My Favorite Random Things

At the moment there are a few things that I'm loving and I figured if Oprah can have her favorite things, so can I. That being said, I would like to share with you my Top 5 Favorite Random Things:

1. Zip n' Steam Bags- these bags are awesome! All you have to do is place food and seasoning in the bag, follow the recommended cooking time, and your food comes out perfectly steamed. I am so in love!
2. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. This is Lois Lowry's latest novel and it is great. "Abandoned by their ill-humored parents to the care of an odious nanny, Tim, the twins, Barnaby A and Barnaby B, and their sister, Jane, attempt to fulfill their roles as good, old-fashioned children in this hilarious parody that pays playful homage to classic works of children's literature."
3. Have you ever wanted to see your own handwriting as a font on your computer? If so, for only $9 you actually can at the Fontifier. I haven't done this yet, but I love the idea of it and as soon as I practice my handwriting, I'm taking the plunge.
4. The color orange. I finally painted an accent wall in the bedroom and it's VERY orange and I absolutely love it! When I see it I'm inspired to be creative.
5. Lauren Hill. What can I say about her...she's so talented! Her voice and lyrics are very soulful. When I listen to her, I forget about whatever is going on around me and I just think. Think about the past, the present, and future.

Like I said these are just a few random things that I'm loving right now and thought I would share. What random things are you loving? -Jennifer

Author John Flanagan Booksigning at The NeverEnding Story!

Ranger's Apprentice series, books 1-4.

We are so excited to be hosting author John Flanagan at The NeverEnding Story. This is his first U.S. tour and someone must be looking out for us because we are very lucky to have him! We're short staffed on the day of his visit, Wednesday, April 9, so we have to cancel storytime so one of us can pick him up and get him to his 4 stops that day. We're so excited!

The boy's bookclub read the first in John's Ranger's Apprentice series a few months back. The boys really enjoyed it, and one of them liked it so much he read the rest of the series within a few weeks. In The Ruins of Gorlan we meet young Will and follow his initial recruitment as an Apprentice Ranger. In this first book Will learns the way of the Ranger and bonds with other apprentices. If you like action, strong characters, and an epic adventure, you'll enjoy this book.

So remember, Wednesday, April 9 at 4:30pm. Buy a book and get it signed- who knows when John Flanagan will return to the U.S.? And the more successful this event is, the more likely publishers will consider sending more great authors to Las Vegas. The time is NOW to change the perception that LV is not a literary place!

They're Back!!

As you probably already know, reading is one of my favorite things to do. Last year I read sooooo many books, not just books, but really good books. One of my favorites was The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. Originally I didn’t plan to read the book, but one day I picked it up and couldn't stop.

The story is of 4 sisters that live with their father, a boy named Jeffery, a dog named Hound, and the adventures they have together one summer. It is one of those feel good stories that made me remember the fun summers I had as a child, I simply adored The Penderwicks. If you haven’t read this book yet, it is definitely one to add to your list (did I mention that it won the National Book Award in 2005?).

During the holidays I went to visit my parents and whenever I go anywhere I always try to make a stop at an INDEPENDENT bookstore, so we went to a fabulous store in Austin named BookPeople. I was blown away, not only by the store, but also by the staff. Thank goodness my family understands because I spent hours there looking around and talking to the children’s area staff. While talking to the children’s book buyer, she informed me that she had just received a copy of the sequel to The Penderwicks.

I was sooo excited and thought maybe there would be a copy waiting for me to read once I got back to Las Vegas. No such luck. However, after a few e-mail request I finally got a copy. Needless to say I got it, read, finished, and loved it! The book is due out in April so I'll post a short summary later.

Jen

Happy Valentine's Day!

Isn't this sweet? Charlie and Lola also wanted to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day. We hope you have a day filled with lots of chocolate and love!

For all you Spiderwick fans remember the movie opens up tomorrow!!! Here at the store we will be entering The Spiderwick Chronicles Window Display Contest. The grand prize is an exclusive store event from the cocreators Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Needless to say, we want to win... it would be awesome to have them here in Las Vegas. If you have any stupendous ideas or suggestions, please let us know.

We finally have a BLOG!

How long have blogs been around??? Well we finally decided to take the plunge into blog land. Now what?


More information will be up soon! :)