Book Review: The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf was my book club’s selection for our February discussion.  It was also a book we had on tour recently through TLC so I’d read a few reviews before I ever opened the book- although I don’t think that swayed my opinion of it. Calli and Petra are 7 [...]

If you feed them, they will grow..

Apparently my daughter’s feet grew.  Overnight.  While she slept. This morning she announced, ”Mom, I can’t go to school.  My shoes don’t  fit.” Me:  ”You have lots of shoes.  TRY A DIFFERENT PAIR!” Her:  ”I did.  None of them fit.” Hmmm.  They must have fit yesterday, because she went to school.  She wore shoes.  Why didn’t [...]

Book Review: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

This month my book club discussed The Boy In the Striped Pajamas by Irish author John Boyne. I was quite stunned by this book, a book meant for children but one that carries very adult themes.   I’ve read other books about the Holocaust but never one like this. Bruno is a 9 year old boy, [...]

Q & A with Peter from Flashlight Worthy

Today I welcome Peter Steinberg, creator of Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations, a site dedicated to giving out great recommendations for book clubs. BOTB:  Hi Peter!  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Peter:  I’m 39, and live with my wife and our dog Henry in Brooklyn, NY. We actually live in a neighborhood called [...]

The Sunday Salon: January 17, 2010

Good morning!  I hope it’s bright and sunny where you are! In  Southern California we are bracing ourselves for a MAJOR WINTER STORM!  Take cover!  There may be some rain!  I might not be laughing about this a week from now, but when the weather forecasters cry wolf a few times, and the major storm [...]

Booking Through Thursday: Flapper? Or not a flapper?

Suggested by Prairie Progressive: Do you read the inside flaps that describe a book before or while reading it? Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I guess this [...]

“Waiting on” Wednesday: The Girl Who Chased the Moon

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. This is my first time participating! My “can’t wait to read” selection is The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen, author of Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen, two books [...]

Teaser Tuesday – January 12, 2010

Miz B and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way [...]

Reading Challenges.. Do you do them?

A new year brings a brand new crop of Reading Challenges.  There are so many and they all sound so enticing.  Except I haven’t had the greatest success in completing challenges in the past.  It’s always really fun to pick out titles but then when it comes time to read all those books I’ve lined [...]

The Sunday Salon – January 10, 2009

Happy Sunday, everybody.  I’m sitting in my family room that is flooded with bright sunlight trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is January.  We’ve had blue skies and temps in the mid to upper 70s for over a week.  While it’s not unusual to have a day like that in January [...]