Snow Daze

During the warm summer months I find it easy to picture myself surviving the cold winters comfortably curled on the couch in front of a roaring fire with a cup of tea in one hand and the latest release by a favorite author in the other. Outside my window the wind howls and snow accumulates unbeknown by me.

Last night I tried to envision this inviting picture, but was unable to get past the reality of the situation as I drove home through whiteout conditions. I had every intention of skipping out a little early. After all, there was a blizzard raging and it had been an hour since the last customer walked through the door. What harm could it do to close up a few minutes early on an evening when no one in their right mind would be out and about?

As I flicked off the back lights, the door opened and a family of three came in, brushing off the snow and stomping their boots as they looked around with excitement. Chances of a snow day were looking good and they wanted to be prepared. After much discussion and deliberation, they each chose a couple of novels and were on their way.

As I locked the door, I thought that absolutely nothing would make me go out in that weather. Then I thought about being snowed in for hours or possibly even an entire day without anything to read. I was wrong, that thought would be more terrifying to me than venturing out into the storm.

Luckily, I have an entire stack of books waiting patiently on my nightstand for the day I get snowed in and have time to read them all. Currently I am reading Watch Me by Brenda Novak. This romantic suspense still has me guessing over half way through the book. It is no easy feat to keep this mystery fanatic in suspense. Hopefully I will get my answers before the end of the weekend. I have two more of the same genre waiting for reviews and then the latest by my Goodreads friend Ben Tanzer. I had the pleasure of reading his first, Lucky Man and am looking forward to finding out if Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine is just as edgy. One of my favorite YA authors, Sara Shepard, will be releasing her first adult novel in May and I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reading copy. My daughter and I are still fighting over who gets to read The Visibles first. I may have to move that one up on my list if I can finish my current read before she finishes hers.

What about you?

What books are waiting for your attention?

Bon Voyage!

We have been getting a lot of rain here in Wisconsin. Well, not me personally, but more in the south. For me it’s just enough to keep the sun away and the mood bleak. I thought of something that was able to bring a smile to my face, though.

Two of my kids have been visiting relatives this week. Now I can finally get rid of all the unwanted items in the house without guilt. When they get home, I can tell them the two turtles and two cats joined the rest of the animals on the ark! They can’t blame me for that, can they?

Seriously, though, what is there to do with all this rain? I’ve found myself spending a lot of time reading. Currently I am reading our book club selection, Can You Keep a Secret . This is definitely the perfect selection to lift anyone’s spirits. Another laugh out loud hit from Sophie Kinsella .

My daughter read the Pretty Little Liars series and now she has me hooked, too. Finally some of the mysteries are revealed in book four, Unbelievable. Ky finished in a day or two and then was disappointed because she couldn’t share her excitement. Now I know how she feels. I finished while she was away and now am anxiously awaiting her return so we can finally discuss who “A” is. Sara Shepard has been stringing us along for almost two years, so it was both thrilling and a little depressing to find out. Luckily, there will be four more books to continue with the characters we know and love and/or hate.

I began the week engrossed in Little Face by British author Sophie Hannah. This psychological mystery starts strong and had me from page one. In my mind the story could go one of two ways, so I devoured the story to see which direction it took. Although I enjoyed the journey, the end was like returning from a trip visiting relatives. I dump the dirty laundry out of my bag in exhaustion and don’t care enough at the moment to sort through it all. Maybe one day, but more likely it will be forgotten forever as I move on to the next journey.

What about you? Have you read anything you loved or were disappointed in this week?

Young Adult

While flipping through a stack of books, I notice that many of them are listed as young adult books. What exactly is a young adult? Am I one? The last book I read was Perfect by Sara Shepard, thanks to my daughter. After finishing Pretty Little Liars, she proclaimed it to be the greatest book ever and said I just had to read it! Now after finishing the third book in the series, I have to admit, I despised this one as much as the first two. Not because it is a YA book or because of the way it is written or even because of the cover which depicts a too skinny, too pretty, too, well...too perfect girl. The reason I wish I never started this series is because I'm completely hooked! The first book left me hanging for six long months before Easter came and my daughter found an empty dust jacket in her basket. I didn't quite finish Flawless on time. Five months later she kept the third in the series hidden while she absorbed every word. Finally turning it over to me after declaring this the best yet. Now life will come to a standstill for another six months until the fourth and final, Unbelievable, is published. Who is "A"? Will Hanna survive? How can I, an intellectual woman, be hooked on a young adult series?

So, am I a young adult? I suppose I am, considering the oldest man in America lived until the age of 114. Others may say I crossed the threshold of middle age long ago. Either way, next on my list is Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, which is our teen book club selection.
I'm guessing, or hoping, I'm not the only adult reading young adult books. What about you? Have you read any good children or teen books lately? What got you interested in reading them in the first place? Please, let me know I'm not the only one!

Teachers - Encourage or Discourage Reading?

Last week we discussed what book series may encourage kids to read. What is a teacher's role in encouraging their students to read? Is it possible for a teacher with the best intentions to actually have the opposite effect? My answer is a resounding YES!

First let me stress the fact that I am a huge supporter of teachers. In my opinion, they have the most important job in the world! Doctors, lawyers, the president? How would they do their jobs if they never had teachers to train and inspire them. This is definetly not a teacher bashing blog!!

Now, let me share the experiences of two students with you. Both had reading assignments and both had teachers who were doing their very best to encourage their students to read - one with possitive results, and one with the opposite effect.

The first student, we'll call her "K" as not to embarrass her (I know no one that knows our family will ever figure out the true identity of "K"), had to read a book of her choice and give a book report in front of the entire class! Every teen's nightmare, right? Not "K"! Although she is a quiet child and is like the majority who fears standing up in front of the class more than death, she was actually ecstatic about this assignment. She just finished reading the second book in her favorite series, so she decided she was going to give the report on both books. Unfortunately the speech did have a time limit so "K" lost points for going over. Of course, she probably could have shared her knowledge of the books without losing points if she would have just trimmed the last sentence off her report, "Both Pretty Little Liars and Flawless by Sara Shepard are available right here in Oconto at BayShore Books!" That's my girl!

The second student, we'll call him "C" even though the chance of him ever reading this are slim to none (Unless "K" tells "C" in which case the big "M" is in trouble!), also had to read but he just had to write book reports. He had it easy, right? Not so fast! He had to read a minumum of 4 books per semester for a C and do a book report on each AND the books had to all be about a specific subject. (The actual numbers and subjects here may not be accurate, since the gray hair roots have begun to strangle my brain. For that I apologize) The last semester the subject was World War II. "C" just recently discovered that reading can be fun when he stumbled upon Neal Shusterman. After devouring all of his books, he just began the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. He set book two aside to read his World War II books. The first couple were actually quite interesting and "C" even found another favorite book in My Mother Kept a Scrapbook: the True Story of a WWII POW, by Gerhard Johnson as told to local author Kathleen Marie Marsh. I find that usually a book or two on a certain subject is plenty to satisfy my curiosity and unfortunately so did "C". Once again getting him to read was like pulling teeth. He knew all there was to know about WWII and completely lost interest. He couldn't continue with the Artemis Fowl series, because if he was going to read he should be reading his WWII books. Guilt kept him from reading all together. He struggled through the last book or two, pulled off a C and then summer break began. Now he had the time to read what he wanted, but he couldn't remember what was happening in his series and he had no desire to start over. That passion for reading, which took years to establish, was completely wiped out in one school year. Luckily toward the end of summer he watched The Outsiders and is now reading his second S.E. Hinton book.

The point of this story? Telling a kid to read is not enough and telling a kid what to read can actually do more harm than good. Would the second story have been different if the assignment were to read at least 4 books a semester with only two of them having to be World War II books and each student choosing the others? I believe so. What do you think?