Sunday Synopsis: September 13, 2009

DISCUSSIONS:

• Midwest Book Blogging Party: Are you (as a fellow book blogger) interested in getting together after the first of the year for a little bibliochat? If so, let me know!!

REVIEWS:

• Matilda by Roald Dahl

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS:

• Suzanne Slade, author of What's New At the Zoo?: An Animal Adding Adventure

BOOKS RECEIVED:

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (audio; library)
• George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl (library)
• A Friendship for Today by Patricia C. McKissack (library)

CURRENTLY READING:

• Fool by Christopher Moore (audio; disc 5 of 7)
• Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World by Tracy Kidder (page 256 of 301)

REVIEWS TO COME:

• Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
• The Little Island by Golden MacDonald and Leonard Weisgard
• Black and White by David Macauley
• Mei Li by Thomas Handforth
• Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Rocky Mountain Snow Ghosts by Patti Hurst
• Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary
• Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary
• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Survival of the Fittest by Jonathan Kellerman
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• S is for Save the Planet by Brad Herzog
• The Ugly Duckling by Jerry Pinkney
• Mesmeric Revelation by Edgar Allen Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Facts in the Case of in M. Valdemar by Edgar Allen Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Sleeper by Edgar Allen Poe (Poe Fridays)
• Eldorado by Edgar Allen Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Spectacles by Edgar Allen Poe (Poe Fridays)

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE:

• It's Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW)!!!! A lot is happening, including giveaways that have already begun!! Don't forget to check out all that is going on by visiting the official site.
• J. Kaye's Book Blog has once again provided me with some great blogging information! Did you know that you can get alerts when your own blog has been mentioned somewhere else on the web? Click here for the useful information that J. Kaye posted all about earlier this week. (Though I'm going to admit that I'm still not sure I understand the ping thing!)
• If you have not yet done so, you NEED to check out the latest e-zine, Literacy Lava 2 . . . created by Susan over at The Book Chook!!! It's a must-read with a multitude of fun activities, literacy tips, and much more!!

ADDITIONAL UPDATES:

• I'm still not caught up and have a long ways to go . . . BUT, I am catching up slowly!! For one thing, I updated my look!!! If you have yet to weigh in, be sure to check out my post, I NEED YOUR OPINION!! I've got a lot more coming, but since I have currently over-committed myself, I cannot tell you when all of it will go live! I've got to learn to say NO!!!!
• I've also been updating my current challenges. In case you missed them, here are the links: Banned Books Challenge and The Stephen King/Richard Bachman Challenge. Apparently, I completed the Young Readers Challenge 2009 without even knowing it! Yeah!!! More to come this week . . .
• Don't forget that this month is Roald Dahl month!!!!!!! Read a book, watch a movie, and/or visit his website!!!!!