by Sarah Parer Littman
Mrs. Weiers bookshelf, PRMS paperback 305 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction
You can google a description of the book . . . college-prep stress, friendships, social media, true self vs. what people see, parents and children, cancer, etc.
I chose this book while subbing (10 minutes silent reading time) because the book I had brought from home was not worth my time (Better World Books donation later that day). The first one I grabbed off Katie's shelf didn't work for me, either. This one was better.
Likes: realistic people and situations (brother/sister dynamic, girlfriends, etc.), positive outcome, grappling with difficult situations, etc.
Dislike: Although I liked the book overall and took the time to read it cover to cover, the characters and storytelling just weren't engaging enough for me to rave about it. It's not a book that I'll think about tomorrow . . . but it was worth the time.
Friday, April 19, 2019
Hour Game
by David Baldacci
loaned by a coworker . . . a few years ago, hardcover 437 pages
genre: murder mystery
I seriously considered just returning this book without reading it . . . but after two or so years, I thought it made sense to just get 'r done. So I read it while cuddling my grandson. That made the grisly murders less horrific somehow.
Someone is committing murders that look like famous serial murder copycat crimes . . . only the killer is sending letters that say they are purposely NOT copycats. There's a huge cast of characters, but private investigators Alex King and Michelle Maxwell are the ones to crack the case.
As I mentioned this book to my sister, she raved about Baldacci's team of King and Maxwell. She hadn't read this book yet (the title alludes to the killer using watches on his victims to indicate the number . . . and one tick off for certain victims). I don't want to include any spoilers, but I did not figure things out before the end!
Now I can finally return the book! (Clear the clutter in my home and my life . . . )
loaned by a coworker . . . a few years ago, hardcover 437 pages
genre: murder mystery
I seriously considered just returning this book without reading it . . . but after two or so years, I thought it made sense to just get 'r done. So I read it while cuddling my grandson. That made the grisly murders less horrific somehow.
Someone is committing murders that look like famous serial murder copycat crimes . . . only the killer is sending letters that say they are purposely NOT copycats. There's a huge cast of characters, but private investigators Alex King and Michelle Maxwell are the ones to crack the case.
As I mentioned this book to my sister, she raved about Baldacci's team of King and Maxwell. She hadn't read this book yet (the title alludes to the killer using watches on his victims to indicate the number . . . and one tick off for certain victims). I don't want to include any spoilers, but I did not figure things out before the end!
Now I can finally return the book! (Clear the clutter in my home and my life . . . )
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Outliers: The Story of Success
by Malcolm Gladwell
Scott County Library audiobook 7 CDs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction
Gladwell is such an interesting person! I love his research and writing, though there were times I didn't appreciate his rhetoric. (For someone who tends to over-the-top, you'd think I'd appreciate his hyperbole . . . ) My notes don't make much of a blog entry for others to read, but I highly recommend this title and may end up re-reading it!
hockey and soccer players and birthdates . . . crazy!
1954 technology / Bill Gates / opportunities
practice and 10,000 hours
The Beatles / Hamburg
entrepreneurs / 1833
lawyers
China / rice farms / math / numbers / logic . . . fascinating section!
4853976
"Working really hard is what successful people do."
Kipp School (?) - interesting . . . rigorous
Gladwell is basically debunking outliers that have typically been shown to be extraordinary people. He identifies different factors that have opened opportunities for success. Fascinating stuff!
Scott County Library audiobook 7 CDs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction
Gladwell is such an interesting person! I love his research and writing, though there were times I didn't appreciate his rhetoric. (For someone who tends to over-the-top, you'd think I'd appreciate his hyperbole . . . ) My notes don't make much of a blog entry for others to read, but I highly recommend this title and may end up re-reading it!
hockey and soccer players and birthdates . . . crazy!
1954 technology / Bill Gates / opportunities
practice and 10,000 hours
The Beatles / Hamburg
entrepreneurs / 1833
lawyers
China / rice farms / math / numbers / logic . . . fascinating section!
4853976
"Working really hard is what successful people do."
Kipp School (?) - interesting . . . rigorous
Gladwell is basically debunking outliers that have typically been shown to be extraordinary people. He identifies different factors that have opened opportunities for success. Fascinating stuff!
Sunday, April 07, 2019
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
by Carolyn Mackler
NPMS Berglund bookshelf, paperback 244 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction
In the past, I've had students drawn to this book because of the title. Now that I've finally read it, there are a number of ways I could booktalk it . . . Virginia is overweight and self-conscious about being a "fat" girl. She perceives the rest of her family as being normal and herself as odd-person out. Named after Virginia Woolf (her siblings are Anais and Byron), she prefers magazines, television, and snacking rather than the things her parents would like to see her doing.
I enjoyed this book, but most especially her interactions with her new doctor. His insight and emphasis on being healthy (rather than thin) make an impact on Virginia. As she learns to pay attention to her self and others, she begins to think less of her weight and more of her life.
I wrote some other notes and observations in my teaching journal, but I'll just say that this book was pleasantly surprising.
The trip to Seattle, her conversation with her dad, her letter to Anais . . . there were many good moments in this book!
NPMS Berglund bookshelf, paperback 244 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction
In the past, I've had students drawn to this book because of the title. Now that I've finally read it, there are a number of ways I could booktalk it . . . Virginia is overweight and self-conscious about being a "fat" girl. She perceives the rest of her family as being normal and herself as odd-person out. Named after Virginia Woolf (her siblings are Anais and Byron), she prefers magazines, television, and snacking rather than the things her parents would like to see her doing.
I enjoyed this book, but most especially her interactions with her new doctor. His insight and emphasis on being healthy (rather than thin) make an impact on Virginia. As she learns to pay attention to her self and others, she begins to think less of her weight and more of her life.
I wrote some other notes and observations in my teaching journal, but I'll just say that this book was pleasantly surprising.
The trip to Seattle, her conversation with her dad, her letter to Anais . . . there were many good moments in this book!
Wednesday, April 03, 2019
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens
Scott County Library audiobook 12 CDs
read by: Martin Jarvis
genre: historical fiction
Although I felt extremely familiar with this title ("It was the best of times; it was the worst of times" . . . Madame Defarge and her knitting . . . London and Paris . . . the French Revolution . . . Sydney Carton, Charles Darnay . . . ) I'd never actually read it or seen a movie version. So I got the audiobook to give myself a first true exposure to the full novel. Oh. My. Word. This got painful.
If you've never read this and want to be surprised, stop here! I will include spoilers.
For starters, I kept a cheat sheet of quick notes in the car just for the characters . . . and I still got confused! (One of the many reasons that reading the print version is better than listening.) I Googled the character names before writing this blog entry to make sure I had correct spellings.
Jarvis Lorry - banker with Tellson's
Miss Lucie Manette
Dr. Manette - in the Tower (Bastille) for 18 years (why?!?! - I found out later . . . ) - Lucie's dad
Jacques Defarge - wine seller
Madame Defarge - knitter, vicious woman
Mr. Jerry Cruncher - messenger for Tellson's / "respectable tradesman" who digs up graves / gets angry with his wife for "flopping" - praying, which he sees as the reason he's not more successful . . .
Young Jerry - his son
Charles Darnay - imprisoned and tried in London, imprisoned and "tried" in Paris
Striver - his lawyer / "the lion"
Sydney Carton - "the jackal" / works with Striver . . . not quite sure in what capacity / he's an interesting character
Monseigneur - He was awful! I kept vacillating between thinking he was also Charles Darnay's uncle, the Marquis de Evremonde, and thinking they were two separate people. Was he / they hung? Alive? What did I miss??? In any case, he was selfish, greedy, and nasty. (Wikipedia to the rescue:
The Marquis St. Evrémonde is referred to as "Monseigneur" and "Monsieur." These three different titles all refer to the same person: people who are below the Marquis in rank refer to him as "Monseigneur" or "Monsieur," while people of equal rank refer to him as the "Marquis.")
Miss Pross - good comic relief; calls Lucie "Ladybird"
Little Lucie
Spy / Miss Pross' brother / Mr. Barsat . . .
The Mender of Roads / the Sawyer
Jacques 3 - nasty
The Vengeance
Book the First - Recalled to Life (Starts with 1775; Ends with Dr. Manette out of France)
Book the Second - The Golden Thread (Starts in 1780; Ends with Darnay going to France)
Book the Third - The Track of a Storm (Starts in Autumn 1792; Ends with everyone except Evremonde escaping)
Darnay is called "Evremonde" when he is imprisoned in France. The scene between Jarvis Lorry, Sydney Carton, Mr. Barsat, and Jerry Cruncher is one of my favorite parts of the book . . .
All of this makes me curious about the French Revolution. What happened after all the bloodshed? How many people were killed? I may need to do some research to learn more!
Madame Defarge is my least favorite character, but I wondered if she really was directly related to the young woman / husband / father / brother tended to by Dr. Manette so many years ago. How and why did she become a person "without pity" and so incredibly evil?
The Marquis - elder is Charles' dad, but died how? Then the younger (who defiled the woman) is Charles' uncle, but he is killed. This part was a bit vague for me. I wish I had a print version here to check the Marquis part.
I loved the scene between Madame Defarge and Miss Pross! Especially how it ended.
I actually cried at the last part. "It is a far, far better thing I do . . . " I recognized the quote. I've heard it many times. I didn't realize that it was said by Sydney Carton at the end of this novel! I wept like a baby.
Now that I've had my first read-through, I think I'd like to watch a video or read an abridgement . . . the French Revolution was bloody and dark.
(Below added 4.7.19)
So I got the Great Illustrated Classics version from the library. It helped put a few pieces of the puzzle into place for me.
It was Jerry Cruncher who brought the message to Jarvis Lorry in the opening scene.
It was Miss Pross who flew at Jarvis Lorry when Lucie got the news about her father.
The Marquis was stabbed in his bed by one of the Jacques . . . the man who was hanging from the chains was probably the killer . . . and he was killed the same night Charles Darnay spoke to him about renouncing his title . . . this part is still a bit fuzzy for me.
Madame Defarge really was the little sister whose family was destroyed by the Marquis. Still, she's extreme in her hatred and desire to exact revenge.
Scott County Library audiobook 12 CDs
read by: Martin Jarvis
genre: historical fiction
Although I felt extremely familiar with this title ("It was the best of times; it was the worst of times" . . . Madame Defarge and her knitting . . . London and Paris . . . the French Revolution . . . Sydney Carton, Charles Darnay . . . ) I'd never actually read it or seen a movie version. So I got the audiobook to give myself a first true exposure to the full novel. Oh. My. Word. This got painful.
If you've never read this and want to be surprised, stop here! I will include spoilers.
For starters, I kept a cheat sheet of quick notes in the car just for the characters . . . and I still got confused! (One of the many reasons that reading the print version is better than listening.) I Googled the character names before writing this blog entry to make sure I had correct spellings.
Jarvis Lorry - banker with Tellson's
Miss Lucie Manette
Dr. Manette - in the Tower (Bastille) for 18 years (why?!?! - I found out later . . . ) - Lucie's dad
Jacques Defarge - wine seller
Madame Defarge - knitter, vicious woman
Mr. Jerry Cruncher - messenger for Tellson's / "respectable tradesman" who digs up graves / gets angry with his wife for "flopping" - praying, which he sees as the reason he's not more successful . . .
Young Jerry - his son
Charles Darnay - imprisoned and tried in London, imprisoned and "tried" in Paris
Striver - his lawyer / "the lion"
Sydney Carton - "the jackal" / works with Striver . . . not quite sure in what capacity / he's an interesting character
Monseigneur - He was awful! I kept vacillating between thinking he was also Charles Darnay's uncle, the Marquis de Evremonde, and thinking they were two separate people. Was he / they hung? Alive? What did I miss??? In any case, he was selfish, greedy, and nasty. (Wikipedia to the rescue:
The Marquis St. Evrémonde is referred to as "Monseigneur" and "Monsieur." These three different titles all refer to the same person: people who are below the Marquis in rank refer to him as "Monseigneur" or "Monsieur," while people of equal rank refer to him as the "Marquis.")
Miss Pross - good comic relief; calls Lucie "Ladybird"
Little Lucie
Spy / Miss Pross' brother / Mr. Barsat . . .
The Mender of Roads / the Sawyer
Jacques 3 - nasty
The Vengeance
Book the First - Recalled to Life (Starts with 1775; Ends with Dr. Manette out of France)
Book the Second - The Golden Thread
Book the Third - The Track of a Storm (Starts in Autumn 1792; Ends with everyone except Evremonde escaping)
Darnay is called "Evremonde" when he is imprisoned in France. The scene between Jarvis Lorry, Sydney Carton, Mr. Barsat, and Jerry Cruncher is one of my favorite parts of the book . . .
All of this makes me curious about the French Revolution. What happened after all the bloodshed? How many people were killed? I may need to do some research to learn more!
Madame Defarge is my least favorite character, but I wondered if she really was directly related to the young woman / husband / father / brother tended to by Dr. Manette so many years ago. How and why did she become a person "without pity" and so incredibly evil?
The Marquis - elder is Charles' dad, but died how? Then the younger (who defiled the woman) is Charles' uncle, but he is killed. This part was a bit vague for me. I wish I had a print version here to check the Marquis part.
I loved the scene between Madame Defarge and Miss Pross! Especially how it ended.
I actually cried at the last part. "It is a far, far better thing I do . . . " I recognized the quote. I've heard it many times. I didn't realize that it was said by Sydney Carton at the end of this novel! I wept like a baby.
Now that I've had my first read-through, I think I'd like to watch a video or read an abridgement . . . the French Revolution was bloody and dark.
(Below added 4.7.19)
So I got the Great Illustrated Classics version from the library. It helped put a few pieces of the puzzle into place for me.
It was Jerry Cruncher who brought the message to Jarvis Lorry in the opening scene.
It was Miss Pross who flew at Jarvis Lorry when Lucie got the news about her father.
The Marquis was stabbed in his bed by one of the Jacques . . . the man who was hanging from the chains was probably the killer . . . and he was killed the same night Charles Darnay spoke to him about renouncing his title . . . this part is still a bit fuzzy for me.
Madame Defarge really was the little sister whose family was destroyed by the Marquis. Still, she's extreme in her hatred and desire to exact revenge.
We Hope for Better Things
by Erin Bartels
Scott County Library paperback 392 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction
This was our February book club title, but I didn't get a copy of it until the night of the discussion! I wish I'd gotten it earlier - I love this book! I marked lots of pages, but will start with some of my character notes.
Elizabeth Balsam - journalist, Detroit, modern day, also Lapeer house, sister Grace (a doctor, much older), parents are missionaries in the Amazon, meets Mr. Rich (James) and his son Linden (pro NFL)
Nora Balsam - Eleanor, Elizabeth's dad's aunt, Detroit 1963, then Lapeer County house, married William Rich, quilted, sewed, grew up privileged, had a falling out with her parents, Tyrese (not William) mows her lawn
Mary Balsam - Nora's great-grandmother, Lapeer County, 1860s, married to Nathaniel, abolitionists, made Crazy Quilt (and others), died 1875, had Bridget as her serving girl, wrote letters, George, three sons and a daughter . . .
Page 91 - When Nora says she would never use the N-word, William says, "Don't matter if you'd never say it. It's what's in your heart that matters." I love his direct way of challenging her preconceived notions about herself and her attitudes throughout the book.
Page 131 - When Mary is describing the reason behind Independence Day and explaining the Revolutionary War, young Angelica asks "That the war going right now?"
"Mary shook her head. 'No, child. This was almost one hundred years ago. It was a different war.'
'Don't seem different.'
'Quiet, girl.' Martha said. 'You get outside and let me and Mrs. Balsam get to work.'"
Out of the mouths of babes! A war for liberty and the right to be in control of your own life . . . Revolutionary or Civil or both?
Page 227 - I love that George answers "You know this cannot be anything more than it is" when Mary confesses her love to him. I have to admit, this part of the story was the hardest to accept. I just can't picture this relationship at this point in history. Propriety was such a huge part of most people's expectations. George behaved much better than Mary, for the most part!
Page 301- When Nora interviewed her very elderly relative Margaret in the 1960s, she thanks her for the visit and the stories. Margaret replies with ". . . I do like talking. When you're busy living life, everything's a blur. It's not until you get to be my age and you've got nothing more to do than think that you start to see it for what it was." I love the idea of contemplation and slowing down.
Page 335 - Nora's return to her childhood home when she returns to Detroit, looking for William in the aftermath of the Detroit riots. "As much as she had told herself that William was all the family she needed now, that he was enough, he wasn't. She wanted the love of her parents too." This whole paragraph spoke to me about the value of close family relationships. I strongly dislike brokenness in families. (Though I also disliked how Nora's family spoke and acted.)
Page 338 - I love when William's mom cries out to God! "Hear us as we cry out to you. We know you know where our Will is right this moment. We know you see him, that you're looking at him even now. We're trying to trust you with him, but it's hard. We're trying to leave him in your hands, but it's so hard to do. Lord, bring him back to us. Bring him back even today, even this very hour. Hear our prayer as you heard your own Son's voice as he cried out to you on the cross. Amen."
Page 371 - When Elizabeth remarks on the difference between the huge Baptist church where she goes with Nora and the "simple hut" her parents were worshiping in in the Amazon, "What a strange and wonderful family we were all part of." Amen!
Page 376 - The trunk, the letters, the mice . . . not the ending I would have picked. But I like this observation: "Aunt Nora had been wrong when she said that history was written by the victors, for the victors in one generation may turn out to be the villains of the next. And the only way to get closer to the truth was to refuse to quit searching for it. All it took to lose one's history was a single generation that didn't take the time to learn it and pass it on."
I look forward to reading Bartels' next book. This was her first.
Scott County Library paperback 392 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction
This was our February book club title, but I didn't get a copy of it until the night of the discussion! I wish I'd gotten it earlier - I love this book! I marked lots of pages, but will start with some of my character notes.
Elizabeth Balsam - journalist, Detroit, modern day, also Lapeer house, sister Grace (a doctor, much older), parents are missionaries in the Amazon, meets Mr. Rich (James) and his son Linden (pro NFL)
Nora Balsam - Eleanor, Elizabeth's dad's aunt, Detroit 1963, then Lapeer County house, married William Rich, quilted, sewed, grew up privileged, had a falling out with her parents, Tyrese (not William) mows her lawn
Mary Balsam - Nora's great-grandmother, Lapeer County, 1860s, married to Nathaniel, abolitionists, made Crazy Quilt (and others), died 1875, had Bridget as her serving girl, wrote letters, George, three sons and a daughter . . .
Page 91 - When Nora says she would never use the N-word, William says, "Don't matter if you'd never say it. It's what's in your heart that matters." I love his direct way of challenging her preconceived notions about herself and her attitudes throughout the book.
Page 131 - When Mary is describing the reason behind Independence Day and explaining the Revolutionary War, young Angelica asks "That the war going right now?"
"Mary shook her head. 'No, child. This was almost one hundred years ago. It was a different war.'
'Don't seem different.'
'Quiet, girl.' Martha said. 'You get outside and let me and Mrs. Balsam get to work.'"
Out of the mouths of babes! A war for liberty and the right to be in control of your own life . . . Revolutionary or Civil or both?
Page 227 - I love that George answers "You know this cannot be anything more than it is" when Mary confesses her love to him. I have to admit, this part of the story was the hardest to accept. I just can't picture this relationship at this point in history. Propriety was such a huge part of most people's expectations. George behaved much better than Mary, for the most part!
Page 301- When Nora interviewed her very elderly relative Margaret in the 1960s, she thanks her for the visit and the stories. Margaret replies with ". . . I do like talking. When you're busy living life, everything's a blur. It's not until you get to be my age and you've got nothing more to do than think that you start to see it for what it was." I love the idea of contemplation and slowing down.
Page 335 - Nora's return to her childhood home when she returns to Detroit, looking for William in the aftermath of the Detroit riots. "As much as she had told herself that William was all the family she needed now, that he was enough, he wasn't. She wanted the love of her parents too." This whole paragraph spoke to me about the value of close family relationships. I strongly dislike brokenness in families. (Though I also disliked how Nora's family spoke and acted.)
Page 338 - I love when William's mom cries out to God! "Hear us as we cry out to you. We know you know where our Will is right this moment. We know you see him, that you're looking at him even now. We're trying to trust you with him, but it's hard. We're trying to leave him in your hands, but it's so hard to do. Lord, bring him back to us. Bring him back even today, even this very hour. Hear our prayer as you heard your own Son's voice as he cried out to you on the cross. Amen."
Page 371 - When Elizabeth remarks on the difference between the huge Baptist church where she goes with Nora and the "simple hut" her parents were worshiping in in the Amazon, "What a strange and wonderful family we were all part of." Amen!
Page 376 - The trunk, the letters, the mice . . . not the ending I would have picked. But I like this observation: "Aunt Nora had been wrong when she said that history was written by the victors, for the victors in one generation may turn out to be the villains of the next. And the only way to get closer to the truth was to refuse to quit searching for it. All it took to lose one's history was a single generation that didn't take the time to learn it and pass it on."
I look forward to reading Bartels' next book. This was her first.
Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions
by Amy Stewart
A Kopp Sisters Novel (#3)
Scott County Library hardcover 35 pages
genre: historical mystery fiction
Stewart has again taken the pieces of historical fact and woven a believable and enjoyable work of fiction. It is so weird to think of the change in our country over the past one hundred years . . . for good and for ill. Constance is upset about girls being arrested "over dubious charges of waywardness, incorrigibility, and moral depravity." I loved how Edna Heustis' life intertwined with Minnie Davis' . . . and I was pleasantly surprised by the resolution of Fleurette's situation. I hope Stewart continues writing these books! (I was surprised - and curious to know if it's true - that a sheriff at that time in New Jersey was only allowed to serve one term.)
A Kopp Sisters Novel (#3)
Scott County Library hardcover 35 pages
genre: historical mystery fiction
Stewart has again taken the pieces of historical fact and woven a believable and enjoyable work of fiction. It is so weird to think of the change in our country over the past one hundred years . . . for good and for ill. Constance is upset about girls being arrested "over dubious charges of waywardness, incorrigibility, and moral depravity." I loved how Edna Heustis' life intertwined with Minnie Davis' . . . and I was pleasantly surprised by the resolution of Fleurette's situation. I hope Stewart continues writing these books! (I was surprised - and curious to know if it's true - that a sheriff at that time in New Jersey was only allowed to serve one term.)
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