Bookaholic I Am!

I have been on a book binge these past few weeks. The problem is I work one minute's walking distance from a Barnes and Noble. :D While my paycheck does not allow for me to shop till I drop but they have bargain prices, sales ( I have a B&N rewards card) and publisher remainder sales that make buying often affordable for me. My latest adventure into B&N came as I waited for my younger sister to get out of class and pick me up from work. It was a late class so I had a good hour kill. There are a ton of eateries in the shopping center but I was not hungry so naturally I found myself surrounded by books. I started off in the science fiction section, found a few interesting titles but decided to pass since I had just finished reading a SciFi book. I wanted to explore other genres. So, I went down stairs to the bargain shelves and spent almost forty minutes picking up books only to find something more interesting. Now, I am a bit weird when it comes to shopping for books. I actually have way more fun book cover shopping (as in window shopping but with book covers instead) then actually buying a book and taking it home to read! But tonight was not the night for book cover shopping! I found some interesting non-fiction books that peaked my curiosity. The first book caught my eye when I entered the store. It is called, "The Complete Illustrated Guide to Herbs." Now, I got this book because I love knowing what different herbs are good for whether for cooking or healing purposes. I love how this book is compact but has really nice illustrations. You also get little tid-bits of historical facts about herbs and natural medicines.


The second book I got was, "Children's Amazing Places Encyclopedia." I am a sucker for great photograph and quick facts about geography. I love learning about new places, people and cultures. The photographs in this book are just breathtaking. With each turning page I say, "I want to visit here next," "This is my next destination!" or, "I'm adding this to my Bucket List of places to go before I die."



The third book was another reference book. I live in the NorthWest and there are a lot of Native American Cultures here. I recently went to a Pow Wow and was wowwed! So when I saw this book, I really wanted to get it and learn more about not only just the tribes in this area but Native American History as a whole. The Historical Atlas of Native Americans fit the bill.


Now, a trip to B&N would not be complete if I did not find at least one fiction tale to tickle my imagination. I have had my eyes on this book for a while. "Among the Mad," is detective novel and the main character is a female psychologist/detective. So I am really excited to get into this story



So there you have it. I am a bookaholic and I am proud of it!

Happy Reading!!

Book Review: Mr. Monk is Miserable

I love to read. Comedy. Drama. Science Fiction. Mystery. Anything Atlantis related. I love to read. But the story has to be good! I hate romance novels or any novel in the above genres that have way to much sexual content. But I absolutely LOVE Mr Monk. It is partially true, books are much better than the movies that are made about them. The writer of Monk has done equal, hilarious justice to both! I began watching the show last year. Mr. Monk and his OCD's are hilarious, though I can't imagine working for him. But knowing some of his background you kind of get where his behaviors come from. Annoying as his OCD moments are, he nearly got himself killed in one episode because he refused to take a key from a lady's mouth because of her germs :D, they contribute to his ability to catch the one (or few) details that other detectives miss and always closes the case. Mr. Monk is Miserable is about his trip to Paris from the point of view of Natalie Teeger, his assistant. Mr Monk travels to Europe to chase down his therapist but finds murder cases along the way. To get a break, Natalie blackmails him into going to France where she hopes to have a long overdue mini vacation. It is amazing how many dead bodies drop at their feet before they even make it to the hotel! Poor Natalie! The body count climbs as they discover a plot that they can't seem to shake, no matter how much Natalie tries.

This novel was so fun to read. I could see the story unfold in front of me as I read as if I was watching the show. I could see and hear Monk's voice, his mannerisms, his quirky ticks and behaviors and most importantly his facial expressions, ranging from shock, horror, disgust, pride and happiness (while cleaning the streets of Paris.) There were so many funny, in a Monk kind of way, scenes that were purely hilarious. Another good thing I like about this book is that it proves 'sex' does not make a book great, funny or sellable. I definitely recommend this novel if you like comedy, adventure and a good detective mystery.

Books and Technology

Where will the digital world take us? While sitting here checking email, updating my facebook status and reading tweets, I came across a tweet that asked, "what will libraries look like?" in the future as we move to move forward and e-books become more popular and accessible. I realized that it has been ages since I set foot in a library, this coming from a girl who was practically raised in our small town library. Granted, the last time I went to the library, which wasn't that long ago, was in search of some board books for my classroom, but I'm talking about sitting down amongst thousands of books and spending hours reading.

Book Fair!

A book fair is coming soon to the Child Care center where I work. I'm really excited!!! For some reason, books and being around them make me happy. :) I have been searching the Scholastic website to see what books they have that I want for my classroom. Our center is also doing a coin drive to raise funds to buy books for each classroom. I look forward to that as well. I just may buy books myself! :)Books are a big part of my classroom. While most books we keep up in the teacher trove, we have all the kiddies favorites on a mini bookshelf that they have access to all day long. We love sitting down reading together. I always know when a book is a favorite when it is read a gazillion times (in one or two sittings) and loved to bits and pieces!:) With the coming of another book fair, we get to throw out the tattered, battered and chewed books and replace them with all new books ready to be loved! I love book fair season! :)