Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Scene of the Blog-- Lesa's Book Critiques


One of these days I'm going to run into Lesa of Lesa's Book Critiques. After all, she's Library Manager in neighboring Glendale, which is only a few miles from where I sit blogging. Knowing our penchant for mysteries however, we'll probably meet at The Poisoned Pen!

Lesa works hard, including a Monday morning appearance this week on local television to discuss a library workshop. She is a contributing book reviewer for Library Journal and other publications and recently won the 2009 Spinetingler Award for Best Reviewer. I always pay attention to her reviews!

Two of my favorite features on her blog are Treasures in My Closet and her author signings posts when she travels to the Poisoned Pen or when an author appears at the Velma Teague Library. One of these days, I'm going to attend one of those signings! (Hmm...I seem to be saying "one of these days" a lot. I have to stop saying and start doing!)

But now it's time to pay attention to where Lesa blogs. Let's take a look, shall we? Don't forget-- the photos are clickable so you can view them full size.



This is a picture of me in my favorite chair. I have a very nice desk in the spare bedroom, and that's where I keep the laptop, but I seldom use it there. It's away from the action in the house. My husband, the TV, and the cats are all in the living room, so that's where I usually work, in that chair, with books piled around me. When I do blog posts about Treasures in My Closet, I even pull a TV tray up, so the books are stacked beside me.




Meet Dickens. He was born behind the bookcase in our house in Florida, named after Charles Dickens, and he usually oversees the blogging. He normally sits on the footstool of my chair while I blog. Since he actively participates, I'm sending his picture as well.
Happy Blogging!
Lesa


Maybe it's just me, but Dickens doesn't look all that thrilled about having a chance to be an online celebrity. What do you think? I really appreciate all the work Lesa does to promote books and reading both as a librarian and as a blogger. If you're not familiar with her blog, I hope you stop by and check it out. (She doesn't just review mysteries, in case you wondered!)

Thanks so much for letting us take a look at where you blog, Lesa. I don't blame you for not blogging in the spare bedroom. We bloggers deserve to be right in the thick of things!

Don't forget to stop by next Wednesday when we'll be taking a look at another book blogger's creative space!



40 comments:

  1. What a cool name for a cat! We are still looking for a name for our new kitten, and I hadn't thought of the literary angle...hmmmm....

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  2. I always pay attention to her reviews too Cathy.

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  3. Dickens is too cool for us! I can't believe you and Lesa are so close and haven't gotten together yet!

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  4. Awww what a cutie :D Thanks for sharing him with us.
    great blog space

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  5. I love Dickens! But I am a fan of cats in general so that may be subjective. He certainly does look peeved, lol!

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  6. Thanks for featuring Lesa--she has one of my favorite blogs--I too do the laptop thing, and almost gasped - my cat Bruiser could be a clone of Dickens. Anyway I thank Lesa for pointing me to your terrific blog. I have put you in my blog feed. Don't know how I missed you on LT. I look forward to next weeks' blogging space...great idea.

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  7. Hi Everyone,

    I had to get to work in order to be able to respond. For some reason, my laptop just brings up Cathy's book background.

    I really appreciated the opportunity Cathy gave me to showcase my blog, and highlight Dickens.

    Yes, she and I do need to get together some day! We've been online friends for quite a while!

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  8. Lenore,

    The literary angle is great for cats, especially for those of us who are readers. I once named a kitten Rebecca after Rebecca in Ivanhoe, not from Sunnybrook Farm.

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  9. Kerrie,

    Thank you for saying you always pay attention to my reviews. I appreciate it!

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  10. I love reading Lesa's author signing posts as well; they are so detailed that I feel as though I attended the event with her.

    Her blogging chair looks SO comfortable, and I love that her blogging buddy is a cat named Dickens. Just perfect!

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  11. Yes, Bermudaonion, Cathy and I do need to get together sometime. I'm sure we will run into each other, probably at the Poisoned Pen, as she said.

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  12. Blodeuedd - Thanks! Dickens will appreciate knowing you think he's cute! Since my husband always told him how fat he is, he'll appreciate your comment!

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  13. Lilly,

    Dickens isn't usually a happy cat, unless he's sitting in my lap. And, if the laptop is there instead of him, he's always peeved.

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  14. Tutu -

    Thank you for the nice comment about my blog. I'm glad you discovered Cathy's. And, give that Bruiser a hug from me and Dickens!

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  15. Hi Molly!

    Yes, Dickens sits on the footstool or arm while I blog. He likes to be near me.

    Thank you for the nice comment about my author visit summaries!

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  16. How nice to see where Lesa does her famous critiques. That chair looks so comfortable. Lesa's blog is one of the few I read every day in my Google Reader. I'm ashamed to admit that I seldom visit her blog and comment. But I subscribe because I don't want to miss a single post. I trust her opinion on books. Thanks for this look at a favorite blogger.

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  17. Dickens does look slightly annoyed, but our cats didn't like to be left out of the action either. Not a problem unless one them tried to sleep on the keyboard while I was typing!

    We're going to have get kittens again soon.

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  18. Margot!

    How nice of you to call them "famous critiques"! Thank you. And, I don't have any problem with you not going to my blog and commenting. I'm just happy that I'me giving you something you enjoy and find worthwhile. Thank you for reading my blog regularly. I do appreciate it.

    Lesa

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  19. We almost added another cat accidentally yesterday, Beth. But, we just couldn't have a fifth cat. You do need a kitten!

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  20. And our cat Josh wants a kitten very much, so you never know? Thank you for saying for all the nice things about Lesa's Blog. As her husband, I know how much she loves books & book readers! You all are VERY IMPORTANT to her. Thank God I love books too, because I met her when she was the Director of a Library, and we were married 26 years ago, in that Library.

    26 years of great reading together!

    Love you Lesa,

    Jim

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  21. Thank you, Jim - my favorite reader and library patron. He's right. All of the book and blog readers are important to me. Thanks for stopping by. (And, I still don't think Josh is going to get a kitten. I can't handle feeding one more cat.)

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  22. Lovely post - very nice to get to know a bit more about Lesa, and Dickens, too!

    As for cat names: in addition to literature, I have found music and history to be great sources. My last cat was Cyrus (the Great), because he was part Persian. Currently, I am cohabiting (and supervised) by Musetta, my little muse (and the mezzo role from La Boheme - the little flirt!).

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  23. And, even sports, Clea, as unlikely as it seems. My Stormy Roy Anne Weatherly is named after a baseball player - Roy "Stormy" Weatherly. It's so interesting where we get names! (She's a tuxedo, like Musetta.)

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  24. Great look into the space of a blogger. I don't know Lesa's blog but am on my way there to check it out pronto :-)

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  25. Thanks, Louise! I hope you like it when you get to it.

    http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com

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  26. Lovely picture of Dickens, even if he does look a bit grumpy!

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  27. "I have a very nice desk in the spare bedroom, and that's where I keep the laptop, but I seldom use it there. It's away from the action in the house."
    Exactly what I think, and exactly why I must have a laptop. Years ago I felt so guilty when I used my computer too much in my spare time. Now we all sit around in the same room with a laptop or a book.

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  28. Actually, Dickens looks grumpy most of the time, so thank you for saying it's a lovely picture of him!

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  29. You're right, Dorte.

    And, I've been having battery problems lately, so sometimes it's easier to use it in that room than to drag all of the power cords out. But, then, I miss the action in the living room, and my husband asks what I'm doing in there. It's nice to have the laptop.

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  30. How great to see where you create Lesa! You know I'm a fan - thanks for sharing.

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  31. Hi Luanne,

    I know you're a fan. Thanks for dropping by to see my blogging corner. I appreciate it, Luanne!

    Lesa
    http://esasbookcritiques.blogspot.com

    (Using my husband's computer, so it comes up with his address.)

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  32. Kathy--It might not be all that strange. A bit along the lines of all the people who were born here and haven't seen the Grand Canyon! LOL

    Tutu--I'm glad you found me because I've been following you for a few weeks now!

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  33. That is what I need -- a blog supervisor of the furry variety! Maybe I would get my reviews done faster or I'd get scratched! This was another lovely edition to the series.

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  34. I'm glad you liked it, Jenners. The one next Wednesday is going to be another "good'un"! ;)

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  35. Jenners,

    You should check the furry one who just finished my latest book with me. He'll be up on my blog tomorrow. http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com. Thanks for visiting & commenting!

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  36. Cathy,

    Thank you for asking me to participate in Scene of the Blog. I had a good time, and enjoyed meeting some of your readers, and bringing some of mine over here.

    Thanks!
    Lesa

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  37. The pleasure is all mine, Lesa. You're the perfect guest!

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  38. Love Dickens and certainly love his name. We've always named our critters out of the literary life too. We had Boo (Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird who looked a lot like Dickens, actually), Spenser (Sir Edmund Spenser, author of The Faerie Queen--according to me--or Spenser from the Robert Parker Spenser series--according to my husband), and now have Daisy (Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby although we hope she is a happier soul than her namesake!).

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  39. Kristen!

    I love your cat names. Like you, I hope Daisy is a happier soul than Daisy Buchanan. I love the choices. Interesting how people have different choices for the same name. Lots of people thought Rebecca was named after Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and never thought of Ivanhoe.

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