Happy Dr. Suess, Read Across America, and Reading Month! Reading Lists, Memories, and More. #NationalReadAcrossAmerica #NationalReadingMonth #HappyBirthdayDrSuess

Today is the National Dr. Suess and National Read Across America Day in honor of his birthday! Nine years ago on this blog I was talking about remembering how much Dr. Suess inspired me as a child and the activities to promote reading I was doing with  my own kids (and what you could do with yours!). It’s amazing how much my kids have grown just in the last decade to be their own functioning adult (my son is 20), teen (my daughter is 16), and almost teen (my daughter is 12) now. How did this happen?

I can only safely assume that lessons learned from the books and the Cat in the Hat show created lifelong mottos for them, and as well, the time I spent reading and taking them to the library is what created in all of them a life of loving books (and still loving libraries where they go – “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”  – and my son went off to D.C. where he frequently can be found in the greatest libraries ever like Library of Congress, Folgers Shakespeare Library, and Mount Vernon. My son recently told me, “I’m only in college here for one major reason other than you, and that’s growing up at the library.” AWWWW!! That’s a huge win for libraries.

Thank you, Dr. Suess for making reading fun and thank you to one of local libraries (Ashland Public Library) for hosting so many well-loved activities for my children when they were young! Happy birthday and may  your legacy live on in so many other homes and childhoods.

This weekend, instead of going to Dr. Suess activities for young children at the library or bookstore, and have people stare at me for being the only adult there without kids (reliving my memories people!!), I instead enjoyed on Sunday a “Sam-I-Am” special latte which was white chocolate and peanut butter. Shout out to Medina’s Cool Beans Café, whose whole special coffee menu was named with a Dr. Suess theme! Oh, and on the foodie critic side, it was delish as was their homemade tomato soup.

And on a writing note, Dr. Suess really paved the way for some of us who are poets, at  least me, with his use of language! To this day, I make up words too. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. haha! I remember one day when my middle daughter was young (second grade maybe) and she was reading “And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street.” She told me that it was the first one he wrote and it was rejected at twenty-seven publishers until one took a chance on him. Wise then, to never give up on your dreams!

So many good Dr. Suess books to name but I love The Lorax. What is your favorite Dr. Suess book or character? Leave comments below!

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March also is National Reach Across America Month? Here, in our home and in my work and online word, we read all the time, as I’m sure you do too. But we can never miss a chance to celebrate reading. Whether you’re reading this now with small children or your children are grown and you have grandchildren or other small children in your lives, I hope you continue to offer children’s literatures to whomever you can. One of my best loved jobs was being a reference librarian for a time. Though it was adult reference, we often had to help children in the evenings. I loved recommending them books and seeing the joy and wonderment on their faces. Opening doors through reading is one of the best things you can do for child.

If you have children, here are some links that might help some of you enjoy the month with activities and some reading lists. Enjoy!

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First of all, go to Suessville. It’s the website for Dr. Suess and loads of fun!

My post from 2011 about Dr. Suess’ birthday and activities to do HERE.

Read Across America Main Site – Make sure you go the bottom of first page for reading lists for various parts of the month!

Multiples and More Site – Read Across America Activity Ideas

17 Easy Ways to Enjoy NRM – E-Book Friendly Website

ALSC (Association for Library Services to Children) Lists!

For MA or YA horror selections, find some at Ladies of Horror Fiction HERE.

From We Are Teachers website: 32 Inspiring Books for Women’s History Month

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And now, enjoy some photos of my kids celebrating Dr. Suess way back when. I’m sure there are many more (and didn’t quickly find any of my son, my oldest) but these are the ones came up in my social media memories today. I’m also sure my daughters will want to ring my neck for sharing them. haha!

My youngest was 4 here, I think!

My middle daughter. Not sure how old she was here, but I think 2nd grade. Now she’s a sophomore in high school!

My youngest again. When she was the last one not in school and I took her to the library for the programming during the week. Look at that face and the hands ARE on her hips. Ha!

Happy reading this month everyone! March is a busy month for reading dates so I’m sure you’ll hear much more from me. Stay tuned!

News Hooked: Rosson’s Cover Reveal, New Way to Link to Books, HWA Summer Scares, Women in Horror Month #booknews #hookofabook

New News Reeled In!

I have a variety of book news to share with you all, so I thought that instead of spreading it out over the week, I’d do an all-in-one news post because I have some other exciting things coming up later in the week. I think I might start to do these – as a mini-news newsletter (News Hooked? Should I call it that?). This one seems to be mostly horror news related, besides the third notice, but it will be in the future for news in any genre or in the book publishing field. Let me know if it’s something  you like or you have anything to contribute.

In this edition:

•  Keith Rosson Cover Reveal and Info from Meerkat Press
•  Horror Writer’s Association Summer Scares Library Program
•  New Way to Buy Books and Support Libraries
•  Women in Horror Month Underway

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Author Keith Rosson Cover Reveal –

Meerkat is revealing this beautiful cover for Keith Rosson’s next book, coming out next year. It’s so amazing. He’s a brilliant artist! I can’t wait to sink into his work. Meerkat keeps repeatedly impressing me.

Title: Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons: Stories

Author: Keith Rosson, author of The Mercy of the Tide and Smoke City

Pub Date: February 2021

More Info:  Meerkat Press

Twitter: @meerkatpress and @Keith_Rosson

From Meerkat Press –

“We are excited to reveal the cover for Keith Rosson’s new collection: FOLK SONGS FOR TRAUMA SURGEONS. The cover design was done by Keith and we think it fits the collection perfectly! The book will be published in February 2021.”

Description

With the Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons, award-winning author Keith Rosson delves into notions of family, grief, identity, indebtedness, loss, and hope, with the surefooted merging of literary fiction and magical realism he’s explored in previous novels.

In “Dunsmuir,” a newly sober husband buys a hearse to help his wife spread her sister’s ashes, while “The Lesser Horsemen” illustrates what happens when God instructs the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to go on a team-building cruise as a way of boosting their frayed morale. In “Brad Benske and the Hand of Light,” an estranged husband seeks his wife’s whereabouts through a fortuneteller after she absconds with a cult, and in “High Tide,” a grieving man ruminates on his brother’s life as a monster terrorizes their coastal town.

With grace, imagination, and a brazen gallows humor, Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons merges the fantastic and the everyday, and includes a number of Rosson’s unpublished stories, as well as award-winning favorites.

Now, readers, isn’t this one of the most beautiful covers you’ve seen!!?

 

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HWA Summer Scares Library Announcement – 

In celebration of National Library Lover’s Day, the Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Library Journal/School Library Journal, is delighted to announce the second annual Summer Scares Reading List, which includes titles selected by a panel of authors and librarians and is designed to promote horror as a great reading option for all ages, during any time of the year.

Each year, three titles will be chosen in the Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade categories, and for 2020 they are:

ADULT

In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson (Skyhorse, 2017)

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (Tor.Com, 2016)

She Said Destroy: Stories by Nadia Bulkin (Word Horde, 2017)

YOUNG ADULT

The Agony House by Cherie Priest, Illustrated by Tara O’Connor (Scholastic 2018)

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova (Sourcebooks Fire, 2017)

Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics (Harlequin Teen, 2015)

MIDDLE GRADE

Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh (HaperCollins, 2017)

Case Files 13: Zombie Kid by J. Scott Savage (HarperCollins, 2012)

Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith (Clarion Books, 2015)

The goal of the Summer Scares program is to introduce horror titles to school and public library workers in order to help them start conversations with readers that will extend beyond the books from each list and promote reading for years to come. Along with the annual list of recommended titles for readers of all ages, the Summer Scares committee will also release themed lists of even more “read-alike” titles for libraries to use when suggesting books to readers this summer and all year long.

And, in order to help libraries forge stronger connections between books and readers, the Summer Scares committee will be working with both the recommended list authors and horror authors from all over the country, to provide free programming to libraries. From author visits (both in person and virtual) to book discussions to horror themed events, Summer Scares is focused on connecting horror creators with libraries and readers all year long.

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) will also be hosting a Library Day special stand alone program May 7, 2020 at the Naperville, IL Public Library. Authors from the Summer Scares reading list, as well as the committee members, will be in attendance. Authors and committee members will also be available throughout the year for on-site and/or remote appearances to libraries and schools to promote the Summer Scares program and discuss the use of horror fiction as a tool to increase readership and nurture a love of reading.

The Summer Scares program committee consists of award-winning author Stephen Graham Jones (Mongrels, The Only Good Indians, Night of the Mannequins), Becky Spratford (library consultant, author of The Readers Advisory Guide to Horror, 2nd Ed.), Carolyn Ciesla (library director, academic dean, book reviewer), Kiera Parrott (reviews director for Library Journal and School Library Journal), Kelly Jensen (editor, Book Riot, author of [Don’t] Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health), and JG Faherty (HWA Library Program director, author of Sins of the Father, The Cure, and Ghosts of Coronado Bay).

The HWA is a non-profit organization of writers and publishing professionals, and the oldest organization dedicated to the horror/dark fiction genre. One of the HWA’s missions is to foster an appreciation of reading through extensive programming and partnerships with libraries, schools, and literacy-based organizations.

For more information about the Summer Scares reading program, including how to obtain promotional materials and schedule events with the authors/committee members, visit the HWA’s Libraries web page (www.horror.org/libraries), Becky Spratford’s Reader’s Advisory Horror Blog RA for All: Horror (http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/p/summer-scares.html), or the Book Riot, School Library Journal, Library Journal, or United for Libraries websites and social media sites.

You can also contact JG Faherty, HWA Library Program Director (libraries [at] horror [dot] org) or Becky Spratford, HWA Secretary (bspratford [at] hotmail [dot] com).

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New Alternative to Amazon Buy Links to Help Indie Bookstores –

On Friday I posted a list of ten books of obsession just in time for Valentine’s Day. One of the books is published by Poisoned Pen Press and the Poisoned Pen bookstore pointed out to me that I can use a certain website to help support indie bookstores like theirs. I had never heard of it but meant to look it up. Yesterday, I saw a Forbes.com article go by that had to do with it so I read it. Wow! What a great idea. I think authors and anyone else out there, especially book reviewers and supporters, need to try to use this link for books. Not all indie bookstores carry indie books, but any indie book supported on Ingram can be found on this website and local stores still profit from that! It’s a win-win.

The article states, in short:

“Bookshop.org, a website that went live at the end of January and is still in beta mode, is designed to be an alternative to Amazon, and to generate income for independent bookstores. And, perhaps more importantly, it seeks to give book reviewers, bloggers and publications who rely on affiliate income from “Buy now” links to Amazon a different option.

Profit from books sold through Bookshop will be split three ways, with 10% of the sale price going into a pool that will be divided among participating bookstores, 10% going to the publication that triggered the sale by linking to Bookshop.org, and 10% going to Bookshop.org to support its operations.”

Will you join me in this movement to support bricks and mortar stores?

Here is the full article that was on Forbes.com.

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February is Women in Horror Month – 

One of my favorite months of the year being a woman in horror is celebrating February as Women in Horror Month. It’s a grassroots initiative to celebrate and inform about women working in the genre whether writing books, filmmaking, to many of the other roles. I really enjoy not only writing horror, but being an editor, publicist, and so much more in the genre. And I love supporting others, especially my fellow horror sisters. Horror is so many different things from quiet, psychological horror to escapism gore, and the ladies can bring it all.

I’ve been making my rounds online this month with a couple interviews and articles, and I’ll wrap those up for you at the end of the month, but coming up here on my own site I’ll be featuring three or four interviews and a guest article with some exciting women in horror, I’ll offer some reviews of women’s horror books I’ve read, and possibly something else interesting. All within the last couple weeks left so stay tuned.

Don’t forget ladies, free month of SHUDDER with code WIHM2020.