Photo Class

I am taking a photography class as part of my Educational Technology endorsement. These are my best efforts from today (edited with Picasa).  All the photo were taken right in the Town Sqaure area of the BigTown.  The final one is a portrait of our school district's Media Center coordinator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Mamie"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!"(Hunter S. Thompson)

Recent Goodreads Reviews

I'm using Goodreads to track my reading, rate books, and write reviews. They conveniently offer HTML coding to post the review one writes on their site right into a blog, so that's what I'm going to start doing. Let's begin with:

 Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic! There's humor in the vein of Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods," which I read as my sister was preparing to hike the Appalachian Trail and from which I gained an appreciation for the momentousness of an undertaking like walking the AT or PCT (as Strayed does). But Strayed's tale is more than a funny travel journal; it's an emotional traverse of her mind and soul following life-altering events. Her description of what it felt like to lose her mother at too-early an age could have been plucked right from my own mind and heart, which was intense. I'm familiar with the California and Oregon she inhabits on the trail, though certainly not as intimately, not having hiked the Pacific Crest Trail myself - of course, now I want to! This is a great book on so many levels, and I reveled in the experience of reading it. 

Fifty Years in Polygamy: Big Secrets and Little White Lies by Kristyn Decker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I know the author of this book personally, and while it was incredibly hard to read, I'm grateful to have a better understanding of her life and experiences. Yes, the writing is uneven and a bit *too* personal at times to make a flowing narrative; however, this is a *real* person's memoir that has something to say to all of us about inner strength and being able to rise above immense challenges. For those unfamiliar with polygamous sects, Kristyn's story will help you to understand the evil that has been perpetuated in people's lives.



Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an interesting book to read right after "50 Years of Polygamy: Big Secrets and Little White Lies" (Kristyn Decker). The two memoirs touch on many of the same themes of religious fanaticism, misogyny, and the inner struggle of women to reconcile their culture and beliefs with a growing self-awareness and self-respect. Feldman's book is more polished than Decker's, and benefited from much better editing. However, Feldman writes almost at a remove, as if distancing herself from events in her life that happened only a few years before. I was disappointed that she told nothing about the actual process of separating herself and her son from the Hasidic community, because I think that it would have given even more insight into the power of the rabbinical courts in everyday Americans lives (well, Americans who are also Hasidim). Overall, like "50 Years of Polygamy," "Unorthodox" provides insight into a relatively unknown aspect of religious culture and the lives of the women caught in a web created by others.



R My Name Is Rachel by Patricia Reilly Giff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

LOVED THIS! Patricia Reilly Giff never disappoints, and I love how her MANY main characters ALL have their own unique voices. This is a great snapshot of life during the depression, and Rachel is a sympathetic, admirable protagonist. I would certainly recommend this book for 4th - 8th graders, and of course for adult readers who enjoy YA fiction as much as I do.



Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Argh. I thought it would never end! At least now I have completed the trilogy... that's the best I can say about it.




 ~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recent Reads

I am reading a FABULOUS book right now (The Preacher, by Camilla Lackberg), but I'm only 1/3 of the way through it and thus can't blog it yet. But it's SO GOOD!

Weird thing - my last "Recent Reads" post on May 27th didn't get picked up in my own Google Reader feed.  So if you missed it, and you need book ideas (I'm talking to you, Nani!) click here and check it out. I had a lot of catching up to do, so there's 15 books mentioned in that post!

So, own to my most recent reads, mini-reviews, and recommendations:

Heft was fantastic! A very unique storyline with compelling characters.  At times I felt like Moore didn't change the voice enough as she switched between Arthur's and Kel's narration, but really this is a minor criticism. DEFINITELY worth a read!

My response to The Red Book was mixed.  I did ultimately become invested in the characters, but they often annoyed me. Perhaps it was more Kogan's writing that annoyed; there was plenty of Harvard hyperbole and and wandering down paths that were not necessary. You could certainly file this book under #whitepeoplesproblems, but the the truth is there's enough meat to the story to keep you chewing. I'm going to say recommendation NEUTRAL and let you decide for yourself.

I've been reading Ann Lamott for yeeeeeeeeeears; she was a very hip Bay Area writer when I was a hip Bay Area reader.  I've been to at least one of her book readings (back in the 90s), and I do like much of her work quite a lot.  Unfortunately, this memoir doesn't fall into that category.  It drags, Lamott whines, and she forces us to endure her trip to India for far too many pages. Disappointing for me, but I'm going to leave the recommendation NEUTRAL in case you're a more die-hard fan than I apparently am.

This was on my library's "new" shelf, but a quarter of the way through reading it I checked the copyright date, and it was published in 1993!  I personally didn't find this to be one of Gerritsen's better efforts. The characters were thin stereotypes and the plot was entirely predictable with a mystery that was too obvious. Overall, pretty cheesy and kind of a waste of time... so, DON'T recommend.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Things We're Eating

What a cute summer friend!

The nearly-meatless summer plan has started... we'll see how it goes! We're all feeling positive, though. :)  I have to add the caveat that this is NOT a foray in veganism. Mr. Mamie and GrandmaT both eat hard-boiled eggs on a regular basis, and cooked eggs (as in, scrambled or similar) about once a week. We are also NOT giving up cheese, at least not yet, though I know we should.  We have a little bit of meat in the freezer still that I am sure we will use, and once in a while I know I'll be craving Five Guys! Baby steps, right?

Here's a little round-up of recipes we'll be having in the near future:

Southwest taco salad with taco-ranch dressing

Bean and cheese enchiladas (an already-favorite)

Kale and romaine Cesar salad

Yogurt-dill potato salad

Mac and cheese bites

Mediterranean black bean salad


Sesame and cilantro vermicelli salad (had this before and loved it)

Broccoli cheese bites

Black bean quesadillas (another favorite of the house)

Oven-baked garlic Parmesan fries

Ranch roasted red potatoes (I use this homemade ranch seasoning mix - soooooo good!) 

Three-bean chili

Slow cooker marinara (over whole wheat speghetti) 

Lentil tacos (we have two dinner-size portions of the filling already in the freezer)

White bean enchiladas (love these; this time I am going to mix some spinach into the filling and see what happens!)

Fresh veggie quinoa skillet (I am TRYING to learn to love quinoa)

Quinoa with pine nuts, green onions, and cilantro (see comment re: quinoa above!)

A couple of treats I have planned are:

Watermelon hedgehog (sooooooo cute!)

Pineapple sorbet

Pina Colada pops

Our favorite crunchy snack is Archer Farms Organic Blue Corn with Flaxseed tortilla chips (from Target) dipped in this fabulous blender salsa - this is snack we can feel not-too-guilty about!

Image credit

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Recent Reads

Here are my recent reads, mini-reviews, and recommendations:

People, the books are WAY better than the TV series, seriously! This is #14, in which Tempe investigates a death at a major NASCAR event AND starts to regain her equilibrium in life. DO recommend.



I can't decide if I like Ali Reynolds or Johanna Brady better (regardless, J. P. Beaumont is a distant third).  This is #7 in Jance's Ali Reyonalds series, and it's a solid entry with a good storyline.  DO recommend.

 Pretty much anything Bill Bryson writes is fascinating, and At Home is no exception! DO recommend.

 

Meredith Maran is a great personal narrative author, but unfortunately, not such a great novelist (IMHO). While I enjoyed the abundant references to the many Berkeley establishments where I spent the better part of my 20s and early 30s (Black Oak Books, Zachary's Pizza, Berkeley Bowl produce market, and many others), the novel had too many annoying aspects to make it fully enjoyable. DON'T recommend.

 A definite improvement over some other recent entries in the Scarpetta series - solid storyline, though the characters have pretty much become caricatures of themselves. DO recommend IF you're a Scarpetta follower.

 Powerful, disturbing, gripping... I actually read this several months ago (but I think I failed to blog it) and thinking about it brings back the strong emotions I had while reading it. DEFINITELY recommend!

This was given to me to read by a good friend/colleague right after Molly's passing. I began and ended the book in tears. LOVED IT - highly recommend!

          

Laurie Halse Anderson never fails to deliver - these are excellent young-adult historical novels with great detail, engaging characters, and a compelling storyline (Forge is essentially the sequel to Chains).  DO recommend.

(The photo is hard to read - the title is Girlchild, the author is Tupelo Hassman)

Tough story of a tough life.  Well-written and a good read. DO recommend.

 Another tough story about tough lives. This one started out a bit slow for me, but 30 pages in and I was totally hooked and finished it off in a day. DO recommend.

 Yes, I fell for the hype and have read the smutty books! Well, the first two anyway; I'm waiting on the third to come up on my request list at the library.  Annoying characters and poor writing (the first book DID start out as Twilight fanfic, after all), yet I'm hooked enough to finish the trilogy. Go figure. Read at your own risk!

 Fun cultural details and good intentions, though the narrative sometimes gets bogged down in distracting navel-gazing.  As a "beach read" for the summer, I'll say DO recommend.

LOVED this one - great cross-cultural themes, parent-child themes, meaning-of-life themes... outstanding! DEFINITELY recommend!

A Swedish mystery that I enjoyed quite a bit more than the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy (AKA the Millennium Trilogy). The setting was interesting and unique, the characters were engaging, and the mystery itself was intriguing.  Lackberg is doing a Fjallbacka series, and I have The Preacher waiting on my nightstand - definitely looking forward to it! DO recommend.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)