reading

The Mystical Adventure of Reading for Pleasure

Lynette M Burrows

Science has shown that reading helps memory, empathy, and language skills. But reading does more than that. It opens new worlds in your mind. It allows you to experience things you might never encounter in real life. There is a mystical adventure of reading. And here are the quotes to prove it.  On Learning to Read Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words! — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943 When I say to a parent, “read to a child”, I don’t want it to sound like medicine. I want it to sound like chocolate. — Mem Fox To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark. — Victor Hugo, Les Miserables If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book. —J.K. Rowling The Magic of Reading Books are a uniquely portable magic. —Stephen King There is no frigate like a book, to take us lands away — Emily Dickinson What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re […]

Desperately Sleep Deprived and a Little Progress

Lynette M Burrows

How can it be the end of July? Time froze in March, didn’t it? No, of course not. Time marches relentlessly forward. So onward I march. July was a month of being desperately sleep deprived and a little progress. Sleep Deprived The first week of July my fifteen-year-old Yorkie, Astro, had a dreadful night. He couldn’t settle down. I could find nothing wrong with him, but he’d only quiet down if I held him. So I held him a lot, thinking we were near the end of his time with us. After a brief phone consultation with the vet’s office the next morning, I decided to keep him home and love on him. So, I drank lots of my magic elixir and we muddled through days and nights and then weeks. He improved slowly. He’s weaker than before and can lose his balance easily. But he drinks and eats well—better than before his awful night. And he sleeps through the night again. Walking in the grass is much easier for him, so I give him plenty of opportunities to do that. And I’m still loving on him a lot. WIP Progress Report If I Should Die, book 2 in The […]

Can You Match the Bestseller to its First Line?

Lynette M Burrows

It’s First Lines Friday, but let’s have fun with this one. It’s a mix-and-match game. Get a pencil and paper. Below you’ll find a list of first lines from dystopian ya books on Amazon’s bestseller list. You’ll also find a list of author names and a list of titles. Match the bestseller with its first line and author. No cheating!  Ready? Set. Go! First Lines If you think you know which book the line is from, scroll down and match the bestseller to the first line. Write your answers down in the order of LINE (single letter)-TITLE (double letter)-AUTHOR (number). Titles AA The Gender Game BB Rising: After the Thaw CC Divergent  DD The Selection EE The Princess Trials FF Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes  GG City of the Dead HH Starsight II Shadow Fall JJ Edge of Darkness KK Seeking Safety LL Earthdom MM Dark Days of the After NN Shatter Me Authors Bonus points if you can match the bestseller and first line AND the author. Audrey Grey Brandon Sanderson Veronica Roth Ryan De Bruyn Heidi Catherine Vasily Mahanenko Kyla Stone Ryan Schow Kiera Cass Cordelia Castel T.L. Payne Bella Forest Suzanne Collins Tahereh Mafi Michael Evans All […]