Your idea for indie/self-published is a great one. My only worry would be that one bad-apple author that goes a little haywire in reaction to your review. I review a fair amount of self-pubbed for a print publication and 99 out a hundred times, it is a great experience. It's that 1 that makes me rethink the whole idea.

My tip? Don't let yourself slack off too much. While it is important to remember that your blog isn't your whole life, it is hard to get back into the swing of things when you take a bloggy vacation. At least it always is for me:)

Going with the Tiger was a wise choice:) I am also extremely jealous that Emma was such a good sport about taking pictures. I tried to get Murphy to wear a red sweater and pose for the Christmas cards....two attempts and it still isn't happening. He also ate my red cashmere sweater in the process!

I have heard good things about The Wave, go pick it up so I can hear what you think will ya?

I am going to go out on a limb and say that I enjoy the TV show, Bones, more than I enjoy Kathy Reichs' books. That is saying a lot since I love her books, but the chemistry of the cast just does it for me even more.
My recent post The Breaking of Eggs- A Novel by Jim Powell Review

I am with you one that one, couldn't get through the book, but the movie touched me.
My recent post The Breaking of Eggs- A Novel by Jim Powell Review

I am starting to wonder if we were separated at birth and you were allowed to incubate and be born in the south a few years or so later Lydia. Freaky cool and I still hate Alzheimer's. I had to go through the pain again about 15 years later with my paternal grandmother. If I ever start losing my beans, just shoot me!

Since we are the only three that commented, I guess that it is safe to say that I won't be sharing anymore grandpa stories;)

No matter, this book was wonderful and really did have me balling at the end. It was a good cry though and I haven't had one of those in a while.

You know, I used to read the NYT Book Review religiously because I thought it told the pulse of readers. Then I found blogging and realized that the NYT's writers were just pompous butt heads that tried to make themselves sound important and smart. Seriously, we don't need a review that goes on for multiple pages and let's us compare and contrast the style of chapter 8 with line 332 in another totally obscure work. (Was that too mean?)

I have a super secret way of picking the books that I read. It is so secret that I don't even really know what it is. For work, I am given a huge list that has nothing but genre, title and author and I usually google the titles that jump out at me in the genres that I like. How is that for you, I am even more shallow that those cover art pickers! Titles are important for me. They set the tone.

For personal reading, it is really whim and reading blog posts. Like I was on Amazon the other day and remembered a book that I lost in a move like ten years ago that I never finished. It was called The Lifetime Reading Plan and told you all of the books that you should read to be...well, well read. Then I noticed on the "similar book suggestions" sections 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, Books that Changed the World by Robert Downs, Great Books by David Denby, and for a change of pace, Bloomsbury's 100 Must-Read Crime Novels. Next thing I knew, I had added 5 books to my basket and checked out. I don't know how it happened!

I need a point, er, I mean a plot. Characters are great and they can't just be stick figures, but I can often fill in a lot of the blanks with my own imagination.
My recent post Apple Picking- Central Coast Style &amp Giveaway

Exactly! There are too many great books out there to keep rereading the same ones over and over again. I even given her some that I think that would appeal to her and she won't crack the cover on them. The good thing is that her sister reads like mad.
My recent post The Women by TC Boyle Review

It would be fun to deal with someone trying to bully me about my reading. I pity the poor fool that do that! I would also be interested in hearing what those bullies were actually reading and what they thought was "proper" reading material.

I can't help it though, I do judge people a bit by what they read and whether they read at all. For example, it kills me that my stepdaughter seldom reads at all and when she does, it is to reread Harry Potter.

On another topic, while ya'll were busy in September with the book buying ban, my TBR pile got out of control. It is crazy and stressing me out a bit!
My recent post The Women by TC Boyle Review