The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

 

 "The Dressmaker"

I read this book quite a few months ago. In fact, I finished it just before going on a cruise this past summer. Maybe it's not such a great idea to read a book about the Titanic before embarking on a ship for the first time in one's life... Haha. Seriously, though, a lot of stuff was coming out last year about the Titanic because of the 100 year anniversary of its sinking and I saw this book displayed on a "new reading" shelf at the library. Have I told you that I love historical fiction? :) AND the two things that fascinate me the most are World War II and the Titanic. I know- kind of morbid in some ways, but I just can't get enough information about them! So I had to check it out, right?

The book is about a seamstress named Tess that wants to make a name for herself. After leaving her position as a maid, she is fortuitous in gaining employment with the world famous designer, Lady Lucile Duff Gordon, while simultaneously gaining passage onto the Titanic's maiden voyage. On board, she becomes intrigued with Jack, a self made millionaire from Chicago and Jim, a kind sailor, who is looking for the hope of a better life in America.

After the ship sinks, the survivors are brought to New York and are quickly brought to trial. Lady Duff Gordon is soon at the center of the trial as questions arise about the actions of some of the people that were able to make it into the lifeboats. Tess has a few decisions to make with who to believe and who to share her destiny with.

I liked the character development. Apparently, in real life, Lady Duff Gordon was NOT a fun person to work with. While the author portrays this in the book, she also lets us see some of her generosity as well. I liked how the author had background stories to the characters- it gave them some dimension. I mostly liked the book. The worst part (although it wasn't terrible) was the ending. It seemed a little vague... a little weak. Not one of those books that I LOVED, but a good read. I'd be willing to read more books by this author.



"Reached" by Ally Condie

"Reached" was released in November 2012.  In September or October I put in a purchase request with my library for copy of the audio CDs.  They're usually very good about fulfilling purchase requests as long as they think there will be a big enough demand for that title, especially if it's part of a series.  So I thought acquiring "Reached" would be a no-brainer.  When December came and went I finally put my name on the book waiting list, believing the library either couldn't purchase the CDs at that time or lost my request.  When I was #9 on the book reserve list, I got an email saying the CDs were available for me to pick up.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

"Reached" is the third book of the "Matched" trilogy. I was very happy when I started listening to it and learned my guess that "Reached" would be narrated by the three main characters--Cassia, Ky, and Xander--was correct.  Ally Condie has a fantastic talent for creating her stories.  I felt as I listened to it that Condie gave birth to her stories through words like a stone cutter reveals a statue hidden in rock.  Her poetic imagery and symbolism were so natural, it felt as though those elements in the story always existed; she was able to expose them and mold them to give the words their own voice to be heard.

And I have to say I really adore the book covers.  The art and aesthetic appeal really draw me in.  I find myself staring at them in sequence as Cassia emerges from her glass bubble.  As she destroys it, she becomes reborn herself.  It just makes me all sorts of happy.

Finally, I listened to the entire series on CD.  Books on CD can be fantastic little productions.  I like the feeling that someone is reading me a bedtime story, like when I was a little girl.  All three audio books were a pleasure to listen to.

My "Matched" review can be seen here.
My "Crossed" review can be seen here.

"The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

Finally, I'm posting again! It's been awhile and I've left most of the work to Amy for about a month... or more... I'm horrible at the procrastination thing. Or good at it, depending on how you view it. ;)

Now onto my book!

"The Wednesday Wars"

Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader at the beginning of the school year in 1967. He knows that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. Every Wednesday, the Catholic and Jewish kids leave school early for Cathechism and Hebrew School. Holling is the only Presbyterian in his class and doesn't get to leave school early. Mrs. Baker chooses to teach him EXTRA Shakespeare. And that's just the start of his worries with her.

I LOVED this book! I loved how each character developed and how you saw life different through Holling's eyes by the end of the book. I loved Mrs. Baker's intuition and loving personality. I loved the relationship Holling and his sister develop. I loved how even though he may have had a lot of influence from the one person that didn't change, he chose to be different. I connected with him. I connected with Mrs. Baker. I laughed a lot and cried some. It was funny and insightful. Very well written. Definitely worthy of it's Newbery status. I highly recommend picking this book up! You won't want to put it down.

"My Antonia" by Willa Cather

"My Antonia"

Because the holiday season is simply ridiculously busy, my book club always skips the December meeting.  I got "My Antonia" in November and we'll discuss it at our January meeting.  I only finished the book last week.  I could have been a really fast read, but, as I've stated, the holiday season is ridiculously busy, so I had to pace myself.  But I finally finished!

The book is an American classic, and I looked forward to reading it because I've never read Willa Cather.  I'd say her books are sort of "Little House"-ish in the genre.  "Antonia" is narrated by a young male character, Jim, who goes to Nebraska to live with his grandparents the same time Antonia and her family move from Bohemia.  There are many anecdotes about farm life and growing up in a small country town, as well as Jim's friendships with Atonia (Toni) and other immigrant girls.

I liked the open and honest writing style.  The story isn't very complicated, and the characters are genuinely developed.  But I was disappointed when I finished because there was no great climax, no grand finalé.  The story has a nice beginning, middle, and end, but none of it was particularly engaging.  I wouldn't call it boring,  because I was curious how the story wrapped up.  It was just a very mild ride.

Amy's Favorite Children's Books

I have three books in my meager children's library that I especially love to read to my children, and they love to be read these stories.  Really, a list of children's books that deserve recognition would be infinite.  But there are three I wanted to spotlight.  Just because.

#1 - "Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed" by Mo Willems

"Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed"

This book was a gift to my daughter, Maren, by her preschool teacher at the beginning of the school year.  Maren loves the way I read this to her, because I manage some kind of nasally voice to represent Wilbur, the mole rat in question, and some valley girl voice for the groupie mole rats who insist on remaining naked.  But I love the message in the book.  We're all different, but we aren't meant to base our value of others soley on our differences.  It's just a funny little tongue-in-cheek story.  Read it!

#2 - "The Way Mothers Are" by Miriam Schlein

"The Way Mothers Are"

This book was given to me by my own mother.  Twice.  I think she'd forgotten that she had already given it to me, but our fist copy had been loved too much so I really appreciated when she gave me the new copy.  Which is also on its way to being loved too much.  This book makes the distinction about a mother's love, that it doesn't flow freely when our children behave and it doesn't discontinue when they drive us up the wall. It's simply touching, and I think every mommy (or daddy or caregiver) needs to share this with their children.  Read it!

#3 - "The Dumb Bunnies' Easter" by Dav Pilkey

"The Dumb Bunnies' Easter"

This book was given to my family by my sister (wow, I'm just noticing the pattern that these books were all gifts.  What's the significance of that?!  This'll keep me up all night.)  My sister is a special person for so many reasons.  But I love her special sense of humor.  Many things in life that she likes she likes because they go against the grain.  She told me once she liked Sponge Bob because he was an ugly cartoon--too many cartoons were too cute for her taste, I guess.  I think that's why she gave me this book.  Like the sticker says on the front:  This book is TOO DUMB to win an award.  The book is funny, imaginative, backwards, and dumb for the sake of being dumb.  I've taught my kids that when we read this book is the only time we use the word 'dumb' to label a person.  Because these bunnies are genuinely clueless.  And the play-on-words are great for developing kids' understanding of language.  Read this one, too!

Okay, that's it.  I'm glad I've done this, because for months whenever I've read one of these gems I've thought about sharing with the public at large.  Maybe I can't give each of you a copy of these books as generous people have given them to me (don't I wish I were that affluent!).   But at least this way if you haven't already discovered these stories, now you can go out and learn to love them yourself.

A Thought (or two) on Love and Logic

If anyone who reads this knew me personally, you'll know that I gripe about my third-born child, a strong-willed hellion named Maren, on a frequent basis.  At least, I feel it used to be on a frequent basis.  I think things have greatly improved at home.  A friend had recommended "Parenting with Love and Logic" dozens of times, but I thought nothing would help things at home.  I guess you'd say I was hopeless about the frustration and conflicts and head-to-head battles that ensued every day.  Then finally I thought, why NOT look into these books??  Even if I think the method won't work, at least I could say I tried.  And trying was very important to me.  My four-year-old and I were in a dangerous habit of fighting and arguing.  When mommies lose their tempers, they lose control and do/say things they regret.  I didn't want to continue this strained relationship, and I didn't want her growing up believing I loved her less than the others.  I was afraid if this pattern continued, horrible long-term repercussions would be inevitable.  So, genuinely, what would I have to lose by trying this parenting technique?

   

"Parenting with Love and Logic"

"Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood"

I got two books from the library, but I focused on the one for early childhood, from birth to age six.  I will tell you, there's a reason they call it Love and Logic Magic.  My relationship with Maren has already transformed from toxic to blossoming.  I'm still learning, but I feel we're in a much healthier place.  I feel the biggest indicator of success so far has been how I feel at the end of the day.  The past few weeks I've been much less tense at bedtime!  I used to be so worn out from Maren's antics that after they were all in bed I'd take a few hours to wind down and let go of the anger.  And now bedtime goes smoother, as well as the whole day.  And now since Mommy's less likely to blow-up at any given moment, I feel my other children are benefiting from these changes at home, as well.  Even though my other three kids need less disciplinary interaction than Maren, the tricks I'm using with her have had a great impact on them.  My oldest daughter had an over-nighter with her grandparents recently, and when she came home I explained some of the rules that had been put in place while she was gone.  I was using the same tricks on her as her little sister, just a little differently for the different circumstances.  She came out of her room crying and asking why I had changed.  That showed me again how noticeable the Love and Logic structure was.

I'm not going to call this a full-on review, because I gleaned information as necessary for my understanding and for survival.  But I recommend the method!

"The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith

"The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency"

Um, this post was scheduled to go up ten days ago.  But, apparently, it did not.  Boo to you, Blogger.

This is a new author and new series for me--I hadn't heard of either before.  On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give it a 6.5/7.  I enjoyed the story, but it wasn't a hard-to-put-down story.  However, when I did make time to read it, the chapters flew by quickly, and I liked that.  Precious Ramotswe opens a private detective agency in her village in Botswana.  She has a series of cases and investigations that allow the reader to glimpse into the African culture, which is relatively unfamiliar to me.  I'll confess, more than once during Smith's descriptions of the Kalahari, the opening theme song from "The Lion King" played in my head.

One thing I did like about Romatswe was her internal struggle about changes in culture.  She often reflects how things are best done in the traditional Botswana way.  She doesn't like the gradual Americanizing she sees creeping into her homeland.  However, she's a paradox to her own thinking.  More than once she encounters people who find it peculiar that a woman is taking on a traditionally male occupation.  When this happens she asks if they have ever heard of Agatha Christie.  For her to break this mold is acceptable in her eyes, but she frowns upon similar changes around her.  Maybe I'm reading way too into this, but Precious Ramotswe is a fat African woman who travels in a small white van as she conducts her investigations.  I remember in 7th grade English we watched "Star Wars" and my teacher, Mr. Schroeder, explained that the Storm Troopers' uniforms were white with black showing from beneath, symbolizing their dark motives beneath a cloak of righteous changes.  So, in my mind, some analytic part of my seventh-grade subconscious latched onto this fat African lady in a small white van imagery, in the way it reflects her wanting to hang onto the old traditional ways inside, but ways on the outside are adapting to western culture whether you want it or not.  Maybe that was a gross over-generalization of a culture to which I am grossly ignorant.  I'm not trying to say anything about African culture, just an insight into Romatswe's struggle with culture adjustments.