Learning to Read & Write

It’s a very exciting time over at our house.  My 5-year-old daughter is starting to read!!  Each week, her kindergarten teacher sends home a list of sight words that they have learned in class.  My daughter loves to have “spelling tests” with me to practice writing these words.  We’ve even added a few of our own.  I thought it was time we give a book a try.  At the library, I looked for books that had some of her sight words.  And, last night, she read a book to us!   I almost started to cry.  She was so proud when she recognized some words and she tried really hard to sound out the words she didn’t know.  Of course, the book repeated many words, so she even started recognizing some new ones!  It was one of those moments, last night, when you love being a parent! 

While we did get this book out of the library, I may have to go buy a copy for us.  I want to keep the first book my baby read to me:  Oh, Cats!  by Nola Buck.

Just as exciting is my 4-year-old son’s writing progress.  He is totally uninterested in anything that resembles “school” work.  Unlike my daughter, he does not like to write or do workbooks, etc.  But, his teacher told me the other day that he wrote his name all by himself in school.  I was shocked!  I brought him home and he proudly wrote his name for my husband & me.  And, for the first time, he signed a birthday card himself. 

I LOVE ALL THIS LEARNING!!!

Special Offer by M.J. Rose

M.J. Rose, the author of The Reincarnationist, is offering a free download of this book.  Check out this link to get your FREE e-book.  I really recommend this book and you can read my review here.

I’m really excited about the sequel of The Reincarnationist,  The Memorist  which comes out next week.  Here are some of the reviews:

“Rose’s fascinating follow up to THE REINCARNATIONIST…skillfully blends past life mysteries with present day chills. The result is a smashing good read.”

– Starred Review, Publishers Weekly

 

“Gripping… Rose once again skillfully blends past and present with a new set of absorbing characters in a fascinating historical locale.”

– Starred Review, Library Journal

 

“THE MEMORIST is a riveting and suspenseful page-turner that throws open a magical door to the past, revealing how history may influence not just our individual destinies, but the future of us all.”

– NYT Bestselling Author, Steve Berry

Chosen by IndieBound as a November “Great Reads from Booksellers You Trust”

M.J. Rose will be making the rounds in November and December to the blog world promoting her new book.  Hopefully, she’ll stop by here!  Keep your fingers crossed.

Like Glass

Matthew Cory contacted me and offered me a copy of his first novel, Like Glass.  The launch party for this book is November 14, but I got to read it early (I usually get books after they’ve been launched, so this was a special treat for me!)  It turns out the book is available, just not promoted much, yet.  So, you can buy it!!  Check out Matthew’s website listed below to find out where!

The story is described as:

Rob Jackson receives a life-altering call from a former college sweetheart informing him that his brother has died.  Now Rob faces the turmoil of an unsatisfying (but long desired) death, an unfulfilled romance, and a series of events that lead him spiraling into darkness.

This book is a good character study of a young man faced with tragedy and how these tragedies change him and his outlook on life.  I thought the author did a good job describing Robert’s thoughts and feelings throughout the novel.  I could empathize with him even when I didn’t like him very much. 

This book also highlights the problem of depression and its devastating effects on a person’s life.  The author really delves into this issue in several ways, some surprising, that really made me think.  As a psychologist, I was interested in the author’s take on depression. 

Overall, this is a love story.  But, it doesn’t follow the typical love story formula.  There are many twists and turns and it is quite intense, at times.  The characters do some surprising things and that doesn’t stop until the conclusion.

I would say that the book could use a little more editing.  I found some parts to be awkward.  And, the way the author wrote the dialogue sometimes confused me.  I wasn’t always sure who was speaking and who was reacting.  I often had to reread parts to figure it out.

Overall, I enjoyed this first novel by Matthew Cory.  His website publishes the first three chapters of the novel if you want to check it out.  Also, some of his short stories are on his site.  I’m going to check those out, too. 

Thanks, Matthew!

Anatomy of a Boyfriend

 

Daria Snadowsky, author of young adult novel, Anatomy of a Boyfriend, offered me a copy of her book to read for my blog.  I really enjoy young adult books (it’s fun to remember a time I would NEVER go back to) and was thrilled to receive her book.

This book is the story of Dominique, a senior in a private school who has aspirations of becoming a doctor.  She has no experience with boys, until she meets shy Wes at a football game.  After embarrassing herself in front of him, she finds his email and sends him an email trying to “save face.”  Thus begins her foray into the dating world.

This book is sooo real.  I laugh when I read these teenagers thoughts and feelings.  I remember having similar thoughts and have seen teenagers act like this when working in different schools (I’m a school psychologist by trade).  Of course, none of this stuff was funny at the time.  But, I have to say that Daria hit the mark perfectly.  The book was very real.

I felt like a teenager while reading this book.  I was elated for Dominique at parts, angry as she was angry, and heart-broken, too.  The author’s style of writing really let me feel it all. 

I would warn that this book is a little racy.  Daria Sandowsky does not skimp when she’s discussing the teenagers experimenting with sex.  While this did add several chuckles, I was wondering to myself if I would want my daughter to read this one.  I decided maybe when she was in college.  I’ve seen that this book is recommended for ages 14 and up.  I would hold off to at least until 16.

Anyway, thanks for the book, Daria, I loved it!!

PS Don’t you think the cover of the book is perfect?

October Book Club Pick — The Probable Future

This month, our book club tried to pick a book with a little “magic” for Halloween.  We’re going to meet a few days before Halloween to discuss.  We decided on The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman.  I finished this two days ago and I’m already starting to forget.  So, I’ll do my best with this review.

This book is about the Sparrow women of a small New England town.  Going back 300 years, a Sparrow woman is always born in March and on her 13th birthday, she receives a special gift.  One doesn’t feel pain, one can tell a liar, another see people’s dreams.  The newest Sparrow,  Stella, can see how people will die.  When she sees that a woman will be murdered, she asks her father to help.  He goes to the police, who don’t believe him.  Later, when the woman is murdered, he is arrested and the family’s life ends up in turmoil.  Stella and her mother, Jenny, move back in with Stella’s grandmother, Elinor.  The grandmother, mother, and daughter relationships are prominent in this story.

As I read this book, I had a lot of criticsm.  Now, I don’t remember it too much to share what that criticsm was.  Maybe that, in itself, is a criticsm.  I didn’t find this book too memorable.  I think I remember thinking that it reminded me of another book I read recently, Going Down South, about mother-daughter relationships, but didn’t do it as well.   

There were also a lot of names of Sparrow women and many stories surrounding these women over the centuries and it was difficult to keep them all straight.  The author did use one character’s master thesis to try to help tell these tales.  But, it was still a little too confusing. 

 Also, the Sparrow women’s “powers” were inconsistent or unreliable.  Of course, this did help the plot along and explain some of the romantic relationships.  I just found it kind of annoying.   There were romances, complete with confusion, resistance, and finally happy endings.  The book did wrap up nice and tidy, almost too tidy. 

Now, after all this complaining about the book, I have to say it wasn’t awful.  The story was okay and it kept me reading.  I thought it got better in the second half of the book.  And, I did find myself on bookmooch looking up the author considering getting some of her other books.  So, I must have been entertained on some level.  I just can’t seem to figure out my mixed feelings on this one.

Wednesday Sisters

I picked up The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton at the library a couple of weeks ago because I remembered reading some good reviews of this one around the blogosphere.  I have to agree, this was a good one! 

This is the story of five women in silicone valley in the ’60s who meet at the park every Wednesday.  The story follows the women as their relationships grows, change, and the women face some difficult obstacles together.

The story is told from the perspective of one of the women.  This was an effective technique in telling the story of the women.  While we didn’t always know what the other women were thinking, the narrator did such a good job describing the women that we could probably guess.  The story was realistic and believable. 

I really enjoyed how the author included the societal themes in the novel and showed them through the women’s eyes.  It was fascinating to read how five white suburban housewives in the 60s reacted to the Vietnam War, civil rights issues, and the women’s movement.  They didn’t always react as I thought they would and I enjoyed watching the women change over time.  They faced their preconceived ideas and grew from them.  It was really well done.  I think this was my favorite part of the whole novel.

I would love for my mother to read this one and talk to her about these issues, especially since she’s around the same age as the women in this novel.  I have found that reading books with my mom has opened up some good discussions and I think this is a good one to pursue.

Going Down South

Bonnie J. Glover recently offered me a copy of her second novel, Going Down South.  It’s described as:

…a heartwarming tale of second chances and the unparalleled love between mothers and daughters.

Being a daughter and having a daughter, I couldn’t pass this one up.  I’m sure glad I didn’t.

The three women in this novel, Birdie, Daisy, and Olivia are amazing.  Each one is developed in their own section of the book which describes each lady and provides background that helps the reader understand why each character behaves as she does.  It was an interesting and effective way to begin the book.  Of course, not much happens for the first half because we are learning about the characters.  Nevertheless, it was a beautiful character study. 

In the second half of the novel, we learn how these three ladies co-exist during a difficult time.  We watch them grow and change.  The story was so realistic with no unbelievable events that sometimes mar this type of story.  The author stayed true to each character while letting them learn.  I appreciated that everything didn’t turn out perfect, but there was still great positive change in all three women.

The descriptions of the setting were excellent.  It was a difficult time for African-American women in the 1960s and the author did a good job describing this.  It made me more aware as I had never really realized how difficult it really was (I know that makes me sound ridiculous, but it’s true).

Anyway, thank you Bonnie for sharing your book with me.  I truly would recommend it as I know others have, already:

Booking Mama

Diary of an Eccentric

A New Winner

Well, I never heard from Lee.  So, my runner-up winner for the Joshua Henkin signed book, Matrimony, is Anna over at Diary of an Eccentric.  Anna email me at nbbaker1102@msn.com with your information so I can let Joshua know where to send your book!

Thanks for participating!

Up next, a review of Bonnie J. Glover’s Going Down South.  I really enjoyed this book that the author sent me and look forward to sharing my comments with you soon.

Another Quirky Fantasy Tale

 

I just finished The Queen’s Bastard by C. E. Murphy.  I just don’t know what to say.  I don’t think this genre is for me, but I keep picking up these books.  In defense, I thought this book would be more of a historical fiction.  Not really….  I guess I misunderstood the “blurb” which, in part, says:

In a world where religion has ripped apart the old order, Belinda Primrose is the queen’s secret weapon.  The unacknowledged daughter of Lorraine, the first queen to sit on the Aulunian throne, Belinda has been trained as a spy since the age of twelve by her father, Lorraine’s lover and spymaster….

This book involved a great deal of politics between made-up countries.  They resembled some cities and countries of typical historical fiction, but had different names.  The names were difficult to follow and I found myself having trouble keeping the queens straight and who was plotting against whom.  The religious conflicts were reminiscent of the break in the church in England during Henry VIII, but again, details were changed.

The main character, Belinda, was not likable at all.  At times, I started to feel some pity for her, but it was short-lived.  I’m not faint of heart when I read those “sexy” scenes, but this book made me very uncomfortable in this realm.  Belinda’s use of sex in the story was hard to take. 

Another confusing point was the switching of the names of the main character.  Her real name, Belinda, was often inter-changed with her persona, Beatrice.   I know the author had some literary reason for this, but it was very confusing. 

Finally, the ending was a cliff-hanger.  I only kept reading because I wondered how the author was going to tie the story up.  I was let down to see the final words as “continued in The Pretender’s Crown”  (due out in Spring, 2009).

This book took me almost a week to read.  I usually read 2-3 books per week.  I’m not even sure why I kept reading since I really did not like the story, the characters, nothing.   I seem to have been doing this alot lately.  I do have trouble abandoning a book that I’ve started.  It must be my English teacher mother whispering in my ear (or penance for not reading the books I should have as a high-schooler).  But, save yourself the trouble and skip this one.

***********************

On another note, I haven’t heard from Lee concerning my give-away.  If I don’t hear by Sunday, I’ll will do another drawing for the book.  So, you still may have a chance. 

And the winner is…..

And, the winner of the signed copy of Joshua Henkin’s Matrimony is Lee.  I don’t have your information, so please email me at nbbaker1102@msn.com  with your address and how you would like Mr. Henkin to address your book. 

Congrats!  And, thanks for all who participated in my first giveaway.  Thank you, especially, to Joshua Henkin who provided such good motivation for a contest.