Bookmark Swap

I love bookmarks. They are like jewelry for your books! There are so many options, crocheted, stitched, beads, inspirational quotes, funny quotes, fancy or simple, bought or handmade. Even though half the time I can't find one thanks to my children "borrowing" them, I do have a few special ones I keep in pretty constant use. So I thought this month instead of a giveaway how about a swap? That way everyone can get a little something fun in the mail! (And who doesn't like getting hand written mail these days? It's such a treat!)

If you'd like to participate leave a comment saying so, then I will put every one's name into my trusty Tupperware container and draw names, like a Secret Santa. I'll send you an email with the name (and address if you need it) of the person you'll be sending a bookmark to. I think it would be fun too if you'd send me a picture of your bookmark when you receive it and then we can do a little show and tell! I hope you'll all play along, otherwise I'll end up mailing a bookmark to myself and then the postman would probably give me weird looks....

P.S. A nice thing about this is that most bookmarks should fit into a regular sized envelope so it won't cost a lot to mail them. Just remember if you do use a regular envelope to write "hand cancel" by the address, so it doesn't get sent through the machine at the post office and get crushed or rip open. :)

Sneaking in a spotlight...

So this is the last of the spotlight questionnaires that were returned to me and this one is from... me! I think most of you know me but if you don't, I am a mommy of three who has been an avid reader from the tender age of three. I firmly believe my love of reading is a genetic gift from my mother and one that I passed on to my son, who also started reading at age three. So read on if you'd like to, I know I will. I just find myself fascinating.... ☺

Member Spotlight

1. Do you have a favorite author or genre? And if so what do you find most appealing about them? 

Jane Austen, I read her for the first time in Jr. High and I will always love her stories. I believe reading her books helped me to develop my own finely tuned appreciation of the ridiculous. I always enjoy gentle satire.

I also really love a good mystery, whether its a novel or a real life case, one that draws you in and keeps you guessing about who actually did it. I don't like it when I've figured it out in the first few chapters.  It also has to have well drawn characters, esp. the murderer. I am fascinated by what makes people tick, I want to understand their motives, even if it is abnormal psychology.

2. If you could have tea (or lunch, or any meal really, tea just feels more book clubbish, doesn't it?) with any three characters from all of literature who would it be?

Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, and Oscar Wilde (although that might be against the rules, because he is an author, not a character...) Two brilliant, if erratic detectives and a premier satirist. Is it wrong to hope someone is murdered during tea so I can watch them solve the crime?  That feels kind of morbid...

3. Do you have a favorite reading or book related quote?

"A home without books is a body without a soul." - Cicero

4. Where is your favorite place to read?

Curled up in front of the fireplace, or in the bath, or in bed. Someplace warm.

5. Do you have any funny reading quirks? (Like having to read things in numerical order or not reading books that start with the letter Q? Something like that?)

I definitely have to read series in order, I find it very distracting to jump around in a story.  I really don't like trilogies, I feel like if you are going to make me get that invested in the characters and plot then you should spin the story out as far as it will go, not just fill up three books because there happens to be a term for it...  I also hate it when a series ends abruptly, like the author just got tired or bored of writing. I have been known to shed a tear or two at the end of a good series, when it feels like you are saying good-bye to dear friends.

6. How many books are currently by your bed (on your nightstand or on the floor?) How many of those are you in the middle of reading?

30, but about 5 of those are finished and just hanging out in my library pile.  

5, but one of those is the one Brian and I are reading together...

7. Do you have a favorite children's book?

Oh so many, I really loved the Mrs. Piggle-wiggle books when I was a child. I have been having a lot of fun rediscovering my old favorites with my son, as he looks for new things to read.

8. What is your earliest book related memory?

My mom rocking my brother and I and reading a chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh when I was about 4 or so.

9. What is most amount of money you have ever had to pay in library fines?

$36.  That was a one time thing, I don't even want to know what I've paid over the last year or two... hence my New Year's Resolution to have no library fines this year! (So far so good...)

*In the interest of full disclosure I should tell you this was filled out a couple of months ago and I have since paid $3.80 in fines. Frankly I am amazed that I made it as far as April before incurring any fines, and my new goal is to pay less than $10 for the year...

10. Do you have any great story to share about trying to multi-task while reading? (i.e. walking into something while your nose was in a book?) 

I have always been able to disappear completely into a good book, and as a child I was frequently in trouble because I wouldn't hear the timer at school when free reading time was over, or to come in from recess. As an adult I have burned dinners, spaced appointments and locked myself out of the house on multiple occasions. So I really don't try to multi-task anymore. I can't do it successfully.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

Chrissy emailed me on March 31 apparently and asked that I write about the book I'd recommended for the book club and to do it by tomorrow. Well, since I often avoid the computer at all costs on weekends and didn't check it Thursday either, you're getting this today ☺  Sorry ladies.

When I read her email, I questioned that I had recommended this book because I'd never read the book. Then I remembered that it had been recommended to me, so I put it on the list to read.
LUCKILY - I did read it. I had some extra time recently and decided to read ahead on the other books. So I can now say that yes, I would recommend The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.
This comical autobiography of  his growing-up years in Iowa in the 1950's is quite entertaining. It's full of funny stories, interesting facts, and honest experiences that people go through when growing up. I found I was able to relate to it, even if I was born in the 80's.  It ends with, what I think, is a very good conclusion about the past, and today.

So strap on your Hero Cape, and get ready to laser beam those who disturb your reading, and enjoy the book!