Pin It Weekly #177

The second Pin It Weekly this week--to make up for not having one last week. Again, my apologies. But there is a silver lining: I found a few really good boards that you're going to enjoy!

From Quilts by Kandy's "Crafts" board

And from Elisabeth M's "things i want" board

And lastly from a few of Sherry MacDonald's 193 boards

Things do fall apart in class

My English II class is almost finished reading Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.  I've enjoyed reading the book again and even enjoyed teaching it. However it's been a huge battle regardless of the students' reading levels.  Now that we are getting ready to write an essay based on the book, I'm really getting nervous. 

It's not that the writing is any more difficult; it's that the students don't like the book and are tired of it.  They've really struggled to get past the cultural confusion and have complained more about this one book than I think I've ever encountered.

I, on the other hand, have loved the book. Of course, it's my fourth reading, at least, and I have the advantage of having done some research and having a little higher reading ability.

I'd love the opportunity to read Arrow of God and Anthills of the Savannah.  Our priest is originally from the Ibo tribe of Nigeria and has told me that he prefers Anthills.  I wish I could express his excitement while we talked about Achebe, Nigeria and the book. 

  

 I am very happy to have the chance to speak to Father Ibe.  He has answered so many questions about Nigeria and helped me to understand the civility of some of the Ibo customs.  For example, he explained the idea of a bride price, or paying for the honor of marrying a girl.  The price is set not to show what the girl is worth, but to show how honored she is...thus, the higher the price, the more the honor.  

Explaining it to 15-year-olds has been a little difficult.  It's easy to understand a custom while Father is excitedly talking and animating the explanation.  Remembering and reiterating the answer while blank, bored faces are staring at me is not.  Ahh, if only Father would come and do the explaining and the animating.  He's tall and lanky so, when his arms start flying around and he's excited to the point of jumping up to show what he's trying to say, he's fun and loud and funny.  Add his first hand knowledge, and you have a spectacle. There's no doubt that he would get something more than the blank, bored stares.

Book review: Send

 All photos from www.pattyblount.com

Send by Patty Blount is a teen fiction book with high aspirations.  When Kenny Mele's family is threatened after his return from a juvenile detention,  they change their identities and move to another state along the eastern seaboard. Now his name is Daniel Ellison and he has many secrets to keep.  He meets Julie on his first day at a new school when he helps Brandon, who is about to be beaten by the school bully.  Dan has secrets to hide but as he falls deeper and deeper for Julie, he discovers that the secrets which keep him safe also cause a riff in their relationship.

Dan and Julie's struggles to keep Brandon from harm, to deal with their individual problems, and to build a healthy relationship are compounded by secrets that threaten their lives.

What's to love: Blount's use of simile and her descriptions of character are nothing short of beautiful.  I also love her realistic dialog. Today's young adults may use foul language in ways I would never consider appropriate, but they also have a better command of language than adults give them credit for and Blount understands this.

Although Dan's imaginary "self" is distracting, the character of Kenny works.  I kept thinking Kenny would disappear at some point and tried to anticipate that.  It helps immensely that Kenny's dialog is in italics, but it's still confusing when other characters are also in a scene with Dan and Kenny.  As the narrator, Dan tells his story and brings us into his head when Kenny appears.  He describes Kenny, as though he is real but continually reminds us that he is not.  Yeah. Odd. But it works.

What's not to love: Blount's use of repetition gets old. I do not want to be told the same details three (or five) times. A motif should appear several times but motifs have a literary purpose.  Repeated details rarely do. I kept wishing the story would move along instead of telling me again details that I already know.  One such detail is that Pop hasn't spoken to Dan in years.  In fact Pop really has no specific purpose.  Dan's character is broken and confused, but his grandfather adds little to his angst or his eventual quietude.  

Awards: Junior Library Guild Selection 2012 
                  Kindle Teen Romance Bestseller. 

Addition Books by Patty Blount: Orange Karen: Tribute to a Warrior TMI (due out in August of 2013)

Book Review: Gentlemen

Gentlemen, Michael Northrop's first novel, is an interesting read perfect for young gentlemen who perhaps aren't into reading.

My reason for choosing the book was that I hoped to add to my somewhat small collection of books for boys.  This one fits perfectly into that distinction.  As a mother of three sons, I've read a few books meant for teen guys.  I've also taken advantage of being a mom of boys by talking to them about my recommendations.  

I would love to get all three boys' input on Gentlemen, but I think Will would be the most likely candidate for this one, even though it's not a historically based book.  He would enjoy the reality and the mystery.  

Here's the blurb from the Northrop website:   Micheal, Tommy, Mixer, and Bones aren’t just from the wrong side of the tracks—they’re from the wrong side of everything. Except for Mr. Haberman, their remedial English teacher, no one at their high school takes them seriously. Haberman calls them “gentlemen,” but everyone else ignores them—or, in Bones’s case, is dead afraid of them. When one of their close-knit group goes missing, the clues all seem to point in one direction: to Mr. Haberman.

What's to love: The guy component.  It's sometimes difficult to get through a guy book.  This one is an easy read and it's interesting to get the bad-boy perspective on friendship, school and teachers.

What's not to love: Perhaps the premise that Mr. Haberman is the murderer.  However, being a teacher may give me a perspective that too easily rejected the possibility.  You know, being a teacher may make suspending disbelief more difficult for me.

Book Review: Nine Coaches Waiting

While I was at school on Friday, I picked up a couple of books for some summer reading.  Two of the books are Mary Stewart suspense-romance novels written in the 1950's.  I've been meaning to pick up one of her books for a while since they appeared to be the historical fiction genre that I love to read.  Other than that, I knew only that the novels are set in Europe, another of my favs.  

I was a little busy with sewing on Friday, but I managed a few pages of Nine Coaches Waiting, and yesterday, I managed a few more pages.  I woke up at three this morning unable to sleep for over an hour, so I gave up and gave in to the book sitting on the sofa.  I am so glad I did since I finished the last page right after lunch (and took a cat nap during that time).  An easy read with a bit of suspense, allusion, and romance.....what more could a girl ask for?

2007 photo of Mary Stewart

Exposition--The Cinderella character, Belinda Martin, is the English governess to nine-year-old Comte Philippe de Valmy.  Having lived the last ten years in an English orphanage, Belinda would gladly forget the tragedy of her parents' tragic accident were it not for the fact that Philippe has suffered the same fate.  Only weeks into her new position, Linda begins to question the accidents that befall Philippe until Raoul de Valmy makes his appearance and sweeps her off her feet.  Although unable to separate the de Valmy's individual intentions, Linda first trusts the family then accuses them equally for the mystery she can not fathom.  

Jacket photo of Mary Stewart

What's to love--The characters, villainous, paralyzed Leon; his beautiful, negligent Madame; quiet, brooding Philippe; and handsome acerbic Raoul, are expertly drawn and handled by Stewart.  The Chateau Valmy, situated on the Lake Leman region of the French Alps, is atypical in that Stewart paints it in the post World War II setting of a castle suffering from want.  The de Valmy fortune all but lost, the castle in disrepair, the family separated, this is a Cinderella story with a twist or two.  Her descriptions of the Haute-Savoie plateau with its rolling hills, towering conifers, and crisp air are the epitome of exposition.  She leaves no detail out, so that those of us able to visit only through words sit alongside Madmemoiselle Martin in the silk-covered settees, climb the hills, smell the fir and taste the biscuits--all in one adventurous day. 

What's not to like--truly very little, but parts of the plot feel contrived and the overly zealous allusions to Cinderella do get tiring.  Otherwise, the pacing is only a little slower than a more current novel but spot-on for its time.  

Recommendation--read this one if you like suspense or romance!  However, just in case you need more motivation, here are two sites that may help.

fan page:   http://marystewartnovels.com/index.html

interview: www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/intrvws/stewart.htm

A note of interest about novelist Mary Stewart: born in 1916 and now 97, she is well and living in England.  She has published 23 novels (three for young adults) and one book of poetry.

Pin It Wednesday #14

Tonight will be a quick post: I have a sinus infection and the prescriptions have me moving slowly.  So please forgive for cutting the evening short.  I do have some pretty pins for you, however.  I ran across this pin on Monday and it gave me the idea of creating a board of "book, quilts."  Unfortunately, I haven't found many of those.  So, here they all are.

 

My English II Honors class has been reading William Shakespeare's Macbeth, which has had me thinking of castles.  That, of course, brought  about well over 100 pins of castles from around the world.  You can find my "castle, home" board here.  Not all of the castle are in Denmark,

 

   

 

Book Review: Rediscover Catholicism

 

After our son Rory gave us a copy of Matthew Kelly's latest book, entitled Rediscover Catholicism: A spiritual guide to living with passion & purpose, as part of our Christmas gift, Richard and I decided to give it a read.  I began reading a couple of weeks ago and am taking much more time to get through the 300+ pages than is usual for me. 

This book takes more time to absorb since it's such a powerful read. Kelly's theory is that anyone who is Catholic has the potential to find happiness and to live an authentic life. 

By this he means we can become "the best version of ourselves" by living the lives we were meant to live according to God's plan for us.    

I especially appreciate Kelly's direct, simple explanations of why we display statues of the saints in our churches: simply put they are reminders of a life of holiness.  We do not worship the saints, but by reading about their lives and work, we learn how to live our lives. 

Kelly goes on to give five examples of saints whose histories teach us about discipline and holiness and that holiness is possible for ordinary, everyday people.  To me this last part is especially important.  I tend to be ordinary and as such I sometimes forget that many of the saints were common, ordinary people. 

An earlier book by the same author

I have not finished the entire book, but I will quite soon.  I just didn't want to wait any longer to write about it.  While reading earlier today I began to worry that I'd forget something important, such as this one line that, to me at least, is extremely powerful: "I promise you, it is better to spend time with dead people  who bring you to life than with live people who lead you to death" (126). 

Of course, Kelly is not speaking literally here, he means that reading or studying the lives of the saints is a much better use of time since we learn to become the best version of ourselves and grow closer to God as a result than spending time with those people or doing those things that drive us from God.

Kelly shares many other truly powerful ideas.  I hope you spend some time discovering them for yourself. 

Although intended for Catholics, the book is right for many others as well.  If you are curious about some the "oddities" of Catholicism, this book will answer many questions.  If you are a Catholic who has left the church for any of various reasons, Kelly addresses them in a straightforward manner and will help you to come to terms with your disappointment, anger or disenchantment. 

There are many ways to pick up a copy including visiting the Dynamic Catholic website or author Matthew Kelly's site. I also found it at Amazon and Books a Million. 

Pin It Wednesday #5

Already this is the fifth week of my Pinterest posts.  I'm still pinning, only now I am able to convince myself that I'm doing it for you!  It's just fun and games, really.  I love looking at quilts and quilting, and the photos give me many--way too many--ideas.

This week is not about quilting, though.  Since I'm also a librarian, I have a couple of boards that have to do with books, bookmarks, libraries, etc.  I am a bibliophile.

These first photos are all about unusual bookshelves.  If you've visited my Pinterest site, you may have noticed that all of my board titles consist of two words separated by a comma.  It's just part of my English teacher gimmick, so indulge me, please. 

Wouldn't this last idea be really cool in a high school library?  I wish I had the wall space!  

Alas, every inch of wall is covered with a full-out stuffed bookshelf, so it's a no-go for BNTHS.

New York

 Ever wanted to visit a public library in a different city?  This country girl loves going to big-city libraries!  But I've not been to many, unfortunately. 

Dragging our boys through museums sapped all my dragging abilities and, now that they are grown, we're dragging grandchildren.  A museum or two and, on weekends, at least one church service and we're on the road back to Evergreen.  

Portugal

Thanks to Pinterest, I can visit every major public library in the civilized world.  It's not the same as being there in person, of course, but it's better than never visiting.

Dublin, Ireland

Ottawa, Canada

Notice that I'm including the city where the library is supposedly found; however, know that I can't guarantee that the information is correct.  As always with Pinterest, we are relying on the information provided by the original pinner.

Vienna

Vancouver

Stockholm

Although I do have a board named, "recommended, books" I want instead to show a couple of "smart, bookmark" photos.

One of the joys of my life is reading, and I am grateful to whomever taught me to read as a child.   I cannot remember a time when I was not a reader.  My parents both were.  Daddy had his newspaper, and mom always loved a book during nap time.  

Surprisingly, though, I don't have any memories of their reading to me.  It's as if I was born able to read, and my preferred entertainment was always at my disposal.  

Now here's a bit of craziness: I was finished with this post... done, I tell you, when Richard pointed out that today is Thursday.  What?   

What happened to Wednesday?  Then I remembered, I spent it at the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party.  (I'm in the J's.)  I hope you've entered my giveaway of a quilted Christmas stocking (and a few surprises) and that you visit the other blogs to enter their giveaways.  

pinterest.com

Come back tomorrow for a picture of the stocking that I made earlier this week.  It's not this one, but I sure do like the design.  Enter the giveaway as often as you'd like, just make sure you're a follower and leave an email address if your comments are set for no-reply.
Happy Quilting,
Mary