January's "Cheat" Book: The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman
The Invisible Library series, book four
Ace Books, 2018 - Owned in personal collection

So, as I mentioned, I'm doing a 2018 Books I Already Own Reading Challenge.  However, I know myself, and if I don't allow myself at least one new, shiny book a month, I will end up quitting before March... SO, this is my January "Cheat" book.

I can't review this book in too much depth, as it is book four in the series and I'd be giving away big spoilers.  However, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and was glad that I had pre-ordered it and chosen it for my January "cheat." Cogman writes an admirable heroine who has just the right amount of smarts, style, grace, and kick-ass.  I love that while she in some ways depends on the men around her (Irene has no illusions about when her physical superiority is in question...), it is very clear that much more often, the men around her look to her for leadership and planning.

While I make a lot of jokes about Noah Wyle's The Librarian movies and the subsequent Indiana Jones style TV series, Irene Winters, in fact, lives the Librarian lifestyle that I would love to live if I were the heroine in a fantasy series.  Saving rare books for posterity.  Dealings with both dragons and fae?  Yes, please.  However, in real life, being a Librarian is not nearly so hard on one's potential health (ha!).

While you most definitely should start with book one of the series, The Invisible Library, I think so far this is my favorite addition to the series.  There is a very large moral issue, along with several smaller ethical dilemmas, being dealt with in this book, so the stakes are both physically and emotionally high.  Following Irene's choices pulled me pretty deep into her character and I found myself tearing up towards the end of the book as I thought she was going to end up being punished in the worst possible way for making the right decisions... then Cogman worked things out in just the right way for me to leave the book with a huge grin on my face! Perfect.

Now, back to reading the older books in my personal collection!

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 
by Gabrielle Zevin

On the faded Island Books sign hanging over the porch of the Victorian cottage is the motto "No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World." A. J. Fikry, the irascible owner, is about to discover just what that truly means.

A. J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island-from Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who's always felt kindly toward Fikry; from Ismay, his sister-in-law who is hell-bent on saving him from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who keeps on taking the ferry over to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.'s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.

And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It's a small package, but large in weight. It's that unexpected arrival that gives A. J. Fikry the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn't take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J.; or for that determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.'s world; or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn't see coming. (Description from Goodreads.com) 

This quirky story is set up in chapters, each headed by a different "review" of a book. As A.J.'s life changes, the reader sees the reflections in the vignettes of his life, and in the ways that the "reviews" change. The story is touching and heartfelt, I could not help but be charmed as cranky A.J. went from being the curmudgeonly bookseller to being a family man and part of the life blood of his small town.    

Zevin is an author that I like in general and I loved this foray into the adult world.  I felt that the characters were interesting and the whole concept was exceedingly well done.  The way the story unfolded was easy to follow and drew me right in, making me much more emotionally invested than I had thought I would be.  This was one of my favorite summer reads. 

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore 
by Robin Sloan

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything—instead, they “check out” large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele’s behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends. But when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore’s secrets extend far beyond its walls. (Description from Goodreads.com)

This was a great summer mystery.  Perfect for book lovers like me! There's an intriguing book store that literally houses thousands of one of a kind book, there are fabulously quirky characters on every page, and it feels as if you are solving a puzzle as you read Clay's forays into the secret world of the "Broken Spine."  I loved the juxtaposition between traditional paper books and the fabulous technologies of the present and  future. This book is very funny, but it also makes you think about a lot of things as you follow the mystery.  I highly recommend this title to any avid readers out there looking for a quick, fun summer read!  

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library 

Book Expo 2014 is next week!!

So, BEA is upon us once again!

For those of you who don't know, there is a huge book conference called Book Expo America that occurs once a year, and for the last five years I've been lucky enough to attend it in New York City in May.

This year the conference takes place from Thursday, May 29 - Saturday, May 31, 2014 at the Javits Center.  My friend Kim and I are FINALLY going to BEA for more than one day this year.

It's such a huge conference that every year, I desperately try to do ALL the things, and find ALL the books...but one day never seems like enough.  So, this year, we're going on Friday and Saturday.  Hooray!! We're staying in a fancy New York hotel, we'll get to spend two days being ALL ABOUT THE BOOKS...and then we might even get to do some bookish things outside of the Expo on Friday night.

This year will probably be my last year attending BEA for a while.  I've got other things on my plate now and I've found myself re-prioritizing a little... so, I'm going to enjoy every moment and embrace the madness for what it is... I'm going to wear comfy shoes, dress in layers, and bring a big suitcase to carry home my bookish things.  I'm going to drink lots of water and talk to lots of people and NOT stress about the lines and the waits and such... I'm going to remember why I always feel like this is my BOOK CHRISTMAS and I'm going to have FUN.
  

I hope to see as many of my blogger, librarian, and author friends as possible. It's two days to cram in a ton of chatting, gushing, and book swapping, but I can't wait to do it all! In case we haven't met in real life yet, here's a small pic of me.

Hopefully we can bump into each other and say "hi!" See you next week!

Zebra Forest

Zebra Forest
by Adina Rishe Gewirtz

When eleven-year-old Annie first started lying to her social worker, she had been taught by an expert: Gran. “If you’re going to do something, make sure you do it with excellence,” Gran would say. That was when Gran was feeling talkative, and not brooding for days in her room — as she did after telling Annie and her little brother, Rew, the one thing they know about their father: that he was killed in a fight with an angry man who was sent away. Annie and Rew spend their days under the birches and oaks of the Zebra Forest, telling stories about their father the pirate, or pilot, or secret agent. But then something shocking happens to unravel all their stories: a rattling at the back door, an escapee from the prison holding them hostage in their own home, four lives that will never be the same. (description from Amazon.com)

I had no idea originally if I was going to like this book or not. I was very surprised that not only was it a super quick read... but, I also found myself unable to stop reading. The story was a little far-fetched at first (though it tapped into my childhood fears that some random prisoner from a local jail would break into our house *exactly* like this one does...), but the way that Gewirtz writes is so emotionally compelling that I didn't care any more if the story seemed entirely plausible. 

Both Annie and Rew's reactions to their father's sudden reappearance in their lives felt absolutely real. The intense resentment at having thought their father was dead, only to learn he'd been alive all that time and that they could have visited him. The hope that maybe he'd been falsely imprisoned, though they really knew he was guilty. Their anger at their grandmother for lying to them, even as she was having trouble coping with reality.

I really liked how the book ended, too. Things were emotionally satisfying, but also realistic. Well done.

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library

Gold Star Review - The Elite

The Elite 
by Kiera Cass
The Selection, book two

In America Singer’s world, a bride is chosen for the prince through an elaborate televised competition. In the second book of the Selection series, America is one of only six girls left in the running. But is it Prince Maxon—and life as the queen—she wants? Or is it Aspen, her first love? (Description from Amazon.com)

I have to admit that I was equal parts extremely excited and extremely nervous for this book. I really loved The Selection, a lot more than I had anticipated I would...it was a fast, easy read that drew me right in... (You can read my review here) I could not wait for the sequel, but I was terrified of "middle book syndrome, " you know, the middle book in a trilogy that really serves no purpose...the one that should just have never existed because the "trilogy" would have been better as a duet?  I was especially scared about this one because I knew it was going to focus so heavily on the romantic triangle in America's life.

I was so HAPPY when I read this book.  Yes, it focuses on the romantic issues, but it does so openly, honestly, without pretending to do anything else...AND, though I'm still a HUGE fan of Prince Maxon, I found myself wavering into Aspen's camp from time to time.  That *never* happens to me.  That means that Kiera Cass has basically written the MOST CONVINCING ROMANTIC TRIANGLE I think I've read to this point.  Super KUDOS to that... and a GOLD STAR!

Besides the romance and the interactions between the girls, which I continue to find fascinating (it's like watching ANTM, you know at some point there's going to be cat fights...they can't help it!), there was actually a lot more revealed about the politics and origin of America's world.  I loved how Cass revealed things through America's own education and felt that the world was really starting to come into focus around her.  I cannot wait to see how America faces the political prospects that face her in the next book...it should be *very* interesting... 

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library 

This Week's Library Loot (10)

 

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

 

My Library Loot:

Destiny, Rewritten

by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

 

Four Secrets

by Margaret Willey

 

Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent's Eye

by Katharine Sands 



 

Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business and More: Copywriter, Proofreader, Copyeditor, Journalist

by Entrepreneur Press

 

 

So, that's what I picked up at my Library this week... did you swing by yours?

 

BookBliss.com - Books and Cupcakes

Ummm...So I LOVE books, and ummm...I also love cupcakes. I'm pretty sure almost everyone does! So, when the BookExpo America publicity team sent me the info for BookBliss.com, I had to check it out.

What is BookBliss.com?

Here is the introductory letter (copied directly off the site) explaining where the concept for the whole website and video series came from:

Have Your (Cup)cake and Read it Too!

Dear Book Lovers,

I’m so excited to debut a video series that we have collaborated on with Huffington Post Books—it’s called Have Your (Cup)cake and Read it Too. This original idea was inspired by the cupcake creations of my colleague Cassandra and the great mind of our social media community manager Joseph Vella. Let me now turn it over to Cassandra…
See More

Believe me when I say that all cupcakes are not created equal – although I give all cupcakes the same love and passion, these particular cupcakes were created with a little more eagerness. Reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel left me inspired and hopeful – a common theme lingering throughout the book – and as an enthusiastic reader and passionate baker (cupcakes being my forte), a cupcake based on Life of Pi was in order. Moved by the many themes of the book, I created a cupcake with many layers to reflect the many “layers” that are revealed as you read deeper into the book. The base of the cupcake is a twisting mesh between dyed-orange French vanilla and chocolate cake to resemble Pi and Richard Parker’s intertwined fate. The frosting was prepared with the color orange in mind – a symbol of hope and survival—and interlaced with crushed biscuits which sustained Pi throughout the book and also the anchor of the cupcake. Download the recipe here.

 

Books create a formula much like creating a recipe for baking. The theme, setting, character, plot and resolution are the ingredients to a great novel.

Please enjoy and we hope you will be inspired to not only read these books but bake some cupcakes too!

Blissfully yours,

Kim & Cassandra


Doesn't this whole video series sound great?! I'm definitely going to be checking out the videos and my husband may be eating more cupcakes than he expects in the near future, LOL! YUM!

My (*REALLY Belated) BEA 12 Wrap-Up Post...and a Giveaway!

Well...this is long overdue, but I've just been seriously overwhelmed lately.  Today is the first day since BEA that I really felt up to tackling a post of this size...

Anyway, on June 6th - ages ago, now!- I went into New York City to attend Book Expo America...my favorite day of the entire year.  I seriously love the experience every time I go. 

This year, I got up at 3:20a.m. so that I could drive down to the train station to meet my friend, Kim, and take the earliest train possible (well, for us anyway...) into the city in time to make the Children's Author Breakfast.  We got there in plenty of time so that Kim could check her roll-y bag, we picked out our seats (next year, we vowed to pay for the real breakfast table seats) and even got to chat with other Librarian friends before it started. I was super excited to catch up with my CT Librarians like Andrea, Kristi, and Heather!!  <3

If you want to read all about the Children's Author Breakfast (and I think you should - Chris Colfer moderated and it was amazing!!),  you can check out the write up I did for YALSA's The Hub. 

After the breakfast, Miss Kim and I were forced to split up. There is just so much to do and we had different things we desperately wanted to hit during the day. Of course, the first thing I wanted to do was get a signed copy of Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas, so I waited in line for more than an hour right off the bat. 

Having learned from going the last three years, I usually make a plan of things I'd like to do at BEA and then I  kind of take the day as it comes. While this year I did go in with certain signings that I *HAD* to attend, I  also made a point to give myself plenty of time to walk around and talk to the different people at Publishers' Booths. This worked out just great, as I was able to hand my blog card out to several different  people and I picked up some ARCs I never would have grabbed, based on the publisher's rep's recommendations. 

Alright, want to see what I got?

I was beyond excited to grab one of Chris Colfer's ARCs from the Children's Author Breakfast (bottom of the pile)! It came in the cutest little box, too. Another one I refused to leave BEA without was a signed copy of Diana Peterfreund's For Darkness Shows the Stars. That was a must-grab for me!!  I  was also super excited to meet Jonathan Maberry in person and to get a signed copy of  Rot and Ruin. 

I was so happy to grab Libba Bray's The Diviners, too! Miss Kim grabbed a copy of Prodigy for me (Thank you!!) and I picked up several others I can't wait to read.  :)

Throughout the day, I met tons of authors, which is always one of my favorite things about all of BEA. I have to say this year's highlights included having Julianne Donaldson (Edenbrooke) and her publisher recognize me from the blog tour and then getting to have a real-life one on one conversation with JOHN GREEN!  Yes, the John Green.  He thanked me for being a Librarian and working every day to connect kids to books. So, of course, I thanked him for writing such great books for us to connect them to!!  (Awesome moment!)

Overall it was a great, and exhausting day. I made new contacts, caught up with old friends, and got a whole pile of books that it will probably take me a whole 'nother year to plow through, LOL.

How would you like some spoils from my efforts at BEA? I grabbed a couple extra ARCs and decided to give them away!  :D 

I have an extra copy of Jessica Khoury's Origin and Sharon Cameron's The Dark Unwinding. (If you click  on each title, it will take you to the Goodreads page for each book, where you can find a description) 

If  you would like to enter to win *both* these ARCs, please leave me a comment below  before Wed., June 27th. Please include your email address, too, so that if your name is chosen by Random.org on Thurs, June 28th, I can get in touch with you to get your mailing address  (US only, sorry!).   The winner will have until  Sunday, July 1st to get me their mailing address or I will pick a new winner.  GOOD LUCK!!

A Novel Idea

A Novel Idea
by Aimee Friedman

Once upon a time there was a Brooklyn hipster named Norah. Unlucky in love, and short on extracurriculars for her college apps, Norah decided to start a book group. She knew the perfect locale -- a local indie bookstore with a crush-worthy cutie manning the soy latte counter.

When the first meeting arrives, Norah gets a page-turning surprise. The attendees may be bookish, but there are also a few hotties! Most noteworthy: sweet, literary James. He's like a modern Jane Austen hero....

Only, how to snag him? Ever the romantic heroine, Norah devises a secret plan. And if it works, Norah may just find her "Happily Ever After" love story. The End. (description from Amazon.com)

Oh. This book was the perfect break from all of the books I'm reading strictly to review. It was wonderful to just sit down to a happy little romantic comedy. :)

Norah was a funny character. She's kinda funky...with that indie vibe...perfect to start a hipster book club. As a book lover, I really enjoyed the fact that this entire storyline was centered around a book club...and it made me want to run out and join one!

I also really loved how Friedman layered the events of Norah's favorite new, oh horror of embarrassing horrors!!!, romance novel into the events of Norah's real life. It was so cute how the two intertwined.

Really, all in all, just a cute little book that I recommend if you want something light and happy. Something that will leave you with a smile.

In My Mailbox - August 22, 2010

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren, inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Every week bloggers can share what they received in the mail or at the bookstore or at the library. The goal is that everyone can be exposed to more books this way!

In the Mail:

It's a Book by Lane Smith

From the Library:

Scumble by Ingrid Law

Keys to the Repository by Melissa De La Cruz

Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl

Fang by James Patterson

Changeless by Gail Carriger

How did you do this week?

Whoo Hoo - Mari Mancusi Book Giveaway Contest!

Check out this huge pile o'books that Mari Mancusi is giving away for the holidays!!

Want to check out the details and enter?
Go to her blog at: http://marimancusi.blogspot.com/, then get follow her directions for reblogging, tweeting, etc. and you could win!

Keep your fingers crossed for me (and I'll keep'em crossed for you if you enter too!)

Thursday Tween Talk - Dec. 17

At our library, we run a "Tween Time" program for students in grades 4-8 every first and third Wednesday of the month. We try to rotate between book related, craft, active, and "other" programs to keep the tweens guessing...and coming back!

Yesterday, we did our second annual "Holiday Gifts Workshop" for our Tween Time program. We gave the tweens all the supplies to make five different crafts and let them go at it for an hour. They had a blast and came out with some great looking homemade gifts to take to their families for Christmas, Hannukah, or whichever holiday they celebrate.

The crafts that we suggested they make were recycled greeting card ball ornaments, beaded candy cane ornaments, popsicle stick sleds, popsicle stick frames, beaded bracelets, and felt magnets.





We're planning a break now until February. We found last year that our January attendance really suffered between the weather, people recovering from the holidays, and other factors, so on the first Wed. in February, we're kicking off again with "Chocolate Day." YUM.

I can't wait for our Spring line-up of programs...we have a ton of great stuff planned. Chocolate Day, Life-Size Monopoly, Clay Crafts, Wii Fun, a "Camp-Out Movie..." It's all going to be a blast to do. Do you all do this type of program at your libraries too?