Sunday Salon: too many good books in a row?

This has been a fun book week. I have set aside the assigned reading and even though I feel somewhat guilty about neglecting that I have had such a great reading week and don't regret it at all. There are some things that I should read, but seriously isn't it more fun to read when you scrap the schedule and read what you want to?! Maybe I am just rebellious :)

I have read so many good books lately that I have been trying to scamper to fill in a bad one, I have not been able to, I failed at this. I even thought that maybe when I picked up The Laws of Harmony that I would just have like it, or not like it at all (as the cover is a little Jodi Picoult, and she is not my fave), but I was horribly wrong to even assume that. The book is stunning and captivating and beautiful and I just can't put it down. That is the way it was with all my books this week. The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is a stunning read, it was done way too soon, I was living it from the second I read the first paragraph. It is a must read!

What amazing books have you read this week? Have you read any of the books I have read or reviewed this week? Tell me your thoughts!

A week at B&b ex libris:

Books I read this week:

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas (Loved it!!)
Emma vol. 2-7 (a really gripping manga read)
Follow Me (It was okay, but not my fave: my review)
The Laws of Harmony (I am in the middle of this one, but it is fab!)





Reviews posted this week:

• Emma vol. 1
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
• Follow Me

Giveaways:

I am giving away two copies of the new crafting book Linen, Wool, Cotton by Akiko Mano. It is an amazing book of practical crafts to make for yourself or for a friend. Make sure to enter.

Sunday Salon!

This wasn't a very productive week for me, as I was just coming off of the intensity of the read-a-thon and it took me several days to catch up around the house. I am easing back into it and have finished some books this week and started others. I had a hard time wanting to sit inside so I brought my macbook outside and posted away between gardening breaks.

I posted a discussion post this week, if you care to join in, it is about reviews and what you think is a must have in a review you read. Do you like a personal touch? That the review is more formal? put in your two cents telling the rest of us What do you think makes a good review?
I am also currently hosting a giveaway for some two sweet homemade lunch bags that I made from a pattern out of Linen, Wool, Cotton (a fab book) check out the review and giveaway !
Reviews posted this week:

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret
• Patchwork Style
• Peter Pan

Books that I read this week:

So lately I have fallen in love with Mangas (AKA Graphic novels) I love them! I didn't ever think that I would, or that I would love them this much. These are perfect for me this week, as since the read-a-thon I have had a hard time with my attention span and reading. What are your experiences with graphic novels? Is there a certain genre which you were surprised by?

Sunday Salon: Yes, I did a vlog with my chicken!

Hey Sunday Salon folks!!!
I did the read-a-thon yesterday and it was delightful. What I like best about it is how much of a community building event it is, people going out of their way to encourage others and really all the cheers made my day.

I knew I had to get a little sleep because we have church this morning and I also have little kids who need mom today so I just can't do that on no sleep. But it was great while it lasted for sure.
I was able to read American Born Chinese, Peter Pan, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and I made it half way through Anne's House of Dreams. My total number of pages was 1401 which smashed my previous read-a-thon page count by a boulder!

I read in my car, on the floor at the lib (in a private quiet room...huh, I do wish they had comfy chairs in there...wooden ones weren't cutting it!) and on the hammock outside in my backyard.
Here are some highlights that I would like to share with you all:

My husband (B) and I decided to donate $.10 for every page that I could read during the read-a-thon. He jokingly accused me several times of trying to make him go bankrupt ;p
That was certainly one of the coolest things for me for the day, the reading with a purpose! I was able to raise $141.00 for Living Water International!!!

Reading at the library, with my lap quilt.

Green Tea Frap!!



and my favourite personal highlight was this vlog I did, I had so much fun with it and my chicken was a great co-star!!! (her name is Francisca)



Have an amazing Sunday, blessings all around! And a HUGE thank you to the cheerers, the commenters and all my friends I tried to keep up with during the read-a-thon.

sunday salon- the return of the read-a-thon!!!

Hey Sunday Salon folk,
I hope all is well and that you are having a spiffy time with family and friends today. What I want to talk about today is the amazing and upcoming Read-a-Thon. Okay, don't get scared it really is so much more fun than you could ever imagine. It is a full 24 hours of all things bookie, books, book buddies, book blog posts, book talk, book recommendations, book tips, and a gazillion snacks.

This will be my third time participating, and since each time it has gotten better and better I can promise you that this read-a-thon will blast your expectations to pieces. If you have been on the fence, join in and you can just go as long as you want to, and feel up to it. Every time I have participated there has been nothing but encouragement all around. Even if you can't spend the whole time reading, there are so many different ways to participate. You can help cheer the readers on, you can read for a couple hours and listen to audiobooks while you do chores, the read-a-thon is %100 customizable!!

Another reason is that it is the best community building thing that happens in the bloggie book world, and if you are feeling a tad bit on the outside, this is your chance to step it up and step into the community. I can tell you that the wackier we get together when we all are completely sleep deprived and drunk on books, the closer we get. Even thought it is great to get to read through reviews and posts about books, the read-a-thon is the best time to see every one's personality. Oh, yes....the read-a-thon brings out the personality in us all!!

So many of us are reading for charities this year as well, you can see a list of some of them on the read-a-thon charities post (but there are always more) I am supporting Living Water International and if you want to sponsor me here is my fundraiser post.

What to have for the read-a-thon:
-Food. You'll want to have food ready for yourself. And make sure to eat things that are healthy, good and filled with energy. You probably want to prepare them beforehand, or you could listen to an audiobook while you get yourself some yummy foodstuffs. Treats are a must have! Snacks....food that isn't junk food, but some junk food too.

-Liquids, (be careful with how hopped up you get on caffeine though) a TON of water, juice, milk, herbal teas are excellent, hot chocolate, chai tea. I try to stay away from sodas, and coffees...they make me too shaky and I can't focus at all. Do a play it by ear method, it is the best way.

-The Books! You'll need books that are good and that will grab your attention. Make sure you don't grab all your "I have to read this" books off your shelf, that will ruin the read-a-thon for you straight away. I recommend reading things that you want to read and haven't had a chance to read, and things that are easy on the mind. Some examples are: graphic novels, young adult, old childhood classics (Little House, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Anne of Green Gables, Hardy Boys), and this time I am going to have several good audiobooks at hand for sure.

- Get comfortable, but not sleep comfy. stay warm, but not too warm. Keep that snugly blankie that you like at your side at all times, but make sure you don't get so warm you fall asleep, especially at around 4 am...warm is good, but not put-you-to-sleep-warm.

-A quiet, distraction free environment is key. I have had to read at coffee shops and I tried our library as well. Both very much less than ideal. I am a people watcher and when there are people to be watched I have a hard time controlling my urge to do so. I can't read at my house (that is my husband's only stipulation, so that he doesn't have to pry the boys off of me). This time I am hoping to get a quiet room at my library so I can just read away until it closes. Then when my boys are in bed I'll head home to read in silence.

-Take breaks. Yes, if you don't you'll be fried and this isn't a contest on who can end up the most fried! I have a hard time getting back to reading, so even though the prizes are amazing I only allow myself to open my my laptop every two hours or so. That way I can take a break by entering all the amazing mini-challenges that are set up without sacrificing reading time. For a break if you are falling asleep, go outside and take a walk, it works wonders.

-Keep your blog updated with pictures of you happily reading, of snacks for us all to drool over, or cool things that happened since your last post. I tried to update every 3 hours last time and I think I pretty much got it every time. It is so fun to take pictures with my mac and put them right up onto my blog posts. Updating really gives us all a chance to come cheer you on, so make sure you keep us all involved in your progress!! Oh, and at the end I did a video as well, videos are always a hit during the read-a-thon :)

-Above all else have fun and remember that this is not a competition, it is for fun and to get to mingle and encourage eachother.


Oh, and if you are thinking about it, or kinda leaning towards it, leave your comment below. I can't wait to see who is going to be joining in on this adventure. Want to sign up for the read-a-thon too??? If you have any other suggestions, add them to the comments that way we can help eachother out! Any great books, amazing treats or good tunes to recommend?? Don't leave us in the dark!

Important links:
Trish has a much better post on the read-a-thon: Trish's reading nook
I'm Reading for clean water worldwide! want to sponsor me?

sunday salon- reading and the like (oh, and a giveaway)

This challenge just finished up for this year, but it will start up again in March!
And The Orbis Terrarum Challenge just earned itself its very own blog!
Oh, and I need help....if any of you who did the challenge this year want to step on over and see what you think of the new mini-challenges that would be so cool. I would love advice on those. On everything really!! Head over and make sure to leave a comment or two.

I just finished A Moment of Truth in Iraq by Michael Yon....it was an AMAZING book. I will have my review up this week, I can't stop thinking about it.

I did a post about me, yes I did it so as to have an about me section and so I wrote up a autobiographical type post in which you can get to know me a little better.

Be sure to comment to enter my giveaway for Love and Other Natural Disasters

snowy sunday salon

I have been mostly working on reading and reviewing so that I will have 100 books complete for this year. I started in March, so I had about three months to catch up to. Anyway, I am currently at 97 and so super excited about it.

But, if you like to cook I have some exciting news for you, I am currently hosting three cookbook type giveaways. Oh, but there is a catch, I want something from you. I want you to post one of your favourite recipes to share with us all on your blog.

Yeah, for more information and to enter the giveaways go here:
Confetti Cakes for Kids (5 copies)
The Flavor Bible (3 copies)
Katie Brown Celebrates (5 copies)

Happy holidays!!!

sunday salon- I have a read-a-thon hangover!!

I did the read-a-thon. I was awake for all but 2 hours of it :) Today I have a read-a-thon hangover.

This is what I read:
(thank you fyrefly for helping with my pics! They aren't backwards anymore :)

The Shiniest Jewel by Marian Henley

Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Dating Da Vinci by Malena Lott

And I started this:

Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway


You have to check out the silly posts I did. (sort of embarrassing.... with 2 am videos and all!). But it was all for an amazing cause, that I will tell you a little more about.

not like this.

I read for clean water worldwide!!! I made this button (above), and you are welcome to use it if you want. We are giving the money raised over the read-a-thon to Living Water International. I had no idea clean water was such an issue...did you?
Did you know this to be true??:

Water-related disease is the single largest killer of infants in developing countries—diarrhea alone causes 1.8 million child deaths each year—and access to safe water is the most important factor in the survival of children under the age of five. Nearly half of all people in developing countries are suffering from water-related health problems. The annual number of deaths from water-related diseases is six times greater than the number of deaths from armed violence.

If you want all the info and pictures, here is my post on reading for clean water worldwide.
Anyway, money is still coming in, but during the read-a-thon we earned/gave/were sponsored for: $165.50. I want to thank all of you for giving!!! You are amazing.....INCREDIBLE! Did I say you are AMAZING!?!?! Thank you so much.

Anyway, for the rest of the year, each book I read I will donate another dollar to Living Water International
You are welcome, at any time to give as well. I am going to leave the link up. When the $200.00 mark is met, I will let you know what will happen then.

livin' it up: sunday salon style :)

Oh, what a nice sunny Sunday day for Sunday salon :)
How is your reading going?
Mine is going just dandy, thank you!!


Here is what I have read and reviewed this last week:
(click to take you to my review)

Immortal by Traci L. Slatton
Watership Down by Richard Adams
March by Geraldine Brooks
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
Half A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Out of the above reads my faves were Watership Down and Half A Yellow Sun, no question!



In case you are like so many of us book bloggers, and The God of Small things has been on your TBR for an eternity...YOU should read it this month!!! :)

I am doing a book club thingy over at Book Blogs, you should really check it out!
Click on the link below and let me know you are interested. It will be loads of fun.
Travel the World (form a comfy chair) The God of Small Things
(you will have to register, it only takes 2 seconds! if you want to be a part of the book club commenting fun.)

What am I reading now you ask?? I am just starting this:



I have been wanting to read Janeology by Karen Harrington ever since I saw a review a while back. Well, FINALLY I get to :) I will be sure to tell you how I like it. So far I am really enjoying it. I will have my review up this week fo sho.

What are you reading? What were your faves this week?