• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

High Shelf Esteem

Archives for April 2017

April 29, 2017

Literary Linking: April 24 – 28

This week’s article topics include: readers as the best lovers, the new Anne of Green Gables series, naming book characters and more!

The best bookish links of the week:

Book Riot’s Favorite Bookstores in All 50 States + DC
I love all the bookstores they list for DC, so I trust the other recommendations. I wish I could visit them all!

What’s in a Name?
I can only imagine how difficult it is for authors to choose the perfect name for their characters. Would we perceive beloved characters differently if they had a different name? Fun to think about…

The Other Side of Green Gables
An interesting article on the new Netflix series “Anne with an E.” Director Moira Walley-Beckett, a former writer for “Breaking Bad,” explores the darker side of Anne in her version of the beloved book. I’m intrigued, but as a huge fan of the 1985 version, so I’m a bit wary of this reboot.

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Movie Prequel TV Show Details
I ADORE the show, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and am super siked to read this news! In the meantime, I really should give one of the Phryne Fisher books by Kerry Greenwood a try.

Frequent Readers Make the Best Lovers, Say Dating-App Users
All I have to say to this is: duh 🙂

Foucault That Noise: The Terror of Highbrow Mispronunciation
Learn how to pronounce difficult author names and impress your friends! I’m going to drop Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s name in as many conversations as possible.

 

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

April 25, 2017

Your Ultimate Guide to Finding Cheap eBooks!

I love a good deal, especially when it comes to books. Used book sales and thrift shops are some of my favorite places to go for hard copies of books, but what about eBooks? With average prices between $9.99 – $14.99, it can be difficult to stomach paying that much without even getting the visceral joy of holding and smelling a physical book.

Luckily, there are lots of resources for finding cheap eBooks online, and I’ve pulled them all together into one comprehensive list for you. Most of the books are on sale for prices in the $1.99 – $4.99 range. One caveat: most deals are for Kindle books. There just aren’t as many for Nook or Kobo users.

I’ve had more luck with some sites more than others, but that may just be my personal reading taste. I hope you find a few that will help you find great eBooks at an agreeable price!

A quick side note – I realize the public library is also a great source for affordable (aka FREE!) eBooks, but this list is for books that you can purchase to keep in your digital collection permanently.

Kindle Book Deals
Includes daily, monthly and countdown deals. Sign up for daily email notifications of Kindle book deals by clicking “Sign Up for Deals” in the left-hand sidebar.

Book Riot Deals of the Day
Book Riot finds deals each day (usually 2) and keeps a running list of previous daily deals that are still active. Sign up for the Daily Deal email at the bottom of the page.

Modern Mrs. Darcy – Great Kindle Deals
Anne Bogel, the blogger behind Modern Mrs. Darcy (and my personal hero), does a great job finding cheap Kindle books. Subscribing to her daily emails is especially nice because she gives a short review of the books, if she’s read them. Sign up at the top of the page.

Goodreads Deals
For these deals, you need to be a Goodreads member. When you sign up for Goodreads Deals, you will receive emails any time an eBook version of anything on your Want to Read shelf is on sale.

BookBub
The sole purpose behind BookBub is to find current eBook deals. Sign up with them and they’ll email you with deals they think you’ll love, based on interests you’ve selected.

LitFlash
LitFlash is Penguin Book’s free daily email that recommends low-price eBooks based on reading preferences you made when signing up.

eReaderIQ
eReaderIQ is also a website devoted to finding daily eBook deals.  Just enter your email address on the home page and the site will send you an email each day with the best deals based on your interests.

Project Gutenberg
If you want classic literature without paying a cent, this is the site for you. Project Gutenberg has a huge collection of eBooks (more than 50,000!) that are free because they are in the public domain. Go nuts and download them all!

Riffle
Riffle is a reading tracker/book recommendation site similar to Goodreads. I’ll admit, I don’t use it for the tracking capabilities, but I appreciate the  cheap eBook notifications I signed up for.

BookPerk
BookPerk is a promotional service of Harper Collins that sends you an email each day with the company’s best digital deals.

Did I miss any cheap eBook sources? Let me know in the comments below!

Filed Under: Bookish Musings Kristen Leave a Comment

April 22, 2017

Literary Linking: April 17 – 21

This week’s articles topics include: fictional drugs in literature, dangerous libraries, hate reading and more!

The best bookish links of the week:

Visible: Women Writers of Color – Angie Thomas
I recently finished Angie Thomas’ book, The Hate U Give, and I think it’s a must-read. This interview with Thomas gives even further insight to her powerful book.

Storytime: What Matters Most Cannot Be Measured
One of my favorite parts of being a librarian is the time I spend reading fantastic chapter books to my 1st – 5th graders at lunch. There’s nothing like ending a reading session on a cliff hanger and having the kids begging for more!

The Joy of Hate Reading
As painful as it can be, I agree with the writer’s argument that reading books we hate is beneficial. I particularly like this line: “…sometimes you figure out your position only in opposition.”

Fictional Drugs of Literature Ranked
From Brave New World’s soma to pipe weed from Lord of the Rings, literature is filled with mind-altering substances. Most seem pretty suspect…

The Most Dangerous Fictional Libraries in Pop Culture
These libraries may all be life-threatening, but I’d still like to visit them!

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

April 15, 2017

Literary Linking: April 10 – 14

This week’s article topics include: a Haruki Murakami playlist, a new literary advice column, bookish vacation spots in NYC and more!

My favorite bookish links from the week of April 10 – 14

Can You Judge a Book by its Odor?
Most avid readers I know love the smell of books, but they might not know how to describe the scent other than saying it has “old-book smell” or “new-book smell.” Scientists have been working hard to help us develop a more exact vocabulary by creating a “historic book odour wheel.” 

A 3,550-Song Playlist from Haruki Murakami’s Personal Record Collection
Lots of jazz, some classical – it’s a really great playlist to listen to as you’re reading.

35 Literary Destinations in New York City for the Ultimate Bookish Vacation
Every time I go to NYC, I scour the web for fun literary sites to visit. This list is the most comprehensive I’ve come across so far. I can’t wait to head back to the Big Apple to check out some of these spots!

New Book Pays Tribute to the Library Card Catalog
I will be purchasing this book, no questions asked!

Dear Reader, Meet Your Match: An Advice Column for Book Lovers
The NY Times has a new advice column for readers. I liked the recommendations given, so it gets a green light from me.

Jude Law To Play Young Dumbledore in ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Sequel
I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the first ‘Fantastic Beasts’ as much as I did, and I think Jude Law is  good choice for Dumbledore. Too bad we have to wait until November 2018 for ‘Fantastic Beasts 2’ to come out!

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

April 10, 2017

A Literary Cure for S-Town Withdrawal

S-Town, the new podcast produced by the creators of Serial and This American Life, is being hailed a blockbuster and has had record downloads. Is it all it’s cracked up to be? In my humble opinion: YES! Its exploration of the troubled, but brilliant mind of John B. McLemore against the backdrop and characters of Woodstock, Alabama was absolutely riveting.

I finished listening to S-Town this past Saturday and was going through some pretty serious withdrawal. What could fill the John B. void?  The answer: the short stories mentioned in the podcast!

A person’s reading choices can be very insightful windows into the psyche. And after reading short stories John B. gave S-Town host, Brian Reed, to read (as well as couple others mentioned in the podcast), I feel I have an even better understanding of how he viewed the world.

For those of you who want to prolong the S-Town experience, I highly recommend giving the stories a try. All are available for free online, so for your reading pleasure, I’ve included links to them below.

Short Stories Mentioned in S-Town:

“A Rose for Emily,” by William Faulkner

“The Necklace,” by Guy de Maupassant

“The Renegade,” by Shirley Jackson

“Berenice,” by Edgar Allen Poe (includes a downloadable audio recording)

“Brokeback Mountain,” by Annie Proulx
Enjoy!

Filed Under: Bookish Musings, Reviews and Recommendations Kristen Leave a Comment

April 8, 2017

Literary Linking: April 3 – 7

This week’s articles topics include: a reading compatibility hack, Harry Potter cocktail pairings, audiobook trends around the U.S., and more!

My favorite bookish links from the week of April 3 – 7:

Are You “Reading” Compatible with Your Friends?
A super cool Goodreads hack to see if you’re on the same page (haha) with your friends!

Audible Trends: Listening Around America
Audible has created maps showing listening trends around the nation. It was enlightening to see that audiobooks on humor, money, and fairytales are what’s popular in my neck of the woods.

Harry Potter Cocktail Pairings
I like this list because it doesn’t create weird, overly-sugary, made-up drinks to go with Harry Potter books/movies. These are traditional (aka REAL) cocktails that work well with the HP universe.

You Can Get Chocolate Eggs from the Easter Bunny at Dracula’s Castle
The Easter Bunny will actually make a showing at Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania. I can only hope that the chocolate eggs handed out are filled with cream or caramel, not blood!

Filed Under: Literary Linking Kristen Leave a Comment

April 4, 2017

Spring Cleaning the To-Be-Read List!

Spring is finally here, and my urge to clean and organize is in full gear! Some of my energies go towards more traditional spring-cleaning pursuits — purging my wardrobe (I don’t really need those XXL tees fired from a cannon, do I?), clearing out the mail building up on the dining room table, etc. — but I recently felt the dire need to address an issue in my digital life. I needed to pare down my Goodreads to-be-read (TBR) list.

I like to think of myself as a committed reader, but each time I looked at my 572-title TBR, I just couldn’t fathom getting through the whole list, ever. It was time to take action.

Knowing that it wouldn’t always be easy to remove books from the TBR list, I created guidelines to follow as I went through all the titles. I followed my weeding rules strictly and successfully slashed my total number of to-read books down to 404!

I acknowledge that 404 is still a huge number, but I’m pretty proud of myself. Even though I wasn’t physically getting rid of books, I still felt a twinge of guilt each time I took a title off the list. Thankfully, my guidelines made the process easier. If your TBR is weighing heavily on you, please use any or all of my approach!

There were three main parts The Great TBR Weeding of 2017:

  1. Develop criteria for books that stay on the list
  2. Decide on deal-breakers. What absolutely must go?
  3. Develop a list of other factors to consider while assessing a book

And here are the guidelines that came out of this break-down:

Criteria for Staying on List

  • Has an average of 3.5 stars or more
  • Plot summary is still intriguing
  • Is a title that falls under one of my reading challenges (e.g. This year, I’m reading all the titles from the Best of the Best Books of 2016 list I created in December)

Deal-breakers

  • Books I wouldn’t read cover-to-cover (e.g. textbooks, cookbooks)

Additional Factors To Consider

  • Ratings given by my friends on Goodreads
  • Was the title a friend’s recommendation?
  • Do I own a copy of the book already? If so, was it a gift?
  • Did I add it to the list because of literary guilt/obligation?
  • Awards
  • Is it out of print? And if it is, is it worth finding?
  • Is it longer than 500 pages? (I’ve realized recently that I’m not a fan of super-long books, so I’ll avoid them when possible)

It took a full weekend to go through my entire Goodreads TBR, but being me, I actually thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In the end, I deleted 168 books from the list. The primary reasons for not making the cut were low star-ratings and unappealing plot descriptions.

I did make 8 exceptions to my guidelines, so I’m particularly interested to see how much I end up liking those. And even though a fair number of books didn’t interest me upon reassessment, there were a bunch that I’m excited about all over again! (See lists of titles below.)

So, even though my TBR is still pretty ridiculously long, my reading brain feels a little bit lighter and is ready to tackle a spring full of reading!

Do you have any tips for paring down a TBR list? Share in the comments below!

 

My 8 Exceptions (and why I’m keeping them on the list)
The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese, by Michael Paterniti – the book was a gift and I”ve heard it recommended on podcasts

Conversion, by Katherine Howe – the witchcrafty topic intrigues me, plus it would be a good pairing to read with The Crucible, which I have been meaning to read for YEARS

Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee – the book was a gift and I promised a friend I’d read it to discuss

A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler – the book was a gift and it’s gotten good ratings from Goodreads friends

The Chimes, by Anna Smaill – the magical-music premise sounds too cool to pass up

Boy Snow Bird, by Helen Oyeyemi – very mixed reviews from friends, need to see for myself!

Smoke, by Dan Vyleta – the description is so intriguing

The Guineveres, by Sarah Dormet – it’s been recommended on Anne Bogel’s What Should I Read Next podcast.

 

My Rediscoveries
The Truth about Forever, by Sarah Dessen – I thought I’d read it but totally haven’t. I don’t have to wait until May for a new Sarah Dessen book. Wohoo!

Wolf in White Van, by John Darnielle

Bone Gap, by Laura Ruby – so many great star ratings from my friends

Our Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf

The Shadow of the Wind , by Carlos Ruiz Zafon- this one has a boatload of stars from my friends, plus it’s a book about a books, and I can never resist a book about books.

The Incarnations, by Susan Barker – a Beijing taxi driver starts getting letters from his past incarnations… too cool!

The Heart, by Maylis de Kerangal- love the premise

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Annie Barrows – so many stars!

Neon Green, by Margaret Wappler – Chicago in 1994 with ALIENS? Yes, yes, yes!

Filed Under: Bookish Musings Kristen Leave a Comment

April 2, 2017

Literary Linking: March 27 – 31

This week’s article topics include: the audiobook boom, a Mo Willems interview, playlists for books and more!

My favorite bookish links from the week of March 27 – 31:

Ferdinand Gets a Trailer
Beloved storybook bull, Ferdinand, is getting his own movie! I always have reservations when a picture book is turned into a feature-length film, but I love flower-sniffing Ferdinand so much, I’ll see it no matter what.

America’s Unhealthy Obsession with Productivity Is Driving Its Biggest New Reading Trend
With a commute that is between 2.5 – 3 hours long each day, audiobooks are a godsend for me. I like to the idea that I can fill “dead time” by listening to a story, but I don’t think I’ll ever go as far as one of the guys interviewed in this article. He listens to his books at 3X speed! No thank you.

Mo Willems Interview on the New Yorker Radio Hour
Mo Willems is an absolute delight. In this interview, he discusses his new title, Welcome: A Mo Willems Guide To New Arrivals. I can’t wait to get my hands on it when it come out in May.

“And Then the Murders Began” Is the Best Way To Start a Book
Add “and then the murders began” after the first line of a book, and you’re in for some giggles.

Playlist for a Classic Novel: To the Lighthouse
I love the idea of creating playlists for books! And this one has some great tunes. I might have to “borrow” this idea…

Filed Under: Reviews and Recommendations Kristen Leave a Comment

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Beat the Last Weeks of Winter by Forest Bathing through Books
  • Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • Literary Linking: January 28 – February 1
  • Literary Linking: January 14 – 18
  • What I’ve Been Reading: January 2019

Recent Comments

  • Kevin on Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • Jenny on Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • Allison | Mind Joggle on Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • crystal tracy on Thank You for Reading High Shelf Esteem!
  • Lory @ Emerald City Book Review on What I’ve Been Reading: January 2019

Archives

  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016

Categories

  • Bookish Musings
  • DIY
  • Interviews
  • Literary Linking
  • Recipes
  • Reviews and Recommendations
  • TBR
  • What's Making Me Happy
  • Worth the Read?

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

© 2015 Pretty Happy WordPress Theme · By: Pretty Darn Cute Design