Armchair BEA ~ library love

Introduction

Introductions are "an Armchair BEA standard" so we can make friends and meet new people.  Choose five questions to tell us a bit about yourself:

1.  How long have you been blogging, where are you from, and how did you get into blogging?

I've been blogging since January 2007 so I could talk about books with interesting people.  I'm "from" Chattanooga, Tennessee; but I now live in St. Louis, Missouri.  As a matter of fact, I missed Armchair BEA in 2014 — even though I participated in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 — because I was in the process of moving to St. Louis.  But this year, I'm baaaack!

2.  What is one book everyone should read?

There's no such thing, but I can recommend one to people whose interests are similar to mine.  I recommended the 2014 novel Goodnight June by Sarah Jio to my church's book club, and I'll find out next week if they agreed with me or not.  I finished it in a couple of days and rated it a 10 out of 10 because I couldn't put it down.  If you want to read more about it, I shared the book's first lines, here.  I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoyed the beloved children's book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.  The author imagines a bookstore owner who was "Brownie's" friend and the inspiration for her moon book.

3  What book are you reading right now?  What is the top book in your TBR pile?

Reading now:

Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions (4th edition) ~ by Kate Lorig, Halsted Holman, David Sobel, Diana Laurent, Virginia Gonzalez, and Marian Minor, 2012, for a 6-week class that I'm taking.  The sub-title of the book is "Self-Management of Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Depression, Asthma, Bronchitis, Emphysema and Other Physical and Mental Health Conditions."  It encourages us to set eating goals and plan appropriate exercises.  I'm learning a lot.

Next book from TBR pile:   

Run ~ by Ann Patchett, 2007, a novel recommended by an acquaintance.  Since their mother's death, Tip and Teddy Doyle have been raised by their loving, possessive, and ambitious father.  As the former mayor of Boston, Bernard Doyle wants to see his sons in politics, a dream the boys have never shared.  But when an argument in a blinding New England snowstorm inadvertently causes an accident that involves a stranger and her child, all Bernard cares about is his ability to keep his children — all his children — safe.

4.  What book are you most looking forward to reading this summer?

Participants were given "Big Books" bookbags this week at the kick-off of the summer reading program at the University City Public Library.  This summer's "big book challenge" is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1877), which is 923 pages long.  On the blue bookbag are the words:  "I like BIG BOOKS and I cannot lie."  Well, to tell the truth, I rarely tackle books this long.  I did borrow a copy from the library, but I've decided to put the free version on my Kindle to read because it won't be as heavy to hold.  Do you like long books?

5.  If you were stranded on a deserted island, what author would you want to bring with you?  Why?

Jodi Picoult?  Barbara Kingsolver?  Madeleine L'Engle?  (Yes, I know L'Engle died, but we're imagining aren't we?)  Someone who has written about how to survive in the wilds?  Or maybe I would rather have my best buddy there and we'd write our own novel in all that time with nothing else to do but survive.  (Donna, are you up to being stranded with me on a deserted island?)

Share a picture of your bookshelf.  (Whoever set up these questions called it my "shelfie.")  This is one of four tall bookcases in my apartment, each six shelves tall.  I actually need more.  Many of my books are still in boxes, almost a year after I moved here.  I have, at least, been slowly weeding out my books.  Unfortunately, I have also been adding books.  Surely, all you book lovers understand that dilemma!

Library Love

Librarians are awesome. Not only are they helpful, they're very fun to talk to and give great recommendations. Show your library some love, and the wonderful men and women that run it. Why is your library fantastic? Got any funny stories? Feature your library on your blog? Do an interview with a librarian?

Donna

Let me tell you about Donna, who is one of the Crown Center librarians.  After renovations, the library was ready to be restocked so it could be opened.  Donna, a book lover and former English teacher who had also worked for several years as "the bookmobile lady" for schools, volunteered to help.  You can see in the photo what she and Larry, another resident of the Crown Center for Senior Living, produced.  Books are all donated, the work of sorting and re-shelving is done by volunteers, and books are checked out on the honor system.  We sign out a book and bring it back whenever we're finished with it.  No problem.  Thanks to volunteers like Donna, we enjoy a variety of novels, biographies, thrillers, mysteries, and large print books.

ArmchairBEA ~ nonfiction

We can choose ethics or nonfiction or both for today’s Armchair BEA topic.  I'd rather discuss nonfiction.  I read fiction (adult, YA, and children's), and I also read a lots theology, memoirs, history, science, politics, art, writing, and — here lately — the psychology of de-cluttering my home.  (I also read the Facebook feed from my friends who post status updates and such, but I don't know whether to classify that as fiction or nonfiction.)

Bloggers are linking up on today's ArmchairBEA nonfiction post.

Armchair BEA ~ developing as a blogger

This is the day we are supposed to talk about how we develop ourselves as bloggers.  Have you branched out into your community?  Do you partner with other bloggers?  Have you gone "pro" or begun supplementing your income through your blog?  Are you a long-term blogger, and how has your online personality developed over the years?  These are simply ideas.  Think development and tell us what comes to mind.

Sheila wrote:  "If you read this blog you probably have a pretty good idea of what I look like.  Why?  Because my picture is on the right sidebar and used as part of my morning meandering post.  Why do that?   By putting my face on the blog, people who read me feel as though they know me.  For me, I think it increases a comfort with the writer, a feeling you know them, and that is why I do it.  It also helps when you go to bookish events such as the expo [BEA in New York] for people to know you.  When people approach me, they know me by my face."  She also takes business cards, like the one above, when she goes to BEA.  I see her photo on it, but not her name.  Maybe it's on the back?

I've been blogging six and a half years, since January 2007.  I used that header above, showing Yella Cat reading a book, in 2008 when my blog was over-run with cats looking for treats.  I got my cat Kiki involved in reviewing some of the books, and I tried a variety of features like this one:  You may be a bookaholic...

... if you ever stayed up so late reading that you overslept the next morning and were late to work.

And I never finished writing this post.  Yep, maybe I read too late, overslept, and wasn't thinking.  Anyway, I had it set to post at 12:01 a.m.  One minute after midnight.  Only now have I discovered I never finished it and never clicked the Publish button.  Summary:  Over the years, I've tried a variety of things on this blog, but mostly I now write about what interests me day by day.  I don't worry about what you, my readers, think of me.  Maybe I could get a bigger following — why, exactly, DO you "follow" me, anyhow? — but I'm more interested in pleasing me and enjoying my blog.  When I'm too busy, I don't post anything.  When I have several things to say, I post more than once a day.  If you like the same things, I figure you'll read it.  If not, that's okay.  I'm still having fun.

Becoming a better blogger ~ bloggers are linking up on today's ArmchairBEA post.

ArmchairBEA ~ introducing myself

Please tell us a little bit about yourself:  Who are you?  How long have you been blogging?  Why did you get into blogging?

This photo shows me with my brother Billy in front of our family's 1940 Plymouth.  Even though I've loved books since long before this picture was taken around 1944, I've changed a bit, as you can see by glancing at the more recent photo on the right sidebar.  I've been blogging since January 2007, mostly to talk about books with interesting people.

Where in the world are you blogging from?  Tell a random fact or something special about your current location.

I live north of the river in Chattanooga, Tennessee — famous for the "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" song and known as "The Scenic City of the South."  Looking north, my home is left of center in the distance.

What are you currently reading?

Clutter Busting by Brooks Palmer (2009) is helping me see that these piles of books are so heavy with negative vibes that I'm not living the free and joyous life I could be living.  As I read, I'm making headway at cleaning out my clutter.

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.

I got acquainted with my best friend Donna, when she and I volunteered to summarize and ask questions about Charles Frazier's 1997 novel Cold Mountain for our online book group.  We called ourselves the Book Buddies, as part of Oprah's first book club in the late 1990s.  When Donna and I later opened a bookstore together, we named it for our online club.

If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?

Rita Nakashima Brock writes about women's issues in relation to theology.  She and Rebecca Ann Parker wrote Proverbs of Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering, and the Search for What Saves Us, which I rated 9 of 10.  One of my friends heard her in Phoenix recently, and I'd like to talk with her — or both of these authors.

ArmchairBEA is having participants do introductions today.  Or we could blog about classic literature.

Armchair BEA ~ 2013 agenda

Tuesday, May 28:   Introductions and/or Classics

We kick off the week by starting with introductions of ourselves.  Last year, we changed things up by having everyone answer questions from a pre-determined list.  It was such a hit, that we are doing it again.  The questions and more information will be posted in the weeks leading up to the event, so you can plan accordingly.

Credit:  Salon

Our first genre discussion will revolve around classic literature.  Ideas for discussion include a list of your favorite classics, books you would recommend to a non-classic believer, or even what draws you to keep reading those classics over and over again!

Wednesday, May 29:  Blogger Development and/or Genre Fiction

Day 2 we talk about how we develop ourselves as bloggers.  Have you branched out into your community?  Do you partner with other bloggers?  Have you gone "pro" or begun supplementing your income through your blog?  Are you a long-term blogger, and how has your online personality developed over the years?  These are simply ideas.  Think development and tell us what comes to mind.

The book-ish focus will be genre fiction.  What draws you to a specific genre?  Do vampires, zombies, or witches float your boat?  Or, do you prefer the heat of romance?  Recommend your favorite genres and/or books and help build reader TBR shelves a bit more!

Thursday, May 30:  Giveaways and/or Literature

We take a break from official discussions on Thursday to allow participants to hop around the web and enter blogger-hosted giveaways!  Start planning your giveaway now!

The genre of discussion is general literary fiction.  Which works of art have changed your life?  Be creative and make a list outlining books featuring specific subjects (i.e., animals, recommended prize-winners, outstanding authors, etc.).

Friday, May 31:  Ethics and/or Non-Fiction

We get back into discussions on Friday with the heavy topic of ethics.  Do you have recommendations to new bloggers to ensure credit is given to whom/where credit is due?  Have you had an experience with plagiarism?  How did you deal with it?  What are the guidelines as bloggers that we must follow?

We bridge the genre gap from fiction to all things non-fiction.  Do you read non-fiction?  Why or why not?  Is there a specific type of non-fiction that you prefer to read (i.e., historical, true crime, memoirs, biographies, etc.)?  What is the perfect book for a first-time non-fiction reader?

Saturday, June 1:  Keeping it Real and/or Children's/Young Adult Literature

What exactly does "keeping it real" mean?  The meaning lays in keeping.  How do you not only grow an audience, but how do you keep them coming back for more?  If you have been around for years, how do you keep your material fresh?  How do you continue to keep blogging fun?

Our final genre focuses on the younger crowd:  children's picture books and young adult literature and everything in between.  What are the top 5 (or more) books that every child should have on his shelf?  If you are an adult who reads YA, why do you keep going back for more?  If you are not a reader of these books, think back to your childhood and share your favorites from your younger years.

Sunday, June 2:  Armchair BEA Wrap-Up

On this final day, we encourage you to wrap-up the week with your favorites and highlights of the week.  Did you learn something new?  Did you connect with a new-to-you blogger?  What was your favorite discussion topic?  Do you have ideas for future years?  You can write your own blog post and link it up, but we also encourage you to take our end-of-event survey.

If you are interested, click here for Armchair BEA registration.  If you wonder who else is doing this, click here for the list of participants for 2013.  According to the comments here, they'll publish questions on the Armchair BEA blog "prior to the week of the event."

Beyond the blog ~ freelancing and free stuff

Today's Armchair BEA topic:

"Has blogging opened up opportunities for you beyond getting free, advance copies of new books?  Has it helped you get offers to write or review elsewhere (maybe even for pay)?  Have you gotten invites to special events or places you might not have been to otherwise?  Today, we'd like you to talk about those opportunities in you own posts, and later this morning, we'll have a guest post from one of our own Armchair BEA team members, about her freelancing experiences."

Is that what it's supposed to boil down to?  Free ARCs, offers to write or review, getting paid, invitations, and freelancing?  If so, I might as well leave the conversation.  I've already been there, done that, and retired.  I have been a writer since the mid-1960s, with my by-lined articles published locally, nationally, and internationally.  I have been editor of two in-house publications.  I am blogging now because I enjoy reading and talking about books, not as a way to get free stuff or to get jobs as a freelancer.  I'm not blogging to be discovered, but to share books.  I quit accepting ARCs after the first few because I decided it wasn't worth the trouble.  I don't limit my reading to what's being published this year, but write about what interests me, quite independently from the publishing world.  Today's topic makes all book bloggers sound mercenary, and that's just plain sad.  (And I'm not the only one who has noticed the "what's-in-it-for-me-me-me?" thinking this week.)

Meeting book buddies

Jelani visiting the Sahara

Today's Armchair BEA topic:  Share a positive "real life" experience with books, either by way of your own partnerships in your community, a book signing you went to, or possibly even a get together with fellow book bloggers.  Tell us all about it!

I've been meeting other book lovers for years (click blue links to read more about them).  While discussing Oprah's books in the 1990s, a group of us coalesced and called ourselves the Book Buddies.

Francesca

One August Sunday in 1998, several buddies came to Chattanooga — Jelani from California, Francesca and her family from Michigan, and Donna from St. Louis — so we could all meet each other.  We converged on my church, where I preached and Jelani provided the special music.  He has a beautiful voice!  And then we ate lunch around a big table and talked for a couple of hours or so.

Donna (above left) and I then drove up the east coast to visit three other buddies — Maggie (above right), Meg, and Nancy.  Maggie took in two strangers overnight, though we had all been getting acquainted online for more than two years.  All the people I've met are as wonderful in person as they are online.

Let's see, I dined with June @ Spatter when she was in Chattanooga with her friend (now my friend) Carla in 2008.  In the meantime, Carla has moved here, was at my New Year's Day party, and we ran into each other on Monday while having lunch with other friends.  Moving right along ... I met Susan @ Patchwork Reflections on an extremely hot day in 2007 at the Mudpie, a little restaurant on the North Shore.

Jenn and Bonnie

Jenn dropped by my house on the last day of 2010, with her husband and youngest child.  They were on their way to St. Louis from Atlanta, and Chattanooga just happens to be on that route.

Stephanie

Stephanie @ Confessions of a Bookaholic had her husband and all three of their kids with her, when they stopped in Chattanooga for a visit.  They were on their way home from a vacation.

Marylyn

This is Marylyn, who is a Marine as well as a book lover.  She had this pink scooter while stationed in South Korea.  When she's home on leave, she sometimes drives up from Georgia to visit family — and me! — in Chattanooga.  She's part of my online Book Buddies group.

Margreet

If phone calls count as "meeting," I have talked to Margreet in the Netherlands several times.  I also talked to the famous Dewey of Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon.  I've met more bloggers, but that's all I can think of, at the moment.

Annette

UPDATES
(as my memory brings others to mind):

A few years ago, I drove to Atlanta with Donna (above) to meet Annette.  We had a good visit that day, before Annette flew home to California.  She and most of these I've pictured in this post are now Facebook friends, so we have gotten to know each other well over the years.  (That includes lots of book friends I have never met face to face.)  Sorry, Annette, but it took our FB exchange to remind me! 

Margie

And now I need to add Margie from Southern California and Hawaii.  I've talked to her by phone as well.

Even after Madge left the first comment on this post, I forgot to add her to this list.  We have also been in touch by phone and, as you can see by her picture below, Madge has a great sense of humor.  The English part of the sign says, "No Turning over, Please."  So it looks like Madge is "climbing" over, instead.

Madge in Japan

My crème de la crème ~ so far ~ in 2012

When I saw "Crem Della Crem" in the title of today's Armchair BEA topic post, I wanted to ask, "Della who?"  What a hoot!  The sound-alike crème de la crème is from the French and means "the best of the best."

Today’s suggested posting topic is Best of 2012:  Share some of your favorite books so far this year, and/or the books being promoted at BEA that you hope will end up among your favorites for the year!

These two are the most memorable books I've read this year:

Zeitoun ~ by Dave Eggers, 2009, history (Louisiana), 10/10

The Breath of God ~ by Jeffrey Small, 2011, fiction (Bhutan, India, Georgia, Connecticut), 9.5/10

As for books being promoted, I listened to Barbara Kingsolver's talk streamed from the BEA breakfast this morning.  She talked about the changes in book production from papyrus to paper to digital.

"Durable things still endure. ... The nature of story has not changed in thousands of years. ... Nothing else out there puts you on the inside of another human mind ... That's our domain, we writers and readers and sellers of fiction.  This is the magical thing we do that cannot be replaced. ... What endures is the book."

Barbara Kingsolver's new book, to be published later this year, is Flight Behavior.

In the opening scene in the rural community of Feathertown, Tennessee, 29-year-old Dellarobia Turnbow is headed for a secluded mountain cabin to meet a man and initiate what she expects will be a self-destructive affair.  But the tryst never happens.  Instead, she walks into something on the mountainside she cannot explain or understand:  a forested valley filled with silent red fire that appears to her a miracle.  After years lived entirely in the confines of one small house, Dellarobia finds her path suddenly opening out, chapter by chapter, into blunt and confrontational engagement with her family, her church, her town, her continent, and finally the world at large.

I love Kingsolver's books, which include The Poisonwood Bible, High Tide in Tucson, and Prodigal Summer.

Armchair BEA ~ introductions first

Armchair BEA takes place June 4-8, 2012.  I posted the schedule of daily events earlier, and you can sign up here to participate.  Today is the day for Introductions First, where we read interviews about each other.  Here are my answers to five of the ten questions (shown below).  Only five, because we are expected to read as many interviews of other bloggers as possible.

1.  Please tell us a little bit about yourself:  Who are you?  How long have you been blogging?  Why did you get into blogging?

Bonnie and Cady

I'm Bonnie Jacobs from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I've been blogging about books and life since January 2007.  I write about books for all ages, both fiction and nonfiction, having gotten into blogging to keep track of books I've read.  As I say in my profile, "I read to explore ideas."  Here I am with my granddaughter Cady.

2.  What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

I'm reading and discussing books with two different online groups:

(1)  Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor, a memoir, with several friends at Book Buddies.

(2)  Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thích Nhất Hạnh with two other friends at Notes, Quotes, and Questions.

You are welcome to check out our discussions and comment there (or here) about them.

3.  If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?

Bonnie and Jeffrey Small

I'll choose someone I could discuss ideas with, like Jeffrey Small.  This photo was taken in April, when he signed my new copy of his thriller, The Breath of God.

4.  What literary location would you most like to visit?  Why?

Shakespeare and Company

The manager of my apartment complex has just returned from Paris.  Knowing I'm a booklover, she told me about visiting Shakespeare and Company, an eccentric bookstore.  Young writers are allowed to live and work in the shop.  Wikipedia says of it, "The bookstore includes sleeping facilities, with 13 beds, and Whitman claims as many as 40,000 people have slept in the shop over the years."  Doesn't that sound intriguing?

5.  What is your favorite part about the book blogging community?  Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?

Dewey was my favorite creator of community among her readers.  She had us doing things like Weekly Geeks, Bookworm Carnival, and her 24-Hour Read-a-Thon, which continues to this day in her memory.  Her book blog, The Hidden Side of a Leaf, was taken down after she died in 2008, but her blog Snippets remains up, with "snippets" of Dewey's writing and some of her photographs.  Dewey influenced a lot of us.  And did you know Dewey's cat was a reader?

Dewey's cat

Armchair BEA has a Mr. Linky for Day 1 interviews, so go find other bloggers you want to know better and read their interview answers.  Here are the questions we were to choose from:

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself:  Who are you?  How long have you been blogging?  Why did you get into blogging?
2. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?
3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.
4. What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)?
5. Where do you see your blog in five years?
6. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read?
7. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?
8. What literary location would you most like to visit?  Why?
9. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community?  Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?
10. Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging?  How?

Armchair BEA ~ June 4-8 this year

Armchair BEA ~ sign ups start on Monday, May 7th

Schedule

Monday, June 4:  Introductions First!

During the last two years our interview swaps have been one of most enjoyable aspects of Armchair BEA, with one exception ... simply too little time to get to know everyone!  This year we're changing it up and asking you to answer five questions we'll be providing and then run to visit as many participant blogs as you possibly can.  Sound like fun?  We thought so!  We'll have a link-up post for you on the day of the event.

Tuesday, June 5:  Giveaways Everywhere!

Tuesday is Armchair BEA’s big Giveaway Day!  We’ll be doing giveaways all week here, but if you’re hosting a giveaway for Armchair BEA-goers on your own site, this is the day to post about it there and link it up here!  And if you’re not hosting a giveaway, today’s suggested posting topic is “Best of 2012”:  share some of your favorite books so far this year, and/or the the books being promoted at BEA that you hope will end up among your favorites for the year!

Wednesday, June 6:  Networking...In Real Life?!

Have you ever wondered how bloggers get so involved outside the nuts and bolts community of book blogging?  Well, now's your chance to learn from the experts!  From partnering with their local indie bookstores to coordinating events at their local libraries, we've got tips to share with you to help you become more involved with your local bookish community.  Today's suggested writing topic ... we'd love for you to share a positive "real life" experience with books!  Either by way of your own partnerships in your community, a book signing you went to or possibly even a get together with fellow book bloggers.  Tell us all about it!

Thursday, June 7:  Beyond the Blog

So, you enjoy writing do you?  Would you like to be involved elsewhere on the interwebs or possibly start writing for your local paper?  Perhaps you'd simply like to start drawing an income from your blog?  Today we will be sharing tips that will help you move your blog forward or perhaps your own personal goals of writing and making an income from what you love to do.  Today we'd love you to share your top tips for getting beyond your blog!  Have you done any freelance writing?  Are you monetizing your blog and how so?  How do you make connections outside the book blog community on the internet?  If none of these apply we'd love for you to share a fun aspect about your blog or life that may be completely separate from books!  We'll have another link-up this day as well.

Friday, June 8:  The Future of Book Blogging

It's the final day of Armchair BEA and we want you to keep your passion for books and blogging about them going long after we've closed the event.  Today we'll be sharing tips on keeping book blogging exciting and unique to your vision for your blog.  Our suggested post for today is "Ask the Experts."  If you have any burning questions for your fellow participants about book blogging now is the time to ask, and if you don't we'd love for you to share your own personal tips about book blogging!  Again, we'll have a link-up post for you on the day of the event.

Armchair BEA ~ blogging about blogging

Today's topic for Armchair BEA week is — Blogging about blogging

How do you keep your blog fresh and interesting to your readers and yourself?

Early on, I decided not to limit my this blog to books.  As I say under my profile picture, "I read to explore ideas."  My slogan indicates I interpret that very broadly:  "Blogging about books and life since January 2007."

I include book reviews and ideas sparked by my reading, but also family activities and memes sent by other bloggers.  I even let my cat blog about whatever interests her.

Things changed dramatically around here when I got a digital camera and then a cell phone with camera, that I always had with me.  I was now able to post more than book covers I had found online.  Photos break up the blocks of words and make my blog more visually appealing.

Even though I wrote book reviews for a Chattanooga newspaper back in the 1960s, it felt different writing on my blog.  When I discovered that Dewey used a set of questions to give structure to her reviews, I started assembling my own sets of questions (notice that's plural).  The bloggers I found seemed to read mostly fiction, but I read lots of memoirs and nonfiction, as well.  Having taught college classes on religions of the world, I'm interested in religion, history, and cultures.  I made lists specifically for books of fiction, nonfiction, and memoirs.  It doesn't work to discuss characters and plot and point of view in a book about history or a memoir, for instance.

The questions were tools for collecting my thoughts about what I'd read, never to follow slavishly.  Over time, my list of questions solidified (see them in my Book review questions post).  Eventually, however, I quit using those questions in what I wrote, preferring instead to make what I said more personal.  One thing I never omit, even now:  "Title, author, copyright date, and genre."

Here are two examples of how I have done reviews.  The first one uses my list of questions, but I reviewed the other two together, comparing and contrasting them because they had a similar theme (death and traveling).  I highly recommend all three.

Latitudes of Melt ~ by Joan Clark, 2000, fiction (Canada), 9/10
Whirligig ~ by Paul Fleischman, 1998, YA fiction, 9/10
Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral ~ by Kris Radish, 2006, fiction, 9/10

I could go on, but ... enough!  My best short summary of what to include in a review:

Was it a good book?
Would you recommend it?
What did you like about it?
What did you dislike?
Tell us whatever you thought.