The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

I've never been a seventh grade boy, but I'd have to say that reading Gary Schmidt's Wednesday Wars gave me as clear a picture as I could get about being twelve in the late 1960's. Issues such as the Vietnam War, family relationships, and disillusionment with childhood heroes mingle with the typical challenges a kid in junior high faces: conflict with bullies, middle school romance, and the all-important reputation. Tying them all together? Shakespeare.
Holling Hoodhood is convinced that his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. On Wednesday afternoons, while his Jewish classmates attend Hebrew study and his Catholic classmates attend Catechism, Holling, the lone Presbyterian, is left to suffer his teacher's scrutiny as well as her chores. Somewhere along the way, Mrs. Baker decides that reading Shakespeare together will be a far more worthwhile use of their afternoons together. While initially intrigued only by Shakespeare's colorful curses and insults, Holling comes to genuinely enjoy the Bard's tales and beyond that, finds life application as he navigates junior high.
This book had me both laughing and crying, by turns. Which is absolutely my favorite kind of book to read.
BOTTOM LINE: A southwest blow on ye and blister you all o'er if you choose never to read this book. It would make you pied ninny.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Living in Chicagoland I'm particularly aware of Frank Lloyd Wright and his brilliant architecture. Many a time I've driven through Oak Park where his work abounds. Never before have I been interested in the man's personal life, until our most recent book club pick was a work of fiction based on him and his seven-plus year affair with a married woman. While a fictional piece, the book is based on facts, and the author dug into these facts as well, drawing from newspaper accounts, diaries, letters, and the like. The love affair of these two people and their quests to find their true selves brings them Westward, overseas, to the heart of Chicago as well as the countryside of Wisconsin. Woven throughout the tale is heartbreak as the families of Mamah (Wright's lover) and Frank are brought under public scrutiny, children are left in the lurch, and Wright's career is nearly derailed due to the scandal. Most tragic is the abrupt end to their affair (is that too much of a spoiler?). In the midst of it all is the story of Wright's genius in architecture and his artistic process.
BOTTOM LINE: I found myself by turns cheering for and condemning Frank and Mamah. I also found myself spending long hours Googling images of the amazing buildings Wright designed.

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

When I picked up this very. large. book it was mainly because I had, ambitiously, joined our library's summer reading club. One requirement for said club was to read a book along the lines of this year's theme, which was something medievalish - I don't remember the clever title they gave it. Anyhoo, this book was there amidst the suggested titles, and I picked it up. It's kind of your age-old tale of good versus evil, with good looking like it's doing pretty well until evil comes along with one of its evil-type schemes and proceeds to smash and burn good, after which good rises from the ashes and begins to rebuild, prompting evil to rape and pillage and steal, to which good counteracts with a clever plan, at which point evil gets desperate and swoops in with an under-handed plot, causing good only to rally harder and triumph in the end. Basically.
The story takes place in the middle of the 12th century and centers on the fictional town of Kingsbridge in England. Tom the stonemason, homeless, penniless, and with his family in tow, desperately searches for work, always hoping to realize his dream of building a beautiful cathedral. He comes upon Kingsbridge and its monastary, where he and the prior, Philip, join forces to build a cathedral that will glorify God and turn the world's eye to their humble village in the process. Countless forces work against them, time and again nearly dashing their vision and seeking to take their very lives, but their perseverance along with Philip's vigilance in following the Lord's will with their actions (and counteractions) lead to ultimate victory.
BOTTOM LINE: I know - a book about building a church? With lots of architectural terms to wade through? And raping and pillaging thrown in there? I don't necessarily understand why to this day, but I found myself drawn into the story and its characters and had to continue to the end. I'm glad I did. Because (spoiler) good triumphs.

Stealing Faces by Michael Prescott

When we got our fancy-dancy new phones last year, I promptly downloaded the Kindle app, thrilled that I could now have books with me wherever I went. It's certainly convenient to always have reading material on hand. I also love the plethora of books to choose from and the fact that they're cheaper than purchasing them from the store. However, the level of thrill does not compare, for me, to how I feel coming home from the library with a big pile of books (that I know will never get plowed through before the due date) or to the satisfaction of turning page after page. BUT - I digress. The best part of the Kindle are the free classics you can download as well as the cheapity-cheap fiction that can be found. Case in point - Stealing Faces by Michael Prescott. This was a 99-center and sounded interesting enough for me to drop a buck, so I promptly downloaded. If you are a fan of thrillers (serial killers, games of cat-and-mouse, and the like) this one's up your alley. The twist in this book is that you are given the story from two points of view: that of the hunter (whose identity you know all along) and the hunted. I found it difficult to put this story to the side as you are always wondering who will stay one step ahead. The victim in this story is one whose story is often not believed, which adds to the suspense as time and again the criminal closes in on victory.
BOTTOM LINE: Looking for a quick, end-of-summer read? I'd definitely pick this one up.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

I will sheepishly admit that I picked this one only after seeing the movie previews. I decided it was a chick flick that I would most likely see (even if I only do so after it comes to Netflix, deeming it not quite worthy enough of theater pricing). The book certainly delivered as the summer read I was looking for.
The narrative in the story is that of Rachel, who spent her childhood in Indiana and now her adulthood in New York living in the shadow of her best friend, Darcy. When a drunken birthday slip-up with Darcy's fiancee shows potential for something more, Rachel grapples with dueling loves and loyalties. Her choice? Abandon one relationship and leave it broken or abandon the other and leave herself broken.
BOTTOM LINE: While not 100% wholesome in its handling of certain moral issues and definitely along the lines of "chick lit", I couldn't put it down. Had to know...who gets the guy?!

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Author Lisa Genova brings to her first novel both her personal and professional expertise in regard to Alzheimers' disease. Watching her grandmother deteriorate from this wretched illness prompted her to ponder what exactly was happening inside her grandma's brain as she became increasingly lost within herself. Genova now has a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard and using the knowledge accumulated through her profession, penned Still Alice, about a fifty-year-old Harvard professor who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers'. The story, told throughout from Alice's perspective, fleshes out the affects of this disease on the afflicted (namely, Alice) and her husband, children, career. It is a heartbreaking and true-ringing portrait of a life and family nearly stopped in its tracks. Filled with both clear scientific information and characters whom you can't help but love (or be disgusted by), it is a beautiful work of fiction.

BOTTOM LINE: Expect a few tears and expect to take stock of your life, newly cherishing every healthy, aware moment with which you've been blessed.

A Reading Momma's Proud Heart

From the first turn of a picture book page with Jeran when he was a baby, I've been anxiously awaiting the day when we (and now Ben and Grayson too) would cuddle together and lose ourselves in chapter books. In my head I always pictured it at bedtime. We'd wrap up a section and I'd close the book, leaving my kids in suspense, begging for "just one more chapter". While on our vacation in the DR, my mom-in-law kicked off this new era of reading adventures with Jeran by reading "Charlotte's Web" with him. I was surprised and thrilled when Jeran and Grandma told me they had been reading it together. And I even got a little choked up at bedtime that evening when James, his parents, and I sat around the living room, and Jeran cuddled up in my lap, handing me the book and granting me the honor of reading the last two chapters. My little boy is growing up. For one thing, he can finally (just barely) sit still long enough to make it through a chapter or two. But also, he's retaining the story and can stay involved in it night after night. We've moved on to The Boxcar Children and have involved Ben as well (he is maybe not quite so much ready. His involvement is basically interrupting with a plethora of irrelevant questions. But I still find myself glad to share this with him). It's the thrill I always pictured it to be, sharing this passion for reading with my kids.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

I've been and have had my children vaccinated against a plethora of physical evils. I've known people (particularly a few very, very dear to me) who have struggled with cancer and infertility. I wear make-up and have experienced no ill-effects from doing so. What is it that each of these things share? Henrietta Lacks. In Rebecca Skloot's first published book, she delves into the life, illness, and death (and resulting medical advances) of a woman named Henrietta Lacks. In early 1951, this wife and mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She died as a result of this disease only 8 months later. Shortly after her diagnosis, cells from Henrietta's tumor were taken from her without her or her family's knowledge or permission. These cells, inexplicably, grew in lab faster and survived for a longer period than any cells before (or since) and went on to be used in countless areas of medical and biological research. Her surviving husband and children, living near-poverty, often unable to afford to tend to their own medical conditions, were not aware of Henrietta's contribution to science until about 20 years later. While most of humanity has benefited from HeLa (the name given to her cells), those closest to her seem to have been robbed of much of the benefit. BOTTOM LINE: Ms. Skloot's research, both on the scientific and personal level, is astounding. While I found myself, at times, a little bit lost in the medical jargon and concepts, the overall story is amazing.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

This was a gripping novel that several times I told myself I couldn't finish. Not a very ringing endorsement to start with. However, novels about true events during World War II are rarely uplifting and usually difficult to read. This one, like others of its genre, was well worth finishing.

Set in Paris, France the novel changes time period and perspective, between the 1940's and 2000's, between a young Jewish girl and an American woman living in Paris. It is a tale of heartbreak centered on the round-up of French Jews in July of 1942 at the Vel' d'Hiv and their deportation to nearby internment camps and, eventually, Auschwitz. The Jewish girl at the center of the story and her brother have a hidden cupboard in their room in which he decides to hide on the night the French authorities come to take the family away. Not understanding what is happening, the girl agrees to his plan and pockets the key to his hideaway, believing she will return shortly to free him. What follows is her journey to get back to him and how this journey is interwoven with the life of an American journalist living in Paris, France in the present day.

BOTTOM LINE: Well, I think I kind of started with the bottom line. See sentences 1-4 of this post. :)

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Colum McCann's novel of lives intertwined is anchored by the 1974 tightrope walk between New York's Twin Towers by Philippe Petit. While the walk is a true historical event (in and of itself, mind-blowing), the lives of McCann's characters are fictional, while radiating such human truth that they could very well be people who actually existed. What is so beautiful about Mr. McCann's tale(s) is the distinct voice each character possesses. It's as if each has been penned by a different author, so believable are they. His story is one of human suffering, addiction, poverty, riches, religion, ambition - in short, a story of what drives each individual soul.

BOTTOM LINE: While the layout of the book (each chapter is a different character's story, essentially) lends itself to a bit slower reading, the overall narrative is compelling and has lingered with me since I finished.

Classics Challenge

Recently, it came to my attention (and that of several horrified friends) that there is an appalling number of 80's movies that I have never had the pleasure of viewing. There's no acceptable excuse for this. Even LESS so is the number of books which might be considered classics that have never made it onto my reading list. As one with a passion for reading and writing I consider myself rather well-read. However, if I honestly copped to how many "classic" works of literature I've never visually ingested, well, the word "fraud" comes to mind. And so I am creating the Classics Challenge for myself. At least every other book that I read in the coming year needs to have been deemed a classic by some source I consider reliable. That's where you guys come in. Now, seeing as I'm massively delinquent about updating this blog, I would be surprised to have hung on to any shred of readership (you know, all 3 of you who have visited on a regular basis). However, if you're reading this now, and have a "classic" work I just HAVE to read (or re-read, if by some chance it's already in my vault of "have read"s) then I would ask you to please leave a comment with your recommendations. Or, if you'd rather not hassle with signing in, etc. here on the ol' blog, please feel free to let me know via Facebook, Instant Message, email, text....whatever technological avenue floats your boat. I guess there's that whole seeing people face-to-face thing too, right? Huh.
Anyhoo - I'm just looking for help in getting this challenge underway and then keeping the ball rolling!
Thanks, fellow readers!

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Book 2 in the series. So. much. better than the first. In my humble opinion.
It picks up where "Dragon Tattoo" leaves off but quickly turns out plot twists and unexpected turns galore. The movement of the story is much more quickly forward-moving then in the first or (as I found later) third book, and it was definitely one of my "here's another movie, boys" books. Mikael Blomkvist, investigative journalist, becomes involved in a sex trafficking investigation which includes high-ranking government officials. When his two fellow journalists turns up dead, circumstantial evidence and a reputation for hating men who abuse women point to Lisbeth Salander as the murderer. Being the loner she is, she only has her own wits and wherewithal and the belief in her innocence of Mikael Blomkvist (who subsequently begins his own investigation into the matter) to discover the identity of the true criminal(s). What begins to unfold for the reader in this story is the mysterious heroine's background; a background that she must face and defeat before the crime can be solved.
BOTTOM LINE: Once you (quickly) reach the end, you will be left in suspense, begging for the last book!