lit*chick

Black History Month: Children's Lit

Reading this post at Maw Books Blog reminded me that there is no better way to learn something new than starting with a well done children's book. So here are some old and new favorites that would be wonderful additions to your Black History Month reading list:

1. We are the Ship: The Story of the Negro Leagues by Kadir Nelson - one of our faves. Illustrations are amazing.  Each story long enough that you learn a lot, short enough for 2nd grade reading.

2. Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy US Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, R. Gregory Christie (illus) - we read this aloud on a longish car trip.Very well done.

3.   Sojourner Truth's Step Stomp Stride by Andrea Pickney, illus.Brian Pickney

4.  Testing the Ice: A True Story about Jackie Robinson by Sharon Robinson illus. Kadir Nelson

5. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Pickney, illus. Brian Pickney- so new I haven't had time to find it and read it. But I'm going to...

6. Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange, illus. Kadir Nelson

7. Jazz on a Saturday Night by Leo and Diane Dillon

8. Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane by Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls

9. Free at Last! Stories and Songs of Emancipation by Doreen Rappaport and Shane W. Evans

10. A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by Aliki

11.  The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with 21 Activities - this speaks to my inner homeschooler. I'm sure as with most activity books it is hit or miss, but it may inspire bigger, better plans.

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The Believers by Zoe Heller

   The Believers by Zoe Heller, 335 pages.

Summary from the back cover:

When a stroke fells radical New York lawyer Joel Litvinoff, a secret is revealed that forced Audrey, his wife, to reexamine everything she believed about their forty-year marriage. In the meantime Joel's children are struggling with their own dilemmas and doubts. 

The Litvinoffs add a whole new dimension to the word dysfunction.  And Heller does a fabulous job of making them recognizable while still laying bare their ugliness, hypocrisy, and weaknesses.  It would be easy to stereotype this crew with their liberal ideology and turn them into wackos, but Heller's ability turns this story into something smart and entertaining.

I can't talk about The Believers without mentioning the mother Audrey, who gives Mommie Dearest a run for her money. She is just plain mean and hopelessly self centered.  While her interactions with family and friends are definitely cringe-worthy, Audrey remains true to herself and I admire Heller for keeping her irredeemable. Her daughters are struggling - having grown up in a household rooted in extreme ideology but without any real core, they don't know how to find their way in the world.  Her adopted son continues to get a free pass from responsibility, looking to manipulate every situation.

On Audrey as a mother:

    In the years since then, Audrey's attachment to Lenny had been a frequent source of tension in their marriage. Joel, for all his talk of communal childbearing and tribes, deeply resented the idea that Lenny should have succeeded in evoking Audrey's passion where her "real" children had failed. "Karla and Rosa are your flesh and blood," he would chide her. But these appeals to sanguine loyalty missed the point, she felt. If anything, the fact that Lenny was not hers made it easier to love him. As the coauthor of Karla and Rosa, she could not help but look upon them with the dissatisfied eye of an artist assessing her own flawed handiwork. Lenny, on the other hand, as an unsolicited donation: she was free to enjoy the gift of him without any burden of genetic responsibility for his imperfections. She had chosen to love him. The disparity in her feelings toward her daughters and her son was regrettable, but it was not something that was in her gift to correct. (pg. 148)

Heller has an obvious gift for creating unlikeable characters without apology. The darkly comedic tone had me chuckling while shaking my head - Audrey, in particular, is so awful that there is no other remedy except to laugh.  The author's talent lies in striking this perfect balance of disapproval and curiosity. Similar to coming upon a traffic accident - you have no idea who is at fault, but you know it is  a hot mess and you can't help but look twice.

This is the first Heller novel I've read, but I will be seeking out her other novels - Everything You Know and What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal

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Many thanks to TLC Book Tours for providing me a copy to read and review.

Here are the other tour stops:

Tuesday, January 19, 2010: Lit and Life

Tuesday, January 26, 2010: Raging Bibliomania

Wednesday, January 27, 2010: Steph and Tony Investigate!

Thursday, January 28, 2010: Life in the Thumb

Thursday, February 11, 2010: The Brain Lair

Monday, February 15, 2010: Book Club Classics!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010: Sasha and the Silverfish

Thursday, February 18, 2010: Nonsuch Book

*my apologies to the author, i'm umlaut challenged - if anyone knows how to add one, i'll be happy to edit :)

Let the Games Begin: 2010 Winter Olympics

I love love love the Olympics. There is something fascinating and inspiring about watching commitment and determination on a grand scale.  In order to market these games, I'm sure extreme sports will be in the spotlight although I find it a little anti-climactic since the X games were just on.  I hope there is better coverage of sports we rarely (if ever) get to watch in the States like curling, biathlon, bobsled/luge/skeleton, and my favorite - skiing. Regardless of the programming, I will be tuned in - how about you?

And it's not too late to grab some books....

The Winter Olympics: An Insider's Guide to the Legends, Lore and Events of the Games Vancouver Edition by Ron C. Judd

The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition by David Wallechinsky and Jaime Loucky

also for kids:

olympic crafts @ kaboose

this nifty site - kathi mitchell

and my favorite downloadable worksheet site - enchanted learning

official website:  http://www.vancouver2010.com

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10 on Tuesday: Blizzard Booklist

Looks like we're in for an entire week of togetherness - school is officially closed! The revised game plan around here is shoveling, eating, laundry, dishes, and reading.   Here are some of the books in my stack:

1.  Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann - I'm about halfway through this and really like it. I have no idea where it's going and it is wonderful. It's slow going only because it's on my Kindle which lives in my purse, so I only read it while waiting in the car line or for an appointment.

2.   The Believers by Zoe Heller - started this one for a TLC Book Tour review next week. It's next to my bed, so I should finish pretty quickly.

3.  Knives at Dawn: America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d'Or Competition by Andrew Friedman - picked it up at the library, many weeks ago. My current foodie book - I've read the intro, it looks to be a good one.

4.  Flygirl by Sherri Smith - Had this in the stacks for a while now, have seen good things about it and it's short :)

5.  City of Refuge by Tom Piazza - Will hopefully finish before next week's That's How I Blog radio show.  It looks really good - again this is on the Kindle. I'd better recharge it in case we  lose electricity.

6. The Wonder House by Justine Hardy - about halfway through this one too. About a Muslim family living in Indian ruled Kashmir

7.  Corked by Kathryn Borel - a memoir about a father/daughter wine tasting trip to France

8.    The Yellow Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee - I have wanted to read this memoir of a bookstore owner forever it seems and I got it for my birthday. As soon as I clear out a couple of others, this is next.

9.  Poem in Your Pocket: 200 Poems to Read and Carry - a lovely package came this week and contained this book. Poetry is such a nice gift and it's so hard to buy for yourself. I can't wait to dig in.

10.  The ESV Bible  - I'm doing a read the Bible in a year plan. I like this one because it moves around a bit and I won't get stuck in Leviticus (here's hoping). Here's the link: http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf

What are you reading?

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I am an Amazon affiliate. If you purchase anything through the links on this post, I receive a few pennies to buy more books.

Dream House by Valerie Laken

   Dream House by Valerie Laken, 333 pages.

Kate and Stuart Kinzler buy a house with a past and set about renovating it with the hope that it will also fix their marriage. When they discover their home was the setting for a horrible crime, their already troubled marriage breaks apart.  As Kate continues working on the house alone, she notices a stranger hanging around her street. Walker was recently released from prison and has returned to the scene of the crime, his former home. What happens when Kate's dreams and Walker's dreams collide?

From the creepy crime scene prologue to the tension filled final chapters, this book had me hooked. Not a thriller in the traditional sense, author Valerie Laken manages to build suspense in the delicate framework of this story.  Both Kate and Walker have placed their hopes and their souls into this structure but in different ways. Kate has been a bit of a disappointment to her family and has a hard time connecting to people, including her husband. But she falls in love with this house and the idea that fixing it will right all her wrongs. Likewise, Walker's life was essentially stalled on Macon Street 20 years ago. What is his motivation for returning?

As a reader, you know just enough about each character to start becoming familiar but you remain aware they have secrets - the mystery isn't propelling the story,  yet still adds to the suspense. I love how this book unraveled slowly, all the while I couldn't shake the feeling something big was going to happen. Nothing sudden, just deliberate revelations that add to the intensity until the unexpected resolution. I also appreciated the way it captured how broken people seek to mend, even if the means are flawed or painful. I particularly enjoy books that portray the truth of human nature and this is one of them.

There is a lot to talk about here - I think it would make an excellent book club pick.

Author website : www.valerielaken.com - lots of good stuff here, but I especially liked the story behind the book

Thanks to Trish and Lisa at TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review. Here are the other sites included on this blog tour:

Monday, February 1st: Stephanie’s Written Word

Thursday, February 4th: One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books

Wednesday, February 10th: I’m Booking It

Monday, February 15th: Devourer of Books

Wednesday, February 17th: Educating Petunia

Thursday, February 18th: Dolce Bellezza

Monday, February 22nd: Wordsmithonia

Wednesday, February 24th: The Book Zombie

Thursday, February 25th: All About {n}

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Snow My Goodness

We measured 32 inches of white stuff. We are in one of those pockets that took some excess over the excess. It took the hubs 4 hours to shovel our lil driveway (one car deep).

Evie hasn't gone out because she is still fighting an icky cold. The boys made tunnels and igloos - it isn't very good sledding, yet. Although efforts were made to create a luge course, it proved too tiring for the wee lads.

This storm has bought me another week of house staging. And that is good news, my friends. And of course, I'm getting a fair amount of reading done too.

Here are some pics from the weekend:

dudes, driveway, drifts

our street - path made with snowblower

shortly after this picture was taken, her lower body became stuck under the couch :)

Do you have snow too? Do tell.

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They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer

They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer, 336 pages.

Silas Kane's sixtieth birthday party is marred by argument and dissension amongst his family, and then the next morning, Kane is found dead. The coroner's verdict of death by misadventure would seem to confirm that Silas accidentally lost his way in the fog. But then his heir is shot, and threats are made against the next in line to inherit his fortune. The redoubtable Superintendent Hannasyde is called in to investigate. All clues point to an apparently innocuous eighty-year-old woman, but as the Inspector delves further into the case, he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems...

This is my 2nd Heyer mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It moved faster for me than the first, but that could be because I'm getting accustomed to Heyer's wordy style.  The story here doesn't seem as involved as No Wind of Blame and the characters not quite as quirky and sarcastic. But there is a great deal of action with two mysterious deaths, a boating accident, and a teenage character obsessed with American crime films. One of the things I particularly enjoy about the Heyer mysteries is the blase' attitude of the characters towards death.  They treat the news like a game and spend little time in mourning and a lot of time speculating which adds to the humor.

I still haven't read any of Heyer's Regency Romance novels, but am becoming more open to trying one out. If you have experience with her other books, leave me a comment and tell me more.

Many thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for providing the Heyer titles.

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Here is a cool site for Heyer fans:  www.georgette-heyer.com

That's How I Blog

In case you missed it- the link to the Blog Talk Radio show That's How I Blog is in the sidebar. You can hear for yourself my raspy, giggly, can't stop with the ums attempt to discuss books um blogging um and more books. It was a lot of fun - thanks so much Nicole! 

And thanks to everyone in the chat room last night. I didn't realize I had access to it until after the show was over. I wish I'd known in time to participate in that part. Remember how I said I'm techno challenged?  It's a wonder I am able to have any online presence at all.

Back tomorrow with a review...

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Ten on Tuesday: On the Move

1. My father-in-law is on a 42 day cruise - aboard a container ship - to the Mediterranean. We refer to it as The Love Boat. There is a nifty website we can check to see Where in the World is Grandpa. Pirates beware - he will throw his Kindle at you.

2. Evie is trying to crawl, right now she looks like she is breakdancing. And she is moving backwards. Forward progress can't be far off. Have mercy.

3. And, drum roll..... we are moving. Again. House no. 4 and we aren't military.

4. Locally- meaning still in the DC metro area. Closer to school. Closer to husband's job. Closer to having a smaller mortgage.

5. There is a long story here for another day. But while I'm kinda excited, I'm really really sad to leave this house. We have a great house with great neighbors, we are settled in here in many ways. But looking ahead at another 20 years of private school tuition (and college) for 4 children is forcing us to rethink our lifestyle (which apart from our mortgage is pretty modest, but there's always room to cut, no?). 

6. Where are we going? Well, we don't EXACTLY know. I do know our next home will be significantly smaller. Yes, I realize our family is getting bigger - thanks for pointing that out. We'll be purging some items, none of those items will be children.

7. I have been in the throes of home staging for the last couple of weeks. Which would be no problem if I didn't have the daily debris - dishes, laundry, general picking up, papers galore. Every room is 80 percent ready. The other 20 percent is in total upheaval.

8. One thing is for certain...I cannot move until I pick my new paint colors. It's both an oddity and a knack - I'm a color scheme fiend. The swatches are painted. The colors are picked. The choices - well, you're going to have to wait along with my family.

9. I am definitely going to make one of these very soon (like when the house is clean), thanks to Elise for another brilliant mini book idea. If you require a shortcut (and I might) she sells mini book kits in her etsy shop.

10. Snow is coming. We'll be hunkered down here. There is plenty to do indoors.

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Reminder: That's How I Blog Interview Tomorrow

If you would kindly tune into my interview and 20 Minute Book Club with Nicole tomorrow night at 9pm I'd be much obliged.

We are discussing The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. Here's the show link:  That's How I Blog on Blog Talk Radio.

If you have questions for me...email Nicole or call in. :)

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