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
Available for review in: Print, ebook (PDF)
Will send print books: Internationally
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
Author's Bio:
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.
What’s the first thing you remember writing?
by Sally Allen, author of Unlocking Worlds
Reading has been my inspiration for writing since childhood. It began with one of my early favorite books, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg.
In the story, twelve-year-old Claudia and her nine-year-old brother Jamie run away from their Connecticut home and move into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. To my young mind, Claudia and Jamie’s idea seemed brilliant and enviable. Growing up in New York City, I spent many hours touring the museum with my parents and on school trips, and my favorite exhibits to linger in were the elaborate rooms where Claudia and Jamie camped out. If, like Claudia, I’d had a younger brother with a loaded piggy bank, I might just have followed in her footsteps!
Since I didn’t, my next best option, it seemed to me, was to write myself into the story. The first thing I remember writing was the “lost” chapters of From the Mixed-Up Files, in which Claudia and Jamie discover another runaway living at the museum, i.e. me. We join forces to investigate the origins of a new sculpture that has arrived at the museum and pool our resources to increase our standard of living, mostly as relates to the meals we could purchase at area eateries.
From there, I went on to write a series of runaway adventures that featured places I was reading about and often required access to a time machine so that I could figure out how to get myself into New York City circa the turn of the twentieth century or London circa Victorian times. These early writing forays revealed that I was more interested in writing about my experiences of books than anything else, and with every great book I read, that interest blooms all over again.
What’s the most memorable experience you had of reading as a child?
Giveaway:
Prizes:
5 winners will each get a copy of Unlocking Worlds & a copy of
Book Life: A Book Lover's Journal
Please use this html code in your post:
Thank you for sharing my book and giving me a chance to share my first writing. :) I love hearing from other readers about the books that influenced and inspired them!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to you and your book!
Delete