Book lover ~ women's history month

 

I'm a book lover who has found some more books I think I'd love.  I went looking for a picture to illustrate this post and found one more perfect than I could have imagined.  I ran across it on a science blog, followed it to this blog, and again to this one, which I couldn't read.  The earliest blog calls the image "literary hug," but I had already saved it as "book lover."  I don't know who the woman is, but I love this picture!  Now that THAT is settled, let me share the books I am lusting after today.  March is women's history month, so all of these books relate to women.

First is a children's book by one of my favorite writers, Laurie Halse Anderson.  Abby (the) Librarian wrote a great review about Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Matt Faulkner.  Laurie wrote a guest post this week about her writing that has a photo of her cottage "in the forest" (which I've shared here, at the left).  And I ... well, I put Independent Dames on hold at my library, so I'll tell you more about it after I have read it.  This much I do know already, that women did much more during our war for independence than we have been told.  One example:  Paul Revere rode 16 miles to spread the word, but 16-year-old Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles through the night to warn American militia of a British attack.  Why isn't she in our history books?

I found the next one in the March issue of Bookpage (p. 31) and may have to buy it, unless my library has it on order.  Published this month, Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper looks great!  According to Bookpage, wheelchair-bound Melody Brooks has cerebral palsy.  Here's the synopsis from BN.com:

"Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school, but no one knows it. Most people -- her teachers and doctors included -- don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows ... but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write. Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind -- that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice ... but not everyone around her is ready to hear it. From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll never, ever forget."

The next one is The Madame Curie Complex: The Hidden History of Women in Science by Julie Des Jardins, published March 1st.  I found this photo in an article, appropriately enough, entitled Female scientists undervalued.  This book is about women's contributions to science and how they have been ignored.  Des Jardins said,

"To succeed in men's fields, women couldn't be themselves; they had to perform better than men."

N. Peart ("book gobbler") wrote a review on Amazon.com about this book that says, in part:

"Every day at the bookstore where I work I have to stare at the cover with a photograph of Francis Crick. I do not enjoy it. If you do not know who Francis Crick is then you should read The Madame Curie Complex. Francis Crick is only a small part (ultimately in the history of science a big part) of one of the many stories of men getting credit for women's work and great women scientists who were undermined or not recognized for their scientific successes."

Men taking credit for women's work.  That sounds like what I read in Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier, a book that I need to review soon.  I'll try to write that review in the next day or two, maybe today.  It's a book about Mary Anning, a real woman, who made five major fossil discoveries and inspired the tongue twister "She sells sea shells by the seashore."  That's a picture of Mary Anning at the left.  I posted a teaser about Remarkable Creatures a month ago.

What books have you discovered lately?

Out of My Mind ~ by Sharon M. Draper, 2010

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper is about a wheelchair-bound ten-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, who has never been able to walk, or talk, or write.  Because of that, everyone at school, including the teachers, thinks Melody isn't very bright.  In fact, she's brilliant.  She has a photographic memory, and her mind is like a video camera always running, recording everything.  Yet even though she's the smartest kid in her whole school, nobody there knows it because Melody  has been stuck inside her mind all her life -- until now.

She's been going "out of her mind" listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons, over and over every school year.  When she discovers a device that allows her to "speak," a whole world opens up for her -- because she now has a voice.

"You are Spaulding Street Elementary School's own personal Stephen Hawking" (p. 199).

Having a voice does not mean, though, that everyone accepts her.  When she scores high enough to make the academic team, teachers and students alike think somebody cheated.

"You know, it really ought to be you up there instead of Melody," Claire says loud enough for me to hear.

"Well, I'm ready if she messes up," Molly whispers back.

I just shake my head and think, Delete, delete, delete.  No way am I letting their negativity mess me up.  I have enough to worry about.

Maybe it's her making the team for the academic bowl, but something about this book reminds me of The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (1996), which I reviewed here.  In the earlier book, it's the teacher who is in a wheelchair; in this book, it's a student.  We learn a lot about the difficulty of being unable to do for oneself, because Out of My Mind is written from the point of view of the girl trapped inside a body that won't do what she wants it to do.

I rate this one 9 of 10, an excellent YA book, right up there with The View from Saturday.
__________

P.S.  See that big book bag Donna is holding (on the right side of the photo) in yesterday's post?  There's a copy of this book in it -- a birthday gift I got for her because The View from Saturday is her favorite YA book.  Donna taught View many times when she was a middle-school English teacher.  I hope she also enjoys reading Out of My Mind.

Newly arrived books

It's been over two weeks since I told you about books that have recently arrived at my house, so I'm overdue to share more titles.  First an update on some from the previous list:

The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran ~ My friend Donna finished it, gave it back to me, and I finished reading it this morning.  Review to come.

Wait for Me by An Na ~ I still need to write a review for this one.

Independent Dames by Laurie Halse Anderson ~ I reviewed it Friday, along with a tribute to the most "independent dame" I've ever met.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead ~ I read it, but haven't figured out what to say in a review.  Excellent YA book!

That new book smell

Donna and I live in the same block, so we ordered our books together to save on shipping.  They were delivered to my door this morning.  Mine is Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, a 295-page YA book about a wheelchair-bound ten-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, who is unable to walk, talk, or write.  She has been stuck inside her mind all her life -- until now.

Hers is Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street by Jim Wallis.  Rather than joining the throngs who are asking, When will this economic crisis be over? Jim Wallis says the right question to ask is How will this crisis change us?  I will probably read this one when Donna finishes it.

From the library stacks

Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth is set in India during the time of partition.  Twelve-year-old Leela was engaged at two, married at nine, and about to move in with her husband's family, when her fiance died.  Now she'll have to be confined to her house for a year ("keep corner") in preparation for a life of mourning a boy she barely knew.  Sounds interesting.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, on the other hand, wasn't as good as I expected (yes, I've already finished reading it).  Lots of folks seem to like his one, but I just wanted to finish it so I could move on to something else.

I posted a teaser for Infidel, a memoir by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, before I actually had the book in hand.  When the book came out in 2007, I was very curious about it because she championed free speech in spite of threats from Muslims.  She was raised in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya and now lives in the Netherlands.  It sounds perfect for the Women Unbound challenge.  But I never got around to reading it.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is another book that was published several years ago.  I'd been told it's even better than The Kite Runner, but so far I haven't been quite ready to jump back into the fray in Afghanistan.  Maybe this time.

I posted a teaser for The Help last week.  This novel about Mississippi women and their "help" in the 1960s is one of the best books I've read lately.  I was totally engrossed and wondering if the violence that maimed and killed so many would also strike any of the main characters in the novel.  I'll post a review soon.

Because Gail Collins's When Everything Changed was so good (see my review), I checked out her earlier book about America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines.  It looks like one I really must read, eventually, but at 556 pages it's a big ole book and I may wait until a later time to savor what's in it.

Top Ten Childhood Favorites

Jamie and Julia at The Broke and the Bookish posted their (combined) Top Ten Childhood Favorites. Here are ten of my favorite books for young folks that I've found as an adult.

1. Miss Rumphius ~ by Barbara Cooney, 1982, children's, 10/10
2. The Paper Bag Princess ~ by Robert N. Munsch, 1980, children's, 9/10
3. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon ~ by Grace Lin, 2009, children's, 9/10
4. Blueberry Girl ~ by Neil Gaiman, 2009, children's, 10/10
5. Bridge to Terabithia ~ by Katherine Paterson, 1977, children's, 9/10
6. The Lorax ~ by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Suess Geisel), 1971, children's, 10/10
7. On My Honor ~ by Marion Dane Bauer, 1986, YA fiction, 10/10
8. A Wrinkle in Time ~ by Madeleine L'Engle, 1962, YA fiction, 10/10
9. The View from Saturday ~ by E. L. Konigsburg, 1996, YA fiction, 9/10
10. The Breadwinner ~ by Deborah Ellis, 2001, YA fiction (Afghanistan), 10/10

These are from my own childhood:

1. Little Black Sambo ~ by Helen Bannerman, 1899, children's, 10/10
2. Uncle Wiggily and His Friends ~ by Howard R. Garis, 1939, children's, 8/10
3. Aesop's Fables ~ by Aesop, 10/10.  (According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the fables were written by a slave named Aesop, who lived in Ancient Greece during the 5th century BCE.  That means it was around even back in my childhood, in the 1940s.  This cover, of course, is much newer.)

Added 12-8-11
Which book on my Top Ten list would I have to take out to put in this one I just remembered?

Out of My Mind ~ by Sharon M. Draper, 2010, YA fiction, 9/10

Good books I've read

Rosemary got a Kindle and, ready to download books, asked, "Any suggestions?"

Our mutual friend Madge had two:  "A Fine Balance and Geek Love are two of my all time favorites."

Rosemary said, "I already read A Fine Balance, and it is one of my all-time favorite books too. I had Geek Love but have not read it yet. A co-worker recommended it to me years ago."

Reminding them we had read and discussed A Fine Balance in our book club a decade ago, I gave Rosemary a list of good books I've read lately.  Of recent novels, I suggested:

1. Look Again ~ by Lisa Scottoline, 2009
2. Every Last One ~ by Anna Quindlen, 2010
3. Shanghai Girls ~ by Lisa See, 2009
4. House Rules ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2010
5. The Postmistress ~ by Sarah Blake, 2010

This month's book for discussion with my online Book Buddies this month ~ click to join us!

6. Out of My Mind ~ by Sharon M. Draper, a YA novel, 2010
7. Family Matters ~ by Rohinton Mistry, 2002
8. The Wives of Henry Oades ~ by Johanna Moran, 2010
9. The Help ~ by Kathryn Stockett, 2009
10. The Invisible Mountain ~ by Carolina de Robertis, 2009
11. Remarkable Creatures ~ by Tracy Chevalier, 2010
12. Prayers for Sale ~ by Sandra Dallas, 2009

I also suggested two nonfiction books:

13. I Am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced ~ by Nujood Ali, 2010
14. When Everything Changed ~ by Gail Collins, 2009

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry was published in 1995.  I read it in June 2000 and again in December 2001.  About rereading books, Madge said, "That is the only one I reread again, ever."

What good books have you read in the past year or so?  Would you reread any of them?

BTT (#44) ~ young adult books

Deb at Booking Through Thursday asks:  "Do you read books written for children or teens?  Or do you stick to books for adults?"

I read a variety of books, fiction and nonfiction for adults and teens (YA).  I also read children's "chapter books" and picture books for the very young.  One of my favorite YA fiction books was....

Out of My Mind ~ by Sharon M. Draper, 2010, YA fiction, 9/10

Click on the title, and the link will take you to my review of the book.  The excellent writing really pulled me in and held my attention.

One of my favorite children's picture books was...

Old Turtle and the Broken Truth ~ by Douglas Wood, illustrated by Jon J Muth, 2003, children's, 10/10

I've loved this one for years — and have my own copy in a box somewhere.  The earth and all its creatures are suffering, because the people will not share their truth with those who are different from them.  Their truth gives them happiness and power.  Then one brave little girl seeks the wisdom of the ancient Old Turtle, who sees that the people's truth is not a whole truth, but a broken truth.  Old Turtle shows the girl the missing part of the truth, and the little girl returns with it to her people.  When the pieces are brought together, the broken truth is made whole at last — "You are loved ... and so are they."  It's a ten (10 of 10), couldn't put it down.

More book arrivals

Before it began to get light this morning I got a call from one of my daughters.  It was only later I realized the caller ID showed she was using her twin sister's cell phone.  She had taken her sister to the emergency room last night, neither had had any sleep, and they were still in the ER, hoping to leave soon.  It seems the stomach bug going around had hit one daughter hard, and she was dehydrated.  But the REAL problem was that she had passed out and hit her head.  When she got up, she fell and hit her head again.  Her husband was out of town, her daughter and son-in-law were both sick with that bug, so her teenage son called his aunt.

To make a long story short, my daughter does NOT have a concussion, though she has a bump on her forehead which hurts when touched.  Both daughters were sleepy and tired this morning, and one needed to get to work.  Would I come babysit my other daughter?  It's been oh-so-long since they were babies (they'll turn 50 on May 3rd), but the one going to work didn't want to risk her sister falling again and called to see if I could come.  I'm the night owl in the family -- they should have called me in the middle of the night so ONE of them could sleep, but it didn't occur to them they would be there so long.

Now "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey always said.

Knowing my daughter would need to sleep today, I took a book with me (every book lover knows to take a book wherever we go).  I chose Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, the new book that arrived in yesterday's mail.  I failed to consider the fact that I'd read half the book at bedtime last night, which meant I finished it within an hour or two this morning.  So I folded a few clothes, read Anna Quindlen's article about the demise of printed books in the most recent issue of Time magazine that I found on her counter, looked at her newest paintings in her art room (my daughter is an artist with a show coming up in a couple of weeks), and -- finally -- started looking at the titles on her bookshelves.  That's what we bookaholics do.

The book I found was The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls, which everyone seems to love and I had not yet read. How could I resist this opening sentence?

"I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster."

I was hooked and had read about a fifth of the book when my daughter woke up.  When she saw what I was reading, she insisted I would also like Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, also by Jeannette Walls.  She had gotten it because she liked the first book, though this one (she says) is not as good as The Glass Castle.  I brought it home, knowing nothing else about it.

Before I left, her out-of-town husband called to remind her to send out their statements (he is in business for himself, and it's the last day of the month), so she asked me if I'd mind taking them out to her mailbox.  I had to inform her the mail had run hours earlier, while she was asleep.  She got a blank look on her face, knowing she shouldn't drive with the medicines she'd been given and the lack of sleep.  I "saved the day" again by volunteering to run by the Post Office on my way home.  (Tired of my convoluted tale yet?)

The rest of the story, now, involves driving to the Post Office nearest their house and realizing there was a used bookstore less than a block away.  Surely you knew there would be more books in this story, right?  I have been keeping an eye out for The Vagina Monologues for the Women Unbound challenge.

A actor friend of mine performed The Vagina Monologues recently, and I want to read the print version before I talk to her about it. And there it was, in the used book store near the Post Office.  Even better, it's the V-Day edition, about the grassroots initiative to stop violence against women.

"Books go in and out of my house on an almost daily basis," I told you a couple of weeks ago when I listed ten new arrivals. Yesterday I listed an additional eight that had showed up at my house. And today I brought home three more. Umm, do you suppose I may be slightly overdoing it? On the other hand, I wouldn't have had any of these books if my daughter(s) hadn't spent the night in the ER. (Is it just me? Or can other book lovers rationalize like this?)