I really *am* Belle!

I feel like someone gave me their library. Or at least a lot of people contributed to mine. Now that I am doing giveaways and reviews, I come home every day to find packages by my door. Lots of new books! (In all fairness, I recently did a book exchange with a friend and am also participating in Paperback Swap.)

Ever since I've been in touch with authors, publishers and publicists, I've had more access to new chick lit novels that are just now hitting the shelves. I am extremely grateful for each book I receive, but am not letting that jade my opinion for the reviews. If a book is good, it will merit a good review. That's all there is to it. Even the most perfect books leave room for a small critique. I feel that honesty is the only way for the writer to have effective feedback and for them to use what is given for when they write future novels. Don't worry...I'm not like Anton Ego (from "Ratatouille") and I usually find a positive spin to any point of criticism.

Having said that, I have a lot of books and there is just one of me. I am a working mother of two young boys. I'm a blogger. I also have to find time to keep the house in order. I read on the treadmill in the morning and during my lunch break at work. I find time in the evenings too. I'm happy if I can get through a book in a week's time, but I do have my slow moments. If you sent me a book to review, it will get reviewed at some point. Probably not tomorrow, but soon enough. And for those that get reviewed later on, think of it as a way to breathe new life into the book and get the sales going all over again. :) I know I recently reviewed a book from the late 90's, if that says anything. In any case, I plan to stay more focused on reading this summer and am excited about all the books I have to review and the interviews and giveaways I have planned for this summer!

In the meantime, I am still open to having guest bloggers. If you are interested, please let me know if you'd like to do book reviews, author recommendations (see the ones I did recently in this blog), short stories, etc. I will credit you for all entries. Please do not write the actual entry before clearing the topic with me first. I'd feel bad if I was writing about the same thing and didn't choose to publish it for that reason. Another thought is that I may pair your book review with my own, if we read the same book. It could be an "At the Movies" sort of thing, but for books!