Th Reading Lair

Archive for the ‘Book Nooks’ Category

  • 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 »

  • Bookish Things that Should be Wrapped in Ribbon and Pretty Strings (plus a recipe)

    Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

    I’ve assembled an array of Christmasy-type things I’m liking. And if you’ve got a book lover in your life, or if you ARE a book lover, you can go ahead and say it with me: “These are seriously yummy.”

    Love. This. Book.

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    Okay, this is precious. And if my husband wants to buy me it for Christmas, I won’t complain. Of course, he’ll have to get me the iPad to go with it, but…

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    The New Yorker posted this holiday gift guide for book lovers. I especially love this little book nook.

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    And if you’re looking for some children’s books to place near that cute nook, Joanna over at Confessions from Suite 500, has some super fab recommendations this week! You should check them out. I want this one.

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    Lastly, since food is a must with nooks and books and Christmasy things, my mother-in-law and I made these Kolacky cookies today with, like, 10 kids. It’s an old family recipe of my mom-in-law’s. And they’re amazing.

    A Recipe for Kolacky Cookies

    1. 1 cup butter
    2. ½ cup powdered sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
    3. 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
    4. 2 cups flour (more or less until firm)
    5. Jam or preserves (we use apricot and razzleberry)

    Mix ingredients. Roll out on a smooth surface; then cut out into circles. Thumbprint each circle and fill with a bit of jam. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool; then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with milk, tea, or coffee and enjoy!

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    Happy Christmas everyone!

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    Posted in Book Nooks, Games, Literary Classics, Reading Recipes | 16 Comments »

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