Feature and Follow - Picture Books

One of my favorite picture books, when I was a wee lad, was The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. Everyone, of course, loved Dr. Seuss - Hop on Pop, The Cat in the Hat, The Thinks You Can Think, Green Eggs and Ham. My kids got steady doses of Clifford, Spot, and the Berenstain Bears.



You?

Feature & Follow - Favorite Coffee Mug(s)

I started drinking coffee when I started working with computers. I'm afraid I'm hooked. Of course, I also enjoy a good green tea or chai at times too. And always "black" - no sugar, no milk, definitely no artificial anything!

My two favorite mugs were bought by my son for me on two trips he took. The blue, Lionfish mug, was from when we both slept on the battleship Massachusetts with the scouts.

Do your favorite mugs have stories?

Feature and Follow - Books of 2014

The question of the week is what are your favorite books of 2014 so far.

It occurs to me this is a terrible question for me since I've only read two books published in 2014. One, Birth of an Assassin by Rik Stone, was reviewed here in April. The other, Memories, I wrote.

I have been reading (see other reviews here as well as my GoodReads list), but they are all from my TBR pile which stretches back for years!

I am sure, after this hop, that the pile will be even taller.

Feature and Follow - Armchair Travel

Alexander Kent's To Glory We Steer is set in the 1782 Caribbean. Captain Richard Bolitho and his crew hit most of the islands in this action/adventure story - the Bahamas, Bermuda, St Kitts, Jamaica, Antigua. I would love to go south (especially, of course, during the next long northern winter!) and follow the path of the frigate Phalarope (without all the smoke and swordfighting, of course!)

Feature and Follow - Great Characters or Gorgeous Writing?

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read where two blogs are featured. Click the links above to follow the hosting bloggers and featured bloggers. Enter your own post's link in the linky, then hop around to as many blogs as you can - find new blogs to follow and gain new followers as well. Mingle and make some new bloggy friends!

This week's question: How important is good writing to you? In an ideal world, a book would be beautifully written AND have great character development, plot, etc. But in the real world, which do you prefer: (1) Great characters and plot with lousy writing or (2) Middling character development and plot but gorgeous writing.

This one, for me, is easy. Bad writing is simply too distracting. I can't force myself through something that is poorly written, or contains typos (more than the odd one off), or grammatical errors. No matter how great the plot, the character, or anything else. Sorry, just can't.

What about you?

Feature & Follow - Convincing

Question of the Week: Have you ever convinced someone to read a book, a series, or a whole genre? What book(s) and who was it? Did they like it?

Not often, but a few times. I got my son hooked on epic fantasy. I have recommended some history books to some friends. Unanimously when I convince someone to try a book or series or genre, they have loved it. Since I only try in rare instances, and only when I see a clear synergy, that is not surprising. I wish I would just be better at selecting new things for myself!

What about you? Comment, please!

Feature and Follow - Authors Met

Sadly, I have no photos of me with a favorite author. I can say I worked with Susan Isaacs on a couple of community boards. I also did a soccer fundraiser with Bart Davis. Unfortunately it was in my "no camera" phase.

Have you worked with an author outside of writing?

Dinner with John Green (Feature & Follow)

John Green would be my choice for dinner, of living authors. He writes the kind of fiction I wish I could write - smart, current, somewhat quirky. I think it would be a long an interesting dinner, from hors d'ouerves to dessert.

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the Follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Feature and Follow - Hobby

I play with toy soldiers. And paint them. And research them (and the battles, campaigns, history). And build the terrain. And dabble in writing the rules. It is quirky but it is a lot of fun.

An American Civil War game

Two Crusaders

Romans on the march

Prussians from the time of Frederick the Great

Feature and Follow - Pets

Currently there are only cats. 

Blaze - a 9-month old rescue

Rudy - the 15 year old

Bit - whose previous previous owner passed away

Oreo - also 9 months old, formerly feral

Rudy

Rudy lies on the patio

His striped coat stirring

Gently in the light breeze.

He rolls his eyes and drolly

Gazes at me, his body

Stretched to its limit.

“It’s hot,” he seems to say

In a languid, fluid way.

I gaze evenly back,

Touch my drink to my

Forehead and agree.

Indomitable, the weather;

Unflappable, the cat;

Back to work, for me.

   

From Observations

Feature and Follow - Spring Break - The Gardens of Versailles

I am not one for crowds, heavy consumption of intoxicants, or most of the other things normally associated with the term Spring Break.

I do, however, very much enjoy spring. Formal gardens are superb places, in my mind - quiet, beautiful, spacious. A place where one can share time with a special someone, a small group of friends, or enjoy solitude. They are also great for walking, talking, reading, writing, and a thousand other activities that are a pleasant break from the insanity of my day job.

Versailles? Because it is near Paris, has historical significance, is near other areas of historical and cultural interest and is fantastic in its own right.

Perspective

Foregound

Phone is ringing

Baby crying

Email flashing

Dinner cooking

Client demanding

Homework trying

Midground

Through the open window

Calling is a sparrow

Trees are rustling in the breeze

Neighbor tries stifling a sneeze

Lilacs give a splash of color

Clematis climbing up the arbor

Background

High above, the powder blue sky

Wispy tendrils float and sigh

A hawk soars graceful and silent

Encouraging you to feel the quiet

Seemingly suspended beyond the clash

Remember them in the daily dash.

From Transitions.

Feature and Follow - Don't Read This!

This week's FF: Tell us about a book you didn't like and tell why you shouldn't read it!

Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford has a lot of interesting elements: personal adventure, exploring the unknown, international affairs, the destruction of natural habitat, the destruction of aboriginal cultures, amid smaller themes. It just never delivers.

This is a true story of a man who set out to walk from the head of the Amazon River to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean. I found myself disliking the author (and several of the people involved in the expedition) because of his recurring complete unpreparedness and their both lack of preparedness with him or their willing support of an expedition whose unpreparedness should have been apparent.

Maybe the author was too harsh on himself or was trying to build up the barriers to make his ultimate success more dramatic, but I found myself thinking there should be no way the expedition even started out. If I was this unprepared for a meeting, my continued presence on the project at hand would be in jeopardy.

Happy National Poetry Month!!

I'll use the fact that April is National Poetry Month to be inspired to start blogging again. "Life" was a little too busy in March, especially with the never-ending winter, but it IS time to diversify again and get back to at least some writing.

That said, I am going to try to participate in Think Out Loud, Throwback Thursday, and Feature and Follow each week. Then I am going to try and run a feature each week of one Newbery winner (or should have won - young adult book), one romance novel, and one science-fiction/fantasy novel.

Finally, I will try to post a poem a day. This is all very ambitious, please let me know how I'm doing and send me suggestions for any or all of the above!

Today's poem (from my upcoming collection, Moments to be published in multiple eBook formats through Smashwords.com, April 5):

Spring Sky

Spring has come;

There are buds on the lilacs

The sun no longer is its weak

Winter self.

But the sky, the sky

This spring night

Harkens back to the winter.

Cold air gives a sharpness

The scarcity of clouds

An open vista

To thousands, nay, millions

Of tiny twinkling pinpricks.

Feature and Follow - Change a Book?

Question of the Week: Change the plot of a book! Go ahead! Say what you wish would have happened!

Honestly, it is not in me to change another author's work. I might rewrite the entire thing from a different perspective or with a different emphasis, but then it becomes a new story.

Speaking of a new story, I am ready for SPRING!

Winter Lament

Icy wind buffets the windows,
Whistles through still bare branches
While the groundhog
Smugly smiles to himself
Deep in his dark burrow.
Faith and begorrah!
Who would have thought
That the shadow-averse
Rodent would be right.

Feature and Follow - First Time Again

I'm going to cheat.

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson because they were my very bestest favorites when I was tiny.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster because the riddles and twists of absurdity are great every time - in context and out.

And...

Flashman by George Macdonald Fraser for the adult version of absurd humor in a story with riddles and plot twists and plenty of fun.

What do you think?

Feature and Follow - Epic Spine Poem

I am afraid I am stuck working 12-18 hour shifts so the spine photo is out of the question :-(

But here's a poem made from titles in the spirit!

The Martian Chronicles
Looking for Mr. Right in All the Wrong Places
Onward
Transitions
Finding Prince Charming

 




  

Feature and Follow - To Read in 2014

 

I am afraid I don't have a good list like so many of you.

For 2014 my hope is to be able to read some of the many, many interesting books that will come out by independent authors. I want to read a SteamPunk book, an historical novel, and a biography of someone surprising. Any suggestions?

Feature and Follow - Blogger Resolutions 2014

I like to keep it simple,

1. Post more often and more consistently.
2. Interact with more bloggers.
3. Be interesting enough to attract more followers.

I was happy to get to an average of 1-2 posts each week last year. This was a considerable improvement. I'd like to continue that trend. The same can be said for the other two resolutions, looking back and forward. What say you?

Feature and Follow - Christmas Arrivals

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work?

The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools — keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them “hi” in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you! What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to WordPress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don’t have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed. All features are chosen randomly to be the feature. They are not chosen by content or name.

This week's Question:

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! What books did Santa stuff your stocking with this holiday season? Do a holiday book haul for us! If you don’t celebrate just show off your books that you got this week. Pictures!!!

  I only got one book this Christmas, but it fits me perfectly:

What about you?

Feature and Follow - Bookselling Time

The sixth book from the left on the second shelf from the top of my biggest book shelf is... Unless Victory Comes by Gene Garrison with Patrick Gilbert. I have not yet read this one. I bought it for 50 cents in a going out of business sale a couple of years ago. It is a first person account of an infantryman in the U. S. army in France in 1944-45. It is one of those histories which have been coming out recently as the last veterans of Word War II get their memoirs published before they pass on. As their numbers thin every year these issues get fewer and fewer. Soon there will be no more. These histories have the advantage that the basic story is well told; they need not provide the background detail that was necessary early on. They have the distinct disadvantage of extreme distance from the events they portray. Garrison uses narrative, with conversations presented as if they had happened yesterday. Although the story may be as he remembers it, the exact details are likely to be, shall we say, shaded. One other thing that seems to be different in these late memoirs compared to the early ones is that they often lack some of the political correctness of the early ones. I look forward to reading it.