Carmenere Counts to 75

Greetings fellow readers! I'm looking forward to beginning a new year with the 75er's particularly because I vow to live up to my challenge this year and, in fact, read 75 books in 2011.

Besides the 75 book challenge I can usually be found trolling through the TIOLI challenges and finding a book on my shelves that will apply.

I am going to attempt the 11 in 11 challenge this year and that thread can be found here.

Books read in:
January
The Old Man and the Sea
Big Nate Strikes Again
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
NF The RollerCoaster Years Raising your child through the Maddening Yet Magical Middle School Years TIOLI
NFIn the Dark Streets Shineth: A 1941 Christmas Eve Story
NF Stonehenge
NF The Lives of the Muses TIOLI and 11 in 11 challenge
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Big Nate: In a Class By Himself
Asterios Polyp

February
The Queen's Fool 11 in 11 challenge
The Arrival

Entering construction zone. Do I need a hard hat?

#3 Definately, Stasia. Watch out for dropping participles.

#4 oooooo, pretty!

#5: I would not know a participle if it did drop on me!

#6 ok, then you should be safe, what you don't know can't hurt you.

Whew!

Hi Lynda, looking forward to following your reads:)

Good morning, Lynda! Happy New Forum Year!

Hey, you found the right group after all! :)

I'm glad you found your way out of the time warp, Lynda. Those cookies look awesome. Don't mind if I do...have a nibble, that is.

Hey Linda! Tea and party rings, I like your style...

Hello to my fellow Ohioan! Happy reading in 2011.

Passing through, watching the dust floating around. At least it's constructive dust.

Hi Lynda, looking forward to your 2011 thread! And thanks for the cookies in #1. Yum.

Hi there Lynda, how's the snow in Cleveland. Here at the other end of Lake Erie we're crying "UNCLE" already. It's only Dec.!!

#9 I'm looking forward to them too, calm. So glad you've found me for 2011!

#10 Happy New Forum year to you Richard. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us.

#11 Thanks for setting me straight, Doc. I would have been floundering in oblivion in 2010 redux.

#12 Nibble all you like, Donna. My cookies have 0 calories!

#13 Ellie! How nice of you to stop by. Please do so more often.

#14 Hey Steven, I know you came over just to have tea and cookies with Ellie. That's ok, you're a Bucs fan and that's good enought for moi.

#15 Aaaah choo! Still doing some work here, Laura but the contractor tells me it will be ready to go by 1-1-11.

#16 You are more than welcome, Cushla. Glad you'll be hanging out with me in 2011!

#17 Hi fellow northerner! We're shouting Enough, Enough! Our newly elected governor is writing up legislation to have 5 snow days for kids re-implemented. It was cut down to three this year and most schools in NE Ohio used them already and it's not even winter! Stay nice and warm, Bonnie. BTW:
I'm still looking forward to starting All the Kings Men in January. :)

*wanders through running shop vac, wearing goggles...)

ahhchooo

Cleveland! We'll be heading up there tomorrow for the family holiday with my in-laws! Can you hold off on any more snow until we're gone? ;)

Hi Lynda, I just dropped by to star you. I am looking forward to following your reading next year.

Hi Lynda. Loving the 0 calorie cookies (if only)!

Hey ho, Lynda. I'm glad you have the 0 calorie cookies because I'm trying to cut back on sugary delights.

Hi Lynda, found and starred your new thread.
Love your 0 calorie cookies! The cookies my nice neighbour brought me over two days ago unfortunately are not of the 0 calorie variety and they are almost finished already..

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years

Merry Christmas Lynda! Have a great day!

Hope you're enjoying your Christmas, Lynda!

#20 Hi Kath, dust in finally beginning to settle and breathing is much easier.

#21 Hi Andrea, hope your trip up to Cleveland was hassle free and your visit enjoyable.

#22 Glad you found me, Judy. I'm also looking forward to see what you'll be reading in 2011. Can't wait to sink my teeth into the 11 in 11 challenge as well.

Hey Lynda! Hope you had a merry Christmas. :)

Happy St. Stephen's Day! Or Boxing Day! Whichever you prefer, Lynda, may it be a happy, happy occasion. To make you feel better, o Sorceress of the Weather Goddess, we're bracing for our first big storm here. A BLIZZARD with a FOOT of snow. And guess who has a houseful of sleeping people?

"Thanks."

Hi Lynda....cutting down on challenge chasing so I can pay more attention to fellow 75ers this year. Looking forward to seeing what you're reading. Back when the ball drops!

Finally had the opportunity to catch up on the threads a bit this morning, that is after I went bonkers at the B&N After Holiday Sale. Watch me now, Stasia.....I ordered Evelyn Wood's speed reading course!! :D

#30 Stephen, I had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did as well. Did you receive any books? I did not, that explains my shopping spree at B&N.

#31 Hi Richard!! I surmise that those sleeping people are probably awake people now. Shall you try another game of Trivial Pursuit, perhaps?

#32 Hiya Tina!! I'm going to try the 11 in 11 challenge this year simply because I want to shed my shelves of books that have overstayed their welcome and were not suitable for any TIOLI challenges. Hope all is well with you in the stormy east. Stay safe and warm!

Scampering through your thread. Oh I love a good book sale! I made sure that the spousal unit got my wishlist early and that helped a LOT. Best book haul EVER. All thanks to LT. But I've done that too -- given myself my xmas books and that works just fine.

If I don't stop by again Happy New Year.

Glad you found me Lucy! Now, I'm off to look for your thread. Happy New Year to you, also.

Lynda- You'll have to fill us in on your Holiday Book Sale selections. Inquiring minds and all that!

#36 Oh, no problem there Mark. Here goes...........

Rocket Men
Cathedral of the Sea
One Mississippi - I want to read more of this area
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol I and II
The Vikings
Dracula - For Halloween read
The Pirate Hunter
Nothing to Fear
Rainwater
Over the Edge of the World
Panama Fever
The Forgers Spell: A true story of Vermeer, Nazis and the greatest art hoax of the 20th century
The Power of Experience: Great writers over 50
A rule against murder
The Translator: A tribesman's memoir of Darfur
Lisey's Story
The Evelyn Wood seven day speed reading and learning program - Hey I'm very serious about reaching 75 books this year!!!

Came to approx $75. I indulged a bit but I look forward to it every year.

What a great haul, Lynda. I'll be looking out for your review of Cathedral of the Sea. It's been in my TBR Tower for a spell and I have yet to get to it.

Lynda, you terrible human being, you *thwapped* me with two book bullets just from putting up your list! The Power of Experience is a book I forgot I wanted, but now have on order lest I forget again; and Cathedral of the Sea looks irresistable!!

I love you. Rotten mean lady that you are.

>37 Carmenere:: Oh my, now that is a shopping spree, young lady. I am trying to stay away from that siren call myself! No restraint this time of year, especially since I didn't receive any actual books either. But my Borders gift cards helped ease the pain.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I do have a new release coming from Amazon. It's something nobody has heard of yet, but a local professor and friend wrote it. I'm hoping it's good so I can tout it here. We'll see.

#33: Watch me now, Stasia.....I ordered Evelyn Wood's speed reading course!!

I will expect you to share tips! I have never taken a speed reading course!

33: Well, I got an Amazon gift card which I used to buy a few books, plus I have SantaThing books that haven't arrived yet...

Wow! Nice haul! I'm not familiar with a lot of these titles. Cathedral of the Sea does sound impressive and The Vikings has been on my WL, even though reviews have been mixed. I'm a big fan of Liseys Story. Enjoy!

Sigh. I DID get books for Christmas, and I also spent several hours online at B & N last night, not to mention another half hour on Better World Books this morning, and I haven't received my Santa Thing books yet...with luck, I will receive everything this week so it can count for my 2011 Off The Shelf Challenge!

Interesting list... but I think Cathedrals of te sea will not make my list.. sounds like Pillars of the Earth... eek! did not like!

My MIL took a speed reading course but then after it she really never seemed to enjoy a book properly ever again..... I mean, I know you're kidding and all, but it was quite strange the effect it had on her.

I really am beginning to look forward to getting back to some normalcy after the holidays are over.
Catching up is nearly impossible so I'll start with my thread and try to move on.......

#38 Hey there, Caro......I'll bet you a buck you'll get to The Cathedral of the Sea before I do, however, if it looks delish I may jump in quickly.

#39 Oh my goodness..I've thwapped Richard...Love it!!! Ya ha ha ha ha :)

#40 Ahh, a mystery of sorts from amazon, sounds delightful, can't wait to discover what it is, Donna.

#41 Oh, you don't need any tips Stasia. You are a natural! I, on the other hand, am a snail in tennis shoes. I want to read faster but I'm hindered by my own snail goop.

#42 Alright, Stephen. Book deliveries are the next best thing to cannoli's which I just happen to be eating at this very moment.

#43 I'm not sure why I was drawn to The Vikings, Mark, perhaps because I like seafaring stories and adventure and I know nothing about Lisey's Story I just enjoy King.

#44 Woe Terri, It looks as if it will be raining books at your house, lucky you! Hope each one is a winner!

#45 I have not read Pillars of the Earth, Kath, so I'll be going into that one with a blank slate.......pretty much they way I go into anything, ha.

#46 Awe, I feel so bad for your MIL, Lucy! (As I finish my second cannoli) If I even feel a tingle of a strange effect coming over me, that book is history. Thanks for the heads up.

I should be posting a review of The Paris Wife shortly but it will be on my 2010 thread. Probably the last book of the year.

Lynda: Indeed...I still don't know what the SantaThing books'll be so it feels like I still have presents to open...if only they would arrive! :(

I'll be posting my Christmas book haul on my thread as soon as those get here...

*passes popcorn*

Hi there Lynda, nice haul there. I also have The Forger's Spell on my shelf and would like to get to it in 2011. Happy New Year!

#47: Snail goop? Sounds uncomfortable.

Pass me a cannoli, would you?

#48 I'll be looking forward to it, Stephen!

#49 I'll pass you a cannoli for some popcorn, Kath.

#50 Happy new year to you too, Bonnie! Wishing you many good reads in '11!

#51 Ya get used to the goop after awhile, Stasia. Here's a cannoli.......

sharing is good...

Thanks for the cannoli, Lynda!

I have The Forger's Spell somewhere about on my shelves.

*waves* Happy New Year!

I'm still struggling to understand why no one gave you books for Xmas, Lynda??? How is that even POSSIBLE??? Sigh...

Happy new year! Nice to be back in an always comfortably-furnished corner of the 75er universe...

Hi Lynda

Found you and starred you. Happy New Year.

I was wandering through this thread and saw a warning about rogue participles?! Just a moment, I'll go get a net (or better, an eraser) and catch those dangling fiends before they poke someone's eye out!

Finished my last piece of apple-nut cake today, and thought of you.

passing through and catching up

Oh great, Richard you think of me AFTER you finish the apple-nut cake. Wait a second........ maybe you thought of me 'cause I'm the apple of your eye or because I'm a nut *trottles off to ponder*

Hey Kath, I've actually been sleeping a little later each day.....but alas.......Willsters goes back to school tomorrow so it's back to 6am wake up call.

.

#1-2011

The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
1952
127 pages
4/5

I read it now because……………I found Hemingway to be a very complex man in a recent read of The Paris Wife and wanted to delve in to one of his books immediately.

Mini-Review…………….Santiago is a very old Cuban fisherman, probably past his prime for attempting to haul in a big fish on his own. But alone he is for his young shipmate, Manolin, has been pulled off his skiff to fish with his father. Santiago is determined, after going for 85 days without a catch, to bring in a fish, not just any fish but a righteous large one. He wants to prove to others, as well as himself, that he’s still got it in him. Armed with two bottles of water, an empty stomach and bad eyesight he sets out as usual but this time he sails out further, to where he can no longer see the mountain tops of Cuba, beyond the view of the other fisherman, beyond the lights of Havana and into the gulf stream. All that remains is him and the sea until he feels the pull of something on his line.
Hemingway’s prose creates tension with every struggle Santiago faces and he faces them all, emotional, physical and mental in addition to coming to terms with his own mortality. Hemingway’s style is so very simple but one would be delusional to think that he or she could ever duplicate it because he not only tells a story but puts the reader into the heart of his characters.

I would recommend it to…………….Anyone who likes a good, thought provoking read or book groups for readers could discuss this little novel from many different angles including Santiago’s Christ-like similarities, his ability to fictionalize his situation or why this novel is called The Old Man and the Sea and not The Old Man and the Fish.

Wow, great review Lynda. I read The Old Man and the Sea in high school but don't remember it well. You review makes want to try a re-read.

37: I read Over the Edge of the World in 2009 (http://www.librarything.com/topic/53660#1010085), and would recommended it for its descriptions of life at sea.

Happy New Year Lynda! Read that Hemingway book in college I think. Your great review makes me think I should reread it.

The Old Man and the Sea was one of my favorite books in high school, one of the few required reading books I didn't want to throw back at my teacher's head. :)

Sorry, I neglected to acknowledge some posts, still fuzzy from NYE I 'spose

#55 Hi Lucy. If you want to read The Forger's Spell anytime soon let me know, maybe I can join you.

#56 Waving back, Tam! Happy New Year to you too!

#57 My gifters know that I enjoy nothing more than walking through the doors of a bookstore or shopping online, so they give me cash to not only enjoy adding a book to my library but the experience as well. OK, truth is, no one cares enough........just kidding.

#58 Hi Linda, hope your new year is off to a great start.

#59 Hi Faith, Thanks for your nets but now that construction of my thread is complete, those dangerous participles are history!

#65 & 67 Thanks, Pat and Bonnie, hope you both get the chance to reread it soon. I rarely if ever do rereads but I know I'll keep this one on my bookshelves to read again.

#66 Your review of Over the Edge of the World has really intriqued me, qebo. They certainly were a courageous lot of men.

#68 Stephen, Up to this time, I have only known The Old Man and the Sea from the classic movie with Spencer Tracy. I need to netflix it to see how it compares to the book. BTW: I think English teachers know how to duck and cover, it's in the handbook.

Great review, Lynda!

Thank you, Stasia :)

The Old Man and the Sea is one of the classics that I have never read.. it is also one that I would like to.. based on my own experience with the movie

Hello Lynda, just dropping by to star you, so you won't get lost for me.

#73 I hope you're able to fit it in some day, Kath.

#74 Glad you found me, Tanja.

#2-2011

Big Nate Strikes Again
2010
216 pages
3.5/5

I read it now because……………….I gave this to my son for Christmas and was curious as to why he liked it.

Mini-Review…………………This book is number two in a series based on the comic strip of the same name and focuses on the trials and tribulations of middle schoolers who by and large are the audience for these books. Nate is your average kid, likeable yet challenged by the stress and personalities of this age group. He must contend with Randy, the school bully and Gina, his arch enemy and nemesis. To help him along the way are his health nut dad and Coach. Both are there to listen to him and guide him through subtle encouragement. His two best buddies Teddy and Francis share in his turmoil only less so.
Teamwork seems to be the theme running through this book which includes the give and take of kids sharing their talents and abilities.
Very similar to the Wimpy Kid series and just as entertaining, if not more so. As I missed the first in the series an plan on reading it to answer some questions I have regarding Nate’s dad and schoolmate, Artur.

I would recommend this book to…………….any 11 or 12 year old, of course but also any adult who wants to take a break from the real world and relive or experience anew the joys and dilemmas of being a pre-adolescent. Compared to Nate, you may just realize you’ve got it better than you thought.

I had one almost book-free Christmas and when I whined about it folks said they were intimidated by figuring they couldn't buy anything I hadn't already read...... so I always always always have my copious wishlist available now. LT is a great help with that!

Hi Lynda, very ambitious beginning your new year of reading with Hemingway. Glad you 'lightened up' with Book No. 2.

I didn't think I got any books for Christmas, either, but they keep pouring in. One was late from Amazon (because of its post-Christmas release), one was stuffed in my mailbox, and the rest came from the oh-so-wonderful gift cards. I ended up with quite a haul!

I used to hate the idea of gift cards for Christmas but as long as they can be used for books, I love them. Someone on another thread was waxing poetic about the joys of having a gift card that could only be used for books and I should have saved the post. It perfectly captured the anticipation of shopping for books, the actual browsing and then the purchase.

Hi Lynda, found your new thread! I have never read anything by Hemingway and I've had a copy of The Old Man and the Sea for ages but been a bit intimidated by it. Maybe I should give it a go?

What was that one Donna?

Lyndam, I saw your note on attempting to read all of Shakespeare's plays this year- I hope you do. I did that a few years ago and keep thinking that I'd love to do it again. Typically, I read the play and then watch it on DVD or live if feasible (unfortunately the Shakespeare productions in Milwaukee closed about 2 years ago for financial reasons, so now it's mostly DVD).

just popping in to say hi!

#77 I may give that idea a try, Lucy. I remember seeing the wishlist option on Amazon. So I'll transfer some books from my LT wishlist to that one for all to see. Thanks :)

#78 yup, Donna. I come out of the gate gangbusters and then by February my horse needs viagra to keep my number up.

#79 uh,huh. Borders and B&N gift cards are great to be sure. But I'm not sure why but I work myself up to a tithy figuring out what I will use that $25 for, I don't want to regret the purchase once I get to my car.

#80 I have a couple more Hemingway's on my shelf, Heather. I always thought he was way out of my league but as I read more about him, he's just a journalist turned writer.... Who happens to tell a story really well.

#82 I'm only planning to read the Kings this year Manuel and I'll also view the DVD's after reading the play. In Cleveland we have the Great Lakes Theartre Festival which is held each Sept - April. This season includes Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona and one that especially intrigues me, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) which will be performed the week of my birthday so must throw a few hints out to my hubby.

#83 Hi back at ya, Kath.

Lynda, if I'm not mistaken, the Great Lakes Theater Festival makes it way out to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival each summer. So we're probably seeing some of the same productions!

Pat, You're right, I was not aware of this but a look at their website confirmed it.
"Mr. Fee’s extensive record of staging accessible, exhilarating productions from the classical canon holds great promise for the vitality of classic theater in Cleveland. His commitment to exploring partnerships with other theaters (including Idaho Shakespeare Festival, of which he is Artistic Director), and public and private organizations (such as Playhouse Square Foundation) is vital to the future artistic and institutional health of the company."
Do you enjoy the productions?

I just started going in 2009 and I have to admit I've avoided the Shakespeare plays so far thinking I won't be able to follow the language. I've seen The Seagull by Chekov (which was depressing but excellent), The Mystery of Edwin Drood(which was OK) and a comedy that was produced locally (that was a little too slapstick for me).

I mostly love the setting. It's an outdoor amphitheater where you can sit in "boxes" with tables and bring dinner and wine and watch the sun set and the stars come out. One of my favorite things to do there is people watch. People bring some fantastic looking food and often bring tablecloths, crystal glassware and china. They really go all out. The summer weather in SW Idaho is usually warm and dry so it's perfect.

Your amphitheater sounds similar to something we have here. Our orchestra plays indoors all winter in the city but during the summertime it moves outdoors to a place in the country and yes, people bring wine, hors d'oeuvre's etc. It's absolutely lovely on a summer night but Oh when it rains and storms, watch out and run fast!

Thanks to Ilana's readathon today I finally finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Should have a review sometime tomorrow.

It was really nice having you among us Lynda! It was a nice feeling to finish a couple of books in one day. You do know Ellie is starting up another one right? Mon-Tues? Oh yes, sorry, just went to the relevant thread and noticed your comment. There'll be other occasions. And in the meantime I guess I'll just have to come visit your here! :-)

#89 Hope you do drop by again, Ilana. You really did a great job with your maiden readathon!

Hi Lynda -- I just have to mention to all Shakespeare fans and freaks that the CBC production "Slings and Arrows" about the 'New Burbage Theatre Festival' and the antics of actors, directors is one of the BEST and I mean five plus one to grow on things I have ever watched on TV. The actors of course have private lives but the other half of each program is all of them struggling with acting, staging and etc. each play they 'do' -- Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Lear. The Lear, the last year, is astounding. If you do Netflix, you OWE yourselves this program. There are 18 episodes in all, it had a three year run, six episodes each.

#91: Thanks for that recommendation, Lucy! I am going to give 'Slings and Arrows' a try.

#91 Thanks for the wonderful suggestion, Lucy! I do have Netflix and I'll put in my request immediately.

I watched "Slings and Arrows" a couple years ago! It was excellent. I wish it could have went on longer!

#3-2011

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
J.K. Rowling
2003
870 pages
3.5/5 stars

I read it now because…………..it comes after #4.

Mini-Review…………..There are 384 LT reviews of this book which is 5th in the Series, so here’s my take on the book in a little different manner. The catalyst in this novel is Professor Umbridge and alot revolves around her and her insipid, reactive rules and regulations.

Umbridge – utterly despicable.
Malfoy – Lucius, working for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named seeks the prophesy
Bane – He, Firenze and many other centaurs return to create havoc in the forest
Ron – Makes the Gryffindor Quidditch team as keeper!
Incarerous Charm – One of the many used to subdue Lucius and fugitive Death Eaters during
suspenseful scene in the Department of Mysteries.
Dumbledore – not enough of him.
Grawp – Hagrid has a half-brother and he’s a what? And he’s staying where?
Explanations – Dumbledore tells Harry what he should have told him a long time ago and the
reader has known all along.

At 870 pages, I found this book to be very wordy and would have been much more enjoyable had an editor taken a red pen to the verbiage. Too many drawn out scenes and not enough action, however, when the action begins it's really good.

I would recommend it to…………….Anyone who has read the previous four Harry Potter novels. You can’t proceed forward without it and although someone could jump in here, I would not recommend reading these books out of sequence.

Love that acrostic there, Lynda! Very inventive.

#96 Why, thank you Stasia. What could I have said that hasn't already been said - so might as well have some fun with it.

Loved the Potter books.. and miss them..

#97: #5 is probably my least favorite of the HP books because of Umbridge. Laura (lycomayflower) were having a discussion about it on her thread last year when she read it and she came to the same conclusion. Umbridge is basically a stock character - just plain bad. The other good and bad characters have shades to them, but not Umbridge.

>95 Carmenere:: Your review sets the bar pretty high, Lynda. An acrostic...very creative! I've only read the first Harry Potter just to see what the fuss was about. I can see why people like the books (and I do understand that they get deeper and better) but I'm a hopeless Muggle when it comes to wizards and the like.

Now Shakespeare is a different story. I completely missed that boat in my education and would love to read more of his works. I'm starting with the Sonnets...baby steps for me. That was a great suggestion from Manuel to read the play and then watch the DVD adaptation. I'll try that when I'm ready for some giant steps.

#98 Kath, I'll be sorry to see the story come to its conclusion after two more books.

#99 Oh! I wholeheartedly agree, Stasia. #5 is my lowest rated book thus far.

#100 Perhaps I'm on to something with acrostic reviews, Donna. It's straightforward, fun and easy to do. Hmmm, not always appropriate but I may try it again.

#92 & 94 oops, sorry Mark and Stasia, I think we were posting simultaneously and I missed both of your responses. I finally have an opportunity to log on to netflix and order up Slings and Arrows. Must be great.

Hi Lynda, how goes it with All the King's Men? Or did you throw in the towel?

Hi there Bonnie, No, haven't exactly thrown in the towel, just stepped away from it for a bit. I've got two TIOLI's I'm working on as well so I'll be bouncing around between the three.

The thing about Miss Umbridge is...... I know a real live one. She's an extremely attractive woman, smiles exactly that way, and is the worst school principal you can ever imagine, getting rid of the good teachers, surrounding herself with admin toadies, having temper tantrums in meetings etc. She's absolute poison and it's amazing to me that anyone takes her seriously, but she's running my daughter's old school, or I should say, ruining it. So they do exist. I am NOT exagerrating. Except that she is prettier than Umbridge.....

Does she also have a wall covered with collector plates?

#105. Utterly terrifying. Truly, deeply so. *shudder*
I had hoped that the evildoers were simply caricatures.

#105 My first response, Lucy, is, "Who does she know?"

I worked with not one but two Umbridgettes. Their positions made them untouchable, no matter who complained. But again not as bad as Umbridge.

I don't know if your daughter's old school is elementary, middle school or high school, but it's a darned shame she works with children. That said, she can be used as a good example to illustrate to kids that - this is the real world and you're going to come across people such as her.
There I go, trying to make a negative into a positive. :

#107 I had hoped that the evildoers were simply caricatures.

You're pulling my leg, right?

#4-2011
The RollerCoaster Years: Raising your child through the maddening yet magical middle school years

1997
Charlene C. Giannetti and Margaret Sagarese
308 pages
3/5 stars

I read it because……………Subject of son’s middle school principal’s luncheon. TIOLI Challenge #11 Read a Book ranked below 10,000 on LibraryThing Popularity Index

Mini-Review………………..As the mother of a middle school student or “middler” as they are referred to in this book I relished the thought of reading this book and learning all of the clandestine thoughts of tweeners. Instead, I learned a little bit about myself. Through a short quiz I discovered that I am on the cusp of being The Micro-Manager Parent and The Effective Parent. OK, I’m good with that and it is most likely accurate. One problem that parents face as their children enter middle school is the feeling of being shut out, not only by your kids but the school as well. The book reminds us that if we don’t stick our heads in the door once in awhile or follow your school online you will not be aware of what’s going on. Parents need to be proactive because your child’s got too much going on to remind you of events and activities and schools put it upon you to find out. Much is touched upon but not much of it is new. This book was published 12 years old and at times appears a bit dated. Tobacco, drugs, peer pressure and the desire for independence are subjects of conversation but the chapter that bothered me the most was Sexuality and Your Middler. For eleven years I’ve been the only woman in my son’s life and although I know it’s perfectly natural it is hard to come to terms with the fact that another young lady will take my place. I’m not ready for it and I hope he’s not ready for it. However, just to be reading about it and learning the ways parents should talk to their kids about it tells me it’s not far off. A suggestion which I am taking away from The RollerCoaster Years is that parents first talk about values you hopefully and instilled in them and then having the sex talk will be easier, not a bad idea, in my opinion.

I would recommend it to……………………middler parents, of course, for a quick overview, however, I would certainly suggest perusing your bookstore or library for a more current aide.

The director of our school is similar. Money comes first.
She is an uptight little dictator who has favorites and they
are very obvious.

She has that fake little tight smile, and likes to think she has a clue
about the students .. but.. she really doesn't know them at all.
and DARE, just dare to ask a question and all H breaks loose. A simple
Question will send her into a epic fury.. trust me.. I know.
She is sadly powerful and just as sadly, a fool.

#5-2011

In the Dark Streets Shineth
As told by….David McCullough
2010
40 pages
4/5

I read it now because……………….I saw it on the new arrivals shelf at the library.

Mini-Review………………This little book of only 40 pages is a nice little trip through history to Christmas Eve 1941. Just days after Pearl Harbor Winston Churchill secretly “crossed the Atlantic” to meet with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Together they viewed the lighting of the White House Christmas tree and delivered words of encouragement and hope to the 20,000 present. The occasion was the first time Churchill had heard ‘Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem” and the history of that mainstay is told. The following year another song was written to express the desire to be with the ones you love during the most familial time of year and the history of that song is reiterated.
The retelling is in a very abbreviated form, however, one must note that it was told during a Christmas Eve presentation and is not an indepth study of the times or songs. So enjoy it for what it is, a step back in time to a different America.
The pictures included will surely bring back images you may have seen from your own family photo albums. A DVD is included with the book and the songs mentioned above are sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the story is retold by McCullough during the annual Christmas Concert in Utah.

I would recommend it to…………….someone who would like to remember those early days of WWII or get a feel of what it must have been like to live through these days when song brought a war torn people together.

#91-94
I agree with the comments on 'slings and arrows'- it's a great movie indeed. I also saw it a couple of years ago and now i want to watch it again.
The interesting thing is that despite all the moaning about dead white males, Shakespeare is quite the opposite. Very much alive and brought to life in a great variety of ways. I guess that's why I enjoy reading his works over and over, and watching all types of representations of the same play. It's always the same and always different.

Having just survived middle school and with a 'real' teen starting high school, oh boy! Are you ever in for a treat! Anyhow, I can't MORE HIGHLY recommend a book that was recommended strongly to me: Get Out of My Life: but first could you drive me and Cheryl to the Mall? by Anthony Wolf -- I think there might be a boy-slanted version, but despite title it covers both genders pretty thoroughly. This is book is a great gift. So down-to-earth and funny and sensible.

How did she do it? Bit by bit -- first she wowed everyone (I cannot underestimate how attractive and capable she appears to be at first) she was quiet for a year, she started adding the admin people and got harder to get near, signed a five year contract THEN started firing the best teachers (or driving them so crazy they quit -- by changing things around in the classrooms). Now she's pretty entrenched with three years to go on the contract. The worst is that she started out not knowing she'd exceeded her abilities (she was principle first of elementary only), but she not only is clueless about 5-8th graders but she dislikes and is scared of the larger and more together 8th graders, boys and girls, who resist her. But now she knows. And she's going go right ahead and make a big huge mess out of spite.

Wow! I don't know what to say except unfortunately there are incompetent people in every field. Unfortunately, when it come to a student's school experience, it just takes one person to make a negative impact that can last for years. Getting rid of good teachers?? How does that happen? Doesn't she report to anyone?

#110 Kath, I feel so dog gone fortunate to be in the school system we are in. Since my son began kindergarten 7 years ago I have nothing but praise for the teachers, principals and fellow parents, all working as a team to make our children's educational experience one that is nurturing, challenging and current. Not to say the Umbridge's don't exist there, for they very well may, but I haven't met one yet. Except, my son would probably say last years school nurse was Umbridge incarnate.

#112 Manuel, My favorite college course was taught by a professor that was so enthusiastic about Shakespeare that one could not help but feel her enthusiasum. Indeed, with her Will did feel alive and relevant.

#113 Thanks for that title, Lucy. I was already thinking the me in "me and Cheryl" was a boy who just wanted to hang out with his girlfriend. I'll check my library as soon as I hang up.

Sometimes, I think that people who have important jobs simply lack the self-assurance and/or qualifications to handle the job correctly. The older kids are on to her, yippee!

I can't believe the amount of snow we've received and are still receiving! It looks like a foot and a half since Tuesday. I wish I knew how to post pictures.

Lynda, look in the help or questions section of LT to post pictures. There has to be some instructions there. I have not attempted to do so though. Or perhaps ask Caroline (Cameling), she posts a lot of pictures. I'll be watching for the instructions so I can do the same.

OK, not good. I referred to this thread http://www.librarything.com/topic/104943 in the hopes it would work for photos, but no success. I'll continue to look for the appropriate intructions.

#111: That one is of interest to me. Thanks for the recommendation, Lynda.

Lynda, I'm also have problems getting instructions on posting pics. Caro posted something that apparently should have told me how, but it was a garbled link. If you figure it out, let me know??

spite and mean spiritedness.. in life and in schools..
I just do not understand it. The teacher in our room is filled with both, and she makes the lives that touch hers just burn with it. IT gets worse when she is unhappy.. it is like she attacks us with her venom. Too long and hard to describe, but I wish I could.

Suffice to say that she is currently unhappy and it honestly makes me ill.

Hmmm. Tad's instructions for putting pics in threads look right to me. Can you PM me what you're doing that isn't working?

It looks like you're getting plenty of help with the picture posting, Lynda, so I won't confuse the issue for you. I find it easiest to "lift" a pic from my profile page and put it on my thread; then I can delete it if I don't want to keep it in my LT album.

I enjoy looking at the snow outside my window, but walking the dog this morning was a bit tricky in the places where it had melted and refrozen. We only have a few inches here so it won't be around long.

#121 So happy to return the favor, Stasia! :)

#122 Hey Suzanne, I took Jim up on his kind offer of assistance, so as soon as I hear back from him I let you know.

#123 I so dislike unhealthy environments, Kath. Thank goodness for reading, to help take us a way from those situations.

#125 Testing out what Donna said.

This is Mr. Mittens. Actually, just Mittens but he is so large and stately that he certainly deserves a prefix.
http://www.librarything.com/pic/223208

#129 Hmmm, is this what you meant, Donna? Still, picture is not actually on thread. Back to experimentation.

Testing using Jim's advice........

Arggggggh! Now, I need to learn resizing!

Hi Lynda - nice snow picture:)

Cute cat in the link as well. I guess from the Argggggh! that's the picture that you were trying to post.


Oops posted too quick!

Yeah calm, I didn't want to subject you all to Mittens again so instead posted my little snowman.

Ok, now that I've accomplished that........unto cleaning bathrooms.....certainly deserving of another Arggggh!

I use the lazy route of uploading pics to photobucket and let them give me a code.

#135 I'll take a look at your "lazy route", Kath, as I don't want to download every picture I use on LT facebook.

I succumb to peer pressure.........Here's the list of best sellers during the week I was hatched.

Fiction 1 THE LAST OF THE JUST Andre Schwarz-Bart
Fiction 2 HAWAII James Michener
Fiction 3 ADVISE AND CONSENT Allen Drury
Fiction 4 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Harper Lee
Fiction 5 A BURNT-OUT CASE Graham Greene
Fiction 6 SERMONS AND SODA WATER John O'Hara Fiction 7 WINNIE ILLE PU A.A. Milnei
Fiction 8 MIDCENTURY John Dos Passos
Fiction 9 DECISION AT DELPHI Helen MacInnes
Fiction 10 POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE Noel Coward
Fiction 11 CHINA COURT Rumer Godden author info
Fiction 12 THE CHESS PLAYERS Frances Parkinson Keyes
Fiction 13 A SENSE OF VALUES Sloan Wilson
Fiction 14 THE DEAN'S WATCH Elizabeth Goudge Fiction 15 MANILA GALLEON F. Van Wyck Mason Fiction 16 THROUGH THE FIELDS OF CLOVER Peter De Vries

Non-Fiction 1 THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH William L. Shirer
Non-Fiction 3 THE WASTE MAKERS Vance Packard Non-Fiction 4 FATE IS THE HUNTER Ernest K. Gann
Non-Fiction 5 THE WHITE NILE Alan Moorehead
Non-Fiction 6 JAPANESE INN Oliver Statler
Non-Fiction 7 THE SNAKE HAS ALL THE LINES Jean Kerr
Non-Fiction 8 RING OF BRIGHT WATER Gavin Maxwell
Non-Fiction 9 SKYLINE Gene Fowler
Non-Fiction 10 PROFILES IN COURAGE John F. Kennedy
Non-Fiction 11 BORN FREE Joy Adamson
Non-Fiction 12 DR. TOM DOOLEY'S THREE GREAT BOOKS Dr. Tom Dooley
Non-Fiction 13 SHADOWS ON THE GRASS Isak Dinesen
Non-Fiction 14 RESISTANCE REBELLION, AND DEATH, Albert Camus
Non-Fiction 15 STAY YOUNG AND VITAL Bob Cummings
Non-Fiction 16 MY THIRTY YEARS BACKSTAIRS AT THE WHITE HOUSE Lilian Rogers

I've read To Kill a Mockingbird and Profiles in Courage. A few others look interesting and I will investigate.

I have read three of yours :)
MY THIRTY YEARS BACKSTAIRS AT THE WHITE HOUSE
10 PROFILES IN COURAGE
BORN FREE

I have read 5 off your list, Lynda.

I would really like to get to Shadows on the Grass. Maybe this year.

It's 8 flippin degrees outside!

ETA: You and Kath are a little more attuned to my year than I. My personal favorite on the list is The Snake has all the Lines. I could only imagine what that ones about.

Jean Kerr.. ? humor :) I have read a book or two of hers in the dim past I think?

#6-2011

Stonehenge
Robin Heath
2001
57 pages
2.5/5 stars

I read it now because……… it caught my attention at the library. It is a subject that very much interests me, yet know so little about.

Mini-review………………… I am familiar with Stonehenge but yearn to know so much more. I thought I could cheat a bit and discover something new in this little book which covers a different attribute of these ancient stones on every other page followed by an historic drawing of the site. Of particular interest were the sections “Erecting the Stones”, “The Lunation Triangle and “Rolling Stones” which surmises how stones weighing approximately 50 tons each were brought to Salisbury Plain from 20 and 150 miles away. It amazes this reader how people from this period, or prior to, constructed barrows (mounds) in which they buried their dead so similar to the Serpent Mound in southern Ohio or the similarity of Stonehenge’s ceremonial avenue to the Mayan sacbe which leads to the sacred cenote in Chichen Itza. In a profound way it unites humans throughout the world and across time.
Robin Heath is short on details in Stonehenge but he whets the appetite for further discovery and thought.

I would recommend it to………………… someone who wants a very basic understanding of Stonehenge

Last night I finished The Lives of the Muses. The first one off my 11 in 11 challenge - for my category "Now where did I leave off" . Now I remember whay I put this one aside........I'll post my review later today, hopefully.

Going back to All the Kings Men or perhaps my latest ER A Cup of Friendship.

#142: I think I will skip that one!

Now where did I leave off.. what a challenge!
I look forward to the Muses review :)

#7-2001

The Lives of the Muses
Francine Prose
2002
404 pages
3/5 stars

I read this book now because…………it fits my 11 in 11 challenge “Now, where did I Leave off?” and also fit TIOLI challenge #6 Read a NF book about art/artists.

Mini-Review………………In the book, Francine Prose has chosen to write about nine muses throughout the late 19th and 20th century’s. Women such as Gala Dali, Suzanne Farrell, Yoko Ono and Lou Andreas-Salome are presented in a haphazard examination of the years they spent with the artists who found them to be inspirational. In some cases the reader is plopped into a muses life at the time of meeting her artist then suddenly taken back to her childhood, back to her artist, only to time travel to her death or divorce and finally back to her life with the artist. This style proved to be very uneven and perplexing. Thus, I rarely felt any connection to either the artist or his muse and their attributes were often one dimensional.
This collection does, however, supply some interesting information on Charles Dodgson and Salvadore Dali, information which was new to me but maybe known to others.
After, finally, completing The Lives of the Muses I realized why I began this book so many years ago and put it aside. For one, the writing is as dry as my skin in January. Secondly, in some cases, I simply can’t understand why these pairs were chosen when so little was accomplished by the artist during their moment with their muse. Either their best work was behind them or to come, in which case the muse was sometimes given credit.

I would recommend this book……………………to, Hmmm, pretty much no one.

I think maybe Prose got the idea for this book while she was a scholar-in-residence at the NYPL -- maybe it was one of those 'ideas' that just never blossomed, but she doggedly had to go through with it? Too bad, though.

Yes, I can see where this tome could be seen as a scholarly achievement, Lucy, because much of it can be debated in class.
One of my problems with the book is none of the artists, with the possible exceptions of Charles Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll and Dali, actually created something extraordinary while under the spell of the muse with which Prose pairs them.
In another respect, just the word muse takes away from the talents of an artist like John Lennon who, I would think, may have been more inspired by Paul McCarthy and vice a versa than Yoko Ono, though they probably would not have admitted it, besides, who says a muse must be of the opposite sex. And I wonder if the duo of Lennon/Ono was only added to the book for name recognition purposes.

oh dear... And it had such a great title!

http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/birthdayno1

According to this site, this was the #1 song when I was was born, practically fffffifty years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWK04X-RcJs

#149 yeah, well, don't be discouraged by my review, Kath, though I wouldn't recommend buying it.

Pulled my next book for my 11 in 11 challenge out of my envelope and it will be......aargh...The Queen's Fool for my category "I told you so" (books advised not to read).

#151: LOL! You are 'aarghing' already and have not even started the book :)

#152 Actually Stasia, it hasn't been so bad. Just have to have fun with it and don't think about what is accurate and what isn't.

I've been participating in Cariola's read-a-thon but not at all pleased with my outcome. Seem's Thurs/Fri is not a good day for me to do this after all. Can't seem to stay focused.

Hi Lynda, 10 degrees here today and windy and snowing! Ugh! Sick of it.

>146 Carmenere:: Your very honest review made me smile. I'm sure you'll understand if I don't read this book. The mention of Yoko Ono was enough to ixnay it!

Thanks, Lynda, for visiting my lonely thread today. I think I'll let it languish awhile and get some reading done tonight. I haven't been able to participate in the readathons lately. I may try my one-woman Sunday reathathon again. Nobody to report to! Have a great week-end.

Hi Lynda! just wanted to stop by and visit..

eta On the day that I as born..

The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) - Percy Faith & Orchestra

:) NICE

#156 Just for you, Kath. It's a beautiful melody which I have heard many times but didn't know the name or connection to MR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Acq8yG2Fy8

#155 I know how lonely threads can be, Donna.
Good luck on your personal read-a-thon!

#154 Another teeth tingling day here, Bonnie. -2 this morning and should go down to 5 tonight. I really don't mind as long as there is no snow or ice to contend with as well. Keep warm!

My goodness, where have I been?!
The MIL continues to need tests of every sort, I don't think there is a part of her body that hasn't been x-rayed. So I have been helping the hubsters get her to her appointments.
AND and I've been to Ellie's read-a-thon. I would love to participate for the full 24 hours but I don't think that'll happen, especially since I can't sit still for more than 2 hours without someone needing something somewhere.

Over the weekend I finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Here's my abbreviated reviewish thing.

#8-2011

The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Brian Selznick
2007
527 pages
4/5 stars

I read it now because........Pat, (phebj), recommended it and I've been wanting to get my hands on a graphic novel, my first.

Mini-ReviewPat's review sold me on Hugo, perhaps it will sell you too. Her review and the review of others can be found
here

I would recommend it to.......someone who wants to experience a great graphic novel with marvelous illustrations and a good storyline using an historical figure from the silver screen.

ETA: I still can't figure out why a sentence after a url continues on in underlined blue.

Lynda.. thank you !!! It sounds like you are going through a very busy patch..
at least the temps are warming up, eh?

Lynda, I'm so glad you liked Hugo Cabret. Two others I'd recommend are The Arrival, a wordless graphic novel about the immigrant experience, and Asterios Polyp, about a 50 year old architect in the throes of a midlife crisis.

Make sure the {/a} is right after the url (substitute correct enclosures).

#161 I don't want to sound as if I'm complaining, Kath, but sometimes I'm just tired, if ya know what I mean. ETA: Gosh, that sounds like a pity party if ever there was one.

#162 Pat, I have requested Asterios from the library and I think it may be in, now to just hightail my butt over there. I'll check out The Arrival while I'm at it. I could not interest my son into reading Hugo. It seems that if it is not required reading for school there is a slim to zero chance of him reading anything.

#163 Thank you, thank you, thank you, mamzel!

I've been spending the entire morning at the Cleveland clinic with MIL for additional tests and reading All the king's men. That is when I haven't been looking thru the unique shops in this facility.

What kind of shops do they have? And how do you like All the King's Men? I bought a copy last year after Bonnie gave it a rave review but haven't read it yet.

Pat, The shops at the Clinic offer much more than a typical hospital. Their gift shop was more of an holistic boutique with gourmet teas, yoga mats with a hundred different patterns, Aloe gloves and socks, books on how to massage your cat or dog, that sort of thing. A Joseph-Beth Booksellers provides all the latest books and cool miscellaneous stuff that you didn't know you needed. A clothing boutique offers some interesting, though pricey items, a Starbucks and the best looking hospital cafeteria I've ever seen, clearly with an emphasis on healthy options. A McD's for those who need a fix. It was like an enclosed city onto itself.

I'm reading ATKM based on Bonnie's review too. Very well written with fine atmospheric nuances but still, it's been a slow read for me.

#9-2011

Big Nate: In a Class by Himself
Lincoln Peirce
2010
214 pages
1.5/5 stars

I read this book now because……………After finishing the second in the series Nate Strikes Again, I wanted some questions answered regarding Nate’s dad and his schoolmate, Artur. I had hoped by reading the first in the series these questions would be answered.

Mini-Review…………………….Nate Wright knows that he is destined for greatness and when he opens a fortune cookie to discover that “Today you will surpass all others” it only adds fuel to his fire. But how will he surpass others today after it all started off so badly? Could it be he will ace the math test? Perhaps, he will be the only person alive to make Mr. Galvin laugh. Well, any astute youngster would be able to see what’s coming and to get there the reader is taken through a tedious day in the life of a middle schooler.
Reading the first in this series did not provide any answers to my questions and unless you’ve been reading the comic strip of the same name you may never know. It also provided fewer chuckles than the second. In a Class by Himself lacks the moral lesson offered in Nate Strikes Again but still may connect with middle school children who actually contend with mean ole teachers, cool type teachers, best friends and annoying sisters.

Would I recommend it……………….let your child borrow it from the school library but I wouldn’t put down money for it.

The shops sound great, Lynda, and what a wonderful distraction from just sitting in a waiting room. I'll be eager to hear what your final verdict is on All the King's Men.

>160 Carmenere:: I can't sit still for more than 2 hours without someone needing something somewhere.

Well, who wouldn't be tired, Lynda? I think you have two perfect excuses for a pity party...1) accompanying MIL to a series of doctor appointments and 2) a son who is not a motivated reader. If he isn't tempted by a graphic novel, he may just be one of the majority of people (notice I didn't say kids or adolescent boys) who prefer video games, TV, movies, etc. to reading. Even the majority of my RL friends who are well-educated and mature seem to shun the written word unless it is something lightweight and trendy. Now I'm tired after that rant!

Happy thoughts....you have books to keep you company while you're waiting for MIL and spring is coming! I also think your son might turn around. My kids are old enough that I've seen the waxing and waning of their reading throughout the years. You've provided the model, now it's up to him!

Edited for runaway italics.

Message 164: Carmenere

As Donna said, you have a lot of reasons to be tired.
I hope things ease up for you soon

((Hugs)), Lynda. It sounds like you could use some right now.

#169 I picked up Asterios from the library yesterday, Pat. What is it about this graphic novels that draw you in so quickly?! First impressions: To me, Asterios looks like Gregory Peck making the pages look like an old movie film. - Thought of Elvis Presley who was a twin whose sibling died before birth. He said his twin was always with him. Curious to see how this plays out.

#170 My son is definately a member of the majority of which you speak, Donna. Although, I've got to give him a little shout out because he is on his sixth Harry Potter - but again it's the book he's chosen for independent reading for language arts/reading class. Video games and tv are a curse to potential readers but then again, good or bad, I'm a really lenient mom. (: }

#170,171 & 172: Thanks ladies, cyber hugs and consoling thoughts are always welcome here. Hopefully, all of MIL's tests are finished and now the docs will review the results and find a way to fix her or, at the least, just tell us what's up.

Happy Friday :) Meeting neighbor moms at Panera for a goooood cuppa and a little relaxation while discussing how we'll change the world and what our kids are up to. Then I really do need to tidy up this house, so little reading this morning.

Have a good day visiting at Panera and getting relaxed, Lynda!

video games and tv are a curse to potential readers

I disagree! :( I'm a video gamer and I love reading. And, there are plenty of books based on video games out there as well.

In my opinion, what kills potential readers is required reading in high school. I loved books and reading in elementary school. I have piles and piles of Goosebumps and Shivers books from that age, because I was always begging my mom to buy them for me. I was without question a bibliophile as a child. I liked reading in middle school as well.

Then I made it to high school, was forced to read things like Huckleberry Finn (*vomit*) and HATED reading. I honestly and truly did. I dreaded reading books for 4 whole years. It's hard to believe, but there was actually a time in my life when I didn't like books. Why? Because I didn't like the crap they were forcing me to read. Had I not decided post-high school to give reading a 2nd chance, and to go get a library card, to this day I would be a non-reader. Required reading in high school nearly destroyed this book worm.

You need to encourage kids to read what they want. Harry Potter you say? Encourage him to read more fantasy. Let him play his video games, but guide him towards the books based on his favorites. Does he like the Halo games? There is a whole series. There are plenty of things out there he might like.

The worst thing you can do to a child is force them to read. Kids don't like to be forced to do things they don't like and it will only drive them away from reading when they become an adult. You have to be a guide them, show them what's out there, and hope they discover for themselves the joys of reading. "You can lead a horse to water" and all that.

>176 Ape:: Looks like we got Stephen's attention! It is sad that our kids are being turned off to reading by (hopefully) well-meaning teachers. I don't know the solution to that problem because I certainly don't want to see the absence of literature being taught in high school. Perhaps offering a choice in books would help? I'm so glad you gave reading a second chance, Stephen. Have you considered teaching as a career choice!?!?!

Lynda, I think having some "girl talk" this morning is just what the doctor ordered for you. I feel like Lucy Van Pelt here offering my five cents worth of psychobabble. The doctor is OUT as of now. I have to get ready for my own session of girl talk at lunch today.

Hi Lynda. I hope you like Asterios. There's alot going on in that book. I'd recommend watching the color changes because they help to know whether you're watching a dream or not and also with the character's emotions. The other thing I found interesting was how each character "spoke" in their own type font. I hadn't thought of Asterios looking like Gregory Peck but he does have an elegant look. Sometimes I thought he looked like a modern design (or architectural) element as compared to Hana who was all curves and very soft looking.

I know what you mean about getting drawn right in to these graphic novels. I also find them staying with me after I finish them even though they're fast reads. Must be something about the visual element.

Hope you have a good time today catching up with the neighbors and that things go well with your MiL.

I'm 100% with Stephen on the encouragement to read what you love idea. One step-bro is mildly dyslexic HATED reading until he found sci-fi -- transformed his life. A neice HATED reading until, when she was staying with us, we started reading Harry Potter out loud (just before the 3rd book came out, we used her as our excuse to read it.... she was 11) and it also completely changed her life. She got into acting as well because we all had so much fun being the characters.....maybe she would have started reading anyway, but those were the books that got two passionate readers started.

Have you considered teaching as a career choice!?!?!

Heck no, I'd strangle one of the little brats within a week. :p

I think the problem is that many people don't believe it is a teacher's job to encourage children to read, but rather to teach them the scholarly aspects of it. Kids read books in high school because they are being taught about writing styles, metaphor, etc. The problem was, I didn't care about that stuff, and this was the only form of literature I was exposed to.

I love science. It's wonderful! But, I hate physics. It's terrible! Imagine if I went to school and all I was ever taught about was physics. I'd probably say "I hate science" and never realize my love for biology. Similarly, kids in high school are usually only exposed to classics, which are fine, but if kids don't like them they never realize that there are other genres out there they might enjoy.

So, yes, I get the scholarly aspects of teaching literature, but does it do us any good if it discourages people from reading? I'd rather have a generation of readers, who will grow into adults reading and discovering their interests and educating themselves, instead of having literature forced down their throats and having them resent the written word the rest of their lives. Saying things like "Haha! I haven't read a book since high school!" Sigh...no, of course you haven't. :(

Maybe high school kids will go to college, continuing to read things they don't like. Maybe they will graduate and lead a successful life. But will they read? Will they continue to learn in adulthood? Will they continue to discover? To better themselves? And what will their children be like, living in a house without books? Will they enjoy reading?

I don't know, maybe some will, but I'd rather we encouraged people to just read. I can't imagine what a nation of avid readers would be like, but it sounds like a wonderful, intelligent place.

Wow, Stephen, you express yourself very eloquently on this subject! Not that you don't at other times! ;)

#180: sounds like a wonderful, intelligent place.

Kind of like LT :)

Angela: Me? Eloquent? *checks Angela for signs of fever* :P

But yes, it wasn't so long ago I experienced the horrors of required reading, and saw all those kids who were enthusiastic about reading in 7th grade start moaning and groaning about reading a 100 page book in 9th.

Stasia: Oh yes, indeed!

um... In my opinion reading has to start in the home. Look at Lucy's success.. and the child was just visiting! Parents have to give up a little of their time each night to have down time with the little ones and READ. Then, I think many more will follow through on their own. Of course .. the family also has to develop a library habit for the kids when they are young so they can choose their own books.

Teacher have a part to play, but it is a supporting role only. The home and family is most important. I do think that teachers have to be more flexible with what they want kids to read. Especially now, when there are so many other things to grab at the students attention.

I used to stand outside the elementary school waiting for my kids.. listening to other parents rant and rave about the teachers are not teaching them to read. Not teaching this or that. These were all stay at home moms yammering about what someone else wasn't doing for their kids. When I pointed out that they certainly could work on it at home... the most common answer was that it wasn't their job. !!! True.. they said that! Of course, when I pointed out that they are the ones who gave birth and it was all their job.. well...it didn't make me any more popular there than it does here. I don't care about excuses people dream up about not having time. IF you have kids, your priority is them. Always.

I have said before how my kids read by age 3. We are not a family of geniuses. I just read every single night and we had reading every day for me to teach them. We did reading and math workbooks. When they were babies we sang the alphabet song and colored and wrote names on things in the books. It was fun.

Teaching literature.. yeah.. I agree. It will not do any good if it discourages kids from reading. As I said, flexibility is the key, I believe. Although some .. Like you Stephen, come to reading as adults.. I think most come to it in childhood.
I honestly do fear for the future. We have books that read themselves to kids.
( horrible horrible things) and books on tape and iPod and now e-readers
( guilty of that one ) and I do seriously fear that kids will not be drawn to reading in the numbers that they could be if mom or dad took the time. See..
a book that reads itself to a kid ( imo ) gets the words out.. and maybe lights up and plays music, but it doesn't hug or snuggle or tell the whole story.
( like see? that is like the tree at Grandma's house!)

Well.. it is something I am passionate about.. two things actually. .. parenting and reading are forever paired in my mind. My kids minds too.. lol

I totally agree with you Kathleen. We also read to our girls from the time they were born, and did not expect teacheres to be responsible for that. It saddens me when I go to somebody's house and I don't see a single book throughout the house, but only large screen TVs- I doubt that they are using erreaders.

the family also has to develop a library habit for the kids when they are young so they can choose their own books

This is exactly the key, in my opinion. When kids can browse the books for themselves and find ones they like at an early age, it really helps them get interested in reading. My mom didn't do it often, but I have fond memories of library visits as a child. It really helps to let them browse like that.

See, even as late as middle school, we had regular trips to the school library. English and Reading teachers would take us down there once a month to pick out books, and it was fun.*

That stopped in high school. Reading became "Sit down and read ~this~ classic literature, no arguments, no choices, etc." It became work, and at that age it just wasn't fun.

That has changed now, I love the classics and have found myself reading things that was required in high school that I like, but at the time, it just discouraged me from reading for a few years.

*1 problem with school libraries, at least mine in middle school, was the selection of books. Most of it was exactly like the things we were assigned in high school. Not a lot of fantasy/horror, which is all I was interested in at that age.

xieouyang That saddens me as well.. to me it is depriving the children of
the opportunity to soar, to isit new and even magical places. A video game does it for them. With a book, it is in your own minds eye that you travel. You build the words into your own vision..

I was lucky Stephen, when I was in school.. the library was never more than 10 blocks away, an easy walk . ( We had no car) and then when my kids were small, I was able to sort out a visit once a week ( we had only one car) and manage most story hours, when they were really little. I read through the libraries in my elementary and high school libraries. My senior year, I didn't have to go to english class. The teacher allowed me to go to the school library and write. I had to turn something in each week.. a story, poetry etc. But often I just read. Bliss!

Kath -- that sounds so wonderful, smart of your school to let you loose like that and Stephen, your passion is wonderful and on target...... We need people who sit in bus and railroad stations and parks where there are kids hanging around, who whip out a good ripper of a fantasy and start reading it aloud. Commit to going there every day until you've finished the book. The Ninja Reading Society.

I saw an amazing video yesterday of a bunch of people invading the Antwerp train station to sing and dance to 'Do a Deer' -- I don't have the link, but i can find it -- but it's what gave me the idea.

I just remembered what happened to use when our oldest daughter was in kindergarten- she already knew how to read, and read well. So she was extremely bored in reading class where the teacher was going through the alphabet letters and see johnny run, or whatever it was. The librarian in school was a friend of my wife and she suggested that our daughter should go to the library to read with her during the class reading lessons. The teacher's reaction was "what are the other children going to think? I can't do that" Our response was, tell the children that she knows how to read!
But the concern was more with appearances and not hurting feelings, or so she thought, than with the well being and growth of a child.

I just remembered what happened to use when our oldest daughter was in kindergarten- she already knew how to read, and read well. So she was extremely bored in reading class where the teacher was going through the alphabet letters and see johnny run, or whatever it was. The librarian in school was a friend of my wife and she suggested that our daughter should go to the library to read with her during the class reading lessons. The teacher's reaction was "what are the other children going to think? I can't do that" Our response was, tell the children that she knows how to read!
But the concern was more with appearances and not hurting feelings, or so she thought, than with the well being and growth of a child.

xieouyang, all of mine read at about 3rd grade level by kindergarten.
They just dealt with it.. it was more like playing to them I guess. No
problems other than the teachers being annoyed with me. At first, the teacher my oldest one had said it was impossible. I suggested she choose a book, any book .. and hand it to him.Even after he read to her, she was convinced that he had memorized it at some point. When she finally realized he could indeed read she was not happy.

eta

i love those flash mob things

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k&annotation_id=annotation_72265&am...

is thi it

I spent my first two school years in the late 70s in a small (German) village school where the 1st and 2nd grade still shared a room and a teacher. I had learned to read at the age of 4 and so was quite bored most of the time. My teacher sometimes gave me other books to read during reading lesson which was okay. But later, in 2nd grade, it became MY job to teach the 1st years reading. I didn't mind, and the other pupils were fine with it as well and fully accepted me. Only years later I thought what a strange method that was to keep me busy.

The transition from childrens books (read in primary school) to 'grown-up' literature in highschool was difficult for me and that's where I suddenly lost interest. I still think it was a stupid idea letting 10year olds read middle-high-german epic poetry and then to dive straight into the Brecht. I don't think I read a single enjoyable book in high school.

Oh my, I had to blink and rub my eyes when I saw 15 posts since my last entry. Surely, this was not my thread - but alas a small off hand comment I made regarding video games and tv set things in motion. I think I, especially, owe a thank you to Stephen for his passionate comments on the subject which generated so much activity.

First let me say, my husband and I have been avid readers since childhood, we weren't forced to read, we weren't prompted to read, the only reason my parents bought me books was because I begged them to buy the books I chose from the scholastic magazine and they rarely read to me although my dad made up some very creative stories at bedtime. I learned to read from Dick and Jane books in kindergarten and I just loved to read....everything.
That said, I particularly wanted my son to have what I didn't. I great local library, the time to read to him and with him and explore a variety of subjects. We both wanted to share the joy of reading with our son and bought books for every phase of his life - Thomas trains, we bought the corresponding books, plus a beautiful treasury. A Walt Disney treasury, a child's bible, Star Wars, Star Trek and now Clone Wars. But the simple fact is and always was he does not find joy in reading. Perhaps I pressed the thought of reading too much.
He's reading Harry Potter because it is worth more points in reading class and takes much less effort than reading 15 1point books not because he likes fantasy. He likes SciFi on the screen but won't read it.
There is nothing that we can do or say that hasn't been said or done to stimulate his desire for books. We've come to accept and know that he's more of a doer, he likes to get on the floor and create the battles rather than read about them. Surely, he will find his niche and as long as he stays productive in some fashion and loves what he's doing as we love reading he will love life.
Sometimes, I think that the love of reading is ingrained at birth, either you love it or you don't. What do you think?

ETA: I love flash mobs, Kath! I have one on my profile page that I view whenever I need a lift.

BTW: For my situation, I embrace required reading, for without it there would there would be NO reading.

Lynda....I'm leaping into this one very late....but I want to offer you some affirmation (and hope) in your observations about your son. I'm a librarian, my husband-after his retirement from the Navy--a high school social studies teacher. Our house has (and has always had) literally 1000's of books, from basic basic ABCs to the Great Books of the Western World, etc etc etc. We are always buried in books and always reading books. My husband used to record books before he went to sea, and mail the book and tape to the kids so they could have daddy read a bed time story. He'd do all the voices, sound effects, and even tell them "Bing....turn the page now."

I have a daughter (now in her forties and a successful attorney) who had finished reading all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books by the time she was not quite 5. She reads copiously, constantly, and very broadly.

My son, 8 years younger, absolutely WOULD NOT be read to....it was the biggest disappointment of my life. He got to 4th grade before we finally nailed down some definite diagnoses of various learning disabilities, and he was able to learn to read enough to graduate from high school. He is now in his 30's, and can wire any machine, circuit board, or satellite (what he does for a living) with his eyes closed. He is also a father, and hallelujah!!!! he read to his daughter when she was younger (she's now 10 and reading Inkheart etc). But the truly great news is that Matt is actually reading on his own for pleasure.

I think it just took time for physical and mental circuits to mature, and for motivation to be there. He still favors things like National Geographic books with lots of pictures, and anything about science, outer space, and the environment, but he takes his daughter to the library, and takes his mother's suggestions for possible books to read.

So....hang in there. The day will come! and if it doesn't, then he will make his contribution to society in a non-written activity, and we will all be the richer for it.

Glad you leapt into the fray, Tina. Your story is absolutely wonderful, inspiring and full of hope. In fact, I have enjoyed everyone's recollections of reading with their children.
Hey, remember you and Kath helped me choose books for my mom and at 80 she's found new worlds in Lumby and Mitford. I can't get to the library fast enough when it's time to replenish her supply. :)

#195: Congrats to your mom, Lynda! It just goes to show it is never too late to become a reader, right?

Absolutely, Stasia! In fact, if you or anyone else can offer some recommendations in the same genre, it would be very much appreciated.

It is so good to catch up on your thread. Great books...great conversations.

I'm adding In the Dark Streets Shineth and Stonehenge to the tbr pile for 2011.

Happy Sunday!

Interesting conversation; it's bad enough when a child with learning disabilities doesn't (can't) read until the diagnosis is made and the proper interventions are put into place to allow that child to read but what about our capable students who just aren't given the opportunity by their parents. Then it's only through a caring teacher who provides the opportunity that those children are exposed to the world of reading.

#191
Kathleen. It's funny, but our story is similar. It was the school principal who initially said she was memorizing it. We forced hiim to have her tested and then his eyes opened wide.

The disappointing thing to me was to find out that the teachers and administration were only interested in themselves- the children were just the reason for getting a salary. Of course there were exceptions- but they were exceptions, not the rule.

#197: You might try Patrick Taylor's Irish Country Doctor series for your mother. I have not read them myself, but I know that others in the group have.

ETA: There is also a series by Walt Larimore, Bryson City, that she might like, although those books have a Christian slant to them, so I am not sure how she would feel about that.

#198 Glad you were able to take something away with you, Linda! I hope you enjoy them.

#199 Amen, to that Bonnie!

#200 The disappointing thing to me was to find out that the teachers and administration were only interested in themselves
#191 Even after he read to her, she was convinced that he had memorized it at some point. When she finally realized he could indeed read she was not happy.
Manuel and Kath, Your statements are both ghastly and heartwrenching. Hopefully,with the introduction of programs such as Baby Einstein et al, children who are early readers are no longer anomalies but the norm and considered assets to the class and not a hinderance to the rote methods used by some teachers.
Perhaps, school systems such as mine are taking a step in the right direction by introducing "challenge" classes into their curriculum. All children are assigned to a run of the mill kindergarten class. Through their performance and testing some children, approx 25, are assigned to the challenge class beginning in first grade and continue through middle school. Spelling words are more challenging, there is more assigned reading and at a higher level, as well as, more demanding writing assignments, other subjects, such as math, are also more challenging.
If not selected, children can always be tested to determine if they are challenge material, so no one is overlooked without good reason.

#201 Yes Stasia, your suggestions are perfect and were duly noted. Thanks :)

#203: No problem. If I come across anything else, I will pass it along.

#10-2011

Asterios Polyp
David Mazzucchelli
2009
344 pages
4/5 stars

I read it now because……………..Pat (phebj) thought so highly of it and I’ve been itching to read more from the graphic novel genre.

Mini-Review………………….Oh, how I disliked Mr. Polyp! He is an aloof, intellectual, snob. An academic architect, referred to as a paper architect because his designs win awards but have never been built, he seems to believe that the world revolves around his desires and his knowledge. To say that the reader surmises all of this in the first fifty pages is a credit to the author and illustrator, David Mazzucchelli.
It takes a lightning bolt for Asterios to realize that he has lost everything and with nothing to go back to leaves town with only the clothes on his back and a few personal items. Road trips are often used as a way to discover oneself and so it is with Asterios. His new friends and reflections of what he once had and yearns to return to are brought to life with Mazzucchelli’s modern illustrations. Moods change with his palate and Polyp’s rigidness is deflected with the fluidness of those around him.
Though the storyline is a familiar one it is seen in a new way in the hands of Mazzucchelli.

Would I recommend it……………………..Yes I would, in fact, I would recommend reading it twice for there is much you may have missed during the first read. Be forewarned, it is an adult book and some illustrations may catch you off guard.

You, Lynda.. are a very sweet person... so caring and kind and just plain old nice..
I just wanted to mention that..

# 206
glitter-graphics.com

Hmmm, my whole grain bagel with cream cheese and fresh strawberries is helping me shut out the weather out my window and think Spring.

Hope all of our Aussie friends are safe, secure and far away from the impending cyclone.

BTW: my review of Asterios Polyp is finished and posted in #205

Hi Lynda. I read and gave a big thumbs up to your review of Asterios Polyp. I'm glad you liked it and I thought your review was excellent.

I finished The Paris Wife last night and totally loved it. I'll post a review in the next day or two. Thanks again for passing it on. I've already ordered the first volume of Michael Reynolds biography of Hemingway called Hemingway: The Paris Years which covers the same material because I'm becoming obsessed with this topic. :)

#205: I liked that one too, Lynda. One of the things I really appreciated about the book is the way that the author protrayed the characters - Asterios Polyp is so very geometric, isn't he? compared to those around him.

#209 Thanks Pat! I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on The Paris Wife. That era in Paris is quite fascinating so I'll be following your comments on Vol. 1 of H:The Paris years.

#210 True, Stasia. Perhaps because he so identifies himself with his profession.

Well, the result of icy conditions all night long is a snow day for the kids today. Now, temps are rising and the icicles that have formed on the gutters are crashing to the ground all around the house. Definately not safe out there. Soon the temps will plummet and more snow is on the way. I give up!

Thanks to Suzanne (Chatterbox), I've learned something new about myself. I need to read the book to see if there are any similarities.

You're Siddhartha!

by Hermann Hesse

You simply don't know what to believe, but you're willing to try
anything once. Western values, Eastern values, hedonism and minimalism, you've spent
some time in every camp. But you still don't have any idea what camp you belong in.
This makes you an individualist of the highest order, but also really lonely. It's
time to chill out under a tree. And realize that at least you believe in
ferries.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I strongly believe that most teachers are capable of communicating with at least a proportion of children in their class without alienating them. I had an English teacher in high school who was a real pill, and who put a damper on discussions of literature, really cracking down on how and what was discussed about everything from Koestler to Hemingway, Hawthorne to Shakespeare and Marlowe. I never took another English class after high school (though I got a 5/5 on AP English and a 7/7 on IB Higher English exams). BUT -- I was always able to differentiate between required reading and reading for pleasure, and the latter never faltered. I may well never re-read DH Lawrence, but I did drift back into reading and thinking about "serious" books (Virginia Woolf?) because the light stuff just wasn't enough all the time for my brain to feel exercised. So I'm an advocate of pushing kids to try and discover new and more challenging material, not just giving them more of what they already know they like. Then, when the time is ripe, they will know/remember that there is more out there. If that never happens, well, that's a pity. But if someone is really a reader, born and bred, I suspect it will. There certainly are people like my brother, who has never found reading pleasurable at all, and like my sis in law, who enjoys lighter novels and mysteries (think Marian Keyes and Linda Fairstein), but then there are also folks like my father (who has become an avid reader again in his 70s) and my mother (who has remained a more serious reader throughout her life, and now has almost as many library books out of circulation as I have.) I'm probably the most consistent among them, but we all have our patterns; a bad school experience is transitory. And if some people hadn't pushed, oh, the things I would never have discovered...

drive-by smooch, Lynda, you apple-nut cake of the heart

#213 I remembered something today that I'd forgotten about but really perturbed me at the time........When my son began reading it wasn't enough that he was reading but how quickly or slowly he read. The kids were timed often however slow readers, like my son, (must be hereditary) did not receive any helpful hints how to pick up speed. I purchased a program and worked with him at home but I'm willing to guess this is when my son began to dislike reading. Reading for enjoyment went right out the window.

#214 Hey handsome.

Ick!! Forcing kids to read quickly is even worse than forcing them to read what they don't want. What is wrong with these people!? :(

Nothing to add to the reading discussion. I ( and my kids) loved reading from the beginning so I have little to base any opinion on..

but I did want to say hello! :)

Loving the discussion. Thanks Suzanne, too.

The pressure to conform to some idiotic norm is one of my educational rants. Don't let me get started!!! EVER!!!!

Ooops, I enjoy reading everyone else's thread that I tend to forget about my own.

Joined Monica's (crazy4reading) read a thon yesterday and found the timing to be perfect. 8am Sat to 8am Sun. I accomplished more than I expected while still taking care of the must takecareables.

#216 I most whole heartedly agree, Stephen. Alas, the damage is done.

#217 Hi Kath!

#218 I know what you mean, Lucy. Now I wish I would have spoken up, but I didn't know better. Hopefully, I've learned something from this.

Have a happy Super Bowl Sunday and Go Steelers! Ugh, I can't believe I wrote that. Hopefully, the Browns will finally learn something from you guys.

Chiming in on the English class discussion here - I'm an English teacher, high school level, so I come with my own biases :)

OK, so I can't speak for all schools, but I do know that my school board, and a lot of school boards in Ontario, are moving away from one class novel to literature circles, where students pick from a group of 4-6 novels, all united around a similar theme. That way, the entire class can still have discussions on ideas, but each student will hopefully find something to tempt them. As well, we try to mix classics with contemporary literature. So, in grade 9 (14 year olds), students choose from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, which is definitely a YA novel (but a great one!), About a Boy by Nick Hornby, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, and The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. All four are united using the theme of Isolation. This year was my first time teaching the course, and my students for the most part really enjoyed their books. In grade 11, we read various dystopias - again, big crowd pleasers - everything from Margaret Atwood to George Orwell to Mary Shelley.

In grade 12, which is our final year of high school, my school does a really cool thing. As a class, we read the first chapter of 15 different novels. We focus on style, and try to choose "the best of the best". Our philosophy is that this is students' last English course, so it should be a buffet of literary greats. Choices are up to the individual teachers, and I like to do a mixture of classic writers like Austen, the Brontes, Dickens, etc., to modernish stuff like Hemingway and Steinbeck, to contemporary like Ondaatje and McCarthy. I also try to include authors from outside North America and the UK. Each student then picks one of the books we sampled, and reads both it and another by the same author. There is a little something for everyone, and this way, students don't have to read an entire book they dislike.

Now, as for teaching kids to love to read vs. teaching them English skills like analysis and essay writing, here I'm conflicted. I definitely encouage reading for pleasure, we hold book "show and tell" frequently. I lend books out to my students, with great success - half of my grade nine class read The Hunger Games on my recommendation. But, I think staying away from literary devices, essay writing, etc., just because students don't care about them, diminishes English as a discipline. In senior biology or math or history, classes are supposed to prepare students for university studies in those subjects. In Ontario, these are optional courses, whereas English is required in all years of high school. Some people would argue that since English is mandantory, we shouldn't teach the class as though all students are going on to English degrees. I understand this, but it also makes English, as a discipline, seem less important - one would never expect a senior math teacher to just teach everyday math - that class is designed to ready students for university math. So English should ready students for university English, and that means teaching the "boring" parts, not just a love for reading.

In the end, I think it needs to be a balance between the two. I want my students to love reading, but I also want to show them that metaphors and writing styles are actually really cool too!

OK, rant over - sorry for the looooooong post :)

Go Steelers! Ugh, I can't believe I wrote that.

Ha, I know, that's why I'm saying "Go Packers!" Can't bring myself to cheer for the Steelers...

•*¨*•♫♪ Here We Go ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☺ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Steelers ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☺ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Here We Go ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☻ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪
☼─╔╗╔╗─╔╗╔╗╗╔═╔═║─╔═╔╗╔╗─☼
☼─║╦║║─╚╗─║─╠═╠═║─╠═║─╚╗─☼
☼─╚╝╚╝─╚╝─║─╚═╚═╚═╚═║─╚╝─☼...
....•*¨*•♫♪ Here We Go ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☺ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Steelers ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☺ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Here We Go ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☻ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

Like I told terri.. I snagged that from my cuz on fb... I will give you one too :)

>219 Carmenere:: Alas, the damage is done.

Lynda, I still think your love of reading and presenting a good model for your son will overcome any "damage" done. He's at a tough age, but he will grow in wisdom and hopefully wonder what is in all those books that his mother is reading. I hope he meets up with a teacher as compassionate and wise as Cait!

>220 Cait86:: I, for one, enjoyed every word of your long post! So much wisdom in what you say and what your school is doing. I like the idea of choice within reasonable limits and the smorgasbord of literature in the senior year.

#224 - Thanks, Donna, I really appreciate your kind words! Teaching is hard work, and I'm not always sure that I am doing the right thing.

222: Ha! I thought I would be silly and 'modify' that to say Go Packers. It was fine until I got to the K...

•*¨*•♫♪ Here We Go ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☺ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Packers ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☺ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Here We Go ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☻ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪
☼─╔╗╔╗─╔╗╔═╗╔═║╔╝╔═╔╗╔╗─☼
☼─║╦║║─║╝╠═║║─╠╝─╠═║─╚╗─☼
☼─╚╝╚╝─║─║─║╚═╠╗─╚═║─╚╝─☼
☼─────────────║╚╗───────☼
....•*¨*•♫♪ Here We Go ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☺ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Packers ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☺ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Here We Go ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸☻ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

And that was way too much work...

#220 Cait, thanks so much for your input. Your program seems to capture, what I think, is the essence of what reading is all about, exploring different genre as well as author's and discovering how this story may apply to your life while looking for the connection that exists between life through the ages. Now, that's not always going to be identifiable in some fiction, sometimes there is no connection, but they have the opportunity to decide for themselves. At the least, your program exposes them to many different authors that they may have not investigated .

My son is in 6th grade so I am not familiar with the program here for high school but you've got me interested enough to ask around.

#221 That's how I've always felt, Stephen. Anybody but the Steelers, right? But I've come to grips with the fact that they're just a darn good team and they stay in contention year after year. It amazes me.
I can't begin to tell you how pathetic it is to have losing teams in this city year after year, not a championship since before I was born, it's time to root for a winner. Ha, now watch them loose :}

#222 Very cool, Kath.

#224 I still have hope, Donna. Yet, I think it will be another young person who he becomes smitten with who will inspire him to enjoy a good book.

#226 Stephen, wow, you're a genius!

Ok, time to make sliders and cheese dip for the game. Hope you all enjoy it, no matter who wins. I'm personally looking forward to the commercials and the Black Eyed Peas during half time.

Lynda: Yeah, it's sad that we have such a HUGE high school football program here that churns out so many college players, and likewise such an amazing college team in Ohio State, yet now one but TWO nfl teams that are so frequently terrible. :(

Stephen, love it!!

Hi Lynda! The Pack's ahead right now. Doesn't matter to me.

>220 Cait86: So English should ready students for university English, and that means teaching the "boring" parts, not just a love for reading.

Unfortunately, there will always be boring parts. That's just the way it is. But today, a teacher has to present a real dog and pony show to keep the attention of young people because they are so used to being constantly entertained with moving images---TV, video games, computer. It's pretty hard for a teacher, even a good teacher, to compete. So they constantly have to try to think of new ways to impart what has to be taught.

Cait, what a creative way of approaching the teaching! The only additional idea that I'd toss out there is that requiring the student to read their favorite of the "great novels" and write some kind of essay on one of its themes, would be a super addition. Then you're forcing them to dig more deeply -- while still opening up the "choice".

I'm not sure I believe that the task of an English teacher is to prepare students for university English. It's to give students -- some of whom won't go on to college, some of whom (like me) won't take English classes again -- an introduction to the analytical element in reading. What is good writing? What makes a good characterization? When does an idea make a novel stronger and when does it swamp the novel? Those are the questions that enrich my reading to this day, 30 plus years later. To help students realize and think about the reasons that some novels become "classics" while others remain only "bestsellers" is great. To do it without -- ironically -- stifling their love of reading or while honing that love of books is even more of an achievement.

#228 yes, it is sad, Stephen. Seems Ohio does not only suffer from brain drain but athlete fleet :}

#230 Hi Bonnie! It's too bad that teachers need to adapt to the needs of the students. Back in the day it was vice versa.

#231 an introduction to the analytical element in reading. What is good writing? What makes a good characterization? When does an idea make a novel stronger and when does it swamp the novel?

I would like a refresher course! Seems after spending 30 yrs. being a pencil pusher much of this has been lost.

So everybody, which commercial was your favorite?
For me.......#1 Doritos #2 Snickers
BEP's sound system seemed to be a bit wacky but pretty entertaining non the less.

Spring training is beginning, bring on baseball!

#232: Spring training is beginning, bring on baseball!

You got that right! I cannot wait.

I did not watch a single commercial during the Super Bowl, so I cannot comment. I muted them all :)

I'll be posting a couple of new reviews so that it may be a good time for this.