Ecclectic Reads

Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash with Fried Eggs ~ Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice Food and Recipe Blog

2011-02-06T23:20:00.001-05:00

Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash with Fried Eggs ~ Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice Food and Recipe Blog

Cannot wait to try this recipe. Hopefully, I'll get a chance this upcoming weekend.

A Review of Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

2009-09-10T01:01:00.001-04:00

Goodnight Moon, 60th Anniversary Edition
~~ Margaret Wise Brown

Goodnight Moon was one of my absolute favorite books when I was very young. I cannot tell you how many times my mother read it to me until I could read it for myself. I literally wore my copy out; it fell apart at the seams before I was 4. So, when I was pregnant with my son, 8 years ago, the one gift that I cried over was a copy of Goodnight Moon that my cousin Sue, a fellow English teacher, bought for me to read to the little man.

It quickly became one of his favorites; we read it every night. Somehow, we managed to not wear his copy out.

I pulled this old favorite off my son's bookshelf earlier this year since it's been a few years that I last read it. (It's not "cool" enough for and 8 year old who's into mystery books right now.)

I still love this book; I love the rhythm of it and hearing the cadence of the words as I read it aloud. And I love the illustrations. I swear I notice some new little detail every time I read the book, and when you haven't read it in a few years, it's like rediscovering an old friend, or slipping into your favorite pair of jeans--warm and comforting.

Ahhh...book nostalgia.

Review of The Orphans of Normandy

2009-09-10T01:00:00.001-04:00

The Orphans of Normandy : A True Story of World War II Told Through Drawings by Children
~~ Nancy Amis

This is a wonderful little book that tells the story of the young orphan (or abandoned) girls from the La Maison du Clos in St. Andre-sur-Orne, a home and school for girls, in occupied France. These girls were forced to flee their home and school and take shelter in a cave on the night of June 6, 1944 to escape the Allied invansion of Normandy and the German defense of it. Eventually the girls were forced from the cave by German soldiers and they began a perilous journey to Beaufort, which took them nearly 2 months.

For it's illustrations, the book reproduces drawings, ragged edges and all, done by the girls as they remembered their journey; then translates the French from the drawings into English text for the pages facing each drawing.

The Boy in The Stripped Pajamas by Johny Boyne: A Review

2009-09-10T00:56:00.000-04:00

The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas is the poignant tale of Bruno, the nine year-old son of a Nazi Commandant, who moves from Berlin to live in a house outside "Out-With" (Auschwitz) after the "Fury" (Furher) comes to visit his father and transfers his father to the command at "Out-With". Bruno hates his new home because there is nothing to do and no one to play with until he decides to go exploring one day and he follows the fence until just as he's getting tired and about to turn back he sees "a dot that became a speck that became a blog that became a figure that became a boy".

Bruno meets Shmuel, a young Jewish boy, on the other side of the fence. Bruno is excited to have a new friend and in his naivety, does not understand the horror and the tragedy that is unfolding around him. Bruno knows that some of the soldiers who come to his father's office are mean and scary, and that one in particular, Lieutenant Kolter, is particularly nasty. But Bruno seems oblivious to the horrors of the war and the concentration camp. Bruno seems to begin to understand that something is very wrong when Pavel, their cook and butler, who used to be a doctor, disappears one day. But Bruno never seems to truly understand that "Out-With" is a concentration camp nor does he seem to understand the horrible occurences within, until perhaps the end.

Boyne did a wonderful job of narrating this tale from the perspective of a 9 year old; he kept Bruno's child-like innocence throughout the bulk of the novel but did a great job of showing Bruno struggling with some of the things he saw as he watched people he thought were servants (and not prisoners from the concentration camp) being treated rudely by others while not realizing that more than just mere rudeness awaited them.

I also think Boyne did a good job of juxtaposing Bruno's naivety with Shumel's loss of innocence as it was stripped away sometimes little by little and sometime horrifically.

I think perhaps one of the best parts of Boyne's writing was not just his development of the characters but his use of puns such as "Out-With" and "Fury", especially since puns are often meant to bring humor to writing but these bring an overarching darkness to the work almost immediately.

***Could be Considered a Spoiler***
And even though I knew full well how this would end because the ending was clearly forecasted through the two boys being the same age and sharing the same birthdate, among other events, I couldn't help but gasping at the end and then crying. (There was even a point when I whispered "Don't do it, Bruno; please, don't.".)

I must admit that I'm not sure I would have tagged this as a coming of age novel because coming of age, in it's purest sense, means that the character learns something and moves from childhood into the early stages of adulthood. I'm not sure I would agree that Bruno ever did. Yes, he lost some--well, a tiny bit--of his innocence, but it wasn't really possible for him enter the early stages of adulthood as I don't think he or Shmuel ever realized what was happening to them.

Although, perhaps it could be argued that it was a coming of age tale for his sister Gretel.

Sula by Toni Morrison: A Review

2009-09-10T00:50:00.000-04:00

I honestly can't decide how I feel about this book. I didn't dislike it, but I wasn't thrilled with it. I think I was expecting it to be much, much better than it was.

Sula follows two girls from an African American community, the Bottom, in the small town of Medallion, as they grow into adulthood and take two very divergent paths with their lives. Nel marries and stays in town, becoming a pillar of the community. Sula, in the meantime, disappears for nearly 10 years, goes to college, travels, and then comes back to Medallion, which results in a terrible blow to her and Nel's friendship.

Along the way of following the two girls into adulthood we, as readers, get to meet various members of the girl's families, especially the women. I do think Morrison does an interesting job in creating multi-layered characters and teasing out the intricacies of the relationships within the book.

I know this isn't much of a review, but since I can't decide how I feel about the book, I can't really decide what to say about it.

Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara: A Review

2009-03-03T18:50:00.001-05:00

Cast in Shadow is set mainly in the City of Elantra, which is governed by an Emperor Dragon and occupied by citizens of various species (races?): humans, the winged Aerians, dragons, Leontines, and the immortal Barrani.

Kaylin Neya, the troubled, heroine is marked by mysterious symbols--sigils and curves. She fled the fiefs when she was young when a terrible event occured in the fiefs; children bearing the type of markings she bears were being slaughtered.

Years later, it is up to Kaylin, who is a member of the Hawks of the Houses of Law, who police the city, along with others, including a dragon and a man from her past, to stop the slaughter of children, which is once again occurring.

Kaylin has a power that she does not understand and cannot herself control. Will her power lead them to finding those responsible for the slaughter of innocent children, or will it destroy her and others along the way?

Cast in Shadow is Michelle Sagara's first book in The Chronicles of Elantra series. It's a fascinating tale that keeps you guessing at every turn. It's fast paced, and everyone has their secrets, so the intrigue is well-layered throughout the text. I really appreciate books that keep the reader guessing and keep the suspense built until the end.

Sagara does an excellent job at world building. She has a good eye for including little details that make the fantasy world she has built seem complete and real. She also does a great job of creating a flawed heroine, with some annoying traits, but those annoying traits make Kaylin seem believable.

I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Arts & Sciences College Forum (The Blog Formerly Known as Arts & Sciences Council e Forum): UT Students Commence De-Lloyding Program

2009-03-03T18:45:00.000-05:00

Arts & Sciences College Forum (The Blog Formerly Known as Arts & Sciences Council e Forum): UT Students Commence De-Lloyding Program

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: A Review

2008-10-20T21:45:00.003-04:00

I can honestly say that I was hesitant to read this book because of all the publicity and hype it has received. I was afraid that the hype was just that--hype--and the book wouldn't live up to my expectations. I started reading around 11:30 p.m. last night, and the next thing I know it was 6:00 a.m. ; I had finished the book. I just couldn't put it down because I got drawn into the story.

Like many readers, I was, at first, a little put off by Bella stating how beautiful Edward was over and over again. (I think after the 3rd time readers probably got the idea that the man is perfection in physical beauty.) However, the characters were so well sketched and their flaws so real that I couldn't help being intrigued by them. And yes, even Edward, who is perfect to Bella has some "character" flaws, which is what I think makes him a realistic and believable character. The human qualities of emotions and desires that Meyer has given Edward and his family make them work well as characters. The only character that I found slightly annoying was Renee, Bella's mother, who really does play a very minor role in the book.

For a teenage paranormal romance, I also think the plot works well and does a good job of conveying many of the primary anxieties of high school and teenage relationships/romances without being overly angst-ridden. Meyer does an especially good job of sketching out what it feels like, from the character's perspective, of being an outsider in a small town. I think she does a good job of this from both Bella and the Cullen's perspectives.

Overall, I think it's a well-written book designed to appeal not only to a young adult audience but, as can be seen by it's brisk sales figures, to a larger audience as well. I especially think Meye did a good job of appealing to a larger audience by avoiding many of the typical cliches of vampire novels and by taking a fresh look at some of the myths surrounding these fanatasy creatures.

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, A Toltec Wisdom Book: A Review

2008-09-19T00:40:00.004-04:00

The advice Don Miguel Ruiz presents in this book is relatively simple. He provides 4 guiding principles to use to guide your life--your relationship with yourself and your relationships with others:

1) Be impeccable with your word.
2) Don't take anything personally.(When someone says something negative, it is not about you; it is about them.)
3) Don't make assumptions. **Instead, ask questions.**
4) Do your best.

Ruiz uses each of these principles to show the power of the word, which we use to make agreements with ourselves and with others. His goal is to show us how to replace those negative agreements that we have bought into or come to believe through pressures from others and society.

While the advice Ruiz gives is simple and seems to be common sense, he admits that none of this is easy; but, he notes that if we always strive to do our best--and our best changes every day and under different circumstances--that the other three agreements will become easier. But it becomes easier to do our best as long as we practice doing our best.

I think that the book offers refreshing insight as well as a different way to look at how our words and our thoughts impact our self-esteem as well as our relationship with others. It's a very simple approach to personal freedom.

I do think that some readers will have to strive to get past the language he uses when he talks about "white magic" and "black magic". However, if you can get past some of his language choices, it is easy to see the fundamental soundness to this approach to life.

If I Had a Dragon; Si Yo Tuviera un Dragón

2008-09-19T00:40:00.003-04:00

I just finished the children's book "If I Had a Dragon (Si Yo Tuviera un Dragón) written and illustrated by Tom and Amanda Ellery.

My son and I read it together. And while it's too easy for him (well the English part is) at this point, it is a very cute story about a boy who doesn't want to play with his baby brother because the baby brother is too small. So he wishes his brother was something more fun like a kite, or a bulldozer, or a dragon. Then he comes to find that a dragon might not be as fun as he imagined. The illustrations are well done in that they really convey that frustration that a young child--slightly older than toddler--has with having to play with a smaller (around 1 year old) sibling. I think the book does a good job of addressing an issue that's all too common with children that age.

What we love about this book is that it's written in English with the Spanish right underneath it on the same page. So, first we read the whole thing through in English, then went back and covered the English to read it in Spanish. My son is learning Spanish (on his own) because, at 7, he has shown an interest to do so. And I found this a refreshing way to brush up on mine, which is admittedly a bit rusty. I had a grand time reading the Spanish parts aloud to him.

Where the Sidewalk Ends: A Review

2008-09-17T15:14:00.004-04:00

The back cover of the dust jacket to Where the Sidewalk Ends describes Shel Silverstein as the author of The Giving Tree and other books of prose and poetry. The brief bio then goes on to state that Silverstein "writes songs, draws cartoons, plays the guitar, and has a good time".

Ultimately, that's what Where The Sidewalk Ends is about--having a good time. The opening invitation to the book--a poem--encapsulates the feel and the tone of the book:

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

Where the Sidewalk Ends has been one of my long-time favorite children's books. I read it when I was younger, read it again in graduate school for a children's literature class, and have read it several times to and with my own child. I picked it up again recently to revisit it. It's just one of those books that I seem to enjoy over and over again, and I always find something new to appreciate about the book, depsite having read it so many times. (For me, finding something new to appreciate about a text is the sign of a timeless quality text.)

The sense of playfulness and silliness that is evident in most of Silverstein's works for children is ever present in Where the Sidewalk Ends. It's a really fun read; it's an especially fun read when read aloud. You just can't help but smile at characters like "Ickle Me", "Pickle Me", and "Tickle Me" or "Sara Cynthia Sylvia Stout Who Would Not Take The Garbage Out". And Silverstein's cartoon drawings to accompany the poem within the text simply bring those poems into a life of their own.

But more than simply reveling in silliness, which is quite an awesome thing to do, "Where the Sidewalk Ends" subtly teaches life lessons, as can be seen in samples such as "LISTEN TO THE MUSTN'TS":

Listen to the MUSTN'TS child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
List to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me--
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.”

Eats, Shoots and Leaves: A Review

2008-09-17T14:45:00.001-04:00

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss is not your ordinary grammar book. Yes, it does contain examples of how to properly use a comma, a colon, and a semi-colon as well as how to properly use an apostrophe. But, if that's really all the reader is looking for, then I would advise buying another book that's more akin to a handbook.

What Lynne Truss does in this text is provide a wonderful historical perspective for how our punctuation marks came to be and how their usage was formed and has changed historically. In addition, Truss laments the state to which punctuation, and thus, writing skills have sunk over the last few decades. She offers us both this historical perspective on punctuation as well as her lament with great humor and aplomb.

Overall, I would give the book a 4 out of 5 stars. It doesn't quite reach the 5 star mark for me because I think that she fails to look at the internet and email as anything but a negative communication tool. Truss, especially in her last chapter, takes the Internet to task and comments that she agrees with Truman Capote who implicates that what is done online is merely typing, not writing. In so doing, she separates the cognitive act of writing from the act of pressing keys on a keyboard as if what qualifies as writing can only be done with pen or pencil. And in so doing, she fails to acknowledge the hundreds of studies in the field of Computers and Writing (a sub-discipline of English and Composition or Rhetoric and Composition) that examine writing via computer and the profound pedagogical advances in computer-mediated communication.

While I appreciate Truss' call for us, as sticklers of punctuation and grammar, to "fight like tigers to preserve our punctuation", I think that she carries her derision of Internet based communications too far.

Review: Poetry Speaks to Children

2008-09-17T10:53:00.000-04:00

I recently finished reading Poetry Speaks to Children. After reading it, I thought the book was a great selection. And then, I listened to the accompanying CD. Ahh...the CD. The CD makes the book a true gem of a find.

Overall, the book is filled with wonderful poems by a variety of poets, including J.R.R. Tolkien, Nikki Giovanni, Margaret Walker, Lewis Carroll, Agha Shahid Ali, W.B. Yeats, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Rita Dove, and X. J. Kennedy, among others. The poems range from the whimsical and the funny to the more serious.

While the book itself is wonderful, the CD truly does make this a fantastic read/listen. There is simply something wonderful about listening to Robert Frost read his "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" or listening to Nikki Giovanni tell us "Reasons Why I like Chocolate" and then listening to her read three of her other poetry selections included in this text: "Trips", "Mommies", and "Knoxville, Tennessee". Equally fantastic is listening to Langston Hughes explain when and why he wrote "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and then go on to read the poem.

Of the selections included on the CD, my absolute favorite was hearing J.R.R. Tolkien read "Frodo's Song in Bree", which was from The Fellowship of the Ring. Another favorite for me was listening to Joy Harjo read "Eagle Poem", which is based off a Native American song.

More important than my enjoyment of the text, however, was my 7 year-old son's fascination with it. His eyes light up as they scanned the paged, taking in the rhythm of the words and the illustrations. He smiled at the timbre of Langston Hughe's voice drifting from the speakers. He giggled at Nikki Giovanni's reasons for liking chocolate. And who wouldn't appreciate those reasons or the depth and playful lilt of her voice as she recited them?

I know a children's book is good when it sparks in my own child's eyes that love for language--the dance and the rhythm and the play of words--that has for so long been a love of my own.

While the poetry selections included on the CD were wonderful, I did find myself wishing that others, specifically Margaret Wise Brown's "The Secret Song" and verses from "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling, had also been included on the CD.

Overall, however, this book is simply fantastic.