A very clever, unusual book! Ottoline lives on the 24th floor of the Pepperpot Building with Mr. Munroe, a small, hairy creature from a wet bog in Norway, while her parents travel the world collecting interesting things. (One of the things they “collected”was Mr. Munroe!) Ottoline is a thoughtful, quiet girl who enjoys brushing Mr. Munroe’s hair, splashing in puddles, taking care of her parents’ collections (such as emperor’s hats and meteorites) and solving tricky problems. In this first book of an intended series, Ottoline and Mr. Munroe stumble upon a mystery: who is stealing the lapdogs from the society ladies of the neighborhood? Can they break up the crime ring led by a sneaky yellow cat and return the dogs to their owners? The story is clever, humorous and quirky, and the amazing illustrations, black and white line drawings with splashes of red here and there, add an important element to the book. You can pore over each intricate drawing and find surprising details. This book will appeal to fans of graphic novels, because there is so much going on in the illustrations, as well as anyone who enjoys a funny mystery with offbeat characters. It will be equally entertaining for adults who appreciate creative and imaginative children’s books.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Inspiring Books: Julie & Julia
Some days it’s easy to love life. Work is great. Family’s great. Weekends are filled with sunny, fun days ahead. Other days it’s not so easy. Call it your savage, untamed hair day. I like to say it’s my crazy hair day. The ones that resemble Monica’s frizzy hairdo in the Friend’s episode that took place in Barbados. Well that’s how some days are like. Wild and barbaric, and hard to control.
I’m having one of those days. My latest battle is with difficult publishers-those you have to chase in order to get them to pay you and it’s not fun. That’s why I’m in desperate need for inspiration. Thank goodness for Julie Powell’s book Julie & Julia. While I love food and cooking, I can’t say that I’m a food snob, nor have I ever watched an episode of Julia Child or read her cookbook. But the jewel of this fast read is more about the author’s fiery passion for reaching her dreams than the fiery meals she cooks in the kitchen. I’m envious of her pure focus and goal. One that needs no explanation and rarely leaves room for doubt.
As I trek on this road to pursue my own dreams, I am continuously inspired by Julie Powell and her seemingly insane goal of cooking her way through 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year! Not because the feat was awe-inspiring (which it was) but because from an idea as small as a seed she grew an insane garden filled with possibility and in it her life’s dream. Can you imagine how many obstacles one might have while attempting to fulfill such a goal?
Perhaps what is most inspirational is the fact that she kept to it without any expectation that her idea would blossom into a full outright writing career. She sacrificed sleep, house cleanliness and many peaceful nights with her husband but in the end gained more from the challenge than she ever imagined. From one aspiring writer to another, I’d ask her, “How’d you do it Julie? How’d you keep to your dreams even when you felt like throwing in the kitchen towel?” As for me, I can only hope to get whisked away on a similar adventure, one that will take me just one step closer to my dreams of being a writer.
What about you? Any inspiring reads lately?
Friday, October 2, 2009
A great story for Halloween
One grave in every graveyard belongs to the ghouls. Wander any graveyard long enough and you will find it — waterstained and bulging, with cracked or broken stone, scraggly grass or rank weeds around it, and a feeling, when you reach it, of abandonment. It may be colder than the other gravestones, too, and the name is all too often impossible to read. If there is a statue on the grave it will be headless or so scabbed with fungus and lichens as to look like a fungus itself. If one grave in a graveyard looks like a target for petty vandals, that is the ghoul-gate. If the grave makes you want to be somewhere else, that is the ghoul-gate.
There was one in Bod’s graveyard.
There is one in every graveyard.
[From page 61 of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman]
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Copyright 2008, HarperCollins
307 pages, fantasy
Nobody Owens (short for Bod), may appear to be a perfectly average boy, but he has lived in an abandoned graveyard for as long as he can remember, looked after and educated by ghosts and other beings of the dead. He soon gets a thirst for adventure and wants to leave the graveyard, though if he does, he will be in great danger — in danger of the same force that killed his former family.
The Graveyard Book chronicles Bod’s adventures in a way that seems nearly like a collection of short stories, each chapter a new story, in a way. Neil Gaiman is a master of suspense, and his dark humor weaves through every chapter. This book really set the mood for Halloween, with plenty of ghosts and ghouls and such. The story itself left me hypnotized, and the day after I finished the story I found myself wandering the local cemetery in search of the “ghoul-gate”. Say I have an overreactive imagination, but I believe I found it.
The book was stuffed full of illustrations by Dave McKean, and while McKean did a good job at capturing the essence of Gaiman’s writing, the constant pictures interrupting text annoyed me. I prefer to imagine things myself. Also, the involvement of the mundane, just as the book gets rolling, was a bit discouraging to me, as I was hoping for a totally phantasmagoric, Edgar Allan Poe-esque tale. Overall, a really good story, worthy of the Newbery award it received.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Visit Neil Gaiman’s website at http://www.mousecircus.com .
Bible Reading
Through the years I have tried various Bible reading plans. For the most part I didn’t care for any of them because they lacked flexibility. I like to do a variety of things during my quiet time and most plans are just too rigid for me. A few years ago I found a Bible reading plan that Ransom Fellowship publishes that works well for me. It is the Read through the Bible Program for Shirkers and Slackers. I don’t even use it the way it’s set up; I use it as a check sheet as I read through an entire book of the Bible.
My desire is that my time in the Word is spent in rich communion with my Heavenly Father, so I ask the Spirit to use His Word to speak to and teach me. Today I was looking at some things written by Tim Keller and found these five questions he suggests you ask as you read the Bible daily:
- How can I praise him?
- How can I confess my sins on the basis of this text?
- If this is really true, what wrong behaviour, what harmful emotions or false attitudes result in me when I forget this? Every problem is because you have forgotten something. What problems are you facing?
- What should I be aspiring to on the basis of this text?
- Why are you telling me this today?
I plan to write these in my journal and make a card that I can keep in my Bible. I have found that asking myself questions is such an important part of my growth.
Recently I purchased an ESV Study Bible. I find the articles and notes to be helpful and they add rich background to the text. Most of the time I enjoy doing my reading in the NLT and even The Message.
Some may find this funny, but another thing I have done is read through The Jesus Storybook Bible in my quiet time. This book, and my pastor’s book, What God Has Always Wanted, are my all-time favorite children’s book. In fact, The Jesus Storybook Bible is now available in an audio version. This book is so good that Jana’s Bible teacher reads it to them in class quite often…and they are high school students! Here is a taste from the first story–
Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done.
Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose), they get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean.
No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne–everything–to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!
Joelle enjoys this book so much that she asked her teachers if she could use it for her required reading. Jana wants a copy in Spanish. We recommend and use it at my church all the time…need I say more?
One of the core values at my church is understanding God’s Word. I want to seek to understand God’s Word by allowing the Scriptures to shape my thinking and living (Psalm 119:9-16 and Luke 24:25-49)…I want to know and enjoy God more…and I want to experience more of the presence and power of God in my life…I want to trust God’s Word versus leaning on my own understanding.
From My Audio Library – Exposure by Brandilyn Collins
I’ve been on a quest to vary the type of books I read so that my range in reading selections includes everything from literary classics to nonfiction bestsellers. Since time is my biggest obstacle to enjoying more books, I’ve taken to downloading books from iTunes or Netlibrary. One of my recent purchases was Exposure, a stand-alone novel that came out earlier this year by Brandilyn Collins. For $9.95 I purchased the audiobook on iTunes and enjoyed listening to the story on my iPhone.
I love suspense novels, and this book by Brandilyn is masterfully done. As someone who studies the work of other writers, I can honestly say Brandilyn is extremely adept in the fine art of storytelling. So often, I read suspense novels and figure out the ending much too quickly, but in this case, I didn’t see the ending coming whatsoever. That, my friends, is the sign of gifted storytelling and writing.
In case you enjoy seatbelt suspense—that’s Brandilyn’s tagline—let me share the blurb from the back cover of Exposure:
When your worst fear comes true.
Someone is watching Kaycee Raye. But who will believe her? Everyone knows she’s a little crazy. Kaycee’s popular syndicated newspaper column pokes fun at her own paranoia and multiple fears. The police in her small town are well aware she makes money writing of her experiences. Worse yet, she has no proof of the threats. Pictures of a dead man mysteriously appear in her home—then vanish before police arrive. Multisensory images flood Kaycee’s mind. Where is all this coming from? Maybe she is going over the edge. High action and psychological suspense collide in this story of terror, twists, and desperate faith. The startling questions surrounding Kaycee pile high. Her descent to answers may prove more than she can survive.
If you’re looking for a gripping suspense novel on the go, I’d definitely encourage you to check out Exposure. For more information about Brandilyn’s novels, you can find her on the web at www.brandilyncollins.com.
Happy reading, I mean listening, everyone!
Related Posts:
From My Audio Library – The Shack by WM. Paul Young
Books on the Go
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Call Me Maria
A book review by Alicja Duda
What was the most difficult decision you ever had to make? Did it change your life for better or for worse?
Call Me María is a coming-of-age story about a young girl who lives with her Mami and Papi along the rich and exotic coast of Puerto Rico. However, María’s precious charismatic life on the tropical island is soon brought to a stand-still when her Papi, though loving toward his family and Puerto Rico, feels deprived of his city life in America and decides to move back to his home in New York. For young María, this becomes a decision that will change the direction of her life. Does she choose to continue living with her Mami or does she choose to accompany her Papi? Does she choose her home in Puerto Rico or America?
Written in poems and letters, author Judith Ortiz Cofer is able to bring normally touchy topics to the table in a personal, relatable, and even humorous way. Call Me María conveys the journey in which both María and the reader take to discover the beauty of growing up and the true meaning of love.
Coming Soon---Cybils 2009
Nominations open October 1st (today)
So far on my list to nominate:
Middle Grade Fiction:
Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff
Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino
Picture Books:
Crow Calls by Lois Lowry
Posy by Linda Newbery
Young Adult Fiction:
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Scat by Carl Hiaasen