Wednesday, August 29, 2018

A Night with an Author in My Own Hometown

I've attended lots (and lots and lots) of wonderful author events, but the most wonderful author events are always events in which the author is a friend in your own hometown.

Such was the wonderful author event I attended last week. My friend, Glenn Starkey, celebrated the publishing of his tenth book with a party at my hometown's delightful Gordon Street Tavern.

Glenn Starkey is a Vietnam veteran, a former Marine Corps Sergeant, a former Texas law enforcement officer, and a retired security manager for a global oil corporation. I first met him nine years ago when he came to my school as a mentor for the students there, though his wife has been a friend since I met her in third grade. Glenn's books cover a wide spectrum of genres, including the genres of historical fiction, thriller, young adult, science fiction, and nonfiction.

When we arrived at Gordon Street Tavern, Glenn was busy talking books with his fans.


The author's wife, Donna, and their grandson, Caleb, were busy ringing up book sales.


All ten of Starkey's books were available for sale.


He graciously autographed copies all evening.


The event drew a packed house.


One man couldn't even wait to get home to start reading his book.




You can find out more about Glenn Starkey here on his website. To find out more about his books or to purchase his books, please go here.






For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.


Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Some of the Best Books Set in Schools

I've spent the majority of my life in school.

Way back in the 1950's, when most children didn't open the doors of a school until first grade, my mom enrolled me in a little school. I was two. My mom was expecting my sister and she was tired, and her friend ran a little school out of her home. I was told that I could attend if I was very quiet and still. I wanted so much to learn and to be there with the big four-year-olds that I was quiet and still. I learned to read that year, at two.

I went on to spend the next sixty years of my life in school, as a student, as a teacher, or as a volunteer.

Some of my favorite stories of all time are set in school. Here are my favorites, along with a little blurb about each one.


Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

"Accidentally built sideways and standing thirty stories high (the builder said he was very sorry for the mistake), Wayside School has some of the wackiest classes in town."




The Secret History by Donna Tart

"Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill."




Looking for Alaska by John Green

"Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . . After. Nothing is ever the same."




Brideshead Revisited

"Brideshead Revisited concerns the tale of Charles Ryder, a captain in the British Army in post-World War I England. Ryder is an intelligent man, looking back on much of his life from his current post in Oxford. He strikes a special friendship with Lord Sebastian Flyte as the setting moves to the Brideshead estate and a baroque castle that recalls England's prior standing in the world. Ryder falls for Flyte's sister while families, politics and religions collide." 




Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

"Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. 


Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love."





Regarding the Fountain

"The Dry Creek Middle School drinking fountain has sprung a leak, so principal Walter Russ dashes off a request to Flowing Waters Fountains, Etc.
...We need a new drinking fountain. Please send a catalog.
Designer Flo Waters responds:
"I'd be delighted...but please understand that all of my fountains are custom-made."
Soon the fountain project takes on a life of its own, one chronicled in letters, postcards, memos, transcripts, and official documents. The school board president is up in arms. So is Dee Eel, of the water-supply company. A scandal is brewing, and Mr. Sam N.'s fifth grade class is turning up a host of hilarious secrets buried deep beneath the fountain."




A Little Princess

"At Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies, young Sara Crewe enjoys the friendship of her classmates and the staff--much to stern Miss Minchin's disdain. When Sara is unexpectedly impoverished, she is forced to become a servant under Miss Minchin's control. To escape her dreary life, Sara imagines herself a princess, and her experiences soon teach her that being a princess on the inside counts more than any outward expression of royalty."




The Hundred Dresses

'Wanda Petronski, a Polish girl in a Connecticut school, is ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. Wanda claims she has one hundred dresses at home, but everyone knows she doesn’t and bullies her mercilessly. The class feels terrible when Wanda is pulled out of the school, but by that time it’s too late for apologies. Maddie, one of Wanda’s classmates, ultimately decides that she is "never going to stand by and say nothing again."'




Ender's Game

"In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. 
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives."




Rain School

'It is the first day of school in Chad, Africa. Children are filling the road. 

"Will they give us a notebook?" Thomas asks. 
"Will they give us a pencil?"
"Will I learn to read?"

But when he and the other children arrive at the schoolyard, they find no classroom, no desks. Just a teacher. "We will build our school," she says. "This is our first lesson."'




Have you read any of these? 
Do you have other recommendations for great books set in schools?



Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

A Week in Which the Call is Issued for Cybils Judges and My Kitchen is Destroyed, and Wherein I Become a Jane-ite

What have I been up to, reading-wise, this week? 





AUSTEN IN AUGUST

It's official: I'm a Jane Austen fan.

I didn't plan it. I tried to avoid it, honestly. I read P&P and S&S long ago, in a whirl of trying to knock off a couple of must-reads, without knowing what all the JA fuss was about. This month, I was simply going to read Persuasion with my book club. It would accomplish two goals at once by also crossing it off my Classics Club list.

But somehow I ended up requesting a huge stack of Jane Austen reference materials from the library along with an annotated Persuasion, and I was off. Reading Jane. Watching Jane movies. Browsing through Jane reference books. Writing about Jane.

Before I knew it, I was hooked. I joined our library branch manager at our book club meeting in oozing the wonderfulness of Jane to the others. I read Persuasion and moved to Northanger Abbey and then Emma and, before I even finished Emma, I'm reading Mansfield Park.

I've loved all these Jane Austen characters so much that I feel like I've been these places in England and befriended them at various parties and dinners and walks and balls.

I'm loving Austen in August.

Now, I have a question for you. This year I have become one of the moderators at The Classics Club. I am curious: Which Jane Austen book do you think is the classic-est? Please vote below. I will try to share the results with you at the end of this month.









CALL FOR CYBILS JUDGES

Are you a reader who loves children's and young adult books? This call is for you. We need a few folks who are interested in reading a lot (let me emphasize this: A LOT) of children's or young adult books, reviewing them, and choosing the best of the best.

Here are common questions with answers from the Cybils website.

What are the Cybils?

The Cybils Awards aim to recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal. If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussels sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious.

Who can serve as a judge?

Anyone who contributes regularly to a blog, podcast, or vlog about any aspect of children’s or young adult literature. Regularly pretty much means at least once a month or so, but there are always exceptions. Ask us if you’re not sure. You must also be at least 16 years old before Oct. 1st. If you’re under 18, we’ll likely ask for an email from a parent saying that you understand the work involved.

What are the categories for the Cybils?


  • Early Chapter Books & Easy Readers
  • Fiction Picture Books & Board Books
  • Graphic Novels
    • Elementary/Middle-Grade
    • Young Adult
  • Middle-Grade Fiction
  • Nonfiction
    • Elementary/Middle Grade
    • Junior High/Senior High
  • Poetry
  • Speculative Fiction
    • Elementary/Middle-Grade
    • Young Adult
  • Young Adult Fiction
We need 5-7 judges for Round 1 and 5-7 judges for Round 2 for each category.

How do I apply to be a judge for the Cybils?

Please fill in this application by September 9th at 11:59 p.m. EDT to be considered for this year’s judging. While we try to give everyone their first or second choice, please note this isn’t always possible. Make sure all three of your choices are ones you could live with. Here’s the link to the application form.


MY KITCHEN IS DESTROYED



Most of my week wasn't spent working on Austen in August or the Cybils, however.

We started the process of remodeling our kitchen. 

It looks pretty bleak, doesn't it?

Tell me things will look better soon.






What has your week been like? 
Are you a Jane Austen fan? 
Do you have interest in becoming a Cybils judge?
Can you pass the word about the Cybils?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.




Austen in August is a celebration of all things Jane Austen, featuring reviews, discussions, vlogs, giveaways, interviews and more. This event runs all of the month of August. Faith Hope and Cherrytea has also created an Austen in August Instagram challenge for the month of August.  To find out more about the Austen in August Instagram challenge, visit Faith Hope and Cherrytea. To find out more about Austen in August, visit The Book Rat.


What is the Sunday SalonImagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've 
wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound
 journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens 
at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their 
own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, 
mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 
 It is now being hosted here.


Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read”
book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted at The Book Date.



Wednesday, August 22, 2018

A Wine Tour in Tuscany, on Bicycles

"It's a Level Two bike ride," my sister told me when we were first talking about booking a wine tour on bikes in Tuscany. 

"We can probably do that," I told her.



And then I saw the bike. The bike fell over when I was trying to lift the kickstand. I put the helmet on backwards. Not an auspicious start.




Up hills. Down hills. Beautiful overlooks. Tuscany. A magnificent day.



And the wine. Oh my. The wine. Lots of stops for wine.



We saw some beautiful wine cellars. 



We had time to visit a church or two.



One fine sommelier taught me quite a bit about wine. Of course I had a lot to learn.



Look at the view from one overlook.




Yes, I was last in line. Yes, I might have been several miles behind the others. Yes, I barely made it up the last hill. But I did make it, and I did finish, and it was glorious. What a wonderful day, on a wine tour, in Tuscany, on bicycles.




For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.


Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Books to Pull You Out of a Reading Slump



Reading slump? What's a reading slump?

I've been reading since I was two years old, and, if you do the math, that's almost sixty years of reading. I can't remember (literally and figuratively) a time when I wasn't reading. At Goodreads, I've managed to remember over 4,000 books read.

That said, there have definitely been times when my reading slowed. When I had little kids. When I took on a very busy job. After my mother died....


Over the years, I've learned lots of little tricks to get back in the reading saddle, including:


Reread an old favorite.
(Here's My Best Reads Ever.)




Read a short book.
(Here's 100 One-Night Reads.)





Read randomly in a big huge browsable book.
(Here's Browsable Books, or...GASP!...I Don't Read Every Word in a Book!)




Listen to an audiobook.
(Here's my favorite audiobook series: It's Me Again, Hank the Cowdog.)





Try a book that is way, way out of your norm.
(Here's The Most Unique Books I've Ever Read.)



If none of this works, ask your fellow bloggers for help.
We love to offer up book counseling.



What do you do when you hit a slump?




Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Austen in August: Which Jane Austen Novel is the Classic-est?

I'm one of the moderators at The Classics Club. We are a group of readers who each set a goal of trying to read fifty classics (our own choice) in five years. One of the classic authors I've sadly neglected is Jane Austen. She has only written six books:
Emma
Mansfield Park
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility

At The Classics Club blog, we have a master list of classics posted to help new potential members choose fifty books to read. It's called the Big Book List. Here's the amazing thing: not only are every one of Jane's six published novels on this list, but every single thing Jane ever wrote is on this list, including her very early writings, her incomplete books, and her letters. 

My conclusion: No one doubts that Jane Austen's books are classics.

And that is rare in the classical book world.

A question then arises: Which Jane Austen novel is (let's just create our own useful word here) the classic-est? 

Off to pose this question to the experts....

Robert McCrum in The Guardian chooses Emma. Porque? "Austen's last novel has the sparkle of early books such as Pride and Prejudice, mixed with a sharper and deeper sensibility." For The Guardian, 'In the end, it answers Jane Austen's own high-spirited prescription for the novel, expressed in Northanger Abbey: "in short, only some work in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language."' High praise indeed.

Literature teacher Amy Elizabeth Smith headed to South and Central America in All Roads Lead to Austen to see if readers in those countries could connect to Austen. Smith has taught Austen novels for years and is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Her favorite Austen? Austen's Gothic parody, Northanger Abbey. Why? "Catherine Morland is sweet and sincere, if a bit daft at times, and Henry Tilney is Austen’s most playful and witty male lead."

Robert Morrison, Professor of English Literature, Queens University, Ontario, writes, "Jane Austen’s greatest novel is PersuasionIt is – among many other things – the most moving love story she ever told." 

Mansfield Park has always been, for Paula Byrne, author of The Real Jane Austen, a deal-breaker; she refuses to love anyone who doesn't love Mansfield Park. As she writes in The Telegraph, "The novel is a profound exploration of the duty of parents to shape their children’s moral and spiritual development. It includes a father who is emotionally distant, his children chilled into respect. It reflects on the importance of home, the nature of a good education, the alienation of sons from their fathers. At the centre of the book is a displaced child with an unshakeable conscience. A true heroine."

In an article in Psychology Today, Dr. Scott M. Stanley analyses what readers can learn about themselves from reading Jane Austen. "I like Sense and Sensibility best because in it, Austen reveals most clearly the confusion of intention that captivates me as a reader—and a researcher. She understood the dangers of ambiguity in love long before it became what we now see as a dominant aspect of romantic and sexual relationships in life before marriage."

Bustle book editor Cristina Arreola speaks up for her favorite: "...Pride and Prejudice changed my life. I consumed it like I was starving for words. When I finished, I went to the library and checked out all of Jane Austen's other novels. This woman had lived nearly two hundred years before me, but I felt like she had written these words expressly so that I could read them. I was 12-years-old."

Some concede that they just can't choose; they like them all. Vox, for example, writes: 

"Jane Austen's 6 novels defy rankings. Here's what each one does best.

  • Northanger Abbey: Funniest.
  • Sense and Sensibility: Most well-rounded.
  • Pride and Prejudice: Most charming.
  • Mansfield Park: Most psychologically complex.
  • Emma: Cleverest.
  • Persuasion: Most beautiful."

Let's just hope you don't side with Mark Twain who described the ideal library as one with no Jane Austen books. He made fun of Austen's writings, the reading of which made him "feel like a barkeeper entering the Kingdom of Heaven".

What are your thoughts? Vote in the poll below. I'd love to hear your views. Share any other thoughts you have in the comments.





Austen in August is a celebration of all things Jane Austen, featuring reviews, discussions, vlogs, giveaways, interviews and more. This event runs all of the month of August. Faith Hope and Cherrytea has also created an Austen in August Instagram challenge for the month of August.  To find out more about the Austen in August Instagram challenge, visit Faith Hope and Cherrytea. To find out more about Austen in August, visit The Book Rat.

What is the Sunday SalonImagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've 
wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound
 journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens 
at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their 
own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, 
mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 
 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” 
book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.




Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Rome: So Much Old



I've always wanted to visit Italy. My grandpap's people were from Lucca, and his family often told stories about their lives in Italy as olive oil merchants and as hunting companions of Puccini. Not sure how accurate that is, but it was certainly compelling to me.

To celebrate my husband's retirement and my retirement from our jobs, and to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, my sister put together a dream trip for us to Italy.

I can't talk about Italy without gushing like a star-struck teenage girl: Italy is beautiful. The food in Italy is magnificent. Italy is ancient. Italy is amazing.

Here are some pictures from our visit to the Colosseum in Rome.


This was the view from our apartment in Rome on our first day.
Our husbands were waiting for my sister and me to get ready for the day. 


My first impression of the Colosseum: big. It's big. 
It amazes me: how could something so big could have been built so long ago and still stand?

My second impression of the Colosseum: There were a lot of people. 
Enormous lines of people who had been waiting since the sun came up to get in. 
Lots of fellows offering to help you get past the long lines.
It was quite impossible. 
We decided to be happy with a look from the outside.



Take a close look. See those people way, way up there.
They are working on the Colosseum.
It's a long way up there.
Interesting to me to think it is being repaired. But not too much?
And how was repair done in centuries past?


For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy ReadsTo participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.



Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Favorite Book Blogs if You Want to Up Your Reading Game



I've been blogging for ten years. I have many, many favorite book blogger friends out there.  I've met so many friendly, kind people.

Perhaps you'd like to make some new book blogging friends. Here's my list of book bloggers I visit frequently. Visit their blogs and leave a comment. Repeat. Repeat. You will quickly make friends with these wonderful bloggers.




Perhaps you are interested in upping your reading game. I encourage you to join the Classics Club. Simply make a list of fifty or more classics you'd like to try to read in the next five years and post it on your blog. Share your post with the Classics Club and you will be part of this great group. Classics Club bloggers dare to read intimidating books.

Here is a members list of those who have joined the Classics Club. Some of the Classics Club bloggers are people I've followed for many years. Take a look at their classics lists for ideas. You also may want to follow them, too. You might like to take a look at the Classics Club lists of those of the moderators of the club for great suggestions.

If you are curious, here is my Classics Club list.



Do you have any recommendations for me? 



Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.