Our friend and loyal Motherlode reader (one came after the other; cool, huh?) Kristy Brown is as addicted to her new Kindle as she is to her iphone. [That’s not Kristy in the above pic, btw, it’s from the Amazon Kindle website HERE.]

“It’s one of those devices that, like the iphone, makes a busy mama’s life easier,” said Kristy, who owns a speech-language-therapy practice in Fayetteville and is mom to almost 2-year-old John Lleyton.

The Kindle is a portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines and newspapers. You don’t need a “hotspot” to read it. You can download and read the beginning of books for free — just in case you don’t like them. Weighing only a little over 10 ounces, it’s much lighter than carrying around a stack of books (or even a paperback)! Another bonus: the screen looks and reads like paper.

I am green with envy about Kristy’s new purchase, since I’ve wanted a Kindle since chatting with a mom who was reading hers while sunbathing at a local aquatic center last summer. It was a 40th birthday present to herself. Smart chick.

Kristy said the only complaint she has is that it needs a book light clip or some way to light up the screen when she’s reading it.

Click HERE to see a video Kristy found about the Kindle that really gives a lot of info.

By Marci Tate, Vandergriff Elementary Library Media Specialist

February might be the month of romance, but it is also still cold enough to want to snuggle under the covers with a story of love! (Click on the book cover to order.)

The Overnight Socialite by Bridie Clark is a re-make of Pygmalion taking place in Manhattan among the Park Avenue wealthy. It’s easy to root for the main character, Lucy Jo Ellis, as she navigates the ways of the rich and powerful. Lucy Jo wants to be a fashion designer.  After attending a disastrous fashion show, she meets Wyatt Hayes IV. Wyatt has come up with a grand idea to take a nobody and train them to be the most popular socialite in town. Only a few people are in on the arrangement and Lucy Jo only knows half of the story.

The supporting characters help to keep the story lively and even though you think you know it will all end, it is pretty fun getting there.

With a setting that feels close to home, Bitsy’s Bait and BBQ by Pamela Morsi is more than typical “chick lit�. Emma and Katy are sisters who couldn’t be more different. Emma is the responsible one who should be finishing college, but instead helps pick up the pieces of Katy’s situations. Katy is recently divorced with a young son to raise so she decides to find a better life for them in a small Ozark town.

Sight unseen, she buys what she believes is a Bed and Breakfast. Upon arrival, Emma and Katy discover that they should have looked a little closer at the picture, because it is actually a bait and bbq shop. Katy is determined to make a go of it and Emma is going to stay to help her get on her feet. The townspeople make great characters and are behind them 100%. Katy’s ex-husband makes an appearance that alters the course of everything.  Emma finds friendship and understanding in this small town. A very enjoyable book. 

Sarah Strohmeyer has written several fun romances.  The title of this one just makes you want to pick it up for a little escapism. The Sleeping Beauty Proposal is the story of a woman who seems be “sleep-walking� through the best years of her life waiting for a proposal that isn’t coming. Genie Michaels and the rest of the world believe the proposal has arrived when her boyfriend of several years goes on national tv to promote his book and proposes “to the love of his life�. Turns out the love of his life is not Genie, but someone he is having an affair with. Genie’s best friend convinces her to just go with it, since he is out of town and nobody will know she wasn’t the one getting the proposal. This starts a chain of events that wake Genie up from her mundane life. Insert a cute carpenter and you have the makings of the kind of fun story to make you forget your troubles.   

There is no better time to bake than the month of February. Celebrate with your sweetie by trying something from The Cake Mix Doctor Returns by Anne Byrn. Ten years after her popular Cake Mix Doctor, Anne Byrn is back with more comforting recipes using cake mixes. She has updated some favorites and added some reader recipes as well. She gives tips along the way to turn out the perfect cake. Sheet cakes, bundt cakes, layer cakes, plus muffins and cookies make this a yummy book to inspire great baking.  All of the cakes seem fairly easy and ingredients all begin with an easy to purchase cake mix. I still love the chocolate cake recipes and wish I could try a different one each week (but then, I would weigh 500 pounds)! (Click here to go to the Cake Mix Doctor’s blog and see great cake and cupcake ideas!)

Submitted by Marci Tate of Fayetteville – busy wife and mom of two, avid reader (when time allows) and Library Media Specialist at Vandergriff Elementary School.

We all know that some subjects are tough to explain to little kids with lots of questions or fears. So I was happy when I spotted a certain page in the Fall 2009 edition of Real Simple magazine’s special issue on family. This page suggested children’s books for specific topics. I wanted to pass some of the suggestions along to you, in case you or someone you know is in need of a children’s book that will help kids and parents deal with certain situations.

When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death, by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown

Good for: Explaining why someone dies, the rituals that might take place, and pretty much everything else there is to know about death.

Cost: $8

Sam Is Not a Loser, by Thierry Robberecht

Good for: Teaching sportsmanship in different game situations and showing kids that playing and not winning is more fun than never playing at all.

Cost: $12

The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter, by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Good for: Revealing just how much fun a night with a new babysitter can be, even if she seems really scary at first.

Cost: $4

We’ve linked each book jacket to the page on Amazon.com where you can go to get more info, read reviews by parents or order the book.

Click HERE to visit the Real Simple magazine website for more info on family-related topics.

By Marci Tate, Vandergriff Elementary School

Baby, it’s cold outside and what better time to find a great book to snuggle up with. Grab your hot cocoa, favorite slippers and something good to read to battle the winter blahs. 

Just for fun and laughs, try to get your hands on a copy of Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes go Hilariously Wrong by Jen Yates. The author started a popular blog called CakeWrecks.com and was inspired to write a book collecting some of the best. Several featured in the book are noted on the blog. You will be laughing out loud at the pitiful, yet funny cakes that look awful or have words misspelled or are just plain inappropriate.  This would also make a great gift for the people who have everything (as long as they have a great sense of humor). 

Half-Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Walls is an interesting look at the life of the author’s grandmother. Jeannette Walls wrote the story of her life with her parents in The Glass Castle which came out several years ago. Her childhood was less than ideal with parents who were reckless and unstable. This look at her mother’s mother is partly fact and partly guessing. Lily Casey Smith is a resourceful woman who goes through life with gusto while getting things done. She works on her education, takes a job whenever and wherever needed, survives economic hard times and is just an amazing woman. I enjoyed this one more than The Glass Castle, but you may find either choice hard to put down.

For those moments when you just need to escape, try Whistlin Dixie in a Nor’easter by Lisa Patton.  If you can relate to life in the south, then you will be able to relate to the main character, Leelee Satterfield.  Leelee lives the good life in Memphis with husband Baker until Baker decides they need to buy a quaint little inn in Vermont.  Leelee packs up two kids and a dog to live out Baker’s dream, but things are not as they appear in a glossy photograph. The inn needs serious work, the weather is not for a southern girl and Leelee learns that she will have to shed her princess background to become a woman with a backbone. Light-hearted reading for a cold winter’s night. 

If you have an upper elementary/middle school student in your house, you might want to check out Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell. I think I enjoyed reading this as much as the intended age audience. It would make an excellent read-aloud if your family enjoys that sort of thing. Emmy is living a difficult life with her nanny, Miss Barmy, while her recently wealthy parents are off traveling around the world.

Emmy discovers that she can hear the class pet rat talking to her. The rat becomes her ally when Emmy begins to discover that Miss Barmy is up to no good. Emmy’s classmate, Joe, gets pulled into the mix when the rat bites him and causes him to shrink. An assortment of interesting characters makes this book completely enjoyable. If you enjoy this one, be sure to check out the sequel, Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls. 

One more for the upper elementary crowd that is laugh-out-loud funny is The Big One-Oh by Dean Pitchford.  Charley is turning 10. He has never had a birthday party due to his disastrous (but very funny) event at a friend’s party when he was little. This is the year for the big party.

Charley decides to go with a horror theme even though his mom is pushing for cowboys. His odd neighbor turns out to be a set designer for horror movies. Charley gets himself in deeper and deeper with bullies, mom’s boyfriend, his sister, the neighbor, and pretty much his whole school as the story rolls along. You can’t help rooting for Charley and you can’t help but laugh at how his 10th birthday finally turns out. This is another one that would be an enjoyable read-aloud (and if you have a boy that is a reluctant reader in your house, give this one a shot). (Click here or on the book to go to The Big One-Oh website!)

Marci Tate of Fayetteville is a busy wife, mom of two, avid reader (when time allows) and Library Media Specialist at Vandergriff Elementary School.