Th Reading Lair

Archive for the ‘Book Nooks’ Category

  • Pretty Pinterest and Writerly Interests

    Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

    Ahem.  ***CLEARS THROAT LOUDLY***

    *taps website* Uh, is this thing on?

    It is? Okay. Well, here goes.

    For those of you who didn’t see my announcement last week……… Yes, I have officially joined the rabid fan girl ranks on Pinterest.

    *blushes* I know, I know, I’m so behind on the rage, but I’ve only held off due to the issue of time. You know how it goes—spending time on one thing means having less to spend on another; it’s that whole wheel of time or circle of a busy life thing or whatever you want to call it.

    But now that I’ve joined?

    I’m wondering why in heck I waited so long. I was worried about time? Really? It took me like ten minutes to start a page. And as to the time it takes for browsing, well, now rather than looking up inspiring bookish stuff or foodish stuff or vintage stuff or steampunkish stuff or tattooish stuff every time I’m working a blog post or trying to hunt down my silly little internal muse to nudge her back to writing, I’ve already got the files right there on one simple little page. With a single mouse click. It’s writerly inspiration in loads. And for a bookish, writing, busy person, this is equivalent to a pot of gold. Or at least a really, really great latte.

    espresso from stockvault

    (photo via stockvault)

     

    As my friend Sara said, ”To me Pinterest is an online women’s magazine. Pretty pictures, recipes, and nifty ideas. And free. And doesn’t collect dust under my couch when I am done with it.”

    Yes. That’s what it is. Exactly. (But with some steampunk tossed in. ;0))

    So, here’s my Pinterest page if you’re interested.

    And what about you? Are you on it? If you’ve got a page, feel free to leave us a comment below with a link so we can visit. And if you’ve been thinking of joining but aren’t sure how, you might check out this how to Set Up Your Pinterest Profile in 10 Easy Steps post by the fabulous AuthorMedia people (the post is aimed at authors, but the simple step-by-step info works for anyone.) And if you’re not on Pinterest and don’t plan to be, what do you think? Is Pinterest just a passing fad? Are we all insane? *gives you the quizzical eye*

    :0)

    What’s the mood noise of the moment? My lovely friend, Flo Paris

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    Posted in Book Nooks, Genre Savvy, Uncategorized | 12 Comments »

  • A Lovely Little Writing Retreat

    Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

    Every year, the Word DIVA group I belong to sets aside a weekend in a big, three-story house to eat, write, laugh, write, eat, and discuss the finer aspects of “The Big Bang Theory” and (this year) “Downton Abbey.” The four of us have been critiquing and writing for publication together for three years, and we’re still going strong.

    The first thing we do once we arrive is to eat. For sustenance, you know. Writing fuel…

    photo for breakfast tacos

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    And eat.

    writing retreat dessert

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    And, ahem…eat.

    writing retreat sustenance

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    We all take turns cooking (because a requirement to be in our group is that you have to be an awesometastic cook—okay, not really, but it should be…cuz it’s true).

    And of course I always bring my espresso machine (but don’t look at the foam because those bubbles aren’t tight at all *embarrassed face*).

    photo for latte

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    Then we write. (I promise we do!)

    apple writing

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    This is my “I’m wearing super swank ear muffs to tune out all distraction because I can’t listen to music while I write” look.

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    And these are my writing socks Wolverine bought me because my feet are always cold.

    socks

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    Then after writing we relax. And possibly eat.

    retreat relaxation

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    And then we repeat.

    Before heading home.

    Er…did I get enough accomplished? I don’t know, but I’m wearing THE coolest jacket you’ve ever seen in your life in this photo so that’s like, gotta count for something. Also, meet my dog, or, well…my dog’s backside. She’s the best.

    photo of mchristineweber

    Lovely way to spend a writing weekend, no?

    How was yours, by the way???

    Oh, and this is our 2012 official Diva photo. (Thanks CarolynVPhotography!) And wow, I am seriously striking a pose. In fact, Wolverine is currently laughing at me for it, so feel free to laugh too. I actually forgot we were doing photos this day, so about fifteen minutes before the shoot, I was frantically slapping on borrowed makeup in the car mirror. Yeah, I’m a dork.

    photo for Word DIVAS

    ;0)

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    Posted in Book Nooks, Uncategorized | 12 Comments »

  • Braving the Wilds of a Writers’ Conference

    Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

    Hello, bookish explorers! Last year (as you’ll recall), I stealthily returned from the Central Coast Writers’ Conference to give you my Nine (only slightly creepy) Reasons to Attend one of these babies. Today, I take you back there, this time behind the scenes, where we will brave the wilds of the conference together. I will be your guide, taking you up close and personal for a few brief encounters with some of the more intriguing things writers do in their natural habitat.

     

    Our first stop on the tour is the Pride. A Pride is a group of writers (also referred to as a herd), related or not, who stick together for the common goals of stalking famous authors (without appearing overtly creepy—the creepy ones use the herd to blend in), saving seats behind said authors, and making Starbucks runs in between classes. In this photo, we have a Pride of yours truly alongside mother (Susan) and sister (Kati) at breakfast.

     

    The next place we come to is the Author Brawl. This is where authors challenge each other to strange feats of mental prowess such as word games, prose twisters, and blog visibility while the rest of us surround them chanting the biggest words we know. In this pic, we’ve got the plucky challenger, New York Times bestselling author, Jay Asher, arm wrestling Anne R. Allen. Unfortunately for Jay, Anne is winning (though just barely) by the sheer force of mind over matter and her invention of the word “Snookibooks.”

     

    Third stop on our tour is the Watering Hole where writers converge every chance they get to eat, refresh, and seek out savage sage advice from other more experienced authors and super cool agents. Here, you can see Susan, Kristen, myself, agent savant Laurie McLean, Kati, and Jay eating all of Ms. McLean’s french fries whilst discussing the finer points of Doc Marten shoes. Don’t be misled by the tame-looking smiles. This table was a riot of awesomeness.

     

    Last, but not least, we come to the Moment of Humility. When, just as you’re leaving this wild and slightly-terrifying land, a bird craps on your boot and Jay is there to photograph it. Well, first he and Kati laughed. Like any good friends would.

     

    What’s the mood noise of the moment? Guns N’ Roses

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    Posted in A bit of brag, Author Tidbits, Book Nooks | 15 Comments »

  • Little Free Libraries

    Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

    A concept this magical hasn’t captured my attention on such obsessive proportions since the discovery of fairy steampunk tea parties, unicorns, and snickerdoodles dipped in white chocolate.

    Little Free Libraries. Promoting “literacy and the love of reading” while building a sense of community through sharing. Suggestions for placement are in community gardens, parks, hospice and health centers, and neighborhoods. Give a book, take a book, with the idea of paying it forward.

    little free library

    Okay, seriously? What more magical way to spend the autumn season, with its cozy crackly fires and damp leaves and afternoon tea with the neighbors, than by putting up a cute little neighborhood library to share BOOKS with said neighbors? I want one. On my street. In my driveway. In fact, excuse me while I go find my husband and plead with his engineering self to build me one for my very own.

    In the meantime, you must read about these Little Free Libraries.

    And then you must visit their website.

    And don’t eat my white chocolate snickerdoodles until I return.

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    Posted in Book Nooks, Book Reviews | 18 Comments »

  • There and Back Again

    Monday, April 11th, 2011

    So last week we tossed all three kids in the car along with our suitcases, espresso machine (one can’t properly travel without it), and a mile-high-pile of unread books, and then headed off on a delicious (and much needed) vacation at our favorite cheap spot along Mission Bay in San Diego. I didn’t work. I didn’t teach. I didn’t write. I just played with my family. And obviously I didn’t write a blog post because all you get from me today are photos (hey—don’t roll your eyes at me!).

    Sea World photos

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    I’m proud to say we succeeded at turning our kids into rollercoaster junkies.

    atlantis photo

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    We ate.

    photo for krispy kreme donuts

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    photo for granny apple fries

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    We did some old-school marriage counseling.

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    We made cotton candy mustaches.

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    We read.

    And then we drove home to wrap up the week at a local pub in SLO listening to some rad bands, including Bonnie Dune. For those of you who are Glee fans, that’s Cory Monteith on the left. And for the Lakes fans, that’s Seth Roberts on the right.

    photo of bonnie dune and cory monteith

     

    So how are YOU guys doing??? What’s your favorite vacation thing to do? And when is your next one?

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    Posted in A bit of brag, Book Nooks | 10 Comments »

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