Sunday Synopsis: January 24, 2010

DISCUSSIONS:

• Bloggiesta Wrap-Up
• What Do YOU Think I Read?
• The Book List: 3 Books I Love To Hate
• Fairy Tale Fridays: New Feature

REVIEWS:

• Defenders of the Scroll by Shiraz

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS:

• Q&A With Shiraz The Author

CURRENTLY READING:

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (audio; disc 7 of 13)
• Across the Endless River by Thad Carhart (page 97 of 308)

REVIEWS TO COME:

• Only in New York, Darling by Virginie Sommet (Unable to finish, but will still be writing a review for what was read.)
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Shimmer by David Morrell
• Royal Blood by Rona Sharon
• The End of the Beginning by Avi
• Matchless by Gregory Maguire
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson & Ned Rust
• King by Right of Blood and Might by Anna L. Walls
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
• Arthur's Audio Favorites Volume 2 by Marc Brown
• A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
• Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker
• George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
• Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World by Tracy Kidder
• Fool by Christopher Moore
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• 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
• 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 Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Facts in the Case of in M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Spectacles by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• The Haunted Palace by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• Some Words With A Mummy by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• Ulalume by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Oblong Box by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Bells by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)*
• Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• X-ing a Paragrab by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)
• The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe (Poe Fridays)

*Those indicated with an asterik are actually reviews written!! I have had computer issues this weekend and have written them old school with pen and paper! I will be posting them later this week once I have typed them up in full.

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE:

• MotherReader wrote a great post a while ago and I just seem to have missed sharing this link in an earlier Sunday Synopsis. She shared 105 Ways to Give a Book for all ages. Though it was written for the holiday season, I do believe it is a list that you can refer to all year round! This is one you will want to bookmark!
• Another link that I have been meaning to share, and I will share again in the near future, is the free e-zine, Literacy Lava. The Book Chook compiles this great resource for parents, educators, and literacy advocates, sharing practical ideas of incorporating literacy in your home, classroom, etc. I am a huge fan, printing out every issue and storing them in a special binder for easy perusal!
• J. Kaye from 365 Days of Novel Writing writes about her use of a kitchen timer in her writing to maintain focus. I really, really like this idea and am considering using it myself in more than just the writing aspect! I feel that I get sucked in to some tasks and hours go by, but then there are others I will do anything to avoid. This could be a great approach to disciplining myself!!
• One of my favorite posts of this month is from Rebecca over at Lost in Books! She is participating in the Social Justice Challenge (which I think is brilliant, by the way!) and wrote an outstanding article titled Thoughts on Religious Freedom. This one hits close to home for myself and I cannot agree with her more! As a side note, I would love to participate in this challenge, but I do not have the time this year. I am definitely going to make this one a priority next year!
• Share a Story - Shape a Future has recently announced the theme for this year's week of literacy resources and promotion: It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader. Click here to find the daily topics and MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
• Last, but not least, Kristen wrapped up her weekly feature of Poe Fridays over at We Be Reading. Despite my being extremely behind, this was one of my favorite features this past year! I loved re-visiting some of my favorites and discovering some new-to-me works. A huge shout out to Kristen for a fun year!! And, be watching for my wrap-up post in the next couple of days! I'm just about finished with it!!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

• As you can tell, I have not gotten very far on my reading this week! I've been working on getting a few things done on my site, getting caught up on my Reader, and catching up on those hundreds of email. The good news is that I am finally getting caught up!! I am fairly up-to-date on both my Reader and emails! In fact, I will be doing some last minute catch-up tonight and then I will just need to work on staying caught up!! Yippee!! I hope to be announcing some final Bloggiesta changes and updates next weekend in the next edition of my Sunday Synopsis!!

Wishing you a great week!