A Little Bloggiesta, a New-ish Header, and Twenty Book Reviews

What I Read (and Reviewed) Lately cover title author avg rating review Ronia, the Robber's Daughter Lindgren, Astrid 4.25 Matt makes his living by stealing from travelers and he makes an old castle his headquarters. On the night his daughter, Ronia, is born, a lightning bolt...more A Kid for Two Farthings Mankowitz, Wolf 3.29 I can still hear these people talk; the characters are that real. It’s a street in London, but it could be a street in NYC in the middle of the last c...more The Wonderful Farm Aymé, Marcel 3.84 The farm is a wonderful farm. It’s a regular farm except that the animals can talk and mysterious things happen. Each chapter is another wonderful adv ...more Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Dweck, Carol S. 4.01 You know what this is. Another leadership book. Change your mindset. To this one. Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters Jeffers, Oliver 4.29 Oh my. Gotta read this one, no matter what your age. A nice story for each letter of the alphabet. Superstars of History Grant, R.J. 4.39 All about the most famous people that have ever lived. Told in first person. In comic book style. 9 1/2 Narrow: My Life in Shoes Morrisroe, Patricia * 4.07 Patricia Morrisroe is me. And you. And you, too. All of us American Baby Boomers. And 9 Narrow is a memoir of her life. You will read it and nod your...more If You Find This Baker, Matthew * 3.89 Nicholas is one of those kids that isn’t fitting in and he knows it. His dad is off in another part of the state working and his mom is trying to make...more The Grasshopper & the Ants Pinkney, Jerry 4.69 You know it’s going to be good the minute you see Jerry Pinkney’s name on the cover. And, of course, it’s even better than you might have hoped. Not j ...more I Love You, Blankie Haft, Sheryl 4.75 Sometimes you wonder if it’s all been said. Then you run across a little story like I Love You, Blankie and you know, happily, there are lots of fabul ...more One Witch at a Time DeKeyser, Stacy * 4.25 There’s trouble in Brixen, and Rudi knows he better get a handle on it. A stranger has come to town, offering to trade magic beans. Pretty soon, Rudi ...more My Secret Guide to Paris Schroeder, Lisa * 4.06 Nora desperately wants to visit Paris. Her grandmother has shared story after story with her of the delights of the city, and now Nora hopes to finall ...more Living Color: Painting, Writing, and the Bones of Seeing Goldberg, Natalie 4.18 Goldberg was my first introduction into the simplicity of writing every day. Now she is my first intro into painting every day. She takes away our fea ...more Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways to be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are Gregory, Danny * 4.32 Art should be like breakfast: something you do every day. And if there is anyone who can guide you into seeing art opportunities in your everyday life ...more The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert: Take a Whiff of That Betts, Richard 3.78 Isn’t this fun? Yes, it’s a real scratch and sniff book. And, no, you probably won’t become a wine expert, but you will know lots more about this myst ...more Sketch!: The Non-Artist's Guide to Inspiration, Technique, and Drawing Daily Life Stone, France Belleville-Van 4.25 In January I received Sketch!: The Non-Artist's Guide to Inspiration, Technique, and Drawing Daily Life from the publisher. And I started drawing. Drawi ...more Redwall (Redwall, #1) Jacques, Brian 4.07 It’s the rare book that my sons have recommended to me...the rare book whose author I have actually met and heard speak and adored...the rare book tha ...more The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life Miller, Andy 3.44 First, let’s make a few things clear: Andy Miller does not read dangerously. He does not save his life by reading. And he only reads fifty great books ...more Hausfrau Essbaum, Jill Alexander 3.81 It’s an uncomfortable feeling to read a good book with a main character you don’t like. Hausfrau is one such good book. The first sentence sets the mo ...more The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3) Lewis, C.S. 4.07 How embarrassed I feel to admit that I haven’t read this book before now? Very embarrassed. It’s been recommended to me a million times. But the truth ...more

Whew! It feels so good to get all of these book reviews posted here.

I didn't do much with Bloggiesta, but I did a couple of things I wanted. I worked on my blog header. (Do you like the slight changes?) And I updated my perpetual challenges. I hope to get in on a Twitter party if I can get the time right. (3 pm today Eastern time would be 4 pm today Central time, right?)

I want to take a look at A Day in the Life of a Blogger when I get a chance. Very fun, Trish.

How about you? How did Bloggiesta go for you? Are you caught up?

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week.  It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

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.