I was stunned this morning to hear the horrible news that Amy Krouse Rosenthal died of cancer a few days ago. Born in the same year as me, a writer with kids who grew up in the suburbs of the 70's, I felt a connection to her. As she put it, "we shared a moment (in the form of an e-mail exchange)" back in 2010, after I reviewed her book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life(which I loved). In fact, she just e-mailed me again in October to tell me about her new book, Textbook Amy KrouseRosenthal. I had no idea she was battling cancer then and was crushed to hear today that she lost that battle. She was a smart, funny, clever, playful, and kind person - and all of that came across in her writing.
You can read my review of Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life(and then go read the book!). Sadly, I never received the review copy of Textbook Amy Krouse so I haven't read it yet, but I would like to.
I also posted this trio of fun and amusing videos that Amy made, in part to promote Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - they are short and well worth watching - clever and funny, just like Amy.
Amy's website tells you a lot about her life and her books - and again showcases that wonderful sense of humor. The website includes dozens of short videos that Amy made. One of them, Thought Bubble Kindness, was the Winner of Best Animation at the Peace On Earth Film Festival 2011. You can watch that one right here:
Amy has also given three TED talks (three! I had no idea). In this one, she explains how she launched her project Beckoning Lovely - a warm and inspiring concept and project:
Hopefully, that last video will inspire YOU to live your life as Amy did - with warmth, kindness, and creativity. Look for the lovely in your own life and share it with others.
The best way to honor Amy's memory is to enjoy the wonderful books she's written (many books for children, in addition to these 2 for adults). She was a talented, kind, smart, funny woman who will be sorely missed.
Continuing my tribute to National Parks and other federally managed lands, inspired by Melinda of West Metro Mommy Reads, this week I am focusing on South Dakota. Why does a single state get its own post? For two reasons: first, although we have traveled all over the U.S. and been to beautiful state and national parks in almost every state, we have spent a LOT of time in South Dakota, in part because we have family there and in part because it is one of our favorite places! Second, the western end of the state in particular has a lot of different National Parks, National Monuments, and other protected lands.
So, here is a sampling from our many trips to South Dakota over the years:
The most famous National Monument in SD: Mount Rushmore
Mt. Rushmore seen through a tunnel on Needles Highway in Custer State Park
Local resident prairie dogs, above-ground in Wind Cave National Park
Underground at Wind Cave National Park
Our favorite: Badlands National Park
Our sons hiking in the Badlands at sunset
Badlands at sunset, as a storm approaches (it was a BIG one!)
Last summer at Jewel Cave National Monument
"Cave bacon" in Jewel Cave
My fave pic of our family: Notch Trail in Badlands NP, 2005
Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend and staying warm (feels like the middle of winter here). I am ready to escape this nasty weather and visit some national parks!!
While I used to celebrate this March holiday every year in college by drinking green beer (LOTS of it!), times have changed. I can no longer drink even one beer (due to medical problems), so I need to find other ways to celebrate this fun holiday. I am wearing my green today and thinking back to some great books and movies set in Ireland or about Irish people. Check out some of these choices to get into the spirit today...and please tell me about your favorite Irish books & movies in the comments!
Irish/Ireland Books
Faith by Jennifer Haigh, set in Boston about an Irish Catholic family amid the priest scandal - I love Haigh's books, which always delve into the complexities of family life.
Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan is set in both Ireland and New York, the story of a young Irish woman's migration to America in the early 20th century.
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom is mostly about slavery on a Virginia plantation, but one of the main characters is Lavinia, a young Irish girl working as an indentured servant. This was one of my book group's favorites.
In the Woods by Tana French - no list of Irish books would be complete without a mention of this literary mystery series about the Dublin Murder Squad. This is the first book in the series and is gripping and beautifully written.
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley does not take place primarily in Ireland, but that is one of the memorable places where Frankenstein follows his creation. A very thoughtful novel about human nature, quite unlike the movie adaptations.
Orphan Trainby Christina Baker Kline begins with the story of Irish immigrants coming to America and settling in New York, as that is where one of the main characters gets her start. Excellent historical fiction.
Irish/Ireland Movies
Sing Street - a joyful drama/comedy about teen boys starting a band in 1980's Ireland - not only appropriate for today but a really great movie for any day!
And for dinner tonight, consider making New England Boiled Dinner, a recipe from Cooking Light originally published in their March 1995 issue that has been my favorite corned beef recipe since...well, 1995. It's delicious! We'll be having this on Sunday, when we can get our college boys and my father-in-law all home for dinner together!
My family enjoying our St. Patrick's Day corned beef dinner, 2015
When I started listening to The Forgetting, a teen/YA novel by Sharon Cameron recently, it seemed
at first very similar to the middle-grade audio I had just finished, The Scourge by Jennifer Nielsen: a
dystopian story set in an unfamiliar world. I was a bit disappointed because I
prefer to mix things up a bit more and read/listen to different kinds of books.
Halfway through The Forgetting,
though, a plot twist changed the story entirely for me, and I became much more
interested in it. I ended up enjoying it very much.
Nadia lives in the city of Canaan, a bucolic town where each
person has a specific job to do in a no-tech world.Citizens don’t leave the stone walls
surrounding their town, and they live simple lives, defined by their jobs.
Nadia’s full name is Nadia the Dyer’s Daughter because her mother works in the
dye works in town. Nadia, her mother, and her two sisters live in a small house
in town. Nadia’s family members – and most other townspeople – are content with
their lives and their world, but Nadia has a desire to know more and to see
more. She often climbs over the walls in secret during the daily resting time.
There’s one thing that makes Canaan completely unique. Every
twelve years, all of its citizens experience a day called the Forgetting, when
everyone – from young children to the oldest people – forget everything, including their own history
and their loved ones. The only memories retained are muscle memory, of physical
skills gained through years of experience, which is why so much emphasis is put
on learning and gaining those singular skills for each person. For the rest,
each person keeps a book on their person, a precious place to record everything
important in their lives – shelved in the Archives when full – so that they
will have a way of remembering their families, friends, and lives after the
Forgetting. However, Nadia is the exception; she alone, of all her fellow
citizens, remembers everything. She went through her first Forgetting at age
six, and her second one is quickly approaching.
In the first pages of the book, as Nadia is sneaking back
into town after another covert trip over the wall, she discovers another person
in town who is interested in the wider world. Gray, the glassblower’s son,
catches Nadia sneaking back in and persuades her to take him along the next
time. Feeling trapped by his discovery of her, Nadia reluctantly agrees, and an
uneasy alliance is formed between the two. It’s uneasy in part because Nadia
remembers things about Gray’s background that he himself doesn’t know.
There are a lot of interesting twists and surprises in this
unique novel, so I won’t describe any more details of the plot. Nadia and Gray
go exploring and make some new discoveries about their world and their town.
Meanwhile, inside town, Nadia keeps getting in trouble (as is her habit) and
worries that her secrets will be discovered. Because she remembers things that
no one else in town can remember, she also begins to discover secrets about the
town itself.
This book really grew on me over time as I listened to it,
and as I mentioned, a plot twist partway through made it all the more
compelling to me. It just got better and better. It’s an adventure, with a lot
of action (especially toward the end), a dystopian story describing a world
different than ours, and there is plenty of suspense, as Nadia gradually
unravels the secrets of her world. I enjoyed this unique story with surprising
and suspenseful plot twists. And now I see there will be a sequel, The Knowing, so I look forward to
reading that as well!
(Note: don’t look up The
Knowing before you have read The
Forgetting because the description of the second book gives away secrets
from the first book).
Hey, look at that - it's only March 15 - I'm catching up! That is in part thanks to the fact that I only finished 4 books in February...but they were good ones!
Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies with Alison Leslie Gold, memoir audio (Netherlands)
The Scourge by Jennifer Nielsen, middle-grade fiction (dystopian fantasy) audio
So, only 4 books in February, but The Cuckoo's Calling was a long one. That's three adult books (though Anne Frank's memoir is often considered YA), two memoirs/nonfiction, two fiction, one classic, one middle-grade, and two on audio. I enjoyed all of them. I'm having trouble choosing a favorite from between the two Anne Frank books, so I will choose both of them, as a set. Of course, everyone knows how moving and powerful Anne's own memoir is, but Miep's account of helping to hide the Franks was just as deeply moving and fascinating. Both are well worth your time to read or listen to (Miep's memoir was wonderful on audio).
Progress on 2017 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading
Challenges! I added 2 more TBR books to my Read Your Own Damn Books Challenge. For the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge, February was Undercover Thriller month, so The Cuckoo's Calling fit perfectly. I read my first classic for the 2017 Back to the Classics Challenge. I slotted all 4 books into categories for my Well-Rounded Challenge. For my Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge,
I added the Netherlands and read a second book set in the UK. No new states for my 2017 Literary Escapes Challenge.
Finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break
- not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play
each month! Here is my Bingo card for February, with 17 squares filled in - pretty good for just 4 books!
Sorry - couldn't get this photo to post correctly, so it's sideways!
Books Read for each square:
Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies - Made you cry, historical, accent (audio was excellent!), new-to-you author, set in a foreign country The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - Empowered/strong female, library book The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) - Favorite author, shelf-love book (TBR), military, in a series, mystery The Scourge by Jennifer Nielsen - Audio book, free book, best friends, romance
My husband and I (and our sons, too) loved The Hunger Games YA trilogy by Suzanne Collins, her now-famous chilling dystopian series. We watched each movie adaptation: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay Part 1, so we figured we needed to finish it off and watch the final movie, Mockingjay Part 2 (even though it annoys me to no end when Hollywood takes a short novel and turns it into 2 separate movies!). It was a good end to the series...though, of course, the book was better!
If you haven't yet seen or read the beginning of the series, you should go back to those first. Read the books, which are outstanding for teens and adults and very well-written, and then see the movies, which are good adaptations with excellent casting.
So, Mockingjay Part 2 picks up where Mockingjay Part 1 left off: Panem is now at war and Katniss has agreed - reluctantly - to be the face of the revolution, though she still has some misgivings. She and her family and some other familiar characters from earlier movies are safe in District 13 at the start of the movie, but they soon join the fighting in the Capitol. Katniss wants President Snow to pay for all that he has done.
This last part of the story focuses on the war, with a lot of action-packed scenes of battle. It's very well-done, and the special effects are excellent, especially of some of the high-tech forms of warfare that the Capitol unleashes on the rebels. It's been quite a while since I read the books, so there was still some suspense in it for me, as I didn't remember all the details of how it ended.
Of course, as is almost always true, the movie wasn't as good as the book. One thing that was lost in the movie adaptation was Suzanne Collins' very thoughtful and thought-provoking musings (through Katniss) on the nature of war, the price of war, and issues of power and wealth - all topics very relevant to our own world. I described this in detail (no spoilers, though) in my review of the book. The first Mockingjay movie - and to a lesser extent, this one - did show Katniss' moral and ethical struggles to some extent, but it is harder to delve deeply into those kinds of thoughtful issues on the screen than on the page. For me, that was the best part of the book - and the entire trilogy: Collins' thought-provoking commentary on our own world, through the lens of this dystopian world.
But, overall, we enjoyed the movie, and it was a good conclusion to the series. It is action-packed and full of suspense, and Collins is never afraid to kill off significant characters if it makes sense to the plot, so you really don't know what will happen. The cast, including Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, is excellent. We were both glad to have seen the final movie to finish off the series.
All four movies are now available on DVD. You can stream The Hunger Games or Catching Fire for a fee on Amazon (though, oddly, the DVDs are cheaper) and the last two Mockingjay movies are both currently free on Amazon Prime (see links below). All four movies are also available through Netflix (DVDs only).
Ahhh...enjoying a quiet day to myself to catch up, but this is literally the calm before the storm! We are supposed to get a foot or more of snow from tonight into tomorrow, which is a HUGE amount for Delaware and will likely shut things down for days. We have doctor's appointments scheduled toward the middle of the week for myself and my father-in-law, but those have a strong possibility of being cancelled. The good news is that both sons are healthy and back at college.
I made the mistake (again) of working all weekend, with nothing fun for myself. We did spend time with each of our sons and my father-in-law, which was nice, but I spent my days working feverishly on bills, medical insurance, records & bills, our mortgage refinancing, etc. All very necessary stuff but not much fun! I had my fun mid-week when my mom came to visit. And I did, of course, still enjoy my reading time. Here's what we've been reading this week:
I finished The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen for my neighborhood book
group last week (though I still had 20 pages to go when I went to book group!). This was one of my choices, and I was eager to read
this Pulitzer Prize winning novel that also won many other awards last
year. It was excellent, about a Vietnamese man in the late
1970's who works for the Secret Police and is airlifted out to America
at the end of the war. His secret, though, is that he's really a spy for
the Communist side. The writing was excellent, with many laugh-out-loud
moments and sentences I marked for their pure brilliance. Most book group members felt the same (it got one of our highest ratings), though some felt it was a difficult read. Review to come this week!
Next, I read my next book group selection, for this Thursday, Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson, a slim novel that packed a powerful punch. By the author of the brilliant memoir Brown Girl Dreaming (which I loved), this novel tells the story of four girls growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970's. A moving, powerful coming-of-age story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Now, I am reading a review book for my new review job at Shelf Awareness: The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron. This novel is about a Neanderthal girl, with alternating chapters set in present day as a woman archeologist uncovers her remains. It's very good so far, and is reminding me a bit of Clan of the Cave Bear.
On audio, I started a new middle-grade book, Making Friends with Billy Wong by Augusta Scattergood. Like her earlier novel, Glory Be, this one is set in the South in the past (1950's this time) and deals with racial tensions, in this case prejudice against Asian-Americans. It's very good so far.
My husband, Ken, finished a novel that I read two years ago and loved, The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray
by Walter Mosley. I was greatly moved by this powerful novel about
aging, memory, and family, so I'm glad my husband read it, too. He enjoyed it.
Ken is now reading another of my review books (he is really benefiting from my new job!), Marshall's Law by Ben Sanders, which looks like part of a thriller series - right up his alley!
Jamie, 22, finally finished book 3, The Dragon Reborn, of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I'm not sure what he's reading now - he wanted to read book 2 of a series he likes but couldn't find book 1 to re-read when he was home this weekend!
What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.
This week's batch includes a National Seashore, a unique National Park, and two National Scenic Rivers that we have visited - a salute to the incredible beauty and variety of our federal lands and National Park system. Below are photos of, from north to south:
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, IN
Mammoth Cave National Park, KY
Current River National Scenic River, MO
Buffalo River, National Scenic River, AR
All of these unique places are well worth a visit! (by the way, the canoe camping trip along the Buffalo River was one of our best vacation times ever)
Skipping stones at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore at sunset
Indiana Dunes looks more like the ocean than Lake Michigan!
One of the huge sand dunes at Indiana Dunes Natl Lakeshore
Our sons ready for a swim in the Current River, MO
Current River National Scenic River in eastern Missouri
The entrance to Mammoth Cave
Cave pics don't turn out well, but here are our sons at the visitor center
Canoeing along the Buffalo River National Scenic River in Arkansas
Camping on a sandbar along the Buffalo River, AR
One of the locals from the Buffalo River!
Hope you are enjoying a nice weekend - and staying warm!
Last year, I was riveted by the audio book A Night Divided, a historical novel
about the Berlin Wall, by Jennifer Nielsen, so I was excited to read more by
this very popular middle-grade author. I recently listened to her newest novel,
The Scourge, a dystopian story set
in a fantasy world with a brave heroine.
Ani lives with her family with the River People, who are
disparaged by townspeople (they call the River People grubs). She enjoys
hanging around with her best friend, Weevil, but times are tough and food is
scarce, so she also works hard to help her family. A plague has been
devastating her country, but so far, there have not been any cases among the
River People. So, Ani is shocked when she is grabbed by the governor’s wardens
one day and taken into town for testing for the Scourge. When Weevil tries to
save Ani, he is also captured, and the two friends are taken away in a wagon.
Ani is held in a prison cell with a town girl named Della,
who treats Ani with disdain. Both are tested for the Scourge and have positive
results, so they are taken to Attic Island, a former prison that now serves as
a quarantine colony. They are given very small amounts of medicine that won’t
be replaced when they are gone and are assigned jobs in the colony, where
Weevil now resides as well. Conditions for the patients/prisoners are terrible,
and Ani is outraged. She begins to look around, hoping to find ways to make
life in the colony a bit better. What she finds, though, is growing evidence of
secrets, lies, and conspiracy.
This imaginative dystopian story set in a fantasy world has
plenty of action, adventure, and suspense. The underlying plot is clever and
original, but I had some trouble getting invested in the story. Perhaps part of
my problem was that I’m not a big fan of fantasy to begin with, though I do
normally enjoy dystopian novels. I also struggled with the audio book. The
narrator was a young girl speaking in first-person as Ani, and with all of the
danger and suspense inherent in the story, I found her voice somewhat breathy
and in a constant state of anguish that wore on me after a while. Personally, I
enjoyed A Night Divided much more,
and I was more engaged with the characters and the story. That might be the
difference between historical fiction and real-life events versus fantasy. This
action-packed novel will appeal most to young readers looking for an exciting
fantasy adventure starring a strong female character.
368 pages, Scholastic
Scholastic Audio
Note: This blog contains
affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me at
no extra cost to you.
Ever since the news came out in 2013 that new mystery writer
Robert Galbraith was actually J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame), my husband and I wanted to read his/her first
detective novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling.
I gave it to my husband for Father’s Day last year, and he enjoyed it. I
finally found time to read it last month and also liked this intriguing,
gripping mystery novel that introduces a new fictional detective.
Cormoran Strike has a lot of problems. Ex-military, he lost
his leg in Afghanistan and is still adjusting to his new prosthesis. His
fledgling detective business is struggling and down to just one client, and
he’s having trouble paying the bills. Worst of all, his long-time girlfriend
just left him, and he’s got nowhere to live except his tiny office.
This is the difficult situation that Robin, a new temp
worker assigned to Strike’s office, walks into on her first day there. His
ex-girlfriend almost knocks her over on her way in (as she is storming out), as
does Cormoran, in his attempt to run after her. Finally, sitting at her new
(temporary) desk, Robin meets a new client coming in the door. John Bristow is
a lawyer whose adopted sister was a famous supermodel named Lula, whose death
by suicide was all over the newspapers a few months ago. John doesn’t think it
was suicide, though. He remembers Strike from childhood, when he was friends
with John’s younger brother, and wants to hire him to find out what really happened to Lula, even though the
police already conducted a thorough investigation.
It seems like a losing proposition, but Bristow offers to
pay Strike double, and the allure of finally paying off some creditors and
getting his business on solid ground is enough for Strike to agree to take the
case. Robin, though acting professional on the surface, is very excited. She’s
had dreams of being a PI since childhood and here she is, working with a real
one…and with a famous celebrity case!
Strike begins his methodical investigation, with Robin’s
help, not expecting to find anything but determined to do it by the book
anyway. As he gets pulled further and further into the world of millionaires,
supermodels, rock-stars, and wealthy designers, the case gets more and more
complicated, though it still looks like Lula must have committed suicide.
Meanwhile, Strike is trying to do all this work while living in his office, and
Robin is dreading when her temporary assignment will end.
Rowling aka Galbraith has set up an engaging and likable duo
for her detective books in these main characters. Like many literary PI heroes,
Strike has plenty of issues, but he’s a good guy at heart (and very smart) and
you root for him to succeed, in both his case and in life.The mystery itself is twisty and
unpredictable, just like you want a good mystery to be! There are plenty of
clues, dead ends, surprises, and red herrings to keep you guessing, and she has
fun with the setting in London in the world of the rich and famous. And, no, I
did not figure out whodunit! Galbraith’s first detective novel is a winner, and
I look forward to reading more about Cormoran Strike’s detective business.
My husband and I took a last-minute mini vacation this weekend. We only drove an hour away and were just gone for 28 hours, but it was a nice getaway and just what we needed after a month filled with sick college kids at home!
One of the fun things we did this weekend was to finally try out the Dine-In Theater that is located near us. We stopped there for lunch and a movie on our way out of town. It was a fun experience, though the food was overpriced for the quality, as you'd expect. I was a bit disappointed that the recliner seats weren't in the same theaters as the dine-in options (and in those giant plush chairs, my feet dangled a foot off the ground!). But I made do and tucked my feet up into the large chair. Oh, and the movie! That's right - this is a movie review....
We saw Before I Fall, a new movie based on a very popular young adult novel by Lauren Oliver. I had wanted to read the book and never got around to it, so I was glad to see the movie adaptation. It's like Groundhog Day for teens.
Samantha, played with great depth by Zoey Deutch, is one of the most popular girls in her senior year at high school, dating one of the most popular guys and hanging out with a group of friends on top of the social strata. February 13th is set to be one of her best days ever. It's Cupid Day at her school, when students can buy roses for each other. As Samantha and her best friends carry their roses around school that day, a quiet boy named Kent, played by Logan Miller, asks Samantha if she'll come to a party he's having that night. After a typical day as Queens of their school, Samantha and her friends get ready for the party. This is also a big day for Samantha because she's told Rob that today is the night when they will finally go all the way, so her friends help her look extra-special.
Things begin to go awry at the party, though, and soon tumble out of control. One bad thing follows another, and the day ends in tragedy. But the next morning, Samantha wakes up safe and sound in her bed and is confused to see the same text about Cupid Day that her best friend, Lindsay, sent yesterday. It turns out it is yesterday, and Samantha seems to be reliving the same day again. This happens over and over, usually with the same - or similar - disastrous outcome. As she relives that same day over and over, Samantha begins to see behind the beautiful facade of her life and the lives of those around her. She becomes determined to somehow get things right, to change things for herself and others, so that she can stop this endless loop.
I knew the plot of the book and was excited to see the movie, but I wasn't sure how my husband would feel about a movie filled with teens. We both ended up enjoying it very much. Although it has all the familiar teen tropes at the beginning - the popular kids, the mean girls, the outcast, etc. - it turns out to have a lot of depth to it, as Samantha peels away the layers of her life, one at a time. The cast and acting are quite good, especially by Zoey as Samantha, and the plot is gripping. It is also quite thought-provoking to think: What would you do? How would you make things right? Though some of Samantha's actions as the movie progresses are a bit predictable, there are still plenty of secrets and surprises to discover.
Before I Fall was just released on March 3 and is currently in theaters. Its DVD and streaming release date has not yet been announced. So, you have plenty of time to read the book first, if you prefer!
