What a day!

Do you ever have one of those days where everything just goes...right? I wasn't too sure this morning, since Holly woke up in a foul mood. It took exactly one week for her to get over her thrall with her new alarm clock. But after that? I left late but still got to work on time. I breezed through my work. I had an absolutely awesome performance review. I made record time going to pick up the kids after work. (I should have stopped to by lottery tickets.)

To top it off, I log in and see that Jessica over at A BookLover's Diary nominated me for an award. My very first blogger award!
"The Humane Award is in order to honor certain bloggers that I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world.”

I'm flying high from this award and open my e-mail and notice a message from none other than Kirsten Olson, author of Wounded by School, for which I just posted my review last night! As it appears she had problems leaving a comment, I had to share her message:

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for that wonderful review of my book in your blog. It’s one of the best I’ve ever read! I tried to post a comment up on your blog, but kept not being accepted. So thank you right here.

I liked what you said so much (insightful and heartfelt) about your own son I posted it up on my website. Good luck with your son. He is lucky to have you as his mom.

Kirsten
Kirsten Olson, Ed.D.
Old Sow Consulting
http://www.oldsowconsulting.org
203 858 8849

I am literally flying on a natural high right now. I honestly started this blog to give me something to do after graduation and give me purpose for all the books I read. To have others notice my efforts, let alone the authors, is more than I ever dreamed possible when I started this site in January.

So, thank you to all my friends who helped answer my questions about blogging and gave me encouragement from the very beginning. I would have never felt as content and fulfilled as I do now. With that, I nominate the following for their own Humane Award:

Stephanie at Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Deb at Pardon my French
Teddy at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
Christina at book-a-rama
Tammy at Tammy's Book Nook

You are all my muses!!

REVIEW - Wounded by School by Kirsten Olson

Title: Wounded by School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up to Old School Culture

Author: Kirsten Olson

No. of Pages: 213

First Released: 2009

Synopsis (Courtesy of FSB Associates): “While reformers and policymakers focus on achievement gaps, testing, and accountability, millions of students mentally and emotionally disengage from learning and many gifted teachers leave the field. Ironically, today’s schooling is damaging the single most essential component to education – the joy of learning.

How do we recognize the ‘wounds’ caused by outdated schooling policies? How do we heal them? Kirsten Olson brings to light the devastating consequences of an educational approach that values conformity over creativity, flattens student’s interests, and dampens down differences among learners. Drawing on deeply emotional stories, Olson shows that current institutional structures do not produce the kinds of minds and thinking that society really needs. Instead, the system tends to shame, disable, and bore many learners. Most importantly, she presents the experiences of wounded learners who have healed and shows what teachers, parents, and students can do right now to help themselves stay healthy.”

Comments and Critiques: The timeliness of this book falling into my hands cannot be ignored. My son is a brilliant child. He knows more about dinosaurs and space, and did by the age of four, than I ever will in my entire life. At age four, he drew and created his own book – a Blue’s Clues book that actually had three different clues on different pages and a summary page, just like the TV show. He’s already been moved up a grade and yet…last year was a horrible school year. He failed to do any homework, shoved papers into his desk and never brought them home, was constantly getting in trouble/detentions for disrupting the class. We did not find out that there was a significant problem until well into the second half of the school year, at which time his teacher kept telling us that “Connor is too bright to be struggling this much”. As if the fact that he is intelligent precludes him from ever having difficulties in school. My husband and I tried to stay polite and work within the constraints given to us. Unfortunately, Connor continued to get detentions, failed assignments and generally struggled throughout the rest of the year. When asked, he swears that the teacher did not like him and would tell us of situations that occurred in the classroom where he was either ignored, belittled by the teacher, or both. We saw this incredibly talented, exceptionally bright, eager student who is absolutely fascinated by science turn into a sullen child who resented school and all but refused to do his homework. After reading this book, I now realize that my son has been severely wounded by school.

The main point behind this book is the fact that our world has changed dramatically over the years. The nearly instantaneous information gathering capabilities we now have should make learning even easier. However, our educational system was created around the Industrial Revolution, when information was difficult to disseminate and following orders reigned supreme. Even though our world, the technology we use, and our understanding of the brain and how we learn, have all changed completely over the years, our educational system has not. Rather, we continue to label and track children, focusing on grades and standardized tests rather than on nurturing children to think critically or actually learn useful information for their future. It’s an interesting prospect and one that explains why we cannot seem to perform better when compared to students in other countries, even though we spend millions of dollars on our schools throughout the nation.

Ms. Olson’s book is filled with stories and anecdotes taken from thousands of interviews of people who had school experiences just like my son. Some are still recovering from the pain, humiliation, self-doubt and outright trauma of the situations while others have persevered. While a large majority of her focus is on those with learning disabilities, Ms. Olson pulls no punches when she states that our current school system harms everyone – from burning out the talented and gifted to ignoring the ones in the middle to alienated and ostracizing those with problems, behavioral, cognitive or other. If we continue to ignore these traumas, we will continue to produce a workforce that is unprepared both socially and mentally for the business world and stand to lose the potential of hundreds of thousands of students who just give up.

Coming from a long line of educators in my family and having studied to become a teacher myself, I found Wounded by School to be a fascinating read only because education remains an interest of mine. As I’ve mentioned before, coming off of the school year and everything we faced with my son was also a factor in causing me to be so riveted to what Ms. Olson had to say. I was also forced to take a step back and contemplate my own experiences and how those experiences made me who I am today and shaped my own views on the educational system (there is a reason why I didn’t become a teacher). I truly appreciate that opportunity to review this book and already have a list of people and family members to whom I am either going to present the book or make them read it. Thank you to Caitlin Price at FSB Associates for this book!

If you doubt this whole concept of being wounded, I ask you to perform the following exercise, as stated in the book. Answering these questions will help you uncover your own attitudes about school and how your own school experiences shaped that attitude. Once you consider them, maybe we can all work together to ensure that our children are not Wounded by School, as we were.

1. Close your eyes and think back to your earliest memory of school. When was it and what was happening? How did this experience imprint upon you some basic feelings about the process of education? What feelings come up from these early memories?
2. What are the components of a positive learning experience for you? What makes a learning experience pleasurable for you?
3. How does what is in Question 1 compare with the material in Question 2?
4. What are you afraid of when you confront new learning experiences and in what contexts?
5. If you could design a school that incorporated the elements of positive learning experiences, what would it be like?

The Sunday Salon - Inaugural Post

This is my inaugural post for The Sunday Salon. I like the idea of being able to reflect on the past week to share what I've accomplished with slogging through my TBR piles and to look ahead to what I hope to complete. It will also be interesting to see just how successful I am at finishing what I intend to finish.

This week I struggled with my reading. The latest books on the advanced copy pile are self-help books, which I tend to read really slowly. Thankfully, due to our five-hour drive to Pittsburgh for my niece's graduation party, I was able to finish one advanced copy book. The one I finished was entitled Wounded by School by Kirsten Olson, and I'm still thinking through what I'm going to say on the write-up. I was also able to make headway on my book club book, Middlemarch. I'm still behind on that but at least I am no longer three weeks behind our reading schedule. Last night, I started another advanced copy book, Persona Non Grata. I'm hoping to finish that as well as at least one more self-help book this week. We have another trip planned this week, with another six-hour drive, so I'm hoping to really hit the advanced copy books hard and be able to expand into my personal TBR pile a bit more. You know what they say about the best-laid plans...

I hope everyone had a great Sunday, and happy reading!

Have you been wounded by school?

I just finished a book by Kirsten Olson about our school system here in the U. S. and how inadequate and actually damaging it is to students. To say that this book got me thinking is a complete understatement, and I have a feeling it is going to take me several days to pull my thoughts together to be able to write the review. In the meantime, here is an article forwarded to me by FSB Associates that initially piqued my interest in the book. After reading this, I ask you - have you been wounded by school? Were you able to forgive and let go of that pain? How are you handling it now if you have children facing similar issues?

Their Time is Occupied, But Not Their Brains
By Kirsten Olson,
Author of Wounded by School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up to Old School Culture

It's the end of the school year, exam time for school age children. Everywhere around the country children are studying (and Facebooking and YouTubing, and searching online while listening to music). Simultaneously.

While most adults support the act studying for children (teaches them discipline! keeps them off the streets!), my own three teenage children report they will be doing a lot of stuff in preparation for final exams that, well, may not be very meaningful in the long run. Their time is occupied, but not their brains. They are memorizing 180 irregular verbs tenses, memorizing Boyle's law, Charles' Theorem, preparing for a 90 item multiple choice test on Indian independence, memorizing the dates of the Chinese dynasties, memorizing all the elements in the periodic table that are soluble.

In education, we increasingly look at learning in terms of how challenging it is cognitively and emotionally for kids. These exercises are low level, in some cases, the lowest level: memorization and comprehension. Although students do need to spend time some time memorizing some information, it needs to be connected to bigger, higher level concepts and challenges or they very quickly forget it. You know that yourself from your own educational life, and just because you had to do it doesn't mean it's good educational practice now. It's a general problem, one that author John Medina, of Brain Rules (http://www.brainrules.net) sums up by saying, if you had to design an environment that was least interesting for the human brain for learning, it would probably be the classroom!

Why is kids' time occupied by school, but not turned on in their brains?

1. Schoolwork isn't designed for the Google/Bing age. We see learning as something you "get," a product to be acquired. Real learning isn't like that, and most of what school asks kids to do is acquire information that can now be accessed on the Internet. What else should school provide? An opportunity to talk over that information, critique it, and understand it more deeply, said one high school sophomore recently.

2. Control isn't motivating. Controlling kids, particularly middle and high schoolers, isn't motivating to them. Lots of learning environments are designed, first and foremost, to control kid's behavior.

3. Kids get too much negative feedback on their work, and negative feedback that is too general to be useful in improving performance. "This was a sloppy essay," is not as helpful as, "in your first paragraph, you didn't adequately define your main idea or suggest what the argument here is, and therefore I didn't have a road map for moving through the rest of the paragraphs." Most feedback on work is very broad and unhelpful. Scantron, machine-graded tests increasingly used in middle and high school also don't provide much real feedback on performance, unless you personally get a lot from knowing where you fall on a bell curve.

4. You have to sit still too much in school. It's hard to sit still all day. Few adults do it. We ask kids to.

5. You don't get to choose what you are going to learn most of the day. Choice motivates! Lots of school assignments, even if they do offer choice, offer false, superficial ones.

6. We rely too much on superficial tests to judge the value of work. An ocean of evidence supports this, yet we are lining up for more testing.

7. Most kids don't see the connection between what they are asked to do in school, and the world of work they are going to. And they are probably right! A lot of the connections aren't very clear. Old fashioned ideas of authority -- doing it because I told you to -- aren't motivating for this generation of students, either.

8. Adults don't listen to kids. Really listen to them. I observe lots of classrooms where kids are listened to only when they say things that a teacher wants them to say. When kids say things that adults don't want to hear, they hardly get an ear. They may get a detention.

9. Kids don't have a real say in how schools are run. Most student government organizations are Potemkin villages -- students don't really have power to actually change things.

10. Teachers are overstressed, and don't have enough time to think carefully about their students. (Or themselves, or other teachers. )Schools are often lonely places for adults! Teachers have little time to talk about their work, or think about how to do it better. So they often settle into complaining, which creates more stress. The cycle continues.

11. Students are grouped together by age, not by developmental level, or what they know and can do. Students should be able to in and out, backwards and forwards in groups according to their levels of mastery, not based on their age. We should see grouping as aimed at getting kids together for their specific needs at that moment, then regrouping for the next challenge.

12. Human brains are growing all the time. But we don't act like this in school. In fact, we underchallenge of kids, and don't give them enough to do that is real, interesting, and important. We don't encourage making mistakes, another way brains really learn.

13. We undervalue teachers' work. Being a great teacher is like being a great brain surgeon: you need very high level skills, to work on your practice constantly, and be supported by a great team who watch you and help you do better. We treat teachers badly, and this rubs off in the classroom.

What do kids want from school? What they tell me is they want to learn how to be successful, to have friends, and to have fun. Teachers too. Time for big changes in our system, before the next exam.

©2009 Kirsten Olson, author of Wounded by School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up to Old School Culture

Booking Through Thursday - Hot!

Now that summer is here (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), what is the most “Summery” book you can think of? The one that captures the essence of summer for you?

(I’m not asking for you to list your ideal “beach reading,” you understand, but the book that you can read at any time of year but that evokes “summer.”)

A bonus BTT!! This one, I think, was tougher than the sorting one. I'm racking my brain trying to think of the most "summery" book I've read. The best one I can think of would be Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. I read this with my online book club over the course of a summer several years ago. I remember being enthralled with the story of revenge and patience. It definitely was an enjoyable summer read for the book club. Because of that, to me, it will always evoke summer.

Booking Through Thursday - Unique Sorting

Browsing through my blog, I found a link to this post about the "Sorted Book Project." Go read it. I’ll wait.
The idea is to take a few books and physically sort them in such a way that the titles make some kind of sense … something that I’ve never quite gotten around to doing and photographing, but which fascinates me.
What title/combinations can you come up with? (Bonus points if you actually assemble the books and photograph them, like in the original post.)

Honestly, I’ve never considered rearranging my books in any way other than alphabetically by author’s last name (yes, I am that obsessive). Still, the first one that comes to mind is the Twilight series. The names of the books and the covers lend themselves really well visually to sorting. Since I already have them specially sorted in my own personal library, I’ve included the picture of them.

Other possible titles and combinations include my leadership/success books that I keep on my desk at work. From Mary Kay Ash’s Miracles Happen to Dale Carnegie’s Lifetime Plan for Success, there is definitely an opportunity for a tongue-in-cheek moment that if I were to one day become a manager and bona fide leader, it will be a miracle!

No more teachers, no more textbooks...

Six years ago, I started a journey to enter the business world wrestling with the decision to get either an MBA or a Masters’ in Accounting. (I chose an MBA with a concentration in accounting.) In the course of those six years, I had my daughter, moved twice, changed jobs three times, and took an additional 30 credits of undergrad business and accounting courses before starting a graduate program officially. I knew nothing about business and very little about accounting. To think that I am now in a position of some authority in my organization, making business decisions that have a lasting impact on the company and will be sitting for the CMA exams in the fall, it is a position I never would have considered when I started. I’ve made several friends along the way and have had so many different experiences that it is going to take me a while to process everything. It’s been a long journey, and I am thankful that it is drawing to a close. I’m ready to put aside my life as a student and see just how far I can take my new knowledge. On to bigger and better things!!

Adventures of My Edward

How nice is My (Pocket) Edward? Last week, I pulled a muscle in my back that caused me quite a bit of discomfort. Not only did My (Pocket) Edward come to work with me...

he protected my way-too-important coffee in the morning...


















and even brought me a flower to make me feel better.


















Now, if I could only get Jim to do the same.

REVIEW - Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts

Title: Midnight Bayou

Author: Nora Roberts

No. of Pages: 352

First Released: 2001

Synopsis (courtesy of B&N): "Declan Fitzgerald had always been the family maverick, but even he couldn't understand his impulse to buy a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. All he knew was that ever since he saw Manet Hall, he'd been enchanted - and obsessed - with it. So when the opportunity to buy the house comes up Declan jumps at the chance to live out a dream.

Determined to restore Manet Hall to its former splendor, Declan begins the daunting renovation room by room, relying on his own labor and skills. But the days spent in total isolation in the empty house take a toll. He is seeing visions of days from a century past, and experiencing sensations of terror and nearly unbearable grief - sensations not his own, but those of a stranger. Local legend has it that the house is haunted, and with every passing day Declan's belief in the ghostly presence grows.

Only the companionship of the alluring Angelina Simone can distract him from the mysterious happenings in the house, but Angelina too has her own surprising connection to Manet Hall - a connection that will help Declan uncover a secret that's been buried for a hundred years."

Comments and Critiques: I love Nora Roberts. She is one of my go-to authors when I can't decide what to read or am just not in the mood to pick up something new. I find her work fun, refreshing, and just plain exhilarating, and I've read almost everything she has published. I consider myself a Nora Roberts expert.

Unfortunately, this is not one of my favorites of hers. The snappy dialogue that I've come to expect from her is lacking. I just don't care enough about any of the characters to really get into resolving the mystery. The ghost story isn't quite as vivid and horrifying as her other forays into a fantasy world. The love story portion between Lena and Declan seems lacking.

It's not a bad book in and of itself. It just isn't one of my favorites of hers. As I've mentioned in other reviews, her writing has definitely gotten sharper and better over the years. This one is still relatively early in her career, and I do think that makes quite the difference. At the time, this was probably very good, but when compared to her more current works, for me, something is missing. I am just one person, so I would still recommend Midnight Bayou to anyone who likes Nora Roberts.

REVIEW - Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

Title: Dead as a Doornail

Author: Charlaine Harris

No. of Pages: 295

First Released: May 2005

Synopsis: Sookie Stackhouse knows that her brother is going to change before he does. Surprisingly, he embraces his new shifter lifestyle more than most other shape-shifters she knows. However, her relief quickly turns to fear when it becomes apparent that a sniper has set his or her sights on the local shifter population. In addition, Jason's new werepanther family suspect that he may be the sniper. Sookie must draw on all her magical connections to uncover who the sniper is before the next full moon, if the sniper does not decide to track her down first.

Comments and Critique: Ms. Harris never ceases to amaze and mystify me. Just when I thought I knew the direction she was going to take Sookie, she throws me for a loop with book five. I am still undecided if I truly like the direction in which she is going. Call me a traditionalist, but I enjoyed Sookie's interactions with the vampires more than I am her interactions with the shifters. The shifter community seems to have too many rules, too many quid pro quo situations. Granted, the vampires have those stipulations as well but at least they are open and honest about it. Also, I still haven't recovered from my shock at the demise of her relationship with Bill and am STILL hoping for her to get back together with him. Even Eric seems a better choice than Alcide turns out to be or any other shifter interested in her. Sookie may not be jealous (or willing to admit to her jealousy), but I certainly am.

I will admit that the fantasy world Ms. Harris has created goes beyond my wildest dreams. At one point in time during the book, during the introduction of Quinn, I really started questioning whether there weren't more magical creatures in her world than normal humans. Then I started wondering why it has taken Sookie so long to get to know this supernatural world, being supernatural in her own rights. I soon realize that I'm contemplating a fictional world, but I believe that is part of her draw. Ms. Harris has created a world so fun, so realistic in its own right, that it is easy to get lost in it.

In all, Dead as a Doornail lived up to what I would expect from this series. Fun, fast-paced, Sookie again faces challenges, emotional, physical and mental, that would severely test a normal human. The fact that she remains so innocent and trusting is part of her appeal. I would definitely recommend this to anyone as caught up in the series as I am. A word of warning - Ms. Harris definitely refers to situations that occurred in previous books, so I've come to the conclusion that they should not be read out of order. Other than that, enjoy!

P.S. I finally started watching the HBO series, True Blood, based upon this series. I am NOT happy with the portrayal of Bill. He is just not that attractive to me. I'm scared to see what they did with Eric's portrayal. However, I was impressed with the one episode I've seen. For one, I was never scared for Sookie's safety when reading any book in the series. The fact that they are on book nine makes me pretty sure that she survives everything thrown at her. Watching the first episode, however, I was fearful, even though I knew what was going to happen. Bill is a lot scarier than I have ever considered him to be. I actually like that. After all, he IS a vampire, and vampires in the truest sense of the word are supposed to be frightening creatures. I can't wait to watch more episodes to see if it remains as compelling!

Weekly Geeks 2009-23: Reading Challenges

This week's Weekly Geeks topic was suggested by Sheri of A Novel Menagerie. She writes:

"Reading Challenges: a help or a hurt? Do you find that the reading challenges keep you organized and goal-oriented? Or, do you find that as you near the end of a challenge that you've failed because you fell short of your original goals? As a result of some reading challenges, I've picked up books that I would have otherwise never heard of or picked up; that, frankly, I have loved. Have you experienced the same with challenges? If so, which ones? Do you have favorite reading challenges?"

As we pass the halfway point of 2009, how are you doing with your reading challenges? Did you participate in any challenges this year?

Honestly, I still rather scared and intimidated by reading challenges. I hesitate to get involved in them because I still have SO many books on my bookshelf waiting to be read. I find myself struggling to find time to actually fit in reading into my schedule between blogging, exercise, household chores, family time, and the like. Part of the problem is that I am not one to read more than one book at a time. I can do it; I just don't like to do it whenever possible. So, I fear that if I were to get involved in any reading challenges, something else would suffer - like my reading for my book club or my books to review or something else. I think, at this point in time, my fear is more related to not having done one, and I'm sure that once I actually take the plunge, I will like it. However, I'm just not quite ready to take that plunge yet. I keep my eyes peeled though in the hopes that one of these days, I'll come across a reading challenge I just can't ignore!

REVIEW - Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

Title: Sacred Hearts

Author: Sarah Dunant

No. of Pages: 400

First Released: July 2009

Synopsis: Set in a convent in the northern Italian city of Ferrara in 1570, a time when fifty percent of women became - or were forced to become – nuns, Serafina was torn abruptly from her family and planned marriage and sent to Santa Caterina. Willful, emotional, and furious, her violent rage brings Suora Zuana to her aid. As dispensary mistress, Suora Zuana helps calm her down for the night. This aid is the backdrop for a complex relationship between the two women that waffles between trust and betrayal. Serafina’s rebellion is a challenge to the entire convent, especially those who have made peace with the isolated lifestyle of the convent, and forces everyone to explore the religious, political and social forces against them.

Comments and Critiques: We’ve come a long way, baby. It may be clichéd, but Sacred Hearts shows the reader the strides women have made in the world. I remain utterly horrified at the fact that so many women were forced into the convents. When your options are to marry the man your father tells you to marry, submit to his whims and caprices, abuse and philandering, I imagine the convent was the best choice for some. Still, that doesn’t make it fundamentally right. Everyone deserves the chance to choose their life.

The story revolves around Serafina, who had the temerity to fall in love with a man who was not her father’s choice for marriage. Rather than let her live her life as a pauper, as she chose, he opts to lock her away in Santa Caterina for the rest of her life. Her reaction at such treatment and at her incarceration is easily explainable, if not completely understandable. It evokes an immediate emotional, visceral response in the reader that continues throughout her experiences and adjustments to life in the convent.

It also revolves around Suora Zuana. Her story is a bit more complicated, as she was the only child of a brilliant doctor who taught her almost everything he knew. Upon his sudden death and with a dearth of close relatives, her only option was the convent since no one wanted a young, educated woman as a wife. Serafina may have been forced into the convent by family members, but Zuana was forced into that life through a severe lack of options for women. Neither one went willingly. They both struggle(d) to adapt to the lifestyle. While helping Serafina through her rebellion, Zuana recalls her own struggles and rebellious spirit and discovers that she wasn’t able to bury it as deeply as she once believed.

In addition, Ms. Dunant introduces the reader to convent life in 16th century Italy. Given women’s current freedoms of religion and speech and all other manners of freedom, the lifestyle is particularly horrifying. Rigid and hypocritical, stultifying and limiting, but all done in the name of God - it again is an area that makes the reader want to get down on her knees to say a prayer of thanks that women have come so far from this unenlightened time period.

Whatever problems one may have with the time period and the lifestyle presented, Sacred Hearts is very much a feminist novel. Serafina and Zuana must navigate a world in which everything is stacked against them. These two women, their struggles, triumphs and defeats make for a fascinating and heart-wrenching story. The reader is taken on an emotional roller coaster through their travails, made all the more profound by comparisons with current societal norms and female standing in society. In fact, the reader cannot help but compare the life for Serafina and Zuana with her own life. However, therein lies the attraction because it is only in understanding the past where women can appreciate current successes and focus on the next hurdle to overcome. It also helps the reader appreciate all women who were forced into such situations, admire their strength, courage and willpower to not just live but thrive in a society that was so harsh for women.

I loved this book. I found it extremely thought-provoking, so much so that I’ve carried the book with me since finishing in order to be able to flip through the pages and reread certain passages again. I waffled between horror at the lifestyle, situations, and societal norms of the time and utter admiration for the women who were able to beat the odds and thrive in such an anti-female society. The amateur historian in me appreciates the depths of research Ms. Dunant reached and the detail of convent life, music, pharmacology and other aspects of society that she brings to life. For through Ms. Dunant, Serafina, Zuana and all the other sisters are alive. Their Sacred Hearts live on and are dedicated to all the women who remain oppressed and shut away from life.

Thank you to Random House for the opportunity to review this ARC!

Booking Through Thursday

One of my favorite sci-fi authors (Sharon Lee) has declared June 23rd Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Day.


As she puts it:

So! In my Official Capacity as a writer of science fiction and fantasy, I hereby proclaim June 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day! A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and fantasy to reach out and say thank you to our favorite writers. A day, perhaps, to blog about our favorite sf/f writers. A day to reflect upon how written science fiction and fantasy has changed your life.


So … what might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?



I do and have read fantasy or sci-fi fiction, although neither are a genre that would be among my top picks if I had a choice. Actually, now that I think back on certain books, I suspect I read more of each genre that I first thought. Hmmm...

What little I have read is enjoyable because it is the purest form of escapism, which is the primary reason I read. It is difficult to recall the latest headlines or bad dealings at work when you are reading about a scenario that is literally impossible in this world. From vampires to aliens, talking animals to hobbits, they help get your mind off of all of your problems because no matter how bad it might get in your life, chances are that life is much worse for any character of a sci-fi or fantasy book.

How can I celebrate Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Day? Pick up a fantasy or science fiction book of course! I’ve been reading the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series and still have books five through nine to read. I also wouldn’t mind revisiting anything by Stephenie Meyer. Who knows? Maybe I’ll read both.

Weekly Geeks: 2009-22 Catching Up on Reviews

This week, I'm going back to a classic Dewey topic--#12 to be exact. I chose this for several reasons--one, it's one of my favorite weekly geeks topics--but more importantly I saw it would work well with two very important bloggy events going on this week.

1. In your blog, list any books you’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet. If you’re all caught up on reviews, maybe you could try this with whatever book(s) you hope to finish this week. (Be sure to leave a link to this post either in the comments of this post, or in the Mister Linky below.)

2. Ask your readers to ask you questions about any of the books they want. In your comments, not in their blogs. (Most likely, people who will ask you questions will be people who have read one of the books or know something about it because they want to read it.)

3. Later, take whichever questions you like from your comments and use them in a post about each book. Link to each blogger next to that blogger’s question(s).

4. Visit other Weekly Geeks and ask them some questions!

What are these other bloggy events? One is the June Mini-Challenge for Dewey's Reading Challenge. Kailana is asking folks to list the books they've completed (but not reviewed) for either the Dewey Reading Challenge or Carl's Once Upon A Time III challenge. Her due date is Saturday, June 20th. All the details are on the post about the challenge. The second is Natasha's
Bloggiesta. On June 19th and 20th, Natasha is encouraging bloggers to catch up on their blogs. Included in this is reviewing!

1. Well, since I started this blog, I've been pretty good at keeping up on reviews. There are two Nora Roberts books I re-read a few months ago that I keep meaning to go back and review. One of these days, I do plan to officially review my beloved Twilight series. I haven't done so yet because so many others have done it and as much as I love the books, I really like keeping my true thoughts to myself. But I promised that I would do so as soon as I graduate - which is next week, so I should start planning! Also, I hope to finish reading Sarah Dunant's latest book, Sacred Hearts, and review it this weekend.

2. I would love to answer any questions anyone can throw at me! The list of books I've reviewed is essentially the same list of books I've read.

Twilight Tuesday

For all those who still consider him Shark Boy, eat your heart out...



News on the New Moon soundtrack - heads up for all you Coldplay fans!

Want to see a grown man wear a bikini singing Beyonce's Single Lady? Head over to Twitter and help out Peter Facinelli!

And not to forget Team Edward:

How much does my husband love me?

My anniversary presents...

REVIEW - The Lie by Fredrica Wagman

Title: The Lie

Author: Frederica Wagman

No. of Pages: 214

First Released: April 2009

Synopsis (Courtesy of FSB Associates): Coming of age in the 1940s and 1950s America, Ramona Smollens takes her cues about female sexuality from Hollywood movie stars. Ramona marries young and carries a dark family secret, the sort of secret one simply did not talk about and that would stalk her as she matures into her role as wife and mother and remains a devoted daughter to her aging mother.

Comments and Critique: This book is one of the more haunting, compelling books I’ve read in a while. Ramona’s struggle is heart-wrenching. I wanted to be able to put the book down and forget about her problems but found that I couldn’t. Even when I wasn’t reading the book, I was haunted by her questions and issues, including while I slept.

It took me a while to realize what the struggle actually was, let alone the lie around which the entire book circles. Ms. Wagman gives the reader hints and clues about them both from the very beginning, but it didn’t dawn on me that they were clues until about midway through the book. Suddenly, the beginning made much more sense. More importantly, I could see the ending approaching. However, by that point in time, I was so vested in Ramona’s struggle that I was rooting for her and praying that I was wrong about that ending up until the final moments. Twenty-four hours later, and I am still haunted by the ending.

Ms. Wagman presents some of the most beautiful passages, ones that will stay with me for a while. I don’t normally mark books in any way, nor do I write down favorite quotes or sections because I try to go with my overall feelings. The Lie forced me to stop and reread entire paragraphs because of the message contained within. My favorite: “failure has nothing to do with rejection, or with humiliation, or with losing; it has only to do with not fighting back” (p. 123).

There are some extremely powerful emotions occurring that pull the reader into hundreds of different directions but leave you completely shattered in the end. Because of that, or rather in spite of that, I am so glad that I read this book and would definitely recommend this to others. I was completely mesmerized by Ramona’s story, and Ramona herself will remain with me for a long time to come.

Thank you to Julie Harabedian at FSB Associates for allowing me the pleasure of reviewing this book!

Booking Through Thursday - Niche

There are certain types of books that I more or less assume all readers read. (Novels, for example.)

But then there are books that only YOU read. Instructional manuals for fly-fishing. How-to books for spinning yarn. How to cook the perfect souffle. Rebuilding car engines in three easy steps. Dog training for dummies. Rewiring your house without electrocuting yourself. Tips on how to build a NASCAR course in your backyard. Stuff like that.

What niche books do YOU read?

I never considered myself a niche reader. My personal library runs the gamut from non-fiction to fantasy to romance and back. However, I am addicted to recipes. I clip them from newspapers, will spend hours searching the Internet for ones that sound interesting. I subscribe to Taste of Home, Food and Wine, Kraft Kitchens, Food Network Magazine, and I'm contemplating yet another cooking magazine. I also have been known to pick up a cookbook or two at the bookstore. I currently have so many that they no longer fit in one of my cupboards and one of my summer projects is to organize and purge. I have cookbooks I've never opened, much less used it to prepare a recipe. I have enough recipes to cook a new recipe for every meal for at least two or three years without repeating. Recipes seem to be my niche.

A Few of my Favorite Things

We're trying so hard to teach my son that making fun of others is wrong. And then Wipeout comes on TV. Really? I'm trying to leave a lasting impression, and you put this wonderful show on the air that totally offsets all my lessons. But there is something irresistible about these people falling down so spectacularly. And before you ask, no I would not participate if I ever was given a chance to do so. I know I'm not that athletic. But I can certainly enjoy those who don't realize that!

You all know my Twilight obession, but I am a many-layered person. I also am one of the few remaining faithful fans of Lost. So, when my favorite blogger, Lauren at Lauren's Bite, posted this video link, I not only laughed out loud several times, I also knew I had to share. Enjoy!

Lastly, I have to share that waiting for me when I got home today was my first official ARC!! I've received copies of books for review, but they've always been released already. This one doesn't get released until July 14th. I feel so special! And I can't wait to start reading it.

How long would you wait?

I was sitting in traffic this afternoon trying to get home. There is major construction at my exit, as they are completely revamping the interchange. After moving 100 yards in five minutes trying to get off the interstate, I started thinking how much worse this traffic was going to be in August when the new outlet mall opens at this same exit. I then started thinking how long people were going to wait in traffic just to turn into the outlet mall campus. Normally, I would scoff at this sort of thing but then flashed back to the craziest thing I've waited in line for.

I loved living in Germany. We lived there for almost three years, and I didn't miss the United States at all. However, every once in a while, I got a craving for something from back home. I lived without McDonald's, and we could get Burger King on the installation. And honestly, the food in Germany is typically much better than most of the casual-dining restaurants in the U.S. But still, they can't do cheap Mexican food. So, when news came out that they were opening a Taco Bell in one of the installations fairly close to us, I was all over that. And I mean all over that. I dragged my husband to this installation, which was 90 minutes away from us via the autobahn and waited in line. And waited. And waited some more. Two hours later, I walked away with two trays of Taco Bell food. (And it was SO worth it.)

So, who am I to criticize all those people who are going to wait in their cars in August to try to go shop at the outlet mall? I mean, shopping at an outlet mall isn't quite like waiting two hours for Taco Bell food.

So, what's the longest you've waited in line for something and the craziest? Was it worth it?

REVIEW - The Link by Colin Tudge

Title: The Link: Uncovering our Earliest Ancestor

Author: Colin Tudge

No. of Pages: 250

First Released: 2009

Synopsis: Meet Ida, a perfectly fossilized early primate, older than the previously most famous primate fossil, Lucy, by forty-four million years. Ida is the most complete fossil ever found. Her astonishing preservation has the potential to completely revolutionize primate origins. For more than 100 years, humans have sought to uncover their ancestry in the evolutionary chain. Ida just may be one more link in the chain.

Comments and Critique: For those who like paleontology but are not be scientists in the field, this book offers a unique look into the study of paleontology, the search for fossils and just what fossil finds entail for the scientists involved. Mr. Tudge does a great job of setting the backdrop and explaining in fairly easy-to-understand terminology what this find means for scientists throughout the world. He takes roughly 150 of the 250 pages of the book to explain what the earth was like both before and after Ida was living, how early primates evolved, the truly unique nature of Ida's final resting place, and how we can extrapolate from Ida's era to our own. This background paves the way for the reader to understand the significance of Ida.

Even a layperson like me realizes that Ida is truly a one-in-a-million find. The pictures sprinkled throughout the book certainly highlight just how remarkable she is. Not only is the skeleton complete, but you can also see the outline of her fur as well as the fossilized remains of her stomach contents at the time of her death. Given the fact that most fossils are partial remains, this detail is both astonishing and slightly eerie.

Speaking of eerie, if one were to look solely at the cover without knowing anything else about the book, one would almost get the impression that it falls in the horror genre. I get what the publishers were trying to do with the cover illustration (that is one of Ida's hands), but it still is a bit creepy to me to see it isolated like that. The full fossil pictures are stunning; the single hand scares me ever so slightly.

One other bone of contention is Mr. Tudge's descriptions of the scientists involved. Dr. Jorn Hurum is the paleontologist who was shown a picture of Ida at a fossil fair and immediately recognized the value of the find. Professor Philip Gingerich and Dr. Jens Franzen also helped confirm Ida's authenticity and continue to work together to unravel all of her secrets. Extremely lucky (because paleontology requires luck) men, they appear more than capable of handling the job. And yet, Mr. Tudge's descriptions of them, especially when compared to the pictures included in the book, seems slanted and somewhat biased. Dr. Hurum, as the lead scientist, is described as having the "rugged look of an explorer" and "a sturdy build", which does not match the picture. Dr. Franzen is described as having Coke-bottle glasses. Let's just say that if he's wearing Coke-bottle glasses, then my glasses belonged on the Hubble telescope. I know these seem minor, but it did get me wondering what else he slanted in his descriptions. I've read a lot of peer-reviewed literature and have done my fair share of literature reviews for my Masters' program, so minor details such as inaccurate descriptions of main characters tends to raise a yellow flag for me to proceed with caution and understand that the author's point of view may be skewed.

In all, this book made me remember why I wanted to be a paleontologist or archaeologist when I grew up. Mr. Tudge does a tremendous job of presenting complex ideas in a simplistic fashion to help guide the reader to a better understanding of the overall importance of the discovery. I learned quite a bit about prehistoric Earth after the dinosaurs roamed, and I met Ida. She is definitely one fascinating little "lady" and well worth the time and effort it takes to finally meet her.

Thanks to Anna Balasi at Hachette Books for the opportunity to review this book!

Weekly Geeks 2009-21 More Summer Fun

A couple of weeks ago our WG theme was the kick off of summer in the US. Right now us geeks in the Northern Hemisphere are anxiously awaiting summer's arrival (hold on Southern Hemps, I'll get to you in a moment). For a lot of parents, this means a couple of months wondering what to do with the kiddies who were in school all year. Now I realize not everyone is a parent but I'm almost 100% positive everyone was a kid once. So here's my challenge, you have several choices:

1) Make a reading list of your favorite children's (school aged) books to read over the summer.
2) Give us some fun activities to do during the summer.
3) Tell us about a favorite vacation spot. Maybe someone will want to go there too!
4) Tell us about a favorite summer memory you have of being a kid (the time you caught the big one, learning to swim, summer camp, etc).

Do any one (or more) of these.

If you are a student, you can tell us how you're going to spend all that time.
Wow! The possibilities are endless with this one. I'm going to opt for numbers three and four. My favorite vacation spot is Asheville, North Carolina. Jim and I went there on our honeymoon twelve years ago and went back last year. It has it all - nature, history, shopping, and atmosphere. You could spend several days visiting Biltmore Estate and everything they have to do there! Also, it's close the Appalachian Trail, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Chimney Rock. We have yet to find a horrible place to eat there, which is never a bad problem to experience. It's such a quirky town that we absolutely adore!

I actually have two favorite summer memories. The first one I have occurred between my junior and senior year of high school. It was the time I went on a high school trip to Germany. I LOVED it. My first experience at being away from my parents' loving but rather protective arms was so liberating. I fell in love with Germany, so much so that when I moved there with my husband six months after we were married, I didn't bat an eye. More importantly, I gained a level of independence and self-confidence that I had not previously had.

My second favorite summer memory was after my sophomore year when my family visited Gettysburg, DC, Charleston, and topped it off with week-long trip to Disney World. FAB-U-LOUS!! I'm a huge history buff, so the three days we spent in Gettysburg was heaven on earth. We also spent a few days in DC, seeing the sites, and had a quick trip to Fort Sumter in Charleston. It's a history buff's dream vacation. I've been to DC and Gettysburg several times since then, and Jim and I visited Charleston last year, but I still remember the detailed, day-long battle tour we took with the tour guide in our car. I remember visiting the National Museum of American History and watching the experts repair the Star-Spangled Banner. I even remember the solemnity of Fort Sumter, looking at Charleston Harbor. It was definitely a vacation to remember.
Also, since as of June 24th, I will no longer be a student, I plan to fill up this summer with relaxing. It is the first time in five years where I won't have to log into a computer every day to check into my classes or spend an hour or two a day doing homework or writing a paper. So, I plan to sit in the sun, play in the sprinkler and read, read, read and make up for lost time!

REVIEW - Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Title: Dead to the World

Author: Charlaine Harris

No. of Pages: 291

First Published: 2004

Synopsis (Courtesy of Ace Books): "It's not every day that you come across a naked man on the side of the road. That's why cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse doesn't just drive on by. Turns out the poor thing hasn't a clue who he is, but Sookie does. It's Eric the vampire - but now he's a kinder, gentler Eric. And a scared Eric, because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie's investigation into who and why leads straight into a dangerous battle among witches, vampires, and werewolves. But a greater danger could be to Sookie's heart - because this version of Eric is very difficult to resist..."

Comments and Critique: This one definitely started slower than Ms. Harris' previous novels. I was actually able to put it down for a day or two. I'm also torn about Sookie's increasing involvement with Eric. I liked Bill better, and even Alcide was a better option, in my opinion. So, my heart just wasn't in to reading more about their burgeoning relationship...at first.

However, the action definitely picked up towards the end, not to mention some fabulous bedroom scenes. This was the first of the series, except for the first one, where I honestly did not figure out how it was going to end. I also made the mistake of bringing the book with me to work today to read during lunch. I may or may not have taken a longer lunch in order to finish it. In my defense, a battle between witches, Wiccans (they are different from witches if you didn't know), werewolves, and vampires is like heaven to anyone who adores the genre, like me. I couldn't stop without figuring out what happened!

Poor Sookie. The girl just can't catch a break, can she? All she wants is to love and be loved in return but is constantly thwarted by factors out of her control. I was a bit bothered that she appeared weaker than normal, not the strong female lead I had found her to be. Then again, when I think that the first five books are supposed to have taken place roughly one month apart from each other, the girl has been through more than most people would be able to handle. Once I figured that out, I was able to cut her some slack and admire her ability to be able to deal with so much in such a short period of time. And this book does pack some emotional punches for her, more so than the previous books. Her relationship with Eric becomes something that she never had with Bill, and I'm curious how this is going to play out in the end.

A few days ago, I was ready to just chalk this one up to the fact that not all books can be at the same excellent level as previous ones. Authors are allowed one bad novel now and then. However, as I mentioned earlier, the plot picked up in a hurry, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I'll take that as a sign that Ms. Harris did it again. She managed to weave a thrilling action story filled with "supes", a bit of a mystery, and even more heartrending decisions for Sookie. It definitely left me wanting more, yet again!

I'm going to give the Sookie Stackhouse series a rest for a few days and pick up some other books that I recently received. But, I have a feeling that my thoughts won't be far from Bon Temps as I wonder what the next installment has in store for Sookie, Bill, and Eric!

Booking Through Thursday

Sorry, guys. I'm a day late on this one because I was busy rocking out at the Coldplay concert last night. FAB-U-LOUS!! If anyone has a chance to see them as they finish their Vida la Vida tour, I highly recommend grabbing the chance! Now on to this week's topic...

"This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes."

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
3. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
5. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8. Anne of Green Gables (and the entire series) by L. M. Montgomery
9. Harry Potter (the entire series) by J. K. Rowling
10. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
11. Dracula by Bram Stoker
12. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
13. Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
14. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchelle
15. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Weekly Geeks 2009-20: Guilty Pleasures

"This week's task was sent in by Maree of Just Add Books, who's been thinking about those things that we do when we're not reading or blogging. Here's what Maree has to say:

The comments on this post of mine got me thinking about guilty pleasures. Non-reading guilty pleasures.

Mine at the time the post was written was American Idol. Particularly one contestant, as you can see. By now, the show is over, and the results are in, one way or another. But my inappropriate addiction to Idol got me thinking about the things we do that we love but that we don't like to admit to--our guilty pleasures. Mine is reality TV, which scratches that small, dark place that we all have.

So. Weekly Geeks, we're going into the confessional this week.

What's your non-reading guilty pleasure?
Trashy TV?
Trashier movies?
Junk food?

Share with the group. :)"

I've been thinking about this one since Saturday. To me, guilty pleasures evoke something about which I should be embarrassed. Ten years ago, I would have had a list a mile long: certain music, various TV shows, and especially food. However, as I was thinking about my response to this week's subject, I had an epiphany. I don't have guilty pleasures anymore because I'm not embarrassed anymore. So what if I have New Kids on the Block on my iPod? Or will sit and watch Notting Hill every single time it comes on TV? Or have made complete meals out of nothing but seven-layer taco dip and a bag of Doritos? They make me happy, and therefore I can't be made to feel guilty about any of them. Should I be embarrassed that I'm a 33-year-old woman with a not-so-minor obsession with the Twilight Series? Probably. Am I? Nope. Again, it's something that interests me, and I am no longer going to apologize for it. I guess I really am growing up!