Friday, January 30, 2009

Impossible


I am happy to report I have finished three books in the past day, so I am finally getting some reading done. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld is an adult book I read while using my Airdyne bike. It took me quite a while since I don't ride that long or far each day, but I always looked forward to reading Sittenfeld's book. I am so sad now that it is done, but have already started Elizabeth Edwards' memoir. I also started and finished Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher last night. I enjoyed her humor and found myself chuckling from time to time. And, I also finished Impossible by Nancy Werlin. I have heard a lot about this book, and read various reviews. I had only ever read one other Nancy Werlin book before, which I will admit I wasn't impressed with. I am not much into creepy, and the book I had read was creepy.
This story is about Lucinda, a high school senior, who lives with her foster parents. Her mother, Miranda, shows up from time to time, but is the local crazy homeless lady. When Lucinda is raped and finds herself pregnant, she learns more about the curse placed on her and the other women in her family. Each woman found themselves pregnant at the age of eighteen and gave birth to a daughter. Once they had given birth they went crazy. Lucy takes the curse seriously and with her boyfriend and foster parents tries to break its grip on her. Maybe a teen reader would find this book engrossing but even though I knew it was fantasy, so therefore, it wasn't believable, I had a hard time buying into the story. I felt that the curse was weak....I mean, really, she has to prove the four tasks in a verse of Scarborough Fair? It just seemed rather silly. There were parts of this book I really enjoyed, but overall I wasn't very impressed. Knowing this book received great reviews makes me wonder what I was missing.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Not Very Much Reading Going On

First of all, I was happy to get to see the ALA awards live on the Unikron site, and even though I did have people in and out of the library while this was going on, was able to hear some of it. Both Savvy and The Underneath were not surprises to me. I haven't read The Graveyard Book or the other honor book. I have only just seen the Caldecott winner. How I Learned Geography, one of the Caldecott honor books, is one I have in my school library and have used with a fourth and fifth grade class when we begin a unit on maps. After reading so many book blogs I can't say there were huge surprises. At least I had heard of all the winners even if I haven't read them all.
I am operating at an all time low of leisure reading. My youngest daughter has been to the doctor twice in the last two days. Yesterday my husband took her to a doctor we don't normally see since ours was booked. That dr. told us she just had a cold. Today I took her back in to our regular doctor who told us her double ear infection that she was treated for two weeks ago, was back, or maybe not ever really gone. UGH!. There is not a whole lot of sleep going on at night right now at our house. So, needless to say, I haven't read much either. I am going to finish American Wife this week and I will be so sad when it is over. I don't just love politics, but I do love First Families, and this fictional look at George and Laura Bush has been such a fun read. I can actually see the Bushes in every page Sittenfeld has written. I am still working on The Comeback Season by Jennifer Smith and Impossible by Nancy Werlin. Both are good and I will write a real review when I finish- which will be soon, I hope. I haven't even been to the library in a week and have things sitting there waiting for me. I am looking forward to getting back on track soon. I have also started my book club with fifth graders at school and after I think about that for a bit need to write about their reading, too.
For now I am off to watch Max and Ruby with my two year old. (I sort of wish I could have stayed home with her today because I am just dying to see the new Olivia series on Nickelodeon).

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Predictions?

Tomorrow is the big day! Newbery, Caldecott, and a host of other winners will be announced. My goal is to get everything done as quickly as I can at work so I can watch the announcements live. Some years I have predicted which books I think should get some award, but usually just to myself so I don't have to feel ridiculous when my predictions are wrong. This year I have been reading so many blogs and feel like I know what books might be contenders, but I have not been able to read all of the books that have made a splash. If I own the book I feel at least a little successful since obviously I must be sort of clued in. After seeing the Cybils list for picture books and realizing that I don't really know any of those, I can't even begin to predict a winner there. I still really, really like Jimmy's Stars and am hoping it will get some sort of award. I also think The Underneath has received so much press and it is the type of quality writing that garners a Newbery, that I wouldn't be surprised at all if it gets an award. I also have Savvy sitting in a pile of books at home, so if that does get an award, I do own it already. Other than that, I am hoping to be happily surprised. We'll just have to see.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Sing Them Home


Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos is a book I have been looking forward to reading as soon as I heard of it. I read Broken For You, Kallos' first book when it came out and enjoyed it (although I think I sort of skimmed through the ending). With all the press that Sing Them Home has been getting, I was sure Kallos' second novel was as good as her first.

There are many things I have to say about Sing Them Home and I am not even sure where to start. I used to not shy away from long books, but anymore they just take me too long to get done. Sing Them Home was a whopping 540 pages, so it has taken me a week to get through it (with a few other young adult books thrown in along the way). It was not necessarily a book I couldn't put down, but the further along I got into it, the more I enjoyed it. Kallos' characters are unique from their names to personalities, so I won't soon forget them.

Set in Emlyn Springs, Nebraska, the book focuses on three grown siblings: Larken, Gaelen, and Bonnie and the various occurences in their lives. The children are still dealing with the tornado that ripped through their town in 1978, leaving their mother Hope, forever missing. Larken is a college professor struggling personally and professionally. Gaelen is a meteorologist who is let go from his job and suffers some sort of midlife crisis when this happens and moves back to Emlyn Springs, and Bonnie, the youngest sibling has always lived in her hometown, hoping not to be a spinster for her entire life. When their father, Dr. Llewelyn Jones unexpectedly passes away, all three siblings get together again. Hope's diary entries are interspersed between chapters giving additional information about the mother that is no longer with them.

After finishing the book, I would say I really enjoyed it. While I was reading it, I would have said it was OK. As I got to know the characters the story grew on me. Kallos' book should attract many readers.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Lincoln and His Boys


Ever since I was in first grade (many years ago) I have loved Abraham Lincoln. I am not sure where I first heard about him, but once I did I started reading books on him and was even so carried away that I wrote plays about him that I acted out with my classmates. (I am hoping that no adult remembers this). Of course I still carry a little bit of extra interest in Abe even as an adult. Since this is the bicentennial of his birth there are so many wonderful things being published about him that I can't wait to get my hands on!

The girls and I started Lincoln and His Boys by Rosemary Wells a few nights ago. Last night we couldn't find it when we were supposed to be reading before bed and my oldest daughter was quite upset, "I am crazy for that book!" is how she put it.

Wells has done research on Lincoln and his unconventional relationship with his children. He enjoyed spending time with his kids, despite the fact that that was not typical for fathers at that time. The book is told by two narrators, Tad and Willie and spans several years. When Tad narrates he must tell of his brother, Willie's death. The book ends just as the Civil War ends. I wish it would go a bit further, but realize if it did, I would have to hear Tad's heartbreak at losing his father. Imagning it is bad enough as it is easy to see how involved the sons are with their dad.

This book is a great addition to the wealth of Lincoln books coming out this year and my girls will be anxious to finish it tonight.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Library Loot

I have never participated in any type of blog schedule, but liked the idea of Library Loot since I do make frequent trips to different libraries. Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend a little time at the library by myself and found some selections I am excited about:

The Comeback Season by Jennifer Smith- I started this one while I was still at the library trying to download some files that were taking too much time.

Tennyson by Lesley M.M. Blume
Nim at Sea by Wendy Orr - to read to my kiddos at bedtime since they loved Nim's Island
Love, Meg by C. Leigh Purtill
A Song For Harlem by Patricia McKissack in her Scraps of Time series
Home and Other Big Fat Lies by Jill Wolfson

This is literally a drop in the bucket of the library books I already have checked out since I have a fairly large stack of books I am still trying to work my way through (most of which are adult books). I am currently reading Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos, who wrote Broken For You in 2004.

Today was a day off of school since it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so we amused ourselves by trying out a new knitting shop, CrazyGirl Yarn Shop. What a great place! My seven year old got a few instructions and has been trying to work on her own scarf this afternoon. Stopping there gave me the itch to knit again, too, so now it is a matter of finding a pattern that I think I can be successful with. Knitting might seriously cut into my reading time.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Farmer Boy

The chapter book I am reading to my girls right now just happens to be Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved all the Little House books when I was growing up. I watched the show on television faithfully each week. Little House on the Prairie is the first chapter book I remember reading by myself. The girls loved Little House in the Big Woods when I read that to them, but were less enchanted with Little House on the Prairie which we stopped reading midway through. I tried not to care that a book that I loved so much was one they were just not into at all, and I am still hoping they will want to try it again someday. We are nearing the end of Farmer Boy and the girls are both liking it. However, I can see why they are finding parts of it not that exciting. This is a few paragraphs from the chapter titled Threshing:

"The flail had come off its handle and Father had put them together again. The flail was an ironwood stick, three feet long and as big around as a broom handle. It had a hole through one end. Its handle was five feet long, and one end was a round knob.
"Father put the strip of cowhide through the hole in the flail, and riveted the ends together to make a leather loop. He took another strip of cowhide and cut a slit in each end of it. He put it through the leather loop on the flail, then he pushed the slits over the knobbed end of the handle.
"The flail and its handle were loosely held together by the two leather loops, and the flail could swing easily in any direction."

I will be the first to admit that when I come to portions of Wilder's books that describe things I have no knowledge of or experience with I zone out. As I was reading this last night I couldn't help but wonder if my girls were listening to me read at all or if they even knew what I was reading about. I know I couldn't have described a flail or even identified one if I saw it.
The parts of the book that we enjoyed reading the most were the stories Laura includes - in this case about Almanzo's childhood. Last night we laughed out loud when Almanzo, Royal, Alice and Eliza Jane awoke on Christmas morning and rushed downstairs to open their presents. After exclaiming over their gifts their father called to them from the bedroom, asking what time it was. It was then that they realized they had all gone downstairs at 3:30 AM. Even though the family normally arose quite early, 3:30 AM was still the middle of the night!
Wilder's books are still favorites of mine from childhood. I want my children to love them like I do, yet I also recognize that there are parts of her writing that describe a way of life that my children have no connection to ability to envision what Wilder is writing about. So, I keep reading right through those parts, knowing there are some great stories about she includes about her life.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Artichoke's Heart

First of all, today was another snow day-my third this week. UGH! My girls did have school and my youngest daughter who has a double ear infection and started antibiotics yesterday went to daycare so I had a few hours to myself. Did I get to read? No. I went to Target and Sam's so I wouldn't have errands to run this weekend. I did ride my Airdyne bike for a short while and read a little more in the Curtis Sittenfeld book, American Wife, that I am loving.

I also finished Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee this morning. What a great book! While I haven't read nearly as much as I want to, I have been happy with the books I have read. This was a great YA book and I felt like Rosemary and I could be friends. Rosemary is overweight-something she doesn't like, but doesn't seem able to stop. Her mom and aunt continue to try and find ways for her to lose weight, but none of them seem to work. Finally, Rosemary' s mom signs her up to be a part of a study on people who receive short term counseling and their ability to lose weight. While she is skeptical, Rosemary agrees to this plan, and learns a lot about herself along the way. The counseling sessions give Rosemary a chance to talk with someone about her feelings and discover things about herself she never realized. When star athlete, Kyle Cox, asks Rosie out she can't believe her good luck. He doesn't seem to care about how heavy she is at all. Rosie eventually decides to work on being more healthy, but it is not her mother or aunt who can do the work for her when it comes to weight loss, and Rosie also learns to like the good things inside of her and not see only her weight when she looks at herself.

This book has such a good message for girls about body image and finding a way to lead a healthy lifestyle without obsessing about weight. It also shows that Rosie was able to be attractive to someone without being perfect. I am rooting for Rosie, and Rosie and Kyle, and would like to check in on her in a year or two and see how her life is turning out.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Thaw

First of all, I can't believe it has almost been a week since I last posted. I'm not sure what is keeping me so busy aside from report cards and attending a Promethean training yesterday and completing an on-line training as well. Today is another snow day. So far my kids have had four and I have had two. We added another seven inches to our total last night.
The one thing I did get accomplished today was a little reading. Thaw by Monica Roe was devoured in one sitting. Wow! What a book.
Dane Rafferty is eighteen when he is diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome, a paralyzing disease leaving him without the use of his arms and legs and months of therapy in his future. While Dane initially assumes he will make a full recovery (seventy five percent of people who suffer from this illness do) there is a lot of work for him to do to make that assumption a reality. Along the way Dane may even have to admit to having feelings and being human. I have read a few different blogs about Thaw and in them all I have read that Dane is not a likeable character. While this is true, there are also some reasons that Dane has developed the personality he has. His father wants only perfection and remains perfectly detached from everyone in the family. Not only has Dane tried to be the perfect son for his father, he has also started to act like his dad. Even his girlfriend Elise is unable to get Dane to really open up to her, despite all her efforts. When Dane is packed off to Florida for rehab without friends or family to give him support he is left with a lot of time to think and the need to make a friend or two along the way. I wanted to know if Dane made a full recovery and wondered how Roe would resolve her story. Roe managed to create a perfect ending for this book and I will continue to wonder about Dane for a long time.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Double Cheeseburgers, Quiche and Vegetarian Burritos


Mmmmm! Reading this book made me very hungry! Double Cheeseburgers, Quiche and Vegetarian Burritos: American Cooking from the 1920s Through Today by Loretta Frances Ichord is a great book for anyone who enjoys food (and who doesn't enjoy food?). The book is organized chronologically beginning in the 1920s with the invention of several new food items: Wonder Bread began selling sliced bread, quick cooking oatmeal was developed, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese hit grocery stores. When the Depression began Ichord chronicles how victory gardens were planted and rationing took place. After World War II's end, TV dinners were developed and as time has progressed more time saving cooking devices and prepackaged food items have become commonplace.
I don't think there was any new information that was surprising to me, but I can see middle grade nonfiction readers enjoying this book a lot because most of what is being written about they have had personal experience with. A few years ago I purchased an adult book, From Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals by Barbara Haber which discusses in greater depth how American food and eating has changed over time. That book is still waiting to be read, and after having a chance to read Double Cheeseburgers, I am more interested in digging the adult title out again.

Marley and Me

Over break my mom and I took my two oldest girls to see Marley and Me in the theater. We had been waiting a while for this since our weather has been snowy and icy lately. Two summer ago I had read the junior novel Marley, a Dog Like No Other over various car trips we had taken as a family. Usually the car ride wasn't extremely long, but we all liked hearing about Marley and the crazy stuff he would do. We also had just said goodbye to our dog, Bernie, a St. Bernard who was as loveable as Marley and equally as badly behaved. So we laughed while we read. Somehow I think my girls forgot the sad ending Marley would have. I reminded them before the movie started that Marley was probably going to die at the end since he was old and his body was wearing out. The movie was sad. Marley's dying is drug out to generate the maximum amount of audience tears possible. At one point my middle daughter looked a little sad about this, but she was quickly cheered by the news I whispered to her that the Grogan family would soon get a new puppy. The movie was good....maybe a bit more romantic than I was expecting. A teacher was hoping for Marley's DVD release, but after telling him of the content it was easy to see this is not a classroom viewing type of story. That same teacher finished reading the junior novel just two days ago to his class. As we all know the story is sad and one of his students ended up crying hysterically over Marley's death. When he took her into the hall to talk to her and make sure she was OK she replied, "It's OK. I'm just an emotional girl." The next class read aloud he began that day was Sounder. After that he is going to be reading Stone Fox. I think this tenderhearted student should invest in some kleenex for the next few weeks.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

How Not To Be Popular


This morning I finished How Not To Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler. I had some mixed feelings while reading this book. I liked it, but felt like I was back in high school, which I guess is the audience it is intended for. Since it is more of a "fluff" read I can't say it was something I just couldn't put down. However, as I read I did get more and more into the story and even wanted to reach the end to know the outcome
Maggie is the daughter of two hippies, Rose and Les, and has been in ten different high schools. Finally after having to leave her boyfriend and best friend in Portland, Maggie is determined not to like Austin, TX, or make friends there. She dresses strangely, hangs out with an outcast, and does everything in her power to try and not fit in. None of it works. Despite her best efforts not to like Austin, Maggie does make friends and finds herself enjoying things there. Without giving everything away, I will say that the ending is rather happy, and one that teenage girls will agree with.
While How Not To Be Popular is not the best book I have read, I did find enjoyable. I know as a teenager this book would have been a great easy read for me.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

The Mother Daughter Book Club


Last night I was putting my girls to bed. Part of the ritual involves me reading to them, but after I am done with that, I also read for a bit to myself while they look at books or read to themselves. I had finished The Rope Walk by Carrie Brown, an adult book, while this was going on and my middle daughter volunteered to go and pick out a new book for me. Having anyone pick out a book for me to read is always a little scary since I have to be in a certain mood to want to read a certain book. I gave her just a few basic guidelines, and she returned with a nice selection. I can tell exactly what motivates her selection: the book's cover must be cute or girly. One of the books she came back with was The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick. I have looked at this book so many times in the past year and considered reading it. The topic definitely appeals to me, and I love Little Women, which is the book the the book club reads together. I didn't get very far in this book last night, but since once again we have had freezing rain overnight and church was cancelled again as was our Christmas celebration with my family, I had some reading time today. I just finished The Mother Daughter Book Club this afternoon and loved it. I know I would have loved it as a middle grade student, too. I am lucky that the second book is already waiting for me in my stack of books, but can't quite decide if I want to read it right away since there isn't a third one out right now and I may have to wait a while.
This book is narrated by four different girls: Cassidy, Emma, Jess, and Megan. All have some unique interests and family dynamics that set them apart from each other. Initially Megan is not a good friend with the other girls and Cassidy and her mother and sister are new to town. When I first bought the book I remember looking through it anticipating that the book club read a new book each month and there would be a new chapter or something each month noting that. Since Little Women takes the club an entire year to read there are quotes from Alcott along the way at the beginnings of each chapter. I am not sure kids who read the book would take time to read them, but as an adult I enjoyed them and how well they fit with the character or plot taking place. The book club is more the ideas of the mothers, yet the daughters grudgingly take part, and even grow to enjoy the book club and their time together. I also enjoyed the Chadwick family-both mother and daughter make trouble for the Mother Daughter Book Club. The flap of the second book has made me a bit curious since the Chadwicks are invited to join the book club in the second installment. I am not sure how that will work, but bet it will provide some humor. Maybe the book ends too happily, the plot being neatly tied up at the end, but this book made me smile and I can think of a lot of girls I know who would enjoy this book a lot.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Book Challenges

It seems every book blogger has a challenge to write about or take part in. Being new at this blogging, I am still trying to figure everything out, but have found a couple challenges I plan on taking part in.
The first is at www.myfriendamysblog.com where Amy is hosting a challenge to read 12 books that you purchased in 2009. Considering the number of books I purchase that part of the challenge won't be a problem. I am not always so good at reading what I buy. I know I am going to have those books around for as long as I need, while the stack of library books I have checked out needs to be read in a more timely manner. Still, I am quite sure I read well over 12 books I owned last year, and am looking forward to this challenge.
The other challenge is found at www.warthroughthegenerations.wordpress.com This challenge consists of reading five books taking place during World War II or about World War II. There is a reading list available on the website that, having just perused, seems to be quite comprehensive. I already have five titles listed and after having read that list have added a few more to my list of books I want to read.
There is a third challenge I am contemplating joining as well that I read about on Becky's Book Reviews. The challenge is to read historical romances which wouldn't seem so exciting to me except that Becky mentioned how she was planning on reading Sunfire Romances. I LOVED these books when I was growing up and ended up purchasing all of them from eBay so I could have my own collection. Every time I mention these books to someone around my age I always get a rather blank look and no one else apparently loved them as much as me, or even remembers them for that matter. Once Becky mentioned reading them I was sold.
Three challenges might seem rather pathetic to the true book blogger, but I figure this is at least a start, and knowing how well I procrastinate, might find myself reading frantically at the end of 2009 to try and finish these challenges that now appear so doable.