Westerns are not usually my thing, but I read this one because I liked Best’s The Shut Mouth Society. The story is a detective story set in 1879 in Nevada, related to a small mining town and state politics. When the Cutler brothers throw their weight around town, NY visitor Steve Dancy wonders why his whist partners, the respectable men of town, fail to do anything about the murderous behavior.

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The Shopkeeper also has a sequel, Leadville.

Another western group of books I enjoyed is the books by Richard S. Wheeler, which I read because the author’s name is the same as my brother’s.

I’ve been excited about this selection for a couple months. My reading of Steinbeck’s Ghost by Lewis Buzbee prompted me to revisit Steinbeck’s works. I believe this is the highest honor, that it inspired me to research or read further and that I passionately want to share the story. I love all of the connections in the story, and I am enjoying reading Steinbeck, too. So, in a way, this is another 3 in1.

REVIEW

Current Pick and List of Previous

We recently had the pleasure of watching the Hogfather movie. We were excited, because it was a funny book, very Quotable. The other Pratchett movie we saw, The Color of Magic (haven’t read the book), wasn’t very good, though it had some funny bits.

Hogfather is more realistic. Death is perfect. Susan is majestic. Nobby is too funny with his grinning. Mr. Teatime is as creepy as expected. Certain of Pratchett’s quotes were left in.

In a special features interview Pratchett says that he did a bit of consulting for the movie. And the director listened to his advice.

All in all a successful rendition of the story. Here’s hoping for more Pratchett movies done as well as this.

On a side note, we are preparing for our first Hogswatch this year, with a party at the public library and a viewing of the movie.

When CeCe’s father dies, she joins her uncle Alex’s household, traveling to Georgia with him and his assistant in pursuit of the scarlet ibis. The three visit plantation after plantation in search of the bird, and each place shows a different aspect of slavery in the pre-Civil War South. Uncle Alex is a physician and famous ornithologist, but he is also secretly circulating among the slaves and giving them aid, money, and information for following the Underground Railroad. To maintain their ruse . . .

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I was delighted to see this Reading Rainbow book, Max Found Two Sticks by Brian Pinkney, on the summer reading cart. I missed out on it as my kids were reading picture books. I love the story, the musical subject and the thinking portrayed in it.

REVIEW

Current Pick and List of Previous

In the past few weeks, I’ve read two good sci fi books with different takes on the theme of organ transplants and technology related to them. Unwind by Neal Shusterman is YA, deals with an explosive subject, and is based on a shocking premise. Next by Michael Crichton is an adult book, loosely tied to transplants with the main theme of genetic engineering and the politics surrounding it. Crichton’s society resembles our’s more closely, though odd occurrences abound.

The third is a YA book I reviewed a while ago, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, in which a girl wakes from a coma not quite herself.

Left to drift in the Apache community and terrible at the skills of the women, Siki decides to become a female warrior. She quickly impresses the great warrior Golahka who is in charge of training. She also shows signs of having seer powers.

Part coming of age story and part historical shift of community.

REVIEW

I’m sad to see that Reading Rainbow is ending. It is one of the best shows on PBS, the best children’s show. John Grant, director of content at WNED which produced the show, said that the cancellation is due to a shift in policy to how to read rather than teaching the love of reading. I agree. I have seen nationwide a dumbing down of the reading process. I think this is the wrong way to go. Consider this, it doesn’t take very long to teach phonics. Kids usually can handle this fine. The problem comes in trying to help kids put words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs together. This is much more complex and needs to happen quickly enough to understand the content. It’s a step each child has to take himself/herself. In order for that to happen, there has to be sufficient motivation to undertake the difficulty. In other words, the child must be interested in the content. With sufficient interest children will challenge themselves beyond adults’ expectations. Reading Rainbow supplies that interest for the very young.

I had 3 choices for Book of the Month this time. Very hard to decide. One I may use next month. Healing Water was another. Finally decided on my original choice, Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. It was an exciting month.  4 books in a row that I loved plus a list of books I still need to organize into a post. To top it off I just enjoyed a 3 day weekend at the American Folk Festival.

REVIEW

Current Pick and List of Previous

Healing Water is a very sad but transformative story. It is an excellent story, though I expect it will be mostly read by adults. Because of the depressing subject, I do not know how many teens will pick it up. It may appeal to teens sensitive to others’ feelings or teens who have known desperation of some sort themselves. I was such a teen, but this book is so heart-wrenching. That said, there is much we could learn from it. Maybe know already, but could use a reminder.

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