April 2008 Blog Posts (116)

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Scrambled Eggs at Midnight - Reviewed

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight - Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler



Cal and Eliot both come from eccentric families. Cal's Mum is trying to find herself and moves them from place to place so regularly nowhere ever feels like home. Eliot's Dad runs a religious fat camp - What would Jesus eat?. They are both searching for something and find it in each other.



Told in alternating chapters by Cal and Eliot we get to see both their perspectives on their blossoming relationship. I… Continue

Added by Alexa Not Enough Bookshelves on April 28, 2008 at 5:04pm — No Comments

The Woman Who Waited by Andrei Makine

It's unfortunate that this book was such a poor fit for me (isn't that cover absolutely gorgeous?). The premise seemed so interesting - a woman in a tiny village in Russia has been waiting for her soldier to return from WWII for 30 years. A much younger man (our narrator who never tells us his name) goes to live in the village, to meet her, learn about her story and to write an article about the culture and customs left among the old widows there. You get a taste of modernish Russian history… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:13am — No Comments

Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm

This is another Minx graphic novel - a story of a girl who ends up spending some time with her 6 year old, 29 year old and 80 year old self. While the plot is a bit cliche, I did start thinking that it would be nice to put some things about my past self to rest and get a little glimpse of what could be (with some good advice, of course). You get a bit of the cultural identity issues (she's Korean American), a bit of the high school romantic drama, some high school theater and a cranky old… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:13am — No Comments

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

It took me a few chapters to get into this story, but then it took off, with one adventure on top of the next. Matt is a cabin boy on an cruise-ship-type airship and his love of flight makes the Aurora the perfect home for him - until some air pirates choose the Aurora for their next raid and a storm wreaks havoc on the ship. This young adult story is an interesting mix of elements from Treasure Island, the movie Titanic, and Life of Pi, with plenty of perilous exploits, bizarre creatures,… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:12am — No Comments

Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, Marc Hempel

This graphic novel was a quick read. Jen is Korean-American living in South Central L.A. There's two basic story lines - Jen is preparing to be in a national martial arts competition and Jen is in love with a popular boy at school. The story lines are intertwined because said boy is also in the competition and Jen has a seriously hard time finding her "ki" (universal energy, or spirit) because of her infatuation with him.



I didn't like the art as much in this one as I have in other… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:11am — No Comments

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti

I'm giving this book five stars, not merely because of the level of writing (which is quite good) but more because of the depth of the issues that Zenatti has tackled and the grace with which she tackled it.



A 17 year old Israeli girl has arranged for a bottle with a note - a grasp at peace - to be dropped into the Gaza Sea, hoping a Palestinian will find it and they can begin some sort of communication. A Palestinian does find it, and their emails to each other are scattered… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:11am — No Comments

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

This story of Elaine of Ascolat (the Lady of Shalott) is written in first person lyrical form - like free verse poetry. I liked the style, it seemed to fit this story of a woman living in a world of men. Elaine is an interesting character - part myth part, the author's creation - full of feeling, courage and contradiction. The other characters in this story - King Arthur, Lancelot, Gwynivere etc., fill their familiar roles well while still feeling fresh.



The reason I wasn't thrilled… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:10am — No Comments

A Treasury of Bunny Stories by Beatrix Potter

I love Beatrix Potter. Her short little stories are perfect for young attention spans and the illustrations are so beautiful. This treasury has three fantastic stories - The Tales of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and the Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. My kids loved those first three, the characters are so human-like and the animals always seem to find their way out of trouble.



The Tale of Mr. Tod, however, is incredibly long and a bit dull, even for me. I was disappointed… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:09am — No Comments

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

I just finished this book in one great gulp over the last 24 hours (in between the minding of my three children, two nieces, making a batch of cookies and some home made pizza etc etc). It was fantastic. McKinley is a master of fantasy writing - the characters never felt forced, I believed in her magic and the world she created for me. Harry is an exceptional heroine - I always love following the path of a predestined heroine, watching them learn and grow into their strengths. She was an… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:09am — No Comments

The Littles by John Peterson

I think my nearly eight year old daughter best summed up the charm of this short, readable book, "What if there are Littles living in OUR walls??" When mice are your biggest enemies and your weapons are swords made of sewing needles, things can get pretty exciting - on a small scale, of course. I thought the writing was a bit bland, but my children loved this read aloud and begged me for it every night. It was nostalgic for me, since I was a huge fan of the movie when I was a kid.



A… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:08am — No Comments

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

I really liked this book about a Japanese-American mother and her two children who leave their home to go to an internment camp during World War II (the father was taken from their home on the night of Pearl Harbor). We never learn their names throughout the book - a fitting metaphor for that "unnamed but-we-know-what-you-look-like enemy" that terrifies us so much that sometimes we do crazy things - like take everyone of a certain nationality and lock them up in barracks in Utah for three… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:06am — No Comments

Absent by Betool Khedairi

This book flows like the honey that Dalal's uncle harvests from his beehives. We are constantly moving from one flat in her apartment building to another: the flat of the blind photojournalist or the nurse, the flat of the fortune teller/mystic healer or the male hairdresser. As we meet these people we slowly gain an appreciation of life in Iraq between the Gulf War and the current occupation. The cities I saw lit up by missiles on my television as a teen now are full of people like me - with a… Continue

Added by Corinne on April 28, 2008 at 11:05am — No Comments

<em>About My Sisters</em>

about-my-sisters.jpg



Deja watches and smiles. "Sometimes I just can't get over it," she says. "What's that, Dej?"



"You're all just so . . . beautiful," she says. "I have the most beautiful sisters in the world."



We all share this feeling, but only Deja could give it voice. In anyone else's mouth, these words would sound syrupy and…
Continue

Added by CarrieK on April 28, 2008 at 10:54am — No Comments

How to make widgets--the really really easy way

1) In one window, open up the blog (or other site) you want to make a widget of

2) In another window, go to http://www.widgetbox.com/

3) I honestly can't remember if you need to create a free account before/during/or after the widget-making process but at some point if you want to save your work, you'll need to sign up. It's relatively painless. And I don't recall getting unnecessary email from the group/company.

4) Click on "My Widgetbox"… Continue

Added by Becky on April 27, 2008 at 11:30pm — No Comments

100+ Reading Challenge



I have used my first reading challenge to set my goal for the year. I think 100 books is very realistic. We'll see how far I get.



1. After Caroline by Kay Hooper



2. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls



3. Wideacre by Philippa Gregory



4. Twilight Phantasies by Maggie Shayne



5. Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly



6. Doing Good… Continue

Added by Erin on April 27, 2008 at 7:00pm — No Comments

A - Z Reading Challenge

The Challenge: Read 52 books. Each author and title should begin with a different letter of the alphabet.



Authors





A - Alexander, Robert - The Kitchen Boy



B -



C - Coulter, Catherine - Wizards Daughter



D -



E -



F -



G -



H - Hooper, Kay - After Caroline



I -



J -



K - Koontz,… Continue

Added by Erin on April 27, 2008 at 7:00pm — 2 Comments

Fun!

What fun! I'm so glad to have found this network. I love meeting fellow bookish folk and finding new book blogs, so this is the perfect place for me.

I keep a books and life blog, Tripping Toward Lucidity: Estella's Revenge (http://estellasrevenge.blogspot.com). In addition, I edit the e-zine, Estella's Revenge (http://www.estellasrevenge.com) and write a weekly column, "The Finicky Reader," for Bibliobuffet (http://www.bibliobuffet.com).

Added by Andi on April 27, 2008 at 6:38pm — No Comments

Please take a survey

Click Here to take survey

Added by Becky on April 27, 2008 at 6:30pm — No Comments

The Kitchen Boy

I checked out this book on the recommendations of several other bloggers. I have always been interested in the fate of Nicholas II and his family, so it seemed a natural choice. I was pleasantly surprised. The Kitchen Boy was a quick and very enjoyable read.



Beginning as the Romanovs are in exile, Alexander traces their final days and the events leading to their execution. The story is told by Leonka, a servant, who works in the Tsar's kitchen. Because of his close proximity to the… Continue

Added by Erin on April 27, 2008 at 6:30pm — No Comments

trying this out

corinne told me about this idea and i think it's fantastic! i'm going to get to work copying over my other posts.

Added by erin on April 27, 2008 at 4:13pm — No Comments

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