Book Blogger Hop No. 155: Book Club Gift Exchanges

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

Does your book club have a book

exchange for the holidays,

or any other time during the year?

If you don't belong to a book club,

do you think that would be

something fun to do?

(Submitted  by Elizabeth  @ 

Silver's Reviews)

My Answer

Here's the short and sweet answer again! 

I don't belong to any book clubs, either online or in "the real world", alas...... Do I think this would be a fun thing to do? Heck, YEAH.

A bit longer, now, lol.....

At this WONDERFUL, JOYFUL time of year, there are "Secret Santa" gift exchanges going on at many companies. I used to participate in the annual ones held at a certain company I worked at, in downtown Miami. I haven't worked there in nearly five years now, so my only job is my part-time evening teaching job, at a Miami high school. Sadly, we don't have any gift exchanges there. Teachers might get Christmas presents from their students at the end of the last trimester (in December), or they might not. It all depends on the students. 

At any of these company exchanges, it has been my experience that VERY few people EVER give anybody a book, or a Barnes & Noble gift card, or even an Amazon gift card that could be used for buying books. It seems that people at most companies think that a book is NOT a worthwhile present, especially not for a woman. 

Even when I've been given presents by students, NONE of them have ever given me a book or a B&N gift card! In fact, one year, a group of students gave me a $200.00 gift card. I was overjoyed!! But, when I happened to mention, to several students, that I could buy several books with that gift card, one of hem gave me a weird look, and told me to spend it on NECESSARY things, like shoes, purses, or clothes. AAAAARRRRGGHH!!!! Needless to say, I did NOT heed her "advice". I LAVISHED books on myself!! LOL.

Many people -- whether company employees or students one teaches -- will invariably give a female employee/teacher such stereotypical presents as perfume, scarves, costume jewelry, or Bath & Body Works body lotions. Once, a group gave me a purse, which was obviously of the expensive variety. So, whenever I've gotten either a printed book or a B&N gift card in a company gift exchange, I've had to actually let people know that I would like to receive either one of those two options. Not that I don't like perfume or the other typical gifts given to women. But heck, if I feel a sudden need for some great-smelling perfume, I'll go ahead and buy it. A book as a gift, though, will send me through the roof with happiness!!!

I've written all of the above because I would LOVE  to be a member of a group of people who did not consider it somehow "not quite appropriate" to give someone -- especially a woman -- a book as a present, whether for Christmas or birthdays. So I would be ECSTATIC if I were to be in a book club -- preferably in "the real world" -- where people DID have such exchanges! Unfortunately, I'm not...... :(

I've been searching for such a book club for some time now, but have not found one. The ones I've found through Google all seem to be too far away for me. So my search continues....

To all of you lucky people who belong to "real life" book clubs that DO have book gift exchanges during the holidays, I say the following: thank God or whoever is your higher power that you belong to such a book club!! And let it be known that I am TOTALLY GREEN WITH ENVY. Lol.

So.....Merry Christmas to all of you fellow book lovers/bloggers, or Happy Kwanzaa (Hanukkah is long since over), and Happy New Year to all!!!  

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

Please leave a comment! 

If you're participating in this meme,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!! 

Book Blogger Hop No. 154: Searching for New Blogs vs. Sticking with "Regulars"

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

Do you tend to visit the same

blogs each week, but also

try to look for new blogs?

(Submitted  by Elizabeth  @ 

Silver's Reviews)

My Answer

Here's the short and sweet answer: I stay with my regular blogs.

Now here's the long answer, lol.

When I first started blogging, I wanted to meet new bloggers, of course! I was like a kid with a new toy! So I enthusiastically used to visit many blogs, followed most of them, and commented. To my disappointment and dismay, I soon discovered that many of these bloggers were not commenting back on my blog.....

I also discovered, pretty quickly, that book bloggers (and probably other kinds of bloggers as well) do tend to stay with their "regulars". At first, I was a bit annoyed. I used to think they were acting like high school cliques! Lol. Now, after eight -- yes, EIGHT -- years of blogging, I must admit that I can see why bloggers do this. Every single one of us leads busy lives. Many bloggers have kids, and have to juggle family and work responsibilities. So, time is limited. It's better to stick with people with whom you resonate. Besides, this way, good friendships are forged. 

This doesn't mean that one can't occasionally go on little blogging adventures to seek out new blogs. But, for me at least, this is indeed an occasional adventure nowadays. In fact, it has become a VERY occasional adventure.

I don't usually mention much of my personal life on my blog, and perhaps that might put off some people. Well, I'm doing so now! Here is the main reason I'm sticking to my regular blogs, and have fallen behind on commenting on even those, as well.

I have been working part-time as an ESOL teacher in Miami, Florida, for several years. I used to combine that with a full-time office job. Don't ask me how I was able to blog at all during the years I did that.....lol. Oh, and what does "ESOL" mean? It's an acronym for "English for Speakers of Other Languages". I teach this subject at a local high school, but in the evening program, since my students are all adults.

Back in May of this year, my regular Level 2 class, which met from 7:00 to 9:30 PM, Monday through Thursday, was closed by the night school principal, due to very low enrollment. I still had tutoring, though -- from 3:00 to 6:00 PM, on the same days. Still, this class closure was not a good thing, as I no longer have a full-time job. (Hence the tutoring, which I had asked the principal for, back in 2015). 

Well, a little miracle took place! Two weeks after closing my Level 2 class, the principal gave me another one -- a combined Levels 5 and 6 class!! I was ecstatic!! It turned out that another teacher had a family situation that made it impossible for him to keep teaching that class, so the principal gave it to me.

There was only one little problem, though....the previous teacher had been lending books to the students to use during class, but the students were not allowed to take these books home. How could they possibly study at home? So I began to make copies to hand out to them during class. They would now be able to take these home to study. However, since this was my first time handling this level, I had NO materials at all. So I began collecting books -- some from the school library, and a few that I bought on Amazon -- in order to make copies for my new students. 

You might be wondering why I didn't just ask the students to buy the books. Well, these students are very reluctant to buy ESOL books, as these tend to be quite expensive, and many of these students, being immigrants, work at menial jobs. And I don't like to lend out the books during class, either, because, in the past, some have disappeared. So I think that making copies works out the best. It does create a LOT more work for me, though! Frequently, I have had to make copies at home, on my own copier, because I haven't had the time to request them from the school office. You see, we are supposed to give the office staff original copies for them to duplicate. The principal doesn't want us to give the actual books to the office staff, to make copies from. This means that we teachers have to make our own original copies first. So I have to do that on my home copier (which is also a printer).

I've told you guys all this because all this extra work at home has taken me away from blogging VERY often since I got this class in May. Furthermore, I have also needed to make copies for my tutoring group, which now consists of two sessions -- the first, for grammar and conversation, the second, dedicated to preparation for the American citizenship exam.

So all of this extracurricular activity means that  I'm WAY behind on replying to comments left on my blog, as well as visiting the commenters' blogs, so as to comment back.... Heck, I'm even late in publishing this Book Blogger Hop post! I am very sorry about all this, but, obviously, work has to come first!

Given all of the above, I am presently unable to go exploring for new blogs. Of course, if a blogger previously unknown to me visits and comments, I will do my utmost to reply here on my blog, and comment back on theirs. But I will probably not make it a habit to keep visiting them, unless they continue to comment on my blog. I simply don't have the time.....

The present trimester (night school goes by trimesters, not semesters, as day school does) will end on Dec. 20th. Then we will have two weeks off, and return on Jan. 7th. By then, I will have plenty of copies ready to hand out, since I now have materials that I can order new copies from. And I will start that process this coming week, so as to be ready to go on Jan. 7th! So, hopefully, this next year I will be better prepared, and not have to scramble around for materials! That will enable me to concentrate on blogging about my favorite subject once again! 

I sincerely apologize to all of those who have been leaving comments on my posts, to which I have not replied. Nor have I commented back on those blogs..... I'm working frantically to catch up!! Thanks to all of you guys!! Don't worry -- I will indeed reply and return comments!! I just ask for your patience and understanding. HUGS TO YOU ALL!!!!  <3  :)  

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

Please leave a comment! 

If you're participating in this meme,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!! 

Book Blogger Hop No. 151: Taking Notes While Reading

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

Do you take notes about the book

you are reading as you read?

(Submitted  by Elizabeth  @ 

Silver's Reviews)

My Answer

Thanks for the great question, Elizabeth! :)

It looks like, this time, I will indeed have to give a "short and sweet" answer....lol. And that answer is.... No. But then again.....

Okay, here's the thing. I would never in a zillion years take notes while reading fiction. That's because, of course, I want to be right there in the characters' heads, and in the middle of all the action. When I REALLY get into a book -- which means that the author has succeeded in making me suspend disbelief in their created world, people, and events -- I become totally unable to shift from my right hemisphere into my left. In other words, I can't shift into analytical, verbal mode, and start to notice such things as metaphors, similes, the author's prose style, how this character's personality and decisions have affected other characters, as well as the story itself, etc. I can't possibly stop all the stuff going on in the story to pause to take notes. Nope!

The only way I could EVER do this with fiction would be if I had previously read a novel or short story, and not long after, then decided to analyze it. But that time span would have to be VERY short. If at least six months have elapsed between my reading of the piece of fiction  -- whether a short story or novel -- and my note-taking, then I would get all caught up in the action again, and would not be able to take any notes. Lol.

Now, when it comes to nonfiction, it's a totally different story. If a nonfiction book REALLY resonates with me, I will definitely want to ponder certain passages that I consider important. However, instead of taking notes, I will highlight these passages. I have even been known to write in the margins! This does create a problem for me, though..... I HATE doing this to a book! This is why I don't do it that often. The last time I did both of these things -- highlight AND write in the margins, I was SO upset at myself, that I bought a brand new copy of the same book. I just HAD to own a pristine copy of it. Then I felt MUCH better about marking up the other one. Lol.

I don't want anyone to think that I have multiple copies of books, some that are all marked up, and others that are untouched. Lol. I've only done this type of thing with one or two books. Haha! So this means that I have actually not taken any notes on nonfiction books in quite some time. Doing this would be more useful for my second blog, though, as very few readers of this blog seem to be interested in nonfiction.

What I really should do is to keep a book journal for books I've read that have definitely had a great impact on me. This would be especially helpful with nonfiction books. As for fiction -- whether novels or short stories -- I think this would only be useful if said piece of fiction had some philosophical component to it, or if I wanted to see what plotting techniques I could garner from the author, so as to use them myself, if I ever do decide to buckle down and write a novel..... :)

This question has REALLY got me going! Now I'm going to buy some notebooks that I can use as book journals! 


 

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

Please leave a comment! 

If you're participating in this meme,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!! 

Book Blogger Hop No. 146: A Future Without Books?!

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

Halloween Edition!!

This event is hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

You are suddenly transported

into a future time in which

(horrors!) books are unknown.

How would you explain

books, and how wonderful they

are, to the people of that time?

(Submitted  by Maria @

A Night's Dream of Books)

My Answer

Actually, this question has nothing whatsoever to do with Halloween. Except that it would definitely be a nightmare if books were totally unknown at some future time. At least, we, the book-loving time travelers, would experience such a future as a horrible one!  :)

I realize that, in asking this question, I gave no details about this hypothetical future society. Also, the fact that we travelers would suddenly be thrust into a world alien to us, with no preparation whatsoever, would be a huge challenge. 

Upon further thought, I believe this hypothetical society could be either at a primitive technological level, or at one so advanced that technology itself had become obsolete, and the inhabitants did everything through telepathy. Either scenario would definitely test the imaginative and teaching abilities of us time travelers!

Before I proceed, I want to make one thing clear, which I think I should have included in the question: we time travelers will have an extended stay in this future society. We will eventually return to our own time, but we will spend several years in the future society. Therefore, we will have plenty of time and opportunities to explain books to our thought-experiment society. 

In the case of the primitive society, which would most likely -- and unfortunately -- have come about because of nuclear destruction, so the survivors would have had to start from scratch, all over again, there's one major point to consider. Primitive societies tend to be very superstitious, with prevalent beliefs in magic, various gods, etc. To the inhabitants of such a society, reading and books would appear to be magical in nature. Of course, books ARE, indeed, magical in nature, metaphorically speaking. Therefore, I think I would start by describing, orally, how magical journeys could be undertaken through the mysterious art of reading strange markings made on stone tablets. This would be my starting point. Once I got them fascinated, I would then have to go about inventing an alphabet, and then teaching these people to read, to decipher the meanings behind words and sentences. Later on, I would make an actual, physical, primitive book, using rudimentary paper -- perhaps parchment. I would have to teach them the process of turning pages, as well, of scanning, and visualization of the story as they read. I would probably include pictures, which I would draw on the pages of this primitive book (after locating some crude graphite or soft charcoal somewhere, or perhaps plant-based ink), and further books to follow. I guess the covers would have to consist of several layers of parchment glued together somehow -- perhaps with a sticky material taken from some sort of plant. 

Anyway, this would be a long, arduous process, as, basically, I would have to reinvent the book. At some future point, a printing press would also have to be built. This would of course involve the use of various metals. It would be very complicated! I'm sure this would be a very rewarding process, however, especially if I were to be perceived as a goddess come from the sky to teach the primitives this new and exciting magic! Lol. Of course, I would also do my best to eventually tell them that I was just an ordinary human being. But I would enjoy my goddess status for a while...... :)

In the case of the other type of society, different challenges would be presented. This type of society would have probably evolved or advanced to the point that, with a mere thought, they could do and get whatever they wanted. Thus, technology as we know it today might seem very archaic to them. Even ebooks would seem ancient, I think. 

In this case, I would have to first befriend someone from that time period.  (I'm thinking it would be pretty far into the future, too, like say, in the year 3150...) Who knows, maybe these people wouldn't even know how to use their vocal chords anymore, if they did everything through telepathy! So perhaps I'd have to attempt some sort of sign language in order to try to convey to one of the inhabitants that I'm harmless and come in peace. Lol. Things would be much easier, though, if one of these people could communicate with me merely by touching my temples, and projecting images into my mind. Sort of like a Vulcan mind meld. If you don't know what the heck THAT is, you're obviously not a Star Trek fan. Lol. 

Well, so let's say I establish rapport that way with one of the "natives". Once I did so, this person would project what they wanted to "say" to me through visual thoughts, and perhaps even words. It all depends, though, on how good of a student I was. This would probably take some time. At some point, however, I would hopefully be able to master the projection of thoughts and images myself. That's when I would project an image of a printed book. Yes, a PRINTED book. I would not want these people to have ANYTHING to do with ebooks! (But who knows, they might be able to access my images of them....alas!)

I would start by projecting images of various books from my memory banks (the mind IS a computer, after all), and then start projecting actual memories of myself reading and enjoying books. I think I'd have to teach these people the joys of reading, too, and they might not know anything about alphabets, letters, sentences, and so forth. 

Of course, I'd also project images of several stories I have stored in my memory banks, as well. Who knows, they might not know some of our most cherished stories, such as the tales of King Arthur, or the SF novels of Isaac Asimov, or even Shakespeare's plays. On the other hand, these things might be stored in some digital vault somewhere, to be accessed at the touch of an ancient screen. Or maybe they just think of a particular author, and they can immediately access the records. But I think that these people might not know the value and enjoyment of actually perusing these stories through the means of the printed book. So it would be very important for me to project the emotions behind reading, as well -- the sheer delights (and sorrows, in the case of drama/tragedy) of reading.

With the second hypothetical society, I would be able to differentiate between fiction and nonfiction, and communicate the need for, and value of, each of these broad genres. This type of thing would be possible with the primitive society, too, but only after a couple of centuries of working with them on this. (I might be able to come across some special process that would prolong my life. Or perhaps my successors would be able to carry on with "The Reading Project".)

The process of communicating the value of books would be a long one with this second society, too. In both hypothetical scenarios -- the primitive and the greatly advanced one -- the results would be well worth the effort, I think. Books, and reading, are such incredibly miraculous and wonderful inventions of the human race, that the knowledge of their existence, as well as their intellectual, emotional, and spiritual, value, must be passed on, for future generations to discover for themselves. And, if one of us were able to take a little trip in Time to perform this invaluable service to humanity, then we, like the members of the Federation of Planets in the Star Trek universe, can be confident that the future will be a hopeful one!

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

If you're participating in this hop,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!!