Category Archives: Book Talk

Not in a Reading Mood

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All of you who know me will be shocked, but I’ve had almost no time to read this month, and I find that I’m not in a reading mood, anyway.

It’s not that I lack for material. I’m still reading Slipknot in eBook format (which, thankfully, works not just on my Kindle, but also on my iPhone and on laptop computers), and in paperback I’m enjoying a mystery called A Pointed Death, and not just because the main character has a shorthaired pointer.

Usually, I read in the tub, but while I’ve spent some lovely time soaking in bubble bath, I’ve been listening to the radio, and not reading.

And I’ve found myself watching far too many cheesy Christmas movies on Lifetime.

I am, however, writing a lot, both offline and in my main blog MissMeliss: Escribition.

I’m not worried, though; I know my reading mood will come back eventually.

And sometimes it’s nice to live OUTSIDE of books for a bit.

The 12 Books of Christmas?

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Santa Reading by a Fire

Santa Claus Gets Lost in a Good Book | Vintage Coca-Cola Ad

I realize that we’re still a full week away from Cyber Monday, but just in case you have a voracious reader on your list, I wanted to share twelve books I’ve read during the past year, that I think everyone should consider reading, too.

These are not ranked, merely listed with the most recently-read titles at the top.

  1. The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean, by Susan Casey – It’s about surfing, storm-chasing and giant waves, and even the science-y parts are really interesting.
  2. The Naked Gardener, by L. B. Gschwandtner – Delightfully funny and insightful, and full of feminine energy and woman-power.
  3. Body Work, by Sara Paretsky – the first V.I. Warshawski novel in several years, does not disappoint. Great plot, great dialogue.
  4. Under Orders, by Dick Francis – Dick Francis never disappoints, and this book is no exception. It’s not terribly recent, but it’s still a great read, especially if you follow horse-racing at all.
  5. Roast Mortem, by Cleo Coyle – coffee, romance, and murder – what else does one need?
  6. A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style, by Tim Gunn – probably the most gracious style guide ever written – and Tim Gunn can be hilarious.
  7. Lunch in Paris: a Love Story with Recipes, by Elizabeth Bard – part memoir, part cookbook, all delicious.
  8. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch, by Alison Arngrim – the funniest, most candid, celebrity biography EVER.
  9. Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin – gives you hope for the future, and provides a much-needed perspective on world events, as well.
  10. The House on First Street, by Julia Reed – a post-Katrina memoir with architectural details. Brilliant.
  11. The God of the Hive, by Laurie R. King – the most recent in her Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes series. Intriguing. Interesting. Inspiring.
  12. Population: 485 by Michael Perry – Actually either of his other two memoirs, Truck: a Love Story or Coop would be acceptable. This man’s writing is just…brilliant.

I should note: Not all of these books were WRITTEN this year – in fact, hardly any of them were – but most are fairly recent.

Recommendation: No Impact Man, by Colin Beavan

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No Impact Man

I first heard about No Impact Man through a friend who mentioned his blog at least a year ago. Now, I can’t speak with any authority on what the best fat burner might be, but I’m thinking giving up elevators, meat, cabs and cappuccinos while living in New York City is probably a pretty good alternative, and that (and more) is what No Impact Man (aka Colin Beavan) and his wife and daughter chose to do (in stages) for a year.

They began with small changes – giving up buying any new clothing or other items, eliminating the use of plastic water bottles, disposable diapers, or foods from further away than 250 miles, and even, for the last half of their year of experimentation, turning off the electricity in their apartment.

While I haven’t read the actual book, I’ve read the original blog the book is based upon, and I’ve seen the documentary (which, btw, is playing this month on the Planet Green (GRN) cable channel, and available from Netflix in DVD or streaming formats).

So, I’ve added it to my list of books to buy the next time I buy books. I’ll be getting the Kindle edition, but never fear, the paper versions are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

200 Bloggers, 200 Books

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On Nov 10, at 1 p.m., 200 bloggers will simultaneously publish reviews of 200 books printed on eco-friendly paper to raise consumer awareness about considering the environment when making book purchases. Participation this year has doubled from 2009.

EcoLibris

Green Books Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 03, 2010 – On Wed., Nov. 10, at 1 p.m., 200 bloggers will simultaneously publish reviews of 200 books printed on environmentally-friendly paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using greener methods, Eco-Libris aims to raise consumer awareness about considering the environment when making book purchases. This year’s participation of both bloggers and books has doubled from the event’s inception last year.

The 200 books to be reviewed are in a variety of subjects including cooking, poetry, travel, green living, and history, and come from 56 publishers from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. that are participating in the Green Books Campaign. This diversified group of publishers includes both small and large presses who all print books on recycled and/or FSC-certified paper.

Participating publishers include among others Penguin Group, Scholastic, Barefoot Books, McClelland & Stewart, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, Sterling Publishing, DK Publishing, Harvard Business Press, Island Press, North Atlantic Books, McGraw-Hill, ABRAMS and Picador.

“Although there’s so much hype around e-books, books printed on paper still dominate the book market, and we want them to be as environmentally sound as possible,” explains Raz Godelnik, co-founder and CEO of Eco-Libris. “Their share is still relatively small, but you can find a growing number of books printed responsibly and we hope this initiative will bring more exposure to such books. Through this campaign we want to encourage publishers to increase their green printing options and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.”

Doug Pepper, president and publisher of 100-year-old publishing house
McClelland & Stewart, says he is delighted to participate in a program that ties in with the company’s mission. “The Eco-Libris Green Books Campaign’s positive “take action” message perfectly reflects our consistent use of recycled papers and our commitment to sustainable publishing as a whole,” Pepper says.

Among the bloggers who will review the books there are many who participate in the campaign for the second time. One of them is Kim Allen-Niesen of the blog ‘Bookstore People‘. “Participating in the Green Books Campaign was such an education in green reading. I didn’t have any idea how many publishers and writers are committed to creating books with as small an impact on the environment as possible. I discovered unique books because they were printed on recycled paper and I learned that books I’ve read for years are printed in a low impact manner. I’m looking forward to more surprises during this year’s campaign, “Allen-Niesen says.

This year’s campaign is supported by Indigo Books & Music, the largest book retailer in Canada, as part of its efforts to draw attention to the need for more environmental paper in book publishing. This is a core goal of Indigo’s environmental program, reinforced by Indigo’s industry leading environmental paper policy.

Michelle White, Director, Sustainability at Indigo Books & Music said, “Indigo has a strong forest conservation mandate and we believe that physical books printed on environmental paper are a sustainable choice. We commend Eco- Libris for reinforcing this message and engaging and motivating readers to take this issue into consideration when purchasing books. In fact, Indigo provides information online and through in-store kiosk that allows consumers to make informed decisions about where the paper content of their book comes from”. Learn more at http://www.chapters.indigo.ca.

Learn more about the Green Books Campaign and find a list of all participants at http://www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp

# # #

Founded in 2007, Eco-Libris (http://www.ecolibris.net) is a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices in the industry, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. To achieve these goals Eco-Libris is working with book readers, publishers, authors, bookstores, and others in the book industry worldwide. So far Eco-Libris has balanced out more than 150,000 books, resulting in more than 165,000 new trees planted with its planting partners in developing countries. To learn more visit http://www.ecolibris.net

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EcoLibris: Green Books Campaign 2010

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Green Books Campaign

Eco Libris Green Books Campaign

From the EcoLibris website:

On Wednesday, November 10, 2010, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time 200 bloggers will take a stand to support books printed on environmental paper by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 such books.

Launched in 2009 by Eco-Libris, this campaign is aiming to promote “green” books by reviewing 200 books printed on recycled paper or FSC-certified paper. Our goal is to use the power of the internet and social media to promote “green” books and increase the awareness of both readers and publishers to the way books can be printed printed in an eco-friendly manner.

You can learn more about the campaign, or read the lists of books and bloggers, by following this link.

Otherwise, check back here on November 10th to read my review of Dave Thompson’s book Bayou Underground.

Buzz: Author Interview with M.J. Rose

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Author M. J. Rose

M.J. Rose | Click to embiggen

A couple of weeks ago, I posted my review of M. J. Rose’s latest novel, The Hypnotist. I was also privileged enough to do an emailed interview with her, which was posted over at All Things Girl. It’s posted in the blog, as part of our ongoing Author Insight series. We mainly do women authors, but we also have a Men on Monday series, which includes male authors.

If I’ve reviewed your work, and you’d like to be part of our interview series over at ATG, please let me know. (Actually, let me know, even if I haven’t reviewed your work. If interviews aren’t your thing, we also welcome guest posts.

Also? Go read The Hypnotist if you haven’t already, because it’s really good.

The Ever-Expanding To-Be-Read Stack

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Every real book addict has a TBR stack – the pile of books that are yet to be read, but that seems to grow bigger daily, even when you read nonstop. Mine is so bloated at the moment, that I’m considering slipping weight loss supplement reviews inside the covers of some of the thicker tomes as a sort of subtle hint…but only considering it. Knowing me, I’d find them later, and just assume it was more to read.

From time to time, I post the titles that are waiting to be read. Here are the next few books I’ll be reading.

  • The Wedding Gift, by Kathleen McKenna
  • Once Wicked, Always Dead, by T. Marie Benchley
  • Key Lime Pie, by Josi S. Kilpatrick
  • Apathy for the Devil: a 70s memoir, by Nick Kent
  • Becoming Jimi Hendrix: the Untold Story of a Musical Genius, by Steven Roby and Brad Schreiber
  • Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a Smartmouth Goddess, by Susan Jane Gilbert

There are actually other books on the TBR stack, but these are all the books I’ve agreed to review, so are moved to the top of the list by default. Well, the last one isn’t a review book – it’s actually a birthday gift, but I want to get to it sooner rather than later.

It’s a good thing I work from home, and have the ability to take a book to every room.

Holding Pattern

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I’ve finished a few books that I haven’t reviewed yet, but rather like water from a Hansgrohe faucet, the ideas on how to phrase what I want to say can be turned on or off, and right now I’m stuck at “off.”

I’m in the middle of several books as well. Mainly I’m still working through The Hypnotist by M.J. Rose. I’m enjoying it, but for some reason it’s a slow read for me, almost as if it’s hypnotizing me into sleep. Still it’s a book I have a deadline for, so I’ll finish it in the next day or so.

In addition to that book, however, I’ve been downloading lots of free Kindle-friendly books, and have been reading one of them on my iPhone. My aunt ordered the new Kindle for me for my birthday and it should be here sometime between Tuesday and Thursday. I’m very excited, as a goal I had last year was to re-read all of Jane Austen’s novels, but I got sidetracked, and never did. Today, I downloaded the free Kindle editions of all of them, and I’m excited about working through them.

Otherwise, I’m having a quiet weekend, which is nice, actually.

Aluminum for Remembrance, Post-Its for Pleasure

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Anniversary Post-its from Just Paper Roses

There’s a scene in the movie version of Under the Tuscan Sun where Frances, having decided to pick one room at a time in her new Italian villa and make it her own, begins with her writing desk. She turns it so that she can look out the window while she works, and decorates it with pretty boxes, and bouquets of both pens and flowers. While I enjoyed the movie, for what it was, that scene really resonates with me, because I’m the same way about my writing desk. Oh, I can’t always afford to keep fresh flowers on it, but whenever I can, there they are, and even though I tend to compose everything I write at the computer keyboard these days, I have to have paper. Real paper. I have baskets of blank note cards and piles of post-its, and while none of them are about my anniversary, if someone gave me such a pad, I’d laugh delightedly, and add them to the stack. Post-its are great for jotting down notes, and the one thing I hate about no longer working in the corporate world is that I no longer get post-its for free from various vendors.

The post-it notes are just one reason I’m digging this great web-shop that specializes in wedding anniversary gifts, Just Paper Roses. Not only do they have a selection of faux flowers designed for every anniversary, in both artsy and “lifelike” versions, but they also have post-its, picnic-ware, teddy bears, and lots of other cool gifts for anniversaries, birthdays, and just because.

One of the items I thought was cool was that for the 10th wedding anniversary gifts, which are supposed to be aluminum, they offer metallic roses in a shiny aluminum vase, that should look tacky, but instead feels sort of retro-chic. In fact, if my next wedding anniversary wasn’t going to be my 16th, I’d be asking Fuzzy to get it for me, to put on the desk in the Word Lounge.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to give me the tiny square booklet-calendars she got free from the florist or the bank, or wherever. I always got a kick out of reading the list of anniversary gift themes. You know, first year, paper, and all that. I’m guessing the folks at Just Paper Roses liked those calendars too, because their products suit every taste from serious to silly, and their prices are reasonable.

One of my favorite books is a tiny missive by Alexandra Stoddard called Gift of a Letter, that basically talks about how letter-writing is becoming a lost art. I’m a die-hard letter writer. I’m also a die-hard lover of flowers, but I have many friends who feel sad about sending cut flowers because they don’t last. As you can imagine, I’ll be turning them on to the fabulous silk and paper roses Just Paper Roses offers.

Well, just as soon as I place a bouquet on the corner of my writing desk, light some incense, and sit down to write to them about it.

Coming Soon! (What’s on my TBR stack?)

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If you’ve read my main blog, you know that I’m turning 40 on Tuesday, and I had a lovely party last night. It didn’t include any atv riding, but there was yummy food, good cake, excellent company, and copious amounts of Mike’s Peach Margarita.

As is usual for me, books were in evidence…specifically four new additions to my TO BE READ stack.

They are:

  • A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style, by Tim Gunn with Kate Moloney
  • The One Hundred: a Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own, by Nina Garcia
  • The Little Black Book of Style, by Nina Garcia
  • Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a SmartMouth Goddess, by Susan Jane Gilman
  • The Wedding Gift, by Kathleen McKenna

The first three have been on my WANT list for a while, and are part of a project some friends and I are working on, the ‘Tiara’ book was on my wishlist of birthday inspirations, and the last is a new book by a woman who contacted me via this blog. She seems like a great person, the premise of her book seems right up my alley, and I’m looking forward both to reading it, and to getting to know her better – but all of these books made me grin, or laugh, or inspired me…

Isn’t reading just GRAND?