The Weirdest Libraries Around the World

I love that libraries come in all shapes and sizes! I discovered an article on Electric Lit's website titled, The Weirdest Libraries Around the World by Brianne Alphonso. In the article, Brianne Alphonso wrote the following:

Working in a small community library involves a lot of smearing disinfectant on glitter-speckled toys in the children’s section, but you meet a bunch of people too. When not disinfecting, I used to help visitors track down texts, locate online resources, and sign up for mailing lists. There was always someone looking for a recommendation or another person eager to give one. Even kids got hyped up pointing out their favorite princesses or dragons on the pages of picture books. The best part of libraries are the people, and seeing how access to books and comfy seating can make them open up to one another made the toy wiping worth it. 

Bookstores are great, especially the independent bookstores fighting the good fight against their online counterpart, but they aren’t always the most viable option for book lovers on a budget. What are you supposed to do when four books carry your total over $100? It’s hard to read when your electricity gets cut off for an overdue bill. That’s why I can’t recommend enough getting a card for your local library, and supporting library systems wherever you go. 

To promote easy access to literature, here are a handful of fantastically unconventional book borrowing systems from around the world. Some grow from their surrounding communities. Others rely on trade-ins, donations, or customers, but each one has found its own unconventional approach to free reading.

I've seen a few pictures of these unique libraries in pictures online before... Like the library vending machines, the war tank, little free libraries, and a few of the others mentioned in the above article. 

Which libraries did you find the most intriguing mentioned in the article above?

Viet Thanh Nguyen & Maxine Hong Kingston in Conversation

Another wonderful video featuring Viet Thanh Nguyen & Maxine Hong Kingston in conversation. It was a very enlightening conversation between the two of them. I learned a lot of information watching this interview, which is almost 30 minutes in length.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Last week, I read the hardback edition of Dear Martin by Nic Stone, which is a young adult novel that I'd been looking forward to reading for awhile. I finally read it last week during the Bout of Books 23 Read-A-Thon and I am very glad I did.

What attracted me to this novel was the topic of racism as seen through the eyes of a teenage, African American male named Justyce McAllister. Justyce is a great kid, an honor student attending an elite preparatory school on a scholarship, and has been excepted into Yale University. But Justyce personally encounters racial profiling and brutality by two different cops on two different occasions. One event after another happens, which leaves Justyce trying to makes sense of what has happened to him as well as processing other relevant events going on in the world around him. 

Justyce decides to take on the personal task of processing what's been going on by looking at the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. Justyce writes a series of letters to Martin Luther King Jr. inside a notebook he keeps as he tries to decide for himself how MLK Jr. would handle what's going on in his life and how to respond to what's going on in current events today.

Although I enjoyed reading Dear Martin by Nic Stone, I felt like this novel didn't live up to the hype for me. I think Nic Stone addresses some really hot topics that are very relevant in today's world with regards to racism and racial profiling. For the most part, I thought Ms. Stone presented the material well in her novel, but at times I felt like the way in which the material/events/characters were presented felt a tad cliched. I also wish the letters that Justyce had written to MLK Jr. had been a bit more substantial... Like perhaps more of Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophies had been expounded upon and shared within the letters. Additionally, I felt like the novel's ending was wrapped up too quickly and too neatly for me.

The following is a summary for Dear Martin by Nic Stone from Amazon:

Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. 

Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out. 

Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.

I am giving Dear Martin by Nic Stone a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Top Ten Tuesday - Back to School/Learning Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Aside from reading and blogging, my other hobby (aka love in life) is knitting!! I'm an advanced beginner and still have so much to learn about knitting. Below is a list of 10 books I want to read and use with regards to improving my knitting skills. I even love knitting while listening to audiobooks... What a great way to combine my favorite hobbies!

1. Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook by Debbie Stoller
2. The Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe
3. Circular Knitting Workshop: Essential Techniques to Master Knitting in the Round by Margaret Radcliffe
4. Easy Fair Isle Knitting: 26 Projects with a Modern Twist by Martin Storey
5. Increase, Decrease: 99 Step-by-Step Methods; Find the Perfect Technique for Shaping Every Knitting Project by Judith Durant
6. 750 Knitting Stitches: The Ultimate Knit Stitch Bible by Pavilion Books
7. Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd
8. Knit Kimono by Vicki Square
9. Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks by Stephanie Pearl McPhee
10. You Can Knit That: Foolproof Instructions for Fabulous Sweaters by Amy Herzog

Which topics do you want to learn more about?

Bout of Books 23 Wrap Up Post!

I enjoyed participating in Bout of Books 23! I met my reading goals of reading two novels, both of which happened to be young adult novels. I started and finished reading, Turtles All The Way Down by John Green and Dear Martin by Nic Stone. I enjoyed reading both novels. 

I've already reviewed Turtles All The Way Down by John Green on my blog. Tomorrow Dear Martin by Nic Stone will be published.

Additionally, I began listening to the unabridged audio version of Enchantment by Orson Scott Card and am 11% into this fantasy novel so far and look forward to finishing it soon.

I also participated in three of the challenges during Bout of Books 23 last week.

If you participated in Bout of Books 23 last week, how was your week of reading?

Ingrid Rojas Contreras ~ Author Event & Book Signing!

Ingrid Rojas Contreras and me at Rakestraw Books in Danville, California.

Last Thursday evening was date night for my hubby and me. We attended an author event with book signing at one of my favorite local, indie bookstores, Rakestraw Books, in Danville, California.

First time novelist, Ingrid Rojas Contreras was on hand at Rakestraw Books at 7pm to read from her new novel, Fruit of the Drunken Tree and answer questions from audience members. 

There was quite a nice turn out for this event as roughly 27 audience members came to hear Ingrid Rojas Contreras speak at Rakestraw Books. Ingrid Rojas Contreras was a wonderful and engaging speaker! I feel like this particular author event/book signing was one of the best author events/book signings I've  attended this year. I enjoyed learning about the author's life and how she came to write Fruit of the Drunken Tree.

We learned that Ingrid Rojas Contreras is originally from Bogata, Colombia and came to the USA in 2002. She mentioned that it took her 7 years to write Fruit of the Drunken Tree, which is a novel she finished writing in 2008 and then spent time editing before it was published. 

Ingrid Rojas Contreras mentioned she likes writing first thing in the morning. She also gave two really great writing tips to those aspiring to write a book. The first tip was to open a dictionary and randomly choosing a word and then write a short story around that particular word. This works like a quick writing prompt to help you start writing more. Ms. Rojas Contreras also suggested joining a writing group to help gain feedback from other writers on what you write. 

Fruit of the Drunken Tree is a work of fiction and inspired by the author's life. The following is a summary from Amazon:

Seven-year-old Chula and her older sister Cassandra enjoy carefree lives thanks to their gated community in Bogotá, but the threat of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside the neighborhood walls, where the godlike drug lord Pablo Escobar continues to elude authorities and capture the attention of the nation. 

When their mother hires Petrona, a live-in-maid from the city's guerrilla-occupied slum, Chula makes it her mission to understand Petrona's mysterious ways. But Petrona's unusual behavior belies more than shyness. She is a young woman crumbling under the burden of providing for her family as the rip tide of first love pulls her in the opposite direction. As both girls' families scramble to maintain stability amidst the rapidly escalating conflict, Petrona and Chula find themselves entangled in a web of secrecy that will force them both to choose between sacrifice and betrayal. 

Inspired by the author's own life, and told through the alternating perspectives of the willful Chula and the achingly hopeful Petrona, Fruit of the Drunken Tree contrasts two very different, but inextricably linked coming-of-age stories. In lush prose, Rojas Contreras has written a powerful testament to the impossible choices women are often forced to make in the face of violence and the unexpected connections that can blossom out of desperation.

Here's an NPR interview with Ingrid Rojas Contreras. It is an awesome interview that gives more background about the author's life and her new novel.

Have you attended any author events and book signings lately?

Bout of Books 23 Day 6 Recap!

I finished strong yesterday with my reading. I read 112 pages and finished reading Dear Martin by Nic Stone! I'll write and post my review of this young adult novel later in the week. 

As of now, I've already met my reading goals for Bout of Books 23, which was to read 2 novels. So, any additional reading is icing on the cake as they say.

I didn't make any progress with Enchantment by Orson Scott Card yesterday and am hoping to listen to 1-2 hours of this novel today. We'll see how that goes as I am feeling pretty tired today due to restless sleep last night. I had a headache at bed time that kept me awake for quite awhile. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can get some quality listening time in later today.

If you're participating in Bout of Books 23 this past week, how has your week of reading gone? Have you met your reading goals? Have you participated in any of the daily challenges and/or in the Twitter chats?

Best Subscription Boxes For Book Lovers

I've toyed with the idea of subscribing to a book related subscription box, but have never followed through with this idea because there are just to many choices out there for book lovers that sound like good ones!

I recently discovered an article though Buzzfeed's website titled, 19 Of The Best Subscription Boxes For Book Lovers by Samantha Wieder. Click on the above link to check to see which ones made the list for the best subscription boxes for book lovers. 

Wow, all the subscription boxes for book lovers mentioned in the above article sound really good. I could see myself signing up for several of them, which may not be great for my bank account!

If you've tried any subscription boxes for book lovers, please share with me in the comments section below which subscription you tried and your overall thoughts/feelings about it. Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Bout of Books 23 Day 5 Recap!

Here's my latest reading stats for Day 5 of Bout of Books 23.

I read through page 96 of Dear Martin by Nic Stone, which is a young adult novel and good so far. 

I also began listening to the unabridged audio version of Enchantment by Orson Scott Card from Audible. This is my first experience reading anything written by Orson Scott Card. I've been curious about Orson Scott Card's writing as he seems to be a pretty popular writer within the science fiction/fantasy community. 

Enchantment is a fantasy novel. I usually don't read novels from the fantasy genre, but I am liking Enchantment so far. The best way to describe Enchantment is that it's a Slavic retelling of the Sleeping Beauty Fairy Tale. I'm 11% into Enchantment so far. It will be interesting to see how this novel plays out.

Bookish Quote of the Day!!