I've been a bit M.I.A. this month. Although I've still been reading, everything else has kind of taken a back burner to the big exam I just completed. I became an accredited genealogist earlier this year, with a specialty in the U.S. Southwest region (Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and California, as defned by ICAPGen), but, because I'm a little crazy, I decided to accredit in an additional region. This one has actually been a long time coming thanks to COVID delays, but I finally took the 8-hour exam to accredit in the U.S. Great Lakes region (Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois). It was stressful, but I'm done. Keep your fingers crossed that I pass it!

As a reward for completing my testing (not that I ever really need an excuse), I treated myself to a Barnes & Noble trip. I considered driving to Tempe to hit up my local(ish) indie, Changing Hands Bookstore, but after a long morning of testing, I was basically on the verge of collapse and I just didn't want to drive that far. So, I stayed really local and bought this lovely trio at B&N:

After a whirlwind two weeks in Europe, I'm back!  I'm jet lagged and exhausted, but I'm home and full of gratitude for the wonderful time I had seeing beautiful sights, connecting with my ancestral past, and bonding with my family.  Naturally, not everything went according to plan (who knew our adventures would be disrupted by city-wide marathons in two different cities in two separate countries?); still, it was an amazing trip.  We saw and did so many incredible things that I can't even remember them all.  Here's a quick rundown:

England

• Rode the London Eye
• Visited Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, Winston Churchill's secret underground war rooms, the Roman Baths at Bath, York, etc.

• Experienced a traditional High Tea in York
• Saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
• Drove through the lush, beautiful countryside
• Passed a Da Vinci Code-like test to visit the oldest chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the world
• Stood on the Liverpool docks from which many of our ancestors departed in order to travel to the United States in the 1800's

• Supped on fish and chips with a close college friend I hadn't seen in 25 years
• Dined on yummy lunches at pubs all over England
• Went to opening night of the new James Bond movie in London, a week before the film debuted in the U.S.

It's hard to believe—really hard to believe—but I started Bloggin' 'bout Books 15 years ago today!  On August 7, 2006, I published this post welcoming folks to the new home for my "reading journal."  At the time, that included exactly three people: my husband, my mom, and my little sister.  In my naivete, I honestly thought that I had invented book blogging!  It was only when I started Googling around that I realized there was a whole, big book blogosphere already out there, just waiting for me.  That realization changed my life.  My reading life anyway.  I had found my tribe, but even still, I never could have imagined that my little blog would become such a great source of joy, connection, and community for me.  If you'd told me that I would still be going strong here at BBB 15 years later, I would have laughed you out the door!  

I have no idea how many books I've read or how many reviews I've written over the last decade and a half, but I do know that I've learned a lot along the way.  Here are ten lessons that 15 years of book blogging has taught me:

1.  The book/publishing world is always changing.  Back in the day, I'd get paper book catalogs in my mailbox and heavy cardboard boxes packed with glossy reads on my doorstep.  While publishers still send a number of "real" books my way, I also receive tons of links to e-ARCs on NetGalley and Edelweiss.  In some ways, publicists and authors are more accessible now than they were; in other ways, they aren't.  Especially in the COVID world, mostly in-person author events have changed to mostly online author events.  The point?  The book world is constantly changing.  I've had to change with it (I still remember what a huge concession it was for me to buy an e-reader)!

2.  Book bloggin' people = the best people.  One thing that hasn't changed is the awesomeness that is the book blogosphere.  Yes, bloggers come and go.  Some of my favorites have disappeared because of other commitments, waning interest, and even death (R.I.P. Dewey from Hidden Side of a Leaf and Grace @RebelMommyBookBlog).  I'll always miss their contributions, but I'm thrilled that so many new book blogs are still cropping up all the time.  I've made so many wonderful friends in this warm, happy, supportive community.  It's been such a pleasure to talk books with you, whether you've been hanging around BBB for a decade or just for a week.  

3.  Authors aren't always right—and neither am I.  Once I started getting a reputation as a tough, tell-it-like-it-is blogger, I started getting a little...ahem...cocky.  When it came to reviewing books, I didn't hesitate to call 'em like I saw 'em, even at the risk of offending writers I admired.  Because of that, I've received hate mail, strongly worded comments, and radio silence from authors who personally asked me to review their books.  I've softened a bit over the years and I've definitely been humbled by what I've gotten wrong.  A particularly embarrassing example: a certain author called me out over misquoting a section of her memoir that I could have sworn said she had taken drugs while on duty as a doctor at a mental hospital.  No matter how many times I combed over her book, I couldn't find the passage I referenced because it wasn't there!  The writer was grace itself when I apologized profusely for the error.

4.  Book blogging is hard work.  If you think book blogging is all fun and games then you must be doing it right!  For me, it has involved a great deal of time, effort, and money.  Between reading, writing reviews, visiting and commenting on other blogs, marketing my own efforts, etc. it has sometimes felt like a full-time job.  It's been worth it for the pleasure book blogging has given me, but I can't deny that other things in my life (most notably the cleanliness of my home) have suffered because of it.  Last year, I finally gave up scheduling reviews and participating in blog tours.  It was just causing too much stress for me.  Now my blogging is less rigorous, less pressure, and lots more fun!  

5.  It's my way or the highway.  Closely related to #4 is that I've learned to blog in the way that feels most natural and right to me.  I don't worry about other bloggers having more followers or a bigger influence.  I just do me.  It's worked pretty well so far.

6.  There can never be too many books.  Or can there?  When I first started receiving review requests from authors and publishers, I was so excited that I accepted everything that came my way.  Soon, I was inundated with books, some of which I had no actual desire to read.  After forcing myself to plow through volumes I normally wouldn't, I had to learn that it was okay to DNF a book that wasn't working for me.  I also had to learn not to accept books just because they're, you know, books.  Although I still accept far too many review requests than is wise, I've become much, much more selective about what I'll read and review.

7.  Reviewing books really does change how you read them.  I saw this article on Book Riot and was struck by the truth of this statement.  The way I read has changed irrevocably in the years since I started reviewing books.  For one thing, I now take copious notes on non-fiction and novels, jotting down anything I think I might want to use later in a review.  I'm more critical of an author's efforts, analyzing their world-building, character creation, plot decisions, and prose choices.  I can no longer read for the sheer pleasure of reading and, honestly, that's kind of sad.

8.  Books are not hair dryers.  I used to always say that I review a book in the same way I would review a hair dryer, by asking the same kind of questions:  What worked for me?  What didn't?  Is this product worth spending precious time and money on?  Why or why not?  It's just a product review, nothing personal.  Well, I've realized over the years that books are very personal to their authors and that they don't always like having their babies criticized.  I've also realized that I'm not as objective as I think I am.  My reviews contain my opinions.  You may not like them.  I get it and it's okay.  You can send me hate mail if you want.  You won't be the first!

9.  Books are powerful.  The wonderfully rich, diverse book blogosphere is a beautiful example of  how influential books can be in bringing people together, opening their minds, and touching their souls.   

10.  BBB would be nothing without you!  Truth is, I would probably post book reviews even if no one read them just because it's a fun creative outlet for me.  But, it would not be nearly as much fun without your interaction.  I love reading your comments, visiting your blogs, basking in your kindness, and dishing about books.  Thank you for making my little ole book blog such a delightful place to hang out.  It would not be at all the same without you.

To celebrate my blogiversary and to thank you for being such an integral part of BBB, I'm hosting a little giveaway.  If I were rich, I'd give away great quantities of money or, even better, towering stacks of books.  I'm not, so I'm just going to offer up one book—a book of your choice (up to a $20 value) on Book Depository, which delivers all over the world.  Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.  I will choose a winner on August 21.  Good luck!

Also, please tell me:  How long have you been blogging about books?  What have you learned from your own journey with this wild and wonderful hobby?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Who are the people in your life that have most influenced your love of the written word?  Are they family members?  Friends?  Teachers?  Librarians?  For me, three people come immediately to mind: my mom, my dad, and my paternal grandmother.  All of them love books.  A recent trip back to the Motherland (the beautiful Columbia River Gorge) made me reflect on my grandma, especially, and how our shared love of reading and writing has influenced and strengthened our relationship.  I don't often get personal on this blog, but I hope you won't mind if I share a little something about what I learned from her this last weekend.  

Grandma, who's been a widow for over two decades, once told me that she would never be bored or lonely as long as she had something good to read.  One of the hardest parts of aging, for her, has been the loss of her eyesight.  For a few years now, she's been too weak to hold a book, let alone read one.  Last week, on her birthday, someone asked her to describe in one word what it was like to be 100 years old.  She said, "Difficult.  I can no longer read.  I can no longer write.  I'm not the person I used to be."  I think this says a whole lot about the importance of reading and writing, not just in her life, but in all of ours.

My grandma and I used to bond all the time over our shared love of books and writing.  Sadly, she can no longer remember those conversations.  She can't remember me.  During my three day visit, I had to remind her every 15 minutes or so of what my name was, who my parents were, and that yes, we were in fact related.  These exchanges were sad and sometimes bizarre, but also hysterical.

On Mother's Day, my younger brother and I had the privilege of grandma-sitting while my parents, her primary caregivers, went out to dinner with my sister and brother-in-law.  Not surprisingly, my bookworm of a grandma enjoys it when people read aloud to her.  When I assured her it would be my pleasure to spend the evening performing that task, she settled in her bed to listen to the mystery novel my parents were in the middle of reading to her.  For two hours straight, I read.  I read until the words on Dad's Kindle blurred and my already sore throat felt raw and achy.  After about an hour, Grandma fell asleep, her mouth wide open as she snored.  When I paused, thinking I should sneak away and let her rest, she jolted upright and exclaimed, "This is such a good book!"  I kept reading.

In her old age, my grandmother has grown very paranoid about being left alone.  She kept telling me that she thought she would be really scared with "the kids" (meaning my parents) gone, but that, since I was reading to her, she didn't feel frightened.  A little later, I was explaining to her how much I loved to read and write.  She said, "We have so much in common!  I'm glad to meet you."  I chuckled and reminded her that we've known each other for almost forty years.  "If you say so, honey," she replied, "but now I know you again because you read to me."

The two hours I spent reading to my grandmother are precious to me.  I cherish the fact that we were able to get reacquainted (even if I had to re-introduce myself to her a few more times the next morning) because we shared that experience.  It wasn't the book that was so good, but the company.

Grandma's words made me think about the power of reading together, be it a parent to a child (I can't count the number of times I've shared classics like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom or Green Eggs and Ham with my kiddos), an older sibling to a younger sibling (as a teenager, my husband spent many nights reading Jurassic Park to his wide-eyed little brother), a wife to a husband (my mom used to read Jack Weyland books aloud to my dad while he drove on family road trips), or a granddaughter to a cherished grandmother.  That time spent together is special, valuable, the stuff of which fond memories are made.  What could be better than stolen moments like these when we're wrapped in the warmth of the love we share and bound together by the kind of magical spell only a story well-told can cast?  If you don't read to your children, do.  Start today.  Right now.  And if your grandmother needs a little help to feast on the written word she loves so well, help her out.  Maybe she can't remember your name, but she'll know you again because you read to her.  What could be more priceless than that?  In the immortal words of Strickland Gillilan:

  

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend.  Despite a little drama from an unhappy author, mine was peaceful and uplifting.  I especially love it when my church's General Conference falls on Easter—not only do we get to attend church in our pajamas (no need to buy Easter finery—score!), but we get to hear inspired sermons about the importance of Jesus Christ and all He did for us.  All this emphasis on the Savior does my soul good.  If you missed Conference or are curious what it's all about, visit LDS.org.

In between watching Conference, playing Easter Bunny, baking cinnamon rolls, and cleaning up dog poo, I also chose a winner for the giveaway sponsored by Book Buckles that has been running here at BBB.  Actually, let me clarify:  when I say I chose the winner, I mean that I let Random.org or Rafflecopter.com (the latter in this case) choose.  Winners are never based on the entrant's identity or the cleverness of their comments or flattering words about BBB (not that that should stop you ...)—it's completely random.  That's the fairest way I can think of to run contests.

So, who did Rafflecopter select this time?  It's none other than:

I feel like I'm always behind on something when it comes to this blog.  I've got books I read back in November sitting on my desk still waiting to be reviewed, emails I haven't answered, scheduled reviews I'm not getting to ... heck, I haven't updated my All Reviews list since 2013!  Yikes.  I'm still plugging along, though, clinging to the dream that one day I will be all caught up.  Think it will ever actually happen?  Yeah, me neither.  Oh well, a girl can dream ...

For now, we're going to do a little this and that:

First of all, I should mention that a couple weeks ago, my husband and I took a fun road trip.  Our destination:  Salt Lake City, Utah.  In the LDS church, we all have "jobs" (I use the term loosely, since it's voluntary) we do to help our congregations (known as "wards") run smoothly.  In addition to being a Cub Scout den leader, I'm also a family history consultant, as is my husband.  Even if you're not LDS, you probably know what an emphasis the church places on families—not just strengthening the bonds we have in the present, but also creating links between us and our ancestors.  Thus, each ward has 2-3 people assigned to help others work on their genealogy.  Since the husband and I are still learning the ins and outs of this job, we decided to head to SLC for the annual RootsTech genealogy conference.  It's a big deal (like, 20,000+ attendees big).  We spent the days going to classes, listening to some great speakers (A.J. Jacobs, Laura and Jenna Bush, Donny Osmond, Nicole Pikus-Pace, Al Fox, etc.), and enjoying performances by local celebs like Alex Boyé, David Archuleta, and Studio C.  It was fun.  A great trip.

Even though we spent time relaxing at our very comfortable B&B, I didn't get tons of reading done.  However, I did have a very cool bookish experience.  Salt Lake City boasts the biggest family history library in the world.  As you can imagine, it has a huge collection of family history books, including one my cousin wrote about our Clark/Cochran ancestors.  I've been interested in learning more about these early adventurers for awhile now and couldn't wait to see what information the book contained.  Since SLC has the only physical copy of the volume, I insisted we drop by the family history center so I could copy some of its pages.  I worried there might be copyright issues, but the kind, helpful senior missionaries who serve at the center assured me that—if I had the time—I could copy the entire tome onto a thumb drive without risking jail time.  As I gleefully scanned the pages, my husband did some Googling and discovered that the author of the book had, in fact, died ten years ago—almost to the day.  We figured there was no better way to honor this cousin I never knew than by sharing his life work with the next generation of our family.

I know this will make me sound like a senior citizen, but genealoy is a fun, exciting work.  If you're at all interested in learning about your family's history, check out: www.familysearch.org.  You don't have to be LDS to use this free service.  It's an incredible resource, available to everyone, anywhere in the world.

***

Speaking of all things LDS, I've signed up once again to participate in the Whitney Awards Read 'Em All Challenge.  The Whitney Awards are given out annually for the best novels published in a given year by authors who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Hosted jointly by the lovely ladies at New LDS Fiction and LDS Women's Book Review, this challenge encourages people to read all of the books that have been nominated to receive a 2014 Whitney. This is no small task as there are—wait for it—40 novels in total.  As part of the Whitney Academy, I get the privilege of casting my vote to help determine the winners, so I'm going to read as many as I can.  Wish me luck!

While you have to be a member of the Academy in order to vote for the winners, you don't have to be part of the Academy or even LDS to participate in this challenge.  Anyone can sign up.  The finalists are, in general, not LDS novels at all, just general fiction that can be enjoyed by readers of any—or no—religion.  You can win weekly prizes and a nice grand prize.  If you're interested, hop on over to this post and sign up.

***

Last but not least, you may recall the giveaway I had going for a copy of Fairest by Marissa Meyer.  It seems like ancient history, but I'm finally going to announce the winner!  Rafflecopter picked a random entrant, sooo ... Congratulations to:

It's hard to express just how fun and satisfying book blogging is for me.  It really is such a good time.  I'm secure enough in my nerdiness to admit that publicly (not that it will surprise any of you).  As much as I love this gig, though, there are parts of my "job" that make me feel stressed, pressured and guilty.  Yes, I'm talking about blog tours.  I've tried cutting back, agreeing to review only the books I'm really, really, really interested in and yet, I still find myself signing up for more tours than I can handle and then having trouble meeting those commitments.  This makes me feel both embarrassed and guilty.  It's not the blog tour coordinators or anyone else making me feel this way—it's me!  I can't control myself.  So, I am officially resigning from participation in blog tours.  In addition, scheduled reviews will no longer be available, except in the special cases described below.  I feel terrible doing this, but I know it will help me remain sane and keep blogging fun.

What's going to happen to the tours for which I've already signed up?  I will honor those engagements to the best of my ability.  However, no new tour stops will be scheduled from here on out.  I'm still interested in reviewing books, of course, but only those that can be evaluated within my own time frame.  If that doesn't work for you, then you'll have to find a different reviewer.  I'm still open to hosting giveaways, author interviews, product reviews (of at least a semi-bookish nature) and cover reveals/tour stops/guest posts for authors with whom I have previously worked or with whom I would like to work.  In addition, I may be open to scheduling an occasional tour stop, but only for books published through a traditional, established publisher (i.e. Harper Collins, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Deseret Book, etc.) or written by authors to whom I've given positive reviews in the past.  Anyone is welcome to email me with questions or queries, just be aware that unless your book meets the above guidelines, I will probably not accept it for review.  

Just to make everything crystal clear, I will no longer be participating in blog tours.  If you run a tour company, you can take my name off your contact list or you can continue querying me.  It's totally up to you. If you are an author, publicist, intern, etc. looking to have a book reviewed in an open time frame, please feel free to query me.  I'll accept or decline requests in the same way I always have—based on how much a book appeals to me.

I hope all this makes sense.  If you have questions or comments, you're always welcome to email me.  I love getting your ideas and feedback, so don't hesitate to communicate with me.

Thank you for understanding!  I really think this decision will help me be a better, more relaxed, more efficient reviewer.  And that's what we all want, right?

Sorry for the radio silence here at BBB.  That's what holiday busy-ness, plus a 4-day trip to the (freezing cold) Midwest, and now a nasty cold will do to a blogger!  Thanks to the *lovely* weather (actually, it was lovely—it's been a while since I've seen falling snow), I spent even more time in airports and on airplanes than I thought I would, which means I got more read than I thought I would.  Which also means that I am even more behind on reviews than I was before I left town.  Ack!  I'm not sure I'll ever catch up.

Since I'm already procrastinating on the reviews, I thought I'd give you a little something different today.  I've never understood why "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music is played so much at Christmastime (something to do with the "brown paper packages tied up with string," I assume), but the title works well for this post.  I've been meaning to tell you about several of these items for a while now, so I'm just going to combine them all into two posts of bookish awesomeness.  Sound good?  Well, alright then, here we go:

1.  Not long ago, I entered a giveaway over at Mommy's Reading Break and won this cute little block stacker.  Isn't it adorable?  I had my choice of stackers, but this one seemed most appropriate.  It sits on my desk, making me smile every time I look at it.


Heather sells all kinds of stackers in her Etsy store, Rutherford Wood Designs.  She's got Christmas themes, sports themes, family themes, etc.  The stackers are very affordable, running between $8 and $14.  They'd make great Christmas gifts, so be sure to check out the store.

2.  Have you all heard about SwoonReads?  It's a new website run by Macmillan that allows authors of YA romances to publish their manuscripts online and lets readers browse titles and leave their feedback about the books.  Those entries that get the best response will be considered by Macmillan for publication.  Cool, right?  I'm going to let Stephanie Moore, an author from Utah whose book, A Flutter of Butterfly Wings, is up on the site right now tell you a little more about this very cool program:

Even though Halloween's over, I still have a few treats up my sleeve. Mostly they're treats for me, but still, I thought I'd share. I'm just generous that way :)

-- First off, I have a winner to announce. Pam, you won copies of all three books in the Iron Elves series by Chris Evans. Congratulations! If you'll shoot me an email (blogginboutbooks AT gmail DOT COM) with your mailing address, I'll pass it onto the author's publicist so she can get your books to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. I'll be having more giveaways, including a big one to celebrate my 1000th post - when I reach that milestone, of course (this post is #951). So, definitely stay tuned.

-- Secondly, I thought you might like to see my new license plate. I totally love it, especially the Q's, which look like little googly eyes. Anybody else have a bookish plate? They're so fun!

-- Thirdly, I wanted to give a big shout-out to my (kinda) local indie bookstore, Changing Hands. Since it's about a 30-minute drive from my house, I don't go there that often, but when I do, I'm always impressed by the place. They have a HUGE selection of new and used books and the booksellers there are so helpful and friendly. Case in point: CH has a promotion going on where you get a $10 gift card to their store when you purchase a one-year subscription to the Arizona Republic. Since I'm big into coupons, I wanted another copy of the paper anyway, and this seemed like the perfect time to order it. So, I did. My extra paper came right away, but I didn't hear anything about the gift card. When I still hadn't heard anything after a week, I emailed the folks over at CH. Soon, I got an email back apologizing for the mix-up and offering me a $15 gift card for my trouble. Nice, right? CH also has a rewards program and they give you a discount during your birthday month. Plus, the Wildflower Bread Company store/restaurant is right next door, so the bookstore smells amazing! There are so many reasons to check Changing Hands out - if you're in the Tempe area, stop in. You'll love it.

I took my 9-year-old daughter with me on this excursion. Neither of us can resist a bookstore. She was super excited to find some old American Girl books and at bargain prices, too. Since she was making such frugal choices, I wandered over to the new releases section and found these two titles:

I've been really excited about When She Woke by Hillary Jordan ever since I first read about it. A dystopian Scarlet Letter-ish story? Yes, please! Cannot wait to read this one. And the book's signed by the author to boot. Insert happy dance here.

I'd never heard of Those Across the River by Christopher Beuhlman until I saw it in the store, but it looks really good, too. Creepy. I probably should have read it before Halloween. Oh well.

-- Speaking of things I should have done before Halloween, I have a Cooking the Books post for you that I'm going to publish today (with an earlier date on it, though, so it looks like I did it when I was supposed to). It's for Whoopie Pies and it'll go up right before my review of Pumpkin Roll by Josi Kilpack, since that's the book it came out of ('kay, the recipe is now up. Click here). Even if you're not interested in Whoopie Pies (which you should be because they're rich and chocolatey and just yummy), you might want to check out the post about Pumpkin Roll. Josi's running a giveaway for an iPad 2 that ends today. You can get extra entries by commenting on my review of Pumpkin Roll. So, if that interests you (and why wouldn't it?), click here for all the details.

-- Okay, that's it. I'm going to be working on catching up on everything today - reviews, reading, laundry, ironing, coupons, dusting, mopping, etc. Gah! I can't believe it's November already. Where did 2011 go?

I hadn't planned to post again today, but my husband's at work, my older kids are at school, my baby's at Grandma's and my house is quiet as a tomb. It seemed like the perfect time to sneak down and play on the computer. I still have to be careful about spreading my radioactive germs around, so I can't do housework or cook or anything (hurt me, hurt me bad), but my eyes need a break from reading. Who knew absorbing six books in three days would leave my peepers this bloodshot and sore? I will, of course, wipe everything down so well that not even Grissolm and his CSIs could find evidence of my being here (yes, I know Grissolm left the show - guess who's not quite over it yet?). It's just nice to leave my bedroom. And, I have to say that not being able to take care of my family for a week, even by doing little things like folding socks, makes me even more eager to kick cancer to the curb and get everything back to normal.

'Course, I'm so behind on life now that I seriously will never catch up. I know reviews are posting automatically, so you can't even tell how behind I am. Oh well. I'll get 'em written when I get 'em written, but I have to tell you that I may have just finished my favorite book of the year: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. It's similar to James Dashner's The Maze Runner, just with more complexity and depth (literally). And originality. It's reminiscent of The Hunger Games, too, but still its own thing. Hard to describe. Anyway, I loved it. The only problem is the sequel, Sapphique, doesn't come out until the end of December. I'm pretty sure I can't wait that long. My first-born may be available to the first person who can get me an ARC (well, he's pretty sweet - maybe my second-born or third- ...). Seriously, anyone have a copy??

Did I forgot to mention that my review of Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden appeared in the Fall 2010 issue of Latter-Day Woman magazine. Check it out here.

I'm looking foward to a quiet weekend - more resting, more reading, more taking three showers a day and flushing twice every time I use the toilet ... Things should be back to normal by Tuesday, when my body will have expelled enough radiation that I can hug my kids again and get back to the grind that I have somehow missed this week.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Oh, and just because I'm skipping out on the Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday this week, doesn't mean you should. It's a great way to find new blogs, drive traffic to your own, and strengthen this big, fun book blogging community. Enjoy :)

For those of you that read BBB in a feeder, I have to apologize for posts going up and then, minutes later, disappearing. This happens because of me, your boneheaded hostess (C'mon now, you can at least act like you're surprised!). A dozen couple of times in the last month I've accidentally hit "Publish Post" instead of "Save Now" while drafting my reviews. Although I delete the unfinished posts from the blog itself, they still show up in the reader, a fact I didn't realize until just now when I subscribed to my own feed. Super annoying, that. I do have an excuse for my airheadedness: I'm off my meds (be afraid, be very afraid). Actually, my doctor ordered me to take half my usual dose of levathyroxine in preparation for blood tests which will determine whether or not I still have cancer cells floating around in my body. If we get the desired results, it will mean no more radioactive iodine treatments this year (In your face, cancer!). In the meantime, I'm trying to keep myself focused and awake without frittering my life's savings away on Mr. Dew. So, anyway, if you noticed anything screwy with my feed, you now know why.

In other news, I'm still working on an index of all my reviews. Some of you have asked why I don't just use one of Blogger's search features. My answer is that, while the search boxes work, they're not specific enough for my tastes. In other words, if you search "Fablehaven," you won't necessarily get the review you're looking for - you'll get every post where I mentioned the book, even if it was just in passing. I think an index, searchable by author name and title of the book, will be much easier to use. If you disagree, feel free to use the search box in the top lefthand corner of this screen.

In other other news, I just finished the most disturbing novel I've read in awhile - Chosen by Chandra Hoffman. Adoptive parents, birthparents, prospective adoptive parents, and anyone even remotely associated with adoption will probably want to steer clear of this one. Sounds intriguing, no? Look for that review sometime this week. After finishing that one, I planned to dive right into Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, but I made the mistake of opening Chasing Orion by Kathryn Lasky. Now, I'm totally immersed in the story of a girl in the early 1950s who befriends a teenager in an iron lung. It's fascinating.

So, lots to come. Definitely stay tuned. And if anything wonky happens on the feed, let me know. 'Til then, Happy Reading!

My Facebook status for Tuesday read: Scholastic loves me, this I know, for the brand-new, free copy of Mockingjay sitting on my doorstep tells me so! You can imagine how many jealous comments I got, which is exactly why I posted it, of course :) I was thrilled to get the book, especially since so many people didn't receive their copies that day due to shortages. So, a huge shout out to Scholastic. They've always been incredibly generous to me and this just proves what a rocking company they are. Woot!

- Speaking of Facebook, check out that fancy badge on my left sidebar. I really only use Facebook to keep in touch with family and IRL friends, but I'd love if you became a fan of my BBB page. Now that I have the page, I'm not exactly sure what to do with it. Advice?

- My sister is hosting a book giveaway over at her homemaking blog, Martha-wannabe. The titles up for grabs are Once A Month Cooking and Once A Month Cooking Family Favorites. She hasn't had too many entrants, so the odds of winning are very good. While you're over there, give her some love - her birthday's on the 2nd, and her husband will be leaving soon for a long deployment in Afghanistan. Follow her, enter her contest, give a supportive Navy wife some encouraging words. Love ya, Pee Wee!

- Speaking of my sister, her good friend just started a book blog called Book Loving Mommy. Jessica was kind enough to give me the One Lovely Blog award. Thanks! Click on over to her blog and show her some love as well.

- It's been a few weeks since I participated in the Book Blogger Hop. Shame on me! Join in the fun over at Crazy for Books. The question of the week has to do with rating books. As you can see, I "grade" the books I read according the American grading system. It's sometimes hard to determine if a book deserves an A, B, C, D or F, but I try to be fair. I think it works pretty well. What do you think?

If you're here for the first time because of the Hop (or for any other reason), welcome! I'm always excited to hear from new readers and to discover new book blogs. Have a wonderful weekend, everybody.

So, I should be writing a review of Whistling in the Dark, but I've got so many other things swirling around in my head that I had to get them out. Here goes:

- Like you, I've been seeing tons of posts about CSN Stores. The company, which sells a huge variety of products - lighting, bookshelves, home decor, furniture, etc. has been tremendously generous to bloggers. I was slightly bummed that I hadn't been contacted by them ... and then, voila! I got an email offering me the chance to review one of their products. How ecstatic am I? Very ecstatic! CSN has such a variety - how am I ever going to choose a product? When I do, you'll be the first ones to know. Stay tuned for my review. In the meantime, click on over and check out all the goodies at CSN.

2. Although I have been bungee jumping, thank you very much. My older brother owned a bungee jumping company when I was in high school, so my younger brother and I both jumped out of his hot air balloon. It was a rush.

3. I'm not very daring in the food department either, although a year spent in The Philippines as an exchange student did broaden my culinary horizons quite considerably. I've eaten delicacies like dog, pig's brain, monkey, goat and nimbalut (you don't want to know, trust me). Okay, the curious can read all about it here. It should be noted that these dishes are not eaten often by the average Filipino. They were prepared for me because I am a gullible American.

4. I cannot sneak up on people. I have weak ankles that pop constantly. This put me at a distinct disadvantage when dealing with three brothers.

5. The same brother who convinced me to jump out of a hot air balloon used to roll me up in blankets, cinch a belt around my waist and tickle my toes 'til I cried. I'm still traumatized.

6. Back to food - my husband thinks I'm weird because I like soft ice cream. Not machine-soft ice cream, but hard ice cream softened. I've been known to pop a carton in the microwave if it's too hard.

7. Phew! That was hard. I think I am officially the most boring person in the blogosphere!

- Hm, was that it? I swear there was something else I was going to tell you. Oh well. Happy Reading!