It's Monday and I am so behind!

Hey everybody! Did you have a great Thanksgiving weekend?

I am so happy I got to see all of my sisters this weekend before they head back to their fabulous lives. We had Thanksgiving dinner together and then spent Saturday afternoon together decorating the Christmas tree at our parent's house. 

We really like each other. Promise. 

The reading has been good this week. I ended up deviating from my plan a bit because a book from Netgalley was about to be archived. I love Jason Mott's books so far, so I was happy to power through The Wonder of All Things in just a few days. 

But while the reading is good, the blogging part seems to be falling to the wayside. I have seven reviews to catch up on. Please send help. What do you all do when you hit a book reviewing slump?

Read This Week:

A Map of Betrayal

By Ha Jin

The Wonder of All Things

By Jason Mott

Posts from this Past Week:

It's Monday

Review of The Book of Strange New Things

Reading Now:

Some Luck

By Jane Smiley

Up Next:

First Impressions

By Charlie Lovett

What are you reading this week? 

Review: The Book of Strange New Things

The Book of Strange New Things

By Michel Faber

Hogarth October 2014

500 pages

Read for review via Netgalley

Peter Leigh is equal parts excited and apprehensive about his new job. He travels to a distant planet to bring Christianity to an alien race. Everything is new and unnerving and he doesn't have the support of his beloved wife Bea who remains behind on Earth. Peter tentatively begins work with the natives and slowly begins to build a relationship with his congregation as they work together and he teaches from "the book of strange new things," as they call the Bible. But all is not well - Bea's letters from home become more desperate as she recounts the terrible events happening on Earth and her fear and depression as she begins to doubt the faith that has always united the couple.

The Book of Strange New Things is a long book but the length of it is necessary for Michel Faber to explore the experience of a new life and the slow transition to normalcy. Peter obviously takes some time to reorient to a new world. His first few days after the ship lands are spent being sick, experiencing new food, and meeting his human companions. He soon discovers that his fellow humans are focused on their jobs and few of them care about the people back on Earth or the things that are happening there. Peter can't imagine ever feeling so little connection to or compassion for the people they have left behind.

Once Peter has acclimated, he is eager to start his work and is driven out to meet his congregation. They greet him warmly and seem eager for his teaching. But Peter quickly hits some roadblocks when he tries to translate the Bible into the Oasan's own language. How does he describe the imagery of Jesus as the Good Shepherd to creatures who have never seen a sheep?

This book is classified as sci-fi, although it is more concerned with humanity than the aliens. What does it mean to be human? How can the human residents of Oasis hold on to their humanity when they are all alone and cut off from their loved ones and the culture of their home? How does Peter navigate between the welcoming Oasan community and his fellow humans who don't seem to need him at all?

Our protagonist often seems incompetent, as if he doesn't really know how to relate to people or anticipate their reactions. This demonstrates so clearly that Bea and Peter are used to working as a team, where each one covers the other's weaknesses. But nothing is as simple as it seems or as easy as Peter and Bea once took for granted. Their relationship, their faith, their understanding of themselves all start to fall apart when they are separated and one succeeds while the other watches her world fall apart around her.

The Book of Strange New Things is both a quiet, beautifully written story and an invitation for the reader to reconsider their closely held ideas about relationships, faith, and humanity. Faber doesn't force answers, but he does raise a lot of questions that will leave you thinking about Peter, Bea, and the Oasans long after you finish this book.

It's Monday and Thanksgiving is on its way!

Hello friends! How is the reading this week?

Around here, the reading is carrying on at the usual pace of two books a week. This is good news for my Goodreads goal, since I'm only five books away. I think I can manage five books in the next month, right?

The rest of life is the usual brand of crazy. We are getting ready for Thanksgiving and the birthday of a certain someone who will be turning seven in less than two weeks. If you figure out who let that happen, please let me know pronto. I'm pretty sure he should still be two or three years old.


Read This Week:

And Then There Were None
By Agatha Christie


So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came To Be And Why It Endures
By Maureen Corrigan


Bedtime Reading This Week:
    
Big Dog...Little Dog for BG
The Railway Children for D


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Reviews of How We Learn and Little Bee


Reading Now:

First Impressions
By Charlie Lovett


Up Next:

A Map of Betrayal
By Ha Jin


What are you reading this week?

Review: Little Bee

Little Bee

By Chris Cleave

Simon and Schuster February 2010

271 pages

From my shelves

I usually write my own descriptions of books instead of using the one from the publisher. But in this case, it's best to go into this book not knowing too much. Here's what is written on the back of Little Bee:

We don't want to tell you what happens in this book.

It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.

Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this:

This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there....

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.

So now I'm going to try to review a book without telling you much about it. The main characters of this story are the title's Little Bee and Sarah. The two women met on a beach in Nigeria and the things that happened there radically changed their lives. But Little Bee begins two years later, when Little Bee arrives at Sarah's front door. This gives author Chris Cleave the ability to move forwards and backwards in time, filling in the gaps as each woman learns what has happened in the other's life.

This book is a master class in the slow revealing of characters and events. We read through the first few chapters and think we know a few things about the characters in this story. But with each chapter, we learn new things and our perceptions are radically altered. In spite of their many failings and often selfish decisions, the reader comes to care for Little Bee, Sarah, and her young son who wants to be addressed only as Batman. For a story that isn't a thriller, this book had my heart in my throat more times than any book I can remember.

Little Bee is not an easy book to read, but it is one that will change you. The characters are dealing with war, a broken immigration system, depression, and floundering relationships. The story becomes a clarion call to the characters and to the reader to hold each other up through tough times, to put other's needs ahead of our own, and to search for hope in the darkest, most terrifying places. 

Review: How We Learn

How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens

By Benedict Carey

Random House September 2014

272 pages

Received for review from Netgalley

We've all been there. We sit at our desk cramming for that upcoming exam or practice those few measures again and again before our piano recital. From childhood, we are taught that certain habits will make us better at learning. Having a designated study spot will help us focus, a silent study area works best, and maintaining the same routine every day will help us to keep all of those facts in our brain. But what if that is all wrong? What if our brains are better and more nuanced than we ever gave them credit for? In How We Learn, science writer Benedict Carey analyzes brain chemistry and psychological studies to impart the best ways for us to pass our classes, play a perfect recital, and deliver a flawless presentation.

The book begins with a basic primer on your brain. Don't worry, the jargon is all easily understood even if you have completely forgotten every bit of high school anatomy and physiology. Carey then delves into retention and problem solving to show us the downfall of commonly used study habits. Finally, we look at our subconscious mind and the learning we do without even knowing.

Our brains work mostly through association, so the downside of studying in the exact same setting every time is that you only give your brain one connection. Instead, if you study in a multitude of places with differing approaches, you might remember the date of the Battle at Gettysburg because that's the moment when that guy spilled his coffee at Starbucks and because that was the moment your favorite song came on Spotify. (Sorry parents, music is not actually a study deterrent!) We need to use different techniques and sometimes distractions are good because they give our mind a moment to work out problems.

Carey even writes about forgetting. As it turns out, forgetting is a filter - it is the brain's way of determining what we need and what is superfluous. We also remember something we have forgotten and then relearned better than something we learned just once. Sleep is also integral, although it needs to be utilized differently for different tasks. For some things, it's better to study hard and then sleep in while other tasks require us to get a good night's sleep and wake up early for a final burst of study.

I gained a lot from this book, both for myself and as a parent. This would be a great read for a high school or college student or anyone who is interested in the basics of how we learn. While this is probably oversimplified for many educators and scientists, it is a great starting point for students, their parents, and anyone who wants to learn faster, smarter, and better. 

It's Monday and I'm back!

Hey friends.

I'm back from visiting my best friend. We had a really great time playing games, talking, shopping, and, of course, eating. She took me to this crepe place. I'm pretty sure we should all eat crepes every day.

Now it's back to real life. It's time to change diapers, pack school lunches, and hopefully get some reading done in the meantime! What are you up to this week?


Read This Week:

Us
By David Nicholls



Dear Committee Members
By Julie Schumacher


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Comparison of We Were Liars and Bittersweet
Wednesdays with David: Marvel Super Heroes Storybook Collection
Review of Us 


Reading Now:

And Then There Were None
By Agatha Christie


Up Next:

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came To Be And Why It Endures
By Maureen Corrigan


What are you reading this week?

Wednesdays with David: Marvel Super Heroes Storybook Collection

Marvel Super Heroes Storybook Collection

Marvel Press September 2013

304 pages

From the library

The story: This story collection includes the origins and adventures of your favorite super heroes, including the Hulk, Iron Man, Spiderman, the Black Widow, and more.

Mama opines: This storybook collection is perfect for the little guy in your life who dreams of shooting spiderwebs out of his hand or won't take off his Iron Man mask. It's extra fun when you can surprise your little one with your own knowledge of the super heroes.

Thoughts from David: Marvel Super Heroes Collection was just exactly as I had hoped it would be. It included a ton of the heroes, including Hulk, Iron Man, Spiderman, the Wasp, and She-Hulk. I never knew so much about all of these super heroes. I never knew that Daredevil was blind or that Wasp was friends with Henry Pim.

This is more than a better than good book. Wolverine, Wasp, Ant-Man, Black Widow, Iron Man, Spiderman, Thor, the Fantastic Four - they just seem so fantastic. At first, when I first got it, I thought it was just regular heroes because I didn't really like Marvel back then. But then when I started to read it. I found out so much more about the super heroes than I originally knew. Now I play Marvel all the time. But I do spend time with my sis and do, you know, other things.

Favorite part: All of the super heroes

 Well, let's get down to the jokes. What did the villain do when the super hero ran in? He Marveled at how fast the super hero was!

Well, see you next time!

Happy Reading!

Review: Us

Us

By David Nicholls

Harper October 2014

392 pages

Received for review from TLC Book Tours and the publisher

Douglas Petersen knows that change is on the horizon for his small family. His only son Albie will soon leave for college and Douglas and his wife Connie will have readjust to a quiet house. The Petersen family is scheduled to embark on a European tour when Connie drops a major bombshell: she is considering leaving him. They decide to go on their trip anyway. While his wife sees it as one final hurrah for the Petersen family, Douglas is determined to win back his wife and keep his family together. 

There are many books about the beginning of relationships - the butterflies before the big date, first kisses, and the phone calls that last for hours. It's harder to find a book about the moment when you still love someone, but you have fallen out of love with them. Us gives us a complete picture of a family by showing them at various points during their lives together. As Douglas tries to save his family, he thinks back to meeting his wife, their early days of dating, and the years they have spent raising their son.

Douglas is really clueless about a lot of things, particularly when he tries to wrap his scientist mind around the artistic leanings of his wife and son. But he does have a delightfully wry sense of humor. When Douglas and a friend discuss a statue of Ursula, the virgin saint, we get this exchange:

'The moral is, don't go to Cologne,' said Freja.

'I went to a conference in Cologne. I thought it was a charming city.'

'But were any of you virgins?'

'Well, we were all biochemists, so yes - almost certainly.'

The frustrating thing about this story is just how long it takes each family member to really try to connect with the others. While Connie and Albie are close, Douglas has trouble understanding them and they make little effort to connect with him. I wanted better for all of them and I wished that they had taken the time before their European getaway to make an effort. Each one of them are irritating with their selfishness but their inability to articulate what they need seems all too easy to understand. 

David Nicholls has a unique ability to truly immerse readers in the lives of his characters. By the time you close one of his books, you feel as if you know these people inside and out. The writing is lovely and Us perfectly combines the story of love, commitment, and family with an entertaining jaunt through Europe.

Want some more opinions? Check out other reviews at TLC Book Tours.

Bittersweet and We Were Liars: The Same Book?

As I read Bittersweet in October, I was struck by a lot of similarities between that book and the YA summer juggernaut We Were Liars. Both feature families who have a long history of luxury and prestige.The stories take place during the summer when aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins descend onto giant and opulent estates; expecting that their every whim will be met. Both the Sinclair and the Winslow families have dark secrets that come to light.

So is it worth it reading both books or is one a better read than the other?

         

The protagonists in these novel are similar in age - Cady is a high school student and Mabel is a freshman in college. But they are very different people.  Cady is a member of the charmed Sinclair family and while there may be family disputes, she knows that she will be provided for by her grandfather's fortune. Mabel, on the other hand, has a family that owns a dry cleaning business and struggles to make ends meet. When she meets the carefree and enigmatic heiress to the Winslow family, Mabel is astounded that Genevra considers her a friend. While both girls have to come to terms with big secrets, Cady will have to confront the decisions of her past while Mabel has to make big choices about her future.

The two stories are very different in tone as well. We Were Liars reads like a young adult book, with a consistent focus on Cady and what she is feeling. Cady is prone to hyperbole and it may take readers by surprise when she says she was shot but really means that her heart was broken. Bittersweet is a more grown-up story with frequent allusions to Shakespeare and Milton. That doesn't mean that it feels highbrow though. Bittersweet feels like a soap opera in places with forbidden romance, mysterious deaths, and a race to find the truth about the family's history.

Bittersweet is a somewhat traditional thriller while We Were Liars is slightly more experimental. Both books are compelling reads as the characters grapple with truth, love, and commitment to their families. Each of them will make you consider the power and limits of wealth and prestige and what kind of legacy we pass on to those who will come after us.


Have you read either book? Did you read both? What do you think?

It's Monday and I'm trying to catch up!

Geez Louise, this has been a hectic couple of weeks. I feel like I am running in place trying to catch up on book reviews, house cleaning, and prepping music for our praise team at church and my music students. If you need me in the meantime, I will be frantically running around like a crazy woman before I head out of town on Friday for a very overdue visit to my best friend.


Read This Week:

Stone Mattress: Nine Tales
By Margaret Atwood


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
October Wrap-Up
Review of Persepolis


Reading Now:

Us
By David Nicholls


Up Next:

Dear Committee Members
By Julie Schumacher



What are you reading this week?

Review: Persepolis

Persepolis

By Marjane Satrapi

Pantheon June 2004

160 pages

Borrowed from my sister

Persepolis is a graphic novel that details one girl's experiences during the Islamic revolution in Iran during the 1970s and 1980s. Marjane recounts the juxtaposition of growing up in the home of Marxist protesters in a nation where having a divergent opinion was enough to get you killed. She lives with the threat of prison or death for her parents and for their friends. This book shows the reader both the terrible costs of repression and war and the way that life continues even under the most unimaginable of circumstances. 

The author made a great choice to first show the reader Marjane as a child and then as a young woman, which allows us to learn right along with her. Her first notion that something has changed in her country is the day that she must wear the veil to school. Her parents educate her about what is happening and we get a mini history lesson too. As she gets older and forms her own opinions, her parents become fearful. Marjane is outspoken and passionate and her parents grapple with the difficult decision to allow her to stay in her home and face the danger there or leave the country and find safety.

Reading Persepolis opened my eyes to two things. First, I realized just how little I know about modern history in nations other than my own. It's easy to stop with your school-mandated history and your knowledge of the Renaissance in Europe or the terrible toll of the world wars. But it takes effort to remain informed about the things happening around the world in your lifetime and what happened during the decades before you were born. I also found out that I had a sort of skewed understanding of the kind of stories you can find in a graphic novel. I expected that most comics involved superheroes or retellings of popular science fiction stories. But many writers, including Marjane Satrapi, use comics to bring their own personal histories to life. Graphic novels are a unique way to convey a story and it gives the storyteller a different set of tools. In Persepolis, Satrapi showed the bleakness of living in Iran by creating images in solely black and white.

Persepolis is both universal and specific. Those of us living in the US have no idea what it is like to live under a repressive regime. But we do know about growing up and deciding which things we want to keep from our parent's teaching and which things we forge our own opinions about. Marjane Satrapi picked a powerful medium to convey her memories of becoming her own person in a dangerous time and place. 

What is your favorite graphic novel?

October Wrap-Up

source

Adios, October! Hello to November.

I have to confess that I'm having trouble holding off with starting the holiday merriment. I think part of it is planning Christmas music for the church already and part of it is the eggnog already living in my refrigerator. I'm trying to keep my Christmas Pandora Station quiet for the next few weeks, but I'm just not sure I have the will power.

October was a good month for reading. I read some really diverse stories: I went on a magical journey to the Caribbean in Land of Love and Drowning, witnessed the advent of printing with Gutenberg's Apprentice, and spent the night in a terrifyingly haunted big box store with Horrorstor.


Books reviewed in October:10
Pages read: 3,597
Fiction/non-fiction: 9/1
Female authors/male authors: 8/2
My books/library books/books for review: 1/6/3
Most-read October review: Broken Monsters
Favorite October read: The Empathy Exams

What was the best book you read in October?

Happy reading from these crazy kids!

It's Monday and it finally feels like Fall!

Wow. This has been a crazy week. David got sent home sick from school on Thursday, so he missed school on Friday and I had a fun time trying to keep the two kiddos separated for the day. His fever broke during the day on Friday, so we went out trick or treating that night with one ninja and one princess.

Then I taught a few music lessons on Saturday and spent some time that evening cooking and baking. Sunday was our church's anniversary so we had a luncheon after the morning service. I feel like I need a day or two to try to get organized again!


Read This Week:

The Book of Strange New Things
By Michel Faber



Everything Beautiful Began After
By Simon Van Booy



Bedtime Reading This Week:
     
The Magic School Bus Rides The Wind for D
Where Is Baby's Pumpkin? for BG


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Reviews of Land of Love and Drowning, Divergent, and Horrorstor


Reading Now:

Stone Mattress
By Margaret Atwood



Up Next:

Us
By David Nicholls


What are you reading this week?