Sunday, February 22, 2009

Sunday Salon: Reading, Read, To Read #8

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a good week. Or a goodish week at least. Anything make you happy last week? Any good news to share? Anything you're thankful for? I'm thankful for my friends--new and old. I know it's silly to say "words can't express" but, you know, sometimes it's true. I really am so thankful to have found such wonderfully supportive and amazing friends! You know who you are! I've not had the best week--though in the scheme of things, I've always got so much to be thankful for--but having good friends really made all the difference in the world!

I'm *thinking* of changing looks again. I hope you didn't just groan. Anyway, it's still tentative at this point. I'm playing around with various templates and designs. I'm not playing around here at this blog--but on another one of my blogs. The YA Romance Challenge blog has temporarily been kidnapped. (Granted, no one has posted a review there since January, so I don't know anyone would notice unless I advertised it!) What does this kidnapping mean? Well, I'm trying out a new header there that says "Becky's Book Reviews." There's a different background/color scheme going on. It would really change things up. But these changes--if they come--won't be for a while. I don't know how long blogger will act up. (Is anyone else noticing this? Blogger doesn't want anyone to edit their template this weekend! I first noticed this on Friday--maybe Thursday?--I changed the YA Romance template on Monday or Tuesday so it was working at some point.) Anyway, until I can edit...everything will stay exactly as it is. I won't promise to take your advice--I can't promise that to everyone after all--but I can be open to hearing your opinions. For me it's like comparing apples and oranges. I look at both side by side and I like both of them well enough. The header is one that I modified from this site. And the background is one I got from Aqua Poppy. The template is one I got from Our Blog Templates. Also BigHugeLab's palette generator has been my friend--on this and almost every occasion where I've played around with colors.

What I read in a previous week, but reviewed this week:

Mothstorm by Philip Reeve. 2008. Bloomsbury. 387 pages. (YA Science Fiction/YA Adventure)
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman. 2009. 185 pages. Scholastic. (YA Adventure/YA Thriller)
Dizzy by Jonah Winter. 2006. Scholastic. (Picture Book Biography)
Piano Starts Here. Robert Andrew Parker. 2008. Random House. (Picture Book Biography)

What I read this past week and reviewed:

Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One. By Sharon Lathan. Sourcebooks. 309 pages. (Adult/Romance)
Christianity in Crisis: 21rst Century by Hank Hanegraaff. Thomas Nelson. (Nonfiction Adult)
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins. 1969. Random House. (Picture Book)
Love That Puppy! by Jeff Jarka. 2009. (May publication) Henry Holt. (Picture Book)
Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke. 2008. Walker Books. (Picture Book)
I Got Two Dogs by John Lithgow. 2008. Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. Simon & Schuster. (Picture Book)
Shake It Up, Baby by Karen Katz. 2009. Simon & Schuster. (Board Book/Novelty Book)
My Dance Recital by Maryann Cocca-Leffler. 2009. Random House. (Board Book/Novelty Book)
The Banishment by Marion Chesney. (Adult/Romance/Historical Fiction)

What I read this past week and haven't reviewed yet:

Heart Of A Lion by Gilbert Morris (Adult/Christian Fiction)
The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King (YA Fantasy/YA Realistic Fiction)
Pemberley Shades by D.A. Bonavia-Hunt (Adult/Romance)

What I've read and really really need to review:

The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. 2009. 273 pages. HarperCollins. (J Fiction/J Realistic Fiction)
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle. 2009. Henry Holt. 198 pages. (YA Historical Fiction/Verse Novel)

What I'm currently reading:

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Dune by Frank Herbert
Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
Chocolat by Joanne Harris

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
If you're reading this post on another site, or another feed, the content has been stolen.

4 comments:

Ana S. said...

I think I like your current template more, but both are nice, and both suit your blog. And sometimes a change feels good :) I hope you have a great week, Becky.

serendipity_viv said...

Both are nice, but I like the one you have the best.

Anonymous said...

It's funny - I was just thinking as I clicked over from Google Reader how much I love your template! But I can relate to the need for a change every once in a while. :)

Are you enjoying The Book Thief? It was one of my favorite reads last year. Or was it 2007? I've lost track.

Becky said...

Nymeth, Scrap girl, and Carrie K--thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. It's all tentative at this point. I will *probably* keep this current header instead of going with the other one. Someone very wisely pointed out that while it was cute enough (in a way) the girl looked a bit too young for this kind of book blog.

I do love my current background. Mostly. But the springish flowers called to me. I know it can be silly to change backgrounds with the seasons. But with background designs it's so very easy to change the look of the blog without much effort. So that makes it tempting to play dress up now and then.