Category Archives: Blog Hops

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: A Strange or Useless Talent I Have

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Two orange cats standing and sitting on pavement surrounded by fallen leavesMy strangest talent by far is how attracted cats are to me.

Why is this strange? Well, I’m horribly allergic to them. Even hugging someone who has cat dander on their clothing will make me start wheezing and coughing. The more time I spend inhaling that dander, the worse my breathing becomes.

Therefore, I do everything I possibly can do to stay away from cats.

Yet I’ve had multiple experiences with cats who avoid the people who actually want to interact with them and move towards the one person who wants to stay as far away from them as possible.

I’ve actually started staring at cats on purpose on the rare occasion I meet them to see if a little eye contact will gently encourage them to pick someone else as their new best friend.

They’re beautiful creatures, and I’d pet them if I could. But being able to breathe is more important to me for reasons I’m sure you all can understand.

If only there were a way to somehow cash in on this strange superpower of mine!

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question. The image below is the list of upcoming prompts for this blog hop.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Unconventional Bookmarks

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I’m modifying this week’s prompt a little bit because I’m the sort of reader who gleefully makes bookmarks out of all sorts of unconventional things when I read physical books. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I bought or used a traditional bookmark!

No, this post isn’t going to be about me using oreos and milk or a soft taco as bookmarks. None of the things I’m about to mention have damaged books in any way. They’re just a little off the beaten path.

1. Toilet Paper

It may be unnecessary to specify that this is clean, unused toilet paper, but I’ll do it anyway. Sometimes it’s the best available bookmark when you’re in the washroom reading, need to get up, and don’t have any other way to mark your page.

red maple leaf lying on a wooden floor2. Receipts

They’re bookmark shaped, right? Why not put them to use once you’ve bought your products.

3. Leaves 

Like the toilet paper, I only ever used clean, dry leaves. The bigger they were, the better.

4. Greeting Cards

They’re generally taller and wider than traditional bookmarks, but they seem to have about the same thickness. This is a good thing in my opinion. They won’t tear easily, but they also won’t damage the spine of a paperback.

5. Tissue Paper

I was desperate, and it did not work well due to how easily tissue paper tears.

6. Playing Cards

My family always had extra packs of playing cards lying around when I was growing up. Sometimes I’d grab a card as an impromptu bookmark.

How about all of you? What unconventional bookmarks have you used?

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books I’ve Recommended & Why

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

man peering at statue of other man who is reading a newspaper.As I mentioned in an earlier response to a Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge, I’m hesitant to give or take book recommendations unless I’m sure that they’re actually tailored to the person who is receiving them.

That is, I think recommending a book is sort of like setting a friend or loved one up on a blind date. I wouldn’t tell them to go out for a cup of coffee with so-and-so just because both people are single, like the same genre of music, and have compatible sexual orientations. You need to dig deeper into what someone is looking for before telling them to read a certain book or date a specific person.

Due to that, this list will be short and sweet.

Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss was one of those children’s authors who knew how to talk to adults just as well as he did preschoolers.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.

No one is ever too old for lighthearted poetry.

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.

I adored Winnie the Pooh’s stories when I was a kid. It made me really happy read an adult interpretation of his adventures.

 

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question. The image below is the list of upcoming prompts for this blog hop.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Give Off Autumn Vibes

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This is one of those topics that I’m guessing a lot of us will choose the same answers for. Only time will tell if I’m right about that.

Most of these tales are set in the autumn, so that’s by far my biggest reason for choosing them.

I’ve written a similar post to this one recently. Due to that, I’m going to keep this list short and sweet to avoid duplicates.

1. Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum

Why:  If you haven’t seen the 1980s adaptation of this book, go find a copy of it. It was incredibly well done, especially later on in the plot once one of the main characters who was depressed feels like all hope is lost. My own struggles with depression were often the worst around the time that autumn turned to winter, so this character’s experiences at the same time of the year make this something I’ll always associate with autumn.

2. The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) byJ.R.R. Tolkien

Why: The Lord of the Rings series also had a lot of themes related to death and the endings of various eras or kingdoms. There’s something about watching the natural world die for the season or go into hibernation that makes me ponder these topics, too.

3. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Why: Most of the events of this tale were not set during the autumn, but the themes in it were heavily related to death, loss, change, and other things I associate with this season.There was also a twist at the end that oddly reminded me of spring! Saying anything else would give away spoilers, though.

4. Autumn Days: Let’s Look at the Seasons by Ann Schweninger

Why: This picture book about autumn is self-explanatory, I think.

5. The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot

Why: It was autumn the first time I read this poem. The subject matter of it has a lot of autumn themes related to things ending, so that only cements it further as something that belongs to this season.

My Trick or Treat Goodies for Halloween

In: Blog Hops

 

Banner for Trick-or-Treat Book Blog Hop banner. It features a bat and a full moon.

Today is the Trick-or-Treat Reads Halloween Book Event! This event was created by Patricia Lynne and is designed to give readers free books on Halloween. Click here to see what the rest of the participants will be giving away this year. There are a lot of goodies on that list!

I’m giving away copies of two of my books.

Tumble is a short story about a girl named Elle who is being raised in the middle of nowhere by an over-protective single parent. Now that she’s turned eighteen, she’s ready to start making her own decisions in life. But her father only grows more protective of her the further she pulls away from him. What secrets might he be hiding?

Waiting for Earl to Die and Other Stories is an anthology of short science fiction and horror stories. Every character in this collection has a story hidden deeply inside themselves, but not everyone realizes exactly what that story might be.

Both of these books are free on Kobo. Enjoy!

 

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Things That Scare Me

In: Blog Hops

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews. What an open-ended prompt this week!  Was it supposed to be used for for lighthearted, Halloween-friendly fears or more serious topics? I’m assuming it’s the former, but I’ll include one darker fear in case that is what Long and Short Reviews was actually hoping we’d do. Only time will… Read More