The Sunday Salon – November Wrap-Up

Sunday Salon

Well I have to say that November was a really productive month for me review-wise. I really think that participating in NaBloPoMo had a lot to do with how many reviews I got finished – 15 – wow if I keep up at this pace I may just get caught up on all my drafted reviews by the new year!

 

 

 

 

As for my NaBloPoMo progress, I did indeed manage to blog at least once every day during the month of November. It was a really fun challenge for me because I really didn’t want to blog just random junk, so it really got me off my butt with regards to reviews.

If you are interested in taking part in NaBloPoMo a brand new challenge for December begins tomorrow and this one comes with the theme of THANKS! Just click on the badge to the left if you want more info. With Christmas and my son’s birthday coming in December I will be passing on this month, but I look forward to a January challenge.

 

Happy Sunday Everyone!



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review – The Declaration by Gemma Malley

declaration Synopsis
It’s the year 2140, and Longevity drugs have made the world a wonderful place – for some. Taking Longevity means that you can live indefinitely, but there’s a catch: you must first sign the Declaration and, if you opt in, you agree not to have children.
For children born outside the Declaration, the world is a grim place. Surplus Anna is one such teen: a worthless burden who must pay back society for her very existence. Bleak and foreboding Grange Hall, with it’s severe headmistress, will prepare Anna for her short life of servitude.
But Anna is different. In the pages of a coveted diary, she secretly pours out her heart, her hopes and her many, many fears – including her mistrust of a new arrival to Grange Hall, a boy named Peter. Peter says that Longevity is bad, that nobody should be considered a Surplus … and that Anna’s parents love her and have been searching for her. Who is she to trust? The strange boy whose version of life sounds like a dangerous fairy tale? Or the cold, familiar walls of Grange Hall and the headmistress who has controlled her every waking thought?

Review
The basic idea of this novel is that sometime between now and 2140 science has found a way to use stem cells to cure every disease and human frailty there is, and along the way they also manufacture a drug called Longevity that stops aging at whichever age you begin taking the medication. But with this marvel comes the fact that no one dies, so the world runs into some problems with space, supplies, energy etc. To fix this, the Authorities have come up with a solution that involves the signing of a Declaration stating that if you intend to take the drug, you must sign off on all rights of having children. Nothing is ever perfect however and people end up having kids anyway, which are called Surpluses or Illegals. To solve this problem the authorities create groups of Catchers to search for and apprehend any non-legal people. They also set up prison like institutions to hold and train these Surpluses to be servants in order to pay back society for the blasphemous nature of their stolen lives. Anna is very close to becoming a Valuable Surplus, in one such place called Grange Hall. She is aware of how worthless she is and that she is an evil thing that mocks Mother Nature and all the Legals whose very air she is stealing. But then Peter arrives at Grange Hall and in just a short time he convinces Anna that this is all wrong and that she has loving parents and as much a right to live freely as anyone else. Shortly thereafter they devise an escape plan, that they hope will reunite Anna with her parents.

When I first heard about this book, I was instantly intrigued with the plot about a society of people that live forever and all the problems that may come along with it. However, by halfway through the story I lost most of my interest. I found Anna to be very boring, she had no personality and appeared to be more of a sketch that an actual character. Some of the secondary characters such as; Peter, the headmistress Mrs. Pincent, and Surplus Shelia a fellow dormitory mate of Anna’s were much more developed and interesting. Also a short appearance by Mrs. Sharpe, a Legal who Anna once worked for, was for me a real highlight in the story, as she displayed so much relevant emotion to the society in which the novel was set.

The idea of the story itself showed much promise, but simply wasn’t developed enough to deliver. There was good dialogue and adequate background to set-up the strange societal rules. However, along with the characters, the plot was not strong enough for me to fully enjoy the book as a whole. All the major revelations were very clear pages beforehand and the ending was a climax that seemed too neatly tied up to really impress, and ended up coming too fast and ended up flopping, what for me, could have been an intriguing lead-in to the follow-up novel, The Resistance.

About The Author
Gemma Malley studied philosophy at Reading University before working as a journalist. She edited several business magazines and contributed regularly to publications including Company Magazine and The Sunday Telegraph before moving to the civil service, where she held a senior position within Ofsted, the education and care watchdog. She is married to Mark, the head master of a preparatory school in North West London. The Declaration is her first book for young readers.

Published in 2007 by Bloomsbury USA

More reviews of The Declaration:
Book Nut
Presenting Lenore
Semicolon
Just One More Page...



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Random Coolness Found In Google Reader

While reading through my Google Reader (which is now working *yay*) I came across a very cool post by Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness. She posted about The Typealyzer, a personality-type thingy that reads your blog and then analyses the blog writers personality. I had to give it a try, however my result was nowhere as cute as Kim’s chicky cartoon – I ended up with a shady looking backwoods mechanic :/ Will I never escape my tomboy-ish childhood?!  Ahhh well it was fun and interesting anyway :)


ISTP
ISTP - The Mechanics

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.
The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and fire-fighters.

 

 



twitter_logo

Twitter seems to be the subject of the week, but it was Bermudaonion’s post here that made me realize that I had signed up for Twitter months ago, and didn’t really do anything with it. So last night I signed into my account and tried it again – there still doesn’t appear to be any real point to it, but it is a very entertaining web tool to fool around with.  My Twitter page is here!

Check out J.Kaye’s post here if you want to find out even more ways to enjoy Twitter. She’s listed tons of information and linkage on other applications that work along with and boost the Twitter experience.

While I’m on the subject of Twitter check out these cool web comics by Rob Cottingham from Social Signal. His web comic Noise To Signal has been nominated for the 2008 Canadian Blog Awards.

 6a00d8341c54d153ef00e553b8cd3e8834-800wi    Twitter sig



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

BTT – Being Thankful

Booking Through Thursday Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S.
Now, you may have noticed that the global economy isn’t exactly doing well. There’s war. Starvation. All sorts of bad, scary things going on.
So – just for today – how about sharing 7 things that you’re thankful for?

So, how about it? Spread a little positive thinking and tell the world what there is to be thankful for.


Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating the Holiday today! How silly that Canada and the US have different dates for pretty much the same event – I’ve always thought that Thanksgiving should be a world-wide holiday based upon giving thanks for a good season as we embark upon a new year. Traditionally in many countries Thanksgiving was a secular festival to give thanks to Mother Nature, other deities. friends, family and workmates for bountiful harvests past and present. That is the perfect description of what my Thanksgiving is – a gathering of family and friends to celebrate and share both out success and our hurdles from the year; a way of sharing our lives and coming closer; and a way of showing our love and thanks to the ones who make us who we are. Although we do share food from the small gardens we all have, we no longer need to depend on our own land for sustenance; but we still acknowledge the importance of the land and what it gives us. Regardless of who works the land, our gratitude is always given to the life-giving nature of the earth. (Can you tell I am a supporter of organic foods? Now if only organic fair trade chocolate tasted better LOL)

Anyway, enough of my blabbering, here are 7 things I am thankful for:

  • Family and friends – because without them, I wouldn’t be who I am.
  • My hubs, John – for accepting and encouraging my many crazy ways.
  • Our boys, Christian & Hunter – for everything they are.
  • The animals in our lives, Suki, Raimi & Abby – for making me a better human.
  • Freedom – to think, express, live, to be who I want.
  • Health care – I was diagnosed as Bi-Polar at 12; accessible, affordable health care changed my life.
  • Books – for letting me travel the universe a million times over.

So, these are 7 things I am thankful for. I could have gone on the 999, but these are the most important.
sig



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review – The Retreat by David Bergen

the retreat Synopsis

In 1973, outside of Kenora, Ontario, Raymond Seymour, an eighteen-year-old Ojibway boy, is taken by a local policeman to a remote island and left for dead. A year later, the Byrd family arrives in Kenora. They have come to stay at “the Retreat,” a commune run by the self-styled guru Doctor Amos. The Doctor is an enigmatic man who spouts bewildering truisms, and who bathes naked every morning in the pond at the edge of the Retreat while young Everett Byrd watches from the bushes. Lizzy, the eldest of the Byrd children, cares for her younger brothers Fish and William, and longs for what she cannot find at the Retreat. When Lizzy meets Raymond, everything changes, and Lizzy comes to understand the real difference between Raymond’s world and her own. A tragedy and a love story, the novel moves towards a conclusion that is both astonishing and heartbreaking.

Review

David Bergen’s fifth novel, The Retreat, is set in the 1970’s during a particularly turbulent time in Canadian history. The Ojibway Warriors Society had taken a militant stand at Anicinabe Park, which caused racial tension to erupt. A local Ojibway boy, Raymond, has been involved with the daughter of a local police officer, the result of this leads Raymond to be cruelly abandoned on a island to make his own way home, or not. Needless to say, Raymond does make it back safely, but the experience has changed him.

A year later, the Byrd family, at the insistence of the mother, arrive to stay at a local Retreat known for it’s spiritual healing. Both of the parents are very into the idea of living on the commune, but the Byrd children are pretty much left to find their own entertainment. Lizzy, daughter to the Byrd’s, meets up with Raymond and they begin to develop a relationship. And the rest of the story is based around the troubles they will encounter as a couple.

The Retreat was an entertaining read, that shows Bergen as a very talented writer. His characters are very clearly developed, Raymond in particular was a fantastic character with emotions that really came across as fitting. In terms of characters, however, I felt like I would have enjoyed this story much more if it had centred more fully upon Raymond. Because of the Ojibway Occupation I think his perspective would have been much more powerful than of the visiting Lizzy Byrd, who at times was annoyingly simplistic.

What makes this book most enjoyable is the writing, and the small descriptions of normal things that made me remember the feeling associated with certain actions. A very good example of this is from the beginning of the novel, after Raymond if left on the island he becomes very cold, He was shaking severely. He pressed his hands between his thighs and blew warm breath down the inside of his jacket.”  This brought back memories of sitting, shivering, at a school bus-stop on cold winter mornings, everyone hunched over, faces down in our collars, hands between knees, trying to get even a little feel of warmth. I love writing that has the power make these types of personal connections.

About The Author

David Bergen’s award-winning fiction includes The Case of Lena S., winner of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, and The Time in Between, winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award, and the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction. It was also named a Kiriyama Prize Notable Book and longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. A member of the 2007 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury, Bergen lives in Winnipeg.

Published by McClelland & Stewartsig



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Tuesday Thingers - Widgets

Tuesday ThingersToday's question- Blog Widgets. Do you use them? Do you have them on your blog? Do you know what I'm talking about? :-) A blog widget is that list of books "From my LibraryThing" and such, that you'll sometimes see on someone's sidebar. If you use it, do all of your books show up or do you have it set to only show certain books? Do you have a search widget, which would allow your blog readers to search your library? Have you ever made a photo-mosaic of your book covers? You can find widgets and photo-mosaic information on the "Tools" tab in LibraryThing.

I love gadgets and widgets on blogs, especially the LibraryThing ones that show random books. It’s very cool to be browsing through the blog world and get a little taste of what a person likes in books. Another reason I like them is because I’m a cover junkie, I love seeing what different covers are out there.

But do I have a LibraryThing widget on my blog? No. I’m the type of person that re-arranges the furniture in my house so often that you never know what it’s gonna look like. This seems to have translated into my blogging world, because just last week I changed my blog design around again. While I enjoy having a fresh look, often my sidebar stuff gets forgotten – in this case I forgot to re-add my LibraryThing widget!



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review – Rotten Apple by Rebecca Eckler

rotten apple Synopsis

Apple is the opposite of her outspoken mother and gossipy, chatty best friends; she’s always been the cool, calm, and collected one. But her life is about to spiral out of control. Apple’s super-sized, secret crush on her friend Zen leads her into major trouble. And she’s realizing it might not have been such a good idea to pose as her mother–the famous talk show host and self-help guru, Dr. Bee Berg–and send out fake advice emails to keep her (devastatingly beautiful) friend Happy away from Zen. Before she knows it, her best friend hates her, the whole school knows about her crush, and she is humiliated on national TV. How much more will it take for Apple to learn that taking advice is just as important as giving it?

Review

Apple is a teenaged girl, living in a ritzy neighbourhood, going to high school and enjoying time with a close group of friends. But she is known among friends as The Sponge, because while she takes everything in, emotionally she gives nothing back. This becomes her major problem, when her close friend Happy starts dating Zen – Apple’s biggest crush ever. Since she has such troubles with expressing her feelings, she feels that she is left no other option but to sabotage the budding relationship between Happy and Zen. However this all backfires on Apple when her mom, a famous talk show host, finds out and decides to take Apple’s little drama live on the air. Now Apple must decide whether she is willing to go on being The Sponge or whether she will open up and try to mend her friendships, while also letting others into her life on a deeper level.

Rotten Apple was a really great read, and it seemed to serve a good purpose – of showing that for a friendship to be strong there must be equal amounts of give and take. It tells a story of a girl who learns how life can be more rewarding if she is willing to risk a little bit of vulnerability by being open with others. The highlight of this novel, aside from the underlying message, is the characters. The teens and adults that populate this  story are all very unique, although the unique names (Apple, Zen, Happy) are a bit much at first. I really liked that these teens were pretty nice kids, despite coming from privileged backgrounds. They may be spoiled, but they also seemed to hold higher values than found in most novels featuring rich kids.

Another great thing about Rotten Apple was that is was fun read, the sneaky things that Apple does were both funny and fore-boding. You knew it was going to end in disaster, but it was hard not to laugh along the way. Very cute and modern story of a teenager making the wrong decisions and eventually coming to understand exactly why she did it and how the situation could have been handled better.

About The Author

Rebecca Eckler is one of Canada’s most popular journalists and writers. She has been a columnist for The Globe and Mail and the National Post. Her work has also appeared in such publications as Elle, Fashion, Chatelaine, House and Home, Mademoiselle, the Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times. Her Doubleday Canada book, Knocked Up, has been published in the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, and Turkey.

Author Website

Published by Doubleday Canada



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

The Sunday Salon – Random Thoughts

Sunday Salon

This is going to be a fairly short Salon for me today, it’s cold, there is too much snow on the ground and that makes me want to curl up under massive amounts of blankets and not come out until Spring. Is it too much to wish that this will be the most snow that will fall this Winter? Well, considering I live in Nova Scotia and the Earth hasn’t somehow magically gone off it’s axis – yes it is too much!

To avoid the reality of that yucky white stuff that I hate so much, I intended to bury myself in my library books today – 9pm and so far, so good. My pile for today looks something like this:

  • The Declaration by Gemma Malley – Living forever and illegal surplus children – Great so far.
  • Evernight by Claudia Gray – Vampire boarding school – Awesome!!
  • A Fine And Private Place by Peter S. Beagle – Author of The Last Unicorn - ‘nuff said.
  • The Bone Key by Sarah Monette – Spooky stories about a museum archivist – great atmosphere.
  • First Person Plural by Andrew Beierle – way too much twin-masturbation – hope it gets better.

 

Something that has been driving me mad lately, is the extreme slowness or outright halting of the loading within Google Reader. I have tried every fix that’s been mentioned in the Help group – deleting cache, updating software, cleaning up trash files, trying different browsers – nothing helps! Every other site works fine for me, the only ones I have trouble with are Google Reader and iGoogle (but I’m not a fan of start-up pages anyway) however with Google Reader not loading I am losing my mind – I can click on a feed and go make a four course meal or build a tree house before the page decides to load or times out!

So, is this a bug that is being worked out, or perhaps it’s a bug that is being overlooked as more attention is being paid to the new Google Chrome browser? I have no idea, but I do know that I’m looking for a new reader. Any suggestions?  What works well for everyone else? I’m not looking for anything outstanding, just a basic reader with much the same feel to it as Google Reader (without the slowness of course) :)

Happy Sunday Everyone!
and
Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to everyone in the USA!



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review – The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper

Synopsis

Patrick Rush, a former bright light at the National Star now demoted to the reality TV beat, is still recovering from his wife’s death when he joins a writers’ group in Toronto. His goal: to write the book he’s always felt lived within him. Trouble is, Patrick has no story to tell. And while the circle’s members show similarly little literary promise, there is one exception: Angela. Her unsettling readings tell of a shadowy childhood tragedy and an unremitting fear of the Sandman, a “terrible man who does terrible things.” It’s the stuff of nightmares or horror films. Or is it?
Over the weeks that follow, a string of unsolved murders seem increasingly connected to Patrick. And then the circle’s members start to go missing, one by one. Still haunted by loss–and by a crime only those in the circle could know of–Patrick finds himself in a fictional world made horrifically real. But nothing will put him in greater danger than that ancient curse of natural born readers: the need to know how the story ends.

Review

This story starts out quite innocently enough, Patrick Rush, a middle-aged widower and single dad, believes himself to be a talented writer wasting his life working for a newspaper, if that weren’t bad enough, he is actually travelling down and out on that career ladder. Deciding to follow his aspirations of becoming a writer, Patrick joins a writing group who meet weekly to share their work. But very soon he comes to realize that he has nothing to contribute, however another member, Angela, is a very skilled writer who has been weaving a thriller about a killer named Sandman, that keeps Patrick returning just to hear how it ends up.

Fast forward a few years, and Patrick is now a successful writer, living the life he always wanted. But his happiness is soon to be over, as the events from Angela’s story start to blur together with real life. A serial killer is on the loose and Patrick fears he is being targeted. Members of the original writing circle are turning up dead, and Patrick seems to be loosing control of his perfect life.

The Killing Circle is a very well put together novel, with all the right ingredients to make a terrific thriller. Twists and turns around every corner and a plot that keeps you guessing until the end. I enjoyed this story very much and was very satisfied with the ending. The only thing holding this novel back was the absence of characters whom you could empathize with. Although the main character was interesting, I thought he was a bit overly self-involved. Could have used a little more back-story to show how he became the person he was. Overall, The Killing Circle was an enjoyable read, the plot was fully strong enough to pull the reader along until the last page.

About The Author

Andrew Pyper is the author of three bestselling novels, Lost Girls (a New York Times Notable Book), The Trade Mission, and The Wildfire Season, as well as Kiss Me, a collection of short stories. Lost Girls and The Killing Circle are currently in development for feature films. Andrew Pyper lives in Toronto.

Author Website

Published by Doubleday Canada



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Review – Broken by Daniel Clay

Synopsis

Until that fateful afternoon, Skunk Cunningham had been a normal little girl, playing on the curb in front of her house. Rick Buck­ley had been a normal geeky teen­ager, hosing off his brand-new car. Bob Oswald had been a normal sociopathic single father of five slutty daughters, charging furiously down the side­walk. Then Bob was beating Rick to a bloody pulp, right there in the Buckleys' driveway, and life on Drummond Square was never the same again.

Inspired by Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird, Clay's brilliantly observed and darkly funny novel follows the sudden unravelling of a sub­urban community after a single act of thoughtless cruelty.

Review

Broken is set within and peopled by the various families who call Drummond Square home. Eleven year old Skunk is not the title character, however this is her story. After watching Rick Buckley being beaten brutally by god-awful neighbour Bob Oswald, and then hauled away by police, Skunk becomes fixated upon Rick as he returns to Drummond Square ‘Broken’. Tormented by the five Oswald daughters daily, and watching her father as he interacts with both the Buckley's and the Oswald's, Skunk finds herself drawn in and repulsed by the going-on’s around her.  However this story is being told in the past-tense, from a hospital bed where Skunk lies in a coma and fighting for her life.

As Broken begins by letting the reader know that Skunk is lying in a coma, but not what brought her there, I could not help but be intrigued. The entire story seems to thrive on finding out just how this little girl arrived in the hospital. The first half of the book, which focuses on Rick ‘Broken’ Buckley and the Oswald families reign of neighbourly terror, is interesting enough in it’s ordinariness to keep a reader intrigued. But what really stands out is the many different views Skunks has of the small world around her. Her vulnerability is obvious as she pleads with her father for an allowance increase, without letting him know it is to pay off the Oswald bullies who demand school ground safekeeping money; her embarrassing acceptance of a new teacher, her housekeepers ex-boyfriend, who she had heard in intimate situations and also her fears of both the Oswald family and Broken, the boy they destroyed.

While Skunk appears to be a watcher to the troubles happening in her world, you are aware that something has happened to harm her, and this is what makes the story so readable. It is a story that shows how things build upon one another to create disaster in a place removed from the original circumstance. It seems to be all about connections and how small things have a way of reaching out and ensnaring the innocent bystander. It’s hard to remember while reading that Skunk is in a coma, but this is her story of how she went from being a mere spectator to the final tragic figure of a little girl fighting death.

I found Broken to be a highly readable novel, it’s pacing is measured out well and the characters have the right blend of realism and individuality. I really enjoyed knowing what the end result was but having to read and progress through the story to find out the why’s and how’s. This is a very large story set within a very small set of people, the strength of the read for me, came from knowing that tiny but powerful dramas could be happening on any average cul-de-sac you drive by.

About The Author

Daniel Clay is thirty-seven years old and lives with his wife, Alison, in Hedge End, a small town between Southampton and Portsmouth on the south coast of England. He's had short stories and poetry published in magazines such as The Ashes, World Wide Writers, Writers' Forum, and Roundyhouse, and has written a series of articles at the blog Fifth Estate on why he writes and how his first novel, Broken, came to be published. He is presently working on his second novel.

Published by Harper Perennial



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

NaBloPoMo Update – Day 20

November NaBloPoMo

20 days into NaBloPoMo and I’m still on track. For anyone who doesn’t know NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month and the basic idea it that for the entire month of November you commit to posting on your blog everyday. All the info and details can be found here.

With only 10 days to go, I figured now was a good time to do a bit of an update on my month so far.

How is everyone else doing so far with blogging this month?  Are you taking part in NaBloPoMo? Or perhaps you’re doing NaNoWriMo – I would love to have the talent to participate in that one but honestly my writing skills suck :)



November 1  ✔  Official NaBloPoMo Kick-Off
November 2    Weekly Geeks #23 Read, Review, Repeat
November 3    Mailbox Monday and Book Giveaway Carnival
November 4    Reviews of Ghost In The Mirror & College Girl and more Book Giveaway Carnival
November 5    Bone By Bone review
November 6    Halloween Challenges Wrap-Up and BTT Favourite Gifts
November 7    Something Wickedly Weird The Icy Hand Review
November 8    Review of The Richest Season & 2009 Countdown Challenge
November 9    Getting ready for my 2009 Challenges
November 10    Another Mailbox Monday and Book Giveaway Carnival Winners Announcement
November 11    Hex Appeal Review & Tuesday Thinger & Secret Santa & Bookish Holidays
November 12    Review of The Cat Star Chronicles: Warrior
November 13    The Reluctant Widow and Pemberley By The Sea Reviews
November 14    Review of Lydia Bennet’s Story
November 15   100+ Reading and Support Your Library Challenges
November 16    Tags/Meme filled Sunday Salon and Romance Reading Challenge
November 17   Mailbox Monday
November 18  ✔  Popular Tuesday Thingers and Tagged Teaser Tuesdays
November 19    Holiday Guide To Bookish Gifts
November 20  NaBloPoMo Update



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.

Weekly Geeks #25 – Bookish Gifts

Holiday Gift Guide – Bookish Style

Christmas may seem like it’s a ways off yet, but before you know it the Holiday Season will be upon us. Many people like to get their lists made and their shopping done before the stores get crazy, and no one enjoys having to run out Christmas Eve for that last minute gift. So in the spirit of being ready and also to promote literacy and the love of reading, here is my Bookish Gift Giving List.

Hopefully some of my holiday ideas may come in handy! 
 


For The Gamer :
With video-games becoming so popular, it only makes sense for the craze to have trickled over into the bookstores. These books based on the award-winning video games, Halo and Resident Evil would make the perfect reading material for any gamers. Both series follow the original storylines and are quite well-written.

 

 

 

 

You can also find strategy guides available for almost every game made.

The two most popular publisher of these guides are Brady Games and Prima Games.

 


Hands On Fun For The Family : 
Everyone, from toddlers to grandparents, enjoys getting their  hands dirty, and with these great books it’s easy to find the perfect project. 
Not only will kids have a fantastic time crafting, they will also have fun reading through these books and planning their next creation.


For The Nature Lover :
A great gift for anyone who enjoys the great outdoors is a book that provides information on the areas in which they enjoy investigating. Many of the major guidebooks do not give much information on lesser know attractions. With hiking and specialty guidebooks you can find many unknown treasures right around the corner.



The books pictured above are all ones that my family uses for adventures in Nova Scotia, but most every bookshop has a section devoted to travel books for all over the world.  


For The Reader :
Buying books for a reader should be easy, but what if you don’t know what they like, or what they have. Or maybe you want them to choose their own books. Gift cards are the best choice when you just aren’t sure. Also many bookstores now have entire departments full of non-book gifts for the book lover. Below are a few of my favourites.

 


For Everyone On Your List :
Last but not least, one of the gifts I enjoy giving to friends and family, both far and near, is a magazine subscription. With the millions of magazines being published today, finding one to interest even the hardest person to shop for is a snap. And the wonderful thing about giving a subscription is that it lasts all year long!

 

 



© 2008-2010 Joanne Mosher of The Book Zombie. All rights reserved.