Day 215 : This Just Speaks to Me

hatting Books Online Day 215. Today's recommended book is a new collection from Hoda Kotb : This Just Speaks To Me.

Hoda says she loves quotes, actually she says she feels the same way about a good quote as she does about french fries - she can't get enough of them. With that in mind she has just released her second collection of inspiring quotes in a brand new book.

The book is set up as a daily collection of "Words to Live By" so if you go to October 16 , for instance, you will find a quote about growing through what you go through. On many of the days she then follows the quote or thought with a reflection or vignette about her own life or something that was sheared with her by the person who shared this quote with her. Isn't it a wonderful thing that we can all share inspiration in this way .

I have long thought starting each day with a quote or a bit of positive motivation can improve your entire attitude, in this collection they are already found for you all you have to do is put the book on your bedside table or next to your coffee pot and they will be waiting for you each morning.

The book is hardcover and currently sells for $24.00 a copy.

To purchase a copy of this book come see us Mondays - Saturdays between 10:00am and 4pm, and Sundays between Noon and 4pm at the shop, or you can message me and we can ship a copy directly to you. Take Care and stay inspired !

Day 214 : Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Chatting Books Online Day 214. Today's recommended book is: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo.

Just start with the introduction which simply says:

To the Rebel Girls of the World:

Dream Bigger

Aim Higher

Fight harder

And, when in doubt, remember

You are right

What a message for young girls.

The book tells the "stories" (really as in "Once Upon a Time" ) of 100 women who have accomplished greatness in our world. Each one page story is faced with an artistic illustration of that hero and a quote from them.

I have to be honest, I teared up reading them. There are those you would expect like Ruth Bader Ginzburg, Margaret Thatcher, Evita Peron, Amelia Earhart, and Misty Copeland. But then there are also quite a few I had never heard of but am so glad I now know about like Matilde Montoya, the first female doctor in Mexico,and the astrophysicist , Margherita Hack, to name just two . Then there are also the names we know but that I would not have thought to include but am so glad have been like Joan Jett, Misty Copeland and Serena and Venus Williams. Thoroughly enjoyed the book and strongly recommend it. But before I go I want to give a special shout out to some of my favorite writers that made the cut: The Bronte Sisters, Jane Austen, Isabel Allende, Maya Angelou, and Virginia Woolf - you go ladies!

This hardcover book sells for $35 a copy.

To purchase a copy of this book come see us Mondays - Saturdays between 10:00am and 4pm, and Sundays between Noon and 4pm at the shop, or you can message me and we can ship a copy directly to you. Take Care and when in doubt, remember - you are right!

Day 213 : The Real Mother Goose

Chatting Books Online Day 213. Today's recommended book is a favorite of mine when someone comes in looking for a book as a gift for a new baby. The book is The Real Mother Goose Anniversary Edition published by Scholastic.

This collection of nursery rhymes, riddles and songs was first published in 1916 and has been reprinted in this beautiful padded hardcover edition . The book is a 9.26" L x 9.23" W square storybook with gold stamping on the cover. It has all of your childhood favorites like Humpty-Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Little Bo Peep etc.

A really great gift that makes a lovely presentation and is sold at the superb price of only $10.99 a copy currently.

To purchase a copy of this book come see us Mondays - Saturdays between 10:00am and 4pm, and Sundays between Noon and 4pm at the shop, or you can message me and we can ship a copy directly to you. Take Care and Share a Story with A Child Today !

Day 212 : The Lost and Found Bookshop

Chatting Books online Day 212. Todays recommended book is The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs.

Let me just say I just finished this book moments ago and I am absolutely verklempt. This book checks ALL the boxes for me. Start with the fact that it is a book set in a bookshop - my favorite "genre" ( I am making “books set in bookstores" a genre, much in the same way fellow Louisianian Lacey Chabert tried to make "Fetch" a thing in Mean Girls but hopefully to better effect - but I digress...) . I started the book crying and ended it with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes but I won't tell you if they were happy tears or heartbreak on either end.

This book had so many amazing connections for me. Obviously it is about booksellers which on page 284 a wildly popular author describes in the MOST amazing and flattering way. Then on page 305 we are introduced to an wonderful connection to our own history here in West Feliciana. On page 311 Part Six of the book opens with the actual quote from The Little Prince that I quoted to you in yesterday's recommendation) though I had not gotten that far in this book yet - weird huh !). A little further on there is a beautiful quote from Anais Nin that I will use on something soon, and then on page 330 one of the main characters talks about his most beloved dog ......named BUSTER !

This book is an absolute keeper and a new permanent addition to our "books set bookstores" display. It combines a love of books, a couple of love stories, as well as a bit of a mystery. Don't know what to follow this one up with tomorrow, it will be a hard act to follow.

We currently carry this book in hardcover , 355 pages , selling for $27.99 a copy. It is (of course) also available through our bookstore on our Libro audiobooks site ( message me for ordering info and be sure to select us as your bookstore) .

To purchase a copy of this book come see us Mondays - Saturdays between 10:00am and 4pm, and Sundays between Noon and 4pm at the shop, or you can message me and we can ship a copy directly to you. Take Care and get lost in a great story !

Day 211 : The Little Prince

Chatting Books Online Day 211. Today's recommended book is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

This enchanting fable tells the story of a lost pilot and a friend he makes along the journey from a land very far away. From this princely friend the pilot learns what is really important in life. We should all be so lucky to have a well cared for garden, one true friend, and someone (or something) we are responsible for as well as the joy of a sunset. And if they are an entire tiny planet, a fox , a rose, and 42 sunsets in one day well then so be it.

This is a book that I remember vaguely from childhood, and have glanced through over the years in the bookshop but have not re-read as an adult until today. Might I recommend this to all adults there are lots of lessons to be learned in this charming tale. My favorite quote (of several I wrote down) if from our friend the fox when he says: "Here is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.".

Today my recommendation is for the hardcover edition we stock . It has lovely full color illustrations throughout, runs 85 pages and currently sells for $20 a copy.

To purchase a copy of this book come see us Mondays - Saturdays between 10:00am and 4pm, and Sundays between Noon and 4pm at the shop, or you can message me and we can ship a copy directly to you. Take Care and don't forget to carefully manage the Baobab population on your planet.

Day 210: The Week in Review Oct 5 - 11, 2020

Chatting Books Online Day 210. The Week in Review Oct 5 - 11, 2020.

Another week gone by, and a week's worth of book recommendations just for you!

This week I told you about:

Two suspenseful thrillers in : All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny and A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight

Three Children's Books in " Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr and John Archambault; Bunheads by Misty Copeland and The ABCs of LSU by Linda Colquitt Taylor

and Birds of Louisiana: a guide to common and notable species by Greg R. Homel.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my recommendations, and maybe have come in to pick up a book to add to your TBR (To Be Read) pile. Next week brings another assortments of recommendations to get ready!

If you missed any of these reviews and want to read what I had to say about them you can see all of our Chatting Books Online picks by visiting our website at: http://www.conundrumbooks.com/chatting-books-online .

We still (and always will going forward) offer shipping if you cannot make it to the store. Or just stop by the shop Monday - Saturday between 10:00am and 4pm and between noon and 4pm on Sundays.

Day 209: The ABCs of LSU

Chatting Books Online Day 209.  Today's recommended book is the new story book The ABCs of LSU by Linda Colquitt Taylor. 

Not just an alphabetical listing of all things LSU, this delightful book of rhyming verse gives you a 4 line stanza for each letter of the alphabet.  It will bring back memories for alumni , introduce  young Tigers to some of the more interesting things to be found on campus, and even current students might learn about a thing or two they didn't know before.   Sending special thanks to my friend Sharon for bringing this new book to my attention!

The book is hardcover , measuring 9.25" x 6.5" and currently sells for $19.95 a copy.

To purchase a copy of this book come see us Mondays - Saturdays between 10:00am and 4pm, and Sundays between Noon and 4pm at the shop, or you can message me and we can ship a copy directly to you.  Take Care and Geaux Tigers !

Day 208: A Good Marraige

Chatting Books Online Day 208.  I decided to read today's recommended book because a local book club read it recently and I heard good things from them, and I had read some of the author's previous work like Reconstructing Amelia and liked her writing style so today's recommended book is A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight.

In this intense thriller everyone, and I mean everyone, has secrets in their past they are not being completely open about.  Amanda has just moved to a new town with her somewhat cold and distant mega-rich husband but she makes new friends right away.  Lizzie has a great job, and a man she loves but we start to see the cracks.  When someone ends up in a pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs everything begins to unravel. 

I love when a mystery is truly that, meaning I have not figured out who-done-it until the end.  Well I have to say with this one I thought I knew on about page 230, then on around page 300 everything I thought I knew fell apart and so many more possibilities opened up.  then in the last 50 pages we took so many twists and turns when we got to the last few pages and the culprit was finally revealed it was someone I had never even suspected! 

Suspenseful  thriller filed with domestic suspense, this one will keep the pages turning for sure.  

We currently sell this book in hardcover .  390 pages.  Selling for $27.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy of this book come see us Mondays - Saturdays between 10:00am and 4pm, and Sundays between Noon and 4pm at the shop, or you can message me and we can ship a copy directly to you.  Take Care.