Booktubers aren't original and creative anymore. | Fangirling @richardxdenney

Okay, I know I'm a little late to the party when it comes to this video but I really enjoyed watching what Richard had to say about "being you." I know he was discussing BookTube in particular but I feel this goes for any social media outlet that you want to put your stamp on, blogs included. In addition, Richard had asked (at the very end of the video) to share his video around and because I have been known to do that throughout my social media platforms, here you go! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Booktubers aren't original and creative anymore.
by Richard Denney

If you can't see/watch the above video then click here to watch it.

BookSwapAThon 2018 | My BELATED #BookSwapAThon Wrap-Up Announcement

In 2018 I participated in my FIFTH read-a-thon and because of life getting away with me I only read one book. BUT that's okay ... please enjoy my antics. 🤣 😍 😊

BookSwapAThon 2018 :


If you can't see/watch the above video then click here to watch it.

Where You'll Land by Jacqueline Simon Gunn / @DrJSimonGunn | #GuestPost, Spreading the Word, & #BookSale

Today I'm showing off Jacqueline Simon Gunn's "Where You'll Land," a post that she originally shared on her website here, and her novel's Preorder Book Sale happening on Amazon's Kindle!! Links to get a copy for yourself are down below!

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"Where You'll Land"
[Where You'll Land Series, Book 1]
by Jacqueline Simon Gunn
Author's Book Description :

After a bad breakup, I packed up my life and moved to Miami to study for my doctorate in psychology. I made one promise to myself: Do not get romantically involved while I was in school. I needed to heal.

And then Will Easton came into my life. He was warm and sweet and intelligent. And he got me. What I didn’t know was that Will was running from a tragedy of his own.

When you try to escape your past without confronting your emotions, you repeat those same past patterns over and over. And that’s just what happened to Will and me, along with a few others who got swept up into the storm that was our relationship. Then came the awful secret. The one that changed everything.

Sometimes the most painful relationships are the ones that help us grow into who we are and to find the love we had been searching for all along.

Which begs the question: Can we choose who we love?

Secret Christmas Mom Box Swap 2018 | #SecretSanta @mommymiahsc

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!
As 2019 is now among us Jess still tries to finish this massive website update completely, so she can get it more "user friendly" and have her posts become "live" again. But until then here is one of Jessica's Secret Santa that she participated in this holiday season. Originally she was going to show the unboxing of the package Jess sent out to the other YouTuber but it seems (even so long after the deadline) that participant still hasn't posted her video ... so I'll leave you with Jess's live video of her choosing a book for the package she put together and Jess's own Secret Santa unboxing that was put together by Rokxy over at Home Sweet Home!

The Yiddish Gangster's Daughter by Joan Lipinsky Cochran / @WordsByJoan | Spreading the Word #BookSale

Today I'm showing off Joan Lipinsky Cochran's "The Yiddish Gangster's Daughter," which is Book 1 in her Becks Ruchinsky Mystery Series, and it's Hanukkah Kindle Countdown Book Sale on Amazon's Kindle from December 3 - 8, 2018!! Links to get a copy for yourself are down below!

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"The Yiddish Gangster's Daughter"
by Joan Lipinsky Cochran
Author's Book Description :

Since separating from her philandering husband, Boca Raton writer Becks Ruchinsky has struggled to build a closer relationship with her quirky and contentious father, Tootsie, who lives in a retirement home. One evening, as she and her father are relaxing on the home’s front porch, an elderly woman accuses Tootsie of having murdered her husband fifty years earlier.

Tootsie admits to ratting on the man, who’d cheated their Jewish syndicate boss out of thousands of dollars, but denies killing the widow’s husband. He also admits to having friends in the Jewish mafia and shares stories about his experiences. But the more time she spends with her father, the more convinced Becks becomes that Tootsie is lying about his involvement. Determined to discover the truth about her dad’s past, she sets out on a journey to undercover his darkest secrets. She learns he worked for the Jewish mafia –running numbers for the Cuban lottery, beating up Nazi sympathizers, and smuggling arms to Israeli independence fighters. When she learns that he murdered his best friend and, possibly, his own brother, she must decide if she can accept his criminal past – or cut him out of her life.

"The Yiddish Gangster’s Daughter" also explores the impact our parents’ relationships have on our own. Throughout the book, Becks challenges her father on his infidelity toward her mother and becomes frustrated by his refusal to acknowledge that what he did was hurtful to his entire family. She’s upset when Tootsie minimizes her husband’s affair and encourages her to take him back. Ultimately, Becks realizes that she cannot forgive her husband for cheating until she comes to terms with her father’s infidelities…and her mother’s willingness to put up with them.

A gripping and thought-provoking murder mystery, this award-winning novel explores the colorful and precarious world of the 1940s and 1950s Jewish mafia . . . and the limits of familial love.

The Books I'm Thankful For (so far) in 2018

In tradition (well mine at least) of today being Thanksgiving Day (the USA version of it at least), here is a list of ALL the books I've read thus far this year that I've given my highest ratings to (5 out of 5 stars), which means I'm VERY Thankful for finding/reading them! Be forewarned though ... because of a major state-to-state move I did in 2017 (which I had actually mentioned in last year's book list too) AND because of my virtual assistant business expanding quite a bit within the past year, ALL of the novels listed below do not have their official book reviews from me posted and promoted yet. Opps ... ain't life fun. 🙂

➡️ So what are you getting out of this blog post you say? Well ... you are getting a glimpse of what my 5 star reads have been this year thus far (as even though their book reviews haven't been posted the first drafts of their reviews HAVE been written), some of my book reviews of these novels/novellas (if the FULL book reviews have officially been posted than they'll be linked), links for you to check out these novels/novellas for yourself, AND for the FIRST TIME ever I have a little video (at the bottom of this post) for you that compiles this list while inviting another BookTuber (ZaqLovesBooks) to share the two novels that she is thankful for this year too.

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** This site is a participant in various affiliate advertising programs through Amazon.com, Rakuten Marketing, Commission Junction, IndieBound, Smashwords, Book Depository, and more that are designed to provide a means for Jess to earn minimal advertising fees by showcasing the areas you can purchase the corresponding products that Jess discusses within her blog posts.
All of these affiliate links are obvious as to which ones they are. **

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As requested here are all my 5 star reads listed in the order of when I read them this year:

Halloween 2018 with a Plague Doctor | #photography @FromJesstoYouVA

Okay so I spent Halloween with more than just a Plague Doctor ... I also spent it with Superman AND Catty Noir from Monster High! But since I try not to show off my kids faces on my social sites here are some of the highlights from my day yesterday on Halloween (of course)! 🤣 ☺️ 🎃

Racist BOOKTUBE DRAMA? Reaction to Entitlement vs Elitism on #Booktube | @TheNovelLush

To quote Lauryn, "We gotta do better."
Below I am showcasing Lauryn, from The Novel Lush, recent video that was a mixture of a discussion video and a reaction/response video to another video that has been taken down. Lauryn eloquently states her position, which I highly agree with, against what this other BookTuber said about BookTube and POC BookTubers themselves. I had not seen the full videos from this other BookTuber I had just heard about her videos but Lauryn did track them down and included clips for us to understand both sides of the story more. What I saw from the clips is that this other BookTuber was quite ignorant and definitely has issues of her own. But I don't know her so for that I cannot be certain, yet it's hard to deny that her videos, for what I saw of them, were not something I would support at all.

So, the reason I'm posting Lauryn's response video here is because this ties into my previous blog support posts that I did which were Christina Marie's Christina Marie's Black Bookish Peeps Database & More & Jo's IS BOOKTUBE RACIST?. In Lauryn's video she covers it all including her response to the other BookTuber's videos. I wish I could get my thoughts across about the topic as well as Lauryn does but since I know I cannot I'm showing you hers.

In addition, underneath Lauryn's video I have included links to two other responses (one a youtube video and one a twitter post) that I feel should be checked out too.

A belated Week #21 of When & Where am I Wednesday & a Rant | #BookTuber #BookBlog @CherylCatMaster

WHEN & WHERE AM I WEDNESDAYS are a weekly bookish memes, hosted by Jess of From Me to You ... Video, Photography, & Book Reviews. Anyone can play along! To participate here's what you need to do:

• Based on the book your currently reading -- tell us when and where you are in your book, and possibly what "you're" (meaning the characters) doing or who "you" (meaning the characters) are with.
• Try NOT to include spoilers!!!
• Make sure to share the book information [title, author and/or book cover] so if someone likes what you write they can add that book to their TBR list.
• Please mention From Me to You ... Video, Photograph, & Book Reviews as to where you heard about this collaboration meme.

Week #20 of When & Where am I Wednesday | #BookTuber #BookBlog

WHEN & WHERE AM I WEDNESDAYS are a weekly bookish memes, hosted by Jess of From Me to You ... Video, Photography, & Book Reviews. Anyone can play along! To participate here's what you need to do:

• Based on the book your currently reading -- tell us when and where you are in your book, and possibly what "you're" (meaning the characters) doing or who "you" (meaning the characters) are with.
• Try NOT to include spoilers!!!
• Make sure to share the book information [title, author and/or book cover] so if someone likes what you write they can add that book to their TBR list.
• Please mention From Me to You ... Video, Photograph, & Book Reviews as to where you heard about this collaboration meme.