Category: Book Thoughts

Hi all!  Sheila asked me if I would fill in for her one day while she is on her amazing Honduras trip, and I readily agreed to help out!

I’ve “met” so many wonderful people, including my friend Sheila, who all share my love of reading and books through blogging. I met Sheila through the “It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?” meme that she has now taken over and taken to great heights of popularity!  It’s been so much fun to watch how Sheila’s blog has grown over the years, and how excited she still is about the whole process. (She wears me out sometimes, with all her activities – J – but I always know I’ll find a great book idea at her blog!)

Sheila asked me to tell you a little about myself. My name is Sharon Galligar Chance, and some of you may know me from my blog, Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews.  I’ve been blogging for three years now, and still love it as much as I did the day I began!

I have also been a freelance entertainment journalist for the past fifteen years. In addition to being a senior book reviewer for the Times Record News, I am also a regular guest contributor for the Las Vegas Review Journal’s Book Nook blog, The Ventura County Star, and write a monthly column at FreshFiction.com highlighting cozy mysteries, “Sharon’s Cozy Corner.”

So, enough about me!  On to books!

Sheila asked me to talk about which book has been my favorite, so far, of 2011.  Wow, tough question!  There have been so many wonderful books out this year, it’s hard to choose just one. But I sat down and went through the books I have reviewed over the year, and settled on one that I feel has been one of the most interesting books I’ve had the pleasure to read … so far!

My choice is Melanie Benjamin’s “The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb.”

I fell in love with this novel. Plain, and simple. 

Melanie Benjamin has taken the bits of known history of one of the most fascinating female personalities in entertainment history, added in a captivating fictional narrative from the tiny lady herself, and delivers a gentle, loving, captivating story that takes readers into the heart of Lavinia Warren, aka Mrs. Tom Thumb.

Here is the link to my review over at my blog, if you’d like to check it out!
There is little doubt, to me, that this novel is destined to be one of the best books of 2011.  It has recently been nominated for a Goodreads Good Choice Award.  I highly recommend it!

I so admire Sheila for her commitment to this mission and I wish her safe journeys on her trip!

*Note from Sheila:  Sharon is so sweet!  I remember connecting with her on Book Blogs when we were both new to this world and I love that she is still reviewing and loving it just as I am.  Her review of Mrs. Tom Thumb peaked my interest and I have yet to read it but need to!

First of all, thank you so much Sheila for thinking of me to guest post while you’re away having fun in Honduras! I’ve been a reader of Sheila’s site since around the same time I started book blogging about two years ago and I love her site. One of the aspects of book blogging I love the very most is the community and how welcoming everyone is, Sheila is no exception to this. Her “Monday Reading” feature is something I participate in weekly and have met so many wonderful readers thanks to it.

At my site, There’s A Book, I review primarily Children’s books though I also review women’s fiction at Chick Lit Reviews and News. So, in a break from Sheila’s normally talked about books I thought I’d share my Top Five favorite picture books this year! (Click on the links to be taken to my review or Goodreads.)

Pirate vs. Pirate by Mary Quattlebaum – Argh! Do you have a little pirate in your midst? This book is not only perfect for pirate fans, but gorgeously illustrated and written. Not only that, but it has a wonderful message of the importance of looking for the best in others. An absolute favorite of ours!

I Broke My Trunk! by Mo Willems – This is most likely my kiddos favorite series of picture books, there are currently around 15 in the series and they love every one of them. Mo Willems knows how to write so that both children and adults love reading and re-reading his books. Elephant and Piggie are two best friends who have “typical” problems with very silly solutions. I promise you’ll laugh hysterically while reading any of the books in this series.

The Scar by Charlotte Moundlic – Beautiful. Gorgeous. Heartbreaking. Needed. These are only a few of the words I’d use to describe this incredible book about a little boy who has lost his mom. It’s something that’s not always talked about in picture books, but it’s needed and so well done in this heartbreaking tale. Love this book.

Big Bouffant by Kate Hosford – A delightful book about individuality and teaching children the importance of being comfortable with who they truly are. This is a story about a little girl who wants to be different from all the other little girls and does so with an adorable hairdo. It’s fantastic and the illustrations by Holly Clifton-Brown are wonderful!

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen – I can’t talk enough about this book. It’s most likely our family’s favorite picture book this year, maybe ever (though Interrupting Chicken is a close runner-up/tie). The humor is dry and perfect for adults, but the moral of the story isn’t lost on children – honesty. This is a book I’d encourage to everyone, not just children, it’s going to be a Classic I’m positive.

To be honest, this list is a bit insane. How could I ever narrow down my favorite picture books? There are so many more I’m leaving off and I hope you’ll stop by There’s A Book to discover more great books, no matter if you have a kiddo in your life or not. I should also mention that it’s International Picture Book Month!

Thank you again Sheila! I hope you have a fantastic trip and we’ll be looking forward to hearing all about your trip when you return.

– Danielle aka The1stdaughter

*Note from Sheila:  If you have not spent any time on Danielle’s blog – you must!  True I do not read a lot of Grade School reads, but she also has Middle Grade, and YA, both genres I enjoy!

 

Hello Fellow Readers! My name is Staci and I blog at Life in the Thumb. I can’t remember a time that I didn’t have a book in my hand. I’ve been reading since the age of five. I’ve had a few run-ins with the library police during my childhood because I wanted to keep the books so bad, I would hide them from my mother and tear out all of the library pockets!! I’m the Library Lady ( little ironic, huh?) at my local middle school and love my job! I’ve been blogging about books for a little over three years.

 

 

I came to know Sheila through reading her comments on other blogs and really liked what she would write. I was interested enough to check out her blog and I’ve been a pretty loyal reader ever since. I also love to participate in her meme, It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

 

 

 

Sheila asked me to choose a topic to discuss and I decided to talk about one of my favorite reads this year which is The Homecoming of Samuel Lake. It’s been a long time since a book has affected me quite like this one did. In fact, the last time I cried, laughed, and was heartsick was when I read Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and The Secret Life of Bees. I was immediately sucked into this story and wrapped up in the lives of the characters. I couldn’t put this book down for one minute and I sat outside for the entire day until I finished this story. This is a book that I think would translate well to the big screen. I would love to see the main protagonist, Swan, brought to life. She may have been young but she was a firecracker. If you’re looking for a book that will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, then I highly recommend that you find a copy of this stellar read and treat yourself!!!

 

 

Note from Sheila:  Staci and I share a love for dogs and a common heartbreak this year as well.  Staci writes some amazing reviews and I think I have now added The Homecoming Of Samuel Lake to my TBR.

Sheila asked me to share some thoughts today, in her absence, and when she extended the invitation and suggested a couple of topics, I thought back to my first encounter with Sheila in her online persona.  Not only do I enjoy her blog, but I soon learned that she was always ready to extend a helping hand with all the technological stuff I had yet to learn.

It was in the early summer of 2009, and I was still very new to the idea (or the gravitational pull) of the blogging community.  An author friend suggested the Book Blogs.ning site, along with a few others, as a way to connect with like-minded individuals, and Sheila was one of the first to comment on a post I wrote.  She suggested doing an author profile on me.

Always happy to talk about books, including those I’ve written, I agreed.  That was only the beginning, though, because Sheila’s interview opened up a whole network of bloggers in this great community.  As I started exploring other blogs, beginning with Sheila’s own, I realized how much fun blogging could be, and that a viral kind of energy emanated from each blog.  Blogging was contagious and I was soon addicted.

Some of you may know that I have a lot of blogs.  They’ve ranged from two when I first met Sheila, and at one point, I had twenty.  Now I have ten:  two on Blogger and eight on Word Press.  An Interior Journey and Curl up and Read are my two most popular WP book blogs, while Rainy Days and Mondays is my Blogger site with the most followers.  Creative Moments is my “author” site, for my works and for writing challenges.

I’ve always loved reading, but my love of books has grown since I began blogging, and I have reviewed everything I’ve read since I started.  Even before I was blogging much, I reviewed my books on Amazon.  I have nearly 600 reviews on that site at this time.  I have tracked the books I’ve read on Curl up and Read for the past two years, for which I’m grateful.  As a result, I can look back over what I’ve read and recommend some favorites.

This year has been full of great books that I’ve enjoyed, and having to choose one favorite is challenging.   A handful of favorites include books like Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, TheWeird Sisters, These Things Hidden, Northwest Corner, Violets of March, and Never Knowing.  But two recent reads stand out for me: The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta and The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

These books are very different from one another, and what sets each of them apart is the uniqueness of the characters and plots and the writer’s ability to connect with the reader.

Since I most recently read The Language of Flowers, I will talk about what grabbed my attention about this book.  My review can be found here.

As a retired social worker, the story of Victoria Jones resonated with me.  Shunted from foster home to foster home, never expecting anything good to happen to her as each experience chipped away at her self-esteem, she was not prepared for the love and warmth she would find in the foster home of Elizabeth.  Just ten years old, she was more than ready for some kind of permanency, but nothing in her life up until then had given her a reason to believe in such a dream.  For whatever reason, Elizabeth seemed to offer the promise of family and hope.  She also helped Victoria learn how to communicate through the meanings of the flowers she grew, and the two of them connected over these lessons.  But both Elizabeth and Victoria had suffered damages in life, and something would rip apart these connections by year’s end.

Curious about what happens to Victoria next, and wondering what would ultimately unfold for her, kept me turning those pages.  I loved how the story showed us Victoria on the verge of adulthood, while still sharing snippets from that pivotal tenth year.

While I think of myself as an eclectic reader, I would have to say I’m most drawn to books that show ordinary people struggling with issues of loss, trauma, and family dysfunction.  Probably the appeal for me has a lot to do with the kind of work I did for more than three decades.  Or maybe I’m just a sucker for the drama of these stories.

Whatever the reason, I do pick up these kinds of books over and over.  And I think the appeal of The Language of Flowers has captivated many other readers as well.

What books are your favorites?  What are you hoping to find for your shelves next year?

* Note from Sheila:  Laurel and I did start blogging the same year, I think I have a 2 or 3 months under my belt more than her but it was in that same season.  Laurel has been a long time commenter and if she does not pop in each day… I wonder where she is!  😛  She is a blogger extraordinaire and a blast to chat with!  The two books she pictures here are two I have yet to read but want to!!!