Best Books of 2010

The Best Books of 2010 survey is being sponsored by The Perpetual Page-Turner.

1. Best book of 2010?
Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott
I read a lot of great books this year, but this is the one that helped me the most, so I'm choosing it as my best book of 2010.

2. Worst book of 2010?
A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
I read a lot of bad books in 2010, but this was the one that was bad all through and had the most disappointing ending. I stuck with it because I was trying to read some local authors. I chose the wrong one.

3. Most disappointing book of 2010?
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffinegger
After reading The Time Traveler's Wife, I had high expectations from Niffinegger. But this one was just two weird for me. It actually made me uncomfortable to read it.

4. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2010?
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
I wasn't surprised that Alexie was a good author, but I had never expected to relate much to his books. This was the first book I read in 2010 and it got me out of a bad reading funk.

5. Book you recommended to people most in 2010?

6. Best series you discovered in 2010?
It's not an original answer, but The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.

7. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2010?
Alice Munro and Kirby Larson

8. Most hilarious read of 2010?
Fool by Christopher Moore
It was crude, but I always love a good satire.

9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2010?
The Hunger Games trilogy.

10. Book you most anticipated in 2010?
The Autobiography of Mark Twain. I got it for Christmas, and it will be well into 2011 before I finish it, but I anticipated it in 2010.

11. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2010?

I really liked the original covers of Shannon Hale's Bayern books. I felt the exact opposite about the newer covers, but the originals were beautifully done.

12. Most memorable character in 2010?

Anne Lamott was a very memorable character in her own book.

13. Most beautifully written book in 2010?
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Her books are always beautifully written.

14. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2010?
The Gateway We Call Death by Russell M. Nelson
I read this after my dad died this summer.

15. Book you can't believe you waited until 2010 to finally read?
I can't believe that it took me until 2010 to finish reading all the Newbery Medal books.
What's the best book you read in 2010?

Ivy's Books

I finally finished organizing my books after our move. My To Be Read list includes 109 books--which judging by the number of books I've read this year will take me at least 2 years. I'm supplementing this reading with books by mail from the library.

My daughter has 190 books in her room. That makes me happy. If I do nothing else right, I know I'm doing one good thing for her. And it amazes me that among all these books, she can still find her favorites like The Best Mouse Cookie and any book with pictures of babies in them.

New Books

As wished, I got the first volume of the Autobiography of Mark Twain for Christmas. I've started the 57 page introduction. The text doesn't even start till after page 200! I'm excited to jump into it.

I also got a bookstore gift card (one of my favorite gifts). With it I got The Hunger Games and 20 Under 40, a collection of stories by the best new writers today. I'm excited to be introduced to some new writing and new authors.

What books did you get for Christmas?

Reread: The Midwife's Apprentice

After taking weeks to finish one book, I need something short and quick to get me back into the swing of things. While organizing my hundreds of books in our new house, I'm setting aside all the books I've meant to read but haven't yet. I'm also occasionally coming across a book that I leave out because I feel the urge to reread it.

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman was on my reread shelf. I think my sister told me that she read it recently so I wanted to read it again.

I don't have anything remarkable to say about it, but I enjoyed it. And I'm looking forward to some Christmas break reading.

Review: Barrel Fever

I have long enjoyed David Sedaris's sense of humor. An essay he wrote about an unflushable poo has stayed with me longer than any story about poo should. So on my last airplane ride I picked up Barrel Fever, a collection of stories and essays.

Flying with a toddler did not afford me much time for reading, so it's taken me much longer to get through it. And it only took a few of his short stories for me to realize that I'm actually not a fan of Sedaris's fiction. He seemed more crude than I remember his nonfiction stories being. Or maybe it's harder for me to swallow crudeness when it's made up than when I believe it to have really happened.

Whatever the case, I skipped the rest of the short stories and dove into the essays. Which I enjoyed as much as I remembered enjoying Sedaris. So I recommend his nonfiction, if you get his sense of humor. But save your time by not reading his fiction.

900+

Here's most of the boxes filled with books that I'm going through after our move.



Years ago, when I started buying books I already owned, I made a list of all the books my family has. Unfortunately, I've never been the best at keeping it completely updated. So with each move, I go through my books once again and make sure they're all accounted for.

In finding books that weren't catalogued yet, the book count has now crossed the 900 mark. And I seriously have been trying to get rid of books I'll never read again and I buy very few books now that I'm married. Except for kids' books. I buy a lot more of those now that I'm a mom. That certainly helped bump the number up and over 900. As did the sweet little collection of Beatrix Potter books that my mom gave to my daughter for her first birthday.

900 is a lot of books to own. It's a lot of books to move (come to think of it, I'm now curious what the total weight of my books is--not curious enough to find out). But there are certainly worse things to own 900 of.

Bookmobile and TBR

I had two requests for moving to the middle of nowhere: 1) we had to have high speed Internet, and 2) we needed to be in a reasonable distance of a library.

Well, I got one out of two. The closest library is an hour away--on a long, windy road that is hazardous at any time, but especially dangerous in wintertime.

Since we live too far to go to the library, the library comes to us via the Fort Vancouver Regional Library Bookmobile! It comes every two weeks (except when weather or road conditions make it too risky). We also qualify for books by mail because of how remote we are. Which I'm sure I'll take advantage of when it's too cold to walk down to the Post Office (where the bookmobile parks) with my toddler.

When we got inside, Ivy walked right up to the bin of board books and picked some out. This made me happy to have the bookmobile. But I'll be honest, there really wasn't anything there that I would normally choose to read. I grabbed a couple of books anyway, because I didn't want to leave empty-handed. I can request books that I'm interested in, so hopefully I'll be getting some stuff I've been wanting to read soon. It's definitely nice to have a library card again.

With my limited library options, I've decided to attack my To Be Read list of books that I own but have never read. We have tons of space for my 800+ books, but I only have one bookcase, so I have to be choosy about what goes on it and what stays in boxes. I can never fit my lists of favorites or all the books that make me look smart on the one bookcase, so instead of agonizing over what to allow on my shelf, I am putting up all the books I've meant to read but have never gotten around to.

I'm excited about some of the books. (I have a confession--I've never read a Jane Austen book. But I own them, so I'm going to read them now.) Other books terrify me: Why exactly did I ever think I'd read Don Quixote? or The Poems of Virgil? Desperate times call for desperate reading.

Library Drop Off

This week I return all my library books, cancel all my holds, and ignore the fact that The Help is waiting on the hold shelf for me. We move this weekend to a town with no library. The closest library is over an hour away. The town does get a library bookmobile visit every two weeks--if the roads are clear enough. I'm about to enter a scary world where new books and libraries are not mere minutes away. I will have lots of time to start reading the books I own and have always meant to read, but something else always got in the way.

Review: Literary Hoaxes

I've been so long between books for a couple of reasons. We are in the middle of a new job/moving transition which has involved a lot of travel. And I've had a hard time being completely engrossed in any book I pick up. So I'm reading bits and pieces of lots of things right now.

I recently read Literary Hoaxes: An Eye Opening History of Famous Frauds by Melissa Katsoulis. It was certainly intriguing, especially for those who are interested in literature. But it wasn't quite as fascinating as I hoped it would be. Maybe it's just this time in my life is a blah time for reading and any book will fail to impress as much as it might in better times.

Review: A Little Book of Language

"Grammar is the way we make sense of words. Without grammar, there's only vagueness."

Months ago I heard an interview on NPR with David Crystal, linguist and author of a new book about language written for young adults. Since then I have been looking forward to reading A Little Book of Language.

I heard the interview rebroadcast just before the book came into the library for me. Since I had just listened to David Crystal speak with his very proper British accent, I could hear his voice as I read his book. Which I found delightful, though not everyone would feel the same way.

Since I studied English and grammar in graduate school, this book was written a little simply for me. But I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I think most people could learn something from it. The chapters are short and the explanations are written in plain English.

If I taught high school English, I would certainly try to incorporate at least parts of this book into my lesson plans. Crystal thinks the study of language is vitally important for young people today--he speaks to them but not down to them. He is fascinated (rather than appalled like many older generations) by the language of texting, positing that you have to be a good speller to be a good texter because you have to know what letters are there before you can effectively leave them out. (I think that's the difference between a grammarian and a linguist--a grammarian is concerned with proper language, a linguist is just fascinated by language and how it evolves.)

If you have any interest in language, you should read this book. If I were your teacher, I would assign you to read this book.

Review: Ape House

I was completely swept away when I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, so I had high expectations for Ape House. I was not disappointed. There was a time in the middle section when I was not quite as engaged because the main stories had diverged, but once they came back together for the climax, I was fully committed to the story and its characters again.

Sara Gruen is a good storyteller. And I admire the way she can write from the point of view of anyone--male, female, primate.

This was not only a good story, but it had fascinating ideas about how much the title characters, the six bonobos, can learn and communicate with humans. They could understand spoken English and then reply in American Sign Language.

"One of the most exciting discoveries to come to the language lab was that once bonobos acquired human language they passed it on to their babies, communicating in a combination of ASL and their own vocalizations."

This is especially interesting to me because we have been teaching our daughter to sign to communicate since she was born. For a long time, it honestly felt pointless to me. It took her months to learn one sign. But now at 16 months, she often learns multiple new signs in one day. And she has definitely started using her signs to communicate her needs. I didn't notice this at first because I often knew what she wanted anyway. But one day when I thought she was hungry, she told me very distinctly that she was actually thirsty by signing "drink." She says "book," but it sounds like many of the other words she says that start with a "B." But when she signs "book" at the same time, there is no question of what she wants.

Tangent over. It was a good book. I recommend it.

Reading Slump

I feel a reading slump coming on. I just finished reading Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. I'd read a long line of fiction and needed some interesting nonfiction to change things up a bit. It fit the bill, but I'm obviously late on reading this book, so you probably already know that it's interesting.

My library hold list is not giving me what I want to read. What I'd really like to read right now is David Crystal's A Little Book of Language. I recently heard the rebroadcast of his interview on NPR.

I was also about to complain about not having any good fiction to read right now, but I just found out that the newest Sara Gruen novel, Ape House, is waiting for me at the library. So hopefully some better reading is in the very near future for me.

Wordstock 2010

Today we went to the Wordstock Festival here in Portland, Oregon. We visited the children's area where Ivy listened to some stories and some music. She also got to see Olivia the Pig, and though she wasn't excited, she also thankfully wasn't scared either.

Then we just walked up and down checking out vendors, buying a few books, and getting some free stuff. I think my favorite vendor was Allport Editions cards. They had a new 12 Days of Christmas card for Shakespeare Lovers. Check out the Literary and Book Lover's 12 Days cards as well. I settled on the Book Lover's because there are more people I can send it to who will understand the references than the Shakespeare one. I also got a Wordstock mug so I can feel literary drinking my hot cocoa or cider while I read books this winter.

General admission is only $7 per adult and free for kids, and there's a lot more to do than we take advantage of, so check it out if you're in the area.

Review: Messenger

I just finished reading Messenger by Lois Lowry. In this last book, the characters from The Giver and Gathering Blue come together for a conclusion to the series. Messenger had a more complete ending than the other two books, which is what I was looking for. But my initial reaction was not wanting to like the ending. It's a good ending, but it's a sad one.

As an undergrad, I took a literature class that focused on landscape. In Messenger, the landscape not only plays an important role in the story, it is a character itself. It was an interesting look at the idea that how we live effects where we live.

If you've read either of the first two books, you should certainly read this last book. But like the first two, Messenger can stand on its own as well.

Mark Twain Uncensored

This year marks 100 years since Mark Twain's death. Which means, per his willed request, his autobiography can finally be published. I can't wait to read the uncensored Autobiography of Mark Twain.

Volume 1 is slated for release next month and is going to be 743 pages. Talk about heavy reading! Can you imagine being responsible for editing and proofreading that thing?

Oh, to be studying American Literature in a university at such a time as this! I will have to content myself with reading it on my own and pester my husband with anecdotes and quotes. I have it on hold at the library, but based on the uncertainty of where we'll be living in the next weeks or months, I just might have to ask for it for Christmas.

Review: Gathering Blue

As I began reading Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, I realized that I had read the book before. When I read it the first time, I don't remember realizing that it was a companion book to The Giver. Probably because nothing about The Giver is ever mentioned in Gathering Blue. I assume they tie together in the third book, Messenger, which is sitting on my shelf waiting for me to read.

Knowing the connection between the two books, I got more out of Gathering Blue this time because I was conscious of the differences and similarities between the two civilizations portrayed. The differences are obvious to anyone who's read them. Shielded from pain and hardship in The Giver, everything is pain and hardship in Gathering Blue.

The similarity that I was most struck by is the intense need to remember the past. Even though in one book, the people remain in ignorance of their past and in the other they gather yearly to hear their past sung, the need to preserve it is equally important in both. And the person who holds the memory of their past is the most honored, but also in many ways the most unfortunate member of their society.

There is also a lot of secrecy in both books. The people are all being told, or not told, many things in order to keep them in line. Whether through fear or ignorance, the results are the same: a group of followers who do not question.

I'm looking forward to making more connections, and maybe encountering an ending, in Messenger.

Review: The Giver

In honor of Banned Books Week, I reread The Giver by Lois Lowry. The first time I read it, I felt like I knew what the ending meant. Now I can see a few different interpretations--though that still means I'll choose the interpretation that I like. With the book fresh in my mind though, I am going to go check out its companion books Gathering Blue and Messenger.

Besides being an enjoyable and interesting read without being too laborious (that's what I love about quality YA fiction), it was good for me to read this book at this time in my life. Lately my toddler has been getting hurt or sick every time I turn around. It's stressful and sometimes I want to just put her in a bubble (or maybe wrap her in bubble wrap), but this book shows the extreme end of never having any pain or troubles. We need pain and suffering to know joy and love. I always knew it, but it's a good reminder right now.

Prince Caspian

I just finished reading the fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia aloud to my daughter. I love the movies versions of both The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. Though when I've recently read those two books, I've noticed how many differences there are between the books and the movies. But in this case, the differences aren't important because I think the movies capture the spirit and imagination and magic of the books.

I'm excited that we finished Prince Caspian because I know that we'll be able to get through Voyage of the Dawn Treader before the movie comes out this December. Which I'm excited about for more than just the fact that Ben Barnes, who plays Caspian, has a beard in the movie--but that helps.

Movie: Rebecca

When I found out that Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier had been made into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock, I had to check it out. Apparently it won the 1940 Academy Ward for Best Picture. It stars Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. de Winter and Laurence Olivier as Max de Winter. While looking up details about the movie, I found out that Laurence Olivier also starred as Heathcliff in a 1939 version of Wuthering Heights. Looks like I have another old movie to check out. But I digress.

I liked the movie adaptation of Rebecca. There were many lines taken straight from the book, but it was obviously edited heavily for time's sake. You just can't get a 400 page novel into two hours. Since I felt that some of the middle of the novel was too slow, I liked that. If you like old movies, you'll probably like this one and I recommend it.

***Spoiler Alert***
The biggest changes to the movie made it more palatable for general audiences. Though the narrator loves Maxim no matter that he killed his first wife, it's still hard to swallow as an outsider, even when played by Laurence Olivier. So the movie version had Rebecca's death be an accident with Maxim there and no one would believe him that it was an accident, blah, blah, blah. Easier to forgive an accident than murder though. And the ending was much more dramatic and direct than the book was.

Top Ten Classics

How do you choose the top ten classics of all time? How do you even choose 100?

Well, Penguin Books made a list of their top ten, and of course, they had many people dispute their choices. So they're allowing people to vote for their top ten out of 100 that they chose.

I had a hard time choosing a top ten, and I haven't even read half of their 100 (I've read 46, a book nerd like me could not resist counting). And once I voted, I looked back and noticed books that I hadn't noticed and might have been in contention. Oh well.

Good luck, Penguin Books. There will always be controversy (and publicity!) surrounding any list of classics.

What are your favorite classics?

Review: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a long book. And apparently a classic turned into a Hitchcock movie (which is waiting for me on hold at the library). I enjoyed it overall. But I found it tedious at times. It was a little melodramatic, a little predictable. But that just might be the genre and writing of the time.

It definitely could have been shortened--the middle bit was much longer than it needed to be. Besides lengthy landscape descriptions, the main character often spent a lot of time imagining how things might happen (and they never do).

The main character marries the much older Maxim de Winter whose first wife, Rebecca, recently died in a suspicious manner. The second Mrs. de Winter (who is never given a first name which drove me crazy because her first name was often alluded to and one of the reasons I finished the book was to find out her first name) is haunted by the memory of beautiful, charming, perfect Rebecca. Drama and intrigue ensues.

I called it predictable even though there were some plot twists that surprised me. But if the creepy housekeeper who adored the first wife and hates you makes a "friendly" suggestion that you have a dress made to look like the one in the painting in the hall for the fancy dress ball--don't do it! It's obvious that Rebecca wore that same dress at one point.

I felt very sorry for the second Mrs. de Winter at times. She is so young and timid. Her husband tells her that he has no problem with firing the creepy housekeeper if she wants. So fire the creepy housekeeper!

I suppose my frustrations with the book show that I ultimately liked it. I would not get so frustrated with a character that I didn't care for. So if you like a "classic tale of romantic suspense," I say go for it.

Censorship and Ratings

Book people tend to get very worked up about the “C” word—okay, I’ll say it: Censorship. We’re against it, no question. And we get very worked up about it: next week is devoted to anti-censorship called Banned Books Week. I love taking time to think about some of the amazing pieces of literature that have been banned through time, and sometimes surprisingly, even today. I encourage you to browse through some of the lists of the most frequently challenged books. One of my favorite books of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird, is near the top of the list.

I recently came across a website that I’d never heard of before. It’s called Rated Reads and its reviewers attempt to give ratings to books similar to movie ratings, including the language, sexual, or violence content. Among a community of book lovers, it’s easy to get worked up about anything that looks like censorship. But along with believing in the right for people to write, publish, and read whatever they want, we sometimes forget that belief includes the right of people to not read something, or to not allow their children to read it, based on its content. (Just so long as they don’t try to stop others from reading it or having access to it.)

I don’t think I would use this site for myself, but I might use it before choosing a book for my church’s book club again (that ended awkwardly the last time because as an English graduate, I’ve apparently become desensitized to content that makes other uncomfortable). And if I haven’t read a book, I might check out a “rating” on it before deciding if my child is old enough to read it or to know if there might be some content that I want to discuss with them.

As an avid reader, I’m more likely to read a book right along with my child to determine its appropriateness, but Rated Reads offers an alternative to those who don’t have the time or inclination. My children will probably hate me for reading their English assigned books along with them in high school, but I plan on doing it anyway. Just to annoy them.

Review: Wide Sargasso Sea

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys explores the character of the mad woman in the attic from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.

I love Jane Eyre and mostly enjoyed Wide Sargasso Sea. The book helps you sympathize with the mad woman that was Rochester's first wife rather than just seeing her as an obstacle to Jane's happiness. It's also an interesting look at what it means to be crazy and almost, but not quite, asks the question of whether or not being treated like you're crazy can eventually make you crazy.

My one issue with this books was that I was occasionally confused about the point of view. The first section was easy enough to follow, but after that we get a few different characters' points of view, but at times, I wasn't sure who we were following.

You could probably read this book even if you haven't read Jane Eyre. But really, if you're going to read one of these books for the first time, you ought to be choosing Jane Eyre.

By the way, I love the 1996 movie version of Jane Eyre, and while I was looking up that link I found out that they are making another version to be released in 2011. Not sure how I feel about that. I will end of watching it I'm sure, but I'm skeptical. One of the appeals about the 1996 movie was that the actress who played Jane was actually plain; the actress for the upcoming version is far too pretty to be Jane.

Skimming: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

I used to feel like I had to finish any book I started. But these days, my reading time is too precious to spend on something that doesn't catch my attention quickly or promise to be worth my time.

I've wanted to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver for a long time (her book Poisonwood Bible is one I remember the most from my women's lit class as an undergrad). In it, Kingsolver and her family move to a farm and live off the land. It discusses our culture of food and the benefits of eating locally and organically.

I got it from the library last week, read a couple of paragraphs and then abandoned it. I picked it up again today and skimmed through it. I mostly read the mini essays by Kingsolver's daughter which included recipes and some menu ideas for different seasons.

Even though I didn't finish this book, I'd still recommend it. In fact, I'm recommending it to my future self--it's right back on the TBR list and I'll probably keep my eye out for a used copy so that I can have it on my shelf to pick up and read someday when I have my own house and garden, maybe more money to spend at farmer's markets, or even just my own kitchen again. Since I have no means to make the changes I'd like to with gardening and cooking, I just felt that this was the wrong time for me to invest time in reading this book. But if you're there, definitely read this one. (I think my younger sister Beccah would especially like it.) If you want to dabble before you dive in, check out the website created for the book: AnimalVegetableMiracle.

Review: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman is a book for book people. And maybe for people who want to understand book people.

I was a tiny bit skeptical going into this book because the whole book about books thing can be a bit overdone. You love books? So do I! What more is there to say about it?

But I thoroughly enjoyed every one of Anne's essays. They made me feel not so alone in the world. It's been a few years since I've been in an English Lit class, where almost everyone there is as nerdy about books as you are. Out in the real world, you begin to feel a bit out of place. But reading these essays made me remember that I'm not alone in my bibliophilia. In fact, next to Fadiman's thousands of books, my hundreds look puny. (I might have to remind my husband of that the next time he has to move my hundreds of books--I love you, honey!)

Each of her essays could be a good jumping off place for discussions about books and reading. And since I had no one reading them with me to have these discussions with, this blog might be subjected to a few thoughts that Fadiman's essays stirred up in my mind.

Review: Gregor the Overlander

"Courage only counts when you can count."

Since I read the Hunger Games series, I decided to try out Suzanne Collins's first book: Gregor the Overlander. I found it interesting and entertaining enough, even though I am by no means its intended audience. I'm not about to run out and read the second book in the five book series, but I may pick it up another time when I want something entertaining and easy to read.

Like the Hunger Games series, this series is pretty scary and violent for a YA book. In some ways Gregor the Overlander was even scarier to me, probably because of my fear of spiders of any size, let alone enormous ones. I was more freaked out than any ten year old when the huge spiders chased Harry Potter and I spent a couple of years dreading the enormous spider from the Lord of the Rings (because I anticipated it in the second movie, but it didn't arrive until the third one).

One moment in this book seemed to echo one of my favorite YA books, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Compare the two quotes:

“Despair settled like a stone in the pit of Meg’s stomach. She had been so certain that the moment she found her father everything would be alright. Everything would be settled. All the problems would be taken out of her hands. She would no longer be responsible for anything.” - A Wrinkle in Time

"This was the scariest part of all. Gregor had thought he would get a parent back when he found his dad. Then he could stop having to make hard decisions. He could just be a kid." - Gregor the Overlander

Both Meg and Gregor learn a hard lesson early on: your parents can't fix everything, and eventually you have to start making hard decisions for yourself whether your parent is there or not.

A Short Poem

I love local poet and editor Vinnie Kinsella. He says so much in such small bites of poetry. Check out today's offering, I think it's one of my favorites: When I Fall Apart

Thoughts: Mockingjay

*No spoilers--I wouldn't even call this a review of the book.

Last night I finished reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I am very proud of myself for not neglecting my child or going to bed at a ridiculous time to finish reading it.

I have tons of things to say about the book to someone who's read it, but I don't want to ruin anything for someone who hasn't. So I'll just say I liked it, and I liked the ending. There was the plot twists throughout like the first two books, but this one had closure (thank goodness, being the last book in the series, but that's not always a guarantee).

As I was reading it I was thinking about Suzanne Collins and the kind of pressure she faced as she wrote the book. The Hunger Games series had become so popular that there were millions of fans with their own ideas and expectations for the book. The characters had truly taken on a life of their own.

I didn't read The Hunger Games or Catching Fire until this year, but I still wish I could have read them both again just before reading Mockingjay. It was honestly hard for me to keep track of some of the characters simply because there already were so many and many more are added. I'm sure someone who was more obsessed with the story would have no problem keeping track of them--I don't think it's the fault of the writer or the editors. Just my tired mom-brain that needs help these days. Maybe I just should have kept a character list. At any rate, I will definitely read the three of them back to back at some time--probably before the movie comes out.

Review: Nectar in a Sieve

"Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And hope without an object cannot live."
-- Coleridge

I decided to read Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya for one of the most random reasons. I am working on reading Great Expectations (Dickens is always a long journey for me, and I start and finish many other books before one of his is conquered). My copy of Great Expectations is a Signet Classic. After finishing a chapter, I was flipping through the Signet ads in the back and found a list of the top 20 Signet Classic Books. I discovered that I had read all of them but one, which I had never even heard of.

So I read Nectar in a Sieve with no idea what it was about. And I wish I had left it that way. Partway through, I began to read the back cover and I felt it gave too much of the plot away--it told me some of the struggles the main character, a peasant woman in rural India named Rukmani. And so I kept waiting for them to happen. "Oh this must be where blah happens..." (I will not ruin it for anyone who wants to read it by repeating the overtelling of the plot.) So if you read it, do not read the back cover.

And I do think it is worth reading. It is nothing like the things I usually read and Rukmani and I have little in common besides our humanity and being mothers. She lives in a different time and place with completely different ideas and values. She works hard and accepts her lot in life, though she is always struggling and often starving. It definitely made me more grateful for the abundance of food we have. I am so glad that I don't live in a mud hut that I have to smear with dung to keep it standing. And yet, though anyone who reads this book will obviously be better off than Rukmani, it is never presented in a way that you feel that you should pity her or that you are being judged for your lack of poverty.

It is often heart wrenching, always moving. The language is simple which made it a quick read, but I wouldn't call it an easy read because of its content. The short book follows Rukmani from when she is given away as a child bride until she is an old woman.

Review: Too Much Happiness

Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro is the best contemporary collection of short stories that I've ever read. The title story was the last one and almost long enough to be a novella. Munro wrote it after she discovered Russian mathematician Sophia Kovalevsky and was fascinated her life and her work.

Has any seemingly random figure in history caught your attention and held it? Mine is a woman named Hannah Dustan who lived in the early days of New England. She was kidnapped by Indians, her infant's brains bashed out on a tree in front of her. She later escaped and massacred and scalped her captors--men, women, and children. After she returned home, she was praised and paid for the scalps she took, even though that had been outlawed years before. I read a short story about her in a survey of American Literature class probably eight or nine years ago, but I still occasionally think about Dustan and what drove her to do what she did. What fascinates me most is wondering how she lived the rest of her life and how she felt about her actions years later.

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

I picked up another comfort read--Beauty by Robin McKinley.

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, and this is one of my favorite retellings, although I like Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter even better. (Beauty is for a younger audience, Rose Daughter is for adults.) Beauty is a simple, beautiful, and surprising take on the classic story.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie. It always has been, but it has a special place in my life since it's my husband and my movie. We don't have a song, we have a movie. We had a our first kiss while watching Beauty and the Beast. And yes, it was during the cheesy, romantic Beast changing into handsome prince part.

Comfort Reads

When my real life is turned upside down, I reach for familiar books with happy endings. Nothing too complex or deep, nothing too dark or sad. Just a good story that I know will end well because it ended well the last dozen or so times I read it.

Today that was The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (Newbery Winning author, but not for this book). Looking at the limited books I have on my shelf in this transition period of life, I think I'll be reaching for Beauty by Robin McKinley next.


What are your comfort reads?

Review: A Single Shard

"I am going to--to Songdo," Tree-ear said at last, as if testing the words. He looked at his companion pleadingly. "It seems too far away, to say it."

"No, my friend," Crane-man said. "It is only as far as the next village. A day's walk, on your young legs."

Tree-ear frowned, mystified. But before he could speak, Crane-man continued. "Your mind knows that you are going to Songdo. But you must not tell your body. It must think one hill, one valley, one day at a time. In that way, your spirit will not grow weary before you have even begun to walk."


I reread A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park because I remembered how much I had enjoyed it while thinking back on all the Newbery Award winning books I have read. It is still one of my favorites--simple, beautifully told, interesting history, moving story. You won't regret reading it once or twice either.

Reading on the Road

So I've apparently become a transient. In July, I'll be going back and forth between Portland and Provo three times. This has not allowed for a lot of reading, and has definitely upset my ability to get books from the library. So I've started books and had no time to finish them. I'll be headed back onto the road on Thursday with no clue what to read. If only I had time to go to a used bookstore and find some cheap reads. Most likely I will be taking a couple of well-loved favorites to reread on the road.

Review: A Fistful of Sky

I picked up this book because the title sounded cool and because the author, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, lives in Oregon, thus fulfilling one of my goals to read more local authors. But I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed in it.

First of all, it was weird. It has a fantasy element to it, so that should be expected. But it was in that odd in between stage where the world is almost normal, but not quite.

My main complaint as I read is that the main character was very juvenile. In some reviews I read, I think this book is supposed to be for a YA audience, but it wasn't shelved that way at my library. Plus, there are so many YA books that crossover well for an adult audience. This was not one of them.

But what I liked the least was the ending. It could have and should have ended a couple of pages earlier. The main character's final choice just didn't make sense with all of her thoughts and actions leading up to it. And it was weird. And I thought it was stupid.

So...I really wanted to like this book, but really, really didn't. The author has gotten such great reviews for her books that I wanted to like this one enough to try another of hers, but I was so disappointed in the ending, that I don't think I'll ever pick up another book by her.

Book Blah

Lately I've been starting lots of books and not being interested enough to finish them. The only one I'm sticking with is Great Expectations because it's one of those I've meant to read for years (and when is it going to be an easy read?).

However, Book Babies starts up again at our local library so Ivy and I will be going to the library today, so maybe I'll find something to read.

Any recommendations for light summer reads?

Words, Words, Words

I am currently reading a dictionary. Don't worry, I'm not one of those crazies who decide to read the entire OED. It's called The Bibliophile's Dictionary and it's full of fun words for bookworms and word nerds like me. It's organized by topics and it includes examples of the words being used in literary works. Here are a few of my favorites, with shortened definitions (you're welcome):

reticent: reserved in speech; inclined to be silent (this is my favorite word for describing my personality when I meet new people)

sesquipedalian: given to using long words (I hope I'm not the only one who finds this funny)

magnanimous: noble and generous in spirit

avarice: greed

Review: The Magician's Elephant

The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka

“Leo Matienne had the soul of a poet, and because of this, he liked very much to consider questions that had no answers. He liked to ask ‘What if?’ and ‘Why not?’ and ‘Could it possibly be?’”

Kate DiCamillo’s books are always beautiful—rich language, stunning illustrations, touching story. And this one is no exception. She’s on my list of authors that I read every single book she writes.

So pick up The Magician’s Elephant and ask yourself, “What if?” and “Why not?” and “Could it possibly be?”

Have You Noticed?

Last week I spent some time browsing a Barnes & Noble store. I remember them having cards and word games as well as books, but this time I was amazed at how much of their store was no longer books. Especially in the kid's section. There were no longer just word-related games, but any game or toy that could be classified as a learning game. Shelf after shelf after shelf of non-book items in a bookstore.

It's sad that even a big box bookstore has to sell more than books to keep afloat these days. How do the small independent bookstores do it? Though it's not on my list of must-haves, in my dream world, wherever we move to this summer will have an independent bookstore nearby.

Review: The People of Sparks

"People didn't make life, so they can't destroy it. Even if we were to wipe out every bit of life in the world, we can't touch the place life comes from. Whatever made plants and animals and people spring up in the first place will always be there, and life will always spring up again."

I read The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau close to five years ago. I liked it enough to borrow the movie from the library (which I liked well enough), but I hadn't sought out the sequel. My sister recently recommended the sequel, The People of Sparks, saying that she liked it more than the first one.

It's been too long since I read the first one to really compare them, but The People of Sparks was more thought provoking than I remember The City of Ember being. In this continuation, the people escape from they dying city of Ember and find that they had been living underground for generations. They find their way to Sparks, where the people rather reluctantly take in a group of backward refugees (cavepeople as they come to call them) who use up their resources and know very little about surviving on the surface.

What made this book most interesting for me is that it takes place hundreds of years after an apocalyptic event. There are a few other stories that explore the after effects of apocalypse (The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Kevin Costner in The Postman), but most seem to focus on the apocalyptic event and trying to prevent it or survive it (2012, The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, Armageddon, etc.).

I used to think that I'd prefer to be killed (quickly, of course) in any sort of apocalyptic event rather than have to try to survive the aftermath. Until I became a mother last year. Now when I watch those movies my survival instinct (particularly for my daughter's survival) is much more intense.

The People of Sparks explores the world and humanity's survival long after we almost wipe ourselves out. How do they survive? When do they finally begin to thrive? And do we ever really learn from the mistakes of the past?

Review: How the States Got Their Shapes

Early one morning I was watching the History Channel and saw part of a special on how the U.S. states got their shapes. One of the people interviewed was Mark Stein, author of (can you guess?) How the States Got Their Shapes.

I wasn't able to watch much of the special, but I was intrigued so I looked up Stein's book. I enjoyed it, but I advise skimming instead of trying to delve deeply into it.

The states were organized alphabetically. Though the organization was a bit dry, I don't know how you could organize it any better. This makes it a good reference book, but not exactly gripping reading. Since every state is given it's own section, there's obviously a lot of redundancy. Once I'd read how Oregon got it's northern border, I knew how Washington got it's southern border.

I skimmed to get a general sense of the entire book and stopped to read in places where I had greater interest. I also read the whole section on any states that I've lived in or had particular interest in. I especially loved all the diagrams of the states as they are, as they were, and as they might have been.

If you like U.S. History, you'll like looking through this book. It's a fascinating look into how our nation took it's shape--which I know that I have generally taken for granted.

Newbery Goal Finished!

I set out to read all the Newbery Award Winning books when I was working in a middle school library. I had already read a handful of them, but between getting a bachelor’s degree, getting married, getting a master’s degree, and having a baby, it took me ten years to finish. As of this year, there are 89 Newbery Winning books. It’s going to be easy to keep up the goal with reading one book a year.

I certainly did not enjoy all the books. The best ones are those written in the last twenty years or so—those are the ones written for me. There are a few that stand the test of time, and even those I didn’t like told me something about the time period they were written in—it was a small window into what was considered the best literature for youth at the time.

Some people have asked if I read all the Newbery Honor books too. No, and I don’t plan to. I might occasionally seek out Newbery Honor books written in my lifetime, but there were some years that the winning book was painful to read—why would I want to submit myself to the runners up?

This long-term goal finished, I find myself a little lost. Not that there isn’t plenty to read, but do I set out to read another list? The Pulitzers? No, there are some on that list that I know I don’t want to read. Top 100 classic books? No, everyone’s list is different and none of them are my top 100. So I’m going to read whatever suits my fancy with one exception—I have begun reading the favorite books of people I know, of real everyday readers. So, what is your favorite book? What do you think everyone should read?

And since this post is not long enough, here is a recap of some of the Newbery Award Winning books. You can find a full list on the ALA Website.

Top 5 Newbery Winners I Loved as a Youth:
1985: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley – I still read every book that McKinley writes. As a youth, I reread many of her books over and over again.
1963: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle – This book crosses over as one of my all-time favorites. I read it at least once a year.
1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell – I loved this story of a young girl who finds a way to live alone on an island. What young person doesn’t fantasize about that?
1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare – My fourth grade teacher recommended this book to me, but I thought the title was weird and didn’t read it until a few years later. But then it became a favorite to read again and again.
1956: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham – Not sure why I liked this one so much—the main character was a boy. But I read this one at least half a dozen times.

Top 5 Newbery Winners I’ve Loved as an Adult:
2010: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead – Beautiful and heartbreaking. This was the only Newbery Winner I read before it won.
2009: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – I'm a Neil Gaiman fan. And I love that a darker story won—it’s representative of the kinds of YA books that are being written right now.
2004: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo – If you watched the movie but didn’t read the book, shame on you. Read the book. 99% of the time, the book is better. And I love the illustrations.
2002: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park – Beautiful story. I’ve only read it once, but the ending really sticks with me.
1999: Holes by Louis Sachar – I was first in line with my little brother to see the movie—which was almost as a good as the book. But the book is a different experience that should not be missed.

Other Newbery Winners that Stood Out to Me:
1978: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson – This is a great book, but it took me at least half a dozen tries to finish it. I finally realized that it was a book I was supposed to do a book report on in front of my class in fifth grade, but I never finished it and so was humiliated in front of my class. So although it was short and an excellent story, it was one of the most difficult for me to read.
1952: Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes – I couldn’t help but laugh at the squeaky clean 1950s story of a brother and sister who lose their dog and worry that he was stolen. Their mother suggests that maybe they should lock the front door since there seems to be an “unsavory character” lurking around town.
1947: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey – Completely disturbing. Spoiler alert: Follows a doll made of hickory with a nut for a head who is left outdoors for the winter. Ends with Miss Hickory making a stupid mistake and has her head eaten by a squirrel. Creeped me out—and they want our children to read this?
1933: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis – I remember this book because I was studying to take the GRE while I was reading it and encountered many words that were on my vocabulary list in this book. Words that I was expected to learn to be a grad student were taken for granted in a book written for young readers over 70 years ago.
1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James – Ugh. Not only an animal story from the animal’s point of view, but written in the voice of old western twang and slang. It hurt my editor’s brain to read this book.

Newbery Review: Smoky the Cowhorse

After ten years of working on the goal on and off, I finished reading all the Newbery Award Winning books last week. It was often harder than I thought, but I know that keeping it up will be a pleasure as the books that win Newbery Awards are always excellent. I will have a post about my experience soon, but here is a brief review of my final hurdle, Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James.

I know exactly why Smoky the Cowhorse won the Newbery Award in 1927. I’m sure little boys in the 1920s loved reading about a horse born wild on the range, lovingly trained by cowboy Clint to be a cowhorse, and waited breathless as Smoky went from being stolen to the rodeo circuit to eventually even being sold to the chicken feed man. (Don’t worry, Smoky is spared and though he goes through some hard years, he is eventually reunited with Clint and lives out his old age wild and free on the range again.)

But besides the fact that this is a horse book and I’ve never loved horse books, the language made this extremely difficult for me to wade through. For one thing, when Smoky is taken, the horse thief is a “half-breed” and is most often referred to as only “the breed.” Smoky gets far more respect than the man. I’m sure publishers didn’t think twice about this 80+ years ago, but it made this modern reader quite uncomfortable.

Even without some racially offensive language, the entire book offended my English major/grammar geek self. I know that it was written to sound like the slow drawl of a western cowboy, but it hurt my ears and my eyes. Here’s a small sample:

“Smoky had inherited that same instinct of his mammy’s, but on that quiet spring morning he wasn’t at all worried about enemies, his mammy was there, and besides he had a hard job ahead that was taking all of his mind to figger out, that was to stand on them long things which was fastened to his body and which kept a spraddling out in all directions.”

Two of the worst offenses were that, 1) he spelled “crethures” when all I could figure he meant was “creatures” (how would you even pronounce that?) and, 2) his favorite phrase was “would of.” This is a common mistake in written English because we pronounce “of” with a “V” sound. It is “would have.” It was consistently “would of” in the book, so it was a conscious choice. But I must ask the long-dead editor: why not “would’ve” or even “woulda”?

Oh well, it’s over. I can return the offending book to the library and look forward to books that better suit my tastes.

Review: Fool

“Warning: This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank. If that sort of thing bothers you, then gentle reader pass by, for we endeavor only to entertain, not to offend. That said, if that’s the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!”

Fool by Christopher Moore is King Lear from the Fool’s point of view. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but readers should heed the warning above that the book opens with. It is a true homage to Shakespeare—full of blood and guts and betrayal and horrible people.

The title character, named Pocket, is sometimes horrible and almost always deceitful. But two things redeemed him: he was always concerned for his apprentice, a “natural” (someone born with some physical or mental incapacity); and the people he was manipulating were, without a doubt, far more evil than he.

I haven’t read King Lear in about ten years, and I think if it had been fresher in my mind when I read Fool, I would have enjoyed it just a tiny bit more. But I think anyone who is semi-familiar with Shakespeare can appreciate this book. It was terribly funny—even the footnotes were funny. But also tragic and ghastly.

Childhood Favorites: The Magician's Nephew

A few Christmases back, my father-in-law gave me one of the best gifts of my life—a beautifully illustrated copy of all the Chronicles of Narnia. I can’t wait for my daughter to be old enough to sit on my lap and look at the pictures as I read the stories aloud to her. In fact, I found no reason to wait.

About a month ago, I started reading The Magician’s Nephew aloud to her as she played around me. Her attention span currently lasts about ten seconds (she’s not quite one year old), but she did occasionally sit on my lap and look at the pages. Sometimes she played long enough that we got a whole chapter read, sometimes I only read a paragraph, but we finished reading it yesterday.

There is no need to say that I loved it—my childhood copies of the Chronicles of Narnia are in tatters. But even though she’s too young to understand it yet, I enjoyed reading the words out loud to my daughter and talking with her about what was happening in the book. Well written books are always enhanced by being read aloud—and I love having a child to read to so I don’t feel silly reading out loud to myself.

Today we’ll begin reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I hope that these books turn into fond childhood memories for her, just as they are for me.

Newbery Review: Tales from Silver Lands

The 1925 Newbery Award Winner, Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger, is a collection of folktales that Finger collected during his travels in South America.

Though the tales are almost always strange, I enjoyed this book because I like reading the stories that different cultures tell in order to explain their world. This book was also nice because each chapter is a story that stands alone, so it was easy to put down and then come back to later--even while reading other books (still chipping away at Smokey the Cowhorse...).

My favorite tale was "El Enano." An old woman takes in what she thinks is a baby, but is really an evil monster who demands to be fed more and more food, until the entire village is spending all day gathering and cooking food to keep him at bay. Animals play a prominent role in many of these tales, and in "El Enano" a fox helps the old woman and the village outsmart the monster.

Not every young reader would enjoy this book today, but I do recommend it for children and adults who enjoy learning about other cultures and people--with a little bit of the fantastical thrown in.

Only one book left.

Review: Hattie Big Sky

"My bounce-around life had taught me that dreams were dangerous things--they look solid in your mind, but you just try to reach for them. It's like gathering clouds."

I read Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson because my mother recommended it. I love reading other people's favorite books--it always gives me new insight into who they are. I know why my mother liked this book--she's always loved books about people being resourceful and making a living off of the land.

I loved this book too. I read it quickly and enjoyed following Hattie as she learns to live alone in eastern Montana, attempting to prove up on the homestead her uncle left her. At the same time, Hattie and her neighbors are profoundly changed by World War I though it's being fought far away in another country.

The best evidence of me recommending this book to others is that I'm going to look up the author, Kirby Larson, and see if she has written anything else. Hattie Big Sky won the Newbery Honor in 2007, and is one of those great YA books that is easy for adults to read without even realizing that it's YA.

Newbery Review: Gay-Neck

"No beast of prey can kill his victim without frightening him first. ... an animal's fear kills it before its enemy gives it the final blow."

Well, I finished reading Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji. Besides the fact that I've always struggled with animal-centric stories, I bet you can guess why I put off reading this Newbery Winner for so long. Gay-Neck is translated from an Indian word. Another translation would be "iridescent throat."

The title bird is a carrier pigeon. We hear his story from the point of view of his trainer in India, and occasionally, from Gay-Neck himself. At one point Gay-Neck is a carrier pigeon in World War I.

This book wasn't all bad. It was interesting and informative at times, there was action and adventure both on the battle front and in the jungle, and it had the theme of courage threaded throughout it. But I'm afraid that the title alone would deter any young reader today.

Only two more to go! Smoky the Cowhorse, I'll conquer you yet!

Newbery Review: Waterless Mountain

I was skeptical of Waterless Mountain, the 1932 Newbery Award Winner by Laura Adams Armer. It's the story of a young Navaho (sic) boy written by a white woman. The publishers must have known there would be skeptics like me because there was a foreword written by some guy who saw the author interact with the Navaho people and testified that he'd never seen any white person so accepted into their culture.

Being a white person myself, I certainly can't tell you how accurate her portrayal of the people and the young boy (whose connection to the world around him and to his culture leads him to become a medicine man) is. But I did like that most of the book was simply written from the Navaho boy's point of view. There were only a few times when a white person appeared on the scene and we were shown how the different races reacted to each other.

Most of the book followed Younger Brother (the Navaho mothers did not speak the names they gave to their children because they believed a person's name had a lot of power and it would be diminished by speaking it too often)--his connection to the landscape, to his family, to his ancestors, and to the stories of his people.

I enjoyed the stories and didn't mind the book as a whole. I can say that I definitely would not have enjoyed or appreciated this book as a youth though. Some of its target audience might still like it today, but I wasn't into nature-centric books back then.

Review: Two More Shannon Hale Books

I recently finished reading the last of the Books of Bayern, Forest Born. I was pleasantly surprised, and I even think it was my favorite in the series. Besides the fantastical story of another land, it was a touching book about a girl who is so unsure of who she is that she imitates those around her, and thus completely loses herself--before finding herself again in the end, of course.

(My one complaint is that there is only this lame new cover, not the beautiful covers that go so well together that many of her earlier books have. For example, I love the one below.)

And so, I picked up Princess Academy again. I started at the beginning instead of trying to jump partway through to where I had left off twice before. Which is a much better strategy for revisiting an abandoned book (unless it's Moby Dick or anything by Dostoevsky--if you keep starting over, you'll never finish).

Once I pushed through the beginning and got over the title, I enjoyed it as I knew I likely would. I think I appreciated this book more after reading the Books of Bayern--the connection to the landscape was a lot more meaningful.

I honestly can't think of a better title, I just know that the one it has turned me off to it for a long time.

The book ended just as a I wanted it to--just as Shannon Hale always does. My literary, English graduate side fights against those happy endings that tie up so neatly. But my girly side (which is in there somewhere) loves Shannon Hale's endings. So she's right on target for her audience--which my English graduate side can appreciate as well.

For the Grammar Geeks

Are you a grammar geek? Check this out.

Books I've Read Over and Over

It's hard for me to choose just three from this week's Book List question of which three books I've read over and over. So I cut out those that I read over and over as a child and chose three that I read at least once a year as an adult.

1. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The story draws me in, and the language makes me keep coming back for more.


2. Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard
This slender book takes place over three days--November 18, 19, and 20. And I try to read it every year on those dates.



3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
This is a cross over of books I've read over and over both as a child and as an adult. I can't quite explain why I come back to it over and over. It's familiar and comforting and fantastic every time I read it.



What three books do you read over and over?