My publisher is giving away 20 copies of Hannah West: Sleuth in Training in a goodreads giveaway! Enter by 2/10/16.
Featured dogs: Ruff, a cairn terrier who lives in a downtown Seattle high rise; Mango, a labradoodle who lives in a houseboat on Seattle’s Portage Bay.
When I was about ten, I almost grasped an important grammar lesson from my father: If there are two siblings, one is older and the other is younger, not oldest and youngest. It was a conversation about comparatives and superlatives, but what stuck with me is that you need three to add the all-important -est to an order. This blew my mind, as I had firmly planted in my mind that I was the youngest. Turns out I was merely the younger. My dad tried to explain it to me in terms of “good, better, best …” and this is about where I stopped listening and just imagined Continue reading
Hooray for leap year 2016! February 29 means we have an extra d
ay for reading this month, which you’re all going to need when you look at this lineup of selected new releases. Here are two dozen titles in this round up from the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors blog:
List Fatigue can set in as early as November 30 with all the “best” books, movies, music lists that start rolling in. At first I compulsively check out all the book lists, and then I check out after about List 11 — because many of the lists repeat the same books.
Commonality is fantastic, and gives us a memorable snapshot of the year. The Best Books lists are also great guides for shopping for books for Christmas gifts. But the real Top 10 lists I love? The ones from librarians. Instead of doing a “best of …” type list, many of us tweeted our favorites of the year. (Big distinction between “favorite” and “best.”) Using the hashtag #libfaves15, librarians counted down their top 10. No restrictions (other than asking that people choose books published in 2015). The result? Some of the top books you’ve seen on other lists, but also a lot of shout outs for science fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical romance and contemporary romance. Books that we love — and that we can’t wait to share with readers. Continue reading
I was so excited when my boxes (four boxes!) of pretty new Hannah West books came that I immediately set up a Goodreads giveaway for Hannah West: Sleuth in Training (link goes directly to the give away). Then the good people at Two Lions publishing stepped in to offer 20 (twenty!) hardcover copies of Hannah West: Sleuth on the Trail. You should enter!
All four Hannah West mysteries are being reissued on January 12, 2016! They’re bundled (two to a book) with new titles and artwork. Published by Two Lions / Nancy Pearl Book Crush Rediscoveries.
(this post was originally published on The Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors blog on 11/20/2015)
“Dogs I like” is one one of my book shelves on Goodreads, and I feel a tremendous delight each time I get to add a new book to the shelf. These books are not necessarily about dogs (although some certainly are); rather, these are the books where the author Continue reading
What if I told you that being a librarian had ruined me as a reader? Well, it would be a lie. Mostly.
About four times a year, I suffer a bit of a reading crisis. You could call it a reading slump if you’d like, but given that my day job involves connecting people with books, I consider it a full-blown bookish crisis. I feel an obligation to be up on what’s new; plus, shiny new books! If I’m preparing for a community book talk program, I’ll spend weeks and weeks of late-night reading specifically for what that audience might like. It starts to feel like an assignment.
Luckily, this happens only occasionally. Seasonally, in fact. And, luckily, I’ve found a few ways to climb out of the plotless, character-void abyss of a reading slump that comes after required reading. Here are five ways I’ve found to connect with books again, along with my personal book prescriptions.
Choose a different format. I’m not just talking e-book versus print here. I most often read new releases (hardcover, checked out from the library) or soon-to-be-released (which means digital advance copies on an ereader). My favorite format, however, is trade paperback. The size is great for bus commuting and couch reclining, the weight feels good in my hands, and I plain and simple just like this type of book best.
Shop differently. I work in a building with close to a million books (Yes, I know! Bliss.) Yet I do most of my browsing online from reviews and Twitter. I’ve lost the “serendipity in the stacks” that lead to some of the best discoveries. Sometimes I just need to get out of my regular book selection space — computer screen and my workplace — and visit a book store or another library.
Read short stories or essays by a favorite author. I was going to say “pick up a collection of short stories.” But what I’ve found is that to come out of this particular slump, I need assurance that an author’s style and voice will keep me going. I stick with authors I know I enjoy, but look for their shorter work.
Base your next book on its appeal characteristic. Do you read for character, story, setting, or pure love of the language of writing? Sure, it’s possible you read for all four, or for different ones depending on your mood. But what’s the common appeal among your favorite books? For me, it’s character.
Ask a professional. Talking to a librarian or a bookseller is the truest form of reading therapy. A good one will get you talking about what you like in books, and give you a book match based on clues you’ve given when talking about books you love AND the mood you’re in at the moment. Ask a friend for a book recommendation and you’ll often get one of her personal favorites; ask a librarian or a bookseller and you’ll get a suggestion tailored just for you.
My quarterly slump is behind me now, and I’m off for a great reading season. Here’s hoping you are, too.
Each month the collaborative blog the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors lists new releases. Following this feature saves me a lot of time as I look for the new, the brightest, the yet-to-be-discovered books written specifically for middle grade readers. It’s not an all-inclusive list, which would be exhaustive. And its manageability makes it a terrific resource.
Here’s an excerpt from and link to the post:
Did you happen to see recent headlines about how independent book stores aren’t just surviving, they’re actually thriving? The Week magazine summarizes findings and offers its own spin on why book stores are vital, including the fact that they “curate and recommend in a human way.” That point is crucial for middle grade readers who depend (often unknowingly) on parents, librarians, teachers, and booksellers to help them find the right book at the right time. We here at the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors take the privilege of being able to curate and recommend quite seriously — and joyfully. And with that, we happily present you with fifteen choice middle grade books heading to book store and library shelves this month (continue reading October new releases on the Mixed-Up Files blog here).
Linda Johns 