Guest Blog Post: Kat's Bookish Moments

Today, as we were driving through Tahoe National Forest, was the first time this season that I saw snow.  It was a great feeling, like being a kid again.  Growing up in Wisconsin, snow days were common and we would wear shorts in 30 degree weather.  It was a weird experience, having that dynamic of always having snow to not having any.  With tonight done, the first leg of our journey is complete and the amazing Kat is here to fill in.  Kat from Shop.School.Sleep also shares in my love for all things regarding books and reading.  I absolutely loved previewing her post in a hotel in Nevada as I was nommin' on take-out Olive Garden (yes, it exists!).

Hey there!! I'm Kathrin, or "Kat" as most friends call me and I am so honored Kim asked me to guest post on her blog!! I blog over at Shop.School.Sleep...about...you guessed it shopping, school (I'm a teacher in grad school) and well not too much about sleeping, but friends, fashion, my fur kids (2 cats) and life in general. One of the things Kim and I have in common is our love of books and reading.  

I stumbled upon Kim and her AWESOME blogger book swap and had such a great time participating and getting to know everyone, you can read about my experience here. Since then I have had a great time getting to know Kim thru her blog and give her major props for moving from CA to Wisconsin...my tropical, Central-American born, Southern Cali raised blood could not take any place that snows on purpose for more than a week!! So while Kim and her family are traveling, I'm going to add to Kim's Top Ten Bookish Moments post she wrote awhile ago.

1. Where it all began: My parents are both Spanish speakers (they do speak English as well, but Spanish first in our house growing up) and my 2nd grade teacher was concerned I wasn't reading at grade level. She recommended a "reading camp" for the summer...which I hated disliked at first... but then I found the best book series called The BabySitter's Club and I was hooked!!

2. My Love for BSC and Sweet Valley: I wish I could pinpoint the exact point I fell for these series, but I can't. I loved each book and would beg to get the next one that came out the second it came out. I truly related to all the BSC members, especially Claudia because I "looked" like her the most haha and wished for a twin of my very own like Jessica and Elizabeth.

I was obsessed and even dragged my mom to meet the author of BSC, Ann M. Martin!!

See we "look" alike hahaha

3. My first Library Card: Holy cow was I over the moon for that card. It was like being given the key to...well free books!! I had a bi-weekly date with the library every Sunday. Luckily my town had the library open Sundays for a couple of hours...no one in there at the time and I could browse my heart's content. I would check out arm loads of books. I am a pretty fast readers and would get thru at least 4 books a week.

4. Summer Reading Programs at the Library: Since I was there so often, I began to volunteer during the summer and helped with the summer reading challenges. I would sit and enter people into the challenge, or stamp off their challenges...all while reading books myself. I felt so grown up and special to be able to help others find the joy in reading and giving out those prizes for reading and collecting them myself...funny thing is I never got to the top prizes...we took vacations and would get back just in time for school so I couldn't finish those challenges.

5. Bookstores and other places for books: My parents were a little strict with money, the way they saw it was the library was a great place to get free books, so I didn't buy many books as I would have liked. However, Costco was the place for me to wheedle a book...or 4 from the parents. The bundles of  4-5 BSC or Sweet Valley books for like $10? Score!! I would occasionally get a book or two from a hole-in-the-wall used book store, but that closed down a couple of months after I found it :( I would also get books from yard/ garage sales and swap meets...those were gold mines sometimes because people would give the books away for 25 cents!!

Not my actual collection...that's stored in a box in my closet... via

6. The dreaded question of e-readers or actual books: Here's where you might hate dislike me....I am an English major, English Teacher, English (almost...3 more months) Master's graduate and I have an e-reader. I know, I know don't hate me!! Here's my defense: I love books and when the Kindle came out I thought it was the DUMBEST thing ever and got really mad because OMG...technology is taking over our lives!! Speaking of please go read Ray Bradbury's short story the Pedestrian...it's an amazing short story about what the future will be like if technology totally takes over every thing....here's a google doc link, check it out!! So anyways, one of my good friends got one and she raved about it and how much she loved it. Still I wasn't convinced....then my husband and I got married and started traveling a lot he has a bucket list to visit every NFL stadium in the country and I'm more than happy to tag along!! As any avid reader knows, you have to account for the extra LB's in the suitcase to read over vacay....my curiosity started to peak here because... um a single item that can contain 10+ books weighing at most a pound? Hmmmm....anyways we did/ do a lot of traveling for visiting NFL stadiums vacations and visiting my Mother in Law in Sacramento that the thought of less books to carry around was very appealing. I gave in and begged asked for a Nook Color for my birthday 2 years ago. I got it and LOVE it!! I hate to say it, but I do!! It's so practical for those traveling trips, reading in bed with the lights off for the husband(because Nook Color has backlight) AND I can download a bunch of books at a discounted rate AND borrow from the library without worrying about those pesky late fines. I still buy actual books of my favorite author, Sandra Brown and others, but the Nook really is a great reading tool. I don't think I have ever read so much in my life hahaha!! I still feel guilty, but it's been great for me :)

My cover has famous authors' "autographs"

It's pretty light weight and easy to use

And with that I think I'll wrap it up here. Thanks so much Kim for letting me write on your space!! Have safe travels and excited to hear more about your Wisconsin ( does anyone else think of That 70's Show opening: "Hello, Wisconsin!"? hahaha) adventures :)

 

Make sure to check out the blogger of the month: