Category: Library Loot

#TheSundayPost VIII | From the misery of a cold to a revival of random bookish joy! [with a bit of an #unboxing reveal for #FindingEsme!]

Posted Sunday, 1 March, 2020 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 14 Comments

The Sunday Post badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

  • Enter your link on the post-
  • Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)
  • Link back to this post or this blog
  • Visit others who have linked up
  • Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

A note about the format I am using to journal #TheSundayPost:

I am finding I like being able to give my readers who cannot visit my blog each time a new post, review or guest feature goes live a digest journal of what is happening on #JLASblog each week! If you are familiar with the style in which I journal my readerly adventures via #WWWednesdays (see also Archive) you’ll know why I like this journalled style for #TheSundayPost!

It’s a way of talking about what is bookishly on my mind whilst sharing where my travels in Fiction & Non-Fiction took me through the last seven days! Quite stellar – so very thankful I was encouraged to participate as I love being able to think about which stories settled into my heart and which of the stories I am most eager to see arrive by postal mail and/or via audiobook! It’s a bit of a lovely way to journal your bookish life and have a weekly reminder of the experiences of you’ve gathered and love to remember!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

From the misery of a cold to a revival of random bookish joy,…

IF I had to speculate how my February would have concluded on a sour note of a severely intensive Winter cold which not only rendered me undone by a severely crippingly migraine (as it was unfortunately attached to said cold) but also incredibly *sore!* ears (wherein it affected ALL attempts at listening ot audiobooks previously highlighted via my last Sunday Post!), a throat which felt like strep and at the very end of it all – I nearly lost my voice just like Mum! She had it for just under a week and a half – whilst I’ve barely squeaked out of it under a fortnight but as its still ‘with me’ that’s not exactly conclusive yet!

I found myself getting down quite a bit about it – normally I can ride out a cold with reading but this one was unrelenting with side issues and a heap of unwelcomed fatigue; so in essence, unless it was a streaming television series (here’s looking @ Star Trek: Enterprise & Zoey’s Playlist!) odds are in great favour I passed the hours of the final weeks of February without many stories in my hands or arriving inside my headphones. The one audiobook I attempted to read didn’t work out very well and I regret I had to postpone listening to it. I’ve already requeued it to be heard this March.

Meanwhile, I also learnt a harder truth about expectations and failed inspirations in regards to Star Trek: Picard (see also my last #BookishNotBookish – updated that section!) and on a happier note, we had a ‘second chance’ Wintry weather spurt which left me wickedly happy despite how real the struggle was to embrace brisk winds (with sore ears, throat and a migraine!) and colder than ice temperatures – a part of me was trying to remember why I love grey skies, cold Wintry days and how good it felt to have a vacation from the Sun! Colds like this one muddle your senses and your ability to enjoy everything you normally *love!* – but despite that, there was one day where Mum took me out for cinnamon bagels and hot tea which reminded me to anchour into small joys and random serendipity rather than feeling curtailed by a situation I had zero control.

In the midst of feeling quite unwell, I did have a turning bit of tide in regards to how I recaptured some bookish JOY this week! I had to stack all my #bookpost into different piles – flat parcels together, bundled boxes together and it became a bit of a tricky situation as I wasn’t sure if any of the short piles would fall! lol I definitely have drawn a bit of curiosity from postal workers lately and I can’t wait to reveal a few thoughts of joy to the one who enquired about a few recent arrivals. She’s one of the few who enjoy chatting to me and hearing snippets of my life as a book blogger – which makes getting #bookmail ever more exciting when you can talk about it with others.

There was a keenly hidden SURPRISE though this week as I entered a bookaway whilst I was taken ill and to be quite honest, had FORGOTTEN all about it! I was visiting with a bookish friend of mine whose also an author of the stories I enjoy reading in her Speculative worlds of interest: Jennifer Silverwood (via her blog) when I noticed a curious review about a Middle Grade Fantasy novel called: Finding Esme! Wait til you discover the happiness this #bookmail brought into my life! I mean, talk about a total 360 experience from feeling taken under by the cold and being lifted in pure joy by what the author sent me!! I can’t remember getting quite a bookaway like this before except for one which I won from Jane Porter prior to being a book blogger.

Whilst I have some bookish updates regarding being an influencer and book ambassador with the Once Upon A Book Club subscription box service! Further updates are arriving this Tuesday and next Tuesday respectivefully! I also might have another bit of news to share next Sunday in regards to a new opportunity which came into my life this weekend – however, mum’s the word as I am still finalising the details.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Parajunkee Designs

*UPcoming!* blog & Twitter milestones:

(celebrating my 7th Year as a book blogger and joyful tweeter : dates to remember!)

I created my blog on the 31st of March, 2013 – my blogoversary!

I launched it LIVE to the world on 6th August, 2013 – my blog’s birthday!

I waited til the 13th of November, 2013 to join Twitter – my #twitterversary!

To help celebrate my #blogoversary @ the end of the month – I’ll be tweaking, blogging and finishing my edits for my *End of the Year Survey, 2019* – thereby allowing me to dig into the past years which were unable to be featured previously and will be time capsules of the recent past about the stories and authors I loved discovering, reading and spending time with as a reader! Due to stay tuned for this special post arriving on 31.March!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Some updates about where my bookish adventures took me this final week of February and what I am planning to do my first week of March as a bit of a renewal of resuming where I left off with the stories and books themselves. I feel like I lost so many *hours!* and yet, despite that well of inactivity I had quite a busy week overall! Even though technically speaking you’ll find that my #bookpost stacked up a bit to where I had the joy of revealling a heap of loveliness all at once!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Callisto Publishing Club : what Jorie requested in February

Will be reading this coming week:

  • The Story of Frida Kahlo: A Biography Book for New Readers by Susan B Katz
  • The Easy 5 Ingredient Vegan Cookbook: 100 Healthy Plant Based Recipes by Nancy Montuori
  • Super Green Smoothies: Veggie-Based Recipes to Boost Your Health and Well-Being by Danielle Omar
  • → [arriving this week] Essential Vegetable Fermentation: 70 Inventive Recipes to Make Your Own Pickles, Kraut, Kimchi, and More by Kelly McVicker

Sort of goes without too much saying that when your under the weather as severely as I was (and of which the main details are not shared!) reading or viewing food isn’t exactly going to be your top priority! I could barely eat most days be as it were! However, within the last day or so I’ve started to go through my #bookpost and I’ve had the joy of rediscovering these Callisto books which arrived! I am overjoyed truly because the cookbooks are beyond budget friendly and the biography is awe-inspiring on so many levels – plus I love the graphic design and bright colours they used to illuminate Frida’s life as a young girl.

The one which is still enroute is the Veg Fermentation – I have my eye on the kimchi section as I’ve heard such good things about that over the years. Plus, if I can finally slay the mystery of fermenting my own foods I’m one step closer to my self-sufficiency goals as I eventually want to harvest my own garden of fruit, veg, herb and cut flowers whilst canning for Winter, etc. I have appreciated the concept of eating macrobiotically since my early twenties and fermented foods are a part of that lifestyle. I’m definitely leant more towards a macro-vegetarian vegan and GF lifestyle any other way of eating as those are the foods which I have found help my health and wellness the most. Thereby you’ll be seeing me requeue my #TheBookishFoodie sections on Jorie Loves A Story as we move into Spring and I can start reviewing cookbooks again! Read More

Divider

Posted Sunday, 1 March, 2020 by jorielov in #bookclubVIP, #Unboxing BookMail, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book Subscription Boxes, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie's Box of Joy, Library Loot, Once Upon A Book Club, Photography of Jorie, Spontaneous Musings, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post

#LibraryLoot No.2 | Two Years Absent from a meme, but without a break from my #library!

Posted Thursday, 7 July, 2016 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Library Loot badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Library Loot is a Weekly Event on {Wednesdays} to showcase which books we each have hauled back with us from our local libraries! This is to encourage everyone to realise that if there is a book that tempts you to read it, there is no reason not to stop by your local library either to check it out, place it on hold/reserve, request it to be purchased, or to borrow it through ILL! Most readers have such a steady stream of TBR Lists either written down OR maintained by memory, that it’s nearly impossible to even manage the continuation of purchasing each and every single book that strikes a reader’s fancy! I ought to know, I sort of boomeranged right past my own budget for books, and celebrated with glee over the induction of a new local library! We have five branches now, which makes it rather ingenious if you want to ‘jump your holds/reserves’ or visit a different branch that focuses on a specific topic, subject, or genre!

This specific event originally was co-hosted by: Claire of The Captive Reader and Marg of The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. When I resumed my posts in [2016] I learnt Linda of Silly Little Mischief was the new co-host! Personally anything and everything that celebrates the love of libraries is something that I am going to be keen on advocating! Be sure to add your linked post to one of their blogs!

Quirky as I am, I’m going to be running this meme on Thursdays, so not to interfere with my regularly scheduled journalling within the other meme I love: #WWWednesday!

*ILL= inter-library loan; TBR= To Be Read

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

I decided to [add] a journalled note per each checked out book which whet a thirst of interest for me to read – as I have noticed over the years, there are a heap of lovely books I’ve meant to read time after time, borrowing them as soon as they were acquired or years later once I found them in the stacks! Here’s the curious bit: sometimes our time with a book is off-kilter to our initial bout of curiosity; where we’re not able to properly attach our minds directly into the books we’ve checked out with such keen interest!

I have no idea it’s been a [two-year!] gap between my first #LibraryLoot and my resuming posts this Summer 2016! This speaks to how ‘time can slip past the best of us’ and I wanted to do something to change this pattern of behaviour as an active patron of my local library! I wanted to give myself the hours to fully appreciate what I’m discovering via the library (including through ILL’ing or purchase REQs) whilst being mindful if the timing is ‘off’ at first borrow, I want to take a #25PagePreview to make the story’s acquaintance!

Thus, each forthcoming #LibraryLoot entry of mine will reveal my curiously curious thoughts on *25!* pages I’ve read per title I decided to keep on my #TBRList! This doesn’t necessary refer to the ‘first twenty-five pages’ nor does it refer to the Appendixes! Each week I log an entry on Jorie Loves A Story, it will be a happy surprise for you dear reader!

I am happily including a link to the author’s site & Twitter feeds – as I’m a social reader who loves the randomness of communicating via tweeting my bookish life!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Library Loot for the Week:

Jorie's Library Loot (7 July) banner created by Jorie in Canva. Book Photography Credit: Jorie of jorielovesastory.com.

Stack One:

Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death by James Runcie (Synopsis)

Author’s Site | About Grantchester | @james_runcie

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders (Synopsis)

*IF anyone knows her website or Twitter, please comment below this post*

The Sherlock Files: The 100-Year Old Secret by Tracy Barrett (Synopsis)

Author’s Site | @writingtracy

*If the book hadn’t smelt weird & if the pages hadn’t felt as if they had been submerged in water & then run dry, I might have been able to read this one before sending it back to the library! There was a penciled note about it’s condition but frankly, I found it unreadable. Once returnt, questioned if I could ILL a different copy in order to actually have a copy which would be readable – am awaiting the final word on this as apparently it’s not allowed under normal circumstances as the book is already owned & in the collection. Although, the librarian who ‘sniffed’ the book to understand why I was returning this unread was so overcome by it’s ordour she instantly knew my reason was valid.

This is the Story of You by Beth Kephart (Synopsis)

Author’s Site | @BethKephart

The Seafront Tearoom* by Vanessa Greene (Synopsis)

*this title is listed as ‘The Seafront Tearooms’ on the author’s site but this is the title of the novel I had on hand to examine from my local library! Pub’d by Berkley via Penguin Random House (2014).

Author’s Site | @VanessaGBooks

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

My #25PagePreview Notes:

[ I stopped reading on Page 25! ]

Borrowed Books via my Local Library: All thoughts and initial impressions on behalf of the books I’ve borrowed via my local library are for my own personal edification. I was not obliged to post my reflections on behalf of these novels, as I sought them out for my literary curiosity. Likewise, I was not compensated for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

NOTE: #25PagePreview is a tag and a feature on behalf of jorielovesastory.com shared via Twitter. Read More

Divider

Posted Thursday, 7 July, 2016 by jorielov in #25PagePreview, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, Library Catalogues & Databases, Library Find, Library Loot, Local Libraries | Research Libraries

Library Loot #1: Reading Knows No Boundaries!

Posted Wednesday, 28 August, 2013 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Library Loot hosted by Claire of The Captive Reader and Marg of The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader.

Library Loot is a Weekly Event on {Wednesdays} to showcase which books we each have hauled back with us from our local libraries! This is to encourage everyone to realise that if there is a book that tempts you to read it, there is no reason not to stop by your local library either to check it out, place it on hold/reserve, request it to be purchased, or to borrow it through ILL! Most readers have such a steady stream of TBR Lists either written down OR maintained by memory, that it’s nearly impossible to even manage the continuation of purchasing each and every single book that strikes a reader’s fancy! I ought to know, I sort of boomeranged right past my own budget for books, and celebrated with glee over the induction of a new local library! We have five branches now, which makes it rather ingenious if you want to ‘jump your holds/reserves’ or visit a different branch that focuses on a specific topic, subject, or genre! This specific event is co-hosted by: Claire of The Captive Reader and Marg of The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. Personally anything and everything that celebrates the love of libraries is something that I am going to be keen on advocating! Be sure to add your linked post to one of their blogs!

*ILL= inter-library loan; TBR= To Be Read

Library Loot for the Week:

Eek! I am bursting at the seams to share the story of how I came to find “The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe” by Mary Simses, in my canvas [reuseable] sack by which I cart out my library finds + books weekly! You see, this tale originates in Norway, whereupon a dear friend of mine who blogs at “Shh! Reading is in Progress” asked me if I had come to read this novel!? Curious, as the title eluded to a story that just might be a book I couldn’t put down {as isn’t that what we all hope for when we initially find a book!?}, I pulled up the card catalogue to see if my library had purchased a copy! It sounded new, as in either within the last month or sooner! And, sure enough, the book was nowhere to be found! I had a sneaking feeling it was a book that may have been overlooked to purchase OR simply left to purchase at another time. Libraries always have to weigh and balance what they purchase, at which time of year, and if they have an audience willing to read the materials! Ooh, the migraine of sorting all that out, must be dreadsome! :( I quickly pulled up our virtual Purchase Request box, and wrote about this book that my dear friend spoke to me about! I told the Acquisition’s Librarian everything she might need to know to sort out if the book would be a good fit for our library collection and as I clicked the submit button, I murmured to myself, “I wonder,…”

Truly, reading knows no boundaries when connecting friends with books they are sure to love!

Of course, dear hearts, the tale does not end there! Surely, no! I had other lovelies to pick up and betwitched my furrowed brow a questioning mark as to how to properly consume the stories all the while knowing my onions about them too! I am curious, are other readers bemused such as I am when more than a plentiful amount of books come in ALL AT ONCE!? :) :)

  • The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck
  • The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
  • Widow of Gettysburg by Jocelyn Green
  • & Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail, is a discovery I made whilst browsing through my library’s card catalogue! Such blissful and wonderous moments await anyone who keys in a ‘subject’, a ‘keyword’, or ‘publication year’!! I oft search straight-up publication years, although I am known to toss things up a bit and opt instead for one of my favourite subject searches! :) It’s hard to speculate how this particular title drew my eye originally! Oh, my dear stars! Look what I have done! I have re-found an author I discovered a year or two ago! This is the follow-up companion to Secrets at Sea!! A fact that I overlooked whilst placing this one on hold! And, what fun! A quick search procured a query to confirm there are plenty of copies available! Ooh boy, indeed! I get to read Part I and then, happily this Part II! Ooh, now that I’m this enthused I am hopeful that the story is as inviting as the premises and the lovely cover art that accompany these lovely books! Eek. Happy is the reader who is me! :)

I’m not sure how many of you are aware of the typosphere!? However, I’m a girl who wants to own a retrofitted &/or restored vintage typewriter {hence the rumblings of such in the sidebar hugged close to the badge for The Ethical Treatment of Typewriters! A ha, so she does have a reason for adding such curiosities! Gotcha!}, and anytime there is even a winking of a mention of a book, motion picture, tv serial, song, OR daresay, musical or theatre production that has become inspired by OR whose story surrounds the ‘typing world’,… I am posed and at the ready! In this vein, how could I bypass the opportunity to read The Other Typist??

In my rush of excitement to see my library had picked up a title by Ms. Green, I failed to remember that Widow of Gettysburg is actually book two in the Heroines Behind the Lines Civil War series! Wedded to War is the first book, by which, somewhere in my memory I mistook for book two, rather than the start of the series! Aye! I will have to return this book unread, and let everyone else get into it first, as although I do make a few exceptions for reading books out-of-order {the Coffeehouse mysteries come to mind, by Cleo Coyle!}, I am quite firm in my choice to read a series ‘straight-through til morning!’ :) I enjoyed reading about this series initially, by way of OWG, whilst Ms. Green was visiting and responding back to comments! I always find myself grateful for the interactions I am blessed with published authors!

Being a regular visitor on the Porch {ie: Southern Belle View Daily}, I am quite in the loop with books that are upcoming for each Belle that brings her wit and wisdom to the Porch each week! Therefore, I am rather keen and happy to see that its my turn now to dig into Once Upon A Prince and let the magic of a happily-ever-after-fairy-tale story wash over me like moondust sprinkles of joy! We all need light-hearted stories to cheer us up or make our smiles that much larger whilst living through an extended period of bliss! Joyful hearts and happiness are always a pleasure to uncover and sink into!

Ooh, boy! I wonder what will come in next!?

I’m alternating between Sunday Showcase + Library Loot on a weekly basis, as whichever feels right to me to post on, is where you will find me sharing my library tales of glee!! :) :) Be sure to scroll down into my sidebar to scope out the posts in either category that you may have missed previously! And, yes, each book I’ve mentioned will surely pop up again once I am able to consume its story and settle its characters into my mind’s eye! Stay tuned! IF a book doesn’t re-appear on my blog, I was not able to finish it OR on the offhanded chance, it wasn’t one that soaked into me the way I had hoped!

Book badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.{SOURCES: Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with edits by Jorie in PicMonkey! Seriously wicked bookish badges {entirely FREE!} provided by Squeesome Designs!}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.

Divider

Posted Wednesday, 28 August, 2013 by jorielov in Library Find, Library Loot, Library Love, Southern Belle View Daily