Out of the TBR’s (To Be Read) in your home…. what is the method to your madness? (Well… maybe your is not madness… but oofta (yes I said oofta – and yes I put parentheses inside parentheses) mine sure is).
I am curious as to how you choose that next read –
Are you:
AIO – All In Order – as they come in they are read – check off the list go the next… check check check (If so YOU are SO ORGANIZED! WOW!)
TBR and LL – Library Loot – a bit of the TBR mixed in for variety
ATSL – As The Spirit Leads (and honestly this is my personal favorite… I read what I want to read when I want to read it, with the exception of Book Tours)
I have heard some of you talk about your systems of organization when it comes to the TBR and seriously that impresses me… I wish I could stick to that but I tend to read as I am called to a book (at least as much as possible, unless it is a tour book or a book club read with a commitment date)
For those of you who are book reviewers, do you think we easily over commit ourselves to read books offered to us as books are so much our passion it is hard to say no?
How much is too much?
Thank you in advance for your insight. Every Sunday I go through this…. choosing what I plan to read for the It’s Monday, What Are You Reading meme. I take into account book tours and audio choices and then try to mix in one that I have no commitment to other than the fact I want to read it. I am curious how you choose your books. 😀
If you have hung around here any amount of time you have more than likely seen the Elizabeth Berg books popping into my “To Be Read” pile. I read my first Elizabeth Berg book in January of this year, We Are All Welcome Here. The book touched and impressed me and I made a commitment that I have never done before – to read all of this authors works in 2011.
Here we are in May – and here is a list of Elizabeth Berg’s books and the ones I have read have reviews attached:
Elizabeth Berg is a Minnesota author. She was born in 1948, and that would make her the same age as my mom. 🙂 She submitted her first poem to American Girl Magazine when she was 9 and when it was rejected, it took her 25 years before she ever submitted anything again.
FuN To KnOw
Berg hasn’t managed to get her way when it comes to titling her books, usually getting overruled by her agent and editor. She wanted to call Durable GoodsThe King of Wands, after a tarot card; Range of Motion would have been Telling Songs; and Open House would have been The Hotel Meatloaf. Perhaps Berg should be thankful for her handlers?
Have you ever read everything be an author? If so who? If not, which author would you like to read everything by?
What a bitter-sweet year this is with the final movie release of the final book of the Harry Potter Series. I have watched my kids grow up around the Harry Potter books. I have watched documentaries on J K Rowling which only increased my respect for her as a single mom writing out that first book on napkins and scratch paper in a coffee shop. She truly is a rags to riches story and has long been one of the authors I really respect.
Harry Potter has been a part of my life since 1997. As I look back over my collection I have to think what a win for Scholastic, winning the bid for the books in the US. I remember that first copy coming into our home. I remember my boys had it – I did not read (and would not read it until after I heard a movie was coming out and wanted to see what they hype was all about – this was in 2000)
My two sons love this... I did too after I read it in 2001
And really, after that first reading for me… I was a Potter head. I had catching up to do as of this time the fourth book in the series was coming out and they were getting BIGGER and BETTER. The first book started over 200 pages and by the fourth they are between 500 – 700 pages.
Brilliant. By this time, each book that came out we had to purchase it triplicate (YAY J K!) as two teenage boys and myself…. we could not share. We would all be in our designated corners – sworn to not tip the others off if anyone was ahead. Of course I did mention I had two boys…. so that rule didn’t exactly stick…. groans would be heard as they tried to ruin a scene for the other, sometimes it was true… sometimes it was a fake out “Oh no! I can not believe he died on page 527!”
Many other Potterish things are happening now as well. We go to the midnight showings of the movies. We have waited in lines at 12:01 on book release day to be sure we have our copies and can start reading right away. Release dates (books and movies) are actually put on the calendar so we are sure to keep that day free and not make other commitments.
The 1st yearHarry,Ron, Hermoine - Now
Somewhere I have pictures of the boys running around the house with blankets tied around their necks and pointing sticks at each other as they cast spells for a couple of hours one evening.
By the time book 7 came out my oldest boy was out of the house and it was just Justin and I reading the books at home. I had pre ordered the seventh book as we had planned to be camping release day (I know what timing right?). I had never pre ordered one of these books before and was nervous about delivery. When our plans changed and we stayed home that weekend I was a wreck release day… wondering if I should have hit the stores at midnight and picked up a copy, wondering if release day did not necessarily mean delivery day and knowing the whole world was already deep into their books while I in Brainerd Minnesota was waiting on my back deck for the UPS man.
Finally by late morning as I was wondering if anyone in town had any copies left I discovered that my copy of the book was tucked into the screen door off the front door to our home. Never mind how long it had been there…. I will never know. 😛
This time, Justin who was working on release day (again…. who’s kid is this who would work on book release day? Really….) was behind me on reading. Yup. So by the time he got home I was 300+ pages in and while I prepped supper (I know I know… I should have ordered in!) he started reading with my ever watchful eye waiting for his reactions….. finally he banished me from watching him read – which is cruel.
SO….. being the great mom that I am…. the next day while he was working…. I went through his copy of the book and put post it notes on the page AFTER anything big happened. So – when someone died, or when Mrs. Wheasley swears for the first time in any of the books, on the next page would be a post it note from me saying something like “Whoa!!! Can you believe that just happened?” He laughed when he found the first one…. after the second one he asked if I had done that through his entire book. I chose not to answer.
Every time I pick up one of these books I find something more that impresses me …. things in first books come up again in later books, hints I did not pick up on the first time catch me the second time around.
There is so much to this season that is Harry Potter. The merchandising, the websites, Harry Potter world now in Orlando, and Reagan and I are going to the Harry Potter Exhibit while we are in New York at the end of May. SSQQUUUEEEE!!!!
What an opportunity I have had to be along from the start of this ride…. I chalk these up as future classics…. and I for one feel privileged to be among the ones who were there from Hogwarts to Hallows.
I leave you with this – the new trailer for the last of the Harry Potter movies – Deathly Hallows part II – July 15th:
A couple of weeks ago I shared with you my thoughts with you on “What I Learned at BEA“. This was a recap of my adventures last year as a first timer to the Book Expo in New York and what advice I would give those of you who are new to BEA. (I am paying it forward here as last year there were many posts about BEA and what to bring and not to bring and I devoured all their advice.
My roomy again will be the lovely Reagan of Miss Remmers Reviews and she also has created a couple good posts I encourage you to check out…. she is braver than me – she even did a VLOG. 😀
** If you have written a BEA post let me know and I will link you up here
If you have any BEA “utiful” questions – please post them here on the comments – if I do not know the answer myself I will do my best to find out for you. Oh – keep the questions BEA related…. I know nothing about the earths hemisphere or the volume pitch a killer whale can produce. 😛
Caitlin has always seemed to sit in her older sister Cass’s shadow. Even now that Cass has left their home, running away to live with her boyfriend…. leaving… on Caitlin’s sixteenth birthday.
Caitlin tries to move forward in her life while her parents watch her every move wondering if she too will take flight. Caitlin’s mom starts trying to mold Caitlin who had always been the invisible sister into her everything. When Caitlin makes the cheer leading squad (ugh…. cheer leading) her mom takes charge with schedules and uniforms and showing up at practices – much as she used to do with Cass. Could it be that Cass left because she felt smothered by this parental over achieving?
And as Caitlin deals with this new life she finds herself caught up in a whirl of new friends, friends that did not know here as Cass’s sister… friends she can hide herself in and Caitlin begins to become smaller and smaller, flying under the radar as she experiments with drugs and alcohol under the overly watchful eye of her new boyfriend Rogerson.
Strange, sleepy Rogerson, with his long brown dreads and brilliant green eyes, had seemed to Caitlin to be an open door. With him she could be anybody, not just the second-rate shadow of her older sister, Cass. But now she is drowning in the vacuum Cass left behind when she turned her back on her family’s expectations by running off with a boyfriend. Caitlin wanders in a dream land of drugs and a nightmare of Rogerson’s sudden fists, lost in her search for herself.
And this begins my adventures in reading with Sarah Dessen. I thoroughly enjoyed this book in audio format. Narrated by Liz Morton, she brought the perfect “bored and uninterested” voice to Caitlin and her friends as well as she brought the concern into her parents. I found this book to be an important read just like SPEAK is.
Caitlin’s attempt to lose herself after she loses her sister is one that I believe speaks volumes to our society. As Cass was the one who always took the spotlight, Caitlin had no idea what to do when Cass left and the spotlight was all too glaring on her. In times of great tragedy or loss in our lives it is tempting to try to reinvent yourself to cover up the pain. Cass nearly succeeds but by doing so puts herself in grave danger with an abusive boyfriend and drug loving friends.
SO just for a moment without going “spoilerly”… I can’t stand Rogerson. He is a horrible teen who is obviously carrying on what he has learned in his own home. Sad…. very sad. So saying that – I can also say that I am reading this from a parental perspective and Rogerson is a bug that must be squashed…. from a teen girls perspective he is dreamy. Mysterious. Brooding. Handsome. Dangerous. All the things that many young girls are attracted to and really this is where the heart of Dreamland lies within the relationship between Rogerson and Caitlin.
This book as I mentioned above is an important read. Abuse is never something to be accepted.You can feel bad for the one causing the abuse, you can understand why they may be doing it – but it is wrong and they need help.
Teen dating violence often is hidden because teenagers typically:
are inexperienced with dating relationships.
are pressured by peers to act violently.
want independence from parents.
have “romantic” views of love.
Teen dating violence is influenced by how teenagers look at themselves and others.
Young men may believe:
they have the right to “control” their female partners in any way necessary.
“masculinity” is physical aggressiveness
they “possess” their partner.
they should demand intimacy.
they may lose respect if they are attentive and supportive toward their girlfriends.
Young women may believe:
they are responsible for solving problems in their relationships
their boyfriend’s jealousy, possessiveness and even physical abuse, is “romantic.”
abuse is “normal” because their friends are also being abused.
there is no one to ask for help.
Sarah Dessens characters are memorable and even beyond the abuse in the book the story line is strong, and witty. There is more to this book than your typical YA although it will appeal to those who are just looking for a good read as well.
I have been wanting to write this post for a while now. I am curious if you have a book in your collection that has special meaning to you… it may be your favorite book in the world…. or it may (like in my case) be one you have never even read. It could be one a parent or adult read to you as a child that still holds fond memories or one handed down for generations. Really… it could be anything.
My most treasured book, the one I keep in a protective box, belonged to my dad. My dad died in a house fire along with my sister in 1980. This book was found in the ashes… while the cover is damaged, the pages are remarkably clean. The book is one he was given in 1966 when he was in Vietnam. It is a Viet-Anh Vietnamese to English dictionary.
I have very few items of my dads… pretty much everything was destroyed, so this is a treasure. Later this week would have been his birthday and I like to take this out of the box and touch it knowing that a long time ago, his strong hands held this book too.
I would love to hear about your book treasures…. feel free to comment here and if you do decide to write a post about yours, let me know and I will link it here.
And I am OFF and READING! I am up and ready to READ READ READ today! If you are scratching your head saying Read-A-Thon… what read-A-Thon… you can check it out on the Dewey Read A Thon site. My book list is not impressive or well thought out as I just didn’t plan for any thing really and plan to use the old “grab as I go” technique. Seriously – I am not lacking for any reading materials here…
First here’s a bit about me:
1)I am reading from Central Minnesota
2)Three random facts about me are – I just took up kick boxing this week (OW!), I have been to Honduras 8 times to work with kids who live on the street, and I have a once in-house office that now serves as my library (and thank goodness as the option would be to have books EVERYWHERE… er, which I kind of do anyway.
3)I have plans to read 5 or 6 books throughout the read-a-thon (see book list below)
4)I have no real goals other than to commit to reading instead of seeing something shiny and getting distracted… oh and to have fun. Fun is a good thing 😛
5)This is my 4th read-a-thon…. my advice to newcomers is just have fun…. (oh, I said that already?) Well…. that’s how important it is… tackle the books that you want too…. read at least one guilty pleasure book – that book on your shelf that you want to read sooooooo bad and just never seem to get to it. Oh, you know the one. Shoot…. so do I… now I need to change my list! “Doh!”
Midnight Book Girls Mini Challenge was to create a sentence using books only. FANTASTIC! Here is what I got:
Thirteen Reasons Why The Outside Boy Sold The Dress Lodger. (LOL)
I had to try Hungry Readers Challenge which was to recreate a book cover for a book I am currently reading for the readathon…. so here goes…
and the actual cover….
LOL – that was AWESOME! And yes I used my ET from Disney World for the cover pick….LOL
In Hour 7 here is Hannah’s (Word Lilly) Challenge where we were asked to try origami:
This.... is a frog. Yes.. feel free to laugh 😛
A total epic fail on my part, but decided to post it anyway… at least for a smile 😀
Ok entering Mini Challenge for hour Four: Book Puzzle – we are asked to create a puzzle using book titles…. so FUN!!! 😛
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
I do have a few in the planning and I will let you in on them here:
I eat Hate Lists for breakfast! Oh… well, uhhh… in this case I do. I am kicking off on this book that I was able to read a few pages last night and I am moving forward on as soon as this post is up.
Dreamland is my “I need an eye break” audio all set up in the kitchen ready to play if I stop for substance….
Berg of course is on the agenda… what would a read-a-thon be if I had not included Berg in the mix…. that’s like having a party without chips…… UNHEARD OF!
Partially read and then set down for I don’t know why…. I need to complete this book. I think the read-a-thon is a good time to finish the books I have not but have meant too.
Another one I have started and not finished yet…. today (HOPEFULLY) could be the day I complete it.
Hmmm….. I guess I do kind of have a plan then. Well – Excellent! Also, I am reading for a cause – my post of where my pages are being donated to is here. 😀
I will post updates on this post throughout the day.
Off I go to read and hope to see you all back here for the mini challenge later today!
Spring is finally here in Minnesota and I can not be more THRILLED! Today I took my bike out for the first time in 2011! I am a big bike rider and do quite a few rides throughout the season for fun or for charity. The one I want to talk to you about today is one that holds a special place in my heart.
Camp Benedict is a yearly camp for those affected and/or infected by AIDS. My friend Connie who works hard to make this camp happen each year is a 30 year AIDS survivor. Connie was infected by AIDS in 1981 when she received an emergency blood transfusion for a hysterectomy. Connie is an amazing women who works with many others to make this camp a success each year providing support and education to those who have been touched by the AIDS virus.
On April 9th 2011 is the April Read-A-Thon. As timing would have it, it is also the day that Connie is having her silent auction at the Brainerd Arboretum from 1- 4 pm to raise money for this years camp. I am going to help support this cause from home by reading for the camp.
I plan to personally contribute $1 for every ten minutes I read or every ten minutes I listen to audio. You can help support me in this cause if you wish by pledging in the comments a per page or in audio per minute) contribution or by using this link to make a one time pledge for the bike ride I will participate in this fall that all the money I raise goes directly to the camp. The read a thon is for a 24 hour period on April 9th 2011.
Wow…. March is here and gone…. seriously? As awful as March weather has been in Minnesota this year, (in fact it is dreary and snowing right now…. GRRRR), it did go fast. Thanks goodness I guess.
However – I feel my reading took a dive this month from my previous awesome reading in January and February… here is what I read in March:
Two unknown (Clementine – friend Of The Week!) (Listen by Rene Gutteridge)
Saudi Arabia
Australia
Singapore
Europe
Jerusalem
Ethiopia
United Kingdom
As for my monthly Comment Winner – that goes to Hannah at Word Lily – WOO HOO Hannah! 😀 and my random comment winner goes to Cheryl Mahoney of Tales Of The Marvelous
Hannah wins the $20 Amazon gift Card and Cheryl gets to choose from my Reading Cafe for a book that I will send her. 🙂
If you would like to link up your WHERE Are You Reading Map posts for a March update I would love to come and see where you are all at on your maps. Please connect with the linky below.
It’s April 1…. a new comment month has not officially started 😀
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
It can not be too early to start talking about BEA.. certainly we are about 8 weeks out (or is it 7) and I am already counting down the days! 😀
Last year I did something that was new to me and I can not wait to share it with you! I too a flight from Minnesota to New York to attend BEA. Now if you are anything like me, a little introverted… but really want to experience BEA – I want to share with you how I did it, and what I learned so if you are planning to attend this year (and SSSQQQQUUUEEEEEEE for you if you are!) I am hopeful that my experience can help you plan for an exciting trip.
First off let me just say if you are at all considering doing BEA but not sure…. and what if… and….. STOP IT. Stop it now and go – RUN I TELL YOU, and get signed up. Seriously…. BEA is about one of the best things I ever did for myself and I will rave about it forever. 😀
So here is how it went down for me last year.
So… I was fairly new to blogging…. heard the low rumbles about something called BEA and as I watched on Twitter I learned that BEA stood for Book Expo America and it was a big huge book event in New York that many book bloggers were planning to attend. Honestly, I had never heard of such a thing before. An event that was all books…. major books…. oh and those people I have come to chat with frequently on-line… yeah, they would be there. I could actually meet them in person.
*gulp*
SO right there I am interested… but nervously so…. I have flown many places before with my family…. but never alone. This was so unlike me to decide to jump on a plane and go to New York – a place I had never been… never thought about going to…. and seriously here came the questions…
Who would I know?
Where would I stay?
How would I get places?
How expensive would this be?
Was I crazy? 😯
But I really really wanted to go…. so…. first off I connected with someone I felt safe with. I had never met Reagan from Miss Remmer’s reviews but we had chatted through comments on our blogs and on Twitter. I knew she was from Minnesota (SAFE!) and was a teacher (SAFE!). Through emails we both decided we were going to do this and do it together.
As we looked at prices we discovered that New York hotels were not cheep…. so we decided to look for roommates. But who? We went on Twitter…. we posted on our blogs…. and people responded…. within a few weeks we had roommates and they had all sent me their share of the hotel room which I had secured.
All women who I had never met…. but we emailed each other… I peaked at their blog posts…. found them to be just like me… and we had a plan.
So – here is my advice:
Read up on anything you can on BEA – I read the BEA website forwards and backwards…. a group of wonderful bloggers all got together and did a post a day about BEA and their experiences and advice and I literally took notes…
the best advice I picked up from them and used was:
1. Bring a large book bag to put your books in (seriously I can not emphasize this enough). You will get book bags there, but if you have a large comfy bag that you can toss in a little coin purse, a bottle of water or two and fruit or a granola bar you are set! Do not plan on carrying a desperate purse – many areas of the Javits are crowded and extra baggage will be something you will regret.
2. Dress comfy but nice…. you will be meeting authors and publishers and you are representing your blog. It’s a hobby, but at BEA it is also like your business….Oh and wear comfy shoes – you will walk A LOT.
3. There is food in the Javits Center but it is pricey… I ate the continental breakfast at our hotel and grabbed an extra piece of fruit/yogurt when I left… have a few snacky items to tie you over.
4. Friends told my New York was super expensive to eat there and I was worried but honestly, I found it not to be bad… very similar to Minnesota. Yes, I am sure you can find expensive places but even when we ate out at a couple nice places it was about 14 – $20 for a dinner, and on the low-end – we ate at an awesome Thai restaurant (what was it called Esme – Yum Yum?) it was about $12 and three courses that was DELICIOUS! I can not wait to eat there again.
5. Our hotel was a few blocks off from Times Square (SSSSSQQQUUUEEEE!!!!) and about 6 blocks from the Javits Center. We walked everywhere and only used a cab a couple of times when it was dark to get back to our hotel. we booked our hotel this year in the same area.
6. ***DO NOT book a lot of things before you arrive. Yes it is New York… yes there is much to see and do…. but this advice was priceless. People asked me to book shows and events with them prior to BEA and I said no…. I am so glad I did. Every night we were invited to have dinner with authors, with fellow bloggers, one night there was a book blogger party… all of this I would have missed had I filled my evenings with shows. Instead, when I booked my stay, I booked it one day longer than BEA so that last day I could explore New York and do a show…. Esme from Chocolates and Croissants did this with me… we seen The King Tut Exhibit and went to Mama Mia…. it was awesome. 😀
5. Plan your book mailings wisely. Even though I had heard that at BEA you would be given books… I really had no idea. None. As soon as the doors opened that first day I was pushed with the crowd into the main area and into a table where a book was thrust into my hands. Seriously. I will never forget it… that book was I Am Number Four and I had never heard of it.
When my book bag became full I found Fed Ex on the main floor, boxed up the books and waited in line to mail the box to myself at home. That first standard size box cost me around $30. Later that day I discovered UPS downstairs which was a better set up. There they had long tables and you could grab a box and write your name all over it and leave it down there. Then you could make frequent trips to your box and fill it as the day went on. When that box was full I taped it up and waited in line to mail it to me… around $40. A bigger box, not bad but still… I could spend a lot at this rate.
Then I discovered the post office was about 8 blocks from the Javits Center. Now this is a commitment as I hauled three book bags to the post office – however when I boxed up that large box (and I put everything in it, books, t-shirts, pins, pens, swag of all kinds) it was $18 to send the box to me media mail. BINGO. This is the way to go. 😀 I also noticed some wise people brought to the center pull behind suitcases that they filled and then wheeled to their hotels or post office… not a bad idea either.
7. Absolutely invest in business cards. I bought a box of 500 through Vista Print last year… I probably still have about 200 left but I gave out a lot of them to fellow bloggers, publishers, etc… I paid around $19 for the cards and was very happy with them.
8. My final advice… you can sleep when you get home. 😛 Keep your ears open, be friendly, meet people and go to where the action is. I was tired…. but every night I had plans and that is part of the experience.
Me and two of my roomies: (R) Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness, me, and Care from Care's On Line Book Club
I found book bloggers to be exactly who I felt they were by reading their blogs. I did not meet one person who did not seem genuine. We all chatted like we were old friends and I loved how we could recognize each other by our blogs…. I can not even put into words what an amazing experience this was. I knew right away I wanted to go again this year and any other year if possible…
I am attending again with Reagan (Miss Remmer’s Reviews). The only thing we are planning differently is that this year we are just doing us two in the room. Our hotel room was extremely small last year (I never seen anything like that)… New York values space and every building is TALL – not wide. Same goes for the rooms. Our beds last year to my surprise, were full size…close quarters for a room full of girls I had never met before. 🙂 And the shower/bathroom time was interesting to get us all in and out. It was good none of us spent a lot of time in the room. This year it costs us more, but worth the space.
If you are planning to go – please let me know, I would love to meet you in person! I will be taking my laptop and I will be on Twitter throughout the event (#bookjourney).
Book Journey 