Spring, hobbies, and things to look forward to :)

 Hello my fellow bookworms!

Spring is almost upon us! The birds are back singing, the sun is staying out longer, the days are sunnier, it is a nice time to start reading outside again (with a hot cup of coffee or tea, of course).

(c) Race Point Publishing, Kate Macdonald

It feels nice to not be stuck inside as much all day, though there are quite a few hobbies you can do if you are stuck inside. I have been quite fond of baking lately, especially tarts! There is a book based on the recipes from Anne of Green Gables that you can buy (or borrow from your local library), called The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook: Charming Recipes from Anne and Her Friends in Avonlea. Written by the granddaughter of L.M. Montgomery herself, Kate Macdonald shares with us the recipes that Anne created and also her own grandmother! I can't wait to try them!

You can also listen to free audiobooks from Amazon Prime for a new fairy tale collection called Faraway: Fairy tales for the here and now. These are quick, 35 - 50 minute reads, written by popular YA authors. The collection includes: The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell, Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone, The Princess Game by Soman Chainani, The Cleaners by Ken Liu, and The Wickeds by Gayle Forman. 

If you feel in the mood for writing, there are also a number of works from 1925 that are in the public domain, that you can adapt in a new way. As an article from NPR, by Neda Ulaby, states: each year on January 1st, a new list of published works with expired copyrights are released. Besides being the start of a new year, it is also Public Domain Day! The newly released from copyright novels include, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald,  The Trial (in German) by Franz Kafka, The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie, A Daughter of the Samurai by Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto, The Writing of Fiction by Edith Wharton, and more.

There are also quite a few virtual events to look forward to. On June 8th to 9th, Edelweiss BookFest will be hosted by Edelweiss Above the Treeline. They are still accepting applications for those interested in booth space or sponsorships, so more information will be released on the event closer to the days. 

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Barnes and Noble has been great at keeping up author/reader events, catering to all ages. Many events are hosted by Zoom, and some are ticketed, which means you will have to purchase an entry into the Zoom chat. But, there are quite a few virtual events on B&N Facebook live, which means it is a live showing and free! 

If you are itching to get out of the house and outside, Litographs has a list of indie bookstores (some that even I did not know of yet!) that you can go visit. 

What have you guys been up to lately? Any good book recommendations? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time! :)

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! :)