It looks as if Spring has finally sprung!

After such a long and brutal winter, watching the spring flowers bloom is all the more sweet.





On Thursday, this little guy appeared to be mustering all of his strength to bloom.





Well he did it! Look at him standing so regal on Friday.






This is today. It won't be long now, before this garden is a sea of tulip loveliness.



Have a great weekend,
Angela

2014 Children's Choice Book Award Author of the Year Finalists

Launched in 2008 by the Children's Book Council and Every Child a Reader, The Children's and Teen Choice Book Awards program was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to cultivate a love of reading.

2014 Author of the Year Finalists

2014 Children's Choice Book Award Illustrator of the Year Finalists

Launched in 2008 by the Children's Book Council and Every Child a Reader, The Children's and Teen Choice Book Awards program was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to cultivate a love of reading.

Counting down to The Fault in Our Stars movie premiere

It's barely over a month until The Fault in Our Stars premieres on the big screen! The film, slated for release on June 6th, is based on the phenomenal young adult novel of the same name by John Green. Since its release in January of 2012 it has enjoyed a coveted spot on the New York Times best seller list for an astounding 119 consecutive weeks, 46 of them at #1.

The story is narrated by a sixteen-year-old cancer patient named Hazel (played by Shailene Woodley), who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she subsequently meets and falls in love with the seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters (played by Ansel Elgort), an ex-basketball player and amputee.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Have you seen the trailer? Oh. My. Gosh. Here it is in case you haven't.



The film's soundtrack is pretty great as well and will be released May 19th, but is available for pre-order now.

I found a Spotify playlist from the soundtrack that I've embedded below for your listening pleasure. It doesn't include all 16 tracks, but it's a fantastic start.


If you aren't logged into your Spotify account, you'll be prompted to do so. If you don't yet have an account, you'll be sent to a sign-up page in a new window. It's free.


Have a terrific week, and I'll talk to you soon.
Angela

Library classification de-mystified [infographic]

There are two types of library classifications, the Dewey Decimal and the Library of Congress. According to an article on the University of Mississippi website, Whether LC or Dewey is used in a library is based on the size of the collection. Dewey is divided into 10 classes, making it better suited for libraries with smaller collections, such as school or public libraries. LC has 21 classes, which allows for more call numbers needed for the greater number of books owned by larger academic libraries.

Free in May! Accounting for Taste: the triumph of French cuisine by Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson

The University of Chicago Press is offering the e-book, Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine by Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson, for free during the month of May.

He is Risen, Indeed!

Review and Giveaway: How to Knock a Bravebird from Her Perch by D. Bryant Simmons

Source: D.Bryant Simmons

In this first book in The Morrow Girls series, D. Bryant Simmons sparks a dialogue about domestic violence.

In How to Knock a Bravebird from Her Perch we're introduced to Belinda who's being raised by her single-parent father in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Most folks call her Pecan, on account her Daddy loved pecan pie almost as much as he loved her. Life is good.

All is well in with their world. That is, until a handsome stranger moseys into town and takes a shine to Pecan. Dad, of course, doesn't trust Ricky Morrow as far as he could throw him. And then...(bum, bum, buuuum). Dad dies suddenly of a heart attack.

Still reeling in grief Ricky convinces Pecan that they should be married and he'll take care of her. The new family of two picks up and moves to Chicago so Ricky can be the boxing champion he dreams of being. Once in Chicago, the babies start coming and the abuse begins.

So begins Pecan's journey into the depths of her hell.

Ms. Simmons has done a brilliant job of crafting a story that will stick with you for a long time. She takes her time in describing the characters so that they are so vivid in your mind, when you look up, you expect to see them standing there. The emotion...turmoil, pain, and rage can be felt deep, deep into your soul. Pecan fiercely attempts to protect her children emotionally and psychologically from the atrocities that they witness at the hands of their father. You can feel all of that.

And now for the giveaway. The publisher has graciously provided, for one lucky winner, your choice of a physical copy or ebook. I'll keep it simple to enter, just leave a comment with your email address, and a random winner will be chosen and notified Saturday, March 8th after 2:00 pm CST. Easy peasy. Open to US residents.

Although a work of fiction, this is autobiographical for too many. The shame of the victims. The constant living in fear. Survival mode.


Some staggering statistics and factoids from The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Safe Horizon

• Domestic Violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior perpetrated by an intimate partner against another. 

 

Source: NCADV

• An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year
• Children who witness violence between one's parents or caretakers is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next. Boys are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults, perpetuating the cycle of abuse to the next generation. Girls are more vulnerable to abuse as teens and adults.

• Most domestic violence are never reported - help change the facts. Speak up, speak out, and make a difference for victims of domestic violence.

• If you need help:
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
• The National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
• The National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline: 1-866-331-9474

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read

 

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's prompt from the lovelies over at The Broke and the Bookish asks us to bare our souls and be shamed and list ten popular authors we have not read. Please don't judge me.

Angelina Jolie, Louis Zamperini interview with Tom Brokaw

It seems like only yesterday Angelina Jolie was in talks to direct the film adaptation of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. The talks, which she tells Tom Brokaw in an interview for the Today Show, included her "pitching her butt off" with a homemade poster board presentation.

Hillenbrand's book chronicles the story of 1936 Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini's experience as a prisoner of war during WWII. While sitting next to the now 97-year-old, you can feel the love and reverence Jolie has for him.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"The resilience of the human spirit is an extraordinary thing." ~ Angelina Jolie  Share on Twitter

The film is scheduled to hit theaters on December 25th.

I'm still wondering how well Jolie will do in her direction of this adaptation? Do you think she'll stay true to the book? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Talk to you soon,
Angela

2014 Reading Challenges

These are the same challenges I participated in last year. They were so much fun, that I decided to do them again.

0/50 books

The goal of this challenge hosted by Book Journey is to try to read a book set in each of the 50 states of the US between January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014. Sounds fun, right?

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

0/13 books

For the Foodies Read Challenge I hope to finish at the Sous-Chef level which is 9-13 books read between January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014. A food book is a book which is centered around food and/or drinks. It can be a cookbook, a food biography or memoir, a nonfiction book focused around a specific food, wine, chef or restaurant. Also allowed is fiction in which food plays a major role.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.


Check out A Novel Challenge, it is the most comprehensive list of challenges available I've ever seen. And I need to send out a very heartfelt thank you to The Book Vixen for the very easy-to-follow tutorial on coding the reading challenge progress bars.

Do you have any personal reading challenges this year? I'd love to hear about them.

Happy reading,
Angela

Cozy Kindle Freebies for Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! If you're looking for a fun time-suck, do a Google image search for vintage Valentines. Some of them are pretty darn cute.

Big plans for tonight? Me either. Here are some Kindle freebie short stories to cozy up with this evening. I'm not sure how long they're free, so make sure it still says $0.00 when you check out.

Top Ten Tuesday: ten debut fiction titles to look forward to in 2014

 

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

2014 is already serving up a bevy of titles to satiate every literary appetite. I'm currently reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees, and am loving it. Alongside already established artists of the written word with new titles being released this year, we can also look forward to a number of breakout titles by debut authors. I, for one, could not be more excited!

Murder in Ancient China: Two Judge Dee Mysteries free during January

The University of Chicago Press is offering the e-book, Murder in Ancient China: Two Judge Dee Mysteries by Robert Van Gulik, for free during the month of January.

Robert Hans van Gulik was a highly educated orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin, a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family) and writer, best known for the Judge Dee mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th century Chinese detective novel Dee Goong An.

Best Books of the 21st Century [Infographic]

Erika Phyall, Community Outreach Manager for the USC Rossier School of Education, recently e-mailed me with this fabulous infographic. I'm so excited to share it with you.

USC Rossier has compiled this list of 100 top-rated books that have all been published in the 21st century. These are bestsellers that have been selected from Amazon as well as goodreads.com.

Hope this helps you find your next great read.

Jimmy Fallon's Do Not Read List: 2014

Jimmy Fallon's done it again. He's highlighted some more book titles to avoid with his usual hilarity. Remember this is late-night TV, so it may not be appropriate to play the video at the office, in front of the boss, while holding a small child. But I'll leave that call up to you.


"After sharing his 2014 resolution to read good books, Jimmy shares some books you should probably avoid, including "How to Catch Crabs."

I can't wait to see what Fallon has in store for us when he takes over The Tonight Show on February 17th. NBC has recently released the first promo of the transition on YouTube. The minute and six-second video titled The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - A Tradition Continues features Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, with clips from past alumni Conan O'Brien, Johnny Carson (the longest running Tonight Show host), Steve Allen, and Jack Paar.




Have a great weekend,

Angela

Merry Christmas!

Source

I hope everybody is having a safe and happy Christmas.

Angela

Granddaughter Requests Birthday Wishes For Her Grandpa, A Korean War Vet

As soon as I saw this sweet homage I had to take a screen shot with my phone to share it with you guys. I hope this very special Grandfather and Veteran receives an avalanche of "Happy Birthdays".

If you can't view the image, it says:

Jennifer Bumpus Galbraith posted earlier ~

My grandfather is a former Marine. He served in Korea although he never really talked about it much. I think the most he ever said was to my recruiter when he met him. At any rate this Friday [11.15.13] is his 90th birthday. Is there anyway, we could see if people would send him cards? I think it would be neat to have him flooded with people who care.
If we could, here is his information:


Russell Craig
678 Squaw Rock Rd.
Moosup, CT 06354

Source: AJ Arndt screenshot

Talk to you soon,
Angela

PS Yes, it really is 26º F. Winter is here  :*(  We got our first snow of the season today. Thank goodness I cleaned up the debris in the gardens yesterday...

With my heartfelt gratitude to our Veterans

Free eBook: Sexy Orchids Make Lousy Lovers and Other Unusual Relationships

Looking for some interesting conversation starters at your next holiday party? The November free e-book from University of Chicago Press, Sexy Orchids Make Lousy Lovers and Other Unusual Relationships by Marty Crump, might be just what you're looking for.