Throwback Thursday - Banana Seat Bicycles

Because it feels like summer now, I wanted to send a summer image.  Here's a banana seat bicycle. This one even has fun flowers!  This just looks like childhood summers to me - long days of riding my bike and enjoying time with friends. 

Did you love bike riding as a kid?  Do you remember banana seat bicycles?  Talk to me in the comments, below.

Daily Vintage - Unused Model T Valentine Card

This Mid-Century vintage Valentine is "For a Special Son," and it features a Model-T automobile.  It is unused and ready to send for a fun vintage surprise!  You'll find it at Birdhouse Books.

Daily Vintage - Whitney Made Valentine, Little Girl With Wreath of Daisies

Today's Daily Vintage is a lovely Whitney Made Valentine.  It features a little girl in a gingham dress.  She has a wreath of flowers around her neck and another on her head.  This would be so pretty in a little frame!  You'll find this sweet vintage Valentine at Birdhouse Books.

Daily Vintage - Mechanical Valentine by Charles Twelvetrees

This charming mechanical vintage Valentine has an illustration by Charles Twelvtrees.  It shows a little boy with a bouquet of flowers:  "Among the posies you will find - a special thing I have in mind."  This exceptional card is at Birdhouse Books.  I always love Twelvetrees illustrations!

Guest Post, Book Spotlight, and Giveaway - Hope in Every Raindrop

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Hope In Every Raindrop

by Wesley Banks

NA Contemporary

ebook, 202 pages
May 26th 2015

“Small towns have big stories.” That was a lesson Katie’s father taught her years ago. A lesson she’s taken to heart. And right now, Katie is desperate for a big story. Reeling from the recent loss of her father and with her agent breathing down her neck for the next book, the twenty-one-year-old writer picks a spot on the map and finds herself bound for a middle-of-nowhere town called Bishopville, South Carolina.

Taking a chance on the words of a local grocer, Katie stumbles upon a rare breed of dogs raised by the town doctor and his nephew Kyle. The only problem? Kyle isn’t interested in telling stories—especially not to a big-city girl who can’t seem to sit still. In an attempt to win him over as the clock winds down, Katie finds herself immersed in Kyle’s world, doing everything but writing.

When inspiration finally strikes, Katie is faced with an unforeseen catastrophe and a truth she can no longer ignore. While she has come to love the dogs, the real story may be about Kyle Walker. 

Guest Post by Wesley Banks

Recently I posted my current to-be-read (TBR) list on Instagram. There were 15 books on that list, and since then I've read 3. Of course, none of those 3 were on my TBR list, but that's a different story. 

Today I wanted to talk about the 5 books I'm most excited about on this list. 

Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa

I'm a huge fan of Japanese culture, and especially samurai. This book recounts the life of Japan's greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. It's been on my TBR list for a while, but it's at the very top.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

I actually read this series when it first came out, but recently lost the books and ended up buying the entire series...again. Most people probably know Brandon Sanderson for finishing Robert Jordan's famous series Wheel of Time, but I'm super excited to read this series again.

Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis

The first book I read by Michael Lewis was The Big Short which was an amazing insight to the housing market crash in 2007-2008. I don't expect Liar's Poker to be as great as The Big Short, only because it's based on the 1987 stock market crash (something I don't know that much about), but I still think it's going to be a good read.

Riddle-Master by Patricia McKillip

This is actually a trilogy, but I'm only counting it as one book. I probably would have read this book based on the title alone, but everyone I have talked to has raved about it.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

I'm shocked I haven't read this book. I've had it for quite a while, but at the time I was reading Marley and Me, then Merle's Door, and The Philosopher and the Wolf (which is probably on my top 3 all-time list!). This eventually got lost in my small library. But after the move I recently found it and it's back on my TBR.

If you didn't notice, I read pretty much everything. Though, typically I try to alternate between fiction and non-fiction, unless I'm in the middle of an awesome series.

What about you, what's on your TBR list?

Amazon - Smashwords

Wesley Banks was born in 1983 and grew up on the west coast of Florida. He graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Civil Engineering. After spending over 7 years building movable bridges from Florida to Washington he decided to focus on his true passion: writing.

Wesley recently moved from Florida to Oregon to get back to the great outdoors that he’s love so much. He lives with my wife Lindsey, and his two dogs Linkin and Story. Most of his time these days is spent writing, with as much rock climbing, hiking, or skiing as they can fit in.

Wesley’s debut novel, “Hope In Every Raindrop,” is set to be released May of 2015.

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Follow the Tour

May 21st - Launch

May 22nd - Getting Your Read On & The Written Adventure

May 24th - Writing Pearls

May 25th - Words for the Journey & Story Broads

May 26th - View from the Birdhouse

May 27th - Mommabears Book Blog

May 28th - Underneath the Covers & Min Reads and Reviews

May 29th - Katie's Clean Book Collection

May 31st - Zerina Blossom's Books

June 1st - My Love for Reading Keeps Growing

June 2nd - A Novel Kind of Bliss

June 3rd - Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card
3 ebook copies of Hope In Every Raindrop
Open internationally

Ends June 8th

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