Saturday, January 23, 2021

We Have Our Winners!

Hello, all.  At 10:00 this morning, January 23, Joni pulled 3 names, at random, from the group of those who commented on what they love about reading.  The winners are Rich, Alan, and Claudia.  They will each get the print, ebook, or audiobook of their choosing.  Congrats.

If you want to read some great comments, go to my Facebook Book Sage page.

Saturday, January 16, 2021

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY TO ME! (and you can win a book!)

Guess what this post is about?...Give up?  Yep, on this day, 10 years ago, I posted my 1st blog.  It was called, not surprisingly, Introduction.  How did this blog come about, you ask?  Well, I will tell you.  I was talking to my friend Steve in New York and complaining about how I want to spend more time in Book World.  He said I should write a blog.  And there you have it.  Not that exciting an explanation, but true nonetheless.

To celebrate I'm going to ask you to give me a 1-sentence reason why you read (audiobooks certainly count).  In one week's time, I will have Joni draw 3 names.  Those 3 people will get to pick any paperback, ebook, or audiobook they want.  I'm looking forward to reading what you all have to say.

It will be a much bigger prize for my 20th! 

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Carole Bumpus Gives Us Her Latest Travelogue/Culinary Adventure

Carole Bumpus' latest book, A SEPTEMBER to REMEMBER:  SEARCHING for CULINARY PLEASURES at the ITALIAN TABLE, is her recounting of a month-long sojourn she and her husband, Winston, took to Italy in 1998. As you would expect, we learn a lot about the food they experienced in different parts of the country.  But this book is much more than that. How so, you ask?  Let me count the ways:

1.    Lots of humor
2.    Great Mark Twain quotes
3.    A very interesting explanation of "Psychology of Place"
4.    Good history
5.    The meaning of "community" in Italy verses how we define it here in
       the U.S.
6.    Scary bus drives that make you cringe with worry
7.    Cultural references in the U.S. (do you remember Car 54, Where Are
       You?)
8.    Personal connections (ask me when you see me) 
9.    Cute personal stories
10.  Carole makes you feel like you're there with her

If you want to learn about Italian history, culture, and food, then A SEPTEMBER to REMEMBER is a book for you.



Monday, January 4, 2021

New Authors in 2020

And, finally...I'm always curious as to how many new authors I read each year.  I think there are less in 2020 than usual because of Covid.  Instead of having a bunch of new authors coming to Recycle Bookstore, we Zoomed with a lot of authors that I have already been reading.  Here it goes, and we'll see how it compares with previous years:

Max Tomlinson
Andrew Gross
Steve Martin (audiobook)
Simone St. James
Kelly Rimmer
Helen Zia
Stephanie Wrobel
Nicole Meier
Mary Torjussen
Jennifer Rosner
Elayne Klasson
Donna Levin
Laila Ibrahim
Kristina McMorris
Phoebe Fox
Angela Terry
Amanda Prowse
Robyn Harding
Ann Napolitano
Ehsaneh Sadr
Art Rios
Samantha van Leer (with Jodi Picoult)
Rachael Eckles Britt Bennett
Adrian McKinty
Elizabeth Berg

25

Now that I've finished this year's list, I just looked at 2019 and 2018.  I had 44 new authors in '18 and 48 in '19!

Saturday, January 2, 2021

3.5s and up for 2020

So here is another end-of-year list.  This one is my 3.5s and up for the year ending (thankfully) 2020:

4.0s-
Just Another Silly Love Song - Rich Amooi
Let's Talk - Art Rios

3.75s-
Captivating in Love - Jennifer Skully and Bella Andre
The First Emma - Camille di Maio 
The Book of Lost Names - Kristin Harmel
The Swap - Robyn Harding

3.625s (I know this is kind of a weird rating)-
Park Avenue Summer - Renee Rosen
Big Lies in a Small town - Diane Chamberlain
The Giver of Stars - JoJo Moyes
Sold on a Monday - Kristina McMorris
A Little Bit of Grace - Phoebe Fox
The Orphan Collector - Ellen Marie Wiseman

3.5s
Stay - Allie Larkin
The Boy from the Woods - Harlan Coben
It's Not PMS, It's You - Rich Amooi
The Things We Cannot Say - Kelly Rimmer
Last Boat out of Shanghai - Helen Zia
The Second Chance Supper Club - Nicole Meier
The Two Lila Bennetts - Li Fenton and Lisa Steinke
The Closer You Get - Mary Torjussen
The Yellow Bird Sings - Jennifer Rosner
Love Is A Rebellious Bird - Elayne Klasson
The Plum Tree - Ellen Marie Wiseman
My Sister's Grave - Robert Dugoni
Side Trip - Kerry Lonsdale
What You Wish For - Katherine Center
The Order - Daniel Silva
The Good Sister - Sally Hepworth
White Collar Girl - Renee Rosen
The Chain - Adrian McKinty
The Story of Arthur Truluv - Elizabeth Berg