Book of The Week: The Beanie Baby Handbook (1998)

To be honest, I made this the book of the week simply because I could hardly believe there was a book published on this topic. Beanie Babies!? Seriously? Do you remember back in the 90's when these were popular? I do. My parents were part of that craze- at one point in time, we had boxes of them because of the supposed resale value they would have for collectors in later years. It wasn't until somewhat recently that they finally gave up on that dream and sent the beanies to their nieces and nephews for Christmas presents instead.

So, if you want some nostalgia, recipes and a chuckle, go find this 1998 edition of the Beanie Baby Handbook. Then, go on Ebay and see if any of the characters listed are actually selling (yes, SELLING, not just listed for) for as much as the book price says. Currently I see some crazy prices for one of the beanies I have in my childhood collection, but none have any bids :P

Title: The Beanie Baby Handbook
Author: Les & Sue Fox

Synopsis:
Contains full page color photos of all NEW Beanie Babies, and includes photos and current values for all 200 Beanie Babies. This edition includes 52 fabulous recipes from the authors and Beanie Chef Jeanette Long. Both previous editions have been on the New York Times Bestseller List, as well as on the USA Today Bestseller List. There are over 3 million copies of The Beanie Baby Handbook in print!

Website: http://www.ty.com/

How They Speak

The more I've worked with the books, the more I've come to feel as if each one has it's own distinctive personality. Some speak out in a southern accent, with their yellow and brown tags boasting a picture of cowboy boots and the label "western", while their covers depict dry sagebrush scenery behind daring gun-slingers and their horses. Other books- clearly romances- seem to demand to be placed where the cute, starry-eyed couple on the front may have a little time to themselves. There are also the sci-fi stories, often giving the idea that if you were to so much as open one, you would be engulfed in a green glow from the alien space ships or obliterated by a ferocious blaster gun ray; unless of course, it happens to be the Steam Punk brand of sci-fi, in which case, people in Victorian-style clothes pose with their unusual technology, framed by silver or bronze with gears & cogs scattered about.

While they all have such varying voices and styles, the majority of the books are all very friendly. Even the shy little Amish romance novels would be more than willing to follow you home, were you to pick them up. But there was one book to which an exception applied: a large, menacing,  old-fashioned looking, black book. It stood two feet tall and was 10 inches thick, with a muscular, unmarked spine. Nobody checked it out, and it was no wonder; even if there happened to be a person around who was strong enough to lift it, they likely would not have been in a place to notice it. The book kept it's home underneath a shelf full of old copies of a newspaper that no longer existed, tucked away in the farthest, darkest corner of the library.

I often wondered about it, because having a book with no title, no author, and no dewy decimal number was quite an oddity. In normal circumstances, it would mean the book did not belong to us and was thrown into the book-drop by mistake. Obviously, such a monster as that would never have fit in the book drop, so that option was out. I once tried to ask the librarians, but all they would give me was that "it is an antique, and should you see anyone attempting to move it, please ask them to put it down."

The fact that they seemed so uptight about the mere mention of it seemed a tad odd, but perhaps it had just been a hard day for them. Even librarians can get bombarded with tough to please people every now and then. Whatever the reason, I knew there was something different about that book, and I was determined that some day I would find out what secrets it held.


-"Between The Pages" exerpt (C) by Sarah Iddings, June 2013.

Whovians Shall be Whovians

I know a lot of you who follow my blog are avid watchers of Doctor Who, therefore I feel I can shamelessly post something like this and know there are some of you who are legitimately interested! Hazzah! For those of you who are not fans of the show, my deepest apologies. There will be a more normal post coming soon for the likes of you :)

These guys did a very fun (and professionally made!) musical:



They also made a sequel!




This girl has the most crazy (and cool) dad ever. Seriously. Can you believe these guys are actually putting a TARDIS into space in a few days!? Pretty nuts, but they're sure going to go down in history for it! I have some friends who helped to fund this.

Also, they have a website: http://tardisinorbit.com/



There also appears to be a whole host of talented craftspeople who have created many fun projects:

10th Doctor Cosplay Dress

The 4th Doctor crochet 

 10th Doctor Plushie

Sonic Screwdriver Necklaces 

Even the quilters have gotten into things!

Tardis Quilt

Gallifreyan Quilt

Oh, and might as well add a piece of art from yours truly- my Tardis pendant!




Last, but not least- if you happen to be a local, our library system now has Day of The Doctor on DVD and Blu-Ray! I finally returned it, so you can now go place your claim. Enjoy :)

Book Of The Week: Battle Bunny

When I was putting away kids books, I noticed that the spine of this one looked like it had been drawn on. Upon pulling it out, I discovered that it was actually just the way it was made. Surprise!

This is honestly one of the most hilarious things I have read in a while. I showed it to my family and they got a lot of laughs off of it too. The idea behind it is that it's a little kid's "Birthday Bunny" book, but that a young boy took his pencil and crayons and re-wrote the entire thing to tell the story of an evil villain who tries to take over the world, and how the kid super hero named Alex is there to stop him. If you happen to see this book, take a look. You won't regret it :-)

Title: Battle Bunny

Author: Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

Synopsis:

When Alex gets a silly, sappy picture book called Birthday Bunny, he picks up a pencil and turns it into something he'd like to read: Battle Bunny. An adorable rabbit's journey through the forest becomes a secret mission to unleash an evil plan--a plan that only Alex can stop. Featuring layered, original artwork, this dynamic picture book celebrates kids as storytellers.

Link:

  http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Bunny-Jon-Scieszka/dp/1442446730

Socks & Star Wars (Welcome to 2014)

Some people celebrate with alcohol, some with kisses, some stand out in the cold most of the day in New York City watching concerts and a descending light-up crystal ball. Me and my friends? We celebrated with socks and Star Wars. 

A long-time friend of mine has this family tradition of starting the new year off with a new pair of socks. Though his parents have since moved away, he decided to continue the custom. He began by making the announcement that we should "start the year off with a nice warm feeling, and what better way to do that than with a new pair of socks?" I grinned, remembering with fond memories the first party I'd been at where his father had made a near-identical declaration.

Following this, we counted down the seconds before we hit play on Star Wars: A New Hope. It was necessary to count the seconds so that we could time the climax of the movie to happen as the clock struck 12:00 on the first of the year. In the end, we were only 30 seconds off, which wasn't too bad; it still meant the Death Star exploded during the first minute of 2014 :-)

What about you? Any good memories or fun traditions that you practice on New Year's Eve? Post a comment below- I would love to hear about it!