Favorite Things

Let me just say that this has been a week of discovery. In honor of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I have been visiting a lot of new blogs and I am so impressed with what is out there. There are just so many wonderful blogs and not enough time in the day for me to read them all. Trust me, I try!

However, I have some favorites that I visit regularly and here they are (in no particular order):

Fizzy Thoughts – Jill is a hoot. She has a wonderful sense of humor and she always makes me laugh. She provides her readers with honest, yet thoughtful reviews and she keeps it fresh by mixing it up a bit. There is never a dull moment!

Book Club Girl – Jennifer’s site is a wealth of information for book clubs everywhere. Her radio blog is a lot of fun and I enjoy participating in her discussions. She is probably sick of all my comments but I just keep coming back.

Books on the Brain – I just love the way Lisa’s site is structured. It’s so easy to read and she too writes reviews that are honest, yet respectful to the author. Her “In Praise of Book Groups” series was a lot of fun to be a part of.

Everyday I Write The Book Blog – I think Gayle’s site is one of the first book blogs I visited. I LOVE her online book club and participate as much as a I can. She too, is probably tired of hearing from me but as long as her site is up…I will be around to read it.

Age 30+ A Lifetime of Books – Heather was one of the first people to post comments on my blog. I was new at blogging and when you are new, you get so excited about those first comments! I love her site. I love the idea behind it and I love hearing stories about Kiddo.

She Is Too Fond Of Books – I am thoroughly enjoying Dawn’s site. Her “Spotlight on Bookstores” is a great series. If you have not heard of it, then be sure to check her site out. I also enjoy her reviews quite a bit.

I could go on and on but I will force myself to stop here. Since starting my blog in Feb ’08, I have made so many new blogger friends and my TBR list is completely out of control but I am enjoying every minute of it.

Thanks to all that read my blog. If you have not checked out the blogs above, please do so and thanks to Amy over at My Friend Amy for organizing BBAW. What an undertaking! Bravo!

I don’t get to sit down for long chunks of time to read. No.. when I read, it is usually in short spurts because there is always a child that needs a bandaid or someone is desperately craving a fruit snack. Due to all of these distractions I have to use a bookmark. I refuse to fold the pages down. I learned long ago (in grade school to be exact), that folding a page could bring down the wrath of God.. almost as bad as creasing the spine of a book.

However, my bookmarks always go missing. I have been known to open up a book at book group, only to have a strip of toilet paper float out. Yes, I have used toilet paper before as a bookmark. I have also made my own bookmarks as I am into card making and no matter how pretty I make them, they go missing too.

A few months ago I found these bookmarks called LastLine. They clip onto the page and mark the last line read. I know you can use a paperclip, but paperclips distort the page whereas this bookmark does not. I love them! They come in packs of two and you can find them at Barnes & Noble. I’m happy to say, that I have not lost these yet and they are not attractive enough for my daughter to snatch from me.

I also love the Mark-My-Time bookmark. This bookmark records your child’s daily reading. My son has to read at least 30 minutes a day for school.. and then I ask him to read another 30 minutes so this timer comes in handy. You can find them at most bookstores or you can buy them in packs of 3 at Sams Club.

I’m for anything that will make my life a bit easier.

Chatting with friends about books and life…