tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40833282485579506172024-03-18T13:31:00.660-07:00My Head Is Full of BooksAnne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.comBlogger3100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-62114128432668738062024-03-18T11:04:00.000-07:002024-03-18T11:04:15.114-07:00TTT: My Spring Reading List<div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-l4piGjPhzZM8gKo20Sd0EROrx47zSIuFkpwl2Nr2UIbq0x5tUhAsqa8ldOnNQmf_VM7wRRo4stXRSwm_W8GalU2vujXyAZpfRKsQd9dS5r9qLIhlj7bBLZRag9qj4D5FlDXvl6nfTrDyYfg1Sn5EGp5CChpgzDdZiFJ3W6VoMI0ajtYtRyy31rkm3s/s699/Current%20reading%20list.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="529" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-l4piGjPhzZM8gKo20Sd0EROrx47zSIuFkpwl2Nr2UIbq0x5tUhAsqa8ldOnNQmf_VM7wRRo4stXRSwm_W8GalU2vujXyAZpfRKsQd9dS5r9qLIhlj7bBLZRag9qj4D5FlDXvl6nfTrDyYfg1Sn5EGp5CChpgzDdZiFJ3W6VoMI0ajtYtRyy31rkm3s/w328-h433/Current%20reading%20list.png" width="328" /></a></div><br />Top Ten Tuesday: Spring Reading List. </b></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Below the line is how I did on my winter reading list.</b></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: #f6b26b;">Spring reading list:</b></div><div><p><b>Book Club Selections:</b></p><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Braiding Sweetgrass </i>by Kimmerer (April, Group #1)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>West With Giraffes</i> by</span> Rutledge (April, Group #2)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Klara and the Sun</i> by Ishiguro (May, Group #1)<br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>The Vaster Wilds </i>by Groff (May, Group #2)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><i>Plainsong</i> by Haruf (June, Group #1)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><i>The River We Remember</i> by Krueger (June, Group #2)</li></ol><p><b style="background-color: white;">Challenge Books:</b></p><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Classics Club Spin Book TBA <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/p/classics-club.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">from this list</a> -- <i>Possibly The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson</i><br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">A Past Pulitzer Prize winner <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2022/01/my-2022-yearly-readingblogging.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">from list</a> -- hopefully <i>The Known World</i> by Jones<br /></span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Printz Award winner or honor book <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/p/printz-award-booksreading-challenge.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">from this list</a> -- possibly <i>The Collectors: Stories</i> edited by A.S. King</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">My One Big Book Challenge book -- <i>Wolf Hall</i> by Mantel</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">April Poetry Month: -- possibly <i>Mahogany</i> by Erica Lewis</span></li></ol><p><b>Books I've already started, recently acquired, and/or have on-hold at the library:</b></p><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>My Brilliant Friend </i>by Ferrante</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><i>The Fraud </i>by Zadie Smith</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><i>The Bee Sting </i>by Murray</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><i>The Symphony of Secrets</i> by Slocumb</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><i>Suffering is Never for Nothing</i> by Elisabeth Elliot </li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><i>No Cure for Being Human</i> by Kate Bowler</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><i>Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright: Poems</i> edited by Waters, et al</li></ol><p style="font-size: medium;"></p></div></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: #fefdfa; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_Z87XkPv4RiMcftDUfhJnk_Y59eo8pOwieQZNmn34Ez7wiI4d7oSGsqPBlWSGJqcrg4n8CHl7x0MOr2-qv7VlmhuMSWbrfJTsqb9I3dfrjxAk-DKOLH9zuLYGCTe-skFbrYkmv3i1SEBtuxd5TAEChDk6AlrfvO5Jf1MpzbTDvcevUSeFPLB6r2x/s585/bar-green3.gif" style="color: #d52a33; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8" data-original-width="585" height="5" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_Z87XkPv4RiMcftDUfhJnk_Y59eo8pOwieQZNmn34Ez7wiI4d7oSGsqPBlWSGJqcrg4n8CHl7x0MOr2-qv7VlmhuMSWbrfJTsqb9I3dfrjxAk-DKOLH9zuLYGCTe-skFbrYkmv3i1SEBtuxd5TAEChDk6AlrfvO5Jf1MpzbTDvcevUSeFPLB6r2x/w400-h5/bar-green3.gif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: #fefdfa;"></p><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Update: How I did on my winter reading list.</b></span></u></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Highlighted <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">yellow</span>: completed. </b></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Highlighted <span style="background-color: #01ffff;">aqua</span>: in progress or dnf</b></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Highlighted <span style="background-color: #04ff00;">green:</span> not completed</b></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: #fefdfa;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: #f6b26b;">Winter reading list:</b></div><div><p style="background-color: #fefdfa;"><b>Book Club Selections:</b></p><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><i>The Bride Test </i>by Huong (Jan, Group #1)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><i> The Covenant of Water </i>by Verghese (Jan., Group #2)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><i>The Huntress</i> by Quinn (Feb., Group #1)</span><br /></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><i>The Rabbit Hutch</i> by Gunty (Feb, Group #2)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><i>The Egg and I</i> by MacDonald (Mar., Group #1)</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Lady Tan's Circle of Women by See (Mar. Group #2)</span></li></ol><p style="background-color: #fefdfa;"><b style="background-color: white;">Challenge Books:</b></p><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Classics Club Spin Book TBA </span><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/p/classics-club.html" style="background-color: white; color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">from this list</a><span style="background-color: white;"> -- </span><i style="background-color: #fcff01;">Old Man and the Sea </i><span style="background-color: white;">by Hemingway</span><br /></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">A Past Pulitzer Prize winner </span><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2022/01/my-2022-yearly-readingblogging.html" style="background-color: white; color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">from list</a><span style="background-color: white;"> -- </span><i><span style="background-color: white;">See above -- </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Old Man and the Sea</span></i><br /></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">Printz Award winner or honor book <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/p/printz-award-booksreading-challenge.html" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">from this list</a> -- </span><span style="background-color: #04ff00;">I did not read any of the Printz winners </span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;">My One Big Book Challenge book --</span><span style="background-color: #04ff00;"> <i>Wolf Hall</i> by Mantel, I'm scheduled to start this book on 3/28/24</span></li></ol><p style="background-color: #fefdfa;"><b>Books I've already started, recently acquired, and/or have on-hold at the library:</b></p><ol><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #04ff00; font-family: inherit;"><i>My Brilliant Friend </i>by Ferrante</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: inherit;"><i>The News of the World</i> by Jiles</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01; font-family: inherit;"><i>Babel</i> by Kuang</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><i>The Land of Lost Things</i> by Connolly</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #04ff00;"><i>Tiny Habits</i> by Fogg</span></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Nonfiction books as part of Cybils 2nd round judge responsibility. I read all 17 books for my category.</span></li></ol><p style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-size: medium;"></p></div></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_Z87XkPv4RiMcftDUfhJnk_Y59eo8pOwieQZNmn34Ez7wiI4d7oSGsqPBlWSGJqcrg4n8CHl7x0MOr2-qv7VlmhuMSWbrfJTsqb9I3dfrjxAk-DKOLH9zuLYGCTe-skFbrYkmv3i1SEBtuxd5TAEChDk6AlrfvO5Jf1MpzbTDvcevUSeFPLB6r2x/s585/bar-green3.gif" style="color: #d52a33; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8" data-original-width="585" height="5" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_Z87XkPv4RiMcftDUfhJnk_Y59eo8pOwieQZNmn34Ez7wiI4d7oSGsqPBlWSGJqcrg4n8CHl7x0MOr2-qv7VlmhuMSWbrfJTsqb9I3dfrjxAk-DKOLH9zuLYGCTe-skFbrYkmv3i1SEBtuxd5TAEChDk6AlrfvO5Jf1MpzbTDvcevUSeFPLB6r2x/w400-h5/bar-green3.gif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Analysis: </b>I've been in a bit of reading slump since I completed reading for the Cybils in mid-February. I hope that an upcoming trip will jolt me into a better reading space since we will be in the car for hours and hours which should be good audiobook listening time.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-7842483727189922802024-03-17T14:23:00.000-07:002024-03-17T15:46:59.883-07:00Sunday Salon -- St. Patrick's Day 2024<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbY-QVtsIJA9ppC7HvvVATu17L6J3YOYudcEndtNiYbsK4vywjDKSJM9QvPUJxsPIqIIn8Zo4uKaiXBZwR8zD8_Jvc0oUQkpsSdJGxrJ22-8W2WUrXrPq2sFZExIrKHeKdy_pGCFOXDgZR1DPP2rFWZ-hlOjWC-n9EW8LCRrBpByAI-5OjjN93l7Z3S8/s900/9C9D56EC-6A52-4220-B5D8-2CC8C69E4BB1.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="520" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbY-QVtsIJA9ppC7HvvVATu17L6J3YOYudcEndtNiYbsK4vywjDKSJM9QvPUJxsPIqIIn8Zo4uKaiXBZwR8zD8_Jvc0oUQkpsSdJGxrJ22-8W2WUrXrPq2sFZExIrKHeKdy_pGCFOXDgZR1DPP2rFWZ-hlOjWC-n9EW8LCRrBpByAI-5OjjN93l7Z3S8/w370-h640/9C9D56EC-6A52-4220-B5D8-2CC8C69E4BB1.heic" width="370" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hilarious photo of our grandson doubling as a leprechaun wearing his Christmas PJs hovering above the solo-stove. You are welcome! (Photo by D. Adams, stickered by C. Bennett)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Weather:</b> Gorgeous and warm. The family is outside playing corn hole. Yesterday we went for our first drive of the year in our convertible. We pruned the hydrangeas the day before. Today we got seeds at a seed exchange at church. Spring here we come.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XX-3hT93pTf8kecr0WAv1D0zAc-QJ5DBnfIfrfD_Gd5yoQeVNHJdxeWmVQW4hVUrkGm_MXSw9oZn4TMSE_LfTlQsgDVB3uk9YlbKVRA7iFNNu_I_uW-xqOmOM4I1_OS40xZcrer1LviM_nsonUdv3vXUiPPyA0lvQ6xOGIuyLEf9tPUreS4KNwcr4-c/s4928/IMGP0128.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="4928" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XX-3hT93pTf8kecr0WAv1D0zAc-QJ5DBnfIfrfD_Gd5yoQeVNHJdxeWmVQW4hVUrkGm_MXSw9oZn4TMSE_LfTlQsgDVB3uk9YlbKVRA7iFNNu_I_uW-xqOmOM4I1_OS40xZcrer1LviM_nsonUdv3vXUiPPyA0lvQ6xOGIuyLEf9tPUreS4KNwcr4-c/w640-h424/IMGP0128.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our street trees: Flowering plums. Photo: A. Bennett, 3/15/24</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><b>It's been three weeks since my last post. What's been happening:</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Our youngest, Carly, bought a house and we've been helping her paint a few rooms and move in. She is still living here in our house with us until after our family vacation to Utah in a a few weeks. Yesterday we helped her hang pictures so it is really starting to feel like her home.</li><li>Her cats, Fred and George, have become a fixture around here, reminding us how much we like cats. In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday earlier this month, we've been working on rhymes involving these ginger-colored brothers. Like: "Fred is on the bed." and "Nothing rhymes is George except forge and gorge. How do we make a rhyme out of that?"</li><li>Don and I carried a picnic with us to enjoy at the end of our convertible ride. We stopped at Veterans' Park alongside South Prairie Creek and sat at a picnic table comfortably basking in the the end-of-winter weather.</li></ul><div><b>Books, books, books: </b>I am in a bit of a reading funk, but have managed to read and review a few books over the past three weeks:</div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/classic-review-old-man-and-sea-friday56.html" target="_blank">The Old Man and the Sea</a></i> by Hemingway. A reread for me. Last read in 8th grade. I liked it but it isn't quite the story I remember. Read for Classics Club spin.</li><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/03/review-and-discussion-questions-for.html" target="_blank">The Rabbit Hutch </a></i>by Gunty. A book club selection and a very quirky book, but I REALLY liked it. It is so well-written and thought provoking. We had a great discussion.</li><li><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/firday56-sign-up-feb-9th.html" target="_blank">The River We Remember </a>by Krueger. Another book club selection for a future meeting. It is a mystery so it won't be the usual discussion, based on the fact we'll all know the ending.</li><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/03/review-when-women-were-dragons-friday56.html" target="_blank">When Women Were Dragons</a></i> by Barnhill. All women should read this book. Dragons are a metaphor for pent up feelings of anger for being treated as "less-than" for centuries.</li><li><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/03/review-lady-tans-circle-of-women.html" target="_blank"><i>Lady Tan's Circle of Women </i></a>by Lisa See. Historical fiction based on a real female doctor who lived in the 15th century in China. Wow. </li><li><i>Above Ground: Poems</i> by Clint Smith. Smith, a new father, writes about parenthood, something we can all relate to even if we aren't parents. (Because we had parents!)</li><li><i>The Egg and I</i> by McDonald. A classic memoir published in 1945. Humorous, interesting, and cringe-worthy. I am one chapter away from completion. Print. 95% complete.</li><li><i>The Vaster Wild</i> by Groff. Alternative history. I started this book yesterday. Audio. 10% complete.</li></ul></div><div><b>I had all these ideas of what to include in this post but the sunshine beckons. I'll leave off on a few funnies!</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7FlRFmhb0GU6_K13FER8uevgKY60Apz9K-fxpRkYTsO9cQLK8UNIj9axfthbU4-2DgvzkQmiPuUTsYMfSCTv6wKWIXVx0GRbE3hqSdE-54Xt9kP2Hc68t-hhT-h9gqDSAXBZOZgwqytBvH3vHoOmmTCUpjXQ2OL-LjYdxnl5C9pCs_sM3xX6KQIF5Gw/s764/3-17%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="681" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7FlRFmhb0GU6_K13FER8uevgKY60Apz9K-fxpRkYTsO9cQLK8UNIj9axfthbU4-2DgvzkQmiPuUTsYMfSCTv6wKWIXVx0GRbE3hqSdE-54Xt9kP2Hc68t-hhT-h9gqDSAXBZOZgwqytBvH3vHoOmmTCUpjXQ2OL-LjYdxnl5C9pCs_sM3xX6KQIF5Gw/w356-h400/3-17%201.jpg" width="356" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaKqxHLPDDrLEbZomnEtzOQ1HlEyqFI3nxEm9uCh2v6a6RpfEdXaKdFu0oggVq7TgvNoY4lSJdB_evTGoyDGhfL2TbDCFy6QT58SASX-lVF6ZoxcaiO8rl3YEjeWm8QaE493JluMDLITUJFXCpQHHczp0Vi5bbANlSAqsPbv20NumUxQxTHSMUOKIZwc/s661/3-17%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaKqxHLPDDrLEbZomnEtzOQ1HlEyqFI3nxEm9uCh2v6a6RpfEdXaKdFu0oggVq7TgvNoY4lSJdB_evTGoyDGhfL2TbDCFy6QT58SASX-lVF6ZoxcaiO8rl3YEjeWm8QaE493JluMDLITUJFXCpQHHczp0Vi5bbANlSAqsPbv20NumUxQxTHSMUOKIZwc/w273-h400/3-17%202.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOq7JH16FwMKcqgIpelJzcaDw2G2R_h5zE8_4HuiRAK_h0QDScaAyPzMrT-t1nBDIuOudOfKIrSqwyIJAIMVxl1PDlp2VDbrH1k-amEOWS9_SnRFjnFDf2j4NDlV2howjnCOblXA3DGipaIPeOK6U4ccmYPus4rbs1wocxTWMTSEBOWUrzJKaWaMdM1g/s948/3-17%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="843" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOq7JH16FwMKcqgIpelJzcaDw2G2R_h5zE8_4HuiRAK_h0QDScaAyPzMrT-t1nBDIuOudOfKIrSqwyIJAIMVxl1PDlp2VDbrH1k-amEOWS9_SnRFjnFDf2j4NDlV2howjnCOblXA3DGipaIPeOK6U4ccmYPus4rbs1wocxTWMTSEBOWUrzJKaWaMdM1g/w356-h400/3-17%203.jpg" width="356" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXa0Ht5k-Row7MEphzuD2KkQlAWAt2_Ecl3aDLUR6ARa9xt2EUkULchCFphdURCqrFWxjQfSMuPDK8SwaTYJ2HqcflKnH5160YWiLj1hbqeafxSfaPREKc6vPBF9Ex1ag_c01L4eD4sio2XY42PzttWKklnZ0zJIl519VHBaBA6reOT31NkikNN622_AQ/s843/3-17%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="843" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXa0Ht5k-Row7MEphzuD2KkQlAWAt2_Ecl3aDLUR6ARa9xt2EUkULchCFphdURCqrFWxjQfSMuPDK8SwaTYJ2HqcflKnH5160YWiLj1hbqeafxSfaPREKc6vPBF9Ex1ag_c01L4eD4sio2XY42PzttWKklnZ0zJIl519VHBaBA6reOT31NkikNN622_AQ/w400-h381/3-17%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXl8DnYJLBWT_QGwUXQVK6Iy9oi3QskXRt8oLOHpbTJRDY2mCOiWpPVEyefc-a2p9bc18uJtw63RdFO2rrVL99r-98VpqVJ6Nixqt2plvwcs4WDSEaJs6heBCDVPnb4EpZ3gR-1KYOEnuE0bSffkCIo5yWJ8LqNOopORsZPxfDgfxq5hh92QduWnA5lY/s476/3-17%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXl8DnYJLBWT_QGwUXQVK6Iy9oi3QskXRt8oLOHpbTJRDY2mCOiWpPVEyefc-a2p9bc18uJtw63RdFO2rrVL99r-98VpqVJ6Nixqt2plvwcs4WDSEaJs6heBCDVPnb4EpZ3gR-1KYOEnuE0bSffkCIo5yWJ8LqNOopORsZPxfDgfxq5hh92QduWnA5lY/w336-h400/3-17%205.jpg" width="336" /></a></div><br /><div><b>Time change got you? Give in to the urge to sleep in!</b></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImiP-sJ1JasjpIy-csBmeZZkpT3IYlMhbAYQjZsdvPPA6JZfGae_Dtd7MtaR61f7okCtnwBNfGawztsqxuoliLZsmqdpszaNVrdydtyowzzXQOafFLgn0RbL2hHyeNvZ2KRyyii1EMmn6s3SVb7UFcJR77V2fgM5xE4h-s_usz7TCKjlHfJMwc8dsCrM/s1440/Sasha%20and%20Skimble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImiP-sJ1JasjpIy-csBmeZZkpT3IYlMhbAYQjZsdvPPA6JZfGae_Dtd7MtaR61f7okCtnwBNfGawztsqxuoliLZsmqdpszaNVrdydtyowzzXQOafFLgn0RbL2hHyeNvZ2KRyyii1EMmn6s3SVb7UFcJR77V2fgM5xE4h-s_usz7TCKjlHfJMwc8dsCrM/w400-h400/Sasha%20and%20Skimble.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skimble (left) and Sasha (right), our other ginger-colored grandcats, adjusting to the time change.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-87887651819386782722024-03-14T20:50:00.000-07:002024-03-14T20:50:26.647-07:00Review: LADY TAN'S CIRCLE OF WOMEN (+Friday56 sign-in)<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuzC78P09RjnDnjss12NuhWV0A6X8hOaYQwsON3pVkr7Phql66ShP53UB8WdmVpyxMSTIczQ11vqH2OSiftzaEzs2K1fAF3q5aMdR29uK-uboiN9sokNvpZRmG2qHsxbKVMiAFgCCt0UKVuN2B1m3qPa3dBirgSarA5GTnB4gcxlUIHUW_L1XfbExvl4/s2125/A%20Lady%20Tan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2125" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuzC78P09RjnDnjss12NuhWV0A6X8hOaYQwsON3pVkr7Phql66ShP53UB8WdmVpyxMSTIczQ11vqH2OSiftzaEzs2K1fAF3q5aMdR29uK-uboiN9sokNvpZRmG2qHsxbKVMiAFgCCt0UKVuN2B1m3qPa3dBirgSarA5GTnB4gcxlUIHUW_L1XfbExvl4/w264-h400/A%20Lady%20Tan.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br /><b>Title:</b> <i>Lady Tan's Circle of Women</i> by Lisa See</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Book Beginning quote:</b></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkZgIJDK0HAZMLdOaKSliSm9CV2xzcgljzqXImAdC1irin5RttJPJH5QNyqGHnVXSllk3YvCHGEbYTXJXpmhV3FIgVSq6yRibPhRg-I0snzL2FSwpVRjYeGZ7E0O3M5Drj3XW4Z14v3NPJrzmiZYaGCU2-JxfuknLn7AN3sYD0xQQ4UeiR7U31H_FgFA/s953/Beginning%20Lady%20Tan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="953" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkZgIJDK0HAZMLdOaKSliSm9CV2xzcgljzqXImAdC1irin5RttJPJH5QNyqGHnVXSllk3YvCHGEbYTXJXpmhV3FIgVSq6yRibPhRg-I0snzL2FSwpVRjYeGZ7E0O3M5Drj3XW4Z14v3NPJrzmiZYaGCU2-JxfuknLn7AN3sYD0xQQ4UeiR7U31H_FgFA/w640-h292/Beginning%20Lady%20Tan.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Friday56 quote:</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Josefin Sans; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>“I wish I were a giant gingko tree hundreds of years old, with the deep roots it takes to stand strong against mighty winds. Instead, I feel like a sapling in a typhoon, desperately trying to hang on.”</blockquote></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Summary:</b> This historical novel is inspired by the true story of a female physician living during the 15th century in China, Lady Tan Yunxian. She was born into an elite family, was trained to be a female doctor by her grandmother who was also a doctor for women, was married into another elite family at age 15 where her mother-in-law didn't want her to practice her craft. Her first days in her new home, as a young bride, Yunxian was tremendously lonely and bored. She wanted to work, yet she was expected to embroider foot slippers for bound feet, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay within the confines of the family compound, The Garden of Fragrant Delights. Eventually she is allowed to practice medicine, but only for women. In breaking with tradition, she goes on to treat women and girls from all walks of society, writes a book, and develops treatments which are still used today.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> "</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915;">Lady Tan's Circle of Women</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"> is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today" (Publisher).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Review:</b> <i>Lady Tan's Circle of Women</i> is tremendously interesting and scrupulously researched. This is the third book I've read by Lisa See and I felt the same way about the other two books. I learned so much and had my eyes opened about aspects of history I knew nothing about. The existence of women in the 15th century in China (and all around the world) was so bleak. They had few rights and were never thought of as equals with men. Yet, here is Lady Tan, an amazing woman and physician that defies all expectations and lives an important life, one that matters even today.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I can't even begin to tell you everything about this book, nor would I want to since I hope you will read it for yourself. But I want you to know about this incredible resource Lisa See has put together about the book <i>Lady Tan's Circle of Women</i>, Chinese medicine, foot-binding, and so much more. I think I could spend several days exploring all the resources she has put together for her readers. <a href="https://lisasee.com/step-inside/lady-tans-circle-of-women/" target="_blank">STEP INSIDE: THE WORLD OF LADY TAN</a> . It is the best book resource I have ever encountered. Read the book. Visit the website. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. My one bummer, I will have to miss the book club where this book will be discussed.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s324/divider4.png" style="color: #d52a33; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="13" data-original-width="324" height="13" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s320/divider4.png" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div><br style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s200/Friday%2056.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #d52a33; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s1600/Friday%2056.jpg" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="144" /></a></div>As many of you know Freda over at <a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a> hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host <b>The</b> <b>Friday56</b> until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. <u>Don't forget to drop a comment on my post also! </u>Thanks.</span></div></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="st"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span class="authorOrTitle"><span face="arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif" style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16.8906px;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by <a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a> and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="background-color: cyan; font-style: italic;">First Line Friday</span><i style="background-color: cyan;"> hosted by </i><a href="https://readingismysuperpower.org/" style="background-color: cyan; color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>Reading is My Super Power </b></i>to share the beginning quote from your book.</a><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span></span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>RULES:</b></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #ff0077;"><b>*</b></span>Grab a book, any book</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Find a snippet, but no spoilers!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it!</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-70891944314142180922024-03-11T14:19:00.000-07:002024-03-12T09:36:54.029-07:00TTT: Books I'm Worried Wouldn't Hold Up Under the Scrutiny of a Reread<h2 style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXibrFRPFzO5SQrmMQsB2mrxuKu3rz71fygw_Ch0SWU3izWNIAokx9FKKfPw1vGelBf6HMObjWUBClcwi7iN-Pso1t3ceU5uZSsMJieaItnKw2s3mv0-_n0IjYweAk9bCSlfMBngWW1bBo6vFDwiLJJw8ueR8_V2pKqDgBguKPkKwQFTuzEuRr3IFfz4/s605/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Green.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="596" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXibrFRPFzO5SQrmMQsB2mrxuKu3rz71fygw_Ch0SWU3izWNIAokx9FKKfPw1vGelBf6HMObjWUBClcwi7iN-Pso1t3ceU5uZSsMJieaItnKw2s3mv0-_n0IjYweAk9bCSlfMBngWW1bBo6vFDwiLJJw8ueR8_V2pKqDgBguKPkKwQFTuzEuRr3IFfz4/s320/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Green.png" width="315" /></a></div><br />Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm worried wouldn't hold up under the scrutiny of a reread</h2><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">I loved all of these books. I love them so much I don't want to reread them. I want them to remain beloved in my memory.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">....</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">......</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">////////////</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">Nevermind. I just reviewed six or seven years of my reading lists and I couldn't find a single book I wouldn't consider rereading.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">In light of that discovery I decided to think back on my childhood and name a few books I liked then that might be wrecked if I reread them now.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">.....</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">.........</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">Ta-da!</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1U4IKYUWQTRXV_IvW_KUEGZ5FD9Llu3oSjO90vAboIqYeu8NMGpo1EEGsvuZpCCX5lYyA9uEblOW9IafBB5HiMvpBbFxrpJ3ClhjYZic7tKsJdWEiQvT5cZ4Wzdf7yIOpT4NXJrIJjGLvybBRxifaid9Qzp5mCcEk-iUyuXs6xwBA7NeQhb9NzRoGPrY/s1027/Screenshot%202024-03-11%20141404.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="586" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1U4IKYUWQTRXV_IvW_KUEGZ5FD9Llu3oSjO90vAboIqYeu8NMGpo1EEGsvuZpCCX5lYyA9uEblOW9IafBB5HiMvpBbFxrpJ3ClhjYZic7tKsJdWEiQvT5cZ4Wzdf7yIOpT4NXJrIJjGLvybBRxifaid9Qzp5mCcEk-iUyuXs6xwBA7NeQhb9NzRoGPrY/w366-h640/Screenshot%202024-03-11%20141404.png" width="366" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUxk2Wo0j7jyMInTyT1mM91_FURdSG4opXrjGBGyJOZX3PNvA9UbwyK5BQ8xfHg0-RDM9FGB39vmFcZ4Nkj55uHjsMMelf8W_Z43798_xf-yrfbiCzhFaoanqBCK1_9gwTK8lD-Pvm4lmjvcyYMLpVKNj566qYTnU4FykOgk2TXSB9VJbAqVYz3DHZ8Q/s1027/Screenshot%202024-03-11%20140645.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="595" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUxk2Wo0j7jyMInTyT1mM91_FURdSG4opXrjGBGyJOZX3PNvA9UbwyK5BQ8xfHg0-RDM9FGB39vmFcZ4Nkj55uHjsMMelf8W_Z43798_xf-yrfbiCzhFaoanqBCK1_9gwTK8lD-Pvm4lmjvcyYMLpVKNj566qYTnU4FykOgk2TXSB9VJbAqVYz3DHZ8Q/w370-h640/Screenshot%202024-03-11%20140645.png" width="370" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">What childhood favorites do you avoid reading as an adult?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">Note: WordPress Users, for some reason my account and yours don't match. Though I have tried leaving comments some, but few, have gone through. Know I love you and appreciate you visiting here. I did visit your blogs but you'll never know. Sorry. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">-Anne
</span>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-30096462981962544092024-03-07T19:57:00.000-08:002024-03-17T13:41:12.517-07:00Review: WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS <div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZcLPHNIHxrFLHOkWeDEBcjR_fe5oo0O6IaEv0AOagiNNKwuk463HOGOHP8dvDYfPwni8xQZns50bH_eNnvE2UDl-RoP6ZOGZRCLromfhIlGTdkPA7kBuJChAQcN6jiA_RnrPpEEY6rjW8sO7yF_HLrTq2XjWgi7tIYS1GrgiXL8LmHCq2wE6BsdvB9I/s2775/Dragons.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2775" data-original-width="1838" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHZcLPHNIHxrFLHOkWeDEBcjR_fe5oo0O6IaEv0AOagiNNKwuk463HOGOHP8dvDYfPwni8xQZns50bH_eNnvE2UDl-RoP6ZOGZRCLromfhIlGTdkPA7kBuJChAQcN6jiA_RnrPpEEY6rjW8sO7yF_HLrTq2XjWgi7tIYS1GrgiXL8LmHCq2wE6BsdvB9I/w265-h400/Dragons.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />Title:</b> <i>When Women Were Dragons </i>by Kelly Barnhill</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Beginning quote:</b> </div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: Josefin Sans;">I was four years old when I first met a dragon. I never told my mother. I didn't think she'd understand.</span></div></blockquote><div><b>Page <strike>56</strike> 55 quote: </b></div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: Josefin Sans;">Despite my mother's aversion to hard conversations, the nation went through a short, and only somewhat thorough, reckoning of what had occurred. This was difficult, given the assumed femininity of dragons, and the Mass Dragoning's accepted connection to something as private as motherhood.</span></div></blockquote><div><b>Summary:</b> In 1955 thousands of American women spontaneously transformed into dragons. This event destroyed everyone's notion of women and their place in the world. The government couldn't explain how or why it happened so instead of studying the large-scale dragoning they made it a forbidden topic that couldn't be mentioned in school let alone studied.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Alex's Aunt Marla dragonned, her daughter, Beatrice, became her sister. When Alex's mom died from cancer, she was put in charge of Beatrice's care. But from a young age, Beatrice wanted to become a dragon herself. Alex feared she'd be left alone in a world she didn't understand.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Review: </b>My daughter was the person who recommended this book to me. She knew I would love it and she was right. I adored this book with a look at feminism from a different angle. If you are thinking you don't like to read "fantasy" books, don't worry, this book is really a human story about all the indignities women have had to put up with over the ages. And it shows what happens when women rise up (literally) and the value is felt by everyone is society. I laughed, I cringed, I cried. This book really, really spoke to my heart and hey, the hero of the book is a librarian. What's not to love?</div><div><br /></div><div>I love this book so much I bought a copy for my mother who is turning 95 later this month. In a lot of ways my mom has been a real dragon in my life and has done so much good for her community. I also hope my book club will consider this for a future meeting. Now I am recommending it to you.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv5vQwZV4hgRch5AEbdpP4aQ7ASJcQqmPoiOHlK6RzYMAdxyctr206x_KoNs672f044oE2NOfXkBymrtdlWklvJru6XiJ_GsyKxJgbgI-dqI-3Y8jQKYAEJsI1-JuZKHyPv2QgI2-ZhZoL0SWzs0ubUPx8wvc4rSOEJ06SILTXMwOBYYaqsswDVEbRwo/s925/Screenshot%202024-03-07%20183526.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="78" data-original-width="925" height="54" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv5vQwZV4hgRch5AEbdpP4aQ7ASJcQqmPoiOHlK6RzYMAdxyctr206x_KoNs672f044oE2NOfXkBymrtdlWklvJru6XiJ_GsyKxJgbgI-dqI-3Y8jQKYAEJsI1-JuZKHyPv2QgI2-ZhZoL0SWzs0ubUPx8wvc4rSOEJ06SILTXMwOBYYaqsswDVEbRwo/w640-h54/Screenshot%202024-03-07%20183526.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Source: Kirkus Reviews)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s324/divider4.png" style="color: #d52a33; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="13" data-original-width="324" height="13" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s320/divider4.png" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s200/Friday%2056.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #d52a33; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s1600/Friday%2056.jpg" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="144" /></a></div>As many of you know Freda over at <a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a> hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host <b>The</b> <b>Friday56</b> until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. <u>Don't forget to drop a comment on my post also! </u>Thanks.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span class="st"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span class="authorOrTitle"><span face="arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif" style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16.8906px;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by <a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a> and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="background-color: cyan; font-style: italic;">First Line Friday</span><i style="background-color: cyan;"> hosted by </i><a href="https://readingismysuperpower.org/" style="background-color: cyan; color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>Reading is My Super Power </b></i>to share the beginning quote from your book.</a><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span></span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>RULES:</b></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #ff0077;"><b>*</b></span>Grab a book, any book</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Find a snippet, but no spoilers!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it!</span></div><div style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div></div><!--start InLinkz code-->
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Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-72417232910282983942024-03-06T08:30:00.000-08:002024-03-06T14:56:24.144-08:00Review: THE RIVER WE REMEMBER<div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPcXtRZAJT-16n_UqRA11UKq5FVvXluDIs4h3hV4ipGrBiCqQiECNLjY5CiAcm6on7vh-XZO_WQvy6hevkKi-mBBAHJPxxYDnpDFqb18yrnNBudqy4b6rM1Ovcuc0NFB4_uv_3IfxNz6mPZbtQyLvvWAe6NelEO16Rjj8LVR7zRN3iuPKW1kP059fFpE/s2113/101160844.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2113" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPcXtRZAJT-16n_UqRA11UKq5FVvXluDIs4h3hV4ipGrBiCqQiECNLjY5CiAcm6on7vh-XZO_WQvy6hevkKi-mBBAHJPxxYDnpDFqb18yrnNBudqy4b6rM1Ovcuc0NFB4_uv_3IfxNz6mPZbtQyLvvWAe6NelEO16Rjj8LVR7zRN3iuPKW1kP059fFpE/w265-h400/101160844.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />Title:</b> <i>The River We Remember</i> by William Kent Krueger</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Beginning quote:</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxvNa14tEl-klI1o1sLKy1FradwzhUMPRjT7fybSrDwkZ6OxWvtEGWyfNA6_IzyCSUL6_YDITh7tXI5uX0pbGjs7FTcngq2qciQIvtPotfHadJwsM3M0ZVv-5ien86-qU0ptFzBfAjqcUuwaXrtDm47Q-6FbCRlKl0BLLqIGQN5Z6-sHLvbMMmqqwbJs/s780/Screenshot%202024-02-08%20223405.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="780" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxvNa14tEl-klI1o1sLKy1FradwzhUMPRjT7fybSrDwkZ6OxWvtEGWyfNA6_IzyCSUL6_YDITh7tXI5uX0pbGjs7FTcngq2qciQIvtPotfHadJwsM3M0ZVv-5ien86-qU0ptFzBfAjqcUuwaXrtDm47Q-6FbCRlKl0BLLqIGQN5Z6-sHLvbMMmqqwbJs/w640-h178/Screenshot%202024-02-08%20223405.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Friday56 quote:</b></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Josefin Sans;"><blockquote>“Even after the sun had set and the sky had gone from bruised purple to an indigo full of stars, they talked. There beside the silent flow of the Alabaster River, they split open the darkness inside both of them in which too many secrets had lain hidden”</blockquote></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>My thoughts from Feb. 9th: </b>I am finishing up my Cybils judging responsibilities this week and I can't publish any reviews for those books until after the winners are announced. So this week you get the benefit of quotes without a review of the book I am listening to now, since I haven't finished an adult books all week.</div><div><br /></div><div>I really love this author, but I'm not sure what I feel about this one, his most recent book. It is a mystery with a whole town's worth of characters. Set in the 1950s. Relationships are sloppy and the specter of war haunts many folks. What do you think of the quotes? I think the first quote, though a bit boring, is a good way to introduce the setting, a small farming town in the Midwest. The Alabaster River witnesses all kinds of events as it flows through the community and the people's lives. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Review on March 6th</b> (Circling back after finishing the book): As I said above I really like this author but of the three books I've read by him I like this one the least. It was a good mystery with plenty of red herrings along the way to keep readers guessing but there were few moments of sheer surprise or delight.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be very curious how the book club discussion will go. Mysteries are hard to discuss because by the end one knows the end of the mystery. (How's that for a circular sentence?) So I imagine we'll talk mostly about the characters and about the writing. Here are some <a href="https://www.readinggroupguides.com/reviews/the-river-we-remember/guide" target="_blank">discussion questions</a> which seem pretty good. I do hope we focus part of our meeting on the book's themes, especially the theme and the role of the river in the plot. I usually try to locate the title of the book in the book and this one wasn't hard to find since the river is a central character really.</div><div><br /></div><div>I finished this book on Feb. 13th, less than a month ago and already much of the plot and most of the characters have faded in my mind. I rated the book with 4 stars at the time but would likely rate it lower today knowing it is not a very memorable story. Sigh.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="background-color: #fefdfa; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5Q5a9Oli-Z08rX9RGWjDiHUb_a_Q-fGUUaHt8lLk0cU_q86rBtA-MQSgFFzxXe4vDMeWdUcu4co3MhFnO-hIIi_0oxxffnSeT07_jBMPLBBHSlzzRq1AFS_RWPYXny_5oer1RY9LDVP4E4NsOv-Tj0V4LhX6gwt4AIJrrJCpMfoKdgxRzx0fAb8_WaA/s585/bar-green3.gif" style="color: #d52a33; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8" data-original-width="585" height="4" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5Q5a9Oli-Z08rX9RGWjDiHUb_a_Q-fGUUaHt8lLk0cU_q86rBtA-MQSgFFzxXe4vDMeWdUcu4co3MhFnO-hIIi_0oxxffnSeT07_jBMPLBBHSlzzRq1AFS_RWPYXny_5oer1RY9LDVP4E4NsOv-Tj0V4LhX6gwt4AIJrrJCpMfoKdgxRzx0fAb8_WaA/s320/bar-green3.gif" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div><br style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><p style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b>Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s200/Friday%2056.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #d52a33; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s1600/Friday%2056.jpg" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="144" /></a></div>As many of you know Freda over at <a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a> hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host <b>The</b> <b>Friday56</b> until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. Thanks.</span></div></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><i><span class="st"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span class="authorOrTitle"><span face="arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif" style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16.8906px;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by <a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a> and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="background-color: cyan; font-style: italic;">First Line Friday</span><i style="background-color: cyan;"> hosted by </i><a href="https://readingismysuperpower.org/" style="background-color: cyan; color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>Reading is My Super Power </b></i>to share the beginning quote from your book.</a><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b>RULES:</b></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ff0077;"><b>*</b></span>Grab a book, any book</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Find a snippet, but no spoilers!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. 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Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-59810039332797034442024-03-04T17:40:00.000-08:002024-03-07T11:52:37.113-08:00TTT: A look back at a decade of March reads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KlA0AvBrWZ4vH4ho7namUgRYbTdwinaz3Ee8ZuIXmGISIBp9hQ11nHjxCSkLRZbj_rDknhuMJgSDrKi5_NnXLUkxOerIhvWwdCms30kIZN7cuIkWY4sHl9KiV2bG7GNfg2yUbW6M3r80lMzq46GsE74GbS5r-xfUgmPbPuP6kBFihbEy0via5evydVI/s1080/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Tweak.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KlA0AvBrWZ4vH4ho7namUgRYbTdwinaz3Ee8ZuIXmGISIBp9hQ11nHjxCSkLRZbj_rDknhuMJgSDrKi5_NnXLUkxOerIhvWwdCms30kIZN7cuIkWY4sHl9KiV2bG7GNfg2yUbW6M3r80lMzq46GsE74GbS5r-xfUgmPbPuP6kBFihbEy0via5evydVI/s320/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Tweak.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: center;"><br />Top Ten Tuesday: A look back at a decade of March reads.</h3><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I love the idea of today's proposed topic: to list queries to Google based on what I was reading. I do this all the time, often mid-book, however I just can't remember any of my searches right now. So I am off-the-board today with a look back at a decade of March reads. I've been listing my books on Goodreads for over ten years, so this task is doable right now.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is a list of books I was read in March, one per year, for the past decade, along with the rating I gave it at the time on Goodreads:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNIqsAIECfSxrg_s0QXm3A1PY0sdFtSuXjhR394Z_VNeO9wqVHrOae5esfsee15B_HZRwezFyWaY2bzntRYpjZPzQ5fB-57JWxBEpMvK1V7nw94oecW5O3bURHlZ2EYr0CXsPf5nzm5Z7caioK4MzO7w1JagqwBxeHXglSHaX-NP-2HJOrRKAWD9AHNo/s910/March%20Reads.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="520" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNIqsAIECfSxrg_s0QXm3A1PY0sdFtSuXjhR394Z_VNeO9wqVHrOae5esfsee15B_HZRwezFyWaY2bzntRYpjZPzQ5fB-57JWxBEpMvK1V7nw94oecW5O3bURHlZ2EYr0CXsPf5nzm5Z7caioK4MzO7w1JagqwBxeHXglSHaX-NP-2HJOrRKAWD9AHNo/w270-h472/March%20Reads.png" width="270" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2024</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Lady Tan's Circle of Women</i></b> by Lisa See</div><div style="text-align: center;">This is my current audiobook for an upcoming book club. The book is about the life of women in the 15th Century in China. Of special interest to me is the information about Chinese medicine of the day.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Not finished, no rating yet.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2023</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2023/03/textbook-amy-krouse-rosenthal-by-amy.html" target="_blank"><b>Textbook</b></a></i> by Amy Krouse Rosenthal</div><div style="text-align: center;">I learned about this wonderful, unique author earlier in 2023 and devoured everything by her that I could get my hands on. <i>Textbook</i> is a memoir, of sorts, and so fun and unique (there's that word again.) I went into a sort of funk around this time as I learned about her death in 2017 from ovarian cancer. I wanted more books like this one, and its predecessor, <i>Encyclopedia of An Ordinary Life</i>. Sigh.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rated 5+ stars.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2022</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2022/03/super-past-due-review-ordinary-grace.html" target="_blank"><b>Ordinary Grace</b></a> </i>by William Kent Krueger</div><div style="text-align: center;">March 2022 was a nightmare. My cousin's husband, a deputy sheriff officer, was killed in the line of duty. The whole family spiraled into almost unrecognizable grief and sorrow. I decided to reread<i> Ordinary Grace</i> at this time and it really helped me, and hopefully others as I shared what I gleaned from it. Check out my review if you want to learn more about the book and why it was helpful. (Title is hyperlinked.)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rated: 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2021</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2021/03/review-and-quotes-dragon-hoops-by-gene.html" target="_blank"><i>Dragon Hoops</i></a></b> by Gene Luen Yang</div><div style="text-align: center;">The best graphic memoir I've ever read. Yang not only tells his own story but teaches us about basketball as he learns about it from his research and his students. Most of my reviews are read and ignored by about 50 people, I'd say. The review I wrote about <i>Dragon Hoops</i> gets thousands of views per year. If you get discouraged writing reviews for seemingly no one, keep this in mind. Every once in a while one of your reviews may take off. Stick with it.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rated: 5 stars</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2020</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2020/03/review-year-of-monkey.html" target="_blank">The Year of the Monkey</a></b></i> by Patty Smith</div><div style="text-align: center;">Remember March 2020? How could anyone forget it? This is the month that the world shut down due to COVID. Just before that infamous event, I read this little gem of a diary/memoir by Smith, my first by this famous author/artist/musician.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rated: 3 1/2 stars</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2019</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2019/03/review-and-quotes-unsheltered.html" target="_blank">Unsheltered </a></b></i>by Barbara Kingsolver</div><div style="text-align: center;">I am a huge Kingsolver fan but <i>Unsheltered</i> isn't my favorite by her. That said, I really appreciated the book and how it helped open up my thinking on topics oft in the news today.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rated: 4 stars.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2018</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-austen-project-modern-retellings-of.html" target="_blank">Eligible </a></b></i>by Curtis Sittenfeld</div><div style="text-align: center;">A modern retelling of the <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> story by Jane Austen. I like the original classic MUCH better but this was fun especially trying to imagine the events of P&P happening today.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rated: 3 stars.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2017</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2017/03/lily-and-octopus-review-and-comparison.html" target="_blank">Lily and the Octopus</a></b></i> by Steven Rawley</div><div style="text-align: center;">I cried my way through the end of this short little book. It is about a dog and his owner.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rated: 4 stars</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2016</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can't Stop Talking</b></i> by Susan Cain</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms. Cain pulls together all kinds of research on introversion/extroversion. This book gave me a lot of insights into my daughter and several of my past students who are introverts. It lent itself to an excellent book club discussion. Unfortunately, I never published a review of it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rated: 5</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2015</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/reviewthe-rosie-project-by-graeme.html" target="_blank"><i><b>The Rosie Project</b></i></a> by Graeme Simsion</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <i>The Rosie Project</i> was truly a publishing phenomenon, having been picked up by 38 publishers worldwide. It was called the "feel-good-book-of-2013" which was extended to 2014 and 2015 when I read and discussed it in both my book clubs.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rated: 5 stars.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">2014</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-rose-under-fire-by-elizabeth-wein.html" target="_blank"><i><b>Rose Under Fire</b></i></a> by Elizabeth Wein</div><div style="text-align: center;">Oddly this is the only YA book on the list. I say that since I was a teen librarian until I retired in June of 2017. <i>Rose Under Fire</i> is the sequel to the much admired <i>Code Name Verity</i> by Weir and is the second book in a series of four novels by the author. I loved them all. <i>Rose Under Fire</i> is set in WWII and includes distressing information about the Polish women who were forced to be lab-rats for medical experiments.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Rated: 4 stars.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This was both a fun and an odd activity to complete. I tend to think of my life on a timeline littered with books. Can it really be ten years since I read <i>The Rosie Project</i>? And five years since I was reading <i>The Year of the Monkey</i> when all hell was breaking loose in the world because of COVID?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPug7j1Z8CA72QsiVeMY_MT-8HqI8IcPdhEWoDB1yT8yJiN8OWh4FsdhiPH4mNHVI1fBxyLZqPqkr1yLGyYLE-Kvpe1D30pp9YA01hLlxjx6ZwqnnYk5zF3zU9A-MTRPD7Q0b-85bi-FIG39dfZi7BW81GYRuMSgU3OeH308Nf0TVfX6_MvsDTdLeOLI/s1693/Let's%20Discuss.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1693" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPug7j1Z8CA72QsiVeMY_MT-8HqI8IcPdhEWoDB1yT8yJiN8OWh4FsdhiPH4mNHVI1fBxyLZqPqkr1yLGyYLE-Kvpe1D30pp9YA01hLlxjx6ZwqnnYk5zF3zU9A-MTRPD7Q0b-85bi-FIG39dfZi7BW81GYRuMSgU3OeH308Nf0TVfX6_MvsDTdLeOLI/s320/Let's%20Discuss.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you keep records of the books you've read? What were you reading five years ago when COVID started? Ten years ago? Last year at this time?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-20482131373566187922024-03-03T05:00:00.000-08:002024-03-03T07:51:38.249-08:00Six Degrees of Separation: TOM LAKE to...<div><br /></div><div><p style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Six Degrees of Separation</b></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>We begin with --</b></span></p><p style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><b style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-size: 48pt; line-height: 68.48px;">↓</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivT9ls0eM2uoFHR-y9G5UHPXrtA4tL6neSwR7hdHaYfRyNxITWGNJYI_4bTHJy9JUxXQT0WKORZDR616L657FYe8YZkEBPNLjLBG5s5e_ZCDdNylY6hWVbaLHpSgMOe3Y5A9nPSiDJAv-m_IxANZa7IBzPSjyVMvqd_b8bt7EqEF3Xmu2wVAKNdlJmT94/s978/Tom%20Lake.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="648" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivT9ls0eM2uoFHR-y9G5UHPXrtA4tL6neSwR7hdHaYfRyNxITWGNJYI_4bTHJy9JUxXQT0WKORZDR616L657FYe8YZkEBPNLjLBG5s5e_ZCDdNylY6hWVbaLHpSgMOe3Y5A9nPSiDJAv-m_IxANZa7IBzPSjyVMvqd_b8bt7EqEF3Xmu2wVAKNdlJmT94/s320/Tom%20Lake.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><b>Tom Lake </b></i>by Ann Patchett<br />The title of the book is the name of the summer stock theater company who performs plays every summer at a resort on Tom Lake in Michigan.</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-size: 48pt; line-height: 68.48px;">↓</span></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3j22SZ5mVxK9wq_PZw6Oyvh24el4n7nrG6JiG4Dtfj5IglxNbFI-eMkQpie9RDP27KFIEhWWKjJau1VJQLyMLlRToaaNWHhTRDTvgy4Tc9Z3JLjDAw2bXkhWgYxwMKwy9YsJ7pds9ZHsCnR20_HGN2sIk2w5ECGu6c5B5b09ZOL4IMC5i3QC_xCsuW4s/s475/Our%20Town.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3j22SZ5mVxK9wq_PZw6Oyvh24el4n7nrG6JiG4Dtfj5IglxNbFI-eMkQpie9RDP27KFIEhWWKjJau1VJQLyMLlRToaaNWHhTRDTvgy4Tc9Z3JLjDAw2bXkhWgYxwMKwy9YsJ7pds9ZHsCnR20_HGN2sIk2w5ECGu6c5B5b09ZOL4IMC5i3QC_xCsuW4s/s320/Our%20Town.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Our Town</i></b> by Thornton Wilder<br />One of the plays the company performed that summer was "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder. And the main character of the play was also the narrator of the book.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-size: 48pt; line-height: 68.48px;">↓</span></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbloPn16ayXwnA4tuBkxQsuZ8ipuiAC4QX7wN2xnlsqr3EK9_ioI_fzyFXBxL9W1p-aKGfxs8_aNrHf-nHmkQb2tXmH8ZfatQa1j14LF6XqDsdl952KeU3azYqGhAEVsvJHTyWWg6ekyY8hzFyR9p0exC6RbkHJnuKg8M4qqtGv4vggO59H2Ubh7N5nQ/s475/Cherry%20Orchard.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbloPn16ayXwnA4tuBkxQsuZ8ipuiAC4QX7wN2xnlsqr3EK9_ioI_fzyFXBxL9W1p-aKGfxs8_aNrHf-nHmkQb2tXmH8ZfatQa1j14LF6XqDsdl952KeU3azYqGhAEVsvJHTyWWg6ekyY8hzFyR9p0exC6RbkHJnuKg8M4qqtGv4vggO59H2Ubh7N5nQ/s320/Cherry%20Orchard.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i><b>The Cherry Orchard </b></i>by Anton Chkhov</span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Patchett clearly wants <i>Tom Lake</i> to be a paean to <i>Our Town </i>and to its playwright, Thornton Wilder. </span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In addition, I'd say that Patchett snuck in quite an homage to Anton Chekhov, too. His last two plays were titled "Three Sisters" and "The Cherry Orchard". Hmm. A good deal of the story takes place in a cherry orchard and, of course, there are three sisters. One could almost feel Chekhov hovering nearby. Wilder may have been "<a href="https://www.thorntonwilder.com/blog/2023/8/1/dk3hkotr3czqvcf4g4horpb2mdwke6" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;">driving the tractor</a>" but Chekhov was certainly nearby lending his ideas for stage directions.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-size: 48pt; line-height: 68.48px;">↓</span></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNUqUMlu36DHnJTTr-thmexaathlgv3sDSwDdLPeFnWJFwMF-NAd5fM8LK196sw9rjhiza9nK3XhWB59oRBvcBX_9n3PdeEHQnhRHsL2sFil6STIz0JI8JcwYLki7mvGa8R2DsLt3q9vS0v3iJmtk3ERSk7cIaMxVj4Nraa1_oeaa0V0mH3uEX4ZRuW0/s600/A%20Swim%20in%20the%20pond%20in%20the%20Rain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="395" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNUqUMlu36DHnJTTr-thmexaathlgv3sDSwDdLPeFnWJFwMF-NAd5fM8LK196sw9rjhiza9nK3XhWB59oRBvcBX_9n3PdeEHQnhRHsL2sFil6STIz0JI8JcwYLki7mvGa8R2DsLt3q9vS0v3iJmtk3ERSk7cIaMxVj4Nraa1_oeaa0V0mH3uEX4ZRuW0/s320/A%20Swim%20in%20the%20pond%20in%20the%20Rain.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>A Swim in the Pond in the Rain</b></i> by George Saunders<br />The subtitle of this book tells you what the book is about:<i> In Which Four Russian Authors Give a Master Class on Writing.</i> One of the four Russians that Saunders highlights is Anton Chekhov, though the work he highlighted wasn't "The Cherry Orchard."</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-size: 48pt; line-height: 68.48px;">↓</span></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_a6OnGr9CZE_c2i2QsUIxt6tLiIxiZ-06eAPSNR1Bl7hWKftri3OMp32XXVNtA9vaw5JE_R4JaI-vGtqM-C7E1g9k788AuZrk3s8jtC0RUNED_RKypMNmlvfhc2TUFgX8B27GgL6TfRpC5gbnoOdXG6ATZQd3Q6-9vjlgWbtHR-0LiGFWaZTXNX96vM/s397/Lincoln%20in%20the%20Bardo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="344" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_a6OnGr9CZE_c2i2QsUIxt6tLiIxiZ-06eAPSNR1Bl7hWKftri3OMp32XXVNtA9vaw5JE_R4JaI-vGtqM-C7E1g9k788AuZrk3s8jtC0RUNED_RKypMNmlvfhc2TUFgX8B27GgL6TfRpC5gbnoOdXG6ATZQd3Q6-9vjlgWbtHR-0LiGFWaZTXNX96vM/s320/Lincoln%20in%20the%20Bardo.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Lincoln in the Bardo</b></i> by George Saunders<br />This is the first book I read by Saunders. Read is a misnomer, as I actually listened to the audiobook. It has 166 unique voice actors reading the parts. Listening to this book was a transfixing experience for me. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-size: 48pt; line-height: 68.48px;">↓</span></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkMGNJZ4qFNEwX1WcLGL3IFCNk8vy3En9WXRaD1ufw9AiRAHTtOIM-R5btReEXuoUx9CSpEwlrNhwV8GATMCHRdDoGxRQOmZFTAtYSJDwiBTMAxjAzpNv6OjVAIkWQM3BtNSslpaazXF4QxsfXAnks2wGudRhm_AqcrINRAhz3MT0ivgqzZytWpbeNYY/s344/His%20Dark%20Materials.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="344" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkMGNJZ4qFNEwX1WcLGL3IFCNk8vy3En9WXRaD1ufw9AiRAHTtOIM-R5btReEXuoUx9CSpEwlrNhwV8GATMCHRdDoGxRQOmZFTAtYSJDwiBTMAxjAzpNv6OjVAIkWQM3BtNSslpaazXF4QxsfXAnks2wGudRhm_AqcrINRAhz3MT0ivgqzZytWpbeNYY/s320/His%20Dark%20Materials.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>His Dark Materials</b> series by Philip Pullman<br />Another transfixing audiobook experience with a large cast of narrators, I immersed myself totally in the story and read all three books in rapid succession. </span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-size: 48pt; line-height: 68.48px;">↓</span></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqlUh67QMMqWKRMX8fnhiNaYzNaBqMe_ugE5fCbaJd4sy1O0Fj8aVVOIAqr2QNH4SRLXEKGfBDZ0dlbiKPsXGspyLQBB2TLOFa6J7uFnv-eKCsRkj4FZOljxmEGSpb4wXtYx_2JNYsX8VBKtMVRfC74sJWIlri3Au3ixnBtTmUf9VuSoPvh_YvQUCcmo/s275/Book%20of%20Dust%20III.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqlUh67QMMqWKRMX8fnhiNaYzNaBqMe_ugE5fCbaJd4sy1O0Fj8aVVOIAqr2QNH4SRLXEKGfBDZ0dlbiKPsXGspyLQBB2TLOFa6J7uFnv-eKCsRkj4FZOljxmEGSpb4wXtYx_2JNYsX8VBKtMVRfC74sJWIlri3Au3ixnBtTmUf9VuSoPvh_YvQUCcmo/w213-h320/Book%20of%20Dust%20III.png" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Book of Dust </b>series by Philip Pullman<br />Another series by Philip Pullman where I found myself completely lost inside the story. The only problem, this series is incomplete. The 2nd book, <i>The Secret Commonwealth</i>, was published in 2019. And now I and other fans have to wait for the third book to be published and no publication date has been set. Sigh.</span><br /><br /><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-size: 48pt; line-height: 68.48px;">↓</span></b><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPw01sXum3Gj738icf-AVfZT0RNiJcfvFYURtFcIFaVyTO1-uzlRYXEF-6jBHGJ5eSozDZ6E587u41wvxspmuM-C6TKopGOcxLJ2Vo2pLUHdDIGoRGyorsozXfebt6aA38083RmSxhznoh03K4npYWVJushavVRqbTDaOaOZ23IUMyXXrlvxTSlG8iIkk/s978/Tom%20Lake.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="648" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPw01sXum3Gj738icf-AVfZT0RNiJcfvFYURtFcIFaVyTO1-uzlRYXEF-6jBHGJ5eSozDZ6E587u41wvxspmuM-C6TKopGOcxLJ2Vo2pLUHdDIGoRGyorsozXfebt6aA38083RmSxhznoh03K4npYWVJushavVRqbTDaOaOZ23IUMyXXrlvxTSlG8iIkk/s320/Tom%20Lake.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That brings us back around to<b><i> Tom Lake</i></b> by Ann Patchett.<br />I don't often pay attention to upcoming books, but I love Ann Patchett so much I am always eagerly await her new books. Thankfully she didn't make us wait five+ years for this book.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I made it full circle. Six degrees from<i> Tom Lake </i>and back again. How'd I do? Did you follow my logic?</span><br /><div><br /></div>-Anne
<br /><br /><br /><br />Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-11786608028830703252024-03-02T10:34:00.000-08:002024-03-02T21:01:12.596-08:00Review and discussion questions for: THE RABBIT HUTCH by Tess Gunty<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBCPXeNJo41XMcyDIAe281YK0inFR9tAztBNGJuj8TF63gvCtaz4sqP39GCEwIOJs__t8zG0qnF4Ausa_HIBw5cyRyJuFm2h8o976JezoC5e1c9yf_BLyZMy1iq5ZEqWIsQWc3uMP7ji65h937kX9Ft75nirKbkq0CDDDJJCorUgrwKUx8qutobUZBfI/s400/1d.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="268" height="511" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBCPXeNJo41XMcyDIAe281YK0inFR9tAztBNGJuj8TF63gvCtaz4sqP39GCEwIOJs__t8zG0qnF4Ausa_HIBw5cyRyJuFm2h8o976JezoC5e1c9yf_BLyZMy1iq5ZEqWIsQWc3uMP7ji65h937kX9Ft75nirKbkq0CDDDJJCorUgrwKUx8qutobUZBfI/w342-h511/1d.jpg" width="342" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This month's book club selection was Tess Gunty's National Book Award winning novel <i>The Rabbit Hutch</i>. It was a unanimous choice at first but then as women started reading the book a few balked, thinking the book was too difficult and contained too many trigger topics. We decided to go ahead with our choice and, boy, am I glad we did.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>The Rabbit Hutch</i> weaves together the daily dramas of tenants in a run-down apartment complex in a run-down fictitious town named Vacca Vale, Indiana. The builders, trying to give the apartment complex an air of sophistication named it<span style="background-color: white;"><span> '<span style="color: #040c28;">La Lapinière',</span></span></span> but the residents just called it the Rabbit Hutch. (<span style="background-color: white; color: #040c28;">Lapinière is the French word for rabbit hutch.) We all are familiar with rabbit hutches but it is odd to think of humans living in one where "walls are so thin, you can hear everyone's lives progress like a radio play." The tenants are all living down-and-out lives in their down-and-out apartments in the #1 Dying City in America. "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span>Set over one sweltering week in July and culminating in a bizarre act of violence that finally changes everything, <i>The Rabbit Hutch</i> is a savagely beautiful and bitingly funny snapshot of contemporary America, a gorgeous and provocative tale of loneliness and longing, entrapment and, ultimately, freedom" (Publisher).</span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">As I read and listened to <i>The Rabbit Hutch</i> I couldn't help but think of the book <i>Lolita</i> by Nabokov. I've always thought of that classic book as the most beautifully written book about a depraved topic. <i>The Rabbit Hutch</i> is stuffed full of trigger worthy topics and themes: child abandonment, the foster care system and shortcomings, sexual abuse of a minors and predator behavior, animal sacrifices, poverty and loneliness. Think of a depraved topic, it is probably addressed in this book. But the writing is brilliant. BRILLIANT! Like Nabokov, Gunty has a beautiful command of the English language and inserts phrases and quips throughout the story which would catch me up so I'd have to stop and think about what was said and the deeper meaning. One gal at book club said the book made her think about herself and her life choices in the face of encountering similar problems with students and neighbors. A book is a wonderful thing if it causes us to stop and change directions toward a more positive future. All this depravity is broken up by humorous situations, which I suppose what made the book bearable.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I am not getting anywhere near to a good summary of the book. I hope you take the chance to read its review in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/books/review/tess-gunty-rabbit-hutch.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>. Also take a minute to read the interview Gunty did with the editorial staff at <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/blog/an-exclusive-qanda-with-tess-gunty-on-the-rabbit-hutch" target="_blank">Waterstone</a>, an online magazine. <i>The Rabbit Hutch</i> won the first Waterstone Debut Fiction Award. Both of these sources helped fill out my appreciation of the book.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Now to our book club discussion. The publisher provided no discussion questions and the ones we were able to find online were very basic. I wrote several questions to augment what others were able to find and we ended up having a very robust discussion. To be clear, two of us loved the book, two hated the book, and the rest fell somewhere in the middle. Afterwards all admitted that we had a fantastic discussion, even those who didn't like the book. So don't be afraid to pick this book for your future club meetings.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcukwbzJ6OrjXRW4pXZ088lHN-GV7CZf7MdqwnFKQKQVLHhJcO4TAXhnnCj8lQ-OyBFSxH3NlA5xe9W3BJ4nC1OzhgE29A8c6As8nnowoHAZlM1gYXxelSt9Nj4AzDqZk0NICEsDl9lzdPJZ1qynzGK_sX1tVIgNwRXpxgCNSgNyqV2gyw_uCVhO6O7zo/s1217/divider9.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="98" data-original-width="1217" height="52" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcukwbzJ6OrjXRW4pXZ088lHN-GV7CZf7MdqwnFKQKQVLHhJcO4TAXhnnCj8lQ-OyBFSxH3NlA5xe9W3BJ4nC1OzhgE29A8c6As8nnowoHAZlM1gYXxelSt9Nj4AzDqZk0NICEsDl9lzdPJZ1qynzGK_sX1tVIgNwRXpxgCNSgNyqV2gyw_uCVhO6O7zo/w640-h52/divider9.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Rabbit Hutch Discussion Questions </span></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">(Spoiler alert: Some details of the book will be revealed in the questions.)</span></span></h2><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="background-color: white;">What did you think was revealed in the opening lines of the book </span></span> “<i>On a hot night in Apartment C4, Blandine Watkins exits her body. She is only 18 years old, but she has spent most of her life wishing for this to happen.</i>” And how did this affect your feelings about the book going forward?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Why do you think Blandine, the 18-year-old, former foster care 'graduate', is obsessed with Catholic mystics even though she was not religious?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Blandine never left Vacca Vale but her whole life she felt like an outsider. How does this happen? Have you ever known anyone in a similar situation? (Our group is made up of teachers, so we could reflect back on past students.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Talk about the characters: Blandine, Moses, Elsie, Joan, Todd/Malik/Jack, James, others. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The theme of "home" is a recurring one. Give some examples of how the characters felt about home.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">What aspect of "dying cities" have you been aware of where you live? What signs of resurgence?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The book highlights how often there is a lack of societal responsibility by its members. Discuss examples of this from the book and in your own community/life.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">What aspects of the book did you find funny/humorous? (You might need to prompt the group with some you've thought of before the meeting. We found so many funny aspects but of course they were hidden in some awful circumstances. It took us a while to come up with some and then the flood gate was open and we couldn't stop finding new humorous quotes/quips/situations.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">How did you react to the chapter of visual illustrations? Did it help you understand the unfolding scene better or not?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Todd, Jack, and Malik start sacrificing animals at some point. How does this come to pass and why did they continue it?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Late in the book Jack's chapters are written in 1st person. Why do you think the author switched that point-of-view and gave Jack a front row seat? Did you notice it? How did it impact the story?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">What are your favorite quotes/quips? Here are a few of my favorites:</span></li><ul><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"Her voice sounded like a communion wafer -- tasteless and light."</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"He wears his testosterone like a strong cologne."</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"You couldn't go anywhere in this town without bumping into God."</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"It takes Blandine a long time to respond, and when she does, the words seem laborius for her. She lugs them in to the room as though they're pieces of furniture."</span></li></ul><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">On the last page of the book Joan wonders what comments people would make to fill the obituary guest book if Blandine died. What comments do you think people would make and who are these people? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">What is your reaction to the last few lines of the book summed up as, "<i>I'm awake. Are you?</i>"</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">What growth/positive movement did the characters make by the end of the book?</span></li></ol></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">★Feel free to use these discussion questions for your book club discussion. If you publish the questions for your members or in any other publication, please give me credit. Thank you, Anne@HeadFullofBooks</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>-Anne
</span><div><br /></div>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-46284752614461469512024-02-29T15:22:00.000-08:002024-03-17T13:40:39.471-07:00Classic Review: THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA <div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qH9rtdbdKD_DiInm_ZfW5PV99T2bt54EFG6StsG-GlQHzIg6y9_5xfLanWdMQC63DI4HyTRSDnhb0TjSs-sU3Qh9WOpLNdb7WGyLtmCv1ORgdxuEvoasg5vf1-gqJImjyGoXOHbCTJpqxjloTXvzpYF1lQdJ57e8bR7B80rrLEKHaHE8gFPkS5uLlXM/s2125/Old%20Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2125" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qH9rtdbdKD_DiInm_ZfW5PV99T2bt54EFG6StsG-GlQHzIg6y9_5xfLanWdMQC63DI4HyTRSDnhb0TjSs-sU3Qh9WOpLNdb7WGyLtmCv1ORgdxuEvoasg5vf1-gqJImjyGoXOHbCTJpqxjloTXvzpYF1lQdJ57e8bR7B80rrLEKHaHE8gFPkS5uLlXM/w264-h400/Old%20Man.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br />Title:</b> <i>The Old Man and the Sea </i>by Ernest Hemingway</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Book Beginning quote:</b> </div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: Josefin Sans;">He was an old man who fished alone on a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.</span></div></blockquote><div><b>Friday56 quote:</b></div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: Josefin Sans;">"You're feeling it now, fish," he said, "And so, God knows, am I."</span></div></blockquote><div><b>Summary:</b> Hemingway's classic and Pulitzer Prize winning novella, <i>The Old Man and the Sea</i>, is about an old fisherman who goes out fishing alone on day 84 without catching any fish. He manages to hook a huge 18-foot marlin which is so strong it pulls the man and the skiff way out to sea. On day three he finally is able to pull the fish in using all the skills he had learned over his many years as a fisherman. After lashing the fish to the side of the boat, the old man has to figure out how to get back to the harbor. But there are sharks that have other ideas of what to do with the giant fish.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Review: </b>I read this novella the first time in junior high school, I think in 7th grade. The basic story has stayed with me all these years and so has the feeling that it was a good story. It was worth reading. The plot is, you know, man vs. nature, and man wins. Or does he?</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bvVsie3o_A4FKpyzZCEusawl0lgKItSfjdEF6RrGqhVLtdia0iLLM0mXS5EXznVq3iI292bj3g1WJmPIRYfrYtgiGe53YbGPgu36Bu5_dnW7MIjeSZN4dULRTw9CBZ2TTt3K1WYxN39bVI8MAaMANgKqsd3UjMaRbXo72YqPEpzauEyWQONulh60jNQ/s176/classicsclub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="166" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bvVsie3o_A4FKpyzZCEusawl0lgKItSfjdEF6RrGqhVLtdia0iLLM0mXS5EXznVq3iI292bj3g1WJmPIRYfrYtgiGe53YbGPgu36Bu5_dnW7MIjeSZN4dULRTw9CBZ2TTt3K1WYxN39bVI8MAaMANgKqsd3UjMaRbXo72YqPEpzauEyWQONulh60jNQ/s1600/classicsclub.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>On my reread for the <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/01/classics-club-spin-36.html" target="_blank">Classics Club Spin #36</a> I was a bit more cognizant of the writing, responding to Hemingway's spare style. The old man's abject poverty and his pride, the boy's love and devotion to the man, and life in the small seaside community all came into focus very quickly. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the note about the author at the back of the book, <i>Old Man and the Sea</i> was identified as Hemingway's most popular work. It was originally published in 1952 and won the Pulitzer in 1953. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954 for "his powerful styleforming mastery of the art of narration." No other author had captured the imagination of the American public as Hemingway in the twentieth-century. Yet even though he won all these accolades, he commited suicide in 1961, as a byproduct of his alcoholism and untreated mental disorders. The adage, "Screwed up people make great art" is certainly at play here.</div><div><br /></div><div>As I closed the book on its 128 pages, I wondered to myself if 7th graders are still required to read <i>The Old Man and the Sea</i> in the schools in my hometown and elsewhere. Have you read it? What are your memories of it? If you haven't read it, it is worth the small effort it takes to complete in a sitting or two. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="background-color: #fefdfa; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s324/divider4.png" style="color: #d52a33; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="13" data-original-width="324" height="13" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s320/divider4.png" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div><br style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b>Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s200/Friday%2056.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #d52a33; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s1600/Friday%2056.jpg" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="144" /></a></div>As many of you know Freda over at <a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a> hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host <b>The</b> <b>Friday56</b> until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. <u>Don't forget to drop a comment on my post also! </u>Thanks.</span></div></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><i><span class="st"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span class="authorOrTitle"><span face="arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif" style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16.8906px;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by <a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a> and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="background-color: cyan; font-style: italic;">First Line Friday</span><i style="background-color: cyan;"> hosted by </i><a href="https://readingismysuperpower.org/" style="background-color: cyan; color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>Reading is My Super Power </b></i>to share the beginning quote from your book.</a><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span></span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b>RULES:</b></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ff0077;"><b>*</b></span>Grab a book, any book</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Find a snippet, but no spoilers!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it!</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span><!--start InLinkz code-->
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Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-34100374547149340452024-02-26T20:26:00.000-08:002024-02-26T20:26:10.072-08:00TTT: Books I've Read with Butterflies on the Cover<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDgkNr8itTXLXupKdnlE6cxfndvndDj4RvjFZYL5k99Vs64zl47u7S2TH77AwbzDYVcpsLVRBWORw9IpFN5QD6xy8ZXhwJy2qIyg9rmg1C8pf1R_BszmtQ-E9M3q918lB0RwOk6pN7RTglS8vLS6T35UJEHlUmf25b-6FinJkgKq3ZM3l3bKUTVb481o/s630/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20books.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="630" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDgkNr8itTXLXupKdnlE6cxfndvndDj4RvjFZYL5k99Vs64zl47u7S2TH77AwbzDYVcpsLVRBWORw9IpFN5QD6xy8ZXhwJy2qIyg9rmg1C8pf1R_BszmtQ-E9M3q918lB0RwOk6pN7RTglS8vLS6T35UJEHlUmf25b-6FinJkgKq3ZM3l3bKUTVb481o/s320/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20books.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Butterflies on the Cover</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I've read them all, liked some of them (or don't understand what butterflies have to do with the plots) but I confess I've forgotten the details of some others. 😕</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2zf9SWSCslYzo7EtXQZRXCeN6-POvyiP5OwIXL7Wj8MfHnFodqD6IZDJuCJr4V6YXeegfJNU6ye8kw0V2p2hnOG2n5FJWY101Q8WOfVcTEolByz8eyz-PI0k4AXUgVJt5-jWK6cHKIHeoN3_88y3-uJjTUqYGfiJdnksEvdjQ_q2-6HEAJx8GdXH7uo/s2212/Butterflies%20collage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="2212" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2zf9SWSCslYzo7EtXQZRXCeN6-POvyiP5OwIXL7Wj8MfHnFodqD6IZDJuCJr4V6YXeegfJNU6ye8kw0V2p2hnOG2n5FJWY101Q8WOfVcTEolByz8eyz-PI0k4AXUgVJt5-jWK6cHKIHeoN3_88y3-uJjTUqYGfiJdnksEvdjQ_q2-6HEAJx8GdXH7uo/w668-h315/Butterflies%20collage.png" width="668" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">1.<i> Flight Behavior</i> by Kingsolver</div><div style="text-align: center;">2. <i>Butterfly: A Photographic Portrait</i> by Marent</div><div style="text-align: center;">3. <i>The Butterfly Clues</i> by Ellison</div><div style="text-align: center;">4. <i>Still Alice </i>by Genova</div><div style="text-align: center;">5.<i> The Hound of the Baskervilles</i> by Conan Doyle</div><div style="text-align: center;">6. <i>Emma</i> by Austen</div><div style="text-align: center;">7. <i>Stolen</i> by Christopher</div><div style="text-align: center;">8. <i>Wings</i> by Pike</div><div style="text-align: center;">9. <i>The Fire Keeper's Daughter</i> by Boulley</div><div style="text-align: center;">10. <i>Arcadia</i> by Groff</div><div style="text-align: center;">11. <i>Private Peaceful</i> by Morpurgo</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-790300286379035572024-02-25T17:49:00.000-08:002024-02-25T17:49:57.023-08:00Sunday Salon -- Rainy days<div><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5aYu3bgHJDaHeQGHEY5NBt7wUTHnwU3Hk_cUsEo9KmG3iFLg36boMuiP7zclvq2nFEaXgaTeUYxkUuO9g52rr5wveB69ubUQUdoyl_yNNfk-R8Ss05UEPgVaP3ZQHME93W_W_UYBwNxPPY9tZE_zfwFZ7sCPzLLh8KEc9ZMybx8ZI5E-6nKN4XldvCM/s3264/BeFunky-cats'%20quilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="3264" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5aYu3bgHJDaHeQGHEY5NBt7wUTHnwU3Hk_cUsEo9KmG3iFLg36boMuiP7zclvq2nFEaXgaTeUYxkUuO9g52rr5wveB69ubUQUdoyl_yNNfk-R8Ss05UEPgVaP3ZQHME93W_W_UYBwNxPPY9tZE_zfwFZ7sCPzLLh8KEc9ZMybx8ZI5E-6nKN4XldvCM/w640-h640/BeFunky-cats'%20quilt.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The saga of Fred and George and the new quilt: Top left to right: George settling in on the new quilt; Fred taking a turn. Middle: George hiding in new quilt tent; Fred giving quilt rabbit punches. Bottom: A fight for the quilt erupts between brothers-- Fred up, George down; George seriously snoozing.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Weather: </b>Rain. Rain. Rain. (Go away, come again some other day.) We've even heard the word S-N-O-W on the news but we aren't holding our breath. We are just glad that the mountains are getting some as the snowpack is very low this year.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Home owner: </b>Our youngest daughter bought a townhouse and took ownership of it on Friday. We spent yesterday in IKEA, with the rest of all the people in the Seattle-area, tromping through the store, selecting new furniture. We came home with boxes of parts for a dresser, a bedside table, and a bookshelf. Today Carly and her dad are up at the townhouse putting together the dresser and maybe more depending on time and temperament. I opted out of the building process, letting them have all the "fun" by themselves. My goodness, a visit to IKEA is a unique kind of ordeal isn't it? I'm recovering from it today. Ha!😂</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cats' Quilt</b>: My younger sister gave me a small quilt for my birthday and said that it was perfect to use as a pet quilt. Place it on a chair or couch and then launder it frequently to deal with pet fur, she said. Well, the quilt is a hit with my daughter's cats, Fred and George. They immediately started sleeping on it, playing tent under it, fighting over it. See collage above. 🤣🤣🤣🤣Thank you, Grace, for the perfect gift, says Fred and George.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>All of reviews I wrote for the Cybils Nonfiction books have been published.</b> None of them have generated much traffic, understandably, but I thought I'd leave the links for the books just in case you missed one of the reviews and wanted to check it out!</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-of-cybils-nonfiction-award.html" target="_blank">Impossible Escape</a></i> (YA winner)... escape from Auschwitz </li><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/yamg-nonfiction-review-mona-lisa.html" target="_blank">The Mona Lisa Vanishes</a></i> (MG winner) ... the Mona Lisa is stolen from the Louvre in 1911.</li><li><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/three-nonfiction-childrens-book-reviews.html" target="_blank"><i>Jumper </i></a>(Elementary winner); also reviewed on the same post: <i>Glitter Everywhere</i>, and <i>The Ice Cream Man</i>. A backyard spider; glitter; and the man who invented ice cream.</li><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/middle-grade-nonfiction-review-stars-of.html" target="_blank">Stars of the Night </a></i>(MG)...Kindertransport from Czech Republic before the start of WWII.</li><li><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/childrens-nonfiction-book-reviews-with.html">Three reviews of elementary books in one post</a>: <i>Meet the Bears; Piece by Piece; </i>and <i>Caterpillar Cocoons</i>... eight types of bears; a gift for FDR; and all about caterpillars.</li><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/mgya-nonfiction-review-plague-busters.html" target="_blank">Plague-busters</a></i> (MG)...all about the history of the world's worst plagues.</li><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-how-it-happened-sneakers.html" target="_blank">How It Happened: Sneakers!</a></i> (MG) ...everything about the invention and evolution of sneakers.</li><li><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/01/ya-nonfiction-reviews-spare-parts-and.html" target="_blank">Two YA review</a>s: <i>Nearer My Freedom</i> and <i>Spare Parts</i>... a found-verse account of a freed slave, in his own words; and an unlikely winner of a robotics competition.</li><li><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/two-nonfiction-ya-book-reviews-both.html" target="_blank">Two more YA reviews:</a> <i>Braiding Sweetgrass -Young Adult version</i> and <i>Muzoon</i>...Wisdom from Mother Earth and Indigenous people about how to save our world; and a memoir about a Syrian refugee.</li><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-first-notes-and-two-other.html" target="_blank">The Girl Who Heard Music</a></i> (Elementary)...The story of Mahani Teave who lives on Easter Island and still was able to excel at music and now share this love with others.</li><li><i><a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2023/11/new-mgya-nonfiction-books-batch-2.html" target="_blank">Seen and Unseen</a></i> (MG) ... Three famous photographers use their craft to document the Japanese Internment experience.</li></ul><div><b>Book Club extremes:</b> This month my first book club (SOTH Ladies) read possibly the most popular choice we've ever selected:<b><i> <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-huntress-friday56-sign-in.html" target="_blank">The Huntress</a> </i></b>by Kate Quinn. My second club is reading <i><b>The Rabbit Hutch</b></i> by Tess Gunty and I fear it will be thought of as one of our least popular choices. I like it and think it should generate a good discussion but I've heard rumblings that others don't feel the same. We'll see after our club meeting on Wednesday. My review for the Rabbit Hutch is pending but I hope to have it up sometime early this coming week.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Currently reading:</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>When Women Were Dragons</i> by Barnhill</li><li><i>The Old Man and the Sea</i> by Hemingway</li><li><i>Above Ground: Poems</i> by Smith</li></ul></div><div><b>On TV:</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://youtu.be/WlopfWYGBh4?si=TNPmnAiVu4vqWyv3" target="_blank">One Day</a> miniseries on Netflix. I've seen the movie. I've read the book. Now I've consumed, in great big gulps, the miniseries. </li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/fwUWlxAQj-o?si=1W2GlJW8yImQcm53" target="_blank">The Stranger </a>miniseries on Netflix. A murder mystery.</li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/MD3oU1gowu4?si=2ud_IyQUUBOW-upn" target="_blank">The Greatest Night in Pop</a> a documentary about the filming of the "We are the World" song by 46 pop artists in 1985. Don't miss it if you have Netflix.</li></ul><div><b>At the movie theater: </b>We watched all the short documentaries nominated for Academy Awards this year in one two-hour session at the theater. I liked "The Last Repair Shop" best but all were good. Click to view trailer.</div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://youtu.be/1amOPUn49aM?si=KLl3ZWgLmPt0CJKZ" target="_blank">The Barber of Little Rock</a></li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/xttrkgKXtZ4?si=LmIxGxszgyohQXQ9" target="_blank">The Last Repair Shop</a></li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/DefVP0mkHZY?si=jgcO5FARg6aR6_d-" target="_blank">The Island In Between</a></li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/sMaZ2bLwaeA?si=BjamTgQpmZfY1XI5" target="_blank">The ABCs of Book Banning</a></li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/JlyYimV6Qqw?si=2rGOg7KFktCvM1j-" target="_blank">Nai Nai and Wa'i Po</a></li></ul></div><div><b>One funny:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIPr4MGQDeoCQceMshfRWfHQ4DsJBWdAtYdidurZyAguxm2ccHf3-NrIr1XXPm7MD7zgURJZ5MCoiAp42_wZlcwtQMGYLNKEUNseAP9QudyJmfBGse4a3BEc3bVhLkhezlwVYu6hPmvyhZawWk5xywMkTf5gmH4O4svC3WryW0fZQ6scrxyqY-_Ls2y8/s657/Comic%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIPr4MGQDeoCQceMshfRWfHQ4DsJBWdAtYdidurZyAguxm2ccHf3-NrIr1XXPm7MD7zgURJZ5MCoiAp42_wZlcwtQMGYLNKEUNseAP9QudyJmfBGse4a3BEc3bVhLkhezlwVYu6hPmvyhZawWk5xywMkTf5gmH4O4svC3WryW0fZQ6scrxyqY-_Ls2y8/w335-h400/Comic%202.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-85436540659429471302024-02-23T06:30:00.000-08:002024-02-23T06:30:00.232-08:00Two Nonfiction YA Book Reviews --- Both should be in your library<div>As I finish up my Cybils judging for nonfiction books I wanted to make sure you all were aware of these two books which should certainly be added to any library collection which services teens.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnM40SCF46tWwJ2kDD1gizI638hZbVJYKXdF79nwjYt3qM1xPnUAqSiTHVFQKiawYSuo86w7botVgZeEjnfkLPcCBDrmdpYw4kACrYnnxBHo16izNa6der-XgTFyu71qDuGTqNzMOYZpNp_ifcO5PA4GwWEZaH9YFP7xeLK6R_pDBa7KT9TuA9E3LugK8/s400/59880078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="271" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnM40SCF46tWwJ2kDD1gizI638hZbVJYKXdF79nwjYt3qM1xPnUAqSiTHVFQKiawYSuo86w7botVgZeEjnfkLPcCBDrmdpYw4kACrYnnxBHo16izNa6der-XgTFyu71qDuGTqNzMOYZpNp_ifcO5PA4GwWEZaH9YFP7xeLK6R_pDBa7KT9TuA9E3LugK8/w271-h400/59880078.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><br />Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants</i></b> by Robin Wall Kimmerer, adapted by Monique Gray Smith, with illustrations by Nicole Neidhardt</div><div><br /></div><div>Zest Books, Minneapolis. 2022. Target audience: Grades 8-12.</div><div><br /></div><div>Back in 2015 a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer, published <i>Braiding Sweetgrass</i>, the parent of this young adult version. As a botanist Kimmerer was trained to observe nature through science. As a member of the Potawatomi Nation she knew that plants and animals are some of our oldest and best teachers. In her book she brings together these two types of knowledge to share the ancient wisdom in a way that it even makes sense with science. </div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings―asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass―offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">(Publisher).</span></blockquote></span></div><div><i>Braiding Sweetgrass</i> has been a highly praised book worthy of being read to enhance understanding of our world so we can make changes to help stop the destruction of Mother Earth but also to help see problems and solutions through different lenses. In this edition for teens, Monique Gray Smith streamlines the language and yet stays true to the core concepts of the original but adds sidebars, definitions of words/concepts, and asks probing questions to ignite younger readers' minds. It encourages them to make changes to their action, beliefs, and values. Illustrations by Nicole Neidhardt also make the text more inviting, allowing readers to linger over concepts as they examine the drawings.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vSMToZyCiNxL_ap1vYzWIaRhvYUsF2XkbVYhpBEOgUL2UjnXGX-OTSqzVtMKFZoYzlO4RdfZMdiP1jqmrlzVbkf6rbW68I8BOxZho7afz_dtZJZg-SozIX_mtKEvR7SKGfzLr-ueh1W6A2haXmU4bGZ0P4UKUoCRpKpm0UsJrvIK_-NazSKABQ6AaNU/s1464/Screenshot%202024-02-11%20140251.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="1464" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vSMToZyCiNxL_ap1vYzWIaRhvYUsF2XkbVYhpBEOgUL2UjnXGX-OTSqzVtMKFZoYzlO4RdfZMdiP1jqmrlzVbkf6rbW68I8BOxZho7afz_dtZJZg-SozIX_mtKEvR7SKGfzLr-ueh1W6A2haXmU4bGZ0P4UKUoCRpKpm0UsJrvIK_-NazSKABQ6AaNU/w640-h248/Screenshot%202024-02-11%20140251.png" width="640" /></a></div>I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book and contemplate its place in the oeuvre of all literature on solutions to climate change. I love the idea that the earth herself can guide to find the answers that have baffled us for centuries.<div><br /></div><div>My book club will be reading the original, adult version of this book next month and I look forward to seeing for myself how the two editions differ from each other. I'm guessing that his YA edition will win for me in a side by side comparisons. Make sure your public and high school library have a copy available for teens and students. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodLNJBSnW1hQYHn_hC9yrU-VeYEA9P24l8MjXbVvdRIMBuPgUsbjxv5vM6sRT3nK-yIT5zgBXaolb7yds3545G0rNJV0QpcKaw_l8vsD0byL2egINRpuf0UADMmWu4TA1h_e7knu7hk1nR3t4npS-iQ1V3aJodxURYbNx1Lq9fpkYLcNbpndl7YkYZKw/s821/BS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="821" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodLNJBSnW1hQYHn_hC9yrU-VeYEA9P24l8MjXbVvdRIMBuPgUsbjxv5vM6sRT3nK-yIT5zgBXaolb7yds3545G0rNJV0QpcKaw_l8vsD0byL2egINRpuf0UADMmWu4TA1h_e7knu7hk1nR3t4npS-iQ1V3aJodxURYbNx1Lq9fpkYLcNbpndl7YkYZKw/w492-h367/BS.png" width="492" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>My rating: 5 stars.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dhMvwGkOlsni3X2SICfIpJTWZAerJnuvIWFxSvNa59TtSboweqTyZi1a0RyY3ubEpP2XDqwhIa25UXlbtf4RuhFCXOtI6imj5tpSAbXdIqHp4i74q2OQ3ThWFCKFUDdVJpLxbZTaMEV9qAMPmVcRNqqRagLt9KXX9W0iDfwx2Nr8bRk0z_p1dg_Kf2Y/s325/divider1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="17" data-original-width="325" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dhMvwGkOlsni3X2SICfIpJTWZAerJnuvIWFxSvNa59TtSboweqTyZi1a0RyY3ubEpP2XDqwhIa25UXlbtf4RuhFCXOtI6imj5tpSAbXdIqHp4i74q2OQ3ThWFCKFUDdVJpLxbZTaMEV9qAMPmVcRNqqRagLt9KXX9W0iDfwx2Nr8bRk0z_p1dg_Kf2Y/w640-h34/divider1.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioE-J4Tb05GRidp7jS8UwMOCYDh0WgqyARBqgZoCwDcf0c3tvM12P3dTmbO12yMi5zjMCz_7VYI-ot_LxdcKKbvPfrbwY7xEg-rM9Vto0mnyru5pLQ5yLdu3QVWHx2HA97pKaW9MApfddmaPc8eoqZGv-Lcv4112OQLANfLiKpEAK0W9pt75L6mwuRL9E/s400/61357417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioE-J4Tb05GRidp7jS8UwMOCYDh0WgqyARBqgZoCwDcf0c3tvM12P3dTmbO12yMi5zjMCz_7VYI-ot_LxdcKKbvPfrbwY7xEg-rM9Vto0mnyru5pLQ5yLdu3QVWHx2HA97pKaW9MApfddmaPc8eoqZGv-Lcv4112OQLANfLiKpEAK0W9pt75L6mwuRL9E/w264-h400/61357417.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br />Muzoon: A Syrian Refugee Speaks Out</i></b> by Muzoon Almellehan with Wendy Pearlman. // Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 2023. Target Audience: Grades 6-10</div><br /><div>When she was fourteen-years-old Muzoon and her family had to leave their Syrian home and escape to a refugee camp in Jordan. War had broken out in her homeland and it was no longer safe to live among the bombs, raids, and guns on both sides. Her father gave her just a few hours to pack her most important possessions before leaving. Muzoon packed all her textbooks. She didn't want to miss out on a moment of her education, realizing it was her ticket to a more positive future. </div><div><br /></div><div>Once she and her family settled into their new reality in the refugee camp, Muzoon started back to school. She discovered that many of the other girls in her classes would be there one day and not the next. When she asked around she discovered that many of these girls didn't understand the importance of education because all they saw in their future was marriage. Muzoon made it a personal mission to seek out these girls and talk to them about staying in school, explaining how important it would be that everyone have a good education when they were finally able to go back to their country so that they'd never end up in this mess again. She did this so often, her efforts started to be noticed by relief organizations. Periodically Muzoon would be asked to speak on behalf of refugees for these organizations (Save the Children, UNICEF.) One day Malala came to her refugee camp and the two girls met each other. They had to speak through interpreters, but they recognized kindred spirits in each other. Sometimes Muzoon is even called The Syrian Malala. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because of her work as an goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, her family was able to secure proper papers to immigrate to Britain where she and her siblings were able to go on to college. She continues today as an advocate for refugees and for the importance of education.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWROcYRNfBrTkQ3vo0seFSGoifm37lhBc96OE9BiLt-1t4cd5RTd_22fwGK1xehV-eWIGYSxJPVdyWkvbINXit8wH56hFHISJ3zjXXMHb4BmQGd0UCLNEa61Crwpw2N0wUUY5i7skb3iMYDWVJbeVBy9mEVcV1xUkT7IsIaC1mLXh6uMoSp-gGPjt3OdA/s821/Muzoon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="821" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWROcYRNfBrTkQ3vo0seFSGoifm37lhBc96OE9BiLt-1t4cd5RTd_22fwGK1xehV-eWIGYSxJPVdyWkvbINXit8wH56hFHISJ3zjXXMHb4BmQGd0UCLNEa61Crwpw2N0wUUY5i7skb3iMYDWVJbeVBy9mEVcV1xUkT7IsIaC1mLXh6uMoSp-gGPjt3OdA/w543-h406/Muzoon.png" width="543" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div> My rating: 4 stars.</div><div><br /></div>-Anne
</div>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-64057749469943331932024-02-22T19:51:00.000-08:002024-03-02T16:00:27.232-08:00Review: THE HUNTRESS <p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMyOEGqzuz-4M1exv7T7Fu3q4GP127KY3bNsgWlxHjiuH2En_ObchAON-9luiOjrvqLeY8xV0iD3gQpypIG-sXHVHE-FthAJ6auciPFm_RhyphenhyphenjEac_gJpY0S_jPJAiez8ex-hlBjC6BLOhhH8LEnhH9wozRMgk9B176uKwYw8_JiK5g913vvgXWT8-OsTQ/s1920/Huntress.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1272" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMyOEGqzuz-4M1exv7T7Fu3q4GP127KY3bNsgWlxHjiuH2En_ObchAON-9luiOjrvqLeY8xV0iD3gQpypIG-sXHVHE-FthAJ6auciPFm_RhyphenhyphenjEac_gJpY0S_jPJAiez8ex-hlBjC6BLOhhH8LEnhH9wozRMgk9B176uKwYw8_JiK5g913vvgXWT8-OsTQ/w265-h400/Huntress.jpg" width="265" /></a></b></div><b><br />Title:</b> <i>The Huntress</i> by Kate Quinn<br /><p></p><p><b>Beginning quote:</b></p><div style="text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><u>Prologue</u></div><div style="text-align: left;">Autumn 1945</div><div style="text-align: left;">Altausse, Austria</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>She was not used to being hunted. </i></div></blockquote><p><b>Friday56:</b></p><p></p><blockquote>Tony shook his head. "I don't know what else your wife is lying about, but if she's from Poland, I'm a Red Sox fan. I know a Russian when I hear one." </blockquote><p></p><p><b>Summary:</b> <i>The Huntress</i> is a WWII-era story about three very strong women: Nina, a Russian woman who was a pilot with the Russian Air Force known as the Night Witches; Jordan, a strong-willed Bostonian who is more interested in photography than she is about getting married and living the usual life of an American woman in the 1940s; Anneliese, a soft spoken Austrian who is trying to make a new life for herself after the war. In addition two men, Ian and Tony, enter the story as Nazi Hunters. They follow leads on Nazi's who escaped during the final, frantic days of the war and they try to capture them so they will finally meet with justice. When they get a lead on a woman who is identified as The Huntress, they travel to Boston to see if they can find her. The Huntress is a person of special interest since her crimes against humanity were so egregious-- She shot and killed children after she fed them.<br /></p><p><b>Title:</b> <i>The Huntress</i> was this month's book club selection. There was a bit of anxiety among members because the the book is over 540 pages long. But once women started reading it, the page length anxiety evaporated. To a person everyone spoke about how much they liked the plot and the pages just flew by. Mid-month I talked to one club member who was upset because she didn't have any time that day to read. This has NEVER happened before and our club has been around for almost thirty years. (Yes, you read that right. 30 years.) Our discussion reflected the enthusiasm for the book. In fact, one person, my daughter, attended the meeting for the first time because she was so enthusiastic about it.</p><p>Fortunately the book is well organized otherwise it would be very confusing. Each chapter is clearly marked whose story is being told. For example: Nina, Russia, 1942, or Jordan, Boston, 1950. The biggest mystery: Who is the Huntress and where is she hiding? <br /></p><p>Kate Quinn writes phenomenal historical fiction. She does a ton of research and it shows in her plots. I highly recommend this book and this author. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s324/divider4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="13" data-original-width="324" height="13" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s320/divider4.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b>Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s200/Friday%2056.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #d52a33; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s1600/Friday%2056.jpg" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="144" /></a></div>As many of you know Freda over at <a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a> hosted
#Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going
through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to
reach her but have had no reply. So I will host <b>The</b> <b>Friday56</b> until
she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can
figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your
blog. Thanks.</span></div></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><i><span class="st"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span class="authorOrTitle"><span face="arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif" style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16.8906px;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by <a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a> and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="background-color: cyan; font-style: italic;">First Line Friday</span><i style="background-color: cyan;"> hosted by </i><a href="https://readingismysuperpower.org/" style="background-color: cyan; color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>Reading is My Super Power </b></i>to share the beginning quote from your book.</a><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span></span></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b>RULES:</b></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ff0077;"><b>*</b></span>Grab a book, any book</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Find a snippet, but no spoilers!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it!</span></div><p> </p><!--start InLinkz code-->
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<a href="https://fresh.inlinkz.com/p/09ba8e7ee9f04c0fbc3a371222df4088" rel="nofollow" style="background: rgb(32, 156, 238); border-radius: 4px; color: #efefef; padding: 5px 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Click here to enter</a></div></div>
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</p>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-67221191089297940282024-02-21T21:53:00.000-08:002024-02-21T21:53:00.125-08:00YA Nonfiction Reviews: SPARE PARTS and NEARER MY FREEDOM<div><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrvfZkX6dktaKJMBbacDf5YLN8xm7UDpP1DRlNKQUBx1U2zAcisFrdKxgamJk8GqFIQjN2__hm62Bobqy4MqXTn16TQVc4Ujg10s41l8GTP0zGmYTYGkkL8fESMXAsATiLsIMU4mOoEMl3JZWqVm5nrbg858cWiCKuSdAEAoqy_cv84fdrzZexvP4qNI/s2560/123037218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1733" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrvfZkX6dktaKJMBbacDf5YLN8xm7UDpP1DRlNKQUBx1U2zAcisFrdKxgamJk8GqFIQjN2__hm62Bobqy4MqXTn16TQVc4Ujg10s41l8GTP0zGmYTYGkkL8fESMXAsATiLsIMU4mOoEMl3JZWqVm5nrbg858cWiCKuSdAEAoqy_cv84fdrzZexvP4qNI/s320/123037218.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><br />Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano By Himself </i></b>by Monica Ediger and Lesley Younge</div><div><br /></div><div>Zest Books, Minneapolis. 2023.</div><div>Target Audience: Grades 9-12.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Olaudah Equiano was born in an Igbo village in what is now southern Nigeria in 1745, captured and enslaved as a child and shipped to the Caribbean where he was sold to a Royal Navy officer. He was sold twice more before he was able to buy his own freedom in 1766. In the 1789 he wrote an autobiography about his life and experiences, <i>The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano</i>. It was quite popular with the abolitionists in Britain and actually may have helped lead to the Slave Trade Act of 1807.</div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">Using this narrative as a primary source text, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge share Equiano's life story in "found verse," supplemented with annotations to give readers historical context. This poetic approach provides interesting analysis and synthesis, helping readers to better understand the original text. Follow Equiano from his life in Africa as a child to his enslavement at a young age, his travels across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, his liberation, and his life as a free man. (Publisher)</span></blockquote></span></div><div>I've read several biographies-in-verse but never one written in found verse or poems before. According to the authors, a found poem is created using the words, phrases, and quotes from a source text that are then rearranged into verse. Here is an example of how it worked, the highlighted text is what is pulled out for the poem.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpjsIU5SFzMdJdduvJ7m9GWvKVjYtHaXCTuG3HkKZXw8B7q1Ev_N9DyBk9B_GI_bRcuL8kwwCXzNyEBIjUQ0xij-JAbpotK1DwrPjQgKTosc_mklvVxyR6zZcV18DqAWsP2VQtqobx5syWifOmdtEf1jE7dsazrbov4DKE8XCNIiN2BbR8fKWqI_3MCA/s583/Found%20verse.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="547" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpjsIU5SFzMdJdduvJ7m9GWvKVjYtHaXCTuG3HkKZXw8B7q1Ev_N9DyBk9B_GI_bRcuL8kwwCXzNyEBIjUQ0xij-JAbpotK1DwrPjQgKTosc_mklvVxyR6zZcV18DqAWsP2VQtqobx5syWifOmdtEf1jE7dsazrbov4DKE8XCNIiN2BbR8fKWqI_3MCA/w437-h466/Found%20verse.png" width="437" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">One day when none of the grown people were nigh<br />two men and a woman got over our walls,<br />seized my dear sister and me.<br />No time to cry out or make resistance.<br />They stopped our mouths,<br />and ran off with us into the woods.<br />They tied our hands and carried us<br />as far as they could, till night came.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>It's pretty amazing what Ediger and Younge were able to do from the original text. They have created a book that is one that can open up Olaudah Equiano's story to a new generation of readers. I include myself in that statement. I'd never read his autobiography but now I know his story. Bravo!</div><div><br /></div><br /><b style="font-style: italic;">Spare Parts (Young Reader's Edition): The True Story of Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and an Impossible Dream</b> by Joshua Davis and Reyna Grande</div><div><br /></div><div>Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York. 2023.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xK5GnHlum7SnV96spUHwj6mkFYIG7MajXH_X_3LUlD2YAscg9fmI_u3MVexF6UzkOVWeqt7kP9JRZe21Nd5xYa6HUTk2nxN3bEQDU3uexOyirZlTyFgtAqnJvSTvxvkWKYlj27ptGGvgRpx6FhuY0Bp7ejw9FtOFKE8A1Qr4irvWieh-ULwnMIG807c/s400/61418419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xK5GnHlum7SnV96spUHwj6mkFYIG7MajXH_X_3LUlD2YAscg9fmI_u3MVexF6UzkOVWeqt7kP9JRZe21Nd5xYa6HUTk2nxN3bEQDU3uexOyirZlTyFgtAqnJvSTvxvkWKYlj27ptGGvgRpx6FhuY0Bp7ejw9FtOFKE8A1Qr4irvWieh-ULwnMIG807c/s320/61418419.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>Target audience: Grades 8-12.</div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">A riveting true story about dreams, dedication, and an amazing robot named Stinky, based on Joshua Davis' New York Times bestseller and now adapted for young readers by bestselling Mexican American author Reyna Grande.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">In 2004, four undocumented Mexican teenagers arrived at the national underwater robotics championship at the University of California, Santa Barbara. No one had ever told Oscar, Cristian, Luis, or Lorenzo that they would amount to much―until two inspiring high school science teachers convinced the boys to enter the competition. Up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country, this team of underdogs from Phoenix, Arizona, scraped together spare parts and a few small donations to astound not only the competition's judges but themselves, too. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"> (Publisher.)</span> </blockquote><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><i><b>Spare Parts </b></i>is both timely and empowering. It is an accessible introduction to STEM, immigration, and the reality of the American Dream.</span> Four boys end up in the US because their parents left Mexico, believing a better life awaited them in America. But life didn't seem better to these boys as they found it difficult to fit in or even make plans for the future. They all stumbled into the robotics program as a place to make connection with others. What they found was camaraderie, hard work, high expectations, ingenuity, and creativity. When they decided to enter the NASA competition their goal was to <u>not</u> get last place. How could four high school boys with next-to-no resources, go up against older, more sophisticated college teams? </p><p>Well, apparently when one is given very little except determination and ingenuity it is amazing what can be produced.</p><p>My only quibble with this book is the time lag. The boys won the competition in 2004. The adult book by Joshua Davis was published in 2014. A movie about the boys and their accomplishments was made in 2015. Why did it take twenty years to write a young readers version of the book, to tell the story to its proper audience?</p><p> -Anne</p></div>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-53509503168599379802024-02-20T15:49:00.000-08:002024-02-20T15:49:00.238-08:00Review: HOW IT HAPPENED!: SNEAKERS<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcCVEsYVIOChswouX-iFZczJ0kx-d18KzE7ShkLtdpokp5CfyEp7x1ZXJxccPbgjzzzeTqBaoIgkm0E0ayV0zOI5w8ErDF486lnfvM53j7aln5MREiV0VxMPTC2oHf_IxcehDrHNDip36vnaS8oWhwRAI555qZtPSadkfEASBTLAfZBBLiO0ebJvbH6U/s3619/62349947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3619" data-original-width="2400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcCVEsYVIOChswouX-iFZczJ0kx-d18KzE7ShkLtdpokp5CfyEp7x1ZXJxccPbgjzzzeTqBaoIgkm0E0ayV0zOI5w8ErDF486lnfvM53j7aln5MREiV0VxMPTC2oHf_IxcehDrHNDip36vnaS8oWhwRAI555qZtPSadkfEASBTLAfZBBLiO0ebJvbH6U/s320/62349947.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><b><i>How It Happened!: Sneakers: The Cool Stories and Facts Behind Every Pair </i></b>by Stephanie Warren Drimmer, illustrated by Dan Sipple</div><div><br /></div><div>Union Square Kids, New York. 2023.</div><div>Target Audience: Grades 4-6</div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">Find out how sneakers took over the world in this fact-filled nonfiction book, part of a series about the stories behind cool objects! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">From going to school to shopping at the mall, sneakers are one of the most comfortable ways to get around. But how did these rubbery soles become everyone’s favorite shoe to stomp in? Readers will love learning about the story behind sneakers, from the world’s oldest shoe to the latest designer sneaker drop . . . and everything in between! (Publisher)</span></span></blockquote><p>I loved this colorful, easy-to-read book all about sneakers. The book is divided into three sections: 1. How it all started; 2. How sneakers got off the ground; 3. How they took over the world. From the history of easy footwear to the creation of different brands, this book tells the whole tale of sneaker from start to current day. I felt like I was reading a history close to my own, since I've been around during the time frame many sneaker brands have come into existence. </p><p>Starting in 1916 when the US Rubber Company launched <b>Keds</b> and sneakers came into existence. The origin of the word "sneakers" is not known for sure but Keds claimed that their rubber-soled shoes were so quiet one could sneak up on someone without making any noise. </p><p>In 1936 Jesse Owens, the fast man on earth at the time, wore a pair of shoes during the Hitler Olympics made for him by the Dassler Brothers. After the Olympics, the shoes became very popular and the brothers formed a company. In 1948 a fight between the brothers caused them each formed their own company -- <b>Adidas</b> and <b>Puma</b>. Soon the companies were specializing their shoes for different sports.</p><p>In 1971, 30 miles from where I lived in Oregon, Bill Bowerman, the track coach at the University of Oregon realized the pattern of the waffle he was eating would make a perfect grippy sole for a running shoe. He ruined a few waffle-makers along the way but in 1974 the first-ever waffle trainer hit the shelves. And a small-town company Bowerman had formed with Phil Knight, <b>Nike</b>, was born. In 1976, as a freshman at the University of Oregon, I took a running class and purchased my very first Nike trainers for the class. I remember them well. They were red nylon with a white swish. They are also were very simple by today's standards but I did pass the class, so that is what counts.</p><p>In 1982 when Aerobic classes were all the rage, all the other shoe companies passed on making a shoe specific for this very "female" activity. All the companies except, <b>Reebok</b>, which was a British company trying to compete with the US and German companies. Jane Fonda wore the Reebok Freestyle shoes on her exercise videos and a new superstar (shoe) was born. Another company, <b>Vans</b>, started marketing their shoes to skateboarders. <b>Converse</b>, which had been around since 1917, renamed their basketball shoes, Chuck Taylor All-Stars, and "Chucks" have never really gone out of style. The sneaker industry was booming.</p><p>In 1984 Nike used all of its advertising money on a young basketball player named Michael Jordan. He was to be the new face of the company and they designed a shoe just for him. Jordan ever got a percentage of the sales for every pair sold. These padded high-tops were called Air Jordans. The Air Jordan III sneakers were the first to use the Jumpman logo in bright read on the sneaker's tongue.</p><p>In 1986 Run-DMC was bringing a fresh sound to the music scene. The members always wore Adidas tracksuits and sneakers. They even sang a song called "My Adidas." This earned the group a sneakers endorsement, the first non-athletic group to get one.</p><p>Fast forward to today. There are people who call themselves sneakerheads who collect and trade sneakers. Often you will find them standing in line at stores to be the first to get the new designs. Sneakerheads can be found around the world. In some places like south Africa sneakers have even been used to make political statements.</p><p><b><span style="font-family: Anton; font-size: medium;">"Shoes are boring. Wear Sneakers." </span></b>-2021 Converse Ad Campaign</p><p>This is a fun book. I enjoyed it very much. I'm even smiling as I type this review. Check it out!</p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-37045993163344620032024-02-19T17:00:00.000-08:002024-02-19T17:00:00.139-08:00TTT: Freeze-framed quotes from books...<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOYcJvCArJD-WN9WubYpxKkf1mWOa_YnBsoRDtt03mvJ0uI4sgZeB2-ImXw0aOiHfJtzCcF3kYqpARZqNi_oHA8cGtwmqXfi4UiYOiQ9cGjbXvPybAIQIzHdZ-VznesPhG1U_fnXrvFeGIZ_xJrfxubJsMB6fC1vXp9rEdHLxYH63aiQfLaPaaMxt7Q/s1080/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Tweak.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnOYcJvCArJD-WN9WubYpxKkf1mWOa_YnBsoRDtt03mvJ0uI4sgZeB2-ImXw0aOiHfJtzCcF3kYqpARZqNi_oHA8cGtwmqXfi4UiYOiQ9cGjbXvPybAIQIzHdZ-VznesPhG1U_fnXrvFeGIZ_xJrfxubJsMB6fC1vXp9rEdHLxYH63aiQfLaPaaMxt7Q/s320/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Tweak.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>I'm skipping today's prompt in favor of listing some book quotes I've recently come across.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Ever feel like you want to freeze-frame a book so you can let a quote play through your brain long enough to digest it? Well, that's what has been happening to me lately. Here are a few that stopped me in my tracks...</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: red;">This is the quote that started me down this path today:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">"Her voice sounded like a communion wafer -- tasteless and light."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">--<b>Tess Gunty, <i>The Rabbit Hutch</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">✵</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;">Followed by this one:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">"He wears his testosterone like a strong cologne."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">--Tess Gunty, <i>The Rabbit Hutch</i></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">✵</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">Then I decided to check out other books I've recently read for quotes:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">“But for all their fuss about 'give me your huddled masses,' Yanks don’t really like refugees,”</span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">― <span class="authorOrTitle" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold;">Kate Quinn, </span><span id="quote_book_link_40245700"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/60039109" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;"><i>The Huntress</i></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">✵</span></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Poppins; font-size: large;">“Time is a wheel, vast and indifferent, and when time rolls on and men forget, we face the risk of circling back.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold;">Kate Quinn, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_40245700" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/60039109" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;"><i>The Huntress</i></a></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">✵</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Poppins;">“OUR LIVES AND the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from our beginning to our end. Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past. In all of them there is truth, and in all of them a good deal of innocent misremembering.”</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold;">William Kent Krueger, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_110069101" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/124548351" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;"><i>The River We Remember</i></a></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">✵</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Poppins; font-size: large;">“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold;">Abraham Verghese, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_63429926" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/24501146" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;"><i>The Covenant of Water</i></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">✵</div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Poppins;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Philipose quotes Gandhi: '<i>There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of food</i>.'"</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold;">Abraham Verghese,<i> </i></span><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_63429926" style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/24501146" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">The Covenant of Water</a></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;">✵</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">“English did not just borrow words from other languages; it was stuffed to the brim with foreign influences, a Frankenstein vernacular. And Robin found it incredible, how this country, whose citizens prided themselves so much on being better than the rest of the world, could not make it through an afternoon tea without borrowed goods.”</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">R.F. Kuang, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_57945316" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/90789229" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;"><i>Babel</i></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">✵</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">“He made a list: feed, flour, ammunition, soap, beef, candles, faith, hope, charity.”</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">Paulette Jiles, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_36342968" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/45674421" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;"><i>News of the World</i></a></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">✵</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: red;">And this brings me back to the book I'm currently reading...</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">“You couldn’t go anywhere in this town without bumping into God.”</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">Tess Gunty, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"></span><span id="quote_book_link_59576076" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; text-align: left;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/92628869" style="color: #333333; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;"><i>The Rabbit Hutch</i></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: medium;">✶✷✸✹❂✵✴</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><b>None of these quotes are life-changing, but all gave me a moment's pause. What do you think of them?</b></span></div><div><br /></div>-Anne
<div><br /></div>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-54075792136241123942024-02-19T12:31:00.000-08:002024-02-19T12:31:00.148-08:00MG/YA Nonfiction review: PLAGUE-BUSTERS<div><i><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtGaWt3dog0nx1S8dq3fg7fTQRxruuGTGbr4M5V4AcTQNDqHIS9oZ-IsLadwaOg9GTQ6Piw-28eD1uXNK9g0dZxj0CUntwQW8J1RBMezTNAX5fX3usr_TGkHpC_1gCwNnT_9bPBGuxJvt3ONygz4ca1h7XPVHWhHe7iwjhaMBvqy7eb848qKTVejluFw/s400/Plague%20Busters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="270" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtGaWt3dog0nx1S8dq3fg7fTQRxruuGTGbr4M5V4AcTQNDqHIS9oZ-IsLadwaOg9GTQ6Piw-28eD1uXNK9g0dZxj0CUntwQW8J1RBMezTNAX5fX3usr_TGkHpC_1gCwNnT_9bPBGuxJvt3ONygz4ca1h7XPVHWhHe7iwjhaMBvqy7eb848qKTVejluFw/w270-h400/Plague%20Busters.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>Plague-Busters: Medicine's Battles with History's Deadliest Diseases</b></i> </div><div>by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal</div><div>Bloomsbury Children's Books, New York. 2023. </div><div>150 pages, illustrated.</div><div>Middle Grade Nonfiction Cybils Award finalist</div><div><br /></div><div>Years ago I was a secondary health education specialist. These types of books about deadly plagues were right up my wheelhouse. Now that I've lived through another deadly plague, I appreciate this type of book even more. Honestly, I thought that COVID would make the top five of deadly disease but these other gruesome disease had it beat: Black Death (Bubonic Plague); Smallpox; Rabies; Tuberculosis (TB); Cholera; and Scurvy. I would have thought that the flu, AIDS, and malaria would have made the list, at least. But I guess the authors had to stop somewhere. COVID was the most deadly communicable disease last year (and for the past several years) followed by TB, AIDS, and malaria. There I had something to add! The authors commented that they were writing this book as the COVID pandemic het, which was a surreal experience.</div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">Smallpox! Rabies! Black Death! Throughout history humankind has been plagued by . . . well, by plagues. The symptoms of these diseases were gruesome-but the remedies were even worse.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">Get to know the ickiest illnesses that have infected humans and affected civilizations through the ages. Each chapter explores the story of a disease, including the scary symptoms, kooky cures, and brilliant breakthroughs that it spawned. Medical historian and bestselling author Lindsey Fitzharris lays out the facts with her trademark wit, and Adrian Teal adds humor with cartoons and caricatures drawn in pitch black and blood red. Diseases covered in this book include bubonic plague, smallpox, rabies, tuberculosis, cholera, and scurvy.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">Thanks to centuries of sickness and a host of history's most determined plague-busters, this riveting book features everything you've ever wanted to know about the world's deadliest diseases. (Publisher)</span></span></blockquote><p>The aspect that I appreciate more today than I would have had it been published before the COVID pandemic, is how doctors and other people believed the kookiest treatments. We've all heard of blood-letting, and freezing TB patients nearly to death. But what about the urine treatment promoted for scurvy, or wearing red clothes to cure smallpox. Even when some doctor would discover the organism that caused the disease other doctors would mock him. "'Invisible creatures, killing our patients? Hogwash! Poppycock! BALDERDASH!' they cried (or something like -- we're guessing to be honest" (80). This reminded me of what happened during the COVID pandemic. Doctors and patients promoting unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin while eschewing vaccinations which had a proven history. Just yesterday I saw in the news that 17,000 people died needlessly from COVID because they tried hydroxychloroquine and when it didn't work, it was too late for them to get the vaccine.</p><p>I was grateful for the humor and the funny illustrations in the book and would definitely recommend this for all secondary school libraries and all public libraries which service teenagers.</p></div><div><br /></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-91159426005696025512024-02-18T13:55:00.000-08:002024-02-18T16:18:47.295-08:00Sunday Salon -- Birthday edition<div><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwfG6K5I48kHXvq5mLVL4-sLBIPOsg6wZ56ZHWFhSQhZjpLkOPgdYZ9lmVXxBloiBxI8XrVJUbt_p-PLCt-qeZxga-EQVYFmyc-hAhn1KjZtFOTfAQBOJ1DECkdInrNEW2ehGAWOYMgnAsKF8SWk5n37FTWTFBj5oArchzGpIDdQJW_mjvp9eOn6wVG4/s1599/image000001%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1204" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwfG6K5I48kHXvq5mLVL4-sLBIPOsg6wZ56ZHWFhSQhZjpLkOPgdYZ9lmVXxBloiBxI8XrVJUbt_p-PLCt-qeZxga-EQVYFmyc-hAhn1KjZtFOTfAQBOJ1DECkdInrNEW2ehGAWOYMgnAsKF8SWk5n37FTWTFBj5oArchzGpIDdQJW_mjvp9eOn6wVG4/s320/image000001%201.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing Jamie</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Weather:</b> Overcast, threatening rain.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tomorrow is my birthday: </b>Today my grandson (age six) sang this song to me: "𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅮 Happy Birthday to you. You're a million and two 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥." Bet you are jealous no one sang such a song to you on your birthday!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cybils judging is over and the winners were announced on Wednesday.</b><a href="https://www.cybils.com/2024/02/announcing-the-2023-cybils-awards-winners.html" target="_blank"><b> </b>Check out the full list of winners here.</a> I'm posting my reviews one per day. Read my reviews by clicking the links:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>MG Nonfiction: <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/middle-grade-nonfiction-review-stars-of.html" target="_blank"><i>Stars of the Night</i></a></li><li>Three Nonfiction Children's Books including the winner, <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/three-nonfiction-childrens-book-reviews.html" target="_blank"><i>Jumper</i></a>.</li><li>MG Nonfiction winner: <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/yamg-nonfiction-review-mona-lisa.html" target="_blank"><i>The Mona Lisa Vanishes</i></a></li><li>YA Nonfiction winner: <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-of-cybils-nonfiction-award.html" target="_blank"><i>Impossible Escape</i></a></li><li>Three more nonfiction children's books, <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/02/childrens-nonfiction-book-reviews-with.html" target="_blank">with review help from a six-year-old</a></li></ul></div><div><b>Reading/listening (now that Cybils is over):</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The Huntress</i> by Kate Quinn -- Historical fiction about WWII Night Witches (female pilots from Russia) and Nazi Hunters are the end of the war. A book club selection. My rating 4.5, losing a half point due to the length, 540 pages. Audio and print.</li><li><i>The Rabbit Hutch</i> by Tess Gunty -- A book set in Indiana in a down-and-out apartment complex. Very quirky and creative book but hard to follow plot. Another book club selection. 30% complete. Audio and print.</li><li><i>The River We Remember</i> by William Kent Krueger -- A mystery set in Minnesota where a murdered person is found in the river. Another book club selection. 4.5 stars. Audio.</li></ul><div><b>TV miniseries recently consumed:</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://youtu.be/hBLS_OM6Puk?si=OJfLbWmwDz29D6oz" target="_blank">Wild, Wild Country</a> about the Bhagwan in Oregon in the 1980s.</li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/oIjbxpFvAzs?si=A_cFZ0Ux50xa9Pm3" target="_blank">The Tourist</a></li></ul></div><div><b>Participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend:</b> One bird we saw in our backyard, we've never seen before -- <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Sapsucker/id#" target="_blank">The Red-Breasted Sapsucker.</a> I think the others live in our yard -- Anna's Hummingbird, Bushtits, House Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos, House Finch.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>This week's funnies. See if you detect a theme.</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2b7Ex-fHmWpEWxFAm-qQTqEdUzLmXADFwCaYGCuady79-q4JrLkAJ_kb4UnK1xB4pm0DBmOALygvN9w7cTUBrU_rdMO8oSRfhqts5k89vohphg9_mieeIjRVMftSiTHa7SVOpKdHyh_Mb9apMusCmyO5t6Ypurj_U0u4mmiK50uARNrU_Qp1gbsjUT4/s645/Comic%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2b7Ex-fHmWpEWxFAm-qQTqEdUzLmXADFwCaYGCuady79-q4JrLkAJ_kb4UnK1xB4pm0DBmOALygvN9w7cTUBrU_rdMO8oSRfhqts5k89vohphg9_mieeIjRVMftSiTHa7SVOpKdHyh_Mb9apMusCmyO5t6Ypurj_U0u4mmiK50uARNrU_Qp1gbsjUT4/w341-h400/Comic%204.jpg" width="341" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SlIl_MdSkzINlGpjMxMb9gyeHlmxzVf239nZZlBCSswvp8NXSLNtTSfixCrreizP6idndK-eRimanXreGcLfgAny88FLGKMeXifSUwj7HS8H4_fbAgsr-w25Pl5nb9D63nsGwpPmcLcFnQN9bI7Vwbm6QfkeuBPkLIsc_14E_V3oS7Vk_RlX3AvBHAk/s653/Comic%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SlIl_MdSkzINlGpjMxMb9gyeHlmxzVf239nZZlBCSswvp8NXSLNtTSfixCrreizP6idndK-eRimanXreGcLfgAny88FLGKMeXifSUwj7HS8H4_fbAgsr-w25Pl5nb9D63nsGwpPmcLcFnQN9bI7Vwbm6QfkeuBPkLIsc_14E_V3oS7Vk_RlX3AvBHAk/w338-h400/Comic%203.jpg" width="338" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkqRtSfToOdB1HTcznHxqNXvSF4vvQFPoXp7oD917DWmJYJmbg6ITfRLjIw0AL-uNWFSgt6KoMKgNJp1rN_P-j2RjQM4OSboH1VdRdDnoCE9AlDBIzvab2kdeYhltiOhzM5biQkLTKgeZeuchCVHSVkNGRmeebfV9qUb264zgVjPxt8-5QtEm7u4dPb4/s480/Comic%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="480" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkqRtSfToOdB1HTcznHxqNXvSF4vvQFPoXp7oD917DWmJYJmbg6ITfRLjIw0AL-uNWFSgt6KoMKgNJp1rN_P-j2RjQM4OSboH1VdRdDnoCE9AlDBIzvab2kdeYhltiOhzM5biQkLTKgeZeuchCVHSVkNGRmeebfV9qUb264zgVjPxt8-5QtEm7u4dPb4/w400-h399/Comic%205.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQgx6pEmkpv9ANMQfpW5Va0ciRDIhgjp8M9uWHxYR2etSw2nHPDPtCpBiXcOaCEye5YVOJ37FlS2CsCvtuZI_jA5A1Ngs81kg9-j4SXZ_poiSqd81b7dKYkmL0jb90LAGMHsmHFg9qV4Kq5dCBxXV3ZiH8M7fZxgi_fImNCB1OL6kWkS5ezTUEJTUegKU/s642/comic%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQgx6pEmkpv9ANMQfpW5Va0ciRDIhgjp8M9uWHxYR2etSw2nHPDPtCpBiXcOaCEye5YVOJ37FlS2CsCvtuZI_jA5A1Ngs81kg9-j4SXZ_poiSqd81b7dKYkmL0jb90LAGMHsmHFg9qV4Kq5dCBxXV3ZiH8M7fZxgi_fImNCB1OL6kWkS5ezTUEJTUegKU/w343-h400/comic%201.jpg" width="343" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-35613372892027725742024-02-18T05:00:00.000-08:002024-02-22T23:00:35.648-08:00Children's Nonfiction Book Reviews -- with help from a six-year-old<span style="font-size: medium;">I asked my grandson, Ian, to help me review the following children's nonfiction books...</span><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrGuydiUP86ATRyWRPvc4kNqRnhdxi1ae6JvJ96FjI4NWVYsQJVx3VOT_8nSQYMqhVlPEeQxRYvngyyUTCNovE-aPSzFycPu_4Ds-L2-OFaAIvaJ49O_gz-qzCV__HNkr8YaLH9ftURibE-kUmksNNVWywaNvaWicNd9nh6udWRisisrXuTnthpHgIGU/s500/120444063.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="413" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrGuydiUP86ATRyWRPvc4kNqRnhdxi1ae6JvJ96FjI4NWVYsQJVx3VOT_8nSQYMqhVlPEeQxRYvngyyUTCNovE-aPSzFycPu_4Ds-L2-OFaAIvaJ49O_gz-qzCV__HNkr8YaLH9ftURibE-kUmksNNVWywaNvaWicNd9nh6udWRisisrXuTnthpHgIGU/w264-h320/120444063.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><b><i>Meet the Bears: An Around the World Adventure</i></b> by Kate Peridot and Becca Hall</div><div>Webeck Children's Publishing, London. 2023.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the use of darling illustrations readers learn that there are eight different types of bears and they live all over the world. For each bear type we learn about their habitat and range, favorite foods, if they hibernate or not, and unique characteristics. Neither Ian nor I knew that grizzly bears are part of a broader group known as brown bears, and this group is the largest of all bear groups. Black bears are the most common bears near where we live, an also the naughtiest, often getting into trouble because they will get into human food, if the food isn't secured properly. Pandas, at least the black and white kind, are bears. I thought I'd learned that they aren't really bears, but they are. Red Pandas, however, are not bears, even though they have a similar name. Neither are koalas. Bears only hibernate if their range is cold in the winter, so many bears do not hibernate. Another new fact to both of us.</div><div><br /></div><div>We both liked everything about this book, especially the map of the world with color-coded bears on it, showing up each of the bear's ranges.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LTYm6VR60GfZTgiUYIFST5GaPDtcD2z-c-1oo473htis5fs0R0F-s1eV91cDIyI_o2h932sRKXw8wRUC6ZnEWkeGs7jvkea-gclRqYoMMw0xOGzwUiZaO97oPWD9gbTuQc5yY64Aqu1YMQydpBio5_YJWE1gKWS86UBw5XV2ZSqPgiJBAy3Ow2IGimE/s600/125391100.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="600" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LTYm6VR60GfZTgiUYIFST5GaPDtcD2z-c-1oo473htis5fs0R0F-s1eV91cDIyI_o2h932sRKXw8wRUC6ZnEWkeGs7jvkea-gclRqYoMMw0xOGzwUiZaO97oPWD9gbTuQc5yY64Aqu1YMQydpBio5_YJWE1gKWS86UBw5XV2ZSqPgiJBAy3Ow2IGimE/s320/125391100.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><b>Piece by Piece: Ernestine's Gift for President Roosevelt </b></i>by Lupe Ruiz-Flores, illustrated by Anna Lopez Real</div><div>Millbrook Press, Minneapolis. 2023.</div><div><br /></div><div>Back in 1929 the Great Depression destroyed the American economy. Ernestine Guerrero and her family were able to survive because of breadlines where families queued up to receive hot food or receive a box full of groceries. Ernestine was so grateful to the government for this live-sustaining food she wanted to give the President a gift. Without money to buy a gift, she decided to make something. From the grocery boxes she cut our shapes with the wood to create an elaborate clock case, called The Chimes of Normandy. It took Ernestine two years to make the clock case, since she had to teach herself the wood-working skills as she progressed. When it was finished in 1937 she mailed it off to the President with a handwritten note to let him know that the New Deal was working. The Chimes of Normandy clock case traveled one more time, to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum in Hyde Park. Every year millions of people can still admire Ernestine's handiwork and handwritten note of thanks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ian was less impressed by this book. The illustrations are good but there is a lot of text and he wasn't as interested in it compared to a book about bears.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkvK8R7mqhp9fOgkmBuONJsbbiF72DLpLuo-is8H5iJM8Z1DYWhzd5N59MVWUHgMiou8xRUFTa3x1HjuTOWMosxLE_DhyOMY7OvmGk1va1bzJcVtjDqFDiWmqNAl8QqxdSBRU1AqiqaD5jOzjQ91E543rOUUQmAxLDkelAWBED9v9FmO-rkN5v7S1kSQ/s400/70915673.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="344" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkvK8R7mqhp9fOgkmBuONJsbbiF72DLpLuo-is8H5iJM8Z1DYWhzd5N59MVWUHgMiou8xRUFTa3x1HjuTOWMosxLE_DhyOMY7OvmGk1va1bzJcVtjDqFDiWmqNAl8QqxdSBRU1AqiqaD5jOzjQ91E543rOUUQmAxLDkelAWBED9v9FmO-rkN5v7S1kSQ/s320/70915673.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><i><b>What's Inside a Caterpillar Cocoon? And Other Questions About Mothers and Butterflies</b> </i>by Rachel Ignotofsky</div><div>Crown Books for Young Readers, New York. 2023.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh boy. Here is a book right up Ian's alley. Author and artist Rachel Ignotofsky, author of <i>Women in Science</i> hit the ball out of the park with this one. Ian and could have looked at the illustrations and talked about everything we were learning about butterflies and moths for hours. The art is so engaging.</div><div><br /></div><div>Several times in my life I have visited butterfly farms and learned "all about" the stages the insect goes through to become the winged beauty we all love.</div><div><br /></div><div>Other times I have witnessed the differences between butterflies and moths, most notably how they fold their wings when resting.</div><div><br /></div><div>So with all this prior knowledge and experience one would think there wasn't much I could learn from a children's book on the topic. You'd be wrong if you guessed that. I learned so much from this book. So did Ian.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I asked him which of the three books he liked the best he pointed to What's Inside Caterpillar Cocoon? When I asked him why, he told me he learned so much from it. He made a point of telling me that he likes bears better than butterflies and moths, but he learned more from this book.</div><div><br /></div><div>Below is a page to give you an idea what I am talking about when it comes to the illustrations and information:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgEOMI-GIOOJetWsLa4xb1b-nzdTeC2stLYPZrtRHD43sgC08EWdwgvgiK_Qx9zisepXaZ70NRQkiuexkBKs2A0mX-D-OZrsaJ_SBP-4Dt-dBJjVpyo-hOUhk4v0vzyjEjE9sD0K1XA5kCQrEmKKbQIiSgGtJmeCblMkrCYJoBAto28ssz-9mVh58rfE/s4032/IMG_7106.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgEOMI-GIOOJetWsLa4xb1b-nzdTeC2stLYPZrtRHD43sgC08EWdwgvgiK_Qx9zisepXaZ70NRQkiuexkBKs2A0mX-D-OZrsaJ_SBP-4Dt-dBJjVpyo-hOUhk4v0vzyjEjE9sD0K1XA5kCQrEmKKbQIiSgGtJmeCblMkrCYJoBAto28ssz-9mVh58rfE/w640-h480/IMG_7106.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I highly recommend you look for this book at your public library. If they don't own a copy of it, ask them to buy one! Then get it into the hands of all those budding scientists you know like Ian.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div> -Anne
</div>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-34810736813721987902024-02-17T13:10:00.000-08:002024-02-17T13:10:00.246-08:00Middle Grade Nonfiction Review: STARS OF THE NIGHT<div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQpsnVGIQLy7h4XUdzytqcfXbPGI-inS0cixu8Kensx8GuCXZ7eCiywq4Wo2M3_PZksrs0HTasJm0JmVFv6LQLkr3Yknl8K1elM_mADbtF0I9dkVf1maNs_DsltyLzDfYKmINwXWCFV9UgI3W9c0aVQPNBl5uE78t1ip41yqoOwx2ZdCkTleQzKJCV-M/s500/68755514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="422" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQpsnVGIQLy7h4XUdzytqcfXbPGI-inS0cixu8Kensx8GuCXZ7eCiywq4Wo2M3_PZksrs0HTasJm0JmVFv6LQLkr3Yknl8K1elM_mADbtF0I9dkVf1maNs_DsltyLzDfYKmINwXWCFV9UgI3W9c0aVQPNBl5uE78t1ip41yqoOwx2ZdCkTleQzKJCV-M/w433-h512/68755514.jpg" width="433" /></a></div><br />Title:</b> <i>Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport</i> by Caren Stelson, illustrated by Selino Alko</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Book Beginning:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsra3Gn_yM_595cS7oaZir_OFCHBjXmSB0dnxMAKfiNWsDmpeiPXJIBXMpmx6DsP_0vAItsDcl4xN_mPaHB_fHqyAt128_7khwMQV87MVwGx4S1t8CSFvxevguU4zP3ZbjuNa7yBnbv0UAKPCB6BdPvKeEv7XqTVUsqcAbr-FAJ3AJ1pZ5G5M9ANeQkM4/s4032/IMG_7107.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsra3Gn_yM_595cS7oaZir_OFCHBjXmSB0dnxMAKfiNWsDmpeiPXJIBXMpmx6DsP_0vAItsDcl4xN_mPaHB_fHqyAt128_7khwMQV87MVwGx4S1t8CSFvxevguU4zP3ZbjuNa7yBnbv0UAKPCB6BdPvKeEv7XqTVUsqcAbr-FAJ3AJ1pZ5G5M9ANeQkM4/w640-h480/IMG_7107.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Friday56 (near the end of the unpaged book):</b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJDY9PhekaPxEmBrQD4Yrnz4sDDcXiPxq_FsoGp2u40XLCciO5xcq6XMvej_S1bP2WofEmbQvDFEyD7na_K57B9wQWYtjnGbiRbDGJVAwcIkQxtPsAjzjUlf65UajLy57MTQLoJWKS898QWNKGKptECjxy7hyphenhyphenmf8ih0qvsS9oENjdR-aZUcXBNkb24GM/s4032/IMG_7110.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJDY9PhekaPxEmBrQD4Yrnz4sDDcXiPxq_FsoGp2u40XLCciO5xcq6XMvej_S1bP2WofEmbQvDFEyD7na_K57B9wQWYtjnGbiRbDGJVAwcIkQxtPsAjzjUlf65UajLy57MTQLoJWKS898QWNKGKptECjxy7hyphenhyphenmf8ih0qvsS9oENjdR-aZUcXBNkb24GM/w640-h480/IMG_7110.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Summary: </b>On December 1, 1938 the first Operation Kindertransport took place, transporting 196 Jewish children from Berlin to Harwich, England. The next day Nicholas Winton gets involved, helping create a British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia. Over the next year he scrambles to make spaces for as many Jewish Czech children as he can aboard a transport to Britain. In total he helps save 669 children. When WWII started the transports ended and Winton does not stay in touch with any of the children, in fact, he serves in the Royal Air Force. Fifty years later, in 1988, his wife finds a scrapbook in their attic. Inside is a list of the children's names, photos, letters from parents, and other documents -- everything Winton had about the Czech Kindertransports. Later that year he is invited to meet with his "children." They've been wondering who saved them all those years before.</div><div><br /></div><div>Review: The phrase "stars of the Night" were words spoken by their mothers before the children left home: "<i>There will be times when you feel lonely and homesick. Let the stars of the night and the sun of the day be the messenger of our thoughts and love</i>."</div><div><br /></div><div>Nicholas Winton's Kindertransport story is not only a story of history but also one that inspire us to action today. May his courage and forethought inspire all of us to make a difference in children's lives. To save one life can help save the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was really touched by this account of the kindertransport and the brave man who saved so many lives but I was flummoxed by the way the publishers chose to present the information in a children's-style book with lots of illustrations. The topic is one for middle or high school students, but the format is appealing to young children. There seems to be a mismatch here.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did love the book, though, and it is worth the time to search for it at your library.</div><div><br /></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-83068903013074543312024-02-16T14:06:00.000-08:002024-02-16T14:06:00.127-08:00Three Nonfiction Children's Book Reviews, including the Cybils Award Winner<div><i><b></b></i></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBolPX_bFgfaECKOVEnhGUhsKzDVOhSWDPbEq57KQMzdBHiV-4_EjFlWNPxQNSjTj4GvwOAcYp3jUsYJh-x-LnSZdwnAnXQ3zIA4gTXWzL_lkABQw1tJcV9z12Xpi3Wwz_iHJaAN6LiMTmFztro4S2qXO5lgiFBzvFEYIUuJ5tSWk6nuI6vF1xcSjNU-E/s400/59440721.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBolPX_bFgfaECKOVEnhGUhsKzDVOhSWDPbEq57KQMzdBHiV-4_EjFlWNPxQNSjTj4GvwOAcYp3jUsYJh-x-LnSZdwnAnXQ3zIA4gTXWzL_lkABQw1tJcV9z12Xpi3Wwz_iHJaAN6LiMTmFztro4S2qXO5lgiFBzvFEYIUuJ5tSWk6nuI6vF1xcSjNU-E/s320/59440721.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><div style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider</b> </i>by Jessica Lanan</span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Roaring Brook Press, New York. 2023</span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine the life of a jumper spider in your own backyard. Imagine it from the spider's point of view, too. That is what Jumper is all about. Imagine sensing sounds and sight through vibrations. Picture what this small spider must have to do to avoid predators (birds and larger insects) and what she has to do to become a predator herself. The illustrations are so dynamic, one really feels the movements the spider makes to live in our gardens.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><blockquote><span style="color: #474646; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The framing story, told mainly in the ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, centers on a visit to a community garden by a child with braids and tan skin. What makes this particularly appealing is that the child’s pictured actions—climbing, jumping, listening, looking, and finding food—mirror the spider’s. Most spectacular is the magnified close-up of the spider catching her prey, a fly (<a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jessica-lanan/jumper-lanan/" target="_blank">Kirkus Reviews</a>)</span></span></blockquote><p>Four pages of back matter provide more factual information about spider's anatomy and their life cycle. the book also provides a glossary, helpful hints for identifying spiders, author's notes, and further reading suggestions.</p><p>This book is perfect for the very young children in our lives who are interested in their world and how everything works. <b>And it was the 2023 winner of children's nonfiction for the Cybils Award.</b></p></div></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeSZKaESceCrCrfzrIjiXd5eC0AjqOEnQDqHgCt5_qx6NVEmnmylGayr1Ns0Ce0mOyj5zLdCs8LD-3H9wmVAH8-C8x7tHagyECrFOX-z6h1fMF39r2YuYadJ0ukQNvlai6gOXER3YwhGdz8suazOgj3ssl5DWESsLe0BRmQJKDMB33QJ_ox8ToX8uvNw/s800/96113117.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="800" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeSZKaESceCrCrfzrIjiXd5eC0AjqOEnQDqHgCt5_qx6NVEmnmylGayr1Ns0Ce0mOyj5zLdCs8LD-3H9wmVAH8-C8x7tHagyECrFOX-z6h1fMF39r2YuYadJ0ukQNvlai6gOXER3YwhGdz8suazOgj3ssl5DWESsLe0BRmQJKDMB33QJ_ox8ToX8uvNw/s320/96113117.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Glitter Everywhere!: Where It Came From, Where It's Found, and Where Its' Going</i></b> by Chris Barton, illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Charlesbridge, Waterton, MA. 2023.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: inherit;">This gem of a </span><span style="color: #1e1915;">nonfiction</span><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: inherit;"> children's book starts with this fun opening: "Glitter is lots of things. Tiny. Clingy. Colorful. Loved. <i>Not</i> loved. And believe me, we're going to talk about <i>all</i> of that. But glitter is something else, too."</span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: inherit;">(I love it when books start with a hook. A hook that makes me want to turn the page. What else is glitter, I wonder.)</span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This cute children's book not only gives the history of glitter. (Who even thought about the history of glitter? Not me.) It also defines terms, like iridescence, which is what makes glitter so mesmerizing. In the early 1900 flecks of mica were used on Christmas cards, making them sparkle I suppose like </span>holiday<span style="font-family: inherit;"> candles. At the time glitter was called flitter. The book even tells us where the terms glitter and flitter originated. During WWII, the war effort needed mica, so no more flitter for a while. Someone is German thought ground up glass was a good alternative, but, um, one had to way too careful around it. Egads! Then Henry F. Ruschmann decided scraps of plastic sparkled in the light. He renamed these as slivers. He used it for cards and for jewelry. Later another rival company named their product Glitterex. So I guess we've all just shortened its </span>original<span style="font-family: inherit;"> name to glitter.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The last half of the books talks about the ubiquitous nature of glitter and how it has contributed to the microplastic problems we have in our oceans. Should there be no more glitter? Because of this thought, new inventions have played around and discovered biodegradable glitters made from plants and even bugs (though that sounds like the possibility of creating new problems.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The book ends with this quote: "Our human ingenuity is as remarkable -- and persistent! -- as any glitter we can imagine."</span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the record, I am a glitter-hater. Please don't send me a Christmas card with glitter on it! 😉</span></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><i><b>Ice Cream Man: How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better</b></i> by Glenda Armand and Kim Freeman, illustrated by Keith Mallot</div><div>Crown Books for Young Readers, New York. 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhhoVJFVA4TCbHJ8RurquvadMlz8Ek9vLQm5ZjzI8YFOgobu1v1_QbZS_B2BWFc4YP1WhGO75ypNejvMYIL4wGYVzsR6Geg3V6ziXvlNDdXgEtZ0fVL6MUWfyZAhkSpHpoJA8rUG2DNA7Uk__A6w5r5rlL431MjNAbFVBmcRicwC57snS4lleuPhoVJk/s500/121919059.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhhoVJFVA4TCbHJ8RurquvadMlz8Ek9vLQm5ZjzI8YFOgobu1v1_QbZS_B2BWFc4YP1WhGO75ypNejvMYIL4wGYVzsR6Geg3V6ziXvlNDdXgEtZ0fVL6MUWfyZAhkSpHpoJA8rUG2DNA7Uk__A6w5r5rlL431MjNAbFVBmcRicwC57snS4lleuPhoVJk/s320/121919059.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Augustus Jackson was an African American businessman who is known as the father of ice cream. Jackson was born in 1808 to free Black parents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but they were poor. Even as a child Jackson was interested in cooking and food preparation. His mother told him if he worked hard maybe someday he could make food for the President of the United States. At age twelve he took that dream and became a kitchen helper at the White House. By the age of seventeen, he was elevated to cook, so he did make food for the president. While working in the White House he learned to make a cold custard-like dessert known as ice cream. It was a time-consuming process. All the rich and famous people who visited the White House loved this dessert. Jackson had a new dream -- he would ake ice cream for everyone. </div><div><br /></div><div>Back in Philadelphia Jackson opened an ice parlor. It was a very popular place. Other people tried opening their own ice cream parlors but no one could make the ice cream as frosty, smooth and sweet as he could, so Jackson got the idea to sell his ice cream to these other shops. But the process for making this cold dessert was so slow and tedious. How could he speed up the process? One day in 1832 he tried an experiment. He added rock salt to the ice. As he twisted the canister back and forth he noticed that the ice cream was made in about half the time. Now he was able to make ice cream and keep it cold longer. He was even able to send his concoction to New York City by train and it didn't melt.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jackson accomplished his two goals and I would add, he also made a bunch of people smile along the way.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a side note, not covered in this children's book, I looked up Augustus Jackson on the internet, curious to learn more about the father of ice cream. He died at age 43 in 1852. His daughter attempted to carry on in his footsteps but since Jackson did not patent his process, other ice cream makers took over his techniques and well, you know that it was a success for everyone.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Ice Cream Man</i> shines a light on a little-known visionary and this inspiring picture-book biography includes an afterword, a list of sources, and an easy-to-follow recipe so readers can make their own delicious ice cream!</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><p>-Anne</p></div>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-83712578668657128982024-02-15T11:35:00.000-08:002024-02-15T17:22:01.932-08:00YA/MG Nonfiction Review: THE MONA LISA VANISHES (Plus: Friday56 Sign-in)<div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6APzspNlDeVCq0q1nP_kWX4MRxG6BiwblyWS7EOrINljWxPKlOIq6772UDgLWFgh1K2uhLxC2LAL-QIDwQZRhGQw1BxMNMBAWSiE1JcPj79zEKrlRgsnRfNS8IfxdNlsCCNdRfjZmgt6q4PZcxxjXAA1rF0hdzeczMDr_98fYnSYgB3ehpYwyjWFVFY/s400/Mona%20Lisa%20Vanishes.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6APzspNlDeVCq0q1nP_kWX4MRxG6BiwblyWS7EOrINljWxPKlOIq6772UDgLWFgh1K2uhLxC2LAL-QIDwQZRhGQw1BxMNMBAWSiE1JcPj79zEKrlRgsnRfNS8IfxdNlsCCNdRfjZmgt6q4PZcxxjXAA1rF0hdzeczMDr_98fYnSYgB3ehpYwyjWFVFY/w280-h423/Mona%20Lisa%20Vanishes.jpg" width="280" /></a></div><br />Title:</b><i><b> </b>The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity</i> by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Brett Helquist</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Opening quote from the first section:</b> <span style="font-family: Josefin Sans;">"<u>A Star is Born: in which the <i>Mona Lisa</i> is painted, is stolen, and becomes an absolute legend."</u></span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-family: Josefin Sans;">Imagine a Palazzo -- a magnificent Renaissance building. It's Florence, 1503. There are a lot of palazzos around. Pick a good one. Now imagine a man: handsome, charming, gentle. Make him a painter. Imagine a woman: intriguing, unknown, beautiful. Make her a model. Do you see them? Neither of them should be there.</span></blockquote><p><b>Friday56 quote: </b></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Josefin Sans;">There is an eerie coincidence at work here. At the same time Leonardo receives this commission, a baby girl is born a short walk away. She is baptized Lisa Gherardini. She will become the Mona Lisa. She will change Leonardo's life. </span></p></blockquote><p><b>Summary:</b> </p><p>On a hot August day in Paris over 100 years ago, a desperate guard burst into the office of the director of the Louvre and shouted, "La Joconde, c'est partie!" "THE MONA LISA. SHE'S GONE!" Was it a spectacular joke or true? This is the wild improbable story of how the Mona Lisa was stolen and became the most famous painting in the world. (Book jacket)</p><p>In the pages of this YA/MG nonfiction book readers learn about the life and career of Leonardo Da Vinci, the birth and life of Lisa Gherardini, the model for the Mona Lisa, and the heist of the famous painting in the early 1900s which brought the painting and its artist to greater fame than had it remained safely in the Louvre in Paris the whole time.</p><p><b>Review:</b></p><p>Back in 1979 I visited the Louvre on a hot day in June. My friend and I had to stand in line to enter the famed museum in the heart of Paris. We had no internet in those days and so knew only what the guidebooks told us to do: enter, walk this way and that way in order to see the <i>Mona Lisa</i>. Well, we did it. We saw the Mona Lisa and I remember feeling underwhelmed. The painting was much smaller than I expected and, since the crowds were pressing in on all sides, we couldn't linger over the painting to appreciate all the fine details created by the famed artist and inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci.</p><p>Little did I know about the painting's history either. I had no idea that the painting had been stolen from the Louvre on August 21, 1911, and was not recovered for another five years. I had no idea that the investigators thought it was the work of a criminal mastermind and so they overlooked the common man who actually stole the painting. In fact, I had no idea why the famed painting was in France in the first place, since the artist was Italian.</p><p>Well, I learned all these details by reading this marvelous YA/MG book, <i>The Mona Lisa Vanishes</i>, by Nicholas Day. The book is "written at the pace of a thriller, and shot through with stories of crime and celebrity, genius, and beauty." It is a propulsive, twisting work of narrative nonfiction.</p><p>I learned about the book when it was nominated as a Cybils nonfiction finalist in the middle grades category. When I attempted to get a copy from my library system, I was thrilled to see that it had thirteen copies on file but all of them were checked out and I had to wait a month for my turn at the physical copy. What? Waiting for a MG nonfiction book? Isn't that unheard of? What does that say about it -- The <i>Mona Lisa</i> is so famous she is even an attractive subject to young readers! Amazing.</p><p>The book is illustrated, but not in a children's book sort of way, just one that makes the text even more inviting to young teen/preteen readers:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xhKUdbLRLxwK5d83TukmzS9yeLR85XcVVmsxBPSdohetsDCx0zl9_royx-sear2UO-3kTM-mRYPlPzdEyyw0jQJ-BrFZhuL2PBr6Gr6MCoBMPmb-q_xIfWtaE4K306GFl-Wkr9PwDkjfCfMjpdLirXueYNxaeRC4QeMn2LrWWf8qUjN54bUdEne_PUc/s4032/IMG_7133.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xhKUdbLRLxwK5d83TukmzS9yeLR85XcVVmsxBPSdohetsDCx0zl9_royx-sear2UO-3kTM-mRYPlPzdEyyw0jQJ-BrFZhuL2PBr6Gr6MCoBMPmb-q_xIfWtaE4K306GFl-Wkr9PwDkjfCfMjpdLirXueYNxaeRC4QeMn2LrWWf8qUjN54bUdEne_PUc/w300-h400/IMG_7133.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample illustration from the book<i> The Mona Lisa Vanishes </i>illustrated by Brett Helquist</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I drank this book down in big gulps and enjoyed every moment of my reading experience. The author uses humor as a way to invite his readers to join him on this romp through history. </p><p>This book won the Cybils Middle Grade Nonfiction Award, announced on Feb. 14th! Whether this book wins the 2023 Cybils for MG Nonfiction or not, read it! And leave it lying around the house so your kids will want to read it, too!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s324/divider4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="13" data-original-width="324" height="13" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNEBJttiXu90u8ToZgz9VisN8iD2ek3g5bhcFp7ZfwXCn_Sz4Cd9A9zxXdC0kGrvJurLynMAlAvmLJEp2LIHW_YPA4l5IPvVFDr2UV3TuLdzkAesR5rxzPAHwQZdNz5WubeEe8VYUowBuzXuwKcwN8YF2DjttA8oQJbJG1S3YCXA7rpLD6Oo7RZRYUWo/s320/divider4.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b>Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s200/Friday%2056.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #d52a33; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiZpjiH6KiHpTW4U2E8W4BDAXEqKPVGGkbKd4ihNcW7D3LajPxIcp3mP0JcqWfJmjfo3tw153L45cSiI07EpZzt5zy3qMCb28u34YaZt3KnUS4URogNB_8pqbeF3TaTpYbKvapbJme5J61F_33nfPQjMbIyxgiX24o_uF2Avufb6UpjYgfOdXWK-foRs/s1600/Friday%2056.jpg" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="144" /></a></div>As many of you know Freda over at <a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Freda's Voice</a> hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host <b>The</b> <b>Friday56</b> until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. Thanks.</span></div></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><i><span class="st"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span class="authorOrTitle"><span face="arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif" style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16.8906px;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by <a href="http://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a> and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="background-color: cyan; font-style: italic;">First Line Friday</span><i style="background-color: cyan;"> hosted by </i><a href="https://readingismysuperpower.org/" style="background-color: cyan; color: #d52a33; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><i><b>Reading is My Super Power </b></i>to share the beginning quote from your book.</a><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b>RULES:</b></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ff0077;"><b>*</b></span>Grab a book, any book</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Find a snippet, but no spoilers!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"><b style="color: #ff0077;">*</b>Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. 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Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-74816371037736350562024-02-14T11:17:00.000-08:002024-02-14T11:17:33.155-08:00Review of Cybils Nonfiction Award Winner: IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE<div><div><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjzNQV8oTMKS_MO8KdIsrNyO7Cy-b_yCUUVNMJhz3_heusyOj0n-mjftzwgiGlJbuy88Gb12gNZ4YSlfl-3An2aUbS9Y2bpexSdB6yj1c9FwryFgmuqmX9GJRW9KuwrbZ3NoKOmpbtACNcx_LTyWaXd6iwnQdH8__hLyHTC510lndFvMm8DztKr0B_HI/s400/Impossible%20escape.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjzNQV8oTMKS_MO8KdIsrNyO7Cy-b_yCUUVNMJhz3_heusyOj0n-mjftzwgiGlJbuy88Gb12gNZ4YSlfl-3An2aUbS9Y2bpexSdB6yj1c9FwryFgmuqmX9GJRW9KuwrbZ3NoKOmpbtACNcx_LTyWaXd6iwnQdH8__hLyHTC510lndFvMm8DztKr0B_HI/w265-h400/Impossible%20escape.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>Impossible Escape: The True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe</i></b> by Steve Sheinkin. (Roaring Book Pressing, New York. Aug. 29, 2023)</div><div><br /></div><div>These are the stories of Rudi Vrba and <span style="background-color: white; color: #1e1915;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gerta Sidonová, two teens caught in the anti-Jewish web cast by the Nazis in WWII. </span>Rudi is in </span></span><span style="color: #1e1915;">Auschwitz concentration camp and he knows he must escape or he will die in the camp. He is also sure that the world must not know about the horrors and killings at the camps or they would do something to free the prisoners. He must escape and tell the Jewish people to sound the alarm. </span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915;">Gerta, a schoolmate of Rudi's, escapes Slovenia to Hungary as the war on Jews heats up. Even though it comes at great risk, Gerta is not satisfied to just hide and stay out of sight. She has to do what she can to fight against the Nazis. She does so by helping others get false papers so they can escape or remain free.</span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915;">Both teenagers bravely act, not thinking so much of their own lives but of the lives they can save. After Rudi and another teenager, Alfred Wetzler, manage a daring escape from Auschwitz in 1944, aided by regular citizens. Rudi and Alfred become the world's biggest whistleblowers. Their actions probably saved 100,000 Jewish lives. </span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915;">As soon as I noticed Steve Sheinkin had written another nonfiction book for teens I knew I had to read it. He is a reliably great writer for this population and I've found every one of his books to be readable and informative. It is hard to believe that yet another true story of heroism emerges from the ashes of WWII, but here we are. Rudi and Greta's stories are so worth reading.</span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #1e1915;">What I liked about the book:</span></div><div><ul><li>I enjoy reading narrative nonfiction and Sheinkin gives us enough back story on each of the teens to cause the readers to cheer for their success.</li><li>There are plenty of source notes and an index to make this book a good tool for student research.</li></ul></div><div>My rating: 5 stars.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibB-kUW7Spx-FvRj76_pfSd2X5wr-I0GauYMNugxNCphCg79vWM2ICc58NAx_0mntEwujpmW9vVlFdsgRRjh29NibViCduHiqd05xZUqfIXOGYinRa2D3gI7HXJAxNvykW66VllF_Ij0g9DEB6ZCxDzM7XrTu-K9fCyqIjL6Z_8ZxJEAdiw_lT5u9f2qw/s1217/divider9.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="98" data-original-width="1217" height="26" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibB-kUW7Spx-FvRj76_pfSd2X5wr-I0GauYMNugxNCphCg79vWM2ICc58NAx_0mntEwujpmW9vVlFdsgRRjh29NibViCduHiqd05xZUqfIXOGYinRa2D3gI7HXJAxNvykW66VllF_Ij0g9DEB6ZCxDzM7XrTu-K9fCyqIjL6Z_8ZxJEAdiw_lT5u9f2qw/s320/divider9.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>I initially reviewed this nonfiction book in November of 2023. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Today, Feb. 14th, it was announced as the 2023 YA Nonfiction Cybils Award Winner</b>! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Since I was part of the team which selected this title as the winner, I decided to repost the review.</div><div><br /></div>-Anne
Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083328248557950617.post-61130213982628447222024-02-14T10:58:00.000-08:002024-02-14T10:58:45.976-08:002023 Cybils Book Award Winners Announced <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLD-pj7pQGsFo1tfdIzXN18-2P8tg9c7cBPNs_cBCmiL-lm9sWkE4siXYh2n7mtkDLwcw-Cb5gas_mQ2P_gjhikl8uMN3BmblBQo7-06JZ6nT3XoD6yjoupOfoHsnJTMg06VMiiQY_opqsPSBOa-k9TZ0pZ8YSCog_vFHWTEuR1wKOWyv_sMyGnMhXoY/s1080/cover%20Cybils.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLD-pj7pQGsFo1tfdIzXN18-2P8tg9c7cBPNs_cBCmiL-lm9sWkE4siXYh2n7mtkDLwcw-Cb5gas_mQ2P_gjhikl8uMN3BmblBQo7-06JZ6nT3XoD6yjoupOfoHsnJTMg06VMiiQY_opqsPSBOa-k9TZ0pZ8YSCog_vFHWTEuR1wKOWyv_sMyGnMhXoY/w400-h400/cover%20Cybils.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Link to announcement and blurbs of all the winners: <a href="https://www.cybils.com/2024/02/announcing-the-2023-cybils-awards-winners.html" target="_blank">Cybils</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>And the winners are:</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBH0mNoKUq0DJ1glSgX_3C4Oqb7U0wSsTtTUxQfQYZSHwPzmAjMrdQAdHwXYvudsHWhLAf5TbnExZxL54uBOiYvgiHMMGrXw58k5K1XbnngmUKAi_droLJWqF9ihA0XxBpQgWCZZYY1IdpGqZf6ducQlLoDAA9zAQdDaAkOvWRpe3H8dEgboLfUedISjQ/s946/SS%20Cybils%20YA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="733" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBH0mNoKUq0DJ1glSgX_3C4Oqb7U0wSsTtTUxQfQYZSHwPzmAjMrdQAdHwXYvudsHWhLAf5TbnExZxL54uBOiYvgiHMMGrXw58k5K1XbnngmUKAi_droLJWqF9ihA0XxBpQgWCZZYY1IdpGqZf6ducQlLoDAA9zAQdDaAkOvWRpe3H8dEgboLfUedISjQ/w399-h515/SS%20Cybils%20YA.png" width="399" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPRdJEL2Q-NDHF62GfPqB9lX5UfpIEkI7RQh359YtiHU0IPbm7X9bbilqmV4jOouVrPyvmcUaMKWarA3kxkbJAG9WtRrziEApU1Q2b4vA0lMRQ_C82YvYRPcklpfFT-Fv53nGQlXVpE3JjL799wEI1V0Hh2igHTGiYZAx6OxlVI4ZmPoxvBMER_C-WX0/s948/SS%20Cybils%20MG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="733" height="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPRdJEL2Q-NDHF62GfPqB9lX5UfpIEkI7RQh359YtiHU0IPbm7X9bbilqmV4jOouVrPyvmcUaMKWarA3kxkbJAG9WtRrziEApU1Q2b4vA0lMRQ_C82YvYRPcklpfFT-Fv53nGQlXVpE3JjL799wEI1V0Hh2igHTGiYZAx6OxlVI4ZmPoxvBMER_C-WX0/w402-h521/SS%20Cybils%20MG.png" width="402" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDxQoBcPQO3foiYtop-f7Pw5Q-jlBoC9b8L3-QU1vmXu0pos8oi3ES0pBDE0DFTc8xfx7ReEvJ5RvoXhFY9fpwrIOCZKiJuPyanQxZ1_kEIzF5mLnsiNvYQf49qbRbWwDFtDxoIkfa8qmDR2r5_0Cl2BNhPuYYflweFQFsI8yHVzF9tdzcATpfhizVyY/s957/SS%20Cybils%20Childrens.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="739" height="501" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDxQoBcPQO3foiYtop-f7Pw5Q-jlBoC9b8L3-QU1vmXu0pos8oi3ES0pBDE0DFTc8xfx7ReEvJ5RvoXhFY9fpwrIOCZKiJuPyanQxZ1_kEIzF5mLnsiNvYQf49qbRbWwDFtDxoIkfa8qmDR2r5_0Cl2BNhPuYYflweFQFsI8yHVzF9tdzcATpfhizVyY/w387-h501/SS%20Cybils%20Childrens.png" width="387" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Over the next two weeks my reviews of the seventeen nonfiction books I read as a Round 2 Judge will be released, one or two a day. Watch for them. All of the books were award-winning worthy!<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.cybils.com/2024/02/announcing-the-2023-cybils-awards-winners.html" target="_blank">Check out the blurbs of all the winners!</a><br /><div><br /></div>-Anne
</div>Anne@HeadFullofBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069558006454986084noreply@blogger.com0