Between the Pages

      Southern Living's  The South's Best Bookstores highlights five bookstores in the southeastern United States that the publication deems noteworthy based on a wide range of traits. While the article does not go into much detail nor has a central theme besides telling readers of good bookshops, the bookstores look credible after further research. While I have only been to one of the stores (Sundog Books in Seaside, which I love), I did research on the others and found four more bookshops to put on my bucket-list.        THE ALABAMA BOOKSMITH      While not very old, The Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham has a long history of literary predecessors. Even so, The Alabama Booksmith holds its own among its successful precursors considering it opened its doors in 1999. The shop makes it its mission to sell all signed copies.  "Every book in the store is now signed!" - The Alabama Booksmith, About Our Store.  Additiona...

What does the ideal library entail? What does the perfect place to read look like and, more importantly, feel like?       While the ideal place for reading, discovering favorite pieces of literature and history, or working is a personal preference, Google: Arts and Culture has compiled a list of 10 Incredible Libraries Around the World . While their choices are based upon architecture, interior design, and magnitude, the library's collection of books, photos, and historical artifacts are also taken into account.       These libraries are special to individual people as well as to the masses of tourists that sweep in and out of the doors every year. The George Peabody Library in Baltimore's neo-greco atrium is a beautiful spot where weddings occur. The Stuttgart City Library's "Library for Insomniacs" is a small collection of the library's books that is open 24-hours while the roof panels cast a soft blue glow down onto sacred, literary s...

Love & Gelato Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch is a sweet take on summer love, family’s true meaning, and being out of one’s comfort zone.  Summary: Since her mother died of cancer, Carolina (that’s pronounced Caroleena) finds herself wishing for everything ordinary; however, her mother’s dying wish is that she gets to know her father...in Tuscany. All Lina wants to be is back home in Seattle with her best friend Addie.  When Lina arrives at the cemetery where her father, Howard, lives, she receives her mother’s journal she kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly, Lina is discovering her mother’s past one difficult day at a time. With the help of charming, half Italian Ren, Lina uncovers her mother’s past step by step. Carolina discovers an identity altering secret kept from her for far too long.  Tourists come to Italy for gorgeous landscapes, stracciatella , and infamous sunshine, but lucky people find delicious gelato and love. Author Praise/C...

Confessions of a Shopaholic Wound with attention to detail, Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella is a lighthearted and welcome break from the monsoon of classics I have been reading lately. Summary:      Rebecca Bloomwood loves a lot of things. She loves her fabulous, trendy, English flat in a fabulous, trendy, English neighborhood. She loves her social life and even more socialite friends. Becky loves one thing more than anything else. Shopping. She loves that brand-new piece of clothing in her over stuffed wardrobe of clothes that she is starting not to be able to afford. She hates some things too. She likes writing, but hates writing financial articles for her not-as-trendy-as-her-flat job at Successful Savings, a financial and investing magazine.      The letters from Rebecca Bloomwood’s bank are piling up on her dresser. They all say the same thing. In short, she is over her credit card limit, and she needs to take a mee...

As in all of Carl Hiassen’s books, adventure and suspense abounds in  Squirm.  Throughout the novel, you will be immersed in nature with settings that extend from sea to shining sea.  SUMMARY     Billy Dickens is multifaceted. In short, he loves snakes, he stands up for others, and cares deeply for his family. He once saw a motorcycle swerve intentionally to hit a snake. That bike ended up in the bottom of the lake. He has myriad weaknesses too. Weakness #1 – his father. Billy Dickens doesn’t know his father. He never has. He wants to know him. Little does he know, he will. Very soon.        Dennis Dickens gets bored very easily. He could not keep a job for more than a couple months before he got so bored he left Florida and his family all together. He is not the villain in this story, though. He’s doing quite well now. He has a new wife and stepdaughter. He certainly is not bored now. His new job involves flying drones, spying on p...