Book Journey

Morning Meanderings…. Brought to you By The Letters A,B, and C

Published on September 11, 2015September 11, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

Once again the days seem to get away from me… I find myself in between activities that exhaust me, trying to find a new norm, and well…. naps. Naps seem to be magical these days. Some times it is just best to take myself out of an afternoon.

I have been working with the Apples in our yard. I picked up the ones that had fallen off the trees already and started working on making apple butter. I have my great grandmother’s tools that she used for processing and while I know there are easier ways to do this – I love connecting with the same things my Grandma used. Almost therapeutic I think.

And then if you have noticed (and I hope yo have!) I started planning for Banned Book Week coming September 27 – Oct 3. Please check out the post and consider joining in – it is as simple as talking about book banning or reading a banned book (and there are many to choose from and MANY titles that will surprise you). I am excited to see that 25 people have already committed to posting that week. That is sooooo cool and means so much to me.

And… Cell phones. I have found I am really bad at returning calls these days. Sometimes I am around when the phone rings and I just dont have the energy or right frame of mind to carry on a conversation. I always plan to call them back and then somehow I just keep forgetting. A few days ago I had a moment of clarity where I thought I will return the 14 messages I have. Yes….. 14. 😯 One of the conversations I had went something like this…

Me: Hello Trish? Yeah, it’s me Sheila.

Trish: Oh hey!

Me: Ummm…. yeah. Ummmm….. I see you called and left me a message on August 14th. I feel bad I haven’t returned your call sooner. You had asked me to call you and well, uhhh…. now I am.

Trish: I think you did call me back.

Me: Oh really? Oh good! I am so glad. I must have taken care of what you needed.

Trish: Yeah, I think so… we are actually camping right now.

Me: Oh, I didnt know! Why did you pick up your phone silly?

Trish: Well, because it was you.

Me: Well thanks… camp away. Talk soon!

Awkward.

So there is an update on me. The A,B, C’s anyway. Today I hope to have a little time to dig in to Gone With The Wind. It is growing on me…. of course…. I am not that far in. It still could wear on me. We will see.

The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall

Published on September 9, 2015September 8, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

I grabbed this book that had just come from the publisher off the table as I left for the cabin last week. The title intrigued me and it looked to be a fairly easy middle grade read – just what I needed for this cabin trip. Turns out… I grabbed the right book at the right time. ~ Sheila

Thirteen year old Arthur Owens is having a horrible year. With the sudden accident that killed his father Arthur feels that his family is just going through the motions. When Arthur comes home one day to find that his mother has cleaned out his fathers things from their home, his mood only darkens.

It was a bitter cold day when Arthur Owens throws the brick at the Junk Man’s head. Lucky for him, the Junk Man had moved to pick something up and the brick missed his head, instead damaging his arm. It wasn’t for racist reasons. It wasn’t for the sad state of dress the Junk Man wore. Arthur had his reasons for throwing that brick but it would not be reasons that would make his mom or the judge change their mind.

With Arthur on a one way path to juvie, it is the Junk Man himself who comes up with an alternative for the judge. Arthur will work off his 120 hours of community service working for the Junk Man. Arthur will be the one who takes the rickety old shopping cart around looking for the seven moth important things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, light bulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. Arthur thinks the Junk Man is a few fries short of a happy meal, but has no choice but to do as he is told.

It isn’t long before Arthur understands that there is more to the Junk Man than one first sees. The “trash’ he is collecting has so much more meaning… a meaning that Arthur soon finds to be filled with lessons he will carry with him for the rest of his life.

I really enjoyed reading The Seventh Most Important Thing. As each item reveals it’s purpose I found myself not wanting to put the book down, wanting to know what the next item could mean. The connections Arthur makes throughout the book with class mates, teachers, his probation officer, as well as the community is a bigger vision to this story. I loved that the book appeared to have a hidden agenda…

and as I ended the read I found out what it was – and I was blown away.

I can not share that part of the story as much as I want to as I feel this is something for each reader to find out for themselves. However, never one to miss a chance to discuss a book further, I will put the info on a spoiler page for those of us who have read the book and wish to discuss it in more depth.

Over all, a Middle Grade read that will leave the reader with a little something more than they thought they were getting, and an excellent discussion book for a parent and child.

Age Range: 10 and up
Grade Level: 5 and up
Lexile Measure: 0760 (What’s this?)
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (September 8, 2015)

Join In For Banned Book Week! Great Discussion! Fun Prizes!

Published on September 8, 2015September 9, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

One of my FAVORITE bookish weeks of the year is Banned Book Week. Not only does it give me an excuse to dig into some excellent books… but it also is good to discuss censorship in our reading. Who has the right to say that a book that is not for one person may not be the book another person absolutely needs to read?

Every year I find people who have not heard of banned books – OR have heard of them but did not think it was any longer ” a thing.” Here is the definition of a banned/challenged book:

A book banning is the removal of those materials that someone protested. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, or stores,thereby restricting the access of others.

And yes…. it still happens.

You may be surprised by titles that have been banned or challenged…. most of the classics (Huck Finn controversy ring a bell?), Charlotte’s Web, The Lorax (yes… Suess),Hunger Games, Twilight, The Harry Potter series AND the Chronicles of Narnia books…. all things Hobbit… hopefully that is enough to peak your interest.

So….. this will be my 5th year of hosting the Banned Book Week Event. Please consider joining me in spending the week of September 27 – October 3, reading banned/challenged books. You can find an excellent list to choose from here and here. Certainly, there is something for everyone!

Banning books takes away our rights to read the books we wish to read. As a banned book promoter I do not want to read every banned book. For instance, I have no desire to read 50 Shades Of Grey. However, that does not give me the right to say that you can not read it either. See? It is that simple. 🙂

Please Join Me!

As in the past years, I am looking for awesome people like YOU to join me during September 27 – October 3 to either: share a favorite banned book post, read and review a banned book, write a post about why banning is wrong or a personal experience with a banned book in your area, post an interview with an author of a banned book, etc… Sign up below and I will connect with you on the day that you are willing to post. Banned Book Awareness is a great way to explore amazing reads and remind us that we have the freedom to read what we choose.

I will have posts here ever day Banned Book Week talking and reviewing banned books and yes there will be cool giveaways. Grab the meme pic at the top of this post and tell others to come sign up here too! I hope you consider joining in – it’s easy to do and you may just find a new book that you love!

Morning Meanderings… Oh Scarlett!

Published on September 8, 2015September 8, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Tuesday.

Coffee.

The holiday weekend is over. Did anyone do anything? I actually forgot it was a holiday until I was at the grocery store yesterday afternoon and the check out lady asked me if I was enjoying the holiday. hash tag #outoftheloop. And yes I know, I don’t have to say hashtag. 😉

In my current first time reading of Gone With The Wind I last left you with Scarlett and I on the way to the party. Yes you know the one – THE PARTY. The one with Ashley and his bride to be cousin and Scarlett’s plan to woo him to her side. Pretty sure she would use a word like woo.

And…. spoiler alert for those who have not read the book, the party is a hot mess. First up, Scarlett makes a big ol’ fool of herself when she can attracts every man in the rooms attention except for the one she really wants to make jealous, Ashley the cousin lover. AND… thinking about it that is really not a spoiler as anyone who knows anything about Gone With The Wind knows it has something to do with Rhett and Scarlett. Even I know that much. 😛

For today…. I have a lunch get together, apples to start working on for apple butter, AND book club tonight. I am really looking forward to book club tonight. Last month I was so busy with Wine and Words I did not read our selection and I was really tired at the meeting so did not contribute at all. Tonight I am looking forward to a good discussion of Crooked Letter Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

What book are you discussing in your book clubs?

Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg

Published on September 7, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

The title drew me in… and yes, the synopsis while it worried me that it may be a little too close to home – connected with me over the fact that this book is about in the wake of tragedy… how a community can react. ~Sheila

On the night before June’s daughters wedding an unbelievable tragedy happens that takes the lives of her daughter, her daughter’s fiance, her ex husband and her boyfriend.

Her entire family wiped out in the blink of an eye.

June, now has lost all direction and drives away from the destruction of her life… looking for meaning… looking for anything.

Left behind, is a community with connections to the tragedy, with their own version of the heartbreak of loss… connecting in ways one would never have guessed. There is the wedding caterer who never is payed. The couple who run the motel where June stays. The mother to June’s boyfriend. And so much more.

Did You Ever Have A Family was a semi dangerous undertaking for me at this time in my life. I was pulled in by the story line – mainly the mention of how a community is effected by loss. I understand this. I am living it.

I enjoyed the story line very much. Our protagonist’s June’s tragedy was very unlike mine which was good, and I found I could listen to this without worry about hitting my own personal land mines. Her relationship’s were very different then my own and therefore was able to be what I needed it to be – a book of loss and compassion and indeed – fiction.

While I can not say I loved the story, I did appreciate it. It is an interesting take on a tragedy that I have not read before. In this case, I listened to the audio version with Bill Clegg (the author) narrating. While the narration was good, I did struggle with Bill Clegg’s reading of the female parts of the book. I caught myself often having to remind myself that this was a girl speaking, which unfortunately for me took away from the enjoyment of the overall listen.

One thing I did love is there is some beautiful writing here…

Rough as life can be… I know in my bones we are supposed to stick around and play our part. Even if that part is coughing to death from cigarettes. Or even if it is to be blown up young in a house with your mother watching. Even if it is to be that mother. Someone down the line might need to know you got through it. Or maybe someone you wont see coming will need you. And it might be you never know the part you played. What it meant to someone to watch you make your way each day.

~Bill Clegg (Did You Ever Have A Family)

This gave me pause. So beautiful So true. This is a fairly short book, and one I would suggest giving a try if you enjoy a slower paced, thoughtful read that may give you pause on how we are all somehow connected.

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 6 hours and 54 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Audible.com Release Date: September 1, 2015

Morning Meanderings… Can You Believe It Has Been 5 Months?

Published on September 6, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments

Sunday. It has been A WEEK. Emphasis on that. I have had great meet ups with friends, a bit of work at the library… and quite a bit of time to be at home and just work on breathing.

Friday marked 5 months without Justin. It is crazy how those anniversaries bring up so much pain and emotion. I knew going in that it would be a hard day and tried to plan for some little “to do’s to keep myself somewhat busy. The night before, these videos were sent to me from Honduras.

This was funds that were sent to Honduras in honor of Justin from friends and family and his co-workers. This is what those funds have done. This hitting right at the 5 month mark as you can imagine, brought tears of happiness, as well as deep pain as once again I try to contemplate this enormous loss to our family. Breathing in and out? Seriously… some days it is hard to do.

In bookish news, books did come in the house this week which I love. A house is not a home without books.

The beautiful flowers in this pic are from a good friend.

The Invincible s by Cecilia Galante (looking forward to it!)

Daughter of Sand and Stone by Libbie Hawker

The Game Master by Ian Copsey (looks fun)

The Hummingbird by Stephen Kiernan (This one is going to be something. I have a feeling.)

It’s Tough To Lose Your Balloon by Jarrett Kronsoczka

Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou (I am excited about this book that came with a cd of it read by the author!)

Jackrabbit McCabe and The Electric Telegraph by Lucy Margaret Rozier (Fun! and knowledge!)

Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia C McKissack (beautiful!)

The All I’ll Ever Want Christmas Doll by Patricia McKissack

Lots of good children s reads this week!

So my day is consisting of coffee… and cleaning up the book room, and organizing, and laundry, and mowing, and starting the canning process of all the apples in the yard AND hopefully a little reading. Two things coming up I will be talking about soon – Banned Book Week is the end of this month and yes I am hosting again and will have the post up this week to start your planning and sign ups AND next Sunday I am bringing back It’s Monday What Are You Reading.

Slowly… working my way back.

Have a happy Sunday all.

Not So WILD about WILD (My thoughts on the movie)

Published on September 2, 2015September 2, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

I had recently ~~read~~ listen to on audio and reviewed the book WILD by Cheryl Strayed. I had mentioned at the time the draw that I have always had to do something like this – just escape and be with me… whoever I am at that particular time in my life and try to really get to know…

me.

I am fascinated with those who do it.

After finishing the audio book I rented the movie. I usually appreciate a movie version to a book – I like to see the creative vision the directors come up with and how they bring an authors work to the screen. Here, are my thoughts…

What I liked:

Reese Witherspoon rocked this role playing Cheryl Strayed. I enjoyed her performance very much and I like that Cheryl is a Minnesota native. I also, as I did in the book, liked that while much of the time Cheryl was alone hiking the trail – she met interesting people when she crossed into towns. For the most part I found her very brave to rely on help from a stranger… and of course there is one part where I find her super cool but also crazy to hike the trail alone and have already decided if I ever did something like this I would have to have a friend along… or several friends who switch out throughout the process…. alone can be dangerous.

What I did not like:

I mentioned in the book that I was not too thrilled with her (Cheryl’s) problems with being faithful to her husband and the talk of her sex life with multiple men. For some reason I thought someone had told me that was not the case in the movie but CLEARLY I got that part wrong as the sex was even more prominent in the movie. Thank you to Stacy who warned me in a comment to skip the movie, by the time I read the comment I had finished watching the movie. 😉

My take away –

Yes, I think the book is worth reading. It is inspiring to see how Cheryl hits rock bottom in her life and how she turns herself around through this almost cleansing process of the 3 months hike. 3 months is a pretty impressive endeavor! The movie was good, but if the sex stuff bugs you like it does me… be satisfied with the book. At least in the book it is not so graphic and you skip those parts if you choose.

Morning Meanderings… Me, Myself, and Scarlett O’ Hara

Published on September 2, 2015September 2, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

I mentioned a little while back that my book club is reading Gone With The Wind for our classic read month in October. This is a book that has been on my “hit list” FOR-E-VAH.

Yup.. that long.

I have never seen the movie, holding out for the book version first and then perhaps I will dabble with the movie. I have friends *cough cough Gail cough* that SWEAR that this is THE book.. so we shall see.

No matter what – I always find classics fun to discuss. I thought perhaps I would do a weekly check in here with how Scarlett and I are fairing, and now at 111 pages in… I thought I would share.

So…

to bring you up to speed, Scarlett and I are now currently on our way to the barbecue at Ashley Wilkey’s home. Scarlett is quite full of herself, positive that once she confesses her love for Ashley he will drop his announcement of his engagement to his cousin (yes cousin… there is slim pickins in this neck of the woods). Scarlett has squished herself into a dress that she is glad her mother is not in attendance to see and she has just caught the eye of one Rhett Butler at the gathering (ahhh… so this is how they meet… the ol’ “pick up a chick at the cousins marrying cousins engagement party barbecue” … very sly Mister Butler… very sly.

So that is where I am at. I know I am early on in the story. I like Scarlett’s story line, (she’s a little like an old school YA read), found the early on LONG description of Scarlett’s father and his lack of height and his love for the drink a bit drawn out and skim worthy.

Hopefully today I will find out what actually happens at the party. I had nothing to wear as fancy as Scarlett… I am all about the jean capris and a kicky peach colored short sleeved shirt…. probably not worthy of catching the eye of someone like Rhett, unless he wants someone to possibly refill his drink or walk his horse.

In RL… this week has been fairly quiet and I am thankful for that. I have helped out a bit at the library, had a fascinating get together yesterday with an amazing woman in town who is a force to recon with when it comes to literacy in our community and promoting the written word, and a long overdue lunch date with some good friends. Ok, other than that it has been just me at home, working on the lawn, listening to audio…. trying to find a new normal and at the same time, stubbornly not wanting to.

Morning Meanderings: Sunday Stuff

Published on August 30, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Check out other posts by clicking this picture

Good morning! Sunday and I have a wee bit of anxiety here. I am meeting in less than an hour, one of the girls from Honduras (Eva) who has been here all summer staying with friends. We are meeting up for lunch today and normally that would not be a big deal – however she was in Honduras with Justin in March, just two weeks before the accident so it will be bitter sweet seeing her. She leaves in just a few days and I know I would regret not seeing her but at the same time I feel like I am setting myself up for hard moments.

So basically…

nothing new here.

Books that came in the mail this week… always a fun thing to talk about:

Ahh books… where would I be without you?

Circling the Sun by Paul Mclain – Audio (I love female aviator stories!)

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella – audio (looks fun!)

Wind/Pinball by Haruki Murakami – audio (I have always wanted to read this author)

Field Trip by Gary Paulsen – audio (looks like a fun middle grade!)

Avelynn by Marissa Cambell (interesting!)

Twist my Charm – The Popularity Spell by Toni Gallagher (Oh this one sounds cute!)

The Girl In The Spiders Web by David Lagerkrantz (hmmm… the series continues)

The Debt of Tamar by Nicole Dweck (looks good!)

Thats the haul… later today I am prepping notes for tomorrow’s Wine and Words recap meeting. We are doing a breakfast thank you so I will be making egg bake and prepping fruit, yogurt, etc… should be a good meeting.

Morning Meanderings… It’s All A Bit Crazy

Published on August 29, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments

*Deep Breath*

Today I wanted to share the pictures of the bench that was dedicated to my son at the Brainerd Public Library. It is one of those things that I am a little surprised I have not already posted the pics (I did post the prep of the area pics but never the finished area). And then as I plan to write this post the tears start rolling.

How my life has changed these past 5 months…

It is in all honesty quite surreal and surely requires a reality check from time to time. How can this all be real? How can 5 months ago I had this vibrant amazing kid in my life and we were making plans and hanging out and then…

this.

Now I have benefits, and Color Runs, and tree plantings and ribbon cuttings…

and a very very broken heart.

However, this is not what this post is about. Well it is and it isn’t.

If you can put a shed of light over this tragedy I am trying to live through… what I am posting here is a spark of life and love and well…. here it is.

A brief background story to the bench if you do not know it…. when my son died in a car accident this past April the book blogging community took a stand and wanted to do something to honor my love for books and the library and my great love for my son. Money was raised quickly for this project, bloggers and publishers, and authors, all came together to make this happen.

I still can not write this or talk about this without tearing up… what an outpouring of love during the hardest part of my entire life.

Two members of our friends group Dawn and Sherri spoke at the ribbon cutting.

There was a nice gathering of people for the ribbon cutting… friends, family, and community.

And the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library group contributed $10,000 to add in 4 more benches and a picnic table to the area for people to enjoy.

Thank you to every one who contributed. Coming through the way the book community did at such a time as this was such a gift to myself and my family. This heart felt generosity will not be forgotten.

(This post will be linked to Saturday Snapshot, where people share their stories through pictures).