Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Book Nerd

  • Thank you for making me a reader

    Dear Grandma Bailey,

    Thank you for encouraging me to read. Thank you for letting me read aloud to you. Thank you for reading aloud to me. Thank you for buying me books for almost every birthday and holiday. Thank you for all the bookmarks. Thank you for letting me tell you all the stories. Thank you for staying up late with me to read in the summer. Thank you for your part in making me a reader.

    Dear Mom,

    Thank you for encouraging me to read. Thank you for never telling me a book was off limits. Thank you for always having money for me for the scholastic book fair. Thank you for taking me on book buying trips to various places in Columbus. Thank you for putting up with all my massive stacks of books in my room. Thank you for encouraging me to write. Thank you for all your support. Thank you for being proud of me. Thank you for your part in making me a reader.

    Dear Krystie,

    Thank you for encouraging me to read. Thank you for telling me that I was much too young to understand Shakespeare. Thank you for leaving your school texts around so that I could read Grendl, Macbeth and Hamlet when you weren’t paying attention. Thank you for inadvertently challenging me to read more and more difficult texts. Thank you for your part in making me a reader.

    Dear Mrs. Colvin,

    Thank you for encouraging me to read. Thank you for never saying a word when I checked out the same giant book of mythology again and again. Thank you for helping find all the books we had in our tiny Elementary School library about cryptids and hauntings. Thank you for laughing at my antics and appreciating my already strange sense of humor. Thank you for your part in making me a reader.

    Dear Mrs. Atchison,

    Thank you for encouraging me to read. Thank you for introducing me to The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston LeRoux. Thank you for not blinking an eye when I came dressed as Scarlet O’Hara because I was reading Gone with the Wind in fifth grade. Thank you for getting my first poem published. Thank you for your part in making me a reader and a writer.

    Dear Mrs. Kupper,

    Thank you for encouraging me to read. Thank you for teaching me how to properly read Dickens. Thank you for failing me because I undoubtedly deserved it. Thank you for your part in making me a reader.

    Much Love,

    Betsy (Bailey) White

    A voracious reader and bibliophile thanks to you all.

  • As seen on TikTok

    As seen on TikTok

    So…I was in a TikTok hole as is wont to happen at least to myself, and a girl popped in with something she had found on another girl’s TikTok. It looked like a book and it was called The UItimate Reading Challenge. Almost immediately I went out to find it and then because I had a gift card I ordered it from Amazon.

    I have it in my hot little hands now so…

    A book with the title The Ultimate Reading Challenge. Under this it says Complete a Goal, Open an envelope, and reveal your bookish prize.

    Inside the “book” is a series of tiny envelopes with reading challenges like:

    Read a novella (a short novel typically under 200 pages)

    Write a letter to someone who has influenced your reading life. This could be a parent, teacher, author, bookstore owner, or friend. It’s okay to make it anonymous.

    Attend an author event, in person or virtually

    Listen to a reading themed podcast

    Read a book that features an indigenous person

    And many more.

    I am excited to dive in to this. I have a couple planned out to finish soon so wish me luck.

  • 10 Days of Blogging

    10 Days of Blogging

    If you could live inside a book, which book would you pick? Which world would you pick? I have a couple that would be on my shortlist of worlds/ books to live in.

    1 The Starless Sea – How lovely to live in a subterranean library under the earth. Surrounded by books and cats and readers and words…lovely! The bibliophile in me says yes please.

    2 The Night Circus – Another Morgenstern, but as a child I secretly (or not so secretly) wanted to run away and join the circus, and this circus with its black and white color scheme and super magical origin just pulls my soul right in. I would absolutely accept just being a girl who runs a concession stand.

    3 Discworld – Specifically, I would want to be one of the witches even though it looks like a lot of hard work. I just love the world that Terry Pratchett created and I would love to be a part of it. I like to think Terry lives there too, so maybe I could finally meet him.

    4 Newford – This is the setting for many of the books by Charles De Lint where fairies, old gods and the modern world meet. Would love to have tea with Jilly and meet the Crow Girls. Please?

    5 The Hollows Cincinnati/ Chicago in Dresden Files – I am putting these together, because they feel like very similar worlds. This is another set of pretty modern but add magic, urban fantasy wonderland and I would love to live in either one.

    When I was younger I might have added Narnia to this list, but it doesn’t seem as great for an adult. Wonderland also might have made the list, but doesn’t appeal as much to me any more. There are other worlds that have lost some shine for me over the years. MiddleEarth I would take only if I got to live in Hobbiton.

    I have undoubtedly forgotten some, but this is a good beginning list. How about you? Thoughts?

  • 12 Days of Blogging

    12 Days of Blogging

    As the pandemic was ramping up last June I saw an announcement from Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, saying that members of her book club would be receiving an autographed copy of her new book, Broken, as one of their books. I immediately signed up for The Fantastic Strangelings Book Club. I have not regretted it. I admittedly have not read every single book I have been sent, yet, but the books are varied and interesting. I have, so far, received 8 books including the latest which is The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec a book I am planning to jump into feet first tonight when I get off work (I am on break).

    I am a huge fan of Jenny’s writing and her openness about her struggles with mental illness, imposter syndrome, and just being a bit odd. And it excites me to think that I am somehow connected to her, even if it is just by paying to be part of her book club. I also love getting books in the mail every month. As an admitted book hoarder the only thing better than books is more books.

    Jenny also announced that she will be doing a “book tour” in April where she will do live talks online with other authors including Felicia Day, Neil Gaiman and Judy Blume. I am probably going to have to invest in the Neil Gaiman, but I have a minute to decide. If you haven’t already I highly recommend Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson; it is funny, irreverent, honest and wonderful.

  • My Current Reading List

    My Current Reading List

    I am a reader who often has multiple books that I am juggling, or on my to be read (TBR) list. I thought I would share the current books that sit there currently.

    The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix : This is one I am currently reading and it is very funny, very tongue in cheek and altogether quite entertaining.

    Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I am currently reading this one as well, and I am enjoying it so far. The NPR review was so intriguing I came home and bought it immediately.

    Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

    Crossings by Alex Landragin: I got this as a new member of the Fantastic Stranglings Book Club through Nowhere Bookshop which is owned by author Jenny Lawson. I haven’t cracked it yet, but I am excited to do so.

    Witches. Sluts. Feminists. by Kristen J. Sollee: I heard Kristen on the podcast The Devil’s Music with Pleasant Gehman and loved her style, so I picked up this book. I am excited to start it.

    Fat Girl Finishing School and Nothing is Okay by Rachel Wiley: Rachel is a Columbus poet who is so talented, and I have been reading these in bits and bobs. Fun Fact: I saw Rachel at the Fat Babes Club of Columbus Body Positive Pool Party last year and I was utterly star struck and just stared at her across the pool like a huge creeper.

    Great Godesses by Nikita Gill: More poetry. This is a gorgeous collection of poems based on mythology. I have been really inspired by poetry recently, and my next class in my MFA program is Fundamentals of Poetry.

    I have more books on the way that I ordered from local bookstores on Independent Bookstore Day Saturday. I am on a brief hiatus from school so I am hoping I can finish one or two of these.

    Are you reading anything fantastic right now? Are you a book juggler who reads more than one book at a time like me?

  • “He Couldn’t Believe it was only wednesday.”

    For the LGBTA+ book club at Prologue Bookshop we read the book The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I technically have until the end of the month to finish the book, but I devoured it in three days (It would have been less but apparently I actually have to work at work, how inconvenient.) This book is transporting, beautiful and shockingly prescient given the current climate. Immediately upon finishing I was ready to pick it up to read it again.

    The book opens introducing us to a social worker named Linus Baker. Linus solidifies himself as the most relatable character in the world as it is established that he is overweight and on a diet, he enjoys his job but hates his boss and he is having a bad week. “He couldn’t believe it was only Wednesday. And it was made worse when he realized it was actually Tuesday.” (Klune 18) One day he is surprised to be given a special dispensation by Extremely Upper Management to evaluate a very unusual orphanage.

    This book will make you laugh, cry, cheer and best of all think. It reminds us that our weirdness can be the best part of us. It teaches to use ones privilege to lift up those who do not share it. That it is not enough to not be racist, you need to be anti-racist. And, that family can look whatever way you need it to look.

    The House In The Cerulean Sea is a magical, magical, magical book and if you have not read it I cannot recommend it more. TJ Klune wrote to my soul with this book, and maybe he also speaks to yours. Buy the book from your local independent, and maybe even black owned, bookstore today.

  • “We are made of stardust and stories.”

    “We are made of stardust and stories.”

    I finally finished The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern on Christmas. I was looking forward to this book immensely because I absolutely loved The Night Circus. In fact I re-listen to the audio book of The Night Circus every couple of months; it is read by Jim Dale who brings such life and sympathy to the characters. I need you to know this as I tell you how I felt about The Starless Sea as I am fully aware that I am not the most unbiased source. I will say that when I read the last page of the book I cried, not because it was sad but because it was over and I had to leave that world now. It hurt my soul a little, and still does.

    Zachary Ezra Rawlins is the son of a fortune teller who narrowly escapes an adventure as a child. As an adult grad student he discovers a book in the library and becomes aware of just how close. The discovery leads him into a world of stories that lies beneath our world and just on the edge of a starless sea.

    The world Morgenstern created is so lush and complex, and is laid out in a language of fairy tale and myth in a way that feels as though it was written just for me. I fell into the world freely and gladly, my little escapist Pisces heart happy to be taken away and allowed to live with people out of time, and curious cats. I have read several reviews of the book that say something to the effect of “if you are the kind of person who likes this type of book you will love it but…” I guess I am just that kind of person because I thought the story was original and nuanced, and as everything is starting to come together toward the end of the book her ability to blend and reveal was beautiful and engaging.

    The characters, including our hero Zachary, are unusual, complex and quirky as are the settings. I learned from this book the names of the lions on the steps of the New York Public Library (Patience and Fortitude). I fell a little in love with all of the characters including the cats and with the beauty of the Starless Sea. AS said previously this was obviously a book that was written for someone like me, and I found it beautiful.

    If you are the kind of person who likes this type of book I cannot recommend The Starless Sea more. I plan to read it again and again while waiting for Erin to write me another beautiful tale.

     

     

  • My Favorite Things – Holiday Books

    I have certain books that I read/ listen to on audiobook every year around the holidays. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas/ Yule without them.

    Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris – This book includes the famous Santaland Diaries and is a must read if you haven’t. I highly recommend getting the audiobook because David reads most of the stories himself and is joined by his sister Amy as well. Sure to make you laugh.71t0yJrW7UL

    Hogfather by Terry Pratchett – Pratchett’s wonderful tale about the discworld equivalent of Santa and what happens when someone puts out a hit on him. Death steps in and then it starts to get fun. Death’s granddaughter Susan proves herself to be a badass in her own right. Has a wonderful albeit cynical quote about the importance of belief.

    Hogfather-2

    The Life and Adventure of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum – The author of the Wizard of Oz penned this charming and strange origin story for Santa complete with woodland fairies. Baum tries to answer some of the important Santa questions. Good to read aloud with children.

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    The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore – The unusual town of Pine Cove is celebrating Christmas. An angel comes and grants them a Christmas “Miracle” that leads to a zombie uprising. Oops.

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    T’was the Night Before Christmas or A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore – A Christmas classic. I have had it memorized since I was little, and I love to read/ recite it every year. It is still fun to do. My favorite line is “The moon on the breast of the newfallen snow gave a lustre of midday to objects below.” I love good rhymes.

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    Do you have a favorite holiday book? Have you read any of these?

  • Written Word Wednesday: The Evening of Writing Uncontrollably

    Written Word Wednesday: The Evening of Writing Uncontrollably

    The Evening of Writing Uncontrolably was this past Saturday at the Wagnalls Memorial Library in Lithopolis, Ohio. My little sister, Traci,  came along to write with me, and we were joined by my friends Jill, Angie and Melissa. Traci and I got there and settled in a nice little nook in the fiction section between Janet Evanovich and Diana Gabaldon. Above us to the right was a bust of Shakespeare. It seemed like the perfect place to write. We settled in and got ourselves all spread out and happy.

    Jill came in a bit later, and was laughing because we had chosen the exact place she always uses when she goes to the library to write, which is often. I thought it must speak highly of the space. She went to get a snack and wander a bit, but eventually came back to settle in with us. Angie and Melissa came in after an hour or so, and joined us in our nook.

    I managed to write 2,866 words in the 5 hours we were there. That was with many drink, snack and bathroom breaks. And breaks to take photos in the beautiful library. We left at midnight, though we could have stayed until 2am. There is a strange naughty feeling being in a library after hours that I cannot explain though we all were feeling it. I felt like the night was successful, and fun, and I am so glad I went.

    I am probably (definitely) not going to win NaNoWriMo this year, but I have learned a lot about myself and my writing style. I am excited to try it again another time, maybe when I am not actively taking classes at the same time. I am glad that I tried though, and glad that I have worked on developing a short story into an actual novel, and one I will continue to work on. That makes the month a pretty big success to me.

     

  • WWW -Week 3 of NaNoWriMo, Writing for School and Blind Date with a Book Brunch

    This was another work heavy week for school, and I had to write quite a bit for various prompts, which means I wrote almost not at all for NaNoWriMo. This weekend is the Evening of Writing Uncontrollably at the Wagnalls Memorial Library in Lithopolis, Ohio. I am super excited about it and hope I can make up some loss of words that night writing with friends. I did write a story I am really proud of for school this week, so that feels good.

    This past Saturday the Columbus Ohio branch of Geek Girl Brunch had our Blind Date with a Book event. We wrap the book and describe it in three statements. Then we trade books. My description was: Female Protagonist, Practical Magic and Snacking in Closets. Any guesses on what the book is? I will reveal later this week. The book I chose was labeled: True Crime, Historical, Non-Fiction. It was The Devil in the White City, a book about the Chicago World’s Faire and H.H. Holmes. I am very excited to get into it soon.