Booking Through Thursday- Library Week

Suggested by Barbara:

I saw that National Library week is coming up in April, and that led to some questions. How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Did you go to the library as a child? Do you have any particular memories of the library? Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries?

I love the topic for this weeks BTT!! Libraries have always been alluring to me. From the young age of 5, libraries have played an important role in my life. My mom started taking my brother and me to our local library when I was in kindergarten. I remember getting into a little bit of trouble with some overdue books. My mom received a phone call because the books were late. She asked me where they were and I lied and told her that I had no idea. She discovered them under my mattress with the library card holder ripped out of each and every one of them!! I remember this moment so vividly because she asked me why I would do that and I told her, "Because I love them so much I wanted to keep them forever." Thus starting my lifelong obsession with books and libraries!!

As a young kid during the summer I would jump on my sparkling purple bike that had a beautiful basket hanging on the front, and peddle furiously to the library almost every day during summer vacation. I started with the Nancy Drew series and gobbled them up like candy. Next I demolished the Hardy Boys, the Black Stallion series, and then I asked the librarian, "Where do I go now?" She pointed me to Trixie Belden, a series that I was totally enthralled with for quite some time. Another fond memory is when I requested a copy of "Forever" by Judy Blume. I was in the 6th grade and when it came in the librarian wanted to know if my mother knew I was reading this book. I said, "Yes, Mrs. Krohn, she knows that I want to read that book and she said it was fine." Well, needless to say, she didn't believe me and called my house only to look shocked when my mom said that I could read anything I wanted. Score one for me!! It didn't keep me from going back to the library though, I understood that Mrs. Krohn was from another era and a book that talked about a girl having sex for the first time was something she just frowned upon. When I reached high school I found a sanctuary in our media center. It was HUGE! and for a small town school that I went to that was really something unheard of. Here I was able to explore and read to my heart's content. After graduating I started Michigan State University in the fall of '87. I was blessed to get a job at the university's library!! This was beyond my dream!! Holy moly, the stacks and stacks and floors and floors of books!! Pure bliss!! I worked in the GIFTS department and I was always in the stacks looking for State's copy of a book that was donated so that we could compare and see which one was in better shape. This would take hours because you still had to use the CARD CATALOG-you know the one, with hundreds of drawers that contained thousands of cards!!

Libraries have always been in my life...when I moved to Indiana one of the first things I did was find out where the library was. I introduced the library to my two sons and they have always enjoyed spending time at one. I'm blessed that here in Michigan I have a fantastic county library with many branches and wonderful people who work there. They know me by name, it's kind've like walking into Cheers! On top of that, I work in a middle school library- what could be a better job for a book-a-holic?

I'll take my libraries any way I can get them, be it sleek and modern or charming and cozy. I always feel at home when I step inside. As for my usage, well if you read any of my Library Loot posts then you'll find that I use my library a LOT!! I couldn't imagine my life without a library.

Booking Through Thursday- Author's Blog: Do you visit?

Suggested by Barbara H.:

A comment on someone else’s BTT question this week inspired this question:

Do you read any author’s blogs? If so, are you looking for information on their next project? On the author personally? Something else?

Yes, I do sometimes. I usually stumble across an author's blog AFTER I've read their book and notice that they have one. I don't intentionally go out looking for them. I've visited Shannon Hale's website just to see what was going on and I noticed that she had a blog. I read a few posts and enjoyed them. I even found a great link that I used in my Graphic Novel Post. I went seeking out Nic Sheff's blog after I finished his book, Tweak. Mainly, because I was curious to see what he looked like now after so many years of hard drug use and to see if he was winning his battle against addiction. I don't visit these blogs on a daily basis but every once in a while I will peek in to see what they're up to. The one blog that I do visit weekly is Laurie Halse Anderson's. Her site is on my blogroll. I just like getting a glimpse into her life, her writing struggles and victories, and to see what book I can eagerly look forward to in the future.

So, I guess you could catergorize my author blog viewing as mainly voyeuristic in nature and simple curiosity.

Booking Through Thursday

Suggested by Simon Thomas:

Have you ever been put off an author’s books after reading a biography of them? Or the reverse - a biography has made you love an author more?

Honestly, I haven't read very many biographies on authors at all so I guess my answer to this question will be short and sweet. The only person that I can recall that I read their book BECAUSE of reading something about them was Daniel Tammet. I watched some show that he was on and thought from the interview that he sounded interesting. I grabbed the book, Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant, from my library and read it in two days. I thought his biography fantastic and so very interesting. His mind and how he perceives things still boggles me to this day. So I guess reading his biography made me love him just a little bit more and I would certainly read another book that he wrote.

Will You Kindle?- Booking Through Thursday

Something a little different today–

First. Go read this great article from Time Magazine: Books Gone Wild: The Digital Age Reshapes Literature. (Well worth reading.)

Second. Stop and think about it for moment. Computers and digital media are changing everything we do these days, whether we realize it or not, and that includes our beloved books.

Third. DISCUSS!

To be different, today, I’d love to see a discussion here, in the comments, rather than scattered amongst all our separate blogs. Because this is an issue that affects ALL of us, and I’d really like to see us hash out the merits and demerits of this evolution.

Tell us what you think. Do you have an ebook reader? Do you read ebooks on your computer? Do you hate the very thought? How do you feel about the fact that book publishing is changing and facing much the same existential dilemma as the music industry upon the creation of MP3s?

Sure, feel free to write about this on your blog, but honestly–I’d love to see an in-depth discussion, and you can’t do that by flitting about the internet reading 100 different, individual essays. You can only get that by having the back and forth of conversation.

Here are my thoughts:


I really enjoyed this article and it made me think about a lot of different topics.

Authors: There are so many people out there that want to get published and are turned down everywhere they go. The internet gives them an immediate audience and instant feedback, along with criticisms and applause. I know of several authors on Goodreads that sell their books as PDF files for as little as 2.99. I can understand the allure of being your own publisher and by-passing the big publishing companies.

Publishing Companies: I feel that they are going to have to change their strategies in a lot of ways. There are some authors that I feel after they make it with a bestseller a few years in a row start to write FORMULA driven books. I'm tired of that kind of writing. I want to pick up a book by an unknown and get blown away!! But on the flip side, if the publishers didn't pay these authors the big bucks then they wouldn't have their stories to sell to the mass public. I'm not sure how they will be able to keep up with the $$$ demands of so-called big authors .

Ebooks/Kindle: At first these gadgets scared me because I don't want my beloved physical book to ever go away. I don't think that will happen but I do think that eventually in order to get your book published as an actual book that people open, and turn the pages physically, you're going to have to prove to them that you will be capable of writing a story that will sell MILLIONS!! The rest I think would be easily sold as an e-book or PDF file for considerably less than a real book. The more I play with my iPod and listen to audio books, podcasts, and such,the more intrigued I am about having a Kindle or Sony Reader...but I could never envision a life for me without a real book in my hand and several hundred more waiting their turn to be read on my bookshelves.......we'll have to wait and see what the future holds!!!

If you're wanting to check out what other readers think please click on this link and you will be directed to the comment page of Booking Through Thursday where everyone has left their post in the comment section.

I would love to hear what you think?

Inspired - Booking Through Thursday

Since “Inspiration” is (or should be) the theme this week … what is your reading inspired by?

My inspiration comes from so many places that it would be hard to describe them all but I do get a lot of my inspiration from fellow book bloggers. In fact, sometimes I tell myself..."Staci, yes that book sounds great and wouldn't you like to go to Egypt, but look at the stack of books you got from the library! You haven't even made a dent in those and here you are adding more books to your list!! " I've found that reading other people's blogs and book reviews can be a very dangerous but oh so fun addiction. The reviews I read are so enlightening, thoughtful, and insightful that I become INSPIRED by the feelings of the blogger and then feel the NEED to read the book being highlighted.

I also get inspiration from the world. When I watch something on television and want to learn more about it I start poking around on Amazon and Goodreads. I really liked it when Oprah spotlighted a book for her book club. Some of the selections I truly loved while there were others that either left me puzzled or I really did not care for them in the end.

Right now my current inspiration is my Ipod and all the cool author talks, book chats, and reading clubs that I can download and listen to whenever the mood strikes me. I love hearing the author's voice. For me it is a connection to that person and makes reading that book somehow more personal. I just finished listening to Gary Paulsen on a Barnes and Noble interview. He was hilarious and I know the kids at school would love to hear that he thinks it is so funny that teachers love to use his books because he hated school....barely graduating even!!

Those are just some of the things that inspire me to read!!

Booking Through Thursday

a weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading brought to you by Deb

But, enough about books … Other things have words, too, right? Like … songs!

If you’re anything like me, there are songs that you love because of their lyrics; writers you admire because their songs have depth, meaning, or just a sheer playfulness that has nothing to do with the tunes.

So, today’s question?

• What songs … either specific songs, or songs in general by a specific group or writer … have words that you love?

Wow, this one is really hard to answer because I'm sure that I'll forget one that I really wanted to put down. But right away the one that comes to me is Operator and Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce. My parents listened to this album when I was growing up and I totally loved it. Hotel California by the Eagles is another favorite of mine. You're My Best Friend by Queen because 1) I love Freddy Mercury 2) I love Queen and 3) it reminds me of my hubby every time I hear it!
And then pretty much anything by Duran Duran. When I hear Rio that takes me back to my teen years in the 80's which I love to reminisce about every now and then. Finally U2, because Bono is brilliant and they have a sound unique to them. I'm not sure that I could pick a favorite of theirs...Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For is a favorite though.

• Why? answered that above
• 
  
• And … do the tunes that go with the fantastic lyrics live up to them? For me, yes!!
  

You don’t have to restrict yourself to modern songsters, either … anyone who wants to pick Gilbert & Sullivan, for example, is just fine with me. Lerner & Loewe? Steven Sondheim? Barenaked Ladies? Fountains of Wayne? The Beatles? Anyone at all…

Booking Through Thursday and a book review

The Best?

It’s a week or two later than you’d expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but … what were your favorite books from 2008?

(It’s an oldie but a goodie question for a reason, after all … because, who can’t use good book suggestions from time to time?)

Well, I had to go back through my list from Goodreads to see what I'd read last year and then to decide what were really my absolute favorites. This was a little tough because I read so many great books but after serious considertion I was able to come up with my list. Here they are in no particular order.

• Tethered by Amy MacKinnon- excellent book from a first time author. I was pulled in from the very first page and finished it within a day!!
• Good Things by Mia King-just a truly easy, enjoyable read that I when I finished it made me feel truly satisfied.
• Identical by Ellen Hopkins-She's a very talented YA author whose poetry style totally intrigues me. After reading a few of her books I realized that her prose actually takes the shape of objects talked about in the book. I'm not too bright sometimes!!
• Looking For Alaska by John Green- one of the BEST YA books I've ever read. Period.
• Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran- I love books based around food, probably because I have absolutely no talent for cooking!! but I totally fell in love with the location, Ireland, and all the truly believable characters.
• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson-She's one of my favorite authors of YA, Children's book...ever!! She didn't let me down with her historical fiction book based on a young female slave living in New York during the Revolutionary War. EXCELLENT!!
• Maus I: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman-This was my first foray into the Graphic Novel genre and I was instantly attracted to the black/white drawings, the depiction of Jews as mice and Nazis as cats. This book touched me emotionally. If you want to try a graphic novel then I say start with this one!
• Kindness of Strangers by katrina Kittle-another excellent book. Touchy subject, child porn, but one that certainly should be addressed.
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli- I have to thank Kim from Goodreads because she threatened me with much bodily harm if I did not read this book. I'm so glad that she forced me to read this. Stargirl is unique. Someone that you would love to know and sometimes want to be like. A wonderful YA that I would recommend for moms and daughters to share!
• 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff- This book is written as letters being exchanged over a period of time. Absolutely charming and wonderfully done. It made me sad that we no longer value the written correspondence as we once did.
  
• Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi- another excellent graphic novel. I was and still am very ignorant of life in Iran. Marjane's no holds barred attitude gives you a glimpse into her young life during times of extreme upheaval. Another excellent graphic novel.
• Love Walked In- by Marisa de los Santos- All I can say is I loved this book!!!! Loved the characters, the setting, the storyline, the voices....just everything!
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen- I truly enjoyed every single minute of this book. What a witty person Jane Austen was and such a true voyeur of society.

That was fun!! I hope that you enjoyed the list and if you haven't read some of these that I might have been able to give you some reading suggestions. I know that each blog I visit I leave there with more books on my list!!


Now for my book review:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
From the back cover: It's January 1946, and London is emerging from the shadow of World War II. Author Juliet Ashton is having a terrible time finding inspiration for her next book when she gets a letter from Dawsey Adams from Guernsey, a British island that has been occupied by the Nazis. He found her address in an old Charles Lamb volume and thinks she might be able to help him learn more about the author.

As Juliet and Dawsey exhange letters, she learns about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a unique book club formed on the spur-of-the-moment , as an alibi to protect its members from arrest by the Germans. Captivated, Juliet sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds there will change her life forever.

rating:
bookshelves:	read, indiebound-org, next-best-book-club, winter-reading-challenge-2009 (edit)
status:	Read in January, 2009
recommended by:	JoAnn
updates:	view all 2 status updates
review:	I must say that I found this book to be utterly charming!! I loved the whole premise of the book and that the authors wrote it in as correspondence between the characters. This book reminded me so much of 84 Charing Cross Road, which I adored. It makes you long for the day when the only way to communicate with each other was by post. I love computers and email but we just don't write letters to each other like they did in the past. Each entry is so lively and descriptive. I could picture the peo...more I must say that I found this book to be utterly charming!! I loved the whole premise of the book and that the authors wrote it in as correspondence between the characters. This book reminded me so much of 84 Charing Cross Road, which I adored. It makes you long for the day when the only way to communicate with each other was by post. I love computers and email but we just don't write letters to each other like they did in the past. Each entry is so lively and descriptive. I could picture the people, places, and even the smells. It is sad to know that Mary Ann Shaffer didn't live long enough to see how wonderfully successful her novel became but I'm so glad that she was able to get her manuscript to her niece so that she could put the finishing touches on it. It would have been truly sad to think that we may have never experienced such a heartfelt book. If you've been thinking of reading this book, STOP thinking and check it out from the library, borrow it from a friend, or buy it from an INDIE bookstore!! You won't regret one minute that you spend with these wonderful characters!!

Booking Through Thursday Post

Happy New Year, everyone!

So … any Reading Resolutions?

Well, I have thought about this quite a bit after reading other people's blogs and seeing what everyone else has been reading. I've noticed that I tend to stay in a certain genre for too long and I haven't incorporated more genres into my reading lists. This is something that I would certainly like to change for 2009!! I also stepped up to the plate and entered myself into several reading challenges. I'm really looking forward to participating in these as it will make me "branch out" and read books that I might have passed up. I would also like to become a more astute reader. So I'm going to really question myself during my reading journeys and try to make sure that I'm getting the deeper meaning and am not just skimming it!! This I believe will be my hardest challenge for myself!

Say, specific books you plan to read?

I most definitely want to read Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. I love Jane Austen and I want to read these this year! I will no longer tell myself that looking at them is good enough!! LOL!!

A plan to read more ____?

Well, I've read 106 books this year, so I already think I read a lot. But I noticed that I can find all kinds of ways to waste time and when I look back at how I spent my time I have lots of regrets!! I want to cut down my television time for sure!!!

Name me at least ONE thing you’re looking forward to reading this year!

Anna Karenina!! That will be in February and I will definitely have Cliff Notes for it!! Plus all the other stuff from Oprah's website!

I want to say a big heartfelt THANKS to all my blogging friends who have taken the time to read my blog and to leave me comments. I've never had so much fun on the computer until this past year. Each and every one of you have added so much to my life!! I love reading your blogs and getting a glimpse into your worlds. Thanks for sharing. Here's hoping that 2009 will bring all you much happiness, prosperity, good health, fun times, and great books!!!

Wintery Books- Booking Through Thursday

Wintery Books
What I want to know today is … what are the most “wintery” books you can think of? The ones that almost embody Winter?

For me it is and will always be...The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I absolutely love this book. It reflects the hardships of the time and how you were at the absolute mercy of the weather. We complain about the snow (me especially) but we really have no idea what it is to be held captive by snow!! Could you imagine not being able to go anywhere for months!! To not get food brought in by the trains, to have nothing to eat but potatoes for weeks at a time, to have no real heat because you used up all of the wood and now you have to twist straw really tight to make it burn longer? Maybe I need to read it right now? It would help put everything into perspective for me and I might stop posting about how much Michigan weather sucks!!


Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Booking Through Thursday

Do you give books as gifts?

Yes, I do. Especially to my nieces, nephew, and my boys. Kids get enough toys from "Santa" and everyone else so we like to give books.

To everyone? No, not to everyone.

Or only to select people? Like I said above, to the younger crew!!

How do you feel about receiving books as gifts?

I love getting books as gifts!!!

What is the best book you ever bought for yourself?

It was the 3rd book in the Outlander Series.

And, why? What made it the best? What made it so special?

I waited months for it to come out, used a Christmas gift card on it and then didn't read it for almost a year because at that time I thought this would be the last book. I didn't want my love affair with the characters to end. I'm weird!

Booking Through Thursday and a weird observation

1. Do you get to read as much as you WANT to read?

Uh, no!! If I had the perfect life it would include a chef to cook, a maid to clean, someone to shop for me, and I would also need a robot to send in my place to work. Then maybe I could read as much as I want. But I have to admit that I do make a lot of time for myself to read. I plan my meals out ahead of time so that after 8 p.m. I can read. I also get up with my hubby on weekends when he has to work early so that I can take advantage of the early (quiet) hours. I love reading, drinking coffee with my dog beside me and knowing that I don't have to be anywhere!!

(I’m guessing #1 is an easy question for everyone?)

2. If you had (magically) more time to read–what would you read? Something educational? Classic? Comfort Reading? Escapism? Magazines?

I would probably read a little bit of everything. My moods change all the time. Sometimes I get into a jag where I'll only read YA, then it might be a particular series that I've fallen in love with and I won't be happy until I've read them all. Other times, I'm just too lazy to really focus and want to relax with a magazine. I do enjoy the occasional non-fiction book to educate myself about a topic that I know absolutely nothing about. As for the classics, there are some that I truly would like to get to before my time is up.

Now for the weird observation.

I just received my Jan 2009 Creating Keepsakes magazine and was flipping through it to rip out all of those annoying subscription cards and realized that there is not a single one in there!!!!!! What is up with that? Don't get me wrong, I love it but there is something weird in magazine land when one of the damn cards don't slip out of your magazine. You can always count on at least 9!! Maybe they finally realized that I'm tired of their same-old crap every month and I will NOT be renewing my subscription, so they decided to spare me all the agony!! Probably not. I decided that I'm done letting someone else tell me how to scrapbook. They just want to sell a product and of course, make money. These are my memories not theirs and I'm taking this hobby back and making it mine again!! I will not subscribe to another scrapbook magazine ever!! I'm going to spend my money on magazines about books!! Way better investment!!