The day before leaving on a big trip is not my favorite.  Not.  At.  All.  I spend the day running around like a crazy woman trying to get everything together and wondering why the heck I thought traveling (with 4 kids, no less) would be a swell idea.  I'm still woefully behind on posting reviews, but that's just going to have to wait—we're hitting the road bright and early tomorrow morning, so I only have so much time today for anything besides trip prep.  I did want to post Part 2 of my favorite bookish things before I disappeared from the blogosphere, though.  I've got my priorities, you see.

Here we go, with four more of My Favorite (Bookish) Things:

1.  I love this quote by Dr. Seuss, especially when painted by Nicole DeFord.  I adore her whimsical style, which you can see on proud display at her Etsy shop, Jelly Bird Signs.  Nicole's fabulous to work with—she's fun, creative and does a beautiful job with all her pieces.  This gem was $30 (plus shipping):


I couldn't get a good picture of my sign (I had her customize mine by changing all the green words in the above sign to red) with my camera phone, so here's the one Nicole uses.  Isn't it the cutest sign?  Wouldn't it make a wonderful present for the book lover in your life (which might just happen to be you)?  Well, it's too late to order one in time for Christmas gift-giving, but who needs a reason to purchase something as lovely as this?

2.  Wouldn't it be nice to have your own, personal proofreader to edit everything you write before you print it off or send it out?  The Grammar Nazis in your life would surely appreciate the effort.  As would your audience, be it a professor, your boss at work, or the fortunate soul who plucks your manuscript out of the slush pile.

Proofreaders, sadly, are quite expensive to hire, especially to comb through everything you write.  So, some very clever folks out in California created Grammarly, an affordable, easy-to-use online proofreader that goes far beyond your word processing program's Grammar Check.  For a monthly fee, you can use it to scan all the documents you write—term papers, office memos, manuscript queries, newsletters, etc.  You simply import or cut and paste the text you want edited, hit enter and let the program do its job.  Within minutes, it will begin highlighting problem areas.  Not only does it show you potential errors, but it also explains the grammar/punctuation/style rules you may be violating.  If you're worried that you might be unintentionally poaching someone else's words, you can use Grammarly's Plagiarism feature to make sure you're giving credit where credit is due.  Another big plus to the program is that it points out stylistic no-no's, like redundant word choice and overuse of passive voice.  It also keeps track of your most common editing mistakes so that you can avoid making them in the future.

Want to try it out for yourself?  Go to Grammarly.com, drag-and-drop some text into the box and, voilá, magic will happen.

Now, the big question is: how much does Grammarly cost?  You can get a 7-day trial for free.  After that, you choose a payment plan that works for your budget—the lowest one offers the program for $11.66/month.  Is it worth it?  If you do a lot of writing and don't have a ready, reliable editor to help you with the nitty, gritty details, then I'd say yes.  It really is a cool thing.

And, to appease the Grammarly gods, here's my attempt at a clever tag line:  I use Grammarly for proofreading because it makes me look smarter (and, believe me, I need all the help I can get)!

(P.S.  Although Grammarly is sponsoring this post by paying me a small fee, the opinions expressed are honest and my own.  I tried the program for myself and was impressed by its functionality.)

3.  Another of my favorite bookish things is my local indie bookstore, Changing Hands.  It's in Tempe, which is a bit of a drive for me, so I don't get there very often.  When I do, though, it's always a pleasant experience.  Not only does the store offer a great selection of new and used books, but it also hosts lots of fun events like book signings, writing workshops, and holiday events for the whole family.  The employees are knowledgeable, the store offers nice discount/frequent buyer incentives, and Changing Hands does a lot to give back to the community.  It's a wonderful business for many, many reasons.  

Because the Tempe store is so popular, Changing Hands plans to build another one in central Phoenix (not the East Valley—boo hoo!).  Store owners launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund the project and recently reached their goal of raising $80,000.  Fundraising continues through December 24th, so if you want to contribute to a worthy cause this Christmas, consider this one.  You can also get fun merchandise when you donate, including T-shirts, tote bags, greeting cards, etc.

Here's the video Changing Hands created to announce the project:

 

4.  Since we're spending Christmas in the Motherland (that would be the Columbia River Gorge in Washington/Oregon, where I grew up) this year, we decided to do our own little family Christmas celebration before we leave.  On Monday, we had a nice dinner, read the story of Jesus' birth, discussed the "gifts" we've given Him this year, and then opened the presents under our (dry and dying) Christmas tree.  I was thrilled to find this, a present from my always-thoughtful mother-in-law, waiting for me:


It's a beautiful cookbook full of yummy-looking recipes that I can't wait to try out.  Anyone have a favorite?

So, there you have it, some bookish things that I've been lovin' on lately.  How 'bout y'all?  Any fun, bookish things caught your eye lately?  Don't keep your discoveries to yourself—I'd love to hear all about them!

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:

With Thanksgiving only a couple of days away, it's natural that this week's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish) subject would be gratitude.  It goes without saying that I'm thankful for the usual things—a happy marriage, healthy kids, goodly parents, food on the table, etc.—but since this is a book blog, I decided to stick with the subject and tell you about the Top Ten (Bookish) Things For Which I'm Thankful:

1.  Books That Make Me Laugh:

2.  Books That Make Me Think:



3.  Books That Make Me Swoon:



4.  Books That Make Me Cry:


5.  Books That Make Me Appreciate My Not-All-That-Important-in-the-Grand-Scheme-of-Things Problems ('Cause, You Know, Things Could Always Be Worse ...):

6.  Books That Inspire Me:



7.  Books That Make Me More Empathetic:





9.  Books That Fuel My Imagination:

10.  Books That Make Me Fall In Love With Reading—Again:




As much as I adore books, I'm most thankful for you, my readers.  You make this "job" so much fun!  I love your comments, your support, your kind words, and your enthusiasm for reading.  I'm also thankful for the authors who work so hard to write books for impatient, demanding readers like us to adore.  I'm especially grateful for those writers who trust me to review their literary "babies"—and don't hate me when I point out a few flaws.  Without all of you, this blog wouldn't exist, let alone thrive.  Thank you so much for going along with me on this crazy, exciting adventure.  I hope you'll stick around for a long, long while.


* All images from Barnes & Noble

Jaycee Draper will be forever haunted knowing she received a text for help from her estranged best friend right before she died.  A text Jaycee never answered.  Now, plagued with guilt and remorse, she's doing the only thing she can to help her former BFF—she's looking for answers.  The police have declared 16-year-old Rachel Sanchez a victim of a random act of violence; Jaycee knows better.  Discovering a trail of clues Rachel left for her only confirms Jaycee's suspicions.  Rachel wanted to tell her something, something important, something about who killed her and why.
Part of the puzzle, Jaycee knows, has to do with a terrible encounter the two friends experienced in an old, abandoned house.  It's a night both tried to block from memory, a time to be forgotten, never discussed.  Jaycee hates reliving that nightmare, but she knows she must.  It doesn't help that someone's intent on stopping her little investigation.  And will do whatever it takes to end her inquiries, especially as she gets closer to discovering the identity of her friend's killer.  Can Jaycee solve the mystery before it's too late—not just for Rachel, but for herself as well?

Scandals aren't something that usually happen in the small town of Arbor Valley, Michigan.  So, when a popular high school math teacher gets arrested for criminal sexual conduct against a student, the news sends waves of shock throughout the community.  Especially since the victim, 17-year-old Morgan Monetti, insists T.J. Hill is no criminal, that their relationship was entirely consensual.  Hill agrees he's innocent, just not for the same reason.  He claims Morgan's a disturbed, obsessive young woman who's making up stories to get attention.  Who's telling the truth?  That's the million dollar question.

Morgan knows how she feels about Mr. Hill.  What happened between them wasn't just real, it was special.  And she'll defend him to her dying day.  She doesn't care if she loses every friend she has, alienates her parents, or gets bullied at school—she's standing by her man.  Morgan's always been told she's "mature for her age" and "an old soul," so why won't anyone take her seriously like the adult she knows herself to be?

No matter how defiant her daughter's been lately, Dinah Monetti refuses to believe Morgan's anything but the unfortunate target of an older man's manipulation.  She'll see T.J. Hill jailed if it's the last thing she does.  In the meantime, Dinah has to keep her cafe running somehow, worry about her twin sons, and deal with her husband, an assistant principal who's terrified of losing not just his reputation, but also his job at the school.

Rain Hill can't believe her loving husband's been accused of such heinous acts against a child.  He'd never do such a thing.  Would he?  Rain knows her staunch determination to have a baby despite multiple failed attempts has driven a wedge between her and T.J., but she still knows—and owns—his heart.  Doesn't she?

A heated courtroom battle will decide T.J. Hill's fate.  As the fight rages on, three women will launch their own quests for truth.  Questioning themselves and those they love will bring heart-wrenching revelations, life-changing decisions and mind-bending arguments about guilt vs. innocence, maturity vs. naivete, and childhood vs. adulthood.  Only one thing is guaranteed:  none will come out of the situation unscathed.

By now, you're probably thinking the premise of The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle sounds a little ... disturbing.  You'd be right.  The novel examines an uncomfortable subject, for sure.  And while it does it thoroughly, I'm not sure it does it satisfactorily.  I think my reluctance has to do with T.J. and Morgan, neither of whom really earned my sympathy.  Neither were particularly likable and yet, I definitely cared about what happened to them, if only because of Dinah and Rain, the characters with whom I did feel empathy.  The story's compelling, though, so much so that I had trouble putting it down.  It's also depressing and lacking in subtlety.  Perfect, the book is not; still, it's engrossing, thought-provoking and a decent read overall.  

(Readalikes:  The story format reminds me of a Jodi Picoult novel; the subject matter recalls Defending Jacob by William Landay; House Rules by Jodi Picoult; and Cartwheel by Jennifer DuBois)

Grade:  


      
If this were a movie, it would be rated: