Shadow Tag; Louise Erdrich

Title:  Shadow Tag

Author:  Louise Erdrich

Publication Year: 2010

Publisher: Record Books - Harper

Edition: audiobook

Reader: Coleen Marlo (very good)
Setting: Minnesota

Source: library

Date Completed: November/2012

Rating: 4/5 

Recommend: yes

Shadow Tag is one of those stories where a married couple, this one with (3) children, stay together even though everyone knows that they would be better off living apart. Well, everyone in the family at least; to the outside world, they seem like the perfect Native American family.

The couple is Irene and Gil, two people who have a love-hate relationship, with their constant fighting, anger, rage, and downright hatred playing out on a regular basis. Their children, ages 14 to 6, Florian, Riel and Stoney are often witnesses to much of what goes on between the parents, and even the children and family dog are sensitive to the tension.  Each knows when to get out of the way of the parents. Irene wants a divorce from Gil. He's a somewhat famous artist, and Irene has been his model for some 15 years.  She has often being subjected to posing in crude demeaning positions, even looking beaten, bruised and bloodied.  She's conflicted - she has been working on her graduate degree and dissertation for many years and often drinks too much as well. She wants out of her marriage, but she hangs in there believing that she is doing it for her children because Gil will not let her leave with them.

When Irene discovers early on that Gil has been reading her personal diary, she comes up with an idea to really give him something to read, that may make him want to divorce after all.  The red diary embellished with statements that are meant to set her husband off (which Gil reads), she writes of her sexual encounters with other men. The blue diary (kept safely locked) is the one where Irene writes with honesty the frustrations about her marriage to Gil.  Of course, nothing good can come from her plan.

This story as I'm sure you have gathered was very dark, and even tragic.  I did not like either of the parents in this story and felt for the children -- each distinctly different and damaged by their surroundings.  Each of the children, I was able to sympathize with.  Listening to this audio book was like having this black cloud brooding above me. Although, I was not sure how this rather short novel was going to end, I was still taken aback when I turned the final pages.

As with any Louise Erdrich book I've read, I was not disappointed.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

Every Tuesday, I'll be posting the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book I decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). Feel free to grab the banner and play along. For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro to a book by a new to me author. Has anyone read this one?

We Sinners; Hanna Pylvainen

2012 Henry Holt and Co.

"SHE SHOULD HAVE told him already about the church but she hadn't.  The warnings were all there--he could name all of her siblings, and he looked at her too deliberately, and when he hugged her she was caught too long against his chest.  Every morning she decided she would tell him, but every afternoon it was too tempting to go one more day, one more minute where he found a way to hold her fingers as she passed him a note.  But now she knew he was going to ruin it all and ask her to the dance, she could feel it--she avoided him carefully but fussed with her hair, nearly sick with the twin terrors of him asking her or not asking her, not sure which end she should assign her hope."  

What do you think? Would you keep reading?

Please feel free to grab the logo and join in by posting the first paragraph (or 2) of a book you are reading now or hoping to read soon.

 

MailBox Monday - December 3

I'm a bad blogger, I have no idea who the Mailbox Monday host is for December - Forgive Me:)  Oh, wait - I know, December's host is Suko's Notebook.

(arrived by mail)

• Death of Bees; Lisa O'Donnell (sent by Harper)
• With or Without You; Domenica Ruta (sent by Spiegel and Grau)
• The Bookie's Son; Andrew Goldstein (sent by author)
• News From Heaven: The Bakerton Stories; Jennifer Haigh (sent by Harper)
• The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards; Kristopher Jansma (sent by Viking)
• Dear Life; Alice Monroe (sent by paperback swap member)

Building a young child's library month by month

• The Night Before Christmas (Kohl's Care Edition) ; Clement C. Moore
• Mommy?; Maurice Sendak (hardcover pop up)
• The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye; Jane Yolen - (reviewed this one earlier this year after reading library copy and had to buy it!)
• The Old Woman Who Named Things; Cynthia Rylant (recommended by Nan)

November Reading in Review

Can you believe that November is over and (1) month is left of 2012.  I'm grateful that we have an extra week after Thanksgiving this year to prepare for Christmas - I think most most us need that.  We've been lucky with the temperatures around her this far, no below freezing weather yet except at night on occasion, and this weekend it is going to be in the 50's unbelievable for New England in December.

I read (10) books in November and (128) in 2012. (4) November books were kids books, for a total of (33) kids books in 2012.

Here is what my reading life looked like for November:

1. The Cure for Grief; Nellie Hermann - 4/5 (personal copy)
2. Live By Night; Dennis LeHane - 4.5/5 (audio and eGalley)
3. Flight Behavior; Barbara Kingsolver 4.5/5 (eGalley)
4. Joy for Beginners; Eric Bauermeister - 4.5/5 (audio-library) 
5. If You Spent a Day With Thoreau at Walden Pond; Burleigh and Minor - 5/5 (personal copy)
6. Fancy Nancy, There's No Day Like a Snow Day; Jane O'Connor and Glasser - 4/5 (library)
7. The Christmas Quiet Book; Deborah Underwood and Liwska - 4.5/5 (library)
8. Sally Sore Loser: A Story About Winning and Losing; Sileo and Pillo - 5/5 (library)
9. A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories; Flannery O'Connor - 4.5/5 (personal copy)
10. Shadow Tag; Louise Erdrich - 4/5 (audio-library) - no review yet) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in October, I posted my Nov and December reading plans, and for the first time in a long time, I seem to be sticking to my plans for the most part. Here's how I've progressed:

 November and December Plans - (to date - 5/10)

1. The Cure for Grief; Nellie Hermann - 4/5 stars (personal copy)
2. Live By Night; Dennis LeHane- 4.5/5 stars (audio and eBook)
3. The Panther; Nelson DeMille (current audio-library)
4. The Secret Keeper; Kate Morton
5. The Christmas Quiet Book; Underwood - 4.5/5 (library)
6. Fancy Nancy, There's No Day Like a Snow Day; O'Connor-4/5 stars (library)
7. The Light Between Oceans; ML Stedman
8. Cascade ; O'Hara (current eBook)
9. Flight Behavior; Barbara Kingsolver - 4.5/5 stars (eGalley)
10. Cold Light; Jen Ashworth

I still have a couple of more Holiday books I want to add to this mix in December.


How did your month go?

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories; Flannery O'Connor

Title:  A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories

Author:  Flannery O'Connor

Publication Year: 1977 (reprint) 1955 (originally)

Publisher: Harcourt

Edition: Trade

Setting: Southern US states

Source: personal collection

Date Completed: November/2012

Rating: 4.5/5 

Recommend: yes

 

From a reader who isn't a huge fan of short stories, I must say that Flannery O'Conner's, A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories is a wonderful collection that I really enjoyed a lot.  O'Connor was an incredibly talented Southern writer whose life ended much too early. She died in 1964 at the age of 39 of Lupus.  

In this collection, each story for the most part takes place in the 1940s and 50s, and although the reader is not always sure of the locale, it seems clear that most stories seem to have a rural south setting, as she is know for her Southern Gothic fiction. Most of her stories are dark, often tragic, but there always seems to be humor infused, and each story has at least one broken or quirky characters that makes the story memorable. Some stories have religious undertones or characters struggling with faith in times of crisis.

 

The title story (my favorite) featured a grandmother, who sees herself as a prim and proper lady. She's also an opinionated chatterbox who tells her family (and others) which she thinks about everything, but that doesn't mean she's a clear thinker and is able to always make good decisions.  In this story, her son wants to take the family to Florida on vacation, but the grandmother urges them to consider Tennessee instead, as an escaped convict labeled "The Misfit" has escaped from prison and is one the loose, and according to the grandmothers criminals tend to head to Florida.  Her son does not take her advice and the family (grandmother included) set out for a road trip to Florida -- a road trip that is a riot to read about, but one that ends badly.

 

The River, was another story that was tragic, yet so well done -  a five year old boy, with irresponsible partying parents, who is often left alone. He is a bit too trusting for his own good.

 

Good Country People was another one I enjoyed - what happens when a lonely lady with a fake leg is visited by a conniving, traveling Bible salesman? Let your imagination run wild, or better yet, read it for yourself and enjoy this wild ride.

 

Most of the stories range from 20-30 pages, and honestly, if you've been like me and avoided short story collections far too long, this would be an excellent book to start with to make you ease back in an see what you've been missing.  Other stories in this collection in addition to the (3) I mentioned are: The Life You Save May Be Your Own, (another favorite)  A Stroke of Good Fortune, (another favorite) A Temple of the Holy Ghost, The Artificial Nigger, A Circle in the Fire, A Late Encounter with the Enemy and The Displaced Person (another favorite).

 

I definitely plan to read more of Flannery O'Connor's work in 2013. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Sally Sore Loser: A Story About Winning and Losing; Frank J. Sileo (author) and Cary Pillo (illustrator)

Sally Sore Loser: A Story About Winning and Losing

  Frank Sileo (Author) and Cary Pillo (illustrator)

Magination Press - 2012

American Psychological Association

Sally likes to play soccer, but Sally does not like to lose.  When things don't go well, she yells and bosses other children, and before long Sally finds herself all alone and friendless.  

Mr. Taylor, one of her teachers, tries to instill the importance of "Being a Good Sport" by sharing (8) simple principles:

1. Being polite to teammates and opposite team
2. Cool down when upset
3. Don't show off or hog the ball
4. Don't argue with a teacher, teammate, opponent or referee
5. Know the rules of the game.
6. Be fair to everyone
7. Never cheat
8. Try your best and have fun

This a very important book for children under the ages of 8 or 9. It provides parents, coaches etc. with an excellent tool to teach youngsters the importance of being a good sport and, how to be both a good winner and a good loser.  The illustrations are well done and fun to look at, and very well done. Great talking points for parents and child. 

 

- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

A few important quotes: 

• "Remember to tell yourself, I've won if I've had fun."
• "Sore winners and bad losers win nothing and can lose friends."

(2) new cute kids books for 2012/13 Winter Christmas Season

 The Christmas Quiet Book; 

Deborah Underwood (author)

Renata Liwska (illustrator)

Houghton Mifflin Childrens - 2012

In The Christmas Quiet Book, readers will enjoy pages and pages of quiet moments leading up to the Christmas holiday. Adorable animals like bear cubs and bunnies are shown trimming the tree, enjoying the twinkling lights, watching The Nutcracker, making gingerbread houses taking quiet walks and even taking part in a Christmas play.
 

Each scene is briefly described with just a few words to describe the "quiet" activity.The simple text describes each type of quiet in only a few words, but honestly is it the gorgeous illustrations that won my heart with this special book. Each illustration seems lovelier than the one before, echoing the simple beauty of nature and peace.

A perfect month of December reading choice to enjoy with a hot cup of cocoa, cuddled in front of the fire. ENJOY it with your special little one. Check out this adorable video on Amazon.

4.5/5 stars

Fancy Nancy, There's No Day Like a Snow Day

Jane O'Connor - (author)

Robin Preiss-Glasser - (illustrator)

Harper Festival Books - 2012

In Fancy Nancy, There's No Day Like a Snow Day, Nancy is all excited when she wakes up and finds out that school has been canceled because of blizzard, even if mom and dad still have to go to work, while Mrs. Devine comes over to baby sit.

Nancy, Bree and her friends can even make a snow day "fancy", as they build snowmen, make snow angels and more.  More fun follows when dad and mom return from work (boy I wish I had parents like Nancys).

Anyone who is familiar with the "Fancy Nancy" books knows that part of the charm of this series is that Nancy likes to use "fancy words" and explains their meaning as well.  In this, her newest book, young readers will learn the meanings of some "fancy" words like: blizzard, century, frolic, phenomenal; mistaken, regal, twilight, and supersonic speed.

A very fun edition to the Fancy Nancy series.

4/5 stars