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The Book Chubi: A Reader's Guide

As with any blog, you probably have some important questions regarding the contents of the posts, the author who publishes them, and various inquiries that randomly popped into your head when you started reading. Here is a page I dedicate to you, the reader, to provide some insight to many of your curiosities. If your particular query is not answered below feel free to reach out. I love making new friends, especially others who love to read or are just looking for their next book.



What exactly is a "Book Chubi"?

The Urban Dictionary is happy to help.

Why start The Book Chubi?

In my many circles of friends I have a common personality trait I'm known for. Essentially, I own a lot of books. If you walk into my apartment it is a defining feature in my decor. And when any of my friends are looking for a book to read I'm one of the first people they ask. For one thing, they know I love a wide variety of books across all genres and will be able to give a personalized suggestion based on what they are personally interested in. For another, they know I'll be there to discuss the book when they are finished.

This is actually The Book Chubi 2.0. Many years ago, in my formative college undergraduate days, I needed a place to keep my book thoughts organized. Of course, GoodReads was also coming of age around the same time and mostly covered the basics of keeping tabs on my growing collection. Over the years I have posted my reviews on GoodReads when I finish novels, yet it has never felt like the place to really expand my thoughts and offer real recommendations to others.

So now I'm back to do it all again. And just like I provide customized recommendations to my friends, here I am to do the same for a wider audience. As I finish books I want to help find others who will love that story too. There are so many published works coming out every day. Hopefully I can pick out some interesting picks and lead you to your next great read.

What types of posts should I expect?

Your Next Read  - The bread and butter of this blog, these are the book reviews. Each post will focus on a single title and provide enough information on the book to help you decide if this is a title you might enjoy. Typically you can expect me to provide a very general summary (no spoilers here) and different topics that are in the plot that might be of interest to a reader. I will also give you an idea of the length of the book and readability. And I will provide links to many different sources of information including the publisher's website, the author's page, interesting articles or interviews discussing the book, a reader's guide if it is a great book club option and other review sites that I find especially informative.

Wanderlust - Although reading is my great passion, my other great passion is travel. In fact, these two topics go hand in hand in my life and are often so entwined you would be unable to separate the habits. At my core I am a researcher. Book or trip or anything else in life, I can guarantee you I have researched it extensively. I just can't help myself. So when I'm planning a trip I typically pick up every book I can find on the subject. Guide Book? Got it. Native authors? Of course! Books set in the locale? On the list. How many books can I fit on my carry on again... Wanderlust is all about matching up great reads with amazing destinations. Here I will provide a list of great books somehow connected to the continent, country, or city being featured.

Resources for Readers - I use a great many platforms, websites, and other resources when it comes to my reading habit. Books are an expensive habit and I certainly can't afford to make poor choices when it comes to my home library. So I reduce costs in as many ways as I can. For example, I'm a huge fan of my local libraries. That is a resource with thousands of other resources available. Like resource Inception. And there are the numerous online resources I use to research titles and find new authors. After all, there are so many books and so little free time. I want to feature these resources so you will have as much access to good information as possible to expand you own book network.

Books of a Feather - On occasion I find myself get stuck on a particular theme or genre and devour everything I can within that scope. When this happens I will feature a series of titles related to the topic at hand so when you get in the mood for a distinct flavor of book you will have plenty to choose from.

I want to discuss these books with you...

Please comment on any blog posts you have thoughts about! Did you enjoy the book? Was it similar to another book that you would also recommend to others? Do you have a recommendation for what my next read should be? I love reading comments and starting interesting discussions on book themes, as long as they stay civil.

You can also connect with me on GoodReads. I'm always down for connecting with other readers there and would be happy to share with you all the books I've read over the years.

Thank you for checking out my blog! I hope you get some great book ideas and I look forward to connecting. :-)

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