This book is delightful. That’s not a word I usually use. It’s sort of an old-fashioned word that’s not really my style. A word old ladies might use to describe a chickadee singing on a sunny day or a glass of spiced tea in the winter. But it’s the word that comes to mind. Pie […]
Matched, by Ally Condie, 2010, Book Review
Matched is the first in a trilogy of dystopian YA fiction by Ally Condie that I’ve heard so much about on the web I had to read it for myself. It’s good enough that I want to finish the trilogy, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel very original. Maybe I’m just burning out […]
The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier, 2011, Book Review
I found this book on a library list of notable middle grade books for 2011, and I loved the cover, so I picked it up. I’m glad I did. It turned out to be one of my favorite adventures of this year. The book opens with Trei on his way to the Floating Islands. His […]
Tour Stop 30 – Friday Freebie Guest Post
This is it! The last day of the tour! To wrap things up, I’ve evaluated whether or not a blog tour is worth the effort over on the extremely helpful blog of author Lindsay Buroker. (I never miss it!) It’s today’s regular Friday Freebie post, just located elsewhere. (It’s not up yet at 8:00 am, […]
Tour Stop 29…If a Tree Falls in the Woods…
…is right here on Bookworm Blather. (Part of a blog tour for Beneath the Slashings.) This guest post about lumberjack cooking was supposed to feature on a cooking blog that never gave me a final confirmation. So here it is: If a Tree Falls in the Woods… If a tree falls in the woods, you […]
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (Starcatchers Series), Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, 2007, Book Review
Peter’s back. So is George, Molly, the Lost Boys, and the Evil Lord Ombra. Thought he was destroyed at the conclusion of book two? I thought so too. But he regathers his strength and returns to Rundoon where the forces of darkness have come up with the most farfetched plan yet: capture Peter, use his […]
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne, 2006, Book Review
This is a startling look at the holocaust through the eyes of a nine-year-old German boy. Bruno is the son of a Nazi Commandant. As a result of a promotion, Bruno and his whole family leave their lovely home in Berlin and follow Father to his new assignment—head of Auschwitz concentration camp. Bruno can see […]
Of What Value is Free? (Unmasking an Author Series, #3)
This is the third in a series about author visibility. First I discussed some challenges indies face. Last week I discussed some beneficial and some not-so-beneficial ways to use freebies. This week I want to consider the value (or not) of free. Everybody loves freebies. We try them because there’s no risk involved. We’re not out anything if […]
Seeds of Rebellion (Beyonders, book two), by Brandon Mull, 2012, Book Review
I’ve been waiting exactly a year for the second Beyonders book. I read the A World Without Heroes at family camp last year. This year I checked out Seeds of Rebellion to read at camp once again. We leave today but, ahem, I finished the book last night. Drat! (Note: This was written three weeks ago.) […]
The Giver, by Lois Lowry, 1993, Book Review
Imagine a world that is efficient, safe and painless. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? No one is rude, crime is not a problem, no one ever goes hungry. Every member of the community contributes in a helpful, organized manner, and life glides along as easily as sled runners on a snowy hill. Except there are […]