International Reading Association Conference in San Antonio

San Antonio!

Spent the first morning at the Institute of Texan Culture...

betcha didn't even know there was such a thing as Texan culture!

I was eyeing this dress as potential attire

for the Queen of the Library.

A woman making her own yarn from cotton.

My husband was drawn to the cowboy wagon.

Of course.

Then we were off to La Villita,

a little village of artists and craftsmen. 

Look at his amazing work.

You gotta eat Mexican food along the Riverwalk.

And be serenaded by a mariachi band.

A persistent duck kept pecking my husband's booty.

So beautiful.

Time for the conference.

The incredible Rick Riordan.

I love Jason Chin's work. 

I got this autographed for the library

David Ezra Stein.

Tom Lichtenheld.

Reading Rainbow's LeVar Burton.

And the one-and-only Mo Willems.

Fabulous time was had by all. As they say.

When You Need Something Light & Fun

Yes, I love to read literary fiction and, 

yes, I love to read massive nonfiction tomes,

but, trust me, I love Light-&-Fun, too.

When the world gets Too Serious, 

when we have heaps of books to shelve in the library,

and children are trying to read-read-read and come to the Chapter Book Picnic,

and inventory's not quite done,

and everyone's cranky,

I turn to Light-&-Fun.

You can't do better than Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

You get Africa, delightful characters, a little mystery, and the soothing idea

that those of us who are bigger girls are nothing more than "traditionally built."

 There's the whole Moving-and-Starting-Over genre that I love to read.

You know this kind of story. 

Person buys a house in a place where he barely speaks the local lingo 

and begins a brand-new life.

Almost always a catastrophe, but that just adds to the fun.

 How about the kind of books I call Challenge Books?

A person takes on a big challenge and tries to do something difficult

for a set period of time, usually a year. These are always interesting and snappy.

And the people usually end up failing to meet their challenge or just becoming slightly better,

so it makes those of us who don't attempt to become happier or healthy a little smug.

And there are always the traditional Light-&-Fun books, like little mysteries,

or gentle romances, or escapist action and scifi tales, or wonderful travel narratives.

Any recommendations for me? What do you turn to when the world is Gray and Cold?

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.

23 Book Reviews!

23 Books Reviewed! Who isn’t intrigued by the sinking of the Titanic?  As Brewster reminds us, even people who have never heard the old Greek myths  know the mythic...more It was that phrase “invisible women” that made you pick up this book, wasn’t it?  Yes, and I suspect that you know what that means. I do. I think all...more It’s a confusing world. Nathan Lochmueller drifts into professional birdwatching, earning just enough money to make it...more You probably know this story.  A young woman loses her job and decides  to try what she does best and open a cupcake cafe.  You know there will be a Bad Boy...more This is Not a Book, and This is Not a Review.  This is a Dance. This is a After-Dinner Mint.  This is a Cupcake. But This is Not a Book, and This is Not a Review. If you love picture books, old or new,  you will love this book of interviews with picture book illustrators.  They are all here, all the artists you love...more Mem Fox keeps things simple and that’s exactly what I needed  after listening to experts harangue the schools and teachers last week  at the International Reading Association conference...more Maya was grumpy. We all get grumpy sometimes.  But then we get over it. Good book to share with children. If it says Disney, you get Disney.  If it says My Little Pony, you get My Little Pony.  If you like...more When you have been raised by wolves, you tend to be a bit incorrigible. That’s okay.  It gives you a bit of strong-minded-ness that is often lacking in...more Yes, go ahead. Write this book. You can do it. P. Bosch will help you.  It will be fun. Maybe even more fun than reading a book. Go ahead. Write it.  I’ve read all the short holiday Jack Prelutsky poetry books... It’s Halloween!...It’s Valentine’s Day...It’s Christmas!  But I’ve never taken on one of...more Creatures so odd that no one can really believe they exist.  I could share some of these details but that would ruin the fun.  Read it. You will like it...more Zany. A pudding that everyone wants to steal.  You better not take your eyes off that pudding for one second.  Even people you trust will do anything to...more Lovely little board book that tells the story of an oak tree for our youngest readers. Another 1001 book read.  Adventure. Action. Pirates.  Cannibals. Murder. Treasure. Mystery.  What more does a book need? Daily life in frog families is a hectic time.  Imagine dealing with 999 offspring...more This graphic novel takes traditional giant-battling knight stories and  turns them on their heads, throwing in a powerful giant-battling girl and...more I’ve been wanting to read this book for months.  I’ve seen its mysterious cover on tens of blogs.  I’ve read tens of reviews of it, all of them raves....more Oh, the voice in this story! Snarky. Clever. Delicious. Perfect. What if Hitler had a daughter?  And what if this daughter was born with imperfections?  And what if this daughter was hidden away from the public...more The Nargun isn’t happy and that’s is not good.  Men are tearing up the lovely forest and the Nargun will not put up with this.  A lovely ecology-minded...more The apocalypse has happened and Ben has survived.  He has a gift; he can whisper to animals.  Somehow, he makes his way to Taronga Zoo where he discovers...more

What are you reading today?!

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. Book Journey offers a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling BJ how many you visited.