Mirkwood Reflections

Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier - 11/6/2011  Excellent - Historical Fiction A tale of 1790's London with Mr. William Blake (poet) and Mr. Philip Astley (circus) along with a family from Dorsetshire I tend to enjoy Chevalier's portrayals of famous historical artists. This one was slightly different as Blake and Astley were secondary characters to the children that formed the basis of the story, but still interesting.  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - 11/10/2011  Good - Classic Ten year old orphan Mary Lennox comes to live with her uncle in England and discovers an unkempt garden behind a locked door. A re-read for me, as well as a book club selection. If you've only ever read a children's version (or heard the Focus on the Family radio play), you will find this different. I was motivated this time to do some research into Burnett and her involvement in spirituality and the "New Thought" which is the basis for the "Magic" in t...

I only was able to finish 1 book in October. But I had several others in various stages of progression. The End of Molasses Classes: Getting our Kids Unstuck by Ron Clark - 10/1/2011     Excellent - Non-fiction   101 Extraordinary solutions for parents and teachers If you are a parent or a teacher, or if you care at all about education, I highly recommend this book by one of the founders of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. He is a creative educator and seems completely committed to ensuring that kids become all they can be!

Twelfth Night, or What You Will by William Shakespeare - 9/3/2011  Good - Classic Gender-bending comic tale of shipwreck, love, and mischief.  Read this for the Brit Lit class I am co-teaching. We also went to see the play at Grand Valley State University - excellent! Very funny. Always remember Shakespeare is meant to be watched, not read! Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell - 9/20/2011     Excellent - Non-fiction    Some interesting thoughts on how successful people got that way, and some myths debunked. I found this book so intriguing that I assigned it to David. Did you ever wonder how some people seem to "make it big" and others just don't?  A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller - 9/26/2011  Excellent - Non-fiction Best book I ever read on prayer - what it is, what it isn't, how to do it, why to do it Such a wonderful practical book on prayer that I began reading it ...

The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner - 8/7/2011  Excellent - Nonfiction Why even our best schools don't teach the new survival skills our children need - and what we can do about it. What an eye-opening book! This will make a big difference in what I require of my own children for high school. If you are at all concerned about education not preparing children for the real world, you should read this. It's not about homeschooling at all. Instead, it is about how even the "best" schools are not giving students the skills they need to succeed. You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know by Heather Sellers - 8/13/2011  Good - Memoir Heather has prosopagnosia, aka face blindness, that prevents her from reliably recognizing people's faces. Heather Sellers teaches at Hope College, the second book I've read by a professor there. She has an extremely interesting story stemming from her condition, but I didn't find it particularly well-written or compelling...

Treason at Lisson Grove by Anne Perry - 7/8/2011  Good - Fiction Pitt is away in France and Charlotte goes to Ireland to clear his superior's name. I was glad to see a new Thomas Pitt novel by Anne Perry and enjoyed it a lot! State of Wonder by Ann Patchett - 7/12/2011 Good - Fiction Dr. Marina Singh travels to the Amazon jungle to search for clue to a colleague's death. I love Ann Patchett's writing. It makes me think. But now I KNOW I never want to go to the Amazon rain forest. :-) True Grit by Charles Portis - 7/18/2011  Good - Fiction 14yo Mattie Ross decides to avenge her father's murder. Our August book club selection is traditionally a contemporary novel and True Grit was this year's choice. It was very compelling.  32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching by Phillip Done - 7/23/2011  Excellent - Memoir Short essays describing timeless truths of a teacher's life and of childhood I started this book months ago ...

The Message Bible edited by Eugene Peterson - 6/2/2011  Excellent - Nonfiction Modern paraphrase of the Bible. Took me several years to read it. I really liked the fresh perspective that reading this paraphrase brought to my Scripture knowledge. Reading this took me much longer than I intended, but I am really glad I read the entire thing. How to Be Perfect by Daniel M. Harrell - 6/5/2011 Excellent - Nonfiction One church's audacious experiment in living the OT book of Leviticus This was an interesting read. Leviticus has a bad rep among Christians. This small group, all from one church including the pastor, decided to try to live Levitically for a month. I enjoyed reading it.   The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendie McClure -  6/19/2011  Excellent -  Nonfiction Wendie's lifelong obsession with the Little House books drives her to learn as much as she can about Laura Ingalls Wilder and then go on ...

Now You See Her by Joy Fielding - 5/5/2011  Good ~ Mystery Middle-aged and in the middle of a divorce, Marcy travels to Ireland on what was meant to be a second honeymoon and sees what appears to be her daughter who was declared dead two years before. I enjoyed this - I needed a captivating mystery and this was just the thing. The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier - 5/7/2011 Fair ~ Fiction What if pain manifested as light that everyone could see? A handwritten journal serves as the common thread that links several otherwise unrelated vignettes in this book that has no clear resolution. The vignettes were entertaining, and the premise promising, but I kept waiting for something to tie everything together at the end.... and..... and..... Don't bother. I Saw the Angel in the Marble by Chris & Ellyn Davis - 5/13/2011  Excellent ~ Nonfiction A collection of essays on the purpose and delight-directed methods of home education. I've been working on this (borrowed!...

I keep reading, but I've been forgetting to finish these blog posts! Here are my April reads.  Madame Tussaud: A novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran - 4/2/2011  Good ~ Historical Fiction Marie Grosholtz works with her uncle in their Salon filled with wax models and has a front row view of the Revolution in France. This one seemed like a bit of a chore to get through. I enjoyed it though, so perhaps that was just the fact that I hadn't had a lot of reading time and it was a LONG book. Marie was an strong and talented female character in a time when strength and talent in females was not so much appreciated. The plot was based on the true story of Madame Tussaud's Waxworks. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok - 4/4/2011  Good ~ Fiction Kim emigrates to America from Hong Kong and works in a sweatshop with her mother. For about 2/3 of the book, I thought this was a true story.  Instead of a memoir, though, this is a work of fiction based in the auth...

Clara & Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland - 3/1/2011 Fair - Historical Fiction Clara is a designer at Tiffany Studios around the turn of the 20th century. I listened to this on audiobook and I didn't particularly like the narrator. It was a good story, though. GOVERNESS: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres by Ruth Brandon - 3/2/2011 Fair - Nonfiction This was more about the lives of several real women who were governesses at some point. So, more about the TIMES than the LIVES of governesses. Mildly interesting and somewhat lurid (because one of the women was Byron's mistress and another was the mother of Mary Shelley), but not what I expected. I had expected something else, as this didn't seem like a fair account of the average governess. But I did learn a lot! Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo - 3/5/2011 Excellent - Chick Lit Emma Grant, college professor in disgrace, travels to England hot on the trail of some previously unknown Austen letters. Enjoyed...

Margins are acting crazy again. Sorry!   Me and Mr. Darcy Alexandra Potter 2/4/2011 Good Fiction Bookstore manager goes on Jane Austen tour on a whim and, through a twist in time, meets the real Darcy. But he's not all she imagined. Interesting, if you need something light and Austen-related.   Emma Jane Austen 2/8/2011 Good Classic Spoiled rich Emma Woodhouse tries to make matches for everyone but herself. Loved Emma this time! The Postcard Killers James Patterson & Liza Marklund 2/8/2011 Good Suspense A pair of killers roams Europe killing young lovers. Gory but interesting.   Northanger Abbey Jane Austen 2/10/2011 Good Classic Catherine Morland visits Bath for the 1st time and meets Henry Tilney Tilney is my fav. Austen hero!!!   One Tough Mother: it's time to step up and be the Mom Julie Barnhill 2/11/2011 Good Parenting Tips on parenting Took me forever to read this. Really, I started it a couple years ago and then it sat in my basket for a ...

Guess I never did a January or February post! Will remedy that now.   Beguiled by Deeanne Gist & J. Mark Bertrand - 1/2/2011 Good - Inspirational Suspense Dogwalker Rylee finds herself in the middle of a Robin Hood robbery and is implicated. Will reporter Logan Woods be an ally or an enemy? Not my favorite Deeanne Gist novel.   Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story by Ann Kirschner - 1/3/2011 Good - Nonfiction As a young woman during WW2, Sala was placed in a Nazi work camp. She survived but never talked about her experiences until she gave letters she had saved for 50+ years to her adult daughter who then researched her mother's story. I never knew much about the WW2 work camps - very interesting and sad part of WW2 history.   The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe - 1/18/2011 Good - Gothic Romance Emily St. Aubert is orphaned and taken from France to Italy by her aunt and eventually to the castle of Udolpho where strange things occur. Read this to bet...

These are the books I read in 2010 that I rated Excellent. I would recommend any of them to you. They are in the order I read them. A Bride in the Bargain by Deanne Gist Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (But read Hunger Games 1st, ok? This is 2nd in a series) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte Emma by Jane Austen Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon (part of the Outlander series, so start with Outlander) Read It and Eat by Sarah Gardner Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Every Last One by Anna Quindlen Let's Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Juliet by Anne Fortier Yes, my list is a little heavy on the Jane Austen. That's because of the Austentatious class I am co-teaching at our homeschool co-op. But if you h...

Well, this post is a little late, but I didn't read too much in December anyway. Not Ready for Mom Jeans by Maureen Lipinski - 12/9/2010 Fair - Chick Lit Immature and pretentious Clare Finnegan has her 1st baby and can't decide whether to remain at her job as an event planner or to stay home with her baby. This was not a book I'd recommend. I did not like Clare at all and by the end, I didn't care if her baby was ever around her. Juliet by Anne Fortier - 12/23/2010 Excellent - Historical Fiction Julie Jacobs travels to Siena, Italy to track down her parents' mysterious deaths and gets caught up in a modern Romeo and Juliet mystery. Excellent book recommended to ME by my friend Cathy. I think you'd all love it! Well-written, suspenseful, and not your normal storyline at all. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella - 12/24/2010 Good - Chick Lit Lexi wakes up in hospital with amnesia for the last three years and doesn't recognize the person she's become. Again - ...

I've divided this post into several categories, ranking the movies I've seen that were released in 2010. ENJOYED IT - Would recommend Toy Story 3 Ramona and Beezus Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Knight and Day How to Train Your Dragon Despicable Me The A-Team Iron Man 2 Inception Diary of a Wimpy Kid ENJOYED IT - Not necessarily for everyone (or guilty pleasures!) Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Charlie St. Cloud Babies Tron: Legacy (moved from the top category since I think this may be a love it or hate it movie) INDIFFERENT - Not a lot of feeling one way or the other Tooth Fairy Robin Hood Life as We Know It Letters to Juliet Leap Year Last Song, The Eclipse (The Twilight Saga) Extraordinary Measures Clash of the Titans Dear John Book of Eli, The Alice in Wonderland MIXED FEELINGS - Liked some parts, disliked something about it When in Rome Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of ...