Monday, October 26, 2009
Rebecca Caudill
If you're looking for some great reading for the 4th - 8th grader in your life (or if you are into literature for this age group yourself) I HIGHLY recommend books that have been nominated for the Rebecca Caudill award . (You can read more about this award here.) Back in my teaching days, our school did a fantastic job of promoting these books and jump-starting a LOT of reading in our upper elementary/middle school. I have just begun reading through the list of the 2010 nominees and will keep updating my progress in the margin over yonder. There is a wide variety of great literature included in these picks and, for an adult, they are a pretty quick read.
Friday, October 23, 2009
The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Although I first became aware that this book existed several years ago, I wasn't really interested in reading it until I started to see previews in July for the film, at which point I was totally intrigued. It is a long novel, so prepare yourself for that, but I found it difficult to put down.
The novel centers on the love story of Clare and Henry who have known each other all of, well, Clare's life. Henry was born with a genetic condition that causes him to time travel. Often without much warning he will disappear, landing somewhere in the past or future and always without his clothes. Now that's embarrassing. It is a lonely and frustrating condition, and the only person who really can understand him is...him. (He'll often run into himself on these excursions.) On one of these trips as an adult, he meets the future love of his life, Clare - a six-year-old at the time. Don't get too weirded out - it's not like he puts the moves on her or anything. From here we are told the story of their life, bouncing back and forth between each of their points of view.
Almost immediately I was completely captivated by Henry and Clare and found myself rooting for them and their relationship despite the obstacles they face, both the bizarre and very relatable. I will say that several times I was pretty baffled by the chronology (or lack thereof). I find that any book or movie that messes with the time-space continuum loses me at least once along the way. Some sort of flow chart or time table probably would have helped me out.
BOTTOM LINE: If you're in the market for a unique love story, with a side of some suspense, I believe you will not be disappointed.
P.S. I have yet to see the movie. If anyone has seen it, what did you think?
The novel centers on the love story of Clare and Henry who have known each other all of, well, Clare's life. Henry was born with a genetic condition that causes him to time travel. Often without much warning he will disappear, landing somewhere in the past or future and always without his clothes. Now that's embarrassing. It is a lonely and frustrating condition, and the only person who really can understand him is...him. (He'll often run into himself on these excursions.) On one of these trips as an adult, he meets the future love of his life, Clare - a six-year-old at the time. Don't get too weirded out - it's not like he puts the moves on her or anything. From here we are told the story of their life, bouncing back and forth between each of their points of view.
Almost immediately I was completely captivated by Henry and Clare and found myself rooting for them and their relationship despite the obstacles they face, both the bizarre and very relatable. I will say that several times I was pretty baffled by the chronology (or lack thereof). I find that any book or movie that messes with the time-space continuum loses me at least once along the way. Some sort of flow chart or time table probably would have helped me out.
BOTTOM LINE: If you're in the market for a unique love story, with a side of some suspense, I believe you will not be disappointed.
P.S. I have yet to see the movie. If anyone has seen it, what did you think?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
I am a member of two book clubs, if that tells you anything about my obsession with reading and being around others who love it as much as I do, and my longest-running group has this book as its most recent pick. One thing I love about this group is how we've been through so many stages of life together: working women (most of us teachers), then new moms, and now "veteran" moms (if there really is such a thing - I know I ALWAYS feel like a novice) whose oldest children are venturing into school. It's been a blessing to share common experiences with these women, receive their counsel, and escape together into some literature in the midst of our busy lives.
The Ten-Year Nap centers somewhat around the stage of life we're currently in which, for pretty much all of us, is home with our young children. Set in New York City, this novel has as its primary characters four women in the midst, or rather, the tail end, of their "ten-year-nap" from the working world. The story vacillates back and forth between their present and past, following primarily one current year. Initially I felt a little despondant for these women. They spend a great deal of time contemplating the life that was versus the life that is and also reluctantly give some thought and discussion to what's to come. They don't exude an overwhelmed joy at the privilege of raising their children. Many of them seem lost and disheartened by the fact that life didn't exactly bring them where they expected it would. Each of them has a different "status", if you will, among the stay-at-home moms: those who don't need to work but go on interviews for kicks now that the kids are older, those who should be working but just don't realize it yet, those who are afraid in a sense to follow their true heart's dream. Each of them also comes from a different "status" in the former working world: having left careers they loved, careers they felt indifferent about, and some feeling as lost as to what they "should be doing" with their lives as they often feel currently in motherhood.
As I continued reading I found that rather than pity these women I could actually relate to them (which made me pity myself a little actually). I certainly don't always exude a lot of joy about the blessing of being home with my kids, now that I stop to think about it. I know what it's like to feel unsure that your career path was the right one and also find myself experiencing some trepidation in regard to the future of that path.
BOTTOM LINE: You moms out there will probably find your wheels turning about your own life as you read about the lives of these women. It's a good kick-start to think about past choices, current choices, future choices, and just about what it means to be "Mom". It also underscored for me the importance of my Christian faith and what a comfort it is not to be out there "on my own" but to have my guiding Savior and the love of close Christian friends to walk through life with.
The Ten-Year Nap centers somewhat around the stage of life we're currently in which, for pretty much all of us, is home with our young children. Set in New York City, this novel has as its primary characters four women in the midst, or rather, the tail end, of their "ten-year-nap" from the working world. The story vacillates back and forth between their present and past, following primarily one current year. Initially I felt a little despondant for these women. They spend a great deal of time contemplating the life that was versus the life that is and also reluctantly give some thought and discussion to what's to come. They don't exude an overwhelmed joy at the privilege of raising their children. Many of them seem lost and disheartened by the fact that life didn't exactly bring them where they expected it would. Each of them has a different "status", if you will, among the stay-at-home moms: those who don't need to work but go on interviews for kicks now that the kids are older, those who should be working but just don't realize it yet, those who are afraid in a sense to follow their true heart's dream. Each of them also comes from a different "status" in the former working world: having left careers they loved, careers they felt indifferent about, and some feeling as lost as to what they "should be doing" with their lives as they often feel currently in motherhood.
As I continued reading I found that rather than pity these women I could actually relate to them (which made me pity myself a little actually). I certainly don't always exude a lot of joy about the blessing of being home with my kids, now that I stop to think about it. I know what it's like to feel unsure that your career path was the right one and also find myself experiencing some trepidation in regard to the future of that path.
BOTTOM LINE: You moms out there will probably find your wheels turning about your own life as you read about the lives of these women. It's a good kick-start to think about past choices, current choices, future choices, and just about what it means to be "Mom". It also underscored for me the importance of my Christian faith and what a comfort it is not to be out there "on my own" but to have my guiding Savior and the love of close Christian friends to walk through life with.
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