I will talk no more of books or the long war / But walk by the dry thorn until I have found/ Some beggar sheltering from the wind, and there

Book Reviews! I'd say they are summer-time book reviews, but I've gotten behind, so the first couple are from April.



Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

The Story:
A young girl loses her mother and is sent to live with her great-aunt in Savannah, Georgia. In Savannah, she is surrounded by a bunch of strong old women.

The Review:
This was a cute, light read. My book club picked it and I finished it in a day. The characters were engaging and I was rooting for CeeCee to adjust to a normal life and really be happy. It was a satisfying ending in that way. The one thing that bothered me a little bit was it got a little man-hater. There were only 2 men characters in the entire novel and they were both horrible. It just gave a skewed vibe.

But the story was good and cute, and I would recommend it.

****

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

The Background:
I chose this for my American Lit class in the Fall. I wanted something really recent that deals with our recent big issues that impact the entire nation.

The Story:
A young boy loses his father on 9/11, and now, two years later, he is still struggling with his loss. He finds things that make him believe that his dad left a message, so he goes all over New York City meeting people that he thinks can help him solve the message.

The Review:
I cried. Which means that this was a great book. I loved Oskar as the narrator, he has a quirky, unusual voice and was just charming from the beginning. The story is a little jumpy, but it really works. Obviously the story is rather heavy, but it moved quickly and was really good.

I totally recommend it.

****

Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin

The Story:
This is a true story of Cunxin who is chosen to be trained as a ballet dancer in communist China.

The Review:
True confession -- I didn't actually finish this book. It was really rough. Obviously his story is amazing and overcoming odds and all of that, but the writing was horrible. I tried really hard to be understanding about a Chinese person writing in English and all of that, but it was really difficult to read. The writing was really flat and unexciting. I kept hoping that something would happen, and it didn't.

Since I didn't finish it, I obviously can't discourage reading it, but I can't recommend it.

****

Any Bitter Thing by Monica Wood

The Story:
A young girl loses her parents and is raised by her Catholic priest uncle. (Are you sensing a theme? I swear I don't just pick books about orphans). Her uncle is accused of molesting her and she is sent away. As an adult, she is still dealing with her past.

The Review:
I liked this one. The story-line is a little unusual and not really what I was expecting. But the writing was good and clear and it was a good story. I felt interested in the characters and was very satisfied with how their stories went.

I recommend this one.

****

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

The Story:
A teenage girl was raised in a family of witches, but doesn't have any powers of her own. She is an outcast in her family and trying to figure out how to live her life. Then she meets a stranger and her whole life changes.

The Review:
This was a good story. The magic was approached in an interesting way. It was a quick, easy read. I recommend it.

****

Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

The Story:
The second installment of Once a Witch.

The Review:
I liked the second installment just a much. I did get a little frustrated with how Tam made decisions. It was the typical "let me rush off and do something crazy without the people who could actually help me" and I am always like "ugh!" Which I think is how the author wants you to feel ... maybe. But I recommend it.

****

A Brewing Storm by Richard Castle

The Story:
A short-story installment of Derrick Storm -- Castle's character before he started working with Beckett.

The Review:
As always Castle's books are fun. I liked that this was a short story, it was a little cliff-hanger-ish, but the main case was solved.

****

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

The Story:
A young man, Cas, is a ghost hunter. He finds and "kills" ghosts that are murdering living humans. He gets a tip about a particularly horrendous ghost named Anna Dressed in Blood and goes to find and dispatch her.

The Review:
I liked this. I read it during my crazy-long layover in the Charlotte airport. It was quick and easy. I liked Cas's voice, he was quirky and cute. But I found the plot a little bizarre. I obviously can't really explain this without giving away the plot, but it was a little odd.

I'd still recommend the book, as long as you are willing to suspend belief.

Just so you know you sound like a fortune cookie.

I know you've all been waiting anxiously for an update.

But a quick recap: Remember the fortune cookie? Yeah, the one that said "Remember three months from this date. Good things are in store for you."

Well, the day -- May 11 -- has come and gone. The highlight of May 11 was I finished all my grading and got final grades together for all of my classes. So theoretically I'm finished with the semester! (Technically I still have to go in on Mon, Tues, and Wed to give students back their projects. And Thurs for graduation). But I'm done! Woo hoo! That means that I am done with Year 4. (My senior year is feeling somewhat anti-climatic since my little sisters all graduated early, even though we started at the same time).

I don't know what I was waiting for, but being done with this year is a pretty good feeling.


Just for fun. Although it feels like that sometimes.


For other updates:
I have officially run out of stones for my "Rock-in-the-Jar" projects. I've moved on to small plastic beads. They are 1/16th the size of the rocks, so it is very unsatisfying.

My Social Life jar has 48 in it. Go me!
My Yoga jar has 45 in it. Woo hoo!

You poked the bear!

I was super productive this weekend. I replaced the flapper in one of my toilets.

(Oh, the toilets. It is never-ending).

And then I cleaned out the drain in my bathroom sink.

All I could think of was this episode from Modern Family.



Later, when the girls are actually cleaning, they say, "Dad, we're hungry."
And Phil yells, "You won't be in a minute! Get started on that drain."

Yeah, grossest thing in the world.

If you like, you can review my daily log of social interactions.

Time for an update on the Social Life Jar.

I am now up to 33 rocks. 

A few weeks ago, I was at 22 and I had said I would get myself a reward when I hit 25. And then I couldn't figure out what to get as a reward. 

I asked for some recommendations. 

Kim said I should get a Camaro.

That seemed a little unrealistic. 

Several people said ice cream. But since I don't actually eat ice cream these days. That didn't really work. 

Carla said she gets things that she wouldn't ever buy herself normally. And that she loves getting TV on DVD. 

That sounded like a really good idea. So I ordered myself season 1 of the BBC's Sherlock. 

I can't wait for it to get here!

Yeah, you don't mind kicking ass when you have to, but otherwise you'd rather be hanging out with your sisters, baking cookies, or knitting booties.

My mom sent me a pattern for baby booties. It is a super cute pattern. But it was really hard. First, I haven't made a lot of things with shapes, and second, these boots are tiny. So the hook was tiny, and the books were tiny.



So here's my process.

I started. And messed up pretty bad.



Then I pulled it apart, and did it again. Then I gave up.

I found some simpler patterns, and made them with cheap yarn.



Then I tried the hard pattern again. With cheap yarn, and a larger hook.



And then I tried again. With the smaller hook and the nicer yarn.



It turned out really cute, right?

No, it... it's a good book. Your friends will love it. You know, it's got mazes in it and, you know, little coloring areas, sections, pop-up pictures.

Book Reviews:


Timeless by Alexandra Monir

The story:
A girl is sent to live with her grandparents. She finds a necklace that takes her back in time. She starts time traveling with the necklace and objects around her grandparents home. In the past she meets and falls in love with a young man she has been dreaming about her entire life. (Not dreaming figuratively, literally night-time dreams).

The review:
This story was a cute light read. It was really quick and had an interesting idea. The girl travels back and is actually meeting her ancestors. That gave the time traveling a purpose and interesting direction.

There were a few things I found annoying. Like the drama around the guy she falls in love with. It was rather "Twilight-y." And I was annoyed that there was a huge set-up for a sequel.

****

Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano

The Story:
A true story of an Italian immigrant family that gets caught up with the Mafia. The writer's great grandmother is the main character of the story, and the writer inserts herself a little bit as well. The great grandmother is an amazing figure who overcomes a lot of huge challenges.

The Review:
The story is fascinating. The book is not.

This is one of the types of books that I am just disappointed with. The story is such a great story. It has such potential. And it just didn't meet that. The writing was flat and the characters weren't developed as characters. Because of all that, I didn't really care about them.

Because I was disappointed, I can't recommend this book.

*****

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The Story:
Claire is visiting Scotland after World War II with her husband, and she is sucked through the stones of Stonehenge back in time. She discovers that she is suddenly in 1744. She has to find her way and falls in with a Highland clan.

The Review:
I read and read and read. And then I thought "Why is this the longest book ever?!"

So that's pretty much my review. Claire is pretty smart as a character, and she does a fairly good job of acclimating to two hundred years in the past. And then she just keeps doing really stupid things. That got annoying. And then as far as plot, there was the basic story, and stuff just kept being added and added and added, and it was the longest book ever.

And as always, I feel like I should give a parental warning like I do for my students: There is a lot of sex.

(Um, and if you are looking for some hilarious reviews, check out Goodreads. There are a couple reviews there that are super funny).

"He's vegetarian." "Ok, I make lamb."

I finished another project. My mom sent me the pattern for this little lamb.



It's my first real softie, and I think it turned out pretty cute.