Better Late Than Never I Guess :)

I apologize for taking so long to post my review of “These is my Words”.
This is one of my favorite books and I’ve re-read it a few times and every time the story draws me in and I can’t put it down.
A good friend of mine kept telling me that I had to read this book and to be honest, I judged the book by the cover and put off reading it. Just hearing it was about a tough pioneer woman in the Arizona territories didn’t capture my interest and the cover itself didn’t tempt me to open it up. I finally borrowed a copy when I was heading back East on vacation and what was pleasantly surprised. The story caught my attention from the beginning. Even when I was sitting at the beach with my adorable niece, I could not put this book down. I stayed up late, became a bit antisocial and read it in record time. I even made my sister buy her own copy while I was visiting her because I was so anxious to discuss the book with someone. As soon as I finished it, I started recommending it to everyone I knew. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy this book!

There are so many things I love about this book. I love having Sarah Agnes Prine as the narrator. As the novel progresses we get to observe how Sara grows up and changes. I am impressed with the tough, sassy attitude of Sarah. She is a resilient survivor and I really like her character. She has some classic one-liners and quotes that are full of attitude and made me laugh. I felt bad for Sarah’s Mamma and could understand why she struggled mentally. I was mad Sarah married Jimmy, what a jerk! I pretty much fell in love with Jack Elliott. I love reading when they finally get married too! You should re-read it, from pg. 216 in my copy Sarah stated:
“No one should write down, even in her private journal, the things that happen on her wedding night, but I never want to forget the first time I knew John Edward Harrison Elliot. He told me he loved me more than life itself, telling me he had longed for this moment forever and forever…….”

I also like Nancy’s writing style. She gives wonderful in-depth descriptions so you can easily picture what is going on. Even though some of the situations are horrific to read, this kept the story real for me. Some of the experiences brought sad tears to my eyes and some of Sarah’s commentary made me laugh right out loud.

Last year when my book club reviewed this book we were lucky enough to have a 2 hour conference call with Nancy Turner. She was so fun to visit with and ask questions. This is her first novel and I read in the back of the book that “Nancy has been a seam snipper in a clothing factory, a church piano player, an aide to a paleontologist, and an executive secretary.” She lives in Tucson, AZ with her husband and 2 children. Nancy told us she was in school when she first drafted up a short story based on her own relatives stories and later this story became the novel “These is my words”. She shared all kinds of insights into her novels and she even gave advice to anyone that is interested in getting a story published. She also told us who she pictures playing the main characters if this book is made into a movie (movie rights have not been purchased yet). Much like Sarah, Nancy sounds like a determined woman that refuses to give up. She took it upon herself to send her novel out to publishers and she was turned down multiple times before someone finally liked her story. Nancy is very interested in the stories of pioneers that traveled across the territories and she has spent a lot of time researching details about life in the Arizona territory in the late 1800s. She based the novel on her family’s original memoirs and many of the characters are based on her own relatives.

If you enjoyed this book you must read the sequels, “Sarah’s Quilt” and “The Star Garden”. I won’t give any plot spoilers here but both novels are wonderful. Nancy continues sharing the uplifting and challenging experiences of the Prine family through Sarah’s eyes and she also kept the journal format. Both sequels were page-turners for me.

The dedication or introduction for “These is my words” states: “For everyone who has ever stood alone on a hill in a storm”. I love this simple introduction to the journey and captivating adventures that are contained in this book. I think there are times in life everyone feels like they are standing alone on a hill in a storm.

I’ll end with a random “reading group discussion question”:
“What is the point of “The Duchess of Warwick and Her Sorrow by the Sea.”

March/April Book

I figure that March will be a crazy month with Easter and everything so let's take two months for our next book. I recently read Peace Like a River and thought it worthy of discussion. I got really into it and had a hard time putting it down.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what they'd like to discuss in coming months? I'm sure there are some great non-fiction books out there, or some really great classics and new novels even. And, let me know if you'd like to be a contributer to this blog. The more the merrier! It's pretty fun to write about your favorite books. Leave a comment with your suggestion if you feel so inclined.

Reading

While watching the Today show the other day I saw a statistic that made me sad. It said that 40% of people under the age of 44 did not read a SINGLE book, fiction or nonfiction, last year. I thought that was absolutely crazy. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I weren't a reader. I love to get lost in a story, or learn of some historical event, or some far off place through a good book.
I know there are a lot of people out there who don't enjoy reading. Is it because, perhaps, they don't really do it right? Maybe they don't allow themselves to get lost in the pages, but instead are bogged down by unfamiliar words, or ideas that they just can't connect with.
As a teacher, I am concerned because reading doesn't seem to be a high priority among my students or their parents. As a parent, I am wondering about things I can do to increase reader enjoyment? I have a few ideas...make sure our kids see us reading, have plenty of interesting books around the house (if you can't afford them, there's always the library), don't make reading a punishment or hassle, let it be seen as a thing for fun, etc.
What are your ideas? What do you think about people choosing not to read? I'd love to hear your ideas.
I'd just like to say one thing to non-readers, in the words of Anne of Green Gables, "How much you miss!"

Book of a Thousand Days

Thanks for being patient with me as I get our first book up and going. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this book. Here are a few of mine...

Spoiler Alert!!!

I hope you all enjoyed this book as much as I did. I found it to be a delightful read. I simply couldn't put the book down. I truly enjoy this author's style of writing. I love the way she uses words. I thought that while this book encorporated a very simple format, a diary, Shannon Hale was able to bring about some deep topics.



I liked the way the book started, with the first day in the tower. It was interesting to get on the author's website and see how she originally started the book. Click here to read the excerpt. As I read the beginning I felt swept into this foreign world.

I've thought a lot about Dashti as I've prepared to write this post. In the beginning she seems quite naive. She blindly fulfills her duties and is mostly relieved to have so much food at her disposal. As time goes by in the dark tower I think her mood gets progressively darker. She begins to grumble a bit about her chores and the rats, and even Saren. She also experiences true fear in the tower. The first time is when Lord Khasar comes to visit the girls. He forces her to give him her hand and he hurts her. Then, and this part was so scary to me, I couldn't put the book down, when he throws fire into the tower and the girls have to race to put it out. She is also scared when the "knocking" men come and try to tear the tower down to get to the ladies in there.

I think that the fear and darkness make Dashti a more well-rounded character. Despite all of this, she truly rises to the challenges placed before her. She cares for Saren, recognizes their need to get out of the tower and does it, and then gets both girls to Khan Tegus' home. I love that she knew the healing songs, yet she could weave different songs together to create different effects, like no other person could do. I truly like how Shannon Hale gives her character's special powers, I think it makes the book more interesting.

Of course, I mustn't leave out the fact that Dashti conquered over Lord Khasar which was fitting. She used her wit and cunning to do it, and I thought that this particular episode was extremely exciting to read.

Dashti made the book a must-read! I truly cared for her and her fate. I liked seeing into her soul through her diary entries.

Saren's character was completely different. I don't think I every really liked her. I could understand why she was so dim. She had grown up a lady and hadn't had to do a thing for herself. She grew up without a mother, and with a father who told her that her only purpose in life was to marry. She witnessed the horror that was Lord Khasar and couldn't tell a soul about it. I can understand why she was the way she was. But, this doesn't stop me from thinking that she was very similar to a bad roommate! She couldn't do anything for herself. She relied on Dashti to take care of her. She ate all the food herself (Iloved how Dashti had to keep taking out her clothes because she gained weight), and she had major issues! Doesn't that sound just like the worst roommate you could imagine? In my mind, Saren only redeemed herself two times. Once was when she pulled Dashti away from the dump hole to stop Lord Khasar's abuse, and the second was when she claimed Dashti for a sister.

I believe that Dashti fell in love with Khan Tegus when he visited the girls in the tower. He was kind and funny to her, but did you feel that he was kind of dense? He and Saren had never met before, only written letters, yet if he had truly loved Saren, shouldn't he have been able to tell the difference between the two? I don't know. I thought that in some ways he seemed strong and was a good ruler, but Dashti was the one who saved his home. She risked her life to save everyone, and then the second they learned who she was, they all turned against her. In my opinion, it took Tegus a long time to come to her rescue!

Lord Khasar was a truly scary character! Whenever he came on the scene I could feel a knot of fear in my stomach. To me, that means he was a really good, evil character.

A few more thoughts...
The whole time the girls were in the tower it felt horrible to me. I didn't know why this bothered me so much until I realized that in some way, I share their fate. I live in a basement apartment that is pretty dark. I could totally emphathize with Dashti's situation. There is something to be said about enjoying the fresh air, the sun, the sky, the moon, the stars, and all the beautiful things in this world. I'm just glad I'm not locked up. When I start to feel a bit claustrophobic, I can just pack my kids into the car and go for a drive.

I would be willing to bet that one of Hale's next books will be based on one of the other minor characters in this book. Watch for a story about Gal or Quacha to come out soon. Just a guess!

These are just a few of my thoughts. I would love to hear what you thought about the book.