Saturday, October 5, 2019

Thirteen Children's Books, Cybils Nominations, Optimistic October, a Beautiful Church, and More Antiquing



I finished two books last week, both of which inspired Masterpiece shows. The Durrell book was a reread, but I'd never even heard of the Poldark books before I saw the show. Both were five star reads for me. I rarely go ahead with books in a series, but I'm planning to read book two of each next. Here are the full reviews, if you want to know more:




 




I also read a lot of children's books and YA books in the last couple of weeks:

The Revenge of Magic: The Last Dragon by James Riley.   Fort Fitzgerald lost his father during an attack on Washington, DC. His nightmares about his father give him hope that his father is still alive, and ...more 

Fly by Mark Teague.   A baby bird. A mama bird. It's time for Baby to take wing, and Mama is more than ready to be off to sunnier skies. But Baby would prefer to envision...more

Animal Skins by Mary Holland.   What do you know about the coverings of animals? What purposes do they serve? This may be a small children's picture book, but it's a great introduction...more

The Forest in the Trees by Connie McLennan.   Who knew? High up in the redwoods, there are forests in the trees. There are entire ecosystems located hundreds of feet in the air, with ferns, lichen...more

Skulls by Blair Thornburgh illustrated by Scott Campbell.   What are skulls? What are they used for? This children's picture book shares everything true kids might like to know about skulls. Lines like "Skulls ...more

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o.   A magnificent celebration of the beauty of dark skin is told through the story of little Sulwe, a girl whose skin color is darker than anyone else in...more

Eiffel's Tower for Young People by Jill Jonnes.   "On a January afternoon in 1888, Annie Oakley was toasting muffins and making tea in her apartment in New York City when a reporter visited." Annie Oakley?...more

The Wicked King by Holly Black.  Jude continues in her role to guide the king and strike to better his interests, all the while keeping her young brother behind the scenes until he is ...more

The Summer of '69 by Todd Strasser.  Lucas Baker spends the summer of '69 in limbo. His college applications have been rejected and he is a prime candidate for the draft. His girlfriend...more

The Time Garden by Edward Eager.   As a young child, Edward Eager was my favorite author. There was a lovely shelf of Edward Eager books in my school library, and I couldn’t wait each...more

Music for Mister Moon by Philip C. Stead   Harriet Henry only wants to play her cello for herself. When she throws her teacup to shoo away an owl and accidentally knocks the moon from the sky, ...more

The Hippo at the End of the Hall by Helen Cooper.  Ben receives an invitation to the Gee Museum delivered by bees. He goes. There he finds a dilapidated museum, and he meets talking animals and he learns...more

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve.  I was not looking forward to this book. Somehow I had the idea it would be a story driven by plot and technology. I was wrong...more




I have less than a hundred and fifty pages to go in this 784 page book. I can't turn the pages fast enough.






I continued posting about our recent trip out west with Hiking in Utah: The Narrows, Zion National Park.





It's the start of the real work of the Cybils crew. In the first day, I approved 48 nominations for Fiction Picture Books/Board Books. I wonder how many nominations we will receive this year. Our category always gets over 200 nominations. That's a lot of reading. I hope you will nominate your favorite children's and YA books published from Oct. 16, 2018 to October 15, 2019 for the Cybils. To nominate, go here.




Download the latest Action for Happiness calendar, Optimistic October, here.




New favorite quote...





I headed out to Central Texas antiquing last weekend for a girls' trip, and I've left Thursday for another weekend antiquing with my sister. Last weekend we stayed at a friend's cabin in the country and this weekend we are staying at my brother-in-law's grandmother's old country house. We went to St. Mary's in Fayetteville. It was beautiful on the outside, but nothing prepared me for the inside...it was magnificent.






What was your week like?

Did you read any good books? Tell us about them.

What other bookish things did you do? What else is going on in your life?

We'd love to have you to link up here and/or at the Sunday Salon page on Facebook each weekend (Saturday-Sunday-Monday) and let us know what you have been doing. I hope you will visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

If you have other blogging friends, it would be wonderful if you'd tell others about our salon and encourage them to join us.

Other places where you may like to link up are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.


My linkup for Sunday Salon is below. 



48 comments:

  1. Those childrens' books look terrific!

    Oh my, that church is stunning!

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    1. I read the most amazing children's books. I finally got around to reading several children's books I've had for months so I could nominate them for the Cybils.

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  2. That church is amazing! Can't wait to see which books get nominated in my category of YA fiction.

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  3. What a gorgeous church! That altar is breathtaking, is it?

    I listened to The Goldfinch and am anxious to see the movie.

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    1. I've heard mixed things about the movie, but I'm hopeful.

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  4. Hurray for The Wicked King! I didn't love it as much as The Cruel Prince, but I did enjoy it! The art for Sulwe looks incredible. I've never heard of the Cybils awards, but it does sound like lots of work (and fun)! Have a great week :D

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    1. You definitely need to nominate some YA books for the Cybils. Public nominations are open until the 15th. Go to Cybils.com to find out more.

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  5. What a beautiful church! Love it. Now antiquing for me means books, but I've found that lots of little shops and flea market type places have books to sell. I love looking through them and occasionally I find a real treasure.

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  6. I haven't read the books but I love Poldark, still need to watch the fourth season. Haven't watched The Durrells yet, but I really want to! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the books! I might pick them up one day.

    Have a great week and happy reading!

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    1. You must watch The Durrells, and then you should read both Poldark and the Corfu books.

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  7. I just linked up for the first time! I'm a huge Donna Tartt fan, are you enjoying The Goldfinch?

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    1. I loved Secret History, liked her second book, and love The Goldfinch (just finished it).

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  8. I've been debating The Goldfinch since I saw they were making the adaptation. I might try to get to it before it's released on DVD. Happy reading!

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  9. I hope you enjoy your antiquing. Thank you for sharing the interior of that lovely church - it's a delight:)). I hope you have a great week, Deb:)

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  10. That church reminds me of several in this area. Have fun with your sister!

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    1. There are a group of churches they call the Painted Churches that I want to visit one day.

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  11. My wife also loved The Goldfinch. I did check it out (from the the library), but decided that after about 50 pages, that I just wasn't ready for the time investment - at least not now.

    I need to be optimistic this October. I like the idea of that calendar. Maybe I'll give it a look. Wait...I'll be optimistic. I'll do it! :)

    St. Mary's in Fayetteville looks truly...well...divine.

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    1. I print out the calendars dutifully each month. I probably remember to do the activities three or four times a month. But, hey, that’s better than nothing.

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  12. Those books look good. I'm interested in the Summer of 69. I always enjoy books set in that time. Have a great week!

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    1. Look for it. It is based on Strasser’s real life experiences, including a trip to Woodstock.

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  13. Neither churches or antiquing is my thing, but that is another stunning photo of The Narrows.
    I hope you have enjoyed The Goldfinch.

    Wishing you a great reading week

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    1. I can’t tell you how amazing The Narrows was. I’m glad we survived.

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  14. I love antiquing...and now I really miss those trips. Especially since I don't have the space to add any good finds. LOL.

    I just finished The Testaments and loved it! Your review was great.

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    1. I don’t really have space for good finds either. My new rule is “In with the new, out with the old.”

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  15. The Goldfinch is amazing, hope you like it. Happy October

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  16. Such a beautiful church! The Secret History is a favorite and I've been meaning to read The Goldfinch for years. I have the ebook on my kindle and recently picked up the audio version, too... maybe this winter?

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  17. I've really been loving your Utah pictures.

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  18. That church is beautiful!
    Enjoy antiquing, but we don't get to do it often.

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  19. I haven't read the Durrell book or Poldark (though I've read 5 or 6 of Lawrence Durrell's novels)

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  20. Look at all those wonderful children's books! I'm seeing Sulwe everywhere. Helen Cooper's book sounds good too. We just read another of hers last night. I am glad you are enjoying Goldfinch. I hope to read that one at some point. Those photos of St. Mary's are breathtaking. I hope you had a nice trip! Have a great week, Deb.

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  21. Nice variety of books. Also, that church is magnificent. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  22. Wow that church is gorgeous!!!

    It looks like you had a great reading week! I've still got the Corfu Trilogy on my TBR. I requested a copy from the library but they sent it back because it was falling apart! I love that Holly Black series. :)

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  23. I have no skin in the children's book game, but I've more than once been tempted by Skulls!I think I saw it on NetGalley and stopped myself from requesting it because, I'm not the audience (really), nor is my audience the audience for it. But the spooky-ooky part of me loves skulls. As I have actually said, you can't smile without your skull. ;) Have a great reading week!

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  24. I never realized the Durrells of Corfu was inspired by a book. I haven't watched the show though it's been highly recommended for awhile. I think I'll get the book and start the show! I love antiquing! It never fails though I either find nothing or spend a small fortune. Both versions are fun though. Have a great week!

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  25. Antiquing sounds like a fun hobby - I think I would be very bad at it and spend a lot of money too! But I love history and I bet you see a lot of it when you're antiquing! Wow, St. Mary's really is impressive on the inside. Sounds like a great weekend! Hope you're week is off to a great start :)

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  26. Next week 12th and 13th is the date for Teen Books Fair in Austin.

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