Treegap Spring Water

Look what I found!  They say that you can find anything on the internet, but I couldn't find this on the internet.  Luckily I found this in my own kitchen--Treegap Spring Water.  Who wants to drink it?  It is very special water and you should think seriously before taking a sip.  In fact, before you drink it you will want to read Tuck Everlasting.  

When we get together in another week or so, we will see who wants to take a swig.  

Olivia and I started reading the book yesterday.  It is slow going--maybe a bit too ambitious, but we are going to persevere. 

Go ahead everybody and take a break from reading until next Wednesday.  You all deserve a break. No need to log any books before then.   

California Rickses Love to Read

Some of my favorite reading pics of the summer so far. The last one, from nap time today, I think is the winner for me.

The Nightingale

I am well aware that I tend to over-use superlatives. Everything is the best, the cutest, the most wonderful, the favorite. I, however, feel that I am correctly using a superlative when I say that "The Nightingale" is one of the best books I've ever read.

It's a World War II book, but its focus is less on concentration camp horror and the gruesomeness of the war. This is a book about survival at any cost and about the beauty that can come from loss and hardship. I really don't want to give any of the storyline away, because the beauty of the book comes from its story.

If this glowing review isn't enough to interest you,  my tear-stained face should be an attestation of both my love for this book. When Jared came over last night, he could tell I was sad. He was asking me about my day, assuming something bad had happened. What he soon learned was that I was sad because of WWII--sad that it happened, sad that people had to witness it, and sad for the survivors. Mostly, I was sad that two of my friends (my mom says that fictional characters can be friends) were part of this time of grievances. Jared didn't understand why I was sad for fictional characters, and maybe he never will. But I now feel that I was part of a world that I don't and hope to never belong to.

This book comes with my highest recommendation.

Sweet Shirts!

We Love Our New Shirts! :)

Nonfiction

“Nonfiction” is one of my favorite words because it is a puzzle in itself.  Here’s why: 

When we break down the word into its component parts, we get non + fiction.  “Fiction,” for those of you who are interested, comes from “fingere” which means “to shape, form, devise, feign,” which comes from “dheigh” which means “to build, form, knead.”  So “fiction” is something that is invented (fingered) in the mind.  Inherently it is NOT TRUE. 

Now when we add “non” we negate.  Check out this picture:

à true

ßà untrue

àßà not untrue

Nonfiction is true.  How cool is that!?!?!

A fun new book that I read last week that is nonfiction is “POP!: The Invention of Bubble Gum.”  (OK, one reason that I like it is because of the exclamation point followed immediately by the colon—you don’t see that everyday.)

 

This is the story of Walter Diemer, the inventor of bubble gum.  The rest of the story—and I am not E.B. Whiting you here—is the reason that Walter didn’t ever make money on his invention.  Walter failed to patent his invention.  That was an enormously bad move.  His original bubble gum, “Dubble Bubble,” sold at a penny a piece and made more than $1.5 million in the very first year.  Because of its low price it was the treat of choice during the Great Depression.  So patent those inventions, kiddos! 

Now, just to exercise your puzzle muscle, “nonfiction” is sort of a double negative.  Here’s a triple negative from Groucho Marx.  Go ahead and figure out what it means. 

“I cannot say that I do not disagree with you.”

 Have fun reading some nonfiction this week.

Newbery All the Way

I haven't read anything yet this summer that has knocked my socks off. But as I've thought back to the best books I've read since the beginning of the year, they all have something in common--they all won the Newbery Award. Yep, I love reading children's literature. Another thing they have in common is that they have gotten me to experience a real important emotion while reading. And the last thing they have in common is that I listened to all of them on Overdrive.

(The picture tools on my new Mac are driving me crazy, so sorry pics of the books)

1. Bud Not Buddy. I especially loved the narration. Much better to listen to this in a black man's voice than my own. More authentic as he tells the story of a black orphan boy.

2. Bomb. Fascinating nonfiction history of the atomic bomb in World War II.

3. Moon over Manifest. This is the sweet story of a girl who spends her summer discovering the secrets of a town called Manifest.

4. Dead End in Norvelt. This book shares an odd kinship with Moon over Manifest. But here, it's a boy who spends his summer discovering the secrets of a town called Norvelt.

So if you're looking for an easy, delightful read that keeps the pages turning, pick any of these.

Betsy's Books

        I've read 22 books so far this year.  Some have been wonderful, others mediocre, and a couple have been awful.  I hate reading awful books.  Such a waste of time!  Two of my favorites from this year have been...

1.  "What Alice Forgot"

Not a girly book...but a girl book.  Alice is a 40 year-old woman who falls down and hits her head at the gym, and wakes up thinking she is 30...she completely loses her memory of the last 10 years.  It made me think a lot about life and how I want to live my life.  It's interesting that I read this from a 30 year-old point of view and only looked at the book thinking "What do I want my life to be like when I am 40?"  And also thinking "What choices am I making now that will help make my life be great at 40?"  But other's in my book club who are 40 totally looked at it the other way thinking, "What would I have done differently for the last 10 years?"  Quick, easy, delightful read, without a predictable ending.  Loved it.

2.  "Because of Mr. Terupt"

A great book for a junior high age kid.  I read it in a couple of hours.  I like books that make me cry.  And of course this one did.  A sweet story about a 5th grade class and their awesome teacher Mr. Terupt.  I'm grateful for wonderful teachers, like my own Miss Hansen, who inspire and change kids for the better.

(I would also recommend Whitney's suggestion "A Man Called Ove."  Oh, how I LOVED this book!!!)

Not Recommended...

1.  "Making Faces"

One of my least favorite books I've ever read.  :)      

William Wordsworth: A Life

I know this week is recommendation week, and although I don't know that I'm exactly recommending this book to anyone, I want to write about it on our blog.

William Wordsworth: A Life by Stephen Gill

As many of you have heard me gripe about this book (I even had to ask Adam to incentivize--that's a real word and not a Dr. Seussism--me to read the book), you may have assumed that I had a tough time reading it and never wanted to. And you would be right--certainly in the first 50 or so pages. Any book that you notice has almost 100 pages of Notes in the end is certainly a daunting task to embark upon.

However, I became totally engrossed in the world of the Romantic poets. I silently loathed those critics of Wordsworth's "The Excursion," I rejoiced at his joyous family life, and my heart ached as Dorothy, his sister, fell into the stages of dementia. I felt at one with the book and the poet that I am about to go spend 3 months of my life studying. I absolutely adored learning about him. I LOVED this book.

I don't know that I recommend this book to any of you, because 423 pages that go in depth, and I mean IN DEPTH, about the Father of Romantic Poetry may only be interesting to me. But if you're in the mood, then I definitely won't stop you. :)

I've never taken so long to read a book--about 10 hours for 423 pages--but to be honest, I've also never been more proud when reporting that I have read a book.

"Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present, to live better in the future." --William Wordsworth

And just for kicks, here is Dove Cottage--the place where I will be working, and the place where Wordsworth published some of his most famous poetry. 

2 Recommendations--A Man Called Ove and Percy Jackson

1.  My first recommendation is the best book I have read this summer.

A Man Called Ove is a delightful read.  Each time I opened the book I really enjoyed myself.  The book is centered on fabulous character development so clearly I would have disliked it years ago.  Luckily, I have expanded my book taste over the years.  I am glad that I used my free amazon money to buy this kindle book for Mom's book club and that she enjoyed it enough to recommend it to me--meaning if you connect one of your tablets/kindles to Mom and Dad's Amazon account you can read it for free whenever you want.  

2.  My second recommendation is my favorite book(s) that I have read this year.

I LOVED the Percy Jackson series.  They are so entertaining to read.  It is a modern take on ancient mythology.  I really wish I had written them or come up with the idea.  They are quick reads and I highly recommend them.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

For Recommendation Week I want to recommend a book that I put down tonight feeling completely drained but satisfied—maybe not happy, but satisfied—with the ending.  It is a masterpiece and one of the most moving books I have ever read. 

Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale is the story of two sisters who live in occupied France during World War II.  The quote that will stick with you from start to finish is this:

“In love we find out who we want to be: in war we find out who we are.”

In recent years we have had two other historical fiction works that deal with occupied France—Sarah’s Key, and All the Light We Cannot See.  I liked both of them, but I liked this one the best of the three.

I would love to tell you more about it but don’t want to spoil it.  Trust me on this one and get on the library’s waiting list.  It is worth the 449 pages.  If you are going to listen to it as an audiobook, you can push the speed up to at least 1.5, as the French narrator is very slow.

This is a picture from Hannah’s website of one of the venues that inspired the novel.   

The Effective Executive - Book Recommendation

So - I'm going to recommend a book that I haven't yet finished....hope that's OK. Daniel gave me this book when I started here at Lodging Dynamics. Because of the timing, I have not yet read it. But, our summer of 100,000 pages has given me the motivation to get to it. I am over halfway through. It is great. Sure - it doesn't read like a thriller or an easy teen novel. But, the information is good and will hopefully help me be more effective.

To give you a preview - the book goes into detail on the following 5 practices: 1. Tracking your time; 2. Focusing on Results; 3. Build on Strengths; 4. Set Priorities; 5. Making Effective Decisions. 

It is helping me think more about what I do every day. I would like to think that it is making more efficient and more effective, but I guess that is yet to be seen.

It's Just An Expression...

We've been talking with the girls a lot about expressions, which show up a lot in the books we read. Like when Olivia was "dressed to the nines." Well, I guess Madi decided she wanted to clarify this concept in her journal (above), which I've translated below:

"I'm pooped" means I'm tired. "I pooped" means I just pooped. No skin off my back. I went to a pool party. It was so fun. We did the pinata. It was so fun.

Newbery Week

If you could get any award in the whole world, what would it be?  Now, don’t get confused between an AWARD and a REWARD.  If we were choosing REWARDS, likely you would all think of Doctrine and Covenants 59:23 – “But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”  I can’t think of a better reward than that.  But what AWARD would you choose?

There are thousands of noteworthy awards—the Heisman, Miss America, Academy Awards, Triple Crown, Purple Heart, to name only a few. I remember one conversation we had at the Gardner dinner table when I was growing up where we all agreed that the most prestigious athletic award was definitely the gold medal in the decathlon at the Olympic Games.  We’re all probably rethinking that statement. 

And then there are awards that you may not even know about:  the Florence Nightingale Medal (humanitarianism); the Ron Brown Award (corporate leadership); Effie Awards (advertising); Webby Awards (internet); Golden Tap Awards (beer); the Horton Medal (geophysics); Bald Archy Prizes (mocking Australian celebrities); the Ridler Award (automobiles); Harry Sunderland Trophy (rugby—maybe Jared should go for that).   

I asked a two of you (because several of you don’t answer your phones on busy Saturday mornings) what award you would be most honored with.  Here are those two replies:

Whitney – a healthy baby  

Lyndon – the Nobel Peace Prize

PLEASE MAKE A COMMENT AND TELL US WHAT AWARD YOU WOULD LIKE MOST

So why am I even writing about awards?  What does this have to do with Newbery Week?  Because the Newbery Medal would be my award of choice!

The John Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”  Bear in mind that that does not mean it is the best book of the year.  It is a book that contributes something innovative/excellent to children’s literature.  Also it is an award only for American literature.  Years ago, a group of people were up in arms because the Harry Potter books did not win.  Well, there’s a good reason for that.  The medal is named for John Newbery, an 18^th-century English publisher of children’s books.  (British, I know—it doesn’t make a lot of sense.)  It began in 1921 and is the oldest children’s book award in the world.  The medal itself shows an author giving his book to a boy and a girl to read.

As you may or may not know, I have a lifetime goal to read all of the Newbery winners of my lifetime.  Right now I am 52 for 57. 

Congratulations to all of you who have read a Newbery this week.

    

Joyful Noise

This was a delightful way to spend the evening with the girls. "Joyful Noise" is the shortest and easiest of the Newbery winners, at 44 pages with not very many words per page. And the girls had a lot of fun reading the poems either with me or with each other. The poem in the video was their favorite. The beetle one was fun too, but much trickier.

The Joy of Summer Reading Incentive Awards

Lehi Library Part 2

So, we finished all our books, and had to go back. So we took a picture outside of our library like the rest of you. 

Because we've been to the library twice this week, it means that we have read several great new books (and some not so great). I would like to recommend these two books to everyone. We loved them both!

Provo Library

A Successful Library Week

My coworkers might think that I am crazy (for many reasons) but I have been telling them about our summer reading program with them.  They have seen me work on the blog adding the hand drawn logo by Kristina and the awesome charts by Daniel.  On Wednesday they saw me preparing to get my library card and on Thursday I told them how happy I was with it.

A few of my coworkers are also great readers and with over an hour commute to work they have plenty of time to read.  They love reading on their iPads but typically read either free or cheap i-books and then buy the rest of the series that they enjoyed.   We do have different tastes in books but on Thursday I recommended the Selection series to Gabby.  She looked up how much the books would cost and it was going to be $35 for 4 books.  Gabby told me she doesn't like spending more than a dollar or two per book she buys.  I asked her why she didn't borrow it from the library and she told me she prefers just reading on her iPad.

I pulled out my phone and showed her the overdrive app.  I told her that I get ebooks and audiobooks.  She thought it was awesome.  I helped her look up her closest library in New Jersey so that she could go get her own library card to use.

Today Gabby showed up to work as the proud owner of her own library card, had already placed books on hold, and had started listening to her first audiobook during the walking portion of her commute.  She was so happy to show me her card!

I think that library week has been a success for me here in New York!  I love being able to share what I love with others!  I know that others have also had wonderful weeks sharing their love for the library and I would love to hear their stories. *I am looking at you Mom, but I hope other members of the family have as well!*

Farmington Branch

Newport Beach Library

Lehi Library

 We Love the Library!

I know that these next couple pictures are a little blurry - but it was a struggle getting Asher to smile and not move at the same time. So, we ended up with some funny, goofy pictures. :)

 I think that Alta definitely understands that going to the library means lots of lap time with mom and dad when we get home!