Great lit website

In preparing for my literature class tomorrow, I came across this truly excellent website on literary criticism. If you have an interest in the subject, or if your kids are trying to learn about it, it's definitely worth a look.

Kiss

Take a political thriller, add a mystery, mix with a thriller, combine it with a romance, some sci-fi, and blend it all with suspense and you get Kiss, the new novel by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy.

Kiss tells the story of Shauna McAllister, who wakes up from a coma and can’t remember the last six months of her life. She’s told that the man standing by her bed is her boyfriend, but she doesn’t remember dating him. She’s told she caused the accident that left her in the hospital and her brother in a vegetative state, but she can’t recall what happened. And so, desperate for any details to fill in the missing pieces, Shauna begins searching for answers.

What she discovers is that her coma, her medications, or something more mysterious, has given her an odd new ability. And she quickly learns that this new ability can be the very thing she needs to find the keys to what caused her accident and who was behind it. The only problem is living long enough to put all the pieces together.

I enjoyed the plot of this novel, the non-stop action, and I especially liked the sci-fi twist of Shauna’s newfound talent. I think all of the elements of this novel work well together to create a story that will have you on the edge of your seat until the final scene.

I am a famous American author (?)

I can't believe it's only Wednesday. I feel like I've already lived through five days this week. Maybe it's because Hubby's out of town. I don't know.

I gave an assignment to my class yesterday to start a research paper. The thesis must be that an American author of their choosing holds a particular philosophy on life (chosen from the different philosophies we have studied this year). For example, a thesis could be, "Nathaniel Hawthorne is an example of the romantic view of life as expressed through his literature." Well, that's not very good, but you get the idea.

I gave several criteria: it has to be an author not covered in our book (can you believe a text on American literature doesn't have F. Scott Fitzgerald in it?), it has to be someone who has at least two published works (novels, preferably), and it has to be an American writer.

Almost without missing a beat, one of the boys asked if he could do his paper on me. Me. Yeah, nice try, but I don't think a couple of newspaper articles about Rockapella are going to reveal my philosophy on life. Granted, it would be a lot easier to get quotes from me as opposed to Fitzgerald.

I'm excited to see who they pick to write about. How much do you want to bet at least one of the girls will pick Stephenie Meyer?

Same Kind of Different as Me

Cover via Amazon
I just finished reading Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore, and I was blown away. From the first page, the story captivated me. Both stories. You see, Ron and Denver started out in two very different places in their lives. And when their stories come together, truly amazing things start to happen.

This true story is a book that will challenge you to see people in a new way. It is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. And it will make you believe in miracles. I highly recommend this book to anyone who thinks one person can't make a difference, to anyone whose life hasn't gone exactly the way they wanted it to, and to anyone who needs a faith lift. I promise you, you'll never be the same.

Book review - Field of Blood

I just finished reading Field of Blood by Eric Wilson, and let me tell you, the worst thing about it is that it ENDS and I have to wait until next summer to read the second book in the series!

Having always been partial to vampire stories, I eagerly dove into Wilson's tale of a group of undead who arise from the Akeldama, the very place where Judas hung himself. These are not the "good" vampires of most recent literature, but evil monsters, terrifying in their calculated treachery. I didn't know when I started how a vampire novel could also be a Christian novel, but Wilson creates a world where everything that happens is logical, reasonable - and horrifying.

Not only is the story engaging, but Wilson's writing is beautiful, the descriptions and dialog bringing you so completely into the world he's created that you almost feel like you've been there. The character of Gina is wonderfully complex and totally believable. And there are certain events in the novel that will literally make you gasp out loud.

If you like ghost stories and horror tales, or epic battles between good and evil, I highly recommend Field of Blood. I can't wait to sink my teeth into the second volume in this series.

Rainy day reading

There is something about a rainy day I just love. Maybe it's the calming rhythm of the drops hitting the windows. Maybe it's knowing that I don't have to go out in it. Either way, rain makes me almost as happy as snow does.

My favorite thing to do on a rainy day, besides sleep in, is curl up with a good book. Yesterday, I breezed through the book Twilight, which had been recommended to me by no less than 5 people. Today, since I don't have the sequel on hand, I will pick up one of the many paperback mysteries I have waiting on my bookshelf and read at least one page before the children have something more pressing for me to do for them.

So, how about you? What's your favorite kind of rainy day reading?

Talking about teaching

Pardon me while I gush about how much I love teaching my high school English class.

About half the kids in there don't really care that much. But the other half make every Tuesday morning a pleasure. I have been so HUGELY impressed with their writing, the thought they put into answering the literature questions, and even, on occasion, the discussion (though this is still slow in coming).

We're now getting to the part of the book with 19th century writers. These are some of my favorites - Hawthorne, Poe, Emerson, Longfellow. I hope the kids can sense my enthusiasm, that perhaps it might even be a little contagious.

And the writing assignments have been so fun! There is some real talent there. I'm going to put together a literary magazine full of their work at the end of the year so they all have something to be proud of. I know I'm awfully proud of them!

I'm sure if I had to teach every day of the week it would get old, but this once-a-week class is just perfect for me. I'm loving every minute of it!

Loads of work ahead

It looks like I will be going to China with Hubby in December! I'm very excited, naturally, but now I have a lot of planning to do. I have to lay out all the lesson plans and assignments for my high school English class (my co-teacher has just let me do the work so far since I majored in English and writing). And I have to do this better than I usually do it for myself, since she needs to be able to follow my notes.

I downloaded the entire novel The Scarlet Letter last night from Librivox, which is a free audio book site. I'm thinking I might give each student a copy and have them listen to it as part of their assignments. And they must enjoy it. It's my favorite classic American novel and everyone should read it, but I know some of these kids have reading issues, so I figured an audio book would be just as good.

So today, I have a question for you: what book were you assigned in high school that has continued to be important to you throughout your life? And what book do you think everyone should read?

Free lunch and free time

Today's Fake Quote:

"There's no such thing as a free lunch - unless, of course, you get lunch for free." - Y. Berra

We had co-op this morning, and for parents' meeting every week someone brings in snacks. Well, today, someone brought a whole tray of gourmet wrap sandwiches! I probably don't need to tell you that I quickly scrapped my lunch plans and pigged out. Yummy! They were from a local restaurant and coffee shop, so I might have to visit there sometime soon.

Co-op days are always good for catching up; they did "school" at co-op, so we don't do any at home. I could catch up with my DVD recorder. I record stuff constantly, but finding the time to cut out the commercials and put the stuff on DVDs isn't always so easy to come by. Right now I have a bunch of movies for the kids, a whole slew of movies I recorded for myself, and a bunch of tv episodes I wanted to keep. The hard drive holds about 80 hours of stuff, and I've only got 10 hours free, so that tells you how badly I need to get it cleaned up!

On the other hand, I have some library books I'd like to read. I just discovered Nora Roberts and can't put her book down. She lives near here, too, so I might have to go stalk her meet her. I just finished a John Grisham yesterday. Love him.

And then there's the house. It could use a little floor scrubbing and de-cluttering.

I think what I really need is a whole week of co-ops. Then I could really make some headway around here.

Literary Lovin'

Tee tagged me for a meme I thought would be much easier than it ended up being. Here's how it goes:

"Ten Literary Characters I Would Totally Make Out With If I Were Single and They Were Real But I’m Not, Single I Mean, I Am Real, But I’m Also Happily Married and Want to Stay That Way So Maybe We Should Forget This..."


In no particular order:

1. Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye. I just reread this recently, and Holden's definitely a guy in need of some loving.

2. Rev. Dimmesdale from The Scarlet Letter. My favorite novel by my favorite writer.

3. Aron Trask from East of Eden. I just love this character.

4. Petruchio from The Taming of the Shrew. Everybody loves the bad boy.

5. Duke Orsino from Twelfth Night. If music be the food of love, I'll sing him a few songs.

6. Romeo from Romeo and Juliet. He has to be a good kisser, right?

7. Hamlet from Hamlet. I guess I have a thing for troubled souls.

8. Ivanhoe from Ivanhoe. Hot guy and knight in shining armor - what's not to love?

9. Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. Yeah, I definitely have a thing for troubled souls.

10. Peter Pan from Peter Pan.

Okay, this was a rather fun and disturbing look into the way I think... If you'd like to play too, post it and then let me know you played!

Books and more books

The local used bookstore had one of their big bag sales this past weekend. I picked up some great books, all I could stuff in a bag for $4. Some of my more interesting finds include:

• the memoirs of Julian Hawthorne, son of my favorite author, Nathaniel Hawthorne. I can't wait to dig into this one and see Hawthorne's life through his son's eyes.
• Suzanne Somers' Eat Great, Lose Weight, which I picked up mostly for the recipes. It looks like her plan (published in 1997) is virtually identical to South Beach, which didn't come out until 2003. I guess people didn't take her as seriously because, hey, she's Suzanne Somers.
• I also found a great book on London, published in 1976. I like it because it has all the wonderful historical sites I remember from my time there (I was there in 1991), with nary a trace of the dreadful London Eye. Am I the only one who thinks a giant ferris wheel on the bank of the Thames is just horrific?
• A book on Spain published in 1992, so it's going to be very similar to what I saw in 1988. I can use it as a reference when I'm working on my novel from my first NaNo.

Not to mention a bunch of kids' fiction for the boys to enjoy, like Super Diaper Baby, by the same author who brought us Captain Underpants. Totally silly, but fun. And of course, some classic fiction for use in school. I even picked up a first grade math workbook from the FREE table - so there's next year's curriculum for the 5 year old!

((Sigh)) - I heart book sales.

Read together

I think reading together is one of the most exciting things you can do with your children. Jennifer at Snapshot came up with this idea to read a book with your kids this summer. She explains it all here. Basically, the idea is to get to know your kids better, specifically teens and tweens, by reading what they read, and then discussing it. When you're done, write a post about the experience. There are even prizes to be had!

So if you're interested, head over to sign up. Then, pick a book and start reading!

Messies Anonymous

When I was younger, I was very organized. I kept my room neat and clean, I alphabetized all my books and tapes (this was before CDs, people), and I knew where all my stuff was.

All of this was before children.

Now, it doesn't matter how much time I spend cleaning, they will mess it up. A few months ago, I had all but given up, tired of cleaning the same floor six times in a day (and oh, how I wish I were exaggerating). Toys could be found on every flat surface of the house, cleaning was done in a haphazard fashion, and I grew more and more discouraged. The house grew less and less clean.

Then I met The Organizer Lady. Hubby found a book in the church library called The Messies Manual. And in it, Sandra Felton lays out her plan to go from disaster area to comfortably clean. Now, I won't say I follow her plan 100%, because she recommends some sort of flip chart with 3x5 cards to keep track of things that need to be done. I just programmed it into my PDA. And I don't have the problem of disorganization. I have always kept all my papers filed and separated and I can find virtually any piece of paper, given the right search parameters. But as far as keeping the house clean, she has wonderful ideas and give her the lions share of the credit.

So now, while my house is still "in transition" between messy and clean, I am so much happier with how everything looks. As long as I stick to the schedule, things stay pretty clean. And of course, getting the boys to do their chores helps too. I'm now reading her book "Organizing Your Home and Family, which is great, too.

If you are cleaning challenged like I am, perhaps it's time to join Messies Anonymous. There's a lot of info on the website, and there are Yahoo groups as well for daily encouragement. I could actually have people over for coffee now.

I was hoping you'd ask!

This is the first time I've ever been tagged, and I was hoping it'd be for this one. I love books. Thanks, Carol!

Q. The most books I've ever owned: I honestly don't know, but it's in the thousands. I have one whole room in my house that's just for books, plus all the books in my bedroom, my schoolroom and my kitchen.

Q. The last book I bought: I actually bought Supernanny by Jo Frost. I really like her approach to discipline and her sense of humor (or should I say humour since she's British?). We're definitely using the Naughty Mat!

Q. The last book I read:I just finished The Sacrifice by Beverly Lewis. I really like her novels about the Amish community. I've started the next one, The Prodigal. I also just finished reading Shadow of Doubt by Terri Blackstock to hubby. It was okay, but I figured out who the killer was on page 97, and it was 368 pages long.

Q. The five books that meant the most to me: Oh, this is tough!

1. The Bible (I usually read KJV, but I used NIV extensively as a teenager).
2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. One of my favorites since I was 15.
3. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. An absolutely delightful children's book that is still wonderful to read as an adult.
4. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I just love everything Hawthorne wrote.
5. How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. This book should be required reading for anyone who has to deal with people, in other words, everyone!

Okay, I tag anyone who hasn't done this one yet! Or you can just leave yours in my comments!