Book Stuff – Page 33 – Book Journey

Cover CRACK… What Book Covers Are You Jonesing Over?

Published on March 15, 2015March 15, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments

jonesing

to have a strong need, desire, or craving for something.

There are certain book covers that for whatever reason draw my attention. Seriously. I can be browsing books and particular covers can stop me in my tracks and cause me to pick up the book and read the synopsis.

Sound familiar?

It should. Even though we are told to never judge a book by its cover, I have to believe that most of us, when put in a room of books to browse, it is the cover that is the next logical step to wondering if a book is a good fit for you.

That being said…

for me the cover crack that catches my eye is at this time: Houses and Food. I know. I know. Lets break this down.

Houses.

Covers with an old home on them, a mansion, a street filled with homes, even buildings (barns, sheds, maybe a hardware store). I think what draws me in are the possibilities. What is happening in that place or what will happen? Who lives there? What secrets do they have?

Here are a few samples of endearing book covers. (*Note – these are not necessarily books I have read, but these are book covers I am drawn to)

house book covers, jonesing over covers, cover crack, Book Journey

(actually in this house category is one of my all time favorite books)

Food.

I love reading about food and I am not just talking about cook books. I mean fictional fun stories and memoirs of traditional cooking, starting a restaurant, creating culture, famous chefs…. I love it all.

Your up. What covers do you find call to you?

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Published on March 15, 2015March 15, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Many years ago I read Fitzpatrick’s engaging trilogy starting with Hush Hush and enjoyed it so much. I was so excited to give this one a try and see if these new characters could live up to the wonderful books she had written previously. They did. ~Sheila

Britt Pheiffer has been training for her upcoming winter backpacking trip to the Tenton Range with her best friend Korbie where they will be staying at Korbie’s family cabin. When Korbie’s college brother, and Britt’s ex boyfriend Calvin decided he is going to join them by meeting them at the cabin, Britt is not sure if she is excited or annoyed.

While the girls on their way to the cabin a blizzard makes the roads impossible to drive on and they seek shelter at a cabin they find in the woods. They gratefully accept the hospitality of the two young men, Sean and Mason, occupying the cabin soaking up the warmth after a chilling walk. Yet soon the girls realize all is not as it seems. The two men are fugitives for murder, on the run from the law, and Britt and Korbie have just become their hostages.

The men decide that Britt who has more outdoor skills that Korbie will guide them off the mountain. While Sean is dark and angry with a quick temper, Mason tries to keep him calm and protect Britt when he can. Is Mason an ally? Can a cold blooded killer be an ally?

Britt’s only hope is that Calvin discovers her abandoned car and comes looking for her and Korbie. And hopefully he will make it before it is too late.

Becca Fitzpatrick does it again with characters that are three dimensional and a story line that keeps you guessing.

I enjoyed listening to Black Ice on audio, Jenna Lamia (narrator for The Secret Life Of Bees, The Help, Looking For Me, Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt) has just the youthful voice for this book, as well as the diversity to handle the male voices of the book as well without sounding like a girl trying to be a guy. Impressive as always!

Black Ice was a wonderful listen and a good story line that is at once scary and also a little bit of a YA romance, a mix that works well here. I enjoyed experiencing this author again.

Audio CD
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (October 7, 2014)

What Is Your Reading Style?

Published on March 8, 2015March 8, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)38 Comments

Earlier this week I read a post at I’m Lost In Books and enjoyed a post about being a multi book reader. I could relate to her reading style, as I am also a multi book reader. I enjoyed the picture she had on her post too:

How cool is that?

Looking at this list I am pretty much everything listed on the left side.

Polygamist Reader: I do usually have at least two books going at the same time and 2 to 3 audio books. I pick up the book I am in the mood for, and often if one takes off, the other will be put aside until I finish the one. Audio is for convenience and I have one in the car, one in the house and one on my phone. I usually listen to a little of each of these every day.

Extrovert Reader: I do like trying new genres, beautiful books call to me.

Altruist Reader: Oh yeah. If I like it, you know it. I gush about it here, I tell my friends, groups I am involved in, and our library. I have several friends who call me for book recommendations and I am happy to oblige.

So how about you? Do one or more of these styles refer to the way you like to read? Do you see any pro’s or con’s to your style?

Morning Meanderings… We Are Talking Alligators.

Published on March 5, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

Thursday! I think my feeling word for today is:

content.

Don’t get me wrong… my days are crazy busy and every time I sit down to the computer I have a post it next to me to write down things as I think of them…

but I think it suits me.

I like checking things off the list and thinking of new things to go on the list and I can tell you, freelancing is not dull. Just recently I wrote 6 articles on Social Media for a website, 60 Dump Style recipes for a book, 25 articles for a magazine, created a new non profit website and today I scheduled an interview for the alligator story for a summer magazine release.

Alligators!

I am excited about this one, it will be about a woman who has assisted in alligator rescue in South Carolina. Bucket list item? Hmmmmmm….

Today I am “touring” a new building for our spring book sale. We need a bigger space. It is going to be a good amount of work to get the books over there, but I think it will have a good outcome.

Book Crack: What Draws You To The Books You Choose

Published on March 1, 2015March 1, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Recently a friend of mine asked me for good book suggestions for her to recommend to her book club. I rattled off a few I had really enjoyed recently including Silent Sister and The Midwife’s Confession, both by Diane Chamberlain. Later, my friend sent me a message saying they were going with Silent Sister, but she was curious about the author writing both of the books about suicide and if that was her niche. I hadn’t really thought about that when I suggested the books and as I replied I thought about my current books I had going.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand is a book about a teenager committing suicide. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (listening to currently in my car), is about two teens who develop a friendship over their suicide attempt. I did not pick up on this theme until my friend pointed it out to me and I did not want to tell her what had just dawned on me, “apparently I am drawn to books about suicide.”

As I processed that thought, curious as to why these books may catch my attention I think I have some ideas:

1. A suicide – or untimely death of any reason, can make for good (I know the word “good” sounds terrible here) book footage. There are many ways you go with this… a false suicide (person actually still lives as it is a coverup), a murder disguised as suicide and then who did it, a true suicide where those left behind have much to sort out.

2. Puzzle solving. I like puzzles and things I have to figure out. A death synopsis opens that up for me.

3. Emotions. I do not search for book after book that will rip me up, however a book that can bring out any kind of strong emotion – fear, sorrow, love, hate… is usually a well written book.

4. Creepy curious desire of the unknown. In a suicidal book there is much to interpret. You are opening yourself up to a loss for all those involved.

Of course, my book reading does not consist of death alone (thank goodness!). I am also drawn to well developed dystopian reads, books centered around women’s friendships, food memoirs, and I hate to admit it… books about school shootings. Of course, we read all the time out of our “book crack” genres, and enjoy many other topics as well – but there are those certain topics that draw us back again and again to our ~~dealer~~. I mean… ~~book dealer~~. I mean book seller.

Book Journey, Harry Potter, Darth Vadar — Don’t be judgey…. the heart wants what the heart wants.

So I am curious. What is it that draws us to the books that we read a little about or hear a little about and suddenly we MUST HAVE THAT BOOK! It has happened to us all so don’t deny it. 🙂 When a book appeals to us to the point that we order it right away, what happened? I am willing to bet it is not because we had nothing else to read.

What topics in books are like book crack to you? Which books can you not resist?

Morning Meanderings… Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates

Published on February 27, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Friday! OOMP – there it is!!! I feel like I want to run to the end of the living room and do some sort of touch down dance.

It has been a GOOD week. I have been back from our trip for a little over a month now and have gone from feeling exhausted and lazy, to “what am I going to do with my life?”, to cautiously putting myself out there, to picking up a few freelance jobs, to slowly developing a name, to a possible local commitment that is flexible and can work around my other projects. I will know more after today.

EEP. (in a good way)

It has been scary cool putting together my own work commitments and wondering if it would work. I had fears that working from home would be too hard to stay focused but that has not been true. And honestly I really really like it and feel I am getting a nice rhythm.

HAZAH!

Ok, apparently I have the dork meter set on HIGH today. I am having breakfast with a friend and partner in ~~crime~~ all things bike ride related this morning for putting together a charity bike ride for camp this summer. I am really excited how that has come together this week. I built this super cool website: Camp Benedict Cyclists

I also think I have landed the final author I need for Wine and Words this year. Just waiting on final confirmation and then I can start making announcements and update that website as well.

So if life really is really like a box of chocolates… my week has been all milk chocolate caramels (MY FAV!) and not one single coconut filled one. HAZAH again.

Urban Dictionary:

hazah

A word used to emphasize ones pleasure and/or approval at something. Often accompanied by spasticated clapping.

For real authority, one should pronounce it as if saying ‘I SAY! (old chap)’.

Bloke in movie: “The Wooden Horse will destroy the city of Troy”.

Loyal fans: “Hazah! Hazah!” *clap clap clap*

Morning Meanderings… Keep Your Friends Close. Seriously.

Published on February 26, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

Thursday! Slowly but steadily chugging along towards the weekend. Yesterday was productive and today should be too. I am getting a little reading in and a little more audio these days. I am actually excited that this Saturday I have an hour and a half drive which means audio time! That is when I get the big chunks in and I love it!

Currently I am listening to Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly and really enjoying it! When Natty leaves town to be by her daughter’s side when she becomes ill on a school trip, Natty rushed to be by her side. Thankfully Eve, Natty’s best friend offers to come and stay at the house to help with Natty’s other daughter. Yet when Natty returns, she finds that Eve has taken to her family a little too well and her husband Shawn has fallen in love with her. It is sooooogood!

I am reading New Uses For Old Boyfriends and while it is more of a chick lit lite read, I am liking the easiness of it. When Lila Alders life implodes, she finds herself back in Black Dog Bay where she grew up. When she finds that her mother is much in the same boat having dwindled the families fortune into the red it is up to Lila to start putting both of their lives back together. It is fun if a familiar synopsis.

Come to think of it, if you combined the books after Natty gets done with Eve, she could take Lila’s place and continue on into the next book….lol. Both are good in different ways but isn’t that what makes for good reading?

Today will be another good catch up day, I should get pretty caught up with projects if I stay steady. Lots of balls in the air but I think… I got this. 😉

Reading anything good?

E Readers and Books… What Makes It To The Next Level

Published on February 15, 2015February 15, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)63 Comments

First up. This post is Meg’s fault. 🙂 Write Meg wrote earlier this week about her Kindle Vs. the paperbacks. It is a good post. Read it.

I know the discussion is not a new one, in fact I am pretty sure somewhere in my archives among the cobwebs deep within this blog shoved in a corner box marked Old Posts, I have talked about this as well…. however… I think my opinion has slightly changed.

In response to Meg’s post I wrote:

I am with you. I “kindled up” a couple years ago myself and I go in spurts of using it and then not… now it sits on my end table in the living so it at least has been upgraded out of a corner in the book room wondering where its charger is. 🙂 Like you, I enjoy the look and feel of a real book. Like you, I also find myself appreciating the Kindle more than I used to…. I can accept a Netgalley read right away as opposed to waiting for it to be sent to me. It obviously takes up less space…
One fun fact I learned from our library board is that e book check outs have plateaued. Interesting. I wonder what that means?

SO what has changed for me… and for possibly you… and maybe the world as opinions on e readers?

For me…

E Reader +

Honestly…. the e reader, a Kindle in my instance, is convenient. It is small, I can slip it in my purse and take it with me. For traveling it is wonderful… I can take with me a mystery, a non fiction, a literary, classic, best seller, and a Chunkster *cough cough Harry Potter*, all in the space of smaller than a paperback.

I like highlighting passages I plan to go back to for quoting purposes to friends, or at book club. I like to put my finger on a word and have a dictionary pop up and tell me what it means.

E Reader –

Sometimes my e reader does not hold my page. I may go out of that book to start another one on the e reader and when I come back, it has started over. Flip flip flip through the screen trying to find where I was…. annoying.

Charge it! Not always convenient. Granted the battery lasts for quite a while, but thinking ahead to having a full battery before I take off is not always on the agenda. Nothing worse than you are in a good part of a book and suddenly you can not read it.

Books +

Lets be honest…. I LOVE books. I love the look, the smell, the weight. I love the covers. I love it when the covers have a texture to them, I love the pages when they are beveled, or off white, or white, or have words on them.

I love the look of books in a home… they tell me something about the person.

I love being able to see what people are reading when I pass them in waiting rooms, on a plane, in a library, anywhere…

Books are conversation starters.

I love book rooms and book shelves. I love books in piles… on tables, end tables, coffee tables, counter tops, in rooms… on beds…. wherever.

A book does not need to be plugged in. In a power outage, I can still read by candle light. In a dystopian world of no electricity, my book still works… and if the new world is bad enough, it is also a weapon. 😉

Book –

It is hard to travel with books. If you are like me, you never know what you are going to want to read. That means when I traveled, I would take about 4 or 5 books of different genres. Notoriously, I would purchase book(s!) wherever I traveled to and add them to the 4 or 5. Basically – I take a carry on a plane for my books. It is a bit ridiculous. (I have since went to using my Kindle for travel and perhaps one real paper book).

They do take up A LOT of space. I have a room in my house for my books. I LOVE that room. I love the look and feel of it but quite honestly… it is a lot of books. It is like a page out of hoarders, except in my defense they are in alphabetical order by author and I think my case will stand up in court. 😀

I think what I am getting at here is there is a place in my world for both the paper book and the e reader. They can work together harmoniously.

What are your thoughts on books and e readers? Do you favor one over the other?

Book Club Thoughts and Ideas: The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

Published on February 11, 2015February 28, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain was our Bookies Book Club read for February 2014. I had listened to this one on audio and had reviewed it in November.

Basic synopsis: Riley MacPherson was just a little girl when her older sister Lisa died. That moment defined the MacPherson families lives… her brother Danny became distant, her mother turned to grief, and later it was cancer, and her father just kept on trying to be himself.

Twenty years later after her fathers passing, Riley finds evidence in her father’s home that seems to lead to the fact that Lisa did not die after all. In fact, Riley seems to have stumbled across disturbing facts that change everything she ever knew to be true. And if Lisa had not died all those years ago… what did happen? And if she is still alive… where is she?

For most of the Bookies this was their first time reading Diane Chamberlain. We found her to be an amazing author who writes in a manner that keeps you guessing. A few in our group had an idea about the big surprise in the book, but no matter what we had guessed ahead of time or not, we all enjoyed the read.

Why does this book make for good book club material?

Silent Sister has excellent discussion points in the book. There are decisions made in the book that are worth discussing. Each member of the MacPherson family plays a different role and it is fun to see what book club members think of each part.

There are opportunities to go over, “what would you do,” if given the circumstances that happen in the book as well as discussion of the law and how things could have went.

Another great discussion topic is what people turn to for comfort and each book club member can share what their answer is.

Food and Theme

There is not much to talk about for food in the book. In fact when I went to make something for book club I could not recall any food discussions or drink for that matter other than coffee. Cookies in the shape of people (sisters) would be fun to do.

Food could be centered around “Open House” food items as int he book they are trying to sell a house… or even funeral food to represent the loss of Lisa.

Random keys could be used where each book club member draws one and at some point during the discussion shares something that perhaps they had kept quiet during a point int here life (as a child, teen, etc…)

Book Club Discussion Questions Link

The Undiluted Truth About Review Requests – Accepting and Not and All the Decisions In between

Published on February 8, 2015February 6, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)80 Comments

Book reviewers, bloggers… this one is for ~~you~~ us. This is something that has amazed me for years. All the wonderful review requests we receive by email (is it not a book lovers dream?). Yet – what emails sent for a potential review request really make it past the 10 to 30 seconds you give to them? I honestly feel bad but more than not – many hit the delete pile, and it may not even be because the book is not one I would read… in most cases it is that the pitch did not catch my attention in the amount of time I have for it. (Yes that is a huge run on sentence but who has time for periods? 😉 )

Sound cruel?

I hope not. I used to email back each person or company that sent me a review request to let them know if I was unable to accept at this time. Most times I would also let them know why… if it wasn’t a book I think I would enjoy, or if time limitations just did not allow me to agree to another book. I liked doing that… but now I just do not have the time to respond to each email.

Here is the honest truth and I have to believe I am not the only one. Time is precious. I have my personal email where I receive job requests for my writing as well as personal communications. I have a second email that is for Friends of the Library, and a third email for bookish stuff (where I direct all book related emails to go to). Being a busy active person with a life, I try to give each of these emails a look each day, but I do not have time to spend hours reading and responding to emails.

Who does?

So…. the point of this post was to share what does sell me on looking further into a review request… and what does not. Let’s start with the “does not” first…

What Does Not Work In a Review Request

The introduction. Dear sir or madam may pass if the rest of the email is good – but honestly – it is not 1902. If you are trying to catch my attention use my name, or just say hi or hello reviewer.

If you are going to use my name, make sure it is my name. I am not delusional… I do not think that I am the only person that you sent this email to and you covet my review thoughts and only my review thoughts. 🙂 However it starts the email off on a bad foot if you call me Jerry or Julie. Or really… any name that is not my own.

LONG over informative emails with no pictures. Chances are if I do not already work with your publishing company or with you, I am not going to invest time in a too wordy email about a book. Keep it short and sweet. Engage me in why I want to read this book.

No book cover. This is not always a big deal, but again, if you are a new to me publishing house, or author promoting your book… I like to see the cover. Honestly – I always like to see the cover. That is just me. Even with the companies I do work with I will look up the book if a cover is not in the email… that’s just me. I dont know why but I like to connect the cover to the story line. Covers for me are a plus.

Pitching a book to me that if you read my blog or even glanced at my review policy you would know the book wasn’t for me. Please do not tell me in one sentence that you enjoy my blog and in the next sentence pitch to me a romantic erotic western (*for the record – three types of books I clearly state I do not read… romances, westerns, or erotica). LOL. Ok that example is extreme… but it has come close to happening. 🙂

Not being clear on what you are offering (ie. book copy, Netgalley, …) I have at times said yes to a review and then received a PDF to read it on my computer. I dont read books on my computer.

What Does Work In a Review Request

Call me Sheila. Or even say “Hey bloggers” or “Hey book reviewers” or even “Dear Reviewer”. I am not picky, just start your email out right with a greeting. I dont mind being grouped in an email that I know has went out to many. We are all friend here. 🙂

Tell me in a short synopsis about the book or books you are pitching. If you are excited about a particular book, or know it is is being considered for a movie, or even that you expect big things out of the book.. tell me. That’s interesting stuff.

Show me the book cover! I love seeing covers. If I read a synopsis of a book I am interested in – I still want to see the cover.

2aa — Dear Sheila, How are you? We are super excited to offer you a review copy of a book that we feel is going to make a big splash not only in book format, but also as a movie! Please consider reading and reviewing The Hobbit, ….

If you are pitching several books, I dont even need the cover if there is a link where I can look at the book and see more about it.

Clear instructions of what you are offering (ie. a book for review, Netgalley, PDF) is awesome as well as how to respond to you.

That’s about it. I ♥love♥ receiving review requests and I wish I had the time to read and consider them all but as those of us who write review know – we cant say yes to them all which makes the email pitch all the more important.

I am curious, do the things I mention here in review requests cause you to consider or not consider a book? Do you have a criteria that you like to see in a review pitch? If so, please put in the comments your thoughts on book pitches.