Novelas Romanticas Gratis

I was looking for a picture book to buy for my little nephew Elliott's first birthday, and I gravitated towards the holiday picture books, naturally. I love to read holiday picture books; there's something about them that brings back memories of past Christmas anticipation and looking at our Christmas tree all lit up and sparking at night. I did pick out one book for Elliott, but I also spent some time reading a few others.   This is a classic, and the message is wonderful. A too-tall Christmas tree is trimmed, and each succeeding new tree is trimmed, all the way down to the smallest recipient.    Why won't the fox eat this tasty gingerbread boy?  Why is he such a tough cookie?  Funny illustrations, and a sweet surprise. Jan Brett's illustrations never cease to amaze me. You can't help but linger over each page. Who is the mysterious Santa who is leaving presents for the animals? Can you guess? Elliott got The Animal's Santa for his birthday gift. He's a bud

Holiday reads have begun!  If you follow the Bookalicious Babe on Facebook, you've seen my previews of some of the holiday books I'll be reading this month. Who can resist dogs on a book cover? Not me. This may be my favorite holiday book cover. Charlie lives in London, and just broke up with her cheating boyfriend. She plans on spending the week of Christmas hunkered down in her apartment watching her favorite movies and drinking wine. Her plans are drastically changed when a neighbor has a gas explosion; Charlie's apartment is damaged, and she has a concussion. Jez, Charlie's cousin, arrives to whisk her away to the countryside, to stay at Cozy Canine Cottages for a few days, watching over Charlie while she mends.  Charlie is not a fan of dogs. Or the countryside. And horrors, Jez doesn't have a T.V. Jez's long distance budding relationship with a scientist stationed in Lapland revs up with an opportunity to spend two weeks together. When help to run the doggy

I have spent the last week furiously reading Pachinko for two book groups that meet on Tuesday. It's a big chunk of a novel; clocking in at almost 500 pages. I've finally finished it this Sunday morning, and even though I haven't given myself a lot of time to process it, I'm writing my review with my first impressions.  First of all, I find the cover to be absolutely stunning. Every time I look at it, I find myself taken aback by the beauty of it. I see Sunja and her sons, and my heart breaks for all they will go through. This is definitely a book worthy of discussion, and I can't wait to talk about it on Tuesday with my book groups.  In a nutshell, this novel is about four generations of Koreans living in Japan during the 1920's-through 1990. I confess to be completely ignorant of the Korean-Japanese tension, and totally in the dark about the discrimination and awful treatment of Koreans who were forced to flee Korea and settle in Japan as political conflicts,

I have always been a fan of fantasy novels. I remember a high school English assignment where I had to create a make believe world (including drawings) and how much I loved doing that. My earliest reading memories were of books that involved some element of magic and fantasy-John Bellairs! and Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series are two of my favorites. This was years and years before Harry Potter, but even then, writers understood kids needed that element of magic and fantasy in their stories. I'm still a big fan of fantasy but I don't put it at the top of my reading list, and for that I'm annoyed with myself. One series I do enjoy is Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series. There are thirteen novels in the series and I haven't read them all (some sit on my bookcase...) but I've read enough that I always look forward to reading the next. She mixes late Victorian England, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, along with elemental masters. Elemental masters are

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Susan Orleans' The Library Book ; a peek into the Central Library of the Los Angeles public library system, and the fire that devastated it in 1986. I was charmed and completely engaged in reading this ode to libraries, librarians, and the special, magical space libraries have in our culture.  Susan Orleans brings her childhood memories of visiting her public library with her mother to the forefront, and that spark is reignited when she herself brings her son to a branch of the Central Library in Los Angeles. It's been a few years, but she immediately reconnects to her sense of wonderment and downright love of public libraries. That, and her interest in learning more about the mysterious 1986 fire set her off on her latest book project.   This fire that destroyed 400,000 books and damaged hundreds of thousands more; this fire that destroyed irreplaceable collections of early Los Angeles history; this fire that sent librarians into dee

October, you wore me out. Seriously. Does it sound weird that the only "relaxing" thing I did all month was spend a few hours in my back yard picking up branches and cutting down plants? October was a whirlwind, and between a busy schedule and the encroaching darkness (time falls back this Sunday!) I am in need of some home alone time with my books. My plan for November is to go to work, fulfill my social obligations (which I've limited), work out, and otherwise be home. Reading while burning my 'Fall Day' candle, curled up under my comfy couch blanket. It's an ambitious read list this month, and by the looks of my book choices, I'll be traveling the world a bit, too. Always good to break away from my usual reads and delve into different genres, authors, and settings. So here's what's on my list for November reads: Reading this for two book groups. A novel set in Korea, about generations of a Korean family. Lots of great reviews; I'm anxious to