How I Spent My Summer Vacation

For more wordless photos,

go to Wordless Wednesday.

Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

 Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

It was a good feeling, on this busy day, just before kids return to our school, to start work on this post and see that the prompt is a rerun from the past. 

Here, then, is my list of the Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters.

Who do you like as secondary characters?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

It's Monday!

What I Read Last Week 

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
by Anya Von Bremzen 

Review coming soon!

Thursday's Child
by Sonya Hartnett

Review coming soon! 

What Came in the Mail Last Week 

Keeper of the Lost Cities: Exile
by Shannon Messenger
From Amazon:  "Sophie is settling in nicely to her new home and her new life in the world of the lost cities. And it helps that living at Havenfield means getting to spend time with rare, precious species—including the first female Alicorn, who shows herself to Sophie and trusts no one but her. Sophie is tasked with helping to train the magical creature so that the Alicorn can be revealed to the people of the lost cities as a sign of hope, and Sophie wants to believe that the recent drama and anguish is gone for good."

What I'm Reading Now

Sure Signs of Crazy
by Karen Harrington

From Amazon:  "You've never met anyone exactly like twelve-year-old Sarah Nelson. While most of her friends obsess over Harry Potter, she spends her time writing letters to Atticus Finch. She collects trouble words in her diary. Her best friend is a plant. And she's never known her mother, who left when Sarah was two."

How Far Do You Love Me?
by Lulu Delacre

From Amazon:  "Based on a bedtime game author/illustrator Lulu Delacre played with her young daughters, How Far Do You Love Me? is an "I love you" book with a twist. With every expression of love, readers visit one of thirteen different locations around the world, each a beautifully illustrated scene of adults and children in a place of natural beauty. "

Crankenstein
by Samantha Berger

From Amazon:  "Who is Crankenstein?

HE IS A MONSTER OF GRUMPINESS THAT NO ONE CAN DESTROY! MEHHRRRR!!! HE'S ALIVE!"

What are you reading this week?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. 

Unexpectedly Book-ish: West Texas

 What do you think of when you think of West Texas?

 Big sky?

 Amazing sunrises?

Ocotillo?

Covered wagons?  Bears?

Cactus?

You are right. West Texas is all of these things.

But did you know that West Texas is more?

Did you know that West Texas is book-ish?

West Texas is Sul Ross University,

with an enormous children's collection of Western books.

West Texas is, count 'em, one, two, three bookstores.

One is books and rocks both. Wow.

West Texas is a big, beautiful used bookstore inside the public library.

 West Texas is a public library

 named the second best small library in America in 2013.

Cowboys are, apparently, readers.

West Texas is book-ish.


Have you ever been to an unexpectedly book-ish spot?

All photos were taken in July of 2013 in Alpine, Texas.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Book Blessings

There are hundreds of things that make my reading life a happy life these days. 

♬ ♪ ♫  Here are a few of my favorite things....♪♫

Seeing what other book bloggers are reading...Keeping a wish list at Amazon...Requesting books online at the three public libraries for which I have cards...Giving away books on World Book Night...Having my public library reopen after being closed for a year...My Little Library where I share books with others right in front of my house...Getting ARCs and new books in the mail from authors and publishers...Being able to download and read ebooks anywhere...Serving as a judge for the last five years on the Cybils, the children's book blogger awards...Visiting bookstores and libraries wherever I go when I travel...Searching for any book with World Cat...Finding used copies of any book I want online...Audiobooks...LibraryThing and Goodreads and Yahoo bookclubs and Bookcrossing and everything bookish at Pinterest...Being a school librarian...My reading room...Meeting and talking with authors...The Texas Book Festival...Having a small bookstore in my town...Being part of a face-to-face bookclub...Always keeping a nice stack of twenty or thirty books in my TBR...Learning how to Twitter about books...And, of course, good books...I could go on and on...

But, best of all, getting to talk books with all of you, my friends....Thank you!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

What I Read Last Week
Today is my first day back at work at my school library. You will undoubtedly see a big decline in the number of grownup books that I read and review each week; at the same time, you will see an enormous increase in the number of children's books I finish.

The Gravity of Birds

by Tracy Guzeman

Review coming soon! 

The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari
by Paul Theroux

Review coming soon!

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
written by Michael Pollan
illustrated by Maira Kalman

Review coming soon!

Raising the Curve:
A Year Inside One of America's
45,000 Failing Public Schools

Review coming soon!

What Arrived in the Mail Last Week

Crankenstein
by Samantha Berger

From Amazon:  "Who is Crankenstein?

HE IS A MONSTER OF GRUMPINESS THAT NO ONE CAN DESTROY! MEHHRRRR!!! HE'S ALIVE!"

Custer's Last Battle:
Red Hawk's Account of the Battle of Little Bighorn
by Paul Goble

From NY Times Review:  "Beautifully illustrated and written with verve and authenticity. . . . The pictures are among the best I’ve seen in any children’s history, and the realities conveyed to the young readers are the closest to the final layer of truth that one can hope for."

Sure Signs of Crazy
by Karen Harrington

From Amazon:  "You've never met anyone exactly like twelve-year-old Sarah Nelson. While most of her friends obsess over Harry Potter, she spends her time writing letters to Atticus Finch. She collects trouble words in her diary. Her best friend is a plant. And she's never known her mother, who left when Sarah was two."

How Far Do You Love Me?
by Lulu Delacre

From Amazon:  "Based on a bedtime game author/illustrator Lulu Delacre played with her young daughters, How Far Do You Love Me? is an "I love you" book with a twist. With every expression of love, readers visit one of thirteen different locations around the world, each a beautifully illustrated scene of adults and children in a place of natural beauty. "

What I'm Reading Now

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
by Anya Von Bremzen 

From Amazon:  “With startling beauty and sardonic wit, Anya von Bremzen tells an intimate yet epic story of life in that vanished empire known as the USSR—a place where every edible morsel was packed with emotional and political meaning.”

What are you reading this week?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. 

I Collect Authors

I've met a lot of authors. I've met at least 155 authors. I don't know exactly how many authors I've met.

I collect authors. I collect authors like some people collect stamps or rocks.

Here are some authors I have collected:

Author Esme Raji Codell.

Look at that mysterious smile.

Author Christopher Paul Curtis.

So gracious.

Some authors have big happy faces. Look at happy Marilyn Singer.

And some are very silly. Silly Ethan Long!

I have lots of author photos on my Pinterest board, Authors I've Met, and at Flickr. I will publish more here another day. I have many, many favorites.

Have you met any authors? Who are your favorites? Any authors you wish you could meet but you haven't yet?

Saturday Snapshot is now hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Reading in a Cornfield

For more wordless photos,

go to Wordless Wednesday.

Fav Books Set in Libraries

Best Books Set in Libraries

Settings. Settings are a pretty popular topic here at Top Ten Tuesday. I've done lots of posts on settings. Top Ten Settings in Books. Top Ten Most Vivid Settings. Top Ten Settings I'd Like to See More Of. And Paris, of course. Even a Top Ten Books That Take Place in Paris. 

So let's venture off today to a new setting, a quieter setting. Let's take a look at books set in libraries. What are the top ten books set in libraries?

You may be saying, "Top Ten Books Set in Libraries? Really? I bet there aren't but ten books set in libraries!" I would reply, "Surprise! You'd be amazed at how many books are set at least in part in libraries." It was very difficult to pick just ten. So many, in fact, that I had to break the books into small lists.

Here we go....

Best Adult Mysteries Set in Libraries

The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom 

Mrs. Zukas and the Library Murders by

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

Best Adult Fiction Set in Libraries

The Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers

The Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephine Carr

The Loop by Joe Coomer

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Books Set in Libraries With Odd Titles:

Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library!

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

Here Lies the Librarian

Please Bury Me in the Library

Nonfiction About Libraries

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

Biblioburro: A True Story Set in Columbia

The Librarian of Basra

The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

Best Kid Books Set in Libraries

Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora

The Library by Sarah Stewart

I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric A. Kimmel

Bats in the Library by Brian Lies

Miss Brooks Loves Books (But I Don't) by Barbara Bottner

That Book Woman by Heather Henson

Library Lil by Suzanne Williams

But Excuse Me That is My Book by Lauren Childs

I'm something of an expert now, an expert on books set in libraries. 

Did I miss anything? Any other suggestions?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

What Are You Reading?

What I Reviewed Last Week

The Night of the Comet
by George Bishop

I wasn’t looking forward to a book that has “coming-of-age story” slapped on the cover. I’ve done coming-of-age stories. To death, I think. But this book surprised me...more

The Lost Husband
by Katherine Center

I’ve read enough Katherine Center books (2? 3?) by now to know what I was getting before I added the book to my Amazon wish list. I like what Katherine Center...more

Eleven Rings

by Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson could have been anything---teacher, diplomat, even philosopher-king, perhaps---but he decided to become a basketball coach. And what a basketball coach...more

The Society of Timid Souls
or How to Be Brave
by Polly Morland

Polly Morland makes documentaries. Even if I wasn’t told this about her, I would have been able to figure it out from this book. Rather than a documenary...more

Picnic at Hanging Rock
by Joan Lindsay

It’s 1900. A group of college girls go on a picnic at a nature area. Some of the girls and one of their teachers do not return. It’s a mystery...more 

The Perfect Meal
by John Baxter

Some writers have all the fun. John Baxter, an expat twenty-year Paris-ite and writer, decides to set off around France in search of all the wonderful...more

Improbable Scholars
by David Kirp

It’s all bad news out of American public schools these days. Tests scores are declining, we hear, students don’t want to go to school, and the curriculum...more

What I'm Reading Now

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
by Anya Von Bremzen 

From Amazon:  “With startling beauty and sardonic wit, Anya von Bremzen tells an intimate yet epic story of life in that vanished empire known as the USSR—a place where every edible morsel was packed with emotional and political meaning.”

The Gravity of Birds

by Tracy Guzeman

From Good Housekeeping:  ""In this riveting debut novel, a famous artist-recluse unveils a 40-year-old painting never shown before, then sends collectors on a scavenger hunt to locate two teenage girls who posed for him, but disappeared decades ago."

What are you reading this week?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.