Potato: the Propitious Esculent

by John Reader
Hennepin County Library hardcover 278 pages
genre: non-fiction

Sadly, I ran out of time to finish this book. I'm only on page 98. But I've renewed it the maximum number of times and I need to move on. I first found out about this book two and a half years ago. My advisory kids wanted to do a potato-themed basket for the school's silent auction. We looked for everything potato-related and this title caught my attention. The gifted kids loved their brainiac status and "the propitious esculent" challenged their minds. I finally (three-ish months ago) requested it from the library just out of curiosity. It's actually a fascinating book! Part one focuses on South America, where potatoes were first cultivated. This book has history, archaeology, sociology, and more. I was fascinated! (And horrified by Pizarro and the pillaging of wealth by the Spaniards.)

Part two is on Europe and the level of the author's research is impressive! I am really enjoying this book. Part three is the World . . . and now I'm thinking of re-requesting it to finish later in the summer. Sigh. I have a LOT of books on my reading list right now. I think I need to just let it go.

The Day the Crayons Quit

written by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Olivers Steffers
Hennepin County Library hardcover picturebook

This is a lovely book! One day Duncan wakes to find that his crayons have left him notes about why they are quitting. The "letters" and drawings are such fun! Most of them are complaining about being overused (blue, red) or underused (pink) but their concerns range much further. My favorite letter is the one from green! Duncan solves the crayons' problems by making a beautiful drawing that uses all of them in a balanced way, earning him good grades in coloring and creativity. Fun book!

It's a Book

written & illustrated by Lane Smith
Hennepin County Library hardcover picture book

This is such a delightful book! Monkey is reading a book when jackass asks him a lot of questions about it . . . while playing on a computer. Simple but clever, I would like to see how kids like it.

Her Fearful Symmetry

by Audrey Niffenegger
Hennepin County Library audiobook 12 discs
read by Bianca Amato
genre: ghost story

I decided on "ghost story" for a genre because this book is as strange as Niffenegger's Time Traveler's Wife. I liked many aspects of the story during the first quarter of it, but then got steadily more disgruntled. It's beautifully written and Amato's vocal work is exquisite, but it is kind of a warped story.

Twins Edie and Elspeth haven't talked to one another in twenty years. Edie and her husband Jack have twin daughters, Julia and Valentina, who have no real ambitions and live as though they're conjoined twins rather than mirror identicals. When Elspeth dies, she leaves everything to the twins on the condition that their parents never set foot in the London flat and the girls have to live there for at least a year before they sell it.

Elspeth's much younger boyfriend Robert removes her personal papers before the twins come (at Elspeth's request). Upstairs neighbor Marjike leaves OCD Martin just after the funeral. The Highgate Cemetery is a key "character" in this book. Ultimately, I was disgusted and dismayed by "Elspeth," disappointed in Robert, and underwhelmed by the ending. Still, Niffenegger, does something absolutely amazing with language. I was definitely captivated by this story.

Page by Paige

by Laura Lee Gulledge
Hennepin County Library hardcover unpaged
genre: YA graphic novel, coming-of-age

Delightful! I love the new graphic novels being created. I need to buy this one for my collection at PRMS. Paige Turner is the daughter of two authors. When they decide to move the family from Virginia to New York City, Paige starts chronicling her personal journey and struggles with who she is. This is such a great teenager book! The artwork is gorgeous and often has stories within the pictures themselves. The relationships (parents / children, new kid / new group of friends, etc.) are realistic and dynamic.

Appointment with Death

by Agatha Christie
Kelly Inn St. Cloud "library" paperback 192 pages
genre: murder mystery

I love Hercules Poirot! This isn't one of my favorites, but I enjoyed it anyhow. The Boynton family is beyond disfunctional . . . Mrs. Boynton has psychotic control over her daughter and step-children. But when she dies, the investigator wants to know the truth. Who did it? And so Hercules is called in and unravels the case in his inimitable way. Christie's writing is familiar and delightful.

Swim the Fly

by Don Calame
PRMS paperback 345 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction, humor

Oh my! This is such a boy book! This will be a great one to recommend to the kids who liked The Downside of Being Up. It's definitely a more challenging read, but it made me laugh out loud and I think some of my readers will appreciate the gross, awkward humor. Three friends set a goal each summer and this year, they plan to see a real-live naked girl. But how will that happen when they are unpopular geeks on the swim team? I'm not sure how I'll book-talk this one effectively (and it does have a fair amount of swearing) but chapter twelve (page 80) is laugh out loud funny . . . the boys have dressed up as girls and are in the girls locker room . . .

An Unintended Journey: A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia

by Janet Yagoda Shagam
Hennepin County Library paperback 377 pages + glossary, index, etc.
genre: non-fiction, self-help

Louise read about 100 pages and said it was good. I flipped through it before returning it to the library (maximum renewals used . . . ) and it looked interesting. I grabbed a shot of page 364 where it talks about "confabulation" - this is one I wish I had read a year ago! We figured out not to worry too much about logic / correcting my mom, but this info helps to make it more understandable. I feel sad about all the times she said she was stupid . . . just because the dementia was affecting her memory. My mom was a sharp person!

Contented Dementia

by Oliver James
Hennepin County Library paperback 273 pages (though I only read 78 of them)
genre: non-fiction, self-help, caregiving for dementia patients

Interesting but I'm not totally "sold" on this one. The author writes about Penny Garner's "SpecialSense" method of dealing with Alzheimers patients (call them "clients," even if they're your family members . . . ). Her three rules are 1. Don't ask questions. 2. Learn from them as experts on their disability. 3. Always agree with everything they say, never interrupting them. There were some aspects of this that make a lot of sense! I could picture my mom's frustration and confusion when we asked her questions and she didn't know how to answer.

page 25 - Penny spent the last 37 hours of her mother's life by her side. "Those hours are among Penny's most precious memories." Her mother Dorothy was Penny's impetus for working on dementia issues. This scene made me think of being by Betty's side and my mom's side at the end of their lives. There is something absolutely incredible about sitting with someone as they cross over from life to death.

page 37 - Alice playing bridge . . . though I understand and appreciate what they're doing to help Alice . . . it seems deceptive and artificial. I don't like lying and this method seems to be difficult and somehow wrong (though the author addresses and dismisses this concern).

page 56 - Analogy of a photo album and intact memories as "green" and positive (emotionally). The newer events are not really remembered, so are blank and cannot be recalled. Trying to picture a blank makes it become "red" - associated with fear, confusion, and other negative emotions.

I really like the personal narratives and stories. Those are the parts of the book that really connect for me. I also like the technique of avoiding questions and returning to familiar, happy topics to avoid confusion and anxiety.

I definitely would recommend this for people whose loved ones are starting to head down the road of dementia forgetfulness and repetitive conversation. I thought of Beth and her mom and dad . . .

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong

by Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks
PRMS paperback 280 pages
genre: YA graphic novel, realistic

Delightful story of Charlie (captain of the basketball team, mild-mannered), his neighbor / friend Nate (neurotic nerd), and Holly (superpowerful cheerleader who dumped Charlie via text). Both the cheerleaders and the robotics club want some school money for their organizations. When the principal says that the student council can decide between them, a fight for president ensues. Funny, cute, a bit stereotypical . . . delightful little book!

The Adventures of Superhero Girl

by Faith Erin Hicks
Hennepin County Library hardcover 106 pages
genre: YA graphic novel fantasy

I love Hicks' work! This delightful little story about a young woman who has a bit of an identity crisis about being a superhero is worth having in my collection. I especially like her dynamic with older brother Kevin, also a superhero.

Will & Whit

by Laura Lee Gulledge
Hennepin County Library, paperback unpaged
genre: YA realistic, relationships

This engaging book centers on Will (Wilhelmina) and her fears - of the dark, of being a burden on her aunt, of missing her parents after their deaths. She loves to make lamps (which bring light) and her friends Autumn (a talented puppeteer) and Noel (an excellent cook). The drawings include many shadow people and other objects, portraying some of Will's fears. Whit refers to hurricane Whitney, which takes out all the power and leaves Will to face her fears in the dark. I'll definitely buy a copy of this for school!

The Mark of Athena

by Rick Riordan
PRMS hardcover 574 pages
genre: YA fantasy

A little confusing with all seven demigod heroes plus extra characters in this story. Basically, Annabeth needs to find the Athena Parthenos (a giant statue of Athena that has been missing for millenia) and the other six heroes need to rescue Nico. Gaea is rising, evil spirits called eidolons are trying to possess the heroes, and there are the usual fights and problems that arise on their journey to Rome. There's also the Greek / Roman problem. Fun, interesting, but not my favorite of his books. Of course, I'll read the next book in the series . . .

Favorite part: Annabeth outwitting Arachne.

Saints

by Gene Luan Yang
Hennepin County Library paperback 170 pages
genre: YA graphic novel, historical fiction

The yin to his previous novel's yang, this volume traces the perspective of the Christians (both white and converted Chinese) through the story of Four-girl. Her grandfather dislikes her (hence no actual name for her) and calls her a devil child. She becomes a Christian because they are the "foreign devils" everyone dislikes. The conflicts (personal and cultural) and her visions of Joan of Arc are interesting additions to this story. The two volumes (Boxers and Saints) work very well together. I'll buy both of these for my collection.

Boxers

by Gene Luan Yang
Hennepin County Library paperback 325 pages
genre: YA graphic novel, historical fiction

I liked this much, much better than his award-winning American Born Chinese. This book tells the story of the Boxer Rebellion in an intriguing, almost mystical manner. Little Bao is ready to join his older brothers in 1898 as trouble is breaking out, but they see him as a little kid. So many themes, story lines, and perspectives in the book. Very very well done - art and storytelling.

Keeper: one house, three generations, and a journey into Alzheimer's

by Andrea Gillies
Hennepin County Library hardcover 316 pages
genre: non-fiction

This book is amazing. Partly because it comes at a time in my life when these issues are on my mind and partly because Gillies does a masterful job of combining memoir, research, observation, and social commentary. I don't have much time to blog, so I'll just jot my post-its:

Watch Living With Alzheimer's - the BBC show of Terry Pratchett's illness

page 70 - "Anything that is done without Morris and Nancy in attendance is done at risk, and risk assessment becomes a part of life. We don't go for walks anymore. We don't go out as a family anymore - just the five of us - unless we can go as seven. We go as seven to the cinema, out to dinner, to visit new friends. We're not often invited back."

page 75 - "Dementia is fast becoming the condition that's cited by the young and healthy as the disease that is most feared. . . . We don't have brains; we are our brains. . . . The brain is where the self lives."

page 152 - "I feel sorry for friends in the United States in a similar position, caught up in long tangles of red tape: the details of Medicare benefits, rights to Medicaid, drug bureaucracy, health insurance companies and their cunning opt-outs, and almost everything coming back to money, money, money."

page 160 - "How am I?" Her responses to people and the desire to be honest, brief, left alone . . . I love how she shares this.

page 194 - "Internally, I'm fervently apologetic to all those unknown, anonymous people I ever maligned for dumping." As she struggles with her mother-in-law's increasingly aggressive and difficult behavior, Gillies works to find a placement for her in-laws. Guilt is such a huge part of this issue!

page 217 - "I get it all out of my system in the classic modern way. I write e-mails." Again, I love how she shares her struggles as well as her good days. She includes a lot of information about Alzheimers and caregivers.

page 255 - "This may sound harsh and uncaring. Maybe it is. But it comes after a long, long campaign. Take battle weariness into account. The only way of continuing with this is to disengage emotionally."

page 263 - "I write long e-mails. Some of them are sent, though most are severely edited. I reread before pressing Send and think, What tedious self-pitying drivel; you can't burden your friends like this. Some days I do burden them and their kindness in responding is almost unbearable. It can't be done every day. It's boring for people to hear it and keep hearing it. Not when there isn't any resolution possible other than death of the aged dependents. Nobody could be so crass as to hope for that." One thing this book did for me was make me much more appreciative of my own situation! I've felt some of the things that she talks about, yet what I've had to deal with the last few years is nothing like what she had!

page 269 - "I'm beginning to feel afraid, though it isn't clear what there is to fear. . . . That this is a test of character that I'm failing, D minus."

page 276 - "Dumping. Do we dump people in hospitals when they're ill? Is that the language used? I worry that we're all confusing a physical disease with natural aging, believing that we ought to be able to contain aging and death within the family, recognizing the failure and stigma of doing otherwise. We confuse dementia with old age. . . "

page 297 - Morris and money stuff. "It's a disheartening thing to face, for those who've always been frugal. The people who held on to their ancient washing machine until it gave out, who were content with the old linoleum in the kitchen, who put money by for a rainy day - their rainy day has come."

page 305 - When Morris and Nancy are finally placed in a home. " 'Not severe enough?' Mary had echoed, incredulously. 'She's a lot more severe than plenty of the people you do have in nursing homes. You just try spending a couple of days looking after her. You'd see what she's really like.' " I felt so relieved that Andrea finally had some vindication after being turned down for even getting a spot on the waiting list for her mother-in-law!

So much more I could write! Amazing book.