crickets on the book front.

I know, it has been a good while since I posted a book review! That was supposed to be my new direction here, right? So, where are all the book reviews?

Well, life has been a little hectic, and I've been a little bit all over the place with my reading. here's a quick update to prove I'm still reading--


///I just finished reading the Origami Yoda series by Tom Angleberger for my library book club for kids! The whole series was hilarious, light, silly, nerdy, and I would totally recommend it to adults as well as kids--especially nerdy, Star Wars-loving adults. It was written for kids, but it was written by one of US, and that makes it a super fun read.

Oh, also? I posted about my most recent installment of my Origami Yoda book club on Instagram, and guess what? The author, Tom Angleberger, commented on my post!! Squeeeee!!!

How cool is that?!?


///I'm currently reading: Armada by Ernest Cline. I *loved* his book Ready, Player One, and I'm looking forward to making some progress with this one (I just started it) and getting into the story. I'll post a review as soon as I can manage to finish it!

///I must admit that a portion of my time lately has also been spent watching a tv show: the SyFy adaptation of one of my favorite book series ever, The Magicians (by Lev Grossman). It's all kinds of good and all kinds of not at the same time. Adaptations are always a mixed bag for something you love this hard. I plan to post some more detailed thoughts on this one soon.

On that note, there's also the new season of Game of Thrones to monopolize more of my time. But, sorry-not-sorry, I'm diving head-first into this season. I can't wait to see where this story goes now that the book readers and tv-only folks are on the same page, so to speak.


Well, I guess that's it for now. I'm off to hopefully squeeze in more reading time!

avy's faves: board books | april 2016.

Time for another installment of Avy's Faves! This girl is loving books more than ever. However, in true toddler fashion, she likes to read many of the same greatest hits repeatedly. So, it's a quality-over-quantity post this month.

Here are Avery's current favorite board books:

The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

We love all things Sandra Boynton in our house. (Well, most things. There are a couple of her books that don't quite click with us, but most of her stuff is pure gold.) This one is Avery's favorite. We've been reading it to her before bed most nights (Baby Beluga got a little old). The story is sing-song-y with a nice, soothing bedtime cadence, and the animals are cute and silly.



Where is Baby's Belly Button? (and others) by Karen Katz

Avery loves anything by Karen Katz, too. She seems to especially connect with the babies in the illustrations, because she has to wave at every one, every time. And she loves lifting the flaps in this one to see baby's hidden belly button / hands / feet / mouth / etc.



Hello, Animals! by Smriti Prasadam & Emily Bolam

This one's another waver. Avy loves the simple black-and-white animal illustrations, which she waves at every time, and the short and sweet text. It's a good, brief book for bedtime, too.


So, that's the second edition of Avy's Faves on the books. I'll post another batch when she gets hooked on some other good reads!

books: my favorites to re-read.

I have a confession to make. I may be The Library Faerie, I may love books with a passion, I may work in a library where I have aspirations for my own books to be on the shelves one day, but...

I am not the voracious reader I could be.

Sometimes it's because I let life get in the way of carving out much time to read. Which is a huge sin for someone who claims to be a bookworm, I know!

Sometimes it's because I have the tendency to read many books very slowly and languorously, savoring and digesting the story to make sure I don't miss a single detail. Not very efficient, I know.

And sometimes it's because I...gasp...am a NOTORIOUS re-reader. I re-read the crap out of my favorite books. And frequently, when I'm paralyzed by the inability to choose my next read, it's often due in part to the fact that I keep circling back in my mind to books I'm wanting to re-read.

I just can't help it. When I was younger, I used to devote a lot more time to plowing through new books, but I also was just as guilty of frequent rereading back then as I am now. There's just something so comforting about returning to an old friend of a well-loved book from my reading history. I'm very attuned to the mood and atmosphere of books, and so there are many times when I recall and seek out returning to a particular mood by rereading a certain book that provided it. Plus, I just love reliving a great story that made a big impact on me the first time through.


So, without further ado, I'm sharing with you today my favorite books to re-read.
((To make this list, I have to have re-read these books at least once or twice.))

The Harry Potter series.

I mean, need I say more? The Harry Potter books are the ULTIMATE re-read if you are a fan. I love them more every time I read them. I can't wait to read them to Avery for the first time.


The Hobbit.

I loved the LoTR movies, and loved the books, too, but I probably won't go back and reread them. On the other hand, I thought the Hobbit movies were a big bummer, but I think The Hobbit wins as my number one most re-read book. I am not sure how many times I've read it, but...it's been several. If you've never gotten around to giving it a try, and if the movies have made you even more wary, take my advice and READ IT.


Pride & Prejudice.

The first time I read P&P, I re-read it again within the same year. And I've re-read it again since then, too. It's just that good. I had some pretty big reservations before reading this one the first time, too--I didn't expect to love it like I do. There is a good reason why it's such a classic.


A Wrinkle in Time.

I read this book for the first time when I was in the 4th grade, and I fell in love with it. I've revisited Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin, and the mysterious Mrs. Ws several times since. I've also read all its follow-ups...but this first adventure will always be my favorite.


The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. (Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, Talking to Dragons)

By chance, I grabbed the first book from this series in a free book giveaway at my school in the 7th grade. I devoured it quickly, and found the following three books in the series at my local library. I've since bought books 2-4, and love to revisit them. This series has it all--humor, magic, fairy tale elements, feminism, adventure, drama, tragedy, and lots of cherries jubilee.


Anne of Green Gables.

I've read several of the Anne books (not the whole series), but honestly I love the first book so much I'd just rather re-read it then read the rest of the books! I can really relate as a fellow red-haired, book-loving kindred spirit.


Ender's Game.

Either you love this book, or you can't even finish it--I'm in the first camp. I am not typically a huge sci-fi book fan--I love sci-fi t.v. shows and movies, but don't often enjoy sci-fi books--but this is far and away my favorite book in the genre. I love that it's so focused on the characters, particularly Ender, and their struggles, rather than being a dry space military story with not enough human element. This one's far from that.


The Snapper by Roddy Doyle.

Best dialogue I've ever read. This short book takes me no time to read, it's hilarious and heart-wrenching all at the same time, and I just can't help but return to it. I also can't help but imagine the dad as Colm Meaney, who played him in the movie version. Which makes it even more awesome.


Anna and Her Daughters by D.E. Stevenson.

My great-aunt June gave me her copy of this book before she passed away, years and years ago when I was a little girl. This 1950s coming-of-age story was a bit ahead of me at that time, but after a few years I picked it up and read it...and have re-read it several times since. I don't remember much about my Aunt June, but I'll always be grateful she passed this priceless book along to me! You just can't not see yourself in Jane, the protagonist of the story and backbone of the family.



So...what are YOUR favorite books to re-read? Or are you staunchly against re-reading?

book review: the illustrated compendium of amazing animal facts by maja säfström.

Oh, my goodness. I love. This. Book. The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts by Maja Säfström combines three things I love: animals, seemingly random facts, and whimsical, quirky illustrations. I knew as soon as I spotted this baby, it had to be mine.

This book is simple and sweet. It is what it says it is--a collection of animal illustrations and facts. Some are odd. Some are surprising. They're all great. I've included a few snaps of some of my favorites below, but you'll have to check the book out yourself to get the full effect!

Aww. How cute is ^ that?!

Whoa. Never would have guessed it.

Heh! The mob! I love it.

Yer a wizard, armadillo!

The illustrations in this book are exactly what I had hoped they'd be--beautiful, cute, and quirky all at the same time. And the text is never boring--the amazing animal facts suck you in, and the funny animal commentary and little jokes are icing on the cake! This book is geared toward people of any age, but I can totally foresee curling up with my daughter and this baby (when she's old enough not to rip paper pages) and spending lots of time poring over the pictures and fascinating tidbits.

I highly recommend checking out Maja's Instagram, which I'm sharing below along with some other handy dandy links:

• @MajasBok Instagram
• More Info
• Author Bio

**Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own!

book review: spritz by talia baiocchi and leslie pariseau.

Is it weird that I enjoy reading / leafing through / collecting cocktail recipe books? Maybe it is a little, since I don't drink very much at all. But I've always been interested in looking through cocktail recipe books. I guess it makes me feel fancy? I have a few very vintage "Old Mr. Boston" cocktail recipe books I found by chance at a used bookstore one time, and I think that may be what got me hooked on them.

So, naturally, I was drawn to Spritz: Italy's Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes
by Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau. The physical book itself satisfies my old-cocktail-book-collecting little heart. It very much has the look and feel of a vintage drink recipe book. And what's inside is even better!

Spritz begins with a fun delve into the history of the spritz, basically a mixed drink consisting of some variation involving wine with sparkling / soda water and other ingredients. It's meant to be a low-alcohol beverage to be consumed at the beginning of the evening (if you're all fancy and care about which beverage you drink when). I really enjoyed the history lesson, which was breezy, informative, and enlightening--kind of like an Alton Brown treatment on the subject. And something about the idea of the spritz definitely calls out to me--could be the low-alcohol portion, or perhaps it's the self-indulgent idea of making a wine beverage fancier. Oh la la, am I right?

Then came the section of collected drink recipes, which covered more traditional spritzes to funkier twists. I decided to try my hand at a sort of combination of a couple of the recipes, based on what I had on hand at home: dry red wine, mandarin flavored soda water, pineapple juice, and lime juice. It was similar to the "Sangrita" recipe on page 120, and it was definitely tasty.

The last section of the book shares some related recipes for nibbles to go along with your fancy spritzes at your aperitivo table. Many sound quite yummy--I will have to try the ricotta, prosciutto, and fresh seasonal fruit crostini for a future movie night with my bestie. The fare in this book is right up her alley.

So, Spritz is definitely a winner for me! Want to know more? Check it out:

More Info

Author Bio

**Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own!

avy's faves: board books | march 2016.

I knew my soon-to-be-one-year-old daughter was pretty advanced, but I didn't expect her to be writing her first blog post before her first birthday. Well, technically, I guess I wrote the post on her behalf. But we won't quibble over technicalities. She certainly chose the content with her careful and discerning taste in books. Avy can be pretty picky and critical when it comes to the quality of her reading material.

Without further ado, please enjoy her selections:

The Jungle Book: An Animals Primer (BabyLit series) by Jennifer Adams & Alison Oliver

This is Avery's all-time favorite book. I'm not sure why this one specifically enchants her so much, but it does. She loves it and gets excited every time I read it to her. We usually gloss over the quotes on each page from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book in favor of a simpler reading: I read the name of each animal, say what type of animal it is, and make that animal's sound to the best of my ability--what the heck do porcupines sound like? Jackals? Peacocks? Anyway. She always looks at me expectantly, waiting for each animal's sound. It's adorbs.

Baby Beluga by Raffi & Ashley Wolff

Mike and I read-sing Baby Beluga to Avery every night at bedtime as part of her nightly routine. It's part of her bedtime wind-down. So, this beautifully-illustrated board book is a definite fixture in her little life! Sometimes she really enjoys it, and sometimes I think perhaps she gets a little annoyed by it if she's wanting to resist bedtime, which it's a pretty clear signal of. But mostly she loves it.

Tickle by Leslie Patricelli

Avery loves the Leslie Patricelli board books I've checked out from my library. Tickle is an especially cute one, and Toot is another one she really likes! The pictures are just simple enough while vibrant and eye-catching. The text is brief enough but maintains a great sense of humor baby and grown-ups can appreciate. And the baby starring in these books is totally gender-neutral, too, which is cool.

Dr. Seuss's ABC by Dr. Seuss

Who can resist a silly, sing-song Dr. Seuss book? This one is a classic, and it seems to hold Avery's attention well with the rhythmic, rhyming text. I mean, what's better than a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz, or Itchy-Itchy-Ichabod?

First 100 Animals by Helen Parker

This book is just one example of the host of similar books Avy loves--board books featuring bright, clear photos of real-life animals, people, and objects. She especially loves looking at farm animals and babies/toddlers. She also loves staring at family photos in our house and my mom's house; I really need to make her a photo album / book with photos of all her family members to look at. I really think she'd love that.


Well, that's it for this first edition of book reviews on Avery's behalf. I have to say, the girl has good taste! I'll share again soon when I have another good batch of Avy's faves. :)

book review: pop painting by camilla d'errico.

Art inspiration! Art techniques! A beautiful cover! I couldn't resist taking a look at Pop Painting by Camilla d'Errico. Lately I have been actively seeking out insight and instruction from other artists online and in book form, so this was a natural choice. Camilla's art style is different from my own, and well beyond my abilities, but the tips on techniques, art supplies and materials, and setting up your studio are still totally pertinent and helpful to me as a fledgling wannabe-illustrator.

First off, I love the images of Camilla's art throughout the book. Her work is uniquely beautiful, surreal, and dreamlike. The paintings shown through the book are quite stunning to look at.

Aside from showcasing Camilla's work, her book also delves into tips and tricks, painting and art techniques, tools and materials, art studio setup, and getting into art professionally. It's a well-rounded look into all these aspects of being an artist, and it's fairly extensive. I love getting an artist's perspective on her craft and her business. This book is right on topic for me and right up my alley!


Want to know more about Camilla and her lovely art? Visit these handy dandy links:

• More Info
• Author Bio

If you're not an artist or not looking for art techniques or tips, but you find Camilla's artwork to be beautiful and intriguing, I'd recommend taking a look at this baby just to see all the beautiful paintings!

**Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own!

book review: the rooftop growing guide by annie novak.

I may have mentioned this before, but I am SOOOO ready for spring. Winter and I are just not that close, you know? I enjoy winter's company for a few weeks, generally the weeks surrounding the holidays, but then? Welcome. Worn. Out. Bring on spring.

And as I recently shared, dreaming of spring means dreaming of the fun outdoorsy things I'm going to do this year with my hubby and my nearly-toddler. I'd love to improve on our outdoor space at home. That's why I decided to check out Annie Novak's new book, The Rooftop Growing Guide.

No, I don't live in an urban area. I live in the suburbs, have a decently-large yard, and don't have a rooftop that is usable for gardening. But according to the other book reviews I glanced over, this book is highly recommended for anyone who is looking to do some small-space gardening. Since I'm historically not a great gardener, and I don't have a lot of time to devote to a large backyard garden, I figured I could glean some good info to use toward strategic container gardening at home.

The photographs in this book are so pretty and full of green, growing things...I could just flip through and gaze over them all as I daydream about spring. But I guess I am also supposed to read the book, too, right? Well, luckily, I did. This book is dense with detailed information on growing things, including irrigation methods, pros and cons of different types of containers, hydroponic systems and DIY greenhouses, and so much more. There are chapters that get down and dirty on germinating seeds, planning your planting, harvesting, tools, and everything in between. Also throughout the book, the author shares snapshots of urban rooftop gardens in different cities. I loved reading about and seeing such a wide variety of rooftop gardens.

In all, I really liked this book! It is definitely a serious, technical gardening manual--no coffee table book--and would obviously be most useful to the urban rooftop gardener, but there is plenty of info for all kinds of gardeners! I plan to get out my post-its and mark many pages to refer to once spring is a little closer. Or, maybe now, so I can daydream about my future container garden!

If you'd like to know more about the author, check out these links:

• More Info
• Author Bio

**Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own!

book review: The 4 x 4 Diet by Erin Oprea.

Okay, so exercise and diet plan books are not exactly my usual fare. My focus tends to center around children's fiction, fantasy and sci-fi, and if I go for nonfiction, then it's generally on some sort of artsy-fartsy topic.

That said, I am in need of some help in the health department. With a ten month old baby and a 40-hours-per-week job, I am short on time. I have very little time to devote to my physical or mental health, let alone my creative endeavors. That's why I opted to read and try The 4 x 4 Diet by Erin Oprea. 

The idea of 4 areas of focus for my diet and 4 minutes per day of exercise caught my attention. Yes, I know, fad diets don't work, and you have to be willing (or able, in my case) to put time and effort into your health to see changes. But this book sounded more like a simplified common-sense strategy than an unrealistic fad diet. So I figured I'd give it a go.

I did have to think a little bit about how to proceed with this review. I can review the book, and my thoughts and impressions, without completing the 4 week plan, or I can try to follow the 4 week plan and give a legit evaluation. After a little bit of consideration, I decided to do both; I'm going to do a first cursory review of the book itself now, and share a brief follow-up post later to complete the review with my results.

When it comes to health, diet, and fitness, I tend to gravitate toward simple strategies that embrace overall wellness without being too stringent or unrealistic. This book definitely cuts the mustard in that respect.

The book starts with Erin building up by giving her background as a personal trainer and nutritionist, along with some of her personal background that has influenced her research and her ideas. Then she gives you 4 diet habits to work toward creating, but she doesn't insist that you stick to them 100% of the time. She has realistic expectations that readers and clients will allow themselves cheat meals, as she does herself, but that the new habits they create will make them want to eat well most of the time. It's all about eating healthy, clean foods, not about crazy restrictions that make you want to give up. The 4 diet habits are pretty straightforward: cut out starch in the evening, cut back on sodium, cut back on sugar, and cut back on alcohol. 

Erin does not say you have to completely give anything up. You just have to retool your diet to be smarter, cleaner, and healthier. Sounds reasonable! That said...I think I will have a hard time going fully gung-ho for a few reasons, namely: the time and cost of preparing everything from scratch that she suggests, and the tricky part of finding low or no-starch options for dinner time when we are used to eating potatoes or rice many nights per week. So, I may have to approach the diet portion of this by breaking it down into more attainable versions of what she recommends. We'll see. I will give it a shot, anyway!

Now, on to exercise. This is something that I desperately need in my life. I have so very little time and energy for exercise, but it's gotten to the point where my body is actually craving it. For someone whose natural state is to embrace the couch potato life, that is saying something. But let me whine again about how I have no time. So! I saw that Erin actually says that 4 minutes per day of exercise, in the form of simple, high-intensity tabatas, will make a difference, I thought, I'm in! THAT I can do.

Basically, tabatas are 4 minute sessions of HIIT, which break down to 20 seconds of intense exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times. Simple enough for an exercise novice like me to handle. Erin breaks down exercise suggestions with small black and white photos (I wish they were larger photos, but I'm sure I can find better examples of her workouts online). [more on this]

Finally, the last portion of the book is devoted to giving the reader a nice, simple, ready-made plan for easing into the 4 diet habits and daily 4 minute workouts. I am a fan of the idea of easing in to such a lifestyle change as giving up my potatoes and forcing myself to exercise. The plan looks easy enough to follow; I'll update the blog once I've given it a shot!

I'd definitely recommend this title. I enjoy reading through the background information on Erin's strategies. She has done her research, and the nerd in me rejoices in the solid evidence backing up her claims. I do think this title is more for me, a person who is pretty much starting from scratch and needing a lot of help, than someone who is already a health food and fitness enthusiast.

For more on Erin Oprea and her 4x4 Diet, visit these links:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• More Info
• Author Bio

I'm going to start giving this 4x4 plan a shot next week, so if you're interested, check back in a month for more on how it went!

**Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own!

book review: Doodletopia: Cartoons by Christopher Hart.

I'm always on the lookout for tools to help me practice my artwork, and anything that seems like it might help me squeeze some sketching into my very busy life is automatically intriguing. Pair that with the fact that I have specific areas I want to focus on improving--namely expressions and movement in my drawings of people--and you'll see why I was interested in checking out Doodletopia: Cartoons by Christopher Hart. While its focus is cartooning, which is sort of the stylistic cousin of the type of drawing and art I dabble in, I still figured I could customize my use of this sketch activity book to suit my needs.

So far, I've enjoyed doodling around in this book! The drawing activities are varied, the text is cheeky, and the style tends toward a retro feel that is one element I often try to incorporate in my own drawing style. The book offers a wide range of drawing exercises, including finishing half-drawn people, objects, and animals; working on expressions (the most useful part to me!); practicing various styles of hand-lettering; and more open-ended pages that challenge you to exercise your own style and skills.

All that said, there are a few limitations to this guy if you're hoping to use him for some serious sketching practice. While the author suggests putting your own spin and style on the exercises if you want to stretch yourself beyond just copying his cartoons, the activities can still be just a bit limiting and boxed in if you are wanting to exercise your own artistic style. On the converse, a drawing novice might find the book a little bit lacking in detailed instructions to help guide them to emulate the author's style in the drawing exercises. I think this book might be best suited for older kids or teens who enjoy a good drawing book, or adults who are seasoned doodlers and lovers of relaxing art activities like the ever-popular adult coloring book trend. Perhaps more serious artists might look for something a bit meatier and more challenging to aid in drawing practice. Still, I think I'll keep going through and taking what I can from it--there's some good stuff to be gleaned, especially the section on facial expressions.

Drawing the penguin as shown, then putting my own spin on it.

Practicing facial expressions.

Does this seem like your cup of tea? If so, check out these links for more:
--more on Doodletopia: Cartoons
--more on Christopher Hart

**Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own!