March 5th-March 11th, 2023

 The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

#23 All Good Things Come to An End...especially book collecting

I've had a realization that here I am collecting books but I don't have time to read them, and oh boy do I have a lot of wonderful books to peruse through! What I decided to do was to limit my book collecting after getting certain eighteen books. If possible I will still get books from certain entities, especially since I've become such a big fantasy fan, but I won't be getting them as often I used to. I feel sad and panicked about that, but I have almost 2,000 books and its time for me to pay attention to them, especially to a lot of wonderful books that I already have. 

Spring break has begun. Not sure if anything will happen this week when it comes to, well, seeing certain someone (probably big fat no) with my son we will be celebrating Purim on March 6th and hopefully we'll go to a local Petsmart and a farm that we usually attend every year. Last week wasn't anything special, he just attended school. 

Last Week On The Blog

N/a

This Week On The Blog:  evil things by katja ivar 

New Arrivals At svetlana's reads and views: 

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 

(From The Book Date)

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels or anything in those genres – join them.

Paragraph: I sort of hoped to be done with THE JUSTICE OF KINGS by Richard Swan, but yeah, although I'm pretty far and am really loving it, I'm still not done with it. I am also still reading THE MAGICIAN'S DAUGHTER by H.G. Parry which is also good and interesting, kind of like a magical Rapunzel is best way to describe it, or Disney's Tangled might be a better descriptor, except so far no evil stepmothers. But it is very whimsical in nature. 

Reading:

 
     333/413                             75/372

Plans:

  

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

How it works:

I assign each Tuesday a topic and then post my top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join me and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

You’ll find the schedule of upcoming TTT topics below so you can plan ahead. I’ll post a Linky here on the blog each week so you can link up your post (if you want). If you don’t have a blog, post your picks in the comment section below! Have tons of fun talking books and getting to know your fellow bloggers!

NOTE: If a weekly topic is listed as a “freebie”, you are invited to come up with your own topic. Sometimes I will give your topic a theme, such as “love”, a season, or an upcoming holiday. That just means that you can come up with any topic you want that fits under that umbrella.

You’re more than welcome to use the Top Ten Tuesday image I designed above (or any of my older/seasonal ones), or make your own that fits your site’s theme.

March 7: Bookish People I’d Like To Meet (These can be authors, book characters, book bloggers/influencers, cover designers, cover models, etc.)

It will be authors

1. Murasaki Shikibu, writer of Tale of Genji: 

2. Sharon Kay Penman, writer of Plantagenet series plus Welsh Princes and Justin D Quincy Mysteries

3. Margaret George, writer of Nero duology, Cleopatra, Henry VIII, Helen of Troy, 

4. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, writers and creators of Dragonlance series

5. Yaa Gyasi, writer of Homegoing

6. Barbara Kingsolver, writer of Poisonwood Bible, Demon Copperhead, Unsheltered 

7. Susan Choi, writer of The Foreign Student

8. Jessica Davis Stein writer of Coyote Dream

9. Laura Esquivel, writer of Like Water for Chocolate

10. Margaret Mitchell, writer of Gone with the Wind 

Shelf Control

Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

Title:  Talking to god; personal prayers for times of joy, sadness, struggle and celebratiin

Author:  Naomi Levy 

Published: 2002

Length: 264

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

After the publication of her best-selling book Naomi Levy received a flood of feedback from readers telling her how much the prayers in it had helped and moved them. Many urged her to publish a collection of her prayers—and now she has.

In a time when we all need inspiration, comfort, and connection, will help us reclaim prayer as an integral part of our lives, making it as natural and uninhibited as talking to our loved ones. Prayer is essential to the lives of millions, but many of us are searching for ways to supplement traditional prayers with ones that are less formal and more intimate.

Written in a simple and direct style, the prayers in this book—and the wonderful stories that accompany them—are for people of all faiths, and for all occasions large and small. Naomi Levy’s personal prayers address the anxieties and roadblocks we all face in contemporary life. There are prayers for facing a new day, realizing one’s potential at work, celebrating an anniversary or birthday, and going to sleep at night. And there are prayers for the more profound occurrences in life—love and marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, illness, loss, and death.

Rabbi Levy’s words, imbued with grace and empathy, touch on the entire range of human experience. Many of us will recognize ourselves in her prayers and stories and will be comforted by them, as well as challenged and uplifted. Perhaps most important, they are stepping-stones for us to go on and create our own prayers, to find meaning in our own lives, and to begin or renew our own relationships with God.

How and when I got it: October 5th 2008 I remember it was a birthday present, but I don't recall if I got it from my parents, or my ex friend at Barnes and Noble...

Why I want to read it: I often feel that when it comes to spiritual and religious matters, christianity literally took over it, literally giving me little to no voice when it comes to something genuine. I am hoping to recapture something pure and something I don't have to wonder whether its acceptable or not. 

What do you think? Would you read this book? And if you’ve read it, do you recommend it?

Please share your thoughts!

Books from Backlog

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, please feel free to enter your link, link back to this post, and then spend some time visiting some of the other posts.

This week’s neglected book 

Book Title: the story hour 

Publisher: Harper 

Genres: India, culture, psychology, women's fiction, contemporary, lies, truths 

Pages: 317

Format: Print 

Source: I got it on July 25th, 2014 

Summary:

A profound, heartbreakingly honest novel about friendship, family, secrets, forgiveness, and second chances.

An experienced psychologist, Maggie carefully maintains emotional distance from her patients. But when she meets a young Indian woman who tried to kill herself, her professional detachment disintegrates. Cut off from her family in India, Lakshmi is desperately lonely and trapped in a loveless marriage to a domineering man who limits her world to their small restaurant and grocery store.

Moved by her plight, Maggie treats Lakshmi in her home office for free, quickly realizing that the despondent woman doesn't need a shrink; she needs a friend. Determined to empower Lakshmi as a woman who feels valued in her own right, Maggie abandons protocol, and soon doctor and patient have become close friends.

But while their relationship is deeply affectionate, it is also warped by conflicting expectations. When Maggie and Lakshmi open up and share long-buried secrets, the revelations will jeopardize their close bond, shake their faith in each other, and force them to confront painful choices.

Why did I add the story hour  to my bookshelf? I was given it for a review, but at the time I had mental health issues therefore I wasn't able to read it, thus I am hoping to read it in the future. 

What are your thoughts? Have you read this book?  Would you recommend it?

Let's Talk Bookish 

March 10:  How Important Are Character Names? (Hannah @ Hannah’s Library)

Prompts: Are character names important? 

To an extent yes they are. 

Should they be very unique, or common enough that most readers will recognize and know how to pronounce them? 

I think it will depend on the reader but for me easy to pronounce is pretty important. I also think its a fine line to balance because you don't want your character name to be forgettable, but you also don't want it to be too hard to pronounce. 

What makes a character name unique? 

For me its whether or not I can remember it and if I can tie it to a particular story. I also think character's background and actions can work in favor on remembering the name and the context its seen. 

Do you like character names that have a deeper meaning tied to the story at large?

Probably, but sometimes if the name is common enough, it can lose its deeper meaning within the story and it can go over the reader's head. 

 What do you notice about character names in different genres? 

Fantasy novels have very unique or uncommon names while fiction from Europe and North America has very common names. 

What are some of your favorite character names? 

To be honest none really. 

What are some of your favorite characters with the same names?

So far I hadn't seen any books that feature main character with my first name. 

Stacking the Shelves 

Book Titles I got this week: (if available)

Planned Reviews: (If available. Use pictures)