Every time I read a post about someone’s plans to “diversify” their reading I feel a little awkward. I haven’t always felt this way, but I’ve noticed it over the last decade or so, and I was reminded of it while reading Tayari Jones’ Silver Sparrow last week. My reading choices tend to have a cultural sameness…and I’m mostly OK with it, except when I branch out and then start questioning it. In my post-college […]
I’ve been suffering from a case of “can’t keep up with anything” this week, so my Salon discussion today is largely a recap of what I have managed to keep up with (with links, in case you haven’t been able to keep up either!). ** I did manage to commit to some weekend reading time last Sunday, and I plan to do it again today. While my husband spends part of Father’s Day at the […]
I know I’m not the only person who’ll be attending Book Expo America and/or the Book Blogger Convention for the first time next week – and probably not the only one who’s a little anxious about it, either! For me, knowing as much as I can about what I’m getting into is helpful in managing that anxiety. Fortunately, there are plenty of more experienced BEA-goers who are more than happy to share their knowledge with […]
For those of you celebrating, best wishes for a Happy Mother’s Day! I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the holiday tomorrow, but there are no particular plans for it around here. My gift to myself will be a clean house, which I’ll finish working on this morning; then we’re off to the movies to see Thor (the dad’s pick, to be honest, but I’ve been warming up to it – and it’s based on a […]
I know, I haven’t been around much lately, and my posting may continue to be erratic for the rest of May. The audit at work is winding down (yay!) and I’m done with physical therapy (also yay!), but I’ve got several reading-and-reviewing assignment deadlines coming up soon, and a couple of BEAs – actual and Armchair – to prepare for, so blogging time remains at a premium. That applies to my blog-reading as well as […]
There’s more “review” this week-end than I’ve managed to gather up in quite a while – plus a little editorializing – so let’s jump right in! Good News/Bad News, “Bookstores I Have Known” Department:Good news, via Shelf Awareness: “Buffalo Street Books, the Ithaca, N.Y., bookstore that closed last month and has reorganized as a coop (Shelf Awareness, March 7, 2011), is opening this coming Saturday, according to the Ithaca Journal. The store has more than […]
Last weekend, I set aside the book I was reading on my Kindle for this month’s Faith ‘n’ Fiction Roundtable in order to tackle some “fresh” reading for the 24-Hour Readathon. That went well; I started and finished two books that day. However, I still have not finished the FnFRt reading! However, I’ve read enough to participate in the group discussion of Philip Yancey’s What Good Is God?: In Search of a Faith That […]
The following recap of my week is brought to you by Friday Fill-Ins 1. For me, it was one busy week! Between work, physical-therapy appointments, preparing for the panel I’m moderating at the Book Blogger Convention next month (!), and making some necessary changes to my eating and exercise habits, I’ve gotten very little reading done since last weekend’s Readathon and almost no blogging. You may have noticed. Or maybe not. But it may be […]
One thing that hasn’t been going on much during the last week is reading, I’m sorry to say. I had thought that my 4-day birthday weekend would afford me a nice amount of time for both reading and writing, but I got in sadly little of either. Combine that with an extra-busy time at work, and complicate that with shortened work days due to my physical-therapy appointments (now down to two times a week instead […]
I know, I celebrated a blogiversary and a birthday last month…and then I disappeared! It wasn’t intentional – in fact, it was a surprise to me too. I had plans to work on some post drafts and spend a good amount of time reading during my extended Birthday Weekend, but…well, you know how it goes with plans sometimes. I wound up using that time for some housecleaning and shopping instead, and once I returned to […]
As my participation in the book-blogging world has expanded to include more industry-oriented blogs and newsletters, I’ve become aware of the concept of “handselling” books, in which booksellers talk up book recommendations to customers. In some respects, when we promote books on our blogs with our favorable reviews, I suppose we’re doing a form of it ourselves. I am not a person who wants to be “sold” to – in fact, I’ll actively avoid […]
Does anyone still read the Sunday papers? (We just cancelled ours.) I have news to share about some things they wouldn’t tell you there. After a successful inaugural year, the Independent Literary Awards are poised for growth in their 2011 edition with the addition of three new categories. The genres and panels for this year’s awards were announced a few days ago. Many of the 2010 panel members are returning to serve again, and the […]
