What Book Are You?

You're David Copperfield!

by Charles Dickens

Coming up from a childhood that felt abusive, you have risen through
hard work to gain a place of stature in your life. You've spent altogether too much time
in factories and end up misspelling a fair number of words. But in general you are seen
as a beacon of hope for others who might not be as fortunate. Lots of people keep
mistaking you for a magician and are waiting for you to disappear.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Review:Coraline

Coraline
by Neil Gaiman

Upon the recommendation of several voices in the blogusphere I listened to Coraline on CD, read by the author. What a treat! Neil Gaiman has such a great voice. It was like listening to your father read you a creepy story in a very animated manner. We all thrilled over it.

Coraline is the story of a girl who finds a path into an alternate universe that is very similar to her own world but just a little better. But it soon becomes evident that it's not better. Coraline must use her head to escape the clutches of an evil that wants her for keeps.

I listened to this with the kiddos, knowing it was going to be a bit creepy. Goldilocks, who hates suspense, was scared in a few places but says they don't seem that scary anymore, now that she knows how it ends. It did have some very chilling parts but they all added to the overall satisfaction of a great story with great characters.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story. It's perfect sleepover fodder for those in search of a scary story that won't leave you with nightmares. And, I am thrilled again at the news that there will be an animated movie coming out sometime next year. You can believe that i will be in the theater for that one.

This was not a title from my Once Upon a Time Challenge list but I never would have heard of it or listened to it if it wasn't for this reading challenge. As the challenge has only a few short weeks left I find I want to continue to read the fantasy and fairy tales that I've had a taste of. They have brought out a child-likeness to my reading and to my everyday life that I don't want to let go of. I am grateful to Carl and the other participants for sharing their passion with me. My world has been broadened.

Review:Medieval Love Poetry

Medieval Love Poetry
edited by John Cherry

I picked this up from the New shelf at the library on the suggestion of Goldilocks, who likes love poetry. It is small and thin and not as bright as this picture seems.

I think the idea for this book must have started with wanting to display artifacts based on Medieval love poetry because half the book is pictures of brooches, paintings and ivory carvings. The poetry part consists of a summary of the poem depicted, then small excerpts of the actual poem. In the back there is a reference to the books that each of the poems comes from, like The Knight's Tale in The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

I enjoyed the inscriptions of the jewelry. "I am the brooch to guard the breast so that no churl may put his hand here." And I enjoyed the ivory carvings. Beautiful workmanship! And now I will be hunting down some of these poems if they are not on my poetry list that I'm working through. The Canterbury Tales is on my list but Troilus and Criseyde, also by Chaucer, is not so I will have to include it for myself.

Amor Vincit Omnia
(love conquers all)

Review:Little Black Book of Stories

Little Black Book of Stories
by A.S. Byatt

I hesitate to review this because I still haven't worked out all my feelings and thoughts on it but I don't know that I can move on with other reading without reviewing it. It deserves a review. But I don't know how to review a book of short stories, especially ones that leave me feeling so unsettled.

Not unsettled in the sense of a scary story but in that I just don't know what to think. I feel drawn and repelled at the same time. Each story has it's own heartbreaking moment and it's joyful one too. And I know that disliking a story is not the same as disliking a book. I love 1984 even though I hate everything that happens in it. There is a beauty to it that comes from a story masterfully told and an emotion felt to it's fullest. You see exactly what the author wants you to see. I think that is what's going on in these stories as well.

My favorite story was The Thing in the Forest, with it's war-riddled London children sent off to the countryside, it's grotesque creature, and it's follow-through with the witnesses lives. And I liked the last story as well, The Pink Ribbon, about an old man taking care of his wife with Alzheimer's. They both leave off with a bit of mystery. After spending some time determining how you would end it best, the reader then goes back and figures out why the story is left open. What is the point if we don't know what action was taken in the end?

The stories with the strongest emotional changes are Body Art and Raw Material. Body Art starts with an accumulation of little assaults, then bigger assaults, until you think it will all explodes in a painful tragedy but in the end there is no tragedy; there is only the realisation that everything will be okay. When you understand how the term "body art" is being used you find you can't hate the story because it is true. And Raw Material is the opposite with a build up of positive and a devastating ending leaving you wondering what happened.

The middle story, A Stone Woman, was different. Slowly turning to stone could have been a metaphor for recovery from loss. Or the development of a psychosis. I suppose the latter option would make a better fit, with the trip to Iceland and eventually leaving Thorsteinn behind. Or maybe it was the self-discovery of a woman who had always been defined by her mother.

There is a lot to chew on in this collection. A lot to ponder. I don't think this book is for everyone. If you read purely for entertainment then you probably won't like this one. But if what you like is the process of picking a story apart to see it's working parts then you should most definitely read the Little Black Book of Stories. It wasn't a book of fairy tales but it was an interesting read.

I had changed my Once Upon a Time Challenge list to include this one as a fairy tale option but it doesn't fit the bill so I will continue to read The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. I hope to make a big dent in it over this three-day weekend since I am too sick to do anything else.

Review:The Whipping Boy

The Whipping Boy
by Sid Fleischman

When I first started reading this I thought, "Oh brother." It seemed too simple and rather cliche. A bratty prince and the whipping boy who he is trying to punish, trying to break his spirit. But as the story moves forward, as the characters grow from their experiences, you find that you, the reader, are making the same changes as Jemmy, the whipping boy. By the time you're at the end you understand why this book won the Newbery Award. It's about transformation. It's about how life can change you for the better.

While I searching for a picture of the cover that is on my copy of The Whipping Boy, I came across this site: http://www.mce.k12tn.net/reading8/whipping_boy.htm. It has vocabulary and comprehention questions for every couple of chapters and several activities, like making berry ink and a scroll or making a shield and sword. It looks pretty cool.

This was my second book for the Newbery Challenge. So far, so good.

Sunday Worship in Song

I was not raised in churches that sang from hymnals so I am weekly refreshed by these beautiful songs of worship and encouragement. There is always a certain verse or two that jumps out at me to make me bow my head in awe at the wonder of my salvation. Each Sunday I hope to share the verse that made my heart sing.

From the Psalter Hymnal of the Christian Reformed Church
#13 Lord, Our Lord, Thy Glorious Name
verses 3 & 4, with refrain

Moon and stars in shining height
Nightly tell their Makers' might;

When Thy wondrous heavens I scan,
Then I know how weak is man.
How great Thy Name!*


What is man that he should be
Loved and visited by Thee,
Raised to an exalted height,
Crowned with honor in Thy site!
How great Thy Name!*

*refrain

Lord, our Lord, in all the earth,

How great Thy Name!

Thine the Name of matchless worth,

Excellent in all the earth;

How great Thy Name!

Where do you find the books?

It started as a question from Chris to JenClaire and has quickly turned into a meme of sorts. The question was, "Where do you find the books that you read?" Along with probably a dozen other folk I have given this some thought and come up with my own answer.

I spent a few years going through the library shelves and picking a book based on the title, cover art, or if it was an Oprah pick. I got a lot of garbage that way. After a while I was completely sick of it. Like eating hot dogs and soda everyday for months on end, it was leaving a bile-like flavor in the back of my throat. I do still go through the New section at the library once in a while but it's not a habit and more of a treat if I find something I just can't let pass.

When I started homeschooling the kiddos I started picking up the old children's classics that everyone is supposed to have read and loved. I wasn't a reader as a child so I missed out on so much. So I started reading these classics and falling in love. I quickly learned why these titles have endured for decades.

Homeschooling had another influence on my reading. I was using The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Bauer for our curriculum choices, so when I heard that Mrs. Bauer had come out with a book for adults called The Well-Educated Mind I had to have it. It took me 3 years to get through the novel list. It was like pouring lighter fluid on that initial spark. I developed a taste for classic literature that is still going strong. I am currently working through the poetry list.

Other lists that keep me busy are the 1000 Good Books List and Dear Reader. The former is for children and the latter sends a 2-3 snippet of a classic to my email once a month. After sampling it I choose if I want to read it or not.

I absolutely love used book stores. My local library has a used book store that I visit about once a month. I find more books there than I can read in a month for both me and my kiddos. I love the hunting down of the jewel in the rough. That's why I also visit the Salvation Army stores to see what treasures I can find. I have amassed quite a stock of books from these type of organizations alone.

Since being involved in the world of book blogs my TBR list has grown by leaps and bounds. At first I wanted to read everything that I read a good review of but I have been disappointed a few times in my reading material so I now follow the advice of a few kindred spirits who share my worldview and taste in reading.

I want to mention that because of a few reading challenges I have read titles I probably wouldn't have discovered otherwise so I am branching out. These challenges give my reading a focus it's never had before.

And lastly, my Chocolate authors; those authors who are a guilty pleasure but are not what one would call great literature. I have a strong liking for Nicholas Sparks. After being swept off my feet by the movies The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, I have found I can put up with a lesser inspired writing style if I can have that romantic touch in the end.

I think that about covers it. Classics, kiddie lit, a few used book stores, a couple of lists, and my blogging buddies, that's what reading lists are made of.

Review:The Cat Who Went to Heaven

The Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth

This is a cute Newbery Award winner from 1930. It's the story of a starving artist who is commissioned to paint a picture of the death of Buddha. As he paints each animal he becomes increasingly upset by the idea that cats are not included since his own little cat is such a devout and honorable creature. I'll leave the miraculous ending for you to discover for yourself.

This story is told with care. You come to respect the artist, his housekeeper, and the honorable cat. It gently reveals the life and beliefs of the Buddha and his followers in a child-friendly way. It is respectful of those followers and of it's audience, who may not be Buddhists themselves. This will be included as a read-aloud in our homeschool as we study the ancients in history.

This was my first Newbery Challenge book. You can find my list of challenge books here, but I have a feeling I will be reading a lot more than the 6 titles listed.

Review:Ordering Your Private World

Ordering Your Private World
by Gordon MacDonald

Back in April, I read an interesting article here at Seasonal Soundings about how Janie manages to get so much reading done while working and living a full life. She said that Ordering Your Private World helped her figure out how to get more time out of her day. Naturally, I checked out the book right away.

As I started reading it I noticed that Rev. MacDonald didn't always make his point clear in each chapter so I decided this was a book to take notes on. I would read a chapter, then skim back over it looking for the key points. I am so glad I did. I might have dismissed the book before I'd finished it if I hadn't. Instead I now have 5 pages, front and back, of helpful notes on just how to organize a meaningful and productive time of study and meditation of God, His Word, and His blessings. While I don't always agree with his branch of Christianity, I was able to put that aside and gain knowledge in the organizational advice that will, if implemented consistently, enable me to have a rich spiritual life and an orderly private and public world.

But our inner world is more spiritual in nature. Here is a center in which
choices and values can be determined, where solitude and reflection might be
pursued. It is a place for conducting worship and confession, a quiet spot
where the moral and spiritual pollution of the times need not penetrate.

Thinking is the amazing capacity God has given the human being to discover and
observe the stuff of creation, to compare and contrast each of its parts, and
when possible, to use them properly so as to reflect the glory of the Creator.

I am glad that I went back and took notes. I gained some helpful insights. I will never be an organized person in general but I may be able to implement some of these ideas into my quiet times; and I can only gain from regularly drawing closer to God.

Review:The Tail of Emily Windsnap

Last week I said I wouldn't have anything book related to post about for a while. I'm not sure where my head was but I have recently finished reading, or listening to, 3 books. Today I am here to review, review, review.

The Tail of Emily Windsnap

by Liz Kessler

I picked up this book on CD at the library with my Goldilocks in mind. One of the things she shares with her mama is a love of romantic and fantastical stories that include magic, fairies, unicorns, and/or mermaids. Listening to this was a joy because the gal they had do the reading(at the moment I can't recall her name) is very young and captured the spirit of awe and insecurity that you would expect of a 12 year old who discovers she is a mermaid. Not only that but I absolutely love the cover art.

The story is about Emily Windsnap, the only child and her mother who can't swim but lives in a docked boat. After she makes her discovery about what she is, she meets another mermaid her own age, Shona, and slowly uncovers the truth of her origin. The tale is fun with just the right amount of suspense to keep any girl reading. My own daughter who hates suspense loved this story.

And not just my daughter loved it. The Dragon Slayer, my teen aged son, heard an excerpt of it and it peaked his interest enough that he checked out the book from the library and read it in less than an hour.

There are 2 more Emily Windsnap books that follow:Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep and Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist.

This book happened to coincide with a table decorating contest that Goldilocks and I participated in where our theme was Underwater. We and the 5 other friends at our table won the grand prise for having the most detailed table. Afterward, Goldilocks kept the decorations to play with. This is what she created:

That would be Emily and Shona eating seaweed burgers, fish salad and fresh starfish.

What a Day!

When the phone rang at 11:30 on Saturday night, I could just feel my Mother's Day plans slipping out of my grasp like water through my fingers. The Theologian had to go to work on an emergency call at midnight on Sunday. So much for my B&N-and-ice-cream date with my one and only.

When he is gone I can't sleep so it was the perfect opportunity to plug in that Gray's Anatomy Season 1 DVD I got from the library. I managed to watch 8 of the 9 episodes before he got back home at 6am, after which I immediately fell asleep. I liked the show, though, contrary to the director's belief, I don't find it to be a family-friendly show, though it is tamer than a lot of the other shows on the market now. And when did Patrick Dempsey get to be such a Hottie? I remember seeing him in Can't Buy Me Love in the theater when I was a teenager. He was kind of lanky and geeky in an irresistible way then but has lost all the lank and geek now.

Where was I? Oh ,yes. Sunday morning. I was woken at 7:30am to get ready for church, which I did. While I was actively getting ready I was fine but as soon as I sat in the driver's seat I could feel all the muscles in my body melt away. I was tired but determined. The worship and sermon were encouraging and uplifting, as usual, but I think it can be understood why I kept falling asleep. I left before the second half of church started, praying that I would not fall asleep on the drive home.

I made it home in one piece and molded myself into the astronaut foam bed that I love so much. I mumbled a bit about what could be found to eat in the fridge as I drifted off to the Land of Nod, expecting my day of rest to be my only Mother's Day treat.

It was when I woke up in my too-warm and too-sunny room that I learned our plans had not changed after all. The Theologian dragged me out of bed like a Raggedy Ann doll and whisked me out the door, but not before each of the kiddos could give me a homemade card telling me how much they loved me. This was a treat since they have no teacher encouraging this sort of thing. Each card was lovingly assembled with care by the heart of each of my three lovely children. And one card from the Theologian saying all the things I know he genuinely feels to top it off. I am indeed blessed!

First stop: Home Goods. This place is a treasure trove of home accessories. It's like the home section at Ross but so much better. The Theologian let me take my time wandering each and every aisle, touching and talking about what I loved and where I would put it. I left with a large grass-weave basket with plastic plates, cups and utensils for our weekly park days and our summer at the pool.

We then walked over to the B&N. Without children requiring we supervise their train-display activities we could get a lot of browsing done. First I checked out all the Bargain Books displays. I found a book containing quotes from George Eliot's books ordered by subject matter, like War and Compassion. Then I found the fiction section. I started at A and looked at every title in the next couple of shelves. It was here that I came across a book by A.S. Byatt that I simply had to have. My favorite parts of her book Possession were the fairy tales. I would read them to Goldilocks in the evenings. I told my friends that I would love a book of just these type of fairy tales. Little Black Book of Stories looks to be just that. Here's a blurb from the back:

Like Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm, Isak Dinesen and Angela
Carter, A.S. Byatt knows that fairy tales are for grown-ups. And in this
ravishing collection she breathes new life into the form.

Doesn't that sound delish? And the cover is beautiful as well. It looks like a very old book cover with tattoo-like flowers, some black and some gold, at randon places near the edges, and a pink ribbon place-marker draped along the side near the title. If you check out Amazon the cover will be different. Mine is better. It just cries out to be read and enjoyed.

Another book I came across was Philobiblon: The Love of Books. It's written by Richard de Bury in 1345. He served as High Chancellor and Treasurer of England, and eventually rose to the post of Bishop of Durham. It is about the joys and necessities of book collecting and continual education through reading. Since my local library has only one copy that must be requested from storage from the central library in the system, I'm pleased to think I may have to purchase the book myself.

I love all the display tables in the walking paths throughout B&N so I looked through the one titled Summer Reading. It had a great many wonderful titles; everything from classics to last year's NYT 100 Notables. In fact, so many of the titles were the same ones appearing in my Amazon Recommendations List that I became a little paranoid. Just how did they know I was thinking of purchasing these?

Lastly I listened to a few CDs by Lifehouse in the music section. This band will be my next music acquisition. Even the songs I wasn't familiar with sounded great from the 20 second taste I savored.

When I eventually made it to the check out line I had only the Byatt book and one for the Theologian. It seems he had as much luck as I did finding books he wanted but we were both practising restraint and simply added to our Wish Lists.

Topping off our trip with a visit to Baskin Robbins was a treat indeed. The Theologian inhaled a 3-scoop Sunday with marshmallow cream and I slurped a Kiwi Smoothie, leaving enough for the kiddos to finish off at home. When I finally got around to cooking dinner our taste buds watered as I cooked up Pecan Chicken and Roasted Red Peppers with Cabbage, two recipes from The Schwarzbein Cookbook(my favorite). Okay, so the kiddos picked out the cabbage, but the adults thought the recipe a keeper.

Surprisingly, I went to bed at my usual time, 11pm, after reading a few more fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. Let me tell you, Cinderella is almost a completely different story. When I did finally lay my head on my astronaut foam pillow(heavenly!) I had a smile on my face and a contentedness in my heart that nothing can compare with. I love being a Mom.

Review:Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins
by P.L. Travers

Last winter I won a $50. gift certificate from my local used book store. One of the books that I received with it was a very old copy of this well known children's tale. I read it last week after my computer choked up and required the services of the Theologian(he shares a special bond with computers). The book's not big and the chapters are set up in an episodic fashion. The writing is not anything special but common to the way books were written at the time(that would be in 1934).

Mary Poppins floats in on the east wind to be the nanny for the Banks. Right from the beginning she is different from all other nannies, declaring, "Oh, I make it a rule never to give references...A very old-fashioned idea to my mind. Very old-fashioned. Quite out of date, as you might say." She then proceeds to gracefully slide up the banister. Yes, it starts very much like the Disney version; but it soon changes. You see, Mary Poppins isn't the lovable Julie Andrews type at all. In fact, she seems pretty stern and grumpy, and given to vanity. But she possesses magic. Or does she? The Banks children are never altogether sure that anything magically really happened since Mary acts as if the children are being annoying or naughty when they mention the things that have just taken place.

My favorite chapter involved Maia, a girl who is actually a star; in fact, she is the second of the cluster of seven stars known as the Pleiades. She has come down to do the Christmas shopping. I'm not sure it was so much the story in this chapter I loved as the character of Maia herself, and the romantic notion of the seven sisters with their distinct personalities playing together in the night sky and observing the world by day. Other than that the book didn't really hold my interest much. I just couldn't reconcile my idea of a Julie Andrews Poppins with this less likable and not-too-friendly version. This will make the second book I've read that I preferred the Disney adaptation of, the first being Pinocchio.

It wasn't a bad book and who wouldn't like the idea of a nanny who could fly and perform other magical feats. I just had higher expectations, as usual. Ms. Andrews will always hold a special place in my heart.

In the next couple of weeks I will be reading two large books: the Odyssey and the Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. This will leave me with little book related topics to write about. So, I will take this time to acquaint you with some of the more lovable quarks within Petunia's family. It should be fun.

I'll leave you with a little quote I came across this week:

The Christian who is not growing intellectually is like a book whose many
pages remain unopened and unread. Like the book, he may be of some value,
but not nearly as much as if he had chosen to sharpen and develop his
mind.
-Gordon MacDonald in Ordering Your Private World

Review:Rise and Shine

Rise and Shine
by Anna Quindlen

This review won't take very long. I was bored. Extremely bored. I kept checking the title page to make sure that I was reading the right book. "Wasn't this written by Anna Quindlen?" Yes, it was but according to scores of reviews at Amazon, which I didn't read before I'd picked up the book, this is not her best work and could be her worst.

This is supposed to be the story of two sisters; Meghan, the famous morning show host along the lines of Katie Couric, and Bridget, the obscure sister living in the shadows.
It's about the shocking revelation made on the air by the famous sister and how the obscure sister takes on the role of the strong sister in their relationship and how it makes everything better.

The shocking revelation was not very shocking, in my opinion. And the obscure sister doesn't really take on the role of the strong sister either. The book only got interesting near the end when a tragedy brings everyone together again. But even this was ruined by an odd distinction that's made about the difference between truth and a good story.

I was rather disappointed. I had hoped this was going to be interesting and fun, perhaps involving a little soul searching. But it meandered too much for me to enjoy it or learn anything from it. The only thing I liked about it was the cover.