Hollingsworth

S ummer! The only season where you have time to get outside but the heat and mosquitoes make it impossible. Right now, it is 9:16 am where I live, and it has already risen to nearly 85F. (And it just keeps going up). When you're stuck in the air conditioned house due to oppressive heat and a bad reaction to mosquito bites, what better thing to do then write? well...ice cream would be nice.  Photo by  Bookblock  on  Unsplash Tell me if you can relate: School gets out. You are hoping you have lots of time to work on projects, finish stories, develop that plot that's been sitting in your mind attic for a month. And what happens? SOMEHOW, summer gets filled up with all sorts of things and you barely get anything done.  The answer to this? A SCHEDULE!! Here are some tips on how to create a working summer writing schedule: 1. START EARLY. You've probably seen this all over the place for setting up good schedules. It needs to start early--from the minute you g

I f you ever asked me for a list of my top ten favorite authors, Lemony Snicket would be on that list. This past summer I read his A Series of Unfortunate Events and I was absolutely hooked. His narrative voice is unique and I got a kick out of his dry humor. Needless to say, my faith was good when I picked up All the Wrong Questions .  This review is spoiler-free, and based on personal opinion. Summary  This book is about a young boy with an unusual education who was taken to an unusual town with his chaperone to investigate and close an unusual case. Unbeknownst to him, there are several other things at play here than he ever would have guessed and having to be apprentice to the worst chaperone in the business doesn't really help. It involves a town by the sea with no sea, a seaweed forest, a married pair of arguing police officers, an abandoned coffee shop, a hawser and a nearly useless statue that the villain is determined to get...for whatever reason. Author : Lemony

W hen school lets out and summer comes round, we usually have more time for reading what we want to read or have been meaning to read for the entire school year. Photo by  Sharon McCutcheon  on  Unsplash Let me know what sort of books are on your summer reading list!  There's quite a few, so I'm gonna get right into it: 1. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (This one I've already finished. Book review here:  Book Review: "The Girl Who Drank The Moon" by Kelly Barnhill ).  2. The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton 3. Napoleon of Notting Hill (also) by G. K. Chesterton  4. An Unfortunate Autobiography by Lemony Snicket  5. Moby Dick by Herman Melville: I tried reading this a while ago when my reading level wasn't necessarily up to it. I'm excited to pick it back up again, as it is considered an American Classic. If you've read this book, please let me know what you thought of it! 6. Salt to the Sea by Ruta

Y ou are NEVER too old for children's illustrated books. My Happy Life by Rose Langercrantz and illustrated by Eva Eriksson seemed to call to me from the library shelves.  Summary  This book is about two little girls, Dani and Ella, who are absolute best friends and very excited to start school! (I remember when I was that way...) They stick around each other day in and day out, rain or shine and get to experience all the excitement of going to school for the first time. However, life very often throws in a road bump when things are going smoothly, and a few things happen that neither girl is prepared for.  Author : Rose Langercrantz  Illustrator : Eva Eriksson  Genre : Fiction  Ages: Appropriate for all ages Rating : 5/5 This is a short chapter book with large print and I easily finished it in an hour. I know that my age group was not necessarily the 'target market', but like C.S.Lewis said, "A children's story that can only be enjoy