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I don't know what it is lately, but I am just filled with the urge to READ ALL THE BOOKS! via GIPHY I suspect it is because I have stumbled upon the world of  Booktube and all of the magical creatures that live there. Add in the fact that I have found it IS possible to be on the treadmill and not listen to music but watch videos instead opens up this whole world of watching people talk about what they are reading and why. The hardest part was finding readers who have similar reading interests as me and who live in my country (although, that is not super important). So far I have only gone crazy trying to find a book that isn't yet published in the US once. But I've been burned and am now wiser. So, who to watch? Well, like choosing underwear, that's deeply personal for all viewers/readers but I will share a few of my favorites and the number one type of book vlogger I avoid. Several blog posts just like this one introduced me to the world of booktube, so I am hap...

I had originally planned to make September all about women who write SciFi and Fantasy, or a blending of both a la N.K. Jemisin, who I believe is a goddess. Except, you know, life happened. I did manage to read this and I have to tell you, it's frakking awesome with a capital A. It helps that I was in the middle of a big life change and needed something light and engaging. The crew of the Wayfarer are basically the construction workers of the universe. They create wormholes that will be used as shortcuts on the highways of space travel. We begin with the addition of Rosemary, a human, to the crew in the position of clerk. The crew is an stew of different species, all of whom have interesting back stories and multilayered personalities. The plot moves along really quickly, even the overarching plot of traveling across the universe to a newly recognized alien government to create a wormhole happens in a timely manner. Nothing is drug out here, and while I normally do not mind a...

After taking quite a bit of time off, I have decided I miss blogging terribly and shall return with: NEW FEATURES! PROGRAM IDEAS! REVIEWS! CHALLENGES! I am also toying around with the idea of starting a book vlog. Do you have a favorite one I should check out?

  I've been slacking in the old decorating department (never my strong suit). I think I had my Historical Reads display up for  *hides face in shame* a few months.  So, in honor of National Poetry Month, my BFF came up with this great idea, which I promptly "stole with permission". The banner reads "April is National Poetry Month" and it was a pain to make. I used the Ellison to cut letters and Publisher to create patterned triangles. Unfortunately, the backs of the triangles are book pages ripped from a book that happened to feature at least one curse work per page. Not that I think anyone is going to read the back of my banner-but just in case, I sat with a pencil and scribbled out the dirty words like a boss. The books on display are flagged with charming bookmarks I whipped up. The Insta-Poem is a pizza pan (the only magnetic sheet we had at home), some magnetic poetry printed on magnetic paper and cut out, and the bottom of...

We All Looked Up By Tommy Wallach 3 out of 5 stars This one has been on the To-read list for a long time, and it finally came into the library and I was the first to check it out. I wanted to love it. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It could be that I am just so OVER end of the world stuff, but read this anyway. I have this classification system in my mind for dystopian books: before the event, during the event, immediately after the event (up to two generations), and way after the event (three generations and more removed). Sometime a book straddles the line, like The Stand. We All Looked Up is in the "before the event" category. The first half of the book had me really interested. I was invested in the characters, I was on board with the coming event (although I would have liked to have seen more about how the government was handling it), and I liked the set time frame....

Shutter By: Courtney Alamdea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Challenge: DAC 2015 YA horror is tricky. Actually, the horror genre is tricky. What is truly scary to one person is laughable to another. Shutter is different. It's actually good, but in addition to that it's exciting. Shutter reminded me of Vampire Academy (hunting in teams), Rot and Ruin (excellent world building), and Die Hard (a little bit). Here's the thing, just read it and ride the adventure out. The plot twist is visible from miles away, Micheline presses her fingernails into her palms way too many times, and there's a priest out there with a prayer that was only important in one chapter...but hey. These are little things. Overall, its a thrilling read with lots and lots of spooky imagery. It's a good read and you don't have to wait to October to read it.

I'm about to hit you with a group game that 1. costs very little money to make 2. sounds a lot harder than it actually is. Ready? Okay! This summer we will be playing Seize the City. It's modeled after my game Seize the Castle. The only thing changing here are the trivia questions will now be super hero themed and instead of a castle in the center, there will be a "city". Something akin to this: Image borrowed from Etsy for visual aid purpose only. My teen volunteers will actually be making the city from scratch and it will look however they want it to :)  Because this game already exists in castle form, you will just have to use your imagination. And because NO Thing is really original here is what started me on the path to Seize the Castle greatness: http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/homeschool-freedownloads/math-games/stormthecastle.php The Game: You will need: Up to 20 players 2 mats with grids taped out on them 1 cardboard/foam core castle (or city, fo...