There are three types of folks that live in Florida.  There are those of us born here; there are those of us who have moved here from “up north” (which means anywhere in the US) because the weather is better here year round; and there are those of us that came to visit and never left for a reason other than the weather. This third grouping are the people who understand you can be yourself here - wacky and odd, if you so choose.  Those of us who were born here may have left and come back, because we realized a) the weather was better here year round and b) after visiting other places, this is the best place in the country and c) there’s no other place in the country you can be as carefree as you can here.  Not that I’m biased.  And N.M. Kelby knows these groups as evidenced in her newest book, Murder at the Bad Girl’s Bar and Grill. Read the rest »

Happy Book Banning Week (BBW)!  This year’s theme is Celebrating the Freedom to Read!

I thought today would be a great time to share some of my thoughts regarding Book Banning. I have a real difficult time understanding why anyone would want to challenge a book.   What gives one small group (or one set of parents) the RIGHT to dictate what gets read or not read in a class? Does the government (local, state or federal) have a right to tell us what books we can and cannot read or teach? Unfortunately, most school systems have books that are prohibited, though never truly challenged. More specifically, where does it say someone has a right to push their beliefs on a group of people? More often than not, a book is challenged because it disturbed someone’s delicate sensibilities.  Read the rest »

Here’s a surprise!  Have you ever heard of Christian Horror?  Sort of sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it?  I mean, really, you think Christian, you think hope and love and joy.  You think Horror, you conjure up images of Cujo and viruses that wipe out the whole country and big ugly clowns who kidnap children every hundred years.  Right?

So, how does Christian Horror actually work?  I’m not really sure, but fiction writer, Travis Thrasher, has successfully figured out the formula.  In his newest novel, Isolation, he’s combined christian faith with a stephen king-esque setting to explore what happens to your psyche when you are in the midst of a spiritual attack and what it takes to recover from this attack.  The result is one of the most horrifying novel I’ve read in a long time. Read the rest »

Happy Sunday to all my bookish friends.  Its been a very busy week here at Old Musty Books.  I’ve decided I’m going to spend a week at the Miami Book Fair International.  I only live about two hours south of Miami and well, it just makes sense to go.  Once I decided to go, I thought it best to start some research on the 200-ish authors that will be there.  Read some of their books, watch some interviews. Postscript: youtube is awesome for watching interviews. You can find some pretty great interviews by authors@google on youtube.

Once I started, two weeks ago, receiving books every day in the mail,  I’ve decided to make this my official personal challenge.  I will read all these books by November 8th.  Here’s the incentive - If I don’t have to take the books, I have more room for new ones!  The goal will be to finish these books, take notes on these books, throw them in the car and head down to Miami for a week…with an empty trunk for new books!  That’s great incentive, right? Read the rest »

a long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier is Ishmael Beah’s extraordinary story of his life in Sierre Leone.  At the very beginning of the acknowledgments of this book, he writes:

“I never thought I would be alive to this day, much less that I would write a book.”

What do you do when your country is immersed in a violent and bloody civil war and you are only 11 when your village is destroyed by rebels?  If you are Ishmael Baeh, you learn how to survive.  But what does the word ’survive’ mean?  The word ’survive’ means to remain alive or in existence.  How does a child remain alive or in existence in a world where his country is immersed in ongoing violent civil war, he has no idea whether his family is alive or dead, and he’s only twelve? Read the rest »

This morning, as I sit outside at my parents home, which we have fondly dubbed the Resort because of the back deck and fabulous pool, great food and wonderful tender loving care provided by the ‘rents (short for parents), I can’t help but think about family and the ties that bind.

Its more than just sitting here by the pool, sipping my coffee and thinking about what I’m going to write about today. This morning when I checked my facebook account, I realized that some pretty important woman in my family are now on facebook - my sister and several of my cousins, all of which are pretty  inspirational in my life who live in other parts of the country. Read the rest »

This year’s Book Fair will bring a new feature for fair goers as graphic novel creators and comics artists take up residence on fair grounds.  The graphic novel format, which has seen a recent explosion in sales in North America, has its roots firmly planted in comics history. As part of 25th anniversary celebrations, the organizers of Miami Book Fair International have partnered with Diamond Book Distributors to bring graphic novel artists and publishers to the event. Comix Galaxy will encompass a street dedicated to graphic novel authors and publishers, children’s and teen events, and educational programming for librarians, teachers and publishing industry professionals.  There will also be presentations and discussions with some of the most popular creators and authors in the industry. Read the rest »