I've been on something of a kick reading about adolescent girls, Hold Me Close, Let Me Go (by Adair Lara) being the latest. Of the pile I've read so far, it's been the least illuminating but most personal. I found it disappointing, in that I had hoped for a whole book along the lines of Lara's wonderfully clarifying essay referred to in most reprints I've seen as The Cat Years.)
Reviving Ophelia surprised me the most - I didn't want to read it, rather, I thought I should. I had dismissed Mary Pipher's book as "just" the seminal diatribe on adolescent girls and eating disorders, when it is quite a bit more than that, and much more palatable than Queen Bees and Wannabees. (Which scared and scarred me, I'm telling you.)
As the admittedly anxious and confused mother of a teenager, I'm still open to suggestions for reading materials that might make the next few years of my life a little saner and a little safer for us all...
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Golf is Bad 4 U, Fixing the Root of the Problem, and Other Interesting Topics
Alas, a new year dawned on my old pile of magazines, finding it nearly as deep as ever. I'm still wading through...and I've learned:
Golfing can make you deaf. (Discover Magazine January 2009)
The hottest treatment for heart attacks is hypothermia. (This link to NYT article dated December 4, 2008; a longer article in Popular Science is quite good.)
The stem cell answer may lie within. (Discover Magazine January 2009) ...
...and I have too many $#%& magazines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Golfing can make you deaf. (Discover Magazine January 2009)
The hottest treatment for heart attacks is hypothermia. (This link to NYT article dated December 4, 2008; a longer article in Popular Science is quite good.)
The stem cell answer may lie within. (Discover Magazine January 2009) ...
...and I have too many $#%& magazines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Words are Cheap, Laughter is Free
Recently I wrote about what fun my son and I had just hanging out the library. I didn't mention the oodles of hand puppets, games, puzzles, and friends we enjoyed there, nor did I mention that we went to the library that day to sign up for one of its many upcoming programs for children. I didn't mention it because I think we all know: libraries are fun. They're also a great source of free entertainment, and I'm talking about more than just being able to borrow a bazillion books, for nuthin.'
But as we enjoyed several of Doris Cronin's books (Click, Clack, Moo; Diary of A Worm) it occurred to me - she's one of those authors whose books all but guarantee belly laughs. Great big guffaws, even. We laughed so loud I was afraid we might be asked to leave :-0
What authors do that for you? Let me know!
But as we enjoyed several of Doris Cronin's books (Click, Clack, Moo; Diary of A Worm) it occurred to me - she's one of those authors whose books all but guarantee belly laughs. Great big guffaws, even. We laughed so loud I was afraid we might be asked to leave :-0
What authors do that for you? Let me know!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
We're Reading More! So, What?
The New York Times reports that we're reading more books - and specifically, fiction.
When I saw the headline, I thought, well, there's one benefit of this economic disaster. But the experts who comment on the National Endowment for the Arts' annual report don't go there...instead, their scholarly opinions seem to be, who knows what that means?
They're probably right. The increase, the first seen in 25 years, is just one increase. According to the report, conducted by the US Census Bureau, just over 50% of adults surveyed said they had read at least one novel, short story, poem, or play in the previous 12 months. In 1992, nearly 57% answered "yes" to the same question.
I'm not going to second-guess the experts; I can only hope that means we're not as dumb as we've been told.
I will hazard a guess (and hope!) that we'll find ourselves spending more time in libraries. My son and I read and played away two hours at our local library last weekend, and we had a blast - for free. :)
When I saw the headline, I thought, well, there's one benefit of this economic disaster. But the experts who comment on the National Endowment for the Arts' annual report don't go there...instead, their scholarly opinions seem to be, who knows what that means?
They're probably right. The increase, the first seen in 25 years, is just one increase. According to the report, conducted by the US Census Bureau, just over 50% of adults surveyed said they had read at least one novel, short story, poem, or play in the previous 12 months. In 1992, nearly 57% answered "yes" to the same question.
I'm not going to second-guess the experts; I can only hope that means we're not as dumb as we've been told.
I will hazard a guess (and hope!) that we'll find ourselves spending more time in libraries. My son and I read and played away two hours at our local library last weekend, and we had a blast - for free. :)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Three Cups of Tea For Me
Greg Mortenson is the kind of guy that makes me feel really shallow.
After a couple of decades climbing (real mountains) and a short stint in the US Army, he became an ER nurse - you know, saving people's lives and all that jazz. Then he dedicated his life to building schools in Pakistan. He's still at it, and there are nearly 60 schools to show for it. The schools aren't a true measure of success, of course. The lives the students and their families can lead thanks to what they learn in those schools, now that's success. And joy. And possibly, a road to peace. Certainly, it's a start.
To learn more about the Central Asia Institute that Mortenson founded and the good deeds being done, visit the CAI's website.
If you haven't read Three Cups of Tea, I really think you should. Why should I be the only one getting an inferiority complex?
I'm reading the "grownup" version, and it's not taxing my brain :) but just to let you know, there's also a Young Adult edition and the essential story is soon-to-be-available in picture book format, too, under the title Listen to the Wind. Buy 'em through the link on the Three Cups of Tea website and Amazon makes a donation to the institute. Nice.
After a couple of decades climbing (real mountains) and a short stint in the US Army, he became an ER nurse - you know, saving people's lives and all that jazz. Then he dedicated his life to building schools in Pakistan. He's still at it, and there are nearly 60 schools to show for it. The schools aren't a true measure of success, of course. The lives the students and their families can lead thanks to what they learn in those schools, now that's success. And joy. And possibly, a road to peace. Certainly, it's a start.
To learn more about the Central Asia Institute that Mortenson founded and the good deeds being done, visit the CAI's website.
If you haven't read Three Cups of Tea, I really think you should. Why should I be the only one getting an inferiority complex?
I'm reading the "grownup" version, and it's not taxing my brain :) but just to let you know, there's also a Young Adult edition and the essential story is soon-to-be-available in picture book format, too, under the title Listen to the Wind. Buy 'em through the link on the Three Cups of Tea website and Amazon makes a donation to the institute. Nice.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sunrise Over Fallujah = War Lite
Walter Dean Myers' Sunrise Over Fallujah describes the war in Iraq from a soldier's point of view, with a minimal amount of killing and "misting." (Explanation not for the faint of heart, or queasy of stomach.)
The 280+ page book bears a copyright date of 2008, and although the book is timely it's not quite up-to-date - the "war is over" theme repeated throughout might have seemed almost possible while Myers was writing it...but we know better now.
I have no real comparison at my disposal, as I'm just not into war books. As I recall I gave up on Catch 22 before I made it halfway through that dreary work. All I can really say for this book as a YA is there's no sex, and only enough killings to make it seem really, truly a book about soldiers on the ground. There are no answers, no characters that are all right and all wrong, and fortunately, Myers stays out of politics.
Too bad more folks don't.
The 280+ page book bears a copyright date of 2008, and although the book is timely it's not quite up-to-date - the "war is over" theme repeated throughout might have seemed almost possible while Myers was writing it...but we know better now.
I have no real comparison at my disposal, as I'm just not into war books. As I recall I gave up on Catch 22 before I made it halfway through that dreary work. All I can really say for this book as a YA is there's no sex, and only enough killings to make it seem really, truly a book about soldiers on the ground. There are no answers, no characters that are all right and all wrong, and fortunately, Myers stays out of politics.
Too bad more folks don't.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Evolution of a Great YA
Yeah, I said I was done with YA for a while...but Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature is the kind of book that changes minds.
It's absolutely one of the best YAs I've read in years; right up there with Rules, but longer, with a much more involved plot.
The premise of the story is interesting enough: After the youth group of a very conservative (read: over-the-top) church torments a boy to the point he attempts suicide, one remorseful teen (Mena Reece) writes letter of apology to the boy, which naturally becomes the basis of his parents' lawsuit against the church. The book follows Mena through a year of hell as a high school freshmen ostracized by her church, tormented by said youth group (and former friends) while she deals with more mundane high school stuff - including a wildly interesting biology teacher, having a crush on her lab partner, and questioning everything her parents ever taught her.
But what's really cool about Evolution... is that Brande doesn't explain how things unfold - she just lets them unfold. The author is so stingy with backstory, in fact, basic info about the lawsuit isn't revealed until halfway through the book. For the first 100 pages, all we get to go on is this, from the book's second paragraph:
For an author to withhold further details/explanation not only shows serious restraint, it's also brilliant. Brilliant because Brande packs those first 100 pages with enough action/progress/subplots to keep us reading, even if Mena wasn't in the middle of a civil lawsuit.
Evolution has so many positive features, I'm struggling to list them all, let alone in an organized fashion.
It reminded me how exciting high school was. Seriously. Remember how a really great teacher could present a really big concept (like democracy, or evolution) and really blow your mind?
Brande's book was realistic, but realistic with a dash of humor and imagination. For example, the motto at New Advantage High School is, "Let brilliance find you." I laughed out loud. Then I sighed even louder when she described second period: yoga. Ahhhh. I might be willing to go back to high school if I could get credit for yoga class! That's brilliant.
Of course, I haven't yet stated the obvious: Evolution takes on a great philosophical/scientific/religious debate with a realistic, energetic tone that never, ever sounds contrived.
Bravo, Robin Brande. Please, keep writing.
-- -- -- --
(Unlike Brande, I can't resist a little backstory. Evolution... is Brande's first novel, and according to her website, "she is or has been ...[a] lawyer, yoga instructor, entrepreneur, community college instructor, Wilderness First Responder, insurance agent, outdoor adventurer, Girl Scout leader, and Sunday school teacher." Obviously, I'm a total slacker, so I'll stop here.)
It's absolutely one of the best YAs I've read in years; right up there with Rules, but longer, with a much more involved plot.
The premise of the story is interesting enough: After the youth group of a very conservative (read: over-the-top) church torments a boy to the point he attempts suicide, one remorseful teen (Mena Reece) writes letter of apology to the boy, which naturally becomes the basis of his parents' lawsuit against the church. The book follows Mena through a year of hell as a high school freshmen ostracized by her church, tormented by said youth group (and former friends) while she deals with more mundane high school stuff - including a wildly interesting biology teacher, having a crush on her lab partner, and questioning everything her parents ever taught her.
But what's really cool about Evolution... is that Brande doesn't explain how things unfold - she just lets them unfold. The author is so stingy with backstory, in fact, basic info about the lawsuit isn't revealed until halfway through the book. For the first 100 pages, all we get to go on is this, from the book's second paragraph:
When you're single-handedly responsible for getting your church, your pastor, and every one of your former friends and their parents sued for millions of dollars, you expect to make some enemies. Fine.
For an author to withhold further details/explanation not only shows serious restraint, it's also brilliant. Brilliant because Brande packs those first 100 pages with enough action/progress/subplots to keep us reading, even if Mena wasn't in the middle of a civil lawsuit.
Evolution has so many positive features, I'm struggling to list them all, let alone in an organized fashion.
It reminded me how exciting high school was. Seriously. Remember how a really great teacher could present a really big concept (like democracy, or evolution) and really blow your mind?
Brande's book was realistic, but realistic with a dash of humor and imagination. For example, the motto at New Advantage High School is, "Let brilliance find you." I laughed out loud. Then I sighed even louder when she described second period: yoga. Ahhhh. I might be willing to go back to high school if I could get credit for yoga class! That's brilliant.
Of course, I haven't yet stated the obvious: Evolution takes on a great philosophical/scientific/religious debate with a realistic, energetic tone that never, ever sounds contrived.
Bravo, Robin Brande. Please, keep writing.
-- -- -- --
(Unlike Brande, I can't resist a little backstory. Evolution... is Brande's first novel, and according to her website, "she is or has been ...[a] lawyer, yoga instructor, entrepreneur, community college instructor, Wilderness First Responder, insurance agent, outdoor adventurer, Girl Scout leader, and Sunday school teacher." Obviously, I'm a total slacker, so I'll stop here.)
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