Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

My Book News & Advocate for the Writing Community ©

Bibliophile Collective Tuesday- Celebrating Author & Book Birthdays

January 10, 2023
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Author Birthday’s – first week in January

1st January E.M. Forster, 2nd January Isaac Asimov, 3rd January J.R.R. Tolkien, 4th January Isaac Newton, 5th January W.D. Snodgrass (Just love his name – it’s a character all of it’s own!), 6th January C.D. Wright, 7th January Gerald Durrell, 8th January Terry Brooks, 9th January Philippa Gregory and 10th January Dorianne Laux.

Of course, there are other famous author birthday’s to consider, I am only showing a few. Some are posthumous, while others are celebrated through social media greetings and memes. Another ‘birthday’ celebration writers hold are for the launching date of a book, and some authors recognize these milestones annually. For a non-writer this may seem odd, but when our stories go out into the world it is akin to a birth. We have nurtured and loved the creation of a narrative for months, sometimes years prior to the actual launching date, and so it is thus deserving of a celebration.

Do you have a favorite author whose birthday you celebrate?

Bibliophile Tuesday Collective – Reading Challenge Update

November 22, 2022
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Even though I am in the throws of the November writing challenge – National Novel Writing Month and as I write have surpassed the 37,000 mark, I do still read. This is for the Goodreads reading Challenge! Seems like there challenges all the way around at the moment, revolving around the written word.

This is my new total for book reading for 2022. I know some people have vastly larger numbers, and some less. It is not the number we are chasing, but the joy of reading stories. As you know I have an eclectic taste and read a variety of genres. You will see that of the five books in the illustration only one is a big name – my hero, of course, Stephen King. I will read his latest book before anything else once it is available. The other book are all from authors who live in Alberta. These are my contemporaries and I am always keen to read their work, but also support them by purchasing their books.

I will be adding to this list with my current read. An author whom I connected with through Facebook. I have interviewed her on this blog a couple of times too.

What have you read this month? What book are you most excited to read next?

Do you have local authors you support?

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Reading Challenge, Reviews, a Podcast and a Prize Basket.

April 5, 2022
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How is your Goodreads Challenge shaping up? I am currently 3 books ahead of schedule, not entirely sure how, but it does give me some breathing room. These are the books I read, and I am currently reading The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell.

This is not counting the chapters I am reading and editing within a novel workshop, where four other authors are participating. The genre’s span action/adventure, prairie story, time travel and contemporary fiction and my detective fiction.

What are you reading?

I will be announcing a special gift basket for my steampunk readers in Edmonton, in the next week or so. It will be part of a prize draw at Daisy Chain Book Co. Details pending.

New reviews for The Rython Kingdom

Link:

Link:

Latest Podcast Interview:

Bibliophile’s Collective Tuesday – Writing & Reading Update, a Glorious Review and Research

March 1, 2022
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The Delphic Murders Update

I spent Family Day, which was a holiday Monday here in Alberta, reading and revising book two of my detective trilogy, The Tainted Search. This is a process all writer’s go through when creating any story. We become immersed in our characters narrative and sometimes a new direction will entail back tracking to correct previous timelines or actions. This story has developed with three characters becoming embroiled in an event I had not planned upon. This is what makes writing, for me anyway, so exciting and enjoyable. My characters take over, redirect and demand the direction of their ‘lives’.

Review: I was humbled and delighted with this review. The Rython Kingdom Link: Scribble’s Worth Book Reviews

This past weekend weekend was mostly reading for me, it is nice to lose yourself in story. I completed two books, both within the crime genre and helping me with plot research. The first was a collection of detective stories written by famous authors in the genre. The author’s skill at keeping a readers attention in such concise stories is good research. Some stories were better than others as the short story format was elusive.

The other novel I read was Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge. This is the second book I have read of his and it gripped me just as hard as the first.

My reviews for both books are on my Goodreads profile. As I was ahead of the 2022 reading challenge I adjusted my total to 24 books for the year.

How is your reading challenge going so far?

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

January 4, 2022
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I use the Goodreads annual reading challenge to track the books I read and review each year. Sometimes I hit the target, other times I exceed it. This year I began with a novella, To Rome, With Love by D.P. Rosano, which was a Christmas gift. I am now onto my next read The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker.

I have set my challenge for 20 books this year.

Do you set a target for your books?

What are you currently reading?

What was your favorite book of 2021?

I enjoyed If It Bleeds and Billy Summers both by Stephen King – as you all know I love his story telling expertise. These books were very different in genre, but both equally compelling. The other book that rates on my long list is The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick. It was a delightful tale of self discovery and mystery.

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