Throwback Thursday

This week's Throwback Thursday selection was not only a book I read and re-read (I probably checked this title out from the library at least a dozen times) but also boasted a television show I watched every Saturday.

The Mandrell Family Album was full of great pictures of Barbara, Louise, and Irlene Mandrell - the famous Mandrell Sisters. I loved watching them sing on TV and loved them even more after I read all about their childhoods and their road to success.

I purchased a used copy of this off of Amazon a long time ago, but sadly it is only a small paperback version. The book I remember was a large coffee table book full of color photos. Long after the show ended and the book was weeded from the library, the Mandrells have continued to hold a special place in my heart.

Did anyone else grow up watching The Mandrells? Has anyone else read The Mandrell Family Album?

A Dog's Way Home

Bobbie Pyron has written what I would consider a modern day Lassie. I read Lassie long ago as an elementary student, and enjoyed the tale of this dog. Mostly I am not a lover of animal stories. Yet, when I heard about A Dog's Way Home I was intrigued.

Tam is a Sheltie, the much loved pet of Abby his girl/owner. The two are on their way home with Abby's mother one night when they are in a serious accident. Abby and her mother are taken to the hospital, but Tam is thrown from the truck and eventually makes his way out of his crate, leaving his collar behind. When Abby finally awakens in the hospital, she is desperate to find Tam, but despite all their searching he is nowhere to be found. Abby is devastated, but returns to her home, where she and her parents live with her Meemaw. Abby's dad is busy trying to get his break in the country music scene and even though her parents also miss Tam, there is little time for searching for him. Still Abby doesn't give up. Meanwhile, Tam finds himself deserted after the car accident, and sets out on his way to find his girl. Through alternating chapters, Tam tells his own story, and all the different animals he encounters and who befriend him. Because Tam had always known a home of love and caring, his experiences fending for himself are tough lessons for him. He has to learn to find food and fend for himself, all the while heading to his home. There are several stumbling blocks along the way.

While I will admit to loving the chapters that Abby narrated more, I did enjoy Tam's story, too. Several years ago I came across a list of classic books that were given an equivalent modern day version. I debate with myself about whether we should encourage the reading of newer books and not the classics, but in this case, I feel like A Dog's Way Home would be a great replacement for Lassie. As I finished up last night I know of three girls living in my home that would really enjoy this one. I also chuckled to myself about how wrapped up in this animal story my tender hearted middle daughter would become.

Themes of friendship, trust, adventure, perseverance and love are at play throughout this book. Perfect for 3-6 grades - and I am hoping to use this at home as a read aloud for my own children soon.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: Unmeasured Strength by Lauren Manning

Due out August 30, 2011

Product Description taken from Amazon:

A survivor's awe-inspiring story of how she overcame tragedy and re-created herself as a wife, mother, and woman
She had a big job on Wall Street, a loving husband and an infant son, and a confidence born of intelligence and beauty. But on 9/11, good fortune was no match for catastrophe. When a wall of flame at the World Trade Center burned more than 80 percent of her body, Lauren Manning began a ten-year journey of survival and rebirth that tested her almost beyond human endurance.
Long before that infamous September day, Manning learned the importance of perseverance, relentless hard work, and a deep faith in oneself. So when the horrific moment of her near-death arrived, she possessed the strength and resilience to insist that she would not yield—not to the terrorists, not to the long odds, not to the bottomless pain and exhaustion. But as the difficult months and years went by, she came to understand that she had to do more than survive. She needed to undergo a complete transformation, one that would allow her to embrace her life and her loved ones in an entirely new way.
Fleeing the burning tower, Manning promised herself that she would see her son's face again. Courageous and inspiring, Unmeasured Strength tells the riveting story of her heroic effort to make that miracle—and so many others—possible.

This selection is a follow-up to the book Manning's husband Greg wrote chronicling her Lauren's fight for survival after she was engulfed in a fire ball during the 9/11 terrorist attack. I was amazed by Love, Greg and Lauren (the first book) and have seen the Mannings once on the Today show since then. This family is one I have often wanted to reconnect with, to see how their lives changed and progressed. Now Lauren Manning's book gives the chance to hear her point of view and what their lives are like ten years after the World Trade Center attack.

Time for a Beach Read

Every year it amazes me - the number of beach books that come out for the summer season. I have such good intentions of reading them when they come out, so that I can truly appreciate these great reads while sitting at the pool. However, what usually happens is that I read a few and then stack a bunch on a TBR pile to be pulled out in October (of the same year if I'm lucky. Realistically they might not even get read within a year) when beach reads aren't in so much demand.

This year I am trying to read at least some of the ones I have been looking forward to for a long time during my summer break. Mary Kay Andrews is one of those authors. I have read every single book she has written and generally love them. I'm not sure how she does it, but somehow Andrews creates fun characters that I can instantly relate to and before I know it half the book is finished.

Summer Rental, Andrews' latest is a beach read. Set in the South (I love the Southern settings of her books) three friends come together to spend a month at a rented house on the beach. Ellis is in-between jobs after having been downsized at the bank where she worked. Dorie, who is newly married comes without her husband who had planned on spending the month with this group of women. And Julia, a model, is trying to decide what to do with her life since now at the age of 35 she feels as though modeling isn't really her thing, and she can't seem to commit to her longtime boyfriend. Although Ebbtide, the house they rented, looked promising from the pictures Ellis saw, there is much that is left to be desired, and Ellis is constantly emailing the owner, Mr. Culpepper. There is also an extremely attractive gentleman living above the garage that one of the woman finds quite appealing. Andrews little romance in Summer Rental is a good one - a perfect part of a beach read. In addition to the romance, Andrews throws in a little suspense as well with the addition of Maryn, the fourth woman who comes to Ebbtide. Maryn has left her abusive and criminal husband and is hiding out from him. She assumes a new identity and tries to stay out of sight, and decides to take Dorie up on her offer of a room at Ebbtide. Although at first she doesn't share any of her past with these three women, eventually she opens up and the four women work together to try and keep Maryn safe from her husband who might show up at any time.

Andrews knows how to write a great women's fiction novel. I had a wonderful day at the pool today sitting back tanning while turning the pages of this book. By the time we left, the book (sorry, public library) felt like a book that had been at the beach- the moist, now crinkly pages were turning quickly so as to avoid the splashes of the kids jumping in off the side.

I'm off to find another beach read. I've got quite a stack here, so I won't have to look too far.

In The Garden of Beasts

I have yet to read Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, yet as soon as I heard about In the Garden of Beasts, Larson's newest book, I was instantly adding it to my Amazon cart. Lucky for me, I received an ARC of this one, and quickly bumped it up to the top of my TBR pile. In the Garden of Beasts has been the book I was reading while running on the treadmill for the last few weeks. It has been a book that has made me want to exercise and keep on running a few extra miles each time just so I could read more.

Set in Berlin in 1933, William Dodd was appointed the United States Ambassador to Germany- the first US Ambassador during Hitler's rule. He and his wife and adult son and daughter moved to Berlin, unaware of the importance of this particular post at this particular time. His daughter, Martha, was instantly taken with Berlin and defended Hitler's methods. Dodd became aware of difficulties much earlier, but his correspondence to the United States on these matters was basically ignored, and many in the State Department sought to have Dodd removed from his post. In Berlin Dodd and his family met key Nazi officials including Hitler, and attended functions with many of these people. As time progresses it becomes obvious that Hitler must be stopped and hundreds lose their life in one bloody night, finally revealing Hitler's true nature.

Larson's book is an amazing account of a time in in history that is both fascinating and horrifying. I have often wondered what people in the United States thought was going on in Germany during these years, and it was interesting to read about a family with a close-up view of Hitler's plans and their initial ability to ignore or justify his ideas. Larson's book, while very much researched and full of information, reads much like a story and was easy to get into. This book is a must read for anyone especially non-fiction lovers and history lovers.

Check out another review of In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

You Are Not Welcome at this Library

Today my local news station's top story online was that the Independence Library revoked the library cards of hundreds of patrons. At first I just assumed a letter was sent to these people who had expired cards, but the story is much more confusing than this.

Independence, the town who is terminating library privileges for patrons, is the biggest town, servicing several other small towns. These towns do not have a library, and have never paid any money in taxes to use the Independence Library. After a year of discussion, and only two of the five towns agreeing to pay the $2 per resident fee to use the library, the other three towns' residents were informed that they could no longer check out books from the Independence Library. Part of me feels like this is wrong. Isn't the library supposed to be for everyone? Yet, I can understand the Independence Library Board's feelings - that their residents are paying money to materials that other people are using. Those materials cost money, and in order to keep supplying the library with adequate offerings, everyone who uses the library should be contributing a portion of their taxes to use the facility and all that is inside. What kind of a message are those towns sending to their residents? That they don't value what a library has to offer? That they don't care if students can't access information to complete homework? That they would rather have kids hanging out in other places that may not be as positively influential as a library?

I am a person who has library cards from 5 libraries. Only one of them is in the town I live in. I don't remember what questions are on the application form for a library card. But, part of me wonders that if there might be question that asks something along the lines of "Do you have a library card from another library?" In that way, the libraries where I am not a resident would be sure that part of my tax money was going to pay for library services - even if it wasn't in their town. Right now even the residents who offered to buy a library card were turned down, because that is not how library cards are made available. I don't like the idea of having to pay for a library card, but I would happily fork over $25 (or whatever amount) per year to pay for the privilege to check out books.

What do you think? Check out the link to the article about residents losing their library privileges.

Summer Reading for My Girls

Since we were on vacation last week, my older two girls knew enough to pack a few books for our car trip. I am one of the mean moms who doesn't have a DVD player in our van. We did have one once, but it doesn't work anymore and my husband was adamant about not buying another one- which I was in total agreement with. Back in the dark ages when I was growing up, I read books while we were in the car, and we talked and played different games like Twenty Questions. My girls already have DSi's, so it isn't like we don't have any access to technology, but part of going on a trip should be seeing what is going on outside the car window.

Each girl packed a few books to bring along. My oldest daughter's selections:

My middle daughter's selections:

My middle daughter surprised me with her reading and barely looked at the mountains as she read Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. Sometimes it is hard to find books for her since she doesn't want to read what her big sister has already read. And, our latest read aloud:

The Summer of the Bear

Bella Pollen's newest book, The Summer of the Bear, was my first introduction to Pollen's work. Set in 1980, Letty Fleming and her children are moving to a Scottish island after the death of Letty's husband, an embassy worker who died accidentally.

When questions about her husband's work come up, it is difficult for the family to continue to defend the man they thought they knew. Especially struggling is Jamie, Letty's young son, who refuses to believe his father is dead. Now in his new home, Jamie has decided that a bear that is on the loose is really his father, and Jamie looks for this bear wherever he goes. His older sisters, Georgie and Alba are struggling in their own way as is their mother.

I enjoyed the storyline of this novel, and also the Scottish setting, a locale I rarely read of in books. While this is not a mystery, there is a bit of suspense and the unknown as Letty and Tom, her husband's good friend, try to understand Nicky's death that came so unexpectedly. Georgie, the oldest daughter may be able to shed some light on things, as she and her father took a trip to East Berlin shortly before his death. Georgie is worried that what she reveals may implicate her father in something, so tries to keep what she knows to herself.

While I am normally not someone who enjoys any narration by animals, there are brief chapters narrated by the bear in this story. And, despite the fact that I don't much believe that Nicky became the bear- like Jamie believed- I could almost hear Nicky's voice in those chapters, and it seemed entirely believable.

The Summer of the Bear will make a nice summer read. Thanks to Atlantic Monthly Press for the ARC sent for my review.

Blog Hop

Friday's Blog Hop is hosted by Jen at Crazy For Books.

This week's question: “When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?”

That's a great question, but I have no idea! I have always been a reader. One of my first memories is travelling with my parents to see my dad's family and in the back of the car where I sat I had an enormous stack of books. Obviously when I was in school I began to notice that not everyone enjoyed reading, and by the time I was in high school I knew that reading wasn't really a cool thing to do. However, I couldn't stop. It was only during college when I had too many books to read for class and too many opportunities for socializing that reading took a back seat. Once I had more time, I was right back to reading. I think my own girls are much more aware of their enjoyment of reading and the desire to read every day.

I am going to enjoy reading other responses to this question. I love having an online community that has connected me to other book lovers and people like myself.

Throwback Thursday

As a preteen I was all over the easy, girly series books. I also seemed to pick up a lot of these books from the Scholastic book orders.

The Junior High series, written by Kate Kenyon, chronicled the junior high life and times of Nora and Jen as they discussed various crushes, fights with friends, and attended dances and sleepovers.

I loved these books as a kid. My younger-by-two-years sister was the proud owner of the Junior High series but each month after she had read the latest installment, they were passed on to me. I have re-read a few of them as an adult, and while they wouldn't win any awards for great literature, there is always that nostalgia that outweighs the other aspects that are lacking.

Does anyone else remember this tween series? I know I never read the series in its entirety, and now after looking them up on Amazon, I might have to see which ones are still missing from my collection.

Whoa, Jo!

It is official. I have found another book to tell everyone else about and recommend far and wide. Jo Nesbo's The Snowman hooked me from the first page. While it seems a bit unfair to compare one book to another, there are a lot of aspects of this one that remind me of Stieg Larsson's books. The setting would be the first- oh, so many names and places that I was intrigued by. A wide cast of characters. Suspense. And more suspense. By the end of this book (which I read on my kindle) I was racing through, needing to know how this ended up.

The brief synopsis: There is a murderer on the loose, who happens to leave a snowman as his calling card. There is also a detective who had been on the case that has been missing for twelve years. Harry Hole has been joined by a new detective, Katrine Bratt who are determined to identify this serial killer who is on the loose. As they get closer to identifying this person, there are more women - and men - killed.

When I first heard of this book, I was not interested even one little bit. The cover just didn't do much for me, and even though I know better than to judge a book by it's cover, I will admit to such shallow behavior. However, after I heard about The Snowman every time I turned around, I decided that that many people couldn't be wrong.

The best news is that Harry Hole is a recurring character in three other Jo Nesbo books. Guess what I will be adding to my TBR list.

The Snowman may just well end up being my "sleeper" pick of the summer.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.


This week's selection:

A Year and Six Seconds by Isabel Gillies

Due out: August 2, 2011

Product Description taken from Amazon:

Isabel Gillies, the New York Times bestselling author of Happens Every Day, has written another irresistibly moving and funny memoir: A Year and Six Seconds: A Love Story. When our story opens, it's a dark and slushy winter in New York City, where Isabel is arriving by airplane from Ohio, two toddlers in tow, to move in with her parents; her husband has left her for another woman. In subsequent scene after hilarious scene, Isabel shares her valiant, misguided, and bumbling attempts to understand her own part in the disintegration of her marriage and to feel strong and loveable. And, one by one, she begins to cross items off a staggering single mom to-do list that includes: change last name, get bank account, get work, have breakdowns only in front of best friend and not in front of children, find rare preschool slot for son midyear in Manhattan, get along with three generations of family in tight quarters, find a man who can plant one great and romantic kiss, accept self, accept love, be happy.
She cries, she dates, she (and her mother and father and children) get the flu, and then, just when she least expects it, Isabel falls in love.
With humility and a refreshing sense of humor, Isabel stumbles many times but also laughs, forgives, discovers new treasures from old friends, marries again, and more than that, finds good love itself within and around her.

I loved Gillies' first book, Happens Every Day. I can't wait to read the latest installment in Gillies' life.

Fire Season: Field Notes From a Wilderness Lookout

Philip Connnors has a very interesting job - he is a wilderness lookout, living five months of the year in a tower 10,000 feet above sea level, watching over the Gila National Forest. Connors enjoys this solitary life. At one time he had a job at the Wall Street Journal, living in New York City. However, after visiting a friend who worked as a lookout the appeal of this unique profession intrigued him enough that he decided to pursue this new career path. In this book Connors shares what one season (April - August) at his job entails. While there are no major fires to report during the season he writes of, Collins manages to include some history about our forests and information about fires and our national forests. While I didn't enjoy the historical aspect of this novel as much as the parts about Collins own experiences at his job, the entire book is extremely well written and an provides an interesting look at a job that very few people perform in this day and age. Reading about Collins job it makes me a bit sad to think that technology could eventually replace all the wilderness lookouts, eliminating the need to have people who love and care for these national treasures and replacing them with a computer instead.

I enjoyed this book a great deal and can think of many people that I will tell about it. A great non-fiction book, wonderful for nature lovers, and those who enjoy history as well.

Casa Bonita and The Royal Gorge Bridge

I Missed Out

Despite the fact that I really enjoyed our vacation, there was one small thing that I have felt sorry I missed back here at home. Jael McHenry, a native of Janesville, Iowa, the school district I used to teach in, and where I still work at the public library on weekends, was back on June 18 to speak at two of the bigger public libraries, promoting her book The Kitchen Daughter. There have been different authors - local talent- that I have seen over the years, but I was especially interested in hearing McHenry. It is not every day that a debut author from your own backyard has her book promoted in Oprah's O Magazine. In fact, everywhere I see The Kitchen Daughter, it is receiving high praise.

To make myself feel slightly less like I was missing out I brought my copy of The Kitchen Daughter with me on vacation so even though I couldn't meet McHenry, I could at least read her novel.

McHenry's main character, Ginny, is an excellent cook and can feel different textures and tastes in foods. The descriptions of these foods is so vivid and accurate that I felt as though I were tasting these foods myself. In addition to her cooking ability, Ginny has a form of autism, Aspergers Syndrome. At least that is what Ginny's sister, Amanda, thinks. Ginny has never been diagnosed as having a problem, but she still lives with her parents, rarely goes out, and has several social fears including looking people in the eye and being touched by people she does not know. When their parents die unexpectedly, Ginny and Amanda must face their loss, but must also confront Ginny's issues as they debate what Ginny is capable of without the daily care her parents gave her. While Ginny has searched for years to determine if she is "normal" she has great difficulty deciding whether she should seek professional help and receive a diagnosis. Instead Ginny looks within herself and begins cooking in the evenings- favorite recipes from different relatives and in her parents' past. These recipes help her understand more about herself and present a bit of magical realism in this novel, bringing back the ghost of the original cook of the recipe. Ginny has always had a good relationship with the family's cleaning lady, Gert, and when she is introduced to Gert's son, David, the two strike up a friendship - something that doesn't come easy to Ginny. David is going through his own struggles as he tries to come to terms with his wife's death.

McHenry's conclusion is one I appreciated a great deal as a a reader - and one that diverged from what I thought I could see coming. This is a novel that sucked me right in, that made me think about writing myself because there is an ease about the way McHenry writes that captured her story perfectly and grabbed me from the beginning.

I still regret not getting to hear McHenry speak in person. After talking to a friend who went to hear her, I am happy to report that McHenry is at work on a second novel. I passed this one on to my mom already and will be recommending it to friends as well. Oprah is right on in giving The Kitchen Daughter some attention!

Vacation Thoughts

We returned from our Colorado vacation at 3:30 AM this morning - after driving 18 hours from my uncle's home outside of Del Norte, CO, back to our home in Iowa. All of us are a bit off schedule today, and I am trying to do laundry and entertain children who are a little tired while my husband (our chauffeur) is trying to get some much deserved sleep.

Later I will post pictures of some of the highlights of the trip. This first picture is from the sand dunes we visited in southern Colorado.

Aside from the trip being enjoyable, I also managed to get some reading done. I have four book reviews that I plan on posting - all books I enjoyed a great deal. I am also in the middle of reading The Snowman by Jo Nesbo on my kindle and enjoying that, too. Now the real world is calling. I have three girls who need lunch, and hopefully I can convince them to enjoy some quiet time this afternoon so I can get a few more pages of reading in.

Where Things Come Back

John Corey Whaley's debut novel, Where Things Come Back, is a story about a bird thought to be extinct being spotted in Cullen Whitter's hometown of Lily, Arkansas. At least that is what I first thought when I heard about this book. However, it is also about so much more. Cullen Whitter is just seventeen when he learns many lessons over one summer. Not only does a reknowned bird watcher show up in his hometown bringing along media and press also suffering from woodpecker mania, but Cullen's fifteen year old brother disappears without a trace. In addition to dealing with the stress at home, Cullen is also trying to understand girls and dating.

Whaley's novel is well written, and with several turns I didn't see coming. Somehow by book's end he manages to wrap up all story lines in a satisfying way, tying everything together. While parts of this book are humorous, there is also a bit of sadness to Cullen's story as he navigates some rough times in his life.

Where Things Come Back is most geared to readers in high school, but should also appeal to adult readers.

Junonia

My feelings about Kevin Henkes' newest book have been all over the place. I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Junonia for months. And yet, when I first saw it I will admit to being a bit disappointed. I wasn't convinved that this tiny little book would live up to my expectations.

And yet, I need not have worried. Junonia ranks right up there for me with books like Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.

Junonia is a slow novel- and I don't mean that in a bad way. It is the story of Alice, who will be ten, and her parents' trip to Florida, their usual summer destination. Alice looks forward to seeing familiar friends - people she has come to know through their summers together. This summer, however, is different. This summer she will be ten. And perhaps this summer she will find a junonia shell. Of course things don't go quite as Alice planned, and Alice grows up a little during this summer.

I loved Alice and her parents. I loved watching Alice's summer unfold - not what she hoped for- but different, allowing Alice to become a bit more mature. Junonia had a timeless feel to me, a book to be savored years from now by generations of readers.

Oh, what a lovely little book!

Book Blog Hop

Friday's Book Blog Hop is hosted by Jen at Crazy For Books.

“How many books are currently in your To-Be-Read (TBR) Pile?”

Way too many to count! I have books stacked under our bed, on a shelf by our bed, and there is one stack that is well over six feet tall, wedged between the shelf and our closet door. I usually leave the closet door open which sort of hides it. The other day when it was closed my husband nearly choked when he saw how big the pile was. I have three stacks of ARCs on my desk downstairs, as well as a pile of kids/YA books that is over 1,000 books big, too. I will never get done!!!!

We're on vacation this week in Denver, CO, and then to visit my uncle in southern Colorado later today. Unfortunately there is no wi-fi there, so unless I get my computer out at his house, I am unable to connect for the next two days. Hopefully I can hop around later at his house and visit some other blogs.

A Million Miles From Boston

No Cream Puffs was my introduction to Karen Day's work. When I saw she was having a new book published I was beyond excited. Day is able to understand what it is to be a tween and able to write stories that stay with me.

Lucy lives with her father and younger brother Bucky, anxiously awaiting their summer at their home in Pierson Point, Maine. Part of what Lucy enjoys about her summers is that things in Pierson Point don't change very often. Yet this summer, Lucy has a lot of changes she must deal with. First of all, she will be going to junior high in the fall and is a little worried about the new school environment. Then when she gets to Pierson Point she is greeted with the news that Ian a boy from her school who she has long had problems with, is also vacationing on Pierson Point with his family. And, her father's girlfriend is coming on weekends to visit them. This must mean that her dad is serious about his girlfriend, leaving Lucy to come to terms with her mom's death when she was six and what it means to move on with her life without forgetting her mom.

I loved the Maine setting - loved the feel of summer on an island where families come together each year to spend their leisure time. Day did such a great job with Lucy - making her a real person. I could see Lucy's struggle with Julia, her dad's girlfriend. And even though I didn't like how Lucy acted toward her father or Julia, I could understand it. I also liked how Lucy and Ian's relationship developed and how Lucy was able to change her opinion of Ian after she understood where he was coming from.

A Million Miles From Boston is another great example of Day's skill as a writer. My one regret is that I devoured this book on my trip to the Omaha Zoo, finishing it off much too quickly.

A Teacher Thank You

Courtesy of the June/July issue of Family Fun magazine my oldest two girls whipped these cute gifts up for their teachers. Yes, I know school got out a few weeks ago, but I'm always just a little behind. We have managed to take something to their teachers every year during the summer. They have had wonderful teachers who have been kind enough to invite us into their homes for a brief visit while we deliver the gifts. My girls love seeing their teachers during the summer and think it is pretty cool to see their teachers home, too. As a former classroom teacher myself, I have also had a variety of impromptu visits at home from students and always think it is a fun way for students to get to know their teachers better and connect with them.

As far as this little project goes, luckily Grandma was around to help out. While it doesn't look hard, getting everything centered and laying it out and getting the glue on just right was a little more than the girls could do on their own.

In the past we have taken a basket of gently used books to last year's teachers. I knew them well enough to select books for them to read. And we included a Barnes and Noble gift card. The years before that we have bought childrens books for them. I'm always looking for new and creative ideas, so if you have any, please share.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Coming Up For Air by Patti Callahan Henry

August 16, 2011

Product Description taken from Amazon:

On the coast of Alabama, there is a house cloaked in mystery, a place that reveals the truth and changes lives...Ellie is in a dying marriage. She knows this. After her controlling mother, Lillian, passes away, Ellie's world is turned upside down when she discovers that her ex-boyfriend, Hutch, is in charge of a documentary that involved Lillian before her death. When Hutch shows up at her mother's funeral, Ellie's closed heart opens to the past. Fighting their feelings, Ellie and Hutch set out together to dig into Lillian's history. Using both a diary Ellie finds and a trip to the Summer House, a mysterious and seductive bayside home, Hutch and Ellie gamble that they can work together and not fall in love again. But in piecing together Lillian's unrequited-love story, they just might uncover the secrets in their own hearts. In her debut with "St. Martin's Press", Patti Callahan Henry shines as a true tour de force. Praised over and over for her lyricism and uncanny ability to transport readers to other places and times, she has outdone herself with this heart-whispering breakout.

A Colorado Rocky Mountain High

Tomorrow we take off on a six day whirlwind vacation. Our plan right now is to spend a day at the Omaha Zoo as we travel west, eat supper at Casa Bonita in Denver, visit The Tattered Cover book store, Royal Gorge Bridge, the Olympic Training Center, and spend some time with my uncle at his place in southern Colorado. The trip to Denver is twelve hours, so I am hoping I get some reading in. Some people lay out their clothes and plan their outfits in advance. Not me. That will take me about ten minutes (I do admit to having thought this through in my head already, so it is more just a gathering of outfits, not deciding on them). I have looked through lots of different books trying to find ones that are just right for my trip. I will also be taking my kindle since I just downloaded Jo Nesbo's The Snowman. We also made a stop at Barnes and Noble on Monday as I looked for one special book for each girl to take along. My oldest daughter requested the third Dork Diaries book. Middle Sister got Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days and my youngest daughter is getting an American Girl activity book about horses and a Barbie book. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of space for luggage in our vehicle, so we will be taking only the essentials. That means really thinking ahead about my reading choices and doesn't allow for much of a mood change in terms of what I want to read.
We'll see if I am able to get online from our hotels, or if I will truly be unplugged during this vacation. When I return I hope to have several book reviews to write and some fun times to tell about.

Throwback Thursday - on a Tuesday

Last week I was in a bit of a blogging rut, and missed my Throwback Thursday post. This week I just happened to finish a read aloud I started a few weeks ago with my girls - a book I read as a child. The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts was a book I loved, loved, loved when I was growing up. Katie is almost ten years old, living with her mother for the first time in several years after her grandmother (who was raising her) dies. She and her mother are just getting to know each other again and Katie is struggling -once again- to fit in. Katie knows she is a bit peculiar but can't seem to help it. She is able to move things without touching them, and sometimes forgets about her secret talent. Even when people haven't witnessed Katie's telekinesis, they seem to know something is different about her. When Nathan, her mother's boyfriend brings up the idea that perhaps Katie was affected by the drugs her mother worked with at the pharmaceutical company before Katie was born, Katie begins to wonder herself. Three other women her mother worked with had babies at the same time she was born and now Katie wants to know if there are others like her out there. Only before she can find them, Katie fears she is going to be arrested for a crime she didn't commit.

At first my re-read of this book left me a bit disappointed. I had built this one up a lot in my mind. However, my daughters really liked The Girl With the Silver Eyes, and I will admit that once we were into it, I did, too. These past four nights we have put in some marathon reading sessions, logging 40 pages a night.

Does anyone else remember The Girl With the Silver Eyes? I have read some other books by Roberts and have yet to be disappointed.

And yes, I know this is a Tuesday. We leave for vacation tomorrow, and instead of being smart enough to change the date on my post option, I already clicked publish. Now as I have tried to change the date this will post I am having no luck. ARGH. I'm too tired to work on it any longer, so this week's Throwback Thursday will just have to be enjoyed a few days early.

The Dry Grass of August

There are a lot of things I like about Anna Jean Mayhew's novel, The Dry Grass of August. First of all, I am overjoyed that Mayhew is a first-time novelist later in life - giving me some hope that maybe someday I, too, could write something. Mayhew answers questions about her writing process at book's end, and admits that this book took her decades to write. The Dry Grass of August is a book I have heard described as similar to The Help by Kathryn Stockett. That is a high bar to live up to since The Help is one of my all-time favorite books. There are some very interesting similarities to The Help in Mayhew's book. However, The Dry Grass of August is more of a coming of age novel than The Help, but there is a focus on the relationship between Mary, their hired girl and Jubie.

Set in the South in th 1950s, Jubie is fast realizing how different her world is from Mary's. As Jubie begins a trip to Florida with her mother and siblings she sees how differently Mary is treated - having to use the outhouse, not being allowed to stay in many of the hotels or eat with them in restaurants, when Mary is taken by some white men, Jubie truly learns what it means to be black in the South. Jubie's own home life is not so happy, either. Her parents relationship seems to have soured, and her father is prone to using physical violence against Jubie when he sees fit.

The Dry Grass of August should have crossover appeal - a book for both adults and teen readers. While the comparison to The Help is what first piqued my interest, Mayhew's novel deserves the positive reviews it has received.

Long Drive Home

Every month I look over the books I have read and am always a bit ashamed of how few male authors I read. I really do like women's fiction novels, but read a wide variety of books (at least in my mind), so I am always a bit amazed at how I seem to favor women writers.

Long Drive Home by Will Allison reads much like a women's fiction novel, but is written by a male and from a man's perspective.

Glen and his wife Liz are raising their six year old daughter Sara in New Jersey. Liz's career has taken off, so Glen works from home and takes responsibility for many of the day to day child rearing tasks. One day on his way home from picking Sara up from school they are nearly involved in a car accident when a teen driver cuts him off. Minutes later that same teen driver reappers and with the turn of Glen's steering wheel, everyone's lives are changed. Glen must deal with the guilt he feels about what happened and wonders what Sara saw or knows about the accident. His wife Liz becomes convinced Glen will be sued, and as their marriage crumbles, Glen continues to question what his decision has cost him. Now two years later Long Drive Home is part confessional as Glen pens a letter to Sara to explain how his split second decision forever altered their lives.

This was a very fast read and totally engrossing. I started Long Drive Home last night and finished it off this morning. I have Allison's first book waiting for me in one of my TBR stacks, and am excited to read more of his work. While I like the cover on this book, it is the exact same cover as from the paperback version of Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine. Why, oh why do publishers do this? While reading a book in Glen's perspective, I could certainly see Glen's thought process. Even though I didn't understand Glen's road rage, Allison did a great job of telling his story. Liz was harder for me to read. I could understand how she felt let down by Glen and unable to trust him, but her ability to decide their marriage was done seemed hard to believe.

I think this one has a lot of potential for book clubs. There are plenty of things to discuss. Has anyone else read this one? I would love to know what you think of it.

The Bride's House

I first read Sandra Dallas work years ago - The Persian Pickle Club being the first book by Dallas that I happened upon. I liked it, but didn't love it. Only after reading it and talking about it with people and reading more of her work did I really start to love it and the twists in the story. The Bride's House is Dallas' newest book, and ranks right up there with her others.

As is common in many of Dallas' books, the setting of The Bride's House is Colorado. Beginning in the late 1800's and moving into the 1950s, Dallas' novel tells the story of three generations of women. Nealie Bent has run away to the mining town of Georgetown, Colorado, escaping her abusive father. In Georgetown she turns the eye of a few men, but is most taken with a young man from a wealthy family. Years later her daughter, Pearl, is growing up in the Bride's House, the house her mother had admired as a young woman new to Georgetown. Pearl doesn't know anything about her mother's rich boyfriend, and loves her father Charles very much. Charles has made his own fortune as a mining prospector, and Pearl works for her widowed father long into her own adulthood. Although Pearl would like to marry, any suitable bachelor doesn't live up to her father's standards.

Susan is the third generation of women who have lived in the Bride's House. Susan loves spending time in Colorado with her grandfather and has found a group of friends to hang out with during her visits there. Susan is especially interested in one of the young men in this group -hoping that he will at some point return her affection.

All three women have more in common than they initially suspect. Each of them has had to keep a secret of their own. Eventually when all is revealed, Susan, the youngest woman in this family is able to learn from her mother's and grandmother's secrets and make a decision for her future learning from her predecessors.

Dallas has a knack for springing a few surprises on readers, and The Bride's House is no exception. I've tried not to divulge anything in my review, because I enjoyed the surprises myself- never anticipating them. I'm always glad to read Sandra Dallas' books, and The Bride's House will be one I happily recommend to others.

Judy Moody's Not Bummer Summer

Yesterday - a rainy, gloomy day- my girls managed to clean their bedrooms sufficiently enough for me to take them to see the new Judy Moody movie. On our way to the theatre I realized that only my oldest daughter has read any of the Judy Moody books. (At this point I think my middle daughter could do a pretty good job with them, so I will have to look for them now that she has a bit more interest).
Judy Moody is a cute movie. All of my girls loved it. Not having read a Judy Moody book in a while I can't remember specific plotlines but my oldest daughter assured me that she had never read any Judy book like this.
Judy is looking forward to having a summer full of fun with friends. When two of her friends have summer plans that are out of town Judy feels like she is going to be the only one who has a boring summer. While she sets out to earn thrill points - more than her friends- her plans never seem to work out. Despite the fact that Judy is disappointed in her summer plans, there is a lot of excitement in her life. Her aunt Opal is back taking care of Judy and Stink while their parents are out of town. Opal has led a life of adventure and fun and brings some great ideas and creativity to Judy's life. Although Judy's attempts to earn thrill points with her friend Frank never work out, she and Frank manage to try a lot of different activities - and everything they attempt is certainly memorable. Meanwhile Stink is obsessed with Big Foot and the numerous sightings of this legend around their town. Judy doesn't have much time for Stink and his Big Foot obsession at first, but it certainly would earn her some thrill points if she could capture the elusive monster.
The girls and I are glad we went to the theatre yesterday. Hopefully this will spark some interest in reading the Judy Moody books for some of my students who would find Judy a fun and interesting character.

Gloomy Friday

Rarely do I get up - even on gloomy days- and feel rather gloomy and unproductive myself. Today, however, is one of those days. It is cold and rainy here and my daughters all slept extremely late. That allowed me time to lounge on the couch and watch the Today show. I tried reading but really was not into it. Finally after everyone was awake and I made myself come up with a plan of action. The carrot I dangled before them: If the three girls could clean their bedrooms I would take them to the Judy Moody movie today. I then proceeded to do something risky. I went down to the basement to run on the treadmill. Doing this meant that I was not around to keep them on task and to enforce law and order. I did take periodic breaks to check on their progress, but mostly they were left to their own devices to make sure their rooms were clean. The younger two need a bit of my help yet to get books put away where I want them, but otherwise things are looking good. I managed to get a ten mile run in and read fifty more pages in Erik Larson's new book, In the Garden of Beasts which I am loving. Even though I got a long run in today, I may have to run again tomorrow just so I can read more.

Hopefully now that we have a plan, the rest of the day will be more productive. If only the sun would shine I am sure I could get so much more done!

The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs

The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs by Christina Hopkinson was a fun read. Mary feels like her husband, Joel, doesn't do anything around the house. Everything is left up to her. Feeling frustrated, Mary decides to keep track of Joel's many offenses on her computer. Each offense is carefully logged and a debit acquired. When she comes clean about this to a friend, it is suggested that perhaps some of Joel's good points should also be taken into account. With this small adjustment, Mary continues calculating all Joel does wrong - and right. Mary plans on keeping track of Joels' behavior for six months, with a goal that will allow her to divorce Joel if he has too many debits for bad behavior. I laughed when reading the list of Joel's many transgressions. Unfortunately, if I was keeping track, my husband does many of these same things. As the book is titled, Joel does not ever notice the pile of stuff at the bottom of the stairs, leaving it to Mary to pick up. Mary is the one who cleans up after meals. Mary awakens in the morning to find Joel's used kleenex littering his nightstand. All of these things are seen as major flaws. And yet, Mary's friends remind her time and again what a catch Joel is.

This book reminded me a great deal of Alison Pearson's I Don't Know How She Does It, a mommy-lit book set in Britain about a mother who tries to do it all. Mary is another such mother, and what she sees as real flaws in her marriage, seemed to me to be natural shifts in the way she and her husband interacted. No longer newly married, the two are busy trying to balance work and parenthood, which doesn't leave a great deal of time for romance.

Hopkinson does a great job with this book. The cover is one that I fnd rather unfortunate, and I am hoping readers will look beyond it. This was the perfect read to start out my summer- fun, fast, and entertaining.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick:

V Is For Vengeancy by Sue Grafton
Due out: November 21, 2011

Product Description taken from Amazon:

A woman with a murky past who kills herself-or was it murder? A dying old man cared for by the son he pummeled mercilessly. A lovely woman whose life is about to splinter into a thousand fragments. A professional shoplifting ring racking up millions in stolen goods. A brutal and unscrupulous gangster. A wandering husband, rich and powerful. A spoiled kid awash in gambling debt thinking he can beat the system. A lonely widower mourning the death of his lover, desperate for answers that may be worse than the pain of his loss. An elegant but ruthless businessman whose dealings are definitely outside the law: the spider at the center of the web.
And Kinsey Millhone, whose thirty-eighth-birthday gift is a punch in the face that leaves her with two black eyes and a busted nose.
V: Victim. Violence. Vengeance

I started reading Grafton's alphabet series ten years ago, and I am glad she is still adding to them. I will be anxiously awaiting this latest installment. What are you waiting on ?

Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Despite my love of memoirs, I can usually count on one hand the number of celebrity memoirs I read each year. Many of them don't appeal to me, and often I find they are mostly fluff. Even though I am not a Rob Lowe groupie I have seen several of his movies and love the West Wing which Lowe was on for four seasons, playing Sam Seaborn. I knew enough about Lowe to want to read about his life, and not too much that I would feel as though I already knew everything I was reading.

Lowe's writing in his memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, was surprisingly good. Several times I glanced at the acknowledgements looking for Lowe's co-author, never finding the name of anyone that might have helped write this book.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends focused mostly on Lowe's childhood and early life in acting. With only fifty pages left in this book Lowe begins discussing his time on West Wing. I enjoyed how Lowe recalls meeting different people who will later go on to become famous. As a child he was friends with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen. He and Tom Cruise hung out together for a while awaiting roles in The Outsiders. At different points Lowe is introduced to Sarah Jessica Parker and Demi Moore. After writing a letter to Aaron Spelling Lowe received a letter back inviting him to visit Spelling. Eventually years later Lowe stars on West Wing which is created by Aaron Spelling. While I don't always enjoy name dropping, I did enjoy the way in which Lowe let readers in to his world and the people he grew up around.

Lowe never does write about the accusations his nanny came out with, and while I wish he would have covered more of his adult life, I can't fault him for eliminating this story from his book. After all, since Lowe is the one writing it, he should be the one to decide what he is writing about.

I still have no plans of joining a Rob Lowe fan club, but his memoir was a well written book that was interesting and gave a better picture of who Rob Lowe really is.

The Bee Eater

When Michelle Rhee was named the Chancellor of the Washington, D.C. Public School district I was instantly intrigued, wanting to know more about this young, attractive and tough Asian American who was going to turn around the nation's worst school district.

The Bee Eater shares a bit about Michelle's personal life and a great deal about her time in education. Rhee is one of three children, the only daughter in a Korean American family. Although always smart, Michelle did not always know what she wanted to do with her life. When she learned about the Teach for America program she was intrigued, and began her teaching career in a low income elementary school, dedicating any and every free moment to help her students succeed. At first Rhee struggled with classroom management and engaging her students. It was one of these moments that led her to catch a bee that was flying around her classroom and promptly eat it in front of her students. The bee eater was born.

As the Chancellor Education Rhee came under fire often for her methods of achieving school reform. Teacher accountability became Rhee's buzzword as she fired teachers who could not produce a turnaround in students' test results. Twenty three DC schools were closed, saving money that could be pumped back into the education system. No matter the decisions Rhee made she faced a great deal of criticism, often under heat from African Americans who felt that she was targeting them. Rhee eventually is ousted from her position as Chancellor, having made gains in some areas and having seen setbacks in a few others. Although Rhee is no longer at the helm of the Washington, D.C. school system, she is certainly not forgotten.

Whitmire writes this book about Rhee with her cooperation. He spent time with Rhee, her parents, ex-husband, and others in Rhee's circle. Yet, despite Rhee's cooperation, I felt Whitmire paints a balanced picture of her. This is certainly not a book that only speaks of Rhee's positive points.

I loved this book as an educator and someone who loves books about education and education reform. I find it fascinating to read about ways in which other schools and districts can help their students achieve success. Non-educators would also find this book interesting as there is a great deal of information about how to fix urban schools. I don't think Whitmire (or Rhee) oversimplified things, yet their main focus is teacher reform. As an educator, I hesitate with the message of this book - that it is only poor teachers who are hindering student achievement. While this is part of the problem, or can be, for the mostpart, the teachers I know and work with on a daily basis are dedicated and hard working. Hearing about Rhee firing large numbers of teachers for incompetence made me wonder what constitutes incompetence. Readers who have no background in education may truly feel that this is the only problem standing in the way of student achievement.

The Bee Eater is a book I want to recommend to my principal, assistant superintendent, teaching co-workers, my mother, aunt and uncle (also teachers) and then discuss. I loved getting a better look at Michelle Rhee and am more intrigued than Iwas even before I read The Bee Eater.

Dogtag Summer

Dogtag Summer by Elizabeth Partridge is a tween novel about a family affected by the Vietnam War. Tracy lives with her "new" mother and father and is adjusting to life in America after coming to them from Vietnam. Now Tracy and her friend have found a dogtag and ammo box in her father's possessions. Tracy is curious about these things; after all, Vietnam affected her, too. However, her father doesn't want to talk about his experiences in Vietnam, and Tracy continues to recollect various memories of her life before she came to America.

Partridge is able to share a story of two different people who were affected by the war. Tracy's father was an American GI, and her mother Vietnamese. The children who were "half-breeds" suffered discrimination in their home country and were not accepted. They also were not always accepted in the United States as people harbored bad feelings toward the Vietnamese people. Partridge is able to convey this as well as the negative attitudes many had toward American soldiers. Tracy's friend, Stargazer's father is upset when she shows up with the dogtag and refers to Tracy's father as a "babykiller." Tween readers will get a better understanding of the attitudes the war evoked after reading Dogtag Summer.

This is an enjoyable and interesting tween read about a period in American history that most tween readers will not be familiar with.

Faith

Jennifer Haigh's books are ones I look forward to and enjoy reading a great deal. Faith, her latest novel, is no exception.

Set in 2002, Sheila McGann is close to her older brother, Art, a Catholic priest. Her younger brother, Mike, is married with his own three sons, and Sheila remains single. In Boston where the McGanns live, Catholic priests are under fire in 2002 as more cases where priests have molested young boys come to light. When Art is accused of molesting a young boy, Sheila comes to defend him. In the process, she unearths several secrets about her family.

At first I had to remind myself that Sheila is the narrator of this book. While the story is mostly about Art and the charges leveled against him, Sheila is telling the story and what happened at this time in her brother's life. Once I was able to get into this book, I wanted to keep reading and find out what really happened with Art and the young boy, Aidan, whom he befriended. As I read I could feel my eyes open wide as Haigh revealed several secrets the McGann family kept to themselves. Despite the secrets, or perhaps because of them, the McGann family was believable and a good likeness of how many families operate and interact.

Faith is a women's fiction novel that book clubs will enjoy discussing and readers will enjoy immensely.

May Recap

I still can't figure out my spacing issues on the page where I list books read this year, and honestly I haven't really had time to play around with things. I thought April was a slow reading month, but May has been a little worse. It seems the end of the school year is awfully busy.

1. One Was A Soldier by Julia Spencer Fleming
2. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure
3. The Skinny Rules by Molly Morgan
4. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
5. Who Won the War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
6. The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmusson
7. The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton
8. Saraswati's Way by Monica Schroder
9. The Lemonade Crime by Jacqueline Wilson
10. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
11. We All Fall Down by Nic Sheff
12. I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark
13. Karma by Cathy Ostlere
14. Sideways On A Scooter by Miranda Kennedy
15. Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
16. So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman
17. No Biking in the House Without a Helmet by Melissa Fay Greene
18. Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
19. Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
20. It Happened on the Way to War by Rye Barcott
21. The Watsons Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
22. Two Kisses for Maddy by Matthew Logelin
23. The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson

7 books were non-fiction, 16 fiction
5 books were written by males, 18 by female
5 books were ones I owned, 18 were library books
7 books were middle grade, 16 were adult

Throwback Thursday

As I have written before, I attended a small Lutheran school from kindergarten through eighth grade. Although I loved this school, there was one thing that was lacking - a good library. Most of the books in the library were donated and very old looking. For someone who was a voracious reader like I was, that was not very helpful. And there was not a lot of selection or anyone to help guide my choices. The one book, despite its age and rather ratty appearance, that many of us clamored over was Mr. Apple's Family by Jean McDevitt.

Mr. Apple and his wife are living in an apartment and decide to move to the country after the addition of several little Apples. Although the plotline is a bit sketchy to me now - almost 30 years after I last read it- I do remember that Mr. Apple's children all were named after a type of apple, such as Macintosh and Golden Delicious. Over the past few years I have looked on Amazon to rebuy this book and have never been able to justify the very hefty pricetag this book commands. I have seen it sold for over $100. Tonight when I checked, there is one copy available for $30 - more reasonable than the $100 book, but still a lot of money. Someday I may break down and add this one to my collection.
Has anyone else read Mr. Apple's Family? I would love to hear your memories.