Sunday, June 30, 2013

Pay What You Wish for this Sacred Title

It seems perfectly fitting that the author of Sacred Economics leaves it up to you to fill out the book's price tag.

You can read it online here.  Fair warning: you might learn something. Enjoy!

The author, Charles Eisenstein, offers more insight into his theories at sacred-economics.com.



Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Who Would Give a Queen a Sloth?

Who would give the queen a sloth, and what's up with the Dustin Hoffman cameo? I almost didn't find out.

As you can see, my dog nearly ate The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart.

All right - the truth is that while "my dog ate it" would be a convenient, acceptable, and almost-true excuse for not finishing the novel, I can't blame the dog. I just took for-ev-er to read it.

Pace More Tortoise Than Hare

Why did it take me forever to read?  Well, it isn't exactly a page-turner. The action unfolds with about the same aplomb as a towel unfolds. No flash, no magic, no special effects. Still, I knew I had to finish it - any book that uses the word hirsute in its first fifty pages deserves that much - and Stuart's story is sweet. I suppose the reason I finished it, slowly, is because I couldn't help but like her almost-too-human characters. They're a miserable lot, but each one is charmingly full of quirks.

Quirky, Sad Characters

Shortly after I'd stumbled over hirsute, I found the Rev. Septimus "lost in the silent ecstasy of wearing new socks." I rest my case.

See, while I truly liked The Tower's crew, I could only spend so much time with them in one sitting.  Frankly, I found their company rather depressing. Even the animals.

It's not really my style to describe a book's plot - scads of other reviewers do that - but in case you don't know, the "zoo" in the title refers to the menagerie of animals that the Royal family received as gifts from heads of state and other Very Important People around the world.

Theme of Loss

In the end, I finally got it - the theme of the book, that is - I think.

I think it's about loss, and more specifically, about moving on after loss. Oh, I suppose the fact that main character Hebe Jones worked at the London Underground's Department of Lost Things might have been a clue, and that a whole plotline revolved around the issue of returning a lost urn might have been another, but look, give me a break. I have Stage III FTGO,* after all.

If you get to the end of this book - and I recommend it, really I do - you're going to need a tissue, but don't worry, it'll be a cathartic cry. Oh, and just for fun you'll be rewarded with a bizarre appearance by Dustin Hoffman. (Stuart could go on the lecture circuit just to explain how she came up with that.)

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go buy a new chew toy for my dog, and look for a happier cast of characters.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*Failure To Grasp the Obvious. I'm sure the DSM will get around to including it one of these days...


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The Language of Flowers Pleasing, Almost Too Sweet

Vanessa Diffenbaugh's first full-length novel isn't perfect - most readers will anticipate plot twists well before they've reached the turn - but it's more than an admirable start; and I dare say it's worth your time.

Like a lot of first works, the first half is more artful than the second. Then again, a slower pace in the beginning, when Diffenbaugh shares the story in dollops - a fistful of flowers here, a sniff of the past there - serves the reader fairly well. In the beginning, she draws her characters carefully, petal by petal. So as the plot builds and life is uprooted (once again) for Victoria Jones, recently emancipated ward of the state, readers have been prepped to accept her choices and actions.

Still, certain characters and events are just a little too unbelievably good. (Single and pregnant? No worries - your boss and landlord's mom is a midwife!) But I'm not here to judge; after all, suspension of disbelief just might be the key to happiness.


Besides, the author is not only talented (please, Ms. Diffenbaugh, keep writing!) her heart is clearly in the right place. The Camellia Network, which helps children as they age-out of foster care, has received a big boost thanks to Diffenbaugh and her readers.

While The Language of Flowers: A Novel is popular with book clubs (it was a NYT bestseller, after all) and I think it's an obvious choice for mothers and daughters who like to read and discuss titles together, I also recommend it for YA readers.

Why for YA?  I'll admit it's not "ideal" for that audience, but - well, what is? (My high school daughter's required reading this summer includes The Catcher in the Rye and The Color Purple - so don't pretend we should avoid adult themes, ok?)

What have you read lately? 
Let me know; especially if you'd like to blog about it!

~Diane Stresing

Monday, June 17, 2013

The Invention of Wings - coming soon!

If Sue Monk Kidd's Secret Life of Bees or The Mermaid Chair is on your to-read list, you're officially on notice: you've got six months until her next (sure to be a bestseller) novel is published.

This one  definitely lands on my what2read list.

Ahem. Now, if you'll excuse me please ... I have a couple of books to read!

BTW and obviously, I learned this good news on Twitter, where you'll find my reviews are much shorter.
< Didja know Kidd (and her kid) wrote a memoir? Traveling with Pomegranates, not surprisingly, explores mother-daughter relationships.  



Friday, June 14, 2013

New Core Standards: What Will Get Left Behind?

I like the reading list I see coming out of the new core standards, but wonder what will get left behind? Will students get hooked on reading and take it upon themselves to seek out great new voices in fiction, and non-fiction?

I'm excited to see many of the additions and changes to the list, including Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake on tap for 11th graders. (Now I'd better hurry up and read it myself!)

But not everyone is pleased.

While I've never quite "gotten" poetry, it's strewn liberally throughout the curriculum. Perhaps we'll see a new generation of more thoughtful communicators. I can dream, right?

What do you think of the new standards, dear readers?

Monday, June 10, 2013

When I Wish Life Mimicked Art: Edward Snowden, Grow a Conscience

Edward Snowden did nothing wrong. What?! What balls. They're in the wrong place, but that's courage for ya. I happen to think Mr. Snowden did plenty wrong. But that's just my own twist on "right" and "wrong."
Update: 6/16/13
Much better reactions - far less 
knee-jerk than mine - can be 
found in NYT columns by 

I grew up thinking that if you're so unhappy about your employer's policies, you don't take it upon yourself to trash the place. You quit, with honor. Fortunately one of the best movies of all time was playing in our living room last night, before I read all about the latest idiot celebrity (thank you, USA Today). Here's what Michael Ohr's character had to say about the difference between courage and honor:

Michael Oher, in The Blind Side (IMDB.com):   Courage is a hard thing to figure. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or mistake, but you're not supposed to question adults, or your coach or your teacher, because they make the rules. Maybe they know best, but maybe they don't. It all depends on who you are, where you come from. Didn't at least one of the six hundred guys think about giving up, and joining with the other side? I mean, valley of death that's pretty salty stuff. That's why courage it's tricky. Should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you're doing something. I mean any fool can have courage. But honor, that's the real reason for you either do something or you don't. It's who you are and maybe who you want to be. If you die trying for something important, then you have both honor and courage, and that's pretty good. I think that's what the writer was saying, that you should hope for courage and try for honor. And maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some, too.

In case you're holed up in your Hong Kong hotel room with nothing to read, Mr. Snowden, I recommend the book.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Zoinks - my must-read list is growing

Maybe my friends are getting pushier, or they're better at pitching good reasons to read the books they've just finished. Or they're just trying to see if they can push me over the edge with all their "you've gotta read this!" hyperbole. Whatever.

(Note to friends: I'm really close to the edge, but you probably already knew that.)

Now that I've just finished The Fault in our Stars other titles nearing the top of my to-read pile include Unbroken and The Language of Flowers.

Very recently added to my must-read list:

Gone Girl




The Last Runaway


 and Life after Life
  

What about you? Who's pushing you to read, and what? Let me know...'cus if you

write a blog post for me

then maybe I'll have time to grab a book  :D

#guestblog, anyone?