Booking Through Thursday (or Friday) - Flapper? Or Not?

Suggested by Prairie Progressive:

Do you read the inside flaps that describe a book before or while reading it?

I absolutely read the inside flap of any and all books that I read. That is how I know that I want to read them. If the summary on the flap does not grab my attention, I will not read the book - no matter how many great reviews I've read or how much buzz the book is getting. I will only change my mind if someone whose opinion I value has read the book and tells me I will love it. That happened with Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I had picked that book up three or four times and every time I put it back because the inside flap didn't interest me. Then my friend Peggy read it and told me I would love it. And she was right. I am so glad I didn't miss out on reading that book.

Also, I will often refer to the inside flap while reading a book to see how some plot point compares to the information provided on the flap. I remember one time reading a book and finding that I was surprised by the plot because the inside flap seemed to describe the book quite differently. I can't for the life of me remember what the book was or even the details of how the flap and the story differed, but I do remember how shocking and disconcerting that was for me.

How about you? Are you a Flapper?

You can read more Booking Through Thursday posts here.

In Defense of Praise

In my last post I wrote about the assignment that Madeleine and I did for her English class on the book Lord of the Flies. Well today she came home and told me we got an A+!!! I am embarrassed to admit how excited I was to hear that. It's kind of sad really. I couldn't wait to look at the assignment and read the teacher's comments. It's amazing to me, that at 45 years old and many, many years since I was student, how important those comments were to me. I was not expecting to have that reaction. And it got me thinking...

No matter how old you are, it's nice to receive some validation, encouragement and appreciation for a job well done. I hadn't really thought about that with regards to myself. Of course, as a (mostly) stay at home mom, I don't have many opportunities to hear from a "supervisor" that I've done a good job. I don't mean to imply that my family is not thankful or appreciative of the work I do for them. Because they are and they express it frequently. There just aren't many performance reviews for stay home moms. (Thankfully!) And even in my part time job at the library I don't get that kind of feedback from my boss. It's not often that I hear my initiative was noticed or appreciated. Or that my ideas are valued. Or that my efforts didn't go unnoticed. Or that the extra projects I take on make the library a better place. Until today I didn't think that that kind of praise was a big deal. But you know what? It is. It feels really good when someone comments on something you've done well. It's nice to have feedback on your efforts. It's even nicer to know that someone notices and appreciates when you go above and beyond in your duties. So what do I do with this new found knowledge? Good question. Not sure what I will do about it with respect to my job. But I do know that I will be telling the people around me (and not just my kids) when they've done a good job. I will be sure to mention that I appreciated their extra efforts or that I noticed that they went over and above what was expected. Because you know what? We all deserve to receive recognition for a job well done. If for no other reason than that it feels good.

Book Review: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

A week or so before Winter Break my younger daughter, Madeleine, asked me if I would be willing to be her partner in an assignment for her English class. Basically, she needed to find an adult who would agree to read a book with her and journal their reactions to the book. I was more than simply willing... I was quivering with excitement! The book she chose was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I was happy about this choice as I had read it in High School and didn't remember much about it and I'm always saying I want to read more classics and never do it. So it was a great choice. It turned out to be a great choice in more ways than one. It is an absolutely fascinating book and one that lends itself quite well to analysis.

On the surface Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of boys, ages 5-13, who are stranded on a deserted island during WWII. The novel tells the story of how the boys navigate the island, find food, shelter and try to keep a fire going in order to be rescued all while negotiating their relationships with each other. But it is so much more than that. It is essentially a psychological and sociological study of human behavior. It explores the human psyche and what happens to human behavior when societal conventions and authority figures are absent. Lord of the Flies exposes the most basic elements of human psychology from survival to power struggles to the man's ultimate primitive nature. Golding is a master writer and his insights into civilization and humanity are fascinating and thought-provoking.

I am so glad that I had an opportunity to reread Lord of the Flies. This is exactly the kind of classic novel I want to read. One thing that keeps me from reading more classics is that I don't know which ones will be enjoyable to a modern day reader and which ones will not. Some books that are considered to be "classics" are extremely dry, difficult to read and full of inaccessible language. But there are accessible classics out there. And Lord of the Flies is one of them. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read the classics and especially to anyone in a book club. This book is just screaming to be analyzed and discussed.

I would give Lord of the Flies 5 stars - I loved it!

How about you? Have you read any classics that you would recommend?

TV Quick Quips

It was nice to have (most of) my favorite shows back after the holiday hiatus. Here's my take on this week's episodes:

1. The Biggest Loser - Last season was the first time I'd watched The Biggest Loser and I was happily surprised that Season 9 started so soon after the Season 8 finale. I must admit I felt like a big loser sitting on the sofa, eating popcorn and watching other people workout so close to the start of the New Year (which is when I supposed to start exercising again). But that's a whole other post.... So here's what I thought after the first episode. So far everyone seems very likable. There doesn't seem to be a crazy Tracey this season - though I'm sure that's because the season is still young. I don't have any favorites yet, but I liked the wife on the red team and the mom on the orange team. I was angry about what I'm calling the "ratings stunt" of eliminating two teams (yellow and blue) basically before the show even started. Of course, then they got a reprieve of sorts (30 days at home, supposedly with help with Bob and Jillian). Why? Why make them think they were leaving before they even started and then say - "just kidding". That's cruel and unnecessary. Meanies!

2. Modern Family - Goodness, I missed this show! Another hysterically funny episode. Favorite line - "You're quite the bullfight artist yourself"! ROFLMAO! (Is there a teen here who can verify that I got that right? Anyone? Bueller?) Loved Phil's kidney stone scenes -so funny. Loved Lily's Ferberization (how true were those scenes?). The best though was how everyone knew that the all the firemen were hot (even Alex and Haley). First Claire gets dressed up and then Cam and Mitchell get all excited when they realize they can call them for Mitchell's foot. Did you notice Cam videotaping the fireman carrying Mitchell out of the house. Love it!

3. The Office - I couldn't wait to watch The Office week. I was so excited to finally be able to see new episodes of my favorite shows after the holiday hiatus. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that The Office did not air a new episode this week! Why not? What's up? I'm already disillusioned with my previously favorite show and this is not helping me get my Office mojo back. Next week's episode better be new and it better rock! I'm just saying...

Thankful Thursday

Oh, Happy Day!

After a fall that was fraught with anxiety and stress, my daughter Katie heard yesterday that she has been accepted to her first choice college! She is still waiting to hear from two other colleges and she is still struggling with uncertainty and anxiety about her plans for next year, but having that acceptance letter does relieve at least some of the stress. I don't think the college crazies are over for us yet, but there is a palpable sense of relief in our household. And for that I am grateful.

The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge

I wasn't going to participate in a reading challenge this year. I did two last year - Support Your Local Library and New Authors. Neither one was much of a challenge (and that was by design), so the whole thing was kind of pointless, really. All I really accomplished was one more thing to keep track of and organize. I'm really good at adding things to organize to my life. Not sure there's a lot of value in that. As 2009 came to a close, I did a little looking around other book blogs to see if there was a challenge that was interesting and actually challenging in some (small) way. Until yesterday, I didn't find anything that interested me. Then I visited The Boston Bibliophile and she posted about The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge. I'm embarrassed to admit that I am not very well versed in book awards (gasp!). I've read some Pulitzer Prize winners and usually I don't like them. This award caught my attention however because I just read a book, Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, that I loved and the cover said that Toibin was a past Booker Prize winner. So when I saw The Complete Booker Challenge it piqued my curiosity. I checked out the website and the list of books and it looks like a good challenge for me. I have read some of those books and some I loved and some I hated. I think these books are a "stretch" for me. And I'm ready to be "stretched" in my reading. My TBR list is woefully short right now and I'm finding that I'm at a crossroads in my reading. The type of books that I've been drawn to for the past 8 years or so are starting to be less appealing. I feel as though they are all starting to be the same. Does this make sense? This has happened to me in the past and it's always been a good thing. It's led me to broaden and deepen my reading horizons. So what better way to expand my reading than to read award winning books. If you are interested in joining you can find all the information at The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge. I am going to participate at the Winner's Circle level (I will read at least 6 winners). I haven't chosen which books I will read, but I will keep you all updated on my progress through book reviews. Hopefully, I will like the books I choose. Keep your fingers crossed.

2010 Complete Booker Challenge

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

2. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursdays are all about taking the time to appreciate all the little things that actually went right during the week. I am someone who can get flustered very easily - even when the smallest thing goes wrong. So why not focus on all the little things that went right and be grateful?

The first day of the New Year seems like an especially appropriate time to reflect on those things for which we are grateful. So even though it's Friday, here is this week's Thankful Thursday post.

1. I'm thankful that the holidays were actually a lot more relaxing and much less stressful than I thought they would be. Come to think of it, the last few years the holidays have actually been very nice. I think I forget that every year because the holidays were hectic and stressful for so many years. The many, many stressful years seem to block out the fewer nicer years. I think I'm going to write a note in my new calendar on November 1st, reminding myself that the holidays have been delightful the last few years. Then I won't be such a Bah Humbug as the holidays approach.

2. I'm thankful that both of my girls were extremely helpful this year getting ready for the holiday and then again cleaning up the house after Christmas Day. (Think this might have something to do with the nicer holiday?). Madeleine spent hours on Christmas Eve helping me prepare the house for our annual Christmas day get together and dinner. Then both girls helped me clean up after everyone left on Christmas night. It was so nice to wake up on December 26 and have the whole house back in order. Ahhh!

3. I'm thankful that in spite of all the holiday hecticness our family made time to watch A Christmas Story, our favorite Christmas movie. Geoff and I also managed to watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (the cartoon version) and Love Actually - the two other Christmas movies I like.

4. I'm thankful for the start of a New Year. The beginning of each year always feels like a fresh start. Something about putting away all the holiday decorations and gifts, getting ready for the regular routine to begin again and opening up a brand spanking new calendar, gives me a sense of renewal and new beginnings. I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but I am looking forward to dusting out the proverbial cobwebs and starting the New Year with a sense of hope and anticipation. I hope 2010 is a wonderful year for all of you.

Happy New Year!

How about you? What are you thankful for this week?