My Own Little Book Corner

I've already recommended Paperbackswap.com as a great place to get and get rid of your books. I've recently signed up at another site - Bookins . This site is different from Paperbackswap in several ways. At Bookins each book is assigned a different point value where at PB each book is one credit (except audio books which are 2.) The other main difference is that with Bookins you print out the postage for any books you send out at no cost to you. You then pay $3.99 for each book you receive. UPDATE - I got the Bookins newsletter today and beginning Sept. 23 the price will increase to $4.49 per book. Not so sure if that's going to be a good deal for me or not. Other minor differences are that there is no "community" at Bookins. The books are all sent "delivery confirmation" so there is no need to log on and confirm that you received the book. Paperbackswap is my favorite of the 2 because of the simplicity of 1 credit for 1 book. Plus while I like the i...

Twelve Years as a Slave by Solomon Northup This was a surprisingly good book. When I saw all the footnotes, appendixes, etc. I was afraid that it may read too much like a textbook, but I was wrong. This account of Mr. Northup’s life from freeman to slave and back to freeman was very interesting. It was a straight forward account depicting his slave owners as he saw them. One was a kind, Christian man, but the one he labored under for 10 years was a drunk who was fond of the whip. This book brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. 5 stars Cutting Lisa by Percival Everett This book promised to be much more than it was. In fact, reading the summary on the back is more thought provoking and entertaining than the book. The book does have it moments of wit and dialogue, but overall a big disappointment. Good premise – not carried out though. 2 1/2 stars Savannah Comes Undone by Denise Hildreth An enjoyable book, but not as enjoyable as the first one – “Savannah from Savannah.” ...

Vote here for the state of Louisiana and our children could receive 50,000 new books to read! You can only vote once a day, but you can vote everyday until the end of the contest on July 31st. Please help put Louisiana in the #1 spot!

Check out Paperback Swap . This is a place to get rid of books you no longer want, and to get some new ones to read. Condensed version - you sign up and post 9 books. You then recieve 3 credits that can be used to order 3 books. (Each book is 1 credit whether paperback or hard cover. The exception - books on tape are 2 credits.) Your books are listed and can be ordered by others. Your cost is in mailing books that others order. These are sent Media Mail and most books cost $2.13 to send. When the person you sent a book to recieves it, you recieve a credit and the cycle continues. If you sign up, use me as a reference (jantalk) . If you do, I will recieve a credit, which I will return to you. So, you can get 4 credits to start your trading. Be warned - this is an addictive site and you may find yourself at the post office more than ususal,, but it's well worth it.

Summer was always a season of reading for me growing up. Those were the days that Jackie and I could go to the library, browse, get our books and then take them home and read. Now there are reading incentive programs to encourage summer reading. Most libraries have them and a few bookstores. (If you have children in grades 1 - 6, check out the program at Barnes & Noble . For reading any 8 books and keeping a brief journal, your child can get a free book. Not a bad deal. ) Of course the library programs are always good too. I'm participating in the one with the East Baton Rouge Parish Library . They made it easy for adults - read 3 books, record them with a brief summary and turn it in for prizes. The prizes that made me sign up were a $5 certificate for the Recycled Reads sale and a cookie on a stick from Cookies by Design . If they had only had a coupon for CC's it would have been perfect - a book, a cookie and a cup of coffee. What more do you need?!

Here's the latest book reviews (trying to keep it short and sweet): "The Goodbye Summer" by Patricia Gaffney This is the story of a few months in the life of Cadie Winger. These months find her living alone for the first time in her 32 years of life as her grandmother moved into Wake House, a place that those who do not need intensive medical care, just a little help, can go and live together. Caddie quickly makes friends with the residents, visiting them and helping them to record their biographies among other things. There's more than one goodbye in the story, but the main goodbye is Caddie’s goodbye to her old self. 4 stars "The Virgin's Lover" by Philippa Gregory The follow up book to “The Queen’s Fool” this chronicles the time in England when Elizabeth became queen. A tale of politics and love as Elizabeth and Robert Dudley become close companions in both areas. Those around them see the pitfalls – the largest being that Dudley is married and that...

Time for the monthly reviews. I'm really trying to shorten them up, so here goes - First I read the novel that the movie "Simon Birch" was based on - John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany" . I didn't see the movie - but enjoyed the book. It is a good story of friendship, faith and politics. I like how Irving fits it all together. Owen Meany is the type character that I would have liked to know. He may have been short in stature, but he was a big person in many other ways - unselfish, kind, loving. The story has it's funny moments and it's serious times. I give it 5 stars. The next book I read was "S is for Silence" . In this book Kinsey becomes involved in a search for a missing mom. The catch is that the mom has been missing for years. Foul play is suspected, but then again with the lifestyle the mom had, she may have just ran away. Leave it to Kinsey to solve it. Another good one from Sue Grafton - 4 stars. "Jewel" by Bret...

Hard to believe that another month has flown by and it's time for my much anticipated book reviews. (Read sarcasm there.) But whether you like them or not, I'm going to keep them up. I will try to keep them short though. So here goes - The first book of the month was "The Time Travelers Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. This book will mess with your head. This is the story of a man who has a genetic disorder that causes him to travel through time. It was a little confusing to me at times because of the past, present, future thing – even at times there being 2 Henry's at different ages. But it is an interesting concept and story. I would have liked to read more about why Clare was so attracted to him, but overall a good read - 5 stars. "Light on Snow" by Anita Shreve was my next read. It is a touching story of a father and daughter coping with the loss of their wife/mother and daughter/sister. The father couldn't stand the memories, loaded up the girl, N...

Note to my BR friends - if you would like to read any of these books, let me know. If I still have them, I'm happy to loan them out! March was a busy reading month for me. I started the month with "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt. This is a memoir of his life growing up in Ireland. His was a poor family with a father that couldn’t stay away from the pubs. Through all the pain and sadness, Mr. McCourt tells his story with a touch of humor. It's not my favorite writing style but I soon found the rhythm and could hear the story being told. Jan's rating - 4 Stars "Original Sin" by Brandt Dodson was the next book I read. Easy reading mystery about an ex-FBI agent and his first case as a private investigator. Brandt Colton is hired to investigate who killed Emma Caine – a “upstanding” high school counselor. Her nephew is in jail accused of the crime, but his girlfriend, Angela, believes he is innocent. Colton is a good PI and enters the investigation w...

I was able to read 6 books this month and while they weren't quite the "jackpot" of January, they were good books. Here's a quick review of each one. "Split Second" by David Baldacci was the first book of the month. I've read several of his books and generally enjoy them. While this one was an easy read and entertaining, I found there were several weak spots in the plot. The basic story is about one ex-secret service agent and a current secret service agent who both had "lost" presidential candidates - one through an assassination and the other through a kidnapping. They join in an investigation of the latest event. Not my favorite book, but not a complete waste of time either. This one gets 3 1/2 stars from me for being barely above average. The next book, "Life on the Color Line:The True Story of A White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black" by Gregory Howard Williams was a disappointment to me. I think I expected too much from it. Las...