#25

I thought it was definitely good preparation for this weekend's Super Bowl, but kind of bad planning on my part reading it at the end of the season. I might have to skim it again in the fall before the season starts back. In any case, I really learned a lot from this book. Robinson Peete writes clearly and answers many of the questions I have often had while watching football but did not feel comfortable asking my husband/dad/brother who was watching with me.

I am excited for Sunday's game so I can show off all my newfound football knowledge, especially the histories of the teams (I studied up on the Giants and Patriots), the history of the Super Bowl, and this past season's records and benchmarks (those weren't in the book, I googled some to find the current stats).

Guess it's time to get back to the bookmobile book, although I have a feeling it isn't going to be as entertaining as the football book. Review to come in the next couple of days... And I got four new books in the mail and another from the library today, so there should be plenty of reviews forthcoming.

Happy Catholic

http://happycatholic.blogspot.com/ is a blog that I visit regularly, and today, I noticed a link to her book blog that I thought I'd share: http://hcposts.blogspot.com/2008/01/read-in-2008.html. Enjoy!

On a side note, I took a short break from the book I was reading to read a book in preparation for the upcoming Superbowl. I've always been interested in football and followed whatever teams the men in my life like (hubby likes the Chiefs, dad likes the Giants, brother likes the Titans, etc.), but I thought it was time to take it to the next level. So this week, I'm reading Holly Robinson Peete's Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching the Game: A Woman's Guide to Loving Pro Football.

GO GIANTS!!!

Back Home in Germany

And Rome was awesome! Fortunately, I think we brought the nice weather back to Germany with us, because it is sunny and looks really nice outside today. Too bad I'll be in all day unpacking and doing laundry... I also plan on starting my new book since I finished the one I was reading on the plane this morning.

I was really into the book at the beginning and middle, but the end kind of left me hanging. It was a departure from my usual read, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. I have tried reading Jodi Picoult before, and I couldn't really get into it, but this book was good. I think I'll give her another chance!

Next I'm reading Masha Hamilton's, The Camel Bookmobile. It is about a young, female librarian from New York who goes to Africa to work with a bookmobile that brings books to Kenyan villages on camelback. See what Amazon has to say HERE.

Read about the actual Camel Book Drive and see how you can donate to Kenya's Mobile Library HERE. Here is a short excerpt from the website:

"Though The Camel Bookmobile (HarperCollins, April 2007) is a novel, the camel-borne library actually exists. It operates in Kenya’s isolated Northeastern Province near the unstable border with Somalia. It brings books to a semi-nomadic people who live with drought, famine and chronic poverty. The books are spread out on grass mats beneath an acacia tree, and the library patrons, often barefoot, sometimes joined by goats or donkeys, gather with great excitement to choose their books until the next visit. I visited the region and walked the bush with the camel library, and you can see pictures and a short video.

But of course, the bush is hard on books and the traveling library needs more. The books they have are written in either English or Swahili, both of which are taught in school."

Tagged!

Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

I picked up my next read, The Camel Bookmobile, by Masha Hamilton. Turning to page 23, I find... "What happened with one another seemed to be a portent of what would happen with another. Scary Boy was right, though, Matani thought as he rubbed the ache in his stomach. It was clear that Matani was done."

I'm tagging the following five people:
Bethany
Rayann
Celeste
Amy
Nadine

Greetings from Rome!

We're having a great trip so far. The weather has been beautiful (until today), the food is great, and we are really enjoying our marriage retreat and sightseeing. We've made some new friends, done some shopping, and taken sooo many pictures that we can't wait to share! Hope everyone has a wonderful Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and YAY GIANTS!!! Really looking forward to the Super Bowl now!!!

I've made quite a bit of progress on my book so far, and I hope to finish it up at the airport and on the flight home. I don't normally read much fiction, as you can tell from my book list and reviews, but I am really getting into this book (Tenth Circle). More to come when we're back in Germany tomorrow.

M

Almost unbelievable

I believe his account of his life as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, but Ismael Beah's story is almost unbelievable to someone who has never traveled to Africa or personally experienced war. Being married to a soldier myself, I know how war can transform a person, how hard it is for a soldier to talk about what he has seen or done in battle, and the many casualties of war, both civilian and soldier, on and off the battlefield. Beah's story opened my eyes so that I can only begin to imagine what he lived through. I think it took a lot of courage, on his part, to put his story into words and on paper. Beah wrote with such emotion and clarity, as if he had been keeping a diary through his entire experience. He wrote about painful memories, especially the loss of his family, his friends, and his childhood, and I really admire him.

Toward the end of the book (page 200), he is fifteen years old and returning from his first trip to New York where he spoke at the UN on his experiences as a rehabilitated child soldier, and he says, "Because if I was to get killed upon my return, I knew that a memory of my existence was alive somewhere in the world." Since then, Beah has done so much more than provide just a memory of his existence. Throughout the book, he ponders why he was the only person from his family to survive and why he was not killed during battle, and it is now clear that God had a bigger purpose for Ismael Beah. He was able to escape Sierra Leone and eventually make his way back to New York where he attended the United Nations International High School and then college. He spoke on the effects of war on children and works for children's rights. Beah is an inspiration and a source of hope for anyone who feels they are in an inescapable place or situation.

After such a graphic and heavy read, I thought it was time for a complete change of pace. Next, I will be reading a book by Jodi Picoult. I have heard so much (good stuff) about her, so we'll see if her writing lives up to her reputation. This is not a book I would normally read, but I got it off the freebie shelf outside the library, so we'll give it a try. My #24 book is The Tenth Circle, by Jodi Picoult.

#23/101

I received this book for Christmas, and I've been wanting to read it for a while. I am taking a class on Morality at church right now, and we've been talking about our responsibility to the human race, to the dignity of each person, and to acknowledge the suffering and pain going on in the world. I've made it one of my goals to pay more attention to what is happening in Africa, and this book will help me to learn more about what has happened in Africa and what is happening now... Here's my #23, A Long Way Gone, by Ismael Beah.

Happy New Year!

My Top Five Books of 2007

Some of these are from before I started this blog, and others are already on here and reviewed. Either way, these are my top five for the year (in no particular order):

1. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

2. Dreams from my Father, Barack Obama

3. Full of Grace, Johnette S. Benkovic

4. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini

5. The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri

I just watched the movie that is based on The Namesake, and it was pretty good. There was a lot of the story that was left out, and I thought that detracted from the story. I watched the movie with my husband who has not read the book, and I found myself constantly explaining what was going on to him based on what I remembered from the book. So the book is great, the movie is okay. If you're going to watch the movie, read the book first. I think it'll make it much more enjoyable!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed New Year! I plan on reading more, and I've already started my first book of the New Year. #22 is The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You by Michael Dubruiel, and it's actually really interesting. I am learning a lot of things about Mass and the Catholic Church that I look forward to bringing into my Sunday school class this year. I teach fourth graders, and I think they'll have fun learning the origins of the word "mass" and more. Dubruiel combines fun facts with doctrine and his real life experiences to present information about the Mass in a new and interesting way. I can't wait to read the rest!

Prayer for the New Year:

Dear God,
Bless our family and all its members and friends;
Bind us together by your love.
Give us kindness and patience to support each other;
And wisdom in all we do.
Let the gift of your peace come into our hearts,
And remain with us.
May we rejoice in your blessings for all our days.
Amen.

Happy New Year!

Our company left yesterday after a wonderful two week visit full of great company, good food, and trips to Eastern and Southern Germany. Like I thought, I didn't get much reading accomplished while they were here, but it's a new year, our house is quiet again, and I plan on doing a lot of reading. I received several books for Christmas and will post soon when I decide what to read... I hope everyone has a happy, blessed New Year, and 2008 is filled with all the love and happiness you desire!

M