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Reading Addicts, Unite + Review of “Graceling” by Kristin Cashore Comments Off

Filed under good reads, the world
Written by Annie on 4th Jan -11

I have been consuming books by the boatload lately.

Three reasons.
1. I realized (again) that I learn from books – if I want to grow, be motivated, inspired, changed, challenged, etc. – I read on a topic. And I need to grow in a lot of, er, topics.

2. I miss fiction. I’d fallen out of the lovely habit of just savoring books, enjoying the pure pleasure of story. Too much academic reading, too much nonfiction (without the good stories alongside), too much literary fiction and too few rewards. I hate a snarky read. I hate bad writing. Where is the blessed book free of both?

Well – not always true, I’m sure – but I took Gretchen Rubin‘s commendation to heart and started reading YA fiction. Delicious. I probably won’t be satiated in YA alone – the appetite is enormous – but I do find YA to be a large, interesting room full of smart, deep, well-written books. Some duds, too, sure. But plenty of good ones to choose from.
Anyhow. Oh yes, and I do read fiction as a lovely way to procrastinate on doing the (nonfiction) things I’ve been reading about and learning to do…

3. Joe got me a Kindle for Christmas.

= fall in love all ovah again
= best gift ever
= so many benefits that even an old-school, paper-infatuated, Apple-resistant gal like me can’t deny the love, the absolute and utter thrill of being able to carry a room full of books with me wherever I go. Because, despite the rigors of getting three kids under four dressed, pottied, redressed, and loaded in the car on any sort of outing, the most stressful part of leaving is still the moment I stop in the library (aka bulk storage room full of books masquerading as home office), purse in hand, and ask myself, “Which book should I take?” Now: I take them all. Oh joy, joy, joy.

Joe came home with a stack of YA fiction I’d requested from the library. I started (after much deliberation between which to start with, which nearly resulted in an ugly treadmill incident) on Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Her first novel. Lovely. (I’ve used that word too much in this post.) The prose is striking, original, ringing, vivid. I found myself wanting to copy lines down just to savor and share later, but didn’t because I was too interested in the story for a petty exercise like NOTE TAKING (which I happen to love, truly madly deeply).

Oh, the story. Right.

You don’t really need a plot summary. There’s a heroine, who is more than she seems and a hero with similar characteristics, and a villain as well… And the characters make you like them and the world draws you in, and my only complaint is that the final “downfall of the villain” scene is almost anti-climactic. It’s like Kristin (can I call you Kristin? Is that okay?) felt like she’d ventured into a sticky mess of conflict and she’d better RESOLVE, RESOLVE NOW before things got out of hand and there was no clear way to resolution. To which I’d say: Kristin, trust yourself a little more. You wrote the whole gorgeous story, created the whole world it contains, you’re not going to get lost at the end. Take your time.

Maybe it was getting close to her deadline.

At any rate, despite that single complaint, the book is a gem. Poetry-like prose, “I-like-you-will-you-be-my-friend” characters.
Read.
Enjoy.

5/5 stars.
Image by Ginnerobot.

{Book Review} Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh 1

Filed under good reads
Written by Annie on 4th Mar -10

Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God

by Sheila Walsh

Thomas Nelson Publishers; 3 out of 5 stars

I like this book, I do, so I feel kind of guilty being harsh in my review. But repetition bores me, and the writing in this book is very formulaic. Each chapter follows the same format: personal story or anecdote, parallel drawn to Biblical character, more insight into Biblical character interspersed with additional personal anecdotes, conclusion, and then the “transitional sentence” to lead into the next chapter. continue reading…

Book Review: “Totally Organized” by Bonnie McCullough Comments Off

Filed under the world
Written by Annie on 14th Jul -09

Totally Organized: Easy-to-Use Techniques for Getting Control of Your Time and Your Life by Bonnie McCullough: 5 out of 5 stars.

organized1

Dear Bonnie,

I love your book. I would like to shower you with daffodils and buy you a latte. Really, I would shower you with daffodils just for the first two chapters of your book. You write like you know real life. You don’t make me feel bad for not being totally organized yet, but you make me realize that it’s possible. You don’t give me so many details that I get lost in them, but you give me enough that I really understand the principles.

totallyorganizedcoverYou write chapters that are short, easy to read, and filled up with good ideas, tips, helps, methods, lists, plans, and suggestions that I want to go do right away. I love that you’ve sorted the concepts into sections, but that each chapter stands alone. I can sit down, read one chapter, get up and apply it and see immediate improvement. And then, when I feel ready, I can sit down and tackle another chapter and solve another problem.

I like that your methods are simple and make sense. I like that I don’t have to buy two dozen special products. I like that you have an entire section on dealing with household paper and another on organizing with kids. Some of the professionals who wrote some of those other organizing books obviously have never spent any time around small humans, and they don’t know the effect they have on organization. You do!

I like that you share examples from your own life, like this:

“I made 200 copies of my daily routine, much like the one shown. At the time I needed the boost of seeing the little things I had finished crossed off my list. It took me six months to get control of the morning routine, partly because I had a young baby, but mostly because I was so undisciplined. Once I had this under control, I was the master…”

I really like some of your thoughts, like these:

  • “People are more important than things, but the order of things affects people.”
  • “Don’t take your home problems as personal insults. Instead, learn to look for solutions.”
  • “When you buy impulsively, you are letting someone else influence your food dollar, and you may not get your best value.”
  • “As a general rule, children will not “notice” when things need to be done. They need to be trained.”
  • “The preschooler should learn a basic routine of everyday neatness…and of everyday personal grooming.”
  • “When preschoolers want to help, encourage them by finding ways to let them feel helpful even though it may mean the job takes longer.”
  • “To be organized does not mean that you never get lost. It means that you know how to find your way back.”

Thank you for writing this book,

for sharing your wise and witty and practical help with me and many others. Anytime you want that latte – and the daffodils – come on over. As soon as I’ve done my Daily Minimum, I’ll be free.

Sincerely,

Annie

Bottom Line: If you live in a house, you should read this book. If you have kids, you should read this book. If you deal with paperwork of any kind, you should read this book. If you’ve ever felt unorganized, you should read this book. If you’re anything like me – live in a house, have kids, lots of paperwork, and frequent feelings of disorganization – you should buy, read, highlight, underline, memorize this book.

More:

401 Ways to Get Your Kids to Work at Home by Bonnie McCullough

Bonnie’s Household Budget Book by Bonnie McCullough

Image courtesy of Lusi.

Book Review: Stealing with Style by Emyl Jenkins Comments Off

Filed under the world
Written by Annie on 13th Jul -09

Stealing with Style by Emyl Jenkins: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars

emyljenkinscover1

“Stealing with Style” is a story about Sterling Glass, antiques appraiser extraordinaire, and the strange adventures of her professional life. People get pretty rabid about antiques, apparently, and this book spins a story about fraud, burglary rings, and a whole world of exclusive, expensive antique pieces.

The factual background for the story is great; each chapter opens with a “column” in question-and-answer form by the antiques expert. And throughout the story, Jenkins adeptly provides relevant information about antiques: historical facts, how value is determined, style and period details. It’s an education in a novel, and for anyone interested in antiques these details would be intriguing.

Perhaps intriguing enough to make up for a shallow, rather predictable plot. The characters are appealing. Sterling Glass herself is more than a typical heroine; she’s a single, over-50 woman full of self-doubts and quotes from her dead mother, unaware of her own value and expertise. She takes on challenges, faces fears, and learns to confront even her dearest friend.

Still, there’s nothing very surprising about any of the characters and though they’re likable, they’re not very memorable. The writing style is middle-grade. You won’t find major grammatical errors, but you will find awkward dialogue and phrasing that confuses rather than enlightens.

An aspect that merits sincere applause is the generous sprinkling of quotations from poetry and great literature.  They were often humorous, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes thoughtful and serious, but always placed appropriately in the story line.


Bottom line: an easy read with a simple plot. Nice if you want a comfortable mystery without any real spine-tingling and if you’re not too picky about technique.

More:

Emyl Jenkins’s website

Review of Emyl Jenkins’s The Big Steal (also a Sterling Glass mystery) by Carrie at Reading to Know.

Review of Stealing with Style by Andrea Sisco at Armchair Interviews.

(Wow. Everybody likes Ms. Jenkins more than I do. Hm.)

An interview with Emyl Jenkins at Art and Literature.

“Do Hard Things”: Wasting Time, Wasting Youth Comments Off

Filed under the kids
Written by Annie on 7th May -08

Alex and Brett Harris wrote a book called “Do Hard Things” which I probably would know nothing about but for an excerpt in TPE, the magazine of my church’s denomination. (Yep, I’m one of those crrrrazy Pentecostals. Are you scared? Are you making assumptions right now? You are, aren’t you? That’s okay. I love you anyway.)

I was impressed. The book is directed toward teenagers, which, strangely enough, is a group that no longer accepts me as one of their own. (I am still a little hurt by this.) The book’s premise seems to be (understand, I have only read an excerpt, not the whole book, so I’m sailing a little blind here) that the “Myth of Adolescence” has turned a group that should be vibrant, energetic, unstoppable into a lethargic and rebellious one.

What a waste. As the book says, “We waste some of the best years of our lives and never reach our full God-given potential. We never attempt things that would stretch, grow and strengthen us. We end up weak and unprepared for the amazing future that could have been.”

I’m 26. My husband is 25. We’ve both been working since we were about 14. Of course, it was part-time during the school year, and some of my earlier jobs were just baby-sitting. But at that tender, adolescent age, our parents expected us to begin to take responsibility, to pay for stuff we wanted, to contribute. We didn’t have to put grocery money into the family pot or anything, but that probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea.

We’re not rich, by any means. But we have worked for and gained an independence that many of my peers seem unable to find. And we’re not talking teenagers! It starts then, back at 13, or before, maybe at 10, or 6, when the whole world revolves around a child’s happiness. At what point do you let the child know that the point of the world isn’t to make him happy? It’s a sad awakening, and I have friends who are still fighting that knowledge as hard as they can.

Some people manage to avoid acknowledging that truth their entire lives, and they are the ones who Alex and Brett describe on their blog as “ Peter Pans who shave.” (This article they wrote describes more about “adultescence.”)

I see that in my generation, now in our mid-twenties. I see that in the one coming behind me, the teens with shiny laptops and enormous libraries of music on their iPods, but with no vision for the future, no library of skills or knowledge or character from which to draw.

We’re going to be playing catch-up for a while. We better start getting over our own lies and pointing the way.

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