Weekly Geeks: Favorite Blogs

For a while I was participating in a weekly blogging activity called Weekly Geeks. It was lots of fun and I really enjoyed the topics Dewey came up with for us to post about every week. Sadly, Dewey passed away recently (I wrote about it here). She had brought so such "community" to the book blogging world and no one wanted that to go away. So several groups of bloggers got together to continue hosting all Dewey's activities. I'm so glad to know that the Weekly Geeks are back - and we now have our own blog!



This week on Weekly Geeks our job is to talk about our favorite blogs.


That's a hard one for me. I recently culled my Google Reader list so I'm down to only 115 blogs. However, that includes the Weekly Geeks feed that Natasha from Maw Books set up a while back ... which means that I'm really subscribed to a lot more than 115!

My Reader is organized into the following folders:

• Authors
• Favorite Books
• Books
• Challenge Blogs
• IF World (aka infertility blogs)*
• Local Stuff (bloggers in Maryland)
• Random Things
• Personal Stuff

When I'm pressed for time, I skim over the blogs most of the categories but I ALWAYS read the blogs in my Favorite Books and IF World folders. That's a total of 22 must-read blogs. I hate to exclude ANYONE (because I love all of you) but I'm also know that most of you won't go check out the blogs I list if I give you too many to visit. Ha! Am I right or what?!

Without further ado, a sample of my favorite blogs in alphabetical order:

• Bloody Hell, It's A Book Barrage! - who doesn't love Chartroose?! - always fun book reviews and "stuff"
• Bookish Ruth - I've been reading her since BBAW '08, and she's now hosting the Baker Street Challenge
• Letters from a Hill Farm - recipes, views of country life, Nan's blog is relaxing for me
• Life and Time of a "New" New Yorker - book reviews (we usually like the same books), photos of the city, very enjoyable
• Naked Without Books - Bybee and her TCIB (tough and cool inner bookworm) always make me smile
• Plays With Needles - posts about sewing of all kinds (which I don't do), photography, and life, and she's local
• Stop the Train, I Wanna Get Off! - posts about family, IF, and life in general, plus I met her in real life once
• The Armenian Odar Reads - we have very similar taste in books, plus she reads in several languages so I'm constantly learning about books I've never heard of
• The Dream Year - this couple is driving around the US together for a year and blogging along the way

I'm sorry for not including all of the blogs in my reader. If you want to see who else I read regularly just check out my right side bar. And be sure to check out some of the other posts this week!

* This might need a bit more explanation for some of my readers. Just like there is a wonderful book blogging community, there is also a wonderful community of women dealing with infertility in it's many facets. I have secondary infertility for unknown reasons. For years we tried medical procedures to have a second child, without success. As we came to the end of trying, I found the IF community. So even though we're not trying for a second child any more I still like to visit some of the IF blogs I discovered back then - there are some great gals out there, and I love them all.

Weekly Geeks #23: Redux

This week on the Weekly Geeks we get to "choose our own adventure" so to speak. Our task is to choose a previous Weekly Geeks activity that we particularly liked and do it again. I'm actually going to combine WG #5 - Alternative Storytelling with WG #7 - Photo Week.

In my original WG#5 post I shared my family's love of the Irish folk group The High Kings. Needless to say, we were THRILLED to hear they were coming to Baltimore! Hubby, kiddo and I bought tickets as soon as they were available. We were so excited about it that my parents decided to come along as well.

We weren't allowed to take pictures during the concert but get this - we got to MEET THE GUYS afterward!!!! Here are some pics from our exciting night, along with more clips of their music (and boy, do they have some GREAT stories in their music!). I'm sorry for the poor quality of the photos ... I was still figuring out the settings on my new camera.




This is kiddo with hubby's favorite guy, Marin Furey.














And here's kiddo with HIS favorite guy, Brian Dunphy. Kiddo knows all Brian's solo parts and even does all the movements and dance steps that Brian does in their concert video. He was so excited to meet him! And get this - Brian told kiddo that he liked kiddo's long hair. That made kiddo's night!












Darren Holden signing kiddo's DVD (we already had their CD).
















Unfortunately the pictures of MY favorite guy, Finbarr Clancy, did not turn out so well. This guy's voice literally makes me melt. But I do have a picture of his signing kiddo's DVD, so that will have to do.








We had such a good time at this concert. We can't wait to see them again in the future!









And now, here are some music clips for your Irish listening pleasure ...



This is one of my favorite songs, Go Lassie Go. It's a classic folk tune that they've jazzed up a bit. And my Finbarr sings a solo in the beginning. :)



Here's a more upbeat tune for you. It's called The Rocky Road to Dublin.



And I'll sign off with THEIR signature signing off song, The Parting Glass.



I hope you've enjoyed this Weekly Geeks Redux ... I certainly have! Here are some links you might enjoy:

• For more about The High Kings, click here.
  
• Visit my original WG#5 for some different songs by The High Kings.
• Check out my Disney-themed WG#7.
• Check out what the other Weekly Geeks are doing this week.

Life Is So Good and John Adams (and Weekly Geeks)

Our Weekly Geeks task this time was to swap interviews with another blogger about a book we've just finished reading. I was paired up with Melissa from Book Nut. She asked me questions about my book, Life Is So Good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman; and I asked her about her book, John Adams by David McCollough.

Doing reviews this way is lots of fun, and I'm glad the Weekly Geeks are doing it again. I may start doing this myself from time to time, asking you - my lovely readers - to ask questions about the books I'm reading, especially for books that I'm having a hard time reviewing. But for now let's just get to the reviews, shall we?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First up is the book I read, Life Is So Good.

I haven't read the book (or even heard of it before -- I'm slow!) so can you give me a bit of a summary without too many spoilers?

This is the true story of George Dawson, the grandson of a slave, who was born in the late 1890s and grew up on a farm in Texas. Age the age of 98 he decided to learn to read. Going back to school at that age brought him to the attention of the media, and this book is the result.

What led you to pick this book up?

I read this book after seeing it reviewed here. Because another review led me to read it, it was perfect for the Irresistible Review Challenge. I failed the challenge because I didn't complete this one in time, but that's perfectly ok with me (I had a really good reason - see my answer to the next question for details).

Easy one: did you enjoy it? Why or why not?

I LOVED this book. It was very readable and always kept my interest. I liked how each some of the chapters began with news from the time period, and continued with what was going on in George's life at that time.

After just a few chapters I was telling my Gram (she's 84) about it and she asked if she could borrow it. Of course I said yes. As I mentioned in this post, Gram isn't a big reader so I was quite impressed when she finished it in just a few weeks. She says it was a wonderful book, and that George is a lovely man. She really enjoyed reading this one.

Was his life really "so good"? Why did the book have that title? Do you think it fit?

George had a difficult life, but he was always happy. He lived in the moment, not worrying about what tomorrow would bring. He didn't expect things to be perfect, he didn't expect people to be kind (at least, not all the time) and he didn't believe that anyone owed him anything. Based on that, you may think that he was depressed, or pessimistic, or something like that, but he wasn't. He just took life as it came and made the best of it every day.

For him, life really was "so good" ... it's a perfect title for the book.

Did you learn anything you didn't already know?

Yes! I learned how different life really was for "colored" people [George's word] in the South in the first half of the 20th century. Of course I knew about segregation, and the Klan, and things like that. But it's the little things that I just had no clue about that really struck me.

I also learned a bit about "riding the rails". Train-hopping-hobos make appearances in many novels of the time, but George's experiences give a bit more life to these faceless masses of moving people.

There are so many things I learned from this book, but nothing that I would say is "profound" ... it's just the details of life that are often overlooked that were so fascinating to me.

Would you recommend it? Why or why not?

I would whole-heartedly recommend this book. I can't think of any reason NOT to like it. Ok, maybe I'd like an "Afterword" that tells me when happened to George after the book was published, but hey, you can find that on the internet so it's really not a big deal. This is a lovely book, an easy and captivating read, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Just for fun, here's a picture of my Gram reading this book!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now on to Book Nut's book, John Adams.

Why did you decide to read this book?
Way back when my blog was young, I read Setting the World Ablaze. The one thing I got from that book was how under-appreciated John Adams is. In the comments, someone recommended this one to me. But... I forgot about it until my dad reminded me about it in March. It took the I Heard it Through the Grapevine challenge though to actually get me to read the book.

Did you watch the mini-series on tv a few months back? If so, how does it compare to the book?

I haven't. It's on my Netflix queue, but I wanted to read the book before I watched the mini-series. I've heard that it's really good, though.

Was this a challenging read? Why/why not?

Yes, and no. Yes because it encompasses a HUGE amount of time -- more than 50 years of detailed accounts -- which is a lot to handle in any book. It's 650 pages of John Adams. But no, because David McCulllough is a great writer. I usually have a problem with biographies because I find them stuffy, but McCullough makes the research and the letters incredibly accessible and engaging.

What are two or three things that you learned that really surprised you?

How much Adams did behind the background. He never was a charismatic leader or even a terribly popular one, but he was tireless. In the same vein, I was impressed how visionary Adams was. He saw the evils of party politics: "There is nothing I dread so much as a division of the Republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader and converting measures in opposition to each other," Adams had observed to a correspondent while at Amsterdam, before the Revolution ended. Yet this was exactly what had happened The "turbulent maneuvers" of factions, he now wrote privately, could "tie the hands and destroy the influence" of every honest man with a desire to serve the public good. There was "division of sentiments over everything," he told his son-in-law William Smith. "How few aim at the good of the whole, without aiming too much at the prosperity of parts." And predicted that slavery would be a big issue, possibly leading to war. The other thing -- that I knew, but was impressed with again -- is that you can't write a biography of Adams without making Jefferson a big part of it. Their lives, for good or ill, were intertwined. And I found that interesting.

Was the relationship between John and his wife, Abagail, typical of the time period or was it unique? Is that your own opinion or is there something in the book that led you to that conclusion?

I've long been impressed with Abigail Adams -- she was a hero of mine since I read a biography of her in middle school. That said, I'm not sure if their relationship was unique. It probably was, but because we don't know much about other relationships from the time, it's hard to tell. What was unique was the amount of letters that they wrote. And it's because they were both prolific writers that we even know about their relationship at all.

Did this book alter your impression of any historical figures? In what way?

Ah. Jefferson. He did some great things, but he was not a great man. The history books have unfailingly altered Jefferson. Same with Franklin, too. And I had no idea that Alexander Hamliton was such a creep. Brilliant, but really really warped.

Do you think the author gave an unbiased review of Adams' life? Was there an apparent or implied message that the author was hoping to convey in this book?

No. I don't think McCullough was unbiased. I think he was fair -- Adams was not perfect (he had two alcoholic sons, one of whom died at age 30, and he was incredibly vain and easily hurt) -- but you could tell as a reader about the affection that McCullough had for Adams. He really liked this man. And, by the end of the book, so did I. I think McCullough's just attempting to change the perception -- or lack of one, for who really thinks of John Adams -- of Adams and put out there how much he really did for the country, not just during the revolution, but his whole life. (One little side note: he worked tirelessly -- and was unpopular for it-- for peace with France during his term as president. McCullough makes this statement later: "Bonaparte abandoned his plans and suddenly, in 1803, offered to sell the United States all of the vast, unexplored territory of Louisiana. It was an astounding turn of events and one that would probably not have come to pass had the Quasi-War burst into something larger. Were it not for John Adams making peace with France, there might never have been a Louisiana Purchase.")

What type of reader would you recommend this book to? Why?

Definitely history buffs. But I think the average reader -- one who is willing to invest the time in this book, because it does take time -- will enjoy it. It's enjoyable, it's interesting, and hopefully, they'll come away with as much respect for Adams as I did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As always, if you've reviewed either of these books please let me know. It's more fun when there are a variety of opinions!

Bold.Blue.Adventure is the one that turned me on to Life Is So Good in the first place (although I read her review when she cross-posted it on the "In Their Shoes" Reading Challenge Blog).

In Defense of Food

I just finished reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. Wow, was this an eye-opening read! It IS a bit hard to review though, so I'm grateful for the questions submitted by the Weekly Geeks. (Go check out this post if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

Book Zombie asks: Why did you decide to read this book? Because of this review. I've never wanted to read a "food book" before, but I was intrigued and so I requested it from the library. Because I chose to read it after seeing it reviewed, it fits with the Irresistible Review Challenge.

Julie asks: Did you change your eating habits after reading this book? That's an intriguing question. I had Julie's question in mind as I read, so I think that influenced me; I WANTED to change in part because of her question (does that make sense? What I'm trying to say is that her question influenced the way I looked at the book as I read it). I WANT to change my eating habits but of course it's not as easy as it sounds. I'm definitely more aware of what I'm eating now, and I'm pretty grossed out by it honestly. My next shopping trip will be a painful one as I try to decide which foods I need to eliminate. Oh joy.

GraySkyEyes asks: Which of his arguments do you think is most compelling? Do you think you'll incorporate any of his suggestions into your normal eating routine?

Jessica has similar questions: How do you feel about the "whole foods" thing? Is it something you could actually accomplish with your eating?

A few things really stuck in my mind after I finished this book. Here are the ones I found the most compelling:

• nutrition science tells us that we can't understand on our own what is good for us and what is not (contrary to thousands of years of evidence) - Pollan likens nutritionists to a "priesthood" that translates the unknown to the masses
  
• the health of the soil affects the health of the plants affects the health of the animals eating the plants affects our health when we eat the plants and animals
• humans can survive and be healthy on a wide variety of diets, but NOT on the "Western diet" of processed food
• foods are more than the sum of their nutritional parts - scientists still can't determine exactly what nutrients are in each food item OR how those foods work with others to affect our health
• Americans eat in different ways than other cultures - we focus on speed whereas other cultures focus on the meal as an event - we see food as merely fuel for our bodies rather than a cultural experience
  
• WAY to much of our diet is based on soy and corn - the facts he presented were mind-boggling to me
• taking time to really prepare a meal makes you more attuned to the food you're eating
  

My plan is to be more aware of what I'm eating for starters. I'm looking into the CSA programs mentioned in the book - I thought that was a wonderful idea! [It's a program where you get local produce delivered to you each week.] Hopefully I'll be able to find new foods that can be added to our diet to replace some things that I want to cut out or cut down on. I don't think I can honestly follow all the suggestions in this book, but at least I'm aware now of what I'm eating. I'll be on the lookout for more "natural" foods, "whole" foods, and less "food-like substances" for sure!

One thing I want to bring up ...

I do want to mention something that really freaked me out: the discussion of soy-based products, particularly soy isoflavones . Pollan explained that soy isoflavones are "compounds that resemble estrogen .... It is unclear whether these so-called phytoestrogens actually behave like estrogen in the body or only fool it into thinking they're estrogen." With so many women (including myself) diagnosed with fertility problems, this sent up huge red flags for me. How many other additives are influencing our reproductive systems in ways that we don't yet understand?!

Thanks to everyone who asked questions - it was really helpful to me in writing this review.

If you've reviewed this, I'd love to post your link here!
The Inside Cover

Weekly Geeks #12: Questions for My Reviews

This week on Weekly Geeks we get to ask our readers to help with our reviews!

I'm supposed to make a list of books I have read but not reviewed and you're supposed to ask me questions that I'll answer in my reviews of those books. Get it? If not, you can read all the "rules" here.

I stay pretty up to date on my reviewing so there aren't any outstanding ones at the moment. Instead I offer you two lists: the books I'm reading now, and the books I plan to read shortly.

Currently Reading:

• The Planets, by Dava Sobel (almost finished)
  
• Dracula, Bram Stoker (just started)
  
• Some Experiences of an Irish RM, by E. Somerville (halfway through)
  

Upcoming Reads:

• Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (this is for my book club)
  
• In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
• Life is So Good, by Miriam Katin
  
• We Are On Our Own, by George Dawson
• Delta of Venus, by Anais Nin
  

You can find summaries of all these books on Amazon.com.

So go ahead - ask away! My only request is that your questions don't include too many spoilers - everything else is welcome!

Weekly Geeks #10 - Magazines

Due to Dewey's Read-a-Thon last weekend there was no activity for us Weekly Geeks. I was looking forward to this week to get back in the routine. Unfortunately for me, the topic this time around is magazines ... and I don't read them.

That's not to say that I never pick up a magazine. As I've said before, I'm a reading addict - I'll read anything, anytime, anywhere - so if there's a magazine laying around and I don't have a book handy, I'll read it. But I don't subscribe to any magazines or read any publications regularly.

My husband gets several magazines, but I make him rotate his subscriptions. He's only allowed 2 subscriptions at a time (for financial reasons and the fact that he often doesn't actually READ them!). I think his Maxim ended but he's still getting a NASCAR one. Sometime there are Fire House mags too, but since his injury and mandatory retirement I often toss them before he sees them (not to be mean! It's because they depress him now.)

Kiddo gets Lego Club Magazine and lots of Lego catalogs. Those are his favorite things to look at when he's in bed. My in-laws also get him Clubhouse, Jr. but he doesn't seem to care much about that one yet.

Then there's me and I don't get any magazines in the mail ... but I do get BOOKS! Between PaperbackSwap, bloggers contests, and publishers/promotors I seem to have a steady stream of books arriving in the mail. And that makes me much happier than any magazine ever could!

If you'd like to read about people NOT like me to actually DO subscribe to magazines click here to check out the 40+ other Weekly Geek posts. UPDATE: You need to read this post especially - in my opinion, it's the best one on this week's topic.

Weekly Geeks #9 and Show & Tell

This week on Weekly Geeks our challenge is to update our challenges! And since it's Show & Tell day today, I thought "Why not share this with the rest of the class?"

For those of you unfamiliar with reading challenges, the idea is to commit to read a specific number of books with a specific theme within a set amount of time. The reasons people sign up for challenges vary - I'll give you my reasons as I update you on my challenges. Oh, and if you'd like to read the reviews I've written for any of the books I've completed so far, just click here.

Here are the 4 challenges I'm involved in, in order by ending date. Click on the challenge logos to link to the challenge host sites.

#1: Irresistible Review Challenge

This challenge just makes sense to me. The idea is to read books that you wouldn't have decided to read had it not been for another bloggers excellent review. So really, it just means actually committing to read some of the books I've been adding to my TBR list.

Completion Date: September 1, 2008

Completed Books: 2
Last Chance to See, by Douglas Adams
Stone Creek, by Victoria Lustbader

Completed Books: 1
King Solomon's Mines, by H. Rider Haggard

Completed Books: 5
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Life is So Good, by George Dawson
Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie
In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
and one more TBD


#2: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge



This is the very first challenge I ever signed up for. Why? I figured it would be easy, since much of what I want to read fits into this challenge.

Completion Date: October 1, 2008

Completed Books: 5
Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky
The Good Earth, Pearl Buck
Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks
Cane River, Lalita Tademy
Water for Elephants, Sarah Gruen

To Be Read: 1
Cannery Row, John Stienbeck


#3: "Lost" Books Challenge


I absolutely LOVE the tv show Lost, so I had to join this challenge. Even though I'm only just now starting Season 3 I'm completely addicted! I'm hoping that reading some of these books (which were all mentioned on the show at some point) will give me further insight into the complexity of the show.

Completion Date: December 31, 2008

Completed Books: 0

To Be Read: 5
The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
Island, Aldous Huxley
Moby Dick, Hermann Melville
The Mysterious Island, Julies Verne
The Survivors of the Chancellor, Jules Verne


#4: 1% Well Read Challenge

As I mention in my left sidebar, the list of 1,001 books you must read before you die seems a bit daunting to me. This challenge makes the list much more doable - you only have to read 10% of the list! And since there are so many interesting books on the list I'm up for THIS challenge.

Completion Date: February 28, 2009

Completed Books: 0

In Progress: 2
King Solomon's Mines, H. Rider Haggard
Some Experiences of an Irish RM, E. Somerville

To Be Read: 8
The Moor’s Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
Delta of Venua, Anais Nin
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
Cannery Row, John Steinbeck
Phineas Finn, Anthony Trollope
The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris, Paul Gallico
100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Alternates - I'm giving myself alternates on this one, just in case ...
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote
The Leopard, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Herzog, Saul Bellow
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe

So that's my update. I'm pretty sure I can complete all these book on schedule ... wish me luck!

Weekly Geeks #8

This week on the Weekly Geeks it's Scavenger Hunt time. Unfortunately for me I just don't have the time to do this. But if you're up for a challenge click here to participate - there's even a cool prize for the winner!

Weekly Geeks #7 - Photos

Don't forget about my book giveaway this month - click here for details.

This week on Weekly Geeks - PHOTOS! The idea is to post one or several photos on a particular theme. I'm going to go with our most recent family vacation to Disney World. Why? Because it's DISNEY of course!

This was our first family trip to Disney World, although we've been to Disneyland five times. We were in Florida from April 25-29 and stayed at the All Star Music Resort. Kiddo thought this was great since he LOVES music.

We had a great time but it was a bit overwhelming. We really love Disneyland and boy, is Disney World BIG comparatively. Regardless, Disney anywhere is our absolute favorite vacation spot. We love the characters, the rides, the atmosphere, everything. Plus they go out of their way to accommodate kiddo's numerous food allergies (other places do not do this) and that makes everyone happy.

One drawback was that we ended up at Disney on the same weekend as the International Cheer and Dance Competition. There were cheerleaders from all over the world ... and they were EVERYWHERE. We were going a bit crazy actually. If I had to hear another giggly teen girl ramble on about her team's chances to win or the other team's outfits, I think I'd have shot myself! :)
I think the coolest part of the trip was that kiddo was picked by the Dream Team Crew to be the "It's a Small World" Cruise Director. Basically what that means is that he got to go up in the booth with the operator and wave at all the boats leaving and returning. It was lots of fun for him (who am I kidding? It was lots of fun for all of us!).

We had a great time of course. I hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Don't forget about my book giveaway this month - click here for details.









Be sure to check out some of the other Weekly Geeks too. Nymeth has books and cats, Katherine is WAY organized, and Chris is behind on his scheduled reading (oops!) ... just to name a few. Drop by and see what I'm talking about!

Oh, and I had to come back and add a link to Melody's post - I just love the pic of her daughter at the bookstore!

Weekly Geeks #6 - Catching Up

This week's task for the intrepid Weekly Geeks is to catch up on book reviews or other stuff that we have been putting off. I'm happy to say that I've done well with my reviews so I'm not behind - yeah! Here are the reviews I've posted recently:

• Last Chance to See - I loved this book, and it was a very quick read.
• Stone Creek - Surprisingly I liked this one even though it's not my usual fare.
• Water for Elephants - I avoided it for long enough!
• The Avengers: A Jewish War Story - You have to read this. You absolutely HAVE to read this.

I did do some catching up in other areas though. For example ...

You may recall from here that I've been looking for the family of my Grandpa's WWII buddy. So I got off my butt and did more poking around which led to pretty fantastic results.

I also decided to figure out how to make buttons for my upcoming book giveaway (starting June 8). With the help of Trish and Kylee I learned how to make a button and also how to create a text box to put the code into. Thanks to both of you! You can check out my cool new button on Sunday when I post the detail of the contest.

So that's my update for the week ... now I can catch up on my reading!

Weekly Geeks #5: Alternative Storytelling

Yet another great activity from Dewey for Weekly Geeks #5! Our task this week is to talk about some alternate form of storytelling (meaning other than in a book).

[For those visiting from the Weekly Geeks site, my Mr. Linky post was supposed to say Irish Folk Music, not Irish FOLD Music ... oops! LOL]

Music was the first thing that popped into my mind, specifically Irish Folk Music. This could be because I'm eagerly anticipating The High Kings concert in September, or because I'm a fanatic about songs that tell stories in general.

The first song I want to mention is Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore. This song is about the mass exodus from Ireland caused by the potato famine in the mid-1800s. My 6 year old son loves this song. After listening to it several times and learning most of the words, he started asking questions about what the song was all about. That led to an explanation of Irish history that included what starvation means, what people do when there's no food to eat, and how families were separated when some decided to come to America and others couldn't afford to leave. That kind of conversation is what a GOOD song - a song that really tells a story - can engender. My Gram was born in Belfast so Irish history is a big part of my family's history. I'm thrilled that my son is interested in history and that - like me - he really listens to the words of songs; music can teach us all so many things.

Below is the video of Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore. If you'd like to read the lyrics, click here.



On a lighter note, songs can also tell funny stories. The Wild Rover is a classic Irish pub song (and yes, my 6 yr old know this too ... does that make me a bad parent?!) that tells the story of a young man (supposedly) trying to change his ways. Here are the lyrics, and below is the video.



Another song I'd like to mention is called The Black Velvet Band. It tells the story of an innocent man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Here's the video and you can read the lyrics here.



There are TONS of other songs about this specific topic. The first that comes to mind is Hurricane Carter by Bob Dylan. The video is fantastic - you've got to watch it.



Are there songs that you love that tell a real story? I'd love to hear about them! Feel free to join the rest of the Weekly Geeks and put up a post on this topic. Or just post a comment and share your favorites.

Weekly Geeks #4: Food Allergies!

I have to admit, this Weekly Geeks task had me stumped for a while. The task is:

Choose a political or social issue that matters to you. Find several books addressing that issue; they don’t have to books you’ve read, just books you might like to read.

But once I found my topic, I knew it would be hard to stop writing about it!

My "social cause" is food allergies. I know this is not a huge topic like biodiversity or poverty, but it IS a huge issue in my house. My 6 year old son has multiple food allergies. He's allergic to: milk, egg, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, peanut, tree nut, beef, and pork. That means that he can't eat anything that contains - or has TOUCHED - these foods. Yes, I know - it sounds crazy. We've adapted to it in our house, but outside our house is a whole other story!

I need to pack food for him every time we leave the house because I can't just pick up fast food if we get stuck out at meal time. We can only eat at The Outback because so far it is the only restaurant willing to make my son's meals safely every time. And of course, restaurants can't heat up food for us so if we eat anyplace else, we have to cook at home for him and bring it with us (and hope we get our food before his gets cold). At school, his teachers have been wonderful, making the kids wash their hands any time they handle food (because merely the touch of milk on a table or someone's hands will make my son break out in severe hives, or worse). During lunch, his desk is pushed up to the edge of his class's table so he can still sit with his buddies without running the risk of an allergen being on his spot at the table.

I just want people to be aware that allergies are serious business, and that those severe peanut allergies you hear about are NOT the only severe allergies out there. In my son's case, milk is the worst of his allergies. If I eat something with butter on it, I have to wash my lips before I kiss his cheeks or he'll break out.

What do I want people to know about this issue? Kids with allergies are everywhere, and they are just like other kids. But, they do need a little bit of extra protection. Please wash your hands after eating - even after snacks - and before touching door handles or railings. Also, a food allergy is not the same as a food intolerance. Someone with lactose intolerance may get stomach aches if they drink milk ... food allergies are immune disorders so a person with a milk allergy who drinks milk will likely end up in the hospital in anaphylactic shock.

For restaurant managers, learn more about allergies and educate your chefs and servers - we want to eat out, but it's just to dangerous for us. If your restaurant can handle food allergies please advertise that fact! There are lots of us out here who will give you business. And for the medical community, please continue to research the causes of food allergies and search for treatments ... I'm hopeful that by the time my son is an adult, there will be a "cure" for his allergies.

I know this is a bit 'rambly' but this is a huge issue for me. It's stressful for our family. I always stay positive about it in front of my son, but his food restrictions really get to me and I feel SO bad for him at times. I hope you can all understand what I'm trying to say, even though I jumped around a bit here ...

If you need more info on food allergies, or know someone who is struggling with this, The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network is an excellent resource.

[The books pictured above are not exactly on my reading list ... I'm sort of "allergied out" after reading this stuff for the past several years. But they are excellent resources for anyone who wants to learn more about food allergies. I DO have The Food Allergy Cookbook though!]

Weekly Geeks #3: Childhood Favorites

This week on Weekly Geeks we're writing about our fond memories of childhood books. Being a reader since age 5, this was an easy one for me!

The first book that jumps to mind is Benny’s Beans. Actually, the book is really called Seeds and More Seeds, by Millicent E. Selsam, but we never called it that when we were kids. This book was published in 1959. I wasn’t born until 1977 so I’m not quite sure where my mom found this book but my sister and I LOVED it! It is actually a very long book – about 60 pages – and the text is not particularly large – although there are lots of illustrations. I read this to my son several times, leading me to pity my poor mother. It takes about 30 minutes to get through this book if you do it right, and we had her reading it at least once a day – sometimes more!

What do you need to know about Benny’s Beans? It’s a WONDERFUL book! It starts with a little boy named Benny who comes home from a walk in the park to find seeds attached to his clothes. His father explains what seeds are and how things grow from them. Benny is fascinated with this idea so he plants the seeds. Part I ends with Benny seeing what grew from his seeds. Part II begins with illustrations of the inside of a seed and also the parts of a flower. Then Benny decides he wants to learn more. He plants other things to see if they will grow. I remember one thing was a rock, but I can’t recall the others. Needless to say, he learns that only seeds will grow. Then he wants to learn more! (That’s a big theme of the book.) He gathers all kinds of seeds and plants them in all kinds of containers throughout his house. My favorite illustrations were the ones of all the containers with their labels showing which seeds were planted in them.

I still love this book. It’s beautifully illustrated and designed for children but it doesn’t talk down to them. I learned quite a bit from this book. Looking at it now, I get a kick out of the old-fashioned items … dad in a fancy suit smoking a pipe while walking in the park, dried beans kept in boxes on the counter, the old-timey house and cars, and lots more. I searched the net for any pictures of the cover but there's nothing out there. Try checking it out from your local
library ... the illustrations are really worth a look!

Benny's Beans is the only book I remember my mom reading to me. I'm sure there were others but I was reading on my own by age 6 and really preferred to read to myself. I remember loving The Little House on the Prairie book, the Anne of Green Gables series, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

But even more than these books, I remember reading The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein when I was in the 1st grade. My dad was reading it, and I asked him to read me a page. He did, and I was hooked. I asked if I could read it and he said yes ... not thinking that I really would. I remember staying up late at night with a flashlight under my blankets so my parents wouldn't know I was still awake and reading and reading and reading. That was my introduction to Fantasy and I've loved it ever since. [As a side note, finding those Tolkien covers on the internet brought back memories - they were the same ones I read way back when!] In addition to The Lord of the Rings and The Simarillion. I also read and truly loved The Belgariad series by David Eddings. What's weird is that with my love of Fantasy, I was completely creeped out by The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. It was the very first book that I chose not to finish reading ... to this day, I still haven't read it, not could I get into the movie. Odd, huh?

Needless to say, to this day I'm a pretty eclectic reader! Thanks to Dewey for this trip down memory lane. I'm looking forward to reading about other blogger's favorites!

PS. After reading a few other Weekly Geeks posts, I'm reminded that I also really loved Ramona Quimby - can't believe I forgot about her! And all the books by Judy Blume ... and Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss ... and all The Babysitters Club books ... and books by Madeline L’Engle ... and A Treasury of Mother Goose ... and Misty of Chincoteague ... and of course, all the Mandie mysteries (if you didn't read those, you should!) ... and there's SO MANY MORE!!!

PPS. Wow! I just found out there's a movie (in post production) of Mandie and the Secret Tunnel ... how cool is that?!

Weekly Geeks #2: Update

I have SO enjoyed this Weekly Geek project from Dewey. I've met a few new bloggers and had lots of fun searching blogs for books I've reviewed. I'll definitely be keeping up with this from now on!

Weekly Geeks #2: Linking to Other Reviews

Our challenge this week is to begin linking our book reviews to other blogs who reviewed the same book. I love this idea! In part, that's because it's something I started doing with my book club's blog. When we start a new book I post links to reviews so the girls get an idea what others are saying about our current book choice. But also, I like to see what other people think about the books I've read, and I love getting comments on my reviews. So all in all, a good project for this week!

Here's the job for all my readers: if you've reviewed a book that I've reviewed please post a comment with a link to your review, or email me a list of links at SharingMyStory@yahoo.com. I'll add the links to my posts ASAP!

Weekly Geeks #1: Discover New Blogs

Ok, this is my first blog challenge (for details on how it works, check out Dewey's blog) and I'm excited to get started!

The challenge was to browse the blogs of the other participants and find at least 5 that are new-to-you that catch your attention. Considering that there are over 100 people participating there were LOTS of blogs to browse! Here are 5 that I liked ...

Bibliolatry - I read through several reviews and was hooked. She seems to pick books that I'm interested in - which is a good thing for me! :)

Book-a-rama - I love the look and feel of this blog!

Bookworms and Tea Lovers - ok, books and tea are some of my favorite things, so this was a no-brainer! Plus Samantha has a lovely writing style. I'm looking forward to reading more from her!

Reader Rabbit - I love the fact that these sisters are blogging together! I can't wait to read more from them.

Just a (Reading) Fool - I loved some of the posts and I'll be stealing on of the topics for myself soon!