Whose Incentive? Which Motivation?

Economics is premised on a tautology – a helpful one, but a tautology nonetheless. People are motivated by incentives. What is an incentive? Anything that motivates. How do we explain why Susie did x, y, z, or anything else? She must have had incentives. What are they? Could be anything that motivates her. See, a tautology.

Recently, Daniel Pink has written a book called Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us to discuss exactly that: what are the best incentives to action? Geared primarily towards the business world, Pink uses several studies to show that the best incentives are autonomy, mastery, and doing better by ourselves and the world.

As many of the amazon reviewers who gave Drive a low review mention, though, this conclusion is based on only a few very artificial studies. The motivational picture may well be more complicated, and maybe even more when we talk about school rather than business and children rather than adults.

Pink suggests that we went through several stages of motivation through human history. Motivation 1.0 was when motivation to work was based on basic human survival. Motivation 2.0 was the “carrot and stick approach” of rewarding externally by material goods, money, etc. Pink suggests that we are now entering motivation 3.0, where we need to realize that workers are best motivated by intrinsic rewards: the pleasure of doing the job well, the pleasure of being autonomous, and the pleasure of mastering things.

Now, let’s talk about school and kids. I think it goes without saying (even though I will say it) that the best moments of student performance happen when we have tapped into a student’s intrinsic motivations as defined above. Students do best what they derive satisfaction from doing. But here is the problem: there are many situations in school where students have to do what they do not like doing. It is an unavoidable part of the school day (wrongly lamented by progressive types who would rather see kids only do what they want to do). It can be assumed that most often, workers work in fields that they at least semi-enjoy (of course this is not always the case, but it is likely the majority). Kids, on the other hand, are compelled by the state and their parents to take biology, algebra, and civics. Thus, kids will very probably experience more situations where intrinsic motivation may either be hard to come by or impossible. (Some educationists suggest that intrinsic motivation is always possible and maybe it is if one has unlimited time to try and find it. Teachers, of course, are constrained by time and class size, so it may not always be feasible to help students find intrinsic motivation.)

All of this is to say that wisdom in supervision and teaching often consists of knowing what reward to use when. Sometimes, we can get students interested enough in the task at hand to harness students’ intrinsic motivation. Like everyone else, I highly recommend always trying this route first and student initiative produces the best work when they are engaged. One does not have to fight for student attention when the object of study does that job for us.

But there are also times when we may have to use external motivators because the students are engaged in an activity they have no real interest in and do not care to perform well on. Grades, stickers, a threat of a call to parents, etc, must  be used to get students to work on the subject at hand. This is not the bad thing that progressive types think it is, as a valuable life lesson is to learn how to do things we don’t want to do, and train our attention so that it can focus on areas if may not naturally gravitate toward. If students only learned how to do what they had intrinsic reasons to do, they would never learn how to discipline themselves to do those life tasks (paying taxes, housework, etc) they will inevitably have to do later.

Does extrinsic motivators kill intrinsic motivators? Pink thinks so. I am not sure. I have seen no good evidence – studies or otherwise – that tell me that one cannot have one without undoing the other. It seems to me a simple fact: in some areas – those we are interested in naturally or can come to be interested in – intrinsic motivation will always be there. In other areas – those we do more because we have to than want to – extrinsic motivators may be the only way to keep us doing the task. I find it hard to fathom that external motivators for me to do taxes (I will reward myself with x once these are done, and if I don’t do them, the government will penalize me) would ever undo intrinsic motivators in other areas. I suppose that it may be true that use of extrinsic motivation may kill intrinsic motivation ON THE SAME TASK, but that assumes that intrinsic motivation already existed for the task (and if it did, we likely would not need extrinsic motivators).

Anyhow, the motivational picture seems to me more complicated than Daniel Pink wants to suggest. We all operate with internal and external motivators. Some tasks we do because we like doing them (and some of us are lucky to be employed doing such tasks). Other things, we do because we will be rewarded or penalized externally for completing them or not. The wisdom of supervisors and teachers is to know when employees or students need external or internal motivations, not simply to fear the former group altogether.

[Via http://edphilosopher.wordpress.com]

'Document Z' by Andrew Croome

2009, 345 p.

‘Document Z’ opens with an image instantly recognizable to Australians-of-a-certain age, even if we were not born at the time.  It’s the image of Evdokia Petrov on the tarmac of Mascot Airport, flanked by a burly man each side of her, clutching her handbag, hand across her chest as if she is heaving, with one shoe lost.  For those of us brought up in the black-and-white certainties of Menzies’ world, it captures the fear of the Communist enemy: that they’ll come and get you and hustle you onto an aeroplane.

But whatever misconceptions we attach to the picture, it is not the full story.  She was not so much frightened of the men, as frightened of the crowd surrounding the plane, and she was a woman torn just as much by conflicting emotions as the physical presence of the people surrounding her.  What a dreadful situation to be in. Her husband and fellow-spy had defected and was no doubt talking to the Australian agents about her;  she was frightened for her family back in Russia, and she was wary of official censure when she returned irrespective of her husband’s actions.

The title ‘Document Z’ plays on Documents H and J that were tendered to the Royal Commission that followed the Petrov defection.  I wonder if it is, as the title rather cheekily suggests, the last word- certainly since Robert Manne’s book The Petrov Affair, the debate seems to be over.

The book is a fictionally reimagined telling of the Petrov defection from the perspectives of the participants- Evdokia, her husband Vladimir,  Michael Bialaguski the doctor go-between and the various agents on both sides.  Croome has obviously done his homework (occasionally a little too obviously) and I marvel at his courage in describing a time long before he was born that is still within living memory today- lots of scope for slips and false notes there.  He captures well the sterility of 1950s Canberra with the claustrophobic and enmeshed atmosphere of the Soviet Embassy enclave.

I’m not sure if it’s a failing of the book, or the nature of the relationship he is describing, but there is a flatness to the relationship between the Petrovs themselves.  They worked alongside each other, and they shared the same career trajectory for better and for worse but there’s an emptiness at the core of their marriage as Croome depicts it.  And again we run up against the dilemma with writing within a historical event, but I feel that Croome has shaken free of those restraints.  I was puzzled that he didn’t use ‘that’ picture on his front cover (cost? copyright?) but it liberates him from having to stick only to the historical sources.  If the relationship is sterile perhaps he meant it to be, or perhaps he could not, for whatever reason,  make it otherwise.

I enjoyed this book, and this is from someone who loathes spy-novels.  I liked the atmosphere- the juxtaposition between the bright light outside and the whispers and fears inside.

[Via http://residentjudge.wordpress.com]

Lord of the Rams: The Greatest Story Never Told

Ronan Smith

Trafford Publishing, 2008

224 Pages, Non-fiction/Humor

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

If you love boyish anecdotes of widespread vomiting, fart jokes, cow “shite” and other forms of “shite,” brutal fights, infantile wrestling, arbitrary vandalism, heavy drinking, and all manner of theft and dishonesty—all experienced by the author and his real-life cronies—then you’ll love this sophomoric chronicle from Ronan Smith.

Lord of the Rams: The Greatest Story Never Told invites us to “join one man for the adventure of his life…growing up in rural 1980s Ireland.” It “provides an insightful account of life in Ireland over a 25-year period, which many—regardless of nationality—will be able to identify with.” I found myself often drawn to the raw energy, passion, and living-life-to–the-fullest attitude of the author (a.k.a. “The Rams”) and his friends, but, along with the relatively innocent juvenile adventures, Smith adds layer after layer of “shite” such as alcohol abuse, fraud and common thievery. While certainly human, the book’s protagonists don’t give anything promising to the reader hoping for greater depth of character and humanity.

I may be a bit hard on Smith, however. Perhaps I’m writing from the point of view of the emasculated American male who—along with his fellow American males—has lost touch with his once wild and undomesticated self. Okay, so before I get all Robert Bly in your face, maybe Smith wasn’t trying to accomplish anything of significance except a simple look into his early and very wild life. After all, boys will be boys. Maybe he simply needed to express the experience of being a young male. Perhaps, but do we need 222 pages of boys doing what boys will do?

Although the immature subject matter becomes tedious—especially after page 60 or so—Smith weaves a tale that is quite engaging at times. My guess is that if Smith were to take up the profession of technical writer, he could easily create page-turners for even the most mundane topics. I would love to see a revised edition of this book with new chapters interspersed describing childhood disappointments, joys and loves.

The success of this book ultimately depends upon a very narrow intended audience. If you’re a college-aged young man, this book will fulfill your Fast Times at Ridgemont High juvenile longings, desires and addictions. Being that the second half of book is nothing but a perpetual frat party, I can’t imagine, ladies, how this book would be of interest to you with the childish behaviors and actions of the author and his friends.

While Smith’s story is often funny and entertaining, where is the meaning, significance, importance or even redemption? Why don’t we discover more of what makes Rams tick besides having fun and causing trouble? Where was the balance? I would have loved to discover more about his family relationships, but we learn of only the most inane, base motivations of Rams, his likes and dislikes, and nothing about his emotional and spiritual state beyond his crazy antics. Maybe that wasn’t Smith’s intension. But why should I be interested?” It’s the “so what” factor. (How much do we really need to know about college-aged boys and their fart contests?) Like the author’s own words about his life, I hoped for the “cessation of the infantile messing” that had become the book.

Smith talked only briefly about his life successes and failures in academia, his relationships with women, and his family life., I would love to know more about Irish culture beyond his family watching professional wrestling together. In Chapter 25, Smith gives us a rare glimpse into his heart for his family and treats us to his experience fishing with his dad, giving the book a much-needed diversion, but it‘s disappointingly short-lived. At some point, the juvenile escapades lose their edge making the reader the true victim and recipient of his childish behavior.

While his memoir is self-centered and self-absorbed, I give him credit for the courage to express himself so openly and honestly. Where Smith succeeds is when he writes about the person most of us want to be–or are; the dual personalities within us vying for control of the “true self”—the one shy and well mannered, the other fun loving and free spirited. Who wouldn’t want friends with names like Rams, Stano, Finger Jo, Boo Boo, Goosey, Slug, Spade, Jockey, or Tritchy?

Remarkably—and here’s where I do agree with the book’s promo—I found myself identifying with some of the same childhood and young adult experiences Smith had, such as our love of English and writing, and our struggles with the sciences (mine Chemistry, his Biology). I delighted in the reminders of all the crazy stuff we jumped into as youngsters in suburban Michigan, and Smith’s experience in Chapter 6 of “The Gauntlet” was nearly identical to my high school experience. That’s my story, not Smith’s!

Overall, Lord of the Rams is a smart-assed, quirky, approachable, deranged and tight autobiography, full of ill-advised antics. Smith succeeds with what he intended: a harmless (to the reader, at least), entertaining romp of his first 25 years. Ultimately, Smith’s strength is his writing. Free of cliché, his writing effectively brings us into the journey of his early years. With short, approachable chapters, Smith’s story keeps the pages turning–. Yet, I went back and forth with this book. At times, couldn’t wait to read what was on the next page, other times I just wanted it to end.

Interestingly, the last page of the book ends on a strangely philosophical note. Perhaps as catharsis for his 200+ page promotional rant on the joys of ill behavior. Although difficult to decipher from only one page, in a sad way, Smith ends his memoir with a rather repentant and guilty tone. Maybe he felt the way I did and asked the same question I asked of the book: After all that, is that all there is?

Strengths: Strong writing, inventive, imaginative, witty, fun and funny (at times), wonderfully descriptive

Opportunities: Laced with crude and empty humor, lacking emotional depth

Lord of the Rams: The Greatest Story Never Told is available directly from the author (which really helps the author) and amazon (which really helps amazon), and a lot of other places…

Reviewed by David Stucki, December 2009

[Via http://theboogle.wordpress.com]

Change is Your Competitive Advantage - Book Review

Editor’s note – This week we will be posting a series of book reviews prepared by Pam Banks. These reviews are also available to watch on Roger’s TV In Business Program. See link below.

Change is Your Competitive Advantage – by Karl Schoemer

By Pam Banks

I used to think that competitive advantage was all about proficiency in a new skill or an added feature in a new product.  But Schoemer points out that the “New Business Reality” is that in an uncertain world the only certainty is that things will change.

Change is driven by technology, information and people.  The pace of change is much quicker than it was even ten years ago.  Change is not a product of a decision in a company but as a result of how interconnected we are with people, societies and businesses around the globe.  We can see this when there is a severe storm forecast in the Gulf, gas prices in Mississauga escalate overnight.

Generally, people don’t like change – we like the status quo because it’s easier.  Change always brings a measure of problems, challenges and frustrations.  In fact, when you change how you do things, your productivity always goes down initially.  No matter what the change, there are four basic dynamics of the change process including a sense of loss, ambiguity and uncertainly, deterioration of trust and the need for self- preservation.  The prospect of change is like riding the Behemoth, there’s a dichotomy between the fear and thrill – and we each have a different perspective

In a business environment the four stages we go through when faced with change are: betrayal, denial, identity crisis and search for solutions.  These stages of resistance are directly tied to the drop off in productivity.  A recent labour study determined that the average productivity of a worker during an eight-hour days is 4.8 hours.  During a transition or period of change productivity drops to 1.2 hours a day.  The key is to move through the stages quickly to reach the “search for solutions” stage.  Using your customer as a barometer will help you more accurately judge the value of change.

Effective communications is important to facilitate change.  Informative, supportive and inspirational communications are important at different stages of change.  Change has a trickle down effect because managers hear about it first and go through the phases earlier than front line employees.  Follow the rule of repetition, which says you need to tell people multiple times before you can count on it registering with them.

It’s hard to see how any work gets done when change is always present.  But it’s not ok to keep doing things the way you’ve always been doing them.  Developing an organization-wide perspective on how change works and how to accelerate it is critical.  In today’s marketplace an organization gains competitive advantage by getting to be good at change and truly creating an “adaptive culture” that can adjust quickly and effectively.

A story about a group of monkeys illustrates how change is adapted into culture.  Scientists observed a  group of monkeys on a remote island.  They left a load of potatoes on the beach and sat back to watch their behavior.  Monkeys are curious so one bit into the potato, and the next day the monkeys were waiting on the beach for the potatoes.  On the third day in the scramble for the potatoes one dropped into the water, and to one monkey’s surprise it tasted much better when it was washed.   Instead of monkey see monkey do – the potato washing monkey was ostracized from the group.  The innovator monkey was isolated because he was different.  It’s important that our organizations aren’t like the monkey groups.  If we are truly going to embrace change we need to recognize that change or innovation will make us more relevant to our organizations and our customers.

So change happens and we need to embrace it as our competitive advantage for our employers and our businesses.  Change is Your Competitive Advantage is a great read to help stay on top and ahead of change.

Pam is Commercialization Director for RIC Centre. She is a regular book reviewer on the business program  In Business on Rogers TV. Watch Pam’s review  of  Change is Your Competitive Advantage

[Via http://riccentre.wordpress.com]

Book Review: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (1401340903)

Getting past the unusual design of the book, I found Connie’s and Deliverance’s stories very interesting.  This is a fiction novel that has some historical facts about the Salem witch trials.  I was expecting the historical element, but the suspense element was a nice surprise.  Connie is working on her dissertation and comes across an old “recipe” book that connects her to the past and to Deliverance Dane, an accused Salem witch.  Little does Connie know that the book will put her in danger as well.

[Via http://eclecticreview.wordpress.com]

Book Review: "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

I hadn’t read any of Malcolm Gladwell’s earlier bestsellers The Flipping Point and Blink, but many people I know have raved about his third book, Outliers.  A friend lent it to me for a couple of weeks and I must admit I am now a fan.

Outliers is a non-fiction book that looks into the way society perceives success.  We tend to think that massively successful people, like the Bill Gates and The Beatles, are outliers, freaks of nature who fall outside the normal realms of possibility for ordinary people.  Gladwell, on the other hand, reminds us that success (and by this I mean phenomenal success), is a product of not only natural talent, but also extreme hard work, fortuitous opportunities, as well as cultural background and upbringing.  To be fair, there isn’t anything entirely novel about the ideas in the book, but it’s the way Gladwell structures and writes it that makes it so unputdownable.

Outliers starts off with a look at the so-called ‘Rosetta’ mystery – why a town of people who live according to their own cultural rules live longer and are more immune to heart problems than everyone else, despite not having more healthy diets or living habits.   It’s a starting point which demonstrates that everything has an underlying reason, and to get to the root of it, you inevitably have to dig deeper.

The book then delves into various aspects of what makes a person super successful.  Of course, there is the natural, innate talent.  There’s no doubt that some people are born better than others at certain things, and that talent is imperative to success.   But there are also plenty of other factors you may not have considered.

For instance, the date you were born.  Gladwell considers the cut-off dates of sports teams for youths, and discovers that the time of the year you were born could dictate whether you are most likely to be just an average athlete, or perhaps provide you with an opportunity to become a star.

Another fascinating chapter looks at the hard work of professional musicians (such as The Beatles) and IT whizzes such as Bill Gates and Bill Joy.  Of course, extreme, prolonged periods of hard work is important to becoming successful, but being at the right place and time to give you that opportunity to work hard is equally important.  Each of The Beatles, Bill Gates and Bill Joy all worked exceptionally hard in their respective fields, but they were also recipients of some extraordinary twists of fate which put them on their paths to stardom.

Then there’s the story of Joe Flom, one of the most successful lawyers in the one of the most successful law firms on Wall Street.  Flom was also one of those guys that appeared to have the world against him, but what initially seemed like bad luck and awful injustice actually led him to becoming the man he is today.

That’s not all. Cultural backgrounds and ancestry are also contributing factors to success, according to Gladwell.  Why are Asian children typically so good at mathematics?  Why are Mid-Western Americans more temperamental?  These are just some of the things Gladwell considers.

There are plenty of tales of success in Outliers, but success stories alone aren’t sufficient – there are also stories of failure that help illustrate Gladwell’s point.  One of them is Chris Lagan, considered by many as the smartest man in America, and yet he never managed to live up to the expectations of his brain.  Another story of failure deals with the catastrophes of Korean Airlines, where Gladwell shows that many of the airline’s plane crashes could have been avoided had the pilots not been so constrained by their culture.

I love Gladwell’s style. He writes in a simple, unassuming manner that communicates the message across in the simplest way possible. He starts off each chapter by telling a story that leaves little clue as to where it is heading.  It grabs your attention as you wonder what he the heck he is trying to get at.  But then, by the end of that intro, he reveals that there’s a long back-story that forms the foundation of the point he is making, and then get down into the nitty gritty of it.  It’s the type of writing I would like to try and emulate.

Of course, you won’t necessarily agree with every point Gladwell makes, and you won’t always find what he is saying interesting.  Sometimes you may think he’s making something out of nothing, or perhaps stretching statistics and coincidences too far.   Every person’s life is full of opportunities, small, big, or life-changing.  Gladwell never comes out and says it – but the essence of what Outliers is getting at is that mega-success is really a product of fate, and being able to make the most of it.

Nevertheless, I found it fascinating reading Gladwell as he tries to connect all the dots and delivers compelling theories and arguments.  When I get a chance, I’m definitely going to check out Gladwell’s latest book, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures.

4 out of 5 stars!

[Via http://pacejmiller.wordpress.com]

I didn't know...

Last night for Advent we read a story I have been meaning to get to for a long while…An Early American Christmas by Tomie dePaola.  We are in the middle of studying early American History so when I spotted this little gem at the library I snapped it up.  I meant to do it as a history study but time ran out and it has been sitting there on our shelf while we are busy preparing for Christmas.  I finally got it down and decided to read it during our evening meal.  After many false starts and warnings about paying attention (there may have been a threat or two about not getting to do the Advent calendar) we got on with the story, and what a story it was!

I have always loved Tomie’s books, especially his own children’s autobiography (which inspired me to go out to buy each child their own box of 64 count real crayola crayons).  This one was no exception.  His author’s note is at the beginning instead of the end and helps to set the stage for the story of how the colonists might have celebrated this special time of year.  The story was simple, the illustrations wonderful, but even better it was filled with tidbits of information we never knew before.  Like the bayberry bush.

Summer Bayberry

Winter Bayberry

Now I have heard of bayberry candles…I think I may have even smelled them at one point.  I’m sure they smelled spicy with evergreen undertones.  But I always assumed it was a candle scented like a bayberry (having no idea what a bayberry was).  But did you know that bayberries can make wax?!?!  Reading this book immediately sent me on a computer hunt.  What is a bayberry?  How does it grow?  Can I grow it?  Can you get real, authentic bayberry candles?  Can I make my own?  I feel another project bubbling under the skin.  I know, I know…trying to slow down.  This will have to be a project for next winter.  But I feel it will play into my winter reading of garden catalogs!  How fun to grow and make your own bayberry candles.  What a new and fun concept to add to my growing list of sustainable skills to know!

Authentic Bayberry Candles

Towards the end of the book, when Christmas is finally brimming, the kids were intrigued by making your own ornaments out of dough.  This made me remember just having seen such a recipe in Susan Branch’s wonderful book Christmas From the Heart of the Home!  If you haven’t read this book I would highly recommend it!  It will instantly transport you into the Christmas season no matter how much like scrooge you feel.

We set to making dough, which the kids loved doing.  The recipe is absolutely simple and the kids loved squishing, mushing, and using all the cookie cutters.  My only warning is to anyone with dry winter hands.  Wear Gloves!!!  The cup of salt the recipe calls for works it’s way into any little nicks on the hand and stings like needles for hours, as Lily and I both came to find out later!  Today we spent the afternoon painting them – interesting to say the least (will put pictures up tomorrow).  Then tonight we will bake and put a clear sealer on the top.  The kids are so excited to be making their own.  Lily even said that painting these was better than getting a gift!  All in all, I’d say this little Christmas book led to some wonderful rabbit trails for us.  May it do the same for you!

[Via http://amypayson.wordpress.com]

Floodgate at the Stairs

Lorrie Moore’s novel A Gate at the Stairs was released to much praise and fanfare. After reading glows from the New York Times, Washington Post, and several other high profile publications I was sure I was in for something spectacular. Then I read it.

Maybe I am missing some sort of literary chip, but this book just didn’t do it for me. After the main character Tassie takes a nanny position in her undisclosed college town for a “quasi”-anonymous couple, Moore takes us on a freakish journey covering just about every hot-button contemporary topic.

Touted as a “post 9/11” tale (I’m not exactly sure what that quantifies), A Gate at the Stairs touches on everything from racism to terrorism to bigotry to elitism to war to fertility to infidelity to adoption to religion to neglect…you get the picture, and no, I’m not joking. Sadly, it’s all left in dangling shreds and nothing seems to resolve. Perhaps that is the point? Is that post 9/11?

The most unfortunate piece of this fragmented puzzle is that Ms. Moore’s writing is quite beautiful when it’s not quite so manic. Her unstoppable script leaves no room for the reader’s imagination, and only when she slows her frantic pace are we allowed to breathe in Moore’s magic. Her ability to capture in lovely, unsuspecting ways is sadly overridden by chronic observation and sarcasm.

A reviewer for Publisher’s Weekly stated that there was “much to love, much to hate” in A Gate at the Stairs, and I suppose in this I agree. As an individual read, you will benefit from Moore’s creative language and widen your literary scope. However, I wouldn’t recommend this one as a book club choice; too much, too disjointed, and too politically tedious.

-Post by Megan Shaffer

[Via http://nightlightrevue.wordpress.com]

The White Horse King - The Life Of Alfred The Great

Do you think history is dry and boring? Well think again! Benjamin Merkle’s book, The White Horse King, is full of hand-to-hand battles, intrigues and betrayals.  And at the center of the action is Alfred the Great, the 9th century king of Wessex (now the southern part of England).  This Anglo-Saxon king has been awarded the title the Great for the many accomplishments of his reign, not least of these, the successful repulsion of the marauding Vikings.  Merkle sets forth Alfred’s story in a very readable history; a history that reads more like an adventure novel.

Alfred’s story begins as the future king is brought up in the Wessex court. A love of learning is instilled early by his mother, his faith is established by his pilgrimage to Rome at the age of 4, and the love and honor of his kingdom is learned at the knee of his father.  The fifth son of the king, Alfred is the unlikely heir of the kingdom.  Yet he does inherit the throne and rules wisely for 25 years.

Alfred is well known for the innovative defenses he set up against the invading Vikings that plagued his reign.  He also established a navy, a unified legal code, a literacy program for all freemen in his country, and the reestablishment of the Christian church as the center of learning and Godly wisdom.  Modern England and its former colonies owe a great deal to the early wisdom and innovation of Alfred.

Merkle’s book grew out of his master’s dissertation and it is evident that  he has a great deal of respect and affection for his subject.  He traces out a very believable and readable biography of a great king that might be little known to modern readers.  I enjoyed this book very much.  It was a page turner that kept me interested through the end.

Highly recommended.

(I received this book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, as part of their review program.  There was no monetary consideration given.)

[Via http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com]

The Stupidest Angel

—3.5—

At first I didn’t think I liked The Stupidest Angel.  I mean, I love irreverence and all, but I had just expected Christopher Moore’s writing to be so funny, like laugh out loud funny, and when it wasn’t I felt as if I was missing out on the inside joke.  But then, about halfway through, I realized this book was going to be about Christmas zombies (the best kind), and I am a sucker for funny zombies of any kind (especially from Plan Nine From Outerspace, see the movie if you haven’t already).  But CHRISTMAS zombies, that’s pure literary genius.  So this book became much more special in my eyes and my heart, and I say if you’re looking for a holiday tale that is not sad, sappy, or holy in any way, this one might be for you.  Now, it must be said that there is some inappropriateness in actions and language, so those who are turned off by that in their tales of Christmas Joy may want to pass.  But anyone looking to read a story about how the Warrior Babe of the Outland saves Christmas from the Ikea-loving undead, your holiday wish has been granted.

After reading a bit more about the book, it seems that many of the characters that appear in this story are from other of Christopher Moore’s work as well, so I may have to check them out at some point.

3.5/5

[Via http://sadiejean.wordpress.com]

Change Your Mindset Not Your Man by Sally B. Watkins

Learn to Love What’s Right Instead of Trying to Fix What’s Wrong (Adams Media 2009)

Many women are disappointed, frustrated, and despairing about their relationships with men. Growing up with Sleeping Beauty, Barbies and  romance novels, we don’t realize how the happily-ever-after myth contributes to our relationship misery and failures.  My book is the message I needed as a young woman– that there is no substitute for growing a self and creating a full passionate life, that a man can’t possibly be your fulfillment.  It’s hard on the guys when we women want what they have not been socialized to provide.  They’re prepared to do the heavy lifting and make money but when we  ask them to be sensitive and attuned to our many emotional needs  it naturally makes them defensive and angry and they often conclude that there isn’t any way to please us.  The conflict comes from trying to get happiness, validation and love from your partner when the only one you can change is yourself!

My book spells out exactly what it takes to find contentment with your normally flawed and imperfect guy the way he is.  Complaining and even couples counseling can be disastrous if fixing him is the goal.  Your thoughts and stories may be helping or hurting you.  I show you what it takes to lead by example when you are the one with more relationship skills and needs and have been socialized for relating.  Everything from the best therapies, what I’ve gained from my own life, and what my courageous and beautiful clients have taught me is here.  Finding your authentic self and the power to accept the things you can’t change will make you a more confident person and a truly loving partner.

TIPS

FIND CONTENTMENT WITH YOUR NORMALLY FLAWED MAN AS HE IS

1.      He doesn’t have to change for you to be happy.

Expectations of romantic love since girlhood have fueled our disappointment with men.  We have been socialized to believe in and want a deep connection with a soul mate.  Many men were taught to be tough, ignore their feelings, and channel energy into work, so it’s not their fault that they aren’t as attuned to us and as affectionate as we want.  It’s natural for the rush of excitement and chemical attraction to wear off after the honeymoon. All relationships take work.  It’s not like the movies where finding the right one is the only requirement. Believing that your happiness depends on him and his behavior makes you a victim instead of an empowered woman.

2.      All attempts to fix him can make it worse.

I suggest a reminder note “let him be as he is” to help you stop the tugging and pouting that we all do to get more attention since it’s likely to make things worse.  Men are highly sensitive to criticism and often tune out when they feel attacked.  Couples counseling works if both partners commit to change but too often it’s the woman enlisting the help of the therapist to make him be the way she wants.  If a man succumbs to his partner’s demands and lets her control him, she may lose respect for him, so it’s a good thing if he is able to maintain his sense of himself.

3.      What you believe and say is powerful.

It’s not a secret that how you think about your relationship and what stories you tell about your partner will affect your attitude and your feelings and emphasize those qualities you focus on.  We know that our beliefs influence our feelings and in turn our behavior.  Learning to recognize your thought patterns will help you have more choices rather than function automatically..  Testing your partner’s is something all of us have done.  For example, tell him it’s okay to go fishing with his buddies and leave us to handle the garage sale and then make him wrong for not choosing us. We think these test measure his love for us but they really don’t.

4.       Star in your own happy life.

Men are more attracted to women when they are happy and fulfilled and seem to tune out when they are a rain cloud of negativity.  This explains why when women are blue and need something from their guy he may decide to work late or spend time in the garage. When women star in their own life and make their needs more important often men get a charge from the energy she is radiating. When you value yourself he may see you the same way and be more interested in pleasing you.  You will be less like a mother complaining and pointing out his problems and more like an exciting woman who gets what she wants.

5.       Learn to rely on your own self support.

Men may become worn down by too much emotionally laden information coming at them on a regular basis.  Some men view problems as complaints about them or your life with them and tune out.  As mature women we must grow an internal resilient self to weather some of life’s stressors and not depend on our guy for everything.  Learning how to support and soothe yourself makes you less needy.  Not being super sensitive and  taking things personally is a great way to head off hurts.  Journaling, music, or exercise helps work through issues and feelings.  Being in nature or with pets or treating yourself to physical comforts are other ways to sustain yourself through troubling situations.

6.      Help him be more relational.

Accept that his being attuned to your feelings and needs does not come naturally to him.  It’s a mistake to insist that he must figure these things out on his own for them to mean something.  Prepare him for an emotional conversation by telling him what you need, e.g., I just want you to listen to me; I don’t need advice or a solution.  Remind him with posted notes, coupons, and pictures hinting for what you want in the way of gifts or special events.  Ask directly for things like a foot or neck rub, taking over for dinner or the kids’ homework when you need help. Avoid pouting and other drama as a way to get his attention.

BIOGRAPHY

Sally B. Watkins M.S.W., LCSW

I grew up in a Pennsylvania household with violence and deprivation.  The happily-ever-after story was one I clung to in the unheated attic of my childhood room where sleep came fitfully to the sounds of my parent’s battles.  I was a writer even then and imagined in poetry my prince just like the one in Cinderella.  Like many women I went through much of my early adulthood searching for that perfect someone to love and care for me.

Self help books, therapy, and groups helped me find that person that I am today.  I graduated from the University of Maryland at Baltimore with a master’s degree in social work and before that with a bachelor’s degree in education from Carnegie Mellon University.  In addition to my twenty year psychotherapy practice I continued to be a writer– grant writing, personal journals, short stories, essays and writing classes.  My published work includes magazine articles and a regular column for a local newspaper.  This is my first book, CHANGE YOUR MINDSET NOT YOUR MAN.

I now live in El Dorado Hills, California with my husband Warren.  My two sons are grown.  I enjoy cooking healthy food, working out, hiking, playing tennis, reading, and sailing in the Pacific Northwest.

[Via http://eclecticreview.wordpress.com]

Old Romance Released

I have a new book called Old Romance. You can buy it at: http://stores.lulu.com/kakonged. for $16.99. There is also a sale this month to get 20 per cent off when you enter the code HOHOHO. It is also available on Amazon Kindle.

It is a book about past romances I have had written in a creative non-fiction format. You will enjoy it.

[Via http://kakonged.wordpress.com]

Even more Christmas books!

Well, there are only 7 sleeps left until Christmas day!

At this time of year, when I’m reading books to my children at bedtime, we always have at least one Christmas-themed book and (as we’re running out of days to talk about them) I thought I’d list a few all in one post!

One book that we continue to pull out since my eldest daughter was little is The Nativity, illustrated by Julie Vivas. It uses text from the Authorised King James Version of the Bible to tell the Christmas story and the illustrations really glow and make this a wonderful book. (You might know her illustrations from other books, like Possum Magic, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge and Our Granny, or many others!)

We also love Twelve Days of Christmas by Rachel Griffin. It comes with a CD of the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ and each double-page spread in the book covers one day of the twelve days. Each page has photographs of brightly-coloured embroidery showing scenes from that particular day – our favourites: the Five Gold Rings worn by an elephant, and the Pipers Piping, who are snake charmers. We love this book and we never get tired of the fun CD, and of course, the twelve days of Christmas aren’t over until Epiphany, so we can keep listening until well after Christmas! (This was published in the UK and my children seem to think that the twelfth day should be ‘Drummers drumming’ and not ‘Lords-a-leaping’, but I don’t know if this is an Australian preference or a Newman-children preference. If we’re singing it along with a piano we go with my children’s preference, but we respect the CD version when we’ve got that on!)

I believe Twelve Days of Christmas is currently out of print, which is A TERRIBLE THING! But I’ve seen it at several public libraries, so you could add it to your ‘must borrow’ list.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas by Kevin Whitlark arrived in our house just before December and (you guessed it) is a silly version of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ and full of all kinds of dogs doing doggy things. We like to sing ‘Three French Poodles, Two chewed up slippers, and a fat cat in a fur treeeeeee’ very loudly. If you love dogs (and Christmas carols), you will love this picture book. It really is very silly but it’s good fun and has been read quite a few times since it first arrived.

What about your holiday reading? Do you have any Christmas books that you just love and you think we should know about?

~ Rebecca Newman (Editor, Alphabet Soup magazine)

The Nativity, illustrated by Julie Vivas, Omnibus Books, ISBN 1862910529. This book was selected for review from the Editor’s own collection. Twelve Days of Christmas, by Rachel Griffin, Barefoot Books, ISBN 9781841489407. This book was selected for review from the Editor’s own collection. The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, by Kevin Whitlark, Scholastic Australia, ISBN 9781741694451. A review copy of  this book was sent to us by  Scholastic Australia.

[Via http://soupblog.wordpress.com]

Simple Church

Well, I’m gonna have few book reviews coming, I re-read one lately, and am a few book reviews behind. I’ll space them out for your sanity.

This book was by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger. I know I’m way behind reading this book being a church guy in the church world. But here’s the really Simple overview.

Church is way too complicated, we have too many ministries, too many activities and we end up just consuming church peoples time and running programs rather than making disciples and reaching the lost.

The solution, make church more simple, don’t be mediocre at a lot of things, be excellent at a few. They advocate to run almost every “ministry” or “program” out of small groups.

Great book, a great read for any church leader, it may or may not be paradigm shifting for you. No matter what side of the coin you are on in this debate, it will be a good challenge or a good reinforcement and refinement for what you are already doing.

[Via http://rossmiddleton.wordpress.com]

The Legend of the Poinsettia

Name of Book: The Legend of the Poinsettia

Author: Tomie dePaola (retold by)

Illustrator: Tomie dePaola

Publisher: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers

Audience: This book is wonderful for all ages and the brightly colored illustrations will be especially appealing for young children.

Summary: This story tells the Mexican legend of the poinsettia which has been handed down through the generations.  A little girl named Lucida lives with her family in a small village in the mountains of Mexico. As Christmas approaches, Padre Alvarez from San Gabriel comes to Lucida’s mother and asks her to weave a new blanket to cover the Baby Jesus in the Christmas procession. Her mother is honored and asks for Lucida’s help picking out and dyeing the finest yarn they can find.  One day, as the children in the village are practicing for the procession, Senora Gomez comes to get Lucida and tells her that her mother is sick and has been taken to the doctor.  She will not be well before Christmas and Lucida’s father will stay with her so Lucida and her siblings will need to stay with Senora Gomez.  Lucida is heartbroken because she knows the blanket won’t be finished in time for the procession.  Her family won’t have a gift to place at the manger of the Baby Jesus.  When it comes time to walk in the procession to San Gabriel, Lucida realizes that any gift is beautiful because it is given.  She picks up an armful of green weeds and places them around the stable.  Then she lowers her head and prays.  Suddenly, a flaming red start appears at the tip of each weed and the manger began to glow and shimmer.  When the villagers left the church they found that all the clumps of tall green weeds had been transformed into beautiful poinsettias.  Every Christmas to this day, the poinsettia appears on top of green branches in Mexico and the people call these plants the Flower of the Holy Night. 

Literary elements at work in the story: The Legend of the Poinsetta is a unique and beautiful Christmas story set in a small village in Mexico.  The story is told by a third-person narrator in a sweet and simple voice.  Through this story we learn the importance of giving rather than the size of the gift.  Lucida is ashamed when she arrives at San Gabriel without something beautiful for the baby Jesus but her simple gift of weeds turns out to be the most miraculous gift of all as the weeds transform into glorious red poinsettias.  This story is a retelling of an old Mexican folktale and the words combined with the simple, colorful artwork create a beautiful, memorable image for children of all ages.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/economic/ability: We rarely have the opportunity to enjoy a Christmas story from other cultures in the form of a children’s book.  Through this story, children and adults will learn about a wonderful and charming Christmas folktale from Mexico and will appreciate the importance the Christmas story holds in cultures all over the world, not just our own.  The Legend of the Poinsettia reveals how a different culture celebrates the birth of Jesus.  The focus of the story is not on lavish gifts and Christmas trees, shopping or fancy decorations.  Rather, the reader sees a village humbly preparing for the most important day of the year when they get to honor the birth of Jesus. 

Scripture: James 4:10, Proverbs 22:4, Psalm 37:11, Deuteronomy 16:17

Theology: The Legend of the Poinsettia reminds us that the birth story belongs to all of God’s children.  So often in the craziness of the season children here in America forget that other children just like them are celebrating Christmas in their own ways all over the world.  This story of a humble family who was honored by the request put before them echoes the humble beginnings of the Baby Jesus and shows us that it is the spirit of giving to others that is important, not the gift itself.  In this folktale, a little girl is embarrassed that her family has nothing to put before the Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas.  But God knows what is in our hearts and that is what truly matters. 

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Describe Lucida’s family.  What do you think life was like in her village?
2. How does Lucida’s village celebrate Christmas?  How is this similar to the way you celebrate Christmas? How is it different?
3. Why do you think Lucida’s mother was so honored to weave the new blanket for the Christmas procession?
4. How do you think Lucida felt when she heard her mother was sick and her parents would not be home for Christmas?  What did she do?
5. When Lucida tangled up the blanket her mother had been weaving she felt like she had ruined Christmas.  Why do you think she felt this way?
6. Why was Lucida embarrassed when the Christmas procession began? What does the old woman tell Lucida that makes her change her mind?
7. What did Lucida lay around the stable?  What do you think the other villagers thought when they saw her? What happened to the weeds?

Review prepared by Erin Mills, MACE, Entering cohort Fall 2007

[Via http://storypath.wordpress.com]

The Fanged Crown by Jenna Helland

The Fanged Crown by Jenna Helland- This is the first book in The Wilds series of stand alone novels set in the Forgotten Realm universe. The other stand alone novels are The Restless Shore by James P. Davis, The Edge of Chaos by Jak Koke, and Wrath of the Blue Lady by Mel Odom. This is Jenna Helland’s first foray into the Forgotten Realms.

The story follows are party of adventures, or more accurately, sailors, as they search for a colony on the jungle island of Chult. The main characters are Harp, Boult, Kitto, and Verran. During the party’s search for the lost colony, they come across the jungles horrors, including a giant ant, a huge lizard, and lizard men. Throughout the story, we are given parts of each characters back story. From the back stories, we discover that Harp’s one time love is among the missing colonists. As the story progresses, we learn of a plot to take over the kingdom of Tethyr lies within the very jungle our heroes are exploring. Do they find the lost colony and Harp’s lost love, and unravel the plot?

Negatives:
1) Time Jumps. Now I understand the need to tell a back story of characters that we will probably never have another chance to see, but having these sudden jumps back and forth through time to tell it really does take the reader out of the moment. It just didn’t care for the way that this was used. Having one chapter with our heroes and the next chapter about someone and some event that seems so unrelated to the plot does take away from the experience. However, later on, it doesn’t become so dramatic and really does seem to add more to each character.
2) Character Development. Now, the first half of the story this isn’t the problem. The second half is an entirely different story. The problem, I think, is that the story really picks up and tries to rush to a finish, and the development of these somewhat interesting characters suffer because of it. There are, however, little sections were some more development is added, but these times are as “fleshed” out as before.
3) Cliffhanger. Now the ending just… ends. It feels like an unfinished story. It doesn’t help that it ends on a shocking and almost unexpected note. Such a let down.

Positives:
1) Humor. The dialogue was just funny. This is the first book to really make my laugh out loud. The banter between Boult and Harp was done so well. While the first half’s banter seemed natural and flowed really well, the second half’s suffered slightly. It was still funny, it just most of the time it seemed forced.
2) Characters. I really enjoyed the characters. Their back stories were interesting and, for the most part, well thought out. Harp’s dark and horrible experiences were interesting. Boult’s were kind of predictable, yet interesting nonetheless, Kitto’s goes hand and hand with Harp’s so it isn’t as spectacular, and Verran’s is really unique. It also helps the most of the dialogue was interesting and comical.
3) Pacing. The story was paced really well. It was fast, yet it didn’t feel rushed (until the last 3 chapters). I attribute this to the comical dialogue, it just really helped the “slower parts.” It was a good quick read.

Side notes:
1) Editing? Seriously… Editing errors appear almost everywhere. Names are misspelled and people are switched. It just seemed lazy. But then again, a lot of the newer Forgotten Realms novels have been having these same error types.
2) Descriptions of Scenery. It thought that they were really well done. Seeing as the series is called The Wilds, I really was able to picture some of these wilder places.
3) Cover Art. Not all that interesting. Not to mention that it doesn’t really seem to have much to do with the story. Sure the water and the vines have a resemblance to a jungle, yet the skeleton and the two “creatures” (really what are they?) didn’t seem to appear in the story. Plus it just seems bland and generic.

Overall: 3/5

Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed the story, it may have been a little simple and not all that “fresh,” but I nonetheless enjoyed it. What ruined, so to speak, the story for me is the cliffhanger ending. Seriously, why end a stand alone novel on a cliffhanger? I really do hope that somewhere down the line I find out more on the events and people.

[Via http://travizzt.wordpress.com]

Primal by Mark Batterson

This book was provided for review by Waterbrook Multnomah.

Christ gave the greatest commandment that all the others hinged upon.  His call was for us to love God with all of our Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength. Primal is about being part of a movement that gets back to what the heart of the great commandment is all about. While Mark doesn’t recommend a new or better way to fulfill the great commandment

Primal is about reimagining the four elements Jesus so passionately commanded and displayed in his Life and Ministry.

Mark writes in such a way that captivates the imagination and leaves the reader wanting to move into a deeper relationship with God. Primal is packed with biblical truth and re-ignites a passion in your soul to strip back to the bare essentials of the Christian Faith. Throughout reading I was brought back to what it means for me to love God through primal compassion, primal wonder, primal curiosity, and primal energy. If you are like me and dream of being right in the middle of a present day reformation, this book is a must read, I recommend putting it at the top of your 2010 reading list. Click Here To Order!

Thanks for taking the time to read this review. Help me get the word out on Marks latest book “Primal” by sharing this post on Twitter or Facebook. You can also subscribe  to georgetallmage|talks by the RSS FEED or EMAIL in order to recieve the latest content. Just click the appropriate Icon below. If you are planning to share this post either on facebook or twitter please open a new tab and make sure you are signed into your account.

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Guess How Much I Love You

Name of Book:  Guess How Much I Love You

Author:  Sam McBratney

Illustrator:  Anita Jeram

Publisher:  Candlewick Press

Audience: Ages 4-8

Summary:  This book centers on the question of how much you can love someone. It is the classic tale of a little baby rabbit trying to tell his daddy rabbit how much he loves him, and each time he thinks he has come up with a greater and even bigger way to show his love to his daddy, his dad’s love becomes greater. The final quote from the daddy rabbit says it all, “I love you to the moon and back.”

Literary elements at work in the story:  This book begins with the question, “Guess how much I love you”, and then continues through many pictorial and physical examples of how much the baby rabbit and daddy rabbit love one another. These examples all begin with the repetition of “I love you…” which focuses each page on the main point “love.” Due to the books use of repetition the children could join in saying “I love you” each time. In fact, my daughter and I walk through the entire book most nights when I tell her how much I love her.

Perspective on gender/ race/ culture/ economic/ ability:    The book does not focus on race, class, and ethnic boundaries, but rather is the tale of two bunnies, which allows the story to reach across all of those boundaries.

Scripture:  1. Ephesians 3:18-19,  Psalm 127:3

Theology:  This book is a beautiful description of both God and Christ’s love for humankind and it touches on the fact that people can not earn God or Christ’s love, but rather are given it freely because they are God’s children. The pictures in the book physically show how “deep” and “wide” the love of God/ Christ truly is. This book would be a useful tool when discussing Easter and the love of Christ with children.  (It may also be useful to use with parents to show how a child should be loved.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Is there a person or animal that you love more than anything else is the world? Why do you love them so much?

2. Have you ever tried to show that person or animal how much you love them? How?

3. Now, how much do you think God loves you? Can you show me with your hands, your feet, or your arms? How does God show love to you?

Review prepared by Ashley Cheeck, MDiv/MACE, Entering cohort Fall 2007

[Via http://storypath.wordpress.com]

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Title:  The Glass Castle

Author:  Jeannette Walls

Hardback:  288 pages

ISBN:  9780743247535

Dad came home in the middle of the night a few months later and roused all of us from bed.

“Time to pull up stakes and leave this shit-hole behind,” he hollered.

We had fifteen minutes to gather whatever we needed and pile into the car.

…An hour passed before we finally tied Mom’s paintings on the top of the car, shoved whatever would fit into the trunk, and piled the overflow on the backseat and the car floor.  Dad steered the Blue Goose through the dark, driving slowly so as not to alert anyone in the trailer park that we were, as Dad like to put it, doing the skedaddle.  He was grumbling that he couldn’t understand why the hell it took so long to grab what we needed and haul our asses into the car.

“Dad!” I said.  “I forgot Tinkerbell!”

“Tinkerbell can make it on her own,” Dad said.  “She’s like my brave little girl.  You are brave and ready for adventure, right?”

“I guess,” I said.  I hoped whoever found Tinkerbell would love her despite her melted face.  For comfort, I tried to cradle Quixote, our gray and white cat who was missing an ear, but he growled and scratched at my face.  “Quiet, Quixote!”  I said.

“Cats don’t like to travel,” Mom explained.

Anyone who didn’t like to travel wasn’t invited on our adventure, Dad said.  He stopped the car, grabbed Quixote by the scruff of the neck and tossed him out the window.  Quixote landed with a screeching meow and a thud, Dad accelerated up the road, and I burst into tears.

“Don’t be so sentimental,” Mom said.  She told me we could always get another cat, and now Quixote was going to be  a wild cat, which was much more fun than being a house cat.  Brian, afraid Dad might toss Juju out the window as well, held the dog tight.

-The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, pages 17-18

This incident haunted my mind throughout the whole book.  I couldn’t help think, “If they could just toss the cat out without a thought, telling me we could just get another, who’s to say they wouldn’t do that to me, as well?”  Later in the book when Jeannette takes a tumble out of the moving car, the same thought occurred to her as she watches the family disappear down the road.  “What if they decide I’m too much trouble to come back for?”  It had to be a terribly difficult uncertainty to grow up with.

Not only is there the impermanence of home and things, there are virtually no rules nor supervision, as the Rex, Jeannette’s father, spends much of his time “researching” at the local tavern and her mom, a narcissistic enabler with some sort of mood disorder fritters her time and money away escaping reality in books and painting.  Too many times to count, the kids are forced to go hungry… or worse, dig through garbage to find food… while Dad drinks and smokes the money away and Mom sneaks nibbles of Hershey bars hidden under her covers. 

On the rare occasion the mother works, it’s the kids who have to force her out of bed and onto school where she’s a teacher, then clean her classroom after school, grade her papers and make out her lesson plans in the evenings.  After spending 8 weeks away from Rex and the kids, living in a dorm, eating regularly and taking classes to keep her teaching licence up to date, she comes home to report she’s had an epiphany.  She tells her teenage daughter who has been handling the bills, working and feeding her siblings, that she’s spent her whole life taking care of everyone else and now she’s gonna live life for herself… say WHAT?!

yeah….. m’kay.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a shocking and heartbreaking memoir of growing up with an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother.  Over and over, I was stunned and even angered by the so-called adults complete and total lack of parenting skills.  At one point, Jeannette, who was 7 or 8 at the time, wakes up to find a strange man touching her beneath her covers, and when she tells her parents maybe they should shut and locked the doors at night so as to keep the creeps out, they tell her some crap about fresh air and not letting fear get the better of you.  In her teens, when Jeannette tells her mom that her uncle has been inappropriate with her, her mother tells her he’s just lonely and that “sexual assault is a crime of perception.”  Time and again, these two genetic donors (calling them parents is going too far, to be honest), show a complete lack of common sense and sheer laziness to step up to the plate.  I am amazed that the kids lived to adulthood, let alone to be anything close as successful as they nationally syndicated columnist and regular contributor to MSNBC.  Brian and Lori also made good despite their upbringing.

One thing I can say about reading this book is that I can say with 100% certainty that I’m not that bad as a parent.  It’s done a lot to make me feel better as a parent… at least I shut the doors at night and feed my kids and make sure they bathe regularly.  I make sure they’re fed before I feed myself and I’d damn sure have food in the fridge AND pantry before gnawing on a Hershey bar.  I feel guilty if I decide not to share my candy bar.. or Lindt truffle balls, nom nom nom…  but that’s because they’ve ate plenty and had dessert, and By GOD, this is ONE thing I kept for myself.  And I feel guilty for THAT!  I can’t imagine the utter self-centeredness, truly clinical narcissism, the mother wallowed in.  Also, I can say with certainty to my kids that they’ve never gone hungry.  They may not like what’s in the cabinets, but there IS food… it’s just not ready-made junk for them to snack on. 

I read a few reviews of The Glass Castle, and one reader dinged the book because the author conveys such neglect and abuse in a very unemotional manner.  How could anyone suffer such a life without feeling a sense of indignity and injustice?  To this I must point out that Walls is a professional journalist, and relaying information in an objective, matter-of-fact way is part of the job, so I wasn’t surprised by that at all.  Also, I think it’s a normal part of the coping skills of an abuse survivor to learn to be able to talk about it with some distance and disconnection.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a great story of resilience and survival.  I don’t recommend it to be read in one sitting, as it can get emotionally overwhelming, but definitely a worthwhile read.   If I could ask Walls one question, I’d want to know how she thinks her life might have turned out without public libraries and books to turn to.  At times, it seems the only escape the kids had and a part of her best memories.  I give The Glass Castle 4 out of 5 stars.

[Via http://thekoolaidmom.wordpress.com]

Harry Potter spin-off? Maybe, maybe not

Title: Septimus Heap, Book Four: Queste 

 Author: Angie Sage, illustrated by Mark Zug

Release Date: April 2008

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)

 Pages: 596

Genre: fantasy

Age Range: Children’s

Summary/Teaser: Septimus Heap, back from his latest time-travel adventure, soon encounters trouble at the Castle where he lives, apprenticed to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand. Merrin Meredith is back with a Darke curse in store for Septimus. Septimus and his friends Jenna and Beetle have plans of their own: rescuing Nicko and Snorri, who seem to be trapped back in time.

Review: My reading experience with this book wasn’t perfect. Let me explain: it has been ages since I read the first three book in this series (Magyk, Flyte, and Physik), so many of the mentioned events in this one were quite blurred in my mind. This, most certainly, doesn’t mean that the book itself was bad.

In fact, the book was quite entertaining. It was action-packed, funny, and magical, as were the first three books, to my recollection of them. The series is definitely for a younger audience (sometimes things are a bit silly, the solutions too simple), but I enjoyed it. The huge size of the book, nearly 600 pages, isn’t challenging to read at all. The text is relatively large, the narrative flowing, and the fantastic illustrations by artist Mark Zug positioned at the beginning of each chapter. Speaking of chapters, there are quite a few; the table of contents takes up several pages!

This series seems to be often compared to the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling. But Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap books are unique. I can’t quite place it, but they just seem fresh and different. I can see the similarities they point out: the young, orphaned (only seemingly, for a while, in Septimus’s case), magical boy goes on to become a talented wizard. The two characters even share those trademark green eyes!

Overall Rating: 4.5/ stars.

[Via http://herestous.wordpress.com]

[REVIEW] Divine Misdemeanors - Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton
Divine Misdemeanors (Merry Gentry, Book
Random House (AU: 1st December 2009; UK: 4th December 2009; US & CA: 8th December 2009)
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In Los Angeles, demi-fey are being killed in a certain way, the crime scenes bloody close to illustrations in storybooks. ‘Twould make a macabre but compelling plot, but instead here it’s only a sub-plot. For a private detective, Merry Gentry doesn’t seem to do much work. In this tome, she visits crime scenes, a lab, and basically does a lot of talking. There’s no personal danger for her, considering she’s guarded by at least two men at all times. So if you’re looking for a thriller or mystery, you’ve come to the wrong book.

If relationship melodrama is your thing, you’ll gobble up Divine Misdemeanors. If you thought becoming pregnant would kill Merry’s sex life, you’re strongly mistaken. She has five different partners in this series’s eighth novel, and her snatch continues to be magical: Shagging in the sea creates a new sithen, and shagging a demi-fey makes the male grow to human size – and not just in the pants department. Not kinky enough for you? Apparently tentacles go for boobs, because the appendages have spines, and would likely damage a snatch, perhaps even Merry’s magical one.

The storybook serial kills are fascinating, but they barely get a look in here. Don’t bother buying the hardcover – wait for the paperback, or just borrow the hardcover from the library. But really, if you never get to read Divine Misdemeanors, you’re not missing anything of note.

[Via http://tezmilleroz.wordpress.com]

Review: "Mistress of Mellyn" by Victoria Holt

 Current giveaway: “Flight of the Goose” by Lesley Thomas

 

Title: Mistress of Mellyn

Author: Victoria Holt

Format: Paperback

Number of Pages: 336

ISBN: 978-0312384159

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of Publication: December 23, 2008

4 stars: There’s a reason for all those good reviews!

 

Though many other reviewers mention this, I really do agree with the fact that this book is a cross between Rebecca and Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics). In any case, it is hard to think of a story where a governess works for a widower without thinking of “Jane Eyre”, and that is exactly what happens in this story. And it is hard to think of a story with the ghostly presence of the former wife, without thinking of “Rebecca”.  But if you like both of those, like me, you’ll like this too! 

Though this story echoed of both of those older books, I still found myself drawn into the story, and enjoying it. The main character, Marty aka Martha aka Miss Leigh, was interesting enough and had a bit more of a spine than Bronte’s Jane Eyre. I thought the twist about the little girl explained events very well, though I felt that the girl warmed to Marty a little quickly.

If I had any criticism about this book, it would be that the romance also developed a little quickly. I felt like it came out of nowhere, or just that there weren’t enough clues pointing to the fact that it was developing. Overall though, I really do recommend this book, and I am not surprised at all the glowing reviews it has received.

Also, many might not know, but Victoria Holt is also known under quite a few different names.  The most popular- or at least the one I’d heard of- is Jean Plaidy!  She was a busy, busy lady.

(Currently at ‘bargain price’ at Amazon for $6.00)

Missed my last post? It was: BOOKS IN YOUR CAR

[Via http://kbookreviews.wordpress.com]

Reviews: HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford

Jamie Ford’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is among the most popular books read by WWII reading challenge participants.  Here are excerpts from several more reviews; click the links to read their complete thoughts.

thekoolaidmom from In the Shadow of Mt. TBR says:

One of the things that I enjoyed about Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is that it inspires the reader to exploring history further, beyond the covers of the book.  It offers a vignette of American history and life, but it doesn’t preach or teach.  Ford could have very easily turned Hotel into a soap box and spoken out  against the unconstitutional suspension of the civil rights of American citizens by removing them from their homes, robbing them of their property and detaining them without just cause simply because of their genetic heritage.  This would have been a valid argument to have made, but Ford leaves the moral interpretation to the reader.  He could have turned it into a history lesson, but, instead, provides enough information for the reader to do his or her own homework.  Which I did.

Jennifer from The Literate Housewife Review says:

As much as I liked Henry, Keiko, Sheldon, and Marty the story felt like it was at an arm’s distance from me, as if I were sitting at the breakfast table along with Henry and his father. Jamie Ford has a unique voice and and he used it well in this debut novel. I felt the details of Chinese and Japenese culture were interesting and added depth to the story.  There were times when I was fully engaged, such as when Kenry and Keiko try to listen to Sheldon play with Oscar Holden at the Black Elks Club and when Henry visits Keiko at the internment camps.  Stll, I never got to the point where I couldn’t put it down.

Kim from Page After Page says:

The prose is sparse, but a very clear picture of the two cultures Henry and Keiko come from are portrayed beautifully.

Shelley from ChainReading says:

It’s somewhat predictable, but sometimes that’s what hits the spot. I could see this being a good movie.

Sandy from  You’ve GOTTA read this! says:

The novel is incredibly predictable. There was nothing in the story that surprised me. However, as the tale unraveled, I was relieved it went the direction it did. You desperately want the story to end well, so I was willing to let this particular annoyance slide by. It was also a highly emotional read. No tears on this end, but definitely anger. Anger at the bullish pride of Henry’s father who is so determined to mold his son into an ideal, that he is blinded to the irreversible damage he has done. Anger at the injustices we wrought on those who were also Americans, but with different colored skin. It is unnerving to face the fact that the Nazis weren’t the only ones doing wrong by others.

Hope from Worthwhile Books says:

Many things about the book appealed to me. Since I was born in Asia, I appreciated the references to Chinese words and customs. The facts about Japanese American internment camps appealed to me because I like WWII history. I enjoyed the excellent writing about the complexities of relationships, particularly at a specific time in world history. Jamie Ford does a superb job of describing the clash between 1st and 2nd generation Chinese Americans, the conflicts between Japanese Americans and Caucasians, and even the animosity between the Japanese and the Chinese during that era.

Suey from It’s All About Books says:

Some of the story was a bit predictable, and it’s not without it’s problems, but I didn’t care and loved it despite all that.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

[Via http://warthroughthegenerations.wordpress.com]

Christmas Wishlist!!!

Here’s a full and complete list of Christmas Goodies, both bookish and non-bookish…

Top Books:

The Goddess Experience by Gisèle Scanlon

Full of yummy scrummyness. See http://www.thegoddessguide.com/

Shoes by Linda O’Keefe

Every shoe that ever walked the earth is here. To have a preview inside this book, click here.

Horrible Histories

Basically any book from this series. Horribly gory, but gruesomely fun (for some).

The Dangerous Book For Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden

Some people think the novelty would wear off.. but it hasn’t. I love this book.

See http://www.dangerousbookforboys.com/ for some cool activities, and watch the trailer below.

The Miles Kelly Book Of Lists by Christopher Rigby

Filled with lists of stuff you really didn’t need to know. To browse inside this book, click here.

Of course, there are going to be people who just won’t appreciate a book the way you do. Or, they might have every book under the sun, and so need a non-bookish goody. Here are the best.

Lush Cosmetics

For someone who has never been to a Lush branch, you have not lived. This is the kind of shop you fall into and practically melt into a gooey heap of Lush-usness.

I mean, even listen to their names. The above are a type of bath bar called pop in the bath. Below is there selection of Bath Ballistics…

See? Drool worthy. And here’s a cute little bath bomb from the retro range, made with different scents from war-torn areas of the world.

 

Anyway, they don’t have an Irish website, so go to http://www.lush.co.uk if you’re over here. To find your national Lush website, if you’re outside of Ireland, go to http://www.lush.com

Oh, and if you love their retro collection, click here for their retro Christmas Treats!

Steiner/Waldorf Style Doll Making Kit

Cute. See here for the kit, or if you are an allready adept doll maker, and just want a few pieces of equipment, click here.

Well, hoped you enjoyed that mental wish-list-ing, hope I gave you some ideas, Happy Christmas!

[Via http://bookheaven.wordpress.com]

Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth edited by Alan Dundes

Sacred Narrative is a collection of essays written by a number of myth theorists representing the different fields that deal with myths.  Anthropological folklorists, classicists, theologians, psychologists, social anthropologists, and religion historians wrote the essays.  There are twenty-two essays in all covering the 19th and 20th century theorists, which give us two distinct approaches to myths.

In the 19th century the focus of the theorists was on the question of origins of myth while in the 20th century the theorists were concerned with the structure and function of the myth.  The editor of the book starts out the introduction with the definition of myth that provided the guideline for the selection of the essays in the book.  The definition says, “A myth is a sacred narrative explaining how the world and man came to be in their present form.” (Italics and bold letters my own) (p.1)  The use of sacred is for distinguishing between myth and folktales, which are usually secular and fictional according to the Editor.  Knowing how hard it is to actually agree on a definition of myth, I find that the definition provided by the editor agrees with my own idea of what a myth is.  Or so I thought…

The more I read the more I had to think about what a myth is, and the more definitions I read from each essay, the more I had to re-think some conclusion I had come to from the previous one.  I should say here that the definitions of myth used by the writers of each essay all fit in with the one provided as a criterion for the selection and yet they were still unique and very different.  My only regret is that not one of the essays dealt with any Celtic myths, though some if not all the essays had some aspects that could be used in the study of Celtic myths.  If I had to choose favorites from among the essays then I would have to choose the first four because they deal with general myths and the last one because it dissects the myth of George Washington.

Another thing that I love about the book is the list of further reading suggestions on the theory of myths that the editor supplies at the end of the book.

Just a word of caution this is not an easy book to read, it is not as scholarly as some books but it is not something that you read if you don’t want to think.

[Via http://celticscholar.wordpress.com]

Cat's Meow - Orgasmic

T.S. Peters from Just Erotic Romance Reviews gave Cat’s Meow 4.5 stars and a heat level of Orgasmic. My sincere thanks to T.S. Peters for the fabulous review!

“Cat’s Meow will leave you feeling swept away and breathless from the beginning to end.  Whether beast or man, Micah is all alpha and all lovable badass, who is well matched with Rebecca.  While I was expecting the nerdy, introverted, stickler that’s typical of most heroines of this type, Rebecca is a woman full of endearing surprises. 

“I love how neither Micah or her waste time denying their feelings which leads to out of this world sex most of which I was extremely jealous of.  Ms. Austin waste no time turning up the heat!  I think that readers will also enjoy the many plot twists that drive the pace of the story.  Like me, I am sure that they will find themselves rooting for this incredible duo…

“I look forward to more offerings in this dynamic series.  Cat’s Meow is a book that I think that anyone will enjoy.”

[Via http://nicoleaustin.wordpress.com]

A Hungarian Romance

Kati Marton, author and journalist, has written a likeable book, Enemies Of The People: My Family’s Journey To America.  It is likeable as the romance of Endre and Ilona Marton, Budapest residents during a very dark period.  It is likeable as cold war history of Hungary.  It is likeable as a spy thriller with an unusual twist.  It is likeable as a family history rediscovered from the most evil of sources.  It is likeable as a personal narrative of a woman who reconstructs her childhood.  It is likeable as a story of the Americanization of a proud Hungarian family.

The Martons began life under the oppression of the dying Austro-Hungarian Empire, survived youthful resistance to the Nazis, only to find themselves raising a young family under the crushing control of Stalinism.  They became the two goats among sheep as the last independent journalists behind the Iron Curtain until they were arrested and imprisoned.  Their crimes were that they worked as correspondents for the Associated Press and United Press and they were friendly to the American Legation in Budapest as well as many other Westerners.  Their two young daughters witnessed the arrest first of their father and then a short time later of their mother.

Despite the imprisonment and punishment the parents received following the failure of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 they survived to reunite their family.  They were released only because the Hungarian government and their Soviet managers wanted the advantages of trade and travel with the West.  They were finally expendable for a price.

The story continues during the years of Americanization for parents and children.  Putting the whole story together was possible only because the files of the AVO, the Hungarian secret police, and the FBI files were turned over to the author.  She found secrets aplenty but never shame or dishonor.  She was most fortunate of daughters and researchers.  Charles Marlin

[Via http://clarionfriends.wordpress.com]

Review: CODE NAME NIMROD by James Leasor

Hope from Worthwhile Books reviewed Code Name Nimrod by James Leasor for the WWII reading challenge.  Here’s what she had to say:

What keep the reader going are the fascinating facts. How Nimrod escapes from the Germans after the invasion is hair-raising enough, but did you know that most of the world knew about D-Day before Hitler? (He normally slept till noon and his staff was too terrified of him to disturb his routine.)

Read the entire review here.

**Attention participants:  Remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

[Via http://warthroughthegenerations.wordpress.com]

Super Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner

…Crime is primarily driven by personal gain, whereas terrorism is fundamentally a political act…. The kind of person most likely to become a terrorist is similar to the kind of person most likely to … vote. Think of Terrorism as civic passion on steroids (p 63).

In the chapter titled “Why Should Suicide Bombers Buy Life Insurance?”, the authors discuss terrorism: its purpose, the response to acts of terrorism, those most likely to become terrorists, and how economics can aid in identifying terrorists.

Banks can help identify terrorists by creating an algorithm that identifies traits typical of a terrorist, including: an account opened with cash or cash equivalents at a branch of a large well-known bank, a P.O Box address, a muslim first and last name, no savings account or safe deposit box and… no life insurance, among other things.

In the same chapter, the authors bring to light our dolefully inadequate hospitals, from their infection spreading architecture to tight vehicle access including an ambulance bay that can fit a few vehicles at a time to rooftop helipads handicapped by single elevator access. What would happen during a major disaster or attack (especially biological)? You can see that identifying terrorists before they strike is crucial.

* * * * *

Much like its predecessor, Freakonomics, this book is highly accessible (I have no economics background) and highly enjoyable. Of course, it raises more questions than it answers (especially if you sceptical of lab study results - and I am) but I definitely recommend it, as well as How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer.

Other chapters include: “How is a Street Prostitute like a Department Store Santa?”, “Unbelievable Stories about Apathy and Altruism”, “The Fix is in and it’s Cheap and Simple”, and “What do Al Gore and Mount Pinatubo have in Common?”.

[Via http://nicolepoliti.wordpress.com]

The Greco-Roman World

I recently read a book that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was James Jeffers’ The Greco-Roman World.  A book on the Greco-Roman background of the New Testament could be easily very boring.  This book was far from boring.  Jeffers is able to present a very thorough and academic treatment of the biblical background in an extremely readable and interesting way.  Just about everything is dealt with, including living situations, religion, political structures, weights and measures, history, status of women and so much more.  One of the things that I appreciated was that Jeffers did not just present a monolithic picture of what life was like two thousand years ago.  He deals with the differences between Roman, Hellenistic and Jewish culture and also shows where they overlap and influence one another.  Readers of this book will never look at the New Testament, especially Paul’s letters, the same again.  If you are looking for a book to help you understand the background of the New Testament, this is the one to read.

[Via http://1peter315.wordpress.com]