Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson chronicles the walking expedition that the author took across Great Britain right before he moved back to the United States. I loved how his enjoyment of the countryside (particularly Yorkshire) came through in his beautiful descriptions. If he had only stuck to his descriptions of the idyllic countryside and the interesting monuments and things that he saw there I would have enjoyed this book. Instead he interjected his beliefs/prejudices/stereotypes about different groups of people and it really turned me off of the entire book. The first note that I wrote after reading this was simply "I don't like Bill Bryson."

What he poked fun of (a shortlist):

• fat people (fat shaming a family at a restaurant and staring so much they moved tables)
• Asperger's (a trainspotter widower he met was too excited about trains apparently)
• Lewis Carroll (described him as a "poor perverted mathematician" when pedophilia was only rumored never proven)
• Parkinson's (need I say more?)

Library Lil is a silly book about a librarian like no other. She breaks the librarian stereotype with her unique personality and even managed to get the rowdiest of people to take to reading.

Library Lil recieved a 570L on the Lexile readability scale which would make it suitable for students around the fourth grade level. This would be a good book to teach about breaking stereotypes as Lil strays from the traditional librarian role. Other characters in the story also break the stereotype norm as the book progresses.

Real Cowboys is a book about cowboys and how they are people just like us. It provides a sweet and moving insight to a side of cowboys that we do not often think about.

Earning a score of 8.4 on the Gunning-Fog scale, the book can be a bit difficult due to its long sentences. The vocabulary can be a bit tough for younger students, so this book would work best as a teacher led read-aloud for a class of older age students. 

This book would be great to use to teach about dispelling stereotypes. Having students compare what they know about cowboys from the media and the information they find in this book would be a great activity to teach students that people aren't always how they are portrayed to be. 

A new freebie by Tara Lain, and a good one.

I liked the way in which the stereotype of a top in life and bed are analyzed here. It was fun to watch, it was hot to witness, and it was sweet to see it come to completion. I liked both MCs, and I felt with them and for them.

But it was a tad predictable. The big misunderstanding was no surprise, came and went way to easily and spoiled the ending a little bit for me. Still a good story, but it didn't exactly make me swoon either.

Short and hot.


Ladies and gentleman, let me present you with the stereotypical alpha-male & kind-of-virgin. who is (attention!) now learning about the joy of anal penetration. This is 33 pages full of steam and hotness. But don't be fooled, it's not porn. There is a butt-load of sweetness there - pun intended. Also, I was touched by the tenderness and the care shining through every page. Real feelings here, people!

Read it and be prepared for the smutty, sweet adventures of a tough cop and his toppy boyfriend.