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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Meeting Gollum

I'm exhausted.

And full...still.

And I am reveling in all that was Lincoln. Saw it this afternoon and really enjoyed it. Was it the best movie I ever saw? No. And if you're expecting a sweeping saga on the Civil War and the mysterious Mary Todd, you'll be disappointed. The movie focuses on Lincoln's political maneuvering in early 1865 as he works towards passing the Thirteenth Ammendment to formally abolish slavery while the Civil War draws to a close. My grandma was disappointed and felt it was more of a documentary than a feature film, but I was very interested in the work done to gather those pivotal votes. And really, it just made me want to scurry back to Indianapolis and spend a long sunday with Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, the book which the movie Lincoln is based on, the book that is sitting on my nightstand with a bookmark secured snuggly somewhere in the middle of chapter 2!

Tis the season of the book turned movie, and I am woefully behind on my reading. In addition to my Civil War reading, I am a few chapters in to my reread of The Hobbit (definitely have to brush up before the movie comes out) and am lamenting my poor Anna Karenina. That book has been on my bookshelf for years, and I've started it so many times! Now that darn movie is coming out, and I'll be too weak to resist going to see it. And forevermore, my experience with a Russian literary classic will forever be tarnished with images of Keira Knightley and Jude Law. Such is the plight of the book made movie.

I leave you this scence from The Hobbit cartoon movie (1980) to bring you back. It haunted my childhood dreams. And you know what? I'm skeptical anything Peter Jackson comes up with can top this:

Monday, November 19, 2012

Turkey Trot

Thanksgiving is upon us!

My mom and grandma are making our feast so I'll be in my hometown eating mashed potatoes, struggling with the pecan pie I've committed to make, and turkey trotting. That's right: Dave and I will be up bright and early to run a 10K around town. The route goes right by my house so I figure we can just detour through the front door if we're feeling really unmotivated or if the smell of stuffing is just too good to pass up. My idea is this trot will both alleviate the guilt of overeating later in the day, AND it will get get us out of the house. I love, LOVE Thanksgiving, but my one hang up is, if you're hosting, you end up in your house all day. You never leave. And you can't even find a quiet corner for 10 minutes to read a book or just stare at the ceiling because you've got to be social and all. This trot will get us out the door and doing something instead of lolling around, and we'll only watch 10 hours of football that day instead of 12. That's worth something. And we should be back in time to catch one of my favorite Thanksgiving day traditions: the parades!

Other things I'm doing this weekend:

  • going to a college basketball game at my hometown's little university
  • driving through the farm up the road that sets up a Christmas light display
  • cleaning the gutters 
  • maybe seeing Lincoln or Anna Karenina
  • AND putting up Christmas lights for my mom

Things I will NOT be doing this weekend:

  • participating in the charade that is the Friday after Thanksgiving...you can find me raking leaves, eating turkey sandwiches, and walking off the damage done on Thursday.

What are you doing for the holiday? Where will you be? Make my day and comment below!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

We Die Alone by David Howarth, 1957

I know, I know. What a title, right?

Listen, I was scouring the public library shelves for a great audiobook this weekend as I planned to trek to central Michigan and thought I could spend the time learning something. And the title caught my eye. It is, after all, an adventure story, and you know I'm a sucker for those. So I grabbed it, hopped in the car, and headed north to Michigan and into the northern fjords of Norway.

It gets really cold there.

Here is the story of Jan Baalsrud, the lone survivor of a Norwegian resistance unit sent from England to northern Norway during the Nazi occupation of WWII. Jan escapes into the bleak islands and fjords of his homeland after his boat is attacked and destroyed by the enemy. Being the only escapee, Jan, wet and freezing, must rely on his own training and the kindness of his countrymen to make it to the safe haven of neutral Sweden. Now all he has to do is stay hidden from Nazis in his Norwegian soldier's uniform, battle the treacherous elements of that region (wind, snow, blizzards, fjords, etc.) with absolutely no supplies, find some scraps of food to eat, and receive help from Norwegian loyalists who must risk everything to help him and are living on meager, rationed food themselves.

And you thought you had a rough day?

David Howarth just sort of relates the events of Jan's epic feats, and I appreciate that. There's a militaristic element to the writing with precise mileage and terrain descriptions as well as a care for precision and detail (it is incredibly well researched). This book isn't flowery or emotional. It's one of those "this is what happened" books. And the "what happened" is so darned amazing you don't need or want anyone waxing poetic and distracting you from the meat of the story. You will be in such awe of the incredible feats of the human spirit that all you'll want to know is what happens next.

I spent my drive to and from Michigan riveted. And it wrapped up just as I was pulling up to my apartment. Perfect!

If you're up for an inspiring account of one man's monumental story (complete with roaming wolves, self-amputated toes, and reindeer-herding Laplanders), find yourself a copy of We Die Alone.

And on a lesser note, I was inspired to visit some fjords again. I once saw a fjord in Montenegro, and it was one of the most beautiful landscapes these eyes have seen. I love me a good fjord.

P.S. The other audiobook I have on the floor of my car is The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring. Yes, you're thinking of the right Roald (a kid asked me for Ronald Dahl books today...loved it).

P.P.S. I met a brand new baby today (and I love her)! She looked tired.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Ms. Rebecca Stead writes again!


I spent my weekend running errands, listening to an audiobook, watching hockey, AND bonding with Rebecca Stead.

Way back in yesteryear, I read When You Reach Me (2009) by Ms. Stead. It was one of those titles that beckoned because of the gold medal on its front cover (Newbery winner). Now I've said it before and I'll say it again: those awards don't guarantee you'll like the book even a bit, but being a librarian, I feel it falls under the "other duties as assigned" clause to keep abreast of the latest winners. So When You Reach Me found its way on to my nightstand and, subsequently, into my heart.

I love that book.

Fast forward to my end-of-the-year ordering for le library which I completed last month. Ms. Stead herself has another title! And having book talked and promoted the heck out of When You Reach Me, I knew I needed that new title in our library. Not to mention it had great reviews. So I went ahead and ordered Liar & Spy (2012), and you know what? It came in this week! I spent Wednesday and Thursday rereading When You Reach Me and grabbed Liar & Spy on the way out of the door Friday afternoon. 


Here's what I think:

When You Reach Me is set in NYC in the late 70's. Miranda, the main character, lives in a teeny apartment with her paralegal mother who has just been notified she's been selected to appear on a game show in a few months. Miranda spends her free time helping her mother practice and hanging out with her very best friend Sal who lives a floor down in their apartment building. That is until Sal gets punched on the way home from school and mysteriously decides he doesn't want to talk to Miranda anymore. She must learn to navigate the intricacies of 6th grade on her own. And things get very complicated when Miranda's hidden apartment key goes missing and notes with cryptic messages keep turning up in her coat pockets. 

Mystery subtly permeates the book starting with the first chapter. Miranda, the narrator, is writing to someone, but that someone is not revealed until the end of the story leaving you wondering not only who this someone may be but why it is so important that Miranda write them. Though the book seems mostly about Miranda's life, you know all these details must be important, must mean something more because of this mysterious someone, this letter Miranda is writing, so you are invested. And those details of a 12 year olds daily life do end up meaning so much more, more about regret and righting past wrongs.

When You Reach Me is simple and endearing and beautiful. Here is a female narrator in a middle grade fiction novel who isn't spunky or precocious or really anything special. Miranda is entirely normal and unaffected, and I think that is why I love her. And she leads a seemingly normal life that is, in the end, part of a very abnormal event. Stead has managed to write a mystery without all the usual trappings of children's mystery: no high suspense, no sneaking around with flashlights, no juvenile spies. She has displayed a true mysterious tale in a very typical child's life which makes it more magical and even believable. 

Up next: Liar & Spy.

I'll admit I had high hopes. And it was good, but...well, let me tell you the plot.

After his father loses his job, Georges (named after Seurat...silent s) moves from the only home he's ever known, a lovely brownstone in Brooklyn, into an apartment building with his parents. His mom is pulling double shifts as a nurse in an intensive care unit and is hardly around to hear about Georges day. And he could use some parental guidance. Georges spends his time at school bullied by the "cool table" but things start looking up when he joins a spy club in his new apartment building run by a kid his age named Safer. Safer knows the going ons of all his neighbors and recruits Georges to help him figure out just what the elusive Mr. X on the 4th floor is up to. As you can imagine, Safer and Georges get in way over their heads and must determine what is really important in order to save themselves.

On its own, I would call Liar & Spy good, not great. But read alongside When You Reach Me, I must say it seems a little lackluster. It is a fine read, but I wouldn't go falling all over myself to get a kid to read it. I suppose you aren't as invested in the mystery. Maybe one of its shortcomings is you don't even know a mystery is to be solved until the end of the book if that makes any sense. In When You Reach Me, you know from the first chapter Miranda is writing an important letter to an unknown recipient. From the start, you're invested and curious to discover who this recipient may be. The mystery solved in Liar & Spy turns out to have nothing to do with Mr. X leaving you feeling a bit deflated. So you were invested in that story line? Well, it really wasn't a story line after all. It turns out the story is in Safer and Georges and their lives. And though that sounds kind of sweet, it ends up falling flat. Miranda's is a story that seems to carry you on. It leaves you with a feeling, a sort of hopefulness, while Georges' story just kind of wraps up in a nice package. 

Miranda, Miranda has grit. And I love her.

So the moral of this story is, read When You Reach Me. Just do. Or get the closest 12 year old to.

P.S. I received notification that NW, Zadie Smith's latest novel, is being held for me at the pubic library. Yay! I was honestly 44th in line for this book and kind of thought I'd never get it, and I did! 

P.P.S. Other things that happened recently: I signed up for a marathon.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Indigo Girls made my weekend.

Aaah, what a weekend!

Indigo Girls on friday night...in Bloomington...with my wonderful friend Melissa. Can it get any better than that?

Great song:


Great opener, the Shadowboxers:


Melissa and I swooned. Don't you?

And Dave was in town this weekend. He visited my library on saturday afternoon and spent 3 hours shelving books. What a trooper!

AND we gained an hour last night. I feel so well rested. But the pending darkness also feels rather ominous.

Here's to another great week ahead full of relaxing things like reading!