"The Dovekeepers" by Alice Hoffman I never expected to purchase this book, and the cover design caught my eye. I read the back and was immediately intrigued. "Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived." That tale alone is enough to dive deeper into history, discover lives deeper than fiction and learn about their tales. Who are the dovekeepers? What are their mysteries, secrets, lineage? -brr Book Specs: Title: The Dovekeepers Author: Alice Hoffman Publisher: Scribner, A division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Fiction. Copyright 2011. Map Included, Copyright 2011 pages: 505 including acknowledgements. Scribner Reading Group Guide/Note from author Included

The Giver by Lois Lowry This softcover edition I own sits on the shelf, among the others as a used book. It's quite beautiful to look at. I hope one day my son reads it. To my understanding its required reading in many schools, with the dystopian style and conflict brought upon humans. I quite liked the length. It still looks brand new, practically no wear and tear and the spine and cover are quite glossy. There are a few annotations and underlines, barely noticeable. -brr Book Specs: The Giver Author: Lois Lowry Pages: 179 Publisher Random House  Fiction. Copyright 1993.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Frequently known as the coming of age book where required reading and losing your locker combination went hand in hand, almost everyone I knew shed a tear or two from this tale. Enter the "Socs" the rich uppity kids who formed a gang and beat up on "Greasers" whom I always thought were normal and just had a few hard times. Enter dark memes for you whippersnappers, but Ponyboy was the best character ever. He was cool without trying to be, smooth all the time. Then one night...something goes a bit too far. You'll find out. Anyway, you have to have this on your bookshelf. Forever. This softcover copy I purchased second hand. It has bonus material inside, which includes a Q&A with the author. And yes. The book is always better. The movie was pretty good too though. Author: S.E. Hinton (fiction) Publisher: Penguin Group Pages: 180 Copyright: 1995 -brr

Day 4 of #BookSpine365 You probably seen author Brad Meltzer on his popular TV show, Decoded . He surely brings in a conspiracy theory or two with breaks down the truth and history sprinkled in with a bit of intrigue-keeps it quite interesting. When I saw this book, The Book of Lies penned by him, I was instantly curious. I didn't even know he was a former NYT best selling author (although those lists can be quite misleading and biased) with a huge fan base from a previous novel. While I have yet to read this book, as there are many on my shelves which I purchase and have yet to read-I will eventually read it. I have skimmed it, and read the first few chapters. In Chapter Four of the Bible, Cain kills Abel. It is the world’s most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history. In 1932, Mitchell Siegel was killed by three gunshots to his chest. While mourning, his son dreamed o...

Day three of #BookSpine365 .  Here we go again. A book that has the motion picture still as its cover. I know, I know. Not appealing at all. Well, to me. Too bad this was in the bargain bin somewhere that day and I just happened to grab it. By the way: always  read the book first. Don't judge the book by its movie, because...then you got this weird comparison thing going on and then it's messed up. I will always prefer the book over the movie that's just the way I am. So the book itself got many reviews; some good and some bad, but I think it was okay overall. Worth reading, for sure. Did it seem quite cold just do the recipes of Julia Child's without any emotion just to get a blog post and increase readership views? In the end it was a journey, and her journey was filled with a lot of excitement and laughs. I would call this book a great light read. The book also includes a reading group guide. Questions and topics for discussions near the end of the book. ...

Day Two of #BookSpine365 . Van Gogh The Complete Paintings  by Taschen has editor into F. Walther and author Rainer Metzger to thank for this beautiful hard bound 740 page book. I start out with this book in particular, because it is the most favorite of mine on my shelf. Van Gogh is by far my favorite painter, and the autobiographical memoirs and letters inside give a closer look inside his life and mind. The book itself is extremely heavy, but I have no qualms with it being such a gem. The glossy pages are worth the high price, and they turn with ease.  Book Details: Name: Van Gogh Complete Paintings Author: Walther, I. Format: Hardcover, glossy. 24 x 30 cm (9.4 x 11.8 in.), 96 pp. Dust jacket included.  ISBN 978-3-8365-4122-0  ©2012 -brrivera

Scrap booking is nothing new, and not left to the sticker and ribbon holding enthusiasts bound to Wednesday Joanne's sales. Enter Charles Lutwidge Dodgson-or as we all follow the white rabbit, Lewis Carroll. Born in England in 1832, he began his life crunching numbers in mathematics. He also was a deacon, enjoyed photography and poetry as well. Writing stories for children, he entertained a young girl named Alice and interpreted her dream into the book Alice in Wonderland which by 1932 was the most popular book in the world. Carroll's Scrapbook Carroll enjoyed to keep his memories in a book- a beautiful scrapbook. Today it is housed in the United States Library of Congress (LoC). The book holds approximately 130 items of newspaper clippings, photographs, manuscripts, and Carroll's personal penmanship. It is ordered in proper context, collected between 1885-1872. The LoC has digitized the collection to make the resources available to those that wish to see them, and the rar...