The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt

I once asked my husband who his favorite inventor was. He began telling me some incredible things about Nicola Tesla that I didn't know. I decided to see what I could learn about him on my own.

I began with this juvenile biography selection:



It was fascinating! Tesla must have been an incredible person. I came away from this book thinking he was just a scream. What an inventive spirit. He was world's ahead of his time. If he were suddenly brought back to life I can't imagine what he'd come up with, given today's advances in technology.

Later, my brother, Duffy, and I came across this adult selection while I was living in England:




This is a fictional story about Nicola Tesla. This book fictionalized a story around him, involving a bit of time-travel even. I really enjoyed the middle of the book...the end was a little disapointing but not enough for me not to rate this book favorably. I felt the author could have developed the climax and ending a bit more but she did a wonderful job of creating a story around this amazing man.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

This story is a historically-based fiction about Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the second world war. I wish we'd been able to visit there while we lived in England...

The story relates the creation of (and the events that follow) their literary society.

It was a fun book. The story was told by the means of fictional letters. I like stories told in that format. I have to say that I really expected to rate it higher than a four, but the end seemed very abrupt to me.

All told, if you like historically based fiction or books about WWII, it's worthy of your time.

The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Integration Dysfunction by Carol Stock Kranowitz

This book does what it is supposed to. I learned just enough from it to, I think, prevent one of our children from becoming a child with true sensory issues. Since we home schooled I was with our chlidren all the time and able to continually work on and evaluate such things. 


If you are concerned about a child and are wondering if SID might be the problem, reading this book will give you the information you need, now. I am so glad a friend referred me to it and so glad I read it.

PCMag.com explains the force behind B&N's updated eInk reader...

I just came across a really good article by PCMag with the dateline of 24 May 2011 that explains the functionality of B&N's updated NOOK original. For anyone who is considering the purchase of an ereader right now, I recommend reading this article.

PCMag.com explains the force behind B&N's updated eInk reader...

If you are just beginning to explore ereaders I also urge you to borrow some or spend some time shopping for them and actually using them in-store. If you have any friends who own ereaders consider spending an hour or two with them and using one in person. Try to give yourself the chance to compare a couple of models by using them for a few minutes. Find out what it takes to perform a download. Find out how to highlight or bookmark or make notes about a passage and how to find those notes again. Ask other users what things they really appreciate about their ereader. Then ask them if there are functions that it doesn't have or doesn't perform well.

Prices continue to come down but with such a purchase you want to try to assure that you'll be as happy as possible.

Note that some libraries now also loan ereaders for up to two weeks so that new users can become accustomed to them and find which model best suits them. Our library offers the original NOK and Kobo ereaders I think.

The Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Laurence Anholt

Our entire family loves Claude Monet's work. We have seen several of his paintings.


At the National Gallery London we have seen these:


Claude Monet's Paintings at London's National Gallery


We also saw his works at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris which focuses on Impressionism.


Claude Monet's Paintings at Musee D'Orsay Paris


This book is a lovely, lovely littlle book. It can be used simply for the enjoyment of art or it can be used to enhance art education for homeschooling. We used it in both capacities. It's a treasure.

By The Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman

It's 1849 and Gold Rush is in full force.
Master Jack sets out in search of his share of fortune. The family's butler soon follows in search of HIM! Then Jack's sister follows too!

This book was a delight for our children and me.I wasn't even aware of the book until we reached it in our homeschooling (Sonlight Curriculum)

We already owned the Disney film adaptation and we love it too Good clean family fun. The book is slightly more mature but not overly so. It's one of those films that I enjoy sitting down and watching with the kids every now and then. I am a fan of Roddy McDowall and the lovely Suzanne Pleshette. Karl Malden also makes an appearance. I tend to enjoy well written juvenile fiction. If you are looking for a fun read-aloud, this could be it!

One Day by David Nicholls is set to release in cinemas!

If you haven't read the book yet but want to do so before seeing the film, now's the time!

In the US the release date is set as 19th August.
It premiers in the UK on 24 August; in London on 23 August.
Seems sort of unfair that it will be released in the US first. I'm not sure how such things are decided.

My Review of One Day by David Nicholls

I'm thrilled with my prize!

I'm thrilled with my prize! A few days ago I received a call from our local library saying they were reminding me that I won a prize for participating in the summer reading program. That was the first I'd heard I'd won. I had hoped to make it to the library when it opened today.

All of a sudden, at 10:00 I recalled that I'd meant to go to the library! I left the house with two of our five children; #3 and #5. I hoped I was going to arrive early enough to receive a gift certificate I'd be happy with; it was first-come-first-serve.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that more than 50% of the cards remained. As soon as I saw Barnes and Noble listed I stopped paying attention and informed the librarians that one of those would suit me. I came home with a $25 gift card!

I'll hold onto it for awhile. I'm not sure if we'll be buying a NOOK Color for one of the kids for Christmas or if I'll get to use it to buy some new ebooks. Either way, I'm thrilled.

I won a prize from our library's summer reading program!

This morning I'm heading to our local library. It's first-come-first-served for those who've received prizes. I'll be able to have my pick of gift certificates! I hope the selection is good! I'd love to come home with a Barnes and Noble gift card!

What did YOU read on your vacation this summer?

1 Did you take a vacation this summer?

2 Did you read while on your vacation?

3 Did you read more or less than you usually do on vacation?

4 What type of vacation did you take?

5 Does the type of vacation you take affect the amount you read?

~~~

1 We just finished a family vacation with our five children.

2 We took a family vacation that was focused on relaxing and being with our kids and extended family members. The biggest focus of this trip was to spend time with our kids and also not to feel driven to do anything in particular.

3 I read an average or less than average amount during this vacation since there were a lot of people to interact with and that was a point of the trip.

4 We did several things during this trip.

We toured the campus my husband attended for college; the University of Cincinnati.

We attended a Reds game in 95F heat.

We ate ribs at a popular ribs restaurant on the riverfront in Cinci.

We stayed in a new quaint little cabin in Lake Rudolph Campground in Santa Claus, IN and visited Holiday World and Splashin' Safari four times. (I just couldn't take a book or my NOOK to the parks with us. It wasn't practical.)

We visited with eleven members of my extended family who all live in Indy but came down to join us at the campground for a couple nights. That meant I got to visit with one of my brothers, Duffy, which meant that my love of discussing books, films, and tv shows was nurtured a bit!

Certainly any time we were driving I was likely to be reading as much as I was able. Most nights were finished with me reading at least some. Two glorious nights, maybe three, I was found on the covered deck of our cabin in my comfortable lawn chair/lounge, with a book and my LightWedge reading light.
My Favorite Reading Light

5 The type of vacation I take affects the amount I read. I could have read a lot more if this had been a beach vacation (love those). It was not an extremely active vacation which was nice but the action (them park and waterpark) prevented more reading.