Book Blogger Hop

Welcome to the book blogger hop. If you are into books and blogging, it can be really neat to look around out there in cyberspace and check out what new books are out there. I follow many different book blogs for this very reason. Crazy-for-Books.com has a great comprehensive list of all of the great book blogs out there...check them out.

Networking through other blogs is also a great way to keep up on the latest authors and get a real inside look at the publishing and print world.

As a teacher, I like being able to recommend books to my students and following different blogs allows me to know what's out there without having to necessarily READ every book. Happy reading and blogging...

This week’s question is: “Since today is April Fool’s Day in the USA, what is the best prank you have ever played on someone OR that someone has played on you?”

I am not a prankster nor am I creative enough to come up with a great joke in the first place. However, I like to laugh REALLY hard when others play a great prank.

A Celtic Woman Experience

Mom and I went to the Landmark Theater last night to see Celtic Woman who are currently on their Songs From the Heart Tour - WOW! I am still in awe of the experience, and so thankful for the oppotunity to see them. If you haven't had the chance it is such an experience.

I think the absolute best part of the concert is that it is such a wholesome, enjoyable, and pure form of entertainment. In a world where obscenities fly, negativity gets the most attention, and being provocative and unpure is popular, it was refreshing to see actual singing talent on the stage without the usual junk that goes along with music these days. I don't know about you, but I have had enough of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and all of the other popular artists who are only able to produce hits when their voices are enhanced with technology. I find myself craving music and entertainment that most people in mainstream culture would find unpopular.

It became clear as soon as the show started that the favorite was the violinist, Mairead. She was a small blonde who jumped ALL OVER the stage as she played her heart out. It has been a while since I have witnessed talent like hers.

The singing was beautiful and the instruments were so exotic and truly came alive when they were playing. Drums of every variety, bagpipes, and a whole host of other instruments that I won't even pretend to know.

True musical talent is hard to come by these days, but this group is absolutely one of the best.

Reasons Why Reading Is Essential

1. Reading is rewarding.

2. Reading builds a mature vocabulary.

3. Reading makes you a better writer.

4. Reading is hard, and "hard" is necessary.

5. Reading makes you smarter.

6. Reading prepares you for the world of work.

7. Reading well is financially rewarding.

8. Reading opens the door to college and beyond.

9. Reading arms you against oppression.

10. Reading allows you to travel all over the world, into different eras of time, into various places and allows you to meet people of every substance.

What else allows you to do all of those things?

Spring Is In The Air

Thank goodness, right? But then again, we have snow coming down exactly ONE week after I took these pictures! Here are some of the signs of spring right here in our yard (pre-snow)...

These signs of spring also give me the chance to practice another passion, taking pictures - I am an amateur, but with scenery like this it's hard to mess it up!


This tree is in our front yard - it is so beautiful this time of year.

Happy spring :)

Last But Not Least...Mockingjay

Finally finished the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy last night. I am glad to have read all three books, they were definitely worth the read. Most fans of young adult literature agree.

Katniss and Peeta came back for one more round in The Hunger Games when it is decided that for the Quarter Quell old victors would battle it out. Now, she is "safe" in District 13 where she begins to realize that they must fight an ever angry Capital that wants revenge. Katniss makes deals with Coin, the president of District 13 for a chance to kill her arch-nemesis, president of the Capital, Snow.

Throughout Mockingjay, we follow District 13 as they wage war with the Capital and it turns out to be a bloody, violent, and sometimes hard to stomach war. Despite many deaths of some of the main supporting characters, Katniss and Peeta come out of the war alive, but badly damaged mentally, emotionally, and physically.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I definitely think it was good to finalize the story and find out what happens in the war, and in Katniss's love life, but this book was downright confusing sometimes! I found myself wondering, "what the heck, how did that happen" many times while reading. There were so many characters with such similar sounding names, that added to the confusion as well.

For lack of a better way to describe it, I felt as though Suzanne Collins knew she had to write a third book to finish the story, but didn't really want to so she just threw something together. That may be harsh, but it definitely felt that way reading it. The plot was disjointed and simply hard to follow at times.

I did appreciate her in-depth descriptions of Peeta - his character in this novel was the most interesting because he was so damaged by the Capital and it was interesting to watch his transformation.

The ending is what gave this novel its best quality. In the last five pages and the epilogue, her writing was beautiful and it absolutely brought tears to my eyes to learn the fate of these characters that I have followed for three novels. I was touched to see that she didn't sugarcoat a happy ever after, and ended it with the realization that despite everlasting effect that The Hunger Games will have on Katniss and Peeta, they make the best of their situation and try to move on. And they do, in a big way.

Waiting on Wednesday...Awaiting an Upcoming Release

Waiting on Wednesday...a time to put out there an upcoming release that I am really looking forward to. I have already preordered this one for my Nook, and I can't wait!

For all you historical fiction fans, this one will be a winner!

With their farm in Mica Creek, Washington facing foreclosure, seventeen-year-old Clara Estby and her mother, Helga, need to find a way to raise a lot of money in a short time--no easy feat for two women in 1896. Helga wants to tackle the problem with her usual loud and flashy style, while Clara, the oldest of the eight Estby children, favors a less showy approach. Though very different in personality, mother and daughter share a determination to save their family's home, so they come up with a plan to walk the 4,600 miles from Mica Creek to New York City--and if they can do it in only eight months, a New York City publisher has agreed to give them $10,000.

They set out with little more than ten dollars, two ponchos, and a gun. Along the way they go through sixteen pairs of shoes each, fend off snakes and highwaymen, and narrowly escape a flash flood. But they also meet the governor of every state they pass through and the wife of presidential-candidate, William Jennings Bryan, as well as shake hands with the new president himself, William McKinley. And with each new challenge they face, Clara and Helga come to rely on and respect one another for the very traits that make them so different.

Based on the true story of the author's great aunt and great-great grandmother, this is a fast-paced historical fiction adventure for 10-14 year-olds that sets the drama of Around the World In 80 Days against an American backdrop during the time of the suffragist movement, the 1896 presidential campaign, and the changing perception of "a woman's place" in society.

Top Ten Tuesday - Genres of Literature

Top Ten Tuesday is a time to share any top ten list that comes to mind...honestly, mine mainly have to do with reading or literature. Enjoy...

Top Ten Genres of Literature (in my opinion of course)...

1. Historical Fiction (any time period, but especially Colonial America/Civil War)

2. Nonfiction (specifically relating to historical events is most interesting in my opinion)

3. Biographies (I love them on anyone, I read a biography about Charles Darwin this past summer that was fascinating and I didn't even think I was interested in him)

4. Realistic Fiction (this is the most popular genre of YA lit, so naturally I would love it)

5. Folklore - Myths/Legends/Fables (I teach these in my Native American unit each year, the kids love them)

6. Drama (I do like some drama, but not all - can't really stomach the Shakespeare stuff)

7. Short Story (I love short stories...and we read them so much in the classroom due to time constraints)

8. Narrative Nonfiction (informational but still tells a story)

9. Humor (It's good to laugh, right?)

10. Poetry (As I have gotten older poetry has grown on me, and now that I'm a mom, I find myself picking up poems for my kids that I think they'll love and pondering the deeper level ones for the meaning of life - haha!)

And then there are those that didn't even make the list...science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery. Y-U-C-K.