Library Loot ~ November 7-13

Between the Lines ~ by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer, 2012, YA fiction, 8/10

What happens when happily ever after … isn’t?  Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book — one book in particular.  Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.  And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.  Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

I have already finished the book and rate it 8 of 10, a good book.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share titles of books they’ve checked out of the library.  To participate, just add your post to their Mister Linky any time during the week.  And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries this week.

Monday Memories

I remember the older songs.  I was back in school (at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) in the early 1970s, listening to songs like this.  "City of New Orleans" was a hit for Arlo Guthrie in 1972 and was also performed by Judy Collins.  Now the great news:  I'll be in the audience this evening to hear Judy Collins.  Yes!  I wonder if she'll play this one.  Or maybe "Mr. Tamborine Man" or "Both Sides Now" or "Chelsea Morning" or "Send in the Clowns" or "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" or "The Rose"?

Caturday ~ even the cats?

Oh, my!  Even the cats are now doing NaNoWriMo.  Surely my fingers can type faster than a cat's paws, but maybe this determined cat is thinking faster than I am.  If only I knew her name ... so I could buy her best seller when it is published.  Don't you just love her concentration and determination?

Source:  Chris @ Chrisbookarama, who isn't even trying to do NaNoWriMo, posted this great photo in her Friday Bookish Buzz.

Beginning ~ with monkeys and some wood

To make up for not posting any book beginnings since July, I decided to post two of them today.  Both books are memoirs of a sort, and while they are different, each has to do with religion.  I'm trying to read both books at the same time, while doing a million other things.  What I like so far is that both authors are witty, as you may be able to tell from these opening lines.  Neither opening sounds very religious.

Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions - by Rachel Held Evans, 2010

"Monkeys make me nervous.  Whenever I hear about chimpanzees solving math problems or Koko the Gorilla using sign language to order her breakfast, I feel inexplicably threatened by their humanlike qualities and intelligence."

Strength for the Journey: A Pilgramage of Faith in Community ~ by Diana Butler Bass, 2002

"Years after I found my way back to mainstream Protestantism, someone asked what attracted me to the Episcopal Church.  With only a moment's pause I replied, "The wood."

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.
Click here for today's Mister Linky.

NaNoWriMo 2012

If I seem to be missing this month, it may have to do with NaNoWriMo, which began today.  I'm supposed to be writing, but I'm already stuck.  My working title is "The Missing Page."

Bonnie's NaNoWriMo* 2012.

Sunday Salon ~ books, my baby brother, and quilts

BOOKS

We book buddies are still discussing Christianity for the Rest of Us.  A labyrinth was mentioned on page 56, and our conversation turned in that direction.  I have written about several labyrinths, and that's me walking the latest one on Wednesday morning.

Overview of labyrinths for Book Buddies
Labyrinth at Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church
Labyrinth at St. Paul Episcopal Church
Labyrinth at Burks United Methodist Church

FAMILY

My brother Jim wants a new camper and figures this one is about right.  He wrote on Facebook,

"We've missed the camper so much that we decided to buy a new one.  It's more suitable for my needs.  What do you think?"

There's one in every family!

QUILTS

When I visited my friend Emily this week, I admired this quilt she had made.  I started thinking about how many of my friends are quilters.

Judith makes quilts for children in need.  She's on Facebook, and every week she rushes off to quilt with her friends.

Susan @ Patchwork Reflections has this quilt from 2008 at the top of her blog right now.

Wendy @ CaribousMom has entered a quilt into a blogger's quilt festival.

Shirley and I met in an online book discussion, and she's been active in my Book Buddies blog from the beginning.  She doesn't blog, but I see her quilts on Facebook.

And this last quilt was made by my son's mother-in-law, Bea, in 1993.  After I did Bea's funeral in September, my daughter-in-law Sharon wanted me to have this quilt made by her mother.  It is now on my bed.  Sewn onto one corner of the reverse side is a tag that says "Quilted with love for you" with her name and date — "Bea W. 93" — added using pink embrodery thread.  Pink was Bea's favorite color.

 Visit the Sunday Salon's Facebook page for links to more posts.

Library Loot ~ October 24-30

Because Helen @ Helen's Book Blog assigned a rating of 5 out of 5 to this young adult novel that is based on a true story, I want to read it, too.

The Queen of Water ~ by Laura Resau, based on the true story of Maria Virginia Farinango, 2011, YA fiction (Ecuador)

Born in an Andean village in Ecuador, Virginia lives with her large family in a small, earthen-walled dwelling.  In her village of indigenas, it is not uncommon to work in the fields all day, even as a child, or to be called a longa tonta — stupid Indian — by members of the ruling class of mestizos, or Spanish descendants.  When seven-year-old Virginia is taken from her village to be a servant to a mestizo couple, she has no idea what the future holds.  Virginia quickly grows accustomed to the conveniences and luxuries of mestizo life.  But promised pay and visits to her family are quickly forgotten, as is her boss' pledge to send her to school.  Beaten and told that the sole purpose of indigenous girl is to serve, Virginia must fight to hold on to her spirit and humor.  She teaches herself to read and write and performs science experiments in secret.

Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions ~ Rachel Held Evans, 2010, memoir (227.3083 Eva)

Rachel Held Evans recounts her experiences growing up in Dayton, Tennessee, a town that epitomized Christian fundamentalism during the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925.  With fearless honesty, Evans describes how her faith survived her doubts and challenges readers to re-imagine Christianity in a postmodern context, where knowing all the answers isn't as important as asking the questions.  She asks questions she never thought she would ask and learns that it must adapt to change and evolve.  Her spiritual journey went from certainty, through doubt, to faith.

A Year Without Autumn ~ by Liz Kessler, 2011, children's fiction

A girl stumbles into the future — and must change its course to save a friendship.  Jenni Green's family vacation has finally arrived!  Even though she has to deal with her annoying little brother, her slightly overbearing dad, and her very pregnant mom, she gets to spend a week with her bestest friend in the world, Autumn.  But twelve-year-old Jenni's world turns upside down when she takes an old elevator to visit Autumn and discovers that everything has changed:  not only is her friend in a different condo, but tragedy has struck Autumn's family, Jenni's mother has had her baby, and everyone is a year older.  When Jenni realizes that the elevator caused her to skip a whole year, she tries to go back, but soon finds that fixing things won't be as easy as pressing a button.  How can she alter the past and keep her family and Autumn's from falling apart?  With honesty and insight, Liz Kessler explores how the bonds of family and friendship can endure through time.

All in Sync: How Music and Art Are Revitalizing American Religion ~ by Robert Wuthnow, 2003, religion (291.37 Wut)

Contemporary spirituality is increasingly encouraged by the arts because of its emphasis on transcendent experience and personal reflection.  This kind of spirituality, contrary to what many observers have imagined, is compatible with active involvement in churches and serious devotion to Christian practices.  The absorbing narrative relates the story of a woman who overcame a severe personal crisis and went on to head a spiritual direction center where participants use the arts to gain clarity about their own spiritual journeys.  Clergy and lay leaders are rethinking the role of the imagination, especially in connection with traditional theological virtues.  He also shows how churches and arts organizations sometimes find themselves at odds over controversial moral questions and competing claims about spirituality.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share titles of books they’ve checked out of the library.  To participate, just add your post to their Mister Linky any time during the week.  And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries this week.