The Book Review Club (May 2012)

I'm not sure where April went! But here we are, gathered together on the first Wed. of the month for our monthly Book Review Club. And it's May! There's an interesting selection of books reviewed. Just scroll down past my review for the links. You'll be so happy you did!

SABLE ISLAND, THE WANDERING SANDBAR by Wendy Kitts
(listed for 7-9 year olds, which makes no sense to me. I loved it!) 

About a month ago, I found myself seated next to Wendy Kitts at a book signing here in San Diego. It turns out Wendy is a fellow Canadian, originally from Moncton, New Brunswick, but now living in Toronto, Ontario (my hometown). We started chatting and immediately hit it off. Love it when that happens! Wendy spends several months a year in San Diego, so we've planned to get together the next time she's down. I'm looking forward to it.

 I bought SABLE ISLAND and had Wendy sign it for Child #4's upcoming birthday later this month. Then I snuck-read it for this review. SABLE ISLAND is 90-page, non-fiction book about Sable Island, a small island (42 kilometers by 1/2 kilometer), often shrouded by fog, in the Atlantic Ocean. The book is printed on thick, shiny paper with lots of fantastic photos (many taken by the multi-talented author!) and neat sidebars. This gorgeous book is full of cool tidbits.

Some cool tidbits:
-When you walk on Sable (means "sand" in French) Island, the sand actually sings. You need certain conditions for this (super dry sand, round quartz grains). Not all singing sand sounds the same. In case you were wondering.
-There is only one tree on the island. A Scots Pine. The tree's nickname? The Sable Island National Forest. Yes, we Canadians have a wry sense of humor! Make that humour!
-Between 200-400 wild horses live on the island. How they got there is a mystery. There's a great story in the book about how Diefenbaker, Canada's 13th Prime Minister, saved the Sable Island horses.

That's it. You'll have to read this seriously fascinating book for additional cool tidbits. ;)

 Learn more about SABLE ISLAND and  the author by visiting Wendy Kitt's website.  

Oh, and speaking of cool things, be sure to check out the great reviews below!

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS
Staci of Life in the Thumb: PHANTOMS IN THE SNOW by Kathlee Benner Duble (middle school, adventure)

Stacy Nyikos: WHERE THINGS COME BACK by John Corey Whaley (young adult)

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green

Sarah Laurence: FEED by M.T. Anderson (young adult)

ADULT BOOK REVIEWS
Scott Parker: EMPEROR MOLLUSK VERSUS THE SINISTER BRAIN by A. Lee Martinez (science fiction)

Patti Abbott: DEFENDING JACOB by William Landay

Beth Yarnall: NEARLY DEPARTED IN DEADWOOD by Ann Charles (mystery)

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: FALLEN by Traci L. Slatton

Prairie Rose of Prairie Rose's Garden: THE FLIGHT OF GEMMA HARDY by Margot Livesey

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: THE RESTORER by Amanda Stevens (paranormal romance)

Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

Happy Friday the 13th! And other superstitions.

Paraskevidekatriaphobics!

What is this?

A morbid fear of Friday the 13th!

And on this particularly supersitious day, I thought you might enjoy hearing about wives' tales from a few other countries.

Here goes...

If you are in Italy and a cat sneezes, you are in for some good luck.

In other words, go to Italy armed with a bunch of pepper. Then look around for cats.

If you are in England, make sure you slice your bread evenly. Otherwise, people will think you've been telling lies.

Or...make life easy on yourself, and buy pre-sliced bread.

If you happen to be in Korea the night before a big test, don't wash your hair. Or you'll fail the test. Because you washed away the memories of what you studied.

This could be a good excuse for a student in any country who fails a test. "Ooops. I forgot and washed my hair last night. My bad."

If you're in Turkey and come across a spider inside your house, you'll soon have guests showing up.

However, don't expect me to come knocking at your door. I'm not a big fan of spiders.

And last but not least, here's a superstition from my own homeland. If you happen to find yourself living in Canada, and a neighbor brings you a plate of food, return the plate dirty. Or else bad luck will befall you.

Apparently, this superstition only holds true for the Prairie Provinces. I'm from Ontario, and I've never heard of it. But I do like it; one less thing to add to my to-do list.

Disclaimer: I have no idea how accurate these superstitions are. And all the pics are from Google Images. Happy Friday the 13th!





sources:
http://www.utne.com/2006-05-01/FoodSuperstitions.aspx
http:://www.eu-forums.com/tourism/superstitions-in-different-countries-t2356.html
http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/superstitions/korea.htm
http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/superstitions/turkey.htm
http://www.fedpubs.com/subject/canada/traditions.htm

The Book Review Club (April 2012)

Well, it's that time again! The first Wednesday of the month. Which means The Book Review Club is up and running. Please scroll below my book review to find links to the rest of the reviews. It's quite a varied lot this month. Our goal is to add to your to-be-read book pile. And make it dangerously high. :)

IN THE PATH OF FALLING OBJECTS

by Andrew Smith (older young adult)

The cover is probably enough to get you to read this book:

Two brothers. One psychopath. A beautiful girl. The road trip from hell.

In a nutshell: It's 1970, and Jonah (16) and his younger brother, Simon (14), are abandoned by their mother. They leave their ramshackle home in New Mexico to head to Arizona in the hopes of finding the rest of their family. They set off with a whopping $10, a backpack of clothes, and letters from their older brother who's doing a tour in Vietnam. Oh, yeah, they also have a gun. Jonah and Simon take a ride from Mitch and Lilly. Mitch is a psychopath. Lilly is pregnant and desperate. Things escalate from there. The book is interspersed with letters from the older brother. The story is fast-paced and told from multiple perspectives.

What I loved: The relationship between the brothers was authentic. They loved each other, but there was some some very real antagonism. The characters acted and sounded like teens. There's a ton of conflict in this book. A ton. At times, my stomach actually hurt. It was that good. And I always love a book with mutiple viewpoints.

IN THE PATH OF FALLING OBJECTS is pretty violent. I wasn't bothered by it, but I wouldn't give this book to a younger teen to read.

Here's Andrew Smith's website.

And now, ta dum, onto the amazing reviews below. Please click through.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Stacy Nyikos: JEFFERSON'S SONS by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (middle grade)

Staci of Life in the Thumb: THE LIGHT (MORPHEUS ROAD #1) by D.J. Machale (middle grade, fantasy)

Sarah Laurence: THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by Jennifer E. Smith (young adult)** includes an author interview **

Cassandra of Misadventures of a Teenage Writer: DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver (young adult, dystopian)

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness

ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Patti Abbott: THE LIFE BOAT by Charlotte Rogan

Linda McLaughlin: CRUCIBLE OF GOLD by Naomi Novik (fantasy)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: PERFECT ON PAPER by Janet Goss (women's fiction)

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: NOT IN MY FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS by Terrence Rundel West

Scott Parker: GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD by Michael Chabon (adventure)

NONFICTION REVIEWS

Kaye of the Road Goes Ever Ever On: STEALING SECRETS: HOW A FEW DARING WOMEN DECEIVED GENERALS, IMPACTED BATTLES AND ALTERED THE COURSE OF THE CIVIL WAR by H. Donald Winkler (historical)


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. I'm out of town today, but will have access to the internet at some point. Thank you so much for your reviews!

Road Trip! Campus College Tour 2012

I'm on yet another road trip! This time it's with Child #3, his friend, his friend's mother.

We're vising five California college campuses in five days: Cal Berkeley, UC Davis, Cal Poly, CalTech and Harvey Mudd. Whew!

Below are a few pics from our ongoing adventure.

Here we are driving to Berkeley. All the way from San Diego. It took FOREVER. We stopped too many times and stayed too long each time we stopped. We discovered a new brand of beef jerky, rented movies and visited a business Costco. WE HAD FUN!

Then, about 200 miles south of Sacramento, we hit a huge wind storm. Sand, dirt, and tumbleweeds were whipping across the highway. At times, there was zero visibility. And birds were even having trouble flying. The good news? The storm ended, and we made it to Berkeley.

We enjoyed a delicious brunch at Cafe M. Seriously, I had the best coffee I've had in about a month. Berekeley is very dog friendly. Here are two of our travelers petting a dog.


Child #3's friend and Child #3 go for a bike ride around the UC Davis campus. There are more bikes than people here. Child #3's friend was particularly taken with UC Davis.

We're back on the road in 10 minutes, heading to San Luis Obispo and a tour of Cal Poly.

The Book Review Club (March 2012)

Welcome to our March Book Review Club!
Actually, welcome to the THIRD YEAR of our Book Review Club! That's right. This is meeting #37. Whew. Scads of good reviews in store for you below. Happy Perusing!


THE NEWS FROM DUBLIN: NEW IRISH SHORT STORIES
edited by Joseph O'Connor, March 2011

It's the month of St. Patrick's Day. I was in the mood for short stories. Put those two thoughts together, and you've got how I ended up reading NEW IRISH SHORT STORIES.

It's an eclectic anthology. There are stories written by men and stories written by women. Stories by well-known authors and others by newly published authors. Most of the settings are in Ireland, but not all. Some humorous stories, some serious. A couple that are out there, and a couple that are predictible. Most I liked; a few I didn't. All this to say... NEW IRISH SHORT STORIES has something for everyone.

One of my favorite offerings was ONE OF THOSE STORIES by Anthony Glavin. This is a story about hearing a story about someone and how certain stories, like this one, can have a huge impact on you, can touch you in a core sort of way. I realize how vague this sounds, but bear with me.

The narrator is a guy, a painter actually, and he's over at his friends' home. The three of them, our narrator, Fergal and Fergal's wife Noreen are preparing the food for a dinner party. Fergal tells the story to the narrator while the two are "at the cooker where we had started on the first bottle of Rioja." Now, at this point, we as readers aren't privy to the story. Over the course of the dinner party, we learn more about our narrator along with bits and pieces about Fergal, Noreen and the other four dinner guests. By the end of the evening, after the coffee and cheese, we know enough about everyone that we're very ready to hear the story. That is, we're invested enough to care.

The set-up was impeccable. My breath caught in my throat when I finally "heard" the story. It was as though I were a guest at the dinner party, too. I loved the way the narrator spoke to me as if we were friends, as if he were explaining things to me, just enough so that I'd fit in. Add to that all the exquisite details: "As he (Fergal) added the butter beans to the paella, Noreen...chatted with the first of the two couples to arrive." And then add the delightful turns of phrases: "...Henry used to bring them (his children) into Birchall's (a bar/restaurant) the odd Saturday or Sunday, buy them a mineral and crisps.." Quite frankly, the whole story within a story, all within the space of a short story, was brilliant.

I googled Mr. Glavin and discovered he wrote a novel, NIGHTHAWK ALLEY. I'll read it.

Now please click through to everyone else's reviews. You'll be so glad you did.

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Stacy Nyikos: WAITING TO FORGET by Sheila Kelly Watch (Middle Grade)

Staci of Life in the Thumb: THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner (Middle Grade, Science Fiction)

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: A BREATH OF EYRE by Eve Marie Mont (Young Adult)

Sarah Laurence: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green (Young Adult)

ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: SNUFF by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)

Patti Abbott: THE ODDS by Stewart O'Nan

Linda McLaughlin: LOST HORIZON by James Hilton (Science Fiction)

Scott Parker: THE JOHN CARTER OF MARS TRILOGY by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Science Fiction)

Sarahlynn of Yeah, but Houdini didn't have these hips: GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT by Laura Zametkin Hobson

Jody Feldman: THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS by Agatha Christie (Mystery)

NONFICTION REVIEWS

Jenn Jilks of Cottage Country: THE TROUBLE WITH BILLIONAIRES by Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!

My Town Monday: Happy Birthday Janey the Orangutan!

Janey the Bornean Orangutan at the San Diego Zoo (from google images)

Here in San Diego, we are inordinately proud of our zoo. We keep each up to date on zoo news, talking about the animals as though they're friends and neighbors.

"Did you hear Umngani is pregnant again?" (when one of our female elephants was in that condition for the 3rd time)

"Zhen Zhen took her first steps, and she's only 17 weeks." (baby Giant Panda)

"Someone just donated $15 million to the zoo?!" (local businessman Conrad Prebys)

Our current zoo news revolves around our super sociable, super artistic orangutan, Janey. She turned 50 on Friday!

Janey came to us in 1984. Apparently, she lived with Tom Jones, the singer, before that. This sounds only vaguely familiar, so I hope I'm not passing along false info.

Many, many moons ago, when Child #1 was much younger, we used to take picture books to the orangutan exhibit. Janey would amble over to watch Child #1 flip the pages. She's very visitor friendly, and you don't want to miss her if you're visiting our zoo.

Janey's nickname is Janey the Artistse. She loves to draw and paint. Some of her masterpieces have been auctioned off to raise money for the zoo.

Janey the Orangutan presents some of her artwork. (photo credit Vic Murayama, Smugmug.com)

And a few fun facts about orangutans:

-Orangutans are Great Apes (along with gorillas, chimps, bonobos and gibbons).
-Unlike other apes, orangutans don't live in troops, but are solitary. As a result, children stay longer with their moms (until the age of 8 years) in order to learn the ways of the world.
-Adult orangutans have the same number of permanent teeth as you (32).
-They are intelligent, use tools and have opposable thumbs.
-They are truly arboreal and spend all their time in the forest canopy.
-Females usually only have 3 offspring over the course of their life. Speaking from experience, this is quite wise. There are days when I find 4 quite the handful.
-Orangutans in capitivity live to be abou 59, so presumably we'll be celebrating Janey's birthday for years to come. ;)

Oh, and a bit of word trivia: Swinging from one branch to branch is called...brachiating.

Here's a link to the San Diego Zoo's ape webcam.

I'm this week's hostess. If you toss up a My Town Monday post, let me know here or on the official My Town Monday blog, and I'l set up your link.



http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-orangutan.html
http://local.sandiego.com/news/san-diego-zoo-receives-$15-million-donation
http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/rss/kswb-zoo-orangutan-janey-the-artist-turns-50-20120217,0,5340528.storyhttp://rainy-z.xanga.com/photos/46aaf176268647/

Happy Saint Dwynwen's Day

Who's Saint Dwynwen, you ask? She's the Welsh patron saint of lovers. She's also the patron saint for injured animals. Which goes to show they were already multi-taking back in the 5th century.

Here's St. Dwynwen's story (or at least one version of it).

Dwynwen was a virtuous and pretty girl. In fact, she was the prettiest of her father's twenty-four daughters. Apparently, the picture above doesn't do her credit. Anyway, Dwynwen was bopping around, doing whatever girls did back in the 5th century (eating rabbit? picking daffodils, polishing her dad's armor?) when she met this really cute guy named Maelon Dafodrill. Maelon was new in town, recently arrived from the north. Dwynwen and Maelon fell in love. No doubt you saw that coming.

However, Dwynwen's dad, Brychan Brycheiniog, wasn't all that impressed with Maelon plus he'd already arranged a marriage to a prince for Dwynwen.

Hearing the word "no," annoyed Maelon. Let me interject here to say that Maelon was one of those guys who was super cute on the outside, but a major jerk on the inside. We've all dated at least one. Back to the story. Maelon was seriously annoyed that he couldn't marry Dwynwen. So, he had his way with her (you never know who's reading this blog), then skipped town, probably heading back up north.

Poor Dwynwen. She fled to the woods. An angel showed up and granted her three wishes. Dwynwen wished she'd never lay eyes on Maelon the Jerk again. Then she wished that she'd never have to get married. And, finally, she wished for the opportunity to help others wallowing in relationship pain. Also, somewhere in all of that, Dwynwen drank a potion to erase the memory of Maelon. And Maelon was briefly frozen into a block of ice, but then allowed to thaw.

What happened to Dwynwen? She sailed off in a boat to the east coast of the island of Anglesey where she became a nun and founded a convent. You can make a pilgrimmage to Llanddwynwen and visit its remains. There's a well with either a magic fish or magic eels that can predict the future of your current relationship. Might be worth it.

So, dear friends, Happy Saint Dwynwen's Day! Or...Dwy'n dy garu di!

Note to Mr. Summy: When celebrated in Southern California, Saint Dwynwen's Day involves the giving of chocolates, flowers and a sushi dinner out.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwynwen
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/13/valentines-day-traditions-around-the-world/#wales
http://www.davidmorgan.com/stdwynwen.html
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/faq/stdwynwen/