Large or small,
New or old,
A bookstore or library can take you anywhere.
Greetings from the Dominicaen Bookstore in Maastricht, Netherlands – named one of the world’s loveliest bookstores by Architectural Digest!
What’s your favorite bookshop?
**kmm
A favorite Blogathon activity is creating a wordcloud based on your blog.
The more often that a word appears in your chosen text, the larger it appears in your wordcloud.
I’ve used Wordle and other tools, but have the most fun with the shapes and ‘spin color’ options on Tagxedo.
Here’s how Tagxedo “sees” BooksYALove posts over the past few weeks:
Have you wordclouded lately?
**kmm
One of my reading resolutions for 2015 was to tackle the Reading Diversity Challenge posted here.
With the year nearly half gone, let’s see how I’ve done with the first 6 categories.
1. A book written by an author of color: several, including Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, by Isabel Quinteros, recommended recently.
2. A book with a person of color on the cover: look at Girl in Reverse, by Barbara Stuber here.
3. A book about coming out: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli captured Simon’s conflict about going public so well.
4. A book in which the main character or strong supporting character has a disability: in graphic novel of the same name, Nimona is sidekick to a guy gone bad because he lost an arm.
5. A book containing bullying: look again at The Disappearance of Emily H. by Barrie Summy.
6. Nonfiction or biography about a person of color: beyond the @AudioSYNC free audiobooks that I’ve recommended this summer, none. I don’t hit biography much on BooksYALove..
All in all, not too bad. In some categories, I’ve read many.
How would you score yourself on this half of the challenge?
wandering around diverse Amsterdam,
**kmm
Gaze out?
Peer inward?
Focus on something unseen?
Art, music, and books can help us do all these things.
But please don’t let preference for favorites keep you from trying new genres and types of books!
Grab a graphic novel like Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks and Canaan White to go into WWI trenches with underappreciated African American heroes – these aren’t “just comic books” for sure.
Read books aimed at younger readers that can bring important issues and hard truths to light. Like Water on Stone by Dana Walrath gives voice to victims of the Armenian Holocaust.
If you think all novels about death are depressing, reconsider with funny yet realistic Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark.
So, about my photo here: I visited Rembrandthuis to see how the great artist lived and worked, others were there for his paintings up close, a few were obviously dragged there by art-loving companions.
Standing in his recreated studio was decidedly worth climbing all the narrow, twisting stairways. But I was most pleased by seeing how the same etching looked when printed on different papers – the same story, with a slightly changed look.
How have you experienced different stories lately?
Staying off the tourist track in Amsterdam and meeting booklovers from all over (hi, Izzie and Mom and Dad!),
**kmm
This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC are ready for you to download now!
As long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device, you have free use of these complete audiobooks – but you must download that week’s featured titles before Wednesday night.
Pairing a current young adult book with a classic is brilliant, especially this week’s selections – click on title to download, free.
Monster
by Walter Dean Myers
Read by A Full Cast
Published by Listening Library
As Steve awaits his trial for felony murder, the 16 year old writes a screenplay of the events to prove his innocence.
Lord of the Flies
by William Golding
Read by William Golding
Published by Listening Library
Schoolboys marooned alone develop a savage society in this classic, read by the author.
One decision, brutal consequences – have you read either of these acclaimed books before?
**kmm
Conversation while stranded in an elevator,
exploring the city as the blackout continues,
but having just met, they must travel in opposite directions!
This long-distance “wondering what if?” story should be at your local library or independent bookstore – if not, ask for it! Jennifer also wrote The Statistical Probability of Falling in Love (my no-spoiler recommendation here).
Read the first chapter here (thank you, Poppy Books!) for the stuck-in-elevator meeting that starts it all.
Surprise someone by sending them a postcard today!
**kmm
Book info: The Geography of You and Me / Jennifer E. Smith. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2014 (hardcover); Poppy Books, 2015 (paperback). [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.
My book talk: Stranded in an elevator during a blackout before moving away from New York City, Owen and Lucy send postcards from places they travel and think of each other more and more.
Owen wouldn’t even have been in the elevator if he and Dad hadn’t fled Pennsylvania after Mom died. Lucy had ridden this elevator for 16 years without getting stuck – why now, when her jetsetting parents are in Paris and her brothers away at college?
Lucy’s dad accepts a position in Scotland, not exactly the London job that her British mom had hoped for. Owen’s dad decides that they should head west, find a job somewhere away from NYC where they cannot see the stars.
No smartphone or email for Owen, by choice – he sends Lucy postcards from the road. He meets a beautiful girl at Lake Tahoe, and yet…
Each postcard spurs a lengthy email from Lucy, full of her life in Scotland, excluding mention of the handsome rugby player who’s interested in her, however…
When Lucy’s family gathers for a wedding near San Francisco where Owen’s dad is trying to get a job, the pair will get to see each other after all these months, but what if…
Does absence truly make the heart grow fonder?
Is “wish you were here?” ever enough?
A tale of travel, love, and learning from the author of The Statistical Probability of Falling in Love. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)
If all is going according to plan, I’ve made it to the Netherlands (with my luggage), found my B&B and the tour company office, and am headed for canal tour, foodie walking tour of the Jordaan district, and will be seeing windmills, wooden clogs, and cheese a-plenty this week…
If not, y’all really don’t want to hear from me!
Pictures if I get onto internet as planned – otherwise, you get this pre-arranged post.
Blogathonning from the Netherlands – I hope!
**kmm
Stay out of trouble,
don’t get involved…
when a friend is being bullied?
Yeah, right.
Lois Lane is a born investigator, and her Army dad’s latest move puts her into a virtual reality mystery at her newest school – yes, that Lois Lane and the Daily Planet and an online-only friend who calls himself SmallvilleGuy.
Read the free prequel short stories here (look below the book cover on left), then head to your local library or independent bookstore to get Lois Lane: Fallout.
When have you stood up against bullying?
**kmm
Book info: Lois Lane: Fallout (Lois Lane, book 1) / Gwenda Bond. Switch Press/Capstone, 2015. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.
My book talk: Unnerved by the tech gang at her newest school, fledgling reporter Lois investigates its hush-hush ‘field trips’ and uncovers dangers that her online pal SmallvilleGuy and her Army general father can’t ignore.
She promised herself to fly under the radar at Metropolis High, but Lois can’t stand bullies. The Warheads move in unison, finish each other’s sentences, and work on a special virtual reality project off-campus. Now, they want to ‘assimilate’ computer whiz Anavi who feels them pressing on her mind.
Recruited by editor Perry White for the Daily Planet’s new teen reporting team, Lois investigates the Warheads, finding weird connections between the principal and a local research lab.
While new friends on the Scoop team back her up during her research, her online friend SmallvilleGuy (who is he, really?) warns Lois about ARL and its virtual reality plans.
Can Lois keep Anavi safe from The Warheads?
Are their minds truly connected?
Will she ever meet SmallvilleGuy outside the virtual reality game worlds?
A smart and subtle prequel to the Superman saga that we all know so well, Lois Lane: Fallout balances high-tech gone wrong with friendship done right. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)
Relax and enjoy the bounty of summer with fresh ideas for Father’s Day feasting!
Teens wrote, tested and shared yummy recipes with an eye to sustainable living in The Green Teen Cookbook (my recommendation here), with papa-pleasing choices for carnivores and vegans alike. Perhaps a leisurely brunch with Huevos Rancheros will start your Father’s Day or you’ll choose yummy Oreo Cupcakes as dessert. This 2014 paperback title is widely available.
For the funnier side of food, try some of the amazing sandwich creations dreamed up by Adrian Fiorino and chronicled in his Insanewiches (my recommendation here). Present a father in your life with a King Me checkerboard ham and cheese sandwich or the super-detailed wrestling-themed Cold Cut Cage Match. Look for a print copy of Insanewiches at your local library or order the eBook at your favorite independent bookstore.
What’s your favorite dish to cook for Dad?
**kmm
Honor or money?
A chance for schooling or a chance for wild tigers?
A rich man’s under-the-table reward for a tiger cub could ensure the future for Neel and his family, but the young man must make his own choices on his beloved Sundarban island near the mouth of the Ganges River.
Where is the line between what is best for wildlife and what is easiest for people?
**kmm
Book info: Tiger Boy / Mitali Perkins; illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Clarksbridge Publishing, 2015. [author site] [illustrator site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.
My book talk: Neel struggles to keep a lost tiger cub on his Bengali island away from a greedy rich man who wants its skin when the reward would pay for scholarship exam tutoring and medicine for Ma.
The headmaster has selected Neel to take the scholarship exam, despite his difficulty with math and no money for the tutor, even though the boy would rather stay in his Sunderban island village.
Rich Mr. Gupta has come to the island, hiring men like Neel’s father to cut down the special sundari mangrove trees. When rangers ask the villagers to find and return the tiger cub that escaped from a nearby island’s game preserve, the greedy man instead offers a reward for its skin.
As time for the exam gets closer and the rare tiger cub has not been found, Neel’s father reluctantly joins Gupta’s men in the search, while Neel and his big sister venture out each night, trying to find the cub before its frantic mother tears through the preserve’s fences and swims over!
Neel’s love for his home island is as strong as the sundari trees that Baba planted long ago to protect their farm from typhoons – now his appreciation for the rangers’ dedication to protecting the endangered wildlife of the Sundarbans is stronger, too. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)