Sunday, February 20, 2022

BW8: Bookish miscellanea

 

Sun Glare: Alaska by Rockwell Kent 

Happy Sunday! In my web wanderings, I was drawn into an article about artist Rockwell Kent and his quest for solitude and inspiration in Wilderness, Solitude, and Creativity: Artist and Philosopher Rockwell Kent’s Century-Old Meditations on Art and Life During Seven Months on a Small Alaskan Island, which lead to Musings on Art: Rockwell Kent - A Champion of Peace,  which lead to Kent's illustrated Moby Dick. Makes me want to read the Moby Dick, or The Whale illustrated versionnow as well as Kent's book, Wilderness, his journal about his time in Alaska.  Rabbit trails as so much fun. 

Another interesting article about Author Joanne Harris turns down US book deal over censoring of ‘f-bomb’, particularly because it was pertinent to the story.  Which lead of course to her blog and her response about sensitivity readers the publishing houses have begun to employ. In her blog post On Sensitivity readers, weakness, and staying alive, Harris makes a good point. 

"Books all have shelf lives, just as we do, and Dickens’ work has survived in spite of his anti-Semitism, not because of it. The work of many others has not. Books are for readers, and if an author loses touch with their readers - either by clinging to outdated tropes, or using outdated vocabulary, or having an outdated style – then their books will cease to be published, and they will be forgotten. It happens all the time. What one generation loves and admires may be rejected by the next."  

But that doesn't mean they need to be banned or changed.  It's all in the context.


Free books, who doesn't love them.  Lots of books are entering the public domain this year such as Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, Milne's Winnie the Pooh, Franz Kafka's The Castle, and many others.


Moving on to movies about books, check out the Netflix Book Club, if not to join, but to see what books are being adapted for Netflix. 


While we are on the subject of books to movies, Lee Child's Jack Reacher first book was adapted for a series on Amazon Prime.  I watched the first episode and had to close my eyes during the prison fight, but otherwise I think Alan Ritchson is a great choice for Reacher. 


Reading choices when it comes to narrators.  Years ago, I only read books written in third person narration and refused to read any written in first person. Until I came across a writer who usually wrote in third and had switched to first, captured my attention, pulled me into the story without confusing me and sold me on first person narration.  Since then I've found some really good books from writers who do first person very well.  The ones who don't, forget about it. You know the ones I mean.  

I went back to school in my late forties to finish my Bachelor's Degree and during a literature class, imagine my surprise when I had to read a book written in second person narration.  Yes, it was weird, but once I got into the story, was able to accept the narrator and keep going.  Since then,  I'll stumble across another written partially or totally in second person and give it a go.  Of course, we're back to whether it's well done or not and does it pull you in. I'm currently reading such a book which has mixed narration, both 2nd and 3rd and finding myself enjoying it.  All this to say, which style narration do you enjoy?   Have you ever tried Second Person narration stories?  

For our writers, have you ever tried writing a story in second person?  Give it a try   Here's my attempt for our A to Z and Back again for E.  

And speaking of which:  

A to Z and Back Again -  Our letter and work of the week are H and Harried.

Did you know that today is Hoodie Hoo day?  So go outside at noon and wave your hands and yell Hoodie Hoo and chase away your winter blues. Go ahead, I dare you.  

******************

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, February 13, 2022

BW7: 52 Books Bingo - She Did What?


Happy Sunday! I'm declaring this week Valentine's Week as we continue with our romance theme for the month.  I'm combining it with our 52 Books Bingo category "She Did What?" which bumps it up into a lot of different genres including literary, suspense, thriller, psychological, or maybe young adult. What do you think of when someone says 'She did what?"  Said yes, or no? ran away, started her own business, blasted into outer space, or stole something from someone?  

9 Books Similar to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

20 Best Romantic Suspense Novels

Unlikely Romances

Literary Romance Novels, 20 Love Stories for Every Reader

 11 Fictional Female Scientists Who'd Rule the Lab

12 Books That Prove Women Outlaws Are Even Cooler than Women Heroes

Could be anything! Even a book title. 


A to Z and Back Again -  Our letter and word of the week are G and Gadfly


Happy Galentine's Day!

**********************

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, February 6, 2022

BW6: Crime Spree Bookology - Jayne Ann Krentz

 


Happy Sunday!  We are going to continue with the romantic suspense theme and align our bookology spelling challenge with the crime spree authors, highlighting  one of the authors Sandy and Amy mention at the beginning of the month. Decided to mix things up after I discovered the Book on Books Bookology wasn't working for me with two failures in a row.  The Trial and error method told me to move on to something more fun and hence the birth of Crime Spree Bookology.  

We get three for one this month with Jayne Ann Krentz, who encompasses three different worlds writing contemporary romantic suspense, as well as historical romantic suspense under the pseudonym of Amanda Quick, and futuristic paranormal suspense under her real name, Jayne Castle. Some of her series encompass all three genres and some are standalones. Krentz is a prolific writer and has written many books under 7 different pens names over the years from the 80's to the present. I've read quite a few and all are very entertaining. 

There are a number of ways to complete the Crime Spree bookology challenge, including but not limited to:

Spell out the author's name - one book per letter from the title on the cover.

Read one or more books written by the author.

Read a book written in the country or time period of the author.

Read a book by an author similar to Jayne Ann Krentz

Learn more about Krentz through A Conversation With Jayne Ann Krentz, and How I lost control of my Jayne Castle World.


A to Z and Back Again -  Our letter and word of the week are F and Foiled.

Happy Trails! 

******************

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, January 30, 2022

BW5: Isn't it Romantic

 



Welcome to February's month of love as we celebrate Creative Romance Month as well as an Affair to Remember month and National Weddings month. And least we forget, February 4th is Thank a Mailman day. Did you remember to send those letters you wrote?   

A to Z and Back Again -  Our letter and word of the week are E and Earnest

Speaking of earnest and romance, our Crime Spree hostesses Sandy and Amy have a challenge for you to partake in.  Take it away, ladies: 


Few things go together better than crime and romance. Actually, there are hundreds of things that go together better, but few things are as exciting to read as Romantic Suspense. These novel are equally balanced with the romance playing as bit a part as the mystery/suspense elements. Are you a fan?

Authors to explore:

For a gothic feel check out: Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart

 If you like modern heroes/heroines escaping likely murder, then check out: Nora Robert/JD Robb, Laura Griffin, Marie Force

For a sweet Christian take on Romantic Suspense: Terri Blackstock and Dee Henderson

Suspense? Romance? Werewolves/Vampires/Ghosts? We got that too! Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Jayne Ann Krentz

Challenge: Bat your eyes at your favorite getaway driver and read a book featuring someone in love and in danger.


Thank you ladies! Batting my eyes earnestly at Juan, my oh so hunky getaway driver, as we drive hastily away from some serious risky business we found ourselves part of. 

Happy trails, mi amors! 

****************

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.

Sunday, January 23, 2022

BW4: Bookish Birthdays and Notes


 

Happy Sunday! Today is National Handwriting Day  Which coincidently goes hand in hand (pun intended) with those letters we could have written in week 2. Yes, I know, I didn't either. But I have been having fun writing A to Z and back again stories, all by hand, and currently working on the letter K. How about you? Ready to give it a try yet?   

A to Z and Back Again - our letter and word of the week is D - Deduction


Time for a round of literary birthdays and notes to tempt and amaze you:

Jan 23: French author Stendhal, American poet Louis Zukofsky, and West Indies poet Derek Walcott

Jan 24: American novelist Edith Wharton , English dramatist William Congreve, British novelist and zoologist Desmond Norris

Jan 25: Scottish poet Robert Burns, English poet William Somerset Maugham, and English novelist Virginia Woolf

Jan 26:  American author and activist Angela Davis, and American Mary Mapes Dodge

Jan 27: English author Lewis Carroll,  and  English novelist D.M. Thomas

Jan 28: American author and activist Julius Lester, and French author Colette

Jan 29: American political author Thomas Paine, Russian playwright Anton Chekov and French novelist and Nobel Prize winner Romain Rolland


Finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Awards

Mystery Writers of America Announces 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations

Screen grabbers: mysteries adapted for film

Nick Cave on Creativity, the Myth of Originality, and How to Find Your Voice

And Just Like That...Carrie Bradshaw's Library Card is a Must-Have Accessory


Have fun following rabbit trails! 

*************

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, January 16, 2022

BW3: 52 Books Bingo - Space Opera



Happy Sunday! Today is  Appreciate a Dragon Day, created by Donita K. Paul, author of the Dragonspell Chronicles back in 2004 to celebrate our favorite dragons in books and television. Great series by the way, which I enjoyed and has since disappeared into the book jungle in my son's room. 

Combine dragons, beasts and other fantastical or scary creatures that characters may encounter in outer space with our first 52 books bingo category - Space Operas and what do you have? Scary and/or thrilling, entertaining stories set in outer space, alternative worlds, and other planets. 

I came across Barnes and Nobles 55 Essential Space Operas from the Last 70 Years and took a trip down memory lane as I've read quite a few of these books over the years and still have them in my personal library.  From Harrison and Heinlein, Niven and Asimov to Weber and Donaldson to Scalzi and Chambers.  I currently have a few on the nightstand I haven't read such as Corey's Leviathan Wakes to Vinge's Snow Queen.  They are in the queue for this year.  

11 of the best sci-fi books that transport you to another world reminds me to move Robinson's Red Mars as well as Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness up in the queue as well.  Both dusty books have been calling to me to read sooner than later. 

And don't forget Star Wars which my son loves to read, as well as Star Trek novelizations. 


A to Z and Back Again - our letter and word of the week is C - Conundrum. 


Have fun exploring the outer regions of space! 

*************

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.





Sunday, January 9, 2022

BW2: Books about Books Bookology - Shion Miura


 

Happy Sunday!  Did you know this week is National Letter Writing week so grab several pieces of paper and a pen or pencil, not a keyboard, and write a letter to your significant other, family member, friend, long lost relative or even an author to thank them for a book you enjoyed.  

Our Books about Books Bookology author of the month is Shion Miura and the highlighted read is The Great Passage:

"Inspired as a boy by the multiple meanings to be found for a single word in the dictionary, Kohei Araki is devoted to the notion that a dictionary is a boat to carry us across the sea of words. But after thirty-seven years creating them at Gembu Books, it’s time for him to retire and find his replacement.

He discovers a kindred spirit in Mitsuya Majime—a young, disheveled square peg with a penchant for collecting antiquarian books and a background in linguistics—whom he swipes from his company’s sales department.

Led by his new mentor and joined by an energetic, if reluctant, new recruit and an elder linguistics scholar, Majime is tasked with a career-defining accomplishment: completing The Great Passage, a comprehensive 2,900-page tome of the Japanese language."

Learn more about Shion Muira through this interview with Sanseidou translated by Story Unlocker.

There are a variety of ways to complete this challenge with plenty of rabbit trails. Read a book with one or more of the following (but not limited too) and have fun exploring a variety of places and topics:

  • Spell out the first and/or last name of the author - one book per letter. 
  • Read the highlighted book or any book written by the author.
  • Read a book written in the country or time period of the author.
***************

Our letter and word of the week is B - Brevity. During a spurt of creativity I thought of several ideas to share, which may not happen every week and most of time I'll leave it up your imagination. 

Write

Brief, small, saying much in a few words.  Concise, minute and to the point.  A fallen petal from a bouquet tells a story of life, a part of the whole. Petals grow, blossom to fullness, unfold to display a beauty bold, bright, soft and light. Ages, falls to the ground, and withers away. From beginning to end, quiet elegance revealed in a petal, in a moment in time.  

What can you sense?  A touch, a whisper, a sight so bright it stings the eyes. Tears drip at the simple, at things that barely cause a ripple, as you go about your day.  There for your pleasure. A gift nature gives to us if we care to look.

Pick a moment, a fallen petal, a ladybug, ripples from a rock thrown into the river, a dusting of light through the window pane. What do you see, what do you hear, what do you feel? 

    Read 

A short story less than 200 pages, less than 100 pages. A brief written by a lawyer. Now that's an oxymoron.  A brief moment experienced by a character. A brief moment in time in your life. 

Learn 
   
Challenge yourself and write your own.

Flash fiction or Nonfiction with Dinty Moore's The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction or the guide to Flash Fiction. 

Five Books That Have Helped to Define Flash Nonfiction

Goodreads writing flash fiction.  


********************

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Saturday, January 1, 2022

BW1: Welcome to our 2022 reading adventures

 

Happy New Year, my darlings and I’m so glad you are joining me for another round of Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks. Can you believe it's our 14th blogoversary? We'll have to think of a special mini challenge to celebrate. We have some great new challenges this year and as always, you can choose to play along or chart your own path in your quest to read.  

If you are new to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks, the goal to read 52 books. How you get there is up to you.  We all read at different paces and I don't want anyone to sacrifice quality for quantity by reading short books just to make the goal. I want you to enjoy yourself.  If you have only managed to read one book in a year, challenge yourself to read two.  Five? Then shoot for ten.  Years ago when we started this challenge, there were a few people who were sure they'd never be able to read 52 books in a year.  Maybe 12, maybe 30, but 52, forget about it.  Guess what?  Many are reading 52 books or more.  Never say never. Set your own goal, read what you want, explore and dive into those longer books, engage your mind and soul and don't worry.  Do your best, challenge yourself and see what happens.  

We have some exciting challenges this year including one a bit different - a new weekly A to Z and Back Again reading challenge with a writing element for the folks in our group who like to journal, write short stories or novel length stories as well as fan fiction, flash fiction and non fiction. Each week I'll present the letter and word of the week.  You can read a book or author starting with the letter, or find a character that emulates that characteristic or job.  Find a synonym or antonym; maybe form an aptigram or antigram.  Rhyme or reason doesn't apply.  Write a story or  poem and let your thoughts fly. How you do it is up to you.  This week we start with A, go through the alphabet and back again to end with A on week 52. I'll post a link to an example on My Two Blessings so you can see what my wild and wacky brain came up with in response to the word of the week. I hope you'll play along. 

Letter and word of the week:  A - Antiquary

**********

And now for something even more exciting.  I'm very happy to announce a brand new Crime Spree reading challenge cohosted by two of our Book a Week readers: Amy (alias – aggieamy) & Sandy (alias- mumto2).  Take it away ladies:

 

We are pleased that you’ve committed to a life (or at least a year) of crime. Consider Sandy and I your get away drivers and accomplices as we delve into just a few of the wonderful sub-genres of mystery over the next 12 months. We’ll start each month with a new challenge and new authors to explore.

This is lighthearted and fun, so tweak the challenges as you want and join the discussion.

Pack your bags. Grab a disguise. Plan an alibi. Let’s go!

PS - And many thanks to the Godmother of our BaW crime family, Robin, for allowing us to hold up the thread once a month.

 *****

We’re going to kick off our crime spree with the beloved writers who started it all: Grandparents of Crime. We’ve chosen to highlight just a few of the famous early writers that produced stories we wouldn’t put down! Have you read any of these authors? Who would you nominate for the prestigious Grandparent of Crime title?

For more information on early mystery writers, check out: goldenageofmystery.com

Authors to explore:

Edgar Allen Poe is not only one of the most famous historical short story writers in the US but also started the mystery genre with his short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in 1841. He was writing from 1827 until his death at 40-years-old in 1849.

Wilkie Collins is credited with two important contributions to the mystery genre—inventing the mystery novel genre (The Woman in White) and then inventing the detective novel (The Moonstone). He was writing between 1850-1885.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could be considered one of the most famous mystery writers, with over 60 Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels published from 1887 to 1927.

Mary Roberts Rinehart is known as the “American Agatha Christie” and is considered the inventor of the “had I but known” literary style in modern mysteries and even better known for creating “the butler did it” trope. Her active years of writing were 1908-1952. 

Challenge: Enter a life of crime by choosing a novel from one of the highlighted Grandparents of Crime or any mystery written before 1910.

************

I'm excited and ready to get started. If you're new to 52 books, all the links to the challenges are in the menu bar above.  Our first reading week will run from January 1st through Saturday, January 8th.  Take your time to explore the different challenges, links to book resources, visit your fellow readers and of course, read.  I look forward to hearing all about your adventures. 

~Cheers to a wonderful new reading year!

******

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.



Sunday, December 26, 2021

BW52: 2021 Year End Wrapup

 

Prospect House in London

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, 
perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to 
voyage through time.”  ― Carl Sagan


Our infinite sky reading adventure on board the time traveling Pumdeg Dau o Lyfrau airship during 2021 is coming to an end; however our armchair travels will continue on. It's time to trade in our airship for a new means of transportation.  Meanwhile please join me in the conservatory for our end of the year tea and book party.  Help yourself to a cup of tea, a glass of wine or a mug of my hubby's special roast coffee while we chat about our reads.  

  • What were your reading goals for the year?  How many books did you read? 
  • Did you explore outside the box, delve into new worlds or take comfort in the old.  Let your fingertips doing the walking, sorting through your TBR stacks, reading whichever book caught your eye or yelled the loudest for your attention. Did you heed the call  of your dusty books calling your name, whispering read me, read me. That's not creepy at all, is it? Only a bookworm would understand and listen.... *grin*  

“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
― Ursula K. LeGuin

  • What was your most entertaining read of the year? 
  • Which stories stuck with you the longest?

“When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. What is to happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. And this is possible because the story's voice makes everything its own.” ― John Berger, Keeping a Rendezvous

  • Which characters did you fall in like or love with? 

“I will go to my grave in a state of abject endless fascination that we all have the capacity to become emotionally involved with a personality that doesn't exist.”  ― Berkeley Breathed

  • Which stories or characters made you want to dive into their world and live there?
  • Which stories surprised you, made you reflect, laugh out loud, tear up, or irritated the heck out of you?
  • Which stories inspired web wonderings and lead you on rabbit trails? 

“I’ve always thought that a good book should be either the entry point inward, to learn about yourself, or a door outward, to open you up to new worlds.” –Taylor Jenkins Reid

  • Which stories would you read again and again? 

“Isn't it odd how much fatter a book gets when you've read it several times?" Mo had said..."As if something were left between the pages every time you read it. Feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells...and then, when you look at the book again many years later, you find yourself there, too, a slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you like a pressed flower...both strange and familiar.”
― Cornelia Funke, Inkspell

  • One book you think everyone should read?
  • Where in the world and through what time periods did your reading adventures take you? 
  • Share your stats, new to you author discoveries, favorite quotes, or covers. 

“What I love most about reading: It gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing.”–Oprah

Thank you for sharing your reading adventures with me this year. I appreciate each and every one of you and hope you had fun along the way and look forward to more bookish adventures. Cheers to a happy, enlightening, and inspiring reading new year!

********************
Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.





Sunday, December 19, 2021

BW51: Welcome to Winter

 

Winter Dreaming by Josephine Wall

Happy Sunday, my lovelies. Although Winter in our part of the world officially begins on Tuesday, the 21st, it seems to have arrived a couple days early.  Jack Frost was nipping at our toes this morning when we woke to a coating of frost on the ground.  It's the first real freeze we've had in a couple years and I'm hoping its enough to make our morning glory turn dormant for the winter.  The plant is the gift that keeps on giving as we're now sharing it with all our neighbors.  Unintentionally of course.  Fortunately, they all love us.  

Wintertime always puts me in the mood to read about blizzards, icebound explorers, and arctic adventures,  while I hibernate inside my warm house, cozy on the couch with a warm blanket and one of my lap cats. Join me in reading a book that takes place during winter, is set in an icebound location or is about battling the elements.

21 Books Set in Cold and Snowy Destinations to Read This Winter

26 Cozy Winter Reads for 2021

21 authors pick their favorite winter reads

17 Beautiful Icelandic Novels To Inspire a Trip to Iceland

14 Books Set in Greenland That Will Put It At The Top Of Your Bucket List

Winter Science Fiction And Fantasy

And since Christmas is coming up, maybe a Christmas Story or two. 

Classic Christmas Short Stories You Can Read Right Now

33 Best Christmas Books to Read Around the Holidays

Christmas Reads for Adults: 20 Best Books You Must Read This Christmas


Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

****************************

 Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, December 12, 2021

BW50: A Time to Talk by Robert Frost

 



Happy Sunday! I love the picture above as well as this simple poem by Robert Frost and the imagery they evoke.  Have a wonderful reading week, my lovelies. 


A Time to Talk

By 

Robert Frost

When a friend calls to me from the road
and slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don't stand still and look around
on all the hills I haven't hoed,
And shout from where I am, "What is it?"
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade end up and five feet tall,
And plod:  I go up to the stone wall
for a friendly visit. 


For 2022, I'm introducing a new year long reading challenge called A to Z and back again.  One word beginning with that letter every week as we work all the way through the alphabet forward, then back to A. The word of the week will be announced with each Sunday's post.  There will be numerous ways to play which include reading a book with the word in the title; read alphabetically by author or title; includes the emotion or action or characteristic or job of the character or the story; find a synonym or antonym; form an aptigram or antigram; Create a story or poem and let your thoughts fly. 

To give you an example, since we are on week 50, we'd be on the letter c. 

The word of the week: Chivalry.   Make of it what you will. 

**************************

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, December 5, 2021

BW49: Fictional Librarian - Sarah Dove

 


Happy Sunday, my dears! We're weighing anchor and taking a short flight to Dove Pond, North Carolina to join our fictional librarian of the month, Sarah Dove, created by Karen Hawkins.  Books have talked to Sarah for as long as she can remember. For the residents of Dove Pond, they are mystified when Sarah gives them a book to read, which turn out to be just what they needed to read to solve a problem. The Dove family has 7 daughters and the first two books in the series, The Book Charmer and A Cup of Silver Linings are both great reads.  I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, The Lost Book of Cakes which will be out sometime in 2022.   Karen Hawkins booklist also includes several historical romance series. 

Read a book with one or more of the following (but not limited to) and have fun exploring:

  • Spell out the first and/or last name of the character's name - one book per letter from the title on the cover.
  • Spell out the first and/or last name of the author - one book per letter.
  • Read one or more books in the series or any book in the author's booklist.
  • Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the story.
  • Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.
  • Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title.

Have fun as there are a variety of ways to complete this challenge with plenty of rabbit trails.

***********************

Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.