Spring/Summer Book Review

I have not been doing a great job with my blog lately. Sorry. In an effort to reinvigorate my writing efforts, I've been going through old drafts that I never published. Here's a book review list that I found from earlier this year:

***1/2 Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson - Classic BranSan fantasy, so delightfully different but always with a hint of the divine.

***** No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod - I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I ever get a tattoo it will be of a quote from this man.  I want his words to be with me, a part of me, always.  I loved this book so much that I went straight to the library and checked out a 'How to Learn Gaelic' program. I also now visit this site frequently.

**1/2 The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss - Meh. The first one was way better, it's slowly becoming much more of a "boy" story with pages dedicated to the physics of things as well as teenage romance. Blech.

****1/2 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - I'd been hearing about this book for years, read the first chapter excerpt at least three times, and finally broke down and read it.  I loved it. It made me want to pay more attention to honor and duty and love. I recommended it to Alison's book group, they all came away depressed from reading it. To each his own I guess.

***1/2 The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson  - This is a short, painfully sweet read about a man who learns he has only months to live.  Ever since he was a boy, he has been obsessed with alphabet lists and traveling.  So him and his wife set out to visit a city beginning with each letter of the alphabet before he dies.  I told my friend Rachel about this book and this is the conversation that followed:
R: "Sounds like you two would be friends."
Me: "Why? Because he's so adventurous?"
R: "No, you know, because of all your weird goals."

**** The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling - Like everything this woman does, I loved it. The tales were as enchanting as any fairytale I grew up with.

**** 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching by Phillip Done - Hilarious. Pretty sure everyone, teacher or not, would love this book.

****1/2 Zeitoon by Dave Eggers - I can't say enough good about this book. I've never read a book that has made me want to work so much harder at life. It makes me want to throw a broken bike on my back and run to work just so I won't be late. That might not make sense but it will after you read it. Read it. Now.

*** At Home with Flowers by Jane Packer - I want to put flowers everywhere.

*** Down to the Wire by Robert Shoop - A history of every Triple Crown winner. It's a book written in a style that makes you feel like you're listening to an announcer at the races. Kind of jumpy and quick. But I liked it.

*** The Best American Sports Writing edited by Jane Leavy - Fascinating tales of prodigy surfers,  NFL video games, and free divers who dive deep without oxygen tanks. Loved it.

**** Don't Throw It, Grow It! by Deborah Peterson and Millicent Selsam - Pretty sure I saved every avocado pit this summer in the hopes of planting them and never did. A girl can still dream, right?

** Surprised by Joy by CS Lewis - I was actually surprised by how little joy this book brought me. I was expecting a beautiful recounting of Mr. Lewis' changing faith but instead it was almost an entire book composed of his rational reactions to books on his life's reading list.  I exaggerate, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't understand half the things he wrote because I had never read the books to which he was consistently referring.

**** Persuasion by Jane Austen - Whenever I read an Austen novel I am always surprised by how emotional I become over basically nothing. I mean, nothing ever happens in any of her books and yet it becomes physically painful to put them down while reading - I just have to find out what happens or my heart will burst...over nothing really.

Separation Anxiety

Twice now I've been asked to leave my students in the care of someone else in order to go relay a message to another teacher.

Once was while they were being tested and I panicked at the idea of not being there to see them when they were finished. Who would greet them as they came out? Who would give them a high five or a hug and tell them they were brave for taking such a hard test? Who would give my loud-voice student a dirty look to remind him to use a quiet voice in the hallway? Who would know how to cheer up my crier and keep the tears at bay?

The second time was at an assembly and I panicked at the idea of leaving them in the midst of a sea of students. What if the person watching them didn't recognize when my ADD student got distracted and wandered off? What if my super shy student got scared of all the loud noises and I wasn't there to give her our secret thumbs up signal to tell her it was all right? What if I died in a horrible hallway accident by a stray swamp cooler falling on me and I could never make it back to them, would they remember to bring their show and tell on Friday for the 2nd grade ME Fair so that they wouldn't feel left out from all the other classes?

This much we know, I would be a wreck as a mother.

Three Wonders

Wonder #1: I'm posting on my blog, and it's not about school or children.

Wonder #2: A sweet potato that is forgotten and left alone in a dark, cozy bag:

Wonder #3: Caty and I posted on our photo blog.

First Day of School

Favorite moments of the day:

*I let the class vote on a name for the dinosaur pointer. The final decision: Master Yoda. I lost my heart to them in that moment.

*While writing a personal narrative about heroes, one student said his hero was his pet hamster. Because it would eat all the parts of his dinner he didn't want.

*I administered a total of three bandaids. I love administering bandaids. It brings me a strange joy, almost as if I had the strength of 12 years of medical school and the healing power of an angel.

*The moment I looked around the room at the end of the day and realized I already couldn't wait to see them tomorrow. They are so cute. Even the one who cried every hour on the hour...for an hour. Even the one with a sixth grader attitude. Even the one who thinks "Voices off" means talk louder. And especially the one who told me I was his favorite second grade teacher in all the world.

More Funny Kids

I was babysitting twin boys who had just finished first grade and they found out I was going to be a second grade teacher:
"Well, next year we'll be in second grade! Then third and by then we'll probably be smarter than you."

Those same boys were later playing "No Stress Chess"and one of them was winning by a lot and kept reminding his frustrated brother that he shouldn't stress out because it was "no stress" chess. This was the conversation I overheard:

Twin 1: "But I want it to be easy for me!"
Twin 2: "You don't always get what you want."
Twin 1: "You always say that and this time you didn't even say it with your happy voice."
Twin 2: "I'm sorry, I was trying to be happy about it."

Delusions

Today was my last day working at my summer daycare. My co-teacher had all the kids go around and say something they loved about me.

They were saying some pretty sweet things and I was feeling pretty good about myself until one little girl said, "No matter how mad she gets, she never yells." 

I don't know where this girl has been all summer, I was rarely NOT yelling. "Listen!" "Face forward!" "Who just threw that?!" "Slow down!" "LISTEN the FIRST time!" "Who just pulled the bus cord?!" "What just happened, why is he crying?!" LISTEN THE FIRST TIME!!!!"

I began to question all the other comments made by the other kids and how many of them were just as deluded as this sweet girl.

My favorite thing that someone said though was, "She always notices who's alone and makes sure that no one gets left behind. And when you're stuck in the back of the line she calls you her Back-line Buddies and has a party with you."

Go figure, all this time when my back-line buddies would roll their eyes at me they were secretly enjoying my lame dance moves and attempts at drawing high fives from them. Kids surprise me all the time. And that's why I love them, although I might be a little deluded.

Signs

Signs I've been spending all my days with a rambunctious group of daycare children:

1) The other day, I saw a man jogging on the street and I wanted to shout at him to use his "walking feet."

2) When a friend or family member casually tells me they have to go to the bathroom, I have to bite my tongue before saying "Hold on a sec and I'll take you."

3) Today I tripped and I said, out loud without thinking, "Are you okay?"

Half Way There

As my friend Mr. John Francis Bon Jovi once said, "You live for the fight when it's all that you've got. Whoa-o, we're half way there. Whoa-o, livin' on a prayer."

This Saturday was my half birthday. Which means I have exactly 6 months left to accomplish all my 30 by 30 goals.

I'm halfway through reading Don Quixote.

I'm halfway through memorizing the Declaration.

I'm halfway to 1,000 in Racquetball 1,000.

As for the other goals, basically I'm living on a prayer. Whoa-o.

End of an Era

The time has come to say good-bye to a beautiful era - The Teenage Years.
That's right, the Kitchen family has been a "teenager" family for 20 years, and today, it ended.

Today, our little baby Morgan turned 20.

She can now fully own up to all her aches and pains that would be more fitting to an old lady.

She can stand tall with pride on the family reunion excel spreadsheet and be listed as an "adult."

She will no longer have to hide in embarrassment when asked her age.

She can be like the rest of us - old.

So thank you, Morgan, for finishing that era off with such grace and beauty.

But Little Smoodycakes, I'm sorry to tell you that even though the Teenage Years Era has come to an end,
there's one era that will never end - The Baby Morgan Era.

Because no matter how old you are, you are still all of our little baby - forever and always.

Winner!

And the prize goes to the lovely Ms. Anne Burnett:

 Anne Burnett said...

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens

I can't wait to read all your suggestions!  As for my own favorite book: The Dean's Watch by Elizabeth Gudge.  Ironically, Anne is the only one who has actually ever read it based on my suggestion, so it must be destiny that her name was randomly drawn :)

Thanks everyone for participating, that was so much fun and I will definitely be doing it again!

Amazon Giveaway!

I love books and book discussions and people who will discuss books with me and cheap places to buy books, so I'm giving away a $25 gift card to Amazon.com!

Just tell me what your favorite book is in the comments by Thursday afternoon and enter for a chance to win! 

The Hunger Games

For almost two weeks after reading the final book in the Hunger Games series, I had trouble sleeping - often lying in bed with scenes and emotions from the book filling my head to the point of sleepless anxiety. Weird, right? Especially coming from a girl who as soon as the last page of any book (good or bad) is turned has already forgotten half of the scenes in the book. 


So why the dramatic emotional angst over the Hunger Games? Why do I feel slightly angry and betrayed by the time I gave to that story? Why do I cringe whenever I hear people talking about how much they love it?


It's taken me quite awhile to find the right words to explain, even to myself, why I dislike this book so much.  I have found myself relying on four specific quotes that truly help me pinpoint my struggle.


The first quote is from one of my all time favorite plays, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: "Audiences know what they expect and that is all they are prepared to believe in." I connect this quote to one from the movie, Shadowlands: "We read to know we are not alone." As a reader, I expect a book to tell me something about the human experience, which in turn will help me know that I am not alone in this world. That is, I guess, all I am prepared to believe in. Yet when I finished the Hunger Games, I felt as if it was trying to tell me that the human experience was one without hope - a never-ending cycle of violence and corruption and loss of love - and I have never felt more alone after finishing a book.


The third quote is a dooesy, but it's one of the most beautiful dooesies ever written.  It's from William Faulkner's Nobel prize acceptance speech:


     "Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat…I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last dingdong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail."

I believe that Suzanne Collins is an excellent writer. But I believe she used her gift to make a weird political statement and completely lost the truth of the immortal soul of man. She sounded the last dingdong of doom and left a puny inexhaustible voice, still talking –one that had simply endured, not prevailed. Katniss was left enduring through her repetitive game of listing the goodness she saw in others, a game that could not prevail over her lasting fears.

The final quote is from, of course, Sam and Mr. Frodo:

*Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.
*Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
*Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
*Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

The Hunger Games did not show anything good worth fighting for.  Instead, it showed a world that would eventually fall back into killing each other, broken heroes who lost the only thing they were fighting for, unrepentant characters who never found hope.  Gale got a fancy job in the district he hated, Haymitch was still a drunk, Katniss and her mother never mended their relationship, Plutarch still wanted power, Effie still lived on schedule, Katniss had children she did not want, she feared bringing them into the world and feared telling them about the world. I cannot find a glimmer of hope in any of these outcomes – not even the light of the dandelion(Peeta) to bring her(Katniss) through the fire – because Peeta had no light because he wasn’t really Peeta anymore but rather a hollowed shell of what he once was. Perhaps the good worth fighting for then is that the world may be a hopeless, evil, chaotic place but we can still live quiet lives as ghosts of our former selves?

I do not know what life experiences Ms. Collins has had - I do not know the depths of her sorrows or her joys, but I am left wondering why she chose to write this book the way she did. I know some people have been able to dig deeper into this book and find a glimmer of hope, a moment of peace. I admit that I have tried as well, however my efforts must be unsuccessful seeing as how it's been almost a year since reading it and whenever I hear it mentioned or see it, I feel an immediate wave of depression and sadness. Does anyone really want to write a book that has that effect on people? I am not trying to suggest that every book needs to be rainbows and roses, I actually enjoy sad books but perhaps it is because the hope I find in them shines all the brighter. In The Hunger Games I wanted a prevailing bright hope, but was left with a puny, enduring voice.

Where was my prevailing bright hope? Where was my Sam to carry me to the top of Mount Mordor when all was lost? Where was my unknown narrator who reassured me that in this life, this heart of darkness, I was not alone? Where was my forgiveness between brothers who killed each others fathers? Where was my Sonia who brought me food in prison? Where was my conquering of giant windmills for the sake of honor? Where was my Mr. Darcy who found the power of humility?  Where was Asher's loyalty to truth and his efforts to balance the world? Where was good ol' Huck who could not pray a lie? Where was little Sydney who made the ultimate sacrifice? Where was my Boo who came out of a life of isolation to save two young children? Where was the Count and his ultimate realization to trust in God?  Where was my Scarlett who never broke, never gave up, just like her beloved land?  Where was the compassion that led Ender to save, destroy, and begin again?  Where was the professor that offered a simple umbrella?  Where were the Joads, who suffered tragically not from physical nature or economic misfortune but from their fellow human beings and yet still chose to reach out and save one of them? Where is my John Proctor who would not compromise his name, even at the point of death? Where was Liesel's book full of tales of compassion and courage that haunted Death itself? And where, may I ask, was my little scarred wizard who was saved by his choice to love?

Well, Ashley, you might say, these are all fictional stories and The Hunger Games was trying to be truly realistic because life doesn't always have a happy ending full of shining hope. Okay, well then how about some "realistic" questions. Where was my Viktor Frankl, who in the horror of the Holocaust and losing everyone he cared for still found salvation in love? Where was my mom and dad, who have found hope and happiness every day amid the difficult battles of life? Where was my William Wilberforce who fought for over 26 years to abolish slavery?  Where were my handcart pioneers who felt the angels pushing them along? Where was my Chilean miner who stopped in a dark tunnel to admire a white butterfly which saved his life?  Where was my George Washington who gave up unmatched power for the good of all? Where was my Tim Tebow who just keeps giving back? Where was my Clark family who adopted 21 children no one else wanted?


And where was my Second Coming (all of our very realistic ending) where every knee shall bow and every tongue confess?  This, after all, is why we are drawn to stories of good and evil, stories of hope and heroes and happily ever after. Because we know despite all odds that good will eventually and irrevocably win. We sense that same truth in the happily ever after stories, and frankly, I do not want to waste my time on any other kind.

Dessert in the Burg

A weekend in Rexburg is good for the soul.  Good people, good entertainment, but most importantly, good food.  Specifically desserts.

We made some chocolate avocado mousse.  It was surprisingly rich and decadent.

We also made some frozen hot chocolate cake. I could have eaten the whole bowl of frosting without batting an eye.

It's good for the soul, I tell you.

RECIPES:

Click here for Chocolate Avocado Mousse Recipe (loosely based - we added coconut to the crust and didn't put chocolate chips or arrowroot in the mousse - just added extra cocoa powder)

We used this recipe for the chocolate cake (added 1/4 tsp mint flavoring).

We created the following frosting recipe:

Pint of whipping cream
5 to 6 Tbs powdered sugar
6 to 7 packets of hot chocolate mix

Try it, please. It will make your life happier.

Antelope Island

It seems ironic, but sometimes I forget that Salt Lake City is a "lake" city.

But there it is, sitting pretty by a lake.  And not just any lake, but a Great lake.

And since my heart is always longing to be by a lake, I think that's why I love going to Antelope Island.  

Because it's there my heart is reminded, "Hey dummy, you are by a lake."

I always feel at peace on Antelope Island.  Maybe it's because of the views, maybe it's because of the roads, maybe it's because of the buffalo.

Or maybe it's the farm. Who doesn't feel at peace on a picturesque farm (as long as it requires no actual farm work)?

I can tell you one thing. The peace certainly did not come from the millions of gnats swarming about and nibbling at your skin.

If you look close in this picture of the lake, you can see a gray haze above the surface of the water.  Those are just some of the millions of gnats.

You can see the gnats attacking Adrienne here:

I had red bumps all over my face for the rest of the day from those little buggers.

But despite the bugs, the trip was definitely worth it.  It always is.

Happy Spring!

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. 

Believest thou this?" 

-John 11:25-26

 

"Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.” 

-Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

“She turned to the sunlight
    And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
    "Winter is dead.” 

-A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

"It's a beautiful day.  Don't let it get away."

-U2, Beautiful Day

sweet spring is your

time is my time is our

time for springtime is lovetime

and viva sweet love” 

-e.e. cummings

"Spring is the perfect time to fix cars, try to get bugs off of you that have gone down your shirt, and do dramatic photo shoots."

-Ashley Kitchen