Fertile Plots

It's that time!

2012-01-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

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.

http://www.powells.com/puddlys/2012/

Happy New Year!

Julie's scant top 10 in 2010

2011-02-03T11:30:00.001-08:00

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.

In no particular order, here are my seven books, with a one-line summary of each:

1. When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead

Newbery winner, with a Madeleine L’Engle-like story. I can’t come up with higher praise.

2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

A non-fiction account of the woman behind the cells used in research, and the journalist’s search for her.

3. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

A powerful story about life in a small German town during WWII, and the importance of reading.

4. Going Bovine, Libba Bray

A hallucinatory road trip involving a hypochondriac dwarf, a punk angel, and a boy with mad-cow disease.

6. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins

A satisfying conclusion to the best series I’ve read in a long time.

7. The Lost Books of the Odyssey, Zachary Mason

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.

Honorable mentions:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Magicians, Lev Grossman

City of Bones series, Cassanda Clare

Not Quite 10 in 2010: Shana's take

2011-02-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

Thank 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....

• Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
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.

• The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin
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?

• Betsy Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace
What can I say? I haven’t read these since I was a kid, so totally enjoyed reading them again from an adult perspective.

• Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
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.

• Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
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.

• Mary Russell series by Laurie King
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.

10 in 2010: Jenny's Version

2011-02-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

Here 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.

1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: Betty Smith
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.

2. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer: Lish McBride
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).

3. One Day: David Nicholls
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.

4. I Capture the Castle: Dodie Smith
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.

5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: Sherman Alexie
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.

6. The Shadow Catcher: Mariane Wiggins
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.

7. The Kind One: Tom Epperson
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)

8. Boneshaker: Cherie Priest
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.

9. Garnethill: Denise Mina
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.

10. She Got Off the Couch: Haven Kimmel
More tales from Mooreland, Indiana . . . population 320 (or so).

Ten in 2010

2011-01-28T06:11:00.000-08:00

I 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 goodreads on a less than articulate day! So, in no particular order, here we go:

1. Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
It's the sixth in a series, but I only read #5 before this and was wowed by Penny's magnificent, twisting plot.
2. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Was the 2010 Newbery winner.
3. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
Seems like I read it longer ago...The Help was on everyone's list, but I liked this Southern tale.
4. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
Flavia, her bike, her lab and her sisters continue to make these fabulous.
5. The Cardturner by Louis Sachar.
He did it again, this time involving bridge.
6. Scout, Atticus and Boo by Mary M. Murphy
Happy 50th Scout.
7. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Giving the vamps a run for the money and bringing back Southern gothic.
8. Stay by Allie Larkin
Great way to pass the time.
9. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Still find myself thinking about various aspects of the French Revolution.
10. The Poacher's Son by Paul Dioron
I don't see my goodreads 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.

And of course, I can't forget my foray into Scandinavian 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!

Best of...

2011-01-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

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.

New Book Ideas

2011-01-12T07:22:00.000-08:00

Been a little quiet over here lately.... just ran across this site, and immediately thought of you guys!

anynewbooks.com 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!

I just signed up, so will let you know what I think.

Library book sale

2010-11-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

It'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.

Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating

Amy Bloom, Where the God of Love Hangs Out (hb)

Carl Hiaasen, Flush (I think we already own a copy of this...)

Lorrie Moore, A Gate at the Stairs (hb)

Jennifer Weiner, Best Friends Forever

Amy Bloom, Away (already read it, but wanted a copy)

Patricia Wells, The Food Lover's Guide to Paris

Minimus (children's Latin textbook...I already have one copy)

Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna (hb)

Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire (hb) (already read it, but wanted a copy)

Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (already read it, but wanted a copy)

Maiya Williams, The Golden Hour (looks like something Alex would like)

Blue Balliett, Chasing Vermeer (hoping to interest Tim)

J. Courtney Sullivan, Commencement

Mark Haddon, A Spot of Bother

Neil Gaiman, American Gods (loved it, wanted my own copy)

Michael Chabon, Summerland (loved it, wondered if Alex might be ready for it)

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.

Hunger Games, the movie??

2010-10-17T08:14:00.001-07:00

I just read that The Hunger Games is going to be made into a movie. 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.

Sequels

2010-09-26T19:54:00.001-07:00

So, 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...

How to read a good book

2010-09-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

Question for you -- when you're reading a book you know is going to be excellent, do you:
1) read it as fast as you can
2) read it slowly so as to savor every word?

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....

Lightning Round!

2010-08-21T13:32:00.001-07:00

It's just been too long. I was thinking about all my old childhood summer faves while digging through the library bag.
Ready? Go!

Favorite Laura Ingalls Wilder:
The Long Winter
Favorite BTT:
Betsy and Joe
Favorite Anne book:
Anne of the Island (I wanted to live at Patty's Place)
Favorite Nancy Drew:
Password to Larkspur Lane
Favorite Phyllis Whitney YA mystery:
Mystery on the Isle of Skye
Favorite Trixie Belden:
The Secret of the Mansion
(they find Jim, how can you not like it?)

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!

The Life Cycle of Basil

2010-07-12T18:50:00.001-07:00

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.

1937

2010-07-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

I just finished rading two books: The Shanghai Girls by Lisa See and The Samuri's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama. One was for bookclub, the other recommended by a friend.

And, completely by coincedence, they both revolve around the Second Sino-Japanese War, which began with an invasion of China in 1937.

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.

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....)

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....)

First Sentence Quiz

2010-06-11T16:32:00.001-07:00

Following up on the First Sentence post below, have you seen the First Sentence Quiz on Goodreads??

Extra Curricular

2010-05-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

This post has nothing to do with books or gardens. It's all about Dairy Queen.

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.

The DQ was named to the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota's 10 Most Endangered Buildings list for 2010. I was horrified to see my DQ on the list!

One of my friends built a Facebook page 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.

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!

Cookbooks

2010-05-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

I 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.

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.

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.

I want Betsy's Life

2010-05-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

OK, 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.

So, truly, wouldn't Betsy's life be about perfect?

First lines

2010-03-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

Well, 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.

The most magical thing happened on the morning of my grandmother's wedding in Tuscany. (Brava, Valentine)

Momma left her red satin shoes in the middle of the road. (Saving Ceecee Honeycutt)

"I'm Mary Magdalene" (Final Exam)

There comes a time in every girl's life when she realizes her father isn't perfect. (Truly, Madly)

They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how is happened for me. (Before I Fall)

There were also those professors who really liked the last sentences of novels, but that's for another day.

Power's back!

2010-02-11T08:05:00.001-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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 Life As We Knew It as well as the movie "The Day Before Yesterday."

Happy crops

2010-01-26T09:54:00.001-08:00

In one of the courses I'm teaching this semester, we're reading the Georgics, 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.

But to get to the real purpose of this post, I want to tell you about the word laetus in Latin. When applied to people, it is usually translated as happy. Vergil, however, uses it quite often in reference to plants and crops to mean fertile, 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 "Plants vs. Zombies." 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.

I am the Messenger

2010-01-20T04:55:00.000-08:00

I decided to use I am the Messenger--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):

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.

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 . . .

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.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

Newbery 2010

2010-01-19T06:04:00.000-08:00

When You Reach Me 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.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, another recent read that I really enjoyed, won a Newbery Honor (runner-up) award, too!

Another Top Ten!

2010-01-08T14:36:00.001-08:00

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!
In no special order, my ten of '09:

Catching Fire
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 The Hunger Games and now can't wait to learn about what may have really happened in District 12?

The Help
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.

A Girl Named Zippy
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.

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
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.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
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.

Going Bovine
I picked this over I Am The Messenger 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.

Gregor and the Code of the Claw
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.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
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?

Under This Unbroken Sky
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.

The Girl Who Played With Fire
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.

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.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Are These My Bassoomas I see Before Me? by Louise Rennison
Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty

Jane Austen and zombies on film

2009-12-15T14:08:00.000-08:00

This seems like a bad idea. Apparently Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is going to be made into a movie.

Of course, I also thought that making a movie out of a Disneyland ride was a bad idea, so what do I know?

Camp Halfblood

2009-11-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

Calling all Percy Jackson fans... you too can attend Camp Halfblood!

JJ would give anything to go to this camp. Too bad it's in San Antonio......

YA fairy books

2009-11-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

The NY Times included their special section on children's books in the Sunday review this weekend. I was especially taken with this article that looked at the spate of fairy-themed YA books, many of which we (well, I) have read recently without really noticing that it seems to be a trend.

Facelift for Classics

2009-11-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

I saw them! All three of them towering on the book table at Costco the other night. This is the only place I could find all three of the novels with their newly released covers by Harper Collins. You have to hand it to their marketing department, the books look lovely. If this doesn't get Twilight fans checking out some good, classic stories, I don't know what will!

Seasonal gifts

2009-11-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

I ran across this article this summer and kept meaning to get back to it and share it with all of you. I was intrigued by the idea of the story of how whichever book came into your life. I do remember quite vividly the way in which I acquired certain books, whether they were gifts or purchased with my hard-earned babysitting money. I got my first Nancy Drew as a Christmas gift from a family I babysat--it took me about a year to read it, because I thought it looked too scary! I thought my parents were completely bereft of book ideas the year they gave me The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. Yet, my dad's efforts later, from Danielle Steel to a Mrs. Pollifax mystery, were always so touching. And do you think I can get rid of that Danielle Steel? Of course not! Countless garage sales or used book sale piles have come and gone and every time I see that book on my shelf, I know I can't give it away just yet.

Now, with the holidays fast approaching, I am once again thinking about that most perfect of gifts--books. I want to be the one. The one who finds that perfect book for one of the kids in our lives that they just can't believe I knew about. Always willing to take suggestions of course, but some years, I will go on a hometown kick, and try to challenge myself to finding Minnesota titles and authors that are just right for each recipient. Other years, I stick to classics or bestseller lists. This year, with the release of Catching Fire, I think there is a sixth grader in need of The Hunger Games. And for his brother, I think it's time he learns of Smekday. The girls always seem easier, once I figure out at about what level they can read, I'm off and running!

National Book Awards

2009-10-15T05:05:00.000-07:00

I saw a piece in today's Strib about this year's National Book Award finalists. Of course, we're happy to see a couple of MN connections, but I was pleased to see a Carleton connection with the inclusion of TJ Stiles. I knew him via my Carletonian days and even checked out his Jesse James book a few years ago when I saw it in the Voice. I bet we can all guess where his interest in that figure may have begun!

I'm always surprised by some of these lists, there are so many titles I don't really know. In fiction, I only know of two titles very well and in the young adult literature, I only recognize a couple of the authors, not the works. It's humbling, because between libraries, bookstores, print sources, you guys, goodreads etc, I feel like I have a pretty wide area in which to pull my reading choices!

Art imitates life

2009-09-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

After the premiere of Castle the other night, I went to the ABC website, because I thought EW had mentioned different authors than Connelly and the ubiquitous Cannell that showed up at the poker table. I was right and wrong, I think I had remembered a mention of Patterson from the first season. However, imagine my surprise when I learned you can read chapters of the new Nikki Heat novel, Heat Wave for free at ABC.com. They have 7 chapters ready to go!
Being the inquisitive sort, I followed the information about purchasing said book and discovered it will be released next week! (Amazon was cheaper than the ABC link, of course!) What a great marketing crossover tool for the folks at ABC and Castle.
Now, if I could just figure out if NF will be going out doing author signings as Richard Castle. Maybe he'd sign J's Dr. Horrible DVD too...

Pumpkin Harvest

2009-09-21T18:11:00.001-07:00

I should've mentioned that we (that is, Eric) harvested our pumpkins a couple of weeks ago. He grew them in our "other garden" - we have a plot at a community garden where there's more sun than in our yard, but the soil is worse and there are no deer fences. They wound around the tomatoes and along the sides of the plot and did pretty well, but then the vines were dying off and some of the pumpkins looked like they might rot, so he harvested the lot of them and put them in the garage. A few were pretty greenish but turned more orange in the cool of the garage, and I cut up and cooked the ones that looked soft. There were a dozen; I've been trying to cook and puree them a few at a time so I don't go crazy on pumpkin production. I've found that cutting them into chunks and steaming is the easiest, though I need to strain out some of the liquid.

Besides having pumpkin puree in the freezer, I baked several batches of pumpkin-chip muffins, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin-chip loaves, and the long-awaited pumpkin pie...but I forgot the sugar in the pie. Aaauggghhh! I've never done that before. Luckily it tastes fine if you sprinkle A LOT of sugar on top.

Ridiculously overqualified

2009-09-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

I'm really enjoying The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, with its combination of Darwin and coming-of-age story. I was curious about the author, so I flipped to the back flap. We've discussed the tendency to list entertaining or sometimes cutesy jobs that authors have held before being published, but this is a whole different category:

"Jacqueline Kelly was born in New Zealand and raised in western Canada. She now makes her home with her husband and various cats and dogs in Austin and Fentress, Texas. She is a practicing physician and lawyer. This is her first novel."

And I thought that *I* was busy!

Dan Brown

2009-09-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

Just heard some incredible numbers about Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol. It had an initial print run of over 5 million books and on Tuesday, the release day, over one million were sold. Wow. I just thought it was interesting.

Borrowing Posts

2009-09-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

The Hobbled Runner has been snapping pictures of my garden for me. I think I'll just send you all over there to see the pictures...

Rain garden: I'm still obsessed with my rain garden - and had to extend it this year. (See photo) I had bigger plans, but there are too many tree roots in the area. So, it's just a small addition. Planted more Northern Blue Flag Iris, Culver's Root, Blue Lobelia and Goat's Beard.

Anuals: Other post is of the annual section of the garden. Some of my favorite plants are "volunteers" - things I didn't plant, or planted years ago that keep self-seeding - sometimes quite far from the original plant! Guess I better not enter the contest to identify the plants, but happy to let you know what any of them are.

Fun part is wondering what will come back next year!

Did we read the same book?

2009-09-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

I was reading my latest Entertainment Weekly the other day and I was excited to see that the lead review in the book section was for Catching Fire, Suzanne Collin's sequel to The Hunger Games. However, I barely got a paragraph into Jennifer Reese's review when I found myself muttering, "WTF!" Here's the opening paragraph of the review:

Last year, Suzanne Collins published The Hunger Games, the first in a projected young-adult trilogy about Katniss Everdeen, a heroic adolescent girl who crushed on a sexy hunter. In between romantic daydreams, Katniss shot strange beasts, dodged force fields, and battled murderous zombie werewolves — usually while wearing fabulous glitzy outfits.

Huh? Did Jennifer Reese read the same book that I did last fall? I remember The Hunger Games as a young adult novel about a dystopian future where every year young people are choosen at random to fight to the death. One of the opening scenes involves the heroine, Katniss, stealing into a forbidden area to hunt food for her family. The reason Katniss ends up in the games in the first place is because her 12-year-old sister is initially chosen and Kat knows there is no way she will survive. I don't remember a lot of romantic daydreams and though I vaguely remember that they tarted up the contestants before the battle began--all for the television ratings--I don't think any of those contestants wore those clothes onto the battlefield. Yeah . . . battlefield . . . fight to the death . . . not exactly the stuff of adolescent yearning . . .

In critiquing the second book, Reese notes that Collin's novel lacks the "erotic energy" of the Twilight series. Double huh? I think Twilight captures the adolecent yearning for all-consuming love (in all its scary passiveness) like no other series but it's so chaste that most folks (okay, maybe just me) kind of lost interest by book 2 and started rooting for the werewolf, Jacob, because he seemed so vibrant, alive, and well . . . real.

And I guess that's what makes me the most annoyed at Reese's review . . . the fact that she misses the essential "realness" of The Hunger Games-so real that I stayed up until 3:00 am reading it the day I bought it (and had to grumpily face a long day of work on three hours of sleep). It felt real like The Handmaiden's Tale felt real . . . like World War Z felt real . . . a scary future that has just enough of the present in it to stop your breath.

The fact that Reese misses this aspect of the novel suggests that she didn't read The Hunger Games very carefully. Actually, the general "comment" consensus after her review online is that she didn't actually read the first novel at all. Either way, it casts a lot of doubt on her review of the sequel. Also, my thought is if you wear your Twilght sunglasses to every young adult novel, you might miss a lot as many a librarian and middle school teacher hastened to point out.

For a good time, read the review and chuckle and then read the comments. With only one exception that I saw this morning, almost every single responder felt like I did. Did you read the first book? Do all young adult novels have to follow the Twilight formula (big yawn!)? My favorite response was from a sixteen-year-old, who used craptastic as an adjective and reminded Reese that Twilight was really a rip-off of a vampire series in the 90's. Go girl!

So, I look forward to reading Catching Fire soon and entering a fictional world that is far more vivid and real than Jennifer Reese's review.

Summer Readin', Had Me a Blast...

2009-08-31T08:29:00.001-07:00

Summer readin', it happened so fast...

We're lucky here; school doesn't start for another week, so I can remain on summer schedule a little longer while semesters have already started at many schools across the country. As always at times of transition, I tend to look back and look ahead and think about what I've done and what hasn't gotten done. So this is an ideal time to think about our summer reading trends and best-of lists, right?

I've read a whole bunch of YA sequels in the last month or so; by far the best was The Immortal Fire, Anne Ursu's final book in the Cronus Chronicles. Great blend of Greek mythology, contemporary teens, and snarky humor. In a similar category: Rick Riordan's The Last Olympian, also an excellent conclusion to a series.

I feel like I read a whole lot of books that I thought were just okay but not particularly memorable. Standouts, though, are People of the Book (Geraldine Brooks), Sorcery and Cecelia (and sequels, by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer), and The Latehomecomer (Kao Kalia Yang).

Booby prize goes to Heavenly (Jennifer Laurens), which will go down in history as one of the most-maligned books I've ever read.

Carleton in the news

2009-08-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

I recently learned through JNJ that Patricia Wrede (author of those deliciously long titled books she's been reading lately) went to Carleton. She had found her through the Voice, in one of those articles about alums. Well, imagine my surprise this weekend, when not one, but two more alums, both YA authors, were highlighted in the Star Tribune.

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/53172657.html

Guess I'll have more titles to add to the always evolving to-be-read pile!

John Hughes

2009-08-10T05:13:00.000-07:00

It's always sad when someone dies so relatively young. And I have been interested to read about what may have been a two-way disenchantment with the business.

On to the polls. Have you guys noticed the lack of Sixteen Candles making the cut?? What's up with that?? I would have voted for it. But C. reminded me about how The Breakfast Club really introduced us to more of those young actors who made up much of the Brat pack of the 80's.
Certainly have some good memories of his hits.

...and again!

2009-07-30T06:07:00.001-07:00

Okay, I'm a little embarrassed now...I won my third GoodReads "first reads" book. This one is Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens. There were 20 copies being given out - it must have increased the odds.

Looking ahead, there are some other books coming up on the list that I'm really excited about, including an ARC of the sequel to The Hunger Games and the new Margaret Atwood book. I was interested to see that it's not at all just unknown authors trying to drum up publicity.

Julie & Julia

2009-07-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

A little off topic, but there is an article in today's NY Times about the filming of "Julie and Julia," specifically about the food styling involved in it. I found this interesting because there was an article a long time ago - 15 years? More? - in Harper's (I think) that deconstructed a food photo shoot. Ever since then, I find myself staring at the food in both print and film, wondering how much of it is real.

Nikolski: A Review

2009-07-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

Since I got a free copy of Nikolski from the publisher, I thought I would publish my review here as well as on Goodreads. I apologize for those who have to read this twice.

Nikolski: A Novel by Nicolas Dickner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this novel though I find it difficult to neatly summarize. It's three different stories about three different people--an unnamed male narrator who works in a used bookstore, a young man who leaves his mother and their vagrant lifestyle to go to university, and Joyce, a young woman who flees her small town in search of a long-lost relative (and modern day pirate), who ends up becoming a tech pirate herself. All three characters spend time in Montreal, have an absent parent, become fixated with travel, cartography, and/or pirates.

These three characters are also connected in other ways though only the reader realizes it and that makes their brief interactions all the more poignant. The writing, in translation, is both beautiful and engaging and I'm tempted to read this over again at some point to think more about how its parts relate.

View all my reviews >>

Did you know this and not tell me??

2009-07-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

According to the Guardian (via the Star Tribune books editor), "Final Anne of Green Gables book reveals dark surprises." Did you all know this but no one told me??? This could be as earthshattering as Harry Potter 8!! Full article...

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

2009-07-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.amazon.com/Sense-Sensibility-Monsters-Jane-Austen/dp/1594744424/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247780928&sr=8-1

Oh my.

I just don't know what could be next. But I'm a little surprised they didn't go with Persuasion for the sea monsters, what with all that travelling to Bath and that nasty sea wall. I bet Wentworth could handle those sea monsters.

i won again!

2009-07-01T06:06:00.001-07:00

Last night I went through the First Reads list of giveaways, figuring that there were a whole bunch that had a June 30/ July 1 giveaway date.

I checked my e-mail this morning, and I won another one! This one is After You, by Julie Buxbaum. I know nothing about this book...hope it's good.

What did you get for High School Graduation?

2009-06-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, what did you buy with your high school graduation money? I'm rather embarrassed to admit, but I bought a Walkman. Pretty cool for 1983, huh? It served me well at Carleton.... especially late at night.

So here's an amusing BBC article about the Walkman 30 years later...

Hobbled Runner beats me to it

2009-06-30T10:17:00.001-07:00

Once again, the Hobbled Runner beats me to a post. Granted, he took this picture, so I guess he can post it first!

It's true... there are tomatoes growing right by my roses. And I did go a bit crazy and have way too many tomato plants. So, these are in pots out in front.

Any good answers to his question of why the edible stuff has to be in back??

They do come in threes, don't they?

2009-06-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

What a week. Granted, Ed McMahon was old, Farrah had a terminal illness and there's already talk of Anna Nicole similarites with Michael Jackson's death, but still, to lose so many of our childhood icons at once.

I remember feeling so grown-up when I would stay up and watch Johnny Carson when I was babysitting. (it was that or Dick Cavett, no cable around there in those days!). I may not have always understood their joking in my younger years, but there was always something comforting about seeing Ed and Johnny spar.

And Farrah, gee, she married the six-million dollar man, remember? And I sure wasn't a big poster buyer or anything, but you couldn't doubt the power of those Angels, even though she was only one for a year. And I lived in Texas back then. Her influence on hair in those years was legendary.

Oh, I think we all have already missed the little boy Jackson was. But during my French class trip to France senior year, the biggest homesick moment came while hearing "Billie Jean" over the speakers at Les Halles while shopping. He was definitely a worldwide sensation at that time.

I Won, I Won!!!

2009-06-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

I think the karma from my fertile plots buddies has rubbed off -- I won a Firstreads book from Goodreads today! I have entered in the past - probably 5 or 6 times, but never won. Just went after Julie won and entered again -- and won! So I attribute it all to you!

Book will be interesting: An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town. Given the fact that Julie won a YA book, and I won a, what, historical travel something or other type book, there must be some sort of formula they look at..... ok, so I did "enter" to win this book, but still.... curious!

Will let you know how it is!

I love my library!

2009-06-08T17:31:00.001-07:00

So, I'm about halfway through my free Erec Rex book, and it's great - Harry Potteresque, but not at all a pale imitation. I'll post a full review on Goodreads when I'm done. Today I stopped by the library (to pick up the 5th Percy Jackson book, yeah!) and told the librarian about Erec Rex, and how surprised I was to find out that there is only one copy of the first book in the seriesin the county system, and the second in the series isn't in the county system at all. A few keystrokes later, they had ordered a copy of each, plus pre-ordered the third book, coming out later this month. Isn't that great??

More Rain Optimizing...

2009-06-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

I know I've blogged about my rain garden in the past, and probably have even posted a picture of this Lupine before, but it's so cool I'm going to post it again.

It's the first color in the rain garden in the summer. It's lovely. And this year, it's got purple flowers to go along with the pink. Very interesting. I may have to investigate why.

Last year, this plant got me a spot on the Friends School Plant Sale blog. The picture here is that same plant... and I'm going to send the Plant Sale people another picture and see if they know why it's purple. I'm thinking perhaps it's a cultivar that's reverting???

Rain Barrel - Finally!

2009-06-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to install rain barrels for a few years, and we finally did! They are not the fancy kind from gardeners.com, but they are recycled food barrels. No idea what originally came in them!

It was not a difficult task, but we are not very handy around here, so it was a bit of a project. It seemed a bit odd to be sawing off perfectly good gutters... but it was for a good cause. John tackled the project and even wrote about it.

Now, we just need some RAIN to test them out!!

Lucky

2009-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Well, a mere week or so after being made aware that there are giveaways at Goodreads, guess what...I won one! Thanks J and J, for telling me about this! Not only that, it was something that I had seen a while ago and had thought might be a good candidate for A's reading list as well as mine. Now it's out in paperback, and I'm getting a free copy! The Dragon's Eye is the first of the Erec Rex YA series.

Summer Book Club

2009-05-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

JJ and I saw a flyer for a summer book club for 4th and 5th graders at the library this summer. Soooo exciting! He's digging into "No Talking" by Andrew Clements tonight - for a June 16 book club. The rest of the summer includes City of Ember, Gone-Away Lake, Chasing Vermeer and one other. Good to see the book club thing has passed on to the next generation!

Gold Iris

2009-05-29T19:49:00.001-07:00

Here are my gold irises. Not sure you can see this well, but I'll post it anyway.

Grass that looks dead in this picture is a gorgeous miscanthus that has tall, wispy plumes starting in about August and last all winter....

For more plant pics, see the Hobbled Runner. That darn Blackberry camera makes it so easy to take and post pictures. Warning -- you'll have to scroll down past all the dog updates to find plant pictures!

My first picture!

2009-05-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

I decided I couldn't be the only one who didn't know how to upload a picture into our blog text.

Voila!

This just popped open the other day. It's my maroon-ish bearded iris, which oddly enough, is right next to a yellow one (yet to open), making Gopher colors for S!! I just wish the blooms lasted longer, I always enjoy them so much.

The peonies won't be much longer. The buds are looking rather full and there are ants marching all over them.

Bulbs are blooming and too many plants!

2009-05-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

OK, they've been blooming for a couple of weeks, but I just got this picture, thanks to the Hobbled Runner. Cute little miniature grape hyacinth surrounds by tulips and daffodils, which you can't see.

Spent the weekend volunteering at the Friends School Plant Sale. I cashiered for 4.5 hours. I no longer have the stamina for that! More fun was doing inventory after the sale closed. I spent almost 9 hours over three days counting plants... every thing from Indian grass, various monardas and astilbe, to swamp milkweed and more. I learned a ton! I didn't really need any more plants for my yard, as Hobbled Runner would attest to, but geez, you can't work around them for that long and not find something new to try! So, now I have about 13 flats of plants waiting.... ugh. What am I going to do??? I'll post pictures!

Earth Day

2009-04-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud to report that yes, I remembered to take in two reusable bags when I stopped at Rainbow foods on my way home from work. Yes, I work at a SuperTarget, where I couldn't buy cheap yogurt, hence the stop at Rainbow. And yep, I got 18 little tubs of yogurt, which aren't recyclable in my area because they don't have "necks". Sigh. I may as well have bought a bunch of plastic spoons to eat them with. I really do like the earth, I promise!

Our Book Deal

2009-04-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

There's an article in today's New York Times about bloggers who strike it rich with book deals. C'mon, you guys, we need to be more interesting so we can get a publisher interested!

Mulch

2009-04-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

Each fall, our borough collects leaves, and then in the spring they offer leaf mulch for sale. The smallest unit is a cubic yard, I think, which is a ton! Last time we got some, the pile lived in our driveway for about 2 years before we managed to get it all used. Well, we bit the bullet and got another delivery this year. We have mulched almost everything possible already, and there's still more than half of it left. I'm not sure what we're going to do with it all...

Pride and Prejudice

2009-04-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

There was an article in today's Strib about Marvel's new five comic book issue series on Pride and Prejudice! Basically, people seem to think it's a great way to reach out to young female readers or it's a portent of the coming apocalypse. Either way, I went to Marvel to check it out. I figure if I'm willing to read about the Bennetts and zombies, I certainly can't dismiss a comic book out of hand!

http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.7021

Zones

2009-03-02T16:06:00.001-08:00

It's getting to be that time and I keep meaning to ask JNJ, what zone are you? It seemed so late last fall you were still digging things out of the garden. Granted, it may have been working as cold storage for you, but I was curious!

I can't believe it's the beginning of March already. I always get the itch to start plants inside, but have had terrible luck when it comes to do the transplant. Have you guys had any luck with starting your own? I stick to what I can seed in the ground, or go ahead and buy the starters--especially for things I don't necessarily want a whole lot of anyway!

The Last Olympian

2009-02-19T15:24:00.000-08:00

Hey there! There are a couple author blogs J and I follow once in a while and I just thought this was cute as we wait for May.

http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2009/02/last-olympian-cover-blackjack-speaks.html

We also read a sneak peak of The Last Olympian in the back of his new Demigod Files book. J did not feel he had to purchase the Files, instead opting for some large anthology of all of Watchmen comics. (devoured and enjoyed).

Better World Books Sale

2009-02-13T14:54:00.001-08:00

Like any of you need more books.... but it's so darn tempting! Check out this sale from Better World Books.

Odd note about Better World Books -- it's a short mile or so from my sister's house in Indiana. She shops in person - even more dangerous that online!!

More on Scholastic

2009-02-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

I know I've lamented the decline in Scholastic Books' catalogues; I remember with great vividness the excitement I felt as a child when the new flyers came out, and the happiness when my new books arrived. I want my kids to have those feelings, but I have to be careful: if I promise to get them something, they are quite likely to choose something that it isn't a book and/or has some commercial tie-in. Well, I'm not imagining it; there was an article in yesterday's New York Times that reports one-third of the offerings aren't books.

Hooray for Neil Gaiman!

2009-01-27T06:17:00.000-08:00

Neil Gaiman won the Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book! I haven't read it yet, but I love his writing.

In other Neil Gaiman news, I need to re-read Coraline in preparation for the release of the film version, but I was pretty creeped out by the book the first time through.

And another top in 2008!

2009-01-17T09:43:00.001-08:00

Here's my list of some of the favorite books I read in '08. And I like the addition of runners-up this year, it takes a little of the pressure off! So, in no particular order:

Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky
Suite Francaise is a compelling look at the occupation of France by the Germans during WWII. Nemirovsky's first two installments of what would have been a five book set are beautifully written (and translated). But even more touching is Nemirovsky's true backstory and the appendices that show some of her real papers and notes on what could have been a wonderful, finished novel. Nemirovsky was sent to Auschwitz in '42, where she perished at the young age of 39. Her daughters unknowingly kept these papers safe for years, not knowing they were a novel.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by MaryAnn Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Following the war, Juliet Ashton is searching for something to write about. What she finds on thie little Channel Island are the makings of a wonderful story for us and for her. The epistolary style makes the story fly, as Juliet connects with various islanders and their stories of their lives under German Occupation.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
What can I say? Collins has created a post apocalyptic world that is intriguing and peopled with characters you won't soon forget. North America has become a place called Panem and is divided into 12 districts, with the wealthy Capitol in the Rockies. Every year, each district must send a male and female player, between the ages of 12 and 18, to the televised Hunger Games. When her younger sister in drawn by lottery, Katniss Everdeen jumps up to replace her as the female District 12 "contestant". Along with Peeta, District 12's other pick, they travel to the Capitol, where they begin their journey in the ultimate survival game.

So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger
I was swept away by Monte Becket's tale, from the Cannon River in Northfield, MN to the orange groves of California. It's 1915 and the old West has become but a shadow of it's former self. Monte and former desperado Glendon Hale head first to Mexico, then to the orchards of California, chased all the while by an old Pinkerton man, Charlie Siringo. Along the way, this duo meets up with some lively characters, tragic circumstances and beautiful settings. This was the real deal, and not a word is wasted as we follow the characters across the country to Blue, Hale's lost love.

The Moneypenny Diaries by Kate Westbrook
Working as the book editor, Kate Westbrook is supposedly going through her aunt's papers after her death and only now, can the truth be told. Miss Moneypenny, M's loyal secretary, was much more than a well-turned out desk girl. The Secret Intelligence Services that employs Bond, also utilized this very bright woman to help rescue that same man from Cuba. (these diaries only cover 1962, there may be more information uncovered in subsequent volumes) Jane is well-connected in her job and is also trying to find out what happened to her father, back in the day when they lived in Africa. It's written as well as a Fleming tale, with all the right characters making appearances.

Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison
The Waverlys are have lived in Bascom for years, and are the eccentric ones, just like the Clark women are sexpots, and the Hopkins men always marry older women. Older sister Claire has made her home in the family house, maintaining a mysterious garden, using her grandmother's recipes for flower foods and a catering business has bloomed. Younger sister Sydeny returns to Bascom with her young daughter, fleeing a bad relationship. There is a bit of that Southern magic flowing throughout as both the sisters come to terms with new relationships with each other and some local men.

Finding Nouf, by Zoe Ferraris
An interesting peek into the inner workings of a Saudi Arabian family. When daughter Nouf goes missing, the family hires Palestinian desert guide Nayir to look for their daughter. When she is found dead in the desert, Nayir investigates further, hoping to discover what really happened to what was one of the freer spirits of the Shrawis family. He is aided by Katya Hijazi, Nouf's brother Othman's intended and lab worker at the coroner's office. Nayir is able to piece together Nouf's last hours. I was drawn to a lot of the minutae in this story, such as Katya's inexpensive sandals melting on the hot concrete sidewalk or how her driver/escort uses a silicone hot pad to open the metal handles of the car door.

The World to Come, by Dara Horn
What a great, complex tale. It all begins with a singles cocktail party, in which recently divorced Ben discovers an old family Chagall painting on display and takes it back. Horn takes us on a engaging family journey, from the early days of Ben's grandfather Boris in a boys home in Russia to the days of his soon to be born nephew, awaiting the world to come. Throughout it all, the narrative is tied together by various Yiddish and family tales of love and loss, which add an interesting perspective to the present day lives of Ben, his sister Sara and her husband Lenoid. It's hard to do it justice, it really needs to be read, but I thank Jenny for telling us about it! I don't think I would have found it on my own and I think I would have unknowingly missed it.

Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson
A really elegant story about an old man going to live alone in a more distant area of Norway. A late evening encounter with a neighbor reawakens Trond's memories of his fifteenth summer, spent in an area not unlike where he is living now. Memories flow between his daily tasks, as we discover the painful realities of his past and are left without all of the answers, much like real life.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski
Growing up in Northern Wisconsin, we find third generation dog-breeder Edgar Sawtelle. He is mute, and communicates with his parents and fellow students at school in his own version of ASL. Even the dogs understand Edgar, making even more remarkable this breed they raise on their farm. Edgar's father, Gar, was raised on the same farm with his brother Claude. Claude's return to the farm sets into motion many events that create most of the tragedy in the story. Similarities to Hamlet abound, and I was drawn in to this story and tragic events with Wroblewski's wonderful storytelling.

Honorable Mentions
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Steig Larsson
Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson
Becky, the life and loves of Becky Thatcher, by Lenore Hart
Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins
The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex
Songs for the Missing, by Stewart O'Nan
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield

Another top 10 list

2009-01-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm adopting Jenny's strategy of including two #10s as well as a list of extras that didn't quite make the list. These are my favorites of the books I read in 2008. Discuss.

Lady of the Snakes, Rachel Pastan
We follow Jane Levitsky during her first year as an assistant professor as she suffers the insecurities of a woman trying to have it all: she wants to spend more time on her research, but she feels guilty about the time away from her daughter, Maisie. Meanwhile, the subject of her research, the wife of a 19th century Russian writer, becomes more than the breakthrough that might make her academic career. As Jane’s tenuous hold on her career and family starts to slip, we feel her anguish and desperation as she keeps looking to her Russian alter ego for answers.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
Each year each district must send a boy and a girl to compete in the Hunger Games, a brutal contest for survival that only one can win. When her younger sister is chosen for the Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She finds that her hardscrabble lifestyle has prepared her for the hardships of the Games, though perhaps not for the gamesmanship. Her struggles to survive, and her evolving understanding of the unfairness of the government, make this a gripping story.

The World to Come, Dara Horn
This book starts with an awkward singles cocktail party at the Jewish Museum and Ben Ziskind’s unlikely theft of a small Chagall painting. The narrative spins out forward and backwards in time from there, both detailing the consequences of his action and slowly filling in the pieces to explain how it became a family heirloom. Horn repeatedly returns to the themes of memory, beliefs, and trust in relationships.

The Good Thief, Hannah Tinti
Ren expects that he will never be adopted because he is missing his left hand. However, when he is twelve, Benjamin Nab appears and claims him as his long-lost brother. Ren immediately starts to suspect Benjamin’s claims: he is a small-time crook who uses Ren’s disability to disarm his intended marks. Ren and Benjamin’s unconventional little family stretches to include a number of other quirky and beautifully-written characters that pull together against the threats of the local factory owner. Along the way, Ren learns more about his past and also about what constitutes a family.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie
This is Alexie’s autobiographically-inspired account of Junior, a Native American. Written in very spare language and illustrated with Junior’s cartoons, his diary chronicles his life on the reservation and his experiences at the white high school 20-some miles (and a huge cultural gap) away. His matter-of-fact recognition of the hopelessness and alcoholism that surrounds him is heartbreaking, but nevertheless there is a lot of humor and affection in his depiction.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver
This is Kingsolver’s account of her family’s attempt to live a year as true locavores, growing much of their own food and finding local producers of anything they couldn’t grow themselves. I especially enjoyed her anecdotal sections about her daughter Lily, who was 9 at the time, and her budding chicken farm; trying to figure out how to encourage her turkeys to have sex; and her trip to Italy.

The Commoner, John Burnham Schwartz
This is a fictionalized story of Empress Michiko, the first commoner to marry into the rigid hierarchy of the Japanese Imperial family. It is not a Cinderella story, however; the princess – here called Haruko – finds herself so constrained by her new position that she cannot even see her parents anymore. The ending breaks from what is otherwise a pretty factual telling of Empress Michiko’s life, but it does a wonderful job evoking the relationship between the Japanese people and the Imperial Family.

Away, Amy Bloom
Lillian Leyb leaves Russia after her family is killed in the pogroms and settles in New York in the 1920s. As she says early in the novel, “Az me muz, ken men” (When one must, one can), which describes Lillian’s approach to her new life. On her cross-country quest to find her lost daughter, Sophie, she moves through the vividly imagined worlds of other marginal people, adapting to their rules.

Life As We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer
What would you do if life as we knew it was ending? That is the question posed by this thought-provoking young adult novel. When an asteroid knocks the moon out of its orbit, the resulting gravitational shift causes tsunamis that destroy coastal areas. Written as the diary of a typical 16-year-old, the book chronicles her family’s survival through a series of crises, and yet there are times of celebration and family; it is reminiscent of Anne Frank in that way. Pfeffer also wrote a companion book, The Dead and the Gone, about the same catastrophe, set in NYC.

Tied for #10:
A Person of Interest, Susan Choi
The story starts with a mail-bomb. Professor Lee, a retirement-aged math professor, becomes a Person of Interest in the investigation of the bombing; his personal awkwardness and lifelong habits of reticence make him seem suspicious. We go back through Lee’s life to see the choices that have left him living in a dirty, empty home with no social life. This is not a cheerful story, but Choi creates a compelling portrait of a man who finds himself alone, uncertain how he got there.

Dairy Queen, Catherine Gilbert Murdock
DJ Schwenk does not question the silence between her family members or the ridiculous sacrifices being asked of her, running her family’s Wisconsin dairy farm, until the coach of her school’s rival football team sends his QB to help out on the farm. Murdock gives DJ a distinctive voice and places her in an authentic world peopled with interesting and idiosyncratic individuals, making her coming-of-age drama into a touching but not maudlin story.

Didn’t quite make the cut:
The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
Elsewhere, Gabrielle Zevin
Before I Die, Jenny Downham
The Monsters of Templeton, Lauren Groff
The Madonnas of Leningrad, Debra Dean

Two articles

2009-01-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

There were two articles in the NYTimes that I thought might be of interest.

The first, yesterday, was about the publication of the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. I'm somewhat torn about these books: they have little in the way of redeeming characters or good lessons, but they are hilarious and Tim loves them enough to read them, and re-read them, on his own.

The second, this morning, reports that fiction-reading is up among adults. The statistics are still terribly depressing, especially considering that reading on-line fanfic counts as reading fiction, at least for the purposes of their study.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T11:07:00.000-08:00

Looking forward to another year of great reads and gardening!

Although I may skip the canning this year. I had really big pile of tomatoes and only wound up with 4 pints of salsa! And for the first time ever, my strawberry jam didn't set completely! I accidentally bought liquid pectin (which I've never used), instead of powdered, and you do things in a slightly different order! Sigh. At least the dilly beans were fine, and as always, pretty darn easy!

I'll stick to reading in these cold months and always looking forward to your great ideas!

Have a great and safe night.

Happy Birthday, Julia!

2008-12-09T09:12:00.001-08:00

I hope you get to spend some time today doing something fun and/or decadent!

Change is bad

2008-12-04T06:56:00.000-08:00

Goodreads keeps making tweaks and "improvements" to its interface. Are these really better? I find it disconcerting to go there and suddenly find a different-looking page. Once I get over my shock, I don't see it as being particularly different, just rearranged. As a creature of habit, I find this upsetting! (Not to worry, I do manage to adapt despite my curmugeonly ways.)

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T19:12:00.001-08:00

Thanks for good books, good friends, and good discussions! Hope you all had enough pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream.

Jane Austen & Baseball

2008-11-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

You have to sit through some other fun "tip of my hat/wag of my finger" items to get to Jane Austen's connection with baseball but it's worth the wait:

Enjoy.

Happy Birthday, Jen!

2008-11-13T09:48:00.000-08:00

I hope you have wild and crazy plans ready for the weekend, or maybe just a wonderful stack of books and a never-ending pot of coffee!

The Most Dangerous Game

2008-11-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

I just read The Hunger Games, in which the heroine is forced to participate in a fight-to-the-death competition. A group of 24 starts; only one can survive, and win. In that totalitarian world, all citizens are required to watch the entire broadcast, and rich patrons can donate gifts that can aid the contestants' survival.

On Monday I saw a review for a new reality TV series, Cha$e. 10 contestants must avoid a band of hunters for an hour, all the while getting updated by cellphone and perhaps receiving tools that can buy them some safety. Somewhat disturbing premise, right after reading the book, though at least viewing is optional for us.

Well, I'll be...

2008-10-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

I was fascinated by an author's proposal to give away her first book on the eve (well, two week window) of her next novel's debut. I know JNJ and I have both read The Reincarnationist, but it seems now may be the time for anyone else to follow, as you could read it for free!

http://www.mjrose.com/books/reincarnationist_free.asp

It turns out you can follow the instructions to either download it free to your computer or Kindle until Oct31. What a great marketing idea--and very twenty-first century.

Too current

2008-10-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

I guess I shouldn't find this so jarring, but twice in the last few weeks I've been surprised by finding something that seemed overly current in the books I was reading, though on reflection neither was particularly new.

First was the advance reading copy of Cornelia Funke's Inkdeath. Before each chapter is an epigraph; they come from various sources, and one was from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Okay, okay, after my first feeling of surprise I realized that it has been more than 10 years (!) since the first in the series came out.

But then, on the first page of It Sucks to Be Me by Kimberly Pauley, there is a reference to Stephenie Meyer. Twilight was published in 2005, so it's hardly brand-new either, but it still seemed a jolt. Maybe it was the thought that these works are becoming (or have already become) so much a part of the cultural fabric. Or maybe they seemed more current because the last book in each series was published more recently? I'll have to ruminate upon this.

What page # are you on?

2008-10-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does the page # tracking feature on Goodreads seem a little Big Brother-y? Do you really want to know that I am on page 114 of Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice? If so, please also realize that I will probably stay on that same page for a long while because I've been lured away by other more escapist fare.

I think I'm on page 53 of Stalin's Ghost by Martin Cruz Smith. However, should I change that number tomorrow when I'm on page 73 . . . or page 54? If I read 100 pages, am I a "good" reader or was I just procrastinating a whole lot?

Just asking.

I guess I love making lists but I'm not so big on counting.

RIP: David Foster Wallace

2008-09-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

What seems like a million years ago, I remember picking up a paperback copy of "The Broom of the System." I think it was 1988 or 1989. As I started to read, I remember laughing, laughing, and laughing some more. Though I don't remember any plot points of the novel (time to re-read, yes!), I remember loving its snarky humor and witty wordplay. "Who was this guy?" I thought. Later, as David Foster Wallace wrote more books--short story collections, essays, and one fricking huge novel called "Infinite Jest," I continued to read and chuckle. I remember his essays about playing tennis as a teen (hot, Southern Illinois wind) and his hysterical exploration of the culture of cruise ships (food, food, and more food). Before David Sedaris, for me, there was David Foster Wallace.

Over the last few years, however, I had not thought of Wallace much.

Then, driving home from Chicago on Sunday, I heard the news that he had died--committed suicide actually--on Friday. I was surprised at how strong my reaction was to the news. I didn't know him. I had only read him and heard him read once at an independent bookstore. Yet, I was sad and angry and curiously shocked.

There have been several tributes (appreciations) in the New York Times already but I like this one today by VERLYN KLINKENBORG, his colleague at Pomona College.

I like how it shows David, the man and teacher, and not just the writer, though I realize it is impossible to separate these roles in any one. Anyway, I just wanted to write something instead of kick the wall and curse loudly about the absence of one more offbeat, self-aware, funny, and wickedly smart man in the world.

Darius 2.0

2008-09-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome, Darius 2.0!

Well, sort of. We had a new addition to the family this weekend... a little black kitten! He does have white socks and a white "bib", so not exactly like Darius. But he does knead!

Story in brief: my aunt lives on the edge of a small town. She always has wild cats coming and going. She's seen 3 or 4 litters this summer. A few weeks ago, a tiny kitten with its eyes matted shut was wandering around alone. They watched for a day, then intervened - Mama cat was obviously no where around. Long story short, my mother and aunt maneuvered to get my kids attached to this kitten! He's incredibly people oriented, especially for these wild kittens who are very skittish.

His name is Roscoe, and about 8 weeks old. The kids are having fun!

This has really nothing to do with books or gardens, but figured you'd all want to know anyway....

Calling all you YA Readers!

2008-09-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Very interesting show on Minnesota Public Radio this morning (I think their first foray away from the very interesting, but save for another post, coverage of the RNC) about books for teens - "Does Catcher in the Rye still resonate with teens?". The book list isn't there yet, but they assured us it'd be up soon. In the meantime, if you have time to listen to some of it, grab it as a podcast. I think you'd all really enjoy the conversation.

NY Times articles

2008-09-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

There were a couple of articles in the NY Times on Tuesday that I thought you all might be interested in.

I had heard about a new series that Rick Riordan was going to sketch out, but would be written by a number of other authors. Scholastic, the publisher of the series, has had a lot of voice in how the plot plays out not only in the books but in Web-based games. It sounds like Scholastic is trying to manufacture a Harry Potter-like media event; it will be interesting to see if it gets the audience they hope for.

There was also a brief bit about Stephenie Meyer putting off indefinitely the publication of the final book in the Twilight series. Final book??? I thought Breaking Dawn was the final book!

School Days

2008-09-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Back to School to you professor types! I hope you have great classes this fall. The weather, still sultry this morning, gave way to beautiful cool, fall air after a huge storm system went through midday.

From the other side, we got S. moved in at the U last week and J. hits the high school this year as a freshman. I get a giggle out of having two freshman, the kids don't really find it as amusing.

And keeping it fertile, you should see the tomato plants. Full and heavy with round green tomatos. I almost dread the day (and you know it will be all at once) when they all turn ripe and I have to drop everything and can salsa for my dear hubby. Hmm. I guess I need a little of that warm summer air back.

More books online

2008-08-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

A fellow bibliophile recommended two websites... I haven't spent much time on them, but they look fun!

www.whatshouldireadnext.com - enter a title or author to get suggestions of other books

www.literature-map.com - enter an author and get a display of writers' names with your pick in the center. lots of new ideas - !

John Kennedy Toole shows up closest to Michael Chabon, ok, but Katie Fforde showing up next to Laurie R. King? Not so sure about that! Anyone find any other interesting connections?

Another adaptation

2008-08-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Sookie Stackhouse vampire mysteries are coming to the screen! The small screen, since they will be a series on Showtime starting in September. This, along with the enormous popularity of Stephenie Meyer's series, and the movie being made of Twilight, makes me wonder if there's something about vampires that captures the mood of the nation?

YA versus A

2008-08-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

There was an interesting article by Margo Rabb in the NY Times Book Review (7/20/08) about how some novels get classified as YA.

I was surprised to find out that a number of the authors she mentions didn't originally intend for their books to be YA, but it confirms my suspicion that a young protagonist tends to put the book in YA territory, no matter what the complexity, theme, or tone are.

Oh deer

2008-07-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

Deer have become a big problem in Swarthmore over the last few years. The college backs up to some woods that have always been a deer habitat, but their population has exploded recently. It has become more and more common to see deer not just in the twilight near the woods, but at all times and places - a family of 5 bounding through the field during a soccer clinic at 10:30 am, wandering on a street in the afternoon, etc. 3 years ago we had our first deer damage in our yard, and we considered ourselves lucky: we have some friends whose yards are overrun to such an extent that if something isn't fenced, it's eaten.

Last night they struck again.

Our little garden received a severe setback. A large, almost-ripe tomato with a bite out of it, and another big one (just turning red) broken off. ALL the little tomatoes eaten off another plant. The top of every cucumber plant sliced off, along with their tiny cucumbers. The butternut squash and eggplants were okay, but we're grieving for our little plants.

There has been much debate about how to manage the deer population, with lots of back-and-forth about the relative benefits of sterilizing them, airlifting them elsewhere (!), or culling the herd. The plan right now is to have some sharpshooters go in, but not until December. Right now, I'm feeling that the sooner it's done, the better.

Happy Birthday JNJ!

2008-07-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon to my summer birthday friend! Hope you are having a glorious, summer day birthday at home with family and friends.
Just wanted you to know I was thinking of you, and bundt cakes.

Have a great day!

Back to Fiction

2008-07-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of. I've read more Tudor history in the last few weeks than ever before. Yes, I've enjoyed it. No, I didn't read every word of those biographies. However, I think I will attempt to find them used to purchase and have on hand.

Although I am a history geek, I still can't read those biographies! I tried, really I did. I did make it through quite a bit of a bio on Anne Boleyn and a history of Henry's 6 wives.... just not all of it. And I desperately need to return to fiction!

Despite my disillusionment with historical fiction of late, I'll give it another chance. Anyone have suggestions?

Books everyone has read...right?

2008-07-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

I just read Anne of Green Gables, prompted by Julia's shock that I had never read the Anne books. Now, there are plenty of things I haven't read, and plenty of things that I'm sure you wouldn't necessarily expect that I would have read. But aren't there certain books that you just assume that your friends have also read? E confessed that he has never read Hamlet. (He did finally read the Odyssey as a condition of our marriage.) I've never read the Bible. Any other confessions to add?

Dr. Horrible

2008-07-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

Though this is not directly related to a book, I do think Joss Whedon is a writing god. Here is a little project that he and some friends are working on called Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog. Here is Joss's explanation of what this project is all about:

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system.

Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.

The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.

I know not everyone is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, but how can you not like a "supervillain musical" that stars both Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion. I, for one, cannot wait.

P.S. I promise a more literary post soon . . . really soon.

E's list

2008-07-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here is E's list from the Swarthmorean. You could list up to five favorite books and five to read this summer; he chose to go for a less effusive style than I did.

Favorites:

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon (F)
I could say it’s a murder mystery with chess, Esperanto, pie, and Jews in Alaska, but would that really help? The plot and characters are engaging, but it really shines in the richness of its descriptions of everyday things.

Leadership Without Easy Answers, Ronald Heifetz (NF)
A welcome reminder in this election year that being a leader is less about being in a position of authority than about persuading people to take on the hard work of change for themselves, and that we all have responsibility to lead in the ways we can.

Moss Gardening, George Schenk (NF)
Why fight the moss in your lawn? This book is a great guide for enjoying the lush green carpet that grows so naturally in our shady borough.

To read:

The Lady of the Snakes, Rachel Pastan (F)
The Country Under My Skin, Gioconda Belli (F)
The Book of Getting Even, Benjamin Taylor (F)

Summer Reading

2008-07-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

Every summer, our local paper, the Swarthmorean, solicits lists from readers. They ask for your five favorite books of the year and five on your summer reading list. E and I received a personal request from the editor to submit ours, so we did. Having my reviews on Goodreads was helpful, but paring it down to five was hard...and of course there's the fact that this is a public announcement of my reading habits, so I felt somewhat constrained by that. How to look somewhat erudite without totally disowning the YA books? I included comments about each book because it drives me crazy that a lot of people just have lists of titles with no explanations.

My favorites:
The World to Come, Dara Horn (F)
This book starts with an awkward singles cocktail party at the Jewish Museum and Ben Ziskind’s unlikely theft of a small Chagall painting. The narrative spins out forward and backwards in time from there, both detailing the consequences of his action and slowly filling in the pieces to explain how it became a family heirloom. Horn repeatedly returns to the themes of memory, beliefs, and trust in relationships.

Away, Amy Bloom (F)
It is amazing how many vivid environments Amy Bloom manages to create in this fairly short novel. Lillian Leyb leaves Russia after her family is killed in the pogroms and settles in New York in the 1920s. As she says early in the novel, “Az me muz, ken men” (When one must, one can), which describes Lillian’s approach to her new life. On her cross-country quest to find her lost daughter, Sophie, she moves through the worlds of other marginal people, adapting to their rules.

Lady of the Snakes, Rachel Pastan (F)
We follow Jane Levitsky during her first year as an assistant professor, dealing with the grind of all-new preparations and the pressure to publish; in addition, she has a toddler and a husband in law school. Meanwhile, the subject of her research, the wife of a 19th century Russian writer, becomes more than the breakthrough that might make her academic career. Jane measures herself by the Masha she knows through her diaries, and the parallels between them exacerbate but also vindicate her feelings. As Jane’s tenuous balance between her career and family starts to slip, we feel Jane’s anguish and desperation as she keeps looking to her Russian alter ego for answers.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver (NF)
I love Barbara Kingsolver’s writing, and I am a firm believer in seeking out locally-produced food, so I was pretty sure that I’d like her account of her family’s attempt to live a year as true locavores, growing much of their own food and finding local producers of anything they couldn’t grow themselves. I especially enjoyed her anecdotal sections about her daughter Lily, who was 9 at the time, and her budding chicken farm; trying to figure out how to encourage her turkeys to have sex; and her trip to Italy. I came away from reading this book with a strong desire to can tomatoes and make my own cheese.

The True Meaning of Smekday, Adam Rex (F)
This is an account of an alien invasion of Earth, written by 11-year-old Gratuity “Tip” Tucci for a time capsule contest. Her journey across the country with an alien named J.Lo. in a car that is souped up with alien technology would be harrowing if it weren’t so funny. Adam Rex punctuates the story with drawings and drawn “photos.”

To Read:
Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark trilogy (F)
I read and re-read his Prydain chronicles when I was a kid, but I’ve never read these.

Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery (F)
One of my best friends from college was appalled to learn that I’ve never read this, so I promised to read it this summer.

The Red Queen, Margaret Drabble (F)
Recommended by Rachel when I said how much I enjoyed The Commoner.

Your Inner Fish, Neil Shubin (NF)
My token non-fiction for the summer, Penn’s One Read pick for this year.

Lavinia, Ursula K. Le Guin (F)
A reworking of Vergil’s Aeneid by a wonderful writer.

Lupines

2008-06-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

I spent 20+ hours in the car in the last week driving to and from Indiana. We saw lots of late spring/early summer plants along the roadside! I have to admit it is much prettier than all the grass they used to mow.

In Wisconsin, we saw tons of lupines - mostly purple - along the road. In Indiana, we saw a type of plant that the rangers couldn't identify.... so we tried, and we think we got it, although now I can't for the life of me remember what it was! Hopefully SDMoose will see this and respond...

As for my own gardens (since we are supposed to blog about gardens as well as books...), the lupines here were startling when we got home. I planted these last year, and this year they are gorgeous!! I doubt they'll be this nice again, so I thought I'd post a picture for posterity.

The lupines are on the edge of my expanded rain garden. This year, I planted swamp milkweed, turtlehead, monkeyflower, prairie smoke grass, side oats grama and a couple more. Most of this I found at the Friends School Plant Sale in May. I will post more pics as these plants establish themselves...

1980s Help!

2008-06-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

M is doing research for a summer school class called "Spinning Through the Decades." She has decided to interview me about the 80s. So, fellow Carls of the 80s, help me out!! Movies, music, tv shows, fads, popular pastimes, fashions, famous people, events.... Any favorites come to mind? I've got quite a bit, but could use your help!!

Judy Blume is 70!?

2008-06-03T18:25:00.001-07:00

And she looks pretty darn good, too! But it was surprising to learn she was 70 and has preteen grandchildren. The story was in this weekend's Strib, link may show up here:
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/19368739.html?location_refer=$sectionName. I'm never sure about my linking abilities. Also neat to see she's beginning another four book series to reach yet another generation of kids.

I don't believe Margaret would be "nearly 40". In my own mind, if I were to guess her age, I'd put her a few years older than us, rather than younger, mostly because of certain markers in her book, namely sanitary belts. They were available, I believe, in the mid to late 70's, but certainly a thing of the past for my age group as far as usage. I also read somewhere that Are You There God... was updated at some point...S. was never interested in her books, so I never reread that one. I did have a lot of fun rediscovering the Fudge books with J, after Double Fudge debuted.

New Technologies in Reading

2008-05-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

OK, we are all confirmed read-a-holics, right? So the past few weeks have been interestingly loaded with brushes with new technologies in reading...

Kindle: My brother recently purchased this gadget, as he travels a TON and is also an avid reader. It got a bit cumbersome to lug books, and often difficult to keep something new with him. I haven't heard much from him on how this works, but I am curious. Ann Althouse, on the other hand, doesn't approve at all! Have any of you tried this?

Online Reading Tests: M's school rolled out a new standardized test last year - all online. As I am a web pusher, one would think I would be fond of this. Well, I'm not. After M came home from the test once, I asked how it was. "Mom, we had to read on the computer. How are we supposed to do that??" was the answer... I had the chance to see the sample test, then asked to see the real test. Not impressed. I do web reading usability/accessibilty testing for a living - and these screens would've failed big time. I have talked to the test developing company and the district test coordinator. They assure me the new version of the test for next year is better, but won't show me sample screen shots! grrrr. So, in the meantime, I am not putting much weight into the reading score for this test. What do you all think a:bout testing reading skills online?

Small Victory: As many of you know, M has a minor reading disability that makes it uncomfortable for her to read. We just got an official, on paper, accomodation that she can use audio books/materials in place of written! Our biggest ally is M's current teacher whose daughter has a visual impairment. She's been a huge help.

Phew.. that was long!