Bibliophile Support Group

Next Wednesday y'all will be getting my oh-so-humble opinion of Evangeline of the Bayou , the Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List selection! (That means it was picked via booksellers at independent bookstores countrywide.) Until then, I have a Q&A with the Louisiana born and raised author herself: Jan Eldredge! (Don't forget to come back next week for my review!!) A Conversation with JAN ELDRIDGE Author of Evangeline of the Bayou 1) The glossary in the back of the book is so helpful! Where did you learn about all these creatures? Which creature from the book is your favorite? I have a small, but growing, collection of books about mythical creatures around the world. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, I researched library books, online websites, and the occasional documentary. Something that really surprised me as I started learning more about mythical monsters was the number of different cultures that share very similar ...

Please visit my new book blog, Tomes in My Thirties ! I hope you enjoy it and decide to follow it as my new primary posting location!

Oh, life. What an interesting, unexpected, sudden thing it is. Both beautiful and jarring, it happens out of nowhere sometimes. I am sorry I have been so very, very absent. Not only did my time to write shrivel up for a long time, but my reading has been minimal. How dare I, right? Yet, entering my 30s has been eye-opening. We, as responsible adults with families and friends, have so many more things dividing our time and attention that books and reading do tend to become a casualty. I have come to make peace that I will likely never read quite as much as I once was able to – at least until I retire, that is. However! I am devoted to getting back in the game a bit again. Currently I am reading THREE books: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (you aren’t surprised, don’t pretend like you are); Tank Girl One (omg my boyfriend showed me the 90s movie with Lori Petty and I couldn’t NOT seek out the original comics); and Monster Hunter International (an urban fantas...

In my final day of participating in the I Read YA Week celebration (you can keep partying, it goes on through Monday!), I found myself presented with a new challenge of: Create a graphic showcasing an inspirational YA quote. I'm not super tech savvy and I've never created a graphic before. But with just a little Google searching and a download of an app, I was able to create this: Thanks for joining me this week! I hope you all enjoyed it! Please follow or subscribe for notifications of new posts and reviews upcoming on the Bibliophile Support Group! #YAStandsFor @IReadYA

During the ongoing annual Scholastic event I Read YA Week, they are presenting readers with Daily Social Challenges to get us thinking on what #YAStandsFor to each of us individually. Today's is: Swap a YA book about the positive power of friendship with your bestie. Slight problem, my bestie is not a bibliophile. I know. I know.  But it's ok! Instead I will just spotlight a book I would share, if he was less bonkers and more bookish.   My choice: Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen. Unlike some of the initial books that ran through my mind in response to this challenge, this book shows the positive power of new friendships. It shows how friends can push you outside of your comfort zone, broadening your perspective on what opportunities are feasible to you... and in the case of Keeping the Moon , pursue a fresh start. And without being disingenuous, I can honestly say finding the right friend(s) at the right time can be a life changer. This novel highlights...

In honor of the annual I Read YA , Scholastic's #YAStandsFor Daily Social Challenge is: Give a shout out to your favorite literary fictional hero. OMG, can you ask anything more difficult from a bibliophile?!? I think this is only a step below: What is your favorite book? Seriously Scholastic, way to torture my poor, fragile, book loving mind! There are far, far too many choices and far, far too many beloved characters for me to choose. So, I am picking a particular heroine that stands out to me from a more recent read. Madeline, from Nicola Yoon's novel Everything, Everything is my choice. I am aware this book has been made into a movie, I have not seen it. But the novel was... lovely. My reason for choosing her: Madeline is a character whose Severe Combined Immunodeficiency disallows her from going outside the sanitized, safe world of her home and the company of her longtime nurse and single mother. She is positive, cheerful and intelligent - a girl who ha...