What a great idea! Pay it Forward with Cozy Mysteries!

You know how I LOVE my cozy books. A little mystery, some great characters, and a florist/coffee shop/bakery owner and I’m in bookish heaven. Love. Through Twitter (ya’ll know I can’t stop talking about some Twitter, either!) I found the Cozy Mystery Reviews (@cozyreviews). This is a Twitter account that should be my BFF. Talking about cozy books and making recommendations- be still my heart.

Anyway- they have a great idea about Paying it Forward with Cozy Mysteries- to spread the word on some great cozy authors (and maybe to add more authors to their reading list?!) For the information on how to Pay it Forward with Cozy Mysteries– read their blog post.

I think it’s a genuis idea!

Off to #payitforwardwithcozymysteries myself!

Communicating with Authors….

When I was a little girl, as I read my books- I would dream of being able to talk to the authors, getting to meet them, and hearing about the books from their perspective. But, living in the town I did, I never thought it’d be a possibility. It seemed like something so abstract, a big city thing- something so far removed from where and who I was.

Many, many years later- Twitter came around. And I got my wish- being able to tweet with different authors, learn about upcoming books, signings, and more. And when I get to meet them in person- well that’s just icing on the excitement cake!

Here’s what I have discovered: In my childhood mind, an author should be put on a pedestal. They were so high and mighty (but in a good way), being able to take words and ideas and spin them into great books. As an adult, though, an author is really not different than anyone else. They want people to like them, like their books. They enjoy hearing feedback.

So- if you are reading a book and you see the author is on Twitter- give them a tweet. Odds are that they will love hearing from a person who is reading their book (also know as their blood, sweat and tears).

 

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Good-bye Zeke, Good-bye…. You will be missed.

Zeke

Zeke. My dog. My best friend. Subject of many pictures. Lover of ear-rubs, good brushings, hugs and fluffy pillows. Could smell a fresh pedicure a mile away and would make a bee-line to lick toes. Doggy-grins and perked up ears majority of the time. Color of caramel with chocolate dipped ears.

So excited to see people come home he would do a bunny hop. Ears flopping around, tongue hanging out- he loved and he was loved.

You were (and still are loved). Miss you, Zeke-y boy, miss you. xoxo

 

Literary Friday ya’ll…

I’ve been so terrible about posting lately. Apologies to all.

#literaryfriday is the word of the day. As usual- I like to post some of the best news that I see around for this day.

1. Deep South Magazine and their #literaryfriday: this week contains news about new author chat NEXT Friday (November 2). Michael Morris author of A Man in a Blue Moon. The book is in my possesion- it’s on my TBR list- I just haven’t yet. Hearing good things about the book, though. Erin from Deep South Mag really goes above and beyond the call- she picks some of the best people. The chats are informative and interesting.

Other #literaryfriday tidbits: Deep South Magazine has a Literary Trail App- because when you are traveling it’s always nice to know what literary greats attractions are nearby. The app can be purchased on Itunes- however, that sweet author Erika Robuck (who is a fan of Deep South Magazine and author of Hemingway’s Girl) is giving away a free download of the DSM Literary Trail App. Either check out Deep South Magazine Literary Friday or Erika Robuck’s blog to find out how to enter. Good luck!

In need of a costume ideas? Check out the #litmajorhalloweeencostumes. Thanks to Deep South Magazine for posting this hashtag- should be a fun way to get costume ideas!

A fan of Pinterest? Like literary themed Pinterest pages? Deep South Magazine has a Literary Friday Pinterest page!

2. October is pumpkin time. I love pumpkins. And today is National Pumpkin Day. So in honor of National Pumpkin Day- curl up with Kimberly Brock’s The River Witch (trust me- it’s def a book you read on National Pumpkin Day) and enjoy.

3. A big THANK YOU to Erika Marks for calling in to my book club to discuss her debut novel- Little Gale Gumbo. Warmed my heart to no end. If you’ve read the book- chime in with thoughts of it. I’d love to hear other people’s opinions!

4. What is your #fridayreads? Mine is Iced by Carol Higgins Clark!

Happy Reading and have a great weekend!

Kindle-love…

Oh Kindle- how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: 1. You hold hundreds and hundreds of books. 2. You are lightweight. 3. Great for traveling. 4. Perfect for people (like me) who can be impatient about getting a new book- point, click, buy-it’s delievered to the Kindle.

Kindle- it’s been a great year together. You were given as a gift and I wasn’t sure what to think about you at first. But, you’ve won me over. I love my Kindle.

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Where do you keep your To Be Read pile?

A To Be Read Pile

I’m not super messy. I’m actually organized (mostly). However, if you saw my “to be read” pile- or more accurately my multiple TBR piles- you’d think I was the most disorganized person in the world. Most of my TBR pile is stacked on the floor. Some have made it to my nightstand. Some are near my breakfast nook (I enjoy breakfast and a cup of coffee with a book in the morning- some mornings, anyway.)

A friend just recently gave me a stack of James Patterson books that she’d read and did not want anymore. I took them and made a stack of JP TBR. However, I generally don’t have such luck in having so many of the same author to make little organized stacks.

So spill it- where do you keep your TBR pile? Nightstand? Library? Study?

*It should be noted that in the picture- The Hunger Games series was not on my TBR list at the time- they were just new books (I read THG trilogy on my Kindle).

 

 

 

 

Goodreads Tally:84 books read (so far) in 2012

I didn’t sign up for a reading challenge- mainly because, for me, reading is such a personal thing. Some weeks I’m reading books as fast as I can get my hands on them- and then, like the last week, if I’m getting a book read- I’m doing a VICTORY dance. So the pressure of a reading challenge is not for me.

But, it’s the 10th month of the year, and I’ve read 84 books. Which averages out to 8.4 books a month (although some months are more, some are less). I think 84 is a reasonable number.

How many books have you read in 2012? Anybody betting that I’ll make it to a 100 by Dec 31?

 

She Reads Giveaway: Hemingway’s Girl by Erika Robuck

Today on She Reads, author Erika Robuck talks about her first literary love (The Great Gatsby!) and has given She Reads a copy of Hemingway’s Girl  to give away to a lucky person who comments on the post.

Now while I’ve not read Hemingway’s Girl– I do have a copy and I can’t wait to read it. There has been a lot of buzz about the book- and other book bloggers and reviewers have been writing positive comments about the book.

If the book sounds intriguing, go to She Reads and make a comment- maybe today will be your lucky day and you will win a copy of Hemingway’s Girl!

Best of luck!

Literary Friday ya’ll….

Weekly round-up of the happenings on #literaryfriday.

1. Deep South Magazine and their weekly Literary Friday. Tim Westover chat, The River Witch by Kimberly Brock is now an audiobook, and some news about Scarlett O’Hara. Read on to find out more about #literaryfriday.

2. October is the month for ghost stories- if a good ghost story is your cup of tea- check back to Deep South Mag all during October. You’re in for a spooky treat. For this week’s ghost story- read HERE.

3. If you missed out on the Tim Westover chat- don’t fear! Tim Westover interview is here– along with talk of Auraria– his book that made the Deep South Magazine Fall/Winter Reading List.

4. #fridayreads- what are you reading? Today, I’m at a loss for what to read- however, I can recommend Sarah Jio’s Blackberry Winter, Douglas Brunt Ghosts of Manhattan, Erika Marks The Mermaid Collector. What can you recommend?

5. If you missed my post yesterday about nostalgia and New Kids on the Block, read about New Kids on the Block: 5 brothers and A Million Sisters– scrunchie & NKOTB music not required (but you’ll probably want both after reading).

Happy Reading and have a great weekend!

New Kids on the Block: Five Brothers and a Million Sisters by Nikki Van Noy

New Kids on the Block. The words alone take me back to circa 1989/1990. I’m in elementary school- and I’m suffering from bad fashion choices: hair in a side pony-tail, denim shorts, Keds with floppy, push-down socks (naturally, I don’t realize that this is not fashionable until years later.) New Kids on the Block is THE band. I know the songs, have the shirts, and am in the middle of my first celebrity crush (Joe McIntyre- I even have  his stickers on the back of my favorite Nancy Drew Case Files book). Living in a small, rural town- the closest I think I’ll ever come to NKOTB is listening to the music on the tape deck and reading about them in the magazines. However, I’m wrong. NKOTB performs a concert in a town an hour away- and I, thanks to my mom, get a ticket! NKOTB was my first concert and it was memorable- for many reasons.

Seeing this book brings back the memories of NKOTB. I still remember the music. Still have the tape somewhere.

On to the actual review of the book now that you know my NKOTB memories:

Nikki Van Noy does a great job compiling stories, facts, and interesting tidbits of the early beginnings of these boys- from even before they were New Kids on the Block- to the seemingly over-night rise in star power (although, thanks to Nikki Van Noy- I now know they were not such an over-night sensation as some would have a person to believe) then the eventual dimming of the star power. Now that the band is back together, the stories of what they went through, the tidbits from the fans, the pictures- the book is worth it- whether you are a current NKOTB fan or was a fan during your childhood/pre-teen years.

Reading about how NKOTB was first marketed as a R&B group, then did the switch to Pop music- in that section, the reader begins to learn just how close they were to the point of never really making it big. Which would have been a shame- because the boys were groundbreakers for other “boy bands”; but at times were almost too forward thinking in their own approach (Case in point: Donnie wanting to be more over a “cross-over” artist. Today people pull that off, but during NKOTB rise to fame- not as many artists could do that).

During the rise of NKOTB- there was no Facebook, Twitter- actually, no internet. Facts and tidbits of information a person could find out now was not easily found out in the early 1990’s. Nikki Van Noy pieces together this book- the good, the bad, the ugly of the NKOTB, perspective and stories from fans, tales of how the lives of NKOTB have changed over the years- she takes all that and writes a book that is heartfelt, warm and caring; a book that makes the reader feel like they know the NKOTB, and brings back a sense of nostalgia for the days of “Hangin’Tough” and “You Got It (The Right Stuff).  For the real story behind New Kids on the Block (past and current stories)- I highly recommend Nikki Van Noy’s New Kids on the Block: Five Brothers and a Million Sisters.

Now, I just need to find my scrunchie and my NKOTB tape- and my trip to nostalgia-land will be complete.

Recommended.

*Thanks to Touchstone Books for providing me with a review copy of New Kids on the Block: Five Brothers and a Million Sisters by Nikki Van Noy. The above review is my sole opinion and thoughts.