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National Library Lovers Month
Library Lovers Month is a month long celebration of libraries of all kinds. When people think of libraries they think of only books but libraries are more than that. Libraries offer a place to garner information online, in print or in person. If you're looking for the latest best-sellers, computers to use, family storytime and community programs (e.g., chess club, writing workshops, resume and career help, etc.), the library serves as a center for millions of people. Another important key to libraries are the librarians who not only help select books to read but among other things help conduct research and find the information patrons need, organize library materials so they are easy to find, develop and use databases of library materials, and prepare library budgets. There are many ways you can support your local library: Donate, Become a Donor, Volunteer and Advocate for more funding from your Mayor. Libraries are wonderful!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Do you visit your local library? How often do you go to the library? How many books do you get in one visit? Have you ever asked a librarian for recommendations on what books or authors to read? What do you love about the library?
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 Unlike me, you probably have time to watch grownup TV and/or Movies. Now-a-days all I watch is PBS kids shows. If for some reason the other adult is able to wrestle the remote away suddenly I'm watching sports. Needless to say I'm not winning. Some people have suggested that when she is down for the night I should watch something. Let me just say, by the time I'm laying in my bed after going into her room dozens of times because she wants water, she thinks she needs to pee (nope, she doesn't) or she needs to remind me I said I would check on her later, I've fallen asleep.
Here is a list of books/comics being turned into movies or TV series this year. You still have time to read the books before the movie comes out. Enjoy! FEBRUARY/MARCH
APRIL
MAY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
PENDING 2019 RELEASES
PENDING 2020 RELEASES
Thanks to The Bibliofile, Radio Times and Popsugar and This is Insider for their lists. ***************************************************** Have you read any of the books? Are you planning to watch the movie or TV series? Which one are you interested in? Any suggestions? Have you heard of any other books being turned into movies/TV not on the list? Any book you would like to see turned into a movie/TV show? Why? Established in 1959, The National Book Awards celebrates the best writing in America. Currently the Awards honors the best in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature published each year. The winners are chosen by a panel of judges who select ten titles in each category, which is then narrowed to five Finalists, and a Winner is announced at the Awards Ceremony. Every year the Awards is an anticipated event for writers, publishers, and readers. Congratulations to the winners!! FICTION WINNER: The Friend by Sigrid Nunez When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building. While others worry that grief has made her a victim of magical thinking, the woman refuses to be separated from the dog except for brief periods of time. Isolated from the rest of the world, increasingly obsessed with the dog’s care, determined to read its mind and fathom its heart, she comes dangerously close to unraveling. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them. FINALISTS: A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley Florida by Lauren Groff Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai NONFICTION WINNER: The Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Steward In The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, Jeffrey C. Stewart offers the definitive biography of the father of the Harlem Renaissance, based on the extant primary sources of his life and on interviews with those who knew him personally. He narrates the education of Locke, including his becoming the first African American Rhodes Scholar and earning a PhD in philosophy at Harvard University, and his long career as a professor at Howard University. Locke also received a cosmopolitan, aesthetic education through his travels in continental Europe, where he came to appreciate the beauty of art and experienced a freedom unknown to him in the United States. And yet he became most closely associated with the flowering of Black culture in Jazz Age America and his promotion of the literary and artistic work of African Americans as the quintessential creations of American modernism. In the process he looked to Africa to find the proud and beautiful roots of the race. Shifting the discussion of race from politics and economics to the arts, he helped establish the idea that Black urban communities could be crucibles of creativity. Stewart explores both Locke’s professional and private life, including his relationships with his mother, his friends, and his white patrons, as well as his lifelong search for love as a gay man. FINALISTS: The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation by Colin G. Calloway American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic by Victoria Johnson Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights by Adam Winkler POETRY WINNER: Indecency by Justin Phillip Reed Indecency is boldly and carefully executed and perfectly ragged. In these poems, Justin Phillip Reed experiments with language to explore inequity and injustice and to critique and lament the culture of white supremacy and the dominant social order. Political and personal, tender, daring, and insightful―the author unpacks his intimacies, weaponizing poetry to take on masculinity, sexuality, exploitation, and the prison industrial complex and unmask all the failures of the structures into which society sorts us. FINALISTS: Wobble by Rae Armantrout American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes Ghost Of by Diana Khoi Nguyen Eye Level by Jenny Xie TRANSLATED LITERATURE WINNER: The Emissary by Yoko Tawada Japan, after suffering from a massive irreparable disaster, cuts itself off from the world. Children are so weak they can barely stand or walk: the only people with any get-go are the elderly. Mumei lives with his grandfather Yoshiro, who worries about him constantly. They carry on a day-to-day routine in what could be viewed as a post-Fukushima time, with all the children born ancient—frail and gray-haired, yet incredibly compassionate and wise. Mumei may be enfeebled and feverish, but he is a beacon of hope, full of wit and free of self-pity and pessimism. Yoshiro concentrates on nourishing Mumei, a strangely wonderful boy who offers “the beauty of the time that is yet to come.” FINALISTS: Disoriental by Négar Djavadi; Translated by Tina Kover Trick by Domenico Starnone; Translated by Jhumpa Lahiri Flights by Olga Tokarczuk; Translated by Jennifer Croft Love by Hanne Ørstavik; Translated by Martin Aitken YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE WINNER: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. The Poet X is the debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo. Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. FINALISTS: The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M. T. Anderson; Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka April is full of holidays for the reader in you to enjoy.
National Poetry Month: Began in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets and it's celebrated by schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets. There are many ways that you can celebrate National Poetry Month such as signing up to receive a Poem-a-Day, buy a Poetry book, start a poetry book reading group, etc. You can check out their website to see 30 ways to celebrate national poetry month. International Children's Book Day (ICBD) - 4/2: International Children's Book Day (ICBD) has been celebrated since 1967 on Hans Christian Anderson's birthday. It is "celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books. Each year a different National Section of IBBY has the opportunity to be the international sponsor of ICBD. It decides upon a theme and invites a prominent author from the host country to write a message to the children of the world and a well-known illustrator to design a poster." This year IBBY Latvia is sponsoring International Children's Book Day 2018. National Library Week: This year marks National Library week's 60th year anniversary which started in 1958. Concerned that Americans were reading less the National Book Committee was created in 1954. "The committee's developed a plan for National Library Week based on the idea that once people were motivated to read, they would support and use libraries." The first National Library Week theme was "Wake Up and Read!" National DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) Day - 4/12: DEAR is designed to remind families to make reading a priority in their lives. The date of April 12th is in honor of Author Beverly Cleary and creator of the books Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins which is a favorite book of many readers. To celebrate National DEAR Day families are encouraged to take at least 30 minutes and enjoy books together. Happy reading!! How have decided to celebrate these holidays this month? Do you have any favorite poets or poems? Have you heard of any of these literary holidays before? Have any of them interested you to start looking for them yearly?  Image of Winnie the Pooh Reading by okclipart
Enjoy!
 Photo by freddie marriage on Unsplash December is Read a New Book Month.
Although 2017 is coming to a close and the holiday's are upon us there's still nothing better then curling up with a good book to take all the stress away from all the holiday shopping, cooking and cold weather. With December being Read a New Book Month I realized a new book doesn't have to be a book you just bought at the bookstore (although of course it can be) but it can be a "new" old book you're interested in reading, a "new" book by a new author or a "new" genre than what you're used to reading. Maybe I'm being a bit liberal with the definition but any reason to read works for me. Kick your feet up, grab a hot cup of hot chocolate and start reading!!! What new book(s) are you planning to read?    Before the end the year there are a few more literary holidays to celebrate.
Enjoy!!  Image by Unesco The month of September hosts quite a few literary holidays:
Please enjoy another wonderful month of reading! While trying to figure out what book to read next on this slow August month, I noticed a lot of celebrities are either starting their own book clubs or at least giving a consistent amount of book recommendations to make it worthwhile to make a list of what they're recommending and what they've read in the past. Here's a list that I've compiled as of September: 1) Andrew Luck Book Club  Image via Andrew Luck Book Club Not only is Andrew Luck a Quaterback for the Indiannapolis Colts he is also known as "'Colt's very on librarian' giving and suggesting books for his teammates." He picks two books monthly one for younger readers "Rookies" and for older readers "Veterans". To give you an idea of Luck's book choices here are the book picks of the last few months: September - Despite the Height by Ivory Latta and Charles R. Smith, Jr. for the "Rookies" and Catch A Star: Shining Through Adversity to Become a Champion by Tamika Catchings with Ken Petersen for the "Veterans", August - Wonder by R. J. Palacio for the "Rookies" and Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis for the "Veterans", July - Black Beauty by Anna Sewell for the "Rookies" and Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose for "Veterans", and June - Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein for "Rookies" and Dune by Frank Herbert for the "Veterans". Along with his website, Luck uses Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to announce his picks for the month. By entering #ALBookClub in social media Luck wants to build a community of readers. 2) Emma Roberts  Image of Erin Ellis handwritten logo for Belletrist Emma Roberts, along with friend Karah Preiss, started a website called Belletrist, in March 2017. Belletrist is an active online book club that you can join by subscribing to the newsletter. Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss realized the only way they could satisfy their book compulsion was to "create a space that fosters that connection for readers around the world." The new book pick for the month on Instagram is Stay With Me by Ayobami Adbayo and on the website they're currently reading - Sex and Rage by Eve Babits. Previous books have been: Touch by Courtney Maum, Marlena by Julie Buntin, South and West by Joan Didion and The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy. Belletrist will include interviews and photos to encourage discussions through social media. You can follow Belletrist through their website as well as Instagram, Tumbler and Facebook. 3) Emma Watson  Image via Goodreads Emma Watson is not only a talented actress but she is also a UN Ambassador who started a feminist book club in March 2016 called Our Shared Shelf through Goodreads. Watson wants to build a community by selecting a book a month then posting questions and/or quotes to get a discussion going during the last week of the month. You can join the book club by registering for an account on Goodreads and joining the group. For the summer the current read is The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf. A few examples of her previous book picks are The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler and The Color Purple by Alice Walker. You can also follow Our Shared Shelf on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 4) Florence Welch  Artwork by Heather Hale for Florence and The Machine Book Club Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence and The Machine, tweeted a picture of herself standing in front of a bookstore in Portland and because of that picture a Fan, Alessandro Michele, created the book club in her honor. Between Two Books was started in July 2012. Although it is a fan based website Welch gives reading recommendations every few months. The current read is Salt by Nayyirah Waheed, Bone by Yrsa Daley-Ward and Too Much and Not the Mood by Durga Chew-Bose. Previous reads have included Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer, The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride and Just Kids by Patti Smith. You can also follow Between Two Books on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 5) Kimberly Williams-Paisley  Image from KWP instagram feed On top of being an actress, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, wrote a memoir, Where the Light Gets In, regarding the impact her mother's dementia had on her whole family. Williams-Paisley is not only an author but an avid reader as well. She has recently started an official book club on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #KWPbookclub where she adds her book suggestions. She even started doing giveaways! Sounds like a winning book club to me. Her recent book pick is Theft by Finding Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris. The last book she "read" was audiobook Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman. Previous reading suggestions have been Stuart Little by E.B. White, The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti, A Paris All Your Own by Eleanor Brown and The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth. You can check out Williams-Paisley's website, Facebook and Instagram. 6) Lena Dunham  Image via Lenny Letter website Lenny Letter is an online feminist weekly newsletter created by Lena Dunham and Jennifer Konner. Lenny serves to give young woman a platform to discuss feminist issues. "Random House has joined forces with Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner to launch a new publishing imprint in 2017. Lenny will be a home for exciting, emerging voices-in fiction and non-fiction that Lena and Jenni Konner are already attracting and publishing successfully in their newsletter and popular website." The first imprint book by Lenny will be Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang. In October 2017 the next imprint book is Courage Is Contagious: And Other Reasons to Be Grateful for Michelle Obama which is a collection of essays with a foreword by Lena Dunham. In Lenny book and/or essay recommendations are made on Thursday's which she calls Lit Thursday and short stories are put on the website, Facebook and Instagram sites. Lit Thursday book recommendations are: How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille Bordas, Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang, Made for Love by Alissa Nutting and Nuclear Family: A Tragicomic Novel in Letters by Susanna Fogel, Lit Thursday essays are: Caca Dolce by Chelsea Martin, Carmen Lynch's essay about how having scoliosis led to a career in stand-up and Susannah Meadow's essay of women forming bonds in a women's locker room. Some recent short stories are: "The Man in the Sky" by Ottessa Moshfegh, "Very Nice" by Marcy Dermansky and "The Expectation of Anywhere" by Alissa Nutting. 7) Oprah Winfrey  Image via Oprah.com One of the most well-known book clubs is Oprah Winfrey's Oprah's Book Club. Winfrey started her book club during the tenure of her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show. The book club started in 1996 and ended it's 15-year run when the show ended in May 2011. During the course of the show a total of 70 books were recommended and as a result of the book club many of the books became bestsellers. Since then Winfrey has remained an avid reader and decided to relaunch Oprah's Book Club as Oprah's Book Club 2.0 in June 2012. Although it's not as consistent as a book a month she still picks books for the book club. This is a run down of the books she has picked since starting Oprah's Book Club 2.0: 2012: June - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, December - The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis; 2014: January - The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd; 2015: February - Ruby by Cynthia Bond; 2016: August - The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, September - Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton; and 2017: June - Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. If you would like to participate in the book club you can join Oprah's Book Club group in Goodreads. Winfrey will also post about books and interviews in her Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 8) Reese Witherspoon  Image via #RWBookClub instagram Although many of us know Reese Witherspoon from her movies Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Walk the Line and Wild, however, there's little doubt the reason she started #RWBookClub on Instagram is because she loves to read. She often posts books she's reading and asks her followers to share their thoughts. She also posts pictures of books, with books and about books. Pretty much anything book related. It's a visually euphoric. In case you've been hiding under a rock she was instrumental in adapting Liane Moriarty's bestseller Big Little Lies into a seven-part miniseries with HBO earlier this year. Witherspoon played the part of Madeline Mackenzie one of the main characters from the book. The last few books on her feed are: The Crying Game by Ruth Ware, Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty, Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber and The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn. Check out the #RWBookClub. 9) Sarah Jessica Parker  Image via Twitter Penguin Random House Sarah Jessica Parker is well-known for her iconic character, Carrie Bradshaw, on Sex and the City. Currently she has become an honorary chair for the American Library Association’s new Book Central which started in June 2017. The first book recommended is: No One is Coming To Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts. Parker has also partnered with Molly Stern a publisher from Crown and Hogarth, a part of Random House, Inc., to create SJP for Hogarth in which she will acquire and curate “works of fiction that reflect her own taste as a reader.” The books recommended through SJP Hogarth are: The Redemption of Galen Pike: Short Stories by Carys Davies, Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, Sergio Y. by Alexandre Vidal Porto, White Fur by Jardine Libaire and Woman No. 17 by Eda Lepucki.
The following celebrities do not have book clubs you can join but they are always posting on their social media accounts reading suggestions so I wanted to include them as well such as: Mindy Kalig, Olivia Wilde and Jessica Biel. Are there any celebrities or athletes you follow who often give book/reading suggestions? Have you read any of the books suggested? What do you think of the books suggested by the celebrities? Will you read or have you read any of the suggested books? Do you look to celebrities for book suggestion? Why or why not? I will update when I come across any other celebrity book clubs and let me know of any you follow so I can include them on this list. Thanks!! The Society of Authors (SoA) is hosting a week long Yoga Book Challenge from August 7th through August 11th to raise awareness of the importance of authors looking after themselves and each other from health to finances.
According to the SoA, the organization will tweet a daily photograph inspired by a beloved book and invite followers to do the challenge by submitting a picture each day to win a signed book by Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Joanna Trollope, Lemn Sissay or Joanne Harris. The yoga challenge picture should:
In case you want to start thinking about what you're poses will be here's the schedule for the poses and signed books is: Monday (8/7) – the best pose inspired by Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows will win a signed book from Joanna Trollope; Tuesday (8/8) – the best pose inspired by JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit will win a signed book from Joanne Harris; Wednesday (8/9) – the best pose inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice will win a signed book from Philip Pullman; Thursday (8/10) – the best pose inspired by Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will win a signed copy of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (new edition illustrated by Chris Riddell); and Friday (8/11) – the best pose inspired by George Orwell’s Animal Farm will win a signed book from Lemn Sissay. When submitting your pose include the hashtag #SoADoesYoga no later than August 13th as a winner will be announced the week of August 14th. Make sure to read the terms and conditions in the SoA website before entering the challenge since they are not taking any responsibility for injuries. Good Luck!!! To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Bloomsbury publication and The British Library are opening an exhibition named the Harry Potter: A History of Magic in October 2017. Two books will be released to accompany the exhibition--Harry Potter: A History of Magic and Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic. Each book will explore different aspects of magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry. Although J.K. Rowling is not involved, the books and exhibition are displaying a collection of illustrations and manuscripts from Rowling and the Harry Potter illustrator, Jim Kay.
The British Library statement: "Harry Potter: A History of Magic (Hardback) is the official book of the exhibition. This book explores the amazing artefacts, manuscripts, original artwork and curators’ insights that make up the backbone of the exhibition. This is a beautifully produced, full-colour coffee-table book which will make the whole exhibition experience available to everyone." When the exhibition opens on October 20th, both books will be available by Bloomsbury publishing and digital versions (eBooks) in Pottermore. Even though J.K. Rowling is unlikely to write another Harry Potter book this is another way to celebrate the roots of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling announced she is working on two novels under her name and her psuedonym, Robert Galbraith. I would like to add these books to my ever growing Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling collection but I'm not sure if they plan to sell these books in the United States. Would you be interested in getting the books? Or are you disappointed J.K. Rowling isn't writing another Harry Potter book? Would you be interested in visiting the exhibit? If you happen to visit the exhibit let us know what you think. 
 Audiobooks During the month of June the literary holidays celebrated are:
- Audiobook Awareness Month - GLBT Book Month Celebrating the literary month of June, the Audio Publishers Association is doing an Audiobook Month Blog Tour and Giveaway Schedule. Additionally, the American Library Association has been recognizing the writings of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender writers. Here's a link of a list of books along with their reading guides provided by the ALA for all ages. Enjoy!!  Every month of the year hosts a variety of literary holidays. Here is what is celebrated in the month of May:
- National Get Caught Reading Month - 5/1: Mother Goose Day - 5/1 - 5/7: Children's Book Week - (2nd Week): Reading is Fun Week - 5/21: National Readathon Day Let me know if you decide to partake in any activities for May. Enjoy!! Happy New Year My Fellow Readers!!!
I've been trying to do this reading blog for the longest time and finally 2017 will be the year to do it. I figure you can't fail if you don't try. With that said I've been thinking about what this year will bring for me and what I want to do. Of course, reading is at the top of my list since I haven't been able to do as much reading like I used to. My 2.5 year old keeps me very busy...and entertained. However, now that she's a bit more independent I can get back to one of my favorite hobbies....Reading. Yay! I hope you join me on this journey so we can share the books we love (or hate), books made into movies, books that never should've been made into movies, books made into tv series, book new releases, authors....pretty much any information book related. What are your reading/hobby goals for 2017? Are there any books you're looking forward to reading? Are there any books that you've put off reading but will definitely read this year? See you soon!! |
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