Category: My Ramblings

This morning I was truly honored to be able to sit in on the Random House of Canada and McClelland & Stewart fall preview that is taking place at various Chapters across Canada.

I have to admit up until this morning I wasn’t sure that I would be able to attend because of the conflicting answers I was getting along with Lucy @ Moonlight Gleam’s Bookshelf about attending the event because some were saying its for employees only and others were saying its open to the public.

So I really have to send out a huge thank you to the person @RandomHouseCA for helping me out on twitter with finding out the info about the event this morning.

So without a moment to spare I ended up cabbing it to the Chapters because I knew with construction and the busing I wouldn’t have made it to the event in time. Once there I saw some of my favorite booksellers (waves to them if they are reading this) and then introduced myself to Jennifer and Mike. I wasn’t there long before they started show casing the fall books.

I have to say Jennifer showed so much enthusiasm for alot of the books that I have now added many more to my ever growing wish list based on her recommendations.

I should just add that Random House Canada is visiting various Chapters/Indigo bookstores and talking about a ton of great books that are already out or will be coming out this fall.

So without further adieu let me showcase some of these great books that have peaked my interest: (Sorry I had attempted to post descriptions along with the books but for some reason blogger is acting up on me and not letting me format it properly.)

-The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock (Release Date July 2011)
-Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong (Release Date August  2011)
-The Accident by Linwood Barclay (Release Date August 2011)

-The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (RD August 2011) Isn’t the cover pretty?
-Bedbugs by Ben H. Winters (RD September 2011) I have to admit at first this book didn’t peak my interest but after hearing Jennifer talk about it I want to read it.
-The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (RD September 13 2011) This cover & book is so much prettier in person. The next book I plan on getting.

-My Beating Teenage Heart by C.K Kelly Martin (RD September 27, 2011)
-The Art of Living: According to Joe Beef by Frederic Morin & David MacMillan (RD October 11/11) Local authors and chefs. The recipes are the exact same things they serve in their restaurant here in Montreal.
-Blood Sun by David Gilman (RD December 27/11) Book 3 in the series

-The Death Cure by James Dashner (RD October 11/11) The 3rd book in the Maze Runner Series
-Damned by Chuck Palahniuk (RD October 11/11) This sounds really good
-The Affair by Lee Childs (RD September 27/11) I book I will have to pick up especially after certain pages were mentioned.

-The Boy In The Suitcase by Lene Kaaberol & Agente Friis (RD November 8/11)
-Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly (RD December 27/11) Book 2 in the series. Love the cover.
Also here are some other books that are coming out from Random House that I am curious about:

• Vital Signs by Tessa McWatt (RD July 2011)
• Tell it to the Trees by Anita Ral Badami (RD September 20/11)
• Natural Order by Brian Francis (RD August 2011)
• Shelter by Frances Greenslade (RD September 2011)
• End of Days by Eric Walter (RD September 27/11)
• The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (RD October 25/11)
• Off Stage On Stage by Michael Buble (RD October 25/11) Yes I admit it I like Michael Buble!

Now if hearing about all those great fall books wasn’t enough, they also had some authors stop by to talk to us about their books and those authors were:

• Anita RAl Badami
• William Marsden
• Frederic Morion and David MacMillian

So looking at all those title this morning I think we are in for an awesome fall with some amazing books.

Thanks to Random House and McClelland & Stewart for coming into town to show us those great fall titles and a special thanks to Jennifer and Mike who allowed me to join in.

Happy reading everyone 🙂

Its hard to believe 2010 is almost wrapping up. Where did the year go? I found that it just seemed to have zipped by. Did anyone else notice that?

As I sit here and look back over 2010, I have to say that is was a fantastic year and one that I will always remember and wouldn’t change a thing about it.

Earlier this year Cindy’s Love of Books got a whole new look and I have to say that I really loved how it turned out. I am thinking of doing some tweaking in 2011 to the blog. Not sure yet but I am sure something will happen.

A major event happened to me and that was, I went to NYC and BEA in May. It was my first time for doing both. I wasn’t alone in my adventures, I was with the Montreal book blogger group. Going to BEA was alot of fun and over whelming to say the least. I loved NYC and I can’t wait to go back one day soon.

If you have never heard of BEA its called Book Expo America and its held in NYC over a two-three day period. You get to me some great authors, get some great books signed and if you are lucky you get to nab some great books that are coming out in the year.

The Montreal book bloggers met almost monthly at our little tea shop for some great talks (planning our NYC trip) and to share some great books with each other. Its hard to believe we will be going into our third year. I have to say its amazing sharing a passion with other people who are like you. I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.

With an event like BEA it gives you the chance to meet the reps that you might work with and many of your favorite authors that you might normally not get to see. That was all an added bonus but what you can expect to see is tons of bloggers and I got to meet so many great bloggers in person. Its really nice to put a real face behind the blogs I have read.

Some of the great authors I met this year were: Rick Springfield, Clinton Kelly, Holly Black (again), Justin Larbalestier, Mick Foley, Melissa Anderson, Catherine McKenzie, Laura Fabiani, Sheila Kindellan-Sheehan, Lesley Fletcher, Adele Griffin, Cecil Castelucci, Lisa Brown, Kristian Alfonso, and my favorite Helen Ellis.

Another great thing I got to do this year was vacation in Illinois. (The only other US city I have ever been to was Detroit and various places in Vermont) While in Illinois I was able to meet up with my reps from Sourcebooks and I got a tour of the office. That is another great thing about blogging being able to meet the people you work with. Hopefully I will get to see them again in 2011 when I am in town visiting.

Another big thing for me was getting an eReader after I said I would never get one because nothing beats the feel or smell of a book in your hands. I haven’t given up on actual books but felt I needed to open another avenue for getting books since alot of publishers don’t want to send to Canada and ARCs can be very limited. Plus when I travel I tend to bring way to many books with me (who doesn’t?) and at least this way I can have a ton of books in one small space. With that being said I have already downloaded way to much and need to read them very soon.

As I look back I have to say I read alot of great books and my total read is actually down this year compared to last year. Not sure how that happened as I thought I had read more then what I did. Oh well its something to work on for 2011.

I want to send out a huge thank you to all the reps that I work with and they know who they are and know they mean alot to me. Thank you for sending me all those great books this past year.

Secondly I really have to thank my mailman, UPS, FedEx, Purolator and DHL for delivering my many, many packages this past year.

Thirdly, you my readers who encourage me with all your comments and emails. I promise to comment more on your blogs.

To the all the authors who have contacted me about reviewing their books, I thank you for reaching out and sending me your books.

Its hard to believe that in a few months I will be celebrating my third year of blogging.

I am looking forward to another great year of blogging, reading and discovering a ton of great books. I am sure 2011 will be a great year for books.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Did you come to Cindy’s Love of Books looking for my regular post but all you see is the October Middle Grade Book Challenge sign up post? Did you think I wasn’t going to blog all month long? Well look no further all you have to do is scroll past it to find this months regular posts.

Enjoy!

By the time you probably see this I will have already left for vacation.

I am headed to Chicago, IL. I have googled the directions and I am looking at about a 18 hour drive. Googled said almost 16 hours but I am adding in gas time, bath breaks and stopping to eat. I have to say that this trip won’t be made in one day because that is just crazy and its too long to do it in one day. So the trip is being broke up into two days. Not sure exactly where we will be spending the night.

Anyways I have packed a bag of books to bring with me. I have to say it was really hard to look at my book case and pick and choice. So here is what I am bringing with me:

*Seduced by The Wolf by Terry Spear (I read one of her books last summer on vacation and could not put it down. Ended up reading it in a day. So fingers crossed this one is like that.)

*Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci (Cecil is comig to town in August and I am going to see her.)

*Death’s Excellent Vacation

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Cross Fire by James Patterson

*Stash by David Klein

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I know I packed way too many books as always but I always fear that I won’t have enough to read. Honestly its crazy because I know for a fact I will be able to find bookstores along the way.

The books with this * in front of them are books I am making it a point to read because they were sent to me for review. The others are books I own or borrowed.

Do you tend to over pack the books when you go away?

Just a heads up to all my readers that next week I will be away on vacation for a few days. I am heading down to Chicago (Naperville) to visit family. This will be my first time there. A few years ago I actually drove through IL with a friend so it will be nice to see Chicago and the area.

Hey if you happen to be in the area and want to meet up let me know and perhaps we could do coffee. If you could leave a message here before the weekend that would be great otherwise I will be with limited (if any) internet access so I might not be able to check emails or blogs.

Specking of the blog, I have a week of stuff planned such as:
-August 2nd (Monday) review (possible) First Wild Card tour of Katy’s Debate by Kim vogel Sawyer
-August 3ed (Tuesday)review (possible) First Wild Card tour of Final Touch by Brandilyn Collins & Amberly Collins
-August 4th (Wednesday) review (possible) First Wild Card Tour of Catwalk on the Runway by Melody Carlson

(The reason I say possible tour is that I am hoping to have that info before I leave for vacation.)

I plan on doing some shopping while I am away because at the end of August I have my 2 year blogiversary so I want to pick up a few prizes.

Have a great week everyone.

Tonight as part of my usually evening routine I was on twitter. As I was reading all the tweets I noticed a tweet by Jennifer @TequilaReader. If you click on @TequilaReader you will go directly to her blog. She had mentioned A Books Blog had taken her blog content and others that she knew as well and basically copied and pasted it on there site. All without authorization!!

I was curious so I went to check it out and guess what? Yes, that is right content from Cindy’s Love of Books appears on this site. Now should I be flattered that my blog is worthy of stealing from or should I be annoyed that it was taken without my permission?

Okay I have to confess I am a little flattered that someone would steal my content because I never felt that my content was that great and I base this on a few things such as my numbers, followers, comments etc so of course it feels a little good.

Now the more I think about it I am annoyed because like I said my content was taken without my permission and sadly since it has been taken I haven’t had any benefits from it such as more comments, followers etc. So yea darn it I am annoyed.

I will be contacting this blog and telling them to please remove my content.

If you have a few minutes I would seriously check this blog out to see if any of your content is there. I didn’t go through the almost 600 pages instead I used the search tool on the site and entered my blog name and it all popped up.

What would you do if you found your stuff on this blog? Has it happened to you?