An Author Interview: Christopher Healy

    Hello! This week I'm thrilled to be posting an exclusive interview with Christopher Healy, the New York Times-recognized author of the Hero's Guide series and the A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem books. Both are great stories that I highly recommend, and hope to review in separate posts on here soon. If you haven't heard of this author or any of his books, I strongly suggest you check him out...his work is bound to make you smile and think.

    This is my eleventh author interview here. To see all the author interviews I've done in the past, click HERE.

    This interview is spoiler-free.

Top Ten Tuesdays: Favorite Books of 2020

  

    Wow. Just wow. WE'VE MADE IT, EVERYONE!!!!! 🎊 Despite all the new difficulties and challenges 2020 has brought to all of us, we're pushing through, and we won't have to go through this year again! (Is it weird that now my writer brain is trying to chase after a plot bunny that involves someone from the future being thrown here through the space-time continuum?) 

    In all seriousness, 2020 has not been easy. However, if you're a book lover like me, I think we can agree that stories have lifted us up, encouraged us, and given us some steady ground in the midst of such a shaky existence. I know it has for me. All the same, coming up with my top ten favorite books I've read this year is definitely a challenge. Not only because I've read so many and explored so many new worlds, but because I want to make sure that what I choose has impacted me in some way. 

    Like I've done with most of my other book-listing TTT posts, I've listed the genre, age target, and a small blurb about why I chose this book, as well as a few content warnings for whoever wants to check it out. If you click on the title of the book, you'll also be taken to the Amazon link! Hope you enjoy reading through my choices.

    (To see all the TTT lists I've done in the past, click HERE.)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #3

  

    Hi! Welcome to my third It's Monday! What Are You Reading? blog post, part of my monthly Week of Book Memes event. (To check out what I posted during my last Week of Book Memes, click HERE.) I'm so excited to be able to make this a regular, monthly post on my blog. It's definitely stretched me and grown me as I've gotten used to writing these posts about what's on my bookshelf!

 

    Last time I posted about this, I mentioned that I'd been stuck on a couple of books. It's true I haven't been reading as much as I've been writing. Last week, though, I went ahead and checked out some new books and flew through them! I'm feeling newly inspired by those, and I hope that taking a break from the books I have a harder time concentrating on will give me the tenacity to go back to them.

    Well, onto the bookshelf!

A Book Review: The Scarlet Letter

    Hey, everyone! This week I decided to do something a little different and review a classic I read for school. I'm definitely hoping to come back to it sometime soon...especially if I decide to participate in The Classics Club book challenge.

    This book review contains no spoilers!

Top Ten Tuesdays: Recommended Books

    I loved writing about this Top Ten Tuesday theme, because it made me stretch my brain and reminisce about a bunch of the reads I've stored as "experienced" in my mental attic. You'd think that since I blog about books for fun and regularly talk about great reads to people, that this topic would be a breeze for me to get through. But as I racked my brain for books to put on here, I realized I don't receive book recommendations as often as I give them away!

    This was a bittersweet reminder to me to be more willing to let other book-lovers have a say in what I read. After all, a book's best when it's shared, right? And, true, not every experience with a recommended book has me raving about it or even liking it, but in the end the benefits of letting other people take a peek at my bookshelf and choosing what to add next outweigh the other possibility of choosing to stop and fight for control over everything I do or don't try.

    Well, enough rambling. 😁 Onto the list!

    Like most of my other TTT lists, I include my reasons for including it, a non-exhaustive list of things to be aware of if you want to check out the book, and the Amazon link embedded in the title. (Click HERE if you want to see a full list of the Top Ten Tuesday lists I've done in the past.)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #2

 

    Hi! Welcome to my second It's Monday! What Are You Reading? blog post, part of my monthly Week of Book Memes event. (To see what I posted during my last Week of Book Memes, click HERE.) I really enjoyed getting to do this last month, and am excited to blog about it again.

 

    This has been a bit of a slow week for me in books, partly due to my ongoing fanfiction obsession and the fact that I haven't been to the library in a couple of weeks. Hopefully during the week I'll get back into the mood and habit of finishing the books I start.

Top Ten Tuesdays: Favorite Book(ish) Quotes

 

    Welcome to my take on another great Top Ten Tuesday list theme! This post is a part of Stepping Stones Book Reviews' Week of Book Memes, the week-long event where I get to participate in a bunch of the Internet's most popular book blogger memes. (Find my first Monday meme HERE.)

    This month I decided to do something different with my Top Ten Tuesday list. Instead of putting together a list and doing a "mini-review" of all the books included, I've decided to only concentrate on each quote, whether it's from a book or about books, and note why I liked it. If you find a book on here that you'd like to know more about, let me know in the comments and I'll answer with a summary of any issues a day or so after the comment is posted. When I list a book's title, I'll also include an Amazon link, and a link to my review of the book if I've written one already.

    There are spoilers for one book that's listed here, but other than that this post is spoiler-free!

    To view all my Top Ten Tuesday lists, click HERE.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #1

    Hi, everyone! Welcome to my first ever try at a It's Monday! What Are You Reading? book blog event. If you're new to Stepping Stones Book Reviews, welcome. This is the first of The Week of Book Memes, a four-part series of posts I'm doing this week, all dedicated to participating in some of the most fun and popular book blog memes that the Internet has to offer. 

    I've had some rough stuff going on the past few weeks (including recovering from a huge surgery), so I got a little behind on my usually big reading list. As I've rested and gotten more strength up, I've begun to pick up more books and finish them too. I hope you'll enjoy taking a look at my bookshelf as of right now.

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books That Should Be Adapted Into Netflix Shows/Movies

     Hi, and welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday list! I was very excited about this list's theme, as I am always finding books I think are good enough to be made into movies. Some of these are more recent reads, while some I've kept close to me through the years, hoping that someone else with the right connections will also see the "big-screen" potential in these books.

    Click below to see the list, including the genre, age target, why I chose the book for my list, and any issues I can remember for whoever wants to check it out. I've also included a link to the book's Amazon page.

    Since it was hard for me to choose just ten this time, I did some extra credit and put in three runner-up titles, just for the fun of it! I hope you enjoy these additional book recommendations.

    All of these Top Ten Tuesday lists are supposed to be spoiler-free, though minor spoilers may sneak in a few times. 

    To view all my Top Ten Tuesday lists, click here.

A Book Review: Crash Landing

    Due to all of the excitement around both the Dragon flight and the upcoming Artemis program, I thought it would be fun to include the first of a space-themed book series. I discovered this book during quarantine and I'm excited to recommend it to you!

   There may be minor spoilers as I try to give an accurate picture of the book.

   (The discussion questions will have spoilers, since they are supposed to be used after reading the book.)

A Book Review: The Great Historic Mystery (Plus EXCLUSIVE interview with the author!)

      I'm super excited about this week's review! Not only is the book I'm recommending awesome, but I got in contact with the author and interviewed her via the web. (Especially with all the craziness happening lately, I'm so thankful for the Internet and all the technology we're able to use!) The book review is posted first, and below that's the interview, along with a lovely photo of her. Enjoy!

     There may be minor spoilers as I try to give an accurate picture of the book.

    (The discussion questions will have spoilers, since they are supposed to be used after reading the book.)

    Minor spoilers may also be included in the interview.