Bookworm Award and Meme

Two fabulous women have graciously awarded me the Bookworm Award and Meme. Much thanks to Wisteria at Bookworm's Dinner and Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner of the World.
I am so honored!

Like I wrote, this is an award and meme. For the meme one must pick up the closest book near them and turn to page 56. Once there, skip to sentence five and write it down; plus, a few more sentences as they occur in order to tempt other readers. Pretty easy-peasy!

I am currently reading a nonfiction book for juvenile readers. The title is Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! written by Laura Amy Schlitz and illustrated by Robert Byrd. Page 56, sentence five reads as follows:

My mother –
what would she say
if she knew
I wasted time in the
woods with a Jew?

The book is a unique study of Medieval Times using children to portray members of society such as Otho, the miller's son, and Lowdy, the varlet's child. On page 56 we encounter a play involving Jacob Ben Salomon, the moneylender's son, and Petronella, the merchant's daughter. This book won the prestigious Newbery Award in 2008.

Now I need to tag others for this award and meme. You needn't participate if you would rather not do this type of thing, but I thought you might have fun; plus, I like keeping up with your readings.. I am thinking…

Rick at Rick the Librarian, Sage at Musings, Nan at Letters from a Hill Farm, Mo at Inside Mo's Mind, and Vixen at Vixen's Daily Reads

Bookworm Award and Meme

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2008/11/bookworm-award-and-meme.html

The Good Good Pig (copy)

It was a crisp winter day when they brought Christopher Hogwood home. Weighting seven pounds, he was the runt of the litter and he was sick. “His breathing was wet and noisy. His eyes were runny, and so was his other end.” The couple was unsure he would live through the night.

Runts are dangerous to have in a litter. They make a noise unlike the other piglets—Nynh! Nynh! Nynh!—and if in the wild will attract predators. The mother may bite a runt and tear him in half to stop the cacophony, but sometimes they accidently choose the wrong sibling. Another method used to silence the noise is to stomp the runt, but again other healthy piglets might get in the way.

In this farrow Chris was the odd piglet out. His mother possessed ten teats but only eight were in working order. Chris was unlucky number nine. To protect this litter Chris would have to die, but the farmer thought him too cute to kill. He was rather good-looking as pigs go with “enormous ears and black and white spots, and a black patch over one eye like Spuds McKenzie, the bull terrier in the beer commercial.”

Instead they sequestered Chris and watched as he went from one disease to another, but still clung to life. “The wormer didn’t do a thing for him,” the farmer told the family who agreed to take the sick piggy. “He probably had a touch of every disease in the barn—he had worms, he had erysipelas, he had rhinopneumonitis—and yet he wouldn’t die.”

It was with great hope, Howard and Sy, laid Chris in his makeshift sty in the barn that night. He was safe. With Sy being a vegetarian and Howard Jewish, the pig was sure to live a long life unlike his farrow. A pig’s average life span is six months. Exactly, the length of time it takes for a pig to gain 250 lbs and become perfect eating material.

“That first night, we couldn’t picture him growing much bigger than the shoe box in which we carried his shivering, emaciated form,” said Sy.

To everyone’s delight, Chris stood on wobbly hooves the next morning, and again the next day until he reached the staggering weight of 750 pounds. This is the story of The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary life of Christopher Hogwood by Sy Montgomery which proves to be a massive good read.

The Good Good Pig (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2008/11/good-good-pig-copy.html

This is the Feast (copy)

For centuries humans have celebrated the harvesting of crops. America, being a rather newcomer to history, uniquely celebrates harvest on the fourth Thursday of November thanks to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Historians are unsure the exact date the first feast took place, but it is believed to be between September 21, and November 11, 1621. Before President Roosevelt’s proclamation, Thanksgiving was celebrated whenever presidents deemed an appropriate time.

The first feasts were not known by the term Thanksgiving, either. To the pilgrims, Thanksgiving was a religious celebration spent in church to thank God for victory on the battle field or rain after a drought. The original feast in 1621 celebrated the pilgrims’ first harvest in the new world, but the next year they did not celebrate. In 1623 they met again to pray for rain after a month long drought, and when the event occurred during the prayers it was truly a Thanksgiving.

Another misconception about Thanksgiving is the actual food eaten. Pilgrims did not dine on ham, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie. They feasted on an assortment of wild fowl, game, and seafood. The corn was a dry snack and the fruit (plums and grapes) were eaten raw without the trappings of sugar and flour. This entire trivia is gleaned from the History Channel’s website, history.com.

While reading this week’s book, This is the Feast by Diane Z. Shore and illustrated by Megan Lloyd, I was struck by its historical accuracy. The pilgrims are wearing clothes with color not the black-white drab depicted in my youth. They are sick in the Mayflower as they sail towards America, and they set to work building houses as soon as they come ashore.

This is the Feast is a brightly colored picture-book for children, ages three to eight. Although, it is too wordy for toddlers to sit still through, it is the perfect companion for parents to read or paraphrase annually for the holiday season. The words have a delightful singsong quality such as “This is Thanksgiving, a time to remember the friendships and freedoms we all share together.”

Illustrator Megan Lloyd uses her paintbrush to create mood. The pilgrims’ sickness and toil is depicted with somber colors, and daily life is illustrated with bright oranges and yellows typical of a fall celebration. The feast scenes are the best with tables full of oysters, clams, lobster, fish, and cheese. Can someone pass me a plate?

I hope all have a Happy Thanksgiving with plenty happy reading.

Please stop by any of these fine blogger participating in the Kidz Book Blog Tour! the 160acrewoods, A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Cafe of Dreams, Dolce Bellezza, Homeschool Buzz, KidzBookBuzz.com, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Maw Books Blog, Never Jam Today, Olive Tree, Our Big Earth, Quiverfull Family, Reading is My Superpower, SmallWorld Reads

This is the Feast (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2008/11/this-is-feast-copy.html

Twilight (copy)

The countdown begins! Twilight, one of the hottest teen books by Stephenie Meyer, will be debuting on the big screen November 21, all over the United States. The first movie trailer appeared just last night on television, and Edward is even more gorgeous than my reader’s eye imagined.

Twilight was published in 2005 with little fanfare. The book’s first-time author, Meyer, took only 6 months to conceive, write, and publish the story. She said the story first appeared as a meeting in her dreams. She dreamt a regular, plain-jane girl and a drop-dead gorgeous, vampire boy, were in deep conversation in the middle of a meadow. They were discussing how wrong they were for each other. She being human, and he particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, were creating friction in their budding relationship.

For most readers, I am a little late talking about Twilight. This book and the following books in the Twilight series, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, have a hard time staying on any library or bookstore shelf. Her latest book Midnight Sun appeared on the internet weeks ago as an unscrupulous friend took advantage of a pre-published copy. It was immediately pulled, but Meyer claims that it is just one of many copies she has written. She has yet to decide Edwards’s fate.

I quickly picked Twilight up to read before the movie’s release. I want to have a clear reader’s vision, and not cloud my head with directorial meddling. I am particularly engrossed by the book’s setting. Meyer chose the real town of Forks, Washington, because it is the wettest area in America. This natural creepiness adds drama to the story. When the main character, Bella, walks into the woods I can hear the creepy music queuing up in the background.

Oh, but I have not told you the opening story yet! Isabella Swan is living with her father, the Chief of Police in Forks, now that her mother has a traveling boyfriend. It is Bella’s decision to live with her dad, and finish her school years in one area instead of on the road. On her first day she is assigned Edward Cullen as her biology lab partner, and she can see by his mean nature he is not happy with the arrangement. Oh, but he is easy on the eyes.

As you can guess, this is a romance in bloom. There is quite a bit of play and banter between the main characters, but it is the onrush of certain doom that propels readers to the end. This book will certainly warm your blood.

Twilight (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2008/11/twilight-copy.html

No Gaps in My Teeth Either!

There Are 0 Gaps in Your Knowledge

Where you have gaps in your knowledge: No Gaps! Where you don't have gaps in your knowledge: Philosophy, Religion, Economics, literature, History, Science, Art

Do You Have Gaps in Your Knowledge?

Thanks Erica! This was fun!

No Gaps in My Teeth Either!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2008/11/no-gaps-in-my-teeth-either.html

USA Today Meme

USA Today's Top Selling Books of the last 15 years Meme!

Got this from J.Kaye’s Book Blog.

Here are the rules: Bold what you've read, italicize what you own, star* books on your TBR list!

1 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
2 Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution - Robert C. Atkins
3 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
7 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
8 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
9 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
10 Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson
11 The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston
12 Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
13 Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
14 What to Expect When You're Expecting - Murkoff, etal.
15 The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren
16 The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
17 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey
18 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
19 Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray
20 The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
21 Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert T. Kiyosaki
22 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
23 Don't Sweat the Small Stuff - and It's All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson
24 The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
25 Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
26 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
27 The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
28 The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
29 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
30 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
31 A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
32 Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr. Seuss
33 The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
34 Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
35 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
36 Body-for-Life - Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso
37 New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
38 Night - Elie Wiesel
39 Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield, etal.
40 The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw
41 Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
42 The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
43 Wicked - Gregory Maguire
44 Good to Great - Jim Collins
45 Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
46 Eragon - Christopher Paolini
47 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells
48 Your Best Life Now - Joel Osteen
49 In the Kitchen With Rosie - Rosie Daley
50 Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach
51 A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer
52 A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
53 The Testament - John Grisham
54 Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul - Jack Canfield, etal.
55 Deception Point - Dan Brown
56 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
57 Marley & Me - John Grogan
58 Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter - Robert C. Atkins
59 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
60 The Brethren - John Grisham
61 The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide - Arthur Agatston
62 The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - John Grisham
63 For One More Day - Mitch Albom
64 The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg
65 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
66 The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
67 What to Expect the First Year - Arlene Eisenberg, etal.
68 Love You Forever - Robert Munsch
69 Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
70 A Painted House - John Grisham
71 The Rainmaker - John Grisham
72 Skipping Christmas - John Grisham
73 Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
74 The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
75 Life Strategies - Phillip C. McGraw
76 Seabiscuit: An American Legend - Laura Hillenbrand
77 The Summons - John Grisham
78 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt
79 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
80 The Runaway Jury - John Grisham
81 Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
82 The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger
83 Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson
84 The Giver - Lois Lowry
85 Embraced by the Light - Betty J. Eadie
86 The Chamber - John Grisham
87 You: On A Diet - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
88 The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson
89 Holes - Louis Sachar
90 Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
91 The Shack - William P. Young
92 The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger
93 Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
94 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
95 The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav
96 Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul - Jack Canfield, etal.
97 The Partner - John Grisham
98 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
99 Eldest: Inheritance, Book II - Christopher Paolini
100 The Broker - John Grisham
101 The Street Lawyer - John Grisham
102 A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
103 The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
104 Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
105 The King of Torts - John Grisham
106 The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
107 The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans
108 Hannibal - Thomas Harris
109 The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
110 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
111 The Glass Castle: A Memoir - Jeannette Walls
112 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
113 The Last Juror - John Grisham
114 The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
115 Left Behind - Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
116 America (The Book) - Jon Stewart
117 The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
118 John Adams - David McCullough
119 The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans
120 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares
121 Sugar Busters! - Leighton Steward, etal.
122 Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
123 The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
124 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life - Don Piper
125 The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
126 1776 - David McCullough
127 The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller
128 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts
129 The Ultimate Weight Solution - Phillip C. McGraw
130 Protein Power - Mr. & Mra. Michael R. Eades
131 Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul - Jack Canfield, etal.
132 Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
133 *Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
134 Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
135 You: The Owner's Manual - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
136 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List - Patricia Schultz
137 Self Matters - Phillip C. McGraw
138 She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
139 1984 - George Orwell
140 The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
141 The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley
142 The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
143 The Zone - Barry Sears, Bill Lawren
144 The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
145 The Lost World - Michael Crichton
146 Atonement - Ian McEwan
147 He's Just Not That Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo
148 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
149 The World Is Flat - Thomas L. Friedman
150 Cross - James Patterson

Look at all the Grishams! I also see a lot of weight loss - which I’ve read - and business books. I can tell by this list that I'm not reading as many new Oprah books, either. Which ones have you read? Any on your TBR pile?

USA Today Meme

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2008/11/usa-today-meme.html

Dewey (copy)

The year was 1988 and the town of Spencer, Iowa was experiencing a bitterly cold winter. While Vicki Myron entered the library that Monday morning, she reflected on the weekend’s average temperature of minus 15 degrees with a visible shiver. She flipped the lights on and headed back to the break room to start coffee. Other employees filtered in as another work week began.

Vicky walked the aisles of books as the coffee perked then made her rounds into the backroom. There she found library assistant, Jean, standing in front of the book drop box. Instead of opening the lid of the hinged box and gathering books, Jean stood motionless. She had heard a noise and was afraid an animal might be trapped inside.

When it happened again it did not sound like an animal, but “an old man struggling to clear his throat.” This was impossible. Whatever manner of animal, it had to be small. The book slot was only a few inches wide to discourage people from throwing anything other than books and videos inside; although, occasional firecrackers made it through.

They tentatively raised the lid together and a gush of arctic air blew past. Normally, the metal box was cold during the winter, but this was wrong. It felt colder than the outside air since someone had jammed a paperback sideways forcing the return slot open. Vicki later said, “You could have kept frozen meat in there.”

Tucked in the corner, amongst the books, was a small gray animal. As the ladies peered closer the animal raised its head and took a look before lowering it again. It was a kitten, and it was extremely cold and weak.

As Vicki lifted it from the metal container, the kitten began to shake violently. They tried wrapping him in towels, but he still shook. Believing a warm bath might help, they filled the kitchen sink and slowly lowered his body into the water. The cat showed no resistance and Jean began to massage soap into his fur.

The water shown gray as Vicki lifted the kitten from the sink and began to dry him with a hair dryer they use for hot glue projects. “Within thirty seconds, I was holding a beautiful, long-haired orange tabby.”

This is the true story of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with help from Bret Witter.

Another excellent review can be found at Nonanon's new blog Citizen Reader.

Dewey (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2008/11/dewey-copy.html

New Web 2.0 for Travelers!

create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide

I thought this a neat concept. Blog about where you have been and where you want to go. I'm going to play around with it and see if I can get quality recommendations from other members.

Hubby and I spend a couple of weeks exploring new destinations each year. Why not share our best haunts with others. I can gain 20lbs in two weeks with all the restaurants we visit, and would it not be great to tell people about our best meals.

One restaurante in Piza, so exclusive it seats 20 people, became our secret pleasure. Our first night, right off the 13 hour flight, we found ourselves lost in the maze of old town. We weren't frantic, but we were hungry. So hungry that the horrid calf nerves appetizer had a certain warm tang which in any other establishment would have been luke-warm snot. That night we stumbled into a local favorite, the kind of place locals don't tell touristas about, and we ate our most exquisite meals in all of Italia. We ate there three more times, when we found ourselves in the area. Our last night we joined the college kids in the tiny piazza 12 feet from the door in a wine tasting event. Our experience might be just what a new traveler to Italy wants to hear.

As you can guess, we have toured these states, provinces, and countries.

New Web 2.0 for Travelers!

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-web-20-for-travelers.html