by Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa with artwork by Francesco Francavilla
Hennepin County Library paperback unpaged
genre: YA graphic novel, zombies
I grew up reading and loving Archie comics! In this one, a horrible accident leaves Jughead's beloved Hot Dog dead. When he brings the dog to Sabrina (the Teenage Witch), she defies her aunts and reanimates the dead creature. Mayhem ensues. Not sure if kids nowadays are familiar with Archie, Veronica, Betty, and the rest of the gang, but they'll love the gore and mayhem. Yep. I'll buy this one for PRMS.
First book off the Litwits 2015 list! About time I got started!
Monday, June 29, 2015
The Eyes of the Amaryllis
by Natalie Babbitt
PRMS hardcover 128 pages
genre: YA historical, supernatural
Wow. When I was weeding books like crazy this spring, it was hard. This is another that looked brand new, but it was published in 1977 and is stamped "Pioneer Ridge Freshman Center." So I read it to see if it should have been kept. No.
Jenny goes to stay with her Grandma Geneva at the house on the coast. Jenny is going to help grandma, who injured her ankle. Grandma is obsessed with checking the shoreline for items sent to her by her long-dead husband . . . whose ship sank decades earlier. Jenny gets sucked into the allure of being free at the beach, even though it involves middle-of-the-night searches of the shoreline for "a sign." (The tides dictate the day.) One day, she finds the figurehead from the ship - the Amaryllis was named for the flower and had the masthead of Geneva. Blah blah blah. At least it was short.
PRMS hardcover 128 pages
genre: YA historical, supernatural
Wow. When I was weeding books like crazy this spring, it was hard. This is another that looked brand new, but it was published in 1977 and is stamped "Pioneer Ridge Freshman Center." So I read it to see if it should have been kept. No.
Jenny goes to stay with her Grandma Geneva at the house on the coast. Jenny is going to help grandma, who injured her ankle. Grandma is obsessed with checking the shoreline for items sent to her by her long-dead husband . . . whose ship sank decades earlier. Jenny gets sucked into the allure of being free at the beach, even though it involves middle-of-the-night searches of the shoreline for "a sign." (The tides dictate the day.) One day, she finds the figurehead from the ship - the Amaryllis was named for the flower and had the masthead of Geneva. Blah blah blah. At least it was short.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Secrets of a Charmed Life
by Susan Meissner
Carver County Library paperback 386 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction
I am so glad we have book club tonight! I liked, but wasn't head-over-heels in love with this one. I wonder what Jodi thought of it. It takes place during WWII, primarily in London, but also in the countryside where the children are evacuated. The story opens with a history student scoring an interview with a secret story of what happened during the evacuation of the children during WWII.
page 11 - "If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree," - Michael Crichton. I'm not a huge fan of history, but I recognize the importance of it. I loved this quote from Crichton.
page 89 - the description of Charlotte made me think, "I want to be like this!" ". . . her skin was wrinkled but in a nice way, as if she had one day started smiling and then had never stopped." This really resonated for me. Throughout the story, what Charlotte says and does (and how she says and does it) made me think about the kind of person I am and who I want to be.
page 109 - When Charlotte invited them to pray at their first meal together. "It had been a long time since Emmy and Julia had been in the same room with someone who spoke to God out of reverence." This makes me think of the importance of being true to God - we never know when we are setting an example.
page 142 - The foreshadowing is more like foreshouting. "She would look back on that moonlit night and wonder and wonder and wonder what she would have done had she considered that the owl that awakened Julia was divinely sent so that she wouldn't leave Thistle House that night."
page 185 - "But on that Sunday morning when fires still burned and the dead were still being carried out and the extent of the destruction still could not be fathomed, a missing seven-year-old was just another calamity in a collection of calamities the likes of which no one had seen before." So much of our personal tragedies are wrapped within a framework of what else is happening.
page 216 - "Grief sapped her of mental clarity and made her feel weak. She could not be a companion to it now. All that mattered was finding Julia." So true that grief can sap you. This also resonated for me.
page 252 - "Thistle House is for people who love and care for one another. We respect one another in this house, Emmeline. We carry one another's burdens. We weep for one another and we laugh with one another. We hold one another by the hand when the lights go out and when the way seems hopeless. We work together and we share the table together and we pray together. No matter how old we are or what we are called." Love this! Sounds like a home motto you could hang on your wall!
page 268 - Talk about collapsing a story line! "The next two years were spent in a mindless routine . . . " Well. That helps to grow her up to legal age!
page 291 - Well. I had to read this page twice. I didn't think she would go there and do that . . . knowing what had happened to her mother. And where did this come from? "But life is lived at the moment you are living it, she thought. No one but God in heaven has the benefit of seeing beyond today." And is that supposed to be an absolution of her mistakes? I may have to re-read this page a third or fourth time . . .
page 331 - The scene where Julia and Frannie are in the boat and Frannie is seeking reassurance from the mute Julia. Julia's nods and the word "maybe" were significant. "The girl who knew what war was like was telling her not to give up hope." Hope is powerful!
page 359 - ". . . if I know anything about time, it is that it stretches to walk with you when you grieve. The rest of the world may zoom past at breakneck speed, but when you are learning to live with loss, time slows to the pace of your breathing."
page 381 - I love Colin, the money, and the way things worked out for Thistle House!
page 384 - the end of the interview. This didn't really work for me. We don't get to know Kendra well enough to really care about her story. And Isabel is a bit enigmatic about her purposes here.
My ending frustration is that the neighbor didn't just leave a not in the flat! How hard would it have been?!?! Okay. Overall, a wonderful story.
Carver County Library paperback 386 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction
I am so glad we have book club tonight! I liked, but wasn't head-over-heels in love with this one. I wonder what Jodi thought of it. It takes place during WWII, primarily in London, but also in the countryside where the children are evacuated. The story opens with a history student scoring an interview with a secret story of what happened during the evacuation of the children during WWII.
page 11 - "If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree," - Michael Crichton. I'm not a huge fan of history, but I recognize the importance of it. I loved this quote from Crichton.
page 89 - the description of Charlotte made me think, "I want to be like this!" ". . . her skin was wrinkled but in a nice way, as if she had one day started smiling and then had never stopped." This really resonated for me. Throughout the story, what Charlotte says and does (and how she says and does it) made me think about the kind of person I am and who I want to be.
page 109 - When Charlotte invited them to pray at their first meal together. "It had been a long time since Emmy and Julia had been in the same room with someone who spoke to God out of reverence." This makes me think of the importance of being true to God - we never know when we are setting an example.
page 142 - The foreshadowing is more like foreshouting. "She would look back on that moonlit night and wonder and wonder and wonder what she would have done had she considered that the owl that awakened Julia was divinely sent so that she wouldn't leave Thistle House that night."
page 185 - "But on that Sunday morning when fires still burned and the dead were still being carried out and the extent of the destruction still could not be fathomed, a missing seven-year-old was just another calamity in a collection of calamities the likes of which no one had seen before." So much of our personal tragedies are wrapped within a framework of what else is happening.
page 216 - "Grief sapped her of mental clarity and made her feel weak. She could not be a companion to it now. All that mattered was finding Julia." So true that grief can sap you. This also resonated for me.
page 252 - "Thistle House is for people who love and care for one another. We respect one another in this house, Emmeline. We carry one another's burdens. We weep for one another and we laugh with one another. We hold one another by the hand when the lights go out and when the way seems hopeless. We work together and we share the table together and we pray together. No matter how old we are or what we are called." Love this! Sounds like a home motto you could hang on your wall!
page 268 - Talk about collapsing a story line! "The next two years were spent in a mindless routine . . . " Well. That helps to grow her up to legal age!
page 291 - Well. I had to read this page twice. I didn't think she would go there and do that . . . knowing what had happened to her mother. And where did this come from? "But life is lived at the moment you are living it, she thought. No one but God in heaven has the benefit of seeing beyond today." And is that supposed to be an absolution of her mistakes? I may have to re-read this page a third or fourth time . . .
page 331 - The scene where Julia and Frannie are in the boat and Frannie is seeking reassurance from the mute Julia. Julia's nods and the word "maybe" were significant. "The girl who knew what war was like was telling her not to give up hope." Hope is powerful!
page 359 - ". . . if I know anything about time, it is that it stretches to walk with you when you grieve. The rest of the world may zoom past at breakneck speed, but when you are learning to live with loss, time slows to the pace of your breathing."
page 381 - I love Colin, the money, and the way things worked out for Thistle House!
page 384 - the end of the interview. This didn't really work for me. We don't get to know Kendra well enough to really care about her story. And Isabel is a bit enigmatic about her purposes here.
My ending frustration is that the neighbor didn't just leave a not in the flat! How hard would it have been?!?! Okay. Overall, a wonderful story.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Lady Catherine's Necklace
by Joan Aiken
PRMS weeded / donated, hardcover, 272 pages
genre: YA fiction, styled a la Pride and Prejudice
This was published in 2000 and was still in excellent (i.e. never read) condition. I weeded it from the collection because of its age and lack of readers, but took it from the discard pile because I love Jane Austen and was curious. The Pride and Prejudice characters and references were mildly enjoyable (no Elizabeth or Darcy except a brief mention). The style was familiar enough to be Austen-honoring, but the plotting was much faster-paced. I like that Anne de Bourgh was more lively and personable away from her mother. I liked the Maria Lucas character as she helped Charlotte and wrote letters and pined for FitzWilliam. The de Laval siblings were shifty and untrustworthy from start to finish. It's sort of a mystery and sort of a character analysis. I'm glad I weeded it.
PRMS weeded / donated, hardcover, 272 pages
genre: YA fiction, styled a la Pride and Prejudice
This was published in 2000 and was still in excellent (i.e. never read) condition. I weeded it from the collection because of its age and lack of readers, but took it from the discard pile because I love Jane Austen and was curious. The Pride and Prejudice characters and references were mildly enjoyable (no Elizabeth or Darcy except a brief mention). The style was familiar enough to be Austen-honoring, but the plotting was much faster-paced. I like that Anne de Bourgh was more lively and personable away from her mother. I liked the Maria Lucas character as she helped Charlotte and wrote letters and pined for FitzWilliam. The de Laval siblings were shifty and untrustworthy from start to finish. It's sort of a mystery and sort of a character analysis. I'm glad I weeded it.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
When Elephants Fight: The Lives of Children in Conflict in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Uganda
by Eric Walters & Adrian Bradbury
PRMS hardcover 89 pages
genre: non-fiction for middle school readers, war impact
The kid stories were the best part of this. The photographs were also quite good. The background info was bland and quite frankly, I had to force myself to read through it. Not sure a middle schooler would persist. The title is from a proverb: "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers." The truth of this observation - that innocents suffer when bigger powers battle - doesn't really come through in the book's text. I'm not sure how the authors could have made the info on the conflicts more interesting or relevant to young readers, but I wish they had. The other thing that kind of bothered me was how old some of these conflicts are . . . with so much fighting and suffering going on right now, why use such old examples?
Uganda / Jimmy / 2000s
Sri Lanka / Annu / 1990s
Afghanistan / Farooq / 1990s
Bosnia / Nadja / early 1990s
Sudan / Toma / recent 2000s
I was also surprised by how many people escaped from violence and moved to Canada! Or perhaps the authors are Canadians and they went with the people with whom they had contact.
PRMS hardcover 89 pages
genre: non-fiction for middle school readers, war impact
The kid stories were the best part of this. The photographs were also quite good. The background info was bland and quite frankly, I had to force myself to read through it. Not sure a middle schooler would persist. The title is from a proverb: "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers." The truth of this observation - that innocents suffer when bigger powers battle - doesn't really come through in the book's text. I'm not sure how the authors could have made the info on the conflicts more interesting or relevant to young readers, but I wish they had. The other thing that kind of bothered me was how old some of these conflicts are . . . with so much fighting and suffering going on right now, why use such old examples?
Uganda / Jimmy / 2000s
Sri Lanka / Annu / 1990s
Afghanistan / Farooq / 1990s
Bosnia / Nadja / early 1990s
Sudan / Toma / recent 2000s
I was also surprised by how many people escaped from violence and moved to Canada! Or perhaps the authors are Canadians and they went with the people with whom they had contact.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever
by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
C. Chapman's hardcover 315 pages plus index
genre: non-fiction history
Cina loaned this to me quite a while ago . . . and I had a hard time getting into it. I'm not sure if it's because I've already read books about Lincoln's assassination or that O'Reilly's style is so flamboyant (that it makes me question the veracity). I enjoyed his Killing Kennedy book more than this one and I'm not sure why.
page 257 - "Incredibly, eighty-seven of these brave men will drown in their painstaking weeklong search for the killers." Seriously?!?! Eighty-seven men searching the swamps of Maryland to find John Wilkes Booth and David Herold DIED? That is horrible! If this is true, then the search for Lincoln's killers exacted quite a toll. (Survived fighting in the Civil War but died searching for two assassins in the swamps. Makes me think of soldiers who get home from Iraq and are murdered in their neighborhood by thugs.)
page 262 - "But even after the burial, Lincoln's body will never quite be at rest. In the next 150 years, Lincoln's casket will be opened six times and moved from one crypt to another seventeen times. His body was so thoroughly embalmed that he was effectively mummified." I would be curious to know when and why he was exhumed all these times.
page 276 - The guy who shot JWB was Boston Corbett. "Boston Corbett, in his own way, is as much a zealot as Booth. Only his passion is religion. Incredibly, years before, Corbett cut off his own testicles with a pair of scissors after experiencing a moment of lust." Really? Really? How does a man do this? Physically, mentally, emotionally . . . . can't imagine.
page 292 - Major DUH! moment. I knew of the attempt on William Seward's life before. (What kind of coward tries to murder a man on his sickbed?) It still amazes me that Seward and his three children (especially Frederick, who had his brains bashed out) survived the attacks that night. And of course I already knew about Seward's Folly (the purchase of Alaska, which turned out to be an incredible investment, given the gold and oil found there). What I didn't realize until reading this is that they were one and the same! I felt kind of dumb having 2+2=4, but I had just not realized it before. Cool stuff, learning.
page 313 - in their notes, O'Reilly / Dugard list many books that were helpful in their research. "thanks to the magic of Google's online books, many of the older titles can be easily accessed" Love it! I tell my students during History Day research that GoogleBooks can be a good source of titles that are hard to find in print form.
I am glad I am done with this and can return it to Cina. I am glad I learned some new stuff. I don't think I'll read O'Reilly's Killing Jesus book. I'm kind of curious to go back and see what I wrote about the first one of his I read . . .
C. Chapman's hardcover 315 pages plus index
genre: non-fiction history
Cina loaned this to me quite a while ago . . . and I had a hard time getting into it. I'm not sure if it's because I've already read books about Lincoln's assassination or that O'Reilly's style is so flamboyant (that it makes me question the veracity). I enjoyed his Killing Kennedy book more than this one and I'm not sure why.
page 257 - "Incredibly, eighty-seven of these brave men will drown in their painstaking weeklong search for the killers." Seriously?!?! Eighty-seven men searching the swamps of Maryland to find John Wilkes Booth and David Herold DIED? That is horrible! If this is true, then the search for Lincoln's killers exacted quite a toll. (Survived fighting in the Civil War but died searching for two assassins in the swamps. Makes me think of soldiers who get home from Iraq and are murdered in their neighborhood by thugs.)
page 262 - "But even after the burial, Lincoln's body will never quite be at rest. In the next 150 years, Lincoln's casket will be opened six times and moved from one crypt to another seventeen times. His body was so thoroughly embalmed that he was effectively mummified." I would be curious to know when and why he was exhumed all these times.
page 276 - The guy who shot JWB was Boston Corbett. "Boston Corbett, in his own way, is as much a zealot as Booth. Only his passion is religion. Incredibly, years before, Corbett cut off his own testicles with a pair of scissors after experiencing a moment of lust." Really? Really? How does a man do this? Physically, mentally, emotionally . . . . can't imagine.
page 292 - Major DUH! moment. I knew of the attempt on William Seward's life before. (What kind of coward tries to murder a man on his sickbed?) It still amazes me that Seward and his three children (especially Frederick, who had his brains bashed out) survived the attacks that night. And of course I already knew about Seward's Folly (the purchase of Alaska, which turned out to be an incredible investment, given the gold and oil found there). What I didn't realize until reading this is that they were one and the same! I felt kind of dumb having 2+2=4, but I had just not realized it before. Cool stuff, learning.
page 313 - in their notes, O'Reilly / Dugard list many books that were helpful in their research. "thanks to the magic of Google's online books, many of the older titles can be easily accessed" Love it! I tell my students during History Day research that GoogleBooks can be a good source of titles that are hard to find in print form.
I am glad I am done with this and can return it to Cina. I am glad I learned some new stuff. I don't think I'll read O'Reilly's Killing Jesus book. I'm kind of curious to go back and see what I wrote about the first one of his I read . . .
The Rent Collector
by Camron Wright
Scott County Library paperback 264 pages
genre: adult fiction
Oh my. This book was amazing! I had gotten it from Carver County for Ann for her book club, but had also requested a copy through Scott County. She read and returned the one I got for her. I read this one but haven't had the chance to talk with her yet. I got the sense she didn't care for it much . . . I'm curious to know her thoughts.
This fiction story is based on real people and real events - set in a garbage dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, here are the main characters:
Ki Lim (dad) and Sang Ly (mom) with baby Nisay (constantly sick with diarrhea) are pickers of trash - anything they can resell for money for food
The Rent Collector (Sopeap Sin) is a nasty woman who comes to get the money from the people living on the dump for the person who "owns" the land.
Lucky Fat - an orphan boy with a round face and a happy disposition
Maly - a girl who is coming of age and afraid to be sold into prostitution by her brother
Others in the dump - family members, the healer in the village, the foreign doctors, the Khmer Rouge, the gangs, and others play key roles.
Because this is such an amazing, wonderful book, I do not want to write any spoilers! Suffice it to say that I love literacy and how it can change lives. I love that the author based his story on real people (and included photos at the end!)
page 67 - When Sang Ly is trying to find "literature," her sister Narin remembers a memorized poem her mother had whispered to her over and over when she was young. "Laugh with me, monkey. Bring impish tricks and mischievous heart. Help sorrow waft and cheer restore before the sun sets red. . . . " It is lovely and it is an opening for Sang Ly to grow in her understanding of literacy.
page 80 - I'm no history buff, but the issue of people choosing not to "get involved" in other people's struggles is not specific to any one era or culture. This got my attention, though. "During the Khmer Rouge revolution in the mid to late 1970s, more than a million Cambodians were slaughtered by the vicious dictator Pol Pot and his government. Since that genocide, those who managed to survive have raised an entire generation of children who have been taught that to stay alive in the world, it's best to lie low, mind your own business, and let others do the fighting."
page 124 - I love love love different versions of the Cinderella story!!! I am too lazy to scan and include the pages of Sarann's story, but the characters mention "Ye Xian in China, Tattercoats in England, Aschenputtel in Germany, Critheanach in Scotland, Nyasha in Africa, Cinderella in North America" . . . and it makes me kind of sad that the Disney video is the story version most people have experienced. I could do an entire unit on these different Cinderella stories!
page 201 - I cried at this point. The healer has just given her a photo of her dad (who died the night she was born) and when she says that they live in the dump, he replies "It doesn't matter where you live, Sang Ly, it is how you live." This scene struck me as both poignant and powerful.
page 220 - More crying. Sopeap has written her story for Sang Ly. "Only later would I realize that there are no words harsh enough, no paragraphs wide enough, no books deep enough to convey the weight of true human sorrow."
This book is well worth reading! If, like me, you get curious about the author's son's film, find more at www.riverofvictory.com .
Reading this also made me think of Trash by Andy Mulligan.
Scott County Library paperback 264 pages
genre: adult fiction
Oh my. This book was amazing! I had gotten it from Carver County for Ann for her book club, but had also requested a copy through Scott County. She read and returned the one I got for her. I read this one but haven't had the chance to talk with her yet. I got the sense she didn't care for it much . . . I'm curious to know her thoughts.
This fiction story is based on real people and real events - set in a garbage dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, here are the main characters:
Ki Lim (dad) and Sang Ly (mom) with baby Nisay (constantly sick with diarrhea) are pickers of trash - anything they can resell for money for food
The Rent Collector (Sopeap Sin) is a nasty woman who comes to get the money from the people living on the dump for the person who "owns" the land.
Lucky Fat - an orphan boy with a round face and a happy disposition
Maly - a girl who is coming of age and afraid to be sold into prostitution by her brother
Others in the dump - family members, the healer in the village, the foreign doctors, the Khmer Rouge, the gangs, and others play key roles.
Because this is such an amazing, wonderful book, I do not want to write any spoilers! Suffice it to say that I love literacy and how it can change lives. I love that the author based his story on real people (and included photos at the end!)
page 67 - When Sang Ly is trying to find "literature," her sister Narin remembers a memorized poem her mother had whispered to her over and over when she was young. "Laugh with me, monkey. Bring impish tricks and mischievous heart. Help sorrow waft and cheer restore before the sun sets red. . . . " It is lovely and it is an opening for Sang Ly to grow in her understanding of literacy.
page 80 - I'm no history buff, but the issue of people choosing not to "get involved" in other people's struggles is not specific to any one era or culture. This got my attention, though. "During the Khmer Rouge revolution in the mid to late 1970s, more than a million Cambodians were slaughtered by the vicious dictator Pol Pot and his government. Since that genocide, those who managed to survive have raised an entire generation of children who have been taught that to stay alive in the world, it's best to lie low, mind your own business, and let others do the fighting."
page 124 - I love love love different versions of the Cinderella story!!! I am too lazy to scan and include the pages of Sarann's story, but the characters mention "Ye Xian in China, Tattercoats in England, Aschenputtel in Germany, Critheanach in Scotland, Nyasha in Africa, Cinderella in North America" . . . and it makes me kind of sad that the Disney video is the story version most people have experienced. I could do an entire unit on these different Cinderella stories!
page 201 - I cried at this point. The healer has just given her a photo of her dad (who died the night she was born) and when she says that they live in the dump, he replies "It doesn't matter where you live, Sang Ly, it is how you live." This scene struck me as both poignant and powerful.
page 220 - More crying. Sopeap has written her story for Sang Ly. "Only later would I realize that there are no words harsh enough, no paragraphs wide enough, no books deep enough to convey the weight of true human sorrow."
This book is well worth reading! If, like me, you get curious about the author's son's film, find more at www.riverofvictory.com .
Reading this also made me think of Trash by Andy Mulligan.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Some Assembly Required
by Arin Andrews
Hennepin County Library hardcover 239 pages
genre: non-fiction memoir
A student requested this title, which was not in my collection, so I got it from the public library for her. I was curious (especially with all the recent press about Caitlyn Jenner), so I renewed it and read it myself. Arin was born Emerald, but never liked the girly dress-up (including pagaents) during her childhood. She was what I think of as a tomboy. As a teen, she struggled with her identity and sexual orientation. Eventually, Arin and mom went to a therapist to talk through some of the issues arising.
As of the writing of this book (2014), Arin had been taking hormone therapy and had "top surgery," but had not yet had "bottom surgery." This was an interesting (and to me, sad) book. I'm glad I'm aware of it, because it is well-written and could be a helpful book for kids struggling with LGBTQ issues and needing support.
There were a lot of passages that I thought about tagging, but I'll just include this one. It's worth thinking about and talking about. As Emerald, this child attended a Christian school with traditional Bible-based beliefs.
"For all the religion I was faced with at Lincoln, I was starting to realize that I felt much more spiritual when I was in the woods or any other sort of natural surrounding. The feel of bark against my cheek while I was up in a tree gave me more peace than scripture ever did. It was becoming increasingly harder for me to ignore the hypocrisy of the students at my school - they claimed to be Christians, but it was in image only. The fact that they could quote the Bible and showed up at church every Sunday didn't prevent them from being relentlessly cruel."
Hennepin County Library hardcover 239 pages
genre: non-fiction memoir
A student requested this title, which was not in my collection, so I got it from the public library for her. I was curious (especially with all the recent press about Caitlyn Jenner), so I renewed it and read it myself. Arin was born Emerald, but never liked the girly dress-up (including pagaents) during her childhood. She was what I think of as a tomboy. As a teen, she struggled with her identity and sexual orientation. Eventually, Arin and mom went to a therapist to talk through some of the issues arising.
As of the writing of this book (2014), Arin had been taking hormone therapy and had "top surgery," but had not yet had "bottom surgery." This was an interesting (and to me, sad) book. I'm glad I'm aware of it, because it is well-written and could be a helpful book for kids struggling with LGBTQ issues and needing support.
There were a lot of passages that I thought about tagging, but I'll just include this one. It's worth thinking about and talking about. As Emerald, this child attended a Christian school with traditional Bible-based beliefs.
"For all the religion I was faced with at Lincoln, I was starting to realize that I felt much more spiritual when I was in the woods or any other sort of natural surrounding. The feel of bark against my cheek while I was up in a tree gave me more peace than scripture ever did. It was becoming increasingly harder for me to ignore the hypocrisy of the students at my school - they claimed to be Christians, but it was in image only. The fact that they could quote the Bible and showed up at church every Sunday didn't prevent them from being relentlessly cruel."
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Menopause for Dummies
by Marcia Jones, Theresa Eichenwald, and Nancy W. Hall
Hennepin County Library paperback 342 pages
genre: non-fiction health
I wanted to know what was "normal" as I head toward my second half-century on the planet. I feel a lot better knowing that my current symptoms aren't really very troublesome at all. I am also confident that I will NOT be a good candidate for hormone therapy (because of my Factor V Leiden clotting issue.)
page 48 - "Fuzzy thinking is common when you're deprived of sleep or your hormones are in flux. When we say fuzzy thinking, we mean the feeling that you're just not with it today - as though you're walking through a fog or you just can't concentrate on what you're doing. Fuzzy thinking can be the result of interrupted sleep (which is extremely common during menopause)." I'm glad it's not just me losing my mind . . . I hate the feeling of fuzzy thinking! And it has been happening all too often lately.
page 120: "Water-based lubricants, such as Astroglide, are healthier for vaginal linings. Avoid petroleum-based products." Not an issue yet, but good to know!
I marked pages 236-7, but I'm not sure why . . . it's dealing with "controlling cardiovascular disease" and most of this info is old news to me. Perhaps it was the section on dealing with bone loss . . .
page 271-280 - great info on warming up and cooling down / hold each stretch for 10-30 seconds
Hennepin County Library paperback 342 pages
genre: non-fiction health
I wanted to know what was "normal" as I head toward my second half-century on the planet. I feel a lot better knowing that my current symptoms aren't really very troublesome at all. I am also confident that I will NOT be a good candidate for hormone therapy (because of my Factor V Leiden clotting issue.)
page 48 - "Fuzzy thinking is common when you're deprived of sleep or your hormones are in flux. When we say fuzzy thinking, we mean the feeling that you're just not with it today - as though you're walking through a fog or you just can't concentrate on what you're doing. Fuzzy thinking can be the result of interrupted sleep (which is extremely common during menopause)." I'm glad it's not just me losing my mind . . . I hate the feeling of fuzzy thinking! And it has been happening all too often lately.
page 120: "Water-based lubricants, such as Astroglide, are healthier for vaginal linings. Avoid petroleum-based products." Not an issue yet, but good to know!
I marked pages 236-7, but I'm not sure why . . . it's dealing with "controlling cardiovascular disease" and most of this info is old news to me. Perhaps it was the section on dealing with bone loss . . .
page 271-280 - great info on warming up and cooling down / hold each stretch for 10-30 seconds
- walk or cycle for 5-10 minutes to get warm
- stretch upper torso and arms by clasping hands above head, interlocking fingers / push palms upward / stretch until you feel tightness and hold
- clasp hands behind back / slowly and carefully life arms, stretch until you feel tightness and hold
- stand close ot a wall with one leg forward / bend front leg at knee and keep back leg straight / put hands on wall / stretch forward keeping back foot flat on the floor / switch legs and repeat
- lie flat on back / stick one leg up in the air / grab thigh of that leg / slightly bend leg on the floor / gently pull leg toward chest keeping leg straight / switch legs
- sit on floor with both legs extended straight out in front of you / bend one leg so your knee touches your chest / lean forward, reach out, and touch your toes / switch legs
- lie on back / raise legs in the air and bend at the knees / grab both legs behind and below knees / keep back flat to the floor while pulling thighs in toward chest
The Prince of Mist
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Hennepin County Library audiobook 5 discs
translated by Lucia Graves
read by Jonathan Davis
genre: YA mystery, suspense
Liked: music and sound effects, which added to the story
Diskliked: slow pacing, odd character development (is Max supposed to be a young child or a maturing teenager?), illogical plot development (the evil guy has the kid confronted, then just goes away . . . ),
Why was this set during WWII? Just so that the family had to relocate to avoid the war? So that Roland was in danger of being "called up"?
Why did Roland (17 y.o. if he's on the verge of being called up) become best friends with Max (14? 15? 12?)?
The love story didn't fit well with the creepy ghost story. The time / clock / watch theme didn't GO anywhere! Even in the author interview at the end of the story, he basically just says that it's his "thing," to play with the notion of time standing still or going backward. Dumb.
The cat, the statues, the ship . . . there was potential here, but it was ultimately a disappointing story. I had been curious about it since genrefying my media center. Guess I can get rid of this one.
Hennepin County Library audiobook 5 discs
translated by Lucia Graves
read by Jonathan Davis
genre: YA mystery, suspense
Liked: music and sound effects, which added to the story
Diskliked: slow pacing, odd character development (is Max supposed to be a young child or a maturing teenager?), illogical plot development (the evil guy has the kid confronted, then just goes away . . . ),
Why was this set during WWII? Just so that the family had to relocate to avoid the war? So that Roland was in danger of being "called up"?
Why did Roland (17 y.o. if he's on the verge of being called up) become best friends with Max (14? 15? 12?)?
The love story didn't fit well with the creepy ghost story. The time / clock / watch theme didn't GO anywhere! Even in the author interview at the end of the story, he basically just says that it's his "thing," to play with the notion of time standing still or going backward. Dumb.
The cat, the statues, the ship . . . there was potential here, but it was ultimately a disappointing story. I had been curious about it since genrefying my media center. Guess I can get rid of this one.
Monday, June 01, 2015
Six Suspects
by Vikas Swarup
Hennepin County Library audiobook 14 CDs
read by Lyndham Gregory
genre: realistic fiction
I only got through one and a half discs . . . it was taking too long for the story to come together. I think I was on suspect number three or four . . . and I didn't really care who killed Vicky Rai. He was a jerk who deserved it. I got this because I LOVE the story of Q&A (aka Slumdog Millionaire, which I NEVER want to see). But I just couldn't get into this one; each new suspect had a new story and my brain was having trouble keeping it all straight. Gregory's vocal work is wonderful, but this story didn't catch me.
"Seven years ago, Vivek Rai murdered Ruby Gill in a restaurant in New Delhi because she refused to serve him a drink. Now Vicky Rai (pronounced "Rye") is dead, killed at a party he had thrown to celebrate his acquittal. Six of the guests are discovered with guns in their possession and are taken in for questioning. Who are these six, and what were they doing that night? In this elaborate mystery we join Arun Advani, investigative journalist, as the lives of the six unravel: a corrupt bureaucrat, an American tourist infatuated with an Indian actress, a stone-age tribesman on a quest to discover a sacred stone, a Bollywood sex symbol with a guilty secret, a mobile phone thief who dreams big, and an ambitious politician prepared to stoop low. Each is equally likely to have pulled the trigger." (from the back of the case)
Hennepin County Library audiobook 14 CDs
read by Lyndham Gregory
genre: realistic fiction
I only got through one and a half discs . . . it was taking too long for the story to come together. I think I was on suspect number three or four . . . and I didn't really care who killed Vicky Rai. He was a jerk who deserved it. I got this because I LOVE the story of Q&A (aka Slumdog Millionaire, which I NEVER want to see). But I just couldn't get into this one; each new suspect had a new story and my brain was having trouble keeping it all straight. Gregory's vocal work is wonderful, but this story didn't catch me.
"Seven years ago, Vivek Rai murdered Ruby Gill in a restaurant in New Delhi because she refused to serve him a drink. Now Vicky Rai (pronounced "Rye") is dead, killed at a party he had thrown to celebrate his acquittal. Six of the guests are discovered with guns in their possession and are taken in for questioning. Who are these six, and what were they doing that night? In this elaborate mystery we join Arun Advani, investigative journalist, as the lives of the six unravel: a corrupt bureaucrat, an American tourist infatuated with an Indian actress, a stone-age tribesman on a quest to discover a sacred stone, a Bollywood sex symbol with a guilty secret, a mobile phone thief who dreams big, and an ambitious politician prepared to stoop low. Each is equally likely to have pulled the trigger." (from the back of the case)
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