tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37186639861805171182024-03-12T23:20:03.344-07:00Fertile Plotscrossonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366006551206878187noreply@blogger.comBlogger178125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-81600590683808633222012-06-21T18:54:00.000-07:002012-06-21T18:54:40.019-07:00The I Can't Believe I Didn't Give It Five Stars postJust last week, I was going to mention that I was worried blogger (or whatever they call themselves), would take away our so perfectly named blog for inactivity. Not wanting that to happen, I thought I'd toss in a couple old goodreads reviews now and then. The ever elusive five stars? I couldn't decide. I've never had more than 7 in one year (so far!). So, I thought I'd start with this Louise Penny, because Julianne echoed my appreciation of her as such a great author. This one, <i>The Brutal Telling</i>, is the first one I read, which is actually the fifth in the series.
<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>Reviewed Oct. 2009.
Three Pines, a small village near Quebec, seems to be your basic rustic, perfect, getaway place. However, when bistro owners Olivier and Gabriel discover a dead body inside their dining area, that peacefulness is shattered. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigate the murder. I would call this a sort of procedural cozy, as Gamache’s team can be high tech when they need to be, but Gamache certainly believes in following the clues and old fashioned footwork. I didn’t realize there are other Gamache stories, and this was not his first visit to the supposedly tranquil Three Pines. The story and mystery stood alone quite well. From the townspeople’s distrust of the nearby spa opening to the gradually more terrifying area legends, I found this to be a very gripping mystery.
<blockquote></blockquote>Gave it four stars. Hereby upped to five in my mind!holdenjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04563239351498816805noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-78220672970539468432012-01-01T09:19:00.000-08:002012-01-01T09:22:36.670-08:00It's that time!I stopped getting the Powell's emails for a while and had to re-subscribe. Don't want any of you to miss out on this when thinking over our faves from 2011.<br /><br /><span></span><a href="http://www.powells.com/puddlys/2012/">http://www.powells.com/puddlys/2012/</a><br /><br />Happy New Year!holdenjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04563239351498816805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-4555454674157076162011-02-03T11:30:00.001-08:002011-02-03T11:45:23.883-08:00Julie's scant top 10 in 2010<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Well, as I mentioned before, 2010 seems to have been a year of poor book choices: although I read 90-some books by my Goodreads count, I am including only 7 on my end-of-year list. There were a number of books that I enjoyed that get honorable mentions for being fun reads, but they don't make the cut; however, taken all together, I have 9 books plus a three-book series.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In no particular order, here are my seven books, with a one-line summary of each:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent3" style="text-indent:0in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When You Reach Me</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Rebecca Stead<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Newbery winner, with a Madeleine L’Engle-like story. I can’t come up with higher praise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent3" style="text-indent:0in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Rebecca Skloot<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A non-fiction account of the woman behind the cells used in research, and the journalist’s search for her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent3" style="text-indent:0in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Book Thief,</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Markus Zusak<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A powerful story about life in a small German town during WWII, and the importance of reading.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Going Bovine</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Libba Bray<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A hallucinatory road trip involving a hypochondriac dwarf, a punk angel, and a boy with mad-cow disease.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">6. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mockingjay</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Suzanne Collins<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A satisfying conclusion to the best series I’ve read in a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><!--StartFragment--></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">7. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Lost Books of the Odyssey</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Zachary Mason<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Supposedly a translation of 44 short texts that offer variant versions of the Trojan War myth, many of them melancholy musings about heroism, love, and home. </span></span><!--EndFragment--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><p></p><!--EndFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Honorable mentions:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent3" style="text-indent:0in"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent3" style="text-indent:0in"><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><!--StartFragment--></span></p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent3" style="text-indent:0in"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Magicians</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, Lev Grossman<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyTextIndent3" style="text-indent:0in"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">City of Bones</span></span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> series, Cassanda Clare</span></span></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-79161106765091153462011-02-01T19:27:00.000-08:002011-02-01T19:29:39.306-08:00Not Quite 10 in 2010: Shana's takeThank goodness for Goodreads - I'd never remember what I read. But 2010 was a lean year, in terms of really really good books I'd recommend -- or like Jenny, books that just stopped me cold that I couldn't put down. So here goes, Shana's list 4, plus two series....<br />
<br />
• <i>Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand </i> by Helen Simonson<br />
Beautiful story of love and idiots. While you always know how the story will turn out, it was a lovely journey getting to the end, and a joy to urge on the righteous while watching the idiots fall. <br />
<br />
• <i>The Cello Suites</i> by Eric Siblin<br />
An engaging history of the Bach Cello Suites, which are a cellists rite of passage. I actually learned to play one of them – but am much better at listening to Pablo Casalas or Mistlav Rostopovich play them. Siblin’s book follows three paths: the career of Pablo Casalas, the history of the Cello Suites, and Siblin’s attempt to learn to play cello (he is a reporter for Rolling Stone….) I find it totally amazing that no one really knows the source of the Suites, and that they were virtually unknown before Casalas found an old, old copy of them in a music store in Spain. How can that be? What other incredible music has been lost to history?<br />
<br />
• <i>Betsy Tacy</i> series by Maud Hart Lovelace<br />
What can I say? I haven’t read these since I was a kid, so totally enjoyed reading them again from an adult perspective.<br />
<br />
• <i>Miracle Life of Edgar Mint</i> by Brady Udall<br />
OK, I thought Udall was Indian until, duh, I realized he was of the political Udall family, and actually a Mormon. Still, this was an amazing book. Painful, uncomfortable, difficult, violent, cruel. Yet completely compelling. I couldn’t put it down. <br />
<br />
• <i>Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down</i> by Anne Fadiman<br />
I’ve heard about this book for years, and finally picked it up. The story is sad- a young Hmong girl has epilepsy, and the miscommunication between the medical establishment and the family is heartbreaking. It was frustrating to read the book and try to understand WHY the American medical establishment was so incredibly myopic in how they treated the family. I certainly hope things have improved. Fadiman’s concept of Western medicine as a culture is compelling.<br />
<br />
• Mary Russell series by Laurie King<br />
I’m telling myself that one reason I don’t seem to have many books on my list this year is because I reread the first 4 books in the Mary Russell series. I love these books more every time I read them…. You’d think after reading them 4 or 5 times I’d tire of them, but each time I read them I find more and more to love. Perhaps the fact that I’ve read more of the “Canon” – the real Holmes stories, or the fact that King, like J.K. Rowling, has planted things in early books that become clear in later ones. How do they do that? Oh well- I’ll just enjoy it.crossonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366006551206878187noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-27462160200164496352011-02-01T15:09:00.000-08:002011-02-01T15:38:52.478-08:0010 in 2010: Jenny's VersionHere is a quick list of my top 10 reads this last year in no particular order. These were the books that made me want to sit on my couch, turn off the phone, and ignore my to-do list. <br /><br />1. <span style="font-style:italic;">A Tree Grows in Brooklyn</span>: Betty Smith<br />This book really surprised me because though the setting is Brooklyn in the early 1900's right before World War 1, the writing and the approach to the topics seem surprisingly contemporary. Betty Smith's fairly autobiographical look at poverty and hope in a Brooklyn neighborhood is frank in its approach to love, sex, relationships, and issues of class. Though told in third person, this novel's main focus is Francie Nolan, who loves the library and school and sees education as a way out of her circumstances.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-style:italic;">Hold Me Closer, Necromancer</span>: Lish McBride<br />I had high hopes for this book based on the title (and the Sherman Alexie shout out on the cover) and I wasn't disapointed. This was a fun, funny, and addictive beginning to a series set in Seattle (but a Seattle teaming with supernatural folks). <br /><br />3. <span style="font-style:italic;">One Day</span>: David Nicholls<br />This novel plays out in some ways you might guess and in other ways you might not, but perhaps because I'm about the same age as Dex and Em, the main characters, this story evoked a lot of nostalgia, some out-and-out belly laughs, and a few tears. <br /><br />4. <span style="font-style:italic;">I Capture the Castle</span>: Dodie Smith<br />I can't tell you exactly why I found this book so charming and compellingly readable but I did. Though it was written in 1948 (and it's definitely set between the wars), the voice of the main character, Cassandra, is shockingly contemporary. Though the novel is filled with a vast array of eccentric characters including the castle that Cassandra and her family live in, it's the character of Cassandra and her mix of savvy and innocence that really kept me reading.<br /><br />5. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian</span>: Sherman Alexie<br />Sherman Alexie's wonderful novel is just one more example of young adult fiction kicking the a** out of most adult fiction these days. This is the story of Junior, who decides to leave the Rez and his only friend, Rowdy, to attend an all white school 22 miles away.<br /><br />6. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Shadow Catcher:</span> Mariane Wiggins<br />Woven in and out of two narratives (one present/one past) are Wiggin's reflections on the call of wanderlust, of wide open American spaces, of the power and limitations of photography, and the effects of absent fathers. <br /><br />7. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Kind One:</span> Tom Epperson<br />I picked this novel up from a bargain table at Border's because the author, Tom Epperson, had co-written the script for One False Move, a movie that still haunts me to this day. According to the back of the book, this novel is "soon to be a major motion picture" but it's already quite cinematic . . . in a good way, not in a film script-y kind of way (where you hear the plot creaking)<br /><br />8. <span style="font-style:italic;"> Boneshake</span>r: Cherie Priest<br />In this steampunk novel (my first), there are zombies (or rotters), airships, and lots of fascinating weapons as well as a mother and son who are both brave but flawed. <br /><br />9. <span style="font-style:italic;">Garnethill</span>: Denise Mina<br />A gritty Scottish thriller that was hard to put down. After a night of drinking, Maureen O'Donnell stumbles home to her apartment in a tough neighborhood in Glasgow, passes out, and wakes up to find her boyfriend Douglas tied to a chair in the living room with his throat slashed. Things just go downhill from there.<br /><br />10. <span style="font-style:italic;">She Got Off the Couch</span>: Haven Kimmel<br />More tales from Mooreland, Indiana . . . population 320 (or so).Doc Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11135298309901871573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-36000645849478186042011-01-28T06:11:00.000-08:002011-01-28T06:43:34.351-08:00Ten in 2010I will start us off with my quick post of top reads from 2010. I've tried to pick books we didn't all read anyway--titles you may not have picked up on my enthusiasm via <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">goodreads</span> on a less than articulate day! So, in no particular order, here we go:<br /><br />1. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny<br /><em>It's the sixth in a series, but I only read #5 before this and was wowed by Penny's magnificent, twisting plot.</em><br />2. When You Reach Me by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Rebecca</span> Stead<br /><em>Was the 2010 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Newbery</span> winner.</em><br />3. Saving <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">CeeCee</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Honeycutt</span> by Beth Hoffman<br /><em>Seems like I read it longer ago...The Help was on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">everyone's</span> list, but I liked this Southern tale.</em><br />4. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley<br /><em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Flavia</span>, her bike, her lab and her sisters continue to make these fabulous.</em><br />5. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Cardturner</span> by Louis <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Sachar</span>.<br /><em>He did it again, this time involving bridge. </em><br />6. Scout, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Atticus</span> and Boo by Mary M. Murphy<br /><em>Happy 50<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">th</span> Scout.</em><br />7. Beautiful Creatures by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Kami</span> Garcia and Margaret <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Stohl</span><br /><em>Giving the vamps a run for the money and bringing back Southern <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">gothic</span>.</em><br />8. Stay by Allie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Larkin</span><br /><em>Great way to pass the time.</em><br />9. Revolution by Jennifer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Donnelly</span><br /><em>Still find myself thinking about various aspects of the French Revolution</em>.<br />10. The Poacher's Son by Paul <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Dioron</span><br /><em>I don't see my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">goodreads</span> review...could I have missed one? This was a great story set in a remote part of Maine about a son and his father, a very complex relationship.</em><br /><br />And of course, I can't forget my foray into <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Scandinavian</span> crime thrillers! It looks like it will continue this year. I have a new one called Three Seconds and a new (to us) Harry Hole already on reserve at the library!holdenjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04563239351498816805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-80542357442130265502011-01-25T19:27:00.000-08:002011-01-25T19:29:28.125-08:00Best of...Here it is, the end of January, and none of us have posted our "best of" list for 2010. What are we, slackers or something? I'm working on the technique of knitting-and-reading, but I'm not quite ready for the knitting-and-posting yet.julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-12295760043450299872011-01-12T07:22:00.000-08:002011-01-12T07:22:45.925-08:00New Book IdeasBeen a little quiet over here lately.... just ran across this <a href="http://anynewbooks.com/">site</a>, and immediately thought of you guys!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://anynewbooks.com/">anynewbooks.com</a> lets you sign up for categories, and sends you an email each week with recommendations of new books in that area. Not that any of us are suffering from a lack of quality reading material, I know we all like getting new suggestions!<br />
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I just signed up, so will let you know what I think.crossonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366006551206878187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-80788826319975139512010-11-11T16:35:00.000-08:002010-11-11T17:39:34.711-08:00Library book saleIt's that time of year again - the library book sale! A few weeks ago I dropped off a few things that I had read and hadn't loved. Books I really enjoyed either find a home on my shelf, or I give away to friends or family members. This year's sale was huge; one of the librarians said that there's a new committee overseeing the sale. I say, bravo new committee! Lots of great stuff. As usual, I got carried away. $1 for trade paperbacks, $2 for hardbacks; I walked out with two big bags for $29.<div><br /></div><div>Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating</div><div>Amy Bloom, <i>Where the God of Love Hangs Out</i> (hb)</div><div>Carl Hiaasen, <i>Flush</i> (I think we already own a copy of this...)</div><div>Lorrie Moore, <i>A Gate at the Stairs</i> (hb)</div><div>Jennifer Weiner, <i>Best Friends Forever</i></div><div>Amy Bloom, <i>Away </i>(already read it, but wanted a copy)</div><div>Patricia Wells, <i>The Food Lover's Guide to Paris</i></div><div><i>Minimus </i>(children's Latin textbook...I already have one copy)</div><div>Barbara Kingsolver, <i>The Lacuna </i>(hb)</div><div>Suzanne Collins, <i>Catching Fire</i> (hb) (already read it, but wanted a copy)</div><div>Barbara Kingsolver, <i>Animal, Vegetable, Miracle </i>(already read it, but wanted a copy)</div><div>Maiya Williams, <i>The Golden Hour</i> (looks like something Alex would like)</div><div>Blue Balliett, <i>Chasing Vermeer</i> (hoping to interest Tim)</div><div>J. Courtney Sullivan, <i>Commencement</i></div><div>Mark Haddon, <i>A Spot of Bother</i></div><div>Neil Gaiman, <i>American Gods </i>(loved it, wanted my own copy)</div><div>Michael Chabon, <i>Summerland</i> (loved it, wondered if Alex might be ready for it)</div><div><br /></div><div>Plus a bunch of Garfield, Simpsons, and Foxtrot comics, a Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not book, etc. which will be revealed right before our 1.75 hour drive to a soccer tournament next weekend.</div><div><br /></div>julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-82671950162322840022010-10-17T08:14:00.001-07:002010-10-17T08:15:58.403-07:00Hunger Games, the movie??I just read that <i>The Hunger Games</i> is going to be made into a <a href="http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/ask_the_answer_bitch/b206018_hunger_games_really_next_twilight.html?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories">movie</a>. While I'm glad that one of my favorite recent books is getting so much attention, I shudder to imagine what will end up on the big screen.julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-87369736521287129522010-09-26T19:54:00.001-07:002010-09-26T20:06:06.438-07:00SequelsSo, I'm about to dive into the new Artemis Fowl book, when I realize that I really can't remember what happened in the previous book. I strained my brain to remember something - anything - about the plot, but all I could think of were some random bits from some of the previous books in the series. I looked at my Goodreads review, which was pretty vague about the plot. (I avoid plot summary in those reviews to avoid spoilers, so that wasn't a big surprise.) I finally turned to Wikipedia to read a plot summary, and while it sounded familiar, I could barely follow the convolutions of the time travel story. Crossing my fingers about starting the new one...julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-20236853628675784712010-09-04T18:47:00.000-07:002010-09-04T18:47:01.572-07:00How to read a good bookQuestion for you -- when you're reading a book you know is going to be excellent, do you:<br />
1) read it as fast as you can<br />
2) read it slowly so as to savor every word?<br />
<br />
I just finished another Laurie King book.... I LOVE those books, so save them to read when I know I'll have long stretches of uninterrupted time. I almost hate to read them because then I won't have a new one to read for a long time. They are the kind of books you know you'll be incredibly sad to finish because you'll miss it. So, I'm torn between reading it as fast as I can because I love it, or purposely reading slowly....to linger over the story, the words, the characters....crossonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366006551206878187noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-66870366444561036592010-08-21T13:32:00.001-07:002010-08-21T13:41:32.196-07:00Lightning Round!It's just been too long. I was thinking about all my old childhood summer faves while digging through the library bag.<br />Ready? Go!<br /><br />Favorite Laura Ingalls Wilder:<br /><em>The Long Winter</em><br />Favorite BTT:<br /><em>Betsy and Joe</em><br />Favorite Anne book:<br /><em>Anne of the Island </em>(I wanted to live at Patty's Place)<br />Favorite Nancy Drew:<br /><em>Password to Larkspur Lane</em><br />Favorite Phyllis Whitney YA mystery:<br /><em>Mystery on the Isle of Skye</em><br />Favorite Trixie Belden:<br /><em>The Secret of the Mansion</em><br />(they find Jim, how can you not like it?)<br /><br />It was always so easy to head to my bookshelf or library and reread my summer away! Now, as I dig through the aforementioned library bag, there are too many good new books to spend much time re-reading!holdenjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04563239351498816805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-14039579658132583652010-07-12T18:50:00.001-07:002010-07-12T19:04:30.796-07:00The Life Cycle of Basil<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZt6aaZWWiy2LYapdYeqpgIGv1pC6T67QgIir_5gxTnV08ZOGsmGXrVPNXOhObDQvJEy37jLh5Jbm1XWzNjiXTsopo7MZ4b-SJJ46q_YUXQC6Farfie_vicvDkLZxfzUdlhA3h-hRuOKig/s1600/basil+plants+1.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZt6aaZWWiy2LYapdYeqpgIGv1pC6T67QgIir_5gxTnV08ZOGsmGXrVPNXOhObDQvJEy37jLh5Jbm1XWzNjiXTsopo7MZ4b-SJJ46q_YUXQC6Farfie_vicvDkLZxfzUdlhA3h-hRuOKig/s200/basil+plants+1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493204277724285794" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ExUwjt1VT2LQKC_i6zHnNaJ-_wH3qraU9dd5BClzQQxxO5oVvW1qXxVmP6dPdVMrqxJ90iTBffPo0zaM-2H6_lXkqZrXclB-dYaR-rH_e6ASVU-M_uvi-8mbmAvZgOXSwreiVHrwx3gm/s1600/almost+pesto.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ExUwjt1VT2LQKC_i6zHnNaJ-_wH3qraU9dd5BClzQQxxO5oVvW1qXxVmP6dPdVMrqxJ90iTBffPo0zaM-2H6_lXkqZrXclB-dYaR-rH_e6ASVU-M_uvi-8mbmAvZgOXSwreiVHrwx3gm/s200/almost+pesto.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493204422070583970" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPK__47WzLafpczUrBqpVIB56Ca_dpeUwB7EUG8ejX6wgNhYG0Vt1Q2f26Fjch-teFgok04tDatwFOVBqJZ_3Mr9hIyqFjQ2BJMctvyLMJZxa4Nwujuimv9XMEhx3sAa1culo6PhnHL0ql/s1600/pesto.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPK__47WzLafpczUrBqpVIB56Ca_dpeUwB7EUG8ejX6wgNhYG0Vt1Q2f26Fjch-teFgok04tDatwFOVBqJZ_3Mr9hIyqFjQ2BJMctvyLMJZxa4Nwujuimv9XMEhx3sAa1culo6PhnHL0ql/s200/pesto.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493204603984488946" /></a><br /><br /><br />It's been quite awhile since I've posted but I thought I'd get back into the swing of blogging by featuring some pictures I took while making a huge batch of pesto a few days ago. I filled two plastic grocery bags with basil and the plants hardly look like I touched them. It's been quite a good month for basil and the tomatos are doing well too. I'll post some pictures of them later. The only drawback to the good plant weather is that the mosquitos are the size of small aircraft. Weeding and even watering often involves a lot of arm and leg slapping. Ah well.Doc Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11135298309901871573noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-60968449550432003262010-07-02T07:54:00.000-07:002010-07-02T07:54:26.266-07:001937I just finished rading two books: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5960325-shanghai-girls">The Shanghai Girls</a> by Lisa See and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51113.The_Samurai_s_Garden">The Samuri's Garden</a> by Gail Tsukiyama. One was for bookclub, the other recommended by a friend.<br />
<br />
And, completely by coincedence, they both revolve around the Second Sino-Japanese War, which began with an invasion of China in 1937. <br />
<br />
While I had heard of this, I certainly didn't know anything about it. Not that I do now, but I do know a bit more and have gone looking for information. <br />
<br />
I just find it strange that I'd read two books back -to-back that center around the same historical period (unintentionally -- of course I've done on purpose....) <br />
<br />
And, it once again, reinforces the thesis of my Historical Methods class I took senior year (whatever it was called) that teaching history through fiction (well-researched fiction) is a valid, valuable method. The professor did NOT agree with me (or maybe it was my orange crew cut he didn't like....)crossonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366006551206878187noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-9165214728457758892010-06-11T16:32:00.001-07:002010-06-11T16:32:30.671-07:00First Sentence QuizFollowing up on the First Sentence post below, have you seen the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/172-guess-the-first-sentence">First Sentence Quiz</a> on Goodreads??crossonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366006551206878187noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-70399289162901313152010-05-31T19:25:00.000-07:002010-05-31T19:31:46.937-07:00Extra CurricularThis post has nothing to do with books or gardens. It's all about Dairy Queen.<br /><br />Completely unintentionally, I have gotten myself quite involved with the preservation of the Roseville Dairy Queen. Who knew it was Minnesota's first DQ? (Or sort of...) It is an iconic tribute to 1950s car culture -- Roseville, Richfield and St. Louis Park are all totally 1950s suburbs. I have grown to find that first ring suburb stuff quite charming.<br /><br />The DQ was named to the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota's <a href="http://www.mnpreservation.org/pdf/DQ%20PDF.pdf">10 Most Endangered Buildings</a> list for 2010. I was horrified to see my DQ on the list!<br /><br />One of my friends built a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=126430384050324">Facebook page</a> just to see what would happen. It was slow at first, but it has really taken off! We're up well over 400 "fans" and have generated a couple of newspaper articles.<br /><br />We've got email conversations going with the Preservation Alliance on action steps. Not at all confident we'll be able to save the building, but geez, you gotta try!crossonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366006551206878187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-48031806510919366342010-05-26T06:28:00.000-07:002010-05-26T06:44:18.070-07:00CookbooksI usually don't read cookbooks from cover to cover. In fact, I never do, but sometimes I enjoy browsing through some, looking at the various recipes. Most often I am looking for inspiration for cooking that night's dinner, since I'm rarely organized enough to plan a week's menu in advance. <br /><br />Of course, some cookbooks are more suitable for this than others. Mark Bittman's cookbooks are some of my favorites for menu ideas, and I love his no-nonsense style with suggestions for variations and shortcuts. (There's also a "How to Cook Everything" iPhone app.) "The Best Recipe" (also known as "the recipe book" in my house), pulling together recipes and techniques from the magazine "Cook's Illustrated," includes large blocks of text with explanations for the specific proportions and timings for each recipe. This is especially helpful for learning what makes a dish turn out the way it does - thicker or crunchier or whatever. The same goes for the King Arthur cookbooks, with variations for specific recipes so you can make brownies, say, with similar flavor but fudgier, cakier, thicker, thinner, etc.<br /><br />This morning I picked up a cookbook I received for Christmas. It, too, has plenty of text, plus some lovely color photographs, and I couldn't remember why I hadn't used it at all yet. Then I started skimming through it, and I remembered: the layout is infuriating. Almost every recipe runs two pages, but the ingredients are on the right-hand side, and you have to turn the page to see the directions. It might make for good reading, but I don't think I'll ever cook from it.julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-72060996267596365282010-05-17T19:31:00.000-07:002010-05-17T19:34:03.140-07:00I want Betsy's LifeOK, just finished the Betsy Tacy series. I seriously don't think I ever read the whole series as a kid - can you believe that??? I know I read probably the first four, but not the last few. I wonder if they were really even around when we were kids? Of course they were around, but they certainly weren't popular.<br /><br />So, truly, wouldn't Betsy's life be about perfect?crossonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366006551206878187noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-25385765484034597472010-03-04T10:16:00.000-08:002010-03-04T10:30:00.987-08:00First linesWell, Doc Jen and I may remember them better, but there were a couple professors who loved first lines of novels and always made me aware of them. Thought I'd share a couple of good ones of late.<br /><br /><em>The most magical thing happened on the morning of my grandmother's wedding in Tuscany. <strong>(Brava, Valentine)</strong></em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Momma left her red satin shoes in the middle of the road. <strong>(Saving Ceecee Honeycutt)</strong></em><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><em>"I'm Mary Magdalene" <strong>(Final Exam)</strong></em><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><em>There comes a time in every girl's life when she realizes her father isn't perfect. <strong>(Truly, Madly)</strong></em><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><em>They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how is happened for me. <strong>(Before I Fall)</strong></em><br /><br />There were also those professors who really liked the last sentences of novels, but that's for another day.<br /><em></em><br /><em></em><br /><strong></strong>holdenjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04563239351498816805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-20931556980089274732010-02-11T08:05:00.001-08:002010-02-11T08:16:56.704-08:00Power's back!On Saturday, we had a record-setting snowfall, about 2 feet in one day. We dug out, the kids had a 2-hour delay on Monday, and things were back to normal on Tuesday. But then we had a second snowfall Tuesday night and all Wednesday; the kids and I both had snow days declared on Wednesday and Thursday, and I was looking forward to some snug days of reading in my favorite chair next to the radiator and baking all sorts of yummies. I stocked up on all the essentials - eggs, flour, sugar, books from the library - and felt smug in my preparations. Then our power went out at 3:30 on Wednesday. And it didn't come back on.<br /><br />My king cake was rising on the counter, so when it got to be 6:00 and the power still wasn't back, we decided to go over to a friend's house for dinner and to bake the cake. It would've taken quite a while to shovel out our driveway, so we walked - Eric carrying the cookie sheet with the pan. (He slipped and fell once, but miraculously saved the cake.) Just as we got to Liz and Steve's house, sighing with relief - their power went out. Luckily dinner was still hot and we were able to have a hot meal by candlelight, and we played games by candlelight. Still no power at 10:00, so we trekked home in the snow with the cake.<br /><br />There are a lot of evergreens here, and their needles hold a lot of snow. With a second 2-foot snowfall, a lot of branches and whole trees had broken off. It was amazingly bright outside, with all the snow reflecting light.<br /><br />We bundled up and went to bed. Still no power when we went got up, so we dug out our driveway and went out for breakfast. When we came home, the power was back on. Thank goodness! I was having visions of <span style="font-style:italic;">Life As We Knew It</span> as well as the movie "The Day Before Yesterday."julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-30707978472889933252010-01-26T09:54:00.001-08:002010-01-26T10:01:33.007-08:00Happy cropsIn one of the courses I'm teaching this semester, we're reading the <span style="font-style:italic;">Georgics</span>, a set of four didactic poems by Vergil, a 1st-century BCE Roman poet. In the first one, he offers all sorts of advice about planting and sowing crops, and it includes the classic line "nudus ara, sere nudus" - "plant naked, sow naked." Now, I'm not advising this, but it would make our gardening efforts a little racier.<br /><br />But to get to the real purpose of this post, I want to tell you about the word <span style="font-style:italic;">laetus</span> in Latin. When applied to people, it is usually translated as <span style="font-style:italic;">happy</span>. Vergil, however, uses it quite often in reference to plants and crops to mean <span style="font-style:italic;">fertile</span>, but in doing so he also anthropomorphizes the plants somewhat. I digressed in class a bit about this word, and how I like to imagine happy crops. One of my students emailed me later to say that he liked that translation, and that it reminded him of a game called "<a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/plants-vs-zombies/61-25709/all-images/52-314931/0000008150/51-963806/">Plants vs. Zombies</a>." It looks like a good game - and how can you not like cartoon zombies? - so I've been tempted to get this, but I have to wait at least until I'm done with the chapter I'm writing.julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-83277955481046478962010-01-20T04:55:00.000-08:002010-01-20T05:06:03.800-08:00I am the MessengerI decided to use <span style="font-style:italic;">I am the Messenger</span>--a favorite of several of the Fertile Plots gang from last year--with my English 108 class, a class designed to prepare students for college level reading and writing. Here's a brief synopsis (courtesy of my Goodreads review):<br /><br /><blockquote>Ed Kennedy is a 19-year-old cab driver, who hasn't done much with his life. Unlike his successful brothers and sisters, he still lives in his hometown and seems destined to take after his hapless (now dead) father. He plays cards with his friends, is hopelessly but fruitlessly in love with one of them (Audrey), and spends much of his time with his smelly, beer-drinking dog, Doorman. Then one day, he accidently foils a bank robbery and something changes. Not only does he get some press coverage but very soon after a playing card, the Ace of Diamonds, arrives in the mail. It has three addresses on it and each address has a time of day written after it. This card and the addresses it contains start Ed on a journey from which there is no going back. <br /></blockquote><br /><br />I'm hoping the style and mystery will pull in reluctant readers and I'm hoping that no one will be put off by the PG-13 nature of it. I just re-read it last week and I suddenly became hyper aware of everytime Ed swears or references sex. Not sure what's up with that because my students are all adults but . . . <br /><br />Anyway, I loved the book just as much the second time and I'm curious to see what my class will make of it. I actually just orderd a version of it on CD because I want to preview it for my students next week by playing the first chapter. It'll sound better read in an Australian accent.<br /><br />I'll let you all know how it goes.Doc Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11135298309901871573noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-41926493577543277012010-01-19T06:04:00.000-08:002010-01-19T06:09:12.746-08:00Newbery 2010<i>When You Reach Me</i> won the Newbery Medal! I'm very happy that Rebecca Stead received this honor for her wonderful book. I'm also pleased that the award validates one of my top-10 picks. <br /><br /><i>The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate</i>, another recent read that I really enjoyed, won a Newbery Honor (runner-up) award, too!julienjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835707714798213186noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3718663986180517118.post-35326858754582203322010-01-08T14:36:00.001-08:002010-01-08T15:18:38.169-08:00Another Top Ten!Like JNJ said, there aren't a lot of surprises here that you couldn't have guessed from goodreads, but it is a lot of fun to look back and remember what really resonated in the past twelve months of reading. And I have you guys to thank for making it slightly more purposeful!<br />In no special order, my ten of '09:<br /><br /><em>Catching Fire</em><br />Collins hit this one out of the park. Who didn't want to know what happened the second Katniss got off the train at the end of <em>The Hunger Games</em> and now can't wait to learn about what may have really happened in District 12?<br /><br /><em>The Help</em><br />I've seen it on a lot of '09 lists, and it should be there. It's a beautifully narrated novel by three very distinct women viewing and living through a tumultuous time in the Deep South.<br /><br /><em>A Girl Named Zippy</em><br />Finally checked this gem out thanks to Doc Jen. I couldn't believe I had missed such a great memoir and how different Kimmel's life and time was to my own.<br /><br /><em>Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie</em><br />One of those great first novels, Bradley mixes a mystery in a small English community with a tween-aged detective who shines as though this was a Christie cozy. I love the picture in my head of her careening about the countryside on her trusty bike.<br /><br /><em>Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet</em><br />Another fabulous first novel, Ford's tale in WWII Seattle vividly described another side of Japanese internment and how some of the Chinese were impacted as well. Both the young and old Henry Lee's concern for his former classmate and friend Keiko was truly touching.<br /><br /><em>Going Bovine</em><br />I picked this over <em>I Am The Messenger</em> because although they both feature slacker teenaged young men, the lessons Cam learns on his cross-country trek are priceless. Especially when accompanied by a dwarf and a talking yard gnome. <br /><br /><em>Gregor and the Code of the Claw</em><br />Collins gets to have two "entries" because she really is just that darn good right now! I loved the end of this five book story arc and how Gregor and his family and friends "won" against the bad guys.<br /><br /><em>The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane </em><br />I happened to read this in the fall, and really, is there any better time to read a semi-historical fiction book about a possible Salem witch? <br /><br /><em>Under This Unbroken Sky </em><br />The Oklahoma Dustbowl had nothing on the wilds of the Canadian prairie in the harsh years after the Depression. Immigrants Teodor and Maria struggle to make a go of their farm while battling family demons, discrimination and the elements in a heartbreaking tale.<br /><br /><em>The Girl Who Played With Fire </em><br />Lisbeth Salander becomes a much more rounded character in the second of Larsson's trilogy. For all of her troubles, Salander seems somewhat in control of the chaos in her life. I can't wait to see what's kicked up in the Hornet's Nest.<br /><br /><br />I decided my runners up would have a theme this year! They are all wonderful goodbyes to some very dear characters. It was nice to see the authors continue strong series to fitting conclusions.<br /><br /><em>The Last Olympian </em>by Rick Riordan<br /><em>Front and Center </em>by Catherine Gilbert Murdock<br /><em>Are These My Bassoomas I see Before Me? </em>by Louise Rennison<br /><em>Perfect Fifths </em>by Megan McCaffertyholdenjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04563239351498816805noreply@blogger.com3