The World of Reading

Subscribe

thoughts, ideas and dreams-

A Message From Award Winning Author Vicki Pardoe

Bob Clouston
When I was six years old, my family moved to a house that was very close to a public library.  I couldn’t wait to get over to the large, gothic looking building to apply for my new library card.  Every time I went to the library, I would check out five books, which was my limit.  I was always so excited that I would run home and take the books to my bedroom.  Not knowing which book to start reading, I would pick up each book and read the first chapter of the book.  Sometimes I would continue taking turns with the books, but other times one book would become so interesting to me that I would have to stick with that one until I was totally finished reading it and then go back to the others. This book ritual continued on during my entire childhood.  It didn’t matter what in the world was going on outside my bedroom door, because in my room I was flying high on broomsticks with witches, standing next to Martians exploring Earth, or helping Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys solve mysteries.  As an adult, I found that I didn’t want to just read…

Read More

Authors' Chat, In Praise of indieBRAG, indieBRAG, Readers Thoughts!, The B.R.A.G.Medallion, The World of Reading, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing ,

Ready for a Creepy Romance for Halloween?

Geri Clouston
Foodie Lit: A genre of novel and memoirs filled with food stories and recipes Each month, I’ll share the magic of a good Foodie Lit read and one of its recipes.  Cooking and recipes in novels or memoirs take us into the mind of the character or narrator and brings us into the book’s kitchen to see, smell and share the lives within. Here’s to cooking and reading t Reverie by  Lauren Rico Steffann Challah French Toast Casserole “To do real damage, you have to know where they [the victims] are and how to push them to achieve maximum destruction.” And Jeremy, the psychopathic character author Lauren Rico creates, aims exactly for that in her novel, Reverie, the first in The Rhapsody Trio. Ready for a creepy romance for Halloween?  Try Reverie by Lauren Rico. Set in a music conservatory in New York City (warming my heart as that is one city where my husband studied violin for many years), we see competition, hard work, romance—and ok, it’s Halloween—a creepy boyfriend, sabotage and murder. Jeremy, a talented horn player and manipulative psychopath, is put into an international competition.Author Lauren Rico told me about how she developed this character. “So, my thought process was, if you…

Read More

Food for Thought, Foodie Lit, Halloween, The Self-publishing World, The World of Reading

IndieBRAG Cover Crush: Displacement by Anne Stormont

Bob Clouston
By Colleen Turner with A Literary Vacation Synopsis From the Scottish Hebrides to the Middle-East, Displacement is a soul-searching journey from grief to reclamation of self, and a love-story where romance and realism meet head-on. Divorce, the death of her soldier son and estrangement from her daughter, leave Hebridean crofter, Rachel Campbell, grief-stricken, lonely and lost. Forced retirement leaves former Edinburgh policeman Jack Baxter needing to find a new direction for his life. When Rachel meets Jack in dramatic circumstances on a wild winter’s night on the island of Skye, a friendship develops, despite very different personalities. Gradually their feelings for each other go beyond friendship. Something neither of them feels able to admit. And it seems unlikely they’ll get the chance to because Rachel is due to leave for several months to visit family in Israel – where she aims to re-root and reroute her life. Set against the contrasting and dramatic backdrops of the Scottish island of Skye and the contested country of Israel-Palestine, Displacement is a story of life-affirming courage and love. Thoughts on the cover My thoughts on the cover keep circling around to adventure, danger, and upheaval. With the compass so prominent my first assumption…

Read More

Bloggers, Readers Thoughts!, The World of Reading, Writers, Readers & Self Publishing

A Word of Thanks to indieBRAG readers

Geri Clouston
We are all authors of our own life's story, dutifully crafting each chapter, sometimes in harmony with a disciplined plot line, but more often than not simply reacting to the accidents of fate that appear without warning at the end of one chapter or the beginning of the next. And although few but our family and friends will share in the unfolding tale as we live each sentence and paragraph that does not diminish the importance of having been here; of living and loving, of laughing and crying, and yes, eventually, dying. Millions of us get up each day to write the next chapter in the book of our lives without fanfare or promise, but there are some, perhaps braver than the rest, perhaps more egotistical, or more likely simply afraid of being forgotten, who are not content to let the mark of their having passed this way to be etched solely in the minds and memories of those who loved them. Instead they seek to leave a more permanent imprint, however tiny and insignificant it may be, upon the collective narrative of mankind. Most don't write the story of their own lives, because these would be dry or tortured…

Read More

The World of Reading , , , ,

The indieBRAG Survey Results

Geri Clouston
AUTHOR SURVEY: PART TWO Thanks for joining us for the second part of our Friday Blog on the indieBRAG Survey-                   Robert In this Blog I will conclude my summary of key findings from the indieBRAG 2014 Author Survey. Type of Social Media Used. Observations: • As in 2013, virtually all of our authors use social media to promote their SP books and this is done across a broad range of social media types. • Having a website, Facebook page and being on Goodreads continue to be the most commonly used types of social media. • The usage of Twitter while still strong at 72%, dropped from 79% a year ago. • The percentage of authors having a Pinterest page jumped dramatically to 49% versus 36% last year. • Conversely, the number of authors who write a blog dropped markedly from 86% last year to 68% this year. Types of Reviews Read Observations: • All respondents say they read book reviews on amazon.com and over 60% say these reviews can Always or Usually be trusted. • Almost as many authors read reviews on Goodreads but the percentage who trust them is a…

Read More

The World of Reading

IS QUALITY IN THE EYE OF THE READER?

Geri Clouston
We are all familiar with the expression, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." It is generally interpreted to mean that different people have different ideas about what is beautiful. And as a dog lover, I must admit there are some AKC breeds only an owner can love. (To avoid upsetting anyone I hereby plead the 5th with regard to which breeds – and, of course, my purebred Alaskan Malamute really IS beautiful!). Having said that, I suspect that many of the general public who visit our website and view our list of B.R.A.G. Medallion honorees may wonder how these books can be fairly judged when, by its very nature, such judgment is qualitative rather than quantitative. Well, let me say right up front that we make no pretense that editors at the top traditional publishing houses, or professors at the leading schools of journalism, such as Northwestern's (I picked that one because my eldest daughter has her Master's from Medill), would give our honorees their stamp of approval. But I respectfully submit that those same editors and professors are NOT the people who buy fiction books or read them. Our readers ARE those people. Not professional editors. Not…

Read More

The World of Reading , , ,

Reading Around the World- Where Does Your Country Rate?

Geri Clouston
  1,600 people in 30 countries were surveyed by the NOP World Culture Score Index to find out how many hours are spent reading. The results are both interesting and significant. It appears that trends bunch in geographic clusters- Asian countries read the most, while Southern Hemisphere countries including South Africa, Australia, and Argentina show similar results. Strangely, industrialized first world countries are at the bottom of the rankings. Better minds than mine will have to interpret these findings as interesting as they are. This same study asked which genres were favored. The most popular genre was fantasy! 32% of the people surveyed said this was the genre they favored, especially among men, followed by the Russian classics, and historical fiction. Not surprisingly, romance was favored by females around the world. Modern prose came in as the least favored. Although India has the highest number of hours read per week, 25% of the country is illiterate. I think we can deduce from this that those who can read, read a lot. In contrast, only about one half of the adults in the USA read books and only about one fifth are regular book buyers.Why does this matter? Here are a couple…

Read More

The World of Reading , , ,

Reading and Your Brain!

Geri Clouston
It is well documented that reading is essential for our children to be successful in school and in their future careers. In fact, how well and how often a child reads for pleasure has more effect on their future success in school than any other factor – including their social and economic backgrounds. We spend countless hours and a great deal of money preparing our physical being with make-up, hair, clothes, bathing and doing exercise from a young age. And yet, we find it difficult to put aside a few moments a day to read. The benefits of reading non-fiction are obvious in learning skills and educating ourselves in fields such as history, science, language and on and on. But psychologists now believe that reading fiction can also have enormous benefits to both young and old in helping them understand the human character. Reading fiction increases our ability to build social ties and our empathy toward others. It can actually develop our social brains and make us more adept at camaraderie, collaboration and even love! There is an emotional response that occurs to most readers when they have read a book that successfully describes their exact predicament. A perfect example…

Read More

The World of Reading , , ,

Do you give books for Christmas?

Geri Clouston
  There is a misconception that a book is not a great gift for Christmas.– how wrong that is!No, perhaps they don't light up or shoot darts, and most don't play music (although some do!). But here are some reasons that a book is the perfect gift- 1. A book is a very personal gift. What better way is there to show that you really care about someone than to spend the time to find a gift that you think they will like. There is a book for every interest and every age. By putting a little extra thought into your gift the recipient will be moved by your thoughtfulness. 2. Books last a life time. Every time someone picks up a book, opens it and reads your Christmas message, they will think of you. 3. Books are inexpensive and easy to buy- especially online. 4. There are no batteries to buy, no sizes to know, and no color to worry about! 5. A book can entertain, teach, and share your interests and experiences. 6. There is a book for every age, race, religion and educational level. 7. And don't forget that books are a great gift to donate to…

Read More

The World of Reading , ,

Most Shared Posts

 

 

Most Discussed Posts

Blog Categories