Tina Says...

Blast From the Past

2012-02-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

Ten Years Ago This Month:

I chuckled over Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Ten years ago my husband, our neighbor Esther and her daughter Salome formed a neighborhood book club. Things Fall Apart was Esther's pick, and we read it reluctantly. Looking back I feel bad about how little I wanted to read this title and the lack of effort put forth. I wonder if I would appreciate it more now.

Bias is one of those titles that still looks interesting to me, but I remember none of it. I usually can remember a snippet or two from most books, but this one eludes me.

Nickel and Dimed....this might have been the second time reading it, I'm not sure. I think there is lots to think about and discuss in this title. Occasionally I still recommend this book to people.

And the Babysitter Club books...my first year of teaching (1998-1999) I read almost the entire series. I was so busy with new teacher stuff and keeping my head above water, these were the books I could handle. Apparently I must have missed a few books along the way or was perhaps still acquiring title to finish my collection. And, despite my distaste for fantasy, I did read Shadow of the Hegemon of my own free will - and I liked it!

What about you? What were you reading ten years ago? Last year? Do you keep track of the books you read?

Waiting on Wednesday

2012-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile and Love Reclaimed by Leslie Maitland

Due out April 17, 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:

Leslie Maitland is an award-winning former New York Times investigative reporter whose mother and grandparents fled Germany in 1938 for France, where, as Jews, they spent four years as refugees, the last two under risk of Nazi deportation. In 1942 they made it onto the last boat to escape France before the Germans sealed its harbors. Then, barred from entering the United States, they lived in Cuba for almost two years before emigrating to New York. This sweeping account of one family’s escape from the turmoil of war-torn Europe hangs upon the intimate and deeply personal story of Maitland’s mother’s passionate romance with a Catholic Frenchman.Separated by war and her family’s disapproval, the young lovers—Janine and Roland—lose each other for fifty years. It is a testimony to both Maitland’s investigative skills and her devotion to her mother that she successfully traced the lost Roland and was able to reunite him with Janine. Unlike so many stories of love during wartime, theirs has a happy ending.

An Invisible Thread

2012-01-31T02:16:00.000-08:00

I must be in the mood for heartbreak and inspiration because An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an Eleven Year Old Pan Handler, a Busy Sales Executive and an Unlikely Meeting With Destiny by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski certainly had plenty of heartwarming moments within.

Schroff, a single sales executive in Manhattan, was flying high in the mid 1980s, when she was approached by an eleven year old pan-handler. At first she ignored him, but something made her turn around and ask the boy if he wanted to go to McDonalds. This wa the start of a relationship that grew and still exists today.

Maurice was a boy from the projects with drug addicted parents. He had moved many times in his short life and was often hungry. Laura didn't know all of this when she first became involved with him, and their relationship was not about money. Instead Laura became Maurice's friend, gave him opportunities he never would have had, and opened his eyes to a way of life he knew nothing of. For example, when Laura took him to visit her sister and her family one weekend, Maurice was amazed by the fact that people had an entire room just to watch television, and a room to eat food in. He also never owned a clock and was frequently late to school until Laura bought him an alarm clock of his own.

Reading about this unusual friendship shows the power that one person has to change a child's life. And although it seems that Maurice reaped the benefits of this relationship, Laura also benefited from Maurice, enjoying being able to parent him and care for him.

An Invisible Thread is a fast read, an inspiration to all of us to look for opportunities that arise every day for us to help others and to seize them.

Look What Showed Up at My House

2012-01-30T03:47:00.000-08:00

I've upgraded a bit! Saturday my Kindle Fire arrived. I have been able to look at/play with it a little, but still need to find a bit more time to get to know it better. I did enjoy watching an episode of Wonder Years on Saturday night, and have downloaded People magazine on it since I already get a print subscription. My girls are very interested in the apps that can be downloaded, of course. I am thinking this won't be the only Kinde Fire in our house. My middle daughter has been saving her money for an iPod Touch, but after looking my new purchase over, is quickly changing her plans.

Kisses From Katie

2012-01-29T16:19:00.000-08:00

Kisses from Katie is Katie Davis' story of her journey to Uganda and God's call to her to remain there and raise a family of girls as well as help thousands of young people receive an education.

This story is one I started on Friday night and finished quickly Saturday morning; it is a quick read. Katie is a likeable young woman with a positive outlook on life. As a teenager she began thinking about spending a year doing mission work somewhere. When she decided on Uganda, she never fathomed that this would become her home. But now at the age of twenty-two, Davis has adopted fourteen girls and raising them in this third world country. She has left her family in Tennessee, her boyfriend, and the plans she once had for her future. All because she feels God calling her to serve him by helping these children in Uganda.

Sprinkled with Scripture, Davis' decisions makes me think about my own life and how easy it is to get caught up in the rat race of having. I have many friends who have built beautiful homes - homes that are more than they need. My children have more clothes, books, toys than they could ever use. And yet, Davis' children have their needs met, but do not have lots of things. And they are happy. They are generous, wanting to care for others who are in need.

I loved seeing the pure joy on the faces of these children as I looked through the photos within this book. Katie never once complains about the work she does or the effort that she must put forth in order to help these people. There are valid points for why Davis has chosen this life throughout Kisses From Katie, but one that especially stuck with me:

There are moments when I think that because I have worked hard all day, I deserve to be able to sit down and eat my food instead of answering the door for one more person who needs help.

The truth is that these thoughts are not at all scriptural. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that I deserve a reward here on earth. Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do work at it with all your heart...." It does end with, "since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."

Kisses From Katie is inspiring, but it also offers an opportunity to do a little self reflection and take stock of where your priorities lie. If only the world could be filled with Katies.

Visit Kisses From Katie.

More Newbery Thoughts

2012-01-28T18:00:00.001-08:00

My oldest daughter mentioned today - in disbelief- that I had not blogged since Wednesday. Honestly, I was in disbelief myself. It hasn't felt that long, and I've been busy at school basically keeping my head above water. I also noticed I have a lot of books due at the library and not many of them have even received more than a glance.

For some reason I decided to actually sit down and read this year's Newbery winner right away. Moon of Manifest, last year's winner, is still waiting to be read, so it feels good to be reading this while everyone is still talking about it. And, as I finished Dead End in Norvelt on Friday, I can now say I have read all three Newbery award books that were announced on Monday.

Dead End in Norvelt, Jack Gantos' Newbery award winning book has been and will continue to be reviewed everywhere. I doubt I can add much to the reviews out there, but there were a few thoughts I had while reading:

1. First of all, a colleague also read this book, and was commenting to me on how surprised she was that this was "the one." She has noticed that in many of the new childrens books being published authors have an agenda....yes, these books entertain, but there is vocabulary being taught in a more blatant way (not just included in the text, but often as part of the story or as a chapter title), and Dead End in Norvelt also made a point of teaching history as well.

2. When I started reading I had visions that this was a Bill Bryson book for kids. While Bryson writes non-fiction and Dead End in Norvelt is fiction, the main character is Jack Gantos. The setting is Norvelt, the town the real Jack Gantos grew up in.

3. I found this book very funny, but I don't think kids will. A lot of this book would totally go over my students' heads. In fact out of the five classes I book talked this to, only one student new what an obituary was. (I was explaining that Jack helps an elderly lady write obituaries because her hands are arthritic he becomes her typist). One class actually thought that the word obituary was a bad word which was sort of distracting since each time I said the word a group of boys was nearly beside themselves.

4. The Newbery selection committee did select a book that will stand the test of time. I can see people fifty years from now reading and enjoying this book. I just don't think this will be elementary students.

5. I would even happily re-read this book (a rare occurrence) because I feel like there is plenty in this book that I missed or could appreciate more by re-reading.

6. Norvelt in 1962 is an interesting town full of an eclectic group of people that were fully captivating to me.

Drawing From Memory

2012-01-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

Back before I knew very much about childrens literature, I was introduced to Allen Say in a Childrens Lit course. Tea With Milk became a favorite of mine; I fell in love with the illustrations. I have read a few other books by Say, and was happy to see he had a new book out this past year, Drawing From Memory.

This is slightly different than Say's other work, as there are not full page pictures, but rather smaller, almost cartoon-style pictures on each page. Say shares his life story and what led him to become an artist.

This book is not only a great autobiography, it also is a nice story about one boy finding his passion in life and pursuing it, as well as how an artist was able to break into his profession and make it despite a great deal of competition and challenges along the way.

Although this would be a good read aloud, Drawing From Memory is fairly long and may have to be read in a few readings if used with students. They will also appreciate being able to see the illustrations up close to fully absorb the detail in Say's work.

Waiting on Wednesday

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: Gold by Chris Cleave

Due out July 10, 2012

Book Description taken from Amazon:

Building on the tradition of Little Bee, Chris Cleave again writes with elegance, humor, and passion about friendship, marriage, parenthood, tragedy, and redemption.Gold is the story of Zoe and Kate, world-class athletes who have been friends and rivals since their first day of Elite training. They’ve loved, fought, betrayed, forgiven, consoled, gloried, and grown up together. Now on the eve of London 2012, their last Olympics, both women will be tested to their physical and emotional limits. They must confront each other and their own mortality to decide, when lives are at stake: What would you sacrifice for the people you love, if it meant giving up the thing that was most important to you in the world?

No More Fang

2012-01-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

It's obvious I'm no photographer, but if you can ignore my lack of skills, I just had to share that Middle Sister lost the fang that she was sporting for the last week or two. We had a late start today because of icy roads. Since I had to go to work on time, they spent a few hours with grandma. While there my oldest two girls were wrestling around and a tooth fell out! I doubt there had to be much to make it fall out- it was hanging by a thread! I love how cute kids look with both their front teeth gone, but you will notice that Middle Sister has teeth ready to come in, so she won't be a toothless wonder for long.

And The Results Are In

2012-01-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

What can I say? I obviously lack any real skill in predicting which books will win awards, although three of the titles I mentioned did receive recognition.

Because we had a two hour delay my oldest daughter was able to catch the live webcast. My youngest daughter was at an eye doctor appointment and my middle daughter has been unable to remove the headphones from her ears as she listens to the fourth Harry Potter book.

I'm still trying to get over the fact that there are only two Newbery honors....it feels a bit stingy to me because there are so many great books out there. It would be so interesting to be in on the discussions about these books and selecting the winners.

I have Jack Gantos' book, Dead End in Norvelt - and the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal - sitting next to my school bag, ready to take home and read ASAP. In any event, my TBR pile just got bigger.

Click here to see a list of this year's ALA winners.

The Future of Us

2012-01-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher have united to write an interesting and thought provoiking YA novel. Set in 1996, before the invention of Facebook, Emma is excited to have her first computer. However, when she boots it up this strange thing called Facebook appears on her screen. While looking at it, Emma finds out information about someone who looks like an older version of herself. Enlisting the help of her neighbor Josh, the two try to determine if this is someone's idea of a joke, or if they really are seeing into their future. They become aware of how little changes they make in their lives leave long lasting ripples in their futures. Should they try and change things in order to ensure their happiness? Or should they leave things as they are?

I loved the 90's references to music and television....Josh and Emma are reliving my high school years. The only flaw I could find with references to life in 1996 is the number of characters that owned cell phones. In 1996 the cell phone I owned was a phone in a bag.... a large telephone that plugged in to my cigarette lighter in my vehicle. I didn't know anyone who regularly carried a cell phone with them. (Picky, huh?) Despite that, this is a book sure to get you thinking about what Josh and Emma should do. And even though I thought I would do a great job making decisions for them, Josh and Emma find a fitting resolution for themselves.

Predictions, Predictions

2012-01-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for. The ALA Winter Conference in Dallas is underway and tomorrow morning a variety of literary awards for childrens literature will be announced. I have long since given up guessing at the Caldecott because I am just never right. However, there are a few that I hope get a little attention:
Blackout by John Rocco - I've checked this one out so many times and it's all because I am in love with it. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick - I don't know if this is a Newbery or or Caldecott contender. I could see it go either way, but I did love the illustrations in it and the story they tell.

Drawing From Memory by Allen Say - I am reading this one today (review to come) and enjoying it a lot. This book reminds me of how much I have enjoyed Say's other books.

As for the Newbery- I have read more books this year than in past years, and I can see several of the ones I have gushed about getting some type of recognition. And then there are those by first time authors that haven't received much buzz, but that I have loved and that I want others to hear about.

Some of my favorites:
When Life Gives You O.J. by Erica Perl-Realistic fiction with a great message and several themes- relationships with grandparents, recognizing it is OK to be different, growing up

Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepytis- Realistically this is probably a YA selection. What an amazing story about life in Stalinist Russia. Shares a little known part of history and an amazing will to survive.

OK For Now by Gary Schmidt- This could possibly be a YA selection, but this second installment by Schmidt is as good as, if not better than, The Wednesday Wars. However, this title has been on so many Newbery lists I fear that the recognition might jinx it.

Junonia by Kevin Henkes- This book is more about character development than plot, but I loved the story of a ten year old girl and her family spending the summer at their cabin and the changes they must make.
A Year Without Autumn by Liz Kessler- A mix of fantasy and realistic fiction - I loved this one for its message.
Something to Hold by Katherine Schlick Noe- a first novel for Noe, somewhat autobiographical about Noe's own childhood living on an Indian reservation. Plenty to think about and discussInside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai - Maybe this one has received too much recognition to receive an award, but this is an amazing novel in verse about a young Vietnamese girl who moves to the United States.

I am so interested in what books make the cut and which will be passed over. There are so many great books each year to choose from and it's always fun to add some new titles to the TBR pile.

Sunday Salon

2012-01-22T05:52:00.001-08:00

I have had another three day weekend due to our snow day on Friday. This should mean my house is extra clean and I am ready for the week, but that is not the truth. I have read a bit, but my new obsession is the Masterpiece Theatre show, Downton Abbey. As someone who rarely watches television, I have certainly done my fair share of watching lately in an effort to get caught up with this show.

Yesterday I finished up Season 1. I am recommending this to many of my friends. In some ways it reminds me of the Luxe novels, although Downton Abbey is set in England, a decade after the Luxe takes place. The clothes the women wear are beautiful as are the women. The three sisters Mary, Edith, and Sybil work to meddle a bit in each other's lives and I found myself always being a bit surprised at how nasty these ladies could be. There is romance, suspense, and a lot of storylines going on at once - just like a good soap opera.

I am still two episodes behind, but am happy to report that I can watch them on the PBS website. Forget laundry and cooking. I am planning on a day of Downton Abbey.

This has also cut into my reading time, which I am feeling guilty about. However, I feel a bit of a reading slump is taking place. Once again I have a bag of books to return to the library, only one of which I've read. I have started reading more of the books on my own shelves which should delight my husband. It will take a lot of books to make my shelves look a bit thinned out, but it is a start. I read a ridiculous number of books last year, and while I would always like to top that number, I have also decided that I don't need to read as frantically as I do. I would like to relax and savor what I am reading instead of always looking ahead at the next dozen books I need to get to. (Of course as I write this I still have checked out an enormous stack of books). So we shall see how this plan works for me. As soon as I see a good book I find it nearly impossible not to check it out. And my interests are varied so many books appeal to me. But overall I want to slow down and enjoy what I am reading.

This week we are expecting some freezing rain today -boo. Considering we had such great weather earlier this month, we shouldn't complain. Yet, I am ready for spring.

What do you have planned for your day?

The Berlin Boxing Club

2012-01-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

In 1930's Germany, still several years before World War II began, Hitler was already beginning to cause problems for Jews. Karl Stern is entering his teen years, a thin unathletic young man who is beat up by boys at school who know of his status as a Jew. When he meets famous boxing champion, Max Schlesing, at an art gallery show at his father's gallery, he is offered boxing lesson in exchange for a painting. Karl is excited about this and takes Schlesing's advice to heart. He pushes himself to do push-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups, and a 50 minute run each day, something that is difficult at first, but becomes easier over time. While Karl's body is being transformed, Germany is also undergoing a transformation. Stricter rules and regulations are being imposed on Jews and the Sterns are very aware of their reduced means. Food is scarce, Karl's uncle has been taken to Dachau, and Karl is kicked out of school for being a Jew. The one thing Karl is able to focus on is his training. He is also encouraged by his reading which shows that there are a number of successful Jewish fighters. This shows that the Aryan race is not truly superior in everything. Jesse Owens' Olympic medals highlights the successes of other races as well and gives Karl a bit of hope in a very dark time.

Although much of this novel is about Karl's boxing and his passion for this sport, it is also about Germany at this time in history. Through Karl's eyes we are able to see how young Jews felt and the experiences they had in their formative years. As the novel progresses things continue to get worse for the Sterns, eventually taking away the one thing Karl relies on.

I was hoping for Karl and his family, praying they would find a way to leave Germany. The suspense Sharenow created in this story had me unable to put this novel down.

I absolutely loved The Berlin Boxing Club. There are many subplots- Karl's cartooning, his relationship with a gentile girl, his own father's background, and Max Schlesing's role in Karl's life that add such a depth to this book.

The Sterns feel like friends and although Sharenow's ending is fitting, I still want more and would love to check in with this family again.

The picture above is of Max Schlesing, famous German boxer.

Middle Sister - Turning Into a Reader

2012-01-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

It isn't really a secret in our house that while my middle daughter enjoys being read to, there are lots of other things she does in her free time. And while Middle Sister still enjoys lots of things, more and more she is turning to books to fill her free time. (I am sure that some of it is due to the fact that I have put some strict limitations on her TV viewing time). It is fun to watch her find new and exciting books, and entertaining to watch her discuss them with me. We are midway through Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and several times now I have caught her with the book, stuck in a corner trying to read ahead. This book is still a bit too hard for her to read in its entirety by herself, but I think she gets the main points as she is reading. And I am still re-reading anything she has peeked at.
Other big hits with her are the Babymouse books by Jennifer Holm. A few weeks ago Middle Sister checked out every single Babymouse book during a library visit and read them within two days. She has moved on to the Little Lulu books as well as the Adventures of Tin Tin series. While graphic novels aren't my cup of tea, she certainly is having a great time with this genre.
And just to show how versatile she is, she has started reading a biography on Sitting Bull.

The Underside of Joy

2012-01-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

Sere Prince Halverson's debut novel was a pleasure to read. I love women's fiction and the beautiful Redwoods setting all helped create a great reading experience.

Ella is busy raising her husband's children with him, until tragedy strikes and she suddenly becomes a single mother. For the past three years she is the only mother these children know. When their biological mother, Paige, who deserted them, shows up seeking custody, Ella fights to keep these children with her in the only home they know. Paige suffered from debilitating post partum depression and did abandon her family in order to get care. She claims she tried many times to reconnect with them and sent many letters. Ella knows nothing of this, although there are a few other secrets Joe kept from her during their marriage that have cropped up after his death.

It is hard for me to imagine either woman living without the children. Halverson did a great job presenting both characters in a way that I could empathize with them both. I also enjoyed the subplot surrounding Joe's Italian ancestors who were sent to an internment camp because of their Italian heritage, a little known fact about the World War II years.

The Underside of Joy will also make a superb book club selection. I can see a lot of great discussion on this one.

Unmeasured Strength

2012-01-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Back in 2001, I was a new mom, still off on maternity leave when 9/11 happened. I spent hours watching the news footage. I just couldn't help myself and often felt connected to the young moms who were tragically widowed.

A little while later, after 9/11 wasn't quite so present in our minds, I came upon a book called Love, Greg and Lauren, a collection of emails written by Greg Manning while his wife Lauren was in the hospital after being badly burned on September 11.

Lauren was on her way to work at Cantor Fitzgerald, and had just entered the World Trade Center when a fireball roared down an elevator shaft and engulfed her in flames, propelling her out the door back outside. With burns on 82% of her body, Lauren had just an 18% chance of survival. Greg's emails were orginally sent to family and friends to update them on his wife's progress.

Now, ten years later, Lauren Manning has written her own book, Unmeasured Strength. Although I have seen her on talk shows (Oprah and the Today Show), reading her account of 9/11 and the years she spent recovering, has left me once again in awe of this woman. Although not given much of a chance of survival, Lauren managed to prove everyone wrong. Her desire to see her infant son Tyler grow up created a will to live despite all the pain she endured. I was amazed by her ability to retell how she was engulfed in flames, and then remained conscious until she was in the hospital and her husband had arrived. I also had tears in my eyes several times as I read, saddened by all Manning suffered.

This book is truly about Lauren and what she went through, but it is also a story about a husband and wife who have worked hard to remain together despite life-altering circumstances. She is quick to point out that even though she argued with her Greg on September 10, and was annoyed with him, his devotion to her never wavered. He has remained by her side, and the photograph showing the two of them running with the Olympic torch in 2004, seemed signifcant to me, showing how through it all the two were in this together.

Through reading Greg's book and seeing them on televison I always wondered how someone so obviously attractive would deal with much altered looks. Lauren addresses this in Unmeasured Strength, and her cover picture depicts once again a beautiful woman - both inside and out.

Unmeasured Strength is a story of survival, of hope, of determination. A decade after the attacks, I feel connected to Manning as I once felt to the young widows of 9/11. Everyone has unique challenges in life, and watching my oldest daughter suffer through chemotherapy treatments when she was four, came to mind as I read Manning's book. Two very different challenges, yet two incredibly determined strong willed people. Much of this memoir spoke to me because of that, but Lauren Manning's story is one that is an inspiration to all.

Waiting on Wednesday

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's selection: The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Due out April 24, 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:

The majestic and haunting beauty of the Italian Alps is the setting of the first meeting of Enza, a practical beauty, and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who meet as teenagers, despite growing up in villages just a few miles apart. At the turn of the last century, when Ciro catches the local priest in a scandal, he is banished from his village and sent to hide in America as an apprentice to a shoemaker in Little Italy. Without explanation, he leaves a bereft Enza behind. Soon, Enza's family faces disaster and she, too, is forced to go to America with her father to secure their future.
Unbeknownst to one another, they both build fledgling lives in America, Ciro masters shoemaking and Enza takes a factory job in Hoboken until fate intervenes and reunites them. But it is too late: Ciro has volunteered to serve in World War I and Enza, determined to forge a life without him, begins her impressive career as a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera House that will sweep her into the glamorous salons of Manhattan and into the life of the international singing sensation, Enrico Caruso.
From the stately mansions of Carnegie Hill, to the cobblestone streets of Little Italy, over the perilous cliffs of northern Italy, to the white-capped lakes of northern Minnesota, these star-crossed lovers meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever.
Lush and evocative, told in tantalizing detail and enriched with lovable, unforgettable characters, The Shoemaker's Wife is a portrait of the times, the places and the people who defined the immigrant experience, claiming their portion of the American dream with ambition and resolve, cutting it to fit their needs like the finest Italian silk.
This riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write, one inspired by her own family history and the love of tradition that has propelled her body of bestselling novels to international acclaim. Like Lucia, Lucia, The Shoemaker's Wife defines an era with clarity and splendor, with operatic scope and a vivid cast of characters who will live on in the imaginations of readers for years to come.

One Small Boat

2012-01-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

Kathy Harrison, foster mother to over a hundred children through the years, has written a new memoir about her experiences with Daisy, one of her foster daughters.

I enjoyed Harrison's first book, Another Place at the Table, but had never read her second book which was published in 2006. These books remind me of the Torey Hayden books I read and enjoyed while growing up (Hayden was a special education teacher who shared stories of her time in the classroom and the students that touched her life). Harrison is also impacted by the children she provides a home to, whether it is for a short duration or for a long span of time.

Daisy is one child that Harrison and her family became emotionally attached to despite the fact that she arrived at their home with many problems. Sexually abused, anorexic, and violent and uncooperative (to put it mildly) for her mother, Daisy's mother, Glenna, willingly gives up custody of her child. Her story is unlike that of most other foster children. Daisy is from a home with educated parents and enough money. Her mother is simply unable - or unwilling- to care for her daughter.

In this book, Harrison shares Daisy's time with their family, the other foster children also in their care, and various occurences within their household during this time. As she and her family fall in love with Daisy, they are always aware that she is not "theirs" and may be gone at any moment.

Atlhough this story does not have the ending I wished for, Harrison and her work with foster children is amazing. One Small Boat should serve as an example that there are truly caring and competent foster parents out there doing their best to love and care for children with a wide variety of complex needs.

Friends Like Us

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

I was already reading Lauren Fox's Friends Like Us before I realized I had read her previous novel, Still Life With Husband.

As this novel Willa runs into her best friend and roommate Jane one day, meeting her infant son for the first time and confronting their parting of ways for the first time. The reason the two are no longer friends isn't revealed, rather the entire novel is then Willa's story, remembering their friendship from its beginning.

The two met in college and now live together. Both are struggling in their careers - Willa as an artist and Jane as a writer. Both also happen to be single, but looking. When Willa reconnects with her best friend from high school, a now handsome Ben, he begins hanging out at her apartment. He also reveals the huge crush he had on Willa. The two briefly contemplate a relationship, but shortly after this he and Jane begin seriously dating.

Writing too much will reveal what truly comes between this friendship, and although the reason will not surprise you, Fox's novel is so well written it shouldn't be missed. Willa and Jane's witty dialogue made me smile a time or two, and although different in subtle ways, Friends Like Us is reminiscent of Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed, another novel I loved.

The Absolute Value of Mike

2012-01-15T19:10:00.000-08:00

Mike spends his summer with his father's aunt and uncle, an elderly couple who cared for Mike's father during the summers of his childhood. Mike tries hard to please his father, but there is little his father is interested in outside of mathematics, a subject Mike struggles with. In fact, Mike's dad often seemed to be somewhere on the autsim spectrum to me, with his inability to relate to people and his laser-like focus on math.

When Mike arrives in Do Over (the N no longer present on the town's welcom sign), he enters a world unlike one he has ever known. His great-uncle Poppy is catatonic, not moving or speaking after the death of his son Douglas. His great-aunt Moo is more than a little hard of hearing making for some hilarious misunderstandings. And they are poor- so poor they can't pay their electicity bill or phone bill.

Add to this quirky cast of characters a homeless man who isn't really homeless and becomes Mike's good friend and advisor as Mike is elected to plan the adoption of Misha from an orphanage in Romania by Do Over's local minister.

Erskine's latest novel is a funny, yet thoughtful, look at a boy who tries to find his own talents despite what he thinks is expected of him. The Absolute Value of Mike is another wonderful tween novel by Erskine.

Sunday Salon

2012-01-15T05:58:00.001-08:00

I am happily enjoying my three day weekend - there is no school tomorrow in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. I have been sucked in - along with millions of other people - to watching Downton Abbey. Considering I rarely watch television, I have already exceeded my monthly viewing average in just the past two days. Unfortunately, I have a lot of library books due on Monday or Tuesday and several of them I am not going to get to. I will be jotting down the titles today in hopes that in some future time I will once again check them out and then attempt to read them.

We are finally feeling like winter here, having had snow on Thursday. My girls finally were able to play outside in the snow for a while and enjoyed doing this again last night with their cousins. Today they are planning on finishing the fort they were constructing at my parents' house.

For lunch I tried a new recipe compliments of Janssen at Everyday Reading. Spaghetti Pie was a hit with two of my three daughters. (My middle daughter dislikes anything at all on her noodles, so this was not a great recipe for her, although she did eat some).

This weekend has been blissfully unhurried. Even though I did run errands yesterday and we had church today, there are no other commitments (my husband would disagree. The Packers game at 3 PM is calling his name).

I'm off to curl up with a good book and enjoy this sunny winter day.

War and Watermelon

2012-01-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

I seem to be in love with the 1960s, or at least books set in this time period. Rich Wallace's War and Watermelon gives us a look at the 1960s through the eyes of thirteen year old Brody.

Brody's older brother Ryan is closing in on his eighteenth birthday, a time his parents fear because of the possibility of being drafted to fight in Vietnam. Ryan is against the war, looking for peaceful ways to express his disfavor with the President.

Brody knows their is tension at home. He is also savoring his last days of summer, anticipating junior high. His beloved Mets, despite many losing seasons, have become a team to watch (or listen to on the radio at night), and Brody also shares his favorite songs in a list that changes as the story progresses - giving us a real feel for 1967 in America.

Brody is lucky to have an older brother like Ryan and he knows it. He comments that Ryan has never made him feel bad and never fought with him. Ryan even willingly takes Brody along to Woodstock, a true adventure, history in the making.

Wallace has done a great job of making this book feel authentic. TV shows, music, and the various world events all make up this story set in the 1960s, a time of great change in our country. I loved Deborah Wiles' Countdown, another novel set during this same time, and this is a great companion novel.

Waiting on Wednesday

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

Due out: June 5, 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:
A captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both.

Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip. She has no idea what she’s in for: Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous blunt bangs and black bob, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will change their lives forever.

For Cora, New York holds the promise of discovery that might prove an answer to the question at the center of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in a strange and bustling city, she embarks on her own mission. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, it liberates her in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of the summer, Cora’s eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.

How about you? What are you waiting on this week?

When Life Gives You OJ

2012-01-10T09:05:00.001-08:00

I am totally in love with Erica Perl's book When Life Gives You O.J. Zelly wants a dog - badly. She and her family have moved from Brooklyn to Burlington, Vermont, to be with her grandfather after his wife (Zelly's grandma) died. Ace, her grandfather, comes up with a plan of sorts. He gives Zelly an orange juice jug that she will care for as if it were a pet- walking it three times a day, feeding it, cleaning up after it. This will show her parents that she is responsible, and although it won't guarantee a dog of her own, it might make her parents take notice.
As you can imagine, walking a plastic jug around town is a bit embarrassing, and Zelly doesn't want to be made fun of. She is also getting used to life in a small town. When she meets Jeremy, another Jewish kid, Zelly begins to realize there may be other people just like her that live near her after all.
As I was reading last night, my ten year old asked about this book. I told her a bit about it, and am so glad that I can pass it on to her.
To learn more about this fabulous author and her work, visit ericaperl.com

2012-01-10T04:50:00.000-08:00

Shared with me by some book loving friends.

You Know When the Men Are Gone

2012-01-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling pretty good about finishing off another book from my own TBR pile. Siobhan Fallon's short story collection gives insight into a variety of military families living at Fort Hood, Texas. Fallon knows this scenario well, being a military wife herself.

Normally I am not a short story lover, but these worked for me, and are a bit connected as we see a recurring character from time to time. There is the wife who has cancer, the husband who suspects his wife of having an affair while he is gone, a wife who suspects her husband of infidelity and hacks into his email to check up on him, a foreign military wife who keeps to herself, and a wife who can't handle her husband's long absences. Just as Fallon covers a variety of likely family issues and conflicts she acknowledges there are many different family dynamics she has not written about.

I'd like to check in with these characters again, or perhaps learn a bit more about other residents of this Fort Hood community.

Sunday Salon

2012-01-08T09:29:00.001-08:00

Another beautiful Sunday in Iowa! Amazingly warm weather for winter, and I am loving every minute of it. This past week we went back to school, a rather big adjustment after sleeping in and hanging out over break. However, I am happy for the routine, which allows me to be much more productive and to remove the temptation to snack on food whenever I feel like it.

My husband and I have both commented on the busy-ness ahead this week. His wrestling coaching has really kept him busy and he has a few meets this week along with practice. I have two late nights this week at work as well, and add gymnastics class, piano lessons, Girl Scouts, and a dental appointment to our evenings- it doesn't make this week look anything but exhausting

Middle Sister has discovered the BabyMouse series by Jennifer Holm. She spent hours yesterday reading several of them. Big Sister is reading The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel and loving it. We are all reading the 3rd Harry Potter book together.

I am working on a few books for Amazon Vine, but will need to spend my day working on making a book trailer to share with kids at school. I have also started to look at different publishing house's spring 2012 catalogs. Oh, the amazing books coming out!

After I get some cleaning done, I need to finish the Christmas cards I was addressing yesterday. The girls really want to go swimming at the local health club, which I will probably try and make happen even though it isn't the most convenient.

How about you? What do you have planned for your day?

Breaking Stalin's Nose

2012-01-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin shows the life of one boy in Communist Russia. Sasha Zaichik is anxious to join the Soviet Young Pioneers and has known his rules since he was very young. However, on the day when his dream is to be realized things don't go at all as planned. The night before Sasha's father is arrested, and when a string of events happen at school that cause the students to point fingers of blame at each other it is obvious that Sasha's world - everything he believed in-isn't as wonderful as he once thought.

While this book is about Stalin era Russia, something I am interested in, I am not sure my elementary students would have enough background knowledge to understand the idea of Communism and the way in which it failed Sasha. Accompanying illustrations help tell the story, a fast read, and the first I have encountered written for tween readers.

Snaggle Tooth

2012-01-06T04:19:00.000-08:00

Middle Sister has finally lost her front tooth....leaving another fang just hanging by a thread! She waited until she was eight before her first tooth fell out, and now will be a toothless wonder for a while. I made sure to get a few pictures of her with her first middle tooth out, since the other will soon follow.

Wingshooters

2012-01-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

So far in 2012 I haven't signed up for a single challenge. While I keep thinking I will look for a TBR challenge, I also know myself. And yet, as I say that, I have already begun my second book off my stacks in the past two days. So, while two books does not reduce my TBR pile or even make a dent in it, it is a start. And this way since I am not naming titles of books I intend to read, I have a wide selection to choose from.

The first book plucked from one of the many TBR piles in my home was Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr. Back when it was published - really not so long ago- Feb, 2011- it was an Indie Bound Indienext selection. The honor is well deserved.

There is a lot to like in this book. Being a midwesterner, I loved the small town, Deerhorn, Wisconsin setting. While I am a bit too young to remember the early 70s, I liked the 1974 setting and Revoyr's ability to make it feel like 1974. And, I loved the plot.

Michelle, or Mike, as her grandfather calls her, is being raised by her father's parents. Her dad has gone off to try and find her mother, although as time passes there is a question of whether he is really looking or just moving on with his life. Michelle is the only person in Deerhorn, Wisconsin, who is not white. Her mother is Japanese, and in fact, Michelle spent part of her early childhood living in Japan. Because of her Japanese heritage, Michelle is picked on and set apart. She doesn't have friends, and although her grandparents love her and raise her as if she were their own, her grandfather is a bigot. Charles doesn't appear to notice that Michelle is treated differently, but he is the first to join up with some friends and cause trouble when a young African American couple move to town. Mr. Garrett is a substitute teacher in Deerhorn and his wife is a nurse at a clinic that has opened to treat the poor from the area. Michelle chronicles the events surrounding the Garrett's arrival and their eventual departure from this small community. Initially believing that all of Deerhorn's residents felt like her grandfather, it surprises Michelle to learn that not everyone subscribed to the same viewpoint.
Long before this book was done, I was in love with this story. Although not a cheerful book, it certainly gives a picture of what life could have been like in 1974 in small town America. It is hard for me to believe that people could be so close minded and racist in such recent times, and yet we have seen proof of that throughout history. Revoyr also does a great job of creating complex characters. Michelle's grandfather should have been easy to hate, and yet the love and care he showed for her makes us see him in a different light.

Wingshooters could easily have been an Oprah Book Club pick. It has that sort of feel to it, and I will definitely be looking at other books this author has already published.

Defending Jacob

2012-01-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

William Landay's latest novel, Defending Jacob, has left me thinking long after I have turned the last page. This novel was so interesting to me that I began it late one night and couldn't put it down until it was finished.

Andrew Barber has spent his life building a reputation as a competent County DA, a good husband, and good father. When a fourteen year old classmate of his son Jacob's is murdered in a nearby park along a walking path, Barber does what he always does - begins looking for clues as to what happened.

However, before long he is removed from the case and his son is arrested for killing Ben Rifkin. While there is some evidence that Jacob was at the crime scene, Jacob is able to reasonably explain this. Yet other disturbing things pop up, too. Jacob lacks the ability to empathize with others. He owned a knife much like the one used to kill Ben. And he also possesses a gene that makes him prone to violence. A gene Andrew has just discovered he has as well, as does his father who is serving a life sentence in prison.

I debated over the course of this book whether I thought Jacob was guilty or not. Landay does a great job of presenting both sides and letting readers do some of their own interpreting. And in a way reminiscent of Jodi Picoult, throws in a twist at the end that will leave you with your mouth open.

I am so excited for this one to be published because I can't wait to talk about it with someone who has read it. My reading in 2012 has certainly started on a high note. I can't wait to see what other fabulous books are out there.

Waiting on Wednesday

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: Fairytale Interrupted by RoseMarie Terenzio

Due out: January 24, 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:
To everyone else, John F. Kennedy Jr. may have been American royalty, but to RoseMarie Terenzio he was an entitled nuisance—and she wasn’t afraid to let him know it. RoseMarie was his personal assistant, his publicist, and one of his closest confidantes during the last five years of his life. In this, her first memoir, she bravely recounts her own Fairy Tale Interrupted, describing the unlikely friendship between a blue-collar girl from the Bronx and John F. Kennedy Jr.
Funny, moving, and fresh, her memoir is a unique account by the woman who was with him through dating, politics, the paparazzi, and his marriage to Carolyn Bessette. Her street smarts, paired with her loyalty, candor, and relentless work ethic, made her the trusted insider to America’s most famous man.
After John and Carolyn’s tragic, untimely deaths on July 16, 1999, RoseMarie’s whole world came crashing down around her, along with her hopes for the future. Only now does she feel she can tell her story in a book that is at once a moving tribute and a very real picture of her friend and employer.
Many books have sought to capture John F. Kennedy Jr.’s life. None has been as intimate or as honest as Fairy Tale Interrupted, a true portrait of the man behind the icon—patient, protective, surprisingly goofy, occasionally thoughtless and self-involved, yet capable of extraordinary generosity and kindness. She reveals what John really had in mind for his political future, how he handled media attention, and the reality of life behind the scenes at George magazine. She also shares how she dealt with the ultra-secretive planning of John and Carolyn’s wedding on Cumberland Island—and the heartbreak of their deaths.
Fairy Tale Interrupted is a deeply loving story and a fascinating adventure, filled with warmth, humor, insight, and five years’ worth of unforgettable memories.

Louise's War

2012-01-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

Sara Shaber's newest book, Louise's War, is a new mystery series I am excited to get into. Set during World War II, Louise is a young widow, living in a boarding house in Washington, D.C., working for the OSS office. When she realizes her old college roommate Rachel is stuck in France, unable to leave she is worried for her and tries to find a way to get Rachel and her family out of the country. There is more to this story since when Louise tries to bring up Rachel's husband's file (he happens to be someone that the Allies may want to use to help them in the war) to her boss, he dies later that same day.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. I'm not sure I understood all the ins and outs of the OSS office and what Louise's job entailed, but that didn't stop me from wanting to read this title. I enjoyed the suspense and also the World War II atmosphere. Shaber created a character that seems to fit perfectly into the 1940s and a Washington, D. C., that is also pitch perfect for that time.

Reflecting on Challenges

2012-01-02T15:11:00.000-08:00

For the past few years I have signed up for a few challenges. Some were easier than others, and some I knew I would never complete. There is a challenge out there where bloggers try to read 100 books a year. I just couldn't make myself sign up for it because for me that wasn't really a challenge. I waver between wanting to be challenged, or taking part in challenges that are sure things. This year I have yet to sign on for any challenges and I'm not sure I will.

In 2011 I participated in the Read From Your Shelves Challenge. I did read from my shelves- but not all the books are listed below. It was hard for me to read only books on my list because sometimes I just didn't feel like those were titles I wanted to read right then. Here's the list I began with in January updated with the titles I read crossed off.
1. Clara's War by Clara Kramer
2. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
3. Shelf Awareness by Lizzie Skurnick
4. ~~The Bright Side of Disaster~~ by Katherine Center
5. ~~Maisie Dobbs~~ by Jacqueline Winspear
6. Mockingbird by Charles Shields
7. Sister of My Heart by Chita Banerjee Divakaruni
8. ~~Winter Garden~~ by Kristin Hannah
9. ~~Safe From the Neighbors~~ by Steve Yarbrough
10. Roses by Leila Meacham
11. ~~The Actor and the Housewife~~ by Shannon Hale
12. ~~The Postmistress~~ by Sarah Blake
13. Without a Backward Glance by Kate Veitch
14. Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund
15. ~~Summer at Tiffany~~ by Marjorie Hart
16. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
17. Self Storage by Gayle Brandeis
18. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
19. Ask for a Convertible by Danit Brown
20. Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire by Rafe Esquith
21. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
22. ~~Dirty Secret~~ by Jessie Sholl

Middle Grade and YA Titles:
1. Tell Me Who by Jessica Wollman
2. Dangerously Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson
4. The Alchemyst by Nicholas Flamel
5. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
6. Percy Jackson the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
7. ~~Sugar and Ice~~ by Kate Messner
8. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
9. ~~Countdown~~ by Deborah Wiles
10. Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
11. ~~The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate~~ by Jacqueline Kelly
12. ~~Eli the Good~~ by Silas House
13. Assignment Rescue: an Autobiography of Varian Fry by Varian Fry
14. Good bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
15. The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White
16. Envy by Anna Godberson
17. ~~Alice on Her Way~~ by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
18. ~~White Sands, Red Menace~~ by Ellen Klages
19. ~~One Crazy Summer~~ by Rita Williams Garcia
20. Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwasney

I signed up to participate in the War Through the Generations challenge again in 2011. Again I had high hopes, signing up to read only 5 books set during the Civil War. Unfortunately I read none. Not even one! Instead I seem to have gravitated to the World War II era books this past year which didn't do much for helping me with this challenge.

One challenge I can claim success at is the e-reader challenge. My goal was 12 books on my kindle and I did it, squeaking in one last title on December 31 to make my goal. I started slowly on this challenge, but towards the end of the year have been picking up my kindle more frequently for reading. I don't think it will ever replace an actual book, but I am getting used to it and enjoying the ease of carrying it with me instead of several print books. It is also great for reducing clutter, something I need to do. I have been more apt to purchase something on my kindle lately rather than bring another book into the house.

Now for 2012? I haven't signed up for a thing yet. I go back to work tomorrow, so if time permits I will have a look yet today to see if there are any challenges calling my name. I like having nothing forced on me in terms of my reading, but I love to see the different challenges out there, and trying new things isn't bad, either.

Sylvia and Aki

2012-01-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

The topic of school segregation is one that is not new, as is evidenced by the variety of books I have on this topic in my school library. However, all of these books deal with African Americans being kept out of white schools. Sylvia and Aki is a segregation story a bit different than the rest. Written by Winifred Conkling, this book is based on a true story of two girls whose lives just happened to cross paths.

Aki, a Japanese American, was viewed only as Japanese after Pearl Harbor was bombed. She and her family were sent away to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona, where they made their home for a few years during the 1940s. Unlike some other Japanese American families, Aki's parents were fortunate that they located a family to rent their farm while they were gone. Sylvia's family lived in Aki's house, happy to have an opportunity to rent this farm. And Sylvia lived in Aki's bedroom where she found Aki's Japanese doll she had left behind when her family was forced to leave.

Sylvia's parents expected her and her brothers to graduate from high school, yet they were not welcome in the white elementary school, instead having to travel further to attend the Mexican school near the barrio. Unwilling to back down on the issue of separating students because of their nationality, Sylvia's father sued the school district.

Aki and Sylvia's paths did cross, and although each had a different background, both were discriminated against - Sylvia because of her Mexican heritage, and Aki because her ancestors came from Japan.

This is a worthwhile read and one I will be booktalking at school to my students. I am always excited to see books with Latino characters and this story tells of an important time in their fight for school integration in California.

Blast From the Past

2012-01-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

Maybe no one else enjoys seeing what I was reading a decade ago, but I have had such a good time looking back through my reading notebook during 2011. I look forward to this post each month, sifting through the titles I read ten years ago and picking those that stick out most in my mind.
Here are the highlights from January 2002:

What were you reading a decade ago? Last year at this time? Even though it has been ten years since I read these books, I remember a few snippets from each one. In the case of Carol Goodman, The Lake of Dead Languages was the first book of hers and turned me into a huge fan. I hope that January of 2012 brings more good books my way, and that ten years from now I can reminisce about them as happily as I have these.

December Recap

2011-12-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

Even with Christmas shopping, baking, concerts and the busy-ness associated with this season, I managed to get quite a few books read and reviewed.

1. Good Graces by Leslie Kagen
2. Pearl by Jo Knowles
3. May B. Rose Caroline Starr
4. Bunheads by Sophie Flack
5. Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reese
6. Crow by Barbara Wright
7. Where You Left Me by Jennifer Gardner Trulson
8. It's Classified by Nicolle Wallace
9. Defining Dulcie by Paul Acampora
10. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
11. The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
12. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
13. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets of J. K. Rowling
15. Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Garcia
16. The Puppy Diaries by Jill Abramson
17. V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton
18. Bluefish by Pat Schmatz
19. Shine by Lauren Myracle
20. The End of Normal by Stephanie Madoff Mack
21. Carrying Mason by
22. No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis
23. The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow
24. Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea by Morgan Callan Rogers
25. Sylvia and Aki by Winifred Conkling

6 of 25 books were my own, 4 were on the kindle and 15 were library books
12 of 25 books were adult, 13 were middle grade/YA
2 books were written by males, 23 were written by female
5 of 25 books were non-fiction 20 were fiction
4 books were read for the E-Reader Challenge
2 were read for the Read From Your Shelf Challenge

Highlights of 2011: Adult Fiction

2011-12-31T14:20:00.000-08:00

I am so enjoying looking over my reading journal, finding books I have enjoyed in 2011.
I noticed one blogger posted her list of highlights, not a "Best of" list. This year that is my plan as well. It is hard enough narrowing the list down to highlights, and I have read so many really good books in 2011. I have divided them into three categories: Adult Fiction, Tween/YA, and Non-Fiction/Memoir.
Here are the highlights of my Adult Fiction titles for 2011:

Highlights 2011: YA and Tween

2011-12-31T12:53:00.000-08:00

This year I refused to set a limit of how many books made my highlights lists. After all, since I have read nearly 300 books, it is hard to pick the top ten. There are just too many wonderful books out there. These nine titles are the highlights of my Tween/YA reading this year. Interestingly enough, many of them were not published in 2011. There were many titles I did not read when they first came out and I spent a while this year reading them. The year they came out should be irrelevant - they are all wonderful and worthy of anyone's time.

#300: The Magic Room

2011-12-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

2011 is winding down on a high note for me. I have just finished my 300th book of the year this morning, and enjoyed the title very much. I have started another novel- a tween book that is also turning out to be a book I am enjoying and have purchased for my school library. There are many books to still look forward to.

The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow is a non-fiction look at Becker's Bridal shop, a fourth generation family business that still operates in the small town of Fowler, Michigan. Although this book looks at the bridal business and also chronicles eight families' quest for a bridal gown and their story, Zaslow's initial intent was to look at the topic of love as he raises his own daughters.

Zaslow is able to alternate between the story of Becker's Bridal Shop and its history as well as the eight brides' stories he shares. Each is a unique story - from a widowed mother of five who is remarrying to a young woman injured in a car accident just a few months before her wedding and still undergoing therapy and medical procedures to correct the injuries she sustains. I enjoyed reading about each bride and their path to this small town bridal shop.

As times have changed I am amazed that this small town business can still exist and compete with the bridal chains and other competitors, a testament to the concept of hard work and excellent customer service, creating a place where mothers want to take their daughters as they look to plan a wedding.

I enjoyed Zaslow's writing, which I became familiar with while reading The Girls from Ames, also by Zaslow. Yet, there were times when I felt he made things seem too picture perfect, something I noticed in his previous book. As someone who is married and planned a wedding, I didn't really relate to Zaslow's theory of such a preoccupation with the wedding dress a bride-to-be selected. Tears were not shed by me or my mother or anyone else who saw me in my wedding dress. I didn't stand in a Magic Room on a pedestal to model my dress for a group of bridesmaids as many of these women did. While I do wish I had perhaps looked longer or had a better idea of the type of dress I wanted, the importance placed on this event in this book seems over the top to me.

Still, The Magic Room made for good reading. I enjoyed reading about the changes in brides through the years, the personal stories of future brides, and the ins and outs of this family business.

The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow was accessed via Net Galley.

Let the Highlights Begin

2011-12-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

I have read so many good books in 2011 (and as I type there is still 48 hours left to cram in a few more titles)! I have divided my "best" list into three parts: Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction/Memoir, and Middle Grade/YA. I'm also taking Lesa's idea and calling my lists "highlights" instead of a best list. There is simply no way to get to all the great books out there, and even as I near the end of 2011 with almost 300 books read this year, I still have so many more that I intended to get to- that might have made my list if only I had more time to read them.

In no particular order, my highlights in Memoirs and Non-Fiction for 2011:

#299- So Very Close

2011-12-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

With just two days to go until 2012, I am on a reading frenzy. I look over the challenges I entered and realize that I don't have much hope of successfully finishing most of them. I am determined that I will read my twelfth kindle book yet today, allowing me to reach my goal with the e-reader challenge. I am also determined that I will read my 300th book before 2011 ends. After adding up my reading totals a few days ago I realized I was very close to a personal best - reading 300 books in one year. Like most bloggers, picture books are NOT included in this list. If I were to include those, I would read more than a thousand books a year, so this list is a combination of all the fiction, non-fiction, memoir, middle grade and YA novels I read in a year. I finished off #299 this morning. Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea by Morgan Callan Rogers will be out on January 19, 2012, but thanks to netgalley, I was able to read this one on my kindle.

Set in the 1960s, Florine's story is a coming of age tale, as she grows up in a small coastal Maine town. Her childhood seems idyllic, until her mother disappears just as Florine enters her teen years. The small town feel, Florine's friends, her grandmother who helps to raise her all are a perfect combination in this story that shares both grief and joy.

Amazon's product description likens Rogers' writing to a cross between Fannie Flagg and Elizabeth Strout - neither of which I see at all in this story. However, Rogers' writing rivals that of some of my very favorite women's fiction authors and was so easy to get caught up in.

Florine and her mother are more like best friends than mother and daughter. When Florine is twelve, her mother, Carlie, is just thirty years old. The two are close and Florine is in awe of her beautiful, lively mother. Her father is a bit older, swept of his feet he claims, by Carlie. Their marriage is not without its ups and downs, squabbles over different ideas and dreams, but no one could imagine that one day Carlie would leave for a trip with a girlfriend never to return. Although the police search for her, Carlie is nowhere to be found and Florine and her father must go on with their lives. The two weather the mood shifts of Florine's teen years, as Lee looks to date again and Florine tries to find closure to her mom's disappearance.

I enjoyed this book so much. I loved the Maine setting. I loved the time in which this story is set. I loved the writing, and I will be sharing this book with others as soon as it is published.

No Ordinary Day

2011-12-29T18:42:00.001-08:00

No Ordinary Day, Deborah Ellis' latest book, explores the topic of leprosy in the current day. I read (andre-read) The Breadwinner by Ellis each year with my book club at school - and after five years this book continues to be the favorite by all the clubs. Needless to say, I have high hopes for Ellis' books as she tackles tough and important topics.

No Ordinary Day is set in India, a country famous for its overpopulation. Valli lives a life without much hope, picking up coal each day, living with a family that is not her own. She fears the "monsters" that live on the other side of the train tracks - lepers. Eventually Valli becomes a runaway, fending for herself on the streets. A doctor who finds Valli diagnoses her with leprosy, causing Valli to run away again as she is unable to understand the care she needs and the treatment for her condition.

While I have read a few books about leprosy, all were historical fiction, not set in the present day like No Ordinary Day. Ellis did a great job of explaining the condition, the ways the body is affected, and how it is treated.

I didn't love this book as much as The Breadwinner (which would be hard) but I always appreciate Ellis' ability to shed light on important topics and help middle grade readers aware of issues in our world.

The End of Normal

2011-12-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

I've kind of been on a string of reading books by widows-at least these have been the books that I have been reading while on the treadmill, and for whatever reason they keep me wanting to run, which isn't a bad thing.

The End of Normal by Stephanie Maddoff Mack is Mack's story about her life within the Maddoff family after marrying Bernie and Ruth Madoff's oldest son, Mark. Their courtship and marriage, her role as a step-mother and her relationship with her famous in-laws are all topics Mack covers, as well as Mark's suicide.

I liked Mack's writing, but had a very hard time relating to her. She shares experiences where she is upset with someone and fires off an angry email, or confronts many of the people who have irritated her. I do understand her feelings of helplessness after her father-in-law was arrested and she and her family became the subject of paparazzi, but there are few, if any, examples of how Mack was able to take the high road and ignore the minor irritations in life. My husband, who is also reading this now, also questioned her decisions while we were talking about it last night.

Despite everything Mack has gone through both of us agreed that in some ways she still doesn't "get it." She is still living a life of affluence - being able to go and take college classes, live in a home, even having a babysitter come in and care for her children- are all things that many people cannot afford to do. And while she says she doesn't need all the material things that went with being a Madoff, she has continued to live better than most.

Her husband killed himself just a year ago, which I mentioned was perhaps one of the flaws with this memoir. Had more time passed, Mack's own feelings might not be as raw (or as bitter).

Mack's memoir does provide an inside look (by an outsider) at the Maddoff family, which is very intriguing and very informative. Another book, Truth and Consequences by Laurie Sandell is also out now, written with Ruth and Andy Madoff's cooperation. I am very interested in comparing these two perspectives, already believing before I begin that I will find Mack's far more reliable.

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-12-28T05:19:00.001-08:00

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme is a way to share titles that will soon be published. What are you waiting on this week?

This week's pick: Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand

Due out June 26, 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:

It's June 15th, the night of Nantucket High School graduation. Four juniors are driving home from a party when something goes horribly wrong and there is a crash. The driver of the car, Penny Alistair, is killed, and her twin brother, Hobby Alistair, is left in a coma. Penny's boyfriend, Jake Randolph, and Penny's friend Demeter Castle are unhurt--but suffer tremendous emotional damage. Jake and his family move to the other side of the globe--to the west coast of Australia--in order to escape the horrors of the accident. Demeter falls prey to alcohol abuse and other self-destructive behaviors that nearly lead to her destroying her own life. SUMMERLAND delves into the circumstances surrounding this accident, the roots of which lie deep in the past, with the first interactions between these four friends and their parents. It's a novel about how tragedy affects individuals, families, and the island community as a whole, and how healing can happen, in even the most devastating circumstances.

Shine

2011-12-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

Had it not been for the debacle surrounding Lauren Myracle's Shine being accidentally nominated, then un-nominated for an award, I probably wouldn't have picked up this book to read. So, despite the fact that Shine really wasn't nominated for an award, the press surrounding this event didn't necessarily result in something bad for Myracle. I am guessing there are many readers like myself who were intrigued enough to look into reading this book.

My one other experience with Myracle's work was Peace, Love and Baby Ducks which I absolutely loved. While Shine is an entirely differen type of novel than Peace, Love and Baby Ducks, the quality of writing is just as good. Set in a poor mountain town, Cat is trying to determine who hurt her childhood friend, Patrick. Patrick is in a coma, beaten and left for dead because he is gay. As she snoops around reconstructing the events of that evening there is a lot Cat learns that she hadn't bargained for. Although she is well aware of her poor, mountain upbringing and the meth addiction that many in her town have faced, until she begins asking questions, Cat had no idea of how prevalent this problem was and how many of her friends are also involved in drug use.

I had my suspicions about the real culprit in Patrick's beating, and was happy to see that for once I was right on target. Myracle has crafted a novel full of twists and turns that will keep readers trying to determine what really happened the night Patrick was left for dead.

The Puppy Diaries

2011-12-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

Jill Abramson's book The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout chronicles a year in her life raising a puppy, Scout. Abramson was no stranger to dogs. She and her husband had owned and raised a dog, Buddy, but after his death hesitated to start over with a new pet.

In The Puppy Diaries Abramson shares how they arrived at the decision to adopt another pet and the ups and downs they faced in Scout's puppy days. Abramson and her husband both have successful careers that allow them some advantages and resources that not every pet owner has. They purchase health insurance for Scout, take her to a doggy day care so her husband can finish his work on time, and for a special treat take her to a swimming pool for dogs.

There is a vast difference between Scout's life and that of my puppy, Sammy. However, even with these differences I never felt that Abramson meant to flaunt her affluence, and perhaps is unaware of it to some extent, living and mingling with people much like herself each day.

This is a fast and easy read. There is no exciting plot to keep readers engaged, but I have no doubt that animal lovers will enjoy this book. While it was no Marley by John Grogan, there was a certain enjoyment I found reading about another family's account of raising a puppy.

(A little known fact that I most enjoyed is that Abramson's sister is the author Jane O'Connor, the creator of Fancy Nancy, a favorite elementary school book character).

Although Abramson had raised another puppy, she and her husband work hard to train Scout and offer some different suggestions and training theories they have looked into. As a puppy owner myself I did enjoy hearing different ideas about training a dog and the success and struggles they went through with Scout.

Under the Tree

2011-12-25T13:01:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! Now that my children have all unwrapped their gifts and I no longer have to worry about surprising them, I can share the titles that made the gift list this year.

Each girl receives a Christmas book every year, and these are the three that I chose for this year. I loved The Carpenter's Gift when I read it to my students at school and I can't wait for bedtime tonight when we can read the others as well.

In previous years more books have been given than this year, but there were some bookish things given - the first five Harry Potter movies on DVD for us all to enjoy as we make our way through the books - and a DVD of The Help for me.

My youngest daughter received two more books to add to her collection:

I know we will visit a book store over break at some point, and hope to add something to my own collection then. Already I am excited about the titles I see coming out in January and Spring 2012 - certainly not a shortage of great books to look forward to!

Dreams of Significant Girls

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'll admit that this book was chosen for its cover on a recent library trip. Seeing the three girls on the cover, looking out over water, I couldn't imagine not enjoying this one. Luckily, the cover love proved to be an accurate predictor of my enjoyment of this book.

The summers of 1971, 1972, and 1973 are covered in this book as three very different girls meet and attend a summer camp together in Switzerland. Vivien is sent to summer camp as she struggles with friendships, fitting in, and her parents. Shirin, an Iranian princess, attends camp, bringing with her her spoiled attitude from home. And Ingrid, the rule breaker, rounds out the trio.

It is hard to imagine these three forging a friendship, and yet through time and shared experiences they form a tight bond. All three prize the friendship they have formed and are closer with each other than they are with friends from their homes. I enjoyed the friendship portion of the story, trying to decide if this friendship was realistic or not. Ultimately I decided that while the three girls are extremely different their shared circumstances as a powerful connection.

Each summer there are challenges the girls face and a plot that continues to unfold over time. By the third summer the storylines converge in a way unexpected to me, but done so expertly

I also enjoyed the 1970s setting. The girls struggle to stay in touch with each other, having to write letters (the old fashioned way of corresponding!) and await a reply from their friends. Tensions with Iran are revealed as well, as are events which led Vivien's family to leave Cuba.

Read alikes: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares and Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

Customer Dissatisfaction

2011-12-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

Mostly I like ordering online. It is convenient. Things are delivered right to my doorstep. Until this year. I have had more problems this year with online ordering than ever before.
The first problem occurred when a packaged I ordered from Amazon was at my local post office. I anticipated the delivery the next day and looked for the box when I returned from work. The box was not there. Lucky me. I can track my package online. The package that was just a few miles from my home was sent to Kansas City. I was happy that this happened on the 15th, with ten days until Christmas for this to be resolved. Each day I checked to see where this package was. The trouble was, until this morning it didn't get scanned again and has apparently been hanging out in Kansas City. I was annoyed. And irritated. But I got over it.
The second problem, which I am more upset about, is that a package I ordered for my children was dropped off at my doorstep today. When my husband returned at lunch, the contents were strewn around our yard, eaten up by our dog. It is our dog that did this, so perhaps it is our fault. But, I am still mad. Why did the Fed Ex delivery man just drop this off at our door (and yes, I did call them and was told that this is common practice)? Was it really taped shut? Because I have received many things over time that are partially opened. I have a hard time believing it was taped up tightly. When I called Justice they told me to call Fed Ex. Fed Ex told me to call Justice. Meanwhile I am out $80 and gifs for 2 of the 3 girls. The middle daughter's gift was sent seperately and will arrive tomorrow. Since all three children wanted them I am not sure how to give one child this gift and not the other two. I would happily get them replacements, but they are out of stock.
Although many may blame my dog, I think both companies are also at fault. Neither seem to care if the ordered item actually was received by me. All they want is the money I spent. They can happily blame the other company involved and I am left with nothing.
Bah humbug!

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham

Due out: June 19, 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:

Devoted readers of Leila Meacham will devour this long, juicy page-turner. TUMBLEWEEDS is the story of three young friends-the saint, the sinner, and the angel-growing up together in the sort of small Texas Panhandle town that lives and dies by its Friday night football games. A fateful event casts a long shadow over these three intertwined lives and leaves the reader turning the pages desperately to see how it all plays out.

I am still working on The Roses, Meacham's latest novel-although it is already a few years old. It has come highly recommended by several friends, so I am excited to see that Meacham has another one coming out already.

Inside Out and Back Again

2011-12-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai is a book that I cannot even imagine saying enough about. Anne from My Head is Full of Books reminded me the other night, while I read her review, that this book has been lingering on a pile in my home for far too long. Fortunately, this is a quick read, because her review had me digging through my piles and I started reading immediately.

Ha and her family live in Vietnam, enduring the war. She is able to see the beauty of her people and her country, once remarking,

"No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama."

However, Ha and her family relocate to Alabama where she is made fun of by classmates, as she struggles to learn the customs of American life. And while life is a struggle, there are some joys that Ha finds in her new home: a kind teacher, some caring classmates, and people who are willing to help them begin a new life.

Inside Out and Back Again recently won the National Book Award, a fitting honor for this powerful book. Although spare in text (the entire novel is written in verse), there is so much packed in to each page. I could see many of my own students in Ha's character, as they try to find their way in an unfamiliar setting. Lai includes information about herself at book's end, indicating that this story is somewhat autobiographical; my heart aches for Lai and her own assimilation into American life.

I will be pressing this book into many hands in the future. This is an amazing novel, a real gem!

Maisie Dobbs

2011-12-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

It's unfortunate it has taken me until this point in the year to get to the Read From Your Shelves books. Maisie Dobbs is one of the books on my list that I can now check off - and that I can say that I very much enjoyed.

Set in 1929 England, Maisie has just opened her own private detective agency. The case she must solve seems pretty straightforward, but it is the story that is shared about Maisie and her childhood that created a connection to this character. Maisie's mother died when she was just thirteen, and she is left with her father. Her father, although kind, decides to send his only child away to work for another family. The two see each other on weekends. Although Maisie's life seems anything but hopeful, there is a ray of hope. Maisie discovers the library at the home she is working in and begins to awaken early each day to read and learn. When she is discovered, her love of learning is encouraged.

Now in 1929, Maisie is a young woman embarking on a career of her own. We learn about her first love which occurred during the war, and her ability to persevere despite many challenges. Although the war is over, Winspear writes of the war and its aftermath, which was felt for many years by the soldiers who served and their families. I particulary appreciated this portion of Maisie Dobbs, and all it added to the overall story.

Lucky for me, I waited so long to read Maisie Dobbs there are many more in this series already. Hopefully it won't take me as long to delve into the next installment. This is a series I imagine I will become more attached to with each book, and can't wait to read more of.

Defining Dulcie

2011-12-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

Iwas introduced to Paul Acampora's work recently having been recommended Rachel Spinelli Punched Me In the Face, Acampora's second novel. I immediately reserved Defining Dulcie, his debut novel and was not disappointed.

Sixteen year old Dulcie's father has just died, and in addition to grieving for him, Dulcie's mother decides to move across the country to California. I will admit that at first this storyline didn't much interest me. I have read a lot of books with a road trip theme, and although some are better than others, this plot seems a little repetitive to me. Thankfully, the move across the country is a very short portion of this story, and certainly not the focus. Dulcie misses her home and takes her father's truck (the one her mom intended to sell) across the country and back home. Once there she is left to deal with her dad's death, starts working with her grandfather in his janitorial position at the high school and becomes friends with a girl her father had befriended, unbeknownst to Dulcie.

This book is filled with quirky and unique characters, humor, despite the sad topic, and great writing. Defining Dulcie is a short novel about how one girl and her family do to deal with their grief and continue living.

Another excellent book by Paul Acampora!

Time Flies

2011-12-16T20:16:00.001-08:00

Back in January when I posted the book I planned to read from the Read From Your Shelves Challenge, I was completely motivated. Realistically I knew even at that point that I would probably lose steam and become distracted by other books that were published or looked interesting, but I so enjoyed making the list that even knowing I was bound to fail, I wanted to at least attempt.

With just 15 days left in 2011, I can verify that I will fail - at least if the goal was reading all the books on my list. However, in some ways I have succeeded. I still have a bit more time left to crank out a few more titles (I do seem to work better under pressure). And I did manage to get a few titles read -and some of these have been lingering far too long.

Today I was home sick with a sore throat, fever and chills. I was sick, but not too sick to want to read. So in between my naps I enjoyed The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale and can now check another book off this list.

I will admit that for the first 130 pages I was not thoroughly engaged. In fact, I think I used the word 'dumb' to describe this book, which is unfortunate and a word I rarely use to describe books I read. And then, after I got into it, I began to enjoy this one. The Actor and the Housewife has been blogged about all over the place. After reading many reviews I decided it was a must read for me. So, I stuck with it longer than I might have otherwise, valuing the opinion of some bloggers quite a bit and trusting their judgement. Turns out, they were right. This is a fun book.

Becky is a Mormon housewife turned screenplay writer who meets heart throb Felix Callahan while she is in California selling her screenplay. The two strike up an unbelievable - and bizarre- friendship. As years pass they continue to meet up, sometimes in close contact, and other times not speaking for months. Both weather some tough times in their personal lives, yet despite their vast differences in lifestyle and beliefs the two remain close friends. Throw in a bit of romance, a little heartbreak and that pretty much sums up this story.

I wasn't sold on this one entirely mostly because the humor that characterizes Felix and Becky's relationship is so odd. But as I really got into this one it became evident that there was more to this book than I initially thought. Having read The Actor and the Houswife, I would pass it along to other readers with the advice to really give this one a chance. What might seem very silly at book's beginning changes as the story develops and becomes a rather interesting novel.

Love Comes Softly

2011-12-15T17:25:00.000-08:00

Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke, a title I wrote about for my Throwback Thursday posts a while back (and yes, I have been negligent in my Throwback Thursday theme.....perhaps after the holidays it will return to a weekly occurance). Although I rarely re-read this is one series I loved as a child and wanted to read again. In fact, I have probably been planning to re-read them for the last decade.

Even as a child I remember reading the little blurb on the back "....this book will charm readers from eight to eighty." Well, that was enough to encourage me to read about Clark and Marty, so I pulled out Love Comes Softly and began reading to my oldest daughter before bed. My middle daughter is content with me reading Harry Potter to her, and my youngest daughter still needs a few picture books read to her each night. Sometimes my oldest child has balked at me reading to her but I am finding that she is enjoying having her own more grown up book that we share. Of course, my middle child is busy trying to eavesdrop on the whole event, but we have managed to make reading aloud an individual thing for each child lately. (I do like reading to them all together, too, and I am sure we will again, but this has been a nice switch for a bit).

Last night I read the last 20+ pages finishing where Marty finally lets Clark know that she loves him. There is nothing inappropriate in this book, and it was fun to read this title together. All my girls have loved the Little House on the Prairie series, so a pioneer story is right up their alley. Now tonight I have found Love's Enduring Promise, the second novel in this series. I didn't re-read this one as often so I am looking forward to beginning this one tonight.

Now, if only my nightly read-alouds didn't take over an hour each night!

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-12-14T01:59:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: The Vanishers by Heid Julavits

Due out: March 13, 2012

Product description taken from Amazon:

From the acclaimed novelist and The Believer editor HEIDI JULAVITS, a wildly imaginative and emotionally intense novel about mothers, daughters, and the psychic damage women can inflict on one another. Is the bond between mother and daughter unbreakable, even by death? Julia Severn is a student at an elite institute for psychics. Her mentor, the legendary Madame Ackermann, afflicted by jealousy, refuses to pass the torch to her young disciple. Instead, she subjects Julia to the humiliation of reliving her mother's suicide when Julia was an infant. As the two lock horns, and Julia gains power, Madame Ackermann launches a desperate psychic attack that leaves Julia the victim of a crippling ailment. Julia retreats to a faceless job in Manhattan. But others have noted Julia's emerging gifts, and soon she's recruited to track down an elusive missing person—a controversial artist who might have a connection to her mother. As Julia sifts through ghosts and astral clues, everything she thought she knew of her mother is called into question, and she discovers that her ability to know the minds of others—including her own—goes far deeper than she ever imagined. As powerful and gripping as all of Julavits's acclaimed novels, The Vanishers is a stunning meditation on grief, female rivalry, and the furious power of a daughter's love.

It's Classified

2011-12-13T09:44:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure what it is, but I am a sucker for a story featuring a presidential character- real or fictional. It's Classified is Nicolle Wallace's follow up to Eighteen Acres. Eighteen Acres (which took me a while to recall) tells the story of the first female president, Charlotte, and those who work with and for her. Now in It's Classified, Charlotte is in her second term with a new vice president. This is another record-breaker since Tara, the vice-president and the president are not from the same political party. Dale, who works for Tara, also happens to be dating Charlotte's estranged husband. Oh, what a tangled web and one that may not be far from the real goings-on in different administrations.

Early on it is easy to see that something is not right with Tara. Just like Dale, I was left to puzzle this out, trying to determine what exactly is happening with the vice president. Dale is also trying to juggle what her responsibilities are and a long distance relationship with Peter, the ex First Husband. Charlotte's story takes a back seat in this novel, yet she still narrate a portion of this story. Most intriguing (at least to me) is Tara, a woman who appears to have it all together, but who is unhappy, anxious, and controlled by her husband who doesn't appear to have her best interests in mind.

I will admit I'm an easy sell for a book like this, but even so, I found myself wanting to read It's Classified and learn more about this fictional administration.

Where You Left Me

2011-12-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

Around the tenth anniversary of 9/11, there were many books published about the tragedy. Just as I gravitated toward Let's Roll by Lisa Beamer and Lyz Glick's memoir (both by women widowed with children by this event), I have found myself reading accounts of how women who lost their husbands coped and moved on. Although I haven't been through the loss of a spouse, I, like many can easily put ourselves in the position these women were in, and while unable to truly understand their experience, can see a bit of ourselves in their story.

Where You Left Me by Jennifer Gardner Trulson is Trulson's nearly fairy-tale like love story - her courtship and marriage to Doug Gardner, and the beginning of their life together as their son Michael, and then daughter Julia are born. Gardner was a successful businessman, Howard Lutnick's second-in-charge at Cantor Fitzgerald, the company that lost 658 employees on 9/11 (the most of any company that day). I fell in love with Gardner myself and can only imagine Trulson's devastation as the life she and her husband worked to build was destroyed.

Although I feel that Trulson accurately writes of her grief and various events she endured as a way of getting through each day, I am still unable to believe that I can even imagine the pain and sorrow each moment brought. And yet, as Trulson explains, although she will never get over her loss, she shows how she has managed to go on and find things to be hopeful about and experience happiness again.

It is no secret that Trulson is remarried - her name on the book cover is evidence that life has moved on. Even as Trulson is grieving her loss, she manages to find and begin dating Derek Trulson, a West Coast transplant and confirmed bachelor. Trulson's patience and ability to remain steady, helping Jennifer cope with the many changes in her life, made him seem like a modern-day Prince Charming. Although Trulson would never have chosen to experience the loss of her husband, her second marriage seems every bit as magical as her first.

Trulson's life is a far cry from my rural midwestern existence. Money appears to be no object, and dinners out and expensive restaurants, private schools, and a summer home are things that are the norm in her world. And yet, despite all these differences, I enjoyed Trulson's voice and could understand and appreciate the feelings she experienced. From time to time I could feel myself nodding while reading, identifying with Trulson's latest example of how she was struggling.

Where You Left Me reminded me yet again of how many people were touched in our nation by the events of 9/11. Trulson's memoir brings a voice to the widows from Cantor Fitzgerald and shares what the the loss of Douglas B. Gardner meant to those who loved him the most.

Crow

2011-12-11T01:28:00.000-08:00

Although I have read in shorts bursts all week, working on Crow by Barbara Wright, today I finally had a chance to sit and read uninterrupted for a while and really become involved in this novel. And as I raced to the ending, I was totally absorbed with the unfolding story based on the riots in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898.

Moses is eleven years old in 1898, becoming aware of racism in his town. He dreams of owning his own bike but knows that there is not enough money for one. His father is an educated man (and also very wise), working for a Negro daily newspaper, and one of four Negro aldermen. I was impressed with Wilmington's acceptance of equal rights for colored people and the many people Moses knew who held professional positions within their community. And yet, trouble is brewing. Wright writes of the coup d'etat that occurred, causing the black middle class in Wilmington to be destroyed. Moses and his family are at the center of this story, and while Moses is trying to navigate the normal problems of growing up, there are bigger problems that soon overshadow the desire for a bike.

Moses' parents have tried to protect him from the reality of what many in Wilmington are faced with. Lynchings, rape, and a group of white men who try to remove any colored man from positions of power are topics that Moses is hearing more about and asking questions about. While the product description indicates this novel is intended for ages eight and up, I feel as though this book is better suited to an audience slightly older, perhaps ages 10 and up, because of the more mature content and inferences that may be lost on a younger audience.

As I closed this book, I instantly understood the rave reviews Crow is receiving even before it's release. Crow is an important book, telling the story of a little know piece of history that comes to life through Moses' voice.

Weekend Cooking

2011-12-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

Weekend Cooking is hosted at Beth Fish Reads each Saturday.
This week I have finally had a chance to read Make The Bread, Buy The Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook From Scratch - Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods by Jennifer Reese.
While I am in no way equipped or wanting to make everything from scratch, I do realize the benefits of eating foods that are not processed and full of chemicals. Reese's book gave me some good ideas of foods I'd like to make on my own, and others that (even though they might taste better and be better for me) are just too time consuming to make (I'm thinking marshmallows).
Bread, pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins, pizza, and frostings are some of the recipes I have marked that I most want to try. Others would require me to find a bit more time or purchase a few supplies before I tested them.
In the midst of these recipes Reese shares information about her own life - as a mother, as a professional, and what has led her to this quest to test numerous recipes on her own. While "made from scratch" began as a belief she had, the many cooking experiences she has had, has led her to believe that "made from scratch" is truly a fact.
This book was entertaining, and while I have marked several pages, unfortunately my copy is from the library. Make Bread, Buy The Butter is one book that I would happily purchase because of the number of recipes and resources it holds.

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-12-07T03:17:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: Trail of the Spellmans, Document #5 by Lisa Lutz

Due out: February 28, 2012

Product Description from Amazon:

The fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling series by Lisa Lutz, featuring the fearless private investigator Izzy Spellman and her quirky, yet endearing, family of sleuths.For the first time in Spellman history, Isabel Spellman might be the most normal member of her family. Mom has taken on an outrageous assortment of extracurricular activities. Dad has a secret. Her brother and sister are at war, but neither will reveal the source of the conflict. While domestic disturbances abound, there is one source of sanity in the Spellman household: Demetrius Merriweather, employee of the month for eighteen months straight.
Things aren’t any simpler on the business side of Spellman Investigations. First, Rae is hired to follow a girl, only to fake the surveillance reports. Then a socialite has Isabel tail her husband, despite a conspicuous lack of suspicion. A man in a sweater vest hires the Spellmans to follow his sister, who turns out to be the socialite. Izzy won’t stop hunting for the answers—even when they threaten to shatter both the business and the family.

Bunheads

2011-12-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

Sophie Flack's debut novel must be somewhat autobiographical. Flack spent time as a professional ballerina, which is what her main character's life revolves around. Hannah Ward can barely remember a time when she didn't want to dance. Her life revolves around the Manhattan Ballet Company, exercise (in order to maintain her skeletal frame), and the other ballerinas who are her best friends. But when she meets Jacob, she is suddenly confronted with the possibility of a normal life and the idea that there is more to life than dancing.

Aside from my sister's ballet lessons she took for just a few years during our childhood, I know little of the world of professional dance. Hannah's dedication to her career is remarkable, yet seems somewhat comfortable as well, since this is the life she knows and where her friends are. Ever since she was fourteen Hannah has been on her own in New York City, a life that has been consumed by her passion. Because Flack has personal experience with the ballet, this novel is much more intriguing to me, and sheds light on something I had not given much thought to before. While the world of ballet requires a great deal of self-discipline and can be ruthless as ballerinas fight for solo roles, Hannah does find friendship in this environment. Her desire to see what else there is to life occurs after she meets Jacob, and has her way of thinking challenged.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began this novel. The cover is certainly intriguing, and the idea of a book centered around ballet also sounded interesting. However, Flack's novel is much more than that. A coming-of-age novel, including themes of friendship, perseverance, achieving your dreams are all present. I loved Bunheads, and am hopeful that Flack will continue to write more young adult novels.

May B.: January 2012

2011-12-05T04:03:00.000-08:00

May B., due out next month, is another title I was able to receive via Net Galley. (Really, if you are a book blogger and have an e-reader, this is a great way to receive ARCs. And even though my TBR piles are totally out of control, I can't pass up a good title).

Written by Caroline Starr Rose, May B., is a novel in verse, set on the lonely Kansas Prairie. May is asked by her parents to work for another family - fifteen miles away from home- until Christmas. Already dreading being separated from her parents and brother, things get worse when the couple May is working for abandon their prairie home. May is left to fend for herself and with winter approaching on the prairie there is a lot to deal with. Wanting desperately to find her home, May must decide if she can try to find her way, or wait for help to come.

This is a fast read, yet there is much within this book. May, in addition to dealing with her work situation and seperation from her family, is also dealing with not being able to attend school, and the way she was treated by her teacher, who publicly announced May's shortcomings in her reading lessons. Although dyslexia was not diagnosed in pioneer days, Rose brings to light what school may have been like for struggling students who had teachers ill-equipped to assist them with their special learning needs.

I am also always amazed by novels in verse- how writers can convey so much through so few words. May B. is a nice addition to this growing list of novels in verse, as well as a quality selection about pioneer life and schooling in pioneer times. I raced to the end of this novel last night, worried for May, hoping that she would be able to survive the harsh prairie blizzards and find her family again.

Good Graces

2011-12-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with Lesley Kagen's book, Whistling In the Dark, and now I have fallen in love with the sequel, Good Graces.

Good Graces begins one year after Whistling in the Dark Ends, and Sally is one year older, but just as funny as she was in the first book. She is still dealing with the after-effects of narrowly escaping being abducted and abused, developing a relationship with Dave, her father, and trying to keep an eye on her mischevious sister Troo.

Troo is a girl who is hard to keep an eye on. She is spending some extra time with the priest, Father Mick, so she will be able to return to her Catholic school in the fall. She is also very good at disappearing from Sally. Sometimes that is OK, and Sally is pleasantly surprised with her sister's secret activities. But there are plenty of other times that Troo really could use Sally's voice of reason.

Father Mick seems to be a bit suspicious to Sally, and as the story unfolds there is certainly more to this priest than what meets the eye. While Sally is busy trying to determine what Father Mick is up to, she is also worried that Greasy Al, Troo's archrival from the previous year, will show up to seek revenge on Troo after he disappears from the reform school he had been sent to. And, Sally is still busy getting to know her father, Dave.

Kagen has again captured life in the late 50s in Milwaukee. Although I was amazed at how Troo is able to smoke cigarettes without her mother's knowledge, I also know that during this time, children were given more freedoms than is normal now, and running the neighborhood was not that unusual. This cast of characters continues to bring a smile to my face, especially Sally, whose voice is so original and endearing.

While Whistling in the Dark was a novel that ended without a true need (at least in my opinion) of a follow-up, Good Graces is one that ends with several questions still lingering. I hope Kagen is busy on a third installment of Sally and Troo because I am anxious to read more about them.

Sally is having a hard time watching Troo, who is good at finding trouble. Because she is in trouble at school, she has had to spend extra time with the priest, Father Mick.

Good Graces could certainly be a stand-alone novel, and its cover is one that immediately called to me.

November Recap

2011-12-02T04:36:00.000-08:00

Although I didn't read as many adult books as I'd like, I admit that I like the speed with which I am able to get through the middle grade/YA books that have been on my TBR piles.
Here's the list from November:
1. The Orchard by Theresa Weir
2. Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face by Paul Acampora
3. Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler
4. Bond Girl by Erin Duffy
5. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
6. The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller
7. Kennedy Through the Lens by Martin W. Sandler
8. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
9. Fathermothergod by Lucia Greenhouse
10. Working it Out by Abby Rike
11. The Arrogant Years by Lucette Lagnado
12. All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
13. Brendan Buckley's 6th Grade Experiment by Sundee Frazier
14. Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephardt
15. Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri
16. The Sisters by Nancy Jensen
17. Before I Sleep by S. J. Watson
18. Crashers by Dana Haynes
19. The Watch that Ends the Night by Alan Wolff
20. The Daughters Join the Party by Joanna Philbin
21. The Brothers Blood by Scott Cawelti
22. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
23. Letters to Missy Violet by Barbara Hathaway
24. Pearl Verses The World by Sally Murphy

12 of 24 were Tween/YA, 12 adult
8 of 24 were non-fiction, 16 fiction
7 of 24 were written by men, 17 by women
4 books were from my shelf, 2 were e-book ARCs, 18 were library books
1 book is from the Read From Your Shelves challenge

It doesn't look like I'll be finishing my challenges I entered in 2011, but I will keep trying - and having fun while doing it. I'm hoping Christmas break lets me find some reading time.

Blast From the Past

2011-12-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do is look back at my old reading journals and reminisce about various books I have read. There are many memories that different books have associated with them - some good, some bad.

In December of 2001 I was a new mom, trying to juggle full-time teaching with a new baby. Amazingly, even though I was sleep-deprived, I remember all of the 5 titles I am spotlighting.

Looking over these titles, I would gladly re-read any of them. My daughters might be at an age to enjoy The Year With Miss Agnes, which I will admit was a favorite of mine. Michael Dorris' Yellow Raft in Blue Water brings a smile to my face because it was the first book that our neighbor and her daughter read - along with my husband and myself- for our short-lived neighborhood book club. That is also the year that we chose one night each week to have dinner together, taking turns cooking for the two homes. I can't believe it's been 10 years since The Shopaholic books came out - I remember Sophie Kinsella being a new author, and the Shopaholic book being just a random reading selection.

I hope that December 2011 provides as many happy reading memories as I have from a decade ago. How about you? What were you reading ten years ago at this time? Even last year?

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-11-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's selection: Come Home by Lisa Scottoline

Due out April 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:

Jill Ruspoli is moving forward with her life after a devastating divorce. Her work as a pediatrician is hectic but fulfilling, she’s newly engaged to a kind and loving medical researcher, and her daughter is finally happy again and doing well in middle school, in the aftermath of losing her stepfather in the divorce. But when Jill’s distraught ex-stepdaughter Abby shows up on her doorstep with the news of her ex-husband’s death from an apparent overdose, her life is thrust into turmoil once again. Abby believes her father was murdered and pleads with Jill to help her explore the circumstances of her father’s death. Jill can’t turn her back on Abby, even though helping her threatens to rip apart the fabric of her new family, destroy her hard-earned stability, and sacrifice her future for her past. Along the way Jill learns that motherhood transcends mere biological and legal ties and requires only the power of the human heart.

Destiny of the Republic

2011-11-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

The older I get, the more I wished I would have really paid attention during my history classes- in high school and college. Now as an adult, I am fascinated by history and the people and events that shaped our world.

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard tells the story of President James Garfield. Although I could recognize Garfield's name in a line-up of presidents, I knew little more about him. Millard's detailed research shares the story of a remarkable man. Garfield grew up in extreme poverty, yet had a sense of pride about him that allowed him to rise above his lowly financial status. He believed in education as a way to further himself. When he began a life in politics, he never aspired to be elected president. In fact, at the convention where he was asked to endorse a different presidential candidate, he was nominated to run for president by his party. His death at the hands of an assassin changed our country's future.

Although the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy are ones that most people know of, I knew nothing of Garfield's. The man who shot him, Charles Gitteau, had planned this for a long time. Today he would no doubt be considered insane, he was always on the fringe, trying to find a role for himself in the president's inner circle. Garfield was injured from the shot, but not fatally. He continued to try and recover from his injuries, but developed an infection from his wound. Interestingly, the United States did not embrace the idea of sterilization of medical equipment in order to reduce germs, claiming that countries who believed in the idea of germs would eventually recognize their confusion.

While the ending of this story is no surprise, the details of this time in history and how it changed the United States are worth reading. I have a much better understanding of President Garfield as a politician and a person.

Local Author, Local Story

2011-11-28T04:55:00.000-08:00

I have lived my entire life in northeast Iowa, and had thought I knew many of the stories and history of this area. This summer during a librarian workshop we had a discussion about different newsmakers in Iowa. The Mark murders came up, which not only had I never heard of, but then learned took place just a few miles from my home.

The Mark murders occurred in 1975, when I was too young to remember them. Now, Scott Cawelti has written a book, Brothers Blood: A Heartland Cain and Abel, that explores this gruesome murder. Back in 1975 near Cedar Falls, Iowa, a young family was murdered on Halloween night in their home. When they were discovered by the husband's parents and hired hand the next morning there was little evidence besides their bodies. Eventually witnesses were interviewed, and Jerry Mark, the victim's oldest brother was convicted of the killing. Cawelti traces the steps Jerry took to commit this murder down to the very smallest detail. Today Mark is serving four consecutive life sentences, and has been in prison for 35 years.

After I finished this novel, there wasn't much doubt in my mind of Mark's guilt. Cawelti does not explore other possibilities. However, my husband read this book as well, and after he finished he questioned Mark's conviction. While I did not read the trial notes at book's end, my husband did, and this seems to have made a great deal of difference in our interpretation. I may still go back and read this portion of Blood Brothers to get a fuller picture, but even without this portion, this is a fascinating (and of course devastating) story of a family taken from this earth much too soon.

Reading about places and people I know is always interesting and adds to a story, and Brothers Blood is certainly something that Iowans should read and know about. I will admit that the cover was an initial turn-off to me, but once I knew what the story was about, I was able to look past that and enjoy (if that's the right word), this account of the Mark murders.

The Daughters Join the Party

2011-11-27T06:55:00.001-08:00

I will admit that when I started Joanna Philbin's fourth Daughters book, I was a bit confused. I enjoyed the first three, and without even knowing anything about the fourth, picked it up. I had no idea that a fourth daughter was being introduced to this series, but once I started this installment, I loved the latest addition.

Emmy Conway is also born to great wealth and privilege. Her father, Adam Conway, is thinking about a presidential bid, and suddenly her family is thrust into the limelight. This doesn't seem to be a problem for her older brother, Remington, who is a star student, star athlete, and perfect son. But for Emma? Emma is dyslexic and doesn't do as well in school, she also has a hard time following the rules, and as the novel begins has been kicked out of her boarding school. Now she will be attending the same school as Remington, which is where she meets up with Hudson, Carina and Lizzie, the Daughters from the previous novels. Although Hudson, Lizzie and Carina do make appearances in this novel and are friends with Emma, this is really Emma's story.

She must deal with life in the limelight, being true to herself and finding a way to fit in with her over-achieving family. Add in a little romance, and a few other minor plots, and this Daughters novel is just as fun as the first three.

I am so far behind in keeping up with most series, that the fact that I am all caught up with Philbin's books should be evidence to their quality. I like how they are also very clean novels - free from swearing and sex. Other elementary librarians in my district have purchased these for their upper elementary girls, and my own fourth grade daughter has started the first novel. This series is well written and gives the feel of The Gossip Girls for the younger set.

Thanksgiving Reading

2011-11-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

My reading over this four day weekend is not very impressive at all. Instead, our family has put together a 1000 piece puzzle in the course of 24 hours. We are happy it is completed and all had fun working on it, but were slightly disgusted to see that 5 pieces are missing from the finished product. I am sure this is from my daughters who got the puzzle out several years ago when they were much younger.

I took the girls shopping yesterday - just Target where we picked up some DVDs, and then we ended up walking around the very busy mall. Today I want to go back by myself so I can get some real shopping done. Last night we also put up our tree and Christmas decorations. We got it done quickly, but it is still a project to get out and sort through stuff. Tomorrow my sister and her family will be back so we will celebrate Thanksgiving at my parents house.

All of this has seriously cut into my reading plans. ARGH!

However, I did manage to read Crashers by Dana Haynes, the first in a mystery series chronicling a team of Crashers who discover and research reasons why airplanes crash. This first novel was suspenseful as they tried to find the culprit of the crash. While it initially seemed like pilot error, there was much more to the story. A Vermeer One Eleven crashes outside of Portland, Oregon, leaving few survivors. Tommy Tomzak, who recently left the NTSB is named as the head of the investigation, causing initial disagreement among others on the crashers team. Others on the team bring with them unique skills as well as they race to determine how this plane was brought down. Because, although it looks like pilot error, this plane was downed on purpose, and now the group that crashed this plane is planning on downing another one.

The second in this series, Breaking Point, is already out. I enjoyed the first novel, but think as this series progresses and I begin to "know" the characters that I will enjoy these books even more. While I have several mystery series that I read, this is the only one dealing with the airline industry. Mystery and suspense lovers will enjoy Haynes books a great deal.

Before I Go To Sleep

2011-11-25T04:39:00.001-08:00

S. J. Watson's novel, Before I Go To Sleep, was a fast and interesting read leaving me with many things to think about.

Christine suffered an accident that took with it her memory. Now each day as she wakes, she must re-learn who she is, where she lives, who she is married to. She can recall a few things from her childhood and a few feelings of familiarity from time to time, but not much beyond that. She is at the mercy of her husband, Ben, who cares for her. Christine has been seeing Dr. Nash, a man interested in treating her and assisting her in retrieving her memories, without Ben's knowledge. Dr. Nash has Christine keeping a journal which allows her to read about her events of previous days but also allows her to record items she does not remember but may not re-learn every day, such as the fact that she had a son named Adam.

I will admit that at times I became confused about what Christine had read in her journal each day, or if what she was recalling was something she had re-learned from her husband. While there seem to be some inconsistencies in what Ben is telling his wife, they are easily explained as his way of dealing with caring for someone who has lost all memory. This book is not the fun romp like What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, yet I was very engaged in Christine's story and found it hard to put down. While this is categorized as a novel, I feel as though it could easily be considered a psychological thriller as Christine tries to determine what "accident" caused her to lose her memory and which people she should trust.

The topic of memory seems to be popular right now. Read-alikes include: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante, and Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: So Pretty It Hurts: A Bailey Weggins Mystery

By Kate White

Due out March 20, 2012

Product Description taken from Harper Collins website:

True-crime journalist and sassy amateur sleuth Bailey Weggins has scarcely begun her hard-earned weekend getaway when something comes up: a dead body, belonging to one of the world’s most glamorous supermodels. Now Bailey’s trapped at an upstate New York home amidst the glitterati—and any one of them could be a murderer. She’s determined to find out who’s responsible, but her investigation could provoke the killer into striking again… From Kate White, the New York Times bestselling author of Hush and the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, So Pretty It Hurts is an addictive addition to the Bailey Weggins mystery series, and the book that fans of If Looks Could Kill, Over Her Dead Body, and Lethally Blond have been waiting for.

2011: The Year of Sisters

2011-11-22T04:31:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while it does seem that there are certain similarities in books published near the same time. 2011 is perhaps the year of sisters. First I read The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen. Then there was The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown and Sister by Rosamund Lupton . And now, there is The Sisters by Nancy Jensen.

The Sisters is a family novel, spanning generations of women within the same family. Bertie and Mabel are born in the early 1900s, living a hard life with their abusive stepfather after their mother's death. Their paths separate when Bertie feels that Mabel has betrayed her, and the two go on with their own lives. Both Bertie and Mabel narrate chapters, as do their daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Decades pass and Mabel and Bertie age, yet still remember the other, never knowing the truth behind the event that caused them to part ways.

Each generation of women faced their own challenges, and each struggle caused me to nearly groan in frustration with the decisions the women made. And while I was not happy with the choices the women made, I was also not surprised.

I love generational stories, and seeing how the choices made by one generation affects children and grandchildren in future generations. Eighty years pass within this novel, chronicling births and deaths, tragedies and happiness. The Sisters is a wonderful story of two sisters, but also of their families.

Cherry Squares

2011-11-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

Each week Beth Fish Reads hosts the Weekend Cooking meme.

This recipe is from a 1973 church cookbook celebrating the church's 100th anniversary. My husband now works with the woman who submitted this recipe.

Cherry Squares

Beat together: 2 sticks of margarine and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add 1 3/4 c. sugar, beating until thoroughly creamed. Add 4 eggs (1 at a time), beating well. Sift the following into creamed mixture and mix until smooth: 3 c. flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. salt. Spread into large, flat pan or cookie sheet, leaving 1 c. batter. Put 1 can of cherry pie filling over first layer; then dot with remaining batter. Bake at 350 degree for 45 minutes.

This has been a favorite of mine for years. I was first introduced to them at church gatherings and I looked forward to them after every service where snacks were served. Yesterday I made these for my Thirty-One party and unfortunately have plenty of leftovers. It is impossible for me to walk by the pan without taking a bite or two. Last time I made them was a while ago, and to make them a bit healthier I used only 1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour and 1 1/2 cups of wheat flour.

Sunday Salon

2011-11-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

Today I am feeling relieved. Yesterday I had a Thirty-One party at my house. There are some people who have parties -Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Silpada, Lia Sophia- often. I am not one of them. In fact, I feel rather uncomfortable hosting parties at my house. My mom had a long lasting (and does to this day) fear of having a home that was not as good as her friends', which seems to have passed on to me. Realistically, I don't analyze and critique homes that I visit, and I doubt my friends are doing that to mine, but as I cleaned on Friday night, I could find lots of little flaws that are easy to overlook because I see them every day, but might be very noticeable to someone not so used to them.
The party itself went well. In addition to receiving some wonderful hostess gifts and incentives, I also have a clean house - at least the main living area. The other areas, where I stashed stuff don't look so good.

Today I finished The Sisters by Nancy Jensen, a novel I received through Amazon Vine. I can hardly wait to review this one, but am still processing it in my own mind. Now I have begun Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson, a book I keep reading about all over.

Not much is scheduled for the week, aside from Thanksgiving at my house. Just my parents and my in-laws are coming, which makes it very low-key. Next Sunday we will gather at my parents' house with my siblings and their families to celebrate the holiday. The family picture below was taken at my parents' farm, to commemorate their 40th anniversary.

We are happy here in Iowa to still have fall-like weather in mid-November, although I did purchase a few new Christmas decorations yesterday. I can't wait to have a four day weekend that will give me time to read a bit more.

Net Galley Love

2011-11-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

As if I don't already have enough on my TBR pile, I have added one more way I can get books. Net Galley has become my new addiction. I still have lots to read and catch up on, but I love looking at new things and seeing what will soon be published.

This week I read Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart. I already own a few of Gephart's titles, but haven't read them (for shame, I know). I loved Olivia Bean! I know that part of my interest stems from the fact that I, too, enjoy trivia. Olivia is a girl after my own heart.

Olivia is dreaming of becoming a contestant on Jeopardy during their Children's Week. Not only would she get to fulfill her lifelong goal, she also would be able to visit her father in California. Olivia isn't very excited about her mother's boyfriend, Neil. She is still missing her best friend. Her frenemy Tucker is causing her to stop and re-think their relationship, and Olivia's mom is going through some tough times, too.

This is a great realistic fiction novel for tween readers. It's already in my Baker and Taylor cart to order for my school library. Now I am in search of Gephart's other books so I can catch up on this author's work.

All These Things I've Done

2011-11-17T02:02:00.001-08:00

Anya Ballanchine is a teenage girl in 2083 in a world where chocolate is illegal, water is rationed, and crime is everywhere. Although just sixteen, Anya's parents have both been killed in mob hits, and she is responsible for her older brother, Leo, who suffered a brain injury in the accident that killed their mother, and her younger sister who just happens to be a genius.

Anya has several things to worry about: Leo has been lured into the family business, Anya's ex-boyfriend has been poisoned by the bar of chocolate Anya gave him and now she is sent to prison, and Anya has just happened to fall in love with the District Attorney's son despite his strict warnings to her to leave his child alone.

This is a fascinating - if not a little scary - world. Anya's dying grandmother remembers life much as we know it now. She was born in 1995, and tells Anya of a world where people could buy books (paper is now rationed), or go swimming, and travel overseas. And although life is vastly different, there are still a few things that remain the same. Anya's love for her family and desire to protect them, and her attraction to Win and romance with him show that life in 2083 still centers around family and relationships.

All These Things I've Done instantly grabbed me. Although I have looked at Zevin's website, and found no information on this, Amazon indicates that this book is the beginning of a series. While the ending does provide some closure, there is definitely room for future novels, and I would love to see what Anya, Leo and Natty are up to in the future.

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's pick: The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay

Due out February 14, 2012

From Amazon:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sarah’s Key and A Secret Kept comes an absorbing new novel about one woman’s resistance during an époque that shook Paris to its very core.

Paris, France: 1860’s. Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussman has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, moulding it into a “modern city.” The reforms will erase generations of history—but in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand.
Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction of her family home until the very end; as others flee, she stakes her claim in the basement of the old house on rue Childebert, ignoring the sounds of change that come closer and closer each day. Attempting to overcome the loneliness of her daily life, she begins to write letters to Armand, her beloved late husband. And as she delves into the ritual of remembering, Rose is forced to come to terms with a secret that has been buried deep in her heart for thirty years. The House I Loved is both a poignant story of one woman’s indelible strength, and an ode to Paris, where houses harbor the joys and sorrows of their inhabitants, and secrets endure in the very walls...

Did I Say I Was Back on Schedule?

2011-11-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

Clearly I am confused. On Sunday I wrote that I would be back to my regular blogging/reviewing schedule. I am so close to finishing Gabrielle Zevin's new book - loving it- that I will finish tonight unless I happen to fall asleep (again) while reading. This evening I spent my time at the public library getting ready for a fundraiser put on by the Friends of the Library committee. The other excitement at my house is Little Sister's new glasses. She was referred on after a screening at school, and does need glasses. Apparently she is developing a lazy eye (I am taking my husband's word for it since he is the one who took her to the appointment), and we are hopeful that glasses will correct the problem. The possibility of needing an eye patch for a while is still there, too, so we shall just have to see. Glasses or not, she's awfully cute!

Brendan Buckley's Back

2011-11-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

Brendan Buckley's Guide to the Universe by Sundee Frazier has been a book I have recommended to students for a few years. I feel like some of my students could really relate to Brendan, who has a white mother and African American father. Brendan's mom has no relationship with her parents because of her decision to marry a colored person, and although Brendan doesn't really know any different, there is a relationship with his maternal grandparents that he is missing out on.

Although Frazier never meant to write a sequel to this novel, Brendan Buckley is back in Brendan Buckley's Sixth Grade Experiment. In this novel, due out in January, Brendan meets a girl who is just as interested in science as he is.The two team up to enter a science competition and find a very smelly idea to explore. Although Frazier did resolve some of the issues with Brendan's maternal grandparents in the first book, this installment has Brendan wondering if he and his father can ever have a close relationship. He feels as though his dad doesn't "get" him and the two clash about a variety of things. And, Brendan is growing up. As a sixth grader he is a bit more mature than he was in the first book and starting to think about girls.

I like Brendan as a male role model, and I feel like he is a great character for my boy readers who enjoy school and are more academically inclined. Brendan is a boy much like them.

Frazier included a lot of scientific information she wanted to highlight at book's end. Since Brendan is a scientist, I am sure that Frazier either enjoys the subject herself, and/or also did a great deal of research for this novel.

While Frazier initially stated that she had never planned to write a sequel about Brendan, I am glad she has, and would be happy if future novels about this intelligent boy were to be written.

Working It Out

2011-11-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

I have seen The Biggest Loser only a handful of times, although I think this is a show I could really get into. When I came across Abby Rike's book several times, I didn't know her from The Biggest Loser, or why she was famous, yet because I saw her book in so many places, I decided to check it out.

First of all, while this book does discuss Rike's time on The Biggest Loser, I would classify this book as a love story and tribute to the family she tragically lost in a car accident in October 2006. Rike's values and faith shine through in every page of this book, and while at times I felt that she may have sugarcoated things, or perhaps made her life look too perfect, there is no doubt that her loss was devastating. The fact that Rike has managed to go on, can laugh and smile and look forward to her future is amazing and a testament to her faith in God.

While I wish this book included more about her time on The Biggest Loser, that is not really the only message Abby has to share. The Biggest Loser certainly brought Abby the spotlight, but she has capitalized on that by sharing her faith and message of hope with others.

Working It Out is a fast read, inspirational while heartbreaking.

Click here to visit Rike's website.

Sunday Salon

2011-11-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

I can't remember the last time I haven't blogged in over 48 hours- a fact that my oldest daughter made sure to point out to me....along with the reminder that I missed the Sunday Salon last weekend as well.

My weekend has been more relaxing than some, although I did host a sleepover for my ten year old and three friends on Friday night that involved an outing to a rec center where they swam and tried rock climbing, and supper at Pizza Ranch where I gorged myself on absolutely unhealthy food. Saturday morning I missed a baby shower I had planned on attending as I was still delivering children to their homes.

My husband and I rarely see movies, and the ones we have seen lately have all been with our children. Last night we managed to go to The Big Year at the dollar theater. Although my husband is not a big reader, he does love birding and has read The Big Year, thus his interest in the movie. We both enjoyed it a lot.

Today I have been in a whirlwind, trying to clean up a bit because I have just allowed too much clutter to accumulate. I am making progress. I have switched my summer and winter clothes and shoes, put the flannel sheets on the bed and done several loads of laundry, made food for meals this week, and am still busy picking things up and putting things away. I would really like to cuddle up with a few good books that are sitting here, which I plan on doing soon.

Because I missed the Sunday Salon last week, I'm sharing the girls Halloween picture now. This year we had a twenties flapper, disco queen, and ladybug. Now we have three huge piles of candy that I am hoping my husband takes to work soon. It is just too tempting.
Now that I feel organized, I should be back to blogging regularly. Here's to a great week at work and school.

FatherMotherGod: My Journey out of Christian Science

2011-11-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure exactly how to write the title of this book. Is it FatherMotherGod? or Father Mother God? Before I trash on the title, I want to at least be very clear on my feelings for this book. I loved, loved, loved this memoir. While I found the topic of Christian Science to be interesting, I don't have any extreme desire to know more about this topic, and that was not what I most enjoyed. I just simply thought Lucia Greenhouse's writing was perfect, making me feel as though I were a part of her family. I could understand Lucia's own struggle with her faith and also how frustrated she was by her parents decisions later in the book. Although many family members weighed in with their disapproval of Christian Science and her parents' decisions, wondering how Lucia and her siblings could have allowed their mother's health to deteriorate, I could understand how trapped they felt, and how they really did feel as though their hands were tied.

Although I have heard stories on the news- mostly about some child who has died from simple illness that was not life threatening because of their religious beliefs and practice of denying any medicine, Greenhouse's book is my first look up close at Christian Science. I have never thought much about what type of people practice this faith, but certainly any vision I had in my head was different than Greenhouse's affluent, intelligent family.

I nearly passed this book up simply because of the title, but I am so glad I read this memoir. Greenhouse writes that this book took nearly two decades to write, and it is evident that every word and recollection has been well thought out and crafted.

Throwback Thursday

2011-11-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

There are a few books from childhood that I can still recall verbatim. The B book by Stan and Jan Berenstain is one of them. There are few words on each page, which I will admit does make it easy to remember even now a few decades after it was first introduced to me.

I have used this book with early readers who are "reading" using mostly memorization and picture clues. I have read this book to my own children, and I continue to find students to share this book with.

The B Book is a timeless book for emerging readers. It's still a cute story decades after it was first introduced.

The Lost Crown

2011-11-09T16:49:00.001-08:00

Years ago I read a book about Anastasia, the daughter of the last tsar in Russia. I was totally fascinated by this story, and by the claims a woman made about being the Russian princess, despite the fact that the entire family was killed in 1918.

Details of this story escape me, but the story of Anastasia and her family is one aspect of Russian history that I have continued to find very interesting, and sure to appeal to many young readers. Sarah Miller, who authored Miss Spitfire, another amazing story detailing Annie Sullivan's life prior to her work with Helen Keller, has just had her second novel The Lost Crown published. Because I read Miller's blog, I have been aware of this new book and awaiting it for a while now. The Lost Crown is a fully researched, and for lack of a better word, amazing recounting of the four Romanov sisters: Olga and Tatiana (the older two) and Maria and Anastasia (the younger sisters). Each sister takes turn narrating the chapters, which share details of their wealthy life in Imperial Russia. The sisters are on the cusp of womanood, ready to embrace life, when World War I breaks out in Europe. A revolution follows for Russia, and its citizens who once embraced the tsar and his family no longer feel this way about their ruler. Although the ending was known to me before I even began reading, hearing the voices of these sisters made me sad for them, knowing what would await these girls, and how little they suspected the inevitable end.

There were many things I found interesting and note-worthy in this novel. Miller must have conducted massive amounts of research to craft this novel, and every detail seemed perfect to the time and place. I will happily recommend this books to young adult and adult readers. This is a great work of historical fiction that explores a fascinating family and brings to life their story.

To read more about The Lost Crown, visit Sarah Miller's website.

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-11-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

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

This week's selection: Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli

Due out March 15, 2012

Product Description from Amazon:

A breathtaking Georgia-mountain epic about the complex bond of mothers and daughters across a century.
In the autumn of 1941, Amelia J. McGee, a young woman of Cherokee and Scotch-Irish descent, and an outspoken pamphleteer for the NAACP, hastily sends her daughter, Ella, alone on a bus home to Georgia in the middle of the night-a desperate action that is met with dire consequences when the child encounters two drifters and is left for dead on the side of the road.
Ella awakens to find herself in the homestead of Willie Mae Cotton, a wise hoodoo practitioner and former slave, and her partner, Mary-Mary Freeborn, tucked deep in the Takatoka forest. As Ella begins to heal, the legacies of her lineage are revealed.
Glow transports us from Washington, D.C., on the brink of World War II to 1836 and into the mountain coves of Hopewell County, Georgia, full of ghosts both real and imagined. Illuminating the tragedy of human frailty, the power of friendship and hope, and the fiercest of all human bonds-mother love-this stunning debut will appeal to readers of both Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees and Amy Green's Bloodroot.

Wonderstruck

2011-11-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

I am one of the few people who has not read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Every person I admit this to tells me of their amazement at this very creative way to tell a story. Selznick's new book, Wonderstruck, again weaves pictures and text together to form a fabulous story.

Ben lives in Minnesota in 1977 and shares his story in text. He misses his mother who just passed away, and would love to find the father he never knew.

Rose lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1927, and shares her story in pictures. Eventually her story meshes with Ben's, to provide an amazing resolution.

I wasn't sure I would enjoy this type of story, as I am not always someone who looks carefully at illustrations, However, I was amazed by this book. This has been the latest read aloud at our house and we have spent several nights poring over this book, discussing, and eventually racing toward the end.

Wonderstruck is a book I am planning on purchasing; I loved it!

Growing Up Amish

2011-11-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

I grew up in rural Iowa on a farm, although my knowledge and experience with farming was minimal. Near us was a large Amish community, and I enjoyed driving around near their farms, seeing them travel by buggy, shopping at their store, and visiting their school for a field trip.

Ira Wagler's book, Growing Up Amish, tells of Wagler's own experience in an Amish community. While much of this lifestyle I could imagine, and have read about either in various fiction books or have heard about because of our proximity to an Amish community, there were still interesting and new facts I didn't know about. Learning how a preacher was selected was new to me. Also new to me was Wagler's ability to move in and out of his Amish community while he was deciding if he should remain with his family or seek a life outside of what he knew. I have heard of others leaving the Amish, but have not heard of people re-joining their family or being accepted back in the fold.

Growing Up Amish was interesting; Wagler is able to make peace with his decision to leave the Amish lifestyle, and share different aspects of Amish living that most people will not know about.

Bond Girl

2011-11-05T16:16:00.001-07:00

Erin Duffy's The Bond Girl isn't due out until January, but thanks to Amazon Vine I had the pleasure of curling up with this fabulous chick-lit novel this weekend. Even from the first pages Duffy's Bond Girl reminded me of The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, a chick lit novel chronicling one 20-something's experience in the magazine industry.

Alex graduates from college and then achieves her childhood dream of finding a job on Wall Street. While her job seems to have little to do with finance at first, and more to do with making sure her company's workers have lunch delivered to them on time, Alex spends all waking hours at the office trying to learn the tricks of the trade. There are few women to befriend her, but eventually Alex does make a few guy friends, although she wouldn't mind dating one in particular. And after showing her dedication to her job, she is finally given her own desk - as opposed to the folding chair she has been sitting on for the first several months. Her boss, Chick, seems to look out for her in a fatherly way, keeping her out of Rick, the slimeball's(and big client) clutches. And then 2008 happens. Working on Wall Street isn't so fun anymore, and Alex is confronted with several challenges both personally and professionally.

Bond Girl was a great read- impossible for me to put down. I don't read a lot of chick lit anymore, but Duffy's novel is every bit as good as The Devil Wears Prada and is sure to be a worthy addition to the chick lit genre.

Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face

2011-11-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

This fall I attended a conference that included a presentation by the University of Northern Iowa's Childrens Librarian. She book talked many good titles - titles that are must haves for a limited budget. Among them was Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face by Paul Acampora. This is a slim novel, yet there is much within these pages.

Zachary and his dad have moved from Colorado to Connecticut after his parents divorce. He is ready for a fresh start and quickly makes friends with the neighbors- or at least he makes friends with teenager Teddy, a gentle giant, and his younger sister, Rachel, who spends much of her time trying to take care of her big brother. Rachel is used to having to defend Teddy and often treats him as though he is a child. Zachary is still trying to come to terms with his mom leaving their family, and takes note of the fact that Rachel and Teddy are also motherless. Rachel and Teddy learn a few things from Zachary and he learns a few lessons from them as well.

I loved this book, but am still on the fence about whether I will buy this book for my elementary library. Zachary is in ninth grade and while there is nothing inappropriate in this book or too mature, I am not sure how many boy readers I have that will be interested in any hint of a little crush between Zachary and Rachel. While the main character in this novel is Zachary and I instantly think of boy readers, I also think many girls will enjoy this book as well. I could see a larger female audience in my school reading this one.

Acampora's first novel, Defining Dulcie, received many honors and starred reviews when it was published. While the cover picture is familiar to me, I have no recollection of reading it. I have already placed a hold on it at my library - I am very interested to read more by this talented author who has created characters that seem very real.

Thowback Thursday

2011-11-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper is a classic childrens picture book. We owned a copy of this title and read it over and over. I recall my mother stating that this was my younger sister's favorite read aloud, which would account for the numerous re-readings of it. I still think the message of perseverance is a good one for children, and I am always a little surprised at how few students I have that have ever heard this book.
The Little Engine That Could brings back happy childhood memories, and seeing this familiar cover makes me want to find my own copy to share with my children.

The Orchard

2011-11-03T04:41:00.000-07:00

Theresa Weir's The Orchard is a memoir chronicling the life of a family/marriage/woman on an apple orhard farm. I have read reviews claiming this book was depressing yet I found the writing amazing.

Weir marries Adrian Curtis, a bachelor farmer who is busy on his family's apple orchard. The two are young, knowing little about each other and at first their newfound marriage flounders. To add stress to their fragile relationship, Weir's new mother-in-law is unhappy with her son's selection of a mate, and does nothing to welcome this new member to the family. Coming from a farming community, I already knew that life on a farm is hard, and Weir reiterates that as Adrian sleeps little, working long hours to make a go of this life. Just as happens in most lives, years pass, children are born, ups and downs weathered. Although Weir was originally warned by her uncle and others in the community that the Curtis farm is cursed, she is undeterred from marrying Adrian, and despite the many hardships they face throughout their lives the two find a compatibility and partnership in their marriage.

Weir's memoir is one that I sighed over as I closed the book. I became easily lost in her story, loving the way in which she wrote about this farming life. While the setting is their apple orchard, I still felt this novel was not so much a chronological retelling of the goings on, but a reflection on the different events in her life that led her to this place and the relationships and events that shaped her life as Adrian Curtis' wife.

Waiting on Wednesday

2011-11-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

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

This week's pick: A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship and Resistance on Occupied France by Caroline Moorhead

Due out November 8, 2011

Product Description taken from Amazon:

They were teachers, students, chemists, writers, and housewives; a singer at the Paris Opera, a midwife, a dental surgeon. They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, printed subversive newspapers, hid resisters, secreted Jews to safety, transported weapons, and conveyed clandestine messages. The youngest was a schoolgirl of fifteen who scrawled "V" for victory on the walls of her lycÉe; the eldest, a farmer's wife in her sixties who harbored escaped Allied airmen. Strangers to each other, hailing from villages and cities from across France, these brave women were united in hatred and defiance of their Nazi occupiers.
Eventually, the Gestapo hunted down 230 of these women and imprisoned them in a fort outside Paris. Separated from home and loved ones, these disparate individuals turned to one another, their common experience conquering divisions of age, education, profession, and class, as they found solace and strength in their deep affection and camaraderie.

October Recap

2011-11-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

November is here already! Time goes quickly and even though October is a long month, it seems to have flown by. Here's the breakdown for October:

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
3. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
4. Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
5. Second Nature by Jacqueline Mitchard
6. Island's End by Padma Vankatraman
7. Coming Up for Air by Patti Callahan Henry
8. Safe From the Neighbors by Steve Yarbrough
9. The Map of Me by Tami Lewis Brown
10. Farishta by Patricia McArdle
11. Beneath My Mother's Feet by Amjed Qamar
12. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins
13. Running Away to Home by Jennifer Wilson
14. The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate
15. Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen
16. How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
17. The Night Stranger by Chris Bohjalian
18. Silhouetted in the Blue by Traci L. Jones
19. The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark
20. Queen of Hearts by Martha Brooks
21. Dancing Home by Alma Flor Ada
22. Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder
23. Something to Hold by Katherine Schlick Noe
24. Friendship According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

12 of the 24 were middle grade/YA, and 12 were adult
3 of 24 were non-fiction, 21 were fiction
21 books were written by females, 3 by males
7 were books from my shelf, 17 were library books
2 were read on my Kindle

A Blast From the Past

2011-11-01T01:41:00.000-07:00

What was I reading ten years ago? I am sure I was a sleep deprived new mother, but still managed to get a few books read.

Here are the highlights:

All of these books I can actually remember reading. I was amazed to see that it has been a decade since I read Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn. This title is one I still think about and it feels like it was just a short time ago I read it. There were some great selections a decade ago. I hope November of 2011 also brings some great reads.

Bigger Than a Bread Box

2011-10-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

Laurel Snyder's Bigger Than A Bread Box combines realistic fiction with a hint of magic. Normally the mention of magic would make me look the other way when selecting a book, but this one intrigued me, and aside from a bit of magic really did read like realistic fiction.

Rebecca's mother has gone with her children to Atlanta to stay indefinitely with Rebecca's grandmother, leaving her father by himself in Baltimore - a part of a trial seperation between Rebecca's parents. Unhappy to be in Atlanta, Rebecca is amazed to discover that a red bread box she located in her grandmother's attic seems to grant her wishes. She merely asks, and then receives a cell phone, ipod, and other wonderful treasures. Even though her life is far from perfect, this bread box and its magic do provide a little glimmer of happiness in Rebecca's life. She is still hoping her mother will take her back home, all the while trying to make friends and fit in at her new school.

Things come to a climax as Rebecca must think about how the bread box and its magic have affected other people.

Snyder's novel gives a realistic glimpse of those tween years and trying to fit in. A wonderful story, it would also make a great read aloud.

Sunday Salon

2011-10-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

Last night my husband and I attended a Halloween party. We are not really dress-up people. My husband enjoys it more than I do, and there were numerous discussions about what type of costume I would wear. On Friday I saw an on-line article about our local theater renting out costumes. Over lunch I paid them a visit and found a wonderful selection of costumes. I was very happy with our Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy outfits, even though I decided not to do face paint (we had church today and I just didn't want to have to work at getting it off).

Tomorrow is trick or treating in our town and the girls are very excited for it. I'll have to post a picture with this year's costumes. I didn't do very much reading this weekend. I have started a few books and just wasn't in the mood. I am glad this doesn't happen very often to me, because I hate being in a reading funk. I may give these titles another try at some point, because I am really blaming it on myself and not the books. While adult novels have been a hard sell, I have read and enjoyed several tween novels. I am thinking this is a good thing, and eventually I'll find an adult book that clicks.
I tried to purchase Tom Brokaw's new book while at Sam's yesterday, only to be told by the cashier that it wasn't supposed to have been displayed yet and they were unable to sell it to me. I'm sure I'll read it at some point, and I did save $16.

I am so glad that this week there is no after school tutoring for me to teach. The kids and teachers are excited for a break. November is just around the corner, something I find amazing!

Happy Halloween, everyone!