Retrospect

March in review:

10 books read in total.

3 Reader's Choice.

1 Newberry.

2 from my Whitney list.

1 for Book Club.

No rereads.

One month left for Reader's Choice and I have 10 left to read-- though there's one nonfiction that I am just not at ALL interested in, so I'm not sure I'll read that one.

Hey! I actually read a book I already own this month! Woohoo! (Usually books I own get put off forever because they don't have a due date.)

I Have A Confession To Make...

Okay, so technically, the name of the blog is CONFESSIONS of a Book Habitue, but this is like a guilty secret confession.

I read Dragon Slippers.

I know, it didn't win. BUT, I realized it was already on my "to read" list. Because it won a Whitney last year. And now it's a nominee for a Beehive award.

So it was sitting there begging me to check it out and read it.

And I caved.

I will still read Lost Boys. I will. It was the winning book for March. As soon as I get it from the library, I will read it.

In the meantime...

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
5 Stars
JF

I really really enjoyed this. What can I say, I'm a total sucker for dragon books. And I LOVE Patricia Wrede's dragon books, and you can't not feel a connection. (Well, I can't anyway.)

The fun tale of Creel, a girl who strikes out on her own, Dragon Slippers has adventure, fantasy, highs, lows... everything you could want in a fantasy novel. I can absolutely see why it won a Whitney. I can't remember what it's up against for the Beehive, but it won't surprise me if it wins.

I read this in an evening. Literally. About 320 pages in... a bit less than 4 hours. Because really technically I was doing more watching NCIS than reading for the first while. (There are so many NCIS options on Monday nights.)

Anyway.

Entirely entertaining.

But Lost Boys is still definitely the winner for March. I promise. (I just cannot believe there's only one copy in the whole freakin' county.)

Great Giveaway Going On...

Over at Bookscoops!

Having interviewed Janet Halfmann, the fabulous ladies at Bookscoops are giving away a copy of Seven Miles to Freedom and a copy of Little Skink's Tail.

How cool is that?

Go check it out.

(Or don't, then my chances of winning are better. :P)

I Finished The Book

Words cannot express my amazement at what one man has accomplished.

Find more information--

Central Asia Institute

Pennies for Peace

Three Cups of Tea

A penny can buy a pencil, a dollar a day can pay a teacher's salary...

Three Cups of Tea

Okay, so technically I still have like 50 pages, but it's not like it's a novel and I need to know how it ends.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
5 stars
Nonfiction

This book is amazing. Seriously amazing.

From the back of the book-- "The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his remarkable humanitarian campaign in the Taliban's backyard."

In 1993 Greg Mortenson, lost and exhausted, stumbled into a little village and was taken in by the wonderful people living there. He promised to return and build them a school. And he did. And he has continued to build schools in these little villages all over Pakistan (and Afghanistan).

The reason for the title? Haji Ali, the village chief that takes in the lost Mortenson, explained that the first cup of tea you are a stranger, then with the second you are a friend. With the third cup you are family.

This book is an amazing, inspiring story. Absolutely fabulous.

And I LOVE that it's available in different incarnations for younger readers!!

Picture book-- (I need to get this one... even if my kids might be a bit young for it now.)

Shop Indie Bookstores

And young readers' edition--

Shop Indie Bookstores

What do YOU think of Dr. Greg?

Saturday with Boo-- Repetition

We've been reading from The Book of Mormon in the morning. Usually. Trying to.

Anyway.

At this stage "reading" for Boo means Mommy or Daddy tell her what to say (a phrase at a time) and she says it.

So the other day, when she wasn't thrilled that we were interrupting Little Einsteins to do this, she was being a bit less than cooperative.

(When we started reading daily her response, I kid you not, was "Is this a joke?")

Anyway, it was her turn and so I started "And it came to pass..." and she immediately responded "But Mommy, I've already read this one!"

Well.... no...

I think half the verses in there start with "and it came to pass".

Update

One trip to the doctor, 2 antibiotics, 1 thing of numbing drops, and many hours later...

Three ear infections. Which doesn't seem fair. The infections should not be allowed to outnumber the kids. Just not right.

So I still haven't finished Three Cups of Tea.

I Give Up

I haven't had time to finish Three Cups of Tea... My kids are sick....

I give up, today.

And it's not even 9... That must be some sort of screwy record. ;)

Wednesday Morsel Answer Time

Congrats to those that said Eats, Shoots and Leaves! It is indeed.

Actually, though, I was sneaky and used the caption from an illustration in the Illustrated Edition-- which you can find out all about it that cute little Amazon widget over there in the sidebar.

I really want to post the picture, but the publisher hasn't responded to my email yet, so I don't know if I can legally do that. If they say I can, it'll go up!

Mrs. B Roth, it's only open-ended brackets, so you're fine. :D

"Brackets" because it's really a British book and they call () brackets and [] square brackets, while here in America they are parentheses and brackets, respectively.

The use of emoticons has actually increased this problem. How many times have you seen this: (blah blah blah :) ? That my friends is an open-ended bracket. It should be: (blah blah blah :) ) which yes, looks awkward, but it's still right.

(Sticklers Unite!)

Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba

"I doubt Napoleon ever said anything like that." :D

(Bonus points if you can name the play/movie.)

Palindromania! by Jon Agee

What's not to love, right? It's like a comic book for nerds.

Really it is. This is a book of comic-esque palindromes.

Some are awesome-- "Lonely Tylenol" and "Too hot to hoot" are my favorites.

Some are seriously trying too hard-- "Stacy, must I jujutsu my cats?" for example. Or the monologues.... they were really reaching.

The upside-down grafiti page is fabulous. Absolutely fabulous.

Overall, it's just very silly.

Now Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Insanity

er... programming... something like that.

So, new background, font color.... etc etc etc.

What do you think?

(I am so supposed to be making dinner. Bad mommy.)

Experiencing Technical Difficulties...

Grr.

Blasted technology.

My background totally disappeared. So I'm trying to find a new one that works, but blogger is giving me all sorts of crap.

Stand by...

Wednesday Morsel

"An open bracket inflicts existential suffering."

Name that book.

:D (It just makes me giggle.)

Rumors

Really really old rumors. ;)

The Raucous Royals by Carlyn Beccia
5 Stars
Picture Book

When I read the review HERE I knew I had to read this one. I mean, what self-respecting Humanities nerd would pass up the chance to read all about history's most prevalent rumors? And in picture book form? Awesome.

Boo has asked to read this book more than once already. (Though "reading" it to her doesn't really mean reading, we just kind of flip through it and laugh at the funny pictures.)

Was Napoleon really short? Did Anne Boleyn really have 6 fingers? Which of Henry VIII's wives was beheaded with an ax?

I'm not going to tell you, you'll have to read it yourself. :D

Probably TMI

But oh well. :D

Just kidding.

Diaper-Free Before Three by Jill M. Lekovic, M.D.

What can I say? I'm a mom and potty training is an important topic in my life, whether I like it or not.

I really like Lekovic's approach. She discusses how to start as early as 6 months. Now, I'm not interested in started THAT early, but she's got some really good points. And if I'd started early with Boo, it would have been easier.

Oh, and then there's Mister.... did you know they don't make diapers in a size 7? Looks like we're getting on the early training wagon whether we wanted to or not. So it helps that I had already read this book and liked the ideas.

One thing she points out-- it's just part of life. Why do we make such a big deal, with the parties and rewards and hoopla? We don't reward them for rolling over, right? Or crawling or walking. We're excited, but it's all kind of expected, right? So what if we just slowly introduce the potty as part of our daily routine? Sounds seriously less stressful to me.

Not a "fun" read, but informative if that's the stage of life you're at. I recommend reading it before you have like a 2 year old, though.... It's not as helpful if you're starting after 2 and want to be done fast.

Sunday with Mister (Mommy Must Be Crazy)

(I've mentioned hating not having internet, right?)

Mister has been sick. Since he tends towards being a clingy child anyway, you can imagine how my week has been.

So Friday afternoon, being a glorious afternoon, Mommy went crazy and decided we should walk to the library.

The two miles there? Not so bad. Pop those kids in the double stroller and head on down the trail.

Being at the library was... interesting. I didn't feel too bad about whatever germs he may or may not have been getting on the board books in his grimy little hands. After all, library books are filthy by nature. They are, trust me. I used to volunteer at the library a few hours a week. They're gross.

I drew the line at playing with the library stuffed animals, though. Eww.

Anyway. The two miles home? Not so good. Given that I was pushing... oh nearly 70 lbs worth of kids plus the weight of the stroller... plus the like 10 lbs of freaking board books the little monkeys insisted on checking out. I'm so not kidding. We checked out like 20 books.

My favorite of the board books we checked out? A book of Haikus for babies. How cool is that?

Mister's favorite? I'm not sure. He was just kind of collecting them. He and Racoon (who of course had to come) had quite the pile. He also got a Wiggles movie. Yippee.

Aside from his eating books, he has another endearing quirk. He gives the books hugs. That's right, my little monkey takes books and cuddles them right up to his cheek like he does his stuffed animals. Cute cute cute.

I Want To Live Here

I don't know what it is; I don't know where it is.

But I want it.

A Fabulous Newberry

Savvy by Ingrid Law
5 stars
jf- Newberry Honor

LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. It was fabulous.

Here's what the back says-- "What if your grandpa moves mountains, one of your brothers causes hurricanes, another creates electricity... and now it's your turn?"

It's Mibs' 13th birthday and she'll be getting her savvy. But all she really wants is to help her Poppa.

So fun, so sweet, very cute. My friend who's out to read all things Newberry thinks it should have been the award winner instead of The Graveyard Book. I don't know, I liked them both. I think Savvy would be better for younger audiences than the other was.

I'm really hoping there will be a sequel. Really really hoping. After all, there are younger siblings who don't have their savvies yet! I want to know what happens with Samson...

A Refreshing Look at Islam

Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris (whose first name has an umlaut, which I have no clue how to add here....)
5 Stars
R- 2

Given the current political climate, this book offers a refreshing and touching look at the rules and laws of Islam-- specifically the treatment of women. Nayir, the main character, is so open and honest in his respect for women, and in his discomfort when confronted by "immodesty".

Now, don't get me wrong, I have no desire to wear a burqa, but Nayir's feelings are so innocent that's it's really very sweet. In his search for Nouf, a missing 16 year-old, he imagines her wandering helpless in the desert, and in his imagining sees her ankles, immediately prompting him to ask forgiveness from Allah. He's so very naive that it's cute.

It's also somewhat frustrating. How will he ever figure out what happened to Nouf if he can only talk to the men and the men never really knew the girl at all?

Eventually, in working with Katja, a technician at the coroner's office, Nayir comes to a more balanced view of women, and is able to interact a little more normally. (Yes, Katja works for the coroner... which seems odd all the way around, but hey. Even in the Muslim world, coroners must have their place.)

I love a good investigation, and I must say I didn't have it all worked out ahead of time, which is a plus. It's nice to be surprised. The ending leaves a fair amount to the imagination, but it didn't annoy me the way that sort of things sometimes do.

Overall, I quite liked it. I wasn't totally in the mood for it at first, but I really enjoyed it.

Wednesday Morsel

So I had a thought. (Yeah, it happens... sometimes they're even useful thoughts.)

I should see if anyone can guess where the quote came from rather than just telling you. Fun, right?

So here goes-- this week's quote: (we'll start with an easy one...)

"She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, 'You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in.'"

Name the book! (Bonus points for knowing what character "she" is.)

More World War II

Which seems to be a really common topic for Reader's Choice books.... hmm.

My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young
4.5 Stars
R- 3.5

When Anneke becomes pregnant (by a German soldier), her father decides to send her to a Lebensborn (Fountain or Wellspring of Life-- a maternity home for qualifying young women pregnant with German babies). It's decided that Cyrla, her half-Jewish cousin, will take her place. This is a gripping story of love and life, betrayal and death, and doing what you can to survive.

A word about the risqueity-- when it's decided that Cyrla will take Anneke's place, she's not pregnant. Which the Germans are bound to notice, right? So she has to, um... get pregnant... Fast. Which accounts for a large portion of the risqueity.

Anyway....

Other than the risqueity-- some of which I found to be a bit much-- the only thing that really bothered me was the cover art. A dark-haired woman with a baby. Cyrla is blond.

Now I hear you wondering "why is that such a big deal? Cover art is inaccurate often enough, right?"

Well, yes. Yes it is. But I think it's really problematic in this case. Cyrla's life depended on the fact that she's blond. Literally. For one, Anneke's blond, and there's no way she'd be able to pass as her cousin if Cyrla had dark hair.

More importantly, though, was the Lebensborn requirements. The purpose of the Lebensborn program was to build up the Aryan race. A dark-haired mother-to-be would never have been admitted. Ever. So the cover art bugs me.

This story is at times heartbreaking, but also beautiful. It's told from Cyrla's point of view as she takes her strange journey. I wish the ending had had a bit more detail, but it was still good.

If you're a fan of WWII novels, I recommend this one.... and even if you're not.

I Am Special

:D

I got an award! I really did. SEE? Thanks, Melissa!!!

So.... now I have to give awards.... hmmm... Let's check the rules...

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog [check]

2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you [check]

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (or whatever random number you want :)

4) Add links to those blogs on your blog

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs!

I'm going to bend the rules too.... I've got 6 blogs to award.

Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile-- gotta love this one! Books for little bookworms. Since Mister is a similar age, this is a great place to find ideas for him.

Writer in the Cranberry Tower-- G G Vandagriff's blog. I can't wait to read more about what trouble Alex and Briggie are going to get into next! She's also got a contest right now about her new book Last Waltz.

Lisa Shearin, Author-- we all know I love Lisa Shearin. And she's posting snippets from The Trouble with Demons every Saturday!!

Falling Stacks-- I love the comic/graphic novel reviews, because I don't usually read a lot of them myself. I also love the Sunday Suggestion-- cool idea!

Bookscoops-- last but most certainly not least. These ladies got me started on this whole venture! And we've found sooooo many great picture books on their blog!

The Mysterious Mrs. B Roth-- she cracks me up. Really. Just go read it.

[Check on 3 and 4... off to fulfill rule #5!]

All Hail

Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy
4 stars
R-0

The sequel to State of the Onion.

Once again, Ollie finds herself in the middle of a mess. Right during the holidays. Naturally. Murphy's Law, I tell you.

From the back of the book--
White House executive chef Ollie Paras has a lot on her plate, what with holiday meals to map out, the First Lady's matchmaking plans to deflect, safety classes to take, and terrorist plots to avoid. Oh, and a senator's assistant has been begging Ollie to rig the countrywide gingerbread-man-decorating contest in favor of the senator's kids...
Then, a cautious, kindly electrician is electrocuted, and the First Lady's nephew dies in an apparent suicide when not twenty-four hours before he was happily cleaning shrimp with Ollie. Ollie suspects there's something going on that's fishier than shrimp cocktail. Now, she'll have to watch her back-- and find a killer unlikely to be pardoned...

Now, I LOVED State of the Onion... and Hail to the Chef was good, but I confess I was a little disappointed. The mystery came together pretty well, but I didn't feel like it had the rich detail that the first book had. I really really missed the quirks. Like Cyan's eye color-- in SotO it changes everyday, but in HttC it's only mentioned once. I missed that. And there wasn't much interaction with Tom, the Secret Service love interest. Understandable, since he's assigned to the President and there wasn't much of him in this one either, but still. Their interactions were fun.

It was still really pretty good. Just not quite as good as I wanted it to be. I'm still hoping there'll be more though....

Just For You

There it is, an Amazon widget for your browsing pleasure. Stocked with 44 books you should read.

So get going on that, already.

:D

(I also got a cool award! I haven't had time to figure out who to pass it along to, though. So watch for that Monday...)

Saturday with Boo-- Why Mommy Should Keep Her Mouth Shut

Sigh. How do I get myself into these things? Here's more or less how the conversation went--

Mommy: The guy that did the pictures in the Frog book (Nic Bishop) also has a book on Spiders. (Why I said this, I don't know. I tell you, I should keep my mouth shut.)

Boo: Can we get it?

Mommy: Mommy won't read it to you.

Boo: Why not?

Mommy: Because they're creepy and gross.

Boo: (Considers this for a moment.) Daddy will read it to me.

Mommy: Yes, I'm sure he will.

Boo: So can we get it?

Mommy dutifully goes and puts the blasted thing on hold. Why me? And honestly, who is this and what has she done with my child? Boo generally has a cow if there's a cricket in the house, let alone a spider. Now suddenly she wants a creepy book of nasty spiders. Eww.

I am so not opening that book.

On an amusing side note-- her new hobby? Creating medieval tapestries.

Except, when she says it, it sounds more like "mean evil tapestries". (Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a straight face when a child asks "Mommy, can I read a mean evil tapestry to my brother?")

Seriously though, what preschooler is into medieval tapestries? Apparently we watch WAY too much Little Einsteins.

A Bookish Tournament

The Ides of March Madness
(Which could seriously be the absolute COOLEST name EVER!)

What it's all about: 16 books have been chosen to go head to head (or page to page, as it were) in this great contest. You're invited to wager on whatever book you think can go all the way!

Reading along is encouraged, but not required.

All donations will benefit a great cause-- Book Wagon

I highly recommend checking out the WHOLE STORY. It looks like loads of fun, and all who donate at least $20 "will be eligible for the awards, which include all manner of literary swag."

And who doesn't want all manner of literary swag, I ask you?

In looking over The List, I am shocked and appalled to see that I've not read a single one. Shame on me.

Granted, I've checked The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo out like three times, but I've still not read it.

So I now have 16 more books to add to me list. (Actually more than that-- some of these are sequels...)

How about you? Have you read any of them?

Some Business

It has been commented on that it's not as easy as readers would like to find books I highly recommend.

So, what would you like to see? A "recommended" tag/label? Some sort of widget in the sidebar? Posts tagged/labeled by how many stars I gave the book?

Give me some ideas and I'll see what I can do! :D

Three Books in One

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
4.5 stars
R- 1

Seriously, this is like 3 books. And they're each pretty different.

Part one is VERY Pride and Prejudice. Almost too much. I mean, you've got the awful cousin that the house is entailed to (very Mr. Collins) and the grand lady whose patronage he seeks/has who (in a positively Lady Catherine manner) insists that conversations not be had so quietly and so far away from her. You also have the whole "taking ill at the affair the young woman has been invited to so that she has to stay a few days" thing.

You also have the young gentleman of too much fortune, making a match a disastrous thought. Though, really, he somehow resembles an Oscar Wilde rascal (you know, the one that Rupert Everett always plays sooooo well) more than Mr. Darcy.
Now don't get me wrong, I love PandP, but if that's what I want, that's what I'll read... or I'll pop disc 2 in... hmmmm Colin Firth.... I wonder if my kids would mind if we watched that instead of Playhouse Disney....

Anyway.

Part two is a bit Jane Eyre. Not too much, thankfully. Though the shift in style is enough to disorient the reader. (Parts one and three are third person, part two is first.)

Part three feels fabulously original. Well, as original as you can get in the "solve the problem, save the world" vein. :D

One overall frustration, though, was the sometimes way to obvious plugging fantasy names in place of the Greek and calling it Tharosian. Kinda.... lazy... in terms of writing. I totally understand that it's a way easy pitfall to get stuck in. Worldbuilding in writing can be really tricky. But really? Saying that "planet" is from the Tharosian word for "wanderer"... yeah. The word planet is from the Greek for wanderer. See what I mean?

But, in spite of it all, I really liked the book. (The irritation of the nonoriginal stuff keeps be from giving it the full 5 stars, but still.)

In the spirit of being better about including summaries, here's what the Reader's Choice pamphlet has to say on the matter--
"Set in an alternate fantasy world, The Magicians and Mrs. Quent has overtones of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. Ivy Lockwell, the bookish eldest of three daughters, is desperate to save her magician father from the madness that has overwhelmed him. Taking employment as a governess, she hopes to find a key to save him while working for the mysterious Mr. Quent."

Okay, now that I've typed all that, it strikes me that it's not, in fact, a fabulous summary. Sigh.

The characters are interesting; the storyline is quite good. There will be a sequel! Which I'm excited about.

The idea of the lengths of days and nights constantly varying would drive me absolutely batty. Really. Wouldn't it drive you nuts to have to consult a book to find out how long the night was going to last?

March Possibilities- Voting Closed

So, thanks to THIS POST, Lost Boys won 8 to 3. Off I go to the library website to put it on hold.

Those who were rooting for Dragon Slippers, don't despair. You can nominate it again next month.

:D

ETA-- wouldn't you know, there's only one copy of it in the whole blasted county system. So be patient.... I have to get hold of it before I can read it.

Sigh (With Apologies to the Friend From Whom I Borrowed the Books)

The Sound of Rain and A Distant Thunder by Anita Stansfield
2.5 stars
R- between 2 and 3

Sigh.

I was trying to give Anita Stansfield another chance. I read some of hers as a teenager.... and realized by about the 4th that I had basically just read the same book 4 times.

I do actually own one... Towers of Brierly, which I really like and have read more than once.

But these.... sigh. These in many ways are everything that's wrong with LDS fiction... or maybe I should call it LDS romance.

For example, I used to read ALL of Rachel Ann Nunes' books. Like ALL of them, right as they came out. But after... I don't know 12 of them? I started to wonder how much tragedy an author should be able to inflict on a single character (or a couple of characters) in the space of 200-300 pages. (Don't get me wrong, Nunes has some books that I LOVE.)

I mean really.

In the course of these two books the 2 main characters--

• each lose one parent to neglect/abuse/divorce.
• lose a friend/brother to death
• lose each other (in a romance sense)
• each lose a spouse to death or infidelity
• lose more friends to death
• each lose a child to the world or death
• have misc. marriage troubles
• lose a parent (or two) to death
• suffer extreme career/financial reversals
• almost commit suicide
• become addicted to painkillers

And that's in only 2 books. Sheesh.

Now, I understand that some people's lives really are that tragic/difficult, but you know what they say about real life and bad fiction.

I am also sick to death of authors on soapboxes. Even when I agree with what they're saying (and I did in these) it's annoying. And in some cases wildly unbelievable.

To compound this irritation-- the characters are actually just compelling enough that I want to know what happens to them. (Which is interesting, since they're not terribly well-written.) Grr.

So I'll read the third book. (This had better only be a trilogy.)

But don't expect me to be happy about it.

Only One Day Left to Vote!!

As it stands, I'll be reading Lost Boys probably, 'cause it's got the only vote... Unless I count the vote for Dragon Slippers that I got in a comment before putting up the poll....

In which case there will be a tie if you forget to vote. So please, come vote.

Wednesday Morsel

What do you think of that name for this weekly feature? It's not the alliteration that I was looking for, but it's not bad, right?

Okay, this one is pretty silly, and totally not seasonally appropriate, but it cracks me up and it's running through my head!

The Perfect Pumpkin Pie by Denys Cazet
(Which is a picture book)

"Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin pie
I must have some before I die
It must be round and brown as toast
or I'll haunt this house a hungry ghost.
I'll haunt this house and here I'll stay
I'll haunt this house and never go awaaaaaaay."

(On a tangentially related note- the "block quote" text option hates me.)

"A fantastical blend of myth and modern"

That's what Eoin Colfer had to say about it. I like it.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
5 Stars
R-0

I heard about this book on Maw Books and was intrigued. I mean, hey, a modern take on Greek Mythology, what's not to love, right? (Yes, I am aware I am a nerd.)

The Lightning Thief is book one of Percy Jackson- The Olympians and it is a fabulous start. Though really, and book that begins with the chapter "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher" is bound to be great.

This was fun, entertaining, and well done. I liked the character development. And I LOVED how humble Percy is towards the end. He's basically saved the world, his father (a Greek god) is proud of him, and as he is leaving Olympus --

"As I walked back through the city of the gods, conversations stopped. The muses paused their concert. People and satyrs and naiads all turned toward me, their faces filled with respect and gratitude, and as I passed, they knelt, as if I were some kind of hero."

How can you NOT love a kid like that?

(And why can I not turn off the stupid blockquote thing? Blast it all.)

Anyway, I am very much looking forward to reading the next one.... and the next.... :D

This would be an excellent choice for a middle schooler, and I think it would appeal to a lot of kids. The library copy I ended up with is not in great shape, so it must be popular, right?

March Possibilities

So I guess it's between Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card and Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George.
Which shall I read?
I'm going to make a poll to put in the side bar.... assuming I can figure out how.
Voting will end Thursday evening.

:D

A Gluttony of Food Books

Has anyone else noticed this? (And I don't mean my likely totally improper use of the word "gluttony".) Food books are everywhere. Seriously everywhere.

Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
3 stars
R-2

Written in a somewhat similar style as The Friday Night Knitting Club, Comfort Food is the story of a woman and her family-- both blood and otherwise. Gus is an engaging main character, most of the time, at least, and her family is definitely quirky.

Unfortunately... it just wasn't as well done as Friday Night Knitting Club.

Maybe that's not fair. Maybe I shouldn't compare. But, really, the style just didn't work for this one.

Because of the jumping from character to character, it sometimes takes part of the novel to get a feel for the characters. In Comfort Food, this is more successful for some characters than others.

One character was totally superfluous. I mean, she was likeable enough, but seriously superfluous. You could have taken her out completely and not noticed.

Like I said, though, I did like Gus. And you do get a decent depth on most of the characters by the end of it all.

But I was hoping for better.

Saturday with Boo (and Mister)

[Who is screaming. Sigh.]

So, I thought maybe I would ask for input from my kid(s) for my Saturday posts.

Of course, this prompted Boo to ask me to write a book, missing the "about" part of what I write.

Anyway, we sat down to look at Frogs by Nic Bishop. That's right, look at, not read. I did try to read it, but it was causing a mutiny as Mister tried to turn pages at approximately the speed of light.

But hey, it's all about the photos, right?

Boo's "favoritest" is the red-eyed tree frog. Mister, apparently, found the blue dart poison frog hysterical, because that page made him laugh. His favorite, though, is the gliding frog, which inspired much pointing and "ooh wow"ing.

Unfortunately, this is not a boardbook. Which meant I had to put it away. He's still crying. This is clearly a tragedy on the deepest, most personal level.

Boo thinks other people would like the pictures. (We'll make a reviewer of her yet.)

"yuhhhhjkjghhft545y7te
sdx nd fbbvcfgfrr
xv ccxzzxzsxddffvfggjhbxfgvy4d4tevcvu4g"

That was Boo. Have I mentioned I don't generally let her touch the computer?

Anyway, you can find out more about Frogs HERE and HERE and you can see Nic Bishop's website HERE.

And now I'm off to do weekend stuff.... and if Boo has her way that will include writing a book about Unicorns.... which she says Cari's (of Bookscoops) daughter will love as well.

Astronomy!

I LOVE astronomy. I've been devouring information on the subject since about the 2nd or 3rd grade. Seriously.

The Planets by Dava Sobel
5 Stars
nonfiction

This book is BEAUTIFUL. There's really no other way to say it.

In lyrical prose, Dava Sobel discusses the Solar System, from Sun to Pluto, varying her tone to suit each celestial body. It is a wonderful example of science for the non-scientist.

The information found is not limited to the astronomical, though. Sobel also touches on the Bible, mythology, flowers, astrology, poetry.... I could go on and on... and on.

If you didn't see the quote posted Wednesday, scroll down and read it! It's taken from the chapter on the Moon- Lunacy.

I HIGHLY recommend this to ANYONE. (Whether you're an astronomy nut or not!)

This is my 100th post!!!! WOWSERS!!!

Ah, Romance

That's right, I read a romance novel. And it was actually good. Which is a total "go figure" in my world.

Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway
5 stars
R- 3.5

Okay, seriously a romance with a title like Skinny Dipping? Gag. I was not looking forward to reading this. But it was on the Reader's Choice list. Sigh.

But it was good. It was entertaining. And I'm talking laugh-out-loud entertaining.

And yeah, there was a love story, but there was also a lot of... life. Outside of the romance.

I have nothing against characters falling in love. Really I don't. I am, after all, a girl, and I think at heart we're all suckers for a good love story. As long as there's enough other stuff going on to hold my interest. :D

Skinny Dipping was also shockingly clean. Given that it's a romance, I was very pleasantly surprised to find only one steamy love scene. (Note, however, that it was steamy. Hence the 3.5 on the risqueity scale.) All in all, I was impressed.

Not impressed enough to change my mind about the genre, mind you.

I'm not going there. :D

Wednesday Quote Time

Which, yeah, needs a better name. Any ideas?

One bit of Blog Business first-- the list of March Possible Reads at the moment includes Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card and Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George. I'll keep taking suggestions until the 12th or so....

On to today's quote!

From The Planets by Dava Sobel

Nothing could summon water from those dark seas of the Moon because they are, all of them, dry. Nor have the Moon's so-called seas ever known the presence of water. Though the lunar maria hintedd off a fluid interconnectedness to the first astronomers who eyed them and names them through telescopes, the first Moonwalkers to tread them retrieved the driest imaginable materials from their shores.
"Bone-dry", the lunar samples were described, though they are much drier than bones, which form inside the Earth's wet living systems, and retain the memory of water long after death.
Dry as dust then? No, drier still. On Earth, even dust holds water.

I Really Did Not Think...

That I would like this book. I really didn't.

They Did It With Love by Kate Morgenroth
4 stars
R-3

Okay, so somehow my brain had logged this as a chick lit or romance novel. Go figure.

It's not. It's a Mystery. In fact it's a mystery about mysteries. Or something.

Anyway, I liked it. Even with the ending.

'Cause the ending is... interesting. Weird. I'm disturbed and not disturbed at the same time... and then I'm disturbed that I'm not disturbed. :D

But it was really interesting. I enjoyed it. It's a Reader's Choice, and I'm glad, because I doubt I'd have picked it up otherwise. ('Cause my brain was convinced it was something else entirely.)

Try it, and let me know what you think. I'm curious to see if people figure it out before the end....

Month(s) in Review

I am such a slacker. I didn't post a January review at all.

So here goes.

January-- read 17 books. Three were rereads, one I didn't finish, one LDS fiction, 5 current Reader's Choice and 1 past. I'm not sure I can pick a favorite, there were lots of really good ones.

February-- read 14 books. Six Reader's Choice, 2 Newberry. And I honestly liked almost all of them. :D

On a related note-- I still don't know what features you'd like to see, but I really like the idea of posting quotes/excerpts and the idea of readers picking something for me to review.

So-- what would you like me to review? In March, I'll pick one book suggested by a reader to review. (And another in April, May, etc.)

And I'll start posting excerpts once a week.... Probably on... Wednesdays. Wednesdays sound good.

I still need ideas, though, because I'd like a feature for Saturdays......

Something Seussical

And I don't mean the musical, because I've not seen it.

Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss! I was contemplating having green eggs and ham for lunch, but we have no ham.... and I don't think we own that particular book.... and really, Boo prefers purple eggs. (I'm so not kidding.)

So I'm starting to feel like a great big Seussical failure.

But I'm sure I can find some sort of Cat in the Hat cupcake recipe or something. All is not lost.

And speaking of Dr. Seuss-- have you read Hooray For Diffendoofer Day!? I think it's my new Dr. Seuss favorite. Though I still absolutely LOVE There's a Wocket in my Pocket. Especially the cellar page... which must be read in one breath.

There are fun things to do at Seussville.

What are you doing to celebrate Dr. Seuss? What's you favorite Seuss book?