Average Girl Reads

Sunday Salon: Inspirational vs. Aspirational Books

2012-01-08T15:31:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been hearing the term "aspirational" a lot. I'm not sure that it is a real word (I couldn't find it in an online dictionary search), but I think most people would be able to surmise what it means. It is usually used in reference to something like the work of Martha Stewart, projects that use the finest materials and involve meticulous attention to detail. The end results are something that many people wish they could produce but realize that they don't have the money or patience.

After you read that definition of the word "aspirational", I wouldn't be surprised if you asked yourself, "Why not use the word 'inspirational' instead?" In my brain those words have slightly different meanings. When I think of something inspirational, I think of a speech or a locker room pep talk -- words that pump you up to do well in any endeavor. "Aspirational" suggests something more specific and visual, like pictures of the style of living room you want to have someday or wonderful descriptions of baking bread from scratch. Pinterest is a perfect example of an aspirational website.

With those definitions in mind, do you think you read more inspirational or aspirational books? I believe my attraction to cookbooks is purely aspirational. I like to think that there will come a day when I will cease my reliance on store-bought bread and Hamburger Helper, and these books will be my road map. Cookbooks and craft books with beautiful photographs and anecdotes energize me, while self-help tomes that are meant to inspire usually cause me to scoff and throw the book down.

QUESTION: What are your favorite aspirational books?

Gearing Up For 2012

2012-01-03T11:48:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year, dear readers! You may have noticed that I made a few changes to my sidebar on the right. The biggest change is the addition of the Goodreads Update widget. Even when I don't write posts for this blog, I am reading and I keep track of my books there.

Speaking of blog posts, one of my resolutions (yes, I said resolutions) is to write for this blog at least once a week. As I said in a previous entry, most of these posts will be more about how the book I read affected me rather than proper book reviews. I'm renewing my effort to stop being so rigid when it comes to writing; I edit so much in my head that words never make it to the page. This year, I'm going for more of a paint splatter approach -- throw my thoughts out there and let you guys tell me what you think of them.

To start the year off with a push, I joined the Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge. It doesn't have a special theme or anything; you simply type in how many books you plan to read this year. What I like about doing it on Goodreads is that since I already have my other lists there, they keep track of my progress for me. I'm not much for coming up with my own spreadsheet the way other bloggers do. Why bother when Goodreads has done all the work for me? Anyway, I managed to read 38 out of 50 last year, so I think I have a good chance to meet the goal this year -- especially if I can mange to break my darn Facebook game habit!

2011-11-20T13:00:00.001-05:00

Re-Gifters by Mike Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: graphic novel, YA
Part of a series?: No
On my TBR list?: No

SUMMARY: "Re-Gifters" is the story of a Korean-American teen named Dixie who is a contender in a national martial arts competition, but her crush on a classmate is throwing off her concentration and threatening her chances of winning.

This is a stand-alone graphic novel published by Minx. To me, it is a modern version of the romance comics that were so popular in the 1950s. The story isn't quite as mushy as an old romance comic, but Minx books aren't full of superheroes or zombies, either. My three girls have enjoyed all the Minx books they've read so far, and this one is no exception. Even C2, who would never go near a conventional YA romance, enjoyed this book.

The one thing that bothered me about this book was the way the artist drew the main character Dixie and her best friend. I know that the artist was trying to show that Dixie wasn't as feminine as Megan, one of her classmates, but she ended up looking too young to date the boys she was interested in. Art style can turn me away from a graphic novel quickly and I almost put this one down, but I'm glad I didn't.

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How do you write a comeback post?

2011-11-08T11:28:00.003-05:00

This blog has been quiet for a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. In fact, I read about 10 books since my last post.

A Match Made In Heaven by Kristin Walker
Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
Heartless by Gail Carriger
Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davitt Bell
Decoded by Jay-Z
Spousonomics by Paula Szuchman
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
Courting Trouble by Deanne Gist
Deep in the Heart of Trouble by Deanne Gist

Part of what has kept me from posting is the growing feeling that I don't know how to write a proper book review. The more I read other blogs, the more my efforts looked weak in comparison. Also, I've been reading a lot of books with straightforward plots that don't lend themselves to dissection or lengthy discussion. Because of this, I've decided to embrace the fact that I am not a journalist. From now on, my posts about the books I read will be more about how I related to them personally and other subjects they make me think of. If that makes you want to read the book, that's great. If not, I hope that at least my posts will be entertaining.

Sunday Salon: Need Sarah Vowell & Mary Roach Recommendations

2011-06-26T12:55:00.003-04:00

In the two months since I last posted to the Sunday Salon, I have been listening to book podcasts a lot. Whenever they get around to talking about nonfiction, two authors that keep coming up are Sarah Vowell and Mary Roach. Vowell writes about American history and Roach's books are about science. These are both subjects that I enjoy, but they can be dry depending on the writer. From all accounts, Vowell and Roach have light and amusing approaches to the subject matter and I think I would enjoy their books. However, I'd like to start with what most people consider their best books since I probably won't read more than one from each author.

QUESTION: What is your favorite Sarah Vowell or Mary Roach book?

CURRENTLY READING: The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale is what I plucked off the library stack this morning. I loved her other novel for adults, Austenland, and so far this one has the same sense of humor. The story has a chick lit flavor but so far it is not as predictable as some books in that genre.

UPCOMING: Summer is upon us, so I'm hoping that I will make a dent in my goal to read 50 books this year. I'm also going to do another culling of my TBR list to narrow it down to books that still appeal to me. At 221 titles, it has become a meaningless jumble of words instead an enticing list of books begging to be read. With the pull of video games and TV, I need my TBR list to scream at me!

"Sixteen Brides" by Stephanie Grace Whitson

2011-05-03T10:00:00.002-04:00

Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: Christian, prairie romance

On my TBR list?: no

Summary, from Goodreads:

Sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising "prime homesteads" in a "booming community." Unbeknownst to them, the speculator's true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledging community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival!

Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them. These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances--especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be.

The fact that I read this book in its entirety in a single day is a testament to how engaging it is, especially since it wasn't even in large print! At first I thought that I would have trouble keeping up with all the characters, but the author does a good job of quickly winnowing down the list to a manageable number and I had no problem remembering who was who. Whitson's writing style managed to keep frontier life from sounding monotonous by showing the characters engaging in all different kinds of activities. She avoided the trap of describing one quilting bee or harvest supper after another -- passages that fill pages without pushing the plot forward. I didn't find myself skimming over long descriptive passages of the color of someone's dress, either. This novel was 300-odd pages of solid writing that kept me turning page after page until I finished it at 1:30a.

Although this book was published by Bethany House, it was a bit more earthy that other Christian romances I've read. Don't get me wrong -- it doesn't cross the line into vulgarity. However, there are a couple characters who make no secret about enjoying physical closeness with a man. For instance, when one character asks her mother what she would like, her mother responds thusly:

Mama twitched both eyebrows. "I want to be young for just one dance with that handsome rancher. Or an evening." She grinned wickedly. "Or perhaps even a very long evening."

"Mama!" Ella scolded.

"You don't want to know, don't ask."

Now Mama is one of the most devout women in the book. This quote along with others shows that she is also a women who is vibrant and loving life. Whitson has created characters that are far from one-dimensional and it is refreshing to see.

Another thing that was different was how this book approached Christianity. My first exposure to Christian fiction was with the authors Lori Wick and Janette Oke, so I am accustomed to having a mini sermon coming out of one of the characters' mouths every few pages. The characters in this book all have more than a passing familiarity with the Bible but their faith is shown in a more matter-of-fact manner. There aren't long passages detailing church services, as you would find in a book by Wick or Lauraine Snelling. There is one character who turns directly to the Bible and finds guidance to turn his life around, but most of the characters change their ways and live by the principles of the Good Book without quoting it directly.

All in all, Stephanie Grace Whitson presented readers with a solid Christian romance and a quick read. I will definitely seek out more of her books.

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"How to Knit a Heart Back Home" by Rachael Herron

2011-05-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

How to Knit a Heart Back Home by Rachael Herron

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: romance, novel+

On the TBR list?: yes, since Mar 2011

Book 2 of an ongoing series, Cypress Hollow Yarn

Summary, from Goodreads:

Lucy Harrison sells books by day and volunteers with the Cypress Hollow fire department by night. Her life is just the way she likes it—full, even-keeled, and smooth—until bad-boy ex-cop Owen Bancroft comes back to town. Lucy has always been fearless, never scared about diving in to help others. When it comes to risking her heart, however, she realizes she's absolutely terrified.

How to Knit a Heart Back Home has a different feel than Rachael Herron's first book in the series, How to Knit a Love Song. While the vibe of that book was more isolated and focused mainly on the hero and heroine, in this new book the presence of the entire town of Cypress Hollow is more strongly felt. Herron moves the action away from the fringes of Cypress Hollow and smack dab into the middle of town with all of its quirky residents. She introduces the readers to more of the townsfolk in a way that suggests we will be meeting them again in future books, although I could be wrong about that. Characters from the the first book did not figure prominently in this book, other than the almost otherworldly presence of the late Eliza Carpenter. She may be the one thing that ties the books together, moreso than any living character.

The heroine, Lucy, is someone that I believe many women could identify with. Lucy is afraid of lots of things and sees herself as timid and weak, but others in her life see the true strength in her. She is also a person who, while not uncaring, tends to get bogged down in her own thoughts and not see what's going on with people around her. I related to her and looked forward to seeing how she resolved her issues.

Who Lucy is going to end up with is a foregone conclusion, but Herron makes the journey to that ending a pleasure trip.

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Sunday Salon: Catching Up on Reviews

2011-05-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Although this blog is just a hobby, I still feel guilty if I fall behind on posting. Usually I fall behind because I've been watching TV instead of reading. In this case, I've been moving from one book to the next without blogging about them. I read three books without taking a single note. Last night I dreamed about writing book reviews, so I knew I had better sit down and do the posts for these three books.

Why did I do this? Well, I was afraid if I turned on the computer to blog, I would get distracted and not get back to reading. Another thing that happens is that I get so caught up in getting my facts right (like date of publication) that I start looking them up and then my review ends up feeling disjointed. I know that successful writers say to avoid editing until after you finish writing the first draft, but it is difficult to avoid fact-checking when I'm typing my blog post right in the browser. The other day I was even considering writing my reviews in longhand first so I could keep the computer turned off.

Do you ever feel that technology makes it more difficult to write? What distracts you the most from updating your blog?

"Blameless" by Gail Carriger

2011-04-30T13:23:00.002-04:00

Blameless by Gail Carriger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: steampunk, supernatural, romance

On my TBR list?: No

Book 3 of The Parasol Protectorate series

This is a tough review for me to write because this installment of the Parasol Proctectorate series is the conclusion of a major cliffhanger at the end of Book 2. I don't want to describe too much of the plot lest a new reader stumble upon this post before reading the other books. Ultimately, I am not a skilled enough writer to review this book without including spoilers. So this will end up being another of my "Uh, it was a good book" non-reviews.

For those of you who read Changeless and almost threw it across the room at the end, I think Blameless will calm you down. It resolves the cliffhanger satisfactorily, as well as rounding out the team that assists Alexia. Carriger's prose is as witty as ever, but she has included a bit more action this time as well as other elements and mysteries to be explored in future novels (I found the change in Ivy particularly intriguing). Whereas Soulless felt more like a standalone novel, Blameless is the book that truly sets up the series and the idea of a "parasol protectorate".

My recommendation is to have this book in hand before you start reading Changeless. You're gonna need it!

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My new library shelf

2011-04-19T23:18:00.002-04:00

My library shelf
Originally uploaded by daniinnc2010

My husband ABM has been on a DIY kick for the past several weeks. One of his projects was to refurbish our bedside tables. Once mine was finished, I decided to use the bottom shelf for library books. Yes, every book in that shot came from the library. Up until now we were keeping them in a canvas bag or a milk crate. I think this is a better option because it helps me keep track of all the books we have out and let's the kids browse the selection more easily.

What I really wanted you guys to see is how many library books we have out at any one time. There are three books missing from that shot, for a total of 29 books. That may seem like a lot until you know a bit more about our reading habits. My kids will read the graphic novels in an afternoon. The same goes for my husband and me with the how-to books; knitting books, cookbooks, and home renovation books don't take long for us to flip through. As for the novels, the kids will read the ones they like in a couple days and reject the rest. By the end of next week, half the books on the shelf will have been returned to the library and replaced by new selections.

The books that will be on the shelf the longest are novels I checked out for myself. I can flip through the nonfiction books while I'm watching TV, but starting a novel takes more concentration. Once I get past my distractions (screens and kids, mainly) and get about 50 pages in, I can usually breeze through a book. However, I often have trouble jumping from one novel directly into the next so then there is a waiting period. For instance, I finished a steampunk novel last week and it took me five days to clear the mood and style of that world out of my head enough to be able to read the modern romance I started today. I used to be able to make that switch much more quickly when I was younger as I see my kids do now. Perhaps it is an age thing. I'm fighting the senile dementia, one book at a time!

Books on Wheels!

2011-04-13T15:29:00.002-04:00

Today is National Bookmobile Day. I have a soft spot in my heart for bookmobiles. When I was kid growing up in NY, we moved around a lot. I didn't know the location of the local library branch in each of the neighborhoods we lived in, but there was always a visit from the bookmobile. In my mind, RIF (Reading is Fundamental) and bookmobiles go hand in hand. Those two things impressed the importance of reading on me at an early age. I sorely missed the bookmobile visits when we moved to NC and lived way out in the country, far from the library or anything else.

Our library system covers two counties and it has a bookmobile, but it doesn't cover my county. Even though our local library branch is across the street from my kids' middle school, I still wish they had the chance to experience the bookmobile. There is something magical about getting on a bus and seeing all the seats replaced by shelves of books!

How many of you still have bookmobiles in your neighborhood? Do you make use of yours?

Go Hug a Librarian!

2011-04-12T14:50:00.002-04:00

Well, maybe you shouldn't HUG the librarians, but at least let them know you appreciate their work. Today is National Library Workers Day, and if I was able to get to my local branch I'd give the workers there a big "Thank you!"

The women who work at my small-town library branch are rather cheerful. I don't know them by name, but they recognize me and give me a big smile when I come in for our weekly library run. They always engage me in light chit-chat about the more unusual choices in my check-out pile without commenting on the embarrassing ones (yes, I prefer not to discuss why I'm checking out Sex: A Book for Teens: An Uncensored Guide to Your Body, Sex, and Safety). This branch is right across the street from the middle school and gets a lot of kids in there after class lets out. The women never seem to lose their patience with all the teens that invade their small building in the afternoon, including my twins C1 and C2. They should get a pay raise for that alone!

With branches cutting hours and salaries, those of us who still utilize the library should remind the workers there that we appreciate their service. So go give the workers at your branch an extra smile and a "Good job!"

Linda Holmes Shows Love for Libraries

2011-04-11T12:44:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite pop-culture podcasts is Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. There is a corresponding blog called Monkey See and one of the writers, Linda Holmes, posted a piece today about rediscovering the public library. When she was on Twitter last week talking about how she was amazed that the library let her walk out with all that cool stuff for free, I thought she was just trying to be funny. Apparently Ms. Holmes truly wasn't aware of the variety to be found in today's libraries.

I have to admit that I understand her surprise. Even though I've been a consistent library user for many years, I pretty much checked out older books. I was highly surprised the day that I went looking for a book and found a new section housing graphic novels. When I started following book blogs and looking at bestsellers' lists, I didn't expect to find any of those new books at my library but they are getting a lot of them in. If there is one message I would like to get out about libraries, it would be that being a regular library patron does not mean you have to sacrifice reading the popular or trendy books.You may have to wait a little longer, but that gives you a chance to read something else in the meantime!

Sunday Salon: Random Bookish Thoughts

2011-04-10T15:50:00.002-04:00

--My daughter C1 is knitting a Slytherin scarf (in the Prisoner of Azkaban style) for one of her friends to use for Harry Potter cosplay. This got me thinking about the status of the Harry Potter series as a newly-minted children's classic. I tried to get my younger kids interested in Harry Potter series when they were 10 and 11. Not all the books had been released yet and the Hogwarts fever was high around the country. They were having none of it and turned to other stories. Now all of a sudden, my kids as well as their classmates have gone potty over Potter. Could it be because the movies are still being released, or is the series really a classic that they have finally become old enough for? Years from now, will there still be little groups of geeks who consider themselves Potter aficionados the way there were "Lord of the Rings" geeks in my school back in the day?

--Today is one of those days that makes me understand why some booksellers are anxious to get devices like the Kindle into readers' hands. I just finished reading Changeless and it ended in a cliffhanger. Even though I am not much of a book buyer, I would have been sorely tempted to plunk down the $7.99 and have the next book in the series wing its way to my e-reader if I owned such a device. After years of DVDs, DVRs, and streaming online video, I've come to expect having my media when and how I want it. I no longer have patience for cliffhangers!

--I think I've lost my taste for graphic novels. The last few that I've tried to read just put me off. This week I got my hands on Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life which I've been waiting for the library to get in since 2008. Unfortunately, I'm not enjoying it at all. This may sound shallow but I think I am turned off by the black-and-white artwork. I know that it is more expensive to produce full-color books like Rapunzel's Revenge, but those are the only graphic novels that seem to draw me in.

"Changeless" by Gail Carriger

2011-04-10T14:28:00.002-04:00

Changeless by Gail Carriger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: romance, steampunk, supernatural

On my TBR list?: Yes, as of Mar 2011

Book 2 in an ongoing series

Summary, from Goodreads:

Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

This second book in the Parasol Protectorate series is just as delectable as the first. The snappy rejoinders mixed in with the supernatural and romantic elements make this an exciting novel to read. Alexia's sister Felicity is even more wicked with the barbs and her best friend Ivy is still amusingly clueless. For you romantics, Conall is also taking every opportunity to feel up his wife!

I appreciated reading a story where the "will they or won't they?" part of the romance has already been taken care of. Having a couple get on with the business of life while obviously still loving each other is refreshing.

Carriger is a skilled writer who manages to remind the reader of events from the first novel without making it feel like she is writing a recap. Her characters are ones that you want to spend more time with. That is why it was a bit frustrating that, unlike the first book, this one ends in a bit of a cliffhanger. If you are the impatient type, you may want to have the third book on hand before you start reading this one.

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"A Heart for Home" by Lauraine Snelling

2011-03-28T22:07:00.002-04:00

A Heart for Home by Lauraine Snelling

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: Christian, prairie romance
On my TBR list?: yes, since March 2011

Book 3 of 3 in the Home to Blessing series, 16th book set in the universe

Summary, from Goodreads:

Astrid Bjorklund is on the Red Bud Indian Reservation in South Dakota trying to stop the horrific epidemic that is ravaging the tribe. The elders are suspicious of her, but when they see some of their people beginning to recover, they allow Astrid to continue caring for the sick and to train others to help. She is overwhelmed by this need so close to home and wonders if this is the mission field God has planned for her.

Joshua Landsverk wants to repair his broken relationship with Astrid, but he is opposed to her present work and refuses to tell her why. When he encounters unexpected adversity, a surprising act of kindness brings healing to the grievous wrong inflicted years ago. Will it be enough to bring Joshua and Astrid together again?

If you've read all the other books in the series, then reading this one is like visiting your hometown and catching up on all the news. Snelling manages to work in most of the characters that fans met in previous books without it feeling like an obligatory roll call. There was nothing shocking in the plot, but it was comforting to spend some time in that city again.

A Heart for Home is the 16th book about the good people of Blessing, ND, and possibly the last. If so, I think that Lauraine Snelling ended on a good note. She left room for more characters to be added to this universe and more stories to be told, but the stories of all the existing characters are at a good stopping point. I don't have the desire to go read another prairie romance as a replacement for the fact that there are no more Blessing books, which is an indication that she did a good job wrapping things up.

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Sunday Salon: Any other angry book readers out there?

2011-03-13T14:10:00.001-04:00

My daughter sent me a link to this video last night and said that it reminded her of me. There is good reason for this. I was reading Soulless last week, and every time I was really getting into it one of the kids would interrupt me with a question. By Friday I was growling at anyone who walked toward me while I had the book in my hand. Not good mum behavior at all!

This is why all the mothers in your life say they don't read. Technically, it isn't about not having time, although it is easier to tell people that. Even if I get a "free" 15 minutes to crack open a book, chances are that my kids will come up with some reason to talk to me. It's like my teenagers can't stand to see me reading. Considering that they are readers, too, I don't know why they can't just let me be.

UPCOMING: I wrote a post earlier this week about anthologies, and it inspired me to pick up a couple from the library.

Honestly, I checked these out more for my kids than myself, especially the anthology of fantastic tales. C2 loves a good mystery or scary story. I also have a couple novels waiting just for me.

They are more series novels, as usual. I'm having trouble jumping into anything else right now, despite my resolve to read more of the books that are heating up the literary zeitgeist.

"Soulless" by Gail Carriger

2011-03-12T15:50:00.000-05:00

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Genre: romance, light steampunk, fantasy
On my TBR list?: Yes, since Nov 2009

Book #1 of The Parasol Protectorate, 3 books published so far

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary, from Goodreads:

Without a morsel of exaggeration, its publisher describes this debut novel as "a comedy of manners set in Victorian London full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking." At the center of Soulless's "parasol protectorate" is Miss Alexia Tarabotti, a young woman who lacks not only a suitor but also a soul. And those are not her only problems: When she accidentally kills a vampire, it begins a series of events that she must set out to resolve without the help of any proper authorities.

It has been quite a while since a book grabbed my attention from the very first page, but Soulless managed to do exactly that. It is a charming mix of 19th-century romance and the supernatural, with just enough steampunk thrown in to spice up the story without boring less science-inclined readers like me. This sense of balance is exhibited in several ways throughout the book.

The first example of Carriger's balanced writing style is our heroine, Alexia Tarabotti. She is feisty enough to appeal to a modern reader, yet none of her behavior steps so far outside the parameters of her 19th-century setting as to be unbelievable. Carriger also did an excellent job of writing the lovemaking scenes in a manner that does not jolt the reader out of the story. I've read more than one book that goes "literature, literature, literature, PORN, literature, literature"; the sex scenes were so shocking that they seemed to have been lifted from a different manuscript. In the case of Soulless, the author manages to construct the amorous passages in the same lilting style of the rest of the story, with a well-placed nudge and a wink.

All in all, I would say that this is a first-rate showing, especially for a debut novel. If you follow me on Goodreads, then you know that my 18-year old is already clamoring to read it. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone younger than that because the love scenes, while tastefully written, are still explicit enough that I would feel uncomfortable handing the book to my 14-year-old daughters. This book may be a tad too romantic for the hardcore steampunk or supernatural fans, but I think it could appeal to the readers who don't mind a touch of those fantastical elements in their romance stories.

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I need more anthologies

2011-03-09T13:50:00.000-05:00

I was listening to an episode of the Bookrageous podcast from Oct 2010 today and it took me back to my childhood reading. They were talking about Houghton Mifflin's Best American anthology series. Collections played a big part in my reading life when I was younger but I haven't picked one up in years. I don't think I was even aware that current ones were being published.

When I was a kid, my library had volumes of collected plays. I can't remember the exact titles but they were something along the lines of "Best Broadway Musicals of 1966" or "Best Short Plays of 1970". Before touring companies came to Charlotte, the closest I got to a Broadway experience was checking out one of these books and reading the play while listening to the cast album. As far as books in my home, my mother used to buy the Reader's Digest Condensed Books. We only had a few volumes but I read them over and over.

My fondest memory of anthologies is of a gift from one of my maternal aunts. It was a giant book entitled The Arbuthnot Anthology of Children's Literature. (If you ever run across it at a book sale, I had the edition with the giant butterfly on the cover.) It had poetry, short stories, and excerpts of children's novels. I didn't realize until much later that it was meant as a resource for teachers. Oh, how I enjoyed that book! I owned it right up until my senior year in high school and then somehow lost it.

This trip down memory lane makes me realize that I should have more anthologies on my shelf at home. I don't buy a lot of fiction, but I think that anthologies might be worth the investment. Lately I've noticed that my reluctant readers, ABM and C2, will read something short. I found C2 reading sections of a home remedy book I have on the shelf, and ABM read several of the tiny chapters in the Jennifer Love Hewitt book. They won't seek out this stuff on their own so, as family media curator, it is my job to bring it to them.

Sunday Salon: Eating My Words, Sort Of

2011-03-06T12:13:00.002-05:00

I've posted here and in many comments on other book blogs that I have NO interest in buying a Kindle or any other e-reader. Well, in the past couple weeks I've adjusted my position on that issue. Although I still feel as though e-books are temporary and I wouldn't want to buy a lot of them, I've noticed that my public library is offering more YA e-books for lending via Overdrive. The NC Digital Library site is clunky and a hassle to navigate, in my opinion, so I never got a full sense of what books were being offered in audio and e-book format. However, our local library site recently updated its search function so that now when I look for a book, I get not only an option to reserve a copy of the physical book but also a direct link to download an audio or e-book version, if available. This has me thinking that I would like to find an inexpensive older model e-reader on eBay to use just for library books. This would be a great help on those weekends when all the computers in my house are taken and one of my kids (usually C1) is complaining that there is nothing left to read.

Since my last Sunday Salon post, I've managed to work my way through some nonfiction.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
The Day I Shot Cupid
Once-a-Month Cooking

Sadly, I did not get any further than a chapter and a half into the Keith Richards memoir. I'm still thinking about trying out the audio book version, but it has definitely moved to the bottom of my priority list.

The only fiction I have on hand at the moment is Soulless by Gail Carriger. That book captured my attention from the very first page. The only reason I haven't finished it is that my 18-year-old daughter keeps grabbing it! For the most part, however, this is the time of year where my reading list is filled with books about gardening and spring cleaning. It will be the same this year, at least until I can get my hands on a copy of How to Knit a Heart Back Home written by the lovely Rachael Herron.

"Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua

2011-03-01T10:07:00.004-05:00

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Genre: memoir, parenting
On my TBR list?: no

Summary, from Goodreads:

All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. What Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother reveals is that the Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that. Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions and providing a nurturing environment. The Chinese believe that the best way to protect your children is by preparing them for the future and arming them with skills, strong work habits, and inner confidence. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother chronicles Chua's iron-willed decision to raise her daughters, Sophia and Lulu, her way-the Chinese way-and the remarkable results her choice inspires.

I'm guessing that most of you reading this post have already read or at least heard about the Wall Street Journal article that Amy Chua wrote entitled Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior. It outlined a strict method of parenting that includes pushing your children to excel, picking out their hobbies for them, and not letting them participate in anything that wouldn't eventually result in some sort of medal or award. In this review I will be talking more about the style and format of the book; I'm saving my opinions of Chua's parenting style for a post on my other blog.

The article was excerpted from the book and it covers Chua's main points without the repetitiveness. There were so many anecdotes that followed the same formula: Chua would push her kids to practice their instruments, they would complain, she would yell, they would throw tantrums, but then in the end the audition/recital/performance would turn out brilliantly and the kids would get glowing compliments. I listened to part of this book on audio and it was read by the author, which made these anecdotes sound even more boastful than they did on paper. Also, there were sentences that I'm pretty sure were meant to be sarcastic or funny (like a comment about never dating drummers) but Chua's reading was so stilted that she sounded she was being serious. Her reading style loosened up and became more natural further on, thankfully.

Honestly, I think that if you read the WSJ article (which I did before reading this), then you don't really need to read this book. I read it because many of the podcasts I listen to did episodes discussing it, but I think you could jump into a conversation about Chua's parenting method without spending the extra time to wade through her entire memoir.

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"The Day I Shot Cupid" by Jennifer Love Hewitt

2011-02-28T08:58:00.003-05:00

The Day I Shot Cupid: Hello, My Name Is Jennifer Love Hewitt and I'm a Love-aholic by Jennifer Love Hewitt

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Genre: self-help, celebrity book
On my TBR list?: No

Summary, from Goodreads:

In The Day I Shot Cupid, Hewitt offers her hard-won wisdom and tells us how to embrace love with both feet on the ground. First, we have to shoot Cupid. We have to believe that happily-ever-after is hard work—it's not all flowers and symphonies and floating hearts.

Wise and wry and refreshingly honest, Hewitt talks about how to pick the right guy and how to know when to let the wrong ones go free, and she offers some surprising truths about the opposite sex.

This book caught my attention because I like Jennifer Love Hewitt and I thought it would be a lighthearted memoir. Apparently, 2011 is my year for not reading book descriptions because this is yet another book that is not what I expected. It also became clear pretty quickly that at 44 years old, I am much older than the target audience for this book.

The "chapters" are really little snippets with topics like the top ways to get over a man after a breakup or how miserable it is to be on a diet. If I was reading these chapters as blog posts, I would have enjoyed them more. I've read several books that started out as blogs but fell flat when transferred to paper. The Hewitt book came together as the result of a girls' night out, but it still feels the same. The "surprising truths about the opposite sex" would not be a revelation to anyone who has dated more than one guy or lived with a man for over 20 years, as I have. Still, I can see that a 21-year-old would benefit from knowing that a workout can be a great way to alleviate the post-breakup blues or that you need to stand up for yourself in a relationship.

Ultimately, I think The Day I Shot Cupid makes a great bathroom book. I had it sitting on the edge of the tub in my bathroom and after a couple days, I noticed that two bookmarks had been added to it. Apparently, ABM and M (who just turned 18) had both been reading bits of the book when they were in the bathroom. ABM isn't much of a reader; he liked the book because it was light and the chapters were short. M found the book much funnier than I did, probably because she is young enough to have read some of these jokes for the first time. So if you keep the practice of having magazines like Reader's Digest in your loo, then you might want to slip this book in with them.

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Sunday Salon: My Daughter's First Library Card

2011-02-13T09:17:00.004-05:00

I let my daughter C1 get her first library card last week. Considering that she is 14, you may be wondering what took me so long! For the most part, ABM and I are laid-back parents who don't do a lot of hovering over our kids. I don't have much desire to be an authority figure, but the little I do have pops out in strange ways. Knowing when the kids are old enough for various types of responsibility has been a difficult part of parenting for me, and that extends to library books.

My eldest daughter M got a library card when she was 11 because of the advanced program she was in at school. She lost it before she ever got a chance to use it. After that, I wasn't in a rush to get the other kids their own cards. Our current system of having the kids tell me the books they want and me requesting them online has been working fine. Now, however, C1 has more opportunities to go to the local library branch without me and she wants to be able to check out her own books and do her homework on the library computers instead of competing for time with her siblings. She presented a good argument, so I caved :-). C1 was so excited to get her own card that you would think it was a driver's license. For me it feels like I've given her almost as much freedom as a driver's license would provide. It seems that I am rapidly approaching the day when my kids won't be taking my reading suggestions any longer.

CURRENTLY READING: Since my last post, I've started reading both Life: Keith Richards and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother with little progress. I picked both of these books because they have been widely discussed recently, and I thought I would zip right through them. Apparently, being a hot topic of conversation doesn't make a book any easier for me to read. For the Amy Chua book, I think I may switch to the audio book version so I can finish it while making progress on my other goal for this year -- doing more needlework.

Sunday Salon: I Heart Jennifer Schuessler

2011-01-30T10:51:00.003-05:00

One of the podcasts that I listen to regularly is the NY Times Book Review. Most of the time it is a bit too high-brow for me; as soon as someone mentions Nietzsche, I'm lost. However, I keep the show on my playlist because of a short segment they do during the last few minutes called Bestseller News. Jennifer Schuessler, the presenter, is warm and engaging. I can always hear the smile or smirk in her voice. Even when she is talking about a book I would never read, she draws me in. I would love to hear Schuessler on one of the pop-culture podcasts I listen to, like Slate's Culture Gabfest or NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour.

Q: Do any of you listen to book review podcasts? Do you have a favorite presenter?

TBR LIST: Time to check the status of my TBR list! Yes, I know everyone else did it in their first post of the year, but I'm always late :-).

I currently have 227 titles on my TBR list. Only three of the titles are ones I added in 2008, so I guess I did OK in my effort to either read or purge the oldest books from my list. There are still 50-odd titles left that were added to the list in 2009, but I don't think I will be addressing that right away. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've developed a desire to read more current books. If you know me, this isn't exactly out of character. My tastes are decidedly retro, but every few months I dip my foot into the pop culture pool to gauge the temperature. Once I've familiarized myself with the current Top 40 charts and the latest TV shows and movies, I crawl back into my cave. I'm actually a little surprised that it took me this long to do the same with books.

ON MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Besides the new Keith Richard memoir, I have a couple books by Larry Winget, People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It! and Your Kids Are Your Own Fault. I read one of his books on finance a while back and while I didn't think anything he wrote applied to me, I found his writing good for a laugh.

UPCOMING: We are approaching February and I've already gotten my first seed catalog. This means that most of the books I'll be checking out for the next few months will be about gardening and home improvement. My husband got me a sewing machine for Christmas, so there will be a lot of sewing books in my stack, as well. If I do reviews of any of those books, I will probably post them on my personal blog which is more about my home life. Of course, I'll put up links to those posts here just in case anyone is interested.

"The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin

2011-01-23T11:22:00.002-05:00

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Genre: non-fiction, stunt memoir
On my TBR list?: yes, since Dec 2009

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I picked up this book after reading an article by Gretchen Rubin in the Huffington Post. It is a stunt memoir where the author attempts to live by several different happiness principles for an entire year. Rubin's project involved tackling a different area of her life each month and applying several different principles to making it better. One month it would be marriage, another month parenting, another month friendships, and so on. In preparation for this, Rubin read a lot of books on happiness as well as interviewing people who seemed to be successful in certain areas.

My one takeaway from reading this book didn't come from the author herself but from a person she interviewed who had a long successful marriage. The advice was that a married couple should always have one indoor game and one outdoor game that they like to play together. Simple things like this resonate with me, and this sounds like something that my husband and I could manage.

Overall, The Happiness Project was just OK to me. A lot of the book had a "See? All you have to do is this" tone to it that works in a crafting book, but was somewhat off-putting in this case. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it, but I don't think I'd recommend it.

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