A few weeks ago I told you about My Heart is Like a Zoo, a new children’s picture book which has quickly become a favorite in our house.  We love Michael Hall’s bright illustrations, finding the hearts incorporated into the pictures, and the way he has assigned human moods to the animals. [read more]

Well, now. It’s not often that you get a book review with the words “the author has donated a copy of his book” at the end. Usually, we get a guest post or an interview… something more interactive with the author. I welcome this. Most of you guys know that. I’m all about connecting authors and [...] [read more]

It’s that time of week again, everyone, and time for the Tuesday Teaser. Again the reminder of what this is all about. We are asked to: [read more]

FTC Disclosure: My copy of Catching Fire was on loan from my local library, and has gone to another rabid fan. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation. [read more]

Good morning everyone.  I am currently sitting in the Orlando Airport waiting for our 7:40 am flight, and yes, today is my birthday.  For fun – I thought I would list some facts about my birthdate. [read more]

Teaser Tuesdays are hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. [read more]

Here is the first of my non-reviews of The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien. I am rereading the novel as part of the Lord of the Rings Readalong. This month, Clare from The Literary Omnivore is our host. [read more]

Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (February 9, 2010) ISBN-10: 038551638X Source: Publisher [read more]

When fourteen year old Susie Salmon is murdered by a serial killer who lives in the neighborhood, her body is never found.  Because there’s no body, her family has trouble accepting her death and coping with the loss.  Susie herself is not ready to give up living, so she’s in a limbo of sorts.  She [...] [read more]

6 p.m.: Date night officially starts in 45 minutes. Plop Trader Joe’s pizza in front of kids, plop kids in front of television, and sprint to shower. Husband is already in shower. Yell, “Are you almost done?” He yells back, “Just got in.” 6:08 p.m.: Husband still hogging shower. Turn on sink water to brush teeth, [...] [read more]

Well I just finished listening the audio book I Am Ozzy and had to go dig out some Black Sabbath vinyl and give it a listen. (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was my choice - love Sabra Cadabra.) [read more]

(photo by K) [read more]

Rumors circulate about Vienna Girardi being Jake's chosen bride. [read more]

Thank you to everyone who participated in January's Book Talk of The Hunger Games. It was a lot of fun getting to discuss this amazing novel with you. [read more]

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. [read more]

Due to the Snowpocalypse that hit DC last Friday, I had a rare chance to catch up on my Google reader over the weekend. I found a lot of great book-related posts. I thought I'd share some of them here:... [read more]

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. If you'd like to join in, stop by Marcia's and leave a link - or just browse through the comments to see what new books have been showing up. [read more]

Reviewed by Jennifer R. [read more]

The winner of Nibble & Kuhn by David Schmahmann is… [read more]

It’s with great pleasure that we can announce to you those members of the panel on The Impact of the Relationship Between Author and Blogger.  We’re excited to have the following wonderful presenters join us: Nicole [Linus's Blanket] – moderator Amy [My Friend Amy] Bethanne [The Book Studio] Kristi [The Story Siren] Beth Kephart [Beth ... [read more]

Loretta has kindly offered one lucky winner a signed final copy of IN A HEARTBEAT. [read more]

Super Bowl XLIV turned out to be a competitive game between two excellent teams, featuring less scoring than one might have expected, and that was far closer than the final score of 31 – 17 indicates. One second it looked like we were headed towards overtime as soon as Peyton Manning engineered another routiine 4th quarter touchdown drive to tie the game, the next second Tracy Porter was racing towards victory for the New Orleans Saints with a game clinching interception securely in hand. Li ... [read more]

Alright, Ladies, who digs a man with a British accent? I know it soothes me more than a cat on my lap and a pitcher of mojitos. And if they bunch your knickers and have you fancying clotted cream, then I would tune in on Wednesday, February 10, for a blog talk radio chat between Emmett James and the men of Movie Geeks United! [read more]

It's time to announce the winner of Angels by Dr. David Jeremiah. Using a random number generator and numbering the entrants in the order I received them, the winner is: [read more]

Happy Monday everyone!  We're still digging out from about 30 inches of snow in the Baltimore area, and let me just say that I'm so done with winter!  And to think we have another 6 to 10 inches on the way tomorrow and Wednesday.  I wish I could've snapped a pic of The Girl diving into a snowdrift and struggling to get out.  She's tall for a 9-year-old, and the snow is nearly up to her waist.  We're doing our best to stay warm and not go stir crazy, but we know we're faring better than other ... [read more]

Please forgive my rambling for a bit.  Let me start off by saying that I know NOTHING about baseball.  My only experience with the sport is when I lived in Chicago I went to a Sox game once and when I was in my early twenties I was playing a game of softball (not baseball [...] [read more]

It doesn’t come out until September, but I’m already excited!  I love French Revolution fiction and am not averse to time-travel as long as it’s not too silly.  Here’s the book description: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly September 28, 2010 book description: “BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for [...] [read more]

This year I want to attend ALL of Book Expo America--not just one day--but to do that I'll need to stay in the city.  Its not financially smart for me to spend $22 a day on train tickets and my normal commode is more than likely not avail since she's heading to London :(  [read more]

They come in short spurts and are unannounced; even I am unaware they are about to occur. I’m speaking of blogging blackouts, periods of time where some unknown force keeps me from blogging. Has is it ever happened to you? These stretches of time find me allergic to the keyboard. I suddenly [...] [read more]

Another big thanks to Judi for spending time here the other day talking about how she writes and about her great new book, Catch of a Lifetime.  The publisher, Sourcebooks,  needs a thanks too for allowing me to giveaway two copies! [read more]

Short stories received numerous awards and accolades in 2009. It seems everyone was reading them, except me. I prefer novels over short stories mainly because novels tend to have greater character development and, overall, more satisfying resolutions. However, when Eastern Washington University Press contacted me to review an award-winning short story collection, I thought it would be a great opportunity to see for myself what the buzz over short stories was all about. [read more]

Welcome to Moby Dick Monday! This is where we read four pages a day and then post about what we’ve read. Consider it an adventure of sorts! My Story Re-Cap: Another short recap for the week. This one takes me through chapter 109. I left off at chapter 65 last week so as you can see, I covered [...] [read more]

Paying Back Jack is 11th in the detective series featuring PI Vincent Calvino. It has a complex plot about paying back old scores, in Bangkok, a city which seems like one of the most interesting but challenging places in Southeast Asia. [read more]

Last month, Boston.com released their list of the decade’s best…  I starred (**) the ones I’ve read already and questioned (?) the ones I tried but could not finish…   If possible, I linked my review to the icon (my blog is only two years old, so I had read many prior to 2007).  [read more]

 Incarceron -- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology -- a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber -- chains, great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here. In the ou ... [read more]

I'm pleased to announce a few upcoming conferences for us bibliophiles out there who want to learn more about the industry, would like to rub elbows with authors, or who just want to roam around looking at cool books. [read more]

In The Culture of Excess, licensed psychologist J.R. Slosar explores how our modern day culture has turned into one of over indulgence in many different aspects. He discusses how Americans are so overstimulated and have so many additional stressors and things to think about that anxiety levels have unhealthily increased even for young children. [read more]