Tag Archives: Reading

January, 2017, Book News

Posted on by under Betty Kuffel, Book News, Fiction Writing, Glacier National Park, Gratitude, Holidays, Inspiring Places, Leslie Budewitz, Montana Women Writers, Nature, Photographs, reading, education, kids, wordsmith, writers, Writing Skills

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I just learned a new phrase, liminal time, meaning time on a threshold, or time between phases of life. Perfect for the move from one year to the next, don’t you think?

I’m just moving from one project to the next myself, writing “the end” to the first — and very rough! — draft of a psychological suspense novel which will now rest for a few months while I write the 2018 Food Lovers’ Village mystery, set at Christmas time in the village of Jewel Bay. And I will say it’s nice to start a book set in the current season — a lot less taxing on the imagination, and easier to get in the mood! I’ll be home most of the winter, with a short trip mid January to speak to members of the Orange County (California) Chapter of Romance Writers of America on common mistakes writers make about the law.

 

flowers-by-hansen-pink-roses

Marie F Martin will be at Flowers by Hanson’s Taste and See Event on Friday, January 6th, 5:00 PM to 8 Pm. Hansen’s is located at 128 Main, Kalispell, MT.
Sparrows Nest, Special Olympics. Homes for Veterans, Sudden Rush Espresso in Somers, Table Tree Cherry Juice and Flathead Lake Cheese will all have tables.
Marie and three other local authors, Shirley Rorvik, Sara Weaver and Nancy Moser will be signing their books.
It will be a fun time of meeting and greeting and drawings. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to local non-profits.

Marie hopes to see you there.

www.mariefmartin.com  book-covers-2

 

 

 

 

A new edition of Modern Birth Control is now available as an e-book and modern-birth-control-kindle-coverpaperback on Amazon. The 44-page booklet is a quick reference containing essential information for both men and women. You’ll find basic biological facts, OTC and prescription contraceptive options, along with information on sexually transmitted diseases and sexual assault.

E-book: http://tinyurl.com/ModernBC-Kindle

Your Heart – Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease in Women, Men and Children is now available at a reduced price on Amazon in your-heart-book-cover-final-1-ed1both Kindle and paperback. This reviews the science behind coronary artery disease, prevention and treatment for the number one cause of death in both men and women. Learn about the Mediterranean 5/2 diet, a perfect way to lose a few pounds after the holidays and improve your heart health in 2017.

http://tinyurl.com/2017hearthealthy

Best wishes for a Happy New Year.

bettykuffel.com

 

November Book News

Posted on by under Autumn, Book News, Fiction Writing, Foodies, guests, Holidays, Inspiring Places, Leslie Budewitz, Lise McClendon, Montana Women Writers, Nature, Photographs, wordsmith, writers, Writing Skills

dmwms_ebook_final_small-2

This year has had so many blessings it is hard to think of just one. My family is going to grow by two more great grandchildren in the month of November. I still think of myself as a kid, so it is rather amazing I have nine great grand-kids and counting. Another thing is some family has moved back to the valley.  I know whose cooking turkey this year. I love to feed kids. Lastly I have to mention that Don’t Mess With Mrs. Sedgewick is finally released on Amazon and Create-space. It will be on a countdown sale beginning November 6th. Several days at $.99 and then $1.99 for a couple and then back to its usual $2.99. Early reports is that readers are loving it. I can now breathe.

Happy Thanksgiving, Marie F Martin

Lise McClendon:  Whew! What a year 2016 has been — so far! But we are women, we will survive… 🙋🏻  In book news I am happy to announce a giveaway of my very first novel, a mystery set in Missoula and on the Flathead Indian Reservation: The Bluejay Shaman. Yes, completely free! I love to hear from new readers so please share, respond, get social.

bluejay-instafreebieThis novel was inspired by a Salish man I met years ago. He wanted to tell some tales of his experiences with New Age groups — and some UM professors — who came to the Reservation to, well, go native. He conducted sweats for them and had a few opinions as well. I wrote up his stories then, with his permission, used them as a jumping off point for The Bluejay Shaman. The book introduces my first protagonist, Alix Thorssen, a Scandinavian Montanan and Jackson Hole art dealer. I went on to write three more novels about Alix. And lived in Jackson Hole myself later… life does imitate art.

Getting an e-book is easy over at InstaFreebie. Pick your favorite format, sign up, and you’re done. Here’s the link: THE BLUEJAY SHAMAN   •  Enjoy, and happy holidays

In Praise of the Bookmobile

Posted on by under Ann Minnett, Uncategorized

By Ann Minnett

Janice McCaffrey’s recent post I Love Libraries inspired me to write about my favorite childhood library. The Bookmobile. In the 1950’s, Denver Public Libraries provided olive green, oversized vans lined with books to elementary schools in neighborhoods without branch libraries.

The Bookmobile came to my elementary school every other Friday, parked in the forbidden teacher parking lot, and opened for business one class at a time. Any student with a DPL card could check out up to three books per visit, return them two weeks later, and check out more. I never missed my turn.

I was a hungry reader of Nancy Drew mysteries and Edna Ferber sagas and so many others that I honestly can’t remember now. My iPad holds my personal library now, but I miss the heft of a well-thumbed book, the sometimes grimy pages, and the jacketless books that looked covered in glossy paint.

Sure, those volumes were available at the library, but every other Friday when I climbed the metal steps into the close and comfy world of our Bookmobile, I was transformed. The slightly tilted vehicle swayed when more than a few kids walked the aisles—sometimes I had to grasp a shelf for balance. Most of all, a world of fiction invited me in. I always found more than three books I wanted to read. (Some research today shows we make decisions easier when we have fewer choices.) I’d pare my stack down to three and look forward to the Bookmobile’s next visit.

Happy reading!

Ann Minnett MWW photo Ann

I love libraries!

Posted on by under Fiction Writing, Janice McCaffrey, Montana Women Writers, Photographs, reading, education, kids, summer reading, writers, Writing Skills

Capture            By Janice McCaffrey

What is the #1 support writers need?  Readers…critique groups, beta readers and book buyers. What came first a desire to write or the love of reading?

Silly questions? Maybe. But lately I’ve been thinking how important reading is to us writers. I bet reading has taken each of us to magical places we’d never imagine for ourselves. We’ve gotten to know characters we won’t meet in our daily lives. Heroes and villains, historic figures and fictional characteristics blended in a way we hadn’t thought of before.

Reading we learn about our planet and our place in it. Where would we be without books in our lives?

I’m afraid we take our reading skills and availability to meaningful books for granted. It’s difficult to imagine kids in this great country who don’t have an adult to support their education or read to them. Kids who don’t have books in their lives.

Without thinking much about it we buy books, use our Kindles, and borrow from public libraries and our friends. What if we didn’t have those resources at our finger tips? We’d suffer. I know I would. Our children and community would suffer. Take a minute and put yourself in that situation. Imagine yourself and your family without books.

Andrew Carnegie knew how important reading is for everyone. He funded grants to 3,000 communities around the world (including 17 in Montana). The Hockaday Museum, Kalispell, is housed in an original Carnegie Library.

 

 

 

Then to honor his mother Todd Bol put up a little free library. Soon Rice Brooks joined him and in 2009 they formed a non-profit organization.

And Little Free Libraries are popping up around the world.

2014 enters Kim Kozlowski, a reporter for the Detroit News. Working with Detroit non-profit organizations, city parks and public schools her goal is to have 313 Little Free Libraries in Detroit (313 is their area code). Her latest project is to erect and maintain Little Free Libraries in front of each of Detroit’s 97 public schools.

Detroit’s main library is a product of Carnegie’s grants. There are ten branch libraries throughout the city. None of the branches are opened weekends and most have only one or two weekdays that remain open until 8p. When can hard working families take their kids to the library?

I was born in Detroit and raised just north of its city limit. I spent fun teen years during the birth of Motown and the era of the original muscle cars. I’m very proud and happy to report that the book club I belong to has sponsored a  Little Free Library at a Detroit school. I think all book clubs and writers’ organizations should join the cause of the Little Free Libraries—a fun way to encourage reading while building community interaction.

We don’t have to be as wealthy as Carnegie to help . . . any contribution adds to the movement. Check out these websites and facebook pages.

Website:                                                                     Facebook:

Littlefreelibraries.org                                                 little free libraries

Detroitlittlefreelibraries.org                                    Detroit: the little library capitol

 

I LOVE LIBRARIES!

Reading to Cats

Posted on by under Ann Minnett, Group theme posts

By Ann Minnett

reading to catAn animal shelter in Berks County, Pennsylvania is helping young students improve their reading skills by reading to cats. Yes, cats!

The story appeared on http://thedodo.com and received a lot of attention on FaceBook. This program provides good reading practice for the children and wonderful company for the animals awaiting adoption. But so much more goes on when someone reads to another (human or animal).

The social/emotional connection affects both partners. We touch, exchange facial expressions, and generally communicate below the level of the words on the page. Most parents know the importance of reading to an child even before she can speak. The child learns language to the extent she hears language, but when parents cuddle a child to read, they are bonding and sharing so much more. Apparently those benefits extend to other living creatures.