May Reading Log (Annotated)

A Woman's High Calling, by Elizabeth George
Meaty, recommended.

Ecclesiastes, KJ Version
Surpisingly enough, one of my favorite books of the Bible. Verses like:
Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Psalms, KJ Version
Probably my favorite. Psalm 90 forever.

How to Know the Will of God, by Knofel Staton
Eh.

Judges, KJ Version

Jonathan Goforth, by Janet & Geoff Benge
Good bio.

His Chosen Bride, by Jennifer Lamp
Also meaty and recommended for singles.

Joshua, KJ Version

Ruth, KJ Version

The long-lost quilt

Well, long-lost to you. It haunts my every waking moment.

Four rows quilted, three to go. Did I say this was easier than writing a novel? (And yes, that's all by hand.)

You don't think much of yourself, do you?

Random goals I've jotted down for my novel-in-progress:

Beauty meets Jane Eyre.

Simple elegance.

Historical fantasy.

In first-person but feel as though it's in third.

Inspired by the Six Swans fairytale, but "flies off on the peacock wings of the novelist's invention."

What's on Your Nightstand?

I've never participated in 5 Minutes for Books' What's on Your Nightstand project, though I enjoy reading the lists other bloggers post.

But I think June's nightstand stack is worthy of note because: I have not read any fiction at all this month! May has been fiction-free, and while it was enjoyable--in a way--I've also had some shaky days where I really. needed. fiction.

However, June 1st is right around the corner, and my nightstand is piled high. Here's looking forward to:

The Reluctant Heiress, by Eva Ibbotson
Strawberry Hill, by Mary Ann Hoberman
Darkwood, by M.E. Breen
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly
Eyes Like Stars, by Lisa Manchev
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo (I'm 7/10 done)
Brian Hambric, by Kaleb Nation
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel by Gregory Maguire

How about you?

Scoop of the e-e-evening: Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass

Review copy courtesy of Sourcebooks; reviewed by my brother Robbie, age 15.

The story begins with school ending. Nick Rostov is looking forward to summer break and his birthday, which is the following day. Nick lives in a hotel with his father, an amateur magician who is facing a career change. Nick thinks that this summer will be no different from his past twelve, but when his Grandfather gives him his birthday gift, things begin to change and Nick is “kidnapped.” Nick finds himself on the top floors of the Winter Palace Hotel and Casino.

This is where Nick’s magical relatives hide from the dark powers of the Shadowkeepers, a cult of dark wizards who have been trying to gain complete domination over magic since it came into existence. Nick’s family, though in hiding, puts on a top-of-the-line magic show, and since their magic is real, the crowds flock to their performances.

Nicks family collects magic relics and stores them in a special vault below the Winter Palace. They must keep these relics safe from the Shadowkeepers, who would use them for evil. But the Shadowkeepers are seeking a certain relic that has been passed down through the ages to some of the greatest magicians, including Houdini. Nick decides that it is up to him to stop the Shadowkeepers from obtaining this relic, which had the ability to stop time itself.

Although Magickeepers has a good plot, there really isn’t a buildup or preparation in the beginning for what happens later on. There isn’t much of a foundation that the story is built on so you really don’t feel like it actually happened, a feeling I think a book should impart. In spite of this, I did enjoy reading this book but I just didn’t feel that it was especially well-written.

Scoop of the e-e-evening: The Last Olympian

Reviewed by my brother Robbie, age 15

The final book of the Percy Jackson series is packed with non-stop action. By the end of the first chapter, there has already been a casualty, and the Princess Andromeda, a monster-infested cruise ship, has been blown up.

Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood with three beads in his necklace, hoping that he will be alive to add a fourth at the end of the summer. Things have gone from bad to worse at camp. With many of the demigods changing sides and supporting Kronos, the numbers at Camp Half-Blood are dwindling. Which is bad, because Kronos and his forces are gathering for an attack, and no one is quite sure where they will strike. And to top it all off, the gods have left Mount Olympus to battle Typhon, the father of all monsters, who has come out of hiding and is going on a cross-country trip leaving cities destroyed in his wake.

Percy discovers that in order for him to have a chance of defeating Kronos, he must take a trip to the Underworld and the river Styx, after which Percy gathers the half-bloods together to face the forces of Kronos alone, with no help from the gods.

There is so much in this book that I had trouble writing an adequate review. The Last Olympian is, in my opinion, the best of the series. All of the loose ends come together in a tight knot, with every strand touching another. I take my hat off to Rick Riordan for creating the perfect ending to his series and I look forward to reading his next Camp Half-Blood series.

All in a day's work

The other day, a patron renewed her books over the phone. Without looking too closely at her account, I clicked select all and renew.

.

The receipt printer ran ... and ran ... and ran ...

.

89 items.

.

Can you beat that?

I'm up at Novel Journey

...interviewing the amazing Laurel Snyder, author of this month's brilliant Any Which Wall. Check it out!

So we're watching Little Dorrit

(one bloody Netflix at a time), and it's at an especially suspenseful scene, and my 13 y/o sister turns to me, eyes wide. "What happens?"

"How should I know?" I hiss, without moving my gaze from the screen.

"What?" she cries. "You haven't read the book?"

"No! Be quiet."

"You haven't read it?" she repeats, her expression filled with incredulous reproach. "Why didn't you read the book? I can't believe you didn't read the book!"

"Shut up!" I say. "Just watch and you'll find out what happens, like kids do in normal non-literate families."

Readers of this blog, unite! (again)

(Do you think the prolatarians ever got tired of hearing that?)

Bloggers who participated in the Crocodaddy blog tour were entered in a popularity poll to win a $25 Amazon certificate. If you liked what you saw here, you can vote me in. Danke!

Kidz Book Buzz Blog Tour: Crocodaddy (Dadly Games)

As I said in my review, I liked the concept in Crocodaddy — a dad playing with his son, pretending to be a crocodile as they swam together. I think a lot of fathers create games like Crocodaddy, so that aspect resonates when you bring out the book as a bedtime story.

Our dad created Tickle Pterodactyl. He played it with me, and he still plays it with the little ones, which means that for twenty years, the pterodactyl has raw! raw! rawed! snapping finger-jaws toward shrieking toddlers. (Shrieks of delight, of course.) Then, after releasing his prey, he has gone to sleep on the floor, peering through the slits of his tricksy eyes at the giggling faces inching closer … and closer … until it’s too late.

What animal games go on at your house?

Kidz Book Buzz Blog Tour: Crocodaddy (From the Mouths of Babes)

Henry (age 4)

This comedian learns all his tricks from his 11-year-old brother. Neither of them know what they’re talking about half the time. My apologies.

Tell me about Crocodaddy.

I like it. I’m honest about it.

What else?

Nothing else.

What was your favorite part?

Where he drowns. The little guy—what’s his name?

I don’t think it ever says his name.

I’ll just call him James. Where James sinks into the bottom.

Note: contrary to source opinions, this book does not contain a drowning sequence.

Adeline (age 8)

For a slightly more refined take on Kim Norman’s Crocodaddy.

I like the illustrations.

At the end, "Hunter" and his father have shadows of Crocodaddy and his baby.

I like it when Hunter gets a sandwich and puts it on a rope so Crocodaddy can eat it and then he jumps on him.

Kidz Book Buzz Blog Tour: Crocodaddy (Review)

I’m pretty tough when it comes to picture books. There are so many printed each year—which are the good stories, and which are the best stories?

Every household has a mountain of old favorites, which means new books don’t just scuffle with each other. They compete against the likes of Shirley Hughes, Rosemary Wells and Don & Audrey Wood. Which means an author/illustrator team has to be bloody brilliant to break out.

I read Crocodaddy, by Kim Norman, to a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old. They listen to anything, and they did enjoy the story: their reviews will go up tomorrow. But today’s viewpoint is that of a critical older-sister/children’s-librarian/former-picture-book-connoisseur. Crocodaddy is cute, but not break-out material.

Rhyming books are difficult to do well, and the couplet style is not a favorite of mine. Some lines worked: “That’s how you tame a Crocodaddy pet … (you don’t need a rope and you don’t need a net!)" But other lines felt crowded and choppy.

The illustrations are engaging. Both kids enjoyed the colors. But while the concept was great (daddy playing with his son, pretending to be a crocodile), the text fell short for me.

Kidz Book Buzz Blog Tour: Crocodaddy

The Kidz Book Buzz blog tour strikes again: this time we're touring a picture book by Kim Norman, Crocodaddy, illustrated by David Walker.

I'll be posting my review today, and thoughts from a 4-year-old and 8-year-old tomorrow and Wednesday.

Hop around, see what other bloggers are saying about this story.


A Christian Worldview of Fiction
A Mom Speaks
A Patchwork of Books
All About Children’s Books
Becky’s Book Reviews
Booking Mama
Cafe of Dreams
Dolce Bellezza
Dulemba
Fireside Musings
KidzBookBuzz.com
Looking Glass Reviews
Maw Books Blog
Olive Tree
Our Big Earth
Reading is My Superpower
SMS Book Reviews
The 160 Acrewoods
Through a Child’s Eyes

Inside My Head (what a mess)

Images to spur the creation of my next novel, Nederland (working title). As my sidebar claims, it’s a “YA märchen set in 17th century Holland.” The six swans fairy tale? That’s my inspiration. Not a retelling. Just a springboard.

So, clockwise, beginning upper left: Hendrik, youngest of the swan brothers (and love interest). Reina, our heroine. Peiter, her father. Jantina, her (silent) mother. And half-sister to Hendrik. Arie, Reina’s older brother. (They have two other brothers, twins, who don’t come into the story much.) Magtel, the village grandmother/herb woman. Wanted Pieter to marry her daughter. Hilje. Aforementioned daughter, a cripple and the children’s nurse.

Confused?

I know I am.

(Now, how many BBC faces do you recognize? ;)

Prospera?

I'm quite excited about this:

In Julie Taymor's version of 'The Tempest,' the gender of Prospero has been switched to Prospera. Going back to the 16th or 17th century, women practicing the magical arts of alchemy were often convicted of witchcraft. In Taymor's version, Prospera is usurped by her brother and sent off with her four-year daughter on a ship. She ends up on an island; it's a tabula rasa: no society, so the mother figure becomes a father figure to Miranda. This leads to the power struggle and balance between Caliban and Prospera; a struggle not about brawn, but about intellect.

The Tempest is one of my favorite plays on paper, but I've never seen it performed. In this film version, Miranda is played by Felicity Jones, of Northanger Abbey fame.

What more can I ask?

Little Sisters

My newly-eight-year-old sister peered from the car window at a long, scraggly lawn, clogged with weeds and dandelion clocks.

"Wow," she breathed, awestruck. "They have so many wishes in their yard."

Home alone (together)

My sister is
at the sink,
scraping fish and chips
off two plates.

I'm standing
on a kitchen stool
singing
I'd rather tryyyy defyyyying gravityyy

With far-flung arms.

It's good to have
fences
for
neighbors.

From the Archives of My Mind!

One of my Novel Journey mates was mentioned on PW last summer for his piece on Christian Vampires. Idly, I followed the link and arrived at that October 2007 post where, lo and behold! I had commented several times.

Have you ever stumbled upon yourself, upon words you didn't remember writing, displayed for all the world to read? Kind of weird.

But I was proud of myself. In fact, as I skimmed the comments, I thought, wow! I wrote that? Nice!

I didn't have a blog at the time, or I would have posted here. So now you get thoughts from the archives of my mind, courteously preserved by the world wide web.


At 6:51 PM, Anonymous said...
My biggest nit with reclaiming vampires is that traditionally, they have stood with witches, black dwarves, orcs, dragons, etc. Vampires as sympathetic figures are a 21st century twist. Its presence in children's lit (and it's BIG) means setting common morality on its head--screws knight vs. dragon for knight and dragon BFF. This leaves huge marks on kids' ever-evolving moral education. Subtly and by implication only, they're taught that "bad" and "good" have permanent quotation marks.

Just some thoughts. :)
Noel

At 9:03 PM, Mike said...
Question though: Aren't there good dragons? I seem to recall several films / books that incorporate kind, scaly critters. So what if it's a 21st century thing. We are living there. And if it's fiction, it ain't etched in stone. Perhaps the strength of the concept, from a literary perspective, is not in its historical interpretation, but its fluidity. Henceforth, The Good Orc will be my next Novel Journey entry.

By the way, are you blogging yet, Noel? Or is that too 21st century. :}

At 10:28 AM, Anonymous said...
Sure there are good dragons. There are good witches, too. And they're already working on good orcs.

My concern is for the children growing up under these metaphor-morphing 21st century paradigms ... Schiller said, "Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life." Fiction may be fiction, but it's not impotent-- especially for kids.

Nope, not blogging. I leave that to the techie geezers.

:)
Noel

At 9:41 PM, Mike said...
Noel, Are you suggesting that fairy tale archetypes should never change? Once a dragon, always a dragon -- or should I say BAD DRAGON? I'd suggest that we teach children morality by giving them the tools to discern BEHAVIOR -- this includes discerning the behavior of fairy tale characters. A BAD dragon is one who incinerates virgins; a GOOD dragon rescues them. Teaching our children to discern behavior is more important than maintaining the status quo among Hansel and Gretel.

Signed, Techie Geezer

At 1:02 PM, Anonymous said...
Oh Mike, you know I love you. Like a grandpa. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

You're totally right that teaching children to discern behavior is more important than making sure all dragons are bad. But, for hundreds of years, stories--fairy tales--have heavily influenced millions of children, not didactically, but through symbols and metaphors and archetypes. These types have not altered from one generation to the next (until now)--rather, they have preserved a moral standard. Where did that moral standard originate? Who was the first storyteller who decided witches should be evil and princesses good? Secularists shrug.

The idea that dragons are bad is as old as Saint George. *climbs onto a limb* To go totally fundy, it's as old as Satan the Serpent. Writers like Tolkien and Lewis demonstrate their belief that traditional paradigms exist for a reason, and should be preserved. (Balder kills Smog in the Hobbit, Eustace is converted from dragon to human by Aslan.)

There's a really good book on the subject, called A Landscape with Dragons, about the influence stories have on children. O'Brien is the author, I think.

Noel

At 1:05 PM, Anonymous said...
By the way, thanks for being such a nice guy in your comments. It's refreshing to be able to disagree agreeably with someone.

Noel

If/When

If/When The Jonah Bottle is published, my dream cover is a cross between David Frankland (William S. and the Great Escape) and LeUyen Pham (Any Which Wall).

Unless Paul Zelinsky is still alive. Then there's no pussyfooting. Can you imagine sharing an illustrator with Nesbit? I feel faint. Oh, wait. This is a daydream. Phew!

All in a day's work

A man came in with a list from his daughter.

"Can you tell me if you have any of these?"

I looked at the list.

The Goose Girl
Enna Burning
River Secrets
Princess Academy
Austenland
Rapunzel's Revenge

I looked up.

"Yes. We have them."

He blinked. "Just like that?"

I smiled, a Sphinx smile. "I'll see if they're on shelf."

Carnegie Shortlist

People are saying, seven books about seven boys? By five male authors?

I say, how cool is that?

(I mean, hello, Cosmic is one of the books.)

Frank Cottrell Boyce’s Cosmic
Kevin Brooks’ Black Rabbit Summer
Eoin Colfer’s Airman
Siobhan Dowd’s Bog Child
Keith Gray’s Ostrich Boys
Patrick Ness’ s The Knife of Never Letting Go
Kate Thompson’s Creature of the Night

Readers of this blog, unite!

Bloggers who participated in the Savvy blog tour were entered in a popularity poll to win a $25 Amazon certificate. If you liked what you saw here, you can vote me in. Danke!

Fiction Fast

Heads up: I'll be fasting from fiction this month.

Hard (!) as that is, I think it's good to forbear once in a while ... it definitely rejuvenates my prose appreciation. June 1st will find me jumping up and down at the sight of a novel. Have you had that reaction lately?

And it will give me 31 days of distraction-free focus on the most important book ever printed. I'll also get to a bit of non-fiction that's been sitting on my shelf:

His Chosen Bride: Applying Proverbs 31 as a Single Young Woman, by Jennifer J. Lamp

Miracles, by C.S. Lewis

How to Know the Will of God, by Knofel Staton

A Woman's High Calling, by Elizabeth George

I'll still blog, but there won't be any reviews, obviously. I'm wrapping Eva Ibbotson's The Reluctant Heiress in pretty paper and putting a big bow on top. Happy birthday to me on June 1st!