Monday, March 29, 2010


This is my next book. As a long-time fan of the Fox series Bones, I figured it was high time I read the novels on which the series was based. I think there are 9 or 10 books in the series, which gives me plenty of reading material for the rest of Spring Break, as well as the start of summer vacation. I think I'll be able to take my coffee out to the front porch later this week to read in the yard. I can't wait!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Time Traveler's Wife: The Reviews are In

I have been eager to read this novel for a while. It was on my to-do list for about a year, and then it was made into a movie. Now, I have a strict rule about reading books before I watch any movie based on said book. Clearly, this item on my to-do list had reached critical mass.

And still I didn't read it. Call it procrastination, call it laziness...I call it life getting in the way. I had papers to grade, recipes to try out...dang it, people! I had to SLEEP! (We will cover my devotion to sleep in another post...or therapy).

Long story short, The Time Traveler's Wife didn't get read. And truthfully, I hadn't even purchased it.

And then, Hubby and NetFlix did an end run around me. He ordered TTW from NetFlix. And those ruthlessly efficient fools had the nerve to send us the DVD. What nerve!

Anyway, they forced my hand. I headed to Border's that very afternoon and procured a copy of the book (Buy 1, Get One 50% off, no less). And so I read it. Finally.

And, people, here's the part that I really, really, really, really hate to admit:

I didn't like it.

TTW had so much potential -- it was a love story that overcame time itself, for Pete's sake. And then there were the problems:

**Potential Spoiler Alert**

1. The science-techie component. We get that Henry is a time traveler. It should have been left at that. Not explained as a genetic disorder involving mismatched pairs of chromosomes, or something. Such a prosaic (albeit unlikely) explanation took all the magic out of the story. Having known the basic background (it's a love story about a guy who can time travel and a gal who can't) prior to reading the book, I had theorized that maybe Henry was from the future, etc., etc. The idea that someone would leave their own, seemingly advanced time, just to meet the girl they would fall in love with decades later (they first meet when Clare is a child and Henry is an adult) seemed like such a romantic concept to me. Turns out the real story was much more down-to-earth. And that much more disappointing.

2. Maybe I'm a stodgy grandma dressed up as a gal in my late-20s, but I don't like a heart-warming love story spanning space and time to use unnecessarily ugly words. And by ugly words, I mean dropping the F-bomb...for no good reason...literally 3 pages after I had thought to myself, "Okay, there's a wee bit of sex in this book, but at least they haven't said the F-word." And then, BAM! There it was.

And then there's the C-word. I rank this above the F-bomb, in terms of sheer offensive-ness. Is offensive-ness a word? Probably not. Anyway...the C-word I refer to is not as benign as crap. The C-word I refer to is...stay with me here (and keep in mind that this site is a family place)...the C-word refers to...ummm, lady parts. And that's all I'm gonna say. Move along, people, nothing to see here. I'm going to go blush and stammer to myself for a few minutes. I'll be back.

All right, I'm back. And let's never even allude to that word again after this post is over. However, in the interests of a fair review, I will explain my problem with its use in this novel. First, like the F-bomb, it has no place in this type of novel. Second, it's an offensive term (am I getting repetitive yet?) that no self-respecting woman would ever use to refer to herself in any way whatsoever.

**Definitely a spoiler alert**
3. I hate a love story with a sad, tear-jerker ending. It's just inappropriate that when two people have managed to overcome the limitations of time itself that they can't live happily ever after. It is my understanding that the movie ends differently than the book. It's the only reason I plan to actually watch it. Yes, I was that disappointed with the book -- I actually contemplated not watching the movie.

And so, as with all my recent book reviews, I have to give this one a rating. And sadly, I have to rank this one low. The lowest rating I've given so far.

It gets...** (2-stars). Sorry, TTW.

Monday, March 22, 2010

I Am Scout


My favorite book of all time is To Kill A Mockingbird. I think I read for the first time when I was about 10 or 11. When I read it for the first time, I remember thinking it was funny, and that I liked Scout's spunk. And for whatever reason...reasons lost long ago in time and space (name that movie), I kept coming back to TKaM. Over the years after that, I averaged reading it about once a year -- usually in the summers, when I had a little free time. In fact, I remember my mother's old copy of the novel traveling with us nearly every summer that my family drove to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (at least 9 years).

As I mentioned above, I have my Mom to thank for giving me my first copy of TKaM. She went to my high school back when they sold students the books instead of renting them out for the year. So my Mom kept her copy from freshman English. I found it in a box in our basement one summer, along with copies of Swiss Family Robinson and The Illustrated Man. Even though I've read all those books and read them each multiple times, Mockingbird was always my favorite.

For the past 6 years, I've been an English teacher and had the pleasure of teaching this novel in my classroom. I hope that at least a few of my students see the same potential I saw in Mockingbird: humor, good morals, family values, and most of all, a darn good story. I hope at least one will find a copy of this book someday and re-read it and think: "This story is as good as Mrs. Miller always tried to tell me it was." That's the hope, anyway.

And so, due to my love of Mockingbird, I've always been interested in other aspects of the novel: it's autobiographical nature (the story is based on Harper Lee's early years in Monroeville, Alabama and many characters are loosely based on people from the neighborhood where she grew up), Harper Lee's unlikely friendship with the...difficult Truman Capote (she wrote large chunks of In Cold Blood, but received very little credit for her contributions -- she was even listed second in the dedication, behind Truman's lover), and finally, why Mockingbird was something of a one-hit-wonder -- Harper Lee never published another novel.

All of these issues, and many more besides, are addressed in Charles Shield's biography, I Am Scout. And unlike other biographies (and most nonfiction, truth be told), I was fascinated. The book is engagingly written and reads like a good book -- not your typical biography. It's informative and fun and has lots of pictures.

Oh, yes, and it's because of all these things that I Am Scout is so appealing to students. I use this book in both my junior American Lit. class (which reads Mockingbird) and in my senior Contemporary Lit. class (which reads In Cold Blood).

Overall, this is a great book and I recommend it to those who are bored with more common non-fiction offerings.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Time Traveler's Wife


I'm starting this book today. I've been wanting to read it for a really long time. And I had to read it before I saw the movie. It's just not the same to read a book post-movie. I already know what's going to happen, and if the movie was disappointing, then I really lose all enthusiasm for what might be a really good book.

As a devoted bookworm, that would be a real tragedy.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

The Basketball Belly

This has been a great year for many reasons...

Hubby got a great new job.

The basketball team went 21-8 and we won our conference outright for the first time since 1984 (when our big man's dad was on the team).

I got to go to the State Cheerleading Competition for the second time. Always fun to spend time with the girls and coaches.

But, like all good things, this year will come to an end.

Unfortunately (at least at the moment), I have a souvenir to remind me of this year: my basketball belly.

You see, basketball season, particularly when your hubby coaches AND works as an administrator AND is the Athletic Director, is all about late dinners. When will he be home? And, "Hey, we beat our cross-town rivals! Let's go out for a late dinner and celebrate!" (And celebrating usually involves nachos...oh, nachos...)

Anyway...

Since this was a particularly good season, with lots of nights of celebrating with lots half-priced appetizers at a local restaurant (don't judge...I hadn't had any dinner), I gained a little more than my normal winter weight.

I used to joke that I gained weight every winter just like bears do before they hibernate. A particularly apt joke, considering my deep and abiding love of sleep. But this winter's weight gain was a little on the ridiculous side and I need to be getting something of a grip on the situation.

And so I have come to two dramatic conclusions. (I know you're on the edge of your seat for these announcements...aren't you? ...............Hello? Is this thing on?

........Anyway.............

Conclusion #1: I will not do even one tiny spec of clothes shopping, not even for accessories, until I have gotten some control over the situation. If you're sitting there, stunned into silence, and shaking your head, believe me, I know how unlikely and drastic such a course of action sounds. But it's the best incentive I could think of to actually achieve results.

*Possible side effects of Conclusion #1: Getting to go shopping for lots of new, and exceptionally cute clothes in a smaller size.

Conclusion #2: I will share the story of my quest here, with you -- the good, the bad, and the ugly (my first ab workout will likely fall into the ugly category). Triumphs and utter failures. Nothing will be off limits. Heaven help you all.

Wish me luck. I'll report back tomorrow with my Day 1 Workout.

Spring Fever

I have Spring fever.

This past week was a tease. Warmer than its been in months. Sunny. Birds chirping. You know.

I celebrated! I leaped, I sang, I frolicked. I painted my toenails bright red.

And then today happened. 40 degrees. Spritzing rain. Windy.

Crappy.

And all I have to say is: "WHY?!?!?!"


Desperately hoping Spring returns ASAP,
Kristen