My Book Retreat

Book Review: The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen

2012-02-10T15:17:00.001-05:00

Rosalie has been married to Abdullah and living in Saudi Arabia for 25 years. The couple has two teenagers and although she is American, Rosalie has immersed herself in Saudi culture. But then she discovers that her husband has taken a second wife, after all these years, and her world comes crumbling down. Told in the voices of Rosalie, Abdullah, their son Faisal, and their American friend Dan, The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen takes us deep into modern Saudi Arabian culture, and the struggles between traditional and modern viewpoints.

I just loved this book. It is a beautifully written work of literary fiction that kept my attention from beginning to end. Looking back, there wasn't much action in this story. Parssinen spends a lot of time inside the four main characters' heads, sharing their thoughts, memories, reactions to the issues they encounter. But it moves at a steady pace. There is enough mystery in terms of wondering what will happen with the marriage, what Dan's role is, and what is going on with Faisal to keep the pages turning.

If you enjoy literary fiction, you will love this. Parssinen's choice of words, the language she uses to describe things, is just stunning. Here's just one short example:

The air on his face was miraculous, and the lights of Al Dawoun winked along the opposite shore like stars in a tilted sky. To his right, the causeway stretched into the darkness, its concrete supporters invisible so that it looked like it was floating the cars back to the Kingdom. (pg 48, advanced reader's e-proof)

The Ruins of Us is not a happy story. It's about a marriage on the brink of disaster, about a teenaged boy on a path to potential destruction, and a man who is still trying to find himself after a divorce several years before. Through these stories, Parssinen weaves in the complexity of Americans living in Saudi Arabia, and the struggles of children born to Saudi-American couples. With all of these themes running through it, I would say The Ruins of Us would make an excellent selection for a book club.

My Rating: 5/5

For more information, visit the author's website
Read an excerpt
Reading group guide for The Ruins of Us

This review was written based on a copy of The Ruins of Us that I received from Harper Collins Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Month in Review: January 2012

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

My first monthly review of 2012 is a bit late, but better late than never!

Books Read in January: 5
I read five books in January.

The Art of Life by Sabin Howard and Traci L. Slatton ~ nonfiction
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand ~ nonfiction
No Story to Tell by KJ Steele ~ contemporary fiction
The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by Fiona Ingram ~ middle-grade fiction
Nate Rocks the World by Karen Pokras Toz ~ middle-grade fiction

Reviews Written: 6
I wrote six reviews in January. The first is for a book I read in December: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. I also reviewed all of the books I read in January. You can click on the links above to read the reviews.

Year-to-Date Totals:

Nonfiction: 2
Contemporary Fiction: 1
Historical Fiction: 0
Mystery/Thriller: 0
Middle-Grade Fiction: 2

For review: 4
For book club: 1
For me: 0

Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge

I read two books toward this challenge during January: The Art of Life and Unbroken. I'm keeping track of my progress on my sidebar.

Narnia Reading Project

I have not started this challenge but hope to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe sometime during February. I'm keeping track of my progress on my sidebar.

Weekly Reading Recap

2012-02-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

Good morning. I hope you all had a good week. I'm officially another year older than I was last week, and have begun a new decade in my life. It was a fun weekend, celebrating my birthday and hosting a Super Bowl party last night.

As far as reading goes, I finally finished The Ruins of Us by Kaija Parssinen, which was a wonderful work of literary fiction that opened my eyes to life in Saudi Arabia. I'll be reading another book that takes place in Saudi Arabia, Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris, for my February book club meeting.

I wrote a review for Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand last week. And I shared some of the books my kids have been reading.

Currently Reading
I'm about halfway through 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans by Karl Pillemer, which I'm really enjoying.

Up Next
Next, I'll be moving on to Finding Nouf.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

What My Children Are Reading

2012-02-04T08:55:00.000-05:00

I finally made it back to the library this week. I took C before his piano lesson, and we got several books despite the quick trip. He also had media this week for a special at school, so he got a couple new books from the school library. Here are some of the favorites this week.

C read Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sacher. His teacher is reading this series at school, so he wanted to read one on his own. Actually, now he wants to read the series. They're all very silly stories that take place in Wayside School, which was accidentally built vertically, with each of the 30 classrooms stacked on top of each other. There are 30 chapters to correspond to the 30 stories.C's favorite part is that the builder left out the 19th story, so in the book, the 19th chapter is just a couple sentences long saying, basically, that there's no 19th story. I have to say he's piqued my interest and I think I may have to read this one myself!

The other book he got from his school library is Out from Boneville, the first in the Bone series by Jeff Smith. This is a series I've heard a lot about, but I honestly thought it would scare him. Evidently not. He loved it and couldn't stop telling us about it. But I will say that a lot of the plot went over his head. He just loved all the action and silly things that happened. It's a graphic novel so I'm sure he got a lot more out of the pictures than the words, since it's a pretty high level book (grade level 4.9 according to Scholastic). It's about three cousins who are sent out of Boneville and the adventures they have. I'm sure he'll be reading the rest of this series too.

M was able to read Biscuit's New Trick by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, which we have at home, so I picked up a couple new Biscuit books for her: Biscuit's Day at the Farm and Biscuit's Big Friend. I have to say that these Biscuit books are "just-right books" for M right now. She can read them with just about no help (she had a hard time with the word "wants" in one of them) and she understands what's happening in the plot. She also loves the stories and all the animals that are in them. We will definitely be working our way through all the Biscuit books over the coming weeks!

Finally, I'll share one of the books I read to M. It's an older book but I just heard about it recently while reading a blog, and I feel terrible saying I could not remember which blog! So if it was you, please let me know! Anyway, the book is When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth by Jamie Lee Curtis. It's an adorable picture book written from the perspective of a 4 year old girl, who talks about what she was like as a baby compared to what she can do now. The pictures are fun and the little girl is very cute. We both really enjoyed this one.

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

Book Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

2012-01-31T17:07:00.001-05:00

Louis Zamperini was a bit of a troublemaker as a kid, but when he discovered running as a teen, he shaped up and took control of his life. With the help of his devoted brother, Zamperini began setting records and even made it to the Olympics in 1936. Then he went to war.

In Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Laura Hillenbrand tells the story of Zamperini's life, with particular focus on his time in the war. As a bombardier during World War II, Zamperini fought the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean until his plane went down during a search for a lost aircraft. What follows is an odyssey that takes Zamperini from one horror to another. And in every case, he proves to be a survivor.

This is an amazing story of a truly amazing man. First he survives a plane crash. Then he survives being on a life raft for 47 days, only to fall into the hands of the Japanese who put him in POW camps that I wish were a figment of the author's imagination. The details of the way the Japanese treated POWs during World War II are atrocious. As a matter of fact, this was the biggest discussion during my book club meeting. Everyone in the group was shocked at the actions of the Japanese during this war. There are so many books and stories about the Nazis but I've never encountered the story of the torture that the Japanese inflicted upon so many POWs.

Despite the harsh topic, this book is definitely filled with hope. For a man to survive what Zamperini did, and to persevere in the future, is truly amazing. In addition, Hillenbrand's tone throughout the book is more factual than emotional, and while this would sometimes be considered a negative, I think it works very well in this case to leave a bit of space between the reader and the horrors being described.

I highly recommend this book for book clubs as there are many interesting topics for discussion. I also recommend it for anyone who enjoys biographies and war stories, of course.

My Rating: 5/5

For more information and to hear an audio excerpt, visit the author's website

This review was written based on a copy of Unbroken that I purchased.

Weekly Reading Recap

2012-01-30T22:23:00.000-05:00

Well, I managed to post this on Monday ... just several hours later than normal. Work is absolutely insane this week and I just didn't have a minute to spare. But here I am ready to share my reading and reviewing from last week.

Last week, finally finished reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to write up my review yet. My plan is to do so tomorrow, so it publishes before the end of them month. However, it's now almost time for me to go to bed, and I expect work will be crazy again tomorrow, so the odds of me actually writing the review before the month ends is pretty slim!

I did manage to write a couple reviews last week. First was No Story to Tell by KJ Steele, a contemporary fiction novel with a bit of mystery. The other review was for a middle-grade book called Nate Rocks the World by Karen Pokras Toz. That was a fun one that I'm encouraging my son to read now.

Currently Reading
I am still reading The Ruins of Us by Kaija Parssinen, and hope to finish before the end of the month ... which is running out quickly!

Up Next
Next, I'll be moving on to my February book club book, Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris, and another nonfiction book, 30 Lessons for Living by Karl Pillemer.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Book Review: Nate Rocks the World by Karen Pokras Toz

2012-01-29T18:10:00.000-05:00

Ten-year-old Nate is a good kid, but he has some challenges in his life. His older sister torments him constantly. He's starving because his mom can't cook. And he hates recess because he'd rather sit in the classroom and draw cartoons than play sports outside. In Nate Rocks the World, Karen Pokras Toz introduces us to Nate in a fun, adventurous way.

In general, we follow Nate through some pretty typical fourth-grade activities: a science project with an annoying partner, Halloween, Christmas. But Toz makes the story much more interesting as she interweaves Nate's adventurous daydreams into the day-to-day activities. In his mind, he rescues a dog from a house fire and helps a superhero save the world, among other crazy things!

Nate Rocks the World is a lot of fun and I think it would appeal to kids in elementary and early middle school. C hasn't read it yet, but he wants to and I'm sure he'll enjoy it. This is the first in a series, so I look forward to reading more about Nate in the future!

My Rating: 4/5

For more information, visit the author's website

This review was written based on a copy of Nate Rocks the World that I received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: No Story to Tell by KJ Steele

2012-01-26T10:44:00.000-05:00

Victoria has been put down since the day she was born. First by her parents who were disappointed that she survived while her twin brother died. Then by her verbally abusive husband and his low-life friends. But soon an intriguing artist named Elliott arrives in town and starts encouraging Victoria to follow her dream of opening her own dance studio. She also begins to receive phone calls from a mysterious someone who gets her to open up about her past and face her true feelings.

In No Story to Tell, KJ Steele has captured the small-town atmosphere and brought these characters to life. From the victimized Victoria, to her drunk and obnoxious husband Bobby and his drunk and obnoxious friends, to all the side characters who you'd expect to encounter in a town like this ~ all are so realistic in both their actions and their voices. She has written a compelling story of an abused woman who thinks she is trapped in this loveless, miserable existence. But then she finds a spark of hope to hold onto, at least for a brief time.

For most of the novel, I was really engaged and hopeful. At times I felt frustrated with Victoria, but I understand that people who are abused in this way cannot just change overnight. But then toward the end, Steele took Victoria and the story in a different direction that really threw me off. I don't want to give away the ending, but I'll just say that Victoria didn't follow the path I expected her to follow. Some of her actions toward the end of the novel were a bit too much for me. Although perhaps they were just a bit too realistic.

Overall, this is a well-written, engaging, mysterious novel that I enjoyed on many levels. This is not a lighthearted read, but I think it would appeal to those who enjoy contemporary fiction that tackles more serious issues and features interesting, realistic characters.

My Rating: 4/5

Read an excerpt

This review was written based on a copy of No Story to Tell that I received from The Fiction Studio in exchange for an honest review.

Weekly Reading Recap

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning. I'm writing this ahead of time since I'll be on the road on Monday, heading home from a weekend in Myrtle Beach visiting my mother-in-law. We had a nice weekend, even though it was pretty cold at the beach.

Last week, I had my book club meeting where we discussed Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I didn't manage to finish the book before the meeting, and I still have about 50 pages to go, but it was still a great discussion. I didn't bring the book on my trip so I'll finish it this coming week.

I did bring my Nook to the beach, so I started reading The Ruins of Us by Kaija Parssinen.

Last week, I wrote two reviews. The first was for The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by Fiona Ingram, a middle grade novel that was very good. The second was for The Art of Life by Sabin Howard and Traci L. Slatton, the first book for my Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge.

This week, I hope to get time to write a couple more reviews since I'm a bit behind.

Currently Reading
I plan to finish Unbroken this week, and then I'm hoping to also finish The Ruins of Us.

Up Next
Next, I'll be moving on to another middle grade book, Nate Rocks the World by Karen Toz.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Book Review: The Art of Life by Sabin Howard and Traci L. Slatton

2012-01-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

In The Art of Life, author Traci L. Slatton has written a beautiful book about figurative sculpture, with her husband, Sabin Howard's work prominently displayed throughout. She begins with a personal story of how she and her husband each became enamored with this form of art. Then she reviews the history of figurative sculpture with many diverse examples from the Balikligol Man from Turkey, which is more than 13,000 years old, to Rodin's Striding Man.

The remainder of the book focuses on Sabin Howard. She offers a sort of biography of his education and growth as an artist, and chronicles his major works of art, including a complete look at the process of creating these clay-to-bronze figures. I found this to be quite fascinating. The book is filled with beautiful photographs of artwork, but the most interesting pictures in my opinion were the ones that showed this extensive process. Also quite interesting were the many sketches that were included in the last section of the book, showing how Howard goes from a drawing on paper to a complete figurative sculpture.

While Sabin Howard's name is listed as an author of the book, it is written from his wife's perspective throughout, so I would characterize it more as a cross between a nonfiction book about art and a biography of Howard's life as an artist. I found Slatton's writing style to be very approachable. I enjoyed the way she described the different sculptures, the things to look for and the detail that goes into creating a realistic figure ~ from proportions to facial expressions to rotation and balance. She succeeded in educating me about the topic without being too dry or academic.

The only issue I had was the obvious bias Slatton shows toward her own husband's work. It's certainly not an objective book, but I suppose that's to be expected. Overall, I am very happy that I read The Art of Life. I learned a lot about figurative sculpture and look forward to going to an art museum soon so I can put my new knowledge to the test! The North Carolina Museum of Art actually has an extensive Rodin collection that I am excited to explore with a new perspective.

My Rating: 3.5/5

For more information about Sabin Howard's sculpture, visit the artist's website
View some of the pages from the book

This review was written based on an ebook copy of The Art of Life that I received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by Fiona Ingram

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Adam and Justin are so excited to be joining their Aunt Isabel and Gran on a tour of Egypt. Traveling from their home in South Africa, they can't help but wonder what sorts of adventures they may find on their trip. But soon they find themselves in a much bigger adventure than they had expected. It all starts with a dirty old stone scarab that a peddler slips into Adam's pocket. This sets off a chain of events that leads the boys down the Nile and across the desert in an effort to save the world.

Fiona Ingram's The Secret of the Sacred Scarab is a fun adventure that I'm sure will appeal to the middle-grade crowd. I asked my 7 year old, who is an advanced reader, to check it out but he was overwhelmed by the density of the text on the page. I think the themes of the story, which features bad guys often wielding guns or knives, would also be a bit too much for him. But for kids in the age 10 and up group, I expect this book would have them hooked right from the start. And there isn't much actual violence, just a lot of suspense and intrigue with some Indiana Jones' type perils to contend with.

Ingram brings together an exciting adventure with lots of facts and myths from Egyptian history. It's a nice blend that doesn't get into too much detail to be over most kids' heads. She also develops Adam and Justin into great characters that kids can really relate to and look up to. They get into a bit of trouble and try to keep what they're doing secret from their aunt and grandmother, but overall they're pretty good kids.

I'd definitely recommend this for middle-grade readers who are looking for some adventure, especially if they have an interest in ancient Egypt or enjoy Indiana Jones movies!

My Rating: 4/5

For more information, visit the Secret of the Sacred Scarab website
Read an excerpt

This review was written based on a copy of The Secret of the Sacred Scarab that I received from Pump Up Your Book in exchange for an honest review.

Weekly Reading Recap

2012-01-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

Good morning. This year already seems to be flying by! I can't believe we're halfway through January already. I got a lot of reading done last week. I finished reading No Story to Tell by KJ Steele. Then I read The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by Fiona Ingram, which is a middle-grade adventure novel. And I started reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, although I didn't get very far yet and our book club meeting is on Wednesday!!

I didn't get any reviews written last week, though. I'm due to participate in the book tour for The Secret of the Sacred Scarab tomorrow. Then I hope to find time to write reviews for No Story to Tell and The Art of Life by Sabin Howard and Traci L. Slatton, which I finished a couple weeks ago.

I did manage to write about some of the winter-themed children's books we read last week. And I wrote a recap of the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge. I also put together some Goals for 2012.

Currently Reading
I'm trying to finish Unbroken by Wednesday. I'm not sure that's going to happen!

Up Next
Next, I'll be moving on to The Ruins of Us by Kaija Parssinen.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Kids Books: All About Winter

2012-01-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I participated in this meme but I think I'm finally back to it. This past week, M's theme at preschool was winter. So we read several winter-related books that I thought I'd share.

The Magic School Bus Lost in the Snow by Joanna Cole is a Scholastic Level 2 reader. I read it to the kids, but C could definitely read it, and M could read most of it herself. I'll probably have her try soon. The story is about Ms. Frizzle and her class exploring snowflakes. One of the kids wants to see a snowflake up close, so they fly up into a cloud where they see ice crystals forming into snowflakes. It's the typical combination of fact and fun like other Magic School Bus stories.

Here Comes Winter by Janet Craig is one I'm sure I've mentioned before since we've had it for a long time. This year, M took it to school and read it to her class. She and her teacher read alternate pages. It's about a bunny who sees that winter is coming so he goes to several stores buying different items to make something that will help protect him in the winter weather. It's a very simple story with lots of repetition, perfect for beginning readers.

Are You My Mommy? Little Polar Bear is a touch and feel book about a little polar bear who is trying to find his mommy. He encounters several other animals, including a whale, walrus and seal, and asks if they are his mommy. But each points out some feature on the little polar bear that they don't share, such as his small ears and strong legs. Eventually he finds his polar bear mommy. M was able to read this one and really loves it.

Deep Snow by Robert Munsch is a book we received last year from a reader of my other blog. It's about two girls who are out with their dad, and one decides to jump off their snowmobile into the deep snow. She sinks way down so the sister jumps in to get her, but she also sinks way down. So the dad reaches way down and pulls them out, but their boots get stuck. Then the dad gets stuck trying to get the boots, and when the girls get him out, they get stuck again. It's actually quite silly and M really liked it.

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

Goals for 2012

2012-01-10T13:45:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to writing up some reading and book blogging goals for 2012. I think the theme this year is freedom! I'm staying away from obligations ~ both in terms of reading and blogging. So here are my goals:

1. Read all book club selections ~ This is the third year that this goal tops my list. I've done well with this in previous years, so I hope to accomplish this goal once again in 2012.

2. Successfully host a reading challenge without stressing ~ This is the first year I'm hosting my own year-long challenge, the Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge. I want to engage everyone who is participating throughout the year, but I hope to do it in a non-stressful way!

3. Limit participation in challenges ~ I love the idea of challenges (after all, I'm hosting one myself) but I think 2012 is going to be a year of freedom from these sorts of commitments. I'm obviously participating in my own challenge, and I've joined a Chronicles of Narnia reading challenge, but I think that's going to be it. While I want to support my fellow book bloggers, I just need a break from *having* to read certain books or genres or formats or whatever the case may be. I want to pick up a book when I want to read it, not worrying about whether it helps with a challenge or not.

4. Be more selective with review books ~ I tried to do this in 2011, but I'm going to do it even more in 2012. I have many contacts among publishers and authors, and of course there is the irresistible NetGalley. I am going to be much more selective this year with the books I choose to read. While I want to support authors, I just feel like I need a year of reading only books I really, really want to read. There are so many bestsellers that I haven't gotten to because I have too many other books that I have committed to reading. In 2012, I want to read whatever I feel like reading at any given time.

5. Read more middle-grade fiction ~ I usually stick to adult books and picture books that I read with my kids. But as my son is getting older and wanting to read more on his own, I'd like to start previewing more middle-grade books for him. I have a couple I'm scheduled to read for reviews already, and I plan to read others as well. I'm hoping to find some good options for him this year.

I guess you could say 2012 is going to be all about me. And hopefully by choosing the books I really want to read, I'll be able to offer you many more recommendations throughout the year.

Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge: Wrap-Up

2012-01-09T17:19:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot to write a wrap-up for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge! I had a lot of fun with this one. I had signed up to read just one holiday book, and that's all I managed to do. But I also signed up to read holiday books with my kids, and we managed to read a lot!

For the one adult book, I read Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett. I loved it! It was such a wonderful story, written as a sort of companion to the classic tale, A Christmas Carol. You can read my review here.

As far as the books I read with my kids goes, here's the full list!

Can You See What I See? Night Before Christmas
My Little Pony: Rose Blossom's First Christmas
The Polar Express
Twas the Night Before Christmas
The Elf on the Shelf (followed by a visit from our elf, Jolly)
The Christmas Magic
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Radio City Christmas Spectacular Pop-Up Book (after seeing the local performance)
Backyardigans Jingle Bell Christmas
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve
A Blue's Clues Chanukah
Henry and Mudge and a Very Merry Christmas
Four Friends at Christmas
The Golden Christmas Tree

You can see my short reviews of some of these books here and here.

I had a lot of fun with this challenge and look forward to participating again next year!

Weekly Reading Recap

2012-01-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

Good morning. I hope you had a good week. Thanks for stopping by! We had a decent week getting back into the swing of work and school. Work was a bit crazy as I'm currently working on two big projects at once, but at least it makes the time pass quickly. We also celebrated my husband's birthday last week, and M went to her first drop-off birthday party at her friend's house on Saturday night, which she really enjoyed.

As far as reading goes, I finished The Art of Life by Sabin Howard and Traci L. Slatton. That was my first book for my Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge. Yay! I'll try to write the review later this week.

I also put up a review of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, which I really enjoyed. I can't wait to read the sequel since it ends in a bit of a cliffhanger!

I also wrote a wrap-up of the 2011 Where are You Reading Challenge. And I put up a post with a linky for reviews of books read for the challenge I'm hosting.

In addition to all of that, I added a couple new pages on my blog and updated some things on my sidebar to start the new year.

Currently Reading
I'm now reading No Story to Tell by KJ Steele.

Up Next
Next, I'll be moving on to a middle-grade book, The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by Fiona Ingram. Then I'll pick up Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, which is this month's selection for my book club.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Book Review: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

2012-01-05T11:51:00.000-05:00

Pearl and May are beautiful girls living the high life in Shanghai in 1937. They spend their evenings modeling and partying without a care in the world. But then their father announces that he has lost all their money gambling and has agreed to marry them off to two Chinese-American men to pay his debt. The girls go through with the wedding but refuse to follow the men to America, deciding instead to continue the life they've always known. But when the man who arranged the marriages begins to threaten their family, and the war invades their city, they find themselves on a treacherous journey to a very different life.

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See is a story of sisterhood at its core. The relationship she builds between Pearl and May is complex and very real. There are many conflicts and many examples of the deep love they feel for one another ~ from their struggle to get out of Shanghai to their experiences as married women in America. Throughout the story, they show their commitment to each other, and their deep-rooted sibling rivalry, as they navigate this new life they have been thrust into unwillingly.

Lisa See brings 1930s Shanghai and Chinatown in Los Angeles to life, from the customs and clothing of the time, to the way Chinese-American businesses and families were run. There are many examples of the struggle with melding traditional customs with modern society, both in Shanghai and Los Angeles. Pearl and May often disagree over this, with Pearl harboring resentment for May, who appears to be just thinking of herself and having fun.

I really enjoyed Shanghai Girls. I would even say I was able to connect more to this novel than See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It does end with a cliffhanger, though, so I will be picking up Dreams of Joy very soon, so I can find out what happens next! If you like historical fiction, I highly recommend this one.

My Rating: 4.5/5

For more information, visit the author's website
Read an excerpt
Discussion questions for Shanghai Girls

This review was written based on a copy of Shanghai Girls that I purchased.

Where Are You Reading Challenge 2011: Wrap Up

2012-01-04T10:37:00.002-05:00

Sheila at Book Journey hosted the Where Are You Reading Challenge in 2011, and I had fun keeping track of the location in which each of the books I read took place. I didn't manage to read books from every state ~ my books took place in just 20 of the 50 states. But I also covered 12 different countries, which was cool. Here's my map:

View My Book Retreat in a larger map

The states I covered were: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington. I also read a couple books that took place in Washington DC.

The countries I covered were: Canada, Russia, Africa, China, Egypt, Albania, England, Denmark, Zimbabwe, Scotland, Wales and Germany.

Although I didn't manage to read from every state, I think I'm going to join this challenge again in 2012. It was fun to keep track!

Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge Reviews

2012-01-03T15:20:00.000-05:00

If you're participating in my Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge for 2012, you can post your reviews in the linky below throughout the year. This linky is also accessible through the Challenge Page (see tab up above) along with details about the challenge and a sign-up linky. Be sure to sign up for the challenge before adding reviews to this review linky. Thanks!

Weekly Reading Recap

2012-01-03T11:49:00.000-05:00

Good morning and Happy New Year! I'm a day late with my weekly recap but wanted to be sure and start the year right by continuing with my weekly post about what I've been reading and blogging about.

This past week, I finished reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. That was my 71st book of 2011. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to write the review before the new year, so it will likely be my first review of 2012 as well.

I did review two other books last week, though:
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith

I also wrote a wrap-up of the Fall into Reading Challenge. And I did a recap of my 2011 reading and goals. I still need to write up some goals for 2012, but that will have to wait another day or two.

I also have to make some changes on my blog, putting my 2011 books read list onto a page and freeing up my sidebar for the 2012 list. I also need to put together a reviews page for my challenge, and write wrap-up posts for the challenges I participated in during 2011. Hopefully I can fit most of that in this week.

Currently Reading
I started reading a nonfiction book (the first for my Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge) called The Art of Life by Sabin Howard and Traci L. Slatton.

Up Next
Now that the year is over, I have a few review books on my list to read. So I'm going to move on to The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen or No Story to Tell by KJ Steele next. I also have a middle grade book on my review list (The Secret of the Sacred Scarab by Fiona Ingram), and I need to read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand for my book club this month! Yikes!

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

2011 In Review

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe we're at the end of 2011. Back in January, I set some goals for my reading and book blogging:

Read all book club selections ~ I managed to accomplish this one!
Commit to only two review books per month ~ I failed miserably at this one. Between NetGally, direct requests from authors and requests from publishers or publicists, I had 42 books that I agreed to review in 2011. That's an average of 3.5 books per month, not 2! That means 62% of the books I read were for review.
Try new genres ~ I did this a little. I ended up reading a few YA books that I enjoyed. But I didn't branch out too far in 2011.
Use the library more often ~ I still didn't borrow as many books as I would have liked in 2011, but I used the library a lot for the kids' books again.
Complete two challenges ~ I did complete the two challenges I mentioned in my goals, but I signed up for others as well, and didn't manage to complete them all.

Here's a recap of all the challenges I participated in throughout 2011:

E-book Challenge ~ I signed up to read 12 e-books in 2011. I read 36 e-books instead! I actually read more e-books than paperback/hardcover in 2011.
I Want More Challenge ~ I signed up to read 5-8 books but only read 4. I did read several others by authors I've read before, but they were parts of series, which weren't counted in this challenge.
Where Are You Reading Challenge ~ I only managed to read books that took place in 20 different states during 2011. I didn't figure I'd make it through all 50 since I wasn't choosing my books specifically on this criteria. I also read books that took place in 12 different countries.
Spring Reading Thing Challenge ~ I read 8 of the 9 books I had on my list.
Fall into Reading Challenge ~ I read 11 of 15 books I had on my list.
The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge ~ This is still going on, but so far I've read one adult book and 16 children's books for the challenge. I had signed up to read one adult book and to read with my kids, so I've already met the challenge goal for this one.

And some statistics on the books I read in 2011:

Thrillers and mysteries were the biggest fiction genres read in 2011. About 30% of the books I read were nonfiction, and about half of those were memoirs. I'm looking forward to reading more nonfiction in 2012 through my Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge.

I ended up reading 71 books in 2011, which is up from 65 in 2010.

Next week, when I'm back from my New Year's celebration weekend, I'll put together some goals for 2012. Happy New Year!!!

Book Review: The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith

2011-12-29T09:27:00.000-05:00

In Russia in 1956, a secret speech delivered by Kuschev, which denounces the criminal acts of Stalin and his secret security officers, has been released to the public. Soon former officers are being killed and Leo Deminov finds himself fighting to save his family from a woman that will stop at nothing to get revenge for his past deeds. From the politics of Moscow to the Siberian gulags to uprisings on the streets of Budapest, Leo tries to overcome his past and redeem himself ~ particularly in the eyes of his adoptive daughter who still blames him for her parents' deaths.

In The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith, we revisit the characters of his first novel, Child 44. But you don't need to have read the first book to enjoy this one. There is plenty of action, lots of twists and turns, and tons of historical references to Russia. Smith definitely presents a harsh, cold image of the country. And he shows the diverse reactions to Kruschev's desire for change, from the guards at the gulags who refused to accept change to the students who began the Hungarian Revolution. In addition, Smith brings family to the forefront of this novel as Leo tries to hold his family together.

I really enjoyed The Secret Speech. It wasn't as disturbing as Child 44, although there was plenty of violence in this one as well. It's a engaging historical thriller that will keep you turning the pages to find out how it is all going to work out in the end.

My Rating: 4/5

For more information, visit the author's website.

This review was written based on a copy of The Secret Speech that I purchased.

Book Review: The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

2011-12-28T09:28:00.000-05:00

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka is unlike just about anything I've ever read. It's written in a lyrical, collective voice that is quite unique. And I must say that while I appreciated it in terms of its literary quality, I got a bit tired of it as time went on. Here is an example from page 14:

On the boat we carried our husbands' pictures in tiny oval lockets that hung on long chains from our necks. We carried them in silk purses and old tea tins and red lacquer boxes and in the thick brown envelopes from America in which they had originally been sent. We carried them in the sleeves of our kimonos, which we touched often, just to make sure they were still there.

The entire novel, with the exception of the last chapter, is written in this collective third-person voice. Rather than following an individual woman from Japan to American to meet her husband for the first time, we hear the collective story of all the women who went on this journey. We hear of their trip across the ocean, and the anticipation and hopes and dreams of their future lives with their husbands. We hear of their first nights with their husbands, and the horror at discovering that they were not the wealthy, easy-living men they thought they were, but rather farmers and laborers ~ just like the men they could have married back home. We hear of the hard work they had to take on, the birth of their children and their interactions with Americans up through the beginning of World War II.

By providing this collective voice, Otsuka is able to give a fuller picture of the experience of "picture brides" who came to America from Japan in the early 20th century. She isn't limited to one person's experience with one husband, one job, one family. Rather, she is able to show the range of experiences among the these women. I understand her reasoning for using this voice, and I think it works very well from a literary and historical standpoint. But I will say it got old; I was definitely ready for a new voice by the time she finally switched to a different perspective in the last chapter.

Overall, this was a powerful work of literature that I would definitely recommend ~ if you like literary types of books. It gives you an amazing view of the experiences these women faced. The imagery is wonderful. But it's definitely not for everyone. In addition to the different writing style, there are also some disturbing descriptions of their first nights with their husbands, the botched births of their children and other brutal realities of their lives. Read the excerpt below to get a better idea of whether you would enjoy it.

My Rating: 4/5

Read an excerpt

Discussion questions for The Buddha in the Attic

This review was written based on an ebook copy of The Buddha in the Attic that I received from Knopf Doubleday through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fall into Reading Challenge: Wrap-Up

2011-12-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

This was my third year participating in the Fall Into Reading Challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. I can't believe how fast it went by! I didn't even manage to put up my recap post in time to be eligible for the prize. But I am very glad to have joined in again this year.

I had 15 books on my list to read throughout Fall. I managed to read 11 of the 15 books, which is pretty good but not great. I did read several other books instead of the ones on my list, though. I just decided I didn't want to read all the books on my list in the end. I read:

Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans (review)
The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen (review)
Commune of Women by Suzan Still (review)
What Alice Forgot by Leane Moriarty (review)
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (review)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (for Banned Books Week) (review)
Beyond the Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley II (review)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (review)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (review)
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (review)
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith (review to come)

The following books were on my list but I didn't get to them this year:

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
All Over but the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg
Sweet Dates in Basra by Jessica Jiji
Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon

My favorite books read during the Fall into Reading Challenge were What Alice Forgot, The Book Thief and The Forgotten Garden.

Thanks so much to Katrina for hosting this challenge. I look forward to joining in her Spring Reading Thing Challenge once we get through winter!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-12-26T11:30:00.001-05:00

Good morning! I hope all of you who celebrate had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying Hanukkah still. I guess today is Boxing Day and Kwanzaa too. Isn't December fun? Of course, it's also been a bit stressful for me, but these last few days have been great. We all really enjoyed Christmas this year, and we all got some great gifts. The kids are very happy with all the things they got, and I'm very happy with my new mother's ring!!!!

As far as reading goes, I read The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. It was from NetGalley and I realized last week that it was about to expire! It was an interesting books. I still have to think about what I want to say in my review. Hopefully I'll have time to write it this week.

I did review Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett last week. What a great book! Click on the title to read my review.

I also shared a few of the Christmas and Hanukkah books my kids and I have been reading.

And I posted about the Book Blogger Holiday Swap, which I participated in for the second year.

Currently Reading
I'm still reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See since I read The Buddha in the Attic last week. Funny that they're both about Asian women being married off to American men.

Up Next
I think I'll read The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen next. It's another NetGalley book and since we'll be traveling for New Year's, I'll want to read something that's on my Nook.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

What My Children Are Reading

2011-12-24T10:46:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve! I wanted to share a few more of the Christmas books we've been enjoying, as well as one Chanukah book we read last year and got out of the library once again this year.

First up is A Blue's Clues Chanukah by Jessica Lissy. This is a cute children's book featuring Blue and Joe and the other characters from Blue's Clues who celebrate Chanukah at Orange Kitten's house. It introduces kids to latkes, dreidels and other activities and traditions of the holiday. This book does not, however, tell the story of why Chanukah is celebrated or what it is. It's pretty simplistic but young kids who like Blue will enjoy it.

The next book I'll mention is Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve by Janet Morgan Stoeke. I love Minerva Louise books so was thrilled to see this one on the shelf at the library. In this story, Minerva, the silly chicken, gets quite confused by the Christmas decorations and the strange farmer falls through the well on top of the house and then starts putting things in her farmers' socks! It's a very cute story for Christmas.

In Four Friends at Christmas by Tomie dePaola, Mr. Frog has slept through Christmas every year, so this year, he wants to celebrate. He tries to stay away but ends up falling asleep for a bit on Christmas Eve. When he wakes, he's all alone and he thinks he may have missed Christmas, but his friends make sure he has a great first Christmas.

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

Book Review: Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

In Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge is first visited by the ghost of his business partner, Jacob Marley, who tells him of the three ghosts who will be visiting him over the next few days. In the new novel Jacob T. Marley, R. William Bennett brings us deeper into the story of this man ~ who he was, how he came to be Scrooge's partner, and why he became involved in Scrooge's transformation that one Christmas Eve.

I absolutely loved this story! Bennett weaves such a wonderful background to accompany A Christmas Carol, and in my opinion, it fits perfectly with the original story. It tells of Marley's childhood and why he became so absorbed in business and making money to the detriment of his family and relationships. It tells of how Marley came to meet Scrooge and take him in as a partner, and how he molded Scrooge into the man we met in Dickens' story.

Bennett's story of Marley's life and his reasoning for visiting with Scrooge after death feel so right. I came to really care about both Marley and Scrooge, despite how terrible they both were to some of the people they encountered. And I loved delving more deeply into the ghostly visits, seeing Marley's point of view when Scrooge sees him in the door knocker and in his bedchamber, and during the visits of the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. I understood both Scrooge and Marley more fully after reading Jacob T. Marley.

If you are a fan of A Christmas Carol, you have to read Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett. One of the best parts is that Bennett writes in a similar style to that of Dickens, making it feel even more authentic. It is just wonderful!

My Rating: 5/5

For more information, visit the author's website
Read an excerpt

This review was written based on an ebook copy of Jacob T. Marley that I received from Shadow Mountain through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Blogger Holiday Swap

2011-12-19T13:22:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy, I haven't had a chance to share in my joy of receiving a great "bookie" gift last week! For the second year in a row, I participated in the Book Blogger Holiday Swap. This year, my Secret Santa was Angela from The Book Bind.

She sent me a wonderful package that included Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, which was on my wish list. She also included two books she says she enjoyed and thought I might like too: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters and A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. They both sound very good.

I'm really looking forward to reading all three of these in 2012!! Thank you so much, Angela!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-12-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning. I hope you had a good week! I cannot believe that Christmas will be here in less than a week now. Yikes! I have no idea if I'll get a chance to write up my Monday post next week or the week after, but I will try to update my status at some point on here. In the meantime, here's what I've been up to this past week.

I finally finished The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith. I really enjoyed it but wish I could have read it over a shorter period of time. I'll try to write up my review at some point soon. I still have to review Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett as well. I didn't actually manage to write any reviews last week.

I did write about some of the Christmas books my kids and I have been reading.

And I put up a wonderful guest post that you have to read. It's Top Ten Lessons for Living from the Wisest Americans by Karl A. Pillemer, Ph.D., author of a book I'm going to read in 2012 called 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans. I just love the advice he highlights in this guest post!

Currently Reading
I'm now reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. I'm really enjoying it and looking forward to seeing what is going to become of these sisters. I understand she has a sequel to this one, and she's going to be at my local bookstore in February. So I may have to check that one out as well.

Up Next
I'm not sure what I'll pick up next. I may go with one of the NetGalley books I have in my Nook: The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka or The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

What My Children Are Reading

2011-12-18T10:17:00.000-05:00

This week, I'd like to mention some of the Christmas books we've been reading lately. We've actually read quite a few, partly because we enjoy them, and partly because I joined the Christmas Spirit reading challenge, and along with the one adult Christmas book I signed up to read, I also pledge to read lots of Christmas books with my kids! So here are a few of the books we've read so far. I mentioned How the Grinch Stole Christmas last week, so here are some of the others we've been reading. I'll share more over the next couple weeks.

First up is an I Spy sort of book called Can You See What I See? Night Before Christmas by Walter Wick. Now I'll admit we didn't go through all the pages of this book before we had to return it to the library, but the kids loved trying to find all the Christmas-related treasures in the busy pages. If your kids like I Spy books, I highly recommend this one for Christmastime. I actually am considering purchasing it since my kids do enjoy these kinds of books.

Another book we got from the library is My Little Pony: Rose Blossom's First Christmas by Ann Marie Capalija. M loves My Little Pony so this was perfect for her. Little Rose Blossom has never experienced Christmas before so the other ponies show her all sorts of things that happen at Christmas, like the Christmas pageant, baking cookies and trimming the tree. But when she doesn't have something to put on the tree like all the other ponies, they find something very special for her. It's a cute story, especially for fans of My Little Pony!

One of the books on our shelf that we enjoyed once again this year is The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson. This is such a wonderful, magical book filled with absolutely beautiful illustrations. It's about Santa, who lives in a small house in the woods, getting ready for Christmas. He and the reindeer are waiting for the Christmas magic to arrive so they can head off to deliver all the presents to the girls and boys. It has such a different tone and feel than most Christmas books, and I just love to read it.

And the last one I'll mention this week is The Backyardigans Jingle Bell Christmas by Catherine Lukas. This is a cute board book with flaps that we have had on our shelves since last Christmas. The story can be sung to the tune of Jingle Bells and it's all about each of the Backyardigans characters traveling to the tree to exchange gifts with the others. It's very cute and fun, and even at the age of 4 1/2, M loves to open all the flaps as we read along. If you have little ones, even if they're not fans of The Backyardigans, I think they'll enjoy this one.

We've also read Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert Lewis May, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, The Elf on the Shelf by (yes, we have an elf and his name is Jolly), and a few others that I think I'll talk about in more detail next week!

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

Guest Post: Top 10 Lessons for Living from the Wisest Americans

2011-12-14T11:04:00.001-05:00

In 2012, I am hosting the Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge, and one of the books I'll be reading is 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans by Karl A. Pillemer, Ph.D. I'm looking forward to reading the book. In the meantime, I wanted to share a guest post by the author. I love this advice!

Top 10 Lessons for Living from the Wisest Americans
By Karl A. Pillemer, Ph.D.,
adapted from 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans

In contemporary society, we don’t often ask our elders for advice. We’re much more likely to talk to professionals, read books by pop psychologists or motivational speakers, or troll the internet for solutions to our problems. In general (and for the first time in human history), we no longer look to our society’s oldest members as a key source of wisdom for how to live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.

As a gerontologist, I have come to believe that this attitude is a serious mistake. Older individuals (especially persons age 70 and beyond), are in fact the most credible experts we have available for knowledge about how to live well through hard times. They have been through unique historical experiences – such as the Great Depression and World War II – that have taught them how to thrive in the face of adversity. And they have personally experienced many of the tragedies younger people dread, giving them the ability to advise the rest of us about resilience in the face of illness and loss.

Over the past 6 years, I’ve conducted a research project designed to tap the practical wisdom of older Americans. Using several different social science methods, I’ve collected responses from over 1200 elders to the question: “Over the course of your life, what are the most important lessons you would like to pass on to younger people.” I then combed through the responses, and the result was a set of lessons for living from the people I have called “the wisest Americans.”

As I look back over years of talking with America’s elders, 10 lessons stand out as those they would like to convey to young people. Read these “Top 10 Lessons for Living” and see how they apply to your own life.

Choose a career for the intrinsic rewards, not the financial ones. Although many grew up in poverty, the elders believe that the biggest career mistake people make is selecting a profession based only on potential earnings. A sense of purpose and passion for one’s work beats a bigger paycheck any day.
Act now like you will need your body for a hundred years: Stop using “I don’t care how long I live” as an excuse for bad health habits. Behaviors like smoking, poor eating habits and inactivity are less likely to kill you than to sentence you to years or decades of chronic disease. The elders have seen the devastation that a bad lifestyle causes in the last decades of life – act now to prevent it.
Say “Yes” to opportunities: When offered a new opportunity or challenge, you are much less likely to regret saying yes and more likely to regret turning it down. They suggest you take a risk and a leap of faith when opportunity knocks.
Choose a mate with extreme care: The key is not to rush the decision, taking all the time needed to get to know the prospective partner and to determine your compatibility with them. Said one respondent: “Don’t rush in without knowing each other deeply. That’s very dangerous, but people do it all the time.”
Travel more: Travel while you can, sacrificing other things if necessary to do so. Most people look back on their travel adventures (big and small) as highlights of their lives and regret not having traveled more. As one elder told me, “If you have to make a decision whether you want to remodel your kitchen or take a trip—well, I say, choose the trip!”
Say it now: People wind up saying the sad words “it might have been” by failing to express themselves before it’s too late. The only time you can share your deepest feelings is while people are still alive. According to an elder we spoke with: “If you have a grudge against someone, why not make it right, now? Make it right because there may not be another opportunity, who knows? So do what you can do now.
Time is of the essence: Live as though life is short—because it is. The point is not to be depressed by this knowledge but to act on it, making sure to do important things now. The older the respondent, the more likely they were to say that life goes by astonishingly quickly. Said one elder: “I wish I’d learned that in my thirties instead of in my sixties!”
Happiness is a choice, not a condition: Happiness isn’t a condition that occurs when circumstances are perfect or nearly so. Sooner or later you need to make a deliberate choice to be happy in spite of challenges and difficulties. One elder echoed almost all the others when she said: ““My single best piece of advice is to take responsibility for your own happiness throughout your life.”
Time spent worrying is time wasted: Stop worrying. Or at least cut down. It’s a colossal waste of your precious lifetime. Indeed, one of the major regrets expressed by the elders was time wasted worrying about things that never happened.
Think small: When it comes to making the most of your life, think small. Attune yourself to simple daily pleasures and learn to savor them now.

As the holidays approach, that last lesson is a great one to think about. Because of their awareness that life is short, the elders have become attuned to the minute pleasures that younger people often are only aware of if they have been deprived of them: a morning cup of good coffee, a warm bed on a winter night, a brightly colored bird feeding on the lawn, an unexpected letter from a friend, even a favorite song on the radio (all pleasures mentioned in my interviews). Paying special attention to these “microlevel” events forms a fabric of happiness that lifts them up on a daily basis. They believe the same can be true for younger people as well – and it’s well worth a try at any age!

And if you learn something valuable from an elder, or your own family elders would like to share their advice, you can add it to our website http://legacyproject.human.cornell.edu/give-your-advice/ and be entered for a chance to win $100 Amazon gift card, now through December 31st!

About the Author:
Karl A. Pillemer, Ph.D - Karl Pillemer is a professor of human development at Cornell University and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College. An internationally renowned gerontologist, his research examines how people develop and change throughout their lives. He has authored five books and over 100 scientific publications, and speaks throughout the world on aging-related issues.

After a chance encounter with a remarkable 90-year old woman, Dr. Pillemer decided to find out what older people know about life that the rest of us don't. His quest led him to ask more than a thousand older Americans their advice for living. He asked about all the big issues - love, marriage, children, work, happiness, avoiding regrets. This 6-year project led to the book: 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans, published by Hudson Street Press in November 2011.

For more information on the The Legacy Project, please:

Visit the blog: http://legacyproject.human.cornell.edu

Like The Legacy Project on Facebook

Follow author Karl Pillemer on Twitter

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Another week gone. Wow! Work has been a bit crazy for me, as I think I mentioned last week. But I managed to squeeze in a little reading in the evenings, and even got around to writing a review yesterday, despite the fact that I should have been working!

I finally got around to reviewing The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. And I shared some of the books my kids have been reading.

I read Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett this past week. I had to finish it quickly since the galley was about to expire! I loved it. I'll write my review this week ~ I hope!

Currently Reading
I'm still reading The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith. It's a good book, but I just haven't had time to read it, especially with having to fit in Jacob T. Marley last week. I will finish it this week!

Up Next
I'm not sure what I'll pick up next. One of the books I'm considering is Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, so that may be the one I choose. We'll see how I feel when I finish The Secret Speech.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2011-12-11T12:38:00.000-05:00

Death is pretty busy in Germany during World War II. But one child he encounters, as he takes her little brother's soul away, has a bigger effect on him than all the others. In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak tells the story of this girl, Liesel Meminger, from the perspective of Death himself. From her brother's death, to her childhood living with a foster family in Germany during the war, Death narrates the story of this girl who just cannot resist her desire for books.

Liesel becomes very close to her foster father, Papa, a painter who plays the accordion and is one of the few in the neighborhood who is not part of the Nazi party. Despite his own meager skills, he teaches her to read, thus fueling her need for more books. Her foster mother is much more gruff but it's clear that she cares for Liesel, despite her frequent swearing at the girl. Then there is Liesel's best friend, who becomes her partner in crime, and the Jew who hides in their basement for some time. I just loved the whole cast of characters. Zusak did a wonderful job creating personalities and relationships that were often complex yet quite refreshing.

This is such a uniquely written book, not just because it is written from the voice of Death, but because of the actual format in which it is written. There are many instances of words pulled out of the narrative, centered on the page and highlighted in bold. At times, these are definitions of terms. At other times, they are key points that Death wants the reader to remember. There's also a lot of foreshadowing. Death often tells the reader what is going to happen before it actually happens. But this actually works, and is yet another example of a unique writing style.

If you enjoy historical fiction, I think you'll like this one. It offers what seems to be a realistic account of life in Germany during World War II, as revealed through interesting and compelling characters. At times, the story was a bit slow, but overall I really enjoyed it. It's considered young adult fiction, which is a genre I don't often read. But I think it's written more for adults, honestly. So even if you're not a YA reader, I do think you should try it out.

My Rating: 4/5

For more information, visit the author's website
Read an excerpt
Reading group guide for The Book Thief

This review was written based on a copy of The Book Thief that I obtained through Paperback Swap.

What My Children Are Reading

2011-12-10T12:44:00.001-05:00

Picture Book Month is over, so I'm finally back to share what other books the kids have been reading. We had a great time reading all the picture books, but both kids have been busy reading other things. I've continued to pick up lots of early readers at the library for M. I realized recently that she's reading at about the same level C was reading at when he was in kindergarten, which is pretty amazing.

Aside from the early readers, I picked up a couple very popular books that I've never gotten around to reading to M: Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems. We absolutely love his Elephant and Piggie books so we were excited to read a couple other books written by him. The first book is about a little toddler who loses her stuffed bunny at the laundromat and has a major tantrum on her dad since she can't tell him what the problem is. In the second book, she's older and her bunny gets switched with that of another little girl, causing some big issues again. These are very cute books!

C finished the Secrets of Droon series by Tony Abbott. He really enjoyed the entire series, and it was especially fun since he found a couple friends in his class who were also reading it. It's a great series about some kids who find a new world and get all wrapped up in it. There are good guys and bad guys and all sorts of fantastical things going on. I was surprised it didn't frighten him when he first started reading the series. But since he enjoyed it so much, I think he has really been opened up to the whole fantasy genre, which is exciting. They're all around third grade reading level.

Since he enjoyed Secrets of Droon so much, I suggested C try The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. It took him a while to really get into it, but once he did, he had a hard time putting it down! He finished that book within about a week, and then borrowed Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia from the school library. Now he's reading The Magician's Nephew. He's been borrowing them from the library but I do plan to buy them since I'd like to read them myself. I even signed up for a Narnia Reading Project in 2012! These are all fifth and sixth grade reading level according to Scholastic, so they're much harder to read. But he doesn't seem phased by that.

I also got a chance to do some reading this week as Mystery Reader for C's class. I wanted to read something related to the holidays but didn't want it to be too focused on Santa since I know the kids his age are starting to question things. So, I went with How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. I also brought along Horton Hears a Who and Green Eggs and Ham. The kids all loved hearing these Dr. Seuss stories, and it was fun to get into his classroom and see all the kids.

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-12-05T09:15:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to think I need to do all my blogging during the week because lately I never seem to get online on the weekends. This weekend was crazy! We just had so many things going on, I hardly knew which way I was going at any given time. The whole family is dragging this morning.

I had lots of fun at my book club's annual holiday dinner last night. During dinner we did our book swap and I got a copy of The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler. I'm looking forward to reading it in the new year.

I did get some blogging done last week. I put up my last two Picture Book Month posts, talking about the books we read during Week Four and Week Five. It was so much fun to read a picture book for every day! And we managed to hit every theme using just the books on our bookshelves.

I read and reviewed 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form by Dom Sagolla. I also got pretty far in The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith, but haven't finished it yet.

I posted my November Month in Review. I cannot believe this year is almost over! And I signed up for the Narnia Reading Project 2012. My son is reading the Narnia books so I'm going to buy the set and read them myself as well.

Several people have signed up for my first year-long challenge: The Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge. If you enjoy reading nonfiction or want to try it out, sign up! You can read as few as 5 nonfiction books in 2012 and still qualify for the giveaway!

Currently Reading
I'm currently reading The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith.

Up Next
Next I'll be reading Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett. I realized the galley is going to expire in just a few days so I'll be reading this one quickly!! Looking forward to getting into the holiday spirit!

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Picture Book Month: Week Five

2011-12-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well, this is the end of Picture Book Month. It actually ended on Wednesday. I hope you've enjoyed my weekly recaps of the picture books we read throughout the month of November. As I've said before, the Picture Book Month website featured a calendar that offered themes for each day of the month. So each day, we read a picture book from our shelves that went along with the theme.

Amazingly enough, we managed to get through all 30 days with just reading books from our shelves. Sometimes the books didn't relate exactly to the theme, but they all had some aspect that made sense. So here are the last four...

November 27: Princesses
M was all for this theme, and we had tons of books to choose from. She chose Princess Tiana and the Royal Ball. This is the story of Tiana being invited to her first ball. It takes place after the movie, so she is already a princess and owns her restaurant. Her best friend, Charlotte, tries to get Tiana to follow all of the rules in The Princess Handbook, but Tiana just wants to be herself. It's a cute story with a nice message.

November 28: Dinosaurs/Prehistoric
This was a hard one since my kids have never been big dinosaur fans. But we did recently get a nonfiction picture book from a neighbor called I Wonder Why Triceratops Had Horns and Other Questions About Dinosaurs, so we read that one for the first time. This book has questions on each page about dinosaurs: how many there were, when they lived, what they ate, etc. There are big colorful pictures and cartoon-like images throughout the book. It's very interesting and fun to look at, and we learned a lot about dinosaurs.

November 29: Shapes
Okay, so this one is a major stretch because we just don't have any of the typical toddler shape books anymore. So I decided to go with "shapes" as an abstract concept (bear with me). I picked our favorite picture book of 2011, Little White Rabbit. I just love this book and was hoping to fit it in somehow with one of the themes. It's about a little white rabbit who imagines himself as a variety of different things: green instead of white, tall as the trees, still as a stone. And he changes shape or size or color to be whatever he imagines himself to be. Yes, it's a huge stretch for the shapes theme, but I just had to read this one!

November 30: Numbers
For numbers, we chose Teddy Bears ABC 123. This book features a four-line rhyme for each of the letters and each of the numbers, along with fun illustrations of teddy bears. One teddy bear is cycling, three are by the sea. They garden and jump rope and climb a tree. It's very cute and great for kids who are learning their ABCs and numbers. I think it's one of those books we'll probably be handing down to someone else soon, but it's still fun to read sometimes. And it fits the numbers theme perfectly!

I'm also linking up to What My Child Is Reading and Book Sharing Monday. Visit both for more ideas on books to read with your kids.

Narnia Reading Project 2012

2011-12-02T11:52:00.001-05:00

It's December so I think I'll finally start signing up for 2012 reading challenges. First up is the Narnia Reading Project 2012 hosted by Rikki's Teleidoscope. C is currently reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, so I was planning on buying the rest of the set for him to read. I figure I should probably read them myself so I am more aware of what he's reading (hopefully the content is okay for a 7 year old!).

I am going to join in this reading project and read through all seven books of the series in 2012. I haven't decided completely, but I think I'm going to end up reading the series in publication order, because I'd really like to start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Here's the publication order:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Magician’s Nephew
The Last Battle

The other option is to read them in chronological order:

The Magician’s Nephew
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle

If you're interested in joining, visit the challenge page.

Month in Review: November

2011-12-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

Well, that was a quick month! I cannot believe it's December! I hope this month goes a bit slower so we can enjoy all the holiday celebrations.

I didn't get much reading done in November. I hope to do a bit more in December. November was the first month that I stopped doing official reviews, and started reading some of the books on my TBR pile. So it was fulfilling to get to read books I've been wanting to read for a long time, but a bit disappointing that I didn't read as much as I had hope to.

Books Read in November: 5
I read five books in November. Three were fiction novels:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

And two were nonfiction:
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form by Dom Sagolla

Reviews Written: 5
This month, I wrote five reviews. The first is for a book I read in October: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. The others are for four of the books I read in November. You can click on the links above to read them.

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

This is a new challenge for me, which goes until January 6, 2012. I just need to read one adult Christmas book, and I've also taken on an additional challenge to read Christmas books with the kids. So far, we've read four Christmas picture books. I plan to pick up my adult book soon.

I Want More Book Challenge
I didn't manage to add anything to this challenge, so it's definitely high on the priority list for December! I have two books planned that will help me complete the challenge. Hopefully I'll manage to read them by the end of the year!

Fall into Reading Challenge
I've been doing well with this challenge. I've read 10 books so far, and I'm halfway through the eleventh. I'm not sure if I'll finish the last five books by December 21st, but I'm going to try to read most of them.

Where Am I Reading Challenge
In November, I added one new state to my map of where I am reading. I also added one new country. I've added these places to my map:
Mississippi
Germany
England
That leaves me at 20 out of 50 states covered, plus 12 additional countries. Here's my updated map:

View My Book Retreat in a larger map

Book Review: 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form by Dom Sagolla

2011-11-30T15:04:00.001-05:00

Dom Sagolla was one of the very first users of Twitter ~ Twitter User #9. In 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form, Sagolla shares some tips on how to work within the short message format common to Twitter and other social media. He also offers a brief glimpse into the creation and development of Twitter, which I found to be quite interesting.

I picked this book up on a whim at the library one day. I figured that perhaps it would offer some innovative ways I could use Twitter to promote my blogs, since that is really the only reason I am on Twitter. But I have to say I was pretty disappointed with the book. It says on the back that the book is "for marketers and business owners" but honestly the examples and ideas Sagolla presents sound more like ways the everyday person can make themselves appear more interesting or cool on Twitter. He never really talks about how to market or promote a brand or product or service in 140 characters or less. So I didn't find the content to be very useful for my own purposes.

I also had a hard time with the writing style, which was rambling and disjointed ~ I felt like I was reading a book of tweets! He actually offers many, many examples of past tweets that are supposed to support his comments throughout the book. But there were quite a few tweets that made me stop and re-read all the copy around them to try to determine how they related at all to what he was discussing at the time. I couldn't always figure it out.

In the end, this book just was not for me. I think if you're extremely active on Twitter and are looking for a way to stand out and be more interesting, you may want to consider checking it out at your library. But if you're looking for advice on using Twitter as a marketing tool, I wouldn't recommend this one.

My Rating: 2/5

For more information, visit the book's website.

This review was written based on a copy of 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form that I borrowed from the library.

Picture Book Month: Week Four

2011-11-29T09:25:00.000-05:00

November is Picture Book Month, so I've decided to use my weekly recap of what my kids have been reading to highlight picture books. The Picture Book Month website features a calendar that offers themes for each day of the month. So each day, I'm reading a picture book from our shelves that goes along with the theme, and I'll compile the list of books we read here on the weekend (or a Tuesday when I'm running late - Ha!).

November 20: Folk and Fairytales
For this, I decided to go with M's favorite fairytale, Sleeping Beauty. But instead of reading the book we read last week for the dragons theme, I chose a book from our shelf that tells an older version of the fairytale rather than the Disney version. It tells the tale of the baby princess on whom the evil fairy places a curse that she will prick her finger on her 15th birthday and fall asleep for 100 years. This comes to pass and many years later, a prince kisses her and she awakens. They, of course, live happily ever after. It's definitely different than the Disney version, and this fascinated M quite a bit.

November 21: Monkeys
I had to choose one of my favorite books from my childhood for the monkey theme: Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. I just love this book and love sharing it with my kids. M read most of it with a little help, but I have to say I personally love to read it aloud myself. It's such a fun book with great rhythm!

November 22: Travel/World
We read The Polar Express last week, which I think qualifies as a travel book for kids! In the story, the little boy and several other kids hop aboard the train and travel to the North Pole, where they meet Santa and all his elves. The little boy is chosen as the recipient of the first Christmas gift of the year and he chooses a bell from Santa's sleigh. It's a wonderful story about believing in Santa and the kids really enjoyed it. I have to say I like the book much more than the movie.

November 23: Cooking/Food
For food, I chose The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear, which is a very cute story of a mouse who has a huge strawberry. But when the narrator tells him that there's a big hungry bear who loves strawberries and is going to come for his, the mouse tries to hide it. He locks it up and puts a disguise on it, but the narrator says the only way he can really keep it from the bear is to share it with him! It's a very cute story, although I would say the narrator is a bit selfish, but M really likes it.

November 24: Holiday
On Thanksgiving evening, we read a few holiday books, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We just recently bought this book. I'm surprised we didn't have it already. It's basically the same as the show we see on TV each year, with a few things missing that had been added into the show. It's classic Dr. Seuss wording and rhythm, and a great story about the mean Grinch stealing all the stuff that seems to represent Christmas, including all the gifts, decorations and food. But in the end the Whos in Whooville enjoy their Christmas and the Grinch has a change of heart.

November 25: Friendship
For friendship, we read Grandfather Tang's Story. You're supposed to play along with tangrams to make the pictures from the story, but unfortunately, we lost one of the pieces of our tangrams set, so we couldn't do that. (I did buy some for Christmas though, so we'll be able to next time.) Anyway, this is the story, told by a grandfather to his granddaughter, about two foxes who change themselves into all sorts of other animals, with one always chasing and trying to eat the other. It's actually a good story of friendship in the end, so I thought it worked well for this theme.

November 26: Zoo
For the zoo theme, we chose Put Me in the Zoo. This one is about a Dr. Seuss-like creature who wants to live in the zoo. He has spots all over him that he can do all sorts of things with, including putting them on other things, juggling them and changing their colors. But in the end, he realizes he doesn't really belong in the zoo. He would be much more welcome somewhere else.

We're now in the last few days of November, which means Picture Book Month is almost over. I'll share our last four books on Saturday.

I'm also linking up to What My Child Is Reading and Book Sharing Monday. Visit both for more ideas on books to read with your kids.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-11-28T12:39:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We didn't have to travel anywhere, so it was a very relaxing five days for us. My mom and I took the kids to see the Rockettes on Wednesday in Durham. And then she came to Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. My husband cooked, so that was nice! We got our Christmas tree up on Friday and the house all decorated throughout the weekend. So it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here...despite the 70 degree days!

The one big surprise is that I didn't really read much or write many blog posts. I figured with time off, I'd do more reading and blogging. But we ended up pretty busy with family stuff so that didn't happen.

I did finally finish reading The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I'll try to write up my review this week.

We're still reading picture books for Picture Book Month, but I didn't get around to writing my recap this weekend so I'll try to do that later today or tomorrow.

I officially announced my first year-long challenge: The Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge. If you enjoy reading nonfiction or want to try it out, sign up! You can read as few as 5 nonfiction books in 2012 and still qualify for the giveaway! I also put up my personal plans for the challenge.

And finally, I did write a review of The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. One of my favorites of the year ~ a great historical fiction novel!

Currently Reading
I'm currently reading two books: The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith and 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form by Dom Sagolla.

Up Next
I'm not sure what I'll read next, but I'm leaning toward Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett, which will count toward two different challenges I'm currently working on. It will also help get me in the holiday spirit!

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge: My Plan

2011-11-27T15:04:00.001-05:00

I'm officially signing up for my first 2012 reading challenge, and it's the one I'm hosting! I'm trying to hold off making a decision about other challenges until mid-December, although I do have a few I'm considering.

Anyway, for this one, there are four levels to choose from:
Elementary - 5 nonfiction books
Diploma - 10 nonfiction books
Bachelor's Degree - 15 nonfiction books
Master's Degree - 25 nonfiction books

I'm going for the Bachelor's Degree, which means I need to read 15 nonfiction books in 2012. Since I'm hosting, I feel like I should try for the highest level, but honestly I also want to be sure I actually complete my own challenge. So I'm going for the next one down.

I don't have an official list of books that I'm going to read because I know I will discover new books throughout the year. But here are some of the books on the list that I'm considering:

For more information about this challenge, visit Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge.

Book Review: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

2011-11-23T10:27:00.000-05:00

The story begins with a little girl who is hiding on a ship. It is clear that she has boarded the ship with a woman she calls The Authoress, but after waiting for a very long time, the little girl joins some other children in a game. Soon she is on the dock in Australia, all alone. No one from the ship or the town she has arrived in is there to claim her. The dockmaster and his wife take her in and raise her as their own. They name her Nell because she cannot remember her name. When Nell is 21 years old, her father tells her the truth. This sets the young woman off on a quest to discover who she really is.

In The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton slowly reveals the story through three points of view. First there is the story of Nell's research and travels to England as an adult in the 1970s. Then there is the story of her granddaughter, Cassandra's own travels in 2005 after her grandmother's death, as she tries to fill in the pieces Nell wasn't able to uncover. And finally, we travel all the way back to the early 1900s to learn more about Nell's real family, and the events that led to her being alone on that ship.

This book has sat on my shelf for more than a year. I always thought I would enjoy it, but it's much longer than the books I usually read so I held off reading it. I'm so glad I finally picked it up! This is a wonderful work of historical fiction. It's a family saga filled with a compelling mystery that keeps the pages turning. Morton brought the time and locales to life; I could visualize the streets of London at the turn of the century, the little cottage overrun by nature, and the beautiful gardens full of flowers and trees.

I just loved the fact that Morton included the fairy tales that are an integral part of the story. She didn't just tell us what they were about. She actually included them in full so we could read along with Cassandra and the other characters as they discovered the fairy tales themselves.

I highly recommend The Forgotten Garden to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and family sagas. It's a beautifully written story with fascinating characters and an engaging mystery that pulls you through the story from beginning to end. I will say I figured out a good deal of the mystery much sooner than the characters did, but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story.

My Rating: 5/5

For more information and to hear a reading of the first chapter, visit the author's website
Reading group guide

This review was written based on a copy of The Forgotten Garden that I obtained through Paperback Swap.

Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've decided to host a challenge to motivate myself and others to read more nonfiction. To make it more of a challenge, the Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge will exclude memoirs, which seem to be the most read type of nonfiction among the book blogs I follow. Instead, we'll focus on learning about a variety of different topics and discovering new facts. The challenge will run from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.

What Counts:
- Books can be any format (bound, ebook, audio) but must be written for adults or young adults.
- Books can cover many different topics, including science, technology, religion, sociology, business, biography, politics, economics, history, food, art/design, etc.
- How-to, self-help and travel books are permitted, as long as you actual read them cover to cover, and don't just use them as a reference.
- Crossovers with other challenges are permitted.

What Does Not Count:
- Reference books, cookbooks and instruction manuals that are not meant to be read cover to cover
- Essays and articles
- How-to, self-help or travel books that are not read cover to cover
- Memoirs, journals and autobiographies
- Books written for children
- Re-reads don't count since the point is to learn something new

Levels:
Elementary - 5 nonfiction books
Diploma - 10 nonfiction books
Bachelor's Degree - 15 nonfiction books
Master's Degree - 25 nonfiction books

Details:
- Write a starting post that states which level you will be working toward, including a link back to this post. You can include a list of books, but it is not required. Link to your post in the Linky below.
- If you don't have a blog, leave your information in the comments on this post.
- Reviews are not required, but I will have a post set up where you can link up to your reviews throughout the year.
- There will be quarterly update posts to which you can link up, and at least one giveaway at the end of the year. I may host others throughout the year as well. [Note to authors: I'll gladly accept your nonfiction books as giveaways.]
- A wrap-up post at the end of the year will be required to be considered for the final giveaway. If you don't have a blog, you'll need to comment on the wrap-up post with your accomplishments.
- You can sign up for this challenge through November 30, 2012.

This is my first time hosting a year-long challenge so please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions! And here's a button to grab for your sidebar:

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-11-21T12:11:00.001-05:00

I've been so busy with work this morning, I completely forgot it was Monday! Whoops! Hope you all had a good week. I cannot believe that next week when I write this post, our Christmas tree will be up. It just doesn't seem possible that it's Thanksgiving week already!

For the first time in several weeks, I did not manage to finish a book this week. I did read about 350 pages of The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. That's about the number of pages I read in a typical week, but I don't usually read books that are 500+ pages long! So I didn't manage to finish it yet, but I will soon.

I wrote two book reviews last week. The first was for Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. And the second was for Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

For the third week of Picture Book Month, I reviewed all the books my kids and I read that went along with the daily themes: pirates, dragons, pets, bedtime, jungle, school and farm were last week's themes.

I think I've decided to host a 2012 nonfiction reading challenge. Keep an eye out for my post about that, which I will put up this week. I've been hesitating because this will be my first time hosting a full-year challenge, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it now. Let me know if you think you'd have any interest in joining.

Currently Reading
As I mentioned, I'm still reading The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.

Up Next
The winner of last week's poll was The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith, so I'll be picking that one up next. I also picked up 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form by Dom Sagolla on a whim at the library yesterday. So I'll be reading that this week as well.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Picture Book Month: Week Three

2011-11-19T17:37:00.000-05:00

November 13: Pirates
For the pirates theme, we chose a Peter Pan Jigsaw Book that has been on our shelf for a long time but hasn't been read much. As a matter of fact, we had never even done any of the jigsaw puzzles in it before! It's one of those gifts that was forgotten. So the kids had fun with this book this week. It tells the story of Peter Pan and Wendy and the Lost Boys and, of course, Captain Hook and his pirates. It was fun to read the story to M for the first time, and both kids enjoyed the puzzles.

November 14: Dragons
For dragons, we pulled out one of M's favorites: Sleeping Beauty. Aurora is her favorite princess and this is the only book we have in the house that has a dragon in it. For those who aren't familiar, Maleficent, the evil fairy, turns herself into a dragon at the end and is defeated by Prince Philip, who goes on to kiss the sleeping princess and awaken her.

November 15: Pets
We had a few choices for pets, but I decided to pull a book that hasn't been read much. It's Salt & Pepper at the Pike Place Market, which I picked up at a book store in the Pike Place Market when I went to Seattle about a year ago. This is the story of two dogs who get accidentally switched while their owners shop in the market. It's a very cute story that M really enjoyed. I'm guessing we'll be reading this one more often now that she knows it's there on her shelf.

November 16: Bedtime
We had several options for the bedtime theme as well. I pulled out our collection of Little Golden Books and chose The Golden Sleepy Book. This starts with the story of a rabbit who swallows a bee while yawning. The bee falls asleep in his throat and he tries to figure out how to wake him and get him to fly out. He is finally told to make the smallest sound he can possibly make, because bees don't pay any attention to big sounds. Eventually he is able to get the bee to fly out, and he goes to sleep. This story is followed by several more pages of other animals going to sleep in their natural habitats. It's a nice little story about bedtime.

November 17: Jungle
Yet another new book was pulled from the shelf for the jungle theme. We have a Princess Collection book but at the back is Tarzan: You'll Always Be in My Heart. This is about Tarzan meeting Jane and trying to convince her to stay in the jungle with him. We meet his gorilla mother and the other animals he has grown up with, and we learn of his conflict between his loyalty to his jungle family and his connection to the humans he has now met. It was fun to introduce M to a classic story she hadn't read before.

November 18: School
For school, I chose a fun book: Splat the Cat. This is about Splat the cat going to school for the first time. He is very nervous so he tries many different tactics to avoid going to school. Eventually, he makes it to school with his pet mouse hidden in his lunchbox to keep him company. But one of the first lessons he learns is that cats chase mice. And when the mouse gets out of his lunchbox, things get a little crazy. But in the end, the mouse actually saves the day, and the teacher makes a slight change to their lesson.

November 19: Farm
The farm theme was an easy one. We chose Charlie the Ranch Dog, a story about a dog who works on a farm. He talks about how much work has to be done and the fact that he is very busy. But through the illustrations, we see that Charlie really is not very busy at all. It's the other dog on the farm that's doing all the work! Charlie spends most of his time eating and napping! But in the end, he does save the day. This is a very cute, funny story with some beautiful illustrations.

I'm also linking up to What My Child Is Reading and Book Sharing Monday. Visit both for more ideas on books to read with your kids.

Book Review: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Throughout history, there are people who stand out, people who excel dramatically more than others, people who would be considered outliers. So what is it that makes a person into an outlier? Are they born with some outstanding quality that no one else has? Are they handed opportunities that others don't receive? Are they simply lucky?

In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell explores what really makes someone successful. For many, it's the timing of their birth, whether it be the year or the month that matters most to the career path they take. For others, it's the nature of their culture and the beliefs with which they are raised. For still others, it's a combination of many little things throughout their lives that build and grow to form a foundation on which they are able to rise above the rest of their peers.

Gladwell highlights many fascinating examples from outliers within many different fields such as technology, business, law and sports. I found it quite interesting to read about why most of the best hockey players are born in January, and why many of the wealthiest people throughout history were born within a short period of time. It's a fun book to read, offering unique tidbits of information about what leads some people to success.

I didn't find Outliers to have a great impact on me, though. While the information Gladwell presents is interesting and will likely make for a full discussion at my book club meeting this week, I ended it with a feeling of, "Okay. That's interesting." And that's about it.

My Rating: 3/5

For more information, visit the author's website.
Read an excerpt.
Reading group guide

This review was written based on a copy of Outliers that I borrowed from the library.

Book Review: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

As children, Larry and Silas are brought together and soon become friends, despite their parents' objections to their spending time together. They enjoy a summer of adventures in the woods around their homes but just as quickly as it begins, the friendship is broken. When they are teenagers, Larry takes a girl on a date to a movie and she goes missing. He is never charged with a crime, but he spends his life isolated from everyone in the small town because of their suspicions. Silas leaves town soon after, but returns as constable many years later. Another girl goes missing and Larry is once again a prime suspect. As Silas tries to uncover the truth of the missing girl, as well as a few other interesting cases, we slowly uncover the details behind their friendship and what tore it apart.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin is a mystery, but definitely not a thriller. It's much quieter than that. Much more literary. I found the story to be compelling and the characters to be interesting, but the way the novel was written just didn’t pull me in as much as I had expected. It was well-written, but perhaps the style of writing didn’t work for me. Or maybe it was the pace. It’s funny because within the first couple of chapters, a person is shot, a dead body is found and we learn of two different missing girls. This seems like a strong beginning, but it isn’t as exciting as it sounds. There was more description of these events than action. There was also a lot of reflection on the part of the characters, which is nice, but it can slow things down a bit.

With all that said, when I sit back and think of this novel as a whole, I really did enjoy it. I'm glad I read it. And I am still contemplating adding it to my list of options for my book club. I think there are several interesting topics to discuss: racism in the south, family issues and bullying to name a few. I just think it was a bit slower than I had expected, and didn’t have quite the impact I thought it might have since so many people had recommended it.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Read an excerpt
Reading group guide

This review was written based on a copy of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter that I purchased.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-11-14T10:09:00.001-05:00

Good morning. I hope you've had a nice week. I am finally able to say I'm not sick. Well, I did still have to use the inhaler this morning, and had my last dose of Prednisone this morning, but I really am feeling much, much better. Finally!

I spent quite a bit of time reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton this week, and finished it on Saturday. I'm so glad I finally read it. What a unique and interesting story.

I wrote up my review of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Now I just have a backlog of three more reviews to write. Ugh!

Last week, I also shared Scholastic's list of the Hottest New Children's Books of the 2011 Holiday Season. I'm really hoping to buy books for most of the children on my list. The only issue is knowing what they've already read!

For the second week of Picture Book Month, I reviewed all the books my kids and I read that went along with the daily themes: transportation, birds, monsters, gardens, mice, chickens and sea were last week's themes.

And finally, I joined one last 2011 book challenge (I'm refusing to join any for 2012 until mid-December). I'm going to participate in The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge, which sounds like fun!

Currently Reading
I put up a poll last week and The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak received every single vote, so I will be starting that one tonight. I'm looking forward to it!

Up Next
Help me decide what to read next. These are the remaining books on my Fall Into Reading Challenge list. Which should I choose?
What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Picture Book Month: Week Two

2011-11-12T15:32:00.000-05:00

November 6: Transportation
When I saw the theme of transportation, I had to pull out Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. This is a book that my husband and I both remember from childhood, so we've shared it with our kids as well. I wasn't feeling well enough to read the entire book to M on the 6th, so instead, we went through each page looking for Goldbug, who hides among the cars and trucks. She went through this exercise several times throughout the week, and I did finally get a chance to read the whole story to her by the end of the week.

November 7: Birds
For this theme, I picked one of our duck books: The Hungry Duckling. This is a very cute story of a little duck who hatches with several chicks while his mother is taking a swim. He is hungry but can't pick up the little grain that the chicks are eating, so he takes a walk to find something else to eat. Along the way, he meets several other animals and tries to eat what they eat, but isn't satisfied until he meets a kingfisher who introduces him to fish! It's a nice story and a great way to learn what different types of animals eat.

November 8: Monsters
We don't have many books that feature monsters, but we do have a couple that feature Grover, who is actually a monster. So we read Grover Takes Care of Baby for this theme. This is one of M's favorite books. She has always loved babies so she loves seeing the little Baby Monster and hearing how Grover helps feed her and give her a bath and put her to bed. It's a sweet story, typical of Sesame Street stories.

November 9: Gardens/Gardening
This one is a bit of a stretch since I couldn't find any books on our shelf that are really about gardening. So we chose A Tale of Two Goats, which is more about farming, but the two farmers grow cabbage and turnips, so they're more like gardens than full-fledged farms! Anyway, in this book, there are two farmers who live next to each other but never talk. They each have a goat, and the goats are great friends. This is good since the goat whose farmer grows cabbages prefers turnips, and the goat whose farmer grows turnips prefers cabbages. But when the farmers find out the goats are swapping food, they try all they can to stop them. It's a very silly story, but a great message about friendship.

November 10: Mice
I couldn't resist pulling Library Mouse off the shelf for this theme. It's one of my favorite books so I love to read it to the kids. C said he recently read a second book in the series at school. I'll have to find it! In any event, this is the story of a mouse who lives in the library and starts to write books. The librarian and children want to know who is writing all these wonderful stories, so they set up a Meet the Author session. But the little mouse shows them that they can all be authors themselves. It's a wonderful story for anyone who loves books!

November 11: Chickens
This was another stretch in terms of theme. I couldn't find anything related to chickens on our shelf, but I did find Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams, which has a story within it about Princess Aurora being left in charge of the kingdom for the day. Merryweather lets her borrow her magic wand, and at one point, Aurora accidentally fills the room with giant chickens! It's a cute princess story so M definitely liked it. And I guess it sort of related to the chickens theme!

November 12: Sea
And yet another stretch. I think I need to give up on finding all the books on our shelves, although it has been a fun challenge. So for the sea theme, I chose This Land is Your Land. It's basically the old song by Woody Guthrie incorporated into a picture book. It's a great geography lesson with illustrations of all sorts of different areas of the United States, including seas, of course.

I'm also linking up to What My Child Is Reading and Book Sharing Monday. Visit both for more ideas on books to read with your kids.

Book Review: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

2011-11-10T16:45:00.000-05:00

As Henry Lee walks past the Panama Hotel, a landmark that has been boarded up for decades, he is pulled into the excitement of the crowd that has gathered to see what has been found locked away in the basement all these years. It turns out that the belongings of many Japanese families who were sent to internment camps during World War II were stored in the basement and never reclaimed after the war. This discovery takes Henry back to his childhood in the 1940s, and his loving friendship with Keiko, a Japanese girl who was lost to him during the war.

In Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford has developed a wonderful story of friendship, family, history, and the struggle between two generations with different beliefs. He easily transitions from the 1940s, when Henry befriends Keiko, the only other Asian at his all-white private school, to the 1980s, when a grown Henry finds himself searching for a lost treasure among the bags at the hotel. We slowly learn more about Henry's past that was dominated by a father who was obsessed with the war in China, as he deals with his wife's recent death and his relationship with his own grown son.

While I have read quite a few books that take place during World War II, I have never read one that focused on the Japanese-Americans during that time. I think Ford does an excellent job of presenting their situation ~ the loss of property, business and social standing, as well as the conditions inside the camps. I personally learned a great deal about this time in American history.

The relationship between Henry and Keiko was a bit strong for the age they were meant to be during the story. I think it would have worked better for me if they were closer to 15 or 16 years old. And there were a few details in the modern storyline that were inaccurate (like the fact that his son was supposedly using online support groups in the 1980s). But overall, this was a very enjoyable work of historical fiction that really touched me. Yes, I even cried at the end ~ and books don't generally make me cry.

My Rating: 4/5

For more information, visit the author's website
Read an excerpt
Reading group guide

This review was written based on an ebook copy of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet that I purchased.

The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

2011-11-09T16:00:00.000-05:00

I'm joining one last reading challenge for 2011. It's the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge hosted by The True Book Addict at The Christmas Spirit blog. The challenge runs from November 21, 2011 through January 6, 2012. I've decided to join at the Candy Cane Level, which means I need to read one Christmas book during this period. I'm also signing up for the additional Visions of Sugar Plums level, which means I need to read Christmas books with my children and share what we read.

For the one adult novel, I'm going to read Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett, which I got from NetGalley. I'm looking forward to it because I read another Christmas book by Bennett last year (The Christmas Gift) and really enjoyed it.

For the books I read with my kids, I'm sure the list will vary. But here are the ones we have on our shelves and will definitely read:

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson
Mortimer's Christmas Manager by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

The Hottest New Children's Books of the 2011 Holiday Season

2011-11-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how quickly the holiday season seems to be approaching. And I haven't even started Christmas shopping yet! Not a single gift bought. Yikes! So when I received this information from Scholastic, I was very excited as I love to give books as Christmas gifts for kids.

This is a list of the books the children’s book experts from Scholastic Book Clubs and Scholastic Book Fairs believe will be the most popular new children’s books for the 2011 holiday season. I'll definitely be using these lists as a guide to purchase books for my kids, and the other children I buy for this year!

Scholastic’s Holiday Gift List for Kids

Picture Books

10 Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Lois Ehlert (Simon & Schuster)
Can You See What I See? Toyland Express written and illustrated by Walter Wick (Scholastic)
If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond (HarperCollins)
The Man in the Moon written and illustrated by William Joyce (Simon & Schuster)
Pinkalicious: The Princess of Pink Treasury written and illustrated by Victoria Kann (HarperCollins)

Clickhere for full list

Transitional Readers and Chapter Books

Clementine and The Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee (Disney Hyperion Books)
Fly Guy: Fly Guy vs. The Flyswatter! by Tedd Arnold (Scholastic)
Magic Tree House: Dogs in the Dead of Night by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca (Random House)
Rainbow Magic: Magical Holiday Boxed Set by Daisy Meadows (Scholastic)
Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers by Dav Pilkey, George Beard, and Harold Hutchins (Scholastic)

Click here for full list

Middle Grade Fiction

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney (Abrams)
The Heroes of Olympus, Book Two: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion Books)
The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers Book 2: A King's Ransom by Jude Watson (Scholastic)
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (Scholastic)
Wonderstruck written and illustrated by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)

Clickhere for full list

Young Adult Fiction

Crossed by Ally Condie (Penguin)
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini (Random House)
Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books)
The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxed Set by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic)

Clickhere for full list

Nonfiction

How Cool Is This: An Up-close, Inside Look at How Things Work (DK Publishing)
The Hugo Movie Companion: A Behind the Scenes Look at How a Beloved Book Became a Major Motion Picture by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)
Lego Harry Potter: Building The Magical World (DK Publishing)
Lego Star Wars Character Encyclopedia (DK Publishing)
Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Special Edition 2012 (Scholastic)

Click here for full list

These books are available through Scholastic Book Clubs and Scholastic Book Fairs in schools and online at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs.When you purchase these or any other books through Book Clubs and Book Fairs you are helping out your child’s school. Teachers are awarded bonus points through Scholastic Book Clubs to purchase books and materials for their classrooms, and schools raise money through their Book Fairs to support the school community. If a title from Scholastic’s holiday gift list is not available through your child’s Scholastic Book Club or Scholastic Book Fair, check with your child’s teacher or visit a book retailer or library.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-11-07T09:22:00.000-05:00

Good morning. I hope you've had a great week. I, unfortunately, have not. I started the week not feeling well and have gotten progressively worse as the week has gone on. I went to the doctor on Saturday and got some prescription cough medicine and antihistamine but I swear I'm worse now! I'm starting to wonder if I should just go back to the Mucinex D I was taking before I went to the doctor! I do have antibiotics now, too, since it seems to have turned into a sinus infection. I took the second dose today so hopefully I'll be on the mend soon...

So what does that have to do with books? Well, it means I had absolutely no energy, as the week wore on, to think clearly and write up reviews. I now have a backlog of three books I need to review. I rarely do this because I have a hard time remembering what I wanted to write about. But hopefully when I finally feel up to writing, I'll remember!

I finished Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell last week. I also finished Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. So I did get quite a bit of reading done.

I also wrote up my Month in Review post earlier in the week when I wasn't feeling so bad.

And I did write one review early in the week as well: The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen.

Finally, I put together a review of the picture books we've read so far for Picture Book Month.

Currently Reading
I've read about a quarter of The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I'm really enjoying it, which is good since it's a very long book. It's been on my shelf for so long because I thought it would take me forever to read it. But it's actually turning into a fairly "quick" read.

Up Next
Help me decide what to read next. Which should I choose?
What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Picture Book Month: Week One

2011-11-05T16:16:00.000-04:00

November 1: Alphabet
For this theme, we chose what I consider to be one of the best ABC books out there: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I just love the fact that it incorporates both capital letters (in the text) and lower case letters (in the illustrations) so kids can see both and make the connections. I also love the rhythm of the story: "A told B and B told C I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree!" It's just so fun to read. And this week, M read the entire book all by herself, so it was even more fun to listen to!

November 2: Outer Space
C's school is having their Scholastic Book Fair this week and the theme is related to outer space. So I donated just about all of our space-related books for the display in the library. However, I did find one book on M's shelf that fit the outer space theme: Glamour Girl from the Stars. This is a book I got for review last year. It's about an alien girl who comes to Earth to enter the Miss Universe pageant. But she ends up traveling all around the different countries first, before finally getting to the competition. It has more of an older kid message about being true to yourself, but it's a fun story to read.

November 3: Seasons
For the topic of seasons, we chose I Am a Bunny. This is one of our favorites. I just love the vibrant colors and pictures throughout the book. It's about a bunny named Nicholas who lives in a tree. He talks about all the things he likes to do during each of the four seasons. It's an excellent study of the seasons, with lots of cute animals and images of flowers, colorful fall leaves and snow. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

November 4: Bears
We had a few books to choose from for this theme, but went with The Bear Who Didn't Like Honey. This is a cute story of a bear who has many fears, so he says he doesn't like things like honey and swimming in the water instead of admitting his fears. In the end, he saves a little bear and finally admits his fears, and faces them. It's a cute story with a decent message about facing fears.

November 5: Colors
This is a bit of a stretch in terms of the theme, but we chose Go, Dog, Go for the colors theme because it does feature many different colors and gives kids an opportunity to read several color words. We really love this book, and M is able to read it now, which makes it even more fun. In addition to all the color words, there are also lots of sight words, repetition and other basic words that will help young kids learn to read. This is definitely one of our favorite books!

I'm also linking up to What My Child Is Reading and Book Sharing Monday. Visit both for more ideas on books to read with your kids.

Month in Review: October 2011

2011-11-01T12:54:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe October has come and gone already. It will be Christmas before we know it! And I've been seeing announcements about 2012 reading challenges in my Google Reader feed already. I just can't bring myself to sign up for anything yet, though! I'm determined to wait until December to sign up for the new year's challenges.

Here's what happened in October in terms of reading and reviewing. I participated in three different read-a-thons so I got a lot of reading done.

Books Read in October: 7
I read seven books in October. Six were fiction novels:
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Beyond the Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley, II
Commune of Women by Suzan Still
The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

And one was a memoir:
Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans

Reviews Written: 7
This month, I wrote seven reviews. The first is for a book I read in September: The Sandburg Connection by Mark de Castrique. The others are for six of the books I read in October. You can click on the links above to read them.

Interviews: 1
Interview with author Ray Evans

I Want More Book Challenge
I realized a few weeks ago that I had been tracking these books improperly. I had been including books in series, but we aren't supposed to do that. So, I have a lot more work to do on this one! I'll be focusing on it more over the next two months.

Fall into Reading Challenge
I've been doing well with this challenge. I've read seven books for this challenge so far, and I'm halfway through the eighth. I started with a list of 15 books to read by December 21st so I'm about halfway there.

Where Am I Reading Challenge
In October, I didn't add any new states to my map of where I am reading. I did read my first book that took place in Australia and two that took place in Wales, so I have two new countries on my map. I've added these places to my map:
Australia
Wales (2)
Pennsylvania
California
Washington
Washington, DC
That leaves me at 19 out of 50 states covered, plus 11 additional countries. Here's my updated map:

View My Book Retreat in a larger map

Book Review: The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen

2011-10-31T15:49:00.003-04:00

In the future, people refer to the time in which they live as the Perfect Present. There is no war. There is no conflict. There is no hunger. People live in peace. And they want to keep it that way. So when a group of people, referred to as hags, find a way to return to the past in an effort to change major historical events ~ such as the Holocaust and the terrorist acts of 9/11 ~ the government starts sending their own people back to stop them.

In The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen, Zed/Troy Jones is a government operative who is responsible for stopping the hags. His job is to make sure that every major event, even the most horrific events in our history, take place as they are supposed to, so the Perfect Present is protected. On this particular trip, he has returned to our present to ensure the Great Conflagration, which will wipe out much of our society, happens as planned. Here his path crosses those of Tasha, a lawyer who recently lost her brother in an ongoing war, and Leo, a disillusioned ex-government agent who now gathers intelligence for a private firm.

Mullen brings us into the minds of each of these three characters, who find themselves interconnected in a situation that none of them fully understands. While this is definitely a suspenseful thriller, there's actually a lot more introspection among the three characters than there is action. Each is faced with making a difficult decision that will affect not only their own future but that of others as well. Do they go along with what they are expected to do, or do they do what they feel is right? This is the question they each have to answer, and the consequences of their actions could be profound.

The Revisionists is a very thought-provoking novel. It's hard to characterize people as right or wrong, or good or bad, in this story. And even the characters struggle with determining what actions are the "right" ones to take. Is it better to choose the path that leads to the known, or to stray from it and take a chance on the unknown? When we make a commitment of loyalty to an employer, what happens when our morals come in conflict with that job? And is it okay to go against the law and societal norms if you're honestly trying to make a positive difference in someone's life? These are just some of the issues that Zed/Troy, Tasha and Leo face in The Revisionists.

I found this to be a fascinating story. While there wasn't a lot of action, I felt the pace of the novel was fine. I will say only a small portion of the novel takes place in the future, so don't expect a futuristic sci-fi thriller. The majority of it takes place in our time, where we are able to see our world from the perspective of someone from the future. The only thing I wasn't crazy about is the fact that everything wasn't tied up neatly at the end. But overall, I definitely enjoyed The Revisionists, and I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in a real thought-provoking thriller.

Rating: 4/5

For more information, visit the author's website.
Read an excerpt

This review was written based on an ebook copy of The Revisionists that I received from Mulholland Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-10-31T09:59:00.000-04:00

Good morning and Happy Halloween! I've been looking forward to this day since the kids are so excited for trick or treating, but now I'm sick with what I think is the start of a head cold. I'm hoping I feel better tonight but have my doubts. It's also supposed to rain later. It hasn't rained on Halloween in years, so I guess it was bound to happen at some point. Of course, I should be happy we won't be trudging through snow to go trick or treating!

This week, I finished reading The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen. It was a very interesting and thought-provoking novel. I hope to have my review this week.

I also read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford this week. That was a story of love during the Japanese-American internment in the 1940s. I hope to have time to review it this week as well.

I wrote a review of Beyond the Darkness, book two of the Darkness series by Leonard D. Hilley, II.

And I shared some Eric Carle books my daughter has been reading this week.

Currently Reading
I didn't read anymore of Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, so I'm still about halfway done with it. I plan to finish it this week since it's due back to the library. I also started Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin, which won the poll I put up earlier in the week.

Up Next
Help me decide what to read next. Which should I choose?
What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

What My Children Are Reading: Eric Carle

2011-10-29T20:24:00.000-04:00

I thought about sharing all of the Halloween books we've been reading this week but honestly, most of our favorites are ones we read last year too. So I'm just going to direct you to my Great Halloween Books post from last year, where I reviewed Where's My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi, Skeleton Meets the Mummy by Steve Metzger, 10 Trick or Treaters by Janet Schulman, and Diego's Halloween Party by Brooke Lindner.

This week, in addition to reading those Halloween books, we also read several Eric Carle books. Last weekend, M picked out four books by Eric Carle at the library, and we already own The Very Hungry Caterpillar. So I figured I'd review the others.

The Very Busy Spider was perfect for this week because M's theme at Pre-K was Bats and Spiders. She even took this book to school on Thursday and read it to her class. She had read it once with help from me at home and her teacher said she did a great job. This is about a spider who is busy spinning her web. Other animals want her to do things with them, but she keeps spinning her web. It's an easy book to read, with lots of repetition for early readers.

Rooster's Off to See the World was another favorite. M even made a rooster of her own, which I wrote about on Just Playin' Around. This is the story of Rooster, who decides to go on a walk to see the world. Several other animals join him, but in the end, when they get cold, hungry or tired, they return home. Eventually, Rooster realizes he'd be much happier at home as well. I guess the message is that there's no place like home.

Little Cloud was an adorable book that I hadn't seen before. The illustrations are a little different ~ they are all painted in white. It's about a little cloud that turns itself into all sorts of different things as he drifts away from the other clouds. He becomes an airplane and a tree and a shark and a variety of other things. Then he joins up with the other clouds at the end to make rain. Like The Very Busy Spider, this book has shorter sentences and M was able to read a lot of it.

A House for the Hermit Crab is another new one for us. This has a lot more text on each page. It's definitely a read aloud in our home. It's about a hermit crab who finds a new home, but it's too plain. So he invites several creatures to join him on his home, including a sea urchin, star fish, coral and many others. It would make a great companion to a study of sea creatures, actually. It's much longer to read than most of the Eric Carle books we have, but it's quite educational and has a nice message about friendship and respect.

I also wanted to mention that starting next week, I'm going to be sharing picture books that we read in honor of Picture Book Month, which takes place throughout November. The Picture Book Month website has a calendar that features themes for each day of the month. We're going to read along with the calendar and then report on our books each weekend. So, next weekend will be books about the alphabet, outer space, seasons, bears and colors. I hope you enjoy it, and I encourage you to read more picture books in the coming month!

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

Book Review: Beyond the Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley II

2011-10-26T13:05:00.000-04:00

It's hard to review a second book in a series without giving away some of the details of how the first book ends, namely who lives and where they end up. I've tried to only mention two names, but if you haven't read Predators of Darkness: Aftermath, proceed with caution when it comes to reading this review. I have tried very hard to be a bit vague while also providing a review and opinion on the book.

Beyond the Darkness picks up three years after the last book ended. The survivors of the last book have moved on with their lives, finding a place for themselves within the society in which they now live. But Daniel has had a hard time adapting to this new life. He continues to look around corners and wait for the shifters to return. His friends say he's being too paranoid, but he can't help it. He feels like something is going to happen. Then he gets a call from Lucas, who has been arrested for murder. He insists his clone has come back and framed him for the crime, and he wants Daniel to help him.

While Beyond the Darkness takes place in an environment that is more modern than distopian, it is still filled with plenty of sci-fi aspects, including more shifters, and lots of action. This time, though, there's more at stake as Daniel has a family to protect.

Once again, it's hard to figure out who is good and who is bad ~ even some of the "bad" guys have some redeeming qualities and understandable reasons for doing the things they do. There's also a lot more reflection on the part of the different characters about decisions they've made and the direction of their lives. We get to know some of the characters more deeply in this novel, and now I want to know what happens to them in the third novel of the series: A Game of Pawns. Beyond the Darkness end with plenty of loose ends that will need to be tied up in that book.

If you like sci-fi novels, I highly recommend the Darkness series by Leonard D. Hilley II. This second book wasn't quite as amazing as I found the first, but I'm loving the series in general, and looking forward to reading the third book!

My Rating: 4/5

My review of Predators of Darkness: Aftermath
My interview with Leonard D. Hilley II

Read an excerpt of Predators of Darkness: Aftermath
Read an excerpt of Beyond the Darkness

This review was written based on an ebook copy of Beyond the Darkness that I received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

What Should I Read Next?

2011-10-25T14:58:00.000-04:00

I decided to try putting a poll into a blog post. Hopefully it works. Please take a few seconds to vote. In the future, if this works, I'm going to add this to my It's Monday! What Are You Reading? post each week to get your opinions on my book choices.

While you're here, leave a comment and let me know what you think of this idea.

What should I read next?

And if you're interested, this is where I got the details on How to Add a Poll to a Blogger Post.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-10-24T09:48:00.001-04:00

Good morning. I hope you had a wonderful week. Mine was busy but fun. I participated in the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon, which didn't go all that well for me. (Read my wrap-up here.) And I also participated in the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon, which was more successful for me. (Read my wrap-up here.) I think I've learned that I don't do well with short read-a-thons. I need those longer, 3-day or week-long read-a-thons. The 24-hour one really put the pressure on, making reading feel like a chore instead of fun. I know a lot of people love it, but I don't think I'll do that one again.

Anyway, here's what's been going on around here.

I hosted an interview with Ray Evans, author of Before the Last All Clear.

I finished reading Commune of Women by Suzan Still, and wrote a review for that. You can click on the title to read the review.

I also reviewed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

I shared some pictures of all the bookshelves we have in our house as part of the weekly Fall Into Reading Challenge Q&A.

And I celebrated my second Blogiversary last week, giving away a copy of my favorite book so far this year, The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen, to one of my followers, Marce from Tea Time with Marce.

And finally, I shared some books my kids have been reading.

Currently Reading
I'm almost done with The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen. I'm also about halfway through Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Up Next
I'm going to move on to Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford next.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up

2011-10-24T08:56:00.003-04:00

This weekend, I participated in the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon, which was hosted by Bex at Kindle Fever and April at My Shelf Confessions. It went from Friday through Sunday. Unfortunately, I got a headache on Saturday night so didn't do a lot of reading on Sunday, but I still managed to read quite a bit.

I had hoped to finish The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen, but I ended up picking up another book to read simultaneously, so I didn't end up finishing it. I did read 283 pages of the book, so that was good. And I read 124 pages of Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, which means I read a total of 407 pages during the read-a-thon. I had hoped to read 600+ and I would have if I didn't get that headache. But I am pretty happy with how much I did end up reading.

I also participated in a couple challenges, including Creep Me Out at Kindle Fever, Read in Pictures at The Book Monsters.

It was a fun read-a-thon, but I wish I had been able to participate in more of the challenges and Twitter chats. I just had more going on this weekend than I had expected.

Dewey's Readathon Wrap-Up

2011-10-23T13:48:00.007-04:00

Here I am finally wrapping up my experience with the 24 Hour Readathon.

Which hour was most daunting for you? I have to say the 17th hour was the worst. I had a headache but kept trying to keep reading and that was a huge mistake. I didn't make it to the end of that hour and went to sleep. Unfortunately, I woke this morning with a really, really bad headache. I should have stopped reading much earlier.
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I can't personally, but I do know that if I ever do this readathon again, I will be reading several short books instead of the long ones I chose. I would have felt better if I could have finished something.
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Not really.
What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Unfortunately, I didn't participate so much this year but I love all the cheerleaders and mini challenges.
How many books did you read? I didn't finish any. I mostly focused on one and read about 200 pages of it.
What were the names of the books you read? The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
Which book did you enjoy most? I guess that would be The Revisionists. :-)
Which did you enjoy least? It turned into a big obligation this year and that made it less fun. I shouldn't have put so much pressure on myself to complete the readathon, especially when I started getting the headache.
If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? N/A
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Honestly, I don't know that I'll do the 24 hour readathon again. It's just not conducive to my life at this time. I'm much better about week-long readathons and enjoy them a lot more.

Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon: Read in Pictures Challenge

2011-10-23T13:39:00.000-04:00

The Book Monsters is hosting a challenge for the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon, and since my head hurts and I don't feel like reading right now, I figured I'd participate. We're supposed to share pictures that describe the books we've been reading for the read-a-thon.

I've been reading two books simultaneously, and still hope to finish one today. We'll see. The first is The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen, which takes place mostly in Washington, D.C.

And I've been reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, which is about people who are successful. So here are some pictures that reflect that book: Bill Joy, The Beatles and J. Robert Oppenheimer, all considered "outliers" by the author.

What My Children Are Reading

2011-10-23T10:55:00.001-04:00

We got some good books from the library a couple weeks ago, but I haven't taken time to share them. So here I am today, finally.

The first one I want to mention is Pooh Goes Visiting by A.A. Milne. I have to admit that we really haven't read a lot of Winnie the Pooh books in the past, but I always see people raving about them, so I figured we'd try one out. This was in the early reader section of the library, but it's definitely above M's level. So I read it to her. It's the story of Pooh going to visit Rabbit, eating a bit too much, and getting stuck in Rabbit's front door. It's a very cute story, typical of Winnie the Pooh, and M really loved it. I picked up Tigger Comes to the Forest yesterday, but we're not enjoying that one nearly as much.

The other book that M really enjoyed this week is one that I've probably mentioned before, but have to keep saying how great this series is. It's I Broke My Trunk! by Mo Willems. As with other Piggie and Elephant books, this one makes us laugh so much. Gerald, the elephant, has broken his trunk and Piggie is trying to figure out how he did it. M loves to read these books, and C still does too. They're silly and quite easy to read, so they really hold their interest and make them want to read.

C has been reading more of the Secrets of Droon books, so it's hard to update you on that. I highly recommend it for elementary aged boys though. It's a great series that he's really enjoying.

He also read Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon last week. I decided to read it myself after he was done. His cousin had given it to him, and she had read it in fourth or fifth grade, so I wanted to see what it was all about. It's a cute story of Danny, a dragon, who gets a bad grade on a paper about the ocean because he didn't bother to really research it. His teacher gives him a chance to do it over, so he and his friend, an iguana, head off to see his uncle, a sea serpent, and get an up-close view of the ocean. It's a very cute book, but way above C's reading level. We made a long list of words he didn't know from the first chapter alone. Yet, he still enjoyed it. His teacher says he's now reading at an end-of-3rd-grade level, so I'd say this would be better for kids reading at a 4th or 5th grade level.

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

Read-a-Thon Update

2011-10-22T21:13:00.003-04:00

I haven't been able to participate in the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon nearly as much as I had hoped to, but now I'm in it for the long haul. I don't think I'll make it more than 5 hours max, but that's my plan. I'm also still working on the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon. That started yesterday, and I managed to read 115 pages of The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. That was a last-minute addition to my readathon list since I picked it up at the library yesterday!

This morning, I started the Dewey's Readathon as well, and I'm here to respond to the Mid-Event Survey.

1. What are you reading right now?
I'm reading The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen

2. How many books have you read so far?

None yet. I've been focusing on the The Revisionists but haven't had a lot of time to read. So I'm finally getting into it now.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm looking forward to getting through these two books I have on tap for the read-a-thon. I'd love to start reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet before I finish up. But I don't know if that will happen.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
I did not. Which is why I haven't been reading much today, unfortunately.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Lots of interruptions and I didn't handle them well.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
I'm surprised I haven't had much time to blog about what I'm reading, and I'm not feeling up to taking the time to blog a lot and participate in the memes honestly. I haven't had a lot of time to read, so when I have the time, I just want to read!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not really. I think it's well done.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
As I'm sure I said last year, I would carve out the time to read instead of trying to carry on with all my normal activities as well.

9. Are you getting tired yet?
I'm tired but it's because I had a couple glasses of wine when I had some friends over earlier, not from reading. I thought it would be nice to have another glass while reading, but then decided it will make me too sleepy!

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Not really. I look forward to reading some tips from others!

Starting Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

2011-10-22T09:13:00.001-04:00

I'm at the hair salon but officially starting the readathon while I get my hair done. I plan to finish The Outliers and The Revisionists by 8:00 tomorrow morning. I have about 175 pages to read in The Outliers and 350 in The Revisionists. Wish me luck!

I can't figure out how to add links on this Blogger app so here's the URL for the readathon: http://24hourreadathon.com.

I forgot I'm suppose to answer questions so...

I'm reading from the salon this morning then from home the rest if the day and night.

Three random facts about me:
- I'm a mom of two kids.
- I'm a marketing writer and editor.
- I'm old enough to have to be at the salon getting the gray hairs covered up!

I have two books to read in the next 24 hours, as I mentioned above.

My goal is just to finish those two books.

My advice for those who are carrying on with normal life while doing the readathon, as I am, is to carry your book with you everywhere and use those little moments to read throughout the day.

Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon

2011-10-21T08:58:00.000-04:00

Today marks the start of the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon, which is hosted by Bex at Kindle Fever and April at My Shelf Confessions. The read-a-thon goes through midnight on Sunday night. As with most read-a-thons, I haven't really carved time out of my life to read, but I'm going to read more than usual during these next three days. I also am participating in the Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon (Sat at 8am - Sun at 8am) so I'll be reading extra during that time, particularly Saturday night.

Anyway, here's what I have on tap for the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon:

First, I need to finish The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen. I'm starting the read-a-thon on page 49 so I need to read another 358 pages to finish. Then I'll move on to Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. That is 298 pages long. I think it's reasonable to say I can read these two books by the end of the weekend. That would be 656 pages. If by some miracle I get through both, I will pick up Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon. I highly doubt that will happen though. We'll see.

I'll be keeping track of pages, rather than hours. I have found with past read-a-thons that I fit reading in at all sorts of odd times throughout the day, so keeping track of hours just doesn't work for me.

There's still time to sign up for the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon. Signups will be open until Saturday at midnight.

Book Review: Commune of Women by Suzan Still

2011-10-20T18:00:00.000-04:00

Six women embark on Los Angeles International Airport for various reasons ~ some arriving, some preparing to depart, some just passing through. None are expecting the chaos and horror that ensues when a terrorist group sweeps through the terminal, shooting everyone and everything in sight. Each woman finds herself thrust into a small break room for airport workers, and there they stay for four days as they wait to learn their fate.

In Commune of Women, Suzan Still delves into the psyche of women who come from diverse backgrounds to see the similarities and differences in how they react to a life-threatening experience. She also brings us into the mind of a seventh woman, Najat, who comes in with the terrorists, but is left alone in an airport control room, watching the events unfold on security cameras and TV. Her story was probably the most interesting of all to me. I really enjoyed reading her portion of the novel from beginning to end.

To pass the time and ease their nerves, each woman in the break room takes a turn sharing a story of her life, many of which are deeply personal stories of heartache and tough times. Through these stories, we get to know each character in more depth, and can better understand why they react the way they do as they wait for rescue or death to come.

As with most novels that feature multiple characters like this, I enjoyed some more than others. My favorite characters were Pearl, the bag lady who actually enjoys the meager accommodations, and Sophia, the one who takes charge and provides the strength the others need. I also enjoyed Betty's story when she finally shared it. But Heddi's and Ondine's stories just didn't hold my interest much, which is too bad since Heddi is a prominent character throughout the novel. I just had a very hard time relating to those two characters. And we don't get to know Erika much at all.

Because she writes from the perspective of seven different characters, Still includes the name of the character above each section so it's easy to keep track of who is talking and thinking. She also writes in the third person, using quotation marks when the person actually speaks. While this helps the reader keep track of whose mind we're in at the moment, I personally felt that a first person point of view would have worked better. I also had a very difficult time reading Pearl's sections because they are written in a strong dialect. I could understand the use of the dialect if the story was written in first person, but since it is not, it would have been much more enjoyable to read without the dialect.

Overall, the book kept my interest, although I did find some of the stories to drag a bit. It certainly has a strong beginning and ending! So if you're looking for an interesting character study with some suspense thrown in, I think you'll enjoy Commune of Women. It would also work well as a book club selection, since there are many different characters and situations to discuss. A set of reading group questions is included at the end of the book.

My Rating: 3/5

Read an excerpt

Visit the author's blog

This review was written based on a copy of Commune of Women that I received from The Fiction Studio in exchange for an honest review.

Blogiversary Celebration and Giveaway!

2011-10-20T05:00:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe I've been blogging about books for two years now! Yes, today is my 2-year Blogiversary. It's amazing how much this blog has grown in the past two years. I now have more than 450 followers, which seems unbelievable to me. THANK YOU for reading and visiting and commenting. I truly appreciate it!

So, to say a proper thank you to all of you who are following My Book Retreat, I'm offering a giveaway of what I consider my favorite book of 2011 so far:

Here's the synopsis I wrote in my review back in August:

Five years ago, politician Merete Lynggaard disappeared and was presumed dead. But she is very much alive, being held captive by an unknown person who obviously wants her to suffer. Carl Mørck is a detective who is trying to recover from an incident that left one colleague dead and another paralyzed. To get him out of the way, he is made head of the new Department Q, charged with reviewing old unsolved case files that involve persons of interest. The first file he picks up is the disappearance of Merete Lynggaard.

And you can read my complete review here: The Keeper of Lost Causes Review.

This giveaway is open to ALL CURRENT FOLLOWERS of My Book Retreat who are 18 years of age and older. In an effort to thank those who have supported me over the past two years, I am NOT including new followers (anyone who starts following after this post is published). NOTE: I do welcome new followers and plan to have more giveaways in the coming weeks, you just can't enter this giveaway.

TO ENTER, fill out the following form. The giveaway ends at 10:00pm EDT on October 23, 2011. The winner will be chosen using random.org, and notified by email.

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Fall Into Reading: Our Collection of Books

2011-10-19T12:45:00.000-04:00

Each week, Katrina at Callapidder Days asks a question of those of us participating in the Fall into Reading Challenge. I usually just answer her questions in the comments on her blog, but this week she asked:

How large is your personal/family collection of books? And where do you keep them?

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photograph all our books and show you what we really have. So, we'll start with my daughter's bookshelf:

And here is my son's:

This is my TBR pile, which is on a top shelf of my desk in my office. That pile on the right is what I'm supposed to read for Fall into Reading, along with several books on my Nook.

Downstairs, in our living room, we have three bookshelves. This one has some more recent reads as well as some old reference books:

This shelf has books I haven't read in many years. One of the things on this shelf is all the books on religions that I read when I was in my 20s and fascinated with religion. I'd love to find time to re-read some of these books someday:

Then there is our shelf of very old books:

I love these books but also worry about them. I really should learn more about how to take care of them. I have a huge, beautiful Shakespeare book that is in poor shape now. If anyone knows anything about caring for old books, let me know!

That's it, for the most part. I have a few other books here and there but I try to keep them all on one of these shelves. We also have some library books, which we keep separate so we don't lose them. What about you? What does your book collection look like?

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

2011-10-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

As a child, Jacob was fascinated by his grandfather, Abraham's stories of his childhood, growing up in an orphanage on an island off the coast of Wales during World War II. The stories were a bit unusual, though, as Abraham spoke of children who could levitate, lift giant boulders and be invisible. He had the pictures to prove it. But as Jacob grew up, he began to doubt his grandfather, just as everyone else in his family did, and the stories ended. Now, Abraham has died under unusual circumstances and Jacob has vowed to return to the island and find the home where his grandfather grew up.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is a rather unique story. The first few chapters were extremely creepy to me ~ and the pictures interspersed throughout the novel made it even more so. As I was reading about Abraham's death and Jacob's initial experiences on the island, it felt like the makings of a horror story. But it turned out to be much more sci-fi and fantasy than horror. I especially enjoyed the contrast between the island in 1940 and that of the present day, as well as the unique characters Riggs created.

There is plenty of suspense and a bit of action, but underneath it all is an intriguing story about the individual people involved in the story ~ from Jacob to his grandfather and father, to the children who lived in the home with Abraham and the woman who took care of them. I don't want to say much more about the plot since one of the things I enjoyed most about the book was the mystery of it. If you like sci-fi and fantasy stories, I definitely recommend this one. It's a quick read that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and bring you into a fascinating world.

One last note: I generally read a lot of ebooks these days, but I read a review of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children at Red House Books, which said that you have to hold the book in your hands. So I bought the hardcover and she was absolutely right. It just wouldn't have the same impact without the visuals that Ransom Riggs includes throughout the book. So if you're going to read it, get the physical book!

My Rating: 4/5

Read the first three chapters

Watch the trailer:

This review was written based on a copy of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children that I purchased.

Interview with author Ray Evans

2011-10-17T13:07:00.003-04:00

Today, I'd like to welcome Ray Evans, author of Before the Last All Clear, which I just reviewed last week. Read my review.

Q. Welcome to My Book Retreat! I really enjoyed reading about your experience during the war. You mention in your biography that your daughter suggested you write this book. How did you actually start the process of putting your stories down on paper?

When my wife and I retired, we moved to America to live with our daughter Debbie, her daughter Kimberly was about 5 at the time, so once again the stories were dragged out and recounted at bed time for another generation’s amusement.

One evening after a marathon session of telling the stories to Kimberly, my daughter said it was a shame that our other grandchildren who were living in England wouldn’t get to hear the stories first hand. She suggested I start writing the tales down so they could be passed on among the family. Her theory was that she would never be able to recount the stories in the same way or with the detail I was able to add to them and if not written down they’d eventually be lost completely.

“There’s no way I can do that,” I told her,
“I’ve never written anything before, let alone a book.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said, “you’re a story teller, and a good one at that. Just write the stories as you told them to Ray and I when we were kids and as you do now with Kimberly. You’re retired so there’s no hurry - you’ve got all the time in the world to write them.”
“I’ll need all the time in the world,” I told her, “my hand writing is awful, and so is my spelling, it’ll take me forever.”
“Then do it on the computer, she said, “that way you won’t have to worry about your hand writing or your spelling.”
“Use the computer? You are joking. I wouldn’t know where to start”.
“Then I’ll arrange classes for you, they do them at the computer store in town, you’ll soon pick it up.”

So that’s how I found myself at 64 years of age back at school taking computer lessons! Now I may not have had the benefit of what most would call a ‘good’ education, but I’ve picked up some street smarts along the years, so I talked my wife into coming along with me. I knew if I got stuck she’d help me out and at least that way I wouldn’t be the only ‘old fogey’ in the class.

Q. Do your children or grandchildren have a favorite story that they've asked you to tell over and over again?

Well, one of Kimberly’s favorites was always Chapter 8 - Stealing Candy from the Pantry which is a tale from when I was billeted with my older brother Frank. The Red Cross had distributed care packages sent from America, and we knew there was candy in there, but we’d not been allowed to have any, so Frank decided to take the situation into his own hands and climbed up over the locked door into the pantry. He got the sweets and threw them over the door to me but then realized he was locked inside and couldn’t climb out. What amused Kimberly was that I was quite happy outside, with the sweets of course, but the following discussion with my brother was what she found funny about the whole thing.

My grandson Tom always liked Chapter 10 - Hero to Scoundrel, where I talk about finding an unexploded bomb on the train tracks. It was not that unusual to find such a thing but what Tom always liked about this story, was that I convinced myself I was going to be a hero for picking it up and delivering it to the local Police station only to discover they were not so impressed and I found myself in some pretty serious trouble.

Q. Those are definitely two memorable stories! Your book ends with your return to Liverpool. What was it like to return? How were things different in your home and school after being away for so long?

My evacuation ‘exile’ changed me tremendously and at the same time it made me who I am today. I learned to be self-reliant, I also learned that if you want something in life, anything really, the only person who will be truly motivated to give it to you is yourself. I knew when I returned to Liverpool after the war, to a city that was a devastated wasteland of rubble and bombed out buildings yet even at the age of 12, I knew the only way I would survive, let alone ever be happy again, would be to work hard and ‘get out’ as fast as I could.

When I went back to Liverpool I was a fish out of water again, after wanting to be with my own family for so long it was shocking to realize we had all changed so much and we were all strangers to each other. It took us quite a while to come back together as a family.

School was just a necessary evil in my eyes. The only reason I ever went to school was because it would be against the law not to, I hated every minute and couldn’t wait to be old enough to leave. I’m sure I was ‘that’ student the teachers hated having to put up with in their class. I had a huge inferiority complex but covered for it with extreme bravado probably to the point of arrogance a lot of the time.

I will say this too though, the hardships and challenges we all faced during the war, are the very same things I credit with giving me the resolve to change my life for the better afterwards. I resolved as a child that once I was old enough, I would do whatever it took to be sure I would never have to beg to have a roof over my head, clothes on my back or food in my belly ever again.

I had no idea at the time of course where that journey would take me, but I embarked on it with some considerable vigor and voracity. As I’ve already said, I credit those early experiences with making me who I am today, the good - determined, single minded and tenacious and the bad impatient, a clothes horse (something I was unaware of, until it was pointed out recently and a bit rudely if you ask me by Debbie) and sometimes I’d have to admit, I still have a bit of an inferiority complex that is most surely rooted in those evacuation years.

Looking back I couldn’t honestly say I wouldn’t change anything, I certainly would given the chance of course. But I am at least able to see where those challenges and experiences gave me what I needed to grow and those same things have in many ways been the driving force behind the many successes I’ve enjoyed in life since, from my very humble beginnings to building a successful business, right down to becoming a published author preparing to release a second book!

Q. It is amazing how much impact our earliest experiences have on our entire lives. How do you think your experiences in Wales affected the way you raised your own children?

My time in Wales was difficult at the start but in the end after two and half years with the Williams’ where I was treated truly like a member of their own family, it gave me a sense of the importance of family that I didn’t realize at the time but definitely tried to emulate when it came to raising my own children.

I remember at one of the billets being made to eat alone in the kitchen {not totally alone, I had their dog for company} while the family ate in the other room at a proper dining table laughing and talking together. I hated that, it made me feel like I was begging for a roof over my head and as if I were stealing the food from their plates, because it was clearly given so reluctantly. So one of the things Lilian and I have always done is to eat together at the dining table, in fact to this day she sets the table for breakfast before we go up to bed.

We were all together a few weeks ago in England to be at my granddaughter Vicky’s wedding and it was good to see all the family together. It’s inevitable as they embark on their own lives that the family get’s fragmented, especially as these days people have to move to where they can make a living at whatever they do. But it was heartwarming to hear Vicky say she always loved the meals we would have where everyone would come to the table and spend hours talking over breakfast or dinner.

Q. That's a wonderful tradition to have. What sorts of books do you enjoy reading? What are you reading now?

I read a lot more now that I am retired but I do especially like biographies and memoirs. I find other people’s lives very interesting and think you can pick up another perspective when you see something through another’s eyes. I really like Bill Bryson’s style of writing and Jeffrey Archer, he’s a fast read and keeps my attention but he spins an incredible story too.

Q. What advice do you have for others who may want to record their personal experiences in book form as you have?

When I first started to write the book I thought I would do it with a legal pad and my daughter laughed at that. Once she showed me how you could ‘edit’ things on screen I realized I’d have to learn to use the computer but it was well worth the effort because I would never have completed the book doing it by hand.

However, it wasn’t long before the project took on a life of its own. As I was writing, I spoke with my brothers and sisters to get their input, helping me fill in some of the ‘blanks’ from my own memory. We were all evacuated to the same town in Wales, but there were so many of us we had to be billeted in different homes. Because we were separated our personal experiences, reactions and memories of the experience were sometimes quite different.

Also as the writing progressed, I shared parts of it with others and a few people said I should look at publishing the book. Lilian took it upon herself to submit the book to a publisher in England and three days after they received the manuscript, to my amazement, I had an acceptance letter and a contract to publish the book. The first edition was published in the UK in 2005 and then was picked up and published in the US in 2008, the same year it was voted #1 Readers Choice in the Welsh Book Council’s Wales Reads program.

So I guess if there’s a moral to all of this, it’s that if there’s something you think you can’t do in life because you don’t have the education or skills to do it, if you apply yourself and attack it step by step, you’ll probably be pretty shocked at what you can accomplish or produce.

I like to think these days I’m a dab hand on the computer but when I see my grandkids and what they do with it I realize I’m still a novice. I do Twitter though and now I’m starting to get into Facebook which I think I’m going to like because I can ‘talk’ with people on there – pretty sure that’s going to be quite good fun – it may even catch on!

Thank you so much for visiting with me at My Book Retreat. I've enjoyed hearing all of your stories.

For more information about Ray Evans and his memoir, Before the Last All Clear, visit rayevansauthor.com. Also, be sure to read my review of Before the Last All Clear.

*Photos in this post provided by Ray Evans

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-10-17T09:52:00.000-04:00

What a difference a week makes! Last week, I was here telling you I had read 929 pages the week before. Today, I can only report about 150 pages for the whole week! I didn't finish a single book and I only managed to put up one review.

The review is for a memoir called Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans, who was evacuated to Wales when he was six years old to escape from the danger of World War II. I'm hosting a giveaway of a copy of this book and it ends tonight ~ so be sure to Enter Now!

Currently Reading
I'm still reading Commune of Women by Suzan Still. I haven't gotten very far, honestly.

Up Next
I plan to move on to The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen next. I also have signed up for two different read-a-thons for next weekend (see my right sidebar for links), so hopefully I'll get through another book or two during those. I also have two books I need to review.

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans

2011-10-12T15:33:00.000-04:00

When Ray Evans was six years old, he and his siblings were all evacuated from Liverpool, which was in danger of being bombed during World War II. They were sent to South Wales in September 1939. Although his mother wanted the children to stay together, it was not possible and they were split up. Before the Last All Clear: Memories of a Man Still Haunted by the Cruelties He Endured is Ray Evan's memoir of the time he spent in Wales during the war, the horrible conditions in which he lived, and the situations and people he encountered before finally returning home in 1945.

This is an incredibly personal memoir that opened my eyes to situations I never really knew about. When the war began many children were evacuated from areas that were likely to be in the throws of the war. I first read about children being evacuated from one place to another during the war in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer. That was fiction. This was real life.

Ray Evans tells of the many different homes in which he was placed during his time in Wales. The first place was that of a couple. The husband wanted Ray and his brother to stay with them; the wife did not. And she made their lives a living hell while they stayed with her. Then he moved on to a home that was so dirty and miserable he realized he didn't have it so bad at the first place. Evans offers anecdotes about his time in these homes, and in the schools where he was teased, and it breaks your heart to think of how he suffered.

But he also provides some lighthearted stories and a glimpse into the last family that took him in, which was so kind he didn't want to leave them. The memoir is written as stories told by a grandfather to his grandchildren, which was the original intention of the book. Evans wanted to put his stories on paper so they would never be lost. The writing style is not refined, and there's a bit of skipping around in terms of time frames, but the stories Evans has to tell are definitely worth hearing.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Listen to an excerpt
Watch the book trailer
Learn more about Ray Evans

This review was written based on an ebook copy of Before the Last All Clear that I received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Giveaway
The author has graciously offered a copy of Before the Last All Clear as a giveaway for one of my readers. To enter, just leave a comment below with your email address. The giveaway ends at 10:00pm EDT on October 17, 2011.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up

2011-10-10T10:03:00.004-04:00

I'm combining my Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon wrap-up post with my It's Monday! What Are You Reading? post, since the read-a-thon took place from last Monday to last night, so it covers the same period. So here's what I read over the past week for the read-a-thon:

I finished reading What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. You can click on the link to read my review since I actually took time to write it last week too. It was a great book and I look forward to discussing it with my book club on Thursday night.
I finished reading Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans. I haven't written my review of this memoir yet.
I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, which was quite peculiar and creepy at times.
I read Beyond the Darkness: Book Two of the Darkness Series by Leonard D. Hilley, II, which is a sequel to Predators of Darkness: Aftermath. This was a very suspenseful sci-fi thriller and I look forward to reading the third book in the series to see what happens to all of these characters.
I read the first 30 pages of Commune of Women by Suzan Still.

I completed four mini challenges for the read-a-thon: Zombie Apocalypse, Book Title Sentence, Suspenseful Paragraph and Setting. And I hosted my own as well. The winner for my mini challenge was Tobe from Wading Through the Ocean of Life!

I read seven children's books with the kids this week:
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
- Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins
- Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa
- Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney (for Jumpstart's Read for the Record)
- I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems
- Pooh Goes Visiting by A.A. Milne
- Johnny Appleseed retold by Steven Kellogg
You can read my comments on a couple of them in my What My Children Are Reading post.

And I managed to review The Sandburg Connection by Mark de Castrique, which I had read the week before so it's the one thing that doesn't count toward the read-a-thon.

Whew! I think that's it. I ended up reading 929 pages during this read-a-thon. I cannot believe I read that much in one week! I usually read about 300 or so, and that's it. I don't plan to read nearly as much this week. I think I'll focus on writing reviews for all of the books I read during the read-a-thon. I want to say thank you to Michelle at Castle Macabre for hosting the Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon. It was a lot of fun!

Currently Reading
As I mentioned above, I've started reading Commune of Women by Suzan Still.

Up Next
I plan to move on to The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen next. That's my last review book obligation for the year! Woohoo!

Now go visit Sheila at Book Journey to see what others are reading this week.

Read-a-Thon Update

2011-10-09T08:55:00.003-04:00

I'm slowing down. I did so well all week but these last few days have been light reading for a read-a-thon! I had figured the weekend would be easier but it's proving to be harder to read on the weekend than during the week. Anyway, here's what I've accomplished for the Frightful Fall read-a-thon so far:

Finished the last 167 pages of What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Finished the last 115 pages of Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans
Read all of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Read 177 pages of Beyond the Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley II
Read five children's books with the kids:
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
- Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins
- Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa
- I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems
- Pooh Goes Visiting by A.A. Milne

Today, I hope to finish Beyond the Darkness. I'd love to read more for the read-a-thon but I just don't know if that's going to happen. We'll see... You can see my daily page count over on the right sidebar.

I've also completed three mini challenges: Zombie Apocalypse, Book Title Sentence, and Suspenseful Paragraph.

Don't forget to enter my mini challenge (click here) for a chance to win a book of your choice!

What My Children Are Reading

2011-10-08T08:36:00.000-04:00

C is continuing to move his way through The Secrets of Droon series by Tony Abbott. We got four more from the library this week and he read them all. Then he got two more from his school library this week and he read those too. That's six fairly long chapter books in one week! Aside from those books, here's what else we read this week.

The most popular book of the week, especially for M, was Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig. C had picked this book out at the library because he had read it in first grade. M and I had never read it before. What an interesting story. It's about a donkey who likes to collect pebbles. One day, he finds a magic pebble that grants wishes. He's very excited that he and his parents will soon get anything they want, but when he gets scared suddenly, he makes a quick wish without thinking, and finds himself turned into a rock! There is definitely a message in this one about remembering what's really important in life. I'm honestly surprised she likes this book so much. It's actually a sad, depressing story throughout most it. It does have a good ending, though.

We participated once again in Jumpstart's Read for the Record. This year, the book to read was Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. We don't own the book and I hadn't gotten around to getting it from the library, so we read it on We Give Books, which is a great site, by the way! In this Llama Llama book, the little Llama doesn't want to go to bed. His mother puts him in bed and leaves, and he gets all upset, making noise and calling to mama. In the end, Mama Llama explains that she loves him and is always with him even if she's not in the same room. Then he settles down to sleep. I like these Llama Llama books, so I'm glad it was the choice for Read for the Record this year.

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

Book Review: The Sandburg Connection by Mark de Castrique

2011-10-07T09:54:00.000-04:00

Janice Wainwright is suing her doctor for messing up her back during surgery, and private detectives Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson have been hired to follow her to see if she does anything that indicates she's not really hurt. They follow her to the top of Glassy Mountain where she falls down, hits her head and dies ~ just around the corner, out of their sight. What really happened to Janice? Did she just trip or did someone hiding in the trees push her? And what do her dying words, referring to Carl Sandburg's verses, mean?

The Sandburg Connection by Mark de Castrique is a fun detective mystery with interesting characters and a unique literary tie-in. Once Janice dies, Sam and Nakayla switch over to helping her daughter uncover what really happened to her. They dig into her historical research, trying to determine if someone was after whatever she was researching. They investigate the surgeon to see what he might be hiding. They even consider the possibility that her own daughter could have pushed her down. There are plenty of characters that could have been involved, and there's always that chance that Janice really just fell. This kept the pages turning as I wanted to know what was really behind her death.

Intertwined with the mystery of her death is the history of Carl Sandburg's home near Glassy Mountain and the songs he collected, the Confederate army's history in the area, and a goat that is about to give birth. Yes, really. There is actually quite a bit of true history and humor weaved into the story, which kept it interesting, lighthearted and fun.

Evidently there are two other Sam Blackman novels, but you definitely don't have to read those before reading this one. It stands alone, although I assume there is probably some history I'm missing between Sam and Nakayla. You also don't need to know much about Carl Sandburg prior to reading this. It was interesting to learn about him, though.

I recommend The Sandburg Connection if you're looking for a lighthearted mystery with a variety of unique characters and a literary slant. I'll likely check out some of the other Sam Blackman novels in the future.

My Rating: 4/5

Visit the author's website

For more about The Sandburg Connection and Carl Sandburg himself, watch this video narrated by the author, Mark de Castrique:

This review was written based on an ebook copy of The Sandburg Connection that I received from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Read-a-Thon Mini Challenge: Suspenseful Paragraph

2011-10-06T15:03:00.002-04:00

Castle Macabre is hosting a mini challenge for the Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon. Here's the challenge:

What I want you to do is take your current read and take one sentence from three of the following pages: page 1, page 77, page 179, page 255, page 360, or the next to the last page (I picked a diverse number for books of varying lengths). Now, take the three sentences and make them into a short paragraph, but make the paragraph scary or suspenseful (if you have to add scary words or sentences to accomplish this, feel free).

I'm currently reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, which is a fairly creepy book to begin with. So I got some great sentences for you. Here's my paragraph, which is made with just the three sentences from the book, no additional words or sentences were added:

"Moisture clung to everything, beading on my skin and dampening my clothes. We assumed they'd all been killed, that obscene world-cracking bang their last collective utterance. The only way out of this hole was to dig deeper."

Now be sure to stop over and take part in my Mini Challenge for a chance to win a book of your choice!

Jumpstart's Read for the Record is TODAY

2011-10-06T11:17:00.001-04:00

Today is Jumpstart's Read for the Record, an annual event to bring awareness to the importance of early education. Take a few minutes to read Llama Llama Red Pajama today to help break a world reading record and shine the spotlight on early education and literacy.

If you don't have the book, you can read it online at We Give Books.

Then go to Jumpstart's website and click on Be Counted to be included in the world record count.

Read-a-Thon Update

2011-10-05T20:36:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick update on the Frightful Fall read-a-thon. I've mostly been reading in the evenings. So far I've read the following:

Finished the last 167 pages of What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Finished the last 115 pages of Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans
Read three children's books with the kids:
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
- Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins
- Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa

Today, I've just started Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I haven't read more than a few pages, which is why I'm posting this quick update so I can get to reading!

I've also completed two mini challenges: Zombie Apocalypse and Book Title Sentence.

Don't forget to enter my mini challenge (click here) for a chance to win a book of your choice!

Book Review: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

2011-10-05T09:34:00.001-04:00

When Alice Love wakes up, she is fully convinced she is 29 years old, pregnant with her first child and happily married to the love of her life. But in reality, it's 10 years later. She has three children, whom she doesn't remember, and is in the process of getting a divorce. She can't believe it. She won't accept that their perfect marriage is no longer. She believes there is nothing that would have led her to become the woman she seems to be at 39 years old, and she is determined to get her husband back and return to the tranquility of 10 years ago.

In What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty makes everyone ~ characters and readers alike ~ reflect on what it would be like to see the present from the eyes of your 10-year-younger self. Being 39 years old myself, I found I was able to relate incredibly well to Alice's feelings as she comes to grip with where her life has gone. Friends have changed, perspectives on life have changed, priorities have changed. She and her husband have gone from the magical time of early marriage, first home and the dream of starting a family to resentments, parental obligations and career challenges.

It sounds a lot like real life. Actually, What Alice Forgot, despite the rather unbelievable premise of someone bumping her head and forgetting 10 years, is quite realistic. And Moriarty does an amazing job of presenting a realistic picture of what Alice is thinking throughout the entire ordeal, including the last few chapters, which I was a bit concerned about. I will say I was content with the ending. It seemed genuine. But I certainly don't want to give it away.

One aspect of the story that I did not expect was the other voices. Alice's sister, Elizabeth writes journal entries to her therapist that speak to the infertility struggles she's had over the past 10 years and many other aspects of her life and Alice's. She fills in a lot of the details as to why she and Alice, who were extremely close 10 years ago, are now so far apart. Their "grandmother," Frannie, also writes letters that offer a different perspective on life, changes and moving forward. I enjoyed both of their stories, and thought they worked well to offset Alice's story.

Overall, I really loved this novel, perhaps because I could relate so well to Alice. Ten years ago, my husband and I could lie in bed on Saturday mornings as long as we wanted. We were free to enjoy each others company and go to shows or dinner or whatever we felt like doing on a particular day. But today, we have kids. We have more responsibilities in our careers. We are busy and tired and life is not nearly as relaxing. But that's okay. One is not better than the other. They are just different lives, and I think this is what Alice has to learn as well. Growing up and having kids changes things ~ drastically. That's life.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction and especially to anyone whose life has changed a great deal in the last decade. It's fascinating to think of how you would react to losing those 10 years of memories.

My Rating: 5/5

This review was written based on an ebook copy of What Alice Forgot that I borrowed from the library.

Read-a-Thon Update and Mini Challenge: Frightful Sentence

2011-10-04T16:33:00.000-04:00

Knitting and Sundries is hosting a mini challenge for the Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon. Here's the challenge:

The challenge is to make a frightful sentence out of book titles. Take a picture post it on your blog, and leave the link in the comments.

Unfortunately, I can't take a picture since all the books I'm reading, with the exception of one, are ebooks. So instead of taking a picture, I'll just write out the sentence for you. I decided to try to work in all four books I'm planning to read during the read-a-thon:

What Alice forgot before the last all clear [was] Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children beyond the darkness.

I had to add a verb in there since none of the book titles had one that worked in a sentence.

And a quick update on the read-a-thon itself: I've finished What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. I'm hoping to finish the remaining 115 pages in Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans today. Then I'll move on to my scary-themed books: Beyond the Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley II, and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

By the way, I'm keeping track of my progress over on the right sidebar since I won't be posting frequently as I try to focus on actually reading!

Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon Mini Challenge: Zombie Apocalypse

2011-10-03T15:16:00.001-04:00

Must Read Faster is hosting a mini challenge for the Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon. Here's the challenge:

**Look to the left...the first item that you see is your only weapon during the Zombie Apocalypse*** (Don't cheat and try to find something cool! If the first thing you see are socks then that's what you got!)

So I'm sitting here in my office, turned to my left and this is what I saw:

My printer. I think this would come in quite handy during a Zombie Apocalypse!! I'll just bop them over the head with it. Woohoo!

Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon: Starting

2011-10-03T09:53:00.000-04:00

I'm officially starting the Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon. Well, sort of. I actually started at midnight last night since I was already up reading when the clock rolled over to 12:00. I read for an hour (57 pages in What Alice Forgot) and then finally dragged myself to bed. So I've gotten an hour of reading down already. I do have to work today, so this is just a quick post saying that I did start. I will do most of my reading in the evenings this week.

If you're interested in participating in this week-long read-a-thon, go to the sign-in page here.

The one big rule for this read-a-thon is to read at least one book that is scary. So here's what I have planned for the week:

Finish reading:
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (167 pages left)
Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans (115 pages left)

Then I'm moving on to my scary reads:
Beyond the Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley II
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I usually only average one or maybe two books per week, so I'm hoping to do a lot more reading than that during the read-a-thon and get through all of these. If I finish all those, I hope to get to The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen.

And a final note: I'm hosting a mini challenge for this read-a-thon so check it out!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-10-03T09:38:00.001-04:00

Good morning. I hope you've had a great week. I had so much fun participating in Banned Books Week. Here's a recap of what was happening here to celebrate banned books.
Review: And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Books on the Most Challenged Lists: Surprises
Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I also managed to put up a review of a book that has not been challenged, but was still quite a good thriller: Revenge: A Travis Mays Novel by Mark Young

I shared the books my kids read last week, and I put up my Month in Review for September.

As far as reading goes, I finished Fahrenheit 451, and started two other books.

Currently Reading
I'm now reading Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans and What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. I don't usually read two books at a time but it just sort of happened this week because What Alice Forgot became available from the library unexpectedly.

Up Next
I'm participating in the Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon this week, so I hope to get a lot of reading done. I plan to finish both of the books I'm currently reading, and then I'm moving on to a couple that fit the frightful theme better: Beyond the Darkness by Leonard D. Hilley II, and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, which I saw on the shelf at Barnes and Noble and couldn't resist buying!

What are you reading this week? This meme is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too.

Mini Challenge: Choose Your Character's Halloween Costume

2011-10-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to all the readers from the Frightful Fall Read-a-Thon. This is a week-long read-a-thon that takes place from Oct 3 through Oct 9, so if you're not signed up yet, you may still have time! Just hop over to Castle Macabre to sign up! I'm hosting a mini challenge for the read-a-thon so I hope you'll participate! In keeping with the spooky/creepy theme of the read-a-thon, I've decided to go with a Halloween-related challenge.

My mini challenge is for you to choose a character from a book you have read or are reading during this read-a-thon, and pick a Halloween costume for them. What would they want to dress up as for Halloween? A vampire? A superhero? A sexy pirate? Think about the character and what you think they would want to be if they were heading off to a Halloween party.

To be eligible to win the prize for this challenge you must do ALL THREE of the following:
1. Identify the character and the book they appear in.
2. Tell what kind of costume they'd choose.
3. Explain WHY you chose that costume: What is is about the character that makes you think they'd want that type of costume?

For an extra point toward winning the prize, share a picture you've found online that shows what you think the character would look like in their costume (or create your own picture if you're so inclined). NOTE: If you use a found picture, be sure to give credit to the source where you got it.

You can only enter one character per book, but if you read multiple books during the read-a-thon, you can enter a character for each one you read. You can either put all the details in the comments below or post on your blog and leave the link in a comment below.

One participant in this mini-challenge will win a thriller/mystery/horror book of their choice (up to $10). The prize is open Internationally ~ as long as The Book Depository ships to your address.

Good luck and have fun reading!

Month in Review: September 2011

2011-10-02T15:43:00.000-04:00

Well, Fall has certainly arrived here in North Carolina. We went from shorts and flip flops on Thursday to pants and coats today. I guess September is over! I had fun with all the blogging events last month, including Book Blogger Appreciation Week and Banned Books Week.

Here's what happened in September in terms of reading and reviewing.

Books Read in August: 7

I read seven books in August. Two were nonfiction books:

That Day in September by Artie Van Why
Just My Type by Simon Garfield

And five were fiction:
Revenge: A Travis Mays Novel by Mark Young
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
The Homeplace Revisited by William Leverne Smith
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Sandburg Connection by Mark de Castrique

Reviews Written: 7
This month, I wrote reviews for six of the books I read in September. You can click on the links above to read them.

And I wrote a review for the most challenged book of 2010, a picture book called And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Guest Posts: 1
Reflections on 9/11 by Artie Van Why

I Want More Book Challenge

I read one book for this challenge: The Homeplace Revisited. So at this point, I need to read one to four more by the end of the year. I plan to focus on this challenge over the next couple months.

Fall into Reading Challenge
I signed up for the Fall into Reading Challenge, which goes from September 23 to December 21. I've already finished my first book for the challenge. I have a total of 15 books on my list to read during Fall.

Where Am I Reading Challenge

In September, I added a couple new places to my map of where I am reading. I also had a few duplicates and two books without specific locations. I've added these places to my map:
Idaho
Missouri
New York
North Carolina
Edinburgh
That leaves me at 19 out of 50 states covered, plus 9 additional countries. Here's my updated map:

View My Book Retreat in a larger map

What My Children Are Reading

2011-10-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

The kids have been very busy reading this week. We've made a couple recent trips to the library, which means they have some fun new books to read.

C has been continuing through The Secrets of Droon series by Tony Abbott. He has now read the first nine books in the series and is anxious to read the rest. Unfortunately, they're popular at the library so we keep having to request them and wait for them to come in. This is a great fantasy series for elementary age kids. It's about three kids who discover a hidden stairway to another world, where they go on adventures. There's a wizard, and a princess, and a bad guy named Lord Sparr. C is really enjoying them, which surprised me. I thought they might be too scary for him since he has generally avoided fantasy stories. But I think his reading the Magic Tree House Merlin Missions introduced him to the fantasy genre and he seems to like it now. Speaking of the Merlin Missions, C is almost done with #45: A Crazy Day with Cobras. There is only one more published Magic Tree House book left, and he will have read the entire series!

M has been reading her Brand New Readers this week. She really loves these books. One night she insisted on reading six of them in a row before bed. They really are cute little stories that are meant for early readers. They are quite funny too. For example, in Monkey Flies Away, the monkey flies a different type of kite on each page. Then at the end, the bird kite lifts him off the ground and the kite flies Monkey! These are simple, repetitive stories that I would expect to see in a kindergarten class. So if you have a very new reader, I definitely recommend them. They're pretty easy for M but she still loves to read them.

Since her weekly theme at school was Autumn, I picked up a couple early readers about Fall at the library for M. The first is The Best Fall of All by Laura Godwin, which she read at home and then took into school to read aloud to her class. This is a very cute story about a cat and a dog who go out on a windy, leafy Fall day. It's a late kindergarten reading level (ATOS 0.8) and was just right for M. She especially had fun reading the Meow, Meow and Woof, Woof of the animals. She always reads with such expression that it's really fun to listen to her read aloud.

The other fall book we got is It's Fall, Dear Dragon by Margaret Hillert. This is a similar reading level (ATOS 0.7) and again, just right for M. It's all about a little boy and his dragon, going to school, jumping in leaves, watching the geese fly away, seeing apples and pumpkins at the store ~ basically all the things you associate with Fall. He even watches his dad make a jack-o-lantern out of the pumpkin they buy, and he and his dragon watch the big harvest moon out the window. It's a cute book and I think we'll look for more in this series.

What have you been reading with your children this week? Hop on over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns to share! And check out Book Sharing Monday too!

Banned Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

2011-09-29T12:12:00.001-04:00

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury was first published back in 1950 as "The Fire Man," a shorter version that appeared in the magazine Galaxy Science Fiction. It was published as Fahrenheit 451 in 1953. This classic dystopian novel was the perfect choice to read during Banned Books Week.

I must admit I had never read this book before. I knew it was about a fireman, Guy Montag, whose job is not to put out fires but instead to start them, burning books which are banned in the future world in which he lives. That's about all I knew. When we first meet Montag, he is seemingly content with his job and his life. But then he meets a girl who starts asking questions and opens his eyes to the reality of the world around him. A world in which people no longer read, but it's more than that. They no longer talk with each another about anything meaningful. They spend their days in their parlors watching wall-to-wall televisions, interacting with their "friends" who appear on their walls and entertain them.

I read the following on Wikipedia:

Bradbury has stated that the novel is not about censorship, but a story about how television destroys interest in reading literature, which leads to a perception of knowledge as being composed of factoids, partial information devoid of context.

I had gone into the novel thinking it was mainly about censorship and book burning, but as stated above, it really isn't. I was expecting the lack of books but not the complete world Bradbury creates in this novel. It was so dismal and depressing, and while the missing books contributed to that, it was also the lack of human interaction and caring, and the lack of knowledge and interest in learning about things. It really was more of a statement about the damaging effects of television.

I also found it to be a statement of the times in which it was written, in a sense. Bradbury, writing in 1950, would naturally think of a future world overrun with television, atomic bombs and fast cars. It was interesting to read a dystopian novel written so long ago because there is no reference to computers or other modern devices that are prominent in most dystopian novels written today. But many of the overarching themes do carry through to our world today.

There is certainly plenty of suspense as to what is going to happen next, and quite a bit of action to keep the story moving. Bradbury's writing style is a bit too literary for my taste, but it was a fairly easy read and I am glad I finally got around to reading it.

Have you read Fahrenheit 451? What did you think of it?

My Rating: 4/5

Reading group guide for Fahrenheit 451

This review was written based on a copy of Fahrenheit 451 that I purchased.