How to Speak Dragonese

How to Train Your Dragon book 3

By: Cressida Cowell

Libby audiobook 3 hours

Read by: David Tennant

Published: 2005 (This version 2013)

Genre: Children's fantasy

Initially, I planned to enjoy this series with my grandson. But we don't spend much time in the car together, so now I'm just enjoying them on my own!

 

In this adventure, Hiccup and Fishlegs are in their poorly made boat, trying to find a peaceful fishing boat to board as part of their Boarding-an-Enemy-Ship lessons. Instead, they make an assault on a Roman galley ship filled with warriors. There they also find their old nemesis Alvin, intent on capturing all the dragons to retrieve the treasure which is deep underground.

 

The kidnap of Toothless and Hiccup's reaction was tender.

 

Another rollicking tale with a saucy heir of the Bog-Burglars. She's a fun character and I hope she shows up in another book!

First Comes Marriage . . . Then Comes Murder

By: Donna Mumma

Jodi's copy, paperback 298 pages plus author's note and acknowledgements

Published: 2025

Genre: historical Christian fiction

This is a sequel to The Women of Wynton's and I still really liked the main characters - Vivien, Mirette, Audrey, Gigi, Mary Jo, with the additions of Libby and Immogene. I am not a huge fan of all the descriptions of beautiful clothing, but that may be either because I can't really visualize it well or I just don't care about fashions.

Page 9: Kind words trampled down wrath. And truth set folks free.

Miss Vivien is dealing with a bridezilla and choosing diplomacy. I love how she handled Mary Hadley and her mother, but I dislike mean, snotty people. (I was always incensed by Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie.)

Page 57: Unless they worked at Wynton's, Coloreds weren't allowed in the store without a note from a white employer.

Throughout the book, Mumma uses historically accurate information like this (1950s in the South) but it is still jarring to read about characters like Immogene and Lilla being treated so poorly for their race. 

Page 66: Mary Jo traced her finer along the curlicue pattern on the Formica tabletop. She was ashamed to admit what she was about to tell Miss Vivien. But if she didn't, she feared her head or her heart were going to shatter from the pain of it.

"Sometimes when I'm driving to the store after dropping the girls off at school, I play around with the idea to keep driving. Maybe find a new place to live where no one wants something from me."

I felt this! Poor Mary Jo, with an ill father, a nagging critical mother, a depressed husband, two daughters, and a job . . . I have wanted to run away from my own life when under a lot of stress. I'm glad she confided in Miss Vivien.

Page 70: The truth in his words pulled at her heart as she forced herself not to wince when he worked harder than usual to remove his breakfast from the bag. Nelson's aging seemed to have sped up in the past few weeks, and she'd been so preoccupied she'd failed to see.

There was less of the Audrey / Nelson interaction in this book, but I love that she continued to bring him coffee and a pastry each day. He was a black garage attendant and she was basically second-in-command at Wynton's.

Page 80: She's been tasked with pushing the scent-of-the-day at the store, and three times those brands sold out in a single day.

I love that Gigi was so successful in Cosmetics! I don't like that she was treated like garbage by the other "girls" and by her boss Jane, though. 

Page 88: "Even if you were, I've reached the age where I'm too old to care."

Miss Vivien is definitely the hero of this story. It's not just age; wisdom plays a role in her attitude. As bad as things got, I'm glad she trusted in the Lord and had good friends at her side. She made this comment in response to Mary Jo telling her that she and Gigi hadn't been gossiping about Vivien.

Page 156: "Do not talk about Kenny like that again."

Yay! Mary Jo finally stood up to her verbally abusive mother. She was struggling with being obedient to the Lord's Commandment to honor one's father and mother, but her mother pushed too far. The relationship between Mary Jo and Kenny was one of the very best storylines in the book.

Page 199: What had she done to cause all this? She'd prayed hundreds of times these past weeks for the answer so she could make amends and stop this madness. None came, and now dread filled her from the moment she awoke until the moment her brain stopped spinning at night and she slipped into fitful sleep. Every day she had to worry about which of her brides was next on this killer's list.

Poor Miss Vivien! Someone murdering young brides and leaving clues pointing directly to her. It kept getting worse.

Page 246: Vivien scanned the group. Most of her friends were on their feet, talking amongst themselves or trading comments across the room with one another. Those who sat with their heads down and hangs in their laps pained her the most. They disagreed with the call for her ousting, stayed out of the fray, and would not join in the soft mudslinging.

They also remained silent.

This really struck me because of what's happening in Minneapolis right now. I don't mean to stay silent, but I'm not sure how to speak up in a Christ-honoring and constructive way. I'm horrified by the violence of the ICE agents and the tactics being used by our government to try to rewrite reality. This country was built by immigrants! We're all from immigrants! This is despicable and I don't want to stay silent and just watch it happen.

Page 269: The best part of their nightly talks was their conversations went off in any direction and nothing was off-limits. Daddy had once told her discussing religion or politics was the best way to lose a friend, but she and Mirette had talked, argued, agreed, laughed, cried, and at times stopped speaking to one another over everything under the sun.

I love friendships like this! It's nice to have a safe space to talk about what you're thinking and feeling.

I enjoyed the book but guessed the killer early. I had a few alternate theories, but it was as obvious as it seemed. I look forward to book club tonight and appreciate the loan of the book! (I had tried all four library systems I typically use and also looked on MNLink. No dice and I didn't want to buy it.)

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Flora & Ulysses

By: Kate DiCamillo

Libby ebook 68 chapters plus an epilogue

Published: 2013

Genre: Children's fantasy / realistic fiction

I didn't like this book as much as I expected to, but it was another wonderful DiCamillo title. I think I would have enjoyed a print copy more, but the drawings and cartoons were nice. I'm trying to decide if I want to see a movie version . . . I had heard someone rave about it but I like what my imagination came up with just fine. (Okay, I just watched the trailer. Looks cute.) I put both fantasy (squirrel can fly and type) and realistic fiction (kids dealing with relationship issues with parents) because it has both. Flora and her neighbor's great-nephew William Spiver become friends with irritation after a squirrel is sucked into a powerful vacuum cleaner and survives.

Chapter 2: Huge portions of what is loosely termed "the squirrel brain" are given over to one thought: food.

This made me smile. Ulysses the squirrel was constantly thinking about food. He didn't always get to eat when he wanted, though. There was a lot of humor around this theme.

DiCamillo uses fantastic vocabulary (throughout the entire book) like cogitation, malfeasance, heinous, multiplicity, melodious, sepulchral, . . . I love her words!

Chapter 10: Flora was a cynic and didn't care whether her mother loved her or not.

It made me sad that Flora and her mother had such a strained relationship. For Flora to even think that her mother preferred the lamp Maryann to her own daughter is not funny.

Chapter 11: "Do not hope; instead, observe."

Flora kept referencing things she had read in Terrible Things Can Happen to You! This one came up often as a sort of life philosophy.

Chapter 12: "Holy unanticipated occurrences!" 

This phrase was from The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto! which was Flora's favorite superhero comic that she and her dad shared.

 

There's a whole passage in chapter 15 about electric chairs that I highlighted but am too lazy to type here. DiCamillo is a wonderful, creative author. I love how she writes to her audience with respect and humor.

 

 Chapter 21: Every superhero had an arch-nemesis.

That Flora suspects William Spiver of being Ulysses' arch-nemesis stems more from her initial dislike of him than anything else. Her neighbor, Tootie Tickham, is an absolute delight. She's the nutty lady who "gets" weird kids like Flora.

Chapter 24: In any case, he wasn't thinking about dying. He was thinking about poetry. That is what Tootie said he had written. Poetry. He liked the word - its smallness, its density, the way it rose up at the end as if it had wings.

Ulysses loves words. He uses Flora's mom's typewriter to express himself. He's a very sensitive squirrel.

Chapter 25: Considering the human beings she was surrounded by, believing in a squirrel seemed like an increasingly reasonable plan of action.

Flora's dad is a bit of an odd duck, but a very nice man. He would introduce himself in any random situation.

Chapter 25: Tootie put a hand on her chest. "This is Rilke," she said. "'You, sent out beyond your recall, / go to the limits of your longing. / Embody me. / Flare up like flame / and make big shadows I can move in.'"

Ulysses stared up at Tootie, his eyes bright.

I love that the squirrel and the neighbor lady both loved poetry and bonded over it. So sweet!

Chapter 27: Overflowing trash cans, just-cut grass, sun-warmed patches of pavement, the loamy richness of dirt, earthworms (loamy-smelling, too; often difficult to distinguish from the smell of dirt), dog, more dog, dog again (Oh, dogs! Small dogs, large dogs, foolish dogs; the torturing of dogs was the one reliable pleasure of a squirrel's existence), the tang of fertilizer, a faint whiff of birdseed, something baking, the hidden hint of nuttiness (pecan, acorn), the small, apologetic, don't-mind-me odor of mouse, and the ruthless stench of cat. (Cats were terrible; cats were never to be trusted. Never.)

This stream-of-consciousness of Ulysses (sniffing with his head out the car window) as he and Flora travel to the donut shop with her father amused me, especially as it relates squirrels to dogs and cats.

Chapter 36: What was the apostrophe doing there? Did the doctor own the Meescham? And what was it with exclamation marks? Did people not know what they were for?

It felt as though DiCamillo wrote this for me. I notice signs and misused punctuation marks. I loved Dr. Meescham, though.

Chapter 36: Someone inside the apartment was screaming. No, someone was singing. It was opera. Opera music.

Again, this resonated for me. My mom sometimes listened to opera on the radio. I would always ask her why she wanted to listen to people screaming.

Chapter 38: Good grief, thought Flora. What did he paint when he was old and depressed?

Oh my! Dr. Meescham has just told Flora that the dark painting of a squid about to attack a boat was a reminder of her late husband when he was "young and joyful." Flora's mental response is funny.

Chapter 39: "Pascal," said Dr. Meescham, "had it that since it could not be proven whether God existed, one might as well believe that he did, because there was everything to gain by believing and nothing to lose. This is how it is for me. What do I lose if I choose to believe? Nothing!"

I had heard of "Pascal's Wager" before, but I had forgotten. I love when I learn / relearn things like this!

Chapter 53: It was comforting to have William Spiver act just as annoying in a dream as he would in real life.

I'm not sure why this amused me, but I've always found dreams to be fascinating.

Chapter 54: Cat revenge was a terrible thing. Cats never forgot an insult. Never. And to be thrown down a hallway (backward) by a squirrel was a terrible insult.

Cats can act as though they are evil geniuses, plotting revenge on anyone who has wronged them.

Chapter 58: Was Flora strange?

He supposed so.

But what was wrong with that?

She was strange in a good way. She was strange in a lovable way. Her heart was so big. It was capacious. Just like George Buckman's heart.

I love that Ulysses sees Flora as she is and loves her that way. I find it distressing that her own mother wants her to be more "normal."

Chapter 66: "The truth," said William Spiver, "is a slippery thing. I doubt that you will ever get to The Truth. You may get to a version of the truth. But The Truth? I doubt it very seriously."

I could open up a discussion on truth here, but I shall not. I love that DiCamillo is writing for children, but her writing definitely has room for stretching thinking.

Chapter 67: "Normalcy is an illusion, of course," said William Spiver. "There is no normal."

And so William Spiver points out a truth and the story ends with Ulysses' poem Words for Flora. I'm a bit surprised I've blogged so much about a children's book!

How to Be a Pirate

By: Cressida Cowell

Libby audiobook 3 hours

Read by: David Tennant (yes, the Dr. Who actor!)

Published: 2004 (this version 2013)

Genre: children's fantasy

 

This second book in the series continues the growth of Hiccup Haddock Horrible on his journey to becoming a full fighting member of the Hairy Hooligan tribe. Questions of who is the rightful heir to the chief and if Hiccup can overcome his challenges draw the story along. Alvin (who claims to be a poor and honest farmer) convinces the tribe to go on a dangerous quest, then attempts to overthrow the Hooligans. Leave it to Hiccup and his dragon Toothless (along with best friend Fish Legs) to save the day! 

 

This series is quite enjoyable. I've already requested book three.

What's So Amazing About Grace?

By: Philip Yancey

Libby audiobook 3 hours

Narrated by the author

Published: 2003

Genre: Christianity

I loved this book until I got to the very end . . . and found out it was abridged! I do not generally check out abridgements, preferring the author's full text. I've just looked at the description and it clearly says, "Edition - Unabridged." Grrr.

I've now checked out the revised edition which is ten hours long . . . So I'll blog that at the end of this once I've finished.

This book is fascinating and fantastic. God's grace is truly too often overlooked or ignored. Some of his stories were hard to hear (a prostitute selling time with her two-year-old daughter . . . ) but others were quite familiar. He told stories about his own mother and grandmother, without acknowledging the relationship (I only know because I've read his memoir). 

I didn't jot down any notes or quotes, but perhaps I'll capture some when I listen to the full-length version.

<Above posted 1.8.26. Below added 1.26.26.>

The full length book has so very much more in it (no surprise) but I almost appreciate the more concise version. This ten hour audiobook got much more into history, politics, sociology, etc.

In the section on homosexuality, I really appreciate that Yancey led with a story about a friend. I am curious to read Mel White's Stranger at the Gate, but I have too many books on my list right now! I love the irony (and also it makes me sad) that members of the Metropolitan Community Church (an LGBTQ church that believes in Jesus) was singing "Jesus Loves Me" at angry Christian protesters. 

Yancey goes on to say "Why do Christians hate so much?" Too often, Christians lash out in anger and even hatred toward others who do not believe as they (we) do. Yancey mentioned that in interviews with Bill Clinton, Clinton shared some of the angry, hateful letters he had received from Evangelicals. Listening to this made me wonder how do these same Christians view Trump? He lies, cheats, brags, and does so many unethical things! (That's coming from me, not Yancey.)

Yancey refers to the opposite of grace as "ungrace." I think that's too kind of him. 

There was a section when he talked about unclean animals and the whole dream sequence Peter has in Acts 10. His sermon "What does God have against lobster?" led to the conclusion "No oddballs allowed" for many churches. (Fit in or leave.) This is an example of ungrace.

I started to try to copy a section but just marked it as part 3, chapter 15 with the time. Yancey was talking about his school's legalistic approach to things like hair length, clothing, cigarettes, drinking, etc.

"Strict legalism pulls in the bounds of deviance. We might sneak off to a bowling alley but would never think of touching liquor, or horrors! Drugs. Though I can find nothing in the Bible against cigarettes, I am glad that Fundamentalism scared me away from them even before the Surgeon General mounted a bully pulpit. In short, I have little resentment against these particular rules but much resentment against the way they were presented. I had the constant, pounding sense that following an external code of behavior was the way to please God. More, to make God love me. It has taken me years to distill the gospel out of the subculture in which I first encountered it. Sadly, many of my friends gave up on the effort, never getting to Jesus because the pettiness of church blocked the way."

There is so much more to this. I like that Yancey is nuanced and thoughtful in considering the topics he writes about. I love his focus on grace and how Christians are sometimes not very Christlike in showing grace. He is a wonderful author and I really like this book.

What Does It Feel Like?

By: Sophie Kinsella

Hennepin County Library hardcover 120 pages plus author's note and acknowledgements

Published: 2024

Genre: realistic fiction

Oh my. I read a reference to this and requested it from the library. I'm not a huge Kinsella fan, but am aware of her fiction, especially the Shopaholic series. After reading this book, I went online to find that Kinsella died December 10, 2025. Less than a month ago, she was alive. She was just shy of her 56th birthday. Wow.

This book is fiction, but she called it her "most autobiographical" book so far. It's her final book, unless there are other manuscripts that will be published posthumously. Eve is a writer with a devoted husband and five children. She wakes up in a hospital one day, struggling to remember what happened. She had a brain tumor, a cancerous glioblastoma, removed. Onward to chemotherapy and radiation.

The book is short, touching, and worth reading. Some of her anecdotes on dealing with cancer treatment ring reminders for me of my friends who have traveled that path. Her husband's loving devotion and her clear concern for her children brought tears to my eyes. This is a beautiful and painful book (painful knowing it is fairly true to her life).

The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant

By: Liza Tully

Libby ebook 46 chapters

Published: 2025

Genre: detective mystery

Wonderful! I've longed hoped to find a writer of mysteries closer to Agatha Christie's style (instead of the pseudo-mystery romances that I've encountered lately).

Olivia Blunt manages to get the job as assistant to Aubrey Merritt, but she doesn't appreciate being relegated to office work and research alone. When Haley Summersworth calls to hire Merritt to find out who murdered her mother, Olivia goes along to Vermont as a driver and secretary. She is itching to get in on the actual detecting, though!

Chapter 2: He trudged slowly, with a swerving waddle in his rear half, because he was still waking up and because his old joints were creaky.

This is in reference to Gilbert's dog Sarge, but the description made me laugh. Sometimes this is how I feel . . . 

Chapter 18: The fact remains that any individual who is smaller and weaker, or a member of any marginalized group, runs the risk of being exploited. Why? Precisely because they're smaller, weaker, or at the wrong end of a power imbalance. Humans are just another species of animal. Individuals in a group who have the power to exploit often do exploit.

Merritt and Olivia are talking about equal rights and societal changes. Merritt (in her 60s) is insisting that things like sexual harassment will not completely go away. Olivia (20s) insists that this perspective is discouraging.

Chapter 18: "I'll tell you one thing that will never change. Human nature. Specifically, a human being's propensity for violence, for murder. It's been happening since Cain and Abel, and it will be going strong long after we die."

Merritt is continuing to explain her POV to Olivia.

Chapter 19: There wasn't one jiggle of fat on his long, lean body. He was splendidly, stupendously fit. I could almost hear his metabolism humming under his skin like the quiet engine of a Maserati.

Olivia is describing meeting one of Victoria Summersworth's sons, Neil. He has just gotten to the office from a bike ride and is in his Spandex biking outfit. The language the author uses, the simile, just appeals to me.

Chapter 25: On one occasion she'd informed me, with inexplicable indignation, that when she was in college, students used typewriters. She seemed to think this was a badge of honor instead of one of the many pathetic hardships of the pretechnology era, akin to washing clothes in a creek.

 

This hit home for me! I've lamented the suffering of trying to produce a term paper on an electric typewriter before I had access to a PC. I don't say it as a badge of pride, though. I know computers have made life easier!

 

Chapter  26: I could easily imagine young Tristan mumbling vague and contradictory answers, not because he was being evasive but because he was developmentally incapable of understanding his own motives, much less of making them clear and sensible to others.

Olivia's youth does give her a more realistic perspective on interrogating a teen.

Chapter 40: He was a card sharp . . . 

I always thought "card shark" was the expression! I had to look this up. Basically, either expression is used but sharp came before shark. There's lots of other history and meanings, but it's not that important to me. This is in reference to Victoria's boyfriend Monty.

Chapter 44: About six feet off my right shoulder, the runt was standing at wide-legged military attention in her appointed spot beside the patio doors. I heard her emit a weird guttural noise for which there is no adequate descriptor in the English language. I will call it a snurf.

The "runt" is referring to Officer Grout, who has had a smirking attitude toward Olivia from the get-go. Their back and forth was humorous. Their mutual disrespect, less so.

Chapter 45: "Eventually life will teach you that people rarely change; they only make slight accommodations under pressure."

Olivia has tendered her resignation and says she can't work for Merritt if she doesn't respect her. Merritt basically says "take me as I am" and indicates she would like Olivia to continue working for her.

I genuinely wasn't sure who the murderer was. I loved the clues and the characters. I enjoyed the many fun details (and I'm already wondering when the next book will be out . . . ). I love that Merritt has her dad's old Bentley convertible and wants Olivia to drive that instead of rusty, noisy "Horace." The "reveal" at the reading of the will was very much like one of Poirot's speeches. I'm glad Olivia made it to her actor boyfriend's opening night and finally talked with her future m-i-l about flowers for the wedding! Lovely, enjoyable story!

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Creeper Invasion (An Unofficial Minecrafter's Novel)

By: Winter Morgan

Scott County Library paperback 93 pages

Published: 2016

Genre: children's fantasy

My six year old grandson has recently gotten into Minecraft in a big way. He plays the game on his dad's computer and talks about the zombies, skeletons, ghasts, etc. a lot. I got the Minecraft movie on DVD from the library and three chapter books including this one. He and I took turns reading the book (he's getting to be a very good reader!) and I let him take the others home with him.

Drivel. Battles, respawning, overhyped drama and danger. No thank you for grandma. But now I'm a little more clued in to what he likes. This is book #5 in some sort of series and the ending does not include a satisfying resolution. Sigh. I'm trying to think of what I was passionate about at that age . . .

Looking for Red

By: Angela Johnson

NPMS teacher bookshelf paperback 116 pages

Published: 2002

Genre: YA realistic fiction

I was substitute teaching and realized that I only had an ebook on my phone, so I grabbed this off the teacher's bookshelf for silent reading time. (I like to set a good example.) I hadn't finished it by the end of the school day, so I left a note for the teacher and brought it home.

For such a short book, it sure took me long enough to read it! I don't think it will "sell" well to many sixth graders, but I do like Johnson's voice as an author. The story was dreamy in a way, with specific memories and images.

 

Twelve-year-old protagonist "Mike" (Michaela) is struggling with the death of her older brother Red. Joining her in grief are Red's girlfriend Mona and best friend Mark. But her parents, who she refers to by their first names, seem to not understand her. Cassie and Frank are dealing with their own grief, of course, but the story is told from Mike's perspective.

Things about Red that stand out for Mike are beads, fishing, frogs, being on the water, . . . and she clings to these things as well as the sight of his form smoking by the shed. She seems to be in a daze most of the story as she continues to look for her brother and make her way through life without him.

Page 6: Sometimes I want Cassie to look tired and worn out. You know, like someone who can't take one more minute of whatever it is that's dragging her down. But she never looks that way. She never complains or feels like the end is coming.

Mike's perception is that her mom isn't hurting but I can't believe a mom wouldn't deeply grieve the loss of her firstborn. Moms tend to hold it together, despite what they feel inside. Grief looks different for different people.

Page 9: It is because of her aunt that Cassie doesn't have any religion. She says people like her aunt Charity were Nirvana-bound the second the doctor smacked them. Hell would melt if somebody like her aunt Charity ended up there.

Mike is thinking of when she was little and heard her mother say she would dance on her aunt's grave. Little Mike didn't understand that the Pentacostal aunt thought dancing was a sin and this comment by Cassie was a diss and not a compliment. I don't want to be a Jesus-follower who repels people from the Lord, but I don't want to be a people-pleaser instead of pleasing God, either.

Page 13: I look at my parents and know that they are mouthing words they know by heart. You know the ones - don't judge anyone, let people feel as they will. Yeah. They know the words.

I'm not sure why I tagged this line. Perhaps because I've thought a lot lately about the things our parents said to us over and over and what we repeat. That's something generations remember.

Page 19: I think it's like walking barefoot in a room full of broken glass, when someone you love goes away.

You have to get out of it, so you have to go on no matter how many jagged pieces of glass stab you. Some pieces hurt more than others. 

 

This seems a very apt description. She goes on and it's well-written. There's also some swearing, which I think is authentic for this character and what she's going through. But again I wonder if this book will be read by many of these students . . . there was a set and they look brand new.

 

Page  24: Caroline says that sometimes being old has to be just about the most boring thing in the world to be.

Caroline is Mike's fun aunt. But I can't agree with her sentiment. I don't find being older to be boring at all! Or perhaps I just enjoy less drama and stress with the calmer pace of life now.

Page 42: Do people think about how happy they are when they're walking the dog or hanging with their friends?

 

I think people need to make a conscious decision to appreciate life in the "normal" moments. Certainly, having a major life event can change your perceptions. But it isn't normal for a twelve-year-old to be cognizant of this.

 

Page 60: "Do you think your brother is haunting you, Mike?"

 

Mike's conversation with her neighbor Jo (who sounds like a hoot!) is getting too close to the pain she is in, so she takes off and runs into Mark, then Mona, on a bridge by the coast.

 

Page  113 finally includes the information that has been alluded to throughout the entire book. How Red died. Why Mike, Mona, and Mark are struggling so badly with the loss of Red. It was nice to finally "get" the scene that sets up the entire book.