It’s Monday! What Are You Reading This Week?

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Jenn

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading This Week? This is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being reading, and the books to be finish this week. It was created by J.Kaye’s Book Blog, but is now being hosted by Sheila from One Person’s Journey Through a World of  Books so stop by and join in!

Books Completed Last Week

Still Life by Louise Penny (audio)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Collected from American Folklore
More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Scary Stories)
Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones
Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Beware! by R.L. Stine

Currently Reading

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (audio)
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Grave Intent by Deborah Leblanc

Books to Complete This Week

The House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle

What are you reading this week?

Posted in It's Monday What Are you Reading This Week | 13 Comments

Halloween Picks for Children from Stiletto Storytime!

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Jenn

Today I’m excited to welcome Courtney from Stiletto Storytime to guest post today.  Courtney is a twenty something children’s librarian who loves reading justin about anything and anything she can get her hands on.  Courtney has recommended a whole host of books for 8-12 year olds, including on of my favorite, Bunnicula.

I Vant to Suck Your… Vegetables?

It’s that time of year again. The leaves are rustling, the skeletons are shaking and the monsters are creeping, Halloween is finally upon us. With this fun time of year comes the desire to read “scary” books and kids of all ages want to get in on the Halloween celebrations. But how do you tread that narrow line between scary enough to satisfy your younger readers but not literally scare them?

Kids between the ages of 8-12 can be especially hard to satisfy when it comes to scary stories and horror themed books. Their reading level makes it possible for them to read the majority of books that are out there in this genre, however they are not ready for the content of many of those books. Also they are at an age where they feel they are ready to be “scared” but often that can backfire and result in an extra body count in your bed at night!

As a children’s librarian I often encountered this problem when planning Halloween activities for schools and the library for the ages of 8-12. I found my answer after many trials including being laughed at for things not scary or “babyish” and maybe possibly causing permanent damage to a few kids who I did manage to scare a little too much. So this Halloween I share my secret weapon. The one thing I found was always a hit and yet didn’t actually scare kids. The series that is perfect for everyone this time of year. The answer is Bunnicula.

You remember Bunnicula. Author James Howe’s suspicious rabbit friend who only goes out at night and seems to drain vegetables dry while all the time remaining a lovable pet to the Monroe family. The Monroes coincidentally found him while at a theater where they were watching Dracula. The story is told by the family’s faithful dog Harold and remains a classic to this day. The first book in series titled Bunnicula was released in 1979 and has since then been read and loved by millions of children. It was a personal favorite of my own as a child and now one of my favorite suggestions for good “spooky” but ultimately silly fun for Halloween. It’s perfect for reading aloud to younger kids and great for the older kids to tackle on their own. There is even an ABC Special that was made of the book if you are lucky enough to track down it down at your local library.

Another great bonus is that the book continues into a series so if the kids enjoy the book there is plenty more to come. Below are some more great books for Halloween fun appropriate for all ages. They range from chapter books to picture books and poetry but all seem to incorporate the elements of Halloween while remaining somewhat silly instead of frightening.

Great Halloween Picks for Children
• Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery by Deborah and James Howe
• Howliday Inn by James Howe
• The Celery Stalks at Midnight by James Howe
• The Witches by Roald Dahl
• Halliwilloween: Nefarious Silliness by Calef Brown
• The Shy Creatures by David Mack
• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
• Thelonius Monster’s Sky-High Fly-Pie by Judy Sierra
• Sally and the Something by George O’ Connor
• I’m Not Going Out There by Paul Bright
• Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

Thank you, Courtney, for the excellent post and recommendations!

Posted in 8-12 years of age, Fright Fest, Horror, Kid-Lit/Middle Grade, Review | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Looking for Halloween Thriller Recommendations?

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Jenn

Fright Fest isn’t just about horror reads; there are some pretty great thrillers out there that will give you a good chill!  To assist you in picking the perfect spooky Halloween read, Janet Rudolf, editor of the Mystery Readers Journal, has compiled quite a list of thrillers set during Halloween.  Without further ado…

Janet Rudolph is the editor of the Mystery Readers Journal, and creative director/writer at Murder on the Menu and TeamBuilding Unlimited. She blogs daily at Mystery Fanfare and DyingforChocolate.com, facilitates a weekly mystery bookgroup, hosts literary salons with mystery authors, and has been a committee member on numerous mystery conventions. A long time contributor to the mystery genre, she received her Ph.D. in religious mystery fiction. She lives in the Berkeley (CA) hills with her husband, a golden retriever, and two cats.

Halloween Mysteries: Boo!

Following along the lines of Jenn’s Frightfest, I’ve chosen to post my extensive, but all-inclusive, list of Halloween mysteries. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and every year I post a list of Halloween mysteries on Mystery Fanfare. For the most part, I have avoided ghost stories, vampire (now a genre in itself) and horror. As always, I appreciate any additions to the list.

Green Water Ghost by Glynn Marsh Alam
Witches Bane by Susan Wittig Albert
Antiques Maul by Barbara Allan
Far to Go by May Louise Aswell
Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun by Kathleen Bacus
Trick or Treachery: A Murder She Wrote Mystery by Donald Bain and Jessica Fletcher
The Spirit of Murder by Laura Belgrave
The Long Good Boy by Carol Lea Benjamin
Spackled and Spooked by Jennie Bentley
Watchdog by Laurien Berenson
Death of a Trickster by Kate Borden
Post-Mortem Effects by Thomas Boyle
A Graveyard for Lunatics by Ray Bradbury
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Hunt Ball by Rita Mae Brown
Death on All Hallowe’en by Leo Bruce
Wycliffe and the Scapegoat by W.J. Burley
Death Goes Shopping by Jessica Burton
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Ann Campbell
The Wizard of La-La Land by R. Wright Campbell
The Halloween Murders by John Newton Chance
Death with an Ocean View by Nora Charles
Frill Kill, Tragic Magic, Photo Finished by Laura Childs
Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
Lost Souls by Michael Collins
Not in My Backyard by Susan Rogers Cooper
A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford
Silver Scream by Mary Daheim
Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany
Throw Darts at a Cheesecake by Denise Dietz
Trick or Treat, The Halloween Murder by Doris Miles Disney
A Map of the Dark by John Dixon
Ghostly Murders by P. C. Doherty
Died to Match by Deborah Donnelly
Cat with an Emerald Eye by Carole Nelson Douglas
Not Exactly a Brahmin by Susan Dunlap
The Bowl of Night by Rosemary Edghill
Door of Death by John Esteven
The Witchfinder by Loren D. Estleman
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
Dead Ends by Anne C. Fallon
Sympathy For The Devil by Jerrilyn Farmer
Dead in the Pumpkin Patch by Connie Feddersen
Blackwork by Monica Ferris
Scary Stuff by Sharon Fiffer
The Lawyer Who Died Trying by Honora Finkelstein
The Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Halloween Murder by Shelley Freydont
Trick or Treat by Leslie Glaister
Mommy and the Murder by Nancy Gladstone
A Few Dying Words by Paula Gosling
Hell for the Holidays by Chris Gravenstein
Nail Biter by Sarah Graves
Deadly Harvest by Heather Graham
Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood
Quoth the Raven, Skeleton Key by Jane Haddam
Southern Ghost by Carolyn Hart
Hide in the Dark by Frances Noyes Hart
Revenge of the Cootie Girls by Sparkle Hayter
The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman
Murder on the Ghost Walk by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter
Long Time No See by Susan Isaacs
Murder Among Us by Jonnie Jacobs
A Murder Made in Stitches by Pamela James
The Violet Hour by Daniel Judson
Wed and Buried by Toni L.P. Kelner
The Animal Hour by Andrew Klavan
Ghastly Glass by Joyce and Jim Lavene
Death Knocks Twice by James H. Lilley
Halloween Flight 77 by Debbie Madison
Satan’s Silence by Alex Matthews
Tricks: an 87th Precinct Mystery by Ed McBain
Poisoned Tarts by G.A. McEvett
Death on All Hallows by Allen Campbell McLean
Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier
Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels
The Violet Hour by Richard Montanari
Dead End by Helen R. Myers
Nightmare in Shining Armor by Tamar Myers
Hatchet Job by J.E. Neighbors
Retribution by Patrick J. O’Brien
Halloween House by Ed Okonowicz
The Body in the Moonlight by Katherine Hall Page
Twilight by Nancy Pickard
Murder at Witches Bluff by Silver Ravenwolf
Poltergeist by Kat Richardson
Spook Night by David Robbins
A Hole in Juan by Gillian Roberts
Magnolias, Moonlight, and Murder by Sara Rosett
Death of Halloween by Kim Sauke
Mighty Old Bones by Mary Saums
Murder Ole! by Corinne Holt Sawyer
Dance of the Scarecrows by Ray Sipherd
The Sterling Inheritance by Michael Siverling
Recipe for Murder by Janet Elaine Smith
Carbs and Cadavers by J.B. Stanley
In the Blink of an Eye, Halloween Party by Wendy Corsi Staub
Murder of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson
Mourning Shift by Kathleen Taylor
Halloween Homicide by Lee Thayer
Inked Up by Terri Thayer
Charlie’s Web by L.L. Thrasher
Strange Brew by Kathy Hogan Trochek
Murder by the Slice by Livia J. Washburn
Five-Minute Halloween Mysteries by Ken Weber
The Scarecrow Murders by Mary Welk
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells
Ghoul of My Dreams by Richard F. West
All Hallow’s Eve by Charles Williams
Killer See, Killer Do by Jonathan Wolfe
All Hallow’s Evil by Valerie Wolzien

Short story mavens don’t worry: Here’s a list of Halloween Mystery Short Stories:
Trick and Treats, edited by Joe Gores & Bill Pronzini
Asking for the Moon (includes “Pascoe’s Ghost” and “Dalziel’s Ghost”) by Reginald Hill
Murder for Halloween by Cynthia Manson
The Haunted Hour, edited by Cynthia Manson & Constance Scarborough
Murder for Halloween: Tales of Suspense, edited by Michele Slung & Roland Hartman.
Mystery for Halloween (an anthology), edited by Donald Westlake
Boo!

Thank you Janet for this most impressive list!  Can anyone else think of any other thrillers set during Halloween? If so, I’d love to hear about them!  Also, if you do happen to read and review one of these books, I’d love to hear what you think about it!

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Review: Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Jenn

 

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (September 13, 1991)
  • ISBN-10: 0060217944
  • Source: Personal copy

    • Scary Stories 3 wraps up the Scary Stories trilogy.  Like the others, it contains a collection of scary folklores/legends collected by Alvin Schwartz.  Following are just a few of my favorites:

    Just Delicious: a woman takes her love of liver a bit too far and faces the consquences!

    Bess: a farmer receives a fortune involving his favorite mare, Bess.  He’s warned that Bess will cause his death.  The farmer is in denial, how can a sweet, kind mare be harmful? He learns the hard way that it’s not good to tempt one’s fate.

    Harold: a scarecrow created to resemble Harold, a farmer despised by two young men. Unfortunately, the resemblance to this farmer is uncanny….and the scarecrow comes to life.

    Maybe You Will Remember: A woman and her sixteen-year-old daughter are visiting Paris.  The woman becomes deathly ill, and a local doctor offers to give her some medicine if the daughter comes to his home.  She hops in a taxi, which seems to take her in circles.  Hours later, after obtaining the medicine for her mother, she returns back to her hotel. Once again, it appears as though she is traveling in circles. She finally arrives at the hotel only to discover their room was given to another guest and the hotel clerk has no record of their stay. All evidence of their existence was erased…all to prevent the residents of Paris from learning about the woman’s true demise.

    As with the two other Scary Stories  books, notes & sources detailing the origins of the stories is included.  This version seems to go into a bit more detail, something I really appreciated. 

    I thouroughly enjoyed rereading this books from my childhood.  The first Scary Stories is probably my favorite, closely followed by the third.  Ranking them in terms of “scare factor”, the first is most definitely the scariest, followed by the third, and finally the second.

    I highly recommend this series to middle graders on the hunt for a classic scary read!

    Buy this book now from:

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    These are affiliate links. If you purchase an item from either of these links I will earn a small commission, which goes toward the hosting of this blog & other routine costs associated with running this blog.
    Posted in 7-10 years of age, 8-12 years of age, Fright Fest, Horror, Kid-Lit/Middle Grade, Review | Tagged , | 1 Comment

    The Big Fright Fest Kick Off!

    Posted on October 1, 2010 by Jenn

     

    It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for-October 1,  the official start of Fright Fest!

    I’ve planned quite the spooktacular month, full of giveaways, guest posts, & reviews.  To make things easy for all involved, I’m going to cover the basics of Fright Fest in this introductory post.

    1. Books-Every book I review during the month of October, as long as it is a book I own (and not a library book!) will be included in a weekly prize pack giveaway!

    2.  Giveaways-To be entered in a weekly giveaway all you have to do is write a post about anything spooky or Halloween related.  Link your post to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post.  You can enter the weekly drawings as often as you like, however, each entry must be a completely new post.  Here are some post ideas:

    • Write a review of your favorite scary book or movie
    • Write about your biggest fear! What scares you the most?
    • Write about your favorite Halloween costume you wore in your childhood (or adulthood!)
    • Submit a ghost story!
    • Post about your favorite fall receipe!


    3.  Contests!  There will be two big contests held throughout the entire month of October, one for “Best Decorated Pumpkin” and the other for “Most Elaborate Halloween Decorations.”  These contests will be judged by you, the followers of this blog.  More information about these contests will be posted at a later date.

    4. Post schedule: A ton of great guest posts & reviews have been submitted, and I have a ton of books I want to feature as well. I’ve tried to limit posts to no more than 2 day, but there may be instances in which this might reach 3.  I apologize in advance! It’s nearly impossible to recommend all the books I’d like to in just 31 days!

    I’m still accepting submissions for guest posts & donations for giveaway!  If you are interested in either, please fill out this form.

    Ok so there you have it…let the fun begin!!

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    Posted in Fright Fest | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

    Review: More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

    Posted on September 30, 2010 by Jenn

    • Reading level: Ages 9-12
    • Hardcover: 128 pages
    • Publisher: HarperCollins (August 24, 2010)
    • ISBN-10: 0060835214
    • Source: Personal copy

    Yesterday, I reviewed Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a collection of folklore collected by Alvin Schwartz. More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a continuation of this series. 

    As in the first book, Schwartz has collected a wide range of scary stories from all over the country, spanning decades.  Following is a scary story that also teaches a great lesson:

    The Drum: Two sisters, Dolores and Sandra, were playing in a field close to the country home in which their family lived.  They come across a gypsy girl playing a drum.  The sisters begged the little girl to let them play with the drum; they were fascinated with the little mechanical man and woman that came out of the drum & danced. The gypsy girl promised to give the sisters the drum, but only if they were really, really bad. 

    So the sisters go home and began to do everything they could think of to upset their mother: coloring on the walls, spilling their food, and refusing to go to bed at bedtime.

    The next morning, they ran to the gypsy girl and told them what they’d done.  She insisted that they needed to be much more horrible than that, so back home they trudged. That night, their behavior was worse than the previous night. Their mother was outraged, insisting if they didn’t stop, she would take their younger brother and leave them, replaced by a mother with glass eyes and a wooden tale.

    The sisters really wanted that drum, so when they were told by the gypsy girl that their behavior wasn’t bad enough, they got worse.  They tore their clothes, spanked their baby brother.  They returned to the gypsy girl and were told that they behavior still wasn’t bad enough.

    But when they returned home, their mother & brother were gone.  They assumed she was out shopping, until they spotted their new mother, with her glass eyes and wooden tail!

    What’s the lesson? Always listen to your parents!

    As in the previous book, Schwartz includes the sources to each of the stories.  While this second book is not quite as scary as the first it is still quite enjoyable!  So, if perhaps the first Scary Stories was too scary for you, perhaps this second book will be the perfect fit!

    Buy this book now from:

    Shop Indie Bookstores

    These are affiliate links. If you purchase an item from either of these links I will earn a small commission, which goes toward the hosting of this blog & other routine costs associated with running this blog.
    Posted in Fright Fest, Horror, Kid-Lit/Middle Grade, Review | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

    Review: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

    Posted on September 29, 2010 by Jenn

    In honor of Banned Books Week, I decided to post this review of Scary Stories 3 earlier than I had planned. Why, you may ask?  Well, this series of books is on the list of most frequently challenged books between 1990 and 1999.  So, to celebrate this series and to serve as a little teaser for Fright Fest, I’ve decided to feature one of these books every day for the rest of this week.

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins; Ill edition (July 27, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060835192
  • Source: Personal copy

    • The Scary Stories series is a collection of American folklore collected by Alvin Schwartz.  This series holds a special place in my heart; I remember reading this collection as a child when it was originally published in 1981.

    The first story I recall reading was The Big Toe, a story about a little boy who was digging in a garden, desperate to find something to eat.  He finds a big toe and he rips it from the ground.  As he does so, he hears a groan, so he scampers away.  That night, his mother uses the toe in a soup and serves it for dinner.  The family eats dinner and goes to bed, but the little boy is awakened in the middle of the night to a voice groaning “Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?”  He hears footsteps approaching as the voice continues to groan.  He hides under the covers, certain that this is a dream.  The footsteps get closer and closer…

    Another favorite of mine is The Guests. A young couple is traveling to visit family. They got off to a late start and have to find a place to stay overnight.  They come upon a small cabin in the woods and inquire a to whether the owners rent rooms.  They do not, but the old couple residing there offter to let them stay overnight.

    The next morning, the young couple awaken before the owners and decide to head out.  They leave an envelope with money in it on the kitchen table, a small payment for the kind treatment they were given.  They drive off  to the next town to have breakfast. When they tell the owner where they stayed the night before, he insists that can’t be.  That house burned to the gound and the couple that lived there died in the fire.

    The young couple were certain there was a mistake.  They got back in their car and drove back to the cabin. In the spot where the cabin existed the night before was a burned-out shell.  They step inside and on the burned table they find the envelope they left that morning.

    These are just two of the many excellent stories contained within this collection.  These stories would be great to tell over a camp fire or late at night during a sleepover.

    The illustrations really complement the stories.  Here is an image taken from one of the covers:

    Spooky, eh?  Another plus to this book is the Sources portion in the back.  In this section, Schwartz lists the sources of the stories contained within the collection.  Some go back centuries!

    Obviously, this book isn’t for the very young or children who tend to scare easily.  However, there is a portion of the collection that would be appropriate for these children, for it contains humorous stories about ghosts and other things that go bump in the night.

    Be sure to add this book to your Halloween reading line-up and support those books that have been banned!

    Buy this book now from:

    Shop Indie Bookstores

    These are affiliate links. If you purchase an item from either of these links I will earn a small commission, which goes toward the hosting of this blog & other routine costs associated with running this blog.
    Posted in 8-12 years of age, Fright Fest, Review | 20 Comments

    A Wonderfully Bookish Weekend-Part Two!

    Posted on September 28, 2010 by Jenn

    This past weekend I had the luxury of participating in two outstanding book festivals!  Earlier, I posted about the National Book Festival. On Sunday, after sleeping in for just a few extra hours, the J Crew (my husband, John, and my boys John-John & Justin) drove up to Baltimore for the Baltimore Book Festival.

    My main reason for attending this event was to see two panels I was particulary interested in: The Wonderful World of Book Blogging and More from The Book Club Toolkit. 

    First, the Book Blogging Panel:  This panel was moderated by Heather Johnson, known to many of us as Heather from Age 30 Books.  Also on the panel were the following individuals.  I’ve linked to their bios that were posted on the Festival Web site:

     
    Nicole Bonia
    Candace Levy
    Serena M. Agusto-Cox
    Celeste Sollod
    Dave Rosenthal

    A wide variety of topics were discussed, including why they blog, how they got started, how to be professional about writing negative reviews.  Although I’ve been blogging for over two years myself, I learned a great deal from these bloggers.  What I really found beneficial was the diversity, not only in the people but in the blogs they wrote.

    Candace from Beth Fish Reads

    After the blogging panel there was a short break, so we all enjoyed lunch catered by my husband.  He served jerk-chicken, one of the dishes he’s known for:

     

    After lunch, it was time for the book club panel.  This panel, once again moderated by Heather, was made up of the following people (once again I have linked to their bios on the Festival web site):

    Faye Houston
    Heather Johnson
    Melissa McCrory Hatcher
    Swapna Krishna
    Julie Peterson

    This was such a wonderful panel! I’m in two book clubs myself, one face-to-face an one online and I took away quite a bit of suggestions to take back to my book clubs.  These included:

    • creating theme nights to spice up your book club meeting. Julie mentioned that her book club had a Mardi Gras meeting.
    • Pair books up with foods (or wine!) to add some spark to the meeting
    • Include information about the author and the book at the start of the meeting.  This is helpful to everyone, including those who might not have the chance to have read the book.
    • The optimal book club size is 6-15 members: just enough to have a good turnout at each meeting, but not too large that it becomes overwhelming!

    Here are a few photos from the book club panel:

    The entire book club panel

    Swapna discusses her face-t0-face book club and her Skype book club.

    Following this panel, my boys finally had the chance to meet up with Heather’s son, Kiddo, and we walked around the festival grounds a bit.  They had a great time; John-John & Kiddo plan on starting up their very own Skype book club!

    The festival wasn’t only about panels though!  We met some great authors including:

     

    Michael Buckley, author of the N.E.R.D.S  and Sisters Grimm series.

    John-John got his copy of N.E.R.D.S signed!

     

    I finally got the chance to meet Amy Brecount White, author of Forget-Her-Nots. I’ve been trying to meet Amy for some time now!

    So there you have it, a complete wrap-up of my wonderful bookish weekend.  The J-Crew and I are definitely planning to drive up to the Baltimore Book Festival next year; we had such a wonderful time!

    Posted in Bookish Chatter | 11 Comments

    A Wonderfully Bookish Weekend-Part One!

    Posted on September 28, 2010 by Jenn

    Living in the DC metro has it’s perks, two being the National Book Festival and the Baltimore Book Festival, all in one weekend!


    On Saturday morning I joined a good friend of mine, alone with her daughter & friend, and attended the National Book Festival on the Mall with 150,000 book lovers.  The weather was dreadful: sunny and hot.  That didn’t stop me from plopping down on the ground (all the seats were full!) to listen to several of my favorite authors speak.

    I spent most of my time in the Fiction tent, listening to Diana Gabaldon, Elizabeth Kostova, Julia Glass and Ken Follett.  Here are a few tidbits I picked up from a few of the authors.

    • Diana Gabaldon writes from midnight to 4 am.
    • Her next book, Lord John & the Scottish Prisoner, will release in the fall of 2012
    • Outlander is optioned for a movie, with Scottish actor Allan Scott-Douglas playing the role of Jamie
    • It took Elizabeth Kostova 10 years to write The Historian, a book she mainly wrote in secret.  It took her four years to write The Swan Thieves.
    • The Historian  will be hitting the silver screen! Sony/Columbia will be making the movie.
    • Kostova is a fan of Victorian fiction and specifically appreciated how Bram Stoker wrote Dracula (through a series of letters) and so that is how she wrote The Historian.

    Unfortunately, I didn’t get many pictures of the event.  I was sitting on the side of the stage (along with Swapna from S.Krishna’s Books, Julie from Booking Mama, Candace from Beth Fish Reads and Deborah from Books, Movies Chinese Food) and it wasn’t exactly the optimal spot for picture-taking!

    I had to leave early to fulfill my mom-role; my oldest son had his black-belt test that evening (he did great by the way!).  Despite the heat, it was a wonderful day!

    Check back later for Part Two of my Wonderfully Bookish Weekend in which I discuss the Baltimore Book Festival!

    Posted in Bookish Chatter | 9 Comments

    It’s Monday! What Are You Reading This Week?

    Posted on September 27, 2010 by Jenn

           a1

    It’s Monday! What Are You Reading This Week? This is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being reading, and the books to be finish this week. It was created by J.Kaye’s Book Blog, but is now being hosted by Sheila from One Person’s Journey Through a World of  Books so stop by and join in!

    Books Completed Last Week

    The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
    Leaving Before It’s Over by Jean Reynolds Page

    Currently Reading

    Still Life by Louise Penny (audio)

    Books to Complete This Week

    Fright Fest starts on Friday, so I’ll be reading a host of great spooky reads, including:

    The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Michael Capuzzo
    Jane and the Damned by Janet Mullany
    What are you reading this week?

    Posted in It's Monday What Are you Reading This Week | 15 Comments