Book Review Times Two!

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

I absolutely LOVED this book! It's about an adopted Cherokee girl who is figuring out where she belongs, with her adoptive mother who loves her, or with her Cherokee tribe who believes she deserves to know where she came from. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll understand the Cherokee culture a little better. Once I got halfway through I couldn't put it down! After I finished it I realized that Kingsolver had written Bean Trees to be read beforehand...so now I'm going to go back and read that one too! I didn't need to but if you want to read Pigs in Heaven, go ahead and read Bean Trees first. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The Curious Incident with the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon

THIS book is soooo interesting! It is written in the perspective of a teenage boy with Autism who comes across the scene of a crime and goes about solving it through the rest of the book. You truly get in his head and learn how he thinks and views the world and it is just fascinating! If you are in education, work with kids, or even are curious to learn more about Autism, you will LOVE this book! Children (and adults for that matter) with Autism can be incredibly frustrating or confusing if you don't understand how they think. This books puts you in his head and helps you understand the simple yet complex world that he lives in and needs to navigate.



As I'm studying for my tests for the next few weeks I will not be reading any novels until I am done with them so stay tuned for more later!

Book Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

So I had been wanting to read this book since it was first recommended to me about two years ago. I really liked it! The author did an incredible job painting the story of this curse-ridden family over multiple generations from the Dominican Republic to New Jersey. There are a bit of historical references about the Trujillo regime in the DR during the 20th century (as side notes) and how that has affected life even now on the island. This got a little long but interesting nonetheless to learn more about the DR. 

It also reminded me of my favorite book of all time, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as you learned about a crazy but fascinating family through the generations, and through various points of view of different family members. Although you can't help but feel bad for the family at times at all their misfortune and how they handle it, you also learn to love them for their crazy and jaded lives.

 Oh, I also loved the Spanish used! If you took high school Spanish you'll be fine, but I loved how you could feel the culture through this detail of the author's writing. For example, "She was very guapa, I said casually. Abuela snorted. Guapa soy yo. Your mother was a diosa. But so cabeza dura." It wasn't like this everywhere but enough to add a cultural element that helped you understand the characters better. 

It reminds me of my Kindergarteners when they mix languages because it just makes more sense in their brain that way. It is so true that some words are more appropriate in one language than another depending on the context.

 A great, fast read! I don't think it was my favorite book but I definitely recommend it!

Have you read it? What did you think? Write a comment below if you are interested!

Next up: Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

Leo y soy liberado - I read and I am liberated.

I recently decided to start reading at least two books a month to get back into one of my favorite hobbies! I always kind of go in phases of my hobbies with the seasons. In the winter I love to knit, in the summer I love to craft and do home DIY projects (with the windows wide open!), in the fall I love to cook (especially apple and pumpkin pies), and the spring is kind of a transitional time for everything - mostly cleaning and organizing which makes me happy too.  I love to read but it seems like I never get to it because for some reason it doesn't seem as "productive" as the other hobbies. How sad! Anyone who loves to read knows that reading is medicine for the soul and just really fun and relaxing.

Now that we are living in a place that is either hot or hotter, I'm sure it will take a lot of work to keep knitting. Who wants scratchy, hot wool on their hands when its 95 degrees out? Who even needs mittens or hats anymore?...sad! I am excited to be able to read before bed again! I did it last night and I think I had the best night's sleep in a long time mostly because my eyes weren't burning from the screen light of the TV or iPad. I can take my books on trips, to read on the airplanes back and forth to MN, to the pool (woop woop!) and to read at night. I'm excited to devote new time to one of my all-time favorite hobbies. 

Did you guys know that Half Price Books allows dogs inside?? I love this and Lincoln is a celebrity at the Dallas HPB store (the flagship store by the way - it's huge!). They also have an employee named Lincoln and every time we walk in they normally call him (the employee) over to the information desk to say hi. They swoon and fight over who gets to give him a treat first. I'm a pretty proud mama that he loves it so much and they love him and that he behaves himself.  I secretly fear that one day he'll just have to poop right in the middle of the fiction aisle and how embarrassing that'll be. I bet real mamas can relate.   

Anyways, L dog and I have a great time walking the aisles looking for new books. I hope to share with you the books that I'll be reading and if you have any suggestions of great books you too are reading, pass them along!

Much love, 

Betsy