Helen's Reads » Musings

Gulping My Way To Australia

helen — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:07:42 +0000

Are you a sipper or a gulper when it comes to reading? This question was posed by science fiction and fantasy writer Jo Walton on Tor.com. I am definitely a gulper. I know this because I inhaled the Stieg Larsson Millennium-trilogy by the end of June and since then have been experiencing a bit of a book reading famine. I admit I do hate getting into a new book. For that, I need pure uninterrupted time where I can focus on the new characters and plot. Summer time is too distracting for me. There is golf to be played, gardens to tend, outdoor projects to contemplate. So knowing I have airplane time to fill is the best. This week my husband and I are headed to Australia. With two 18 hour flights staring us in the face (not to mention the hours killing time at various airports), I will be dusting off my book bib and diving in dirty face to what I hope will be some great reads to report back to you on. Enjoy what’s left of the summer everyone. See you in September!

Celebrity Autobiography – One funny book club!

helen — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:10:03 +0000

Brew-HaHa Over Beer Ad and Book Clubs

helen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:44:00 +0000

According to Galley Cat, Bud Light’s Super Bowl Ad depicting a couple of beer loving boys crashing a book club has offended book clubs, literary bloggers and readers. Personally, I thought it was silly but, hey, it’s the Super Bowl people. In fact, my husband was complaining that a lot of the ads made the guys look like boobs. So lighten up folks, whether it be your beer or your attitude. Comments?

The ‘Twilight’ Zone “About An Inch From Seattle On My iPhone”

helen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:54:42 +0000

Shop Indie Bookstores

In honor of Halloween week, here is Seattle Times pop critic Mark Rahne’s hilarious video tour of Forks, WA which any Twilighter knows is the setting for the Stephenie Meyer’s vampire series. Whaahahahahaa…

Are You A Trade Paperback Snob?

helen — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:57:28 +0000

I admit it. I am a trade paperback snob. I realized that the other day when I had the option of buying The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in either mass market paperback (MMP) or trade paperback (TPB). Even though the mass market was definitely cheaper, $7.99 vs. $16. 37, I chose the trade paperback. Why? I would like to think that its solely because I prefer the larger size (TPBs are usually about the same size as hardbacks, sightly shorter because the binding is done differently), the larger fonts (better on my aging eyes) and the thicker paper (often manufactured from the actual sheets printed for the hardcover edition). But to spend $8 more for the same book? There has got to be something deeper going on here? I know that today’s MMPs are not the dime store novels of yore. In fact, all of the current top sellers can also be found in either format. So what’s the deal? Is anyone else as stuck up as I am?

Publishing facts courtesy of http://stason.org

Worst Writing Contest

helen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:04:50 +0000

I cracked up when I read this winning entry from Eric Rice of Sun Prairie, Wis. for worst opening sentence to a novel in the detective category of The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, affectionately known as “It was a dark and stormy night” contest.

“She walked into my office on legs as long as one of those long-legged birds that you see in Florida the pink ones, not the white ones except that she was standing on both of them, not just one of them, like those birds, the pink ones, and she wasn’t wearing pink, but I knew right away that she was trouble, which those birds usually aren’t.”

Cutting For Stone

helen — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:12:21 +0000

This is a great, big epic of a book. I loved author Mark Salzman’s blurb on the back cover “This book has everything: nuns, conjoined twins, civil war, and medicine.” A perfect vacation read. One you can wrap yourself up in and devote yourself to.

Click here to purchase this book from your favorite Indie Bookseller

Book Author: Abraham Verghese

This post was submitted by helen.

No Books Will Need A Digital Converter Come February 2009

helen — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:13:15 +0000

If you watch any tv at all, than you have seen the many public service announcements about the upcoming switch from analog to digital television viewing. My husband and I lament every night that with all the cable channels available to us, why is there never anything worth watching (but I digress). Watch this funny video which first aired on the Spike Feresten Show and then have the last laugh by unplugging and READING.

Book Store Joke

helen — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:08:30 +0000

Q: Where can men over the age of 60 find younger, sexy women who are interested in them?

A: Try a book store—under fiction.

Last Minute Costume Idea For Literary Minded

helen — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:41:15 +0000

This past week I attended a dress up Halloween Party for seniors where my friend Marsha and her tap group were the entertainment. I marveled at all the clever costumes. My favorite was a distinguished gray haired woman in a lovely black lace evening dress. A sign hung from her back that said “Please help me. I’ve lost my hat and my broom.” Now that’s the kind of clever costuming I’m always looking for. No muss, no fuss. For that very reason, today’s Halloween post on Stuff White People Like caught my attention. They suggest going as a character from a book that has NOT been made into a movie (or I might add, no one has read).

These people are unlikely to be recognized as their characters, but are highly recognized as being smart. If you cannot pull off a group costume, this is your best bet. Just pick ANY author who shares your heritage, find a character who matches your age and sex and remember their name (this might be the only hard part). Then show up in regular clothes.