just some thoughts

Voting for a politician who doesn't believe in government (or claims that little or no government is the best government) is kinda like voting for a Pastor who doesn't believe in God.

I can't imagine people flocking to a church to hear a Sunday message filled with rants against faith and God, so I am amazed that people are so fond of politicians who just rant against the very government they want to be a part of.

Futhermore, what is the incentive for that politician to do a good job?! Seems to me it's a self-fulfilling prophecy: I will do a cruddy job in my govt. position and therefore show you that government is bad. And if someone on the other side (Democrat or Republican) is actually trying to do something productive and build consensus, I will just say no, no, no, no...because being a cranky obstructionist seems to work out pretty well. Plus, if the government actually does something good, whoa, there goes my whole re-election campaign message. Oh, and I will get paid for this, too.

if you love the card game of bridge...

have I got a great book for you! It's called The Cardturner by Louis Sachar (Yes, THAT Louis Sachar, of the book Holes). I, myself, have never played bridge nor do I have any interest, even after reading this book. That being said, it was a really good book even with the rather long meanderings into the nitty-gritty of the card game. I love that Sachar has these little "whale icons" in the book that warn you whenever he is going off on the card game details, so you know when to skip. He takes the whale thing from Moby Dick, and how that book went off on boring whaling descriptions. Sachar always makes me laugh out loud, and he has a nice way of tying things together plot-wise. This would be a good choice for an older teen or adult.

The writing style of The Cardturner reminded me very much of something I read by Neal Shusterman called The Schwa Was Here. Again poignant storytelling with quirky, interesting characters and hilarious situations.

And other books of note that I've read lately: Evermore (Immortals series), The Summer I Turned Pretty, Linger (sequel to Shiver), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which I reread after, oh..about 10 years, and really appreciated and liked the second time). I'm also currently reading the 4th Percy Jackson, and the first in the Gone series.

and the cure is.....fairies

Needed to cleanse the palate from all that dark, realistic young adult fiction and guess what came to the rescue? Fantasy, of course, and fairies. Fairies are the new vampires. Got a new favorite series: Need, by Carrie Jones, with Captivate the second in the saga. And I just finished Wicked Lovely and really enjoyed it as well. Other lighter fare: If I told you I loved you, then I'd have to Kill You. It's a Gallagher Girls mystery/spy book and came highly recommended by my daughter. I'm reading the second one, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy.

43 and counting...

that's 43 books read so far this year. If I can keep on track maybe I can crack 100?! nah, doubt it. But I've been in a big reading mood lately. They've been so dark, though! Ugh. I have the not-so-startling realization that much YA fiction is abysmally depressing. Issues and crises and such angst. I really need a light read to cleanse the palate. And I've just started Orange Houses and with it's allusions to a "hanging" in a matter of days I don't think this is going to do it for me. Sadly.

Okey-dokey, I have read quite a few since last post. I think my favorites have been: Hate List, Sunshine, Pretty Dead, Shiver, Wish You Were Dead, and Once. Even from those titles, you can see there's very little uplifting here! But they were all page-turningly good! I also finished the first two books in the Skinjacker trilogy (Everlost and Everwild) and think it has good potential. It'd make good booktalk/recommendation material for both boys and girls. And it was more upbeat than Nothing which I just finished today. I was expecting something more ethereal with that book, and it was jarringly brutal and dark. As a metaphor or symbolic book, I could stomach what those 7th graders did, but on a literal level it just about ripped my heart out. Well written, though, and a good discussion book; but I would find it hard to recommend to middle schoolers.

Still looking for that one standout book that I love....

she's a superfreak

Okay, my latest reads haven't been as stellar. The best of the bunch would definitely be Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn. It's the first book of hers I have read, and it was quite good. Compelling subject matter: super social college freshman addicted to technology who has to go to rehab (ESCAPE). I liked the idea, and amazingly, liked all the main characters, even when they were making choices I disagreed with. But at times the writing style was a little too trendy; when I read books like this I can't help but wonder how they will hold up in 10 years? I would recommend to older high school students.

The Broken Bike Boy and Queen of 33rd Street by Sharon Flake gets a thumbs up. Quick, easy read and one I'd recommend to elem. kids. I just finished Solace of the Road, by Dowd, and wouldn't readily recommend it to anyone. Just didn't go anywhere fast enough, though it had a good twist at the end. Some books grab me, some don't. This just didn't.

Re-read Schooled by Gordan Korman. Love this book!! More fun to read the second go-around because I knew how it would end and I wasn't as tortured by his temporary setbacks.

half broke horses and other fine books

I've had another nice run of good books. Just raced through Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls for my adult bookgroup. Worth the effort! This is the same author of The Glass Castle, but instead of a personal memoir, it is a somewhat embellished account of her grandmother's life growing up in the dusty plains in the early 1900s. A spitfire and character she was! So many memorable stories and quotes and for me, far more enjoyable (and lighthearted) than The Glass Castle.

I am nearing the end of The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, a kids' book we're using for Battle of the Books. Clever and probably will be liked by kids (esp. boys) who like funny stories with comic book overtones. Thumbs up for Closed for the Season, another satisfactory mystery by Mary Downing Hahn. Finally, I read the first in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, called Eighth Grade Bites. It's about an 8th grade boy who is half-vampire, who was orphaned 3 years earlier, and is currently living with his aunt. Conveniently, she works as a nurse and can sneak out almost-expired blood bags, which he handily drinks like a typical juice box. ugh! The delivery of details like this was a bit distracting, as it sort of took away the vampirish mystique for me. But it got better as it went on, and I'd be interested in reading the next one in the series before deciding against it entirely.

Next up on the bookshelf: Leviathan, The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street, and Very LeFreak. I also need to finish The Treasure Map of Boys and Solace of the Road, both of which I've just dipped my big toe into, but would venture in to the deep end to finish.

Now onto Hitler Youth

Wow! What a powerful book!! I am only a few chapters into this non-fiction book about the German children and teens in Hitler's Nazi youth groups. Never even knew most of this stuff. Scary the parallels to today and the various groups around, and the way politicians try to harness the power of children, whether in Islamic training camps or in Facebook groups. Pair this book with the beautiful, amazing _The Book Thief_ for a brilliant combination.