El Deafo by Cece Bell, color by David Lasky “And being different? That turned out to be the best part of all. I found that with a little creativity, and a lot of dedication, any difference can be turned into something amazing. Our differences are our superpowers.” Cece Bell was just four years old when she […]

  The Miss Nelson Collection by Harry Allard A friend recently reminded me about a book I once loved but had long forgotten. She’s helping me with a couple of my classes while I fly to a very dear friend’s wedding. She joked that she would play the role of Miss Viola Swamp so my […]

by Josh Allen illustrated by Sarah J. Coleman Genres: Middle Grade (ages 8-12), Fiction, Short Stories, Scary, Paranormal, Ghost Stories Publisher: Holiday House Length: 176 pages Published: September 3, 2019 Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble My Goodreads Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Official Book Summary: “Thirteen ordinary kids. Thirteen ordinary towns. Danger lurks […]

  Today Scholastic Books is releasing a Harry Potter Coloring Book. Muggles, wizards, and witches everywhere are rejoicing. If you have not yet rediscovered the joy and stress-release found in adult coloring books, it is long overdue that you jump on the bandwagon. The 96-page long book will feature sixteen full-color pages and 80 intricate […]

The final installment of three successive book reviews featuring Ally Condie’s young adult dystopian series Matched / Crossed / Reached. Click here to read my review of Matched and here for my review of Crossed. Reached by Ally Condie (Book 3 of 3 in the Matched series) “You cannot change your journey if you are […]

by Daphne du Maurier Genres: Gothic, Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Classic Publisher: HarperCollins Length: 410 pages Published: September 5, 2006 (originally published in 1938) Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble My Goodreads Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Official Book Summary: “A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick ‘Last night I dreamt I went […]

by Richard Hack “Defeated, Agatha returned home and sat alone that night at the dinner table. The scene of that morning’s confrontation replayed itself in an endless loop, always ending with the same bitter threat. Desperate, yet hardly without resources or the determination to save her marriage, she began to craft a plan worthy of […]

by Julie Falatko illustrated by Tim Miller “Snappsy the alligator wasn’t feeling like himself. His feet felt draggy. His skin felt baggy. His talk wouldn’t swish this way and that. And, worst of all, his big jaw wouldn’t SNAP.” Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book!) is a new picture book […]

If you have not yet bought yourself an adult coloring book, do it now. Stop waiting. They are wonderful. I’ve actually had many kids’ coloring books over the years to use myself, but recently bought this one. These books have been bestsellers for quite some time now, so I’m sure you’ve heard about them or […]

by Ed Catmull, with Amy Wallace “Failure isn’t a necessary evil. In fact, it isn’t evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new.” In Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull, President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation, recounts the founding and development of the animation studio that changed the film industry. Part nonfiction […]

My TBR (to-be-read) pile is getting ridiculously large, not just the ones I save on Goodreads but also the piles of books I own/have been gifted/have been sent that are starting to teeter and overwhelm me. That being said, there are still dozens of books I’m looking forward to reading that are coming out in […]

Written by Kobi Yamada, Illustrated by Mae Besom “One day, I had an idea. ‘Where did it come from? Why is it here?’ I wondered, ‘What do you do with an idea?’ At first, I didn’t think much of it. It seemed kind of strange and fragile. I didn’t know what to do with it. […]

Continuing my series, here is another book for which I’ve written a chapter. Thanks for checking it out!   Edited by Miglena Sternadori and Carrie Prentice Genres: Academic, Gender, History, Women’s Literature Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing Length: 279 pages Published: May 1, 2016 Purchase Links: Amazon, Cambridge Scholars My Goodreads Rating: 5 out of 5 […]

Cheaper, Better, Faster: Over 2,000 Tricks to Help You Save Time and Money Every Day by Mary Hunt In this book, Mary Hunt provides a large collection of tips for running a household and a budget more effectively. It’s a helpful resource if you’re looking for suggestions in a certain area of everyday life. Hunt […]