the house of sixty fathers by meindert dejong
read alongside fierce for our history studies. set in china when the japanese were expanding past manchuria - the book doesn't get too specific with the violence of war. a large portion of the plot involves an american airman and i could have done with less of him. but overall, i could see why it got the newberry honor: any book that exposes children of the western world to asian culture is worthwhile.
read alongside fierce for our history studies. set in china when the japanese were expanding past manchuria - the book doesn't get too specific with the violence of war. a large portion of the plot involves an american airman and i could have done with less of him. but overall, i could see why it got the newberry honor: any book that exposes children of the western world to asian culture is worthwhile.
lord of the nutcracker men by iain lawrence
read alongside with fierce for our WW1 chapters of SOTW, i really enjoyed this tale set in england that neatly showed the ravages of war through the use of toys, some mud, and an active imagination. the christmas truce was also a nice touch. written in 2001, it's nice to know that relevant, engaging historical fiction is still being written for the younger crowd.
YA - tally: 4
paper towns by john green
i want to like this guy. in fact, i DO love this guy when he's on youtube and doing his world history shtick. i might go so far as the say i got a little crush on him when i read he was a YA author, started but stopped (more on that later) 'the fault in our stars' and then read the prologue to this book...
but then things fizzled a bit with teen boy chatter about sucking donkey balls and/or 'i want to do your mother'...
even when there were girls present, the conversations were gross. is this how teens talk today? really? can we please reclaim the english language?
then i found the plot sort of weak. i can't see why all these people would drop their graduation day to seek out an attention-seeking princess. even if they had deep relationships with the guy searching for her - they'd be more likely to offer up lip service, not actual action that interfered with their (and their parents') plans.
twisted by laurie halse aderson
much better than 'prom' but not as great as 'speak'.
this time it's a teen boy narrator, and he's got all the problems or a nerd AND (after vandalizing the school and getting caught) a stoner and now he's accused of something that may land him in prison. he thinks about suicide alot. all teens do - maybe it's a natural step in maturity as they fight to take responsibility of their actions and outcomes.... looking at himself in the mirror with a gun in his mouth seems to flick a switch and he takes charge of the situation. maybe it will work out for him, maybe not. but it's a good plot point of entering and owning adulthood. true, it was not as good as 'speak' but it's got a strong message in there.
the wave by todd strasser
read this (and watched the film that was inspired by it) alongside fierce as we explored facism in our history class. the book was rather flat: it was not well written, and the pacing was slow. the main character is the teacher but, as a YA book, the teens should be more central to the story for the story to have relevance among its readers. meanwhile, the film does an excellent job of capturing the teen life in all its ugly and frenetic glory. plus the film adapt the story setting to germany - a much more relevant place for discussing the impossibility of history repeating itself. lastly, the film even includes an interview with the original teacher who conducted this experiment in california in the first place - ron jones. he's got some good points to add to both the book and the film.
the fault in our stars by john green
although i am dearly in love with the concept of john green, i may be getting sick of him in actuality.
this story was sad, so sad. a good sad at times, but many other times seemed to be a pulling-at-you, manipulate-you, force-you sad. i didn't like that. it felt cheap and easy: young love, young death, the anne frank house, the stoic parents, the cheerful blind friend. yes, i want to like john green more, better, with greater ease - but i feel he's cheating here.
(oh, and the more later comment was this: i started this novel as an audiobook but had to stop about 2/3rds through and wait for the real-pages book, even though the wait list at the library was - like - 50 people long. the content (and the whole point of the book) is emotional and you simply cannot have a full reaction/response when the content/words keep coming at you. no. a reader needs to take a pause where the heart demands it, a gasp, a swipe of the eyes, a deep sigh while you blow your nose... and an audiobook moves too fast for that, gets you over that lump in your throat too quickly. so the book demanded to be read)
graphic novels - tally: 2
wire mothers: harry harlow and the science of love by jim ottaviani & dylan meconis
again, ottaviani sheds light on a subject we take for granted: the idea that maternal love and comfort provide stability in an infant's cognitive and emotional development. but this time i knew nothing about this subject, or that - at some time - this idea was actually seen as radical and unscientific.
in his 't-minus' and 'jane goodall' books he brings you into the past and illustrates their thinking which serves to unscore WHY the breakthroughs where seen as such. for this book, he starts in the near-present, shows his hero to be unbalanced, and then has him, on late night, relate his past to a janitor. frankly it comes off as too strange to be believed, so i looked him - and yes, there is harry harlow, and skinner, and john watson... it makes you wonder what we know consider as gospel and will be overturned in the future
understanding comics: the invisible art by scott mc cloud
awesome book/graphic non-fiction (how do i describe this genre?) (and where do i list this?) although i'm a recent convert to the graphic format, as well as a huge fan, i didn't truly appreciate the amount of thought and work that goes into panelled sequential art :)
where to start? how about the japanese style being so different from the western form - it's isolation allowed them to form entirely new ways of visual expression. and not just what they put of the paper - how they tell a story. the transition between panel to panel can be expressed as 6 types and the relative proportions in japan are very different from american and european comics. even the space between panels - where we, as the audience fill in with closure - or the length of panels have meaning. heck, the actual panel itself, or the lack there of, is an artistic and story telling device.
the chapters towards the end decribed the 6 step process to arriving at the 'surface' - the thing we see (and judge) at the end, and this was the most informative for the wannabes (hint, hint: pepper). i highly reccommend this book to any kid who thinks he'll make comics when he grows up - you'll get a better appreciation of what's in front of you, and you'll be inspired to start tackling the steps now.
novels - tally: 7
the cat's table by michael ondaatje
this is why i'm thankful for my bookclubs. this novel was so dense and layered - i'm not entirely sure how i feel about it.
in the next week, i'll hear learned women tell me their impressions and we'll hash out his themes and figure out what the heck was going on with that cousin? did they really have sex? or was she just trying out her sexuality with him? and was she involved (in advance ) in the murder? and what about that geenroom - was that fanciful thinking or simple exaggeration?
and then i'll feel all the better for having read it. because i know this is a gifted author and i get more out of him everytime i read one of his works
enders game by orson scott card
didn't particularly like this tale of child soldiers/commanders - i could never let go of the ages of the main character, ender, and the incredible violence he unleashed . even though it is a movie now, i have no desire to see it, and will probably ban my own children from seeing it. i also thought it was morally ambiguous. ender doesn't want to harm but feels forced to, and ultimately kills a couple of children himself. the book never really adresses the loss of humanity when you snuff out a life. instead, ender see-saws between feeling so bad he goes straight to bed and won't eat, and justifying the need for such action. so the character lives on both plains of good and evil. a book about violence and children should take a specific stand on the issue, and not be so wishy washy. then again, perhaps the author IS taking a stand but one that can't abide by: justified violence is not an evil act. in fact, his premise is that good and
evil can be judged through intention alone.
it reminded me of the forever wars, and was published a few years after that book, so maybe the author was influenced. it also seemed, up to about the last 5-6 pages that it would be a series - that ender would discover one more queen and he'd the forced to train up another child to replace him - forcing him to participant (again) in a process he's so against, but ultimately engages in. ie: more of the same wishy washy stuff.
the addition of the religion at the end was pointless - their society never used religion before, why would it seek it now now? and the religion itself was ridiculous.
lastly, ender spends his entire life suspicious of people's motives and even recognizes his sister as manipulating him - and yet he has no similar suspicion when faced with an alien race that 'knows' him so well. why the trust now?
world made by hand by james howard kunstler
didn't really like it. this surprised me, because i read it on the recommendation of girldetective (who knew of it thru her reading the Mmv blog) and she's never steered me wrong...
it was another end-of-the-world scenarios but a rather benevolent one. or at least at the start. but just as this cynical reader is about to take exception to this everybody gettin' along - someone is murdered, a new (perhaps evil) contingent comes to town and we're off on another plot.
so many plot points are hastily drawn up with no foundation to their occurence. the towndump 'gang' is midly sorry for killing a man, but then wants to fiddle his widow a few weeks later? this same towndump 'gang' is suddenly a separate township of a hundred or so people - including children? and they have an appetite (or an acceptance at the very least) of the type of violence that 'the govenor' from the walking dead series would produce? a never-seen-before obese soothsayer shows up in a late chapter, then appears to smite a murder locked in his jail cell? not to mention that this new contingent has an inexhaustible supply of exotic wares like long swords, sewing machines, cases of straight razors, and a barber chair! since we, the readers, never actually see the newcomers move in - they are continually have exactly the right tool for any job.
the paris wife by paula mclain
i didn't hate it, but i didn't love it. the book reads like a trite memoir of a quasi-celebrity: full of name-dropping and famous locations, but very little in the way of reflection. perhaps it's written that way for a reason - the protagonist is hemingway's wife and his style is supposed to be plain, ungarnished truth where the meaning is to be found between the facts (the so-called 'iceberg' theory). but i didn't care for it.
the ocean at the end of the lane by neil gaiman
i fell in love with gaiman while listening to the graveyard book, his deep british voice bringing to mind alan rickman and a fine story to boot. this book reminded me alot of the graveyard book but added a surprising element: this outlandish, fantasy tale is grounded both in the present and in this world, with a man returning home for his father's funeral - his story unfolding as a memory from his seven year-old self.
the other woman by hank phillippi ryan
oh god. i haven't read a detective paperback since high school and gorky parky. i really hated the fluffy descriptions of characters: tumbling blond hair, a hint of lip gloss, tanned skin peeking between a t-shirt and jeans. all so superficial and who-cares.
there were too many characters at the start. hard to remember who was who. and naming the 2 mains jake and jane made me misread/switch them at the start of their sections. oh, and i hated how both jake and jane called each other jakey and janey as some hint of informality.
i have no patience to play a guessing game while the book is in motion- you know they are going to thrown a twist at you neared the end so why bother parsing it out. so when it is revealed: these 2 weird side characters are his children from an earlier marriage, well - it's sort of lame. their entire motivation is based on hate and pain but they never even attempted to reach out to their father in the present (who'd gladly embrace them) so the main underpinings are too loose for a foundation.
worst. person. ever. by douglas coupland
ok, i had a few laughs (even one or two aloud) and the main despicable character could actually be enjoyable when he was among equality morally-vague people... and when i tell the broad strokes of the plot to others: the guy gives his obese seatmate an aneurysm through subtle fat-taunting; an angry american kicking them out of his van b/c they are cursing and he's got a brother-in-law in Iraq (yup - where's the correlation? our guy makes a mathmatical equation to frame his confusion), his hypothesis that people (ie: liers) use nut allergies to self-deign special consideration at dinner parties...these broad strokes are quite funny. BUT
BUT
must this humour be packaged in the most vile word combos? i mean 'the testicle-congealing slag known as my mother' and 'my leathery cumdump of an ex-wife'? gratuitous, and unnecessary.
his choice for single words - like 'f*muppet' - are equally unpalatable.
i picked up another book of this type/genre earlier in the year (i wish they got their own genre, it would be easier to avoide them) - supposed to be really funny. but the language was so over-the-top profane, i couldn't continue.
this is why i'm thankful for my bookclubs. this novel was so dense and layered - i'm not entirely sure how i feel about it.
in the next week, i'll hear learned women tell me their impressions and we'll hash out his themes and figure out what the heck was going on with that cousin? did they really have sex? or was she just trying out her sexuality with him? and was she involved (in advance ) in the murder? and what about that geenroom - was that fanciful thinking or simple exaggeration?
and then i'll feel all the better for having read it. because i know this is a gifted author and i get more out of him everytime i read one of his works
enders game by orson scott card
didn't particularly like this tale of child soldiers/commanders - i could never let go of the ages of the main character, ender, and the incredible violence he unleashed . even though it is a movie now, i have no desire to see it, and will probably ban my own children from seeing it. i also thought it was morally ambiguous. ender doesn't want to harm but feels forced to, and ultimately kills a couple of children himself. the book never really adresses the loss of humanity when you snuff out a life. instead, ender see-saws between feeling so bad he goes straight to bed and won't eat, and justifying the need for such action. so the character lives on both plains of good and evil. a book about violence and children should take a specific stand on the issue, and not be so wishy washy. then again, perhaps the author IS taking a stand but one that can't abide by: justified violence is not an evil act. in fact, his premise is that good and
evil can be judged through intention alone.
it reminded me of the forever wars, and was published a few years after that book, so maybe the author was influenced. it also seemed, up to about the last 5-6 pages that it would be a series - that ender would discover one more queen and he'd the forced to train up another child to replace him - forcing him to participant (again) in a process he's so against, but ultimately engages in. ie: more of the same wishy washy stuff.
the addition of the religion at the end was pointless - their society never used religion before, why would it seek it now now? and the religion itself was ridiculous.
lastly, ender spends his entire life suspicious of people's motives and even recognizes his sister as manipulating him - and yet he has no similar suspicion when faced with an alien race that 'knows' him so well. why the trust now?
world made by hand by james howard kunstler
didn't really like it. this surprised me, because i read it on the recommendation of girldetective (who knew of it thru her reading the Mmv blog) and she's never steered me wrong...
it was another end-of-the-world scenarios but a rather benevolent one. or at least at the start. but just as this cynical reader is about to take exception to this everybody gettin' along - someone is murdered, a new (perhaps evil) contingent comes to town and we're off on another plot.
so many plot points are hastily drawn up with no foundation to their occurence. the towndump 'gang' is midly sorry for killing a man, but then wants to fiddle his widow a few weeks later? this same towndump 'gang' is suddenly a separate township of a hundred or so people - including children? and they have an appetite (or an acceptance at the very least) of the type of violence that 'the govenor' from the walking dead series would produce? a never-seen-before obese soothsayer shows up in a late chapter, then appears to smite a murder locked in his jail cell? not to mention that this new contingent has an inexhaustible supply of exotic wares like long swords, sewing machines, cases of straight razors, and a barber chair! since we, the readers, never actually see the newcomers move in - they are continually have exactly the right tool for any job.
the paris wife by paula mclain
i didn't hate it, but i didn't love it. the book reads like a trite memoir of a quasi-celebrity: full of name-dropping and famous locations, but very little in the way of reflection. perhaps it's written that way for a reason - the protagonist is hemingway's wife and his style is supposed to be plain, ungarnished truth where the meaning is to be found between the facts (the so-called 'iceberg' theory). but i didn't care for it.
the ocean at the end of the lane by neil gaiman
i fell in love with gaiman while listening to the graveyard book, his deep british voice bringing to mind alan rickman and a fine story to boot. this book reminded me alot of the graveyard book but added a surprising element: this outlandish, fantasy tale is grounded both in the present and in this world, with a man returning home for his father's funeral - his story unfolding as a memory from his seven year-old self.
the other woman by hank phillippi ryan
oh god. i haven't read a detective paperback since high school and gorky parky. i really hated the fluffy descriptions of characters: tumbling blond hair, a hint of lip gloss, tanned skin peeking between a t-shirt and jeans. all so superficial and who-cares.
there were too many characters at the start. hard to remember who was who. and naming the 2 mains jake and jane made me misread/switch them at the start of their sections. oh, and i hated how both jake and jane called each other jakey and janey as some hint of informality.
i have no patience to play a guessing game while the book is in motion- you know they are going to thrown a twist at you neared the end so why bother parsing it out. so when it is revealed: these 2 weird side characters are his children from an earlier marriage, well - it's sort of lame. their entire motivation is based on hate and pain but they never even attempted to reach out to their father in the present (who'd gladly embrace them) so the main underpinings are too loose for a foundation.
worst. person. ever. by douglas coupland
ok, i had a few laughs (even one or two aloud) and the main despicable character could actually be enjoyable when he was among equality morally-vague people... and when i tell the broad strokes of the plot to others: the guy gives his obese seatmate an aneurysm through subtle fat-taunting; an angry american kicking them out of his van b/c they are cursing and he's got a brother-in-law in Iraq (yup - where's the correlation? our guy makes a mathmatical equation to frame his confusion), his hypothesis that people (ie: liers) use nut allergies to self-deign special consideration at dinner parties...these broad strokes are quite funny. BUT
BUT
must this humour be packaged in the most vile word combos? i mean 'the testicle-congealing slag known as my mother' and 'my leathery cumdump of an ex-wife'? gratuitous, and unnecessary.
his choice for single words - like 'f*muppet' - are equally unpalatable.
i picked up another book of this type/genre earlier in the year (i wish they got their own genre, it would be easier to avoide them) - supposed to be really funny. but the language was so over-the-top profane, i couldn't continue.
non-fiction - tally: 6
promise you won't freak out: a teenager tells her mother the truth about boys, booze, body piercing, an other topics by doris and natalie fuller
a mom and a daughter exchange letters about the usual teen conflicts and the daughter tells (some) truth (i doubt she spilled everything - like she says she doesn't go to parties anymore b/c they're a hassle. doubt it!) but at least she's not a total angel: she went ou of state to visit a secret boyfriend and her mom was clueless
anyhow, i got some good conversation starters thoughout the book - like for your teen's friends: how did you meet her? who does she hang with? what's the thing you like best/least about her? do you trust her?
if you hear unsettling things about these friends, it's not the time to spout off wih your beliefs/judgement. ask our teen what THEY think of that behavior. spend more time listening than lecturing.
for your moody teen - saying you don't seem like yourself - long pause... OR you don't seem yourself ever since (fill in the blank) - long pause... could yield a breakthrough sharing moment.
and the topic of sex can be direct and helful: like 'what would you like to know about sex?' or 'does the idea seem scary/exciting?' if they have friends having sex, then what have they said about it
teen-proofing: a revolutionary approach to fostering responsible decision making in your teenager by john rosemond
(can you tell we're having troubles in our home?) the title of this book looked promising: your teen making their own decisons but the book fell short of REALLY letting them; it was more of a discipline-in-advance system.
like he says to buy your teen a car and pay the bills for 3 months but then they have to take care of the payments (and keep their grades up) or you'll sell the car. (that's why YOU buy the car - so you can sell it). BUT he also uses taking the car away as a disciplinary action for other things and selling a car can only be done once. not to mention the cost associated with selling a 3-6 month old car. what a waste.
his ideas of curfew are convoluted: tell your child in grade 9 they can have NO curfew when they turn 16.... ok, what's the catch? well, you start with a 9pm curfew and if you arrive on time (everytime) you get to move it a 1/2 hour later. repeat till you are 16 with a curfew of midnight - except now it's no curfew. hmm. i'm not comfortable with NO curfew at 16. this guy must have boys. oh - and this 'no curfew' thing is only for non-school nights, and they still have to tell you who they are with, where they are going, and set an arrival time and not stray from it. i can't see how the carrot of this many-strings-attached-no-curfew will ever work.
what else?
he thinks kids need to discuss any purchase over $50 even if they earn their own money
that expecting a good attitude with obedience will lead to less obedience so don't worry about the bad attitudes
that smoking parents yield a higher proportion of smoking teens and smokers move to cannibis quicker that non-smoking teens
that a natural deterrent to early sexuality is a close relationship between father/daughter
that kids should doing chores as a means to keep out of trouble and that letting screens be your child's primary source of entertainment leads to increased drug use.
not saying i agree with all of this, but i need to place it down here.
he did make a good point about authority: if you haven't achieved the position you wanted by the time they are teens, it's too late. instead, ACT like you've resolved the issue and move forward.
and i liked his approach to teens and sexuality: you can have that open discussion without pushing your own agenda by just asking questions,like what do you think comes after kissing? how do you feel about that? and what comes after (whatever they said)? and how do you feel about that? finally - how will make sure you keep the boundaries you've established for yourself?
moonwalking with einstein: the art and science of remembering everything by joshua foer
i had an odd sensation about a quarter into this book: a sense of deja vu that i had read it before... that i already knew a particular story that the author just described. it is quite likely i picked up this book when it first got a buzz and read part of it before i had to return it due to the long hold queue. then promptly forgot this ever happened (how else can i explain knowing the story of that chapter? perhaps it was described in a book review? a blog?) anyhow - when the book IS about memory, and it's obvious that my own is failing in a significant way - it's rather depressing.
it is also depressing to be continually reminded that i am NOT reading this book in a way that is meant to capture and retain the ideas within. (we can and do read this way - at times - but not when it is a leisure activity for enjoyment) when you are explicitly told you will forget the contents of the book you are currently devoting 3-5 hours on, it's admitting the uselessness of the activity while you can still 'save' yourself and your time from this task. but, since i chose this book for bookclub, i soldiered on.
there's a guy who went into an isolation chamber and journaled to keep track of time - he thought only a month went by when it was actually 2! (ie: time flies not when you are having fun - but in boredom)
there's a OK plateau we all hit when we think we are doing the activity well enough and our improvement comes to a standstill... you need to set higher and more stringent limits in order to overcome that plateau.
lastly, i especially liked the daniel tammet section (born on a blue day) - turns out the guy is not the autistic genius his book would lead you to believe. more like a proficient user of hings memory techniques who needed a better hook to make money and fame
marxism in power: the rise and fall of a doctrine by michael kort
read to fierce over the course of a few month for our history studies. it's fascinating to think that karl marx and engels postulated an economic theory when the industrial revolution was soo young and untried.
this author definitely has a point of view that maxism is doomed to failure, but his research/ background information made our studies that much richer.
hana's suitcase by karen levine
another one read to fierce. can you believe the holocaust was a relatively unknown concept to japanese children? such ignorance can be, and must be, then be extrapolated to their parents... on one hand, it's understandable that the focus has been inward and healing of their own - atomic bomb - tragedies of WWII, but imagine seeing Schindel's List and finding out it was not fiction, not fantasy (or should i say horror)
the book is meant for young readers, and so it's a gently written account of hana and her death at a concentration camp. the story even gets a happy ending when her brother is found, alive and well, in toronto. after all, the lessons of the holocaust are survival and remembrance - hana's brother provides both.
brain on fire: my month of madness by susannah cahalan
not a particulary engaging or interesting author, the book's main strength is the tale of illness and recovery. short chapters were constructed such that you wanted to continue - although the final half dozen or so (when it's clear her recovery is complete) felt redundant and long. she seems to have coloured her memories (particulary of her newish boyfriend) a bit too rosy, and her tendency to replay specific events to justify her actions felt very adolescent, but the girl is only in her twenties, and has suffered a brain injury, so i shouldn't be so hard on her.
the most interesting reveal: it cost one million to treat her illness and her insurance at the NY post covered it. i find that surprising and wonder how she managed to NOT get fired mid-illness or have the insurance company counter claim that the treatment was not proven enough to warrant it's implementation.
promise you won't freak out: a teenager tells her mother the truth about boys, booze, body piercing, an other topics by doris and natalie fuller
a mom and a daughter exchange letters about the usual teen conflicts and the daughter tells (some) truth (i doubt she spilled everything - like she says she doesn't go to parties anymore b/c they're a hassle. doubt it!) but at least she's not a total angel: she went ou of state to visit a secret boyfriend and her mom was clueless
anyhow, i got some good conversation starters thoughout the book - like for your teen's friends: how did you meet her? who does she hang with? what's the thing you like best/least about her? do you trust her?
if you hear unsettling things about these friends, it's not the time to spout off wih your beliefs/judgement. ask our teen what THEY think of that behavior. spend more time listening than lecturing.
for your moody teen - saying you don't seem like yourself - long pause... OR you don't seem yourself ever since (fill in the blank) - long pause... could yield a breakthrough sharing moment.
and the topic of sex can be direct and helful: like 'what would you like to know about sex?' or 'does the idea seem scary/exciting?' if they have friends having sex, then what have they said about it
teen-proofing: a revolutionary approach to fostering responsible decision making in your teenager by john rosemond
(can you tell we're having troubles in our home?) the title of this book looked promising: your teen making their own decisons but the book fell short of REALLY letting them; it was more of a discipline-in-advance system.
like he says to buy your teen a car and pay the bills for 3 months but then they have to take care of the payments (and keep their grades up) or you'll sell the car. (that's why YOU buy the car - so you can sell it). BUT he also uses taking the car away as a disciplinary action for other things and selling a car can only be done once. not to mention the cost associated with selling a 3-6 month old car. what a waste.
his ideas of curfew are convoluted: tell your child in grade 9 they can have NO curfew when they turn 16.... ok, what's the catch? well, you start with a 9pm curfew and if you arrive on time (everytime) you get to move it a 1/2 hour later. repeat till you are 16 with a curfew of midnight - except now it's no curfew. hmm. i'm not comfortable with NO curfew at 16. this guy must have boys. oh - and this 'no curfew' thing is only for non-school nights, and they still have to tell you who they are with, where they are going, and set an arrival time and not stray from it. i can't see how the carrot of this many-strings-attached-no-curfew will ever work.
what else?
he thinks kids need to discuss any purchase over $50 even if they earn their own money
that expecting a good attitude with obedience will lead to less obedience so don't worry about the bad attitudes
that smoking parents yield a higher proportion of smoking teens and smokers move to cannibis quicker that non-smoking teens
that a natural deterrent to early sexuality is a close relationship between father/daughter
that kids should doing chores as a means to keep out of trouble and that letting screens be your child's primary source of entertainment leads to increased drug use.
not saying i agree with all of this, but i need to place it down here.
he did make a good point about authority: if you haven't achieved the position you wanted by the time they are teens, it's too late. instead, ACT like you've resolved the issue and move forward.
and i liked his approach to teens and sexuality: you can have that open discussion without pushing your own agenda by just asking questions,like what do you think comes after kissing? how do you feel about that? and what comes after (whatever they said)? and how do you feel about that? finally - how will make sure you keep the boundaries you've established for yourself?
moonwalking with einstein: the art and science of remembering everything by joshua foer
i had an odd sensation about a quarter into this book: a sense of deja vu that i had read it before... that i already knew a particular story that the author just described. it is quite likely i picked up this book when it first got a buzz and read part of it before i had to return it due to the long hold queue. then promptly forgot this ever happened (how else can i explain knowing the story of that chapter? perhaps it was described in a book review? a blog?) anyhow - when the book IS about memory, and it's obvious that my own is failing in a significant way - it's rather depressing.
it is also depressing to be continually reminded that i am NOT reading this book in a way that is meant to capture and retain the ideas within. (we can and do read this way - at times - but not when it is a leisure activity for enjoyment) when you are explicitly told you will forget the contents of the book you are currently devoting 3-5 hours on, it's admitting the uselessness of the activity while you can still 'save' yourself and your time from this task. but, since i chose this book for bookclub, i soldiered on.
there's a guy who went into an isolation chamber and journaled to keep track of time - he thought only a month went by when it was actually 2! (ie: time flies not when you are having fun - but in boredom)
there's a OK plateau we all hit when we think we are doing the activity well enough and our improvement comes to a standstill... you need to set higher and more stringent limits in order to overcome that plateau.
lastly, i especially liked the daniel tammet section (born on a blue day) - turns out the guy is not the autistic genius his book would lead you to believe. more like a proficient user of hings memory techniques who needed a better hook to make money and fame
marxism in power: the rise and fall of a doctrine by michael kort
read to fierce over the course of a few month for our history studies. it's fascinating to think that karl marx and engels postulated an economic theory when the industrial revolution was soo young and untried.
this author definitely has a point of view that maxism is doomed to failure, but his research/ background information made our studies that much richer.
hana's suitcase by karen levine
another one read to fierce. can you believe the holocaust was a relatively unknown concept to japanese children? such ignorance can be, and must be, then be extrapolated to their parents... on one hand, it's understandable that the focus has been inward and healing of their own - atomic bomb - tragedies of WWII, but imagine seeing Schindel's List and finding out it was not fiction, not fantasy (or should i say horror)
the book is meant for young readers, and so it's a gently written account of hana and her death at a concentration camp. the story even gets a happy ending when her brother is found, alive and well, in toronto. after all, the lessons of the holocaust are survival and remembrance - hana's brother provides both.
No comments:
Post a Comment