An American Marriage by Tayari Jones and Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.
What are your reading plans today? We had movie night last night and around 11:30 Gage started feeling sick. He spend the beginning of 2022 puking his guts out and falling asleep on the couch.
“This isn’t a good way to start 2022,” he says. We can only go up from here!
I saw these lists popping up on a few blogs and couldn’t resist taking stock of my own close encounters with bestselling authors. As I started making notes I wondered how I was going to list them. Favorites first? Pulitzer Prize winners lead the way? The authors I’ve met more than once? Best selling? Locals first? Too many choices! So, I decided to stick with the authors I have photos of and to be as random as possible in the order I list these wordsmiths 🙂
Taylor Stevens. I met Taylor in 2012 at Bouchercon before I’d read her book. I had a second chance to dine with her in 2013. I’ve read and loved both of her series.
Thrity Umrigar is a bestselling author and she’s local. You can read how she ended up in Cleveland from her home in India.
Eloisa James was a fun evening. I love Shakespeare so hearing a Shakespeare professor wax poetic about romance was a treat.
Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of my all-time romance faves and I was able to meet her and others when Avon KissCon came to Cleveland in 2016.
Anthony Doerr grew up in the Cleveland area and way before he won his Pulitzer Prize he visited to talk about his book Four Season in Rome (which I loved).
Paula McLain is another bestselling local and she was was a great speaker. She was actually in Solon last year at a fun event put on by the library.
Ian Rankin made his way to Cleveland from Scotland for just one night (thank you Cuyahoga County Public Library!) I could have listened to him talk all night. I love his books.
Harlan Coben is one of my all-time favorites and I’ve read all of his books. Jason and I met him in Houston years and years ago and last year when he came to Cleveland I took my mom.
Kristan Higgins is another favorite and it was a treat to hear her speak last year. It was an emotional time for me and she made it better 🙂
Bernie Kosar is a Cleveland legend and, yes, he wrote a book and came to our local Friends of the Library event. He spent and hour charming the crowd before talking to the almost 200 people who were able to get tickets.
Beth Hoffman is one of the warmest people you will ever meet. This is me meeting her for the fist time in 2010 and I also met her again on tour for her second book.
There are more on my list, but I am tired 🙂 Here are some of the other big names I’ve met, but have no picture proof (or I’m too lazy to find them right now): Diana Gabaldon, Mitch Albom, Tracy Chevalier, Mary Doria Russell, Carl Hiaasen, Emilie Richards, Les Roberts…
Who on my list have you also met?
Yesterday was my 20th Book v. Movie post and a comment by Kathy got me thinking. She mentioned that she wasn’t surprised that I liked the book better than the movie. As book lovers isn’t that generally true? So, I decided to look through my posts. Of the 20, 14 were clearly the book, 4 were clearly the movie and 2 were so close that if I allowed myself to call a tie I probably would have.
Then I got to thinking about a few of my favorite movies, the ones where I’ve read the book too, but clearly adore the movie more.
What are some of your favorite movies that you love more than the book so I can add them to my watch list?
The day is almost gone and I was thisclose to forgetting to mark the anniversary of my opening up shop here on WordPress. Eleven years ago I wrote my first post and have maintained a steady schedule since then. I posted 280 times that first year and it was my most prolific. Since then it’s gone done a bit every year with last year clocking in at 113. Amazingly, the number of views and visitors while taking a dive in 2016 has gone up considerably the last two years.
I didn’t start this blog to crunch numbers and I don’t stick around because a few more people have found their way here. I’m still here writing and connecting because of you, my fellow book nerds. May we continue to support each other for many more years to come 🙂
My yearly mountain of owned and unread books started small, got completely out of hand and is slowly taking a turn for the better. Every year around this time I recreate my unread book stacks adding in new books. For many years I brought in more than I read and that became a problem. A big book problem.
Last year I read 74 book so if I kept that pace I could get all of these books read in less than 10 years. #goals
What about you? How many unread books do you have in your house?
Read all the way to the bottom for the giveaway 🙂
Ten years ago I opened up shop here at Stacy’s Books with no other goal than just to write. I didn’t have high hopes for followers or fame and I certainly had no understanding of how people who I met here could become real friends. I didn’t read blogs and I didn’t do any research on how to start one. I just did it. I really had no idea what I was doing.
I love this blog even though it has gone through periods of neglect. I’ve documented travels, Gage’s birth and first years, and talked about the books I’ve read and movies I’ve watched. I’ve dipped in and out of memes, participated in 24 hour read-a-thons (who knew there was such a glorious thing before blogging?!), interviewed dozens of authors and even quizzed you guys for years (always tempted to start this again, we’ll see what 2018 brings).
I’ve met a few bloggers in real life with Bonnie being the most memorable since she brought be into her wonderful book club over a year ago. I’ve also met a few others briefly and always wish it was longer and happened more frequently. Facebook has let me into the everyday lives of bloggers friends which is especially great for keeping in touch with those friends who have shut down their blogs.
This morning I spent some time looking over the stats wordpress lets me see and will share the top pic, post and book review of each year. I was surprised at how many of these were tops in the years after I posted them. Thanks to Google I guess. Plus I think I changed some of the photo settings because why else would me eating fries in Rome in 2008 be a top pic in 2017? I’ll have to look into it. Unless anyone can clue me in?
*Edit – because a few of the pics were way too big I just provided a link 🙂
2008
Top post- Florence pics Top book review- WITSEC: Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program by Earley and Shur
2009
Top post- Rome pics Top book review- The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
2010
5,000 piece puzzle of Florence
Top post- Baby-to-Be Update Top book review- The Second Son by Charles Sailor
2011
Top post- My Book Problem Top book review- The Devil and Tom Walker and other Stories by Washington Irving
2012
Top post-Monday Movie Meme- Bring on the Heat Top book review-The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
2013
Top post- Book vs. Movie-Under the Tuscan Sun Top book review- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
2014
Top post- 101,102,103…Mini-challenge Top book review- The Vessel by Taylor Stevens
2015
Sundays with Gage-A weekend of Firsts
Top post- Book vs. Movie-The Secret Life of Bees Top book review- The Precious one by Marisa de los Santos
2016
Top post- Baby Movie Quiz Top book review- J is for Jane Eyre, the graphic novel
2017
Rome, McDonald’s and the Pantheon
Top post-Book vs. Movie – The Hound of the Baskervilles Top book review- Yesterday I Saw the Sun by Ally Sheedy
Thanks for stopping by over the years and chatting with me. Every comment and connection is meaningful and I’m so happy to have met you. I hope that the next ten years brings continued friendship.
Now for the giveaway- Leave a comment and I’ll enter your name for a box of bookish goodies! I’ll have Gage draw a winner next Sunday!
Every year Sheila hosts this fun event so that we can all show the book we’re starting the year reading. It was a no brainer for me. As soon as I saw the movie Wonder last month I knew that I wanted to read the book (it didn’t hurt that it was also sitting on my TBR stacks). I don’t know how much time will be devoted to reading today since hubby and kid are both home and that means family time, but I’ll see if I can carve out some time in bed this afternoon since I am still trying to conquer this bad cold that found it’s way into the house a week and a half ago. For the first time in I don’t know how many years I didn’t make it to midnight to bring in the New Year. I guess that means I’m well rested, right?
Hop on over to BookJourney and see what everyone else is reading today. You’ll even find my pic in her collage 🙂
So, what’s your first book going to be this year?
Last year Jason and I started doing monthly challenges and created a new website to keep us honest, My 30 Day Challenges. Last September I read a book a day for the month and, while difficult, it was fun. This September I want to read a book a day and make it just a tad bit harder. I want it to be a month of reading a biography or autobiography a day. I don’t read enough of them, but when I do I always come away a bit smarter and definitely filled with more empathy. But, because they aren’t my genre of choice I’d love to hear some suggestions.
I need biography/autobiography recommendations. They can’t be too long (I only have one day to read them!) so let’s not go over 400 pages.
For every recommendation in the comments (here on the blog – not FB) I’ll put your name in a drawing for my favorite book of the month 🙂
I’ll keep this open for a month, let’s say August 24th, so I have time to track down the books I’m interested in.
Thanks so much!!!
Originated at Maureen’s Books, but I first saw it at Carol’s Notebook.
I’ve read 31 books this year and I feel pretty good about that.
1 – The Best Book You’ve Read So Far In 2017
A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman. I fell in love with Ove and his collection of merry wo(men) around him. For every trouble he caused those surrounding him, at least one blessing was given out. Ove was a man with a heart, who didn’t always play well with others. I think everyone knows an Ove, some of us better than others.
2 – Your Favorite Sequel This Year
Waiting On You by Kristan Higgins, Blue Heron #3. I love this series set in New York wine country. The small town is charming, the people are eccentric and the dialogue is snappy. As with the first two books I laughed out loud many times and was brought to tears at least once. Higgins is so talented. I can’t wait to read everything she’s written.
3 – A New Release You Haven’t Read But Really Want To
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. I read his interview in Poets & Writers magazine and am eager to pick it up.
4 – Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half of the Year
Whatever the yearly Harlan Coben release is!
5 – Biggest Disappointment
Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie. I usually love her but this oldie was too dated and stereotypical.
6 – Biggest Surprise
Dream More:Celebrate the Dreamer in You by Dolly Parton. I’ve never really followed Dolly Parton, but after listening to her narrate her book I’m a fan.
7 – Favorite New Author (Debut Or New To You)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Fantastic debut about something so important going on right now. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
8 – Your New Fictional Crush
I had a little crush on Ove 🙂 He may have been a 59 year old curmudgeon, but I loved him.
9 – A Book That Made You Cry
A Man Called Ove, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
10 – A Book That Made You Happy
Good romances always make me happy and I’ve read several so far this year. The Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas, When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James, Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins
11 – Your Favorite Book To Movie Adaption That You’ve Seen This Year
A Man Called Ove was well done, subtitles and all. Although the book and movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close were different, I thought they were both well done.
12 – Favorite Book Post You Published This Year
I loved having my first Bookish Wine Party and hope to make it a yearly thing.
13 – The Most Beautiful Book You Have Bought/ Received This Year
Of the books I’ve read I really liked Almost Famous Women
14 – What Are Some Books That You Need To Read By The End Of The Year
I need to knock a few of my Classics Club list. I’m woefully behind.
If you want to have some fun, consider yourself tagged.
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