Lately I've been wanting to do more with this blog, like review songs based on books, movies based on books, literary tidbits I come across, etc. There's so much more I could do, but I need to put some time and effort in. This might be the start, though :-)

Here's an article I have had sitting on my computer for months and meant to share:
A Visual History of Literary References on 'The Simpsons'

A great piece with a photo gallery of the authors and books that have appeared on this show over the past several decades. It's fun to scroll through and see what bookworm!Lisa is reading as well as what books and authors have been featured from time to time.
Lisa: "It’s Tom Wolfe! He’s used more exclamation points than any other major American writer."

Clockwork Prince
by Cassandra Clare
(Audio)

( REVIEW )

Going Bovine
by Libba Bray
(Audio)

( REVIEW )

My Lobotomy: A Memoir
by Howard Dully, Charles Fleming
(Audio)
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/7249810/

( REVIEW )

Duma Key
by Stephen King
(Audio)

( REVIEW )

There have been quite a few songs about The Fault in Our Stars out so far. Some contain spoilers, some don't. But here's a great one that uses books and creative instruments. There is nothing very spoiler-filled, but if you don't want to know ANYTHING going in, don't watch it yet. Also, you should buy this song because 100% of the profits go to help decrease world suck!



Some other great TFIOS songs I'm fond of (BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!!):
Our Infinity by ianswertobob
The Fault in Our Stars by Laysy Conundrum
Video Game Books by Hank Green
The Fault in Our Stars by Alex "he still owes me money for a Hunger Games t-shirt" Carpenter
Little Infinities by JaxAndCoke
The Fault in our Stars by ChRoPi21
Minesweeper by Zeroviron
Smaller Infinites by arianaweiss
The Fault in Our Stars by Xethagona
Grenade by leafrulez
Hazel Grace by juliaplusbanjo
A Song for Agustus Waters by marliasco

In honor of Becky, the sweetest most hug-filled girl I have ever known, I released some books last night and today.

I actually found myself in Old Town Alexandria last night, so I went to the tree planted in her honor by the riverside and hung seven (a magical number in Harry Potter, you know) books in her tree. They were all bagged and hung using pink ribbon from branches that were strong but skinny enough to allow the books to slide off without breaking branches rather than having people struggle to try to figure out how to get them down. All the books had pink heart post-its with messages like "Free! Take me home & enjoy!" written in pink sharpie & black pen. I got there at dusk and my camera was not happy with that, but I took about 30 photos and here are some that were less blurry/dark than others. I think it turned out pretty good in the end and hope it made some people smile. It was certainly nice to see her tree all decorated with hearts and books the evening before Valentine's Day.




Then today (Valentine's Day) I went onto the GMU campus during lunch and released another Valentine's Day book at the George Mason statue.


Books I released:
Arthur's Valentine
Misty of Chincoteague
Stormy, Misty's Foal
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
A Tale from Winnie-the-Pooh and a Smackerel of Verse
Duncan and Dolores
Buggy Bear Cleans Up
Arthur's Valentine (another copy)