An Update

Today I sent hubby and kiddo to California for 10 days to visit hubby's aunt. Unfortunately I don't have enough vacation time to go, so they'll be enjoying the Southern CA weather without me. And going to LegoLand and going to DisneyLand. :(

On the bright side, I'll have more time to read! I'm in the middle of The Beekeeper's Apprentice (I should have a review for you by the end of the week) but have been too busy to read more than a few pages a day - I can't wait until I can read without interruption!

I'm involved in several challenges whose ending dates are quickly approaching. Before Sept. 1 I still need to read Life Is So Good and Midnight's Children. Another ends on Sept. 21 and I need to finish Why The Wind Blows for that one.

Of course, I'm stuck in front of the TV watching the Olympics every night and LOVING it, so we'll see if I actually make a dent in my reading list before the family comes home ....

Genuine Men (and a giveaway!) and Show & Tell

For Show & Tell this week I'm showing off my copy of the book Genuine Men and telling you how you can win a copy. Plus I want YOU to tell me about a special man you know!

I recently received a review copy of Genuine Men: journeys in stories and stills, by Nancy Bruno. The premise behind the book is simple: showcase average, everyday men who are good role models.

I really love the concept behind this book. We all (hopefully) know men who have made the hard decisions, stood up for what is right, or simply remained faithful to their word; this book puts the stoplight on those men.

There are 35 men in the book and each receives about two pages of attention. It begins with pre-teens and progresses in age through senior citizens. In most cases the stories are simple, and of course some are more inspiring than others. But in all cases the author makes clear that these are average guys doing the right thing in their lives.

On the whole I did enjoy this book, but I feel that it could have been better. The writing is ok, nothing spectacular. Those who know me IRL (in real life) know I'm a stickler for correct grammar and this book didn't always have it. (That wouldn't bother most people, I know!) The photos were good; I was hoping to be "wowed" by the images and that didn't happen but the photos were good.

At the same time I really do appreciate the concept of the book and I'm glad that I read it. It gives attention to men for doing the non-glorious things that they do that make things better for themselves and their families. This book would be an inspiring coffee table book (and it's not that big so it wouldn't take up lots of space). It would also make a great gift for a "genuine man" in your life, showing him that you do appreciate the man he is.

You can learn more about The Genuine Men Project here.


And now for the giveaway ...

Hopefully we all know some "Genuine Men" ... why not acknowledge them? Post a (brief) comment about a "Genuine Man" that you know, tell us what it is you admire about him, why he's a good role model, or whatever it is that makes him special.

Everyone who posts a comment about a "Genuine Man" gets a chance to win my copy of this book. I want to give everyone a chance to participate and also allow you all time to read through the wonderful comments so I'm going to keep this contest open until Sept. 2. There are no extra entries for blogging about this one, but please consider sharing it with your readers anyway - it's a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge our everyday heroes.

I'll go first ...

I want to acknowledge my dad. He is a rock: calm, steady, strong, stable. He was (and is) always there when I need him, never demanding, always appreciative. I grew up thinking that as long as dad was there, everything would be perfectly fine. Thanks daddy - love you.

Who do you want to talk about?

One Word Meme

It's now 12:01AM on 08/09/08 ... I am the only one up watching the end of the Olympic Opening Ceremony?! It is FANTASTIC!!!!!

My IRL friend Amy tagged me for a meme, and since I didn't have a post ready for today I figured I'd just do this one. I don't tag other people though (except for awards) so just play along if you want. :)

1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your significant other? fun
3. Your hair? long
4. Your mother? loved
5. Your father? rock
6. Your favorite thing? books
7. Your dream last night? sexy
8. Your favorite drink? lemonade
9. Your dream/goal? travel
10. The room you're in? office
11. Your hobby? reading
12. Your fear? loss
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
14. What you're not? quiet
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? RV
17. Where you grew up? Maryland
18. The last thing you did? work
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Favorite Gadget? laptop
21. Your pet? dog
22. Your computer? necessary
23. Your mood? chilled
24. Missing someone? kiddo
25. Your car? messy
26. Something you are not wearing? hat
27. Favorite Store? Godiva
28. Like someone? lots
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? Wednesday

Friday Finds

I've got quite a diverse - and long - list of Friday Finds this week. Have you read any of these? Please share your thoughts! And head on over here to post your own list.

1. Top Tips for Girls, by Kate Reardon - a collection of all the "things you must know" from moms, sisters, grandmothers, etc.
   
2. Triumph, by Jeremy Schaap - the story of Jesse Owens - just in time for the Olympics!
3. Stiff, by Mary Roach - I really didn't think I'd like this book but this review at least made me consider reading it - plus I think hubby would really enjoy it (yes, he's morbid like that)
   
4. Just Tell Me What to Say: Sensible Tips and Tricks for Perplexed Parents, by Betsy Brown Braun - it isn't the book that caught my attention but rather a suggestion in this review to make notes in the book about the things your child does, then give the book to that child when he/she has children - now THAT could be funny!
5. The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson - I know, I know, everyone else already has this on their TBR list but I just wasn't interested until I read this review ... now I can't wait to read it
6. Righting the Mother Tongue, by David Wolman - another book on the quirks and quibbles of the English language, in the style of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves"
7. The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy- I always avoided this classic because I thought it was like a Casanova story (and because "pimpernel" always reminded me of "pimp") ... who knew it was about the French Revolution?! Must read this one, and soon.
8. A Companion to Wolves, by Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear - the relationship between the men and wolves sounds fascinating, and I'm really missing fantasy novels after so many years away from them
   
9. Selling Sickness, by Alan Cassels & Roy Moynihan - an expose on the health care system
10. The Milagro Beanfield War, by John Nichols - solely because of this review
11. A Man of His Village, by Tanyo Ravicz - this one sounds great AND there's already a book club kit for it

BTT - My first!

I've never done a Booking Through Thursday post but I LOVE the today's topic so I just had to join in!

The questions of the day are:

1. Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?
2. Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?
3. What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?

I'm so glad you asked!

1. First choice - and this was WAY easy to pick - Pern, the world created by Anne McCaffery. If you haven't read her books you MUST, you ABSOLUTELY MUST. I'd suggest starting with the brief trilogy Dragonsong/Dragonsinger/Dragondrums. Why Pern, you ask? Dragons, dragon riders, fire lizards, bonding between dragon/fire lizard and human, intelligent dolpins, master harpers, rural life, and yes some danger but not too much, and a whole "lost" history to reconstruct. You can check out the Pern Museum to get an idea of this world. Cool, huh?

2. Definitely not someplace creepy - that's for sure!

3. The first author that came to mind is (the late) Robert Jordan. He's the genius behind the Wheel of Time series that I rave about in my left sidebar. His characters are all complex people and he shows their flaws alongside their attributes. I think he'sd be the most honest writer of my character. Plus he's great at creating story lines so I KNOW he'd make my life more interesting that it really is!

Dracula

I'm not a horror movie person. I'm not a mystery/thriller/horror book person. I never had any desire to read Frankenstein or Dracula or other "classic" horror stories. So why, you might ask, did I decide to read Bram Stoker's Dracula? The answer is simple: because of this review.

Since I'm taking part in the Irresistible Review Challenge I had to add this one to my challenge list. For some reason that review made me think of this movie



(which I also have never seen) and I expected the book to be quaint and almost funny in parts. That's not what the review said, but that's what I thought all the same. Boy, was I wrong. And I am so glad too, because - shocker! - I really loved this book!

Let me say first off that I knew NOTHING about this book. I mean, yes I know about Dracula and I have some idea of how to fend off a vampire if I ever come across one, but that's about it. So I really didn't know what was going to happen from one page to the next. How exciting!

The book is written in the form of diary entries by the various main characters, augmented by newspaper reports. I'm a big fan of this writing style; I love the various perspectives and the fact that the narrator can't get in the way of the story. It took a few pages for me to get into the book because the language is a bit flowery, especially when Van Helsing is speaking (yea! I DID know who Van Helsing was from this movie)



but once I was used to the style I was hooked. And if I - in the 21st century - was hooked, how much more so would Stoker's original readers have been?!

I'd like to point out that I read this book through Project Gutenberg. It's an excellent resource, so check it out if you haven't before.

Several Weekly Geeks asked me questions about this book ...

Amanda wants to know: Do you think it's a light read? Also, how do you like the way the book is presented through letters/journal style? I wouldn't say this is a "light" read ... the language is old fashioned and I'll admit to skimming some of the lengthier speeches. But the story really draws you in! And I loved the letter/journal style.

Book Zombie wants to know: Why did you choose to read this? Because of that review I mentioned earlier.

Dewey wants to know: How does the classic Dracula character compare to the version of Dracula that has become more the norm in current times? I think this is THE classic image of a vampire in general, and Dracula specifically. Yes he's been modernized over time, but all the main elements are here - he hasn't changed all that much.

Becky says: I loved Dracula, though I was a bit hesitant to read the book in the beginning. What did you find most surprising in the book? Did you find it a worthwhile read? How does it compare to any movies you've seen? And Nymeth wants to know about the book vs. the movie. Oh me too, me too! I was SO surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! In fact, I told hubby that he has to watch this movie with me now



(and promise that he won't let me get too scared) because I'm dying to see how they adapted it from the book. What surprised me the most was that there were actually some creepy parts; I expected to find it all quaint and simple.

Julie asks: Did you find it as tedious and boring as I did? Oh no! I loved it! But maybe that's because I seriously had no idea what would happen next, or because I don't usually read this kind of book. (Julie and I usually have very similar taste in books!)

Jackie says: When it comes to vampire novels, the novel Dracula always gets mentioned in some manner. However, all the novels never refer to it in the same way. What other novels have you read that reference Stoker's novel and which ones do you prefer? I've never read any other vampire books, although I have listened to some audio books of the Anne Rice vampire series (in the car with hubby, since he loves them). So I can't really answer this one, sorry.

Joy Renee wants to know: about the Point of View, language choice, prose, etc. I think I answered most of the already. But I will add that despite the (sometimes) flowery language, the suspense was palpable and I often caught myself speeding through the pages because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.


Thanks to everyone who posted a question. I love doing reviews this way!


Did you review this book? Just post your link in the comments and I'll add it here:
Plays With Needles gives an overview of this history of Dracula in her review
The Bookworm also compares the book with the movie a bit

PS. I'm reposting this for the Movie Madness Carnival!!!

Lovely Links

Check out this post on avid readers - see if you identify with it as much as I did. Here's my favorite part:

The study also found that unlike nonreaders who claim they don’t read because they haven’t the time, avid readers build reading time into their day....

THAT'S what I tell people all the time! It's not that I have all this extra time to read; it's that reading is a priority and I MAKE time for it whenever I can.

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

Here's a place where you can tell the world what book "got you hooked" on reading. Then you can vote for one state to receive 50,000 children's books.

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

As if we need MORE ways to connect to book lovers here's a new article titled "100 Place to Connect with Other Bibliophiles Online". I'm familiar with most of the sites but there were some I'd never heard of.

Mom & Son Book Club #6

Kiddo and I did had another Mom & Son Book Club meeting in mid July, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it ... oops.

Our first book was Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French.

Did you like this book? Yes. I thought it was adorable! This is one that I wouldn't mind rereading several nights in a row. The wombat tells you what he does each day of the week and it's lots of fun to see what happens next.

What was your favorite part? Well, it's not my FAVORITE but it is the funniest part, ok? Sure, that's fine. When he is sleeping under the house. At one point, the wombat digs a new hole and is directly under the family's house.

What was your least favorite part? I didn't have a least favorite.

Did you like the pictures? Yes. And I thought they were great! I wanted to reach in a hug that cute little wombat.

Would you recommend this book to your friends at school? No because my friends don't like platypuses. Kiddo, the book wasn't about a platypus, it was about a wombat. Oh, I meant wombats. How do you know they don't like wombats? They told me. Oh really? Well, I think Freddy likes wombats so he might like this book. I LOVED this book and highly recommend it! There lots of repetition - not annoying though - and kiddo was able to "read" along on those parts.


Our second book was Cork and Fuzz, Short and Tall by Dori Chaconas.

Did you like this book? Yes. It was really cute - a great story about friendship.

What was your favorite part? I liked all of it, there wasn't really a best part.

What was your least favorite part? None.

Did you like the pictures? They were my favorite thing.

Would you recommend this book to your friends at school? To Freddy and Kyle. Why? Because they're my friends.


Our final book was Hondo and Fabian by Peter McCarty.

Did you like this book? I was a nice story. Ugh! I was totally bored. WHY did this one win an award?!

What was your favorite part? The dog. Yeah, the dog and cat were cute but BORING.

What was your least favorite part? When the baby was trying to hold the cat. Why? Because it's kinda mean ... I didn't do that to Lucy or Ethel. Lucy and Ethel are my sister's cats.

Did you like the pictures? Yes.

Would you recommend this book to your friends at school? Yes because it was a nice book and all my friends like dogs and cats. Go figure! The ONE book I really disliked is the one he wants to recommend ... KIDS!


Did you notice the award on this last book? Kiddo sure did. That led to a discussion about book awards: who gets them, who gives them, and lots of other "why" questions. And then kiddo asked Has Eric Carle ever gotten an award? I don't know but I can look it up for you later. Why? Because I think he's a good writer and I like his books. All of them? The one with the fish, and the one with the caterpillar, and all of them. I like all his books. They're good. He has good pictures. I love Eric Carle too! And come to find out, he's won tons of awards - I should have known.


For more Mom & Son Book Club reviews click here.

Show & Tell: Harry Potter's 10th Anniversary

On July 31st my library hosted a 10th Birthday Party for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Can you believe it was ten years ago that the Harry phenomenon began? I didn't start reading until about a year later, and then only because my dad told me I should. Up to that point I couldn't be bothered with this new children's fantasy series that was all over the news. But Dad & I always share book recommendations and we almost always have the same taste in books, so I decided to trust him on this one. Boy, am I glad that I did! I can't wait to see the new movie this winter. You can be sure that Dad & I will have tickets in advance! Hubby will be there too of course, but kiddo will likely have to wait for the DVD. I just recently let him watch movies 1-5 and he's definitely not ready for the intensity of book 6 on the big screen (although he'd tell you that he is!).

Here's a pic of kiddo at the library party. He's dressed as Harry (that's a Gryffindor tag around his neck) complete with scar and wand, and he's concocting a potion that includes something to make you go to sleep and lots of polyjuice (that's what he told me!). Sorry for the poor quality; this was taken with a cell phone.

We Have A Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered my contest for a signed hardcover of No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark! Without further ado, the winner is ...

~~~ Nit from A Soldier's Girl ~~~

Congratulations Nit! I'll be in touch to get your mailing address soon. :)

I'd love it if all of you would drop in to Nit's blog and say hi. Her husband, Q, is deployed right now and won't be home for 8 more months; I know she could use some support!