Check out the new blog!

Hi Followers!
Please note that I have moved over to wordpress and had a redesign done by Nicole at Advanced Computing Concepts. This link will take you to the spankin' new place!
BookLady

My first read-a-thon!

I am participating in The Bibliophilic's read-a-thon. I hope to finish Little Bee by Chris Cleave, Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown AND Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay! Wish me luck!
You can join the read-a-thon here http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2010/08/read-thon-starting-line.html

Also, my website (terracebooks.com) is about to become home to my blog! Stay tuned for updates.

BookLady

Blog Design by April Showers

Hi Friends! Just wanted to give a quick update on me: Still working at the middle school, now I'm in a long-term sub assignment for US History ---- I LOVE it!!

April Showers is updating my blog with a new design! I am so excited, the drafts are way cool! Just what I need to inspire me to get back to blogging! I'll be back soon! :O

Toodles,
BookLady

Where are you, BookLady?

Hi Friends! I went back to work this week = no blogging for me. Once I get situated and in a normal routine I'll be back! I am teaching a Language program at a local middle school. I am very excited and I can't wait to meet the students! Wish me luck!

Toodles,

BookLady

Wordful Wednesday

Well, my daughter is going back to school today. Of course I will miss her, but I am also VERY excited for her! She is living her dream, after all. She is about to begin her 3rd year in The Marshall School of Business at USC! We are a TOTAL Trojan family! To help her prepare to, uh, miss me, I cooked a few of her favorite meals this past week! ;)

Wednesday: Macaroni and Cheese!

Yes, I am reading while stirring the sauce! I could not put down The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society!

Thursday: Tostadas and Spanish Rice! (and the beans are NOT from a can!)

My girl, may she study hard and get our money's worth!!! ;)

Toodles,
BookLady


Visit Seven Clown Circus for more wonderfully wordy Wednesday pictures!

Terrace Books Tuesday

So much going on at Terrace Books right now! Our readers are really stocking up on books. We welcomed about 10 new customers in the past week. Suspense books are selling like hot cakes and I just put in an order for lots of new vampire novels for one of our longtime customers, Marion. Another exciting thing: we are promoting the website, goodreads.com. So far, four of us are members and we are close to becoming addicted, I tell you, it is hard to get away! If you decide to join, please look us up! Find our group listed under: Friends of Terrace Books.

But before you go, please read my mini-review that is posted on our community board at Terrace Books.

Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel
Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Publisher: Dial Press, 2009 trade paperback edition, $14.00
ISBN: 978-0-385-34100-4 290 pages
Genre: Fiction, literature
Rating: 5 stars, outstanding!

What the book is about: Ever had potato peel pie? Don't worry, this book is not about cooking! It is a compelling tale about the German Occupation of the Channel islands during World War II. The story gives us an insiders view of the Occupation, written in a unique style of letters exchanged between the members of the society and Miss Juliet Ashton, a published author. This old fashioned book club was invented by the founding member, Elizabeth McKenna in order to create a diversion from the Germans during curfew one night. What entails is a moving masterpiece of history told from those that lived it and how the books they read helped them survive. Yes, the books helped them survive. It is somewhat of a love story: a love of books, a love of writing and a love of Guernsey. The relationships -- between the people and the books they read -- are revealed slowly and purposefully. Be prepared to fall in love all over again with the classics and with the unforgettable characters in this book.

Why I loved it: Each character is revealed to us through the books they read. They are, in essence, defined by their choice of book!

My favorite excerpt: "I love seeing the bookshops and meeting the booksellers -- booksellers really are a special breed. No one in their right mind would take up clerking in a bookstore for the salary, and no one in his right mind would want to own one -- the margin of profit is too small. So, it has to be a love of readers and reading that makes them do it -- along with first dibs on the new books." page 15 (My thoughts exactly!)

My recommendation: You will enjoy this book if you like historical fiction. It is a romance about books and reading. I highly recommend it for English teachers or anyone else whose profession revolves around reading. Also, those interested in the occupation of World War II should enjoy the historical implications. Very well researched and has made me move on to other Occupation non-fiction books.

What to read next: (all are non-fiction)
London 1945: Life in the Debris of War by Maureen Waller
The Model Occupation: The Channel Islands Under German Rule 1940-1945 by Madeleine Bunting
Our Longest Days: A People's History of the Second World War by Sandra Koa Wing

Toodles,
BookLady

Manic Monday

Good Monday morning to you! Welcome to Manic Monday at my blog where I list the Tuesday book releases that I hope will interest you, my readers. So, shall we?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, hardcover. Historical fiction; England; War of the Roses (new series by this bestselling author!)

Vanished by Joseph Finder, hardcover. Suspense; missing persons; corporate intrigue

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli, hardcover. Non-fiction; biography; actors and actresses

The Shortest Distance Between Two Women by Kris Radish; paperback. Women's fiction; relationships; women's lives

A Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks, hardcover. Fantasy fiction; The Magic Kingdom series; epic

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin, hardcover. Fiction; Rwanda; women cooks; bakeries

Soul of a Dog by Jon Katz, hardcover. Non-fiction; essays; farm life; dogs; New York

August 24, 2009 (next Monday)
Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo, hardcover. Fiction; historical suspense; Alex Cross; race relations; Southern states