(Bottom image courtest Dirk HR Spennermann Photeography.)
Friday, 11 November 2011
Lest We Forget - Je Me Souviens
We give thanks for those who serve and those who have fallen that we might have the freedoms we do. Thank you.
(Bottom image courtest Dirk HR Spennermann Photeography.)
(Bottom image courtest Dirk HR Spennermann Photeography.)
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Bluefish - Pat Schmatz
BluefishPat Schmatz
Candlewick
ISBN 9780763653347
Few books have as immediate an impact on me as this book. As someone who grew up with a learning disability, a dual form of dyslexia, reading this book was much like reliving some of my own childhood. Schmatz does an amazing job of capturing the feelings, emotions and immense frustration of having a learning disability and being different from other people. She captures the sense of being an outsider at school and the embarrassment of going out to special education classes. She also captures how that frustration can lead to physical outbursts as it often seems like the only outlet available.
Our cast of characters includes Travis, a young man with anger issues, and a learning disability who is living with a recovering alcoholic grandfather; Mr. McQueen, who is more than just a teacher, but also an educator; he knows how to reach students that others give up on. He is the type of teacher we all need at one point or another in our life, who really connects with us. And the immensely enjoyable Velveeta, a young woman in the special education class also who is an outsider but one with a big heart.
As these characters and their stories start to intertwine, we have a story that unmasks us as readers. With such strong believable characters this story is driven both by the action and the silences between the characters. As Travis and Velveeta begin to trust each other, they make a connection to one another, and that connection is the beginning of their own process of growth and healing. This book was an amazing read, and I know that it is one I will read over and over again.
Schmatz has written a book that should become a classic in Children's literature. It should really be required reading for all middle school children to help them see the people and world around them differently. This book was so amazing that I bought and read two other of Pat Schmatz's books in under a week. Get it! It will not disappoint.
Books by Pat Schmatz:
Bluefish
Mousetraps
Circle the Truth
Mrs. Estronsky and the U.F.O.
Author Profile Interview with Pat Schmatz
Monday, 7 November 2011
The Seed - Fola
The Seed Fola
Createspace
ISBN 9781463567897
There are certain "Self Help" books that I have read that have been favorites - sometimes for years, sometimes just for a season. Some of these were amazing. Paolo Coelho's The Alchemist, Dan Millman's The Way of the Peaceful Warrior; Noah ben Shea's Jacob the Baker, or Robin S. Sharma's The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari each had a lasting impact on me and was read a few times. So when someone approaches me with a book they think is in the same class, I am always a little leery, and when the author approaches me, even more so. Unfortunately that was the case with this book.
The author set it up as containing the wisdom of the ages and being very enlightening. I cannot say for certain it is the worst book I have ever read but it is definitely close. It follows a character through different periods of history, supposedly reincarnated or continually living and learning new lessons in each epoch of history. The story rambles, the character is weak and it was a great effort just to finish the book and not give up. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would not even rate this book. Usually I can find something good to state about a book - for this one, other than the author's enthusiasm, I can't find anything good to say.
Friday, 4 November 2011
Why God Matters - Karina Lumbert Fabian and Deacon Steven Lumbert
Why God Matters:How to Recognize Him in Daily Life
Karina Lumbert Fabian and
Deacon Steven Lumbert
Tribute Books
ISBN 9780982256534
This was an amazing little book. The physical book is almost 120 pages. The eBook comes in around 40 pages. But while reading the book, I went back and forth and reread many sections. I probably read the book about 4 times through. I read this as an eBook. The nice thing about it was having it with me all the time, on my iPhone, on my iPad, on my MacBook Pro, on my Desktop or on my Kobo eReader. What made it nice to always have it with me was that often I went back and reread sections a few times over, pondering them, meditating on them and absorbing them before moving on to the next point. The book is written as a series of pensees, reflections or meditations called life lessons. Each chapter is a different Life Lesson, which are alternately written by Karina and Steven, daughter and father. These lessons are:
The Reluctant Convert
Love in a Pot of Rice
So Help Me, God, I Didn't Do It
Martyr for the Trivial
Out of the Depths of Despair
Does God Send Flowers?
The Close Call
Bare Feet
Who, Me?
Small Steps, Steady Progress
Cough Up
My Non-Personal Relationship with God
The Patient Friend
Influence
Each chapter begins with a personal story and then the Life Lesson learned from the experience. Each life lesson is supported with a biblical verse and with a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This book is a little treasure that I know I will go back and reread again to inspire and encourage me in my faith. It is a great book that was very well written. The book also includes a list of books for further reading and a few prayers at the end of the book to help start us along the path of deeper devotion. So give it a try; it will challenge you in your faith and motivate you to go deeper in your spiritual journey!
Books by Karina Fabian:
Why God Matters: How to Recognize Him in Daily Life
Why God Matters: How to Recognize Him in Daily Life
Dex Hollister Series:
The Old Man and the Void
Dex's Way
...
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator Series :
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator
I Left My Brains in San Francisco
Shambling in a Winter Wonderland
…
DragonEye PI Series:
DragonEye PI Novels:
6.0 Siren Spell
7.0 Good Intentions
9.0 Gapman
10.0 Magic, Mensa and Mayhem (Revised edition)
11.0 Live and Let Fly (Revised edition forthcoming)
...
DragonEye PI Short Stories:
DragonEye PI Original First Editions:
...
Space Traipse Series:
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 1
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 2
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 3
Space Traipse Stories
…
Madness of Kanaan Series:
(formerly The Mind Over Series)
Edited by: Karina Fabian:
Infinite Space, Infinite God I
Leaps of Faith
Infinite Space, Infinite God II
...
Nonfiction with Deacon Steven Lumbert:
Contributed to:
Firestorm of Dragons
The Zombie Cookbook
The Book of Tentacles
Twisted Fayrie Tales
FRIGHTLINER: And Other Tales of the Undead
Mother Goose is Dead
Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary
Image and Likeness Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body
Corrupts Absolutely? Dark Metahuman Fiction
Weird Noir
The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels
Manifesto UF
Avenir Eclectia
Planetary Anthology: Jupiter
Planetary Anthology: Pluto
Planetary Anthology: Luna
Planetary Anthology: Uranus
FlagShip Science Fiction and Fantasy v2i5
My Little Book of Headdesks
To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity
...
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Old MacDonald Had A Farm - Little Scholastic - A Hand-Puppet Board Book
Old MacDonald Had A Farm A Hand-Puppet Board Book
Little Scholastic
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545026031
This book is the first in this series that we have read. My children and I loved it. They want to play and read the book again and again. The 5 year-old can read it to the younger children, and the younger children love
the finger puppets. It is amazing that the 6 pages in the little board book can read again and again. You use the finger puppets to point to the words and to the animals and it is a great learning tool.Scholastic Hand-Puppet Board Books:
Hey Diddle Diddle
Old MacDonald Had A Farm
This Little Piggy
Hello Dinosaurs!
Twinkle, Twinkle Panda Bear
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
We're Back!
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. Or at least sort of, after taking the month of October off from being online, no blogging, no Twitter, no Facebook, no Google+. I have decided to make some changes to the lineup. Here is what I will be attempting to do with the blog for the next while. The goal is three posts a week; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. If I have an author interview profile it will run on Wednesdays when I have them. Fitness reviews will run on Fridays. And I will attempt to review at least one Catholic book a month and post that review on the First Friday. Depending on when a Quarter ends fall I might have extra posts outside this schedule but will endeavor to meet this schedule going forward.
Saturday, 1 October 2011
October Break
Just a heads up, at this point I plan on taking a break from blogging for the month of October. It is now (at the writing of this) almost a third into September and I have 20 books read that I have not reviewed yet. I have the five P90X 1 on 1 reviews to write. I am just finishing my next Apple certification at work and really need to get going on my VMWare View Administrator Course. I have a number of authors I need to follow up with for the Author Profile Series. Dealing with loss and more. Also life with three kids 5 and under is much busier than 2 kids 4 and under. So I will be taking the month to regroup, catch up and get back at it.
If your looking for something good to read check out my Top Ten Series, or my list of favourite books year by year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)