a complete waste of my time.

The following is the publisher's summary for The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox, which I found on Audible:

A New York Times best seller!

It's never a good day when an ancient demon shows up on your toilet bowl. For Lizzie Brown that's just the beginning. Soon her hyperactive terrier starts talking and her long-lost biker witch Grandma is hurling Smuckers jars filled with magic. Just when she thinks she's seen it all Lizzie learns she's a demon slayer-and all hell is after her. Of course that's not the only thing after her. Dimitri Kallinikos a devastatingly handsome shape-shifting griffin needs Lizzie to slay a demon of his own. But how do you talk a girl you've never met into going straight to the underworld? Lie. And if that doesn't work how dangerous could a little seduction be?

I am giving The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox a rating of 1 stars out of 5 stars. Needless to say, I will not continue reading the rest of the 'Demon Slayer' series by Angie Fox.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Canetti's Bookshop in Orinda, California

Earlier today, my hubby and I enjoyed visiting an independent bookstore in Orinda, California called Canetti's Bookshop. Canetti's Bookshop is a cute and charming used bookstore filled with a wonderful selection of books for sale.

We encountered a friendly staff member on hand during our visit... Plus, we saw a very cute cat sleeping inside Canetti'e Bookshop!! This must mean that Canetti's has a cute cat for a mascot. Gotta love animal mascots at bookstores for sure. I look forward to a return visit to Canetti's Bookshop for my book needs.

Have you visited any good independent bookstores lately?

Until my next post, happy reading!

The Elephant In The Room by Jack Bender

Hardback Book

I won a FREE hardback copy of The Elephant In The Room by Jack Bender through Goodreads Giveaways!! It arrived to my home on April 21, 2016 and I eagerly began reading this book the day I received it in the mail.

Below is my honest, unbiased review of The Elephant In The Room by Jack Bender.

For me, the best part of this book was the beautiful artwork that filled the pages of this hardback book that makes for a great coffee table book. Jack Bender is definitely a really good artist.

The Elephant In The Room by Jack Bender is made up into five stories with pictures as follows:

1. Animal Logic
2. The Urban Acrobats
3. Wanda Woke Up
4. My Wife Was Killed By An Alligator
5. Who We Are

Each story has something to offer... I think Animal Logic may have been my favorite of the five stories written.

I am giving The Elephant In The Room by Jack Bender a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem

Unabridged Audio Version

I am so happy that I listened to the unabridged audio version of My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem and narrated by Gloria Steinem and Debra Winger. Total playing time is 9 hours, 27 minutes.

I missed the opportunity of hearing Gloria Steinem speak at my Alma mater, the University of Iowa, back in the mid 1990s... I didn't attend Ms. Steinem's on campus speaking engagement for reasons I am unable to recall now. I now, of course, wish I had attended the event as I would love to hear Gloria Steinem speak at a live event. 

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem and would highly recommend this nonfiction book to all those readers who want to know more about Gloria Steinem's life, her travels on the road, and what she's learned from her life's travels and from other people she's met along the way.

The following is a book summary of My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem from Audible:

Gloria Steinem - writer, activist, organizer, and one of the most inspiring leaders in the world - now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of how her early years led her to live an on-the-road kind of life, traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change. She reveals the story of her own growth in tandem with the growth of an ongoing movement for equality. This is the story at the heart of My Life on the Road.

I am giving My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars!

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Books About Serial Killers

I like reading nonfiction books. One of the subsets of nonfiction that makes for interesting reading to me, are books about serial killers. I like true crime books and I've always wondered what makes serial killers tick. 

I've read a couple of books about serial killers that I enjoyed as follows: 

The first one being, Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper--Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell. This book wasn't well loved by many reviewers on Amazon, but I enjoyed reading this book. 

I also loved reading The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi. This book is an awesome read. I highly recommend it. 

I also discovered an article on Bustle titled 12 Nonfiction Books About Serial Killers That Will Definitely Keep You Up At Night by Catherine Kovach that provides some intriguing book titles that may be worth the read!

Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou

I've been a huge fan of Maya Angelou for decades now. I have had the great honor of having seen Maya Angelou speak twice before a live audience... She was a phenomenal speaker!!

I recently read the hardback edition of Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou. This book captured my interested due to the unique relationship between mothers and daughters and also because, I wanted to learn more about the relationship Maya Angelou had with her mother.

I thought Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou was overall a good read and would recommend this book to others. My only major complaint is that many of the life events that Maya Angelou discusses in this particular book have also been discussed in her other books. So, I only learned a few new things about her life that I didn't know before, which was disappointing to me as I wasn't expecting so much of Mom & Me & Mom to be a rehash of what I'd already read in her other books.

The following book synopsis for Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou comes from GoodReads:

The story of Maya Angelou’s extraordinary life has been chronicled in her multiple bestselling autobiographies. But now, at last, the legendary author shares the deepest personal story of her life: her relationship with her mother.

For the first time, Angelou reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence—a presence absent during much of Angelou’s early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. The subsequent feelings of abandonment stayed with Angelou for years, but their reunion, a decade later, began a story that has never before been told. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou dramatizes her years reconciling with the mother she preferred to simply call “Lady,” revealing the profound moments that shifted the balance of love and respect between them.

Delving into one of her life’s most rich, rewarding, and fraught relationships, Mom & Me & Mom explores the healing and love that evolved between the two women over the course of their lives, the love that fostered Maya Angelou’s rise from immeasurable depths to reach impossible heights.

I am giving Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey

Unabridged Audio Version

I recently finished listening to the unabridged audio version of The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey and narrated by Finty Williams from Audible. Playing time is 13 hours, 4 minutes.

I read nothing but good reviews about The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey online... And after reading the plot synopsis about this novel, I decided to give this novel a go as the story/plot sounded very intriguing to me.

I should start my review by adding that M. R. Carey is a new to me author. I would also like to add that I am normally not a science fiction fan or a science fiction genre reader as the science fiction genre normally doesn't interest me very much. So, I have mixed feeling about how much I liked or didn't like The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey.

I enjoyed the strong, well developed characters in The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey... As well as the plot and storyline for the most part. The first one-third and the last one third of The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey, were really engaging, but the middle of the novel wasn't as moving for me. 

The following is a plot summary of The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey from Audible:

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her "our little genius". 

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh. 

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad. 

The Girl with All the Gifts is a sensational thriller, perfect for fans of Stephen King, Justin Cronin, and Neil Gaiman.

I am giving The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!