Adventures in Young Adult Reading

I had thought that today was going to be a very bad day at work. It seems like we have been having a lot of those. We are of course still under staffed, it seems like we are always understaffed. I haven't seen us fully staffed in a long long time now. But then each supervisor I have had has a different idea of what fully staffed is, so perhaps to them we have been. If you ask me, understaffed.

In any case we were attempting to run more rooms than we had people to run them and that is a bit problematic generally speaking. It usually results in us being about an hour behind and feeling a bit frazzled. But somehow today wasn't that bad. I actually got out to lunch at about 12:20 which is really good for me, I normally get out at 12:45. So it was a pretty good morning, though I am unsure about how the afternoon went, as I get to go home, eat my lunch catch up on stuff and then take a nap and get ready for teaching.

It makes napping much easier when the morning is less harrowing, and today was a good day. So I got my nap in and I am feeling just super refreshed and ready to teach a lesson on... Summer! I'll even try to be positive and leave out how much I absolutely hate summer and its cursed weather.


I am a bit eager to see how the new book will be for my ESL class (it is on its way from Amazon). We are going to read "The 100 Year Old Secret" which is a young adult book that sort of goes along with Sherlock Holms. It might be a bit less depressing than the last book we read, but it also may be more of a challenge for my students.

Welcome 12-year-old Xena Holmes and her brother, Xander, Sherlock's great-great-great grandchildren, newly arrived in London from Florida. They are playing a favorite game, guessing people's occupation by appearance, in front of their hotel when a strange man delivers a note written in disappearing ink directing them to the Dancing Men Pub. There, through a set of tests, their famous relative is revealed to them, and they are given his "Unsolved Cases" notebook. Xena, intrigued by it, soon finds a case with modern relevance—a missing portrait by Nigel Batheson, whose other works are being displayed in a nearby gallery. The siblings are off and running through a plot laced with references to the original stories and using similar devices, including a red herring. The main characters are observant, bright, and gifted with powers of deduction. Watson's great-great-great grandson, Andrew, is integral to the plot. Some clues seem to be obvious, but they can lead to a wrong conclusion. A well-paced beginning to a new series.

However students aside it also might even be interesting for me to read. I never read a lot of youth fiction, I sort of went from kid books to Stephen King at an early age. I did read some Nancy Drew and the like but only because our very small library ran out of books for me to read. I much preferred Alexander Dumas' "Three Musketeers" unabridged than I ever did Judy Bloom's "Are You There God? It's Me Margaret". But as I have gotten older I occasionally pick up one of these youth novels and some of them are better now than they were then. Quick little beach reads that remind you what it is like to be young and what it was like back then. Though I still love Dumas who may be the author who inspired me to branch out of horror "read" more than any other author.

So this book is a more modern Young Adult book and will I am sure let me see how old I am. I am always surprised to discover new slang or phrases that "the cool kids" are using. It doesn't quite make me feel old, but it does make you realize your not in "that stage" in your life any more. Reading the horrid writing of Stephanie Mayer did remind me of how in high school boys and school were more important than anything else. Way more important than mortgages, taxes and marriages. Oh how life has changed. Hopefully my books will get here soon, I am eager to preread it.

But on the subject of teaching, it is time for me to be off! I need to change and get out the door, into the 106°F weather that is outside of my air conditioned house. ::sigh::

Tai Pan - James Clavell

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Paperback: 688 pages
Publisher: Flame; New Ed edition (July 1, 1999)
ISBN-10: 0340750693
ISBN-13: 978-0340750698
My Rating:

Like all of Clavell's books, if you like a little bit of history with your novels you will enjoy his works. I will say, as with Shogun, the book is going to be hit or miss. If your some one who wants constant action then look some where else. Clavell focuses more on mental trials, character development and development of a historically accurate scene and plot. If your some one who is easily bored, again look some where else as Clavell can occasionally drag at times.However, if you stick with the book I think you will find it a pleasant read.

In the words of another book reviewer

It is an engaging story about the European community in China just after the British have taken control of Hong Kong. It centers on Dirk Struan, a manipulative, shrewd, and charismatic man who happens to be the most powerful trader in Asia. There is intrigue, violence, romance and tragedy, but this all adds flavor to the epic story of how the British controlled their first stronghold in Asia. Clavell does an amazing job of creating realistic characters and incorporaring facts about the time period and his knowledege of the culture. Despite being a fictional account of this era, I learned a great deal about China, British trade and sailing in the 1800's.

Book Review: A Long Way Down

A Long Way Down
by Nick Hornby

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Trade (2006)
ISBN-10: 1594481938
ISBN-13: 978-1594481932

My Rating:

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This is a book Kelly recommended to me from the author of High Fidelity and About A Boy. Its a book on par with Death to Smoochy in that it is dark humor, at times, very dark.

The book is about four different people, a troubled teen, a scandalized talk show host, a middle ages woman with a disabled son and an Ex rock star, who find themselves on a 'tower block' (yes, he is British) and ready commit suicide on New Years Eve. Needless to say they find a reason not to kill themselves that night, or the next, or the next until thoughts of suicide slowly dissipate.

Each character tells the story, as they see it, in their own voice. The changing perspectives is what really gives you the full picture in the book and helps to lighten the mood in particularly dark sections.

I think the book focuses on more real aspects of suicide as opposed to a movie drama version. It tackles some real thoughts that real people could have while making the book funny and a bit up lifting in then end as each person 'comes to terms'.

I say this book was 4 Stars but really it's more like 3.75. I say that because while I enjoyed the book a lot and thought it was a good read, it took me a while to read it (about two weeks) and for me, thats a long time. I enjoyed the story a lot but for some reason it wasn't a I want to hurry up and read this book to get to the end. Perhaps it was the lack of 'suspense' that kept me from burning the lamp light, but still an excellent book.

Book Review: Women of Okinawa

Women of Okinawa: Nine Voices from a Garrison Island
by Ruth Ann Keyso (Author)

Paperback: 166 pages
Publisher: Cornell University Press (2000)
ISBN-10: 0801486653
ISBN-13: 978-0801486654

My Rating:

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I really liked this book, but found the authors personal views at times a bit distracting. Clearly her view is on the side of the fence that doesn't approve of the military bases being on Okinawa. Fortunately the author doesn't do much of the story telling, she leaves that to the nine Okinawan women she interviews.

The nine women interviewed were from three different generations of Okinawan's, pre-war, post-war and 'modern'. The open and honest stories of these women was a fascinating read. All three generations had different views on Okinawa, the military (both Japanese and American) and repatriation. It was interesting to see how much the views of women varied depending on when they grew up.

The book was an eye opener for me, a military spouse stationed on Okinawa, for how the Okinawan's felt during the Vietnam era and Repatriation. It gave me a greater understanding of why the Okinawan's feel the way they do today and what in their past made them feel this way.

Its a great read for anyone interested in Okinawa, past or present.

Book Review: Survival of the Sickets

Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease
by Sharon Moalem (Author), Jonathan Prince (Author)

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060889659
ISBN-13: 978-0060889654

My Rating:

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Over all the book was a good read, but I think it lacked what I was looking for, which was a little more science and a little less casual writing style. This of course did not come as a huge surprise because its a mass marketed book. I did after all hear about it on the Daily Show.

The book is written for the layman and breaks everything down into cute little metaphors that I think anyone could understand. Even complex subjects such as methylation and telomeres are broken down into bit sized bits that require no previous understanding of Biology. No one should get stuck in a rut slogging threw difficult terms and concepts.

So for the average reader, it's a great book. For some one who was looking for a little more science in it, it was lacking. The book mostly discussed theories I had already herd about or studied and cast little new light on the subjects. It just reiterated what I already knew, some defects are there for a reason. I am always eager to hear about genetic diseases and their origins and this book did provide a few new links.