We are pleased today to present an article from popular author, Sally Allen. Ms. Allen’s book offers wonderful selections of books from many different genres. That is what makes this article all the more interesting. You may want to add a couple  to your wish list too.

Ms. Allen is currently on a virtual book tour from November 16th to December 18th, 2015, hosted by iRead Book Tours.  Do stop in at her tour site to see a list of all the sites she will be visiting.

Thank you so much, Sally for sharing this with us.

Books for Book Lovers

by Sally Allen, Author of Unlocking Worlds

For as long as I can remember, my parents have given me at least one book for Christmas. And for as long as I’ve had pocket money and transportation to a bookstore, I’ve gifted them books too. With the holiday season bearing down on me, I’m thinking about this especially now. But really, I’m often thinking about what books to get for whom.

This is why, in my book Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers, I devote a chapter to books for book lovers. The reads in this chapter include meditations on the art of reading, reflections on the process of reading, and memoirs about the act reading. They also include nonfiction books that incorporate visual art.

If you have, on your gift list, a book lover who also appreciates the visual arts, these three culled from my list may appeal. Since none necessarily demands to be read from start to finish, and all provide copious reading recommendations and beautiful visuals, they also happen to be excellent for nursing a reading hangover.

Fictitious Dishes: An Album of Literature’s Most Memorable Meals by Dinah Fried

Fried blends foodie and book lover cultures in a fascinating way. She imaginatively reconstructed and photographed meals from fifty famous novels, from classics like Oliver Twist, Moby-Dick, and Swann’s Way, to children’s staples like Anne of Green Gables, A Wrinkle in Time, and Blueberries for Sal to contemporary bestsellers like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Valley of the Dolls, and The Namesake. Her stunning tableaux are marvelously soothing to contemplate and inspire me to dip back into the books to find the passages that reference the meals Fried depicts.

Sorted Books by Nina Katchadourian

Sorted Books blends poetry, sculpture, and photography. For twenty years, Katchadourian, a conceptual artist, sorted books from public and private libraries into found poems created from the book titles and photographed the results. Each chapter presents photographs of the book spine poems she created within particular libraries. Her poems are thought-provoking all on their own, and they also inspire readers to reflect and create with their own book collections.

Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction’s Most Beloved Heroines by Samantha Hahn

This book is what happens when a book lover is also a visual artist: It features a collection of Hahn’s watercolor portraits of fifty literary heroines. Whether or not she visualized the characters as I did, I love how her portraits grant me entry into how characters come to life in another reader’s imagination.

I’m always looking for gift ideas: What books do you recommend for book lovers?

Book Details:

Book Title:  Unlocking Worlds:  A Reading Companion for Book Lovers by Sally Allen
Category:  Adult non-fiction, 225 pages
Genre:  Books and reading
Publisher:  Griffins Wharf
Release date:  November 2015
Tour dates:  Nov 16 – December 18, 2015
Content Rating:  G

Book Description:

Award-winning writer and teacher Sally Allen knows that good books don’t just draw us in; they talk to us, shape us, and transport us to times, places, and minds different from our own.

In Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers, Allen deftly weaves personal stories with fifteen thematized, annotated, and illustrated reading lists for what to read next. By sharing some of the treasures in her library and the secret lives they reveal, she gives us permission to embrace the shameless book lover inside each of us. Unlocking Worlds is a testament to how reading passionately—and compassionately—can unlock the world beyond our back yard. Celebrating books and those who read them, Allen shows how the solitary act of reading can be a powerful thread that creates community and connection. Thought-provoking and eloquent, Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers is a must-have for anyone who can’t leave the house without a book in hand.

Buy the book:   Amazon   Barnes & Noble

About the author:

Award winning writer and teacher Sally Allen holds a Ph.D. from New York University in English Education, with an emphasis in writing and rhetoric, and a M.A. in English Language and Literature. She teaches writing, literature, and communications, leads book group discussions, and is the founder and editor of Books, Ink at HamletHub.

Connect with the author:  Website   Twitter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Merry Citarella, often writing as Merrci, writes on a wide range of topics. Recently relocated to the Oregon Coast in the northwest United States, she frequently writes travel features on the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She specializes in health and aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, food, lifestyle, and book reviews. For more information you can see her on The Writers’Door. You can read more articles here or at her websites Mystery Suspense Reviews .