Category Archives: weekly geeks

The Sunday Salon + Weekly Geeks!

Two weeks ago, I said I was taking a “short” break… I had planned to be up and running and churning out reviews this past week, but that clearly didn’t happen. It is more complicated, time-consuming, and stressful than I had anticipated to move into a new home, and let’s just say that I have been very busy over the last couple of weeks.

That being said, I still don’t know exactly when I’ll start to post reviews again. I’ve been reading a little, but haven’t had the time or energy to sit down and collect my thoughts in a way that would allow a review. For now, I’ll just focus on getting my new home all settled and enjoy that. :) Which, by the way, I absolutely love. LOVE.

I have not participated in Weekly Geeks in I don’t even know how long, and I thought this week’s topic was fun, so there you have it. This week, we were asked to list ten facts about books as pertaining to us personally. Here are ten random things about me and books.

1. Last year, I organized my bookshelves by color. It looked super pretty but I could never find the books I was looking for, so I reorganized them by author’s last name. Now it’s much easier to find specific books, but the shelves are not nearly as pretty. :(

2. Before I was a blogger, I was a book monogamist. Now I can read no fewer than three books at one time. Typically it’s more like five or six at once.

3. I always use a bookmark.

4. I discovered audiobooks about two years ago, and thank God I did. So much love for audios over here.

5. My favorite book format is trade paperback. Not too heavy, easy to keep open, the paper is usually decent if not really nice, and they look great lined up together on my bookshelves. And they are much more affordable than hardcover.

6. I have to admit, I am a sucker for buying books online from “big box” stores. The deals are just really difficult for me to pass up.

7. As much as I like to own my books, I am a huge library fan. There’s just so many books, all for the taking, all for FREE! And plus, if you dislike a book, you don’t have to feel bad about that – just return it and find something else.

8. My husband has always been a sporadic reader at best. Now he finishes a book every few weeks and has a huge TBR wishlist. I like to take credit for this. :)

9. I truly believe there is nothing better, book-wise, than an excellent chunkster. But I unfortunately don’t read enough long books, as I seem to lack the patience it requires to really get into the story. I need to work on this.

10. The first book I can remember reading over and over and over again is Addie Meets Max.

That was fun! What are some interesting facts about you and books?

I hope to post some reviews this week, but if I don’t, you can bet I’ll be busy with other stuff. What are you up to this weekend?

Weekly Geeks: Romance!

This week’s Weekly Geek’s topic is in honor of Valentine’s Day, which is tomorrow.  Here’s the topic:

In honor of Valentine’s weekend, let’s talk about romantic literature. By that, I don’t necessarily mean the modern romance genre, but books that you find particularly romantic.

Feel free to explore any or all of these prompts:

  • What literary couple is your favorite?
  • How do you define romantic literature? Does it always involve sex? or the hint of sex?
  • What author/s do you think writes romantic scenes particularly well?
  • Do you have a favorite romantic scene in a book?
  • Do you find you read romantic literature at certain times of the year?
  • Tell us your favorite romantic quote.
  • Do you have some favorite romantic poetry?

Share any other thoughts you have about books and romance or love or eroticism.

And beyond books: If you celebrate Valentine’s Day, what’s your favorite way to do it? A romantic dinner? Chocolate? Do you send cards to people you love?

I enjoy this topic because I am a total sap.  I love romance, I love the idea of love, I love being in love. :)  Go figure.  So when books have a romance in them, especially a romance that is done well and/or pulls me in, makes me think about my own life, well… I get very mushy very easily.

My all-time favorite literary couple is probably Clare and Henry from The Time Traveler’s Wife.  That’s just off the top of my head, I’m sure there are others, but they come to mind first.  I cried buckets while reading that book, and I still think of them with nostalgia when I am thinking about a great romantic novel.  I also love reading YA romance – one of my favorite teen couples in a book is Annabel and Owen from Just Listen.  Their journey to falling in love was just so darn realistic and sweet… I couldn’t help loving them.

I love romance in books.  I don’t like romance as a genre, really, but for me there’s nothing better than reading about a relationship between a couple in a novel.  I love the coming together, the falling in love, the evolution of love over time, I love it all. :)  Especially when there’s a gem of a love story in an otherwise excellent book, the love story is just icing on the cake.  What can I say – I repeat, I am a sap!

I also love romance in TV shows.  I cried real tears when Pam and Jim from The Office finally got together.  And their wedding – yes, I cried some more.  And when Monica proposed to Chandler on Friends, I was a total blubbering mess!

Personally, I’m not a huge Valentine’s Day person.  I think it’s kind of an excuse for flower places to charge more, for restaurants to offer “specials” (that are usually not all that special), and for Hallmark to make a lot of money.  But I do enjoy the daily expression of love, of course – in my marriage, we try to take care of each other in little ways throughout the entire year, not just on one day.  But I will say that I like being romanced every now and again – what girl doesn’t love flowers and a handwritten card?  For my husband and myself, we like to do different things to treat each other – for example, tomorrow we plan to go to this farmer’s market and art show we recently heard about, and we’ll probably have a nice(ish) dinner out somewhere after.  Just something out of the ordinary, that’s all we really require to “treat” ourselves.

How about yourself?  What literary couples are your favorites?  Any special plans for V-Day tomorrow?

WG: Best of 2009

This week’s Weekly Geek’s assignment is to list our favorite books published in 2009.  I actually read a fair amount of books that were published this year, and here’s my list.

1.  The Laws of Harmony by Judith Ryan Hendricks (my review) —> women’s fiction, general fiction

2.  North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley (my review) —> Young Adult fiction

3.  Sleepwalking in Daylight by Elizabeth Flock (my review) —> women’s fiction, general fiction

4.  Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (my review) —> Young Adult fiction

5.  City of Refuge by Tom Piazza (my review) —> general fiction, “historical” fiction (takes place during Hurricane Katrina, does that count as historical?  I’m not sure.)

6.  Willow by Julia Hoban (my review) —> Young Adult fiction

7.  Hate List by Jennifer Brown (review coming soon) —> Young Adult fiction

I decided to go with seven favorites instead of ten because seven is my favorite number. :)  Also if I picked ten I wouldn’t be true to my real favorites, and would just start listing books I liked.  These seven are books I adored.

Happy Weekly Geeks. :)

Weekly Geeks: Recommendations

Today’s Weekly Geek’s is a fun one.  Here’s the topic:

I wanted to talk this week about book recommendations. Where do you go for book recommendations? How often do you challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone? How often do you read outside your favorite-and-best genre? How often do you try a new-to-you author? How often do you take a chance? This week, I’d like to offer you a few opportunities.

So your assignment this week, if you choose to play along, is to ask your readers for recommendations. Choose a genre–any genre–and ask for recommendations. You can be as general or as specific as you like. Consider it as an “I’m looking for….”

The second part of the assignment is to write a list of recommendations and share them with your readers. Choose a genre–any genre–and share your list of favorites. I think of this as “If you’re looking for….”

Okay.  I actually think I’m going to do the second part first.  There are many different genres of books I enjoy.  But I have found, over the years, that my favorite, FAVORITE books are those that pack a huge emotional punch.  The books that I can’t stop thinking about when I’m reading them, and that I’ll think about for days, weeks, months, sometimes even years after I finish them.  So I’ve compiled a short list of books you should read if you’re looking for a book you won’t soon forget.  Here they are:

And now, what kind of recommendations am I looking for?  I think that what I’m most interested in are your favorite obscure books.  What books do you love that I’ve never heard of?  Or, perhaps I’ve heard of them but they aren’t super-popular and don’t usually come up on best-of type lists.  What book should I read if I’m looking for an awesome book that I haven’t seen before?

Weekly Geeks – What’s the Plan?

It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the last quarter of 2009. Soon those of us in the northern hemisphere will be curled up in front of the fire (or solar heater) with our favorite wintry reads, and those in the southern will be off to the beaches with their summer books.

Do you have a plan of what you’re going to read the rest of the year? Have you had a master plan all along? If so, have you stuck to it? What helps you to decide what you’re going to read next? Challenges? Book groups? Or do you have the luxury of closing your eyes and picking any book off your shelf?

I know some of you have spreadsheets and other devices to help you keep track of your books and challenges. (I even succumbed to using a spreadsheet this year after teasing my friends relentlessly about theirs.) If you have online spreadsheets, such as Google, can you give us a peek at them with a link or a screen shot?

Well, I have to say that I don’t have an exact plan, per se.  But I DO have plenty of commitments to get to before the end of the year.  Let’s start with challenges.  I do keep a challenge blog so that I have an easier time keeping track of my challenge progress, which can be found here.  According to said blog, I have eleven books that I need to read to complete my challenges for 2009 – two for the A-Z challenge, three for the Book Awards III challenge, three for the Orbis Terrarum challenge, and three for the World Citizen challenge.  Plus I just signed up for the RIP IV challenge, which I haven’t even added to that blog, with a requirement of two books.  So that should be doable.

Then we have my review commitments.  I currently have a stack of ten books I’ve promised a review for, and another seven which arrived unsolicited but that I do plan on reading soon.  I’m pretty sure I can get to the ten, but the seven unsolicited I have my doubts about.

Plus there’s the fact that I have several library books on hold right now, which I hope arrive shortly, and which I’ll read immediately upon receiving them.  And I have plenty of books in my own TBR shelves that I’d like to get to.

I have to admit that I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.  I am excited for all these books, but will I get to them by December 31st?  I just don’t know.  I do tend to read more in the winter than in the summer, so it’s definitely possible.  I may have to rethink my review copy acceptance rate next year if I have any intention of getting some of my TBR books read in this decade (which I do).

How about you?  Do you have a plan for your reading for the rest of the year?  Check out what some of the other Weekly Geeks have to say on this topic or add your own at the Weekly Geeks blog.

WG: Shannon Hale edition

This week’s Weekly Geeks is one of my favorite topics as of late, because I can’t wait to see all the responses from my fellow Geeks.  Shannon Hale recently posted some questions for reviewers on her blog, along with a long discussion of her feelings on the subject, and I’m going to respond to them from my point of view.

1. Do you find that the anticipation of reviewing the book has changed your reading experience?

I honestly cannot say that it has changed it TOO drastically.  I do sometimes think about my review while I’m reading, periodically reminding myself to remember certain parts of the book that affected me the most, or certain scenes that were awkward or that didn’t fit with the rest of the story.  But plenty of other times I get so lost in the book that later, when it’s time to write my review, I am just lost for words.  I definitely put more thought into my reading now that I’m reviewing every book I read, and I don’t skip pages or passages that are long or boring, but I can’t say that the experience of reviewing books has changed the experience of reading them, TOO much, for me.
2. Are you rating the book even as you read? Or do you wait until the end to sum it all up?

I definitely don’t rate a book until I’m finished with it.  Sometimes I can tell right from the start whether I’m going to love or hate the book, but more often that not I haven’t completely made up my mind about the book until near the end or after I close the book.  I’ve had the experience where a book was really “meh” for the first 100 pages and then it turned out to be awesome, and I’ve also had the opposite experience where a book was fantastic in the beginning and then sort of fizzled.  In both cases, I wouldn’t have been able to rate the book until I was finished with it.
3. Does knowing you’ll be reviewing it (or rating it) publicly affect which books you pick up in the first place?

Not really.  I mean, I review more “review copies” now, which I obviously didn’t do before blogging, but I still try to choose only review copies that I would buy myself if they were not presented to me.  And for my personal tastes, I still read the same stuff I did before blogging.  Actually, that’s not true – my tastes are WAY more expanded than they were before I started blogging, I read a lot MORE now than I did pre-blogging.  But do I “censor” my reading because of the blog?  No way.  And anyway, if I was embarassed about any of my reading choices (I’m not, but just if), there’s no rule that says I HAVE to review everything I read.  I can read something embarassing and not review it if necessary.  Hasn’t happened yet, because I am very open about my reading tastes, but I suppose it’s possible.


4. Does the process of writing the review itself change how you felt about the book?

Sometimes I’ll be in the middle of a review of a book I thought I really liked, and as I’m trying to come up with what to write about the book, I realize the book doesn’t have many redeeming qualities that I can specifically point to.  I hate when this happens, but it definitely does, and those are the books that get the “meh” reviews from me.  The ones that I liked, but I can’t quite say why and honestly, they don’t end up being memorable reads at all.  Other than that, usually I’ll sort of plan out in my head the positives and negatives about the book I need to review, then just sit down and bang out the review.  Nothing too complicated about it, and usually I finish the review feeling the exact same way about the book as I did before I started.  As stated above, there are some exceptions to that, but not too many.
5. What is your motivation to assign a rating to a book and declare it to the world?

You know what, I go back and forth about ratings ALL. THE. TIME.  When I first started the blog, I didn’t do ratings.  Then I went to a 1-10 system for like, a minute.  Then I didn’t do ratings for almost a year.  Then I started doing 1-5 ratings and have been doing that for about a year now.  But recently I’ve started to question that.  The rating is nice beause I like being able to say a book is a 5 out of 5, to show that I LOVED the book and deem it a must-read.  But honestly, I rated most everything between a 3.5 and 4.5.  And I very rarely rated anything below a 2.5.  So what’s the point, really?  I’m thinking I’m going to stick with not using ratings.  Perhaps I’ll incorporate some sort of “award” for the books that I deem must-reads.  Some kind of Best Of lists or something.  I do like being clear about when a book hits my “favorites” list.  Other than that, though, the more I think about it, ratings just aren’t necessary.
6. If you review a book but don’t rate, why not? What do you feel is your role as reviewer?

Well, I have to admit that I started my blog completely oblivious to the fact that anybody would actually want to read my reviews.  I started it for me, to keep track of what I read and to allow myself some reflection on the books.  But now that the blog has grown and I do have actual people reading my reviewers, I understand that I do have a role, and I take it seriously.  I think that what I do, and what most book bloggers strive to do, is give my opinion of a book as a friend.  In a casual way, because I read the book and liked/didn’t like it and want to share my opinion with you so that when you go to the bookstore with ten books on your list you can think about what I said about some book you hadn’t heard of before and add an eleventh.  I think it’s important to be honest, to point what I did and did not like about any particular book, and if possible to mention what “types” of readers would enjoy said book.  I love to read and I love to share that love with others – that is what I do here.  And the more I think about it, the more I realize that ratings are just not necessary to do those things.  I can be clear enough in my review about my feelings about a book without assigning a number to my feelings.  BUT I do think I’d like to create a “favorites” button for the books that really stand out to me.  Anyone want to design one for me? ;)

Weekly Geeks – catching up on reviews

This week, I’m going back to a classic Dewey topic–#12 to be exact. I chose this for several reasons–one, it’s one of my favorite weekly geeks topics–but more importantly I saw it would work well with two very important bloggy events going on this week.

1. In your blog, list any books you’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet. If you’re all caught up on reviews, maybe you could try this with whatever book(s) you hope to finish this week. (Be sure to leave a link to this post either in the comments of this post, or in the Mister Linky below.)

2. Ask your readers to ask you questions about any of the books they want. In your comments, not in their blogs. (Most likely, people who will ask you questions will be people who have read one of the books or know something about it because they want to read it.)

3. Later, take whichever questions you like from your comments and use them in a post about each book. Link to each blogger next to that blogger’s question(s).

4. Visit other Weekly Geeks and ask them some questions!

Okay so I have three books that I’d LOVE your questions about.  One of them I actually already wrote up an entire review and somehow wordpress just up and died right before it was published and for some strange reason none of it had been saved.  Ugh.  Anyway, here they are (links are to Amazon):

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

Madapple by Christina Meldrum

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Please, please ask away.  Keep in mind that you don’t have to normally participate in Weekly Geeks to ask questions about these books.  The more, the merrier!  Thanks so much.

WG – Military

Two (three or four within each) choices this week:

  1. With Memorial Day in the U.S. this coming Monday, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on the military. Either share your favorite book on war or movie on war and why. Provide a clip from the movie if you’d like or a passage from the book that shows us why you it’s your favorite book or movie. Or do both. OR choose your own military theme, for example, if you have a relative or friend in the military and you would like to send them a video or a message of thanks, do that on your blog. OR do all three. The book and movie also don’t have to be “patriotic” necessarily. For example, one of my favorite fictional books on war is Johnny, Get Your Gun by Dalton Trumbo.
  2. Again with Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S. starting traditionally on Friday evening, it also is unofficially the start of summer. You’ve probably been asked this in other meme groups in which you participate, but do your reading habits change over the summer? Do you choose lighter fare? What do you enjoy to take to the beach, for example? What is the ultimate summer book? OR what are your favorite travel guides — official or unofficial guides? Again, an example, I think of Holidays In Hell by P.J. O’Rourke, of places I’d rather not vacation. Along those lines, where do you vacation? Any places you recommend or even don’t recommend?

Well, I mentioned last month that I went to see my youngest brother graduate from boot camp and I’ve been meaning to post some pictures ever since.  So, let me see if I can find some good ones.

053This one was taken when they were in their last formation on “family day”, about five minutes before we were able to give him a big hug for the first time in over three months.  Alex (my brother) is in there somewhere but it’s hard to see.

066This one is Alex and our mom.

068Here’s myself with Alex and our other brother, Jim.  We have a sister too but she wasn’t able to come to the graduation.  I look like yuck and my eyes are closed, but oh well.

101This picture is of some of the guys on the actual graduation day.  I included it because I’m completely amazed at how well they keep these formations and how together they all are – it’s truly remarkable.

103And this is one of my favorite pictures – Alex with our two grandmothers.  How cute is this?!

And that’s all I got for pictures.  I’m glad that I’ve gotten a chance to share these pictures with all of you because honestly, I’m so proud of my brother I can’t even explain it properly.  My family is not a military family – we have a few uncles that fought in World War II and Vietnam, back when the majority of non-college educated men were in the military, but overall we are not super into the military nor do we know much about it.  So when Alex told us he wanted to join the Marines, we totally freaked out.  I mean, my mom couldn’t even talk about it without tearing up.  But we gradually warmed up to the idea, as well as realized that he is eighteen years old and is going to do what he wants regardless of what we think so it makes more sense to support him than not.  And now, truly, I could not be prouder.  I’m still scared, of course, of what he’s going to face when he gets out of his training and has to be in combat (he’s going to be some sort of bomb technician, so he’ll definitely be in combat in some way), but I know that he’s doing what he needs to do and I’m so proud to have someone as amazing and intelligent and caring as my sweet brother helping to protect and take care of our country and everyone in it.

WG: Animals!

I love this week’s Weekly Geeks topic because I am planning to show you pictures of my kitties, which I’ve never done before on the blog!  First, though, let me reiterate this week’s question:

How many of us remember a favorite pet from our childhood? Or have enjoyed visiting the zoo? Or relish in walking in the woods and hearing birdsong, or seeing a deer leap away through the brush? How many of us have been thrilled by a soaring eagle? How often have we sought the comfort of a dog or cat, or wept tears of loss when forced to say good-bye to a furred friend?

We are surrounded by our fellow creatures and often our lives are enriched by their presence, whether it be sharing our homes with them or simply being blessed to see them in passing.

This week you are asked to share books (fiction or nonfiction) and/or movies which center around an animal or animals.

  • Which are your favorites?
  • Which touched your heart the most?
  • Which have found their way onto your wish lists or TBR stacks?
  • Is there a childhood favorite?
  • Have you ever named a pet after an animal from a book or movie?

You get the idea! Have fun with this; use your imagination. Share your thoughts!

As an adjunct to this post, consider sharing photos of animals (domestic or wild) which have inspired or thrilled you, or graced your life with their presence.

So, first I’d like to share some of my favorite books with animals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First we have Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  This book was one of my favorite books from last year, and there are many animals in the book because the setting is a traveling circus.  The main animal character, though, is an elephant named Rosie – who is a huge (literally and figuratively) part of the story.  It’s a great book, read it.  You can read my review of Water for Elephants here.

Next we have Riding Lessons, coincidentally also authored by Sara Gruen (she wrote this one before WfE), and another fantastic book starring an animal.  This time it’s horses.  The star of this show is an old, scarred horse named Hurrah – despite his age and his scarring, this horse is no ordinary horse … but you’ll have to read the book to find out what makes Hurrah so special.  Just like WfE, Riding Lessons isn’t just about the animals, it’s a fantastic story with great characters.  Read my review of Riding Lessons here.

The third book I’d like to show you is The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle.  This one also stars horses, but just as the rest of the books I’ve shown you, there’s a lot more here than just the animals.  This book is absolutely beautiful in language, in the way Kyle wrote these heartbreaking characters, and in the relationships between some of the characters and the horses.  In my review, I stated that it may not be one of my favorite books of all time, but now that it’s been awhile since I’ve read it, and the book is STILL with me, I might have to change that.  The book is truly marvelous and I think any fan of contemporary fiction should read it.  My review of The God of Animals is here.

Fourth, we have Life of Pi by Yann Martel.  This book got a lot of buzz when it first came out, as well as won the Man Booker Prize in 2002, so I’m sure most of you know that the animal in this story is a Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker.  After sixteen-year-old Pi and his family pack up their zoo and get on a boat to Canada (from India), there is a disastrous shipwreck which leaves only Pi and Richard Parker, on a life boat, in a desperate struggle to survive without killing each other (easier on Pi’s part than Richard Parker’s, as you can imagine).  I read this book before I started my blog so I don’t have a review to show you, but I will say that I loved the book and highly recommend it.  The book isn’t for everyone – it’s slow going in parts – but if you can get through some of the slower aspects, it is amazing.

And lastly, I decided to throw in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.  The book is taught in many high school classrooms for a reason – it’s a really great book with tons of stuff to discuss and think about.  As I’m sure most of you know, Algernon is a mouse who isn’t exactly the main character of the story, but is very instrumental to what happens in the book.  You can read my review of Flowers for Algernon here.

And now I get to talk about my kitties!  We have three cats, Bailey, Oscar, and Annabelle.  Bailey and Oscar are brothers and I adopted them as eighteen-week-old kittens from an animal shelter back when I was in college.  Annabelle is their adopted little sister, she was brought to us when we first moved to our townhouse (where we live now) by two little girls in the neighborhood who had found her outside and weren’t allowed to keep her.  We called her our “street cat” at first because she was covered in fleas, she was snarly and hissed at everything (especially her two new brothers who were just trying to get to know her – poor guys!), and was generally terrified of life.  But once we got her cleaned up and spent a few days with her, she fit into our little family perfectly.  Now here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure!

001That’s Oscar sleeping on the left (by far, his favorite activity) and Bailey looking into the camera on the right.  

004And this one is Annabelle as a kitten giving Bailey a bath around his ears (which he appeared to really enjoy, as you can see).

128And here we have Annabelle in one of her favorite spots, the DVD rack.  She likes to find little places where only she can fit. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading about animals – both ones I have loved in books, and the ones I love in real life!  

 

WG: Linky linky

Yay!  One of my FAVORITE things that Dewey did is back to remind us of how awesome she was – linking to our friends!  Here is the Weekly Geek topic this week:

When Dewey started Weekly Geeks, one of the first projects she encouraged us to do was link our book reviews to each other. Sadly, I’ve fallen of the wagon on this one. For people like me who need a refresher and for all the new Weekly Geeks this is a topic that could use repeating.

Let’s look at Dewey’s original post : Dewey’s post.

Here’s what we’ll do:

1. Write a post encouraging readers to look through your archives (if you have your reviews in a particular place on your blog, point them there), and find the books that they have also written reviews. Tell them to leave a link to their review on your review post. For example, I’ve written a review for Gods Behaving Badly and Jane Doe leaves a link to her review of Gods Behaving Badly in the comments section of my review.

2. Edit your reviews to include those links in the body of the review post.

3. Visit other Weekly Geeks and go through their reviews. Leave links for them.

4. Leave a note somewhere on your blog to let people know this is your new policy.

5. Write a post later this week letting us know how your project is going!

This is a big undertaking but as Dewey put it, it’s ‘community building’. Have fun!

Ok, so I’ve been doing the linking thing since Dewey started it.  I used to have the policy posted on the blog but then I was linking to everyone else for so long that I kinda just figured everyone knew that I was doing that, so no need.  You guys tell me – should I have the policy posted?  Or is it implied by the fact that I always link to other people when I can find other reviews?

Either way, here’s my review directory.  If I have reviewed something that you have also reviewed, and you don’t see your review on the post, just comment on that post and let me know and I’ll add it right away.  Simple, no?  And don’t be shy – I love linking to you guys, and of course in turn I also love to see MY reviews linked on other blogs!  See, that’s what’s so great about this idea – community.  We all love and support each other.  Yay. :)