Day 327: Timeless Love

Chatting Books Online Day 327. Here's a heads up for you... Valentine's day is just a little over a week away ... with that in mind today's recommended book is "Timeless Love: Poems, Stories and Letters".

This hardcover book is the perfect gift for your book loving Valentine that will really say " I get you" . It contains poems, stories and letters about Love by a smattering of greats including : William Shakespear, John Keats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Wiliam Wordsworth, Oscar Wilde and Alexander Hamilton among others.

With 296 pages in a nice hardcover gift-sized edition this perfect Valentine's book sells for $ 18.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you .Now Mask Up and actually be ready for Valentine's ahead of time this year!

Day 326 : The Four Winds

Chatting Books Online Day 326. Today's recommended book is the new release by Kristin Hannah: The Four Winds.

Just released this week from the author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone, The Four Winds is an absolutely epic story about a family in The Great Depression era through the Dust Bowl period in th plains of Texas and eventually California. This book is so rich in descriptive detail and feeling that 100 pages will fly by in the blink of an eye (or definitely 100 pages in a single sitting). You will feel pain when family rejects Elsa, the acceptance when others welcome her , and the grit in your eyes when the dust storms begin. This book is about so much. It is historical fiction , of course, but it is also a sweeping story about the true meaning of family, compassion, and strength. The emotion in this book is so raw and real that I must admit to needing to stop a few times in the last chapters to wipe my eyes and catch my breath, and also to having to redo my eye makeup when I finished.

This book is so meaty with thought provoking details that it would be a perfect pick for a book club - and if you pick it I want to be there for the discussion. It holds a mirror up to issues in our world today when you realize our ancestors dealt with them on other levels almost 100 years ago. When the immigrants people were fighting against were citizens from our own country . seeing protests from both sides and labor from the laborers side. It also brings up the minimum wage, another topic in the news today. Regardless of your opinion on all of these matters today I found it so interesting to read it from someone else's point of view in another time.

This book will take its rightful place as a permanent fixture on our bookstore's shelves. I imagine it is one I will recommend as often as I currently recommend A Gentleman in Moscow or Bel Canto when someone asks me to suggest a really good book. It's just that good.

Currently available in hardcover, at 464 pages, for $28.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you .Now Mask Up and read a really good book.

Day 325: Blankie

Chatting Books Online Day 325. Today's recommended book is brand new, just released yesterday, and it is (drumroll please) .... Blankie , a Narwhal and Jelly BOARD BOOK !

So our friends, the super heroes of the sea: Narwhal and Jelly have a new book out perfect for their youngest fans. It is a board book talking all about the wonderful things that you can do with a new blanket. Narwhal has a new yellow blankie you see and he can use it as a blankie, or a hankie (eww) , or a hat, a flag, or a bag, a cape or many other things. But the best use is that it is big enough for two so he can cuddle up with you!

This adorable new board book sells for just $8.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you .Now go cuddle up !

Day 324: Groundhog's Dilemma

Chatting Books Online Day 324. Today is Groundhogs Day - and of course, we have a book for that! Today's recommended book is "Groundhog's Dilemma" by Kristen Remenar.

The Groundhog has a problem. Half his friends want a longer winter (get to wear their winter coats longer , bear gets to hibernate a while longer etc), and half want Spring to come sooner so what is a groundhog to do? He can't please everyone! Mr Groundhog spends weeks mulling over the problem. When he just reports it as he sees it some folks get very upset - he doesn't like to upset folks. But he wants to be honest, so - what to do ? He even goes to the wise old owl for advice but still has no answers. February 2nd dawns and the groundhog knows what he has to do.

This delightful , full - color storybook sells for $16.95 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you .Now mask up and have a Happy Groundhog's Day! .

Day 323: Pirate Stew

Chatting Books Online Day 323. Today's recommended book asks the question : what happens when your folks go out for an evening and hire a pirate ship cook as your babysitter?

Pirate Stew by award winning author Neil Gaiman answers that question in this raucous , rollicking , rhyming book illustrated by award winning illustrator Chris Riddell . When a gaggle of pirates turn up to help cook prepare dinner there is only one way this could go - why the house becomes a pirate ship and they make a giant pot of Pirate Stew of course! And you know what happens when you eat Pirate Stew? Why you can be a Pirate Too!

This new hardcover storybook is sure to be a favorite in your collection. It currently sells for $19.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you .Now mask up and enjoy a pot of Pirate Stew!

Day 322: The week in Review January 25 - 31, 2021.

Chatting Books Online Day 322. The week in Review January 25 - 31, 2021.

This week I recommended Empress of the Garden to start our spring time garden planning and dreaming. I also recommended Bedtime Bugs to get off to sleep the buggy way for the littlest among us, Matthew Rise for a bit of fiction with a Louisiana history bent for the middle grades set, and Rapunzel for those in between (and adults too!). Then there was a bit of suspenseful fiction with the Wife Upstairs and we finished the week with superstar snack trays with Beautiful Boards.

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 during or normal hours . See you soon !

Day 321 : Beautiful Boards

Chatting Books Online Day 321. Want to be an Uber Trendy Pinterest Superstar ? If you said Yes, then today's recommended book is for you. Beautiful Boards : 50 Amazing Snack Boards for Any Occasion by Maegan Brown gives you the know how, supply list and design help to have the prettiest snacks around,

Whether you are just arranging a really attractive charcuterie for a gathering or date night, or you want a themed board that sets the stage for Valentines, Christmas, Easter (looks like an Easter Egg!) or even Halloweeen this book has got you covered. There are even breakfast boards with bagels and pancakes - Yes, Please!. So if the bag of chips and bowl of store bought dip are just not cutting the style quotient any more pick up this book and up your game. (and speaking of game of course there are football themed boards as well).

And the best part ? At the end of the book there are recipes for making your own dips, and treats - think fresh Hummus, Margherita Pizza Dip, the "best blender guacamole", and Bacon and Pimento Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers.

This hardcover book is 168 pages and sells for $24.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you .Now mask up and have a snack.

Day 320: Rapunzel

Chatting Books Online Day 320 . Today's recommended book is Rapunzel as retold and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.

To say that this Caldecott award winning storybook is beautiful is a serious understatement. Painted in a style drawn from early French and Italian influences Paul Zelinsky has depicted the story wonderfully but it is more than that. The telling of the story is also wonderfully done. While reading it I also learned a few things: did you know that rapunzel is the name of a salad green , whose roots were also eaten, that was very popular at the time the Grimm brothers told their tale? So the princess Rapunzel is named for the herb her mother craved during her pregnancy. In exchange for the rapunzel herb the sorceress whose garden they were taking it from demanded that when the baby was born she was to be given to her. As the little girl grows the sorceress decides to lock her up in a tall , doorless tower ... you know the rest of the story .

I must say I always thought I knew the story of Rapunzel but really reading it is so much more than the Disneyfied version we are all familiar with from childhood. There are even a couple of pages at the end where they tell you more about the history of the story and other versions that have appeared in cultures throughout the ages. Very interesting indeed.

This storybook sells for $ 18.99 a copy.

To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you .Now mask up and have a good day.