BW13 - Book news and links

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!  April is coming quickly and will be a full month as we sail the seas and explore with Charles Darwin in Voyage of the Beagle.  Our very own Rose (Chrysalis Academy) will be guiding our travels and will be guest posting next week.   

The blogosphere  event of the year begins on April 1: the 7th annual  Blogging from A to Z challenge.   If you have a blog and have gotten out of the habit or just need some inspiration, be sure to check it out.  I'm diving in with both feet. 

April 12 is Beverly Cleary's 99th birthday and ALA is celebrating all month long with D.E.A.R. - Drop Everything and Read Month.  

April 23rd is World Book and Copyright day created by UNESCO in honor of Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died in 1616 on this day. Eliana will be leading the charge so stay tuned for more information.

April is also National Poetry Month  and in celebration Bill Murray contributed his favorite poems to O magazine  available in the April Issue now.

Have you found your bliss yet? Brianpickings highlights Joseph Campbell with What it Takes to Have a Fulfilling Life.

If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are — if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.

Book Kids Blog is celebrating National Poetry Month with 26 Inspiring Poems about the Joys and Importance of Books and Reading. 

I Opened a Book

By Julia Donaldson

I opened a book and in I strode.

Now nobody can find me.

I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,

My town and my world behind me.

I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,

I’ve swallowed the magic potion.

I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king

And dived in a bottomless ocean.

I opened a book and made some friends.

I shared their tears and laughter

And followed their road with its bumps and bends

To the happily ever after.

I finished my book and out I came.

The cloak can no longer hide me.

My chair and my house are just the same,

But I have a book inside me.

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Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading. 

BW12: Vernal Equinox

Spring has arrived in the northern half of the hemisphere and Autumn has already come out to play at the beginning of the month in the southern half.  Whether you are experiencing flowers blooming or leaves turning all shades of yellow, red and orange, nature is putting on quite a show right now.  It's also time to pull out your trusty thesauruses or thesauri, which ever you prefer saying  and start plotting out your spring or autumn reading lists.  Or maybe take a look at Synonyms.com and see what you can find. Perhaps a book with capriole or galumph or caper in the title!

I think I'm going to take a different tack with Spring this year since the season is all about beginnings, growth, discovery and blossoming. A new copy of  Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way just arrived. I signed up to join a group of folks in my online writing community who will be diving in on April 7th. I read it a few years back and since then my original, very marked up, well used copy disappeared into the garage, boxed up along with numerous other books while we deep cleaned our bedroom. So I splurged on another copy - it is, after all, a new beginning...again.  *grin*  

Also in the offing is the annual April challenge -  Blogging from A to Z - created by Arlee Bird, and is now in its 7th year.  This will be my first time participating and I'm looking forward to it with excitement as well as trepidation.  As of March 21st, My Two Blessings will be nine years and as my posting has become rather sporadic lately, am attempting to get back into the groove.  Come join me and all the riotous fun. Come up with a theme and talk about books, life, homeschooling, clowns, engineering, maps or whatever your clever and intriguing minds think up.  

Still need some ideas for Spring or Autumn -- Check out The Millions Most Anticipated: The Great 2016 Book Review or  for something completely different - The 18 Books that investors will be reading over Spring Break!

Happy Reading! 

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Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading. 

BW11: Happy St. Patrick's Week!

We'll be celebrating St. Patrick's day all week long and instead of loading your wishlists down with more books, your mission is to find a book on your shelves that has a green cover or has green in the title. 

Sweetheart I’m bidding you fond farewell

Murmured a youth one day

I’m off to a new land my fortune to try

And I’m ready to sail away

Far away in Australia

Soon will fate be kind

And I will be ready to welcome the lass

The girl I left behind

Must we be parted?! his fairer one cried

I cannot let you go

Still I must leave you, the young man replied

But for only a while you know

Far away in Australia

Soon will fate be kind

And I will be ready to welcome the lass

The girl I left behind

Whether in success or failure

I will always be true

Proudly each day in that land far away

I’ll be building a home for you

Far away in Australia

Soon will fate be kind

And I will be ready to welcome the lass

The girl I left behind

Daily she waits at the old cottage gate

Watching the whole day through

Till that sweet message comes over the wave

And in the new world they’re joined as two

Far away in Australia

Soon will fate be kind

And I will be ready to welcome the lass

The girl I left behind”

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Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading. 

BW10: Bicycles, beaches and books

As Summer gives way to Autumn in Australia and New Zealand, I have beach reads and bicycle trips on the brain as well as romance.  In my meanderings around the interwebz I stumbled across the Aussie Authors Month, typically held in April, which not only lead me to Australia's Indigenous Literacy Foundation, but also Goodreads Aussie Readers group and their March reads as well as their Autumn Challenge. 

The Autumn challenge includes reading books to match up with events taking place during the season including today which is clean up Australia day (reuse/recycle) so the task is to read a book from your stacks or a book from the library. Check out the challenge and join in.  

I also stumbled across Romance Writers of Australia which has a long list of Romance Authors, along with their websites.  Surprisingly, I've only read Keri Arthur, one of my favorite urban fantasy - paranormal authors and her Riley Jensen Guardian series. 

And for those who aren't into romance, check out Historical Novels for historical and mystery stories set in both countries, as well as Culture trips literary escape - Top Ten New Zealand Travel Reads and A Literary Tour of Melbourne. 

I had fun perusing the lists as well as Goodreads and adding a few new to me authors to my wishlists.

Happy reading! 

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Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading.