Micro-blogging...my first attempt. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

It's time to make the move back to blogging.  That said, four months after adding a third child to the family probably  isn't the best time to make any new moves, but it's MICRO-blogging (or should I say, micro-blogging) so I think it should all work out.

So here's my objective: keep reading and keep blogging and connect both my reading and my blogging to my larger purpose of taking good care of people.  We'll see how it goes.  Here's my first shot at it:

Read this essential book recently.  Being Mortal by Atul Gawande  It's essential because it's about us and the scariest things we all face: aging, watching our loved ones age, dying, and watching our loved ones die.  It's sobering, it's upsetting, and it's real.  Dr. Gawande, a surgeon, is trust-worthy and credible.  He shares the science of medicine as clearly as he describes art of taking care of one another.  He shows us the research behind how knowing what you are afraid of and what you value can add happier, healthier days, weeks, months and years to your life.  

It seems to me we must spend more time reflecting on what are we really afraid of and what are we really moved by much earlier than when we are faced with our mortality.  If reflecting on these questions and answers can give us healthier, happier days at the end of our lives, aren't they more likely to give us more healthier, happier lives as we move along through our years?

So, if questions like "What is your understanding of the situation and its potential outcomes?" and "What are your fears and what are your hopes?" are good ones when faced with serious sickness or injury, I'd suggest they are as important day-to-day.  Let us ask ourselves and those near to us these questions often enough so that we get in touch with our answers and the vulnerability it takes to answer them honestly.  That's my wish for this first micro-blog about what I've been reading and how it connects to my larger work in this moment.

I really can't say enough about this book.  I wish it was essential reading for all.  Keep reading, all. 

-absk

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Look, I know it's going to take you a bit to get into this book, but the pay-off is worth it.  This story of the friendship of Queenie and Maddie have in the midst of the terrible tragedies of World War II is a mighty one.  Please know that once you get to the second half of the book, the part told by Maddie, you will be reading intensely trying to figure out what is going to happen.  The story of these best friends, pilot and this spy, working undauntedly on behalf of the French Resistance is terrifying, beautiful, and stunning.  You won't believe your eyes as you read.

The episodes of war are both frightening (like when the German Luftwaffe is hovering above the girls as they try to escape the shooting or the accounts of Nazi torture) and intriguing (like all the plotting, planning, and promising the Resistance efforts require).  And the narratives are written like a puzzle.  You are certain you can trust the narrators, but you realize you aren't the only audience reading the pages.  But, BUT!, the very best part of this novel is the friendship the girls share.  It crosses class divisions and personal inclinations; it is as strong as any family tie.  They offer each other places to escape and chances to show great strength.  The share fears (literally, they each list 10) and moments of true joy (bike rides and plane rides).  Their friendship is uncommon.

As I try to describe this book that I just completed, I can't believe I'm really trying to describe it.  It's indescribable.  It's a puzzle and a simple story of friendship.  It is a slog and twisty suspenseful roller-coaster.  The narrators are trust-worthy and complete liars.  The girls are a spy and a pilot, a female spy and a female pilot, no less. The book and it's contradictions punched me in the gut- in a way only the best, best, best stories can.  I cannot stop thinking about the experience I had reading this book.  Book love, people.  Book love.  Get your hands on this challenge book when you can.  Stick with it's outcome, and enjoy.

We Were the Liars by e. lockhart

I love a tale that spins out of a tiny slice of a life I could never imagine.  Set on an island in Martha's Vineyard, an island the Sinclair family owns, We Were the Liars, is such a story. It is told by one of the strong-chinned, blond, well-educated Sinclair grandchildren, Cadence.  She seems smart, witty, and trust-worthy at first, as if she is letting us in on the grandeur of the Sinclair family.  They are a family of money, manners, traditions, servants and cooks, and secrets.  They don't speak of the money they have, nor do they speak of the addictions, divorces, or other messy parts of their lives. Cadence's cousins, Johnny and Mirren, are close to her age, and they represent the generation that starts to question the rules of the game the family has played for so long.  The group of teenagers call themselves the Liars, setting up readers with curious questions about what their self-title might really mean.

Cadence falls in love with the boy who begins to visit to the island each summer as a friend of the family.  The boy is dark-skinned, smart, and principled; his name is Gat Patil.  Cadence and Gat steal moments and memories falling in love while scrambling for other moments of freedom and independence with the cousins, the other Liars.  As the drinking, intolerance, hatred, and fear sneak in like fog swirling around the Sinclair family, readers are left with a narrator, Cadence, who is back on the island after missing a summer, and there is a mysterious secret around her absence. Cadence tells the readers of her amnesia, leaving us to wonder what terrible tragedy she survived.  Since she seems to be revealing secrets of her family's darker-side, we never question the soap-opera-y presence of her amnesia...we fear the worst for her.  And when the cloak of secrecy is unveiled, it is shocking and twisting and wonderful story-telling at it's best.

Another gift for you.

It is that time of year.  My favorite time of the year.  "The Best of" lists start popping up everywhere.

This one is from The New York Times Sunday Book Review and it's all about Young Adult Lit (and other books for kids).  The picture accompanying the article is priceless (illustration done by Julia Rothman).

Get reading, everyone.  Let me know if you read a couple, and we will discuss!

-absk

Extra! Extra! Hear all about it!

'Tis the season for the Best of 2010 lists!  I can't get enough of these recommendations, and it's fun to see what titles show up on a bunch of these lists. There's gotta be something for everyone.  Check it out.

Here's the list from the Reading Rants blog.  Enjoy!

cool chic with a megaphone image is from the Reading Rants website too.  Pretty cool pics AND very good books...gotta love the site.

Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

At the end of one school day, one girl threatens to beat-up another girl, and a third girl overhears. Will she speak up?

What You Should Know about this Book:
1. National Book Award nominee.
2. Intense, realistic, powerfully written.
3. Ultimately about girl bullies, teenage girl friendships and relationships, and the "laws" of high school.
4. Told from three different perspectives; three different high school girls who are each very different from the other.
5. Think of it like an episode of 24. The entire book takes places in one day at school.

3 questions to think about as you read this book.
1. The Shakespeareish question: to tell or not to tell? Leticia overhears one girl announce she is going to jump another girl.
2. The age-old question: Can a teenager be an individual? Adults always say yes, but what happens when the individuality of one girl intimidates or irritates or confuses others? Trina is herself but ultimately is punished for trying to be herself.
3. The geometry question: Do different perspectives, different angles, change the reality of a situation? Is what is obvious to one person impossible for another person with a different view to understand?

A few other things I loved about this book:
1. Readers will somehow understand the bully and almost empathize.
2. The African-American teenage girl voice is lyrical, melodic, and can be heard in the readers' minds as they read.
3. The identifiable roles the teachers and school staff play is almost over-the-top, but ultimately recognizable to anyone who has ever been in high school.

I would recommend Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia to 8th graders and older. It's a mature book, but one that shouldn't be missed!

Keep reading, everyone.
-stenson

p.s. image taken from Readingrants.org

Claudette Colvin & Friends

Some of my favorite books have nominated by or have received this award. It's an award that is given not just to books that are widely popular and well received, but to books that represent excellence in young adult literature. Here are some of my favorite National Book Award nominees and winners:

• What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell,
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang,
• Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin,
• Inexcusable by Chris Lynch,

and I could on and on and on but I won't. I'll just trust that you look at the links and pick a few to add to your future book lists. Go ahead; you are about to be wowed!

Congrats to this year's nominess and winner:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
Stitches by David Small
Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
Jumped Rita Williams-Garcia

This years nominess and winner are officially on my book list. As I read them, I'll certainly post about what I've experienced. Add them to your lists too! Go ahead; you are about to be wowed by the talent listed here. Keep reading everyone!

-stenson

*image taken from The National Book Foundation and http://us.macmillan.com/claudettecolvin

Ender's Game

According to Nancy Keane, a reading pro, this book shouldn't be missed. I'm adding it to my FBL!

It seems to be Harry Potter meets Space Warfare. Ender Wiggins is chosen by the world government to help save the earth. He is sent to Battle School for military training in the form of computer war games. He proves to be a genius and is looked to as a future military leader. But the fate of the human race on your shoulders is a scary prospect! Simulated war games are one thing, but what will happen in real combat?

If you read it, let me know. Or if you've read it, share your opinion. Keep reading, everyone!

-stenson

Reminds me of Hemmingway

I just finished this book called The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin. I'd recommend it for 8th grade and up- it was even hard for me to read through some of the stuff. That happens when you love a character, and our main character, Matt, is easy to love. Vulnerable, tough, smart, kind, caring, and courageous. His family is in crisis thanks to his unstable, abusive and violent mother. Matt makes some tough choices to protect his younger sisters, choices that no teenager should have to make. The story is suspenseful, tender, and, in the end, hopeful.

I liked the significance of two guys, well, they are really gentlemen, in the story. Two men join together with the children's aunt to try to save the kids. These guys are gentleman who are strong and brave, yet unafraid to admit when they are wrong.

When I book the book down (I read it before going to bed one night, put it down to get some sleep, but had finished it by 9:30 a.m. the next morning), I was reminded of one of my favorite Hemingway quotes.

“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places."

Ernest Hemingway

Keep reading,
-stenson

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. By e. lokhart

Frankie Landeau-Banks, narrator and hero of the award-winning “The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks” by E. Lockhart, is the literary friend for whom my middle school girls have been looking.

Our heroine pointedly asks the handsome, popular, rich guy: “Why is it psychotic if I did it, and brilliant if Alpha did it?” Calling to task the double-standard girls and women face frequently, widely, all too often. That's not the only aspect of gender stereotypes and roles Frankie calls into question. You've got to read this book to find out more.

She is equal parts insecurity and confidence, creativity and conformity. That's why she is great...because she's a lot like many of the young girls I teach, a complicated mess of strengths and weaknesses. Her sophomore year is an unforgettable one. She wins the heart of the most popular senior boy on campus, she fights hard successfully to become more than just the "bunny-rabbit" nickname her family has given her, and she makes a mark at her prestigious prep school by taking on a long-standing, all-male, secret society, and she does so with with flair and imagination.

The book is entertaining, witty, clever, and smart. It's a fun read, and a satisfying one. The lessons of the book are tough to articulate, but even me--a happily married, pretty boring and ordinary 34 year old woman--learned about the tricky relationship between men and women.

Secretly (or not so secretly now), I also loved the peek into the rich, boarding school life of Frankie and her classmates. Good grab a copy and read it.

BUT! I also recommend the audio version. Ms. Sirois (the narrator), Ms. Lockhart, and Ms. Landeau-Banks create a captivating, memorable story. Read it this summer. If you can't trust me, trust the NY Times.

Keep reading-
Stenson (a.k.a. abs kujawski)

We Are the Ship

I love baseball. I love good writing. I love this book. Have you heard about it? It's popping up everywhere--most recently at the Young Adult Book Awards where it was honored and celebrated.

This is what Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated said about the book:

The artist finds beauty even where there seems to be none, and in that way Kadir Nelson and the men of the Negro leagues are soul mates. Negro leagues baseball (1920-47) was an exquisite flower grown from poisonous soil -- the ugly racial attitudes of 20th-century America -- and nurtured by men who refused to allow the ignorance that barred them from the major leagues to extinguish their passion for the game. Nelson, some 60 years later, saw the dignity in that passion and has honored it with a book of oil paintings, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, depicting Negro leagues stars and game scenes, some of which grace these pages.

So it's a Young Adult book, but it's written like a children's book because of the intense illustrations. You'll pour over the pictures and the voice of the characters. Amazing book. Enjoy.

-Stenson