It is a Dark, Stormy....Morning

I have no motivation to do anything but get into bed and read the day away. (well, read/nap) It is dark (it was lighter when I got up 3 hours ago). It is morning. I should be working. Need to kick myself into gear.

In Honor of My Mom, For Mother's Day

If the evil that is breast cancer hadn't stolen my Mom twelve years ago, I am sure many things would be different. She was an amazing woman, full of life, love, and creativity. She is responsible for introducing me to many, many things but a love of reading is what I want to talk about today. (I could write about Mom for hours, and still not say all that I want to say.) I have mentioned that I remember both of my parents reading to me, something which I know has influenced me heavily in my life. READ TO YOUR KIDS!! I cannot say it enough! Today, I want to remember Mom by talking about just two series that she introduced me to. The first is the Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. (If you haven't heard of them, I don't know what rock you have been living under...) These seven books may have changed my life. My older sister got this set for her birthday (12th?). I remember reading them for the first time, and getting so sucked in that I could not put them down. This is the first series that I remember being so entranced by. I couldn't read them enough. I still love this wonderful series, it never loses its magic for me.

Then one day, as I was browsing the bookshelves in our living room, mostly filled with Mom's books, I found this book: Dragonsong, by Anne McCaffrey. How had I never seen it before? Such a wonderful book, I immediately started reading it, and was taken away, once again to another world. Even better than reading this one, was finding out that there were TWO MORE! Not to mention a whole other series written about this magical world of Pern. So, thank you Mom. Thank you for your inspiration, imagination, creativity, music, and love. I would be nothing without you, and miss you every day, with every breath. I love you.
(on a side note, I recently saw an interview with Meg Cabot in which she talked about this series being one of her early influences....cool!)

Mother's Day Approaches

So, my daughter, who is getting ready to graduate next month, is gearing up for college! My son, who is finishing 4th grade, still lets me read to him at night. This may be indulgent, but I'm not sure which of us is indulging the other......the books have gotten bigger. We've read all of the Harry Potter series, a few Cornelia Funke books, among others, and are now working on Brandon Mull's Fablehaven Series. Usually, I have already read the books myself before I read them to him. Know what the best thing is? The other day he told me I was a Silvertongue. If you don't know what that is, you need to read the Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke. While I don't know if I'm quite up to Silvertongue standards, it sure was a very nice thing for him to say.



And now, I'm off to help my "little girl" work on her graduation announcements. I love my kids!

Well...

...since the last posting, I've visited Copenhagen, Venice, Barcelona, Athens (no street view....bummer), a few random places, and various locations in Mexico. The latter, just this morning. It is Cinco de Mayo, after all!


Also, I did finish 13 Little Blue Envelopes, which I enjoyed very much. This is the story of a young girl (Ginny) who's Aunt Peg passes away and leaves her letters, 13 of them, hence the title, and money with explicit instructions. Ginny is to purchase a backpack, passport, and plane ticket to London. She is to take nothing that does not fit into said backpack, and no cell phones, cameras, or additional money. (for a better description, go here) I was intrigued by the premise of the story, and decided, finally, to read it. Sometimes books go "on my list" and languish there for years. Others, I will snatch up as soon as I can get my hands on them. Such as Lips Touch, by Laini Taylor, just to give one example. Back on topic, Jen.... So, Ginny has many adventures all over Europe. Along the way, she meets many fascinating new people, learns much about herself and her beloved aunt, and ultimately comes to terms with reality that Aunt Peg is really gone, and not just away. This fun, touching, and often humorous story is very well written. Maureen Johnson's quirky sense of humor actually made me laugh out loud a few times. Which always makes my husband wonder what I'm reading, and then I get to share the story, and what struck me as amusing, which is fun. I like to share stories. I was also moved to tears a time or two, which is a quieter thing, and he probably didn't notice as he was asleep. Making the reader feel and care about the characters in the story is such a wonderful skill. Not all writers can do this, just the best ones. I am so very glad that I finally picked up and read this book. (note: my daughter read it years ago....I should listen to my daughter more.....although my reading it has inspired her to re-read it, which is fun too) Not surprisingly, 13 Little Blue Envelopes has won multiple awards, much deserved awards.

And now, I should get to work....

Wanderlust

Sometimes, I have a very definite itinerary in my mind for myself in the morning, then I get to Bing, my start page, and there is a beautiful photo. That's it, now I'm sidetracked. I want to know, where is this, can I guess? If it is too easy, I lose interest quickly....unless it is someplace that fascinates me. Let's face it, that covers much of the world. I'm curious, it isn't a crime. : ) I like reading the little facts, and sometimes even follow the links. Most often, I end up on Google maps, (because I like it better than Bing's maps).....have you played with the street view? Just yesterday, I was standing on a beach in Spain, then not 20 minutes later, wandering down a lane that led to the sea in rural Wales. *sigh* Virtual travel. It is not as lame as it sounds....ok, maybe it is, but it is all I can currently afford, and have easy access to it. This morning, I was led away to the Canary Islands, which is why I am not talking about books.

Although, I am currently reading 13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson. Which fittingly, is a book, and also involves plenty of travel, soo....guess I segued right back. I am really enjoying this book, and also reminding myself that there are great books out there that I generally don't look twice at because I have silly rules, that definitely need to be broken. One of these is my mostly unspoken rule that leans me toward fantasy more than any other genre. I have decided that it would be awful if I never read anything else, and therefore am making more of an effort. I just have a thing for magical creatures and other worlds. I used to have a rule that I would read nothing that is set in a modern time period. I took it one step further by saying I would read nothing that took place this side of WWI. Well, I do like historical fiction. I learned more about the Civil War reading Gone With the Wind, than I did in my high school U.S. History class. (not knocking the class, I had some great teachers in school, I really did) One of my favorite historical writers is Morgan Llywelyn. I can't even begin to touch the subject of her books just yet. We'll have to save that for another day....

Books I Love, and an AMAZING Quote

"If you have a dream, don’t waste your energies explaining why."
This I 'stole' from Paulo Coelho's blog. I thought I would ramble on about what it means to me, but it occurs to me that I don't need to. The quote says it all.

So, books. I love books. I read as often as I can, and even get paid to read to kids. I have read for as long as I can remember, and have fond memories of both of my parents reading to me when I was little. In the past 4 1/2 years of working at the library, I have discovered SO many new loves in the world of books! I want to share some. I don't know if anyone will ever read this blog, but who knows, maybe someday.

My real inspirations for this blog are Laini Taylor, Stephanie Perkins, Grace Lin, Shannon Hale, Jane Yolen, Tony DiTerlizzi, Maureen Johnson, and John Green. Thanks. Also, I am in awe of Book Moot. A great, informative, fun, wonderful site....which led me to a lot of the a fore linked...um....links. Also, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast is an awesome, amazing site for book people.....but if you are a book person, you probably already know that.....

I have read lots of blogs about books....I haven't even gotten around to talking about books I love yet.....I'll get back to that......got off on a tangent.......where am I? What day is it?

Finding Time

Where does time go? I am forever trying (sometimes more earnestly than others) to find time for "things". Whether house cleaning, writing, sewing, gardening, or whatever the project. It always seems like my time is eaten up in bits or blocks, and I am left with a list of "things" that I don't get time to do. Well, I'm tired of it. I am going to make more of an effort to prioritize and MAKE time for things that are the most important to me. Was this a good use of my time? Maybe, maybe not. But it is done now, and I have to go pick up my son.....something that is very important to me.