Sunday, October 11, 2015

Making up for Monday: Banned Books

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: What is your favorite banned book?

Last week was Banned Book Week. I am a huge fan of banned books. They always seemed to be banned for the silliest reasons. Usually the book is just misunderstood by someone. My favorite banned book is easily To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It was banned for being "racist". Seriously, someone didn't even read the book if they got that!



What about you?  What's your favorite?


Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Story of My Life

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question:  If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

The title for my life would definitely have to be "Really Really Boring".  Nothing really interesting has happened in my life, wah wah.  :)

Sorry this post was a day late.  My wee one has really thrown off my schedule!


Monday, September 28, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Childhood Memories


It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: What was your favorite book as a child and why?

This is an easy one for me.  Hands down, my favorite book as a child was Spooky Old Tree!

My dad read it to me as a kid and really got into it, which made it so much fun.  To this day, if I know someone who has a kid, I get them this book.


What about you?


Monday, September 21, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Crocodile Tears

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: Has reading book ever made you cry?  If so, which book and why?

Is it callous that my answer is "Nope"? I have read many sad books: The Fault in Our Stars, Of Mice and Men, etc.  Not a single one has ever made me cry. I'm not much of a crier though when it comes to media (I don't cry for movies either). 

What about you?  Has any book ever made you tear up?



Monday, September 14, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Bookworm Problems

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question:What is the biggest problem you face as a bookworm?

If you had asked me this question six months ago, the answer would be "Finding what to read next".  But since my daughter was born, the answer is now finding the time to read!  My goodness, kids are time consuming!  But I love her anyway.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Good Books

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: Read any good books lately?

I feel like I get this questions ALL THE TIME! As an avid reader, people know that I read a lot and I guess that one way to start a conversation. However, since my daughter was born, I haven't had time to read, or the energy to stay awake when I do have time. So I haven't been reading nearly as much as I used to. But I did recently read a book I really enjoyed.  It was Go Set A Watchman.  Check out my review here.

What about you?  Read any good books lately?


Monday, August 31, 2015

Making Up for Monday: Non-Reading Hobbies

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: What is your favorite hobby (outside of reading)?

It used to be scrap-booking, but it's been years since I have done that.  I do want to start that up again because of my daughter. She's so photogenic that it should be easy to fill a book! 

I am also a writer.  I currently have 5 different projects in the works.  I am hoping to complete one by the end of the year.  Fingers crossed!!!!

What about you?


Sunday, August 23, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Not So Heroic


It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: Who is your least favorite hero-esque character and why?  

I know it's an unpopular choice, but I have got to say Harry Potter. I thought Harry was obnoxious, whiny, and super stuck up. I felt like he treated so many kids exactly like Draco. He drove me crazy as a "hero" and I found myself completely unattached to his character by the end of the series. Seriously, if Harry had died at the end, I don't think it would have even phased me.  I can see why so many love Harry and that's okay with me, I just wasn't a big fan. 


What about you?  What "hero" is not your favorite?



Monday, August 17, 2015

Making Up For Mondays: Villians


It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: Who is your favorite villian-esque character and why?

Confession time: I LOVE villains!  Their characters, to me, are far more interesting than heroes, especially if they are done right. I could literally talk about great villains for hours. But as far as my favorite...I guess I would pick Mr. Hyde.  How much more complex can a bad guy get???

What about you? 

 

Monday, August 10, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Summer Love


It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: What is your favorite summer time read?

In the summer, I love to take a week or two and just relax and read something light and entertaining. I don't have a particular book that I like to read, but I do like most of Sophie Kinsella's books.  They are what I often refer to as my "guilty pleasure reads".  They usually involve a young girl and a romantic interest. Kinsella is an excellent writer who keeps me interested in the story, even though I don't typically like "chick lit".

What about you? 


Monday, August 3, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Library Love


It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: Do you have a favorite library? If yes, which one and why?

Yes!  My favorite library of all time is the library in Tigard, OR!  Why?  Because my husband and I used to go to that library all the time when we didn't have a car.  There is a little donut shop right outside and the library is two levels.  The library also has a ton of activities for free for both kids and adults. The staff was always friendly and resourceful and the contents of the library were always up to date.

What about you?


Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

 

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

The Decision:

To Kill A Mockingbird has been my favorite book since the moment I finished it when I was 15 years old. Its one of the few books that I have read that touched me to my very core. I learn something each and every time I read the book. Harper Lee is a wise woman who sees more than the average person in the human spirit. She sees a hero in the shut-in neighbor.  She sees courage in the cranky old lady down the street. In a world where we all judge based on the least amount of information given, Lee sees the other side. Its a lesson I need to hear over and over again, and no one reminds me better than Harper Lee.

When I heard about Go Set A Watchman, I had many mixed emotions: Excitement, nervousness, and disgust. I was so excited at the prospect of reading another Harper Lee book, since To Kill A Mockingbird was the only one. I was nervous that the book might not be very good or might change how I felt about certain characters. And I was disgusted at the alleged way in which the book was likely published without Lee's approval.

From what I have read, Lee never wanted the book published. In fact, her lawyer sister (whom she always referred to as her Atticus), protected her from greedy literary agents. But her sister passed away.  Suddenly the book was being released. Did someone take advantage of an elderly woman who was not fully aware of what she was doing? The answer is purely speculation. And without someone there to protect the book for the rest of eternity, the book was eventually going to get published. Was it not Sylvia Plath who hid her writing all throughout her home and it was published after her death? But does this excuse someone from taking advantage of this woman?  Absolutely not. I do believe, that if it is true, that agent will get their comeuppances. Here's the whole story, if you are interested.

In the end, I decided to read it. I was going to hear about the book no matter what. So, instead of hearing what someone else thought, I decided I wanted to form my own opinion. I was going to read that book, and I was going to read it as soon as I could, before I could hear anything about it. But of course, I didn't get to read it before I heard the worst news ever: Atticus Finch was a racist.

I can't lie, I was devastated.  Atticus? Atticus Finch, the perfect picture of integrity, racist? Could I possibly read this book and destroy my view of the character I hold so dear to my heart?  If I read it, I may never enjoy To Kill A Mockingbird ever again.  But if I don't, wouldn't that thought always be in the back of my mind? Wouldn't I always wonder how he was racist?  Yeah, I would, so again, I decided to read it.

The Plot:

In the book, Scout (now going by Jean Louise) is the all grown up and living on her own in New York.  She is still the wild spirit we all know and love. She is coming home to Maycomb because Atticus is getting older and can no longer function on his own. Jean Louise knows its only a matter of time before she'll have to return for good to care for him.

However, Maycomb is not the place she remembers. The Supreme Court has recently ruled on Brown vs. The Board of Education and the town has turned into Whites vs Blacks. Tensions are at an all time high, something she has not really witnessed living in New York. But when Jean Louise learns that her father is going to meetings known for trying to keep the Blacks from voting, her world is torn apart. The man she idolizes is a cold racist. Jean Louise, who always thinks "What would Atticus do?" when faced with a tough decision, is devastated. Everything she has ever known is lie and she is torn to pieces.

At this point in the book, I was torn about continuing. Much like Jean Louise, I wanted to run away a pretend it never happened. I wanted to pretend I never valued Atticus. Clearly he was not the man I had grown to love. But like Jean Louise, Atticus once again, taught me a lesson.

I will warn you now, beyond this point is significant amount of spoilers. PLEASE STOP READING IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS!!! (The next section is spoiler free.)

Jean Louise goes about getting upset and rants and raves (much like she does as a child), but fails to go to the source of the issue to get answers. After talking with several members of Maycomb who are full blown racists, Jean Louise throws Atticus into the group. If he's not with her, he's with them. He's a racist who doesn't value Calpurnia and thinks himself better than anyone of color. She is going to write him off as nothing more than a bigot and head back to New York, when she finally is confronted by Atticus.

After a long discussion, Atticus explains his point of view. He is not racist and does support ending segregation. But he's been around long enough that if you take two groups that have been separated, toss them together and tell them they have to get along, you are simply pitting them against each other. By forcing segregation to end in the South, Atticus truly believes they have actually made things worse for both sides. Atticus' answer is that things should happen slower. Blacks will get full educations and become part of a community. Whites will get accustom to Blacks being around and see them for more than their color. Then the Supreme Court can slowly start giving them more and more rights until they are equal.

Jean Louise disagrees completely. She believes that the Blacks should have full rights now and that anyone that believes otherwise is a racist.

After storming off and getting ready to leave town forever, Jean Louise is visited by her uncle Jack. He explains something to her: Atticus let her believe he was racist and did not defend himself so she would learn to think for herself. He didn't want her to think "What would Atticus do?" anymore.  He wanted her to think "What would I do?". And guess what?  She did. She formed her own opinion and stuck to it, even though it was different than her daddy's. She didn't need to look to Atticus anymore for guidance. He knew he was going to die soon and he really needed Scout to stand on her own. And she loved him all the more for it. She still disagreed, but she finally saw the good in the disagreement.

My Opinion:

Now, part of the reason that To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my favorite books is because I adore Atticus. I adore him because he reminds me so much of my own father. My dad is my Atticus. He's the hero who always stands for what is right. He's the one who leads me to be my own person. Much like Atticus, I know my dad is proud of me for having my own opinions, even when they are different than his own.

There comes a time in every child's life, when they stop seeing their parent as perfect super hero, and start seeing them as a person. I remember that day vividly in my mind. I must have been 15 or 16 when I learned information about my dad that no longer made him perfect. But this only made me love my dad even more. It's like my whole debate about Superman vs. Batman. Superman has super strength, x-ray vision, and the ability to fly. With all those abilities, anyone could be a hero. Batman is just a guy who wants to do good. He's flawed, broken, and real. But the biggest difference: Superman isn't human. Batman is human.

Superman is the view I had of my dad as a kid. Batman is the guy I see now. Both are heroes, but one is human. I believe the same is true of Scout. To Kill A Mockingbird is how Scout saw her dad as a kid. Go Set A Watchman is how she sees her dad as an adult. At the end of both, he's a hero.

While not nearly as good as To Kill A Mockingbird, I really enjoyed Go Set A Watchman. Filled with flashbacks that stayed true to the original and left me thinking "I love Atticus!", this book was above par and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a friend.  

Goodreads rating: 4/5

Rating: PG-13 (excessive amounts of the "n" word)

Recommended for those who enjoy: coming of age stories, difficult parenting decisions, and moral dilemmas.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Makin Up For Monday: Author Dinner

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: If you could go to dinner with any author (dead or alive), who would it be and why?

First, I would love to meet Mark Twain. I love most of his books (the ones I have read so far) and I think he has a unique perspective on life.  He's funny and sarcastic, but insightful and thoughtful. This makes hs writing truly unique, which I think would make him quite the interesting dinner guest.


Second, I would like to meet Harper Lee.  I have about a thousand questions for her, namely why she didn't write more books.


What about you? 





Monday, July 20, 2015

Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters: Characters with Depression

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's topic: Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters (example: features minority/religious minority, socioeconomic diversity, disabled MC,  neurotypical character, LGBTQ etc etc.)

I decided to go with characters that suffer from some form of depression or are perhaps bipolar.  Both of these are serious conditions that people often feel shameful when suffering from them.I love when characters pop up in books that suffer from these because this brings more light on a serious problem we have in this world that needs to be addressed. I could go on about that for awhile, but instead, I'll just start my list:

1. Pat and Tiffany: Pat seems to be bipolar and Tiffany seems to suffer from depression. Both characters are trying to work through some hard times.



2. Her entire family: After the death of Susie, her entire family grieves in their own way, which of course includes depression.

3. Charlie: Charlie is a freshman in high school and seems to suffer from depression as he suffers through being a freshman in high school.


4. Julian: After a horrific life, Julian clearly suffers from a severe case of depression.


5. Boo: I don't know what exactly Boo suffers from, but it's very clear that he struggles with something.


6. Zelda: Zelda Fitzgerald suffered from schizophrenia long before anyone knew how to treat it.


7. Hannah: The entire book revolves around the suicide of Hannah.


8. Jasper: How would you expect to be after being raised by a serial killer?


9. Eleanor: Struggling with hr home life, Eleanor also struggles with her emotions.


10. Craig: Craig checks himself into a mental institution after feeling so depressed he wanted to kill himself.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Character Meetings

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: If you could meet any book character, who would it be and why?

I think I would really like to meet Ford Prefect.  He would take me on the adventure of the lifetime! He would teach me all the tricks I need to know to survive in outer space and show me all the cool places to visit.


What about you?


Sunday, July 12, 2015

Making Up For Monday: One Book




It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question: If you could only take ONE book with you on a long, long trip, what would it be?

I think I'd go with The Shadow of the Wind because it was such a captivating story, that I think I could read it over and over again.


 What about you?


Sunday, July 5, 2015

Making Up For Monday: Book Club

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along! 

This week's question:  If you are in a book club, what book are you reading right now?  If not, what book would you recommend to a book club? 


I do belong to a book club and we are meeting tomorrow to discuss my book, The Graveyard Book!  I can't wait!

Here are the questions I intend to ask: 
 
1. Neil Gaiman says that he wanted The Graveyard Book to be both a novel and a book of short stories. Do you think he succeeds?

2. How do you feel about Gaiman using characters that we typically consider bad? 

3. How do the illustrations contribute to your reading of The Graveyard Book?

4. At the close of the novel, Mrs. Owens sings about embracing the human experience: “Face your life / Its pain, its pleasure, / Leave no path untaken” (p. 306). How does this theme resonate throughout the novel?

5. What did you think of Silas?

6. What did you think of the Jack of All Trades?

7. Do you think Bod will return to the graveyard? 

What about your book club?  What are you reading?


Monday, June 29, 2015

Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2015

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's topic: Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2015

My year so far has been a lot busier than I anticipated, so I way behind on my goals. I have only read 19 books so far this year.  But out of those 19, here are my 10 favorite: 

1. Night by Elie Wiesel: It's definitely a difficult read, but it's eye opening and powerful.
  

2. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson: He was funny and thought-provoking; a wonderful combination. 

3. Stardust by Niel Gaiman: This audiobook was also read by the author and totally worth it. 


4. Coraline by Neil Gaiman: I had heard of the story before, but never read it.  It's a great story. 


5. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman:  AWESOME!!!!  I even convinced my book club to read it. 

6. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman:  Sensing a trend in the books I have read this year???

 7. Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett: Such a funny read with an awesome main character.


 8. Rosanna by Maj Sjowall:  A murder mystery that is very well done.


 9. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: This book was very thought-provoking and interesting.


10. Dirty Chick by Antonia Murphy:  This is a fun read by a hilarious woman who looks at life in a unique way.