Yes!

Good morning. We're on the coast of Maine opening our camper for the summer. I pedaled to the beach yesterday and it was beautiful.


In our school system, to get recertified every three years, we have the option of getting 75 hours of workshops/classes or completing a project. I opted for the project and am trying to find a comtemporary novel for our World Literature students to study.

I read this when it first came out but it kept popping into my head so decided to read it again to see if it would be appropriate for juniors and seniors in high school and I think it would be perfect. It's told from the male point-of-view which is good. Girls are willing to read books from a male POV but guys won't read anything from a female POV.

These kids have no idea what it's like in Afghanistan so it would give them a history lesson.

It contains all the great themes in literature of friendship, betrayal, selfishness, redemption, etc.

And it's just a can't-put-down story!

I think I've found what I was looking for! Now, we just have to find the money to order a set of the novels so I can test teach it next year.

Happy reading everyone!

A Fun Week

Here it is another Sunday already. My vacation just flew!

Kylie came to visit for three days and we read this book several times. She loves it! I know there is a second book about Ladybug Girl so I hope to buy it for her soon.

Lulu is Ladybug Girl and she has to figure out a way to entertain herself. Her big brother won't let her play with him ("He's a brat!" says Kylie.) so she makes her own fun and has a great time.

In between playing with Kylie, I read snatches of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I'm a little late getting to this book since it's been out for awhile but it just never appealed to me. A friend lent me the book so I decided to give it a try and loved it.

Each little lesson is gently illustrated with a story. I had to wipe tears away quite a few times. I'm glad I read it a little bit at a time because it gave the ideas time to sink in.

Back to school tomorrow for 7 weeks and then it's summer vacation time!

A Good Reading Week

Good morning. The sky is an uninterrupted blue, the sun is sparkling, and I'm on April vacation. There is nothing swweter than a Sunday when I don't have to go to school the next day.



I had a good reading week and finished two books. The weather was so nice that I was able to sit on the porch each afternoon to read. I know I could read in the house, too, but, there are always so many distractions that I find it hard to settle down.

Of course, one of the books was by James Patterson and you know how quick they are to read. I really enjoyed it, though! Alex Cross has to go to Nigeria and Sierra Leone to hunt down a killer and his experiences there really opened my eyes to what is occuring there. Unbelievable!




This was a fast read, too, because I just couldn't put it down and stayed up reading in bed last night until I finished it.

Casey Marshall is in a coma from a car accident but she can hear and what she hears from her devoted husband, wayward sister, and friends scares her to death. Death being the key word here because someone wants Casey dead but how can she protect herself when she can't see or even move?

Hope everyone has a good reading week!

A Nice Light Read

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! Happy Sunday to everybody else!





This book was a riot! It was light and hilarious. When Raquel Rose is diagnosed with breast cancer, her life changes for the better. Her husband notices her again, her children stop treating her like a maid, and her mom pays the attention to her that she's always heaped on Raquel's sister, Lauren. So, when the doctor tells her that the lab made a mistake and she doesn't really have cancer, Raquel decides not to tell her family.


I loved this laugh-out-loud novel!

Done!

Good morning from northern NH. Winter is slowly giving up and spring is beginning to show her face. On Thursday evening we got the Weber out and charcoaled some hamburgers for the first time this season. Delish!

Yes! I finally finished this book. When I got home from school Thursday afternoon it was 57 degrees so I sat in the sun on the front porch and read until it was done.

This is not a book I could read quickly. The writing style is beautiful but it made me pay attention and slow down so I could savor every morsel of it.

It is narrated by Marion Stone. He and his twin brother were conjoined but separated at birth. They are born in Ethiopia to an Indian nun and an English doctor who work at a mission hospital. When their mother dies in childbirth and their father runs away, the boys are raised by two other doctors who also work at the mission.

They are very close until something happens that causes a rift in their relationship. What happens and how they deal with it makes for an extraordinary story.

The novel is rich in images of their country and its people but it never strays far from the story of the twins.

I cried several times at the end and had to keep wiping my eyes surreptitiously so the neighbors wouldn't get worried about me!

Sunday Salon

Can you believe I'm still reading Cutting for Stone? I'm really enjoying it but just haven't been able to carve out much reading time this week.

Plus, it's not the kind of book I can rush through. It takes place in Ethiopia and all the names are so...well, foreign! that it took me a while to become comfortable with them.

I'm over halfway and it's an excellent portrayal of twin brothers coming of age during Haile Selassie's reign. It's not heavy on politics, though.

Foggy and rainy here in northern NH today so, hopefully, I can curl up and read for a bit.

A Cold Week

It's a gray morning here in NH and that fits my mood perfectly. I'm still hacking away from this nasty cold that I've been fighting for over a week now. I'm sitting here in my navy blue flannel pajamas with stars and moons on them and I might just stay in them all day.

This is a new book of poetry I just got. I read Alison Townsend's poem "Smoke" a few years ago and loved it and have been a fan ever since.

I think today will be a good day to get started on it.

I'm also still reading Cutting for Stone. It's a long book and very well written but not one I can race through.

So, I'll have plenty to read in between blowing my nose and coughing!