Tag: books

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Robin Hobb is my Idol

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I’m reading Golden Fool by Robin Hobb right now. I’ve been saving it for my surgery/recovery so I would have something to look forward to. I’m just about halfway through and just learned something that rocked my little reader brain for a loop. I won’t give the spoiler here, but man oh man is this a good book.

It’s a little awkward to blog about how everyone needs to read this book when it is the second book in the middle of a trilogy, and this trilogy is in the middle of a much longer series of books. Don’t start here. Start with Assassin’s Apprentice. Work your way through everything in between, then read this. It will be worth it.

Now, when I was trying to figure out the reading order of these books, several websites and forum discussions I came across said that you could skip the Liveship books since they focus on different characters. I read the Farseer Trilogy (Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin’s Quest) first (as should you), then the Liveship books (Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny) and the started on the Tawny Man trilogy (Fool’s Errand, Golden Fool – that I’m in the middle of now) and next will be Fool’s Fate). Now that I have done so I can say with authority that you should absolutely NOT skip the Liveship books.

There are events and characters in the book right now that would carry so much less interest and almost no emotional impact for me as a reader if I didn’t have all the extensive background information and relationship connections explored in the Liveship books. My mind boggles at those reviews I read way back when that said you could skip them and not miss out on anything. The emotional wallop I and them main character hit yesterday would have been completely absent without the Liveship books. In fact, it may have been a bigger wallop to me since I have more incite to the revelation than Fitz does right now.

The only other books I saw as recommended to skip are the Soldier’s Son trilogy. These are actually an unrelated trilogy that is unconnected to the events in the Farseer world. Still, I read them and loved them. They are worth reading, but you don’t need to worry about their placement in the larger series because the events are completely outside of that story-line.

That’s probably enough gushing for the moment. Go read!

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What I’m Reading

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I often read more than one book at a time, but I think I’ve gotten a little out of hand at the moment. Problem is, I’m completely loving everything I’m reading at the moment so I can’t bring myself to set anything aside and focus more. Part of the reason this happened was that I put myself on the waitlist for books at the library fairly often. Sometimes those waitlists are long. A waitlist 100 people long may take months to get to me, or weeks – depending on how many copies the library has to go around. From time to time, several things I’ve waitlisted will arrive close together. The reason this is a problem is that if there was a waitlist for the item, I was usually not the last person on it. Others are waiting behind me for their turn as well, and if there’s a pending hold on a book, you’re not allowed to renew it. So I have to read those right away. Unless I’ve reserved too many. Then I have a problem. Like now.

Another thing that is happening is that I’m reading books along with my kids. Things I’ve assigned them to read that I haven’t read myself, or I read so long ago that I need a refresher before we have discussions. This type of reading is also time sensitive since I have to keep up with them.
That’s how I end up here. Reading:
Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb (it has been waiting for me on my Kindle for awhile, and darnit, I just needed this one for my heart.)
Obelisk Gate by N K Jemisin (audiobook from the library that I had to wait for)
Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher (library reserve. Really wanted to read some of her fiction, but still waiting for that to come in) 
Eragon by Christopher Paloini (audiobook from library. I remember this one fine, but the kids both needed to read it for book club, and we thought it would be easier to all listen together)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J K Rowling (bedtime family read-aloud)
The Once and Future King by T S White (audiobook for 8th grader’s assignment. She’s reading the physical book. I flunked this one. Didn’t keep up. She’s finished – I’m on Chap 10. Luckily I remember enough to talk about it still.)
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (new assigned book for the 8th grader. I promise to do better this time!)
A couple nonfiction books about homeschooling high school (note 8th grader mentioned above – trying to prepare) that I have checked out from library but have to admit I haven’t gone far in because of above list. 
Also, I have Ghost Talker’s I just picked up on hold, but haven’t gotten to start on because of above list. This is the one I’m worried about since it was a long wait for it. I guess if I have to return it before I get to read it, I can just get back in line. 
Having too many wonderful things to read hardly seems like something to complain about. I just need to learn to pace myself better.
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Gorillas

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This whole business about the child and the gorilla in Cincinnati is very upsetting. All I see is blame being thrown in all directions. It’s understandable. That’s what we do when we are upset and feel helpless. I have no great insight. What I do have is a deep and long love of gorillas, and I want to share a little with you today.

We read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate at our homeschool book club awhile ago. The preteens loved it, the littles loved it, and even the moms loved it, and each group enjoyed different layers of this great story based on the life of a real gorilla, Ivan.

When I was in high school, I wanted to be Diane Fossey when I grew up. There are lots of books about her and the gorillas she studied, but here’s a fun one, and it includes sections on Jane Goodal and the chimps, and Biruté Galdikas and the orangutans.

And then we can’t forget about the beautiful Koko. I couldn’t pick just one book to feature for her, so I encourage you to visit her website to see what she has been up to lately. If you’re moved to do something for gorilla-kind in the wake of this tragedy, that site is a good place to donate.

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Daily Exercise with Books!

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I have been making a very strong effort to do some type of exercise for at least 30 min every single day. I’ve been doing this for long enough now to really feel the difference between when I’m on it, and when I’ve slacked off for a few days. My go-to exercise is walking. I love walking, and it isn’t too strenuous so I won’t try to avoid doing it.

One other habit I’ve developed, sort of accidentally, but it’s working so I’m going with it, is that I save my audiobook listening time for my walks. Now I’ve made it a rule. I can only listen to my book when I’m walking. Now I enjoy walking enough that this rule has never gotten me out walking when I otherwise would have shirked. It has, however, encouraged me to take a longer route, or keep going around the block one more time if I’m at an exciting spot in the story and don’t want to stop yet.

I’m currently on book three of the first Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. These are big books so even with hour long walks these have lasted me a nice long while. The narrator, Michael Kramer, is amazing. There’s a large group of characters and they all have a distinct voice that adds to their personality. I highly recommend the book, or the audiobook if you want to try the walking thing.

Now my only problem is that now I’m doing the Couch to 5K running program three days a week, and I’ve learned I don’t listen well while trying to run. So I really miss my story on running days. I’m debating about changing my rule to compensate for this somehow. Still thinking.

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What I Read in 2014

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I have really enjoyed these lists in the blogs I follow, so thought I would do my own. I know, I’m such a follower. In 2014 I finally let myself buy a voting membership for the Hugo awards, so there are a fair number of items that were for that. Also, some of these may technically qualify as short stories, and yet others are short story collections where I don’t list each story individually. If my lack of consistency bugs you, I’m sorry. This is how I kept track of them as I read, so this is how they will be listed here.Some are kids books that were for the book club my kids and I belong to. I only included the kid books if the was the first time I read them myself.

Hugo works will be in italic, audiobooks in bold, and my favorites from the year in green.

Conversations with J K Rowling by Lindsay Fraser
Night Echos by Holly Lisle
Goblin Hero by Jim Hines
The Inheritance by Robin Hobb
At Any Price by Brenna Aubry
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A Scandal in Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Dolye
The Red Headed League by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Hollowland by Amanda Hocking
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
Into the Land of Unicorns by Bruce Coville
Song of the Wanderer by Bruce Coville
Clash of Kings by George RR Martin
Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M Valente
Opera Vita Aeterna by Vox Day
The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang
The Exchange Officers by Brad R Torgersen
The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Waiting Stars by Aliette de Bodard
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough
Parasite by Mira Grant*
Holly Lisle’s Create a World Clinic by Holly Lisle
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love by Rachael Aaron
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Winnie-The-Pooh by AA Milne
Sand Omnibus by Hugh Howey
Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey
Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon
Dark Whispers by Bruce Coville
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
Songs of Love and Death edited by George RR Martin
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Now that I’ve typed it out, I am tempted to go back and get rid of the green classification. Some were very hard to decide about, and there are lots of great books that just were not for me. I tried a lot outside my usual reading sphere this year. So a lack of green does not mean I think it’s a bad book. In fact, I don’t think any of these were books I actively disliked or was not happy that I read. This may be obvious when several books in a series are listed, but not green – I liked them enough to read more. The green books were just a better fir for my personal taste or ones I especially loved. So maybe the green is not useful, but I’m leaving it for now.

* One thing I found extra fun in this is that it takes place in/around the Concord/Clayton and Greater Bay Area in  California, and recognizing landmarks as I read is neat. So I recommend this to local folks for that reason.

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The Magician’s Nephew, craft project – rings and pocket.

Kara Hartz1 Comment

I co-host a kid’s book club. One of my responsibilities is to come up with an activity and/or craft that goes along with our book of the month. Sometimes I’ve found great idea from a simple Google search. After all, we’ve generally stuck to the classics, or books that are commonly taught in classrooms. I’m actually more surprised when I can’t find anything good. It goes to show how spoiled the internet has made me. I expect it to plan everything for me. 
When recently, I didn’t find anything I liked for the book “The Magician’s Nephew” by CS Lewis, I needed to come up with my own craft idea. I decided, since I take so many ideas from other blogs, I should share what I came up with. Only fair.
What I decided to do was to have the kids make their own green and gold rings. First, I thought we’d make them from air drying clay, but the selection at my local craft shop was disappointing. So I wandered into the jewelry making section, and found this neat wire. Even thought I expected it to be more difficult to work with, it would also look way cooler, and that counts for something.
I’ve learned it is always a good idea to test out a project before doing it with a group of kids, so my girls and I tried making rings the night before our book meeting. It was much more difficult than I’d expected. My hat off to jewelry makers who use this stuff. I’d picked a think wire, 16 gauge I think it was. I thought we’d just measure the little fingers, use wire cutters, and pliers to bend. But the pliers also stripped all the beautiful color off the wire, defeating the whole point. So I ended up wrapping the wire around this peg, and precutting the rings, then just passing them out and letting the kids stretch or smoosh them to a good personal fit. 

Now, in the book it is clear that you shouldn’t touch the rings when you don’t want to go into another world, so we needed a pouch or pocket to keep them in. I like felt for kid sewing projects because it is inexpensive, colorful, and super easy to work with. You can leave raw edges without worry. For my sample I sewed a lion on the front of the pouch for decoration, but brought along fabric glue as well, which turned out to be what most of the kids chose to use to add embellishments to their pouches. 
I did need to call on other mom reinforcements when a lot of the kids all needed help threading their needles all at the same time, but otherwise the project went well, and the kids seemed to enjoy their little treasures.
I told them that when they read a book, any book, it is like they are going into another world, so they should put on their outgoing ring (the gold one if I remember correctly). When they’re all done reading and ready to return to our world, they can put on their green ring.
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Paper Books vs. Ebooks

Kara Hartz2 Comments

I had a moment of epiphany today. I was reading a book on my Kindle, but I sadly had to stop to do other things. As I put book down, I thought to myself, “I love my Kindle.” 
That thought stopped me. Literally. I stood still for a moment. I was one of those people who thought, sure, an e-reader might be convenient, but it will never be like reading a REAL book. I like the way real books smell and feel. How I know how far along I am in the story by how thick the stacks of pages are in each hand. I love all that stuff. 
So this sudden spontaneous thought about loving my e-reader took me off guard somewhat. Do I really love it that much? What do I love about it? I like it. It’s light and has great battery life. It’s easy to use, but it doesn’t smell like old paper or anything cool like that. 
Then the epiphany. I’m really enjoying the story I’m reading. (Redshirts by John Scalzi if you’re curious). That’s what I love. That’s what I suspect everyone who says they love real books means. What I really love is a good story. 
For so long, all the stories we loved came with that certain feel of a book in your hands. The smell. The pages flipping. It created a whole bunch of positive associations that are powerful. The go back to childhood for most of us. I remember hiding in the bushes on the side of my house, or under my bed to read a book in peace when I was a kid. Good memories. For so long now I thought I loved books as a physical thing. Turns out, I just love the stories. I love the stories enough that the physical thing they’re attached to became loved right along with the stories.
There are a lot of people who don’t think they could ever enjoy reading on an e-reader. I even fell into that thinking myself. I’m so happy to realize that the format isn’t all that important after all. I think it’s very good news for stories, because technology doesn’t go backward.
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Making My Own Writing Class

Kara Hartz4 Comments

I was at the bookstore shopping for a gift, but because I can’t help myself, I also visited the writing advice book section. I’ve been hesitant to sign up for a writing class because I don’t really have the time to get to one (unless my kids could come with me – ha!) and I don’t want to spend the money. I’ve looked at a few online classes, but about a year and a half ago I took an online writing class and, frankly, it was a waste of my time and money. I had books at home that gave me the same information. What I had hoped the class would give me that a book could not was feedback about my writing. At best I got “This is fine.” or “Good work.” Not what I’d needed.

So there I am looking at writing books, thinking that a few of these will probably tell me what I need to know to move to the next level in my writing. A good friend at A Fortnight of Mustard told me about an online critique group she likes. So there’s some feedback for me. Lastly, I’ve redoubled my efforts to write every day. I’ve let my journaling slide a little in this effort, but I feel okay about that. If I’ve had the kind of day where I can only squeeze in 20 min of writing time, I’d rather work on an article or a story that I’m excited about than a journal entry.

That’s my plan. Read books. Join a writing critique group. Write more.

I guess time will tell if my plan will work in helping me become a better (and more confident) writer. I’d love to hear how other writers handle their own continuing education, or if you think there’s something I should add to my plan.

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SIlkworms, Day 1

Kara Hartz1 Comment

Our silkworms started hatching Easter evening, and by Monday morning, almost all of them had hatched. Aren’t they cute! They were about 1/2 a centimeter long when they first hatched.

I really want to call them silk caterpillars, because they aren’t really “worms”, but since most folks know them as silkworms, I guess I’ll stick with it. Or should I try to start a movement to change the terminology?

I’m on the hunt for a good book about silkworms (aka silk caterpillars) and silk moths to learn more about these little guys and gals that we now have. I was very disappointed when I was unable to find a good book in our local children’s library (or any book at all for that matter) Raising silkworms is popular enough that I would have thought finding reading materials about them would have been a cinch. I found a few decent websites, but books are just so much easier to look together as a family. So, I’m open to suggestions.

I’ll have new pictures tomorrow to show off their growth for the week!