All About MEme: Supah's Book Club, Part 1

 

with MommyBrain and SupahMommy

 

You can consider this my own personal couch jumping incident ...

First of all, can we talk about my awesome PhotoShop skillz?! I give full credit to Supah for being my inspiration.  But the skillz, those are all mine.  I am especially proud of this one because the idea was hatched at 2:30 am while nursing my sweet CJV.  And the logo was created at 3:00 am ... while sitting on the floor in my walk-in closet so I could hear CJV if she needed me but have enough light to see what the heck I was doing.  Sleep deprivation conjures up all kinds of delightfulness ... a whole lot of crap, too ... but this is delightful!

Anyhoo, on with the interview ...

What are you currently reading?

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

I am only 25 pages in.  The main character is an old (and very lonely) man.  I have a thing for old guys; they are just so endearing.  He feels invisible and does things to get noticed ... like posing nude for a drawing class.  Whoa, did that create some unwanted visuals!  But I like his gumption ... and that's a word I've never thought to use before now.  Ultimately, this is a book about a book (my friend Terri would love it!) ... a book written by the old man that somehow helps another lonely soul.

When do you find the time to read?

Right now, I am not really finding time to read. I can't keep my eyes open once I crawl into bed at night.  And spare minutes during the day are rare to say the least.  When I was pregnant - just a short time ago - and enduring twice weekly doctor's appointments, I read almost a book a week.  I don't make time to read, but if I find time, I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing.

Where do you do most of your reading?

Now, currently, because I am house-ridden with children ... in my bed with my eyes closed ;)

In the past, when I had a life ... on the beach ... oh, I've done some great reading on the beach.  In an airplane/port ... unless there's someone interesting to talk to.  And I love sitting outside to read.

How do you choose what you read?

I think you already know this about me.  I judge a book by it's cover.  (I kind of feel the same way about blogs, but that practice does not translate into how I choose my friends, though!)  The overall design of the cover has to be appealing to me.  It's not one certain thing that I look for ... the cover could be pretty or interesting or weird.  As long as it catches my eye, I'll give the book a try.

I don't stick to one author.  In fact, I prefer to read virgin first-time authors.  There's something about knowing this is a person's first attempt that intrigues me.  I've found that well-published authors can fall into a rut ... like they've been type-cast or their publisher has too much control or they aren't willing to break the mold of their first successes.

I also love book recommendations.  And the website paperbackswap.com has a cool feature that suggests books you may like based on your browsing history.

From where do you get most of your books?

My friend Tammy loans me a lot of books.  And we both share a love of used books stores and the occasional trip to Good Will.

But most recently, I've been using a website called paperbackswap.com.  I trade the books I've already read for a book that someone else has already read.  Pretty cool, huh?  All I do is pay the shipping (media rate) for the book I send, and in return the other person returns the favor.  You can even print postage right from the website.  If you haven't checked out this site, you really, really should.  What a great way to recycle a book!

What do you do with a book after you've finished reading it?

If the book makes me think of a specific friend, I pass it on.  I love knowing a friend is reading and enjoying a book that I gave her.  And right now I have about 10 books listed on paperbackswap.com, which will earn me credits to get more books!

QUICK UPDATE ... after reading comments from BJ_Mama and Amber, I did a little research ... it turns out that I can earn book credits for referrals to paperbackswap.com.  I seriously had no idea!  But if you do decide to join and use my email address - dverhoff (at) gmail (dot) com - as your referrer when you register, I'll use those credits to get Newbery Medal winning books to donate to a local children's charity - yes, paperbackswap has children's books, too

What are your book (reading) quirks?

I must finish a chapter before putting down a book.  It really bothers me to stop mid-chapter.  If it can't be avoided, I'll reread the whole chapter rather than picking up where I left off.  I prefer books with short chapters ;)

Most of my books are used, but I love the smell of a new book.  I just close my eyes, flip those pages, and breathe deeply ... it's one of my favorite smells.

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Now it's your turn to play along ... my favorite part of all this mayhem!

• Put together a post that remotely resembles an answer to the prompt.
• Be sure to copy/ paste/ post our super fabulous button thingy (at the top of this post) on your post somewhere! (That's how we'll grow and we THANK YOU 100X for helping!)
• Come back here and link up with Mr. Linky! (If you can't see it at the bottom of this post, hop over to Supah's place and link up there.)
• Visit the 3 blogs above your name if you have time and leave them a comment!! (This is the secret to growing a blog!) ... and if you're first, ... well then aren't you special! You'll just need to visit the 3 below your when name when they appear and leave a comment!

Shiver Me Letters, A Pirate ABC

Occasionally I've highlighted "A few of my favorite things" here in my little blog world, and I just realized that the past two were actually books, and well, I have quite a few more books I feel are blogworthy ... so perhaps I need a new category. Any suggestions? How about "Books I don't mind reading like a bazillion times ..."

While you ponder that, let me tell you about one of many new books Natalie has received in the past month. It's a book that Chad bought for her ... all by himself. He came home from work the other day carrying a bag with two children's books inside, and my first reaction was, "Did you find those somewhere?" Or "Who gave you those?" He had just for no reason at all bought two new books for our NHV ... not that she needs more books ... it was such a sweet, simple gesture!

Both books are fantastic, but I want to tell you about "Shiver Me Letters" by June Sobel. Who can resist a good pirate story? It is especially cute when Chad reads it in his pirate accent. And I am a complete sucker of a clever ABC book, so pretty much this book "had me at hello" if you know what I'm saying!

The story is about a captain and his crew searching for booty, in this case the letters of the alphabet other than R ... you see, the captain already has "R" 'cause that's what a pirate says, "aaaargh" ... get it? Here's an excerpt from the first pages: "R," roared the captain. "R's not enough. We need other letters to help make us tough." Each letter is found in some pirate-themed way, and the illustrations are humorous and colorful.

There isn't any deep message in this book - if that's what you're looking for, I am guessing that you don't do much of your reading to a one year old. And, hey, if I am going to read a book like a bazillion times, which mommies often do, I might as well read a book that is this much fun and so very clever!

Another of my Favorite Things: Baby Says Peekaboo

So I'm going to try to add a little structure to the chaos that is my blog ... and the first bit of "organization," if you will ... is to give you A Few of My Favorite Things at the beginning of each month. Hope you enjoy ... and hope I remember next month :)

Baby Says PeekaBoo

I would not be exaggerating in the least to say that NHV loves this book. And, well, for that reason, I love it, too! Her faces absolutely lights up at just the sight of it. Once the pages are turned and the flaps are lifted ... to reveal some very cute babies ... Natalie just grins and squeals, a combination I can't live a single day without! She started being able to lift the flaps herself more than a month ago, which just added to the excitement. The book asks, "Where's the baby? Is she behind the beach ball?" When you lift the flap you find the adorable baby featured on the cover of the book ... the hat tipped to the side and the lips puckered. Natalie's favorite is the baby boy hiding behind the washcloth. He as curly blond hair, a toothy grin, and a rubber ducky in his hand; a combination that my daughter simply can't resist. The photographed babies make this book so charming and fun. There are tons of other books in this series. We also own Bedtime Peekaboo, but the Baby version continues to be our favorite.

I will try to get a little video clip of Natalie "reading" this book ...

Happy July 1st :)