Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

My Book News & Advocate for the Writing Community ©

Bibliophile Collective Tuesday – A New Year – A New Reading Challenge

January 3, 2023
mandyevebarnett


It is always exciting to begin a New Year and a new book! I have an impressive book pile to begin 2023, and will, as always, leave a review on Goodreads for each one.

I would love to know what you are reading this month and why you chose it. Also please review each book you read, as these reviews are the life blood for authors. It validates all their hard work in creating a time, place and characters from their imaginations. Your review can be one sentence long, it doesn’t have to be a synopsis of the narrative.

My first book for 2023 is Villa Serena by Domenica De Rosa. As many of my followers know I love Italy, and this will in some small way ease my hankering to fly to Italy in 2023 and escape the Alberta winter.

I have set my Goodreads 2023 challenge. Why not do the same?

You can, of course, find many reading challenges online – here is a selection!

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/books-to-read-in-2023/

https://www.the52book.club/2023-reading-challenge/


#TBR Challenge 2023

2023 Beachcomber Mystery Reading Challenge

2023 Books in Translation Reading Challenge

2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

2023 Children’s Book Reading Challenge…for Adults!

2023 Classics Reading Challenge

2023 Diversify Your Reading Challenge

2023 Diversity Reading Challenge

2023 Diversity Reading Challenge

2023 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

2023 Library Love Challenge

2023 Literary Escapes Challenge

2023 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge

2023 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge

2023 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

2023 NoveList Reading Challenge

2023 Romance Book Reading Challenge with She Reads Romance Books

2023 Romance Reading Challenge

2023 Southern Literature Reading Challenge

Around the World in 80 Books

Around the World Reading Challenge 2023

Beyond The Bookends’ 2023 Reading Challenge

Booklist Queen’s 2023 Reading Challenge

BookRiot’s 2023 Read Harder Challenge

Calendar of Crime Challenge

Color Coded Reading Challenge

COYER (Clear Out Your E-Reader) Challenge

Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

Creativity Reading Challenge 2023

Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2023

Epistolary Reading Challenge 2023

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2023

Humor Reading Challenge 2023

Memoir Reading Challenge 2023

Mental Health Reading Challenge 2023

Read Around The World Challenge

Read It Again, Sam Challenge

Read With Allison’s 2023 Reading Challenge

Read Your Bookshelf Challenge

Reading by the Numbers Challenge

Roll to Read Challenge

Romanceopoly Reading Challenge

TBR Pile Challenge

The 52 Book Club’s 2023 Reading Challenge

The Book Girls’ Guide Decades Reading Challenge

The Book Girls’ Guide Lifetime of Reading Challenge

The Book Girls’ Guide Read Around the USA – 2023 States Reading Challenge

The Book Girls’ Guide Read Around the World: Book Voyage Reading Challenge

The Nerdy Bookworm 50 Books A Year Reading Challenge 2023

The Purrfect Reading Challenge 2023

Thrifty Thursday Challenge 2023

Uncorked 2023 Reading Challenge

Virtual Mount TBR Challenge

What An Animal Reading Challenge 2023

Bibliophile Collective Tuesday – My Books of 2022

December 27, 2022
mandyevebarnett


This is my last book review of 2022, which is apt as it is centered around book people, just like us!

REVIEW: This is one of those novels that grips you from the first chapter. It is a joy for readers and writers alike as you follow Liv on her journey from cleaner to ghost writer. Getting inside a writer’s mind is as difficult for a reader as it is for one writer to another. A spellbinding story, I absolutely loved.

I managed to finish my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2022 as well, and will look forward to another year of great stories in 2023. This is my TBR pile for this coming year.

How does yours look?

What book are you most excited about reading this year? Will it be a new novel by a favourite author, or a new genre?

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Book Festival, Meeting Readers and Buying Books

September 20, 2022
mandyevebarnett


I attended Words on the Street this Saturday in Lethbridge with my publisher, Dream Write Publishing. This was an annual event I enjoyed until COVID postponed it. So, this first in-person return to the book festival since 2019 was a joy. I reconnected with local authors and met new readers to my novels. To discuss my stories is always a fun conversation, as those who know my work, understand my ability to ‘flip’ ideas on their heads and give surprisingly twists and turns in my narratives.

As a reader I also took advantage of an independent bookstore’s weekend sale. The Purple Platypus in Castor, is jam packed with books and picking one or two is impossible. I left with a bag of books! More for my ever expanding TBR pile. (You know the problem all too well, I’m sure.)

Added to these were novels from three Lethbridge authors – Jenna Greene, Bianca Rowena, and Mandy Michelle.

So after I finish Fairy Tale by Stephen King I will have a difficult decision to make – which book do I choose first. Do any of these speak to you? Which one would you choose?

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – A Packed Long Weekend of Writing, Reading & Talking

February 16, 2021
mandyevebarnett


This past weekend was a long weekend for Family Day in Alberta. Although, it wasn’t much of a family time as we are still under COVID restrictions, so there was no visits or family meals to enjoy, unfortunately. However, I did have quite a busy Friday and Saturday attending the Wordbridge virtual writers conference. I was a panelist for a discussion and Q&A for romance on Friday and also publishing on Saturday. So it was writer talk for the duration! Always a pleasure and a great way to connect with our authors.

I finished Misconduct of the Heart by Cordelia Strube

REVIEW: A complex style of writing – fast paced, crowded and emotive. Strong references to internal pain and outside forces changing and pressuring it’s characters. There were a lot of triggers in this book, so please be aware of that.

I am now reading a much lighter and fun narrative. Roadtripping: On the Move with the Buffalo Gals by Conni Massing., who I have had the pleasure to meet.

What are you currently reading? Care to share?

As the Albertan weather was cold (-39 with the wind chill!) I spent most of my time indoors, apart from braving it with Sammie, of course. My place of choice to spend the weekend was the living room, which has a huge window to watch the world go by and the resident wildlife – hares and birds. And a lovely fireplace to complete the warm feeling.

I will be swapping a bag of books with a friend later today, so my TBR will grow! It is always fun to compare views on books.

Are you part of a book club? Would you like me to join you virtually? Please use the contact form if you are interested.

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Book Borrowing Etiquette

July 7, 2020
mandyevebarnett


brown book page

Photo by Wendy van Zyl on Pexels.com

Does the thought of lending a book fill you with dread or are you happy to share the joy of a book?

What has your experience been with lending books? I have suffered the lost of books but also the happy return of some too. It has enlightened me to whom I should lend to and who not! So what are the ‘rules’ for borrowing?

There are a few rules to lending a book. Please add any you can think of too.

Don’t eat messy foods while reading a book – yours or anyone else’s for that matter.

Don’t fold over the pages, use a bookmark.

person holding story book

Photo by samer daboul on Pexels.com

Don’t write in, underline, or highlight anything.

Don’t put the book face-down or break the spine.

Don’t take the book in the bath or to the pool.

person reading book on white bathtub

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Keep the book in a safe zones – away from children and pets.

Ensure all surfaces are clean before setting the book down on them.

If something does happen to the book, offer to replace it.

Ask permission before passing it on to another friend.

Don’t lose the dust jacket.

book stack books classic knowledge

Photo by Anthony on Pexels.com

Don’t borrow the book until you’re ready to read it. Don’t just put it on your TBR pile.

When in doubt, treat the book like a library book and give the book back in a timely manner. Set a date on your calendar to return it.

Ask the lender when they need the book back adhere to that date. If it’s taking a long time to read the book, check in with your friend and ask if you can have an extension.

Return the book in the same condition you received it.

It is a privilege to borrow a book so don’t abuse that favour.

Tell me your book lending and borrowing tales in the comments.

 

 

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