Scene of the Blog Featuring Kristen of BookNAround!

I can't remember how I came across Kristen's blog, BookNAround, but I'm glad I did. Everything from her clean, simple design to her restraint in the use of graphics screams, "Content!" and that's exactly what you get. I enjoy Kristen's sense of humor, and have learned that we see eye-to-eye on books much of the time. If you haven't found your way over to her blog yet, you're definitely going to want to correct that oversight!

Of course, you're all wanting to take a look at where this talented lady blogs, so it's time for me to stop hogging the spotlight and turn this show over to my guest. Let's see where Kristen does all that excellent blogging! (Don't forget that you can click on all the photos to see them full size.)

The first picture is of my actual desk from a short distance. It has looked this way since we moved in 9 months ago although in our previous house, it was never this messy and disastrous. OK, it hasn't looked exactly like this since the books are ever moving and shifting in their piles, but this is pretty representative.

The second picture is a close-up of the shelves so those of you who like to try and read very blurry spines in pictures can knock yourselves out. ;-)
There are actually knick-knacks that belong on these shelves but I've never gotten around to organizing them since my space is in the basement spare bedroom and therefore generally out of sight of most visitors to my house (and my parents are used to my mess after dealing with my chaotic desk at home for 18 years and ignoring it when they visit my own house for another 20).

The third picture is of the set of shelves along the wall to my left when I'm sitting at my desk. These are loaded not only with the paperback books I've read and am keeping (my organization of books is a whole other lengthy, obnoxious and eye-glaze inducing post) but with all the knick-knacks that belong on the desk shelves as well.

The fourth picture is of the bed directly behind my back when I am at the desk. It's handy for when I need a nap in the middle of a particularly boring book review. No, not really. It's our guest room and only the guests nap there. And the dog. For hours. And hours. Because she likes to keep me company when I am on the computer. Isn't it nice of us to have a whole queen-sized bed for her convenience? The pile of stuff along the window is more that I unpacked months ago and have never found a good home for.

Someone please tell me I'm not the only non-neat freak blogger out there! Oh, and for kicks and giggles, I'm hoping to have this inspire me to actually clear up the desk and get the knick-knacks where they belong and all. My parents will probably die of shock should it happen. I'll post pictures of the new and improved space (or the same old stuff with different titles in the stacks if I don't get to it) on my blog when this runs for Scene of the Blog.

That is some nice room in the basement for blogging, isn't it? (It's also a very nice guest room!)I had to smile when Kristen spoke of the dog insisting on keeping her company by sleeping on the bed behind her. I once had a dog who insisted on keeping me company, too, only he liked to lay under the desk and sleep across both of my feet. It was nice during the winter, but I did get tired of my feet going numb...or the times when he'd decide to lick between my toes!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love those windows on the other side of the room, and I'm also itching to take a look at all those books on those shelves. Yikes! I never met a puppy... or a book... that I could resist!

Thank you so much, Kristen, for taking time out to share your space with us. Now that we've seen the Before Photos, Kristen has informed me that we can take a look at the After Photos on her blog (which gives you one more reason to head on over there)!

Don't forget to stop by next Wednesday when we'll be visiting another book blogger to take a look at her creative space here on Scene of the Blog!

Wordless Wednesday

Stellar's Jay
Black Canyon Lake, Arizona

Click photo to view full size. More Wordless Wednesday.

Who Wears the Pants in Your Relationship?

You Both Wear the Pants in Your Relationship

You and your sweetie seem to have stuck the perfect power balance. It's not that you don't disagree - it's just that you've learned how to compromise well. You're both mature enough to know that you can't always get your way...And usually, you're both adult enough to reach an agreement - even if that sometimes means giving in a little.

Who Wears the Pants in Your Relationship?

Mailbox Monday-- Even Stephen

My English teacher in junior high was my guidance counselor in high school. She was taking courses for an advanced degree, and one of her assignments was to take a sampling of students and have them take aptitude tests. She liked the results of my aptitude test so much that I became one of her favorite Guinea pigs. Why did she like my test results so much? Because it was very plain to see what I liked and what I didn't like. Unlike all the other students who took the test, my graph was an endless chain of incredible peaks and abysmal valleys. Middle ground is not one of my normal hangouts.

But this past week, middle ground was exactly where I belonged. I sent seven books out to new Paperback Swap foster homes, and seven books came into the house. Even Stephen! That so seldom happens, and it's good to see that at least one little piece of me hasn't changed from those early years.

Here's the list of the books that are now ensconced on my TBR shelves. Well, six of them anyway!

--Rival Crock Pot 3 Books in 1: Slow Cooker Favorites, Winning Slow Cooker Recipes, Slow Cooker Recipes for All Occasions (Barnes & Noble). I have proclaimed from the rooftops that my dream house would not have a kitchen, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I greatly prefer using my slow cooker. Rival was the first company to make slow cookers, and Mom immediately bought one. It's a horrible harvest gold color, but it cooks beautifully. How do I know this? Because I inherited it, and no matter how ugly it is, as long as it cooks like a dream, it will always have a home here. I managed to grab this book at Barnes & Noble for $10-- the price each book sold for individually. If you're interested, check out their bargain books shelves!

--Real World by Natsuo Kirino (PBS). After reading Kirino's Out, I became a fan of her edgy, almost surreal style and the glimpse she provided into Japanese culture. "A dark tale of teen angst and despair in suburban Tokyo. Through alternating first-person narratives, four girls and one boy tell a story of murder and deception. Descriptions of the hot, humid summer enhance the oppressive feeling of the novel. Characters are well drawn and real, though not always sympathetic–they make life-altering mistakes, don't trust or confide in adults, and are absorbed in their individual worlds. Kirino offers insight into the teens through chapters that read like diary entries as they divulge the deepest secrets, fears, and longings of Toshi, Terauchi, Yuzan, Kirarin, and the boy they call Worm. Readers glimpse at the cliques, social pressures, and academic expectations endured by adolescents in contemporary Japan."

--A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson (B&N). "A charming love triangle in Nairobi, Kenya, forms the center of a novel that manages to be both sweet and gripping. Mr. Malik, a quiet widower guided by a naïve crush, spends his Tuesdays on bird walks led by Rose Mbikwa, the Scottish widow of a Kenyan politician, whom he secretly wishes to escort to the Nairobi Hunt Club Ball. Enter Harry Khan, Mr. Malik's playboy nemesis, who also takes a liking to Rose. Mr. Malik's social club organizes a bet—whoever can spot the most bird species in one week earns the right to ask Rose to the ball. While Harry heads off on expensive safaris, Mr. Malik is beset by a plague of problems, including the theft of his car and bird-watching notebook, and an ambush by renegade Somalis." I'm just going to say one more thing: Just because a book is set in Africa doesn't mean it should be compared to the #1 Ladies Detective Agency!!!

--Arizona Ghost Stories by Antonio R. Garcez (B&N). I don't often buy seasonal reads, but I just couldn't help myself this time... especially when the second chapter in the book is "Bisbee" and it has an illustration of the Copper Queen Hotel sign. Denis and I spent our honeymoon in the Copper Queen-- on the haunted third floor.

--Blood Sympathy by Reginald Hill (PBS). I've read one of Hill's standalones and loved it. And although I have yet to begin reading his Dalziel and Pascoe series, I couldn't help putting this on my PBS wish list (especially when I discovered that it's set in Luton). "Hill's latest features unlikely hero Joe Sixsmith, a balding, middle-aged, recently laid-off lathe operator from Luton, Bedfordshire, and Joe's partner, Whitey, a curmudgeonly feline that loves beer, pork rinds, and an occasional taste of champagne. Joe decides that if he can't make a living operating lathes, maybe his real calling is private investigation. Before he can have business cards printed, Joe is juggling a mysterious multiple murder, a cache of illicit drugs, his meddling, matchmaking Aunt Mirabelle, and two thugs whose sole aim in life seems to be inflicting pain on Joe. Although most detectives might rely on guns, tenacity, and toughness, Joe's qualifications for the job are a kind heart, compassion, and plain good luck. Oddly enough, that's exactly what he needs to solve the case."

--The Serpent and the Scorpion by Clare Langley-Hawthorne (PBS). "In Langley-Hawthorne's absorbing second historical to feature heiress Ursula Marlow, Ursula is struggling to maintain control of her late father's textile empire. A business trip to Egypt is complicated by the strange death of a new friend, the mysterious wife of a wealthy Russian. Next comes word of a fire in one of her factories and the discovery of the body of a young woman killed before the fire started. Struggling to make sense of these two deaths, Ursula also faces possible financial ruin because someone appears determined to put her out of business. Meanwhile, her romance with Lord Oliver Wrotham, a lawyer, is stalled because of her unwillingness to accept the subservient role of wife that Edwardian society demands. Showing an admirable grasp of social and political history, Langley-Hawthorne closes her tightly knit tale with an unexpected twist that will leave readers impatient for the next book."

--The Barbary Plague: The Black Death in Victorian San Francisco by Marilyn Chase (PBS). Don't ask me why, but one of the topics I love to read about is the plague. (Go figure.) So when this book came to my attention, on my PBS wish list it went! "In 1900, a ship called the Australia docked in San Francisco, carrying infected rats that launched a plague epidemic in the city, which raged sporadically for five years before it was subdued. Chase, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, argues in this engaging narrative that social, cultural and psychological issues prevented public health officials from curtailing the outbreak. Relying on published sources, diaries and letters, Chase shows how the disease first hit Chinatown and explains that most San Franciscans denied the outbreak, while others blamed the city's Chinese population (city officials hid behind worries about tourism and the city's reputation). But Chase goes beyond sociological analysis in this lively work and focuses on the players."

There you go-- the books that came to stay in the Barlow B&B for a while! A big thank you to Marcia of The Printed Page for hosting this meme. If you'd like to see the books other folks received last week, just head on up to the top of this post and click on that redhead in the flirty skirt! See you next Monday with my latest batch o' books!

Weekly Link Round-Up

I've been very easily distracted this week. The events surrounding Book Blogger Appreciation Week gave me an idea, and instead of posting my little heart out, I've been giving that idea a real mental workout. We'll see if anything develops from it!

In the mean time, I did have some time to do a bit of surfing. Let's see what kind of links I can pull out of my hat this week!

Bookish News

• There are memes for book cover art, but I just can't get into them because when it comes to cover art, it's old books in the day before dust jackets that really draw my eye!
• The Oxford American lists the Best Southern Novels of All Time.
• The BBC News Magazine wants to know What does your bookcase say about you?
• What a treat! The Telegraph asks Baroness P.D. James to talk about detective fiction, her new book and the technical problems of murder.
• Back to cover art. Have you seen Henry Sene Yee's blog?

Blogging Tips

• The Blog Herald talks about 5 Things That Change as You Blog.
• Reward Your Readers for Visiting Your Blog.
• Do you have a Blogger blog? Want to know how to buy a custom domain through them? (Don't be surprised if there's a post in the future telling you I've done this!)

Around the Water Cooler in the Book Blogosphere

There have been a lot of interesting/fun topics floating around the book blogosphere this past week. Here are some that caught my eye:

• Kari at Five Borough Book Review reviews A&E's Pride and Prejudice. It was fun to read about someone else experience that for the first time, and some of her observations are spot on!
• Pam at Bookalicio.us has a meme: 10 Books to Read Before You Die.
• Head on over to the Tales of a Ravenous Reader while she searches for a peaceful place to read.
• Missy of Missy's Book Nook does a Flashback post every weekend that I really enjoy.
• Have you visited Eva at A Striped Armchair to read You Might Be a Book Blogger If...?
• Rhapsody in Books spotlights a few of the adorable book blogger dogs we have with us.
• Head on over to Robynn's Ravings for Toothaches and Technology. (The toothache refers to Bluetooth....)
• Jeanne of Necromancy Never Pays thinks we should turn a fox loose in the hen house. What do you think?
• Anastasia of Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog thinks audio books are awesome!
• Jackie of Farm Lane Books Blog wants to know if Twitter makes you a better blogger?

New-to-Me Book Blogs

• Midnight Book Girl
• Bookannelid Book Reviews
• Candid Canine

That's it for this week. Stop by next Sunday when I'll have a new batch of links for your surfing pleasure!

My Last 20 Books, Second Edition

Actually this will be My Last 21 Books, since I normally review three books per week and don't think it's fair to leave one of the poor things out of the post.

This semi-regular feature was inspired by those folks who never seem to have enough to occupy their time, so they attempt to do so by criticising others. There exists a group of souls who think book bloggers are drowning in free copies of books sent by publishers. Their criticism is twofold: (1) Supposedly said book bloggers rolling like flotsam in the sea of gratis literature pay for this luxury by writing nothing but glowing reviews on all these books. How else could they remain within hailing distance of the USS Book Bounty? (2) Plain and simple...Sour Grapes.

This feature was inspired by them, but does not continue because of them. I'm simply a curious person who likes to keep tabs on where my books are coming from. I have a good idea and could keep the information to myself, but sometimes it's good to see everything down in black and white and to share it with others.

Here's the list:

1. Bound by Sally Gunning. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
2. Death Mountain by Sherry Shahan. Obtained from author.
3. The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. Obtained from publisher.
4. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
5. The River by Gary Paulsen. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
6. A Quiet Belief in Angels by R.J. Ellory. Obtained through publicist.
7. Seeking the Dead by Kate Ellis. Purchased at the Poisoned Pen.
8. A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
9. The Leopard's Prey by Suzanne Arruda. Purchased at the Poisoned Pen.
10. The Customer Is Always Wrong: The Retail Chronicles edited by Jeff Martin. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
11. Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwillem van de Wetering. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
12. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd. Obtained through Amazon Vine program.
13. Shakespeare's Counselor by Charlaine Harris. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
14. The Last Victim of Glen Ross by M.G. Kincaid. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
15. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory. Obtained through publicist.
16. Terror on Tuesday by Ann Purser. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
17. Frozen Sun by Stan Jones. Purchased at the Poisoned Pen.
18. South of Broad by Pat Conroy. Obtained through publicist.
19. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. Purchased from the Book Depository.
20. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Obtained through Paperback Swap.
21. Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey. Purchased from Amazon.

Paperback Swap = 10
Purchased = 5
Freebies = 6

I knew that this edition would be heavier on the advanced reading copies. I don't request very many and only now am I being emailed requests to read books, but when I do say yes, their publishing dates all seem to be clumped together. So be it. Right now I have every single advanced reading copy in this house read. They're not all reviewed. Just read!

If anything, the breakdown of this latest list of 21 shows that I'm getting a lot of use out of Paperback Swap, doesn't it? Now that I am a member, the books I obtain through them may stay on my TBR shelves for a while, but once I've read them, they're on their way back out of the house and on to a new reader.

Books-- especially good books-- are meant to be shared!

Bound by Sally Gunning

Title: Bound
Author: Sally Gunning
ISBN: 9780061240263, Harper Collins, 2009
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B

First Line: For a time Alice remembered the good and forgot the bad, but after a while she remembered the bad and then had to forget everything to get rid of it; when it came back it came back in bits, like the pieces in a month-old stew-- all the same gray color and smelling like sick, not one thing whole in the entire kettle.

Alice Cole was seven years old when she and her family boarded the ship to America in 1756. By the time the ship docked, Alice and her father were the only two of the family left alive. Without a backward glance, Alice's father gave her over to John Morton as an indentured servant. It was the only way he had to pay off the debt of their passage.

Fortunately the next eight years were relatively good ones for Alice. She was treated like a member of the Morton family and believed she was a friend to the daughter of the house. But when Nabby Morton is married and the two girls move into Emery Verley's house, fifteen-year-old Alice finds herself the victim of sexual abuse by Nabby's husband. Having no recourse, Alice manages to stow away on a ship headed for Boston where she eventually finds herself living with the Widow Berry (last seen in Gunning's novel The Widow's War). The world has taught Alice to mistrust everyone's motives. Will she be able to learn to trust the Widow Berry?

Sally Gunning's historical novels, The Widow's War and Bound are a treat to read. The setting and period detail put me right in the action with the characters. Whereas Gunning shows us the plight of widows in eighteenth century America in The Widow's War, she tackles the subject of indentured servants in Bound.

In many ways the lives of indentured servants were even worse than those of slaves. Slave owners had made an investment in their slaves, and it was good business sense to see that they were fed and clothed properly. Since indentured servants were only going to be around for a prescribed length of time, it wasn't unusual for those who owned their indenture papers to spend as little on them as possible. All too many indentured servants found themselves worked hard and fed very little.

To see this practice through the eyes of a young girl is illuminating. Many a time I wanted to shake some sense into Alice as she made one wrong decision after another, but I had to make myself stop and realize that she was very young and had no reason at all to trust anyone. The only person she knew she could rely on was herself. The Widow Berry had years of bad lessons to overcome with Alice, and as the pages turned in Bound, I really wanted to see how it would all turn out.

If you like well-written stories set in colonial New England that have strong characters, excellent period detail and a smoothly plotted story line, give Sally Gunning a try!

Death Mountain by Sherry Shahan

Title: Death Mountain
Author: Sherry Shahan
ISBN: 9781561454280, Peachtree Publishers, 2007
Genre: Young Adult, Survival
Rating: B

First Line: Erin kicked a rusty bottle cap across the two-lane highway in front of the bus station.

Erin's not overly upset when her bus ticket is stolen. She didn't really want to visit her mother in the first place. She hitches a ride with Levi and Mae, a brother and sister planning a short hike in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The hiking trail is crowded when disaster strikes: a deadly storm hits. Amid lightning strikes and torrential rain, everyone runs for safety, and Erin and Mae find themselves separated from everyone else.

In the days to come, Erin has to use all the survival skills her grandmother taught her to keep Mae and herself going. Are the two young girls going to make it back before their luck runs out?

Based on an actual event in author Sherry Shahan's life, Death Mountain is a swiftly paced and engaging read. It's interesting to see the power shifts and personality differences between Erin and Mae as they make their way down the mountain. The relationship between Erin and her grandmother (shown in flashbacks) is a very close and special one, and I liked seeing how the older woman kept trying to reconcile her daughter and granddaughter.

But it's not all interpersonal relationships on Death Mountain; there are lots of adventures and survival tips. One of the things I liked most in reading this book after such books as Hatchet and The River was the fact that this time it was two young girls lost in the wilderness trying to find their way to safety. Why let the boys have all the fun?

[Review copy from author. Thank you, Sherry!]

Scene of the Blog Featuring.....Me!

Between fighting off germs and the excitement of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I forgot all about scheduling future Scene of the Blog posts. Instead of hitting people up at the last second, I came up with the best and easiest solution: I'd feature myself. It even means that I get away with little to no introduction!


Just remember that you can click on any of the photos if you'd like to see them full size. Now let's get this show on the road!






At the end of February last year, Denis and I bought desks at IKEA and a couple of bookcases from OfficeMax and brought everything home. While Denis assembled all the furniture, I cleared out the bedroom we call our office and gave it a good clean. The photo above is the result. My desk is on the wall to the right of the big window, and Denis's is on the opposite wall behind me. There is a printer stand between our desks (which are both L-shaped) so we can both reach the printer. The stand also multi-tasks by holding all the mailing envelopes, tape, etc. that I use to get my books ready to send to other Paperback Swap members. The old green laundry basket is our recycle bin.



To the left of the big window is the closet and a tall bookcase that's already featured in one of my Bookself posts. As you can see, we also remodeled the closet, taking out the clothing rail and putting in heavy duty shelving. I then went to town with my label maker, and everything in there is pretty darned easy to find.

The low bookcases to the right of the closet hold mostly Dover clip art books, cookbooks, and reference books on Arizona, desert plants and some needlepoint pattern books.







Since all those photos were taken right after the completion of the remodel, I thought I'd take a photo of what my space looks like right now. Un-retouched. In all its messy glory. It shows my new (huge) monitor and that I'd just finished getting a PBS book ready for the mail. It shows a blogger who occasionally likes to snack on popcorn and diet root beer. On the left corner of the desk, it shows the two books that were next to be read and a cookbook which must mean I was writing a grocery list. Over on the right by the lamp, you can see my scanner. Every book cover on every review here at Kittling: Books has been scanned on that. In front of the scanner is the big desk calendar that I use to plot out all my blog posts.

The pile of books with my spiral bound book journal on top is the pile of books I need to write reviews for. The other stack of books are ones that were featured in this week's Mailbox Monday post.

I'm the type of person who normally hates to sit with her back to the room. I have personal experience of both a rapist and a stalker. Not being able to see who's closing in on my air space bothers me. I've somehow managed to overcome that with this room set-up, and the primary reason rests solely on the shoulders of the window I sit by.

As I sit here, I can look out the window and see the bright magenta blooms of bougainvillea. I can see the swimming pool and a lounge chair beckoning to me. And I can also see a birdbath that sprays water into the air courtesy of a small solar pump. Between that birdbath and the hummingbird feeder, I've been able to see quite an assortment of wildlife that loves my back garden as much as I do.

This room is a comfortable place in which to work. Denis and I can each sit at our computer, and even though we're not constantly talking to each other, it just feels good to be together in the same room. If we discover something that we want the other to see, it's easy to swivel around and take a look. If I need a thesaurus or any other type of book here in the room, I love to push off against the desk and roll across the floor to it. I've even been known to "Wheeeeeee!" as I sail across the room. (My inner child is quite happy and flat-out refuses to grow up!)

I hope you've enjoyed this look into my own blogging space. If you spy something in a photo and want to know what it is, ask me. I'll be more than happy to provide an answer.

In closing this particular feature, I thought I would show you some of the wildlife I've sat right here and watched through the window. Be sure to stop by next Wednesday when another blogger's creative space will be featured!

Wordless Wednesday

More Wordless Wednesday.

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

Title: The Brutal Telling
Author: Louise Penny
ISBN: 9780312377038, Minotaur Books, 2009
Genre: Police Procedural, #5 Inspector Gamache mystery
Rating: A+

First Line: "All of them?"

One of the best places in the literary world to live is Three Pines, Louise Penny's Canadian version of Shangri-La. The friendships there are strong and deep-- better than most people's family lives. Peter and Clara the artists, Myrna the bookshop owner, Ruth the curmudgeonly poet, Olivier and Gabri the bistro and B&B owners are all people I have come to know over the course of this series. Their strengths, their weaknesses, how they support each other during difficult times-- I feel as though these "people" have let me into their homes and into their hearts.

I have been completely absorbed into Louise Penny's world.

It is a shock when Myrna discovers a dead body in Olivier's bistro. When renowned Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is summoned to investigate, I knew all would be well. Gamache, a man of infinite wisdom and infinite kindness, knows how to get to the bottom of things:

But one of the first lessons the Chief had taught Beauvoir when he'd joined the famed homicide department of the Sureté du Québec was that to catch a killer they didn't move forward. They moved back. Into the past. That was where the crime began, where the killer began. Some event, perhaps long forgotten by everyone else, had lodged inside the murderer. And he'd begun to fester.

The body having been found in the bistro, the first suspect is Olivier, but as Gamache's team spreads out and begins their search for facts, the suspect pool becomes much deeper. There are the strangers who've bought the old Hadley house and are turning it into a swanky hotel and spa. And what about the Czech family who lives nearby? The murder victim himself is very difficult to identify, but as more and more tiny pieces of the puzzle come together the more things keep pointing back to Olivier.

The Brutal Telling is a complex tale of treasures and greed. It all takes place in a comfortable, charming village populated by fully fleshed characters I've grown to appreciate and, in some instances, to love. First and foremost, I do love Penny's intricate weaving together of place, of history, and of character. And I love how she is not afraid to tear the village and the people she has created asunder...and then to put them back together again. At the end of this mesmerizing book, the village of Three Pines will never be the same, but there is hope. There is always hope.

The one vision that has remained with me since turning the last page is of the cranky old poet. There Ruth stands out on the village green, looking up into the sky at Rosa...a trail of bread crumbs falling from her fingers into the grass. Reading Louise Penny is a bit like becoming Hansel or Gretel. Penny's world is so complete, so magical, that I feel as though I need to mark a trail somehow so that I can find my way back out.

If you have yet to read any of the books in this series, what on earth is stopping you?

What's Your Defense Mechanism?

Your Defense Mechanism is Humor

When life gets you down, you just have to laugh. And that's a very healthy reaction. It's not that you don't take your problems seriously. You do. You just don't let them control you. You are able to make the best of things, even when things look very, very bleak. Some people may consider your sense of humor to be dark, but it has served you well!

What's Your Defense Mechanism?

Mailbox Monday-- The Tide Is Beginning to Turn

The tide is beginning to shift a bit. I haven't done anything (until today) about posting more books to my Paperback Swap shelf, so only 3 books went out last week to new foster homes. On the other hand, books started coming through on my PBS wish list, and...ahem...I kinda fell off the wagon. Five books arrived at the Barlow B&B last week. Let me introduce you to my new friends:

--The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (PBS). "The book begins seven generations after the Return, an undead plague that has ended civilization as we know it. Of course, a zombie outbreak usually means shotguns and mall looting--the very essence of freedom. But more than a century on from the Return, the malls have already been looted, and shotguns are a distant memory. The novel's heroine, Mary, lives in a village surrounded by one last vestige of industrial technology: a chain-link fence, beyond which is a vast forest full of shambling, eternally ravenous undead--the forest of hands and teeth. No villager ever goes outside this fence, unless they want to die. Mary's world is bounded not only by the fence but by the archaic traditions of her people, which are enforced by a religious order called the Sisterhood. Marriages, childbirth, death, every stage of life must be controlled to sustain the village's precarious existence. Even the houses are circumscribed--literally--with passages of scripture carved into every entrance to remind the inhabitants of the rules that sustain human life amid the horrors of the forest. After so long an isolation, the village is beginning to forget. Some doubt that there really was a time before the Return, with giant cities and wondrous technologies. Others believe that nothing at all exists beyond the forest of hands and teeth. And nobody but Mary and her slightly mad mother believes in something called 'the ocean,' a huge and unbounded space beyond the reach of the undead." I have to admit that I do enjoy a good dystopian novel now and then.

--The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (PBS). "Through the eyes of Bruno, a naive nine-year-old raised in a privileged household by strict parents whose expectations included good manners and unquestioning respect for parental authority, the author describes a visit from the Fury and the family's sudden move from Berlin to a place called Out-With in Poland. There, not 50 feet away, a high wire fence surrounds a huge dirt area of low huts and large square buildings. From his bedroom window, Bruno can see hundreds (maybe thousands) of people wearing striped pajamas and caps, and something made him feel very cold and unsafe. Uncertain of what his father actually does for a living, the boy is eager to discover the secret of the people on the other side. He follows the fence into the distance, where he meets Shmuel, a skinny, sad-looking Jewish resident who, amazingly, has his same birth date. Bruno shares his thoughts and feelings with Shmuel, some of his food, and his final day at Out-With, knowing instinctively that his father must never learn about this friendship."

--The Unquiet Bones, The First Chronicle of Hugh de Singleton Surgeon by Melvin R. Starr (PBS). "A young woman's remains are found in the castle, and a surgeon is challenged to dissect the mystery and uncover the truth." This is the first in a series of medieval mysteries.

--My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme (Target). I keep saying that I'm going to see Julie & Julia, and it better happen this coming Wednesday! I told myself that I didn't need to read either of the books the movie is based on, but-- witness the power of book bloggers! -- someone's review of this book gave me no choice but to get my hands on a copy. I just wish I remembered the name of the blogger so I could give her credit for overcoming my mule-headedness!

--Julie & Julia by Julie Powell (Target). And I thought, since I'd already succumbed to Julia, I might as well give way to Julie!

A big Thank You to Marcia of The Printed Page for hosting this fun meme. If you'd like to see the new books others obtained over the past week, click on that redhead in the flirty skirt at the top of this post to be taken to Marcia's blog. See you next week!

Poll Results Are In!

A huge Thank You to all 115 people who took part in this poll. In it I asked how you felt about a small independent British film company turning one of your favorite books into a movie. Here's how folks voted:

--29% of you said you'd be first in line for a ticket. This surprised me a bit because it's a fact almost universally acknowledged that the movie is very seldom ever as good as the book.

--24% of you said that, since it wasn't being made by anyone in Hollywood, you just might go. I've gotten quite a bit of enjoyment lately from small British films and television series. The Brits seem to do a better job of sticking to the book. Hollywood on the other hand sticks to the plot of a book just about as well as the US government stuck to all their treaties made with Native American tribes back in the nineteenth century.

--21% said that you'd wait for the DVD. I've done this a lot recently. Either time gets away from me, or the film isn't a big special effects/ action one, or I'd just like to stay at home and curl up on the couch with Denis and watch on our big TV and Surround sound. With the set-up we have here at home, it has to be a special movie or one that's best suited to a huge screen and sound system before we prefer going to the theatre. That's a rather sad statement because I can remember when "going to the show" was a Big Deal.

--13% of you said that you'd go even though you knew you'd be disappointed. I must not be the only person with a little internal eternal optimist... or some of you think someone else would be dragging you to see the film regardless of your true feelings!

--9% of you are purists who said that the book is always better. Can't disagree with you there. 99.9% of the time the book is better because your imagination owns the production company, cameras and film. Besides... your production company doesn't have a budget; you can film every single one of the scenes!

--One lone person said that no one makes movies better than Hollywood, which was pretty cool since 114 people seemed to have a difference of opinion. Good on ya. Stick to your guns!

Personally I have to admit that more movies have made a hash out of some of my most beloved books. When I read, I don't look at the words on the page as if they're the budget I have to follow. (How many restaurant meals and trips to the Poisoned Pen must I cut for the next six months?) Most of the time I think the best cinematic treatment of my favorite books is the lush budget MINI-SERIES. Remember those? Now that's how you treat a book on film!

What do you folks think? What are the worst movies ever made from your favorite books? What are the best? Do you think the mini-series treatment is the best, or should filmmakers stick to 2-3 hours for a book? Or should they just leave your favorite books alone? Inquiring minds want to know!

Weekly Link Round-Up

I seem to be slowly working myself back to the land of the human. Let's see what sort of links I can pull outta my hat!

Bookish News & Other Interesting Tidbits

• If, like me, photos of books, bookcases and reading places take you to The Happy Place, by all means visit Book Lovers Never Go to Bed Alone!
• Better World Books is a place to make your book buying dollars count.
• Online College has put together a listing of the 100 Best Blogs for Book Reviews. The list is by genre. Take a look-- you're going to see many very familiar blog names as well as new ones.
  
• Did you know that November 7 is National Bookstore Day?
• Want to know more about sustainable reading? Check out Eco-Libris.
• Check out these radical bookcases at the Web Urbanist.

Blogging Tips

• The Blog Herald talks about 5 Design Tweaks to Improve Your Blog Conversion Rates. (In the case of most book bloggers, that would be getting folks interested enough to subscribe to our blogs!)
• If your blog is through Google Blogger, did you know there's a site that will print out pages of your blog for you? Meet Blog2Print.

Interesting Topics in the Book Blogosphere

• Chris at Book-a-rama talks about Bringing Sexy Back to Reading.
• Jeanne at Necromancy Never Pays brings up some food for thought in The One-Eyed Monster.
• Gavin at Page 247 wonders just how useful our Google Readers are.
• Fyrefly talks about what is age appropriate.
• If you're in the need for a bit of the frivolous, check out Michele at A Reader's Respite as she contemplates a new interior design scheme....
• Tales of a Ravenous Reader wants our opinions on author signings.
• It's reviews like Rob's at robaroundbooks that make me keep windows open to my Paperback Swap and Amazon accounts as I go through my Google Reader.
• For me, the absolute best response to a BBAW meme was Dawn's on her blog She Is Too Fond of Books.

New-to-Me Blogs Added to my Google Reader

I've mentioned that Book Blogger Appreciation Week is the best week to come in contact with new blogs. Here are some of the blogs I discovered this past week.

• A library is a hospital for the mind
• Book Wars
• Deckled Edges
• a book in hand
• A Work in Progress
• Five Borough Book Review
• Jen's Book Thoughts
• Jules' Book Reviews
• Letters on Pages
• Of Books and Bicycles
• Steph & Tony Investigate!
• A Reading Collection
• A Sea of Books
• Age 30+...A Lifetime of Books
  
• eclectic/eccentric
• Heidenkind's Hideaway
• Reading My Life Away
• Stuck In A Book
• Tripping Toward Lucidity: Estella's Revenge
• Woolgatherings

Whew! Remind me not to let two weeks' worth of links stack up! See you next week with another carefully selected batch of links!

Bookself #3 Wrap-Up... The Shelf of Dreams

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you a photograph of this shelf and asked for opinions. It was a shelf filled with books about Ireland, Scotland, England, and Tsarist Russia. Some of the books were travel guides, but most were not.

Some of you were surprised that I was interested in Tsarist Russia. Some of you thought I might be a world traveler. One person thought I might come in handy when planning a trip to Scotland. (I just might as long as she doesn't want info about the cities!)





Two of the books that piqued your interest were

The Irish World kept me fascinated for hours as I read about Irish art and culture through the ages. How the Scots Invented the Modern World is a book that I very much need to finish as many of my ancestors are from that country. The author describes a very poor nation whose countrymen somehow reached out around the globe and had a hand in modernizing the world. How did they do it? Let me see... it all started with (1) books and (2) education. Go figure!

One of the nice things about traveling in a country where many villages, cities and buildings are hundreds of years old is that I can look through a book like the AA Illustrated Road Book of Scotland (printed in 1972) and I don't have to worry about the places having disappeared. Sure the hours they're open may have changed, but the history remains the same. I'd hate to tell you how many hours I turned the pages of this book with the hot pink cover. The pages are thin, almost like tissue paper, and they must be turned carefully. But oh, what wonderful things are waiting to be discovered!

The AA Illustrated Guide to Britain is another of my books that dates from the 1970s, and its color photography and descriptions of all sorts of places to visit certainly fueled my mania to travel to the UK. I can smile at certain pages now, knowing that I've actually been to the places I dreamed about for years.


I would have to say, however, that the books on that shelf that have fueled the most dreams are the books about Tsarist Russia. After all, it hasn't existed for almost one hundred years. Pouring over books about Nicholas and Alexandra, looking at photographs of their books, their clothing, their furniture... going through books of photographs that were taken during the period... I was not only an armchair traveler; I was also traveling through time. Books like these can make history and historical fiction come to life!





















Of all the books on this shelf of dreams, there is one book that put the details in the dreams. There is one book that I would take with me to that desert isle. There is one book that has such lush and vivid descriptive passages that I remember them years later. Which book am I talking about? Suzanne Massie's Land of the Firebird, The Beauty of Old Russia. She totally immerses me in her subject. I can read her descriptions, close my eyes...and I'm there. It's as simple as that.

So there you have the latest bookself. It's a shelf of travels, both real and imagined. But more than that, it's a shelf of dreams induced by the power and beauty of words.

Do you have an author whose writing is so powerful that he/she can write a scene and it's so clear in your mind that you feel as though you're there? You can see it? Feel it? Hear it? Smell it?

BBAW-- TBR Shelves???

I could've sworn that there was something on the Book Blogger Appreciation Week website about taking photos of your TBR shelves and letting everyone take a look. I do remember seeing photos on other blogs, and I do remember something about "be creative", so I don't think my rememberer is totally on the fritz. (If anyone has a link back to that, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!)

Well, I could've been creative. I could've written an autobiography using book titles. I could've color coordinated them all. I could've done many things. But my final decision was based on two things:

1. Although I meant to party all week in honor of BBAW, I'm still getting rid of the dregs of the nasty bug that caught and hog-tied me last week.
2. I have too many books on my TBR shelves, and I did not feel like taking them off and then putting them all back on.
   

What I did decide to do was show you Then & Now. I took photos of my TBR shelves this past May. I just went out there and took photos of the same shelves. (They're probably going to get conceited.) May, June, July, August, part of September.... Do you think my TBR shelves have changed any? Do you think there are fewer books? More books?

Let's take a look! (If you want to see any of the photos full size, just click on them.)




Okay...here's TBR Shelves Part A. On the left is how they looked in May. Heavens...look at that fine wood veneer on top of the bookcases! There may even be an empty space here and there on the shelves. Now... take a look at the photo on the right. That's how those same shelves look today. Oops. Cathy fell off the wagon and go boom. Very little free space on top... now there's two Leaning Towers of Phoenix. That one stray book all by its lonesome on top is the last ARC I have left to read.

But wait! There's more! (One of these days I'm going to sue the advertising agencies for cluttering up my mind with all those TV commercials....)



On the left, the TBR Shelves Part B as they looked in May. On the right... how they look today. The only reason why they don't look as bad as the other shelves is because I didn't want to put anyone's life in danger by stacking books up on the top. I know from personal experience that concussions are to be avoided.

Hopeless, aren't I?

BBAW-- Best Series or Feature Awarded to Scene of the Blog

I think I'm still in shock. I was sitting here going through all the posts in my Google Reader when a light yellow background on a tweet informed me that someone was speaking to me on Twitter.

I'd just won the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Award for Best Series or Feature for Scene of the Blog. I (rather incoherently) mentioned it to Denis, who practically jumped up and down in his chair. He was excited for me. I was...stunned.

Just look at the other shortlisted features:

• 451 Fridays at As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves
• Author Recipes at Maw Books Blog
• Spotlight on Bookstores at She Is Too Fond of Books
• What a Girl Wants at Chasing Ray

Looked a bit like a battle between Book TV, the Food Network and HGTV. Although that comment sounds smart-alecky, I didn't think my HGTV series had a prayer against the other two networks. (By the way...if you haven't checked out those other "networks", what are you waiting for??)

Stunned or not, Kittling: Books won, and I'd like to thank each and every person who stuck with Scene of the Blog all the way through the nomination and voting process. I'd also like to thank the competition because they are all absolutely great. I've participated in two of the series and I read the other two, so none of them are strangers to my Google Reader. No way, no how!

It's odd how I won an award for the weekly post that is the easiest to write. Since photos and text are provided by the participants, all I have to do is put them together in my editor without screwing anything up, and add a couple of Master of Ceremonies bits. Easy peasy! It just goes to show...

One thing Scene of the Blog reinforces is the feeling of community amongst all of us book bloggers. Of the 31 book bloggers who've participated in this series so far, one third of them were also nominated for BBAW awards. When I emailed all these folks about my harebrained idea, they agreed to help a newbie out. Their trust in me blew me away. How can you not love being in a community like this?

I'd best cut this gush short. There are more Scenes of the Blog to come, and it won't be long before I'll be looking for more. (If you're interested, let me know!) And all of the events throughout Book Blogger Appreciation Week have given me even more ideas.

Watch out...you never know what this mad scientist will cook up!

Wordless Wednesday

Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire. England

More Wordless Wednesday.

BBAW Reading Habits Query

Wednesday is the day during Book Blogger Appreciation Week when we can find out a little bit about each other's reading habits. A long list of questions has been provided on the main page, and we were either supposed to choose one question, or answer them all as creatively and concisely as possible.

Well, I probably couldn't be concise unless Denis's life were at stake. Since he's sitting at his desk behind me and doing just fine, I think I'd best choose just one of those questions and let my camera do the talking. The question I chose to answer is:

Do you have a favorite place to read?

As a matter of fact, I do. Some of you may have seen this before, but it doesn't hurt to take another look at my favorite reading spot right in my own back garden....


Want to read more about book bloggers' reading habits? Head on over to the Book Blogger Appreciation Week website!

What Kind of Salad Are You?

You Are Taco Salad

You are brutally honest and totally real. You can't be bothered to be fake for a second. You are a total riot. You have a wicked sense of humor, and you crack people up. You often shock people with your antics. You have a very spicy personality. You are energetic and intense. You live every moment to its fullest.

What Kind of Salad Are You?

An Interview With Mel of He Followed Me Home...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the best part of Book Blogger Appreciation Week is that you have to expend very little energy to meet many, many, many wonderful bloggers. A case in point is this interview swap.

Volunteers from the studio audience were asked to sign up for interviews, and it was very wisely decided to pair a more established blogger with a new one. This is how I've come to know Mel, whose blog He Followed Me Home...Can I Keep Him? sprang to being in August.

When I learned that Mel was my interview buddy, I immediately hot-footed it over to her blog, where I got the giggles at her choice of graphics for Mailbox Monday. Anyone who'd choose a graphic like that is my kind of blogger!

Let's get to know a bit more about Mel, shall we?

Name: Mel

Blog Name: He Followed Me Home...Can I Keep Him?

Blog URL: http://hefollowedmehome.blogspot.com/

About Me: Well I obviously love books, lol. What you may not know about me is that I am a wife & mom to two cute boys. Like Peter Pan, I’m not sure if I’ll ever grow up…I really don’t feel that old! I live in Canada but hate the winter (no, I do not live in an igloo). Thanks to my boys, I consider the park across the road my second home.

When and why did you start your blog?
About two months ago I realized it was time to do something for myself and decided to read more. My best friend & I Googled, discovered the world of book bloggers and the rest is history! I love the opportunity to find so many new books!

What is your blog all about? Any favorite features that you'd like to share?
If you've had the chance to read my blog, you'll quickly notice that my taste in books is pretty eclectic. I hope to add some value with my reviews and love when I have the opportunity to host giveaways. On Thursdays I started a meme style posting to see what people have read, where their books have taken them & what they've learned. I love chatting and try to reply to all the awesome people who comment on my blog :)

Do you have a review system? If you do, would you like to explain it for us?
I rate my books on the typical 1 - 5 scale, 5 being best. I hope not to read many 1's and 2's though!

Any tips or advice for those starting or thinking about starting a blog?
The community is so friendly, just jump right in with both feet! Start commenting on other book blogs and get to know everyone.

What are some of your favorite genres and/or books currently?
I'm a fan of both fiction and non-fiction (specifically psychology, business & memoirs). YA is my guilty pleasure. Books I recently read and loved are hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.

Hardcover, trade paperback, or mass market paperback?
I'm a big fan of hardcover. I carry my books back and forth to work so sadly they can take a beating. I buy trade paperbacks if I can't get the hardcover but generally avoid mass market paperbacks...oh no, am I a book snob, lol??

Buy or borrow? If buy, Amazon or brick-and-mortar?
99% of the time I buy and usually online with free shipping!

Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random?
Author, didn't realize there was any other way, lol!

Read with dust jacket, or remove it?
Remove it so the book looks to be in perfect condition on my book shelf.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
During the day, I read until the next chapter. When reading late at night, I read until I realize I've had to read the same line like three times.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
All of the above, anytime I have an opportunity really. I read on the train ride into work, at lunch (when I can), on the train ride home and once the kids are in bed.

Stand-alone novels or series?
Both but I must admit that waiting for the next book in a series annoys me.

Five of your favorite books of all time?
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

What are you reading right now?
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (and it's awesome!!)

I had such a great time getting to know more about Mel, and I hope you did, too! If you'd like to get to know more book bloggers, head on over to the Book Blogger Appreciation Week website to check out more interviews!