Happy Halloween Eve!

I can't believe tomorrow is Halloween!!  This past week has been so busy, but tomorrow the boys and I are all home and will celebrate in style (despite the 20 degree weather that's being predicted... eww).  We haven't cemented anything in stone, but tomorrow will more than likely include bribing Everett into wearing his pumpkin costume, taking him to visit family and possibly a couple doors for trick-or-treating, coming home to hand out candy to our neighborhood trick-or-treaters, Halloween books before bed, and finally my husband and I watching Hocus Pocus eating the leftover candy and/or popcorn (I am obsessed with the movie Hocus Pocus, and my husband loves me so he tolerates it each year :)).  

As for Everett's Halloween treats... since Ev's still so young, we don't really give him candy.  He'll probably get a couple bites of chocolate, but other than that, Eric and I have gotten him some candy alternatives.  He got the book Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson about a week or so ago (that way he can enjoy it for longer than a night) and he absolutely loves it!  I thought the story might be a bit long for his attention span, but he sits through it every time.  He also got adorable Halloween pjs (okay two pairs skeleton & mummy themed) and some shirts that he's been wearing all month.  Tomorrow we'll top off his Halloween with a trip to the bookstore for a new book of his choice and a pumpkin cookie from Panera (his favorite treat!).

For me, I told myself I was going to attempt to read a couple spooky things this October, but after The Bird Box, I moved onto other books I've had on my to-read list that are not going to keep me up all night.  This past week was a HUGE new release Tuesday in my book.  Two of my favorite authors had books come out... 

1. My Patrick Rothfuss countdown finally commenced with the release of The Slow Regard of Silent Things.  A novella all about the character Auri... my favorite character from his Kingkiller Chronicles Series.  Patrick has also been posting about his upcoming Worldbuilders fundraiser, so be sure to check out the posts about his new novella and this event on his blog.

2. Paula Treick DeBoard's The Fragile World has also finally come out!  I read Paula's debut novel The Mourning Hours when it released in June of 2013 and knew I would read every book she wrote thereafter.  She's an amazing writer, and The Fragile World is no exception! I won't spoil anything review-wise until I'm completely done with the book, but don't worry, more details on how much I was blown away by this book soon!

Last Friday, Wisconsin author, Valerie Biel, also released her first novel into the world, Circle of Nine: Beltany, which I am reading and enjoying.  Circle of Nine: Beltany is a YA novel which incorporates Celtic lore into a modern teenager's life. I absolutely love books that include this kind of history, so when I saw the premise of this title, I had to read it!  Valerie will also be part of a really exciting event taking place at Barnes & Noble Appleton on December 14th.  Details to come on this event as well... but trust me if you're a YA lover, jot that date down and keep your afternoon (starting around 1:00) open :)

What are some of the books you have all been reading lately?  Any fun Halloween traditions  your family has every year?  I love hearing from you :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone and Happy Reading!! :)

October Book Club Picks

For the month of October, our book club attempts to pick a somewhat scary title to read.  

Last year, my choice fell on October and (after a lot of debating) I chose for us to read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.  I figured the majority of us had already read or seen the movie version of Shirley's classic The Haunting of Hill House, so I opted for a less popular title.  I actually didn't find this book all that "scary," it was more odd than anything.  It's the story of two sisters who live in their family's house where the majority of the family died due to arsenic poisoning.  The sisters have lived alone since this event, and have their routines and daily rituals, when suddenly a long lost cousin appears.  Now the truth of what happened and who is truly good and evil must be revealed.

This year one of our book-clubbers chose the book The Bird Box by Josh Malerman as our October selection.  Now, this book seemed creepy.  It's the story of a world where something is outside that, if seen, causes individuals to become murderously violent.  At the beginning of the novel, the main character, Malorie, has just found out she is pregnant when this epidemic suddenly begins. After losing her family, she finds her way to a safe house where she ends up staying with strangers who she hopes she can trust...

This book kept me reading well into the night (and honestly night probably wasn't the time to be reading this...).  The book switches between the time when Malorie is pregnant and trying to survive, to four years later when she is caring for two children, "boy" and "girl," still trying to survive.  There are many moments in this book where I think I forgot to breathe, because I was so anxious to get through a chapter and find out if everyone/everything was going to be okay.  The tension and relationships between the characters you are introduced to is perfectly written.  Readers assume they know who is good and who is evil, but really in a world gone mad can anyone truly be trusted?

I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5.  I loved that it was creepy and addicting, and I could still (eventually) sleep after reading it.

What are some of your favorite scary or creepy books?  

Pam Jenoff's Historical Fiction

Happy Friday everyone!  Okay, so Friday is almost over, but I wanted to write a quick note since it's been a while since my last post.

First... a huge THANK YOU to everyone who entered the Lisa Van Allen giveaway :)  And, congratulations to the winners!  I was so excited to be able to share such an amazing author with you all, and hope that you pick up a copy of either (or both) The Wishing Thread or The Night Garden to read.

Unfortunately, I haven't had a ton of reading time lately. However, I did finish a spectacular historical fiction novel by Pam Jenoff entitled The Things We Cherished.  I am a huge fan of historical fiction, and one of my favorite eras to read about is World War II.  Lucky for me Pam Jenoff has an unbelievable background (including working for the Pentagon and working at the US Consulate in Krakow, Poland) which gives her an edge when it comes to writing about this time period.

The Things We Cherished contains different characters and story-lines spanning from 1903 to 2009.  Beginning with a struggling farmer and his wife looking for a way to travel to a better life in America all the way to the modern story of a man being tried as a war criminal almost sixty years after his crimes were committed.  Everything ties together through a one-of-a-kind clock the farmer makes to sell for money to purchase passage to America.  After the clock is commissioned and sold, it ends up holding secrets to be revealed throughout the novel.

Everything in this book is so well put together.  You can really tell that Pam understands the history behind each of these times as well as legal processes.  There is a little bit of something for everyone in this novel... mystery, family drama, love stories, and history.  I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a well-told World War II novel with a different angle.  Yes, the Holocaust is referenced and the horrifying events that surrounded it, but more than that, this is the story of real people dealing with raw emotions during a time when figuring out the "right" thing to do was not as clear as black and white.

Now the only problem is trying to decide which Pam Jenoff novel to read next!  I purchased her newest title, The Winter Guest, when it released a couple months ago, and I've put it on the top of my to-read pile :)  I highly recommend checking out one of Pam's books next time you're looking for something to read!

This upcoming weekend I have book club, so I will have a spooky story post coming up soon...  I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!  Happy Reading!

The Lovely Lisa Van Allen and The Night Garden

So I've been promising something exciting and the day has finally come when I can share!! :)  As I've posted about before, I am a huge fan of the genre "magical realism" which is a fiction genre that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into an otherwise realistic story.  
Last summer I was paging through an advance magazine at work and saw a cover that caught my eye (how can these covers not catch your eye??!).  The title was The Wishing Thread and I'd never heard of the author before…

I read the description and told my coworkers, "We have to order in this book and sell it!"  It was the perfect read to kick-off fall... a story of sisters who are left the "Stitchery," a yarn shop that offers more than just plain hats and scarves, by their aunt when she passes.  The Van Ripper sisters—Aubrey, Bitty, and Meggie—are said to knit people’s most ardent wishes into beautiful scarves and mittens, granting them health, success, or even a blossoming romance. But for the magic to work, sacrifices must be made—and no one knows that better than the Van Rippers.

The The Wishing Thread was Lisa's debut novel, and I loved it.  Lisa Van Allen's writing created a perfect story of family, love, and the choice of sacrifice... with a *hint* of magic.  I recommended it to lots of friends and family members as well as customers, and so many have told me how much they enjoyed it... it's the perfect read for a cool fall day, cup of coffee/tea/hot cocoa in hand :)

Skip forward to a couple months ago... a new Lisa Van Allen book on the horizon!!  The Night Garden... due out October 7th!  The Night Garden is a novel about the Pennywort farm and its beautiful enigmatic caretaker Olivia.  Olivia has spent her entire life immersed in the farm and its incomparable garden while harboring a secret.  But when her childhood friend, Sam Van Winkle, returns she just might finally have a reason to let someone into her world...

After the wonderful feedback I received from people about The Wishing Thread, I wanted to see what I could do to help promote Lisa's new book.  Lucky for me Lisa (and her publishing company) are incredible and offered to let me feature Lisa on this blog and feature a Q&A that was created just for this post!  (Yes I did a happy dance.  No I'm not embarrassed.)

I asked Lisa five questions about her books, writing and recommendations... here they are (even her answers are perfectly written!):

1. In your new novel, The Night Garden, one of the main characters, Sam Van Winkle, has a last name that connects him to Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle."  Why did you incorporate this legend in your book?

Part of my love for the Hudson Valley and the Catskills regions stems from the countless folk tales and ghost stories that abound in the rolling mountains. THE NIGHT GARDEN is set in the western Catskills near the site of the Woodstock festival; the regions green hills and acres of blue sky give it a sleepy, serene feeling. Sam's last name certainly calls on the traditions of the region and evokes a simpler, less frantic time. I hope THE NIGHT GARDEN is a quirky little vacation from real life. 

2. How do you come up with the "magical" elements in your novels?  Do you create the character first and then discover their "magic," or do you think of a situation, a "talent," or "curse" and then the character is formed from this idea?

For THE NIGHT GARDEN, Olivia's particular "curse" (if you can call it that) came about because of a short story by Hawthorne that I'd read waaaaay back when I was a sophomore in high school. I don't want to give away too much, but I'll say that I've wanted to do a story about a woman with her particular magical affliction for a very long time. The other magical elements arrive in the simplest way possible; it's me, sitting with me hands hovering over the keyboard, thinking "what would be really fun and surprising to write about right now?" I just follow where my interests lead--and yes, the results can be pretty unusual. 

3. This past year your debut novel, The Wishing Thread, accomplished amazing feats including making both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.  What was it like to achieve this, and what advice do you have for writers who are striving for similar recognition? 

It was the greatest thrill of my writing life so far. But I still have a long way to go and many more stories to tell. My advice to writers would simply be this: Set outrageous goals for yourself. But always focus on the joy of writing--love of the act has to be first, central, and last. It's the only thing that will keep you moving toward your goals. 

4. Who are some authors or what are some books you've enjoyed and like to recommend to readers?

I always like to recommend Alice Hoffman to anyone who has never read her. Sarah Addison Allen too, of course! These are both magical writers who speak strongly to me. 

5. Considering your novels have "magical" elements, do you believe that "magic," in some form, exists in our world?  Or is it all coincidence/chance? 

You've hit on the central question of THE WISHING THREAD, the story of three sisters who are said to "knit" magic spells. I believe in magic (and really, I mean miracles, and I mean God) because I want to, because I can't not. I believe life is a gift, a very real gift, and our life's work is to walk in gratitude and humility. But I won't tell you how to read THE WISHING THREAD. Every reader has to make her own decisions about what's really going on in that story. 

As if I didn't adore Lisa Van Allen enough.  Seriously such beautiful words!

Soooo even more big news.  Lisa and her publisher (Penguin Random House) are letting me give away not one... not two... but three copies of The Night Garden!!!  This means you have a chance to win one of these lovely copies of Lisa's new book!

All you have to do is like my facebook page and enter below!  You can even get additional entries by liking Lisa's facebook page and sharing this giveaway on your own facebook page!  You can actually get an additional entry each day you post about this giveaway on your facebook page!  Winners will be chosen in one week... good luck!

A huge thank you to Lisa Van Allen and the folks at Penguin Random house for giving me the opportunity to share Lisa's incredible novel!  And thank you to all of you for participating and sharing with your friends! 


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Family Vacation!

I apologize for my lack of blogging and posts on Facebook this week... we are on a mini family vacation :)  I decided to take a couple of minutes to share some of the fun bookish things we've done this vacation thus far :)

My husband and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary on October 8th.  We had initially planned on letting Everett stay at Grandma and Grandpa's for the day, but ended up taking a little family trip instead.  We drove to Sheboygan, WI and visited Bookworm Gardens... an amazingly awesome place for any age!  This is unlike any garden I've ever seen... it is filled with literary references!  There's a Giving Tree, a Magic School Bus, Little House in the Big Woods cabin, The Three Bears and their three chairs, and even the Three Little Pigs houses.  My parents and I took Everett here earlier in the year, and he wasn't too into it, but he LOVED it this time.

Everett enjoying Bookworm Gardens

Checking out Winnie-the-Pooh's house at Bookworm Gardens

We also made a couple stops to bookstores this week and added a couple titles to our libraries.  Everett got a new Halloween book Who am I? Halloween, and we also picked up a Thanksgiving book for next month, Thanks for Thanksgiving.  I, of course, had to pick up Lisa Van Allen's new book The Night Garden which came out on Tuesday (LOVE her books!).  I also picked up a copy of The Taste of Apple Seeds by Katharina Hagena, which I've heard is supposed to be similar to Sarah Addison Allen's writing.  Lastly, my husband surprised me with a book for part of my anniversary gift, Dream It! Do It!: My Half-Century Creating Disney's Magic Kingdoms by Martin Sklar (I absolutely LOVE it when he surprises me with books! And I'm a huge fan of Disney World... so this was perfect!  I can't wait to read it!).

I am currently working on reading four books as well... Bird Box by Josh Malerman, The Things We Cherished by Pam Jenoff, The Night Garden by Lisa Van Allen, and A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (which are all excellent!) although I haven't taken a lot of time to read this week.  We've been busy apple picking, taking day trips, and attending local festivities like the Zoo Boo at our local zoo.  So much fun! 

Apple picking

At the Zoo Boo with my little pumpkin!

What are some bookish things you've done on vacation?  And, don't worry I haven't forgotten about the awesomely fun announcement I have... it's coming soon... :)  Please like and share my Facebook page and follow this blog to be the first to know!

Thank you for being a part of my little corner of the book world, and happy reading!

Lauren Oliver's Rooms

As you might have noticed in past posts, I love Halloween.  One might then think that I enjoy scary books, movies, haunted houses, etc.  Yeah... not really.  I mean, I was obsessed with Goosebumps, Christopher Pike books, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark when I was young.  But then had to sleep with the lights on.  I have seen a few horror movies that have given me nightmares, but Hocus Pocus will forever be my favorite Halloween movie.

This time of year though I do like to attempt to find a book that is mildly scary to enjoy (but hopefully one that won't interfere too much with the limited sleep I already get being mommy to a toddler).  This year I have two "scary" books on my list... Rooms by Lauren Oliver and Bird Box by Josh Malerman.  

I chose to read Rooms because I absolutely loved reading Lauren Oliver's young reader novel Liesl & Po which was her first published ghost story.  Rooms is definitely an adult novel, and perfect for someone looking for an atypical ghost story.  Rooms is the story of recently deceased Richard Walker's family and the ghosts that haunt his house.  The book is divided into parts which take place in the various rooms throughout the house.  Several narrators, both alive and dead, tell stories within each of these rooms.  The shift in narrators and place allows Oliver to seamlessly glide between different times and connect stories in unique ways.  I absolutely loved the creativity behind the way this book is presented.

The ghosts in this novel are not scary, they're more mysterious.  The novel unwraps their stories as well as the disappearance of a young girl taking place in the real world.  Every character in this novel is so damaged and is hiding something.  At times it seems the plot twists and story lines are never ending, but Oliver manages to squeeze them all into 320 pages.  I only wish she had focused more on a few stories rather than making every character so intense and convoluted.  But, I will give Rooms a solid 4 out of 5.  

Bird Box by Josh Malerman is our October book club selection, so a review will come for that title in the upcoming weeks.  But how creepy does this description sound...

"Something is out there . . .

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, Malorie has long dreamed of fleeing to a place where her family might be safe. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but Malorie's wits and the children's trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?"

I guess I'll be sleeping with the lights on again...

One last thing... I have some incredibly exciting news to share with you all...  just not quite yet.  Like my Facebook page and follow this blog to find out as soon as it's announced!

Happy reading everyone! :)

Everett's Top 5 Halloween Picks

HAPPY OCTOBER!  October is my favorite month of the year... the beautiful fall weather... the pumpkin, apple, cinnamon everything... and of course Halloween!  Our house is all decorated and pumpkin coffee and treats are ready to be enjoyed!  And, of course, Halloween books are a must.  We've already purchased a couple new Halloween themed books for Everett this year, and I'm guessing a couple more will be added to our collection by the end of the month.  

So far some of Everett's favorite Halloween titles are:

1. Happy Halloween Stinky Face by Lisa Mccourt
I randomly stumbled upon this book while shopping at TJ Maxx.  I didn't even know there was a Halloween version of Stinky Face!  Considering Everett's love of the original Stinky Face book, I had to grab a copy of this for him.  The book includes lots of costumes and funny halloween "what ifs."  It's actually a fairly lengthy book for Everett's attention span, but he sits through it!  



2. The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin by Sonali Fry
Everett has always loved it when we sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."  This book is new this year, and when I saw that Ev's one of Ev's favorite tunes was recreated with a fall/Halloween theme, we had to try it out.  At the bookstore, Ev sat still for the whole book the first time... that's an instant winner!







3. Ollie's Halloween by Olivier Dunrea
We have several of the Ollie books at our house, and this one was part of Ev's Halloween surprise last year.  It's a cute story about costumes and fall fun!  The illustrations in the Ollie books are always awesome too! 








4. ABCs of Halloween by Patricia Reeder Eubank
Everett is obsessed with his ABCs right now, so I thought this might be a fun way to learn new "Halloween words" by letter.  I love the classic artwork and the new vocabulary he can learn from each page.  The book also rhymes from page to page :)

5. Dracula: A BabyLit Counting Primer by Jennifer Adams

Any lovers of classic books will adore the BabyLit series for children!  There are several classics that are used to teach different concepts (counting, colors, first words), and they all have fantastic artwork!  The Dracula book is perfect for Halloween!  Items from Dracula (a castle, wolves, tombstones, as well as characters) are shown in different quantities to teach numbers 1-10.  

(P.S. There are lots of other great Halloween BabyLit books including a new Frankenstein book... which I *might* have to invest in this year!)

There are just so many fun Halloween books out there!  I have a feeling Ev will do another round of Top 5 closer to Halloween itself :)  What are some of your favorite Halloween titles for kids (Or adults...  I'm looking for some great spooky reads for October, too!)?

Happy October and happy reading everyone!!!