Book drive

After our Nebraska marathon (not to be confused with the "Boston marathon") mom and I needed one more day to finish our book. Since I am still off track, today was the perfect day! Our original plan was to drive to a not-so-local dig called "Taggarts" but apparantly it's one of those so-good-we-can-get-away-with-weird-schedules places, or so I've heard, and they aren't open on Mondays so mom suggested Bear Lake! And it was the absolute perfect day for it! The drive through the canyons, with the changing leaves, was breathtaking, and it made the crest of the hill where you can see into the bear lake valley even more incredible!

Our first stop in the beautiful Bear Lake area (other than the bathroom...s) was the Paris tabernacle. A little bummed that we missed the guided tours available during tourist season, we assumed the self guided version and enjoyed the exterior. 

What's the point of BL if you don't get in the water? We wouldn't know, because we dipped our toes in the refreshing icy shallows!

And a trip to Bear Lake wouldn't be complete without a raspberry shake from LeBeau's (try and contain the jealousy) and I must say they have THE best onion rings I've ever had. In. My. Life. 

The book, 20 hours long, was a great story. It was so fun to listen to it all the way through, pause and comment, make predictions and assumptions, then share in our surprise at the twists and turns. I definitely recommend "The Secret Keeper" by Kate Morton. 

But... The best part of the trip was spending time with my mom. Even though the conversation was nearly non-existent, just sitting by her side and seeping some of her greatness is all I need. She really is an incredible woman and I thank my Father every night for being born to the family I was sent to. 

Thanks for the trip momma! Love ya!

Readers

I absolutely love that my kids enjoy reading. Ever since their chubby little fingers could manipulate the cardboard pages of Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, and Good Dog Carl, they would find their way into my arms and ask for a story. Although they don't love when I use accents, they still occasionally enjoy listening to me read aloud. But the thing I love most, as they read their stories, is how they are brimming with emotion! Ashlyn is constantly talking about the characters in her books and their conflicts and how she hopes for them to be resolved. Aj gets so sucked into his books that when I go to bed at midnight, he is often still clinging to the pages with white knuckles and wide eyes (and suggests that the night light should probably be left on...just in case). Carson has been especially fun lately as he is bridging the gap between picture and chapter books. He is constantly recapping his latest story and offering up his books for his brother and sister to experience. I know when I hear the "no! No, no, no, no, no, NOOOOO!!!" It means he has reached the end of a book. 

I know the feeling. 

It's a magical world out there...waiting to be discovered. 

Digital vs. Hardcopy

It's my turn to host bookclub, and I have chosen to review Enders Game, by Orson Scott Card. It's kind of a given with the movie coming out... November 2, I think. Choosing a book for book club is almost as difficult as naming a child. They're just so many different choices available! I want to choose one that will have a lasting impression not only on me, but other readers as well (I'm talking about a book, not naming a baby… I'm not making any kind of announcement either… That "book" is closed)
With this Enders Game decision, I've (once again) come to a pretty frustrating debate in my own mind: digital vs. hardcopy. One thing that helps me decide on a book to review is the availability at the local library. Well, since the two books I REALLY wanted to review had holds 20 years out, I decided to look into a different book. Nothing was satisfying my mind like the two I had already narrowed it down to so I decided to just go with the cheapest purchase of the two, Enders Game. It is available in a digital format from $3.97 and a soft back copy can be purchased for about $7.00. (The other choice I had narrowed it down to was Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson... Which I HAD to buy and couldn't put down till I finished... Which may still be a topic of conversation at book club)
Anyway... Since I really wanted to do Enders Game, and it was SOOOO cheap I decided to just do it and hope there are enough people willing to bite the bullet and pay to buy a copy. Therein lies my frustration. I hate that I have a book that I love, in a digital format, that I want to share with others in a physical sense, as in swapping hands, but more-so in a human connecting way. By getting together and talking about the plot and the characters and the similarities and the obscurities and many of the other elements that infiltrate the imaginations and cultivate the creativity of the human spirit.
That's kind of hard to do if you don't have a copy of the book.
So to make myself feel...better????... about selfishly purchasing digital copies of books (I feel like I can't even call them books!!) I will do what I was raised to do, make a visual display of pros and cons:

I still feel like I'm betraying my heart by reading a digital copy, but at least now I can justify it to myself, if only a little, by looking at my list.

*sigh*

(Maybe I feel like I'm disappointing my ancestors? Not grandma tho... She'd likely have a digital library to shame the iBooks store by now... Probably paid for by uncle John;)

Fresh reads

My summer reading selection. Can't wait to dig in!! These were on the book-sale shelf at the Herriman library. $1.00 for hardback, .50 for soft.

Family night

We love our local water hole. The covered one. With flush toilets.
I have taken ash and cars a few times while AJ is at parkour but he always feels left out. When he asked if I'd take him while ash and cars went to gymnastics, I couldn't tell him no! After he got there he realized he had more fun with his brother and sister and suggested I ask dad to bring them over after their class. Dad, willingly obliged and joined in the fun.
I enjoyed from the sidelines while pretending to read an upcoming book-club book, "Until I Say Goodbye" (a memoir by Susan Spencer-Wendel, her tearfully joyful journey through her last year of life as she slowly suffers from Lou Gherig's Disease)
My family is awesome.

So mad right now...

A Farwell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway
Seriously! I even went to a book club review and had NO idea.
Thinking back the foreshadowing is a little less than obvious, but there nonetheless. Had I known about the ending I would not, I repeat NOT, have tried so hard to get through it. But. Having plowed through it I would recommend it on good reads. I make no sense.
Stinking Hemmingway.

The sad thing is, I even read the last page before I started it!
What a magnificently simple and sadistically satisfying work of fiction.
"Classic love story"
B.S.

(I must say, this is how I received the book from my mom, who got it from her uncle Dick who was a literary genius, as is to be expected of my grandmothers brother. Having said that, and seeing the condition of the book, noting the cost of $1.63 & renewal publish date of 1957, as well as the tabs, dog-ears, and side-bar-comments, the personal and emotional attachment made the commitment a worthwhile cause... Though I'm still upset with the ending. In fact, I've decidedly changed it in my heart. Sorry uncle Dick.)

Book Lovers

At our house we love books. Picture books, sketch books, biographies, fiction, non-fiction, secretly-teaching-math books, religious books, magazines, catalogs, cook books, music books... It can be found on a night stand, on a shelf, in a drawer, in a basket, on a pillow, in a cupboard, and oh-so-often in hand, on a lap, and occasionally resting haphazardly on a rhythmically rising and falling chest.
We LOVE that every Christmas most family parties that involve the tradition of gift exchange, involve books, books, and more books. Christmas break is spent ploughing through the joyful imaginings of popular writers and their renowned illustrations. There is always a plea to take the shiny new books to school with promises of taking the utmost care. (To which the mean ole maw and paw generally say "No!")
So imagine the thrill last night when the kids opened a last-of-the-season Christmas gift from their beloved "Double G" (great grandma) that contained.... a 2.5"x3" plastic joy of a promise, to spend at least two days of dreamful anticipation, at least two hours of delightful deliberation, and many years of delicious devouring of words immortal. (Otherwise known as a gift card to Barnes and Noble)
They are already making the lists of books they want to add to their collections.

Can't wait!!
Thanks GG!

Book Club

November 28, 2012

Book club, my pick.
After quite the deliberation, Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern became the pick.
What a fun book! And a perfect book for me to theme my hosting around... What with my popcorn obsessions, and all...
This book was mysteriously enchanting and a feast for the senses. Just imagine, the circus of your dreams, opens at dusk closes at dawn. As a consumer you enter an elegant world of black and white; magic shows, animal extravaganzas, tarot readings, hall of mirrors, wishing trees, human statues, a contortionist who can disappear from the inside of a glass box. You smell caramel, cider, and a hint of nostalgia as you bite into a delectable chocolate mouse... All while, unbeknownst to you, a challenge is underfoot that began years ago between two headstrong magicians and their prodigious protégées who hold the balance of the circus, including all the lives therein, in their enchanted hands.
Like I said, mysteriously enchanting.

Oh... And I must toot my horn and say I rocked the hosting. Themed treats picked out of the book, dressing up as a revuer (intrigued?), even themed discussion cards, to name a few.

Mockingjay...

Mockingjay

Can you please come early?
I can't wait to read you quickly and efficiently, then thoughtfully and thoroughly. I promise to not pretend I predicted your ending, and I promise not to spoil the story for those also anticipating your completion of your gripping story. I am just dying to know what goes on at District 13, what happens to Katniss, how Peeta copes with being second to Gale in the love saga (although I love peeta, I know Katnip loves Gale) Also, I want to know how President blood-breath Snow is handling the uprisings, and if this is in-fact the conclusion of the Hunger Games series.?...

So?

Monday instead of Tuesday?

Pretty please?

Wicked Review

I just finished reading Wicked (which I now own, because one of my kids dropped a mango on it and ruined the cover so I had to replace the one I borrowed that was also borrowed, so if you want to borrow my ruined cover copy, let me know!) and I just have to talk about it!

I feel so bad for Elphie! She needed some serious therapy! Wicked totally changed my views on the whole Wizard of Oz movie and I now have more sympathy (or is it empathy) for the "Wicked" witch of the west!

It was a hard book for me to get through. There was a lot of jargon that I had a hard time wrapping my head around. I enjoy fantasy novels, but have never really read one this far fetched. It really is unique. It does have a lot of underlying issues that I tried to read to much into that made it more difficult to read. A lot happens in those 406 pages. At the end of the book there are "Readers Group Guide" questions that I would love to discuss "Book Clubesque" if anyone is interested. Let me know.

Breaking Dawn Review

As a big fan of the Twilight series, I anxiously anticipated the release of Breaking Dawn. Although the Twilight stories fascinate me, the composition of thm are a little drawn out …. and … if …you ….are…a…precise …reader …it …gets ….a ….little …..boring, but I’m not, so I only got bored in a few spots. I hoped Breaking Dawn would have a little more substance to the 754 pages… it didn’t. However, I was not disappointed (it was expected, as the other books in the series are written the same way). On to my review:

First off, I was really surprised that everything went so smoothly. There was not a lot of un-necessary conflict. The wedding actually happened, they made it to the honeymoon destination without incident, they made it home, Jake and his pack didn’t kill the baby (although we knew he wouldn’t), the baby was not voracious, Bella transitioned flawlessly, the wolves agreed to the new treaty, Charlie was ok with the “need to know” so Bella could stay in Forks for the time being, Bella has the best “Gift”, Jacob stays part of the story. I am a Fairy Tale Ending kind of girl and so in that sense, this book totally appealed to me.

As I read Breaking Dawn, I was surprised how often I found myself laughing. I frequently had to stop reading to express the rest of my laughter!

Some of my favorite LOL moments were: During the announcement to Charlie, Bella told Edward to wait till Charlie hung up his gun. Breaking the furniture on Isle Esme…. The chapter titles in Book 2 (Jacob), The banter between Jacob and Rosalie “I told ya so! Has a brother, his name is Shut the hell up!”, and Bella and Emmett and his not so subtle innuendos , Bella’s first hunt in stilettos and silk, Bella cracking a smile at Jane when her shield couldn’t be penetrated. & Alice. She just makes me laugh.

I was really surprised about the pregnancy. I would have assumed that even in the fantasy world, male vampires were impotent, but it is fantasy still. I loved that the person Bella called to help her with her pregnancy was Rosalie. I had to cry. I remember in a previous book that Rosalie resented Bella for her desire to change and the ignorance in giving up all human experience. Specifically Motherhood. I can’t imagine my life without my kids. I remember crying for Rosalie in the first book (was it the first?) and now I cried for her again to actually have the chance, and be so willing to help Bella with this last human experience. (although we know she would have killed Bella for the baby if it came down to it…)

I expected for something more to become of the little boy on the pile of bodies. It got brought up too much to be a dead end. I was disappointed in the end “Battle” and although I don’t favor death and destruction, I would have really liked to see some of the Volturi burn.

All around it was obviously a must read in my book, especially since I had to complete the saga. It was a good ending to a fun story.

Like my friend Michelle said, “She [Meyer] wrapped it up nicely in a cute little bow”