A personal note

January 6, 2017

Dear Readers,

I’m taking this time to let you know that I will be slowing down a bit with the blog. For most of my life, I’ve read a book a day. But a few years ago I started needing reading glasses, which I am not all that comfortable with, so that slowed down my reading. I do love reading on my Kindle or iPad sans glasses, but even that I find somewhat tiring as well. That slowed my reading down to 3-4 books a week. Yes, I can hear you laughing, I know that’s still more than most people read but for me it felt strange.

As I got used to that, I discovered another vision problem, this one a bit more serious than just aging eyes. I was diagnosed with a rare form of glaucoma called Narrow Angle or Angle-Closure Glaucoma. I am very fortunate to live near the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the best eye hospital in the country (US News & World Report) and had laser surgery called laser iridotomy. The ophthalmologist also has me using prescription eye drops.

A year or so later, I started having vision problems again. Blurry vision, night blindness, intermittent spots before my eyes, all of which made reading more difficult. I’ve now added another eye drop to my day which is helping a bit. I go back to the doctor next week and will see what he has to say.

Meanwhile, I’m down to reading just a couple of books a week and since my job keeps me on a computer for most of the day, which I find fatiguing to my eyes, it is also slowing down my review process.

Is there a bigger fear in life for a reader than losing one’s vision? Not for me. So I’m being prudent here, slowing things down, and I wanted to let you all know.

If you subscribe to the blog, you will be notified when I post a new review. Otherwise, check back when you can. I have some awesome videos to share, including an interview with Diana Gabaldon that Outlander fans won’t want to miss! And of course, I am still giving away books.

Thanks for your understanding, and hopefully this will just be a minimal setback. One can only hope for the best…

16 Comments | Ramblings | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

Happy 2017!

December 31, 2016

happy-new-year-2017-wishes-animated-e-card-gif-image-1

Happy New Year! I wish you all a year filled with good health, with joy, with love, and lots of good books!

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2016

Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas filled with beauty, love, joy, and good books!

Please share this with a small child that you love…

This year, every child in town wants a toy dog for Christmas, but Santa runs out before he can get to Polly’s house! So instead, Santa makes the holiday extra special by giving Polly a sweet, loveable, real puppy. Polly—and the puppy—couldn’t be happier! Story and illustrations by Irma Wilde.

*Brightly Storytime is a video series for kids that brings popular children’s books to life in a read-along format. Families and kids can enjoy watching and listening to narrated videos that include visual cues to help young readers follow along. This is a read-along version of the picture book THE CHRISTMAS PUPPY by Irma Wilde, a holiday classic originally published in 1953.

Brightly (www.readbrightly.com) is a Penguin Random House site that helps parents raise kids who love to read.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Happy Chanukah!

December 24, 2016

happy-chanukah

I found this article from Mental Floss magazine, and thought it was interesting so wanted to share…

Why Are Blue and White the Hanukkah Colors?

by Amanda Green

If you’ve ventured out in public since November 1, you’ve probably noticed Christmas decorations in red and green. The two colors are so synonymous with the holiday that a tree decked out in other shades can feel downright subversive. But Christmas isn’t the only holiday with its own color scheme. Hanukkah paraphernalia—from candles for the menorah to this 11 foot inflatable lawn bear with a dreidel—tends to come in blue and white or blue and silver.

The most obvious explanation for blue and white Hanukkah colors is the Israeli flag, designed by the Zionist movement in 1891 and officially adopted in 1948. The flag’s blue stripes symbolize those found on tallitot, traditional Jewish prayer shawls that are worn at synagogue, bar or bat mitzvahs, and Jewish weddings. So why are there blue stripes on tallitot? According to the Bible, the Israelites were told to dye a thread on their tassels with tekhelet, a blue ink from a sea snail, “so that they may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them.”

In 1864, the Jewish poet Ludwig August Frankl named blue and white “the colours of Judah” in a poem not so surprisingly called “Judah’s Colours.” An excerpt: “When sublime feelings his heart fill, he is mantled in the colors of his country… Blue and white are the colours of Judah; white is the radiance of the priesthood, and blue, the splendors of the firmament.”

Blue and white come with universal associations, too. White suggests purity, peace, and light. Blue is associated with the sky, faith, wisdom, and truth. (The expression isn’t “true blue” for nothing.)

And what about the silver we see in Hanukkah decorations? Well, some people think the holidays call for a little more sparkle, not to mention the popularity of silver menorahs. Blue and white clearly aren’t just the colors of Hanukkah. They’re symbolic all year long. L’chaim!

This article originally appeared in 2012.

http://disqus.com/embed/comments/?base=default&version=32fb5356850e3c8516843e872f7ef391&f=mental-floss&t_i=node%2F31820&t_u=http%3A%2F%2Fmentalfloss.com%2Farticle%2F31820%2Fwhy-are-blue-and-white-hanukkah-colors&t_e=Why%20Are%20Blue%20and%20White%20the%20Hanukkah%20Colors%3F&t_d=Why%20Are%20Blue%20and%20White%20the%20Hanukkah%20Colors%3F&t_t=Why%20Are%20Blue%20and%20White%20the%20Hanukkah%20Colors%3F&s_o=default

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Meet a winner!

December 14, 2016

This is Gloria from Oswego IL – she was a winner of the International Thriller Writers Bookshelf, winning all these signed thrillers. Doesn’t she look happy?

winning-books

This could be you! All you have to do is enter for a chance to win. Plus, if you subscribe to the newsletter or follow this blog, you get an extra entry into every contest you enter. Check out the Win Books page for more information on how you to enter this month’s contest.

Best of luck! And congratulations, Gloria!

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Author Linda Fairstein on her first mystery

December 9, 2016

Linda Fairstein (author of INTO THE LION’S DEN) talks about the first mystery she ever wrote… as a fifth-grader.

for the third to sixth graders you know and love…

Click to purchase

Into the Lion’s Den

The Devlin Quick Mysteries, Book 1

Watch out, Nancy Drew—Devlin Quick is smart, strong, and she will DEFINITELY close the case in this thrilling new mystery series for girls and boys from New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein

Someone has stolen a page from a rare book in the New York Public Library. At least, that’s what Devlin’s friend Liza thinks she’s seen, but she can’t be sure. Any other kid might not see a crime here, but Devlin Quick is courageous and confident, and she knows she has to bring this man to justice—even if it means breathlessly racing around the city to collect evidence. But who is this thief? And what could the page—an old map—possibly lead to? With her wits, persistence, and the help of New York City’s finest (and, okay, a little bit of help from her police commissioner mother, too), Dev and her friends piece the clues together to uncover a mystery that’s bigger than anyone expected—and more fun, too.

With all of the heart-pounding excitement that made her internationally bestselling Alexandra Cooper series a hit, Linda Fairstein paves the way for another unstoppable heroine . . . even if she is only twelve.

Into the Lion’s Den by Linda Fairstein. Dial Books (November 15, 2016). ISBN: 978-0399186431. 320p.

2 Comments | Ramblings | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

Comedian Jo Firestone presents OLIVER TWIST

December 2, 2016

After reading the book in 10 minutes, comedian Jo Firestone gives a report on Charles Dickens’s OLIVER TWIST. Please sir, we’d like some more time to study.

Actually, learning to read a book in 10 minutes is an excellent skill to have when you just want some broad information about a bunch of titles. I have taught this over the years and use it myself – not to review books, but to have an idea about new books and sometimes I find a book I was to actually read. Check it out, courtesy of the American Library Association and Jessica E. Moyer:

http://www.alaeditions.org/blog/62/how-read-book-10-minutes

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

11 Ways to Read (Women’s Edition)

November 18, 2016

They may be nameless actors in generic stock footage, but there is no doubt that Stock Video Women love to read. Let them show you 11 of their favorite reading methods. Can you dig the funky jams?

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

John Grisham on his literary influences

November 12, 2016

In high school, author John Grisham (THE WHISTLER) was assigned a book by Steinbeck, who he appreciated for the clarity of his writing. Later, John le Carré’s THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL became an important influence.

THE WHISTLER

From John Grisham, America’s #1 bestselling author, comes the most electrifying novel of the year, a high-stakes thrill ride through the darkest corners of the Sunshine State.

Click to purchase

We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice.

But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It’s rare, but it happens.

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.

But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history.

What’s the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month’s cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It’s a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.

But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous.

Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.

THE WHISTLER by John Grisham. Doubleday (October 25, 2016). ISBN: 978-0385541190. 384p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Meet Claire Fraser from OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon

October 27, 2016

kick-a** characters – Claire Fraser from OUTLANDER… time traveling British combat nurse, sassy Sassenach, and so much more. Dig into her story with this stop-motion tribute.