Book Jewelry! Dress Up Your Book!

From The Ivy Leaf on Artfire - the Green Wire Cat Bookmark!

The fleur de lis bookmark, money clip, paper clip from Fresh Design on Artfire...

or the Ruby Red Bookmark from BacisCreations!

One of my personal fave is the Black Ant Book Beads by Boofolobeads on Etsy

...and from Animalgam - Ants - Bookmark

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book

By Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by Dave McKean

In the Gaiman tradition...take a situation that should be gruesome and make it a delight!

This is the story of Bod - for Nobody Owens. His parents were brutally murdered - he is being raised in a graveyard by ghosts, Silas (his Guardian) who lives among the living and the dead, and the "Hounds of God"...but don't think that this book is a cruel, dark tale.

This is a love story - the love of Bod for the parents he lost, the love of his new parents for the son they always wanted in life and his for them - the caring love of Silas for Bod and his for Silas - and the love of the "living girl" Scarlett for her "imaginary friend" and him for her.

It is also a coming of age book - Bod and Scarlet both find out how real and strong he is! A story of self-discovery and liberation.

Thank You to Neil Gaiman and to Dave McKean, applause for the hauntingly beautiful illustrations!

Product Description from Amazon:

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.

He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . .

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

Teen Angst in Africa - "We're Not In Kansas Anymore"

Escape Under the Forever Sky

By Eve Yohalem

We have all read stories of teen angst - father doesn't understand - mother is overbearing...I know it's been done.

However, when you take these same elements and place them in Ethiopia - a country so foreign...

"Everywhere I go in Ethiopia...kids pop out of nowhere to bombard me with the same three questions: "You are from America? You want a...[fill in blank: necklace, fake antique coin, toothbrush stick, religious icon, etc.]?" and - my personal favorite - "Gimme pen?"

This debut novel by Eve Yohalem draws you into the world of 13 year old Lucy Hoffman. Yohalem definitely "gets" teens. Lucy, wealthy and white in a country that is dirt poor and primarily black - is at the start, headstrong and confident, but when she finds herself in dire straits she is finally able to see life from her parents viewpoint.

Loosely based on a real life event, the author has done her homework. The history and culture of Ethiopia is fascinating, and memories of the late ruler Selassie quite fantastic!

I look forward to more from this author!

From Amazon:

Lucy's mother is the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia. So Lucy's life must be one big adventure, right? Not really. Her parents are more focused on their careers than their family, so they live on different continents. And Lucy's worrywart mother keeps her locked up inside the ambassador's residence for her own good. Lucy's had enough. So one day, she and a friend sneak off. When Lucy's kidnapped, things get decidedly more interesting. Using her knowledge of African animals, inventiveness, will, and courage, Lucy embarks on an adventure beyond her wildest dreams.

The Lost Chalice

The Lost Chalice: The Epic Hunt for a Priceless Masterpiece

By Vernon Silver

Illegal trade in antiquities...always a thrilling subject to be sure - but at the level that this book reveals - jaw dropping!

This is a historical journey through time and art, from the seedy world of plundered graves and archeological digs...to the upper crust in the finest Museums and Auction Houses.

Riveting, real-life adventure story that will involve you to the world of Euphronios - deemed the "Leonardo da Vinci of Ancient Greece" - his world and culture.

From the back of the book: "Spanning 2,500 years and moving from a Trojan War battlefield to an Athens pottery workshop to an Italian crypt, and involving tomb robbers, smugglers, a Hollywood producer and a Texas billionaire..."

Whats not to like!

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane


By Katherine Howe

One of the hardest things for an author to do is move the reader seamlessly between to time periods - this book does it...but is it worth it?

The story of Connie - grad student in 1991 - is not really interesting. What does work for me is the house and the character of Grace (don't we all know a "new age" sensitive?). I found I was more interested in her "SteepleJack" boyfriend than in Connie.

The story of Deliverance Dane and her Physic Book is the story of the innocents lost to accusations of witch-craft. These "cunning women" were usually midwives and healers at a time when medicine and "doctors" were new in the area.

Whether it was the moldy bread or the toxic levels of leaded glazes used for cookware - people were thrown into seizures and some people died. The people of Salem believed that these witches in their midst were the cause.

What Howe brings to this oft told story is the twist that Deliverance Dane IS a witch and is appalled that these innocent women are dieing. Even when offered the opportunity to escape (because if these folks were witches how could they be held in prisons?) she stays to offer support to the women that were arrested with her.

The author, Katherine Howe, was a graduate student in New England studies...and brings her real-life family history to the table. She is a descendant of two women who endured the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, one of whom survived and one who didn't.

An interesting twist on previously published books about the Salem Witch Trials.

Have your cake - and eat it too.

First Book proudly unveils Books for Kids, Books for Keeps for Birthdays, a new Web site offering something everyone wants: celebrations that give back.

Now you can tie charitable giving into your birthday celebrations. Just personalize a fundraising page and invite friends and family to donate to provide brand new books to the kids who need them most. Visit www.firstbook.org/birthdays.

Join us to celebrate the site's launch: tell us about the worst gift you've ever received. For each comment posted on Bookmark, the First Book blog, First Book will provide one new book to a child in need.

All participants will be entered in a random drawing on July 1 to win a prize - their choice of an autographed copy of one of the three following titles: Linda Sue Park's Keeping Score, James Patterson's The Final Warning or Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Thirteenth

Her prose will wrap you in words and carry you into her world...

Libation: A Bitter Alchemy

by Deirdre Heekin

While this is the perfect addition to a Wine Conniseur's library it is so well written that you don't necessarily have to like wine at all. Deirdre Heekin's prose wraps you in words and draws you into her world. Her musings on grapes, wine, business and the Italian History and Culture are prosaic and amusing. Her writings will appeal to all who are interested in life... " While we would have been disappointed if our wine isn't drinkable this vintage, the lessons I've learned have already been great...We must fall before we can rise." This book is the perfect rainy day - curled up in front of a fire - feel good read!

Product Description from Amazon
For many years, Deirdre Heekin has been creating an unusual, revitalist wine archive of rare and traditional Italian varietals at Osteria Pane e Salute, the nationally celebrated restaurant and wine bar she shares with her chef husband, Caleb Barber. Self-taught in the world of Italian wines, she is known for her fine-tuned work with scent and taste and her ability to pair wines and food in unexpected yet terroir-driven ways.

In Libation, a Bitter Alchemy,, a series of linked personal essays, Heekin explores the curious development of her nose and palate, her intuitive education and relationship with wine and spirits, and her arduous attempts to make liqueurs and wine from the fruits of her own land in northern New England. The essays follow her as she unearths ruby-toned wines given up by the ghosts of long-gone wine makers from the red soil of Italy, her adoptive land; as she embarks on a complicated pilgrimage to the home of one of the world’s oldest cocktails, Sazerac, in Katrina-soaked New Orleans; as she attempts a midsummer crafting of a brandy made from inherited roses, the results of an old Sicilian recipe she found in a dusty bookstore in Naples.

Musing on spirits from Campari to alkermes, Heekin’s writing is as intoxicating, rich, and carefully crafted as the wines, liquors, and locales she loves.