Books and Sensibility

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DIY : Invisible Bookshelves

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Ever since we did this post on bookish gifts I’ve been obsessed with the idea of Floating Bookshelves. The  Umbra Floating Bookshelves are quite pricey,  so when I saw this DIY invisible bookshelf on Pinterst I had to give it a try and it worked like a charm ! Making 3 bookshelves cost ~15$  including the cost of nails and hammer/screw driver

  • L-Shaped Brackets (Home Depot, shelving aisle)
  • Screws/Nails
  • Hammer/Screw Driver

Since there are brick walls in my apartment I had to use screws with a masonry bit. I’m sure you can use a nail and hammer depending on the surface. This is how May December Home set hers up….

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Subscribe ! Authors on YouTube

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We don’t always get to meet our favorite authors face to face, but YouTube can be a nice substitute. These writers aren’t just stacking up loyal readers but also subscribers! It’s a place to hear your favorite authors give advice, writing insights and a little peek into their lives.

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Skylark Release Party @ One More Page Books in Arlington, VA

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I love the details on the cake. 

Last weekend, Kat and I headed to the Northern Virginia bookstore,One More Page Books, for the release party of Skylark by Meagan Spooner. We’ve been excited for this book since BEA, so we just had to go to the release.

The party was packed with friends and family of Meagan along with readers, booksellers and of course bloggers.

Meagan made a wonderful speech to start off the night. You can tell she has great friends and family supporting her. During the signing she took her time talking with each person and writing a personal message in each book.

Meagan has such a great energy about her and towards the end of the night she took the time to talk us about her journey to publication and her writing process.

We got to see the UK cover of Skylark and learned that the genre of the novel is less Dystopian and more Magical Steampunk. Doesn’t that sound like an awesome genre ?

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Summer of Sarah Dessen : Keeping The Moon

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“You should never be surprised when someone treats you with respect, you should expect it.” 

― Sarah Dessen, Keeping the Moon

  • Release Date : September 1999
  • Publisher : Viking/Penguin
  • Genre : Contemporary
  • Pages : 240
  • School Library Edition : 228

Synopsis: Colie expects the worst when she’s sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira while her mother, queen of the television infomercial, tours Europe. Always an outcast — first for being fat and then for being “easy” — Colie has no friends at home and doesn’t expect to find any in Colby, North Carolina. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Cafe and meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, best friends with a loving yet volatile relationship. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along.

Keeping The Moon is a short read that manages to hold its own and pull a at the heart strings. This was the first Sarah Dessen novel  I’d ever read almost ten years ago *cringe* when I was 14-years-old. I remember that as soon as I finished it I sat there for a minute and then started to read it again.

Now 45 pounds lighter, Colie Sparks is no longer the “fat” girl in school.While she could easily shed the pounds, losing her low self-esteem and self consciousnesses is going to take a summer of change.

With bullying a hot topic nowadays this novel is still relevant today. Fifteen year old Colie Sparks has been lled fat, she has been made fun of  and is even called a slut. She is so down in her self that she begins to expect these things even whens she spends the summer in a town where no one knows her.

In the beach town of Colby, NC Colie befriends  a pair of  20 something best friends; Morgan who is a sweet optimist and Isabel, the straight forward brash beauty.As we are introduced to the town of Colby and its residents you really get the feel that you are meeting and getting to know these people for the first time

I did find this novel off plotting wise. It seems as if two plots; the friendship between Colie’s and her aunt’s young border, Norman, and her friendships with Isabel and Morgan could have been worked together. Instead it felt like they were separated into different sections, as if they weren’t apart of the same story.

This isn’t your average light summer at the beach novel. This novel begins real turn in Dessen’s writing. Plot and message began to flow more evenly in her writing after this. This is one of Dessen’s first books about summer and I think she really finds her place there.

Connections

I didn’t pick up any connections to her previous three novels.

 

What is the Summer of Sarah Dessen ?