Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynn Truss

Do you love the printed word?

Do typos drive you crazy? 


Lynn Truss has written a gem of a book that is all about punctuation and its use...or mis-use.
She writes about the modern-day state of punctuation in the UK and US. Her writing is both humorous and educational. 


If you read the book and find punctuation that you disagree with in the text, realize that the British differ from Americans on some points.


The title of the book is based on this:


"A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.

'Why?' asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

'Well, I'm a panda,' he says, at the door. 'Look it up.'

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. 'Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.'"

The Messenger by Marcus Zusak

Review by high school junior, Aaron Avers, son of Angie



I am at a loss for words to describe the brilliance of this book!


The plot was exciting, heart-warming, funny, and the book keeps you in constant suspense throughout.


Ed, the main character, is funny and easy to relate to. He's a nineteen year old no-life cab driver, who lives for the nights he plays cards with his friends, and is hopelessly in love with his closest friend, Audrey. He has done nothing for his life, and is content in leaving it that way, until one day, he stops a bank robbery.


Forthright and down-to-earth, Ed is a likable character although an unlikely hero. I really enjoyed Ed's friendly, easy-to-talk-to, self-aware voice as well as his detailed descriptions of the character strengths and flaws of his close friends.


The best things about the book were some of the touching scenes and encounters with the people who Ed delivers messages to, and that he forms special friendships with them.

There were also some pretty dark moments, particularly at the beginning of the book, which seemed designed to make the reader think about what they might do if they were in the same situation.

I thought it was a really enjoyable and original book!

Read my review here:
IAmTheMessenger by Marcus Zusak, review by Angie

The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt

Ah...the search for delicious...
what a lovely quest to embark upon.

The bulk of this quest is carried out by Vaungaylen. Gaylen, as he is known, was left by is mother, in a basket, at the gates of the castle. He was quickly adopted by Prime Minister DeCree. 


The Prime Minister began work on a dictionary when Gaylen was twelve years old.
The King was quite pleased with the Prime Minister's progress:
A: "He liked 'Affectionate is your dog'."
B: "Bulky is a big bag of boxes."
C: "Calamitous is saying no to the King."
D: "Delicious is fried fish."
But, no, that didn't please the king.


The King thought apples should be declared the most delicious.


It didn't please anyone else either.
The Queen thought Christmas pudding.
The Queen's trouble-maker brother piped up that his vote was for nuts.
The General stated that a mug of beer is delicious.


Gaylen was asked to set out around the kingdom gathering everyone's votes as to the best definition for "delicious".


In a land where "nothing" belongs to the people and the world is filled with mermaids, woldwellers, and dwarves, a minor story is interwoven in the main one.


Our little one (age five) and I have been reading this book for many months. She found it so interesting that she was able to remember very minor details of the story from one reading to the next. Today as I was writing this review she reminded me that someone had clearly affirmed a preference for "beer" as being delicious. Given that, I can say that this book can be used as a read-aloud selection for children as young as probably age four, perhaps a precocious age three. The first time I read this book it was to our two younger boys who were nearing ages seven and eight.

Natalie Babbitt also wrote Tuck Everlasting which I read in August 2007 and again in April 2008. I'm not much of a rereader of books and there isn't a lot of time between those two readings. The prose with which she wrote Tuck Everlasting really satisfied me and so I returned to it very soon. The Disney film adaptation of Tuck Everlasting is also very well done. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Review of Tuck Everylasting by Natalie Babbitt

Found (The Missing, Book 1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Found is the first book in the "Missing" trilogy, published in 2008. 
The book opens to 13 year old Jonah who is perplexed about a letter he received in the mail. He soon finds out that a new friend of his, Chip, has received the same letter. This connection leads to Chip discovering that, like Jonah, he was adopted.

Jonah's sister Katherine soon joins the boys in a quest to find out more about the letters they received. This is just the beginning of the excitement as the FBI soon proves to have a hand in the mix. Before you know it time travel is added to the plot!

Our 10 year old asked for this book for Christmas. He read it eagerly and couldn't wait to finish it! He also couldn't wait for me to read it so that we could discuss it! (I love that!) 

I've purchased the second in the series so that the two of us can enjoy reading it at the pool this summer!

I think the book was a good diversion for me as I was reading it while also deep in the depths of A Tale of Two Cities. For adults it certainly isn't heavy although the topics of adoption, and time travel are heavy ones. I think this book was just about perfect for a ten year old boy. (It has our son's stamp of approval, for sure!)
______________________________________________________________________
My review of Sent (Book 2 in the Missing trilogy) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Life is So Good by George Dawson

I read this in December 2004 and again in May 2008.


This book is a true winner if you love autobiographies or memoirs!
George was born January 1898 and died at age 103 years old in July 2001.


Talk about seeing change in the world! George was born to grandparents who were slaves. He was affected by racism to a true and great degree. He once saw a man lynched and that, of course, changed the course of his life.


He married and fathered seven children.


George couldn't read but it was a lifelong ambition of his. When someone knocked on his door to inspire interest in local adult education courses George determined that it just might be time for him to learn to read. He was 98 years old when he learned to read and write.


His book is written in a conversational tone. I'd have loved to spend some time with George. 

Something for the young ones...Complete Farmyard Tales Book & CD (Farmyard Tales)

We came across this Usborne book at the AWBS Christmas Craft and Gift Fayre in 2008. Of course a mom who homeschools and loves to read can't pass up an Usborne book table, or any other book table!


We loved this book of books. It is a compilation of all the titles illustrated by now-deceased illustrator Stephen Cartwright. I read the whole book to our little daughter. We finished reading it in February 2010. Cartwright added a little yellow ducky to every scene he created for his Usborne series. Gigi found every little ducky!


The genius of this book is that it is written in such a way that a beginning reader can read half of the pages and still get the main idea of the stories and then later can learn to read the entire story! I love that! This version also came with an audio CD.


It is truly a treasure of our daughter and will carry happy memories with it through the years.

Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

For laughs I can usually trust in author Bill Bryson. He also packs punches with an abundance of facts and trivia.

Mother Tongue investigates our English language. Bryson delves deep into the matter. He investigates etymology and even traces the evolution of spelling through the ages. As a matter of course, no topic is taboo, and Bryson examines swear words and why they are used.

If you enjoy the amount of information that a well-chosen word can convey, you'll likely be delighted by this selection. I was.

For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Shaunti Feldhahn

EXCELLENT. My husband and I are VERY similar and communicate wonderfully but this opened my mind to a couple things which I will always see differently from now on. 


This is my FAVORITE marriage/intimacy-related book.

Even a read through the titles will give you a glimpse at the depth of the contents of this book:


1 Lightbulb On! (How I Woke Up To What I Didn't Know About Men)


2 Your Love is Not Enough (Why Your Respect Means More to Him Than Affection)


3 The Performance of a Lifetime (Why Your Mr. Smooth Looks so Impressive but Feels Like an Imposter)


4 The Loneliest Burden (How His Need to Provide Weighs your Man Down, And Why He likes It That Way)


5 Sex Changes Everything (Why Sex Unlocks a Man's Emotions (Guess Who Holds the Key?))


6 Keeper of the Visual Rolodex (Why it's So Natural For Him to Look and So Hard to Forget 
What He's Seen)


7 Chocolate, Flowers, Bait Fishing (Why the Reluctant Clod you Know Really Does Want Romance)


8 The Truth About the Way You Look (Why What's on the Outside Matters to Him on the Inside)


9 Words for your Heart (What Your Man Most Wishes You Knew About Him)


This is NOT a book written by a woman even though the author is a woman.

This book was written by doing a great amount of research and asking MEN what there responses to marriage/intimacy-related questions would be. The author then compiled the results and explains them in depth.


The major insight I gained from reading this title was financially related.


I asked Hubs if he felt the way that was described in the book (on that particular topic)...
He replied "Yes. Without a doubt. It never leaves my mind." This means that first and foremost he sees himself as a provider.


From that moment my approach to our family's expenditures changed drastically even though I never felt I was far outside any bounds. He noticed my changes immediately and told me so. One thing we used to occasionally argue about just a bit was...finances. 
No more.


Now, there are still times when there is more month left than money but Hubs knows that I do my best to budget our spending so that he doesn't have to worry about things.


This book is VERY INSIGHTFUL!

Even if you have never read a book on marriage and intimacy you might really enjoy this selection. Its depth and frankness is tremendous. It's my favorite book in this category, for women.


Read the first chapter here:
ForWomenOnlyFirstChapter

Biographies...do you have any favorites?

I love reading biographies/autobiographies. My favorites are of film/tv actors and popular musicians, especially those who were famous from the 40s through the 60s.



Here are some that I've read, including my rating out of 5*, in ascending order of my appreciation for them:


I'm Chevy Chase... and You're Not: Revised & Updated 
by Rena Fruchter 3*

I've always loved Chevy's acting.
After reading this book my lasting impression of him is that he always seemed to have an excuse when something turned out to be a box office failure; he never took ownership of any failings.






Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice 
by Maureen McCormick 3*

Maureen McCormick is not Marcia Brady.












Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse: My Life in Comedy 
by Phyllis Diller 3*

Upon reading this I found out she became an outspoken advocate for plastic surgery. Want to see why? (here's my favorite photo of her:
http://tinyurl.com/PhyllisDillerPlayboyShoot )
(there's a hint of a nude bottom; it's more suggestive than anything)






After All 
by Mary Tyler Moore 3*

Mary's book is laid out chronologically. She doesn't sidestep any of the tough or ugly parts of her life, having come to terms with such things over the years. She has lost her niece, her son, and both of her parents, as well as having gone through two divorces. 'AfterAll' she appears to come out of it okay.




Nobody's Fool 
by Martin Gottfried 3.5*

I was disappointed by this book. Not really the book, though, as much as the subject. Danny Kaye must have been a very depressed and searching man to have behaved in the curious manner in which he did. I have to say that I am sorry that it destroyed the false vision that I had of him.

The Tom Hanks Enigma: The Biography of the World's Most Intriguing Movie Star 

by David Gardner 3.5*

The author never convinced me that he had ever spoken directly with Tom or had his permission to write the book. This is the most poorly edited book I have read in many years! The quality of book construction was also the poorest I have seen in years. Both were so severe that I contacted Amazon to give them feedback and to request the ability to send the book back for a total refund. I have to believe that my affinity for Tom Hanks must have added 1/2 to a full 1* to my review of this title.

Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me 

by Howie Mandel 3.5*

Howie Mandel has OCD; I didn't know that before reading this book. While being a talented and loving guy he admits to not thinking through the results of his actions fairly often...and he apologizes for the things he feels he should apologize for (for the most part).






Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball 
by Stefan Kanfer 4*

 I learned a lot about Lucy, Ricky and even Cuba from this book. 

A Pirate Looks at Fifty 

by Jimmy Buffett 4.5*

I enjoyed this book a lot. It gives a lot of insight into his life.

Cash...The Autobiography 
by Johnny Cash 4.5*

Cash writes in a very relaxed, conversational tone. He told truth as he saw it without it seeming as if he was gossipping. In fact, he told most stories about himself. He was frank and open about his wrongful trek into drug abuse. He was also open about his faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour. I hope to meet him, one day, in Heaven.




Lucky Man 
by Michael J. Fox 4.5*

This selection has great depth. He explores his life in general as well as his battle with Parkinson Disease. I truly enjoyed the section about his role in the Back to the Future films.

I'm not very good at reading as a member of a book club.

Generally I find that I simply read much more quickly than everyone else.
If I try to keep apace with everyone else I tend to lose interest.


But, hey, even if I've been looking forward to reading a title I tend to lose interest once I "have" to read it. 


That's a bit different this summer. Actually, it's really different and I'm happy for it.


I told my best friend about a book I knew would be perfect for her. She said "I'll read it if you read it again, with me." And so I am reading it a second time. I am really enjoy it. It's the right time for me to reread it.


I am rereading another title. This one is because my husband and I decided I would homeschool our 16 year old in literature and writing this summer. I gave him ten titles from which to chose two or three depnding on their length. We are in the midst of the first selection. We'd be finished but we postponed our reading while he took a summer Russian course at the local university; his first college course. We are both really enjoying the book; him for the first time and me for the second.


Our daughter has a summer reading assignment for her upcoming sophomore Honors Literature course. She's been assigned a book that I previously read and really appreciated. The book was on my list of books that I would suggest our kids read during high school. That would be a "must read" list if I were still homsechooling. 


The results of all of my joint reading adventures will eventually be posted here!


Titles:


A Fraction of The Whole by Steve Toltz


I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak


The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak


(It's just a coincidence that two of the titles are by Zusak! In fact, both titles were given to my son as part of his ten titles for choice. The two titles are so very different from each other in writing style. Both were really terrific books in their own, differing ways.)

If You Ask Me...And Of Course You Won't by Betty White

I love reading memoirs and autobiographies and biographies.


I think I prefer autobiographies because  I think there is a greater chance you will pick up on the feelings of the person the book is about.


I didn't learn a lot about Betty White from her book... The book seemed like a long chat with a friendly person more than anything. It progressed easily and without compulsion other than her obvious compulsion regarding animals. She loves animals.





I also learned that she never had children but does have step-children who she enjoys very much. She deeply loved her husband who has passed away.


(I mostly post only books that I would give four or five star ratings to but as memoirs go this will suit some and not others and that's okay. For me it was about a 3.5 out of 5*. I didn't love it, but I also didn't despise it. If you love and fight for animal rights this book will have greater appeal for you.)

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost

I enjoyed this book though it wasn't quite what I expected. It was fun and light reading and taught about a culture with whom I was not familiar. I just bought the sequel. Getting Stoned with Savages. His writing style is one I enjoy.


The book follows Troost through two years of life on a South Pacific island; Tarawa, an island of the Republic of Kiribati. He headed there with the belief that it was a hopelessly romantic thing to do...


What he really found was disillusionment: bugs, heat, danger...you name it. I still laugh out loud when thinking of the bug incident he wrote up in one of his books. 

Here's a bit of the blurb from the back of the book:


"He and his stalwart girlfriend, Sylvia, spend the next two years battling incompetent government officials, alarmingly large critters, erratic electricity, and a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis); and contending with a bizarre cast of local characters, including "Half-Dead Fred" and the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Tarawa (a British drunkard who's never written a poem in his life).


If you've ever though of moving to a tropical island or you've just had any really, really bad vacations...you might enjoy reading this book. 


(I read this in Jan 2007 and did not note whether it includes any gratuitous sex or language.)


Troost's follow-up project is "Getting Stoned with Savages" in which he chronicles his time on Vanuatu and then Fiji. 

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

When you were young did you ever wonder what would happen if your parents died?

   


I did.


When I was about 15 or 16 my dad became quite ill; he was hospitalized for a while and almost died. We knew that the possibility of is death was a very real thing. The tension was staggering. I was the oldest of six kids. 


What do you think the second thought on  my mind was at the time? 
~"What if something happened to Mom too?"


Thinking back on it now I can't believe that there wasn't some sort of plan in place and 
I really believe there wasn't. By that point we either had no grandparents living or just one who was old and very ill. We had one aunt on my mom's side and she was divorced and pretty frazzled with the raising of her only son. We had one uncle on my dad's side who seemed like a possibility as they were raising three kids as old or older than myself; but we weren't really close to them emotionally and I can't imagine the financial burden of raising six kids on top of the emotional strain.


Really...who's going to raise SIX kids that aren't their responsibility?


I was certain that I'd do it. I really thought I could. I was also certain that the only possible solution I could imagine was for us kids to be split up among different people; family...close family friends... I was determined that if that had to happen due to my young age, I would work to be able to take custody of everyone as soon as I was old enough.


Dave Eggers' Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius explores a very similar situation that really happened.


Yes, he works very hard to convince the reader that it is fictional, at least only based on truth; his truth. My friend and I both feel that he doth protest too much though. We believe it is autobiographical. 


At the age of 21 Dave and his older siblings expected their mother's death; sooner than later. What they didn't expect was a death-sentence-diagnosis for their dad that resulted in his almost instantaneous and previously unexpected death.


Their youngest sibling was 7 years old. It was decided that Dave would take on most of the responsibility of raising Christopher ("Toph").


Dave gives word to feelings all parents experience at one time or another. It seems that perhaps he experiences them more frequently though. 


As the mom of five kids ranging in age from 5 to 15 I admit to having experienced most of the concerns he explores. In truth, I've wondered as he did whether or not something horrifying might happen to one of my children due to the awful selfishness I've exhibited by needing a bit of "me time" or "us time" for my husband and me. Overall, I've always been able to keep those feelings from ruining life for all of us. They are crippling thoughts but I've never allowed them to cripple me. Can you imagine the "case" I'd be if I did. Five kids, remember?


So, Dave explores all of this.
He does so with a book that is mostly written as a string-of-consciousness-sort-of-thing. My brother pointed out that such writing can become exhausting or annoying. I felt that due to the subject matter it really worked though. I liked it. I could feel what he was feeling.


Dave really cornered my market when he was thinking about how lucky Toph was to be hanging out with him and how lucky he was to be exposed to the great music Dave enjoyed... Oh yeah. He even explored the idea of homeschooling Toph because he was envious of how much time the teachers spent with him.


As a mom who homeschooled all of our kids until our oldest was finished with sixth grade, and then some others longer, I attempted to expose our kids to the best of everything from all time periods: books, movies, music. There is so much more to life than today's available choices. Still, one worries about recreating yourself via your children (if we're honest). That is not something we wanted to have happen. We only want for them to be well rounded individuals who can related to people of all ages.


Here is a quote that expresses part of Dave's obvious concern:


"...when someone noticed him (Toph) for being him(self), we would all have to stand back a second and see him for what he actually was, at least superficially: a seventh-grade boy. Of course, he had a difficult time discerning, himself. He had recently made this clear, when he and Marny and I were driving back from the beach. She and I were talking about one of the new interns, who, at twenty-two, was much younger than we had assumed~
"Really?" said Toph. "I though he was our age."


Sure, mistakes were made in the raising of Toph.
We ALL make mistakes. All. The. Time.


The real point is the great love fostered between the two. They grew and they grew together. They were a team, united. They made the best of a horrifying situation. they made it work.


I appreciated Eggers' raw honesty.


Oh...I also appreciated the sense of humor he exhibited in the titling of his book.
He acknowledged the fact that everyone who would read his book would be able to pick it apart. They'd be able to find a million and one things wrong with it; and so he poked fun at the self-inflated idea of writing a book about yourself, about your own loss, and expecting others to read it.


I read it.
I liked it.

Prize awarded in honor of my site's 5,000th visitor!

My site played host to its 5,000th visitor this week!


I decided to post an award in honor of that.


Monica was the prize winner. She and I met through our mutual use of Sonlight curriculum about 4 years ago although we had previously known each other online through Sonlight's forum.


I wanted to pick a lovely gift that I thought she would enjoy.

I mailed out her prize today; a $50 value!

Both hardcover titles by Jeanne Marie Laskas:

Fifty Acres and a Poodle

and

Fifty Acres and a Family: The Exact Same Moon

Monica, I hope you will enjoy your books! Thank you for following my blog!

How do you read? Pencil in hand taking notes?

I've been thinking about this the last few days. 

I guess I'm a book nerd. There are worse things to be. 

Depending on the book, if I owned it there have been times that I've dog-eared it to death. Pathetic, huh?

When I would come across something unusual I would want go look it up at a convenient moment. There have been times when I would keep a small notepad with the book I was reading. Even so, I'd still have to find time later to look those things up. I've taken notes in my books too. 

I'd pine away "If only I could easily look up the definition of this word right now while I'm reading..."

We've never kept a computer in our bedroom, we've always had a study. I often read in our bedroom or our living room or outdoors. These days our laptop computer may or may not be where I'm reading. If it's with me I can use it to look things up. 


These days I make highlights and take notes as I read, using my ereader. My ereader has a browser if I really want to Google something. My iPhone 4 is more functional for Internet searches though but I usually have it with me!  

For definitions I use my NOOK's inherent dictionary. I take issue with it though. I wish it used a better dictionary. I've actually looked up many words that it has no definition for. I've complained to B&N but they've not made any changes. 

I didn't used to be like this. In school there was little that I hated more than reading. I hated it. Not anymore. These days I want to experience a goodbook to it's fullest. That might really be the issue though. These days I'm in charge  of choosing my reading. 

So...How do you read?

October Sky by Homer Hickam

I love a good true story.  The movie, same title, is a favorite of ours too.





Homer H. Hickam, Jr. had dreams...and he wasn't about to remain in Coalwood, West Virginia. The town was dying, as do miners from the day they set foot into mines. Homer's father, however, was the superintendent of the mine. Fighting your father for the right to your own future can be a very big deal. Sputnik 1 raced across the "October Sky" and grabbed the interest of everyone but especially the interest of Homer and a few of his friends. 


Supporting the dreams of  Homer and his friends was Miss Riley, their chemistry and physics teacher. 

She urged them to enter a national science fair in 1960. The "Rocket Boys" won gold and silver medals for their work in propulsion. Later, Hickam served in the Vietnam War for the US Army. He worked as an engineer for the army and then for NASA. He was also a scuba instructor and has written about that as well as about war-related topics. Sky of Stone is another non-fiction book of his, a follow-up project to October Sky.  Hickam also works as an amateur paleontologist and to his credit are the finds of two tyrannosaur dinosaurs. He has written a fictional novel titled The Dinosaur Hunter. 

October Sky was made into a film in 1999. The film runs extremely true to the book. I was quite impressed by both. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role of Homer Hickam. Chris Cooper plays his father, while Laura Dern plays Miss Riley. October Sky is also an anagram of "Rocket Boys", the initial title of Hickam's manuscript, which was changed by studio executives as the book was adapted to film. It was felt that the new name would bring with it a broader viewing audience. I imagine that proved to be true.