Book Girls

New Format

2010-05-06T10:57:00.002-06:00

So... do we want to do away with the "book club" aspect of this blog and just write up book reviews, or suggestions, or questions we have about books? Actually having a book that we are all supposed to read and discuss on here doesn't seem to be working.

January/February Book

2010-01-19T20:01:00.003-07:00

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Cecily will be starting the discussion in late February, so get reading.

January Book Picks (from Cecily)

2010-01-05T17:39:00.001-07:00

There are two I was thinking of:
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands by Susan McCarthy

Messenger has a lot of swearing including the F-word. But I really love it.
Trumpet is Mockingbirdesque.
Votes?

Date for Galileo's Daughter

2009-10-27T19:48:00.002-06:00

Since most of us have either not started, or are taking a very long time (me) to read this book, I'm going to assign us a date in the future. Kate, let's plan on the discussion on this starting at the end of November, maybe just after Thanksgiving so we all have time to read while our bellies are too full to do much else. Will that work for you Kate?

Is a book a month too frequent? Should we do one every two months or something? Or did this book just bog us down?

Cecily has graciously volunteered to do the next book. Let's aim for the end of December for it (or, depending on the book the end of January). Cecily, let us know your pick when you know what it is.

I've given everyone author and administrative privileges on the blog, so you should all be able to post, and also to change the sidebar, etc.

Happy reading!

Reading Status

2009-10-07T22:11:00.004-06:00

Can I get a reading status of where everyone is in Galileo's Daughter?

I'm on page 99, just about to start the 2nd (or maybe it's the 3rd) section.

Melissa, Kelly and Alisha... can you either leave your email addresses in a comment, or email me at nanceisthewritingfish at gmail dot com. I've added Kelly to the administrator list for this blog, but will add you two as well. Plus I can send out emails to remind everyone to look at the blog when it seems like no one is looking at the blog.

And we still need our next book and host.

Thanks.

Blog Background

2009-09-25T09:02:00.002-06:00

The background for all of my blogs went crazy. I'm working on it.

Later in the day... And we're back looking cute.

Upcoming Events

2009-09-19T23:05:00.002-06:00

Kate... do you have a date in mind for the discussion to begin for Galileo's Daughter?

Everyone... anyone interested in picking the book/starting the discussion for October??

Family

2009-08-29T20:12:00.003-06:00

Melissa, in her comment on "Let the Discussion Begin" brought up the idea of a family that I meant to mention and forgot. The Professor has no family other than the sister-in-law, whose present in his life seems minimal until the end in the nursing home. The housekeeper never had a father, spent a good chunk of the middle of her life without her mother, but has a son she's raising on her own (or who is raising himself since until the Professor insists she bring Root to work, he's home alone from the time school gets out until she's done at the Professor's at 7 PM). Root only has a mother, no father, and a grandmother for a very brief period of time.

The three sort of settle into a family routine. And although the Professor doesn't remember them from day to day, like one of you said (Kate or Melissa, I think) on a subconscious level, we'd like to think that his life is improving due to their efforts, and he does genuinely care for them. Something happened that made it so he didn't want this housekeeper fired, and that he wanted the child to come to his home each day.

I like this unconventional structure for the family. I come from a typical family. Parents who've never divorced. One brother, one sister. But I have a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law who come from much different circumstances where they have step-parents and half siblings, etc. This "family" has what we expect of a family: love, compassion, interest in their well-being. I like that when the housekeeper is fired and then returns, she sees that the new maid has attacked the Professors room/study/office and cleaned all of the places that she didn't touch, even though, as a housekeeper, it was her job to clean. She could see that it was his private, and even though it was a mess, it was organized in a manner that he kept it and she didn't want to disturb or upset him.

In the end, it seems like the sister-in-law has finally accepted her role in his life. She even says something along the lines of her being forever in his memory, where the housekeeper never will. And she becomes a member of this little family consisting of people who care for the Professor.

Book for September

2009-08-29T19:09:00.002-06:00

So, I told Nance that I could be interested in leading the September book discussion and that I had a book in mind. I am always nervous about choosing the book as I feel you all recommend such wonderful books, and the books I want to read are not so intriguing. So here are the three I would like you to consider. I figure I would do it this way instead of picking a book that maybe some of you have read already.

The Accidental Tourist By Anne Tyler

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel

Comment on your choice and the winner is the one we'll begin discussing on September 28th.

Overall

2009-08-28T21:45:00.000-06:00

I'm sure there is a lot to talk about that I haven't even touched on*, so if you have more to say please comment or create a post of your own.**

Did you enjoy this book? Would you recommend it to a friend?***

Personally, I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the friendship created between the three main characters. I enjoyed the kindness of this housekeeper who went above and beyond her responsibilities and actually cared for this man.

*They always say you should never preface your writing by saying "this sucks," but I'm not doing that. I'm ENDING my discussion by saying there's a lot here I didn't talk about (or probably even notice).

**If you don't have the ability to post, send me an email: nanceisthewritingfish@gmail.com and I'll add you to the list of administrators.

***I think I've been taking to many Old Navy online surveys... they always ask how likely I would be to recommend shopping at Old Navy to a friend.

Compassion

2009-08-28T21:30:00.004-06:00

This book seemed to be about compassion and friendship to me. With a little bit of math thrown in on the side.

The Professor had already gone through an entire list of of housekeepers. It isn't clear whether they left, or the sister-in-law fired them. I would assume that they had a difficult time functioning in the Professor's world. But then this sweet woman comes into his life, and whether he knows it or not, his life improves so much. She genuinely had an affection for this man. And her life also improved. She went from being a lowly high school drop-out to spending her time trying to figure out the different math problems the Professor gave to her and Root. I'm sure it didn't hurt for Root to have a male role model in his life, a friend, and a math tutor.

What are your thoughts on the theme of this book?

Love in the Romantic Sense

2009-08-28T21:03:00.003-06:00

We find out at one point that the sister-in-law was in the car accident that left the Professor with his memory loss. One of the discussion questions at the back of the book implies that they were romantically involved. Did you see it that way? If so, did it change how you felt about the Professor and the sister-in-law?

I didn't see it that way. It would explain why the sister-in-law feels she needs to care from him (although "care for" is a long stretch from what she was doing).

There are also questions about the relationship between the housekeeper and the Professor being something besides a platonic friendship. I didn't see it that way, nor do I want to. The housekeeper has never really had a man in her life, nor has her son. I think he was a fatherly/grandfatherly figure to them both.

Thoughts?

Memory

2009-08-28T20:50:00.002-06:00

This book was sort of like the non-comedic, non-romantic version of Fifty First Dates with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. There were details of the Professor's memory loss that weren't really explained to my satisfaction. It probably would have caused the book to drag, but I would have like to see more of the struggle he faced. Sometimes I forgot that he couldn't remember her from day to day because it always seemed like they got along so well. This was especially true when it came to Root. It seemed like the Professor and Root started each day like old pals and went right into their regular routine.

Were there things you would have like to have explained more fully, or was it perfect as it was?

Ogawa had a challenge in creating a character with only 80 minutes of memory. One of the ways she uses to show how the professor copes is the notes he pins to his suit. The one in the most promient place saying "your memory only lasts 80 minutes" was especially sad. But I loved picturing this elderly Japanese man walking to a ball game or to get his hair cut, unaware of the oddness of his appearance with all these little notes pinned to him. It was such a tender moment when the housekeeper was helping him rewrite and repin them. If you had to create a character like this, what would be some of the ways you could explain how he functions with only 80 minutes of short-term memory.

Math and Math & Baseball

2009-08-28T17:52:00.003-06:00

How many of you are math people? (My hand is down for anyone interested). I haven't taken a math class since Algebra 2 my senior year of high school... 13 years ago. But my husband just finished a degree with a math minor, and has been taking classes that I don't even understand the class name, let alone the math involved... differential equations, econometrics. I never even got to calculus.

Did the math part of this book turn you off? The same friend that recommended this book had earlier recommended the book E=MC2 to me. It's basically a biography of the equation. I made a very very small dent in that book before I gave into my boredom and not understanding. This book however, made me think about math in a different light, and feel the specialness of numbers to the professor. I'll admit, there were math parts that I just sort of skimmed over, but some of it was actually intriguing as well.

Why do you think Ogawa wrote the book the way she did (math-wise)? Writing actual math problems, etc.

Do numbers bear any significance on the structure of the book (there are 11 chapters, etc.)?

I love love that she included so much baseball. Baseball is one of my favorite sports to watch (I know, some of you are moaning about how boring baseball is). But it really is a mathematical game and such a beloved game in Japan. Baseball is full of numbers averages, statistics and percentages. When you put math in those terms, I almost understand what they all mean because I can relate them to what I know about baseball.

What are the differences in Root and the Professor's love of the game?

Names

2009-08-28T17:41:00.003-06:00

Names are important to me. I spend a lot of time thinking about names, analyzing names, making fun of the names people (myself included) choose for their children. In this book, no one is ever give an name. The main characters are: the Professor, the housekeeper, the sister-in-law and Root (which is a nickname, not his real name). I didn't realize the characters didn't have names until I was finished and read through the discussion questions.

I think maybe Ogawa didn't give her character's names so that the reader's attention wouldn't focus on the people, but on their story. Her characters are strong, naming them wasn't necessary. It makes the reader continually think of them as the housekeeper and the professor. Not two friends. Not two people. But an smart, old, crotchety math guy (he's not really crotchety, but the title he's given brings those thoughts to my mind). And a housekeeper, his servant. Not his friend, but the woman who changes his sheets and makes his meals. But even not having names, we're able to get past those stereotypes, the ideas that the words lend to the characters, and see the friendship and bond that forms between these two (three if you count Root) people, and we focus our attention there.

What are your thoughts?
What do you think it means that Ogawa doesn't give her characters names?
Does it change your relationship with them?

The House Keeper and the Professor: the author and the movie

2009-08-28T17:13:00.005-06:00

image from amazon.com

Yoko Ogawa is a 47 year old Japanese woman, college graduate, wife, mother to one son, and published writer. She has written 20 plus works of both fiction and nonfiction and won every major Japanese literary award.

I'm especially impressed by Ogawa because it seems like typically, or at least in my mind (ie: my life) math skills and writing skills don't go hand in hand.

According to Wikipedia, this novel, as The Professor's Beloved Equation, was made into a movie in 2006. Here's the movie poster:

image from here

I like this movie poster because even though this book was set in modern times, while I was reading it, possibly because of the Professor's memory ending in the 1970s or the style in which Ogawa wrote, it seemed like it took place during a different time. This poster reminds me that it took place in a world like our world (except in Japan).

Wikipedia also says that:

The novel's bibliography lists the book The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, a biography of the mathematician Paul Erdős. It has been said that Erdős was used as a model for the professor'.

Let the Discussion Begin

2009-08-28T17:08:00.002-06:00

Okay... sorry it's taken me all day, the discussion is now beginning.

I guess just comment in the "comment" section. And if you have further thoughts and would like to be able to post your own post, you can do that. And if you aren't already a system administrator or whatever, I'll make you one so you can post. Just let me know.

Twilight Tidbit

2009-08-27T15:44:00.002-06:00

So I was just reading through some of our old Twilight discussions and I thought you guys would get a kick out of something I read in the news. Those of you who are in Utah may have heard about the seminary teacher that had an affair with one of his 16-year old students. If you aren't in Utah, yeah, it happened, gross. Anyway we were reading about it on KSL.com and this lady wrote in saying that the whole thing was Stephanie Meyer's fault because the teacher looked like Edward, and if Twilight had never come out this girl wouldn't have been tempted to sleep with her teacher. Funny huh!

New to the Group

2009-08-14T09:05:00.002-06:00

Hey... if you are a friend of ours who is joining the Scattered Book Girls, could you post a comment here and introduce yourself as much as you feel comfortable doing so on the internet. I suppose those of us who are old members should introduce ourselves as well. I'll go comment now.

The Housekeeper and the Professor

2009-07-22T19:27:00.005-06:00

Our next book will be The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, it can be purchased here or checked out from your local library.

And if you have friends who might enjoy being a part of our online book club, they can join us.

The discussion will start right here on August 28.

Now... how to do the discussion:

Do we like the old set up where one of us posts a discussion and the rest comment in "comments?" Or should one of us post a discussion and the rest of us post (rather than comment) our thoughts? I'm not sure how it should work. It's not a big deal to make others administrators so they can post as well if we have friends who are interested and would like to join. I'm just not sure how it will work best.

Okay, homework, other than reading the book, see how other online book group blogs are set up, and report back to me. Go...

A Fresh Start

2009-07-16T16:48:00.003-06:00

I agree with Joanna's recent post here that we should get this book club going again. Especially since I'm moving and losing the current book club I have going. Plus, Jed's classes will be at night which means I won't be able to join a new book club in my new town.

Also, I was thinking maybe we could open it up to other friends we all have who either don't have a book club to belong to, can't make it to their book club's meetings, or don't like the book club that is available to them or just want to read a lot a lot. What do you all think? I posted a book on my blog the other day to have people read it so I could talk about it with someone and people responded positively to that idea.

So... I think we should kick off this book club now, while school is out for all of you teachers. Here are my suggestions for books:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Or, I'm open to other suggestions. But let's get this rolling. I have boxes that I need to procrastinate about packing.

Gorgeous new layout, now.....

2009-06-24T11:55:00.002-06:00

are we ever going to post on here again? I miss having a book club.

Ladies, where are you? :)

Bella and Edward

2008-11-20T06:57:00.002-07:00

Did we discuss the Bella/Edward relationship when we started this blog with Twilight? I'll have to look back and see. Kate, would you elaborate on this that you said:

Also, I am frustrated with a lot of people (especially LDS women) who argue that the books teach teenage girls that it's okay to be in a relationship with a guy who hurts her. Ignorant!

I promise not to be offended, I just want to understand your point of view. I realize that Edward would never hurt Bella, even tried to remove himself from the situation so she wouldn't be hurt, but in the end, gives up and decides that he can protect her better if he's with her and that there is no escaping her love for him (and his for her).* And I didn't have a big enough problem with their relationship to stop reading the books (like a woman I know who threw The DaVinci Code in the trash). I was even on team Edward rather than team Jacob. I just... often felt uncomfortable about how strongly Bella felt for him and how much she was sacrificing. I don't know. I can't put it into words very well. So, give me your take and swing me to your side of things. Thanks. Anyone else can put in their thoughts as well.

*I had to laugh as I was deeply analyzing the fictional relationship between a teenage girl and a vampire. English majors seriously are a bit nutty.

Kate's Thoughts

2008-11-19T20:43:00.003-07:00

Did you like The Host?

Yes, I really enjoyed it, especially the undertones of contemporary satire. I loved to ponder how both societies were living and how our society matched up to both. I also liked the plot twists.

If you've read both the Twilight series and The Host, which did you like best?

I liked The Host better, but then I like alternate reality fiction a lot. It's always interesting to me to think about how the world would react to significant change that effected everyone, poor, rich, old, young, faithful, faithless. Twilight series dealt more with something that could be happening among us now.

Did you notice a huge change in writing style, better or worse?

I think Breaking Dawn was worse than any of the others. I think Meyer was running out of steam on the series. I don't think the change of writing style was huge between the Twilight series and The Host. The main character in The Host was only about 19 when it started, so she wasn't totally mature. A lot of her thoughts about men and other female insecurities were still very teenager-ish.

Was it Stephenie getting better, a new editor?

I don't know if it was either. I think it was just a different genre/audience age.

Did you see any similarities between the Twilight series and The Host?

Well, of course. An author often has a hard time getting away from their first works of fiction, or so I've found. I mean, we've all heard that writers write what they know. It seems Meyer knows the inner thoughts of young women infatuated with men who are dangerous or painful to love.

Any other things you want to talk about?

I am interested to see what she comes up with next. I don't really want to read anymore about Bella/Edward/Jacob, but if another book comes out, I would read it, just to see what she has to say. Also, I am frustrated with a lot of people (especially LDS women) who argue that the books teach teenage girls that it's okay to be in a relationship with a guy who hurts her. Ignorant!

Do you wish we were all close by to see the Twilight movie together like some of us did for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie?

Yes, but I agree that I'm afraid to see it due to the fact that from what I've already seen, it is nothing like what I pictured as I read. Also, do you all realize that this online book group started with Twilight and now it's a movie?

Nancy's Random Thoughts on The Host

2008-11-19T17:40:00.004-07:00

Did you like The Host?

Yes. Apparently The Host is an adult novel and since I'm *gulp* an adult, I should be cool with this. I didn't realize it was an adult novel. I mean, I guess the characters are adults more than they are teens and isn't that what Dr. Crowe taught us about YA literature... the characters are a few years older than the target audience. It was interesting to see this world Stephenie created. Not just the alien stories, and the new way of life on earth once the aliens were in their host bodies and all things functioned differently (medicine, jobs, no money, etc.) but also the way the humans were living. The old volcano that had basically converted into an underground city was pretty cool.

If you've read both the Twilight series and The Host, which did you like best?

The Host, definitely. I had a hard time with the Twilight series due to the whole - - teenage girl destined to be with a vampire, willingly sacrificing her life because she's meant to be with him. It made for a good read, but I'm not sure what sort of picture it paints for real life teenage girls who are finding themselves "destined" to be with some loser guy who is bad for them or dangerous. Ya know? So, since The Host didn't have a whole lot to do with that, I was okay with it.

Did you notice a huge change in writing style, better or worse? Was it Stephenie getting better, a new editor?

I think I read it too fast to notice anything like this. Once I've been drawn into the story deep enough, I tend not to notice the logistics of the story telling. I almost want to go back and reread them (almost... if they weren't so long!!) and pay attention since what we've talked about points towards The Host being much better written.

Did you see any similarities between the Twilight series and The Host?

At the end of the book, when they find out there are other small group's of humans in hiding throughout the country and each group is sort of known by it's group leader's name. For example, if I was one of the human group leaders, it would be Nancy's group.

How in the Twilight books it's a human among vampires. This book has an alien among humans.

In Twilight there's a love triangle between Bella because she loves both Jacob and Edward (are any of you pro Jacob, by the way?). In this book, Wanda/Melanie both love Jared. So that's sort of a triangle. But I was thinking more specifically of Wanda loving Jared (on her own, not just because of Mel) and also loving Ian.

Didn't the humans all seem super strong in this book, sort of like the vampires in Twilight? I'm sure it was just a survival of the fittest thing, but it seems like Ian and Kyle and Jared are all super humanly strong.

I'm sure there's more that I'm just forgetting right now. I'll post again if I think of more.

Any other things you want to talk about?

Well, yes. I meant to post a question about whether or not this would be a series, or a stand alone novel. While I'm satisfied with the way it ended, I am curious as to where humankind is headed after that scene with the aliens in their human host bodies who had conceived and were raising and loving a human child... when they were on a food raid and saw them in the park across the street from a hotel room window.

Do you wish we were all close by to see the Twilight movie together like some of us did for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie?

Most definitely. I'm not sure if it's going to match up with my idea of the book or not.

Getting the Ball Rolling...The Host by Stephenie Meyer

2008-11-19T17:28:00.004-07:00

image from amazon.com

Did you like The Host?

If you've read both the Twilight series and The Host, which did you like best?

Did you notice a huge change in writing style, better or worse? Was it Stephenie getting better, a new editor?

Did you see any similarities between the Twilight series and The Host?

Any other things you want to talk about?

Do you wish we were all close by to see the Twilight movie together like some of us did for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie?

Instead of commenting you answers, will you log in and just create a new post that is your thoughts on The Host. That way our comments won't be skinny little strips three feet long but a nice post. Thanks.

Belated Birthdays!

2008-08-27T15:25:00.002-06:00

I feel so bad forgetting Cecily and Jazzy's birthdays. Not that anyone even checks here these days, but, just in case...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADIES!

Now read some books and post about it. :)

Stargirl and Love, Stargirl

2008-05-07T16:52:00.004-06:00

I'm going to make a giant assumption that I'm not the only one of us who read Stargirl. Should I also assume that more than just I have read it's sequel, Love, Stargirl?

So, here's what I want to know. What did you all think? And do you think there is more to come. I don't think I would have ever expected a sequel to Stargirl. My husband bought it for me to read in the hospital when my first kid was born... so, almost 6 years ago. I'm guessing it was published a bit before that since he got me the paperback copy. Do you think Spinelli intended from the beginning to write a sequel, or later on he just had more to say. And while I don't think the first book made it seem like a sequel would some day follow, I think the second does. But I'm a little scared that there won't be one and it has just left me wanting to know more about Stargirl and Leo and will their paths ever cross again.

While I'm at it, I think this is how we should use this blog now that the official book clubness of is has died. We can even write up reviews of books we've read. Or just sort of discuss books like this that we've all probably read. Joanna, I'm counting on you for some posts since you're the only one on here most of the time. The rest of you slackers (yep, I called you slackers), school should be getting out for the summer soon. Start reading and blogging!

Okay... discuss.

*I read up on Love, Stargirl here. I guess Spinelli's wife suggested he write a real short, sort of Christmas book about Stargirl (I'm guessing sort of along the lines of some of the Princess Diary books that are like 80 pages). He told her he didn't do sequels. But he finally agreed to, and then it turned out being longer than the first book. He said he guessed after 100 and whatever pages of silence, Stargirl wanted her say.

Congratulations to the beautiful bride!

2008-03-26T20:54:00.004-06:00

Here she is on her wedding day in Mesa, AZ on March 15th (also Kate's bday).

Cutting the cake that night at the reception.

happy birthday to kate!

2008-03-18T08:30:00.001-06:00

sorry for the late birthday post... i was in AZ at Angela's wedding (which, if my calendar is correct, was actually on your bday). So, I had a piece of cake in celebration with you. :)

happy birthday... hope 29 is full of fun for you.

Business

2008-03-03T07:41:00.001-07:00

Item 1: Has everyone/anyone read Louise Plummer's Finding Daddy? If so, please blog about what you thought about it. It was very... different than her other books, not what I expected.

Item 2: Should we make our book club blog more informal? Rather than a book a month with a discussion leader, we can just write up a post that is more like a review when we've finished a book. What do you think? Since the other way isn't so much working these days.

Item 3: You all need to join goodreads.com so we can be book reading buddies. Cecily and I are already there. Once you join you can search for our email addresses to be our friends.

Happy Birthday Joanna!

2007-12-18T11:38:00.001-07:00

Feliz Cumpleanos, that's how they say it in Spain.

Happy Birthday, Jo!

Have a wonderful day.

New Louise Book

2007-11-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

So I'm mad at those of you in the know who should have informed me that there was a new Louise Plummer book. I happened to think to look - the day before it was released (it's like Louise and I are in tune) and have already had Brandon place my amazon.com order for Christmas. So, for those of you not in the know... her new book was released this week. It's ten something on amazon.com. Enjoy.

Hey Ladies

2007-10-06T08:55:00.001-06:00

So, I know we're all wicked busy, but I liked having a reading club online. Has anyone read anything interesting lately they want to share? I'm looking for something new as I just read "Left to Tell", which was amazing, and just finished Prom Nights From Hell. How is everyone doing??? How are the East coast ladies? Central? Utah chicks? California?

Have a Jazzy Birthday!

2007-08-27T22:06:00.000-06:00

Hey Jazzy.

If I understood your "I'm blogging again" post, you've moved south to St. George?? We didn't end up going to my parents' cabin earlier this month like we'd planned, but we could have seen you (not that we knew that since I didn't know you'd moved). My parents have a dilapidated A frame cabin in the mountains above Cedar City by Navajo Lake with a view of Zion NP and are currently building a new one (so far is is a driveway until next summer) sort of in the same vicinity. We plan to make it out there next summer so we'll have to have you up for a party.

Anyways... happy birthday to you. Hope it was great. Are you teaching? Has the school year started? Kansas starts early... school started here like two weeks ago.

From all of us to you... happy birthday with lots of love.

I'm Blogging Again...Yea!

2007-08-18T17:36:00.000-06:00

Hey girls. So I finally signed up to the blog again and am excited to post some stuff about Harry Potter in the next week or so. I read it a while ago so I will have to pick it up and come up with some good questions to ask. St. George is treating us well so far, except for the 100 degee heat that I'm melting in. And school started last Wednesday so that is keeping me super busy. Happy Birthday to Cecily last week. Cheers to still being in your 20's! And congrats to Nancy on the baby. I haven't had a chance to tell you that yet. I thought once that one of us would catch up to you someday but I don't see that happening any time soon. but I hope all is well.

Harry Potter chat coming to a blog near you soon!

Happy Birthday to Cecily.

2007-08-09T20:11:00.000-06:00

Miss Cecily

Hope you have an absolutely fabulously terrifically wonderful birthday!

The Plot

2007-07-31T20:58:00.001-06:00

I don't really know what to say about the plot. It was amazing to me that so little time actually passed, and so much happened. (Although part of that may be that I started the book over a month ago, didn't finish it until today, and didn't have time to read for a few weeks in the middle.)

What are your thoughts on the plot? The story? I almost asked "was it believable" but then laughed. It totally wasn't believable. I mean, a womanizing giant egg. Ha.

The Writing

2007-07-31T20:47:00.001-06:00

Fforde's Wikipedia page says the following:

Fforde's books are noted for the number of literary allusions, wordplay and the tightly scripted plot, and loose adherence to traditional genres. His works do usually contain various elements of metafiction, parody, and fantasy.

I don't know how he does it. There are books that I read where I think, "I can totally do this. I can be a writer. I can write as well, maybe better than this person." (Usually I think this while reading a Mary Higgins Clark novel or something of the sort.) With Fforde's books I find myself constantly amazed at how he includes so much (especially since I'm sure there are thousands of allusions that went right over my head), and how he ties it all together. I was about 80 pages from the end when I thought "he's tying it up so well, but too soon." And then everything got thrown around again, and so many more things were thrown into it, and he still tied together nicely by the end. It was amazing.

I like that Wikipedia says he's known for "loose adherence to traditional genres." I never know how to describe his books when people ask. With this book, I sort of just explained that it's a detective investigating Humpty Dumpty's death/murder. With The Eyre Affair I've always just said that it's sort of science fiction fantasy with a female detective in England in the past, but a different past. And that it's really good. And that they should read Jane Eyre first. Then I feel lame because it feels like there's this idea that goes around with science fiction, and I'm sure people start judging me as soon as I use it in a description. How do you describe these books? Have you recommended them to people?

Jack Spratt and the rest of the cast

2007-07-31T20:40:00.000-06:00

I liked Jack Spratt a lot. I liked that he was really a respectable man and a great detective, but a little unsure of himself and looked down upon. But in the end, he proved he was really the better man. I thought it was great that Fforde included his personal life. It wasn't just about his days working in the Nursery Crime Division, but he went home to quite an interesting family at night. And he had a history. We met his mom, his ex-girlfriend. I absolutely loved when we found out he'd won his first wife from Chymes.

Mary Mary grew on me. At first see seemed so uptight about her name (hello, Nursery Crime Division!!) and her obsession with being in the big Detective magazines and partnered with Chymes, I didn't like her. But she turned out perfect in the end.

The same goes for Briggs. At first I wan't him to stop being such a wuss and stand up to Chymes. And then he finally did. Plus it was so great that he was playing the trombone and willing to change his name to make the magazine. So funny.

I liked all of the NCD support staff, especially all of the regular police people who were NCD friendly (ie: the coroner, the bullet specialist guy, etc.)

Everyone they interviewed, they were all such intriguing characters. I don't know if it would have been hard, or easy to take a character that someone else has created and add facets onto their personality for the sake of the novel. Fforde did a great job. Even the characters that you had to hate, you loved too.

Oh, and I loved that the demise of Lola Vavoom's career was her starring in "The Eyre Affair" movie. Hilarious that Fforde threw that in there.

Who was your favorite character?

The Big Over Easy

2007-07-31T20:29:00.001-06:00

This is straight from the Jasper Fforde Wikipedia page:
The Big Over Easy (2005), which shares a similar setting with the Next novels, is a reworking of his first written novel, which initially failed to find a publisher. It had the working title of Nursery Crime, which is the title now used to refer to this series of books. The follow-up to The Big Over Easy, The Fourth Bear was published in July 2006 and focuses on Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

A third Nursery Crime novel, The Last Great Tortoise Race, is also due in the future. Jasper Fforde has the following to say about TLGTR, "Eventually. The Last Great Tortoise Race will be the third and final installment of the NCD series. I have no idea when it will be written, or published."

It seems fairly common for this to be the case with now famous writers, the fact that The Big Over Easy (published 5th) is actually the first book he wrote. Or maybe John Grisham's A Time To Kill is the only other one, but I happen to know it was the first he'd written as well.

I have to admit that I was a little skeptical of this book. Don't get me wrong, I really loved all of the Thursday Next books. But they had a cool female sort of detective in the lead and were full of cool literary allusions any English major or big reader would adore. I wasn't excited about reading a book about Nursery Rhymes. When I read The Eyre Affair, I kept telling myself I should have brushed up on Jane Eyre first, so I'd get everything he was alluding to. I should have brushed up on my Nursery Rhymes for this book. I mean, I know the big ones. But who was Wee Willie Winkle?? Having finished the book, I quite enjoyed it as well and plan on reading the next two books in this series as well. I'm quite impressed with Jasper Fforde, his creativity, and his all around knowledge.

Did you read the Thursday Next series?? Enjoy them?

How well did you remember your Nursery Rhymes?

What was your overall reaction to this book before you read it? After?

Jasper Fforde

2007-07-31T20:04:00.000-06:00

http://www.jasperfforde.com/gurners.html

Silly self-portrait of [Jasper Fforde] in a phone-box somewhere. Picture credit: J Fforde.

I think Jasper Fforde must be a very fun person. This I gather from his website and from the self-portrait above.

From his books, I think Jasper Fforde must be very well read and extremely imaginative. Not to mention brilliant. I first thought this when reading The Eyre Affair. I couldn't believe this sort of real, but really not world he'd created. And with each of the Thursday Next books it became more apparent how creative he was (ie: The Well of Lost Plots, etc.).

This is what I've managed to learn about it him from various sources on the internet:

Jasper Fforde is his real name.

He was born in London in 1961. He is 46 years old.

He lives in Wales.

From 1981 until 2000 he worked on various films and commercials as: cameraman, focus puller, clapper loader, and runner.

His "ten excellent books that I can read again and again (in no particular order) 1: 'Alice in Wonderland' 2:'Three Men in a Boat' 3: 'Diary of a Nobody' 4: Slaughterhou se-5 5: Catch-22 6: To Kill a Mocking Bird 7: The Little Prince 8: Summer Lightning 9: Decline and Fall 10: The Calculus Affair"

Fforde has an interest in aviation, and owns and flies a Tiger Moth.

His genre, according to wikipedia.org is: alternate history.

His debut novel was The Eyre Affair in 2001. There are currently five books in this Thursday Next series.

Overall Opinion?

2007-07-09T20:58:00.000-06:00

How did everyone feel about this novel? Did anyone struggle with it? I know Jazzy had a hard time getting in to it, but I did to the first time I read, and the second time as well. Do the married ladies relate to the complex dynamics of being in a couple and befriending couples? Do those of us who are single want to stay single, or do we desire the friendship of the married kind?

Charity

2007-07-09T20:56:00.000-06:00

Is Charity too much of a control freak, or is she just organized and wanting what's best? Even at the end, when she's dying, she is controlling everyone and the situation around her. Why would she not want her dear husband with her? Is it her pride? Her exhaustion of picking up the pieces? Her way of making things easier?

Safety = ?

2007-07-09T20:41:00.000-06:00

The title is Crossing to Safety..... what does that mean exactly? What does 'Safety' mean? I think that for each character, safety is something different. So... I'm throwing this out to agree, disagree, or add views.

Sally Morgan - a character who is frugal, optimistic, confident, intellectual and private. To her, safety is: having comfort, being pleasing or in a pleasant environment

Charity Lang - a character who is energetic, smart, gregarious, a bit controlling, unaware to a degree and presumptuous. To her, safety is: success, accomplishment of desires

Larry Morgan - a character who is thoughtful, loyal, perceptive, likes routine, devoted to wife. To him, safety is: complete happiness, state of satisfaction

Sid Lang - a character who is passionate, generous, a bit carefree on his own but oppressed by his wife, stressed. To him, safety is: pleasing others

Friendships

2007-07-09T20:32:00.000-06:00

As I reread this novel I couldn't help but think of the first time I read it in Serpa Grierson's Senior Course at BYU. Cecily and I had it together, along with the beautiful boy Josh Romney. Seven years later I still laugh at how hot Cecily and I thought he was, the great class we had together, and the friendship I had and still have with Cecily. Friendships are the best things ever. I think people need them, both as an individual and as a couple, which you married ladies may or may not agree with. Your friends are there for you, help you laugh and become more of who you truly are. Charity and Sally instantly bonded and Charity helped Sally feel alive, even though Charity has a few issues, but who doesn't.

Chapter Three introduces the beginning of the friendship between the Langs and Morgans. Larry asks the question: Do we respond only to people who seem to find us interesting? Was our friendship for the Langs born out of simple gratitude to this woman who had the kindness to call on a strange young wife stuck in a basement without occupation or friends? Do we all buzz or ring or light up when people press our vanity buttons and only then? Or did I like Charity Lang on sight because she was what she was, open friendly, frank, a little ribald as it turned out, energetic, interested, as full of vitality as her smile was full of light?"

Reflecting in Chapter Seven, Larry states, as he remembers the times back in the small apartment: "We had our interests, which were mainly literary and intellectual and only occasionally, inescapably, political. But what memory brings back from there is not politics, or the meagerness of living on a $150 a month, or even the writing I was doing, but the details of friendship - parties, picnics, walks, midnight conversations. What really illuminates those months is the faces of our friends."

So what are our thoughts on Larry's comments, or your own thoughts about friendships.

Crossing to Safety

2007-07-09T20:25:00.001-06:00

This was Wallace Stegner's last novel, but the first I've read of his. It is hard to get in to, but once you do, the dynamic and complex relationships really drew me in. Wallace Stegner was born in 1909 in Lake Mills, Iowa but ended up living in SLC in 1921. He became a college professor after attending the U of U and taught at the Univ. of Wisconsin, Harvard, and Stanford. Stegner has fiction that deals with many themes, but he's primarily recognized as a writer of the American West, which I found very interesting considering how well written Crossing is.
Wallace Stegner once said about his writing, "In fiction I think we should have no agenda but to tell the truth" and in the case of Crossing to Safety it is very near to being the truth of Stegner's life and his relationship with his wife and their dear friends.

Coming Soon.... Crossing!

2007-07-08T16:20:00.000-06:00

I am going to try and post Crossing to Safety either tonight, or by tomorrow at the latest. I apologize, as always, for being late. It's amazing how life passes one by and now it's already the second week of July and I'm running out of time. To get ready for the posts: think of your friendships with other (single people or couples), do you relate to any of the characters, what makes you feel like you've 'arrived' and is Charity a control freak. Get ready b/c in the next 24 hours, you will be able to comment away to your hearts content! :)

June's Book

2007-05-26T22:37:00.001-06:00

Okay, I'm still undecided as for June's book. Are you guys all still on board with this? I feel sort of like a one person book club, and that's difficult to pull off.

For June I've narrowed it down to the following choices:

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

or

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

What do you all think?

Does someone want to volunteer for July?

And then in August, I figured we should do the 7th Harry Potter, since we'll all be reading it anyway. Who would like to lead that discussion? Don't all jump at once.

Overall Overview

2007-05-26T22:30:00.000-06:00

I liked this book. It's not the best book that I've ever read, but it was thoroughly enjoyable and I'd read it again.

What are your final thoughts?

Characters

2007-05-26T22:17:00.000-06:00

I have to start by saying that I didn't like the whole Woody Allen being the inspiration for the kids' names thing. Maybe it's just because I don't like Woody Allen. But it also seems like, and maybe Woody Allen is cool among the teenage set, and I'm just out of the loop, but it seems like most teenagers would be like "who's Woody Allen? Eww, gross!" But then I like the creativity behind it. And I guess the dad would have been from Woody Allen's heyday. It just bugged me. Were you okay with it?

I really like Mia. She was very real. She was a teenage girl and even though her family was falling apart, she still had her eye on the boy and just sort of let that get in the way of things with her best friend and her brother, etc. She seems like a solid practicer of the denial thing I do. If I pretend like it's not that bad and just don't think about it, everything will be okay. I think that everything blowing up in Mia's face and her having to deal with it all well imagined and written. It was believable. How did you feel about Mia? Her family?

The whole Paloma thing cracked me up. Her dad's sexy new Peruvian girlfriend. Sort of extreme, but I'm sure it happens over and over again.

And the whole triangle between Mia, Allen and Julian was also great. The awkwardness of calling for one sibling and then needing to talk to the other. Or having the one assume you'd called for them when you had in fact wanted the other. So funny. Did you enjoy this as well?

Keatie watching the old videos was so sad. But also probably such an accurate description of what a little kid in that situation might do.

Plot

2007-05-26T22:13:00.000-06:00

I have to admit, I read this a few months ago. And as I'm trying to remember the storyline, parts of other recent YA Lit books are floating through my head. Yearbook by Allyson Braithewaite Condie and Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson.

All three deal with teenagers, (obviously), broken or dysfunctional families, siblings, best friends, and a little romance. But I guess that's a lot of what YA books are, the whole coming of age thing. This is the life teens are experiencing.

I think Birdsall did great making this seem real. The characters. The situation (for the most part). The way things were handled. The reactions of people. It was all believable.

Your thoughts? Was the Paloma part believable? The drunk brother?

The title

2007-05-26T22:10:00.000-06:00

I love the title. Notes on a Near-Life Experience. It's so perfect. I like the "Notes on..." part. I like the "Near-Life" vs. Near-Death. I love that it seems as though that's how every teenager, maybe even adult thinks. We're never really experiencing life to the full. It's always near. If Mia isn't experiencing real life in this story, I'm not sure what real life is. Maybe she just feels like life is being lived and she's watching it like it's on tv. You always here tv characters and book characters describe things like that.

Thoughts on my ramblings??

Notes on a Near-Life Experience

2007-05-25T18:46:00.001-06:00

Teenagers. Romance, finally, with the boy next door. Families. Divorce. Dad's new peruvian girlfriend. It's all here.

Olivia Birdsall

2007-05-25T18:35:00.000-06:00

Notes on a Near-Life Experience is Olivia Birdsall's first novel, and was part of her Masters of Fine Arts program at New York University. A native of California, Birdsall currently resides in New York City, where she is finishing up schooling to receive her MFA degree.

From Teachers and Writers Online:

Olivia Birdsall is the second of ten, that's right ten, children. She began writing stories when she realized that the tales she wanted to tell took up more than her allotted time at the dinner table. The discovery that through writing she could describe and understand not only her own world and experiences, but those beyond her own, continues to compel Olivia to write, and to teach and encourage others to write.

A former reading and literacy teacher in the Washington, DC, New York City, and New Jersey metropolitan areas, Olivia now satisfies her passion for literature, writing and teaching by working as a teaching artist for the Teachers & Writers Collaborative in New York City, and as an instructor in the Expository Writing Program at New York University, where she also teaches creative writing at the university's summer program in London.

Olivia enjoys writing everything from poems to essays to recipes, and is currently working on her second novel and a book of short stories. An avid traveler and wanderer, Olivia has lived in places as exotic as Ecuador, Idaho, and Israel, and currently calls New York City home.

Education
M.F.A., New York University, 2005
B.A., cum laude, Brigham Young University, 2001

Publications & Presentations:
Notes on a Near-Life Experience, Delacorte Press, 2007
Chloe's Cracker Caper, Pearson Educational Publishing, Waterford Educational Suite, 2004
Paint by Number, Pearson Educational Publishing, Waterford Educational Suite, 2004
"The Celebritization of Poetry," Popular Culture Association National Conference, San Antonio, TX, 2004

Honors:
Winner, Delacorte Press Prize for a First Young Adult Novel, 2005
Excellence in Teaching Award, New York University Expository Writing Program, 2002, 2003, 2004
Grant Recipient, Organization for Research and Creative Activities (ORCA), Brigham Young University, 2000

Kate seems to know her, so maybe she can enlighten us some more since this was about all I could find out about her. Did she live through her parents' divorce?

appyHay irthdayBay

2007-04-24T23:58:00.000-06:00

Happy bday to Angela!

Hope someone makes you a nice big moist cake. :)

Happy Happy Birthday Angela dear.
Happy days will come to you all year.
...

Spring Cleaning: second try

2007-04-24T12:18:00.000-06:00

So when I emailed you all the other night there was supposed to be another post here explaning what was going on. A Spring Cleaning post. It's not here. So you are probably all a bit confused. Basically, this is what it said:

I left spots for The Thin Place discussion and the Bel Canto discussion so we can move ahead without skipping them. Kate and Jo, post when you get the time.

Since we'll all probably end up reading it anyway (written by a BYU alumna), and it's a short book I picked Notes on a Near-Life Experience by Olivia Birdsall to be our next book. Someone (me?) can start the discussion for it on May 21st.

I'll be the discussion leader for June's book on June 18th. These are the books I'm thinking about. Let me know what you think, what you've heard, if you've read it, if it sounds interesting or not interesting, etc.

The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

Bel Canto

2007-04-22T00:49:00.001-06:00

Bel Canto

2007-04-22T00:48:00.008-06:00

Bel Canto

2007-04-22T00:48:00.007-06:00

Bel Canto

2007-04-22T00:48:00.005-06:00

The Thin Place

2007-04-22T00:48:00.003-06:00

The Thin Place

2007-04-22T00:48:00.001-06:00

The Thin Place

2007-04-22T00:47:00.000-06:00

Happy Ides of March Birthday to Kate.

2007-03-16T00:37:00.000-06:00

A big shout out (do people still say that??? Cool people?) to Kate on her... 28th (??) birthday. Hope it was absolutely stupendously fabulous.

Heaven

2007-02-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

At the end part where Rebuen and the dad both get shot and are in Heaven together, I kept trying to think what I imagine Heaven would be like. It sort of reminded me of The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. Have any of you read it? I think I imagine Heaven as bright with lots of chocolate and no one gaining weight. Is that too optimistic?

Miracle Max Dad

2007-02-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

Leif Enger was interviewed about why he wrote this story, and he said the following about his son struggling with asthma:"Basically I wanted to understand what he was going through and I wanted to somehow translate my wish for his good health into the book. All I knew at the beginning was that the narrator was asthmatic and his father did miracles."What did you think about the dad who performed miracles? It seemed like the miracles were inconsistent to me. And I kept wondering if they were really supposed to be happening at all, or if that is just how a young boy views his father--as a miracle worker. Thoughts?

Redeeming Points

2007-02-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

What do you think could have made this book less painful? I think I didn't like Reuben, but really did like Swede. I thought her cowboy poems were the brightest spot of the entire book, and I am not a fan of cowboy poetry! I also liked the story better once Roxanna was involved. She pepped it up a bit.

Apologies

2007-02-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

First of all, I apologize for picking PLAR. I know it was hard to get through (if you even made it!). In my defense, I have to say that several people recommended this book to me. Yikes. And it is a National Bestseller and was even compared to Cold Mountain (but that just proves that the masses are asses). Leif Enger said when he was writing that if each chapter didn't inspire strong emotion or laughter from his family, he would rewrite it.Hmm... Did any of you actually feel that through the whole book? What did you have reactions to? I felt a strong reaction when we met that Waltzer character because he just screamed psychotic polygamist or something. He creeped me out. I guess that is strong reaction.

by Cec

Fabulous Christmas Cards

2006-12-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say that I loved Nancy's Christmas card, very cute of the kids. Also, mine was pretty funny if I must say so myself (sorry Ang and Kate, I didn't have your addresses :( . And I want to apologize profusely for being MIA on the blogging, although now as I type this, I don't feel too bad as Cec hasn't even posted hers yet. :) Have a fabulous New Year's ladies!

Shout out to Jo on her bday.

2006-12-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Joanna.
Hope you had a great day.

Love ya.

PS Do you suffer from the same anti birthday/Christmas mingling that Brandon does? His bday is the 27th and apparently when he was a kid his mom baked him a Christmas tree shaped bday cake. It did not go over well.

The Realms

2006-10-21T12:23:00.000-06:00

So, a Victorian YA novel with a supernatural twist. I found as I was reading/listening that I believed in the magic of the realms and wanted to be a part of it. What do you guys think about the magical twist in the story? Reading the scifi/fantasy novels I have, I found it beliveable, but at times, somewhat confusing. What exactly are the realms? Why is Gemma the only one that can open them? What happened to the rest of the Order? Most of these questions will hopefully be answered in Angels. Yes, blast these story trilogies! but I kind of wish she would have answered more questions in the first book instead of just open up all the questions. What did you like about the magical twist. What didn't you like?

And on a sillier note, (blame it on my love for all things superhero -- Smallville, X-men, the new TV show Heros, etc...) what superhuman quality would you want to have? I think I would want to be telekinetic. I could get so much work done in a day!

Young Love

2006-10-21T12:14:00.000-06:00

Kartik was obviously supposed to be the love interest/romance bone in the story. I liked that Bray added this element in the story but that it wasn't this overwhelming thing. It was a distraction for Gemma who had so many other, bigger, more important things to deal with. That's what I liked about it. The author doesn't let Gemma go off on some huge romantic fling but just gives her little hints of one. (Interesting that she lets Pippa have her big romantic story though with the crusty old fiance vs. the realm knight...) Maybe it plays a bigger role in the sequel, Rebel Angels, but I'm only one chapter into it so we'll see. Don't spoil it, Nancy! But what did you guys think about Kartik? Is he good for Gemma? Apparently he is part of the enemy brotherhood organization, but is he also trying to protect Gemma from herself and the magic of the realms. Random thoughts, mostly because I see stupid teenagers do stupid things in the name of love everyday. Gotta love my job.

Definition of Friendship

2006-10-21T12:03:00.000-06:00

Have you ever noticed how friendships usually happen in fours? Look no further than the Traveling Pants. I think authors use this idea because you have two vs. two. There are always two characters who are a little closer than the other two, and they compete against each other as a team. In high school, it was always me and Molly vs. Jen and Jillaine. Not that we all didn't hang out all the time, but there was that split.

In AGATB, we have Gemma and Ann, and Felicity and Pippa. What do you think about the friendship that develops with these girls? Does there always have to be some competition between friends? Throughout the book we saw Gemma compete with Felicity for cool kid status, while Pippa and Ann were competing for attention. I found they made great foils for each other. Felicity being the one who has the status and wants more power, and Gemma being the girl with the secret power, who doesn't want it, but wants to status. Pippa and Ann are complete opposites (one has the family and money, sort of, the other a sad orphan) but with the same goal, to be loved for who they really are.

Anyway, what do y'all think? Who of these characters are you most like? I was never the power hungry leader (Felicity, or with my high school foursome, Molly), the love struck beauty follower (Pippa, Jilliane), or the shy outsider (Ann, Jen). So I guess that made me Gemma, the peacemaker. Well, minus the supernatural powers. Do you guys see these roles in your past/present friendships?

About Libba Bray

2006-10-21T11:47:00.000-06:00

OK, so go to libbabray.com for all sorts of cool info on another lady who should be our friend. She has lists of books and lists of songs and lists of all sorts of stuff. See, we like her, she writes lists. but here is some other stuff I thought was cool.

"I'm one of those people who has to write. If I don't write, I feel itchy and depressed and cranky. So everybody's glad when I write and stop complaining already." --- Libba BrayLibba Bray has worked as a waitress, nanny, burrito roller, publishing plebe, and an advertising copywriter. Her first novel, A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY, became a New York Times bestseller. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and their son.

TWENTY-ONE THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME by Libba Bray
1. I lived in Texas until I was 26 years old, then I moved to New York City with $600.00 in my shoe ('cause muggers won't take it out of your shoe, y'know . . . riiiiight . . .) and a punchbowl (my grandmother's gift) under my arm. I ended up using the punchbowl box as an end table for two years.
2. My dad was a Presbyterian minister. Yes, I am one of those dreaded P.K.s --- Preacher's Kids. Be afraid. Be very afraid . . .
3. The first story I ever wrote, in Mrs. McBee's 6th grade English class, was about a girl whose family is kidnapped and held hostage by a murderous lot of bank robbers who intend to kill the whole family --- including the dog --- until the 12-year-old heroine foils the plot and saves the day. It included colored pencil illustrations of manly-looking, bearded criminals smoking, and, oblivious to the fact that The Beatles had already sort of laid claim to the title, I called my novel, HELP. My mom still has a copy. And when I do something she doesn't like, she threatens to find it.
4. My favorite word is "redemption." I like both its meaning and the sound. My least favorite word is "maybe." "Maybe" is almost always a "no" drawn out in cruel fashion.
5. My three worst habits are overeating, self-doubt, and the frequent use of the "f" word.
6. The three things I like best about myself are my sense of humor, my ability to listen, and my imagination.
7. I have an artificial left eye. I lost my real eye in a car accident when I was eighteen. In fact, I had to have my entire face rebuilt because I smashed it up pretty good. It took six years and thirteen surgeries. However, I did have the pleasure of freezing a plastic eyeball in an ice cube, putting it in a friend's drink, ("Eyeball in your highball?") and watching him freak completely. Okay, so maybe that's not going down on my good karma record. But it sure was fun.
8. In 7th grade, my three best friends and I dressed up as KISS and walked around our neighborhood on Halloween. Man, we were such dorks.
9. I once spent New Year's Eve in a wetsuit. I'd gone to the party in a black dress that was a little too tight (too many holiday cookies) and when I went to sit down, the dress ripped up the back completely. Can we all say, mortified? The problem was, my friends were moving out of their house --- everything was packed and on a truck --- and there was nothing I could put on . . . but a wetsuit that they still had tacked to the wall. I spent the rest of the party maneuvering through throngs of people feeling like a giant squid.
10. I got married in Florence, Italy. My husband and I were in love but totally broke, so we eloped and got married in Italy, where he was going on a business trip. We had to pull a guy off the street to be our witness. It was incredibly romantic. Florence is still one of my favorite cities in the world.
11. I often write in longhand and type it into the computer later, editing as I go. Sitting in my favorite coffeehouse with a new notebook and a hot cup of java is my idea of heaven.
12. I'm related to Davy Crockett on my mom's side. Honest.
13. I grew up doing theatre and spent a long time as a playwright. I still think very visually when I write.
14. Some of my favorite movies of all time (subject to change when I think of other movies I love) are All About Eve, Brazil, Blade Runner, Spinal Tap, Citizen Kane, Harold & Maude, To Kill a Mockingbird, Singin' in the Rain, and probably a million more that I can't think of right now. I have never made it through The Wizard of Oz without crying. Not once.
15. Naming my favorite books feels like naming a favorite child --- impossible. But here's my list of some Y.A. books I love as of 4:03pm today. TITHE by Holly Black. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee. CATCHER IN THE RYE by J. D. Salinger. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding. 33 SNOWFISH by Adam Rapp. WHALE TALK by Chris Crutcher. BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE by Annette Curtis Klause. THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath (not really Y.A. but I read it when I was 16 and it rocked my world). SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. Here's what's on my nightstand to read: THE FIRST PART LAST by Angela Johnson. ACCELERATION by Graham McNamee. THE LITERARY OPUS OF DANIEL ELAM by Daniel Elam. BY THE TIME YOU FINISH THIS BOOK YOU MIGHT BE DEAD by Aaron Zimmerman.
16. I love to be scared. Not "hey, I think I smell smoke . . ." scared, but creepy, paranoid, what's-that-out-there-in-the-dark, ghost story scared. It's no surprise that I was the girl who got invited to the slumber parties because I could be counted on to tell a tale to scare the bejesus out of you.
17. In homage to a book I just read entitled, FIVE MEN WHO BROKE MY HEART, I submit: The first boy who broke my heart (age 6) didn't want to sit next to me because I'd wet my pants in reading circle once and he thought I was gross. Damn my small bladder! The second boy who broke my heart (age 16) was a drummer with a band (the start of a trend, folks...) and he threw me over for a really cool chick I couldn't even bring myself to hate. The third boy who broke my heart (ages 20—24, ay yi yi . . .) was a strapping hunk of bodaciousness with the mind of Einstein. We had the exact same birthday, same year and everything. So the time he forgot to wish me a happy birthday was kind of the beginning of the end, I think. The fourth boy who broke my heart (age 25) was also a drummer. I had to stop with the drummers. The fifth boy . . . well, I married him, and if he breaks my heart, I'm going to burn all his favorite, rare import punk vinyl in the middle of the living room, so he's been warned.
18. I'm one of those people who has to write. If I don't write, I feel itchy and depressed and cranky. So everybody's glad when I write and stop complaining already.
19. My Pennsylvania Dutch great-great-great grandmother was supposedly a psychic who could see and speak to the dead. Sort of a witch, I guess. Her husband was an undertaker, and she would have these visions of someone bringing in a string of a particular size (people were measured for their coffins in this way) and it would come true. Creepy stuff, but fascinating.
20. If I were stuck on a deserted island, the five indispensable CDs I'd take would be London Calling by the Clash, Quadrophenia by The Who, Aretha Franklin's Greatest Hits, To Venus and Back by Tori Amos, and Elvis Costello's Greatest Hits.
21. I hate doughnuts. Weird but true.
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A Great and Terrible Beauty Chat is Finally On!

2006-10-21T11:28:00.000-06:00

Alright girls, I think I am ready for our discussion. Sorry it has taken so long. First off, how did you like the story? I picked this book up in an airport on the way to cruising around the Carribean. (Ah, the St. Martin beach sounds great right now, huh Joanna?) I'm not one to judge a book by its cover but I have to admit it was the cover that intrigued me. I then flew through the book because I couldn't stop reading. Right off the bat I got sucked into Gemma's story with her mother and wierd visions. I think there were some random tangents and wording discriptions, but overall I thought it was fun to read. I then listened to the book on CD while driving to CA with my husband this last summer. Besides the annoying voices the reader tried to do, it was enjoyable. Even my husband, who thinks all the books I read are cheesy, liked it. (It was the supernatural part that called out to the scifi geek I married.)

What were your first thoughts about the book? What struck you as interesting? What annoyed you? Any thoughts to start off with?

Blasted Trilogies

2006-09-15T12:13:00.000-06:00

So I read A Great and Terrible Beauty. About halfway through it I realized there was no way this thing would be resolved in one book so I looked it up online only to find out it was one of a trilogy! Curses to Jazzy for not warning us that this book was the first of three. Not only that, but the third book isn't even published yet. Argh.

But it was good and I needed to keep reading so I then read the 2nd book, Rebel Angels. I finished it last night in about two days.

But now I checked our her website and her final deadline for book three is now. So how quickly does a book go from this point to at my library. That's what I want to know.

If you haven't started. They are fun, pretty quick reads.

Dog earred pages

2006-09-01T12:02:00.000-06:00

Okay. So, I dog earred a page of the book to remember to comment on it. And I never dog ear books, it drives me nuts. So I dog earred page 226, bending the smallest possible corner over. And now, I have no idea why. Maybe I thought Jazzy would enjoy the part about Rosie Riveter trading "in her overalls and head scarf for point bras and big hairstyles that were worn with full scratchy skirts and petticoats."

Were there any pages you dog earred, or better yet, book marked that grabbed your attention. Hopefully you'll remember why.

Who was Carolyn Keene?

2006-09-01T11:56:00.000-06:00

Who do you think should be credited with being Carolyn Keene?

The person who created Nancy Drew? And if that's what you think, you do you believe is Nancy's creator?

Are they all Carolyn Keene or do you give one of the writers/creators more credit than the rest?

Nancy as a Feminist

2006-08-31T10:37:00.000-06:00

I guess I was sort of shocked by the turn of story in the book when all of a sudden everything was about feminism and the women's lib movement. Now, looking at the title... and the women who created her (completely leaving out Edward, who truly "created" her) I should have clued in a bit sooner.

I guess I can see Nancy as a feminist. But then, we grew up reading the series that Simon and Schuster launced to celebrate 5o years of Nancy Drew books, right? And those were the ones that make all the women's libbers mad because Nancy was so concerned about boys, and clothes and Jordache jeans. :) I guess I always just figured Nancy was the girls' version of the Hardy Boys, and nothing more.

Rehak mentions that one of the things that interested her in writing about Nancy Drew was so many women in powerful positions that have mentioned either having read the books growing up, or being influenced by her.

What do you all think? Feminist? Did you influence you?

The Cast of Characters

2006-08-31T10:29:00.000-06:00

What did you think of Edward?

It seems like he was an ingenous businessman who loved his daughters. But didn't want them working, just educated. Do you think he'd have been proud of Harriet, or upset?

What about Harriet?

I liked her. But towards the end when she became all oober protective of Nancy and started claiming that she'd invented her and written all the books, it got me mad. Most upsetting was she even left off her father, who I think of as the true creator of Nancy Drew. Do you?

Mildred?

I liked her too. She seemed to play it a little nicer about the whole claiming Nancy as hers thing. Plus I liked how at the trial she defined there being two Nancys... hers and Harriets. That was interesting.

Edna?
At first she seemed fine. Then she got married, moved to Florida, and became super obnoxious. Do you think her husband was after the money and pressuring her? But it kept up after he died. Did she just become paranoid that she was being cheated.

Stratemeyer Syndicate, series books, corrupting our minds

2006-08-31T10:21:00.002-06:00

How do you feel about the way the Stratemeyer Syndicate worked?

It was sort of ingenious, but at the same time, sort of frustrating to have ghost writers, etc. It doesn't seem fair.

How do you feel about series books?

I've read a lot of series books in my day (Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, Fear Street, Harry Potter, etc.) I like the easy, quick readability of ND and SWH, but they seem too easy, like I'm almost not reading at all. I guess I'm more a fan of the shorter series that aren't just forever and ever ongoing.

Pen Names

2006-08-30T16:06:00.000-06:00

I'm frequently (okay, not so much now that I'm not in school exposed to Norton Anthologies left and right), angered by textbooks, etc. that list the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as Samuel Clemens. It can be mentioned in his biographical information that Mark Twain was a pen name, but shouldn't we honor the fact that he didn't want to use his real name, and therefore we shouldn't use it either?

I'm fairly certain that it was with Carolyn Keene that I was introduced to the idea of a pen name. And idea that I fell in love with immediately. What a marvelous idea. I could become a famous writer, but without tooting my own horn. Or the more likely scenario for me, having everyones eyes on me.

It was never a big shock to me that Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene were fake people with fake names. It's even possible that I thought The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were penned by the same person, a man. It did kill them a little bit for me, but I must say, it's sort of an ingenous idea. Especially after reading this book and seeing how long something can stay alive as long as the players do... in this case, a fictional author can go on living forever because who is to say when they die. It's sort of like Family Circle or the Simpsons (did I really use those two examples in the same sentence?) how the characters don't age, so the comic/show can go on and on and on.

What are your thoughts on pen names?

Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon and the whole Stratemeyer Syndicates way of cooking up books and authors, etc?

Opps... I guess I should start with the author...

2006-08-30T15:34:00.000-06:00

Melanie Rehak

Rehak is a poet and a critic whose essays have appeared in the NY Times Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, Real Simple, Vogue, Salon.com, the Nation, the New Yorker, etc.
It appears as though she has a husband/live in boyfriend named Noah Isenberg who put her on that plane to Iowa in the first place and lives with "this writer... with grace, compassion, humor and the enviable good sense of a man who know what really matters," or so the closing paragraph in Acknowledgements says. And according to the dust jacket, she lives in Brooklyn and this is her first book. But a book of poetry is on its way.

In an interview on Harcourt Books website, Rehak describes the three years it took her to write Girl Sleuth starting with a trip to Iowa hoping to come back with "a book in my head" (Acknowledgements). I didn't really find out exactly how she went from being a poet/critic to deciding to write this book about Nancy Drew, that ended up encompassing so much more, other than her own love of Nancy Drew books as a child. But it has been a month or two since I started the book and read the Introduction, so those of you there, refresh our memories about why she wrote this book.

It took her three years to write the book, starting with the trip to Iowa researching Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson. There she discovered clippings Mildred (who towards the end of the book somehow became "Millie") had cut from newspapers/magazines and saved, about the Stratemeyer Syndicate and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. It seems as though she started out to write the biography of Nancy Drew, since she's been around and famous for coming up on 76 and a half years old, but along the way discovered such a great story. The story seems to be about the following, let me know if I've left anything out:

Nancy Drew
the people who created her (Edward Stratemeyer, Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson, and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams)
children's literature (and the publishing world)
American history/pop culture
the Feminist Movement

Every little girl has heard of Nancy Drew

2006-08-30T12:10:00.000-06:00

Okay... let's start this discussion.

I assume that all of us read Nancy Drews growing up? Am I right?
When do you remember reading them? Young, old?
Did your moms read them? I asked my mom. She reminded me that she had almost no books growing up, (how sad!) but that she did read the Bobbsey Twins. I'll have to see if she knew they were connected (both being Syndicate creations) or if they just seem similar.

I think I was still reading Nancy Drews well past the age when it was cool to. But I loved them. And I could read them in a small portion of a day. Not to mention that I just read like six of them last month to prep myself for this book and discussion. For one, my name was Nancy. I prefered being called Nancy Drew growing up if my other option was Nancy Reagan. Sort of amazing, isn't it, that people even knew who Nancy Drew was then, 55 years or so after her creation. Plus I always wanted to be a detective. Maybe that was because of Nancy Drew Mysteries. Or maybe I decided that on my own and liked Nancy Drew because she was a detective. I guess, without hypnosis, I'll never remember. But I've always loved detective shows, watched Murder, She Wrote with my grandma for years. Watch CSI when I can. Loved the board game Clue, and the movie.

Had you read any of the other books in the Stratameyer Syndicate? The Bobbsey Twins or The Hardy Boys, maybe?

I read some Hardy Boys books that were laying around from my brother. And I loved the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boy mysteries that they released every few years. They were my fave. I totally wanted Nancy to dump Ned and hook up with Frank Hardy. I think they even kissed in one... or almost kissed, since it appears as though Nancy was never supposed to kiss anyone. But then again, we grew up reading the books after Harriet died, and by then I'm pretty sure Nancy had had her first kiss.

Happy Happy Belated Birthday to Jazzy!

2006-08-30T08:41:00.000-06:00

Feliz Cumpleanos Jazzy! Hope it was a fab day with lots of frosting, and no forest fires on top of your cake.

Sorry it's a late birthday wish, our modem died and we just got the new one up and running.

Expect Girl Sleuth posts to start tonight (Wednesday) or tomorrow. I have one chapter to go.

Happy Birthday to Cecily.

2006-08-11T10:29:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday to you. ...
And many more.

Glitter explosion at my house thanks to Ella's Art themed bday party. Hope your birthday was much cleaner and full of lots of fun.

Love ya.

A potpourri of questions

2006-08-02T10:47:00.000-06:00

For my final post I am going to just throw out some questions that I had...If you were Hugh would you have taken Jessie back? Do you think Jessie's father did the right thing by committing suicide? How do you maintain a sense of identity in a marriage? How do we maintain vitality in our lives as we get older and settle into routines?
And finally for those of you who have read The Secret Life of Bees, which book do you like better?
Any thoughts...?

A Solitude of Being

2006-08-02T10:17:00.000-06:00

One part of the book that I really liked was the discussion when Whit talks about his decision to become a monk. He says,"...what I needed was somehow to be alone with myself, in a spiritual way...Around here they call it a solitude of being." I really identified with that idea of being alone with yourself spiritually. The older I get the more I feel the need to be alone with myself. I know it sounds weird, but my favorite thing to do lately is close the door to my room and just be by myself. I have never liked being alone before, and actually up until a few months ago, I have always had a room roommate. Now I crave peace and quiet. I want to be alone with my thoughts. Can anyone else relate?

True Love

2006-08-02T10:02:00.000-06:00

Jessie says of her first meeting Whit, "Later I would revisit that encounter again and again. I would tell myself that when I met him, all the dark little wicks in the cells of my body lifted up in the knowledge that here he was--the one you wait for, but I don't know if that was really true, or if I only came to believe that it was." Do you think that love really happens this way? One of my favorite stories is how Brandon met Nancy in primary and went home and told his mom he met the girl he was going to marry...can you love someone instantaneously or does it sneak up on you sometimes. Probably it is both.
Benne later says that Jessie is meant to be with Whit. So who is her true love? It ends up being Hugh in the end, but do you think Jessie really was destined to have an affair with a Byzantine monk? Do you think she could have breathed life back into her marriage by other means besides committing adultery? Are people destined to commit sins to attain some sort of enlightened knowledge? Sorry to bombard with questions.

Common issues

2006-08-02T09:52:00.000-06:00

Despite the cheesiness, I think there were some issues dealt with in the book that are common to us all. These issues raised a few questions in my mind about how I feel about certain things. For instance, the theme of guilt. Obviously Jessie's mother had serious issues with guilt about helping her husband kill himself. This obsession with sin led her to chop off her fingers as some sort of form of pennance or punishment. Do you think that we let ourselves become overwrought with guilt sometimes until it leads to self-destruction? What part does guilt play in religion and is it taken to far? Where do you draw the line between beating yourself up and letting it lead you to reconciliation?

Mermaid Chair Begins

2006-08-02T09:36:00.000-06:00

Ok so I've been putting this off because a) I've never led a book discussion and I don't really know how b) Its been many weeks since I read the book and I now realize I should have taken notes and c) I procrastinate everything in life. But I can procrastinate no longer, so let the cheesiness begin...
Ok so my first question is how did everyone react to the book? I think its pretty apparent that its not my favorite book, but overall I thought it was a good read. I thought it was fairly predictable, a little unbelievable in parts, and full of cliches (i.e. the point when she tells Whit that she is crying because she is so happy when they are making love. I almost threw it across the room at that point). I'm not sure if Sue Monk Kidd meant for it to be a life-changing book for middle-aged women or just a good story that reads quickly. If it was meant to be the latter, than I think she did a good job.
What do you all think? I'm really interested to hear your responses...

September Book Pick

2006-08-01T11:19:00.000-06:00

So I've decided that our September book should be A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. It's a young adult novel (it's been a while since we dove into one of those again...) about a group of girls at Spence Academy in London during the 1800's, with a little supernaturalness thrown in for good measure. There is already a sequel called Rebel Angels, so don't get confused! Happy reading!

August's Book Pick

2006-07-13T12:37:00.000-06:00

Okay... I've only read the introduction of this book, but it seems like it would be a fun and informative book to read. And I assume that since we are all girls, and we all like reading, that we all read Nancy Drew books like crazy growing up. So my pick for August's book is:
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the women who created her by Melanie Rehak.

I also thought since Nancy Drew books are such short, easy reads, maybe each of us could try to read a Nancy Drew mystery as well. I just grabbed two from the library. One that was originally published in 1948, Nancy Drew: The Ghost of Blackwood Hall and the other, published in 1987, Nancy Drew: The Double Horror of Fenley Place. I'm going to Topeka tomorrow, so I'll check out their library to see if I can find any of the books that are newer than our generation... the ones published in the 90s and 2000s.

It's $15.75 at www.amazon.com or $5.25 used (and the shipping is usually pretty cheap as well). Also check www.half.com.

Finally....

2006-06-29T20:01:00.000-06:00

This novel has so many thoughts and ideas and emotions that I can barely touch them all. I bought a copy so I could highlite and mark the poignant statements and views of Ruth Harkness. I had a sense of sadness at the end for Ruth and her lack of ever truly grieving for her husband. So, I guess I'm commenting on the loss and grief factor that's in the book, but leaving it, and anything else, open to discussion.

Also, I know people have many different views and opinions in regards to animals (annoying, loving, outside only, okay to pet, dangerous, pain in the neck, etc.). I have the view that they can change a person's life, one can be emotionally connected to them and they have personalities of their own. A passage that about broke my heart when I read it, but helped me realize how close to Su-Lin Ruth had become, and how she really did need to grieve for her husband was the following:

"Harkness was all smiles about giving Su-Lin to the Chicago zoo, but since the morning she had found her, Baby had hardly been out of her sight. Now he would be gone for good. That night, alone in her room, she woke sobbing. Tellingly, she wrote, 'but for whom or what, I do not know.' She may never have been able to properly express her despair over Bill's death in her writing, but here was a glimpse of her pain. Su-Lin was Bill, his cause the life the young couple should have had, the children they would never have. When she gave the animal away, all the other sorrows were laid bare."

Comment as you will; thanks for making this book a success! :)

A Place of "Certain Peace"

2006-06-29T19:52:00.000-06:00

For Ruth, China represented a place of certain peace. She felt calm and happy there, had a sense of identity while she was amongst the Asian people. Do we have a place where we find our 'certain peace'? A place of utmost happiness? For me, my place of peace is usually the ocean/beach. Being near the ocean is very calming and soothing to me, and really brings me closer to my spiritual beliefs and to my father. That's my first place, but since I rarely get to an ocean, living in Utah and all, my second place is my friend's home (a.k.a. Pemberly). It has so many memories that are wonderful and happy, and holds the closest thing I'll have to nieces and nephews. Whenver I'm troubled or upset, I just have to go to her home and I immediately relax and feel calm.

Search for "Something"

2006-06-29T19:35:00.000-06:00

Searching for a panda was Ruth's main goal, but she was also searching for "something" else. In the beginnning, she stated "I am looking for something.... searching for 'the way', but not in a strict religious sense. I have discovered this much at least--that as long as one is 'earthbound' by the desire for possesions and also by people, one will never get anywhere. I am convinced that the human mind is capable of anything-absolutely anything. But to achieve something, a person much arrive at a definite spiritual basis of thought" (pg. 69). Ruth felt that going to China was less of a decision and more of a command, that she felt so much like home there it was like a rebirth. However, near the end, after she had found the panda, and then gone back, and had the trauma of trying to keep the second one alive, Ruth forgets who she is and what she is looking for. She doesn't know what she wants, nor what she should become now that she's finished "searching the panda". She feels very alone, and as we know, ends up dying alone.

Do we have a continual search for something, or are we satisified with the initial search, and then move on to another? There are numerous days I wonder what I've accomplished, and what I'm still looking for. Are we ever 100% content with what we have, and who we are? There are numerous days I think "if I only had a spouse and children to evolve with, my search for happiness would end b/c I'd be happy". However, I know it's not the end all to everything and that I will have bad days, which I'm sure Jazzy and Nancy can attest to.

Ruth was surrounded by friends in the beginning of her search, but when she returned to New York, she was penniless and alone. Her new search, or her new vice rather, was alcohol, which ended up destroying her. My current vice, which may destroy the waistband in my pants, and my weigh in with Weight Watchers, is Twizzlers, just so you know. :)
This may be a rambling post, too many ideas probably, but I'm new at this :)

Ruth Harkness

2006-06-29T19:24:00.000-06:00

This book has so many themes and variances of themes, a few of which will be discussed in another post, but Ruth Harkness alone must be looked at. I can only imagine what type of woman Ruth was. To be a socialite in the 30's, in New York, a dress designer, probably only reads VOGUE, to have only been married for six weeks before her husband leaves to go on an adventure for who knows how long, and then to pick up where he left off (which was pretty much at the very beginning), is amazing. Would she be someone you would want to know? Would you have felt comfortable hanging out in her circles in New York?

I loved that when she was in China, in the middle of a mountain somewhere, she still found time to socialize and party with the local people. She held her head high, even when people mocked her and told her it wasn't possible, and accomplished what no one else could. She makes the comment that the first baby, Su-Lin, survived, not despite the fact she was a woman, but BECAUSE she was a woman! This novel made me want to go accomplish something great and wonderful (Power to the People, a.k.a. WOMEN!).

Another wonderful attribute was her ability to take the high road. Smith was continually down playing her role in capturing Su-Lin, and his wife was just as bad, but Ruth didn't fight back, at least in the beginning ("She had to be tough-minded and pragmatic, particularly where Smith was concerned" pg. 43). She mainly focused on her ability to get Su-Lin to America safe, to keep her alive, and then to go back and bring her a sibling/mate. As I read about Smith and his tactics to slander Ruth's name, and how he ended up killing numerous pandas b/c of his stupidity, it made me think how I would have acted. Could I have been such a noble person and kept moving forward? Everyone who knows me knows that I pretty much say what's on my mind, and I don't think I would have been able to sit by and take what he did. I really wouldn't put up with his continual killing of pandas; Jazzy knows I'm a complete animal lover and I probably would have hunted him down and kicked his butt!

The Lady & The Panda - Author

2006-06-29T19:10:00.000-06:00

Vicki Constantine Croke has been covering animals for more than 20 years! So, obviously it makes sense for her to write a biography on someone who brought back the first baby panda to America, AND for that someone to be a lady! Her website has a bit of info, but it seems relatively new, probably due to the fact that she's now really famous from this book (www.vickicroke.com). When I was a child, I would have loved to have been Ms. Croke, being able to watch and observe animals and get paid to do it! I really liked, and appreciated, the fact that she went back to China, with descendants of Ruth Harkness and her friends to place her ashes where they rightfully belonged. Kudos to this lady for trekkin' up who knows how high and experiencing the beauty of the area. Plus, how great would it be to be in the wild and see wild pandas living free? Okay, so this is somewhat of an author post, but also a bit of rambling. :)

Book Girls

New Format

January/February Book

Other reading ideas

January Book Picks (from Cecily)

Date for Galileo's Daughter

Reading Status

Blog Background

Upcoming Events

Family

Book for September

Overall

Compassion

Love in the Romantic Sense

Memory

Math and Math & Baseball

Names

The House Keeper and the Professor: the author and the movie

Let the Discussion Begin

Twilight Tidbit

New to the Group

The Housekeeper and the Professor

A Fresh Start

Gorgeous new layout, now.....

Bella and Edward

Kate's Thoughts

Nancy's Random Thoughts on The Host

Getting the Ball Rolling...The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Belated Birthdays!

Stargirl and Love, Stargirl

Congratulations to the beautiful bride!

happy birthday to kate!

Business

Happy Birthday Joanna!

New Louise Book

Hey Ladies

Have a Jazzy Birthday!

I'm Blogging Again...Yea!

Happy Birthday to Cecily.

The Plot

The Writing

Jack Spratt and the rest of the cast

The Big Over Easy

Jasper Fforde

Overall Opinion?

Charity

Safety = ?

Friendships

Crossing to Safety

Coming Soon.... Crossing!

June's Book

Overall Overview

Characters

Plot

The title

Notes on a Near-Life Experience

Olivia Birdsall

appyHay irthdayBay

Spring Cleaning: second try

Bel Canto

Bel Canto

Bel Canto

Bel Canto

The Thin Place

The Thin Place

The Thin Place

Happy Ides of March Birthday to Kate.

Heaven

Miracle Max Dad

Redeeming Points

Apologies

Fabulous Christmas Cards

Shout out to Jo on her bday.

The Realms

Young Love

Definition of Friendship

About Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty Chat is Finally On!

Blasted Trilogies

Dog earred pages