Happy Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday my fellow bookworms!

 

Spring is in the air and new books are on their way! I have a fantastic book to review, but I am not done reading it yet, so please expect it soon. The book is called Hope City by Neil Perry Gordon, a historical fiction novel that has quite the adventure, including venturing into the goldfields of Alaska!

In the meantime, I have some fun book news for you:

• If you are an author, or aspiring author, of young adult works, you can pitch a book in the 2021 Book-Pitch Contest by Voyage, A Young Adult Literary Journal! You need a query letter, a synopsis of your story, a one-page sample, information about where you are in your story project to join, and a $20 (USD) reading fee per entry. A grand prize winner will win $2,000 (USD) plus a book mentorship with YA author Kylie Schachte (author of You're Next, mentorship is worth $2,500), and publication of your story 

• If  you are like me and miss traveling and visiting museums, the Louvre just released more than 480,000 works of art online to the public. You can search for specific art pieces, or just browse with some music in the background. You can always add sounds of people grumbling and taking photos if you really miss that museum experience!

• Has anyone been keeping up with all the new adaptions of books to movies/TV shows? I am excited for the new Netflix adaption of Shadow and Bone (releasing April 25th)! I did like the adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones' Earwig and the Witch, which is currently on HBO Max. I borrowed the audiobook from the library and am curious to see how close the adaptation is to the book. Being the last book Ms. Jones had written, I am a bit sad and hesitant to read it. But, I loved Howl's Moving Castle (another Studio Ghibli film!), so I cannot wait to dive in!
  

• Penguin Random House has a promotion right now, called Read to Sleep, that helps you find books to read yourself to sleep. The idea is to explore books that allow you to escape from the real world, to allow you to better relax and dose off to sleep. I have a hard time reading to sleep, since I usually just stay up til the early hours of the morning to finish the book at hand! They are also hosting a giveaway, so try your hand at winning a new mattress and 25 books of your choice!

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

I am sorry I don't have more to talk about this month! It has been a crazy time, as I have been trying to get vaccinated for COVID-19. I was lucky enough to receive my first of two doses this past week, which I am very happy and thankful for! I cannot wait until I can read in the forest, in a park, or on a beach again.

I hope you all stay safe. Until next time. Happy reading!

A Few More Fun Links...

Hello bookworms!

Still wondering what is there to do when you are stuck inside? I  have a few more links that I found out about while catching up on all the news. At least in this way, you can feel like you have some adventure in your life!

Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels

• Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France is an art museum that has the option to explore masterpieces online, all without the tourist cameras in your face! Google has provided an interactive experience, so you can "walk" through the halls of the museum. 
• Browse around the beautiful Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France! Another lovely Google interactive experience, where you can take in the breathtaking views.
• The Smithsonian Natural Museum of History in Washington D.C. is a museum where you can look at dinosaur bones, gardens, gems, insects, and more! This is also an interactive experience, which you can choose through the different links they offer on their website.  
• Explore Yogyakarta, Indonesia's Prambanan, the Largest Temple Complex in the area with stunning architecture. 
• Take a virtual tour of Valley Forge National Park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. You can see a tour of Former President Washington's headquarters!
• The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Boston, Massachusetts has some interesting fashion design you can preview, as well as other styles of art.



Photo by bongkarn thanyakij from Pexels

• Into trains? The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania located in Strasburg, Pennsylvania is offering virtual tours!
• Yaoyi Kusama's Infinity Mirrors is an exhibit that I wanted to visit at least once. Now we all can through NPR's short video walk-through, where you can see everything in detail. 
• If you like classical music, you can listen to Berlin's Philharmonic online performances. Just be sure to enter in the code mentioned at the top, as this is normally a paid service, but is free for the time being. 
• The Vienna Opera in Austria is offering online performances of their latest performances. For someone who has yet gone to an opera in person, I am watching quite a bit of these performances online...
• The Sistine Chapel in Vatican City has some of their collections online for you to browse from afar.
• The Social Distancing Festival is a mix of live streaming events from online artists that you can enjoy from home. It was made to help those artists who events and projects where cancelled due to COVID-19. 



Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels

• Speaking of live streaming, you can watch gamers, musicians, artists and more live stream daily on Twitch. If you have an Amazon Prime membership, you can sponsor a streamer for a month for free and have access to bonus content!

Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom from Pexels

• Check out the animals via live cams at the San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California or the panda cam at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.!
• Or check out the underwater views of animals at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia.
• The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois is releasing behind the scenes content on their Facebook page, which includes penguins running through the museum. So cute!
• Runner's World is hosting a free 15-minute LIVE workout on their Instagram page starting at 12:00 p.m. noon ET.
• Corepower Yoga is offering free streaming classes for yogis, so stretch out and feel good!
• The Everywhere Book Fest is a virtual book festival for children's literature to help make up for the cancellation of live fests and fairs. It is slated to take place May 1 - May 2, 2020. You can see information as it is available via Twitter (linked above) or via the event website here. 
• Learn a new language with Duolingo!
• Practice (or learn) coding skills with Codeacademy.
• Take a free class with Coursera, where you can learn new skills or build upon the ones you already have.

Am I missing anything that you found and want to share? Let me know in the comments!

Take care, keep healthy, and happy reading! :)

Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

(c) Kasie West and HarperTeen

Let me start off by saying, I love to read books by Kasie West. She has the cutest love stories! I always make sure to read her latest novel. The only one I couldn't finish was "Lucky in Love," due to the main character's compulsion to spend money (something that irritates me in real life). I have not yet read Pivot Point or its sequel (but will!), but have read her other novels.

Love, Life, and the List is a story about growing up. Abby Turner's life is about painting, trying to get her mom out of the house to try and help her with her anxiety, trading sarcasm/witty remarks with her grandfather, and being with her three friends, including her best friend, Cooper. She works for an art curator, surrounding herself with other people's artwork every time she goes to work. She has her sights set on an exclusive art winter camp, but believes she is not good enough until she can sell one of her own paintings. Cue beginning of story!

Warning: the next paragraph may contain spoilers!
Abby is told that she does not have any heart in her paintings. So she creates a list to complete to "grow" her heart. She goes through the list with Cooper, who still doesn't realize Abby loves him (or refuses to believe it, which is more likely). (End Spoiler) As her experiences from the list begin to change her, Abby realizes she cannot keep running from her problems and begins to face each one head on.

I loved this book. It made me laugh (a lot). It made me cry (it did, really)! It reminded me of my own experiences of falling in love and growing up. I highly recommend this book, especially for YA readers, and those who need a little love in their life during this dreary winter season. :)