Friday Five: Five Reasons you Should Buy a Book from your local Bookstore this Valentine’s Day

February 10, 2012 / Lisa Asanuma / 6 Comments

1) To support your local bookstore. Here’s a fantastic list on why you should buy books locally.

2) YOU GET A BOOK! You get to slip inside a whole new little world for a while, and maybe learn something new.

3) You get to SEE other books that you might want… browsing is one of my absolute favorite things about bookstores!

4) You’d be supporting your local economy… and times are tough, what goes around comes around.

5) A lot of other people are doing it. Okay, that doesn’t look like a lot… but if you and your friends join, maybe it will!

What reasons do you have?

Booking Through Thursday: Only Five

February 9, 2012February 9, 2012 / Lisa Asanuma / 2 Comments

Before we get started, two things:

1) Today is my first post at the Dojo! Go read about my love of the Pomodoro Technique!

2) This is my 100th post on this blog! Woohoo!

And now, back to today’s originally scheduled BTT question:

If you had to pick only 5 books to read ever again, what would they be and why?’

I’m not going to mention my LDS quad in this, because that’s a given and the reasons therefore should also be fairly obvious, though if I really were given only five books, this would of course be one of them, as I try to read a little every day. On to the more objectionable stuff… I’m going to make two seperate lists here:

Cheater List

1) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare – Because I want brilliance, and I want a lot of it.

2) The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson – Because no other poet has satisfied me as much, as consistently.

3) The Complete Works of Jane Austin – (See reason for #1)

4) The Complete Works of Ray Bradbury – I’m not totally married to this, but I’ve really loved a lot of Bradbury shorts, and I think I’d need something short and diverse.

5) The Complete Harry Potter – Okay, I know this isn’t a volume yet… but you know it will be someday.

Non-Cheater List

1) Jane Eyre. I don’t know that I could ever get tired of this book. For some people it’s Pride & Prejudice, but for me it’s Jane Eyre.

2) Little Women. I start reading this almost every Christmas. I have to admit, I don’t usually read the whole thing through, but I’ve read it enough that it’s one of my oldest and sweetest friends. Even though a very big part of me still wants Jo to marry Laurie.

3) Anne of the Island. Why this one? Because this is the book where Anne rejects Gilbert and then realizes that she loves him. Ah, the tortuous angst. I love it. I am all over it.

4) Enna Burning by Shannon Hale. Again, it’s all about the long-withheld requitement of love in this one. Plus Enna is awesome. Which I like. I don’t think I’d get tired of it.

5) I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenburg. This book has saved my sanity more than once. If I were say, on a desert island or something, I think I’d need literature like that. For those moments I’m not trying to feel all the fall-in-love pangs that I’m so addicted to.

If you’re stopping by for BTT, be sure to check out my Books are for Lovers post. Buy a book on Valentine’s to show your local bookstore some love!

Friday Five: Five Links!

February 3, 2012 / Lisa Asanuma / 4 Comments

Five awesome links for you!

1) My newest story is up on Tales From the Hollow Tree. It’s called “The King’s Knight,” and involves a woman, a king, and (as you might guess) a knight. You’re probably familiar with the story.

2) I’m now a Dojo Leader! I’m so excited to be a regular poster at Ali Cross’ Dojo, Alif is the genius behind Writing Ninjas and will be hosting NiNoCon (Ninja Novel Conference) TOMORROW! Don’t miss out, it’s a totally free online writer’s conference, all you have to do is show up!

3) Books are For Lovers was mentioned on YA Highway today! Thank you YA Highway! If you want to read about supporting your local brick-and-mortar store this Valentine’s Day, check out what it’s all about!

4) Amanda Thomson also blogged about Books are for Lovers on her blog, Maybe Mandie! Thank you, Amanda!

5) And Cheri Chesley blogged about it on Mormon Mommy Writers! Thank you, Cheri!

I’m so excited that this is reaching other people! Books are for Lovers now has an Events page on Facebook. If you want to participate, come by and let us know! And invite your book-loving friends!

DON’T FORGET NINOCON TOMORROW!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

The Secret by Taryn Taylor on Big World Network

February 2, 2012February 2, 2012 / Lisa Asanuma / Leave a comment

I have something exciting to tell you about today. A whole new (FREE!) way to enjoy a story. Last year Big World Network started up:

BigWorldNetwork.com began in early 2011, created to offer a distinct and entertaining way to read and enjoy both fiction and non-fiction in an episodic format, not unlike a television series. The concept is unique in today’s world of tablet readers and mobile devices, but not new. Series writing has been around since before the 1800s, and many authors have gotten their start by publishing with serialized installments (including Charles Dickens).

The average BigWorldNetwork.com episode is between 4-7 pages, the perfect length to sit back and relax while catching up on your favorite series. BigWorldNetwork.com has also created an exciting, creative outlet for our writers. Many works published on BigWorldNetwork.com will go on to be published as complete eBook and print anthologies in the future.

What I think is particularly cool about The Big World Network is that they have audio chapters to their books, too! Just in case you’re more of the podcast type!

Today I’m featuring “The Secret” by Taryn Taylor.

Seventeen-year-old Delanie Hart has a past she wants to keep hidden. Moving to a new state and attending a new high school seems to be just the thing – until she accidentally sees a mark exactly like her own. When the people she is running from come after her, Lanie is left with a choice – give up what she wants or save her friends.

I’ve just started reading this, and I’m very curious to know what Lanie’s secret is. She’s a very relatable character already, and I’m curious to know just what her secret is, especially since she doesn’t seem to be the only one with that secret!

The secret has already finished one “season” of 12 episodes and is coming back for Season 2 on Monday, so don’t miss it!

Taryn Taylor grew up moving from small town to small town every few years. This helped her gain an appreciation for good books, loyal friends, and the fact that a home is a lot more than a house – it’s the people that love you. After receiving a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Communications, she finally began putting all of her stories down on paper, finding it most helpful to eat chocolate during this process. In between raising four amazing boys she loves to go on dates with her husband and watch movies late into the night.