Campaign Monitor

I have been trying to figure out a way to create a newsletter for the blog, but I truthfully had no idea where to start, what to do, or how to keep things in order. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about that anymore because I have discovered Campaign Monitor. This site makes it so easy to create, update, and sustain any type of campaign that you are looking to start.

It’s honestly as easy as 1-2-3, first you start with an outline, here you can see that there are even holiday ones, and sale designs in the featured tab. Along the side there are several different tabs, and I clicked on Newsletters.

I found this cute and simple one, so I decided to roll with it. I put my logo at the top, and all I really had to do after that was add my photos and descriptions. I can write whatever I want, this time I was going to write about what I’ve been up to this month, what books I’ve been reading, and talk about the library sale as well as the store closing sale that I ended up getting a TON of books at.

Seeing, 1-2-3. I added my photos and captions, I can do practically anything I want. It’s so easy, it’s so fast and it’s fun!

This was my favorite part. I am able to see what my newsletter is going to look like on a computer, as well as on a phone. There’s no second guessing on whether or not your newsletter is going to look good on either device.

After I created my campaign, which I lovingly titled Welcome to Comfy Reading (since this is my first endeavor into the world of newsletters, all I have to do is important new subscribers, such as the people in my email list, friends, family, and anyone else I want to bombard with all of my awesomeness, schedule the delivery-which can either send the newsletter as soon as you’re done, or send it later, once you click to schedule your delivery, you will be able to see reports of everyone who you emailed, this report is pretty detailed, it shows you who has opened your email, who has clicked the links provided, and so much more. Check it out:

I am honestly so in love with this site, I can’t wait to share my newsletters with everyone. Sometimes it is hard for me to post every time that I read a book, now that I’m in school and have two kids, so this newsletter will help to bring us all together, I can share some really cool information that I may not be able to share in the blog, and we can have a more intimate relationship! If you’d like to sign up for my newsletter, please shoot me your email!

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Good Luck with That

Emerson, Georgia and Marley grew up going to camp together, fat camp that is. After the death of Emerson, the two remaining girls are brought back together in Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins, and they want to fulfill Emerson’s wish of completing the list the girls wrote all of those summers ago.

The list of all of the things that the girls want to conquer when they become skinny, like being seen out in public with a boy, eating ice cream, all of the things that most of us take for granted. As Georgia and Marley go through the list, sometimes successfully, sometimes failing, they realize that Emerson didn’t just want them to complete the list, she wanted them to learn to love themselves despite not being where they want to be weight-wise.

I love how raw this book was, each of the girls had their flaws and the trials that they were individually fighting, but also the underlying theme that they wanted to lose weight. It’s important to remember that we are all worth something, and just because you may not be a size 2 doesn’t mean you are any less needed in this world. This book gives a good message to people who may be struggling in many different areas of their life.

The characters, though sometimes frustrating, were easy to relate to and that’s what I enjoyed most about this book. I felt like I knew the women in this book like my own friends after I was done reading it, it was really special. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Start Without Me

Being that I started this book around Thanksgiving, it was perfectly synced with the timeline of this book. Start Without Me by Joshua Max Feldman is the story of Adam, who is a recovering alcoholic, who is headed home for Thanksgiving, the home he hasn’t been to in years. Then there is Marissa, who is having marriage issues, the two meet and become bonded over their broken families and the holidays.

First of all, I love how much Adam is vulnerable in this novel, the fact that he goes back home after his family has seen him in his worst ways, and wants to show how he is doing better, but isn’t sure that he can live up to his families expectations is all of us, I’m pretty sure. The feelings of never being good enough hit me in my core, because that’s how it feels at my families holiday parties, when Adam opens up to Marissa, you can see how much he really cares about the people he has in his life.

Marissa, who has her own troubles, doesn’t allow those troubles to break her, the way she talks to Adam shows how strong she is, and how we all need to be a little bit more like her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was great that I got to read this while simultaneously getting ready for my families Thanksgiving holiday, which wasn’t as bad as Adam’s may have been, the characters in this book are rich with life, and the dialogue will make you think, which is always a good thing. I have never read this author before, but this book really makes me want to see what else he has out there. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Perfect for the holiday season, pick it up!

Top Ten Books to Read While Stuck Inside for Winter-Guest Post

Winter is probably the best time for reading. Looong winter nights invite you to finally read what you have noticed during crazy summer days but there was no time for doing it. You most likely have read The Little Match Girl by Andersen and Christmas Eve by Gogol, A Christmas Carol in Prose by Dickens and other classic books about winter and Christmas, which is why there are less obvious and more fresh ones gathered in the following collection.

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            The Winter I Grew Up by Peter Van Gestel

            The year 1947. Postwar Amsterdam. A 10-year old Thomas lives with his father, a dreamer who switches between job places and cannot accept the boy`s mother death. Everyone in the city has such a kind of a story. Friends, dreams and talks are something what warms them up. Together with Thomas and his friends wefeel joyful in everyday stream of light in their lives.

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            The Ice Dragon by George Martin

            There are many legends about power and strength of the dragons because no one was able to tame such a powerful creature. However, little Adara has no fear as long as she is the child of darkness who was born in the most severe cold weather people ever knew. A story written by recognized master of fantasy about an amazing friendship between menacing dragon and a frail girl.

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            Letter from Father Christmas by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

            A fairy-tale within a letter Tolkien has been telling his children for 20 years. The letters were arriving each year where Father Christmas was telling about his life and events sometimes funny, sometimes troubling happening on North Pole. Tolkien is seen not as a great writer only but also as a great father.

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            Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

            A beautiful story of love, love of a mother for her child. There is no other stronger or more perfect than this feeling. Sarah Jio interlaces fortunes of heroines one of whom is our contemporary while the other one lived in 1930`s. During the ice storm, the both go through events, which turn their lives upside down.

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            The Tea House On Mulberry Street by Sharon Owens

            Fortunes of the characters of this unbelievable Christmas story are interlaced in a fantastic way and meet in a wonderful place full of mysteries and miracles, the tea house on Mulberry Street where wonderful desserts are served and where unexpectedly you may get a message from a Hollywood star. A pleasant bonus is a recipe of a cherry cheesecake in the end of the book.

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            A Gift from Bob by James Bowen

            A story about Bob the red cat to save life of a homeless street musicianmesmerized millions of people throughout the world. A Gift from Bob is acontinuance of James and his red friend`s story. Bob the cat literally gave his master a new lifemaking a real Christmas miracle.

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            The Christmas Miracle by Jonathan Toomey and Susan Wojciechowski  

            The book is for children but a simple story of Mr. Toomey has a strong sense behind it, which touches grown-ups. The book is about love and redemption. It is about a person who shrinked himself inside the shell of his pain but the magic Christmas gave him hope without which life is simply inconceivable.

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            A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

            A warm Christmas fairy-tale full of common as dirt magic, which is within everyone`s power, it only takes someone’s desire. It all starts with the main character happens to be in the town called Lost River. Somebody decorates a Christmas Tree covered with a mystery every year here. A redbird lives here in the small shop. On holidays, everybody rejoice together here and this is the place where the dreams come true.

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            The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

            A totally crazy novel about Christmas in the freaky town of Pine Cove. A rave of fantasy and a strong concentration of pretty indecent jokes await the reader. Warning! Gross alert! The rest are welcome to  Christmas chaos!

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            I Am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

            There are places, which attract troubles constantly as if by magic. 11-year old clever cookie Flavia de Luce is the main magnet for troubles. This time, she will solve the mystery of a movie star death by  planning on attacking Santa Claus. Let it be a bubble gum book, but it is a nice way to get back to that childish feeling of magic closing around winter and Christmas.  

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About the author: Melisa Marzett is a guest article writer who works for http://www.getessayeditor.com

Believe Me

Claire becomes entangled in a scheme to lure cheating husbands in Believe Me by JP Delaney. When the wife of one of the men that Claire is trying to persuade is murdered, the husband is the first suspect, as usual, but not Claire must try and get him to confess, did he really do it? Can Claire get the answers the police need?

Claire is an actress who is in desperate need of a green card and money so that she can continue to live in the United States, so she decides that it will be worth her while to team up with a private investigator to trap cheating husbands, but she may have more to lose than just time and freedom, this dark psychological thriller is a slow burn, in the beginning you’re left wanting more, and as the story progresses it gets better, the characters become real, and the story is very scary and very real.

The premise of this book is really interesting, and the twist, though predictable for me, will possibly get a lot of people, I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t something I want to run out and buy a copy of right now. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.