As I write you today, snow is falling outside my window. There has been lots and lots of "the white stuff" this winter --- and it's been falling in places where snow usually does not pose that much of an issue, making life what I call "interesting." Last weekend I was in San Jose for a conference (more on that in a moment), and as I was leaving, flakes were flying in the New York area. Worried I would get stuck with nothing to do with a delayed flight, I packed a small carry-on bag with a change of clothes, two books and two sweater projects. I got on the plane for the first leg of my trip and fell asleep after breakfast. For the second leg, I was more productive between naps. We did some circling in Pennsylvania, waiting to land, which was quite amusing since there was a computer at the seat showing where we were flying, and we kept going in a circle. Luckily we only landed 20 minutes late, which was better than how some of my compadres fared, getting in as many as four days late!

As I mentioned in our special 2010 ALA Youth Media Awards Newsletter last week, I had the pleasure of being in Boston last Monday when the American Library Association (ALA) announced their winners of some of the biggest book awards of the year. I was so happy to be a part of all the excitement of the day! If you haven't gotten a chance to see the winners and honorees, please take a minute to look over these noteworthy titles. Taking time to recognize the literary contributions of authors is important in the fast-paced technological world of today.

My younger son, Cory, typically rifles through my Netflix choices when they arrive and dismisses most as “girl movies,” “wildly boring” or “way serious.” Occasionally I score well with an action or adventure movie. But somehow last weekend I got him to agree that The Proposal was worth watching, probably because he, like me, is a Sandra Bullock fan. In fact, I think both my boys would pick her to be their mom if I were not available. Well, WHO KNEW that she played the head of a book publishing company in this film? Why did the previews not make THAT clear to me? Her character was over the top in the way that Meryl Streep overdoes Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada, but was endlessly fun. And if you have watched or plan to watch, note that we replayed the part with Bullock and the dog four times! You’ll know what I mean when you see it.

It’s been a while since our last FaithfulReader.com update. I trust that you all enjoyed your holidays and started the New Year off strongly. It was a hectic wrap of 2009, but was spelled nicely by some much needed vacation and family time. My family and I made our annual trip to the Outer Banks for Christmas and New Year’s, and it was a perfect blend of celebrating and relaxing. The Outer Banks is such a special place to us, mainly because of how welcomed we always feel there. It's become a “home away from home” as we visit our favorite haunts and tuck into the house and enjoy escaping for a bit.

As I mentioned in our special 2010 ALA Youth Media Awards Newsletter last week, I had the pleasure of being in Boston last Monday when the American Library Association (ALA) announced their winners of some of the biggest book awards of the year. I was so happy to be a part of all the excitement of the day! If you haven't gotten a chance to see the winners and honorees , please take a minute to look over these noteworthy titles. Taking time to recognize the literary contributions of authors is important in the fast-paced technological world of today.