heaven

South Bank Book Market, London

photo by geekilicious me, 2008

[Technically] Wordless Wednesday

daniel x marks the spot

Mason & I were chosen by MotherTalk to review the newest young adult novel by James Patterson, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X. It is his latest attempt to entice reluctant readers into the wonderful world of books - last summer I got to review one of his installments in the Maximum Ride series and found it an adequate joy ride for the young teen set.

This story is definitely aimed more at the boys, as is obvious by the darkly alliterative title. We decided to use it as our bedtime book (Paige wanted in, too; she likes to roll with the wild ones now & again) and immediately recognized parallels to our favorite Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. Daniel is orphaned as a toddler by evil forces that kill his mom and dad then discovers he is not a Muggle Human but rather has supernatural powers and must fulfill a quest to destroy the forces that murdered his parents. However, Daniel doesn't acquire friendly mentors nor does he set off to join other young magical friends but instead goes solo as a vigilante alien hunter.

As in his other young adult books, Patterson relies heavily on teen slang and hip pop culture references to establish voice in his characters. My kids thought this was pretty cool, which is fine because they are the target audience, but I found it somewhat desperate ("I really AM a fifteen-year-old boy! Seriously! I know about rappers and stuff!") and it left me wondering about the novel's shelf life - in a few years, Shia LeBeouf will [hopefully] be a more mature grown-up actor, which will make him unknown and/or boring to new tweenage readers.

Another trait I've noticed in Patterson's writing is his desire to sneak in references to environmentalism. Daniel slyly remarks about pollution, global warming, recycling, and the importance of taking care of Nature. Certainly not a downfall, but it makes the main character sound less like a young Batman-on-a-mission and more like a young Green Party candidate.

The overall storyline is definitely interesting despite its sci-fi Harry feel at the opening. Daniel has the fascinating, and sometimes poignant, ability to conjure people from his past; they behave independently of his thoughts and can be of comfort as well as protection to him. We very much felt close to Daniel and wanted him to win the day. The wicked aliens out to defeat him are indeed nasty creatures, though the head baddie has an English accent and a professor's vocabulary; we could never quite figure that one out (maybe another bizarre nod to J. K. Rowling's dynasty - a Dumbledore from the Dark Side?).

In the end, we decided The Dangerous Days was worth our summer nights and hope to see Daniel X around the universe again. Go ahead & give him a spin.

memelicious

Interestingly (or not, but just play along for now), I've been tagged by two people to do this book meme [which I have done before, but I was sick and it went badly]. So Tootsie at Vintage Thirty and Pinki at Love the Eclectic Life have given me another chance. Let's see how it goes.

Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

from Spunk & Bite - A writer's guide to bold, contemporary style (a gift from my very good writer friend Lisa, who I will later tag *shhh, foreshadowing*) -

"(...In that study, the overall rate of intensification was the same, as were the three most-used intensifiers, though they were used with differing frequency: very was the most common, followed by really and so.) The 2004 study also posited that it was female speakers who initiated the rise of so as the great American intensifier (see sidebar, "The So-Special Case of so," below). Just because intensifiers course through informal speech, must we also use them in journalism and literature?"

I realize that is not an invigorating example, but it is a [very] interesting book about the writing craft. I will use parts of it to teach a better short story class next year.

And now, drumroll please. I'm asking the following outstanding bloggesses to dig into their nearest books and play the game:

Blog This Mom!
For the Love of Pete
Mama Milton
Katydidnot
The World According to Suz

nerdy suburban mom seeks edgy tattoo design

Now that I have committed myself to inking up this summer in Amsterdam (after telling not only my husband and best friends but also 150 teenagers, there is no backing down), I'm busy trying to figure out what I want drawn onto my skin forever.

I know I don't want anything cutesy sweet - that seems just plain silly unless it has a fascinating story behind it and even then I would feel compelled to tell everyone my fascinating story which, eventually, would not sound so fascinating after all.

Words could be cool - I've entertained "Carpe Diem" since it was the subject of my speech to the seniors last year and [most days] I sincerely try to embrace the philosophy. If I go with this, I then have to decide what kind of font would be most awesome FOREVER. Cursive? Too girly. Lower case? Too casual. Calligraphy? Too hard to read (back to the explaining thing). Argh.

I also thought about an Escher drawing - he's Dutch like me, I'll be in Holland, and I love the intricacy of his work. But I don't think I can sit still long enough for this baby.

The woman who does my hair (oh, I told her, too) said the one thing she immediately thought of for me was a book. I like it. Reading has always been a passion - I used to read by passing streetlights in the backseat on road trips; I take or seek out books & magazines everywhere we go (including our honeymoon); I read while brushing my teeth or eating lunch or waiting at traffic lights. But it seems no one else in the history of tattooing has considered such a design. I have entered all of these search terms: book tattoo, book tattoo design, edgy book tattoo, edgy book tatoo design, stack books tattoo, cool book tattoo. To no avail. There are lots of books available showing tattoos, and many people with tattoos of comic book characters & Children of Men book covers.

Really? Am I seriously that geeky? Please feel free to submit your best ideas. They can't possibly be any worse than some of my students' suggestions - A dragon! A pot leaf! Flames would be cool! Apparently I'm teaching Beavis & Butthead's children.

favorite things

Seattle, Washington

photo by me, 2007

Wordless Wednesday wishes you well.

sweetness

Mama Milton & I spent the afternoon in a blissful state of girlfriendliness. After spying on my Grocery Store Hottie nonchalantly stopping to get coffee & an oatmeal carmelita, we drove into Portland and browsed through Powells for awhile (I got a fantastic Virginia Woolf book to read before my trip!) then headed over to the luxurious, sumptuous, grown-ups-only after 3:30 Living Room Theaters to watch Caramel. Before the feature, they showed a trailer for Singin' in the Rain, which I so love I almost wept just watching the snippets (Gene Kelly & I are like this). We had food delivered to us in the theater (Spicy buttery popcorn, thy name is Perfection), the seats were like couches, it did not cost a million dollars, the movie was delightful; all was heavenly.

You are now released from the grip of links & italics.

adventures in today

There was purging of bookshelves, reorganizing of rubber stamps, downloading of music, recycling of old papers, and some labeling.

Later, I enjoyed the Teacher Appreciation Reception at Borders (freebies = happy me), followed by a perusal of the checkout area at Wild Oats (alas, no Secret Crushes today). Among my fabulous finds in the bookstore (all at 25% off! Bargains = more happy me):

• Photo book of American women
• Bunny key chains
• Cute & fancy black & white tote
• Tour guides for Paris, Amsterdam, & London
• Portable Thoreau
• World's Greatest Buildings book

Then I came home and outlined my BIG PLAN for having students create blogs. I started a new one with Blogger (not connected to my private grown-up blogs, because teen students knowing about my secret boyfriends, drinking habits, underwear, and/or sex life = bad news) dedicated to my classes - part of the BIG PLAN being that I will post assignments weekly (requiring me to plan ahead more; what a novel concept) and also have links to helpful sites for students. Here, take a look at the very rudimentary Mrs. Spencer's Domain and tell me what you think. If you think nice things, that is.

And then, because very good friends have taken our children away for awhile, Stu & I went out to eat and planned to see a movie. However, we wanted to use an Olive Garden gift card we've had for almost a year and getting into that restaurant on a Friday night at 7 pm takes, well, almost a year. So we first scored a table in the bar area (after hovering around a lingering couple like starving hyenas), then decided to grab a video on the way home. Because I have apparently dominated the movie-choosing role for too long, Stu decided we had to watch Idiocracy. I wanted to see it some time ago when I was in love with Dax Shepard (and sent him two e-mails; unanswered. Whatever), but I've gotten over it. Yet I am fair and reasonable (this week), so we rented it. Honestly, it was very funny - ridiculous, to be sure but a terrific parody of stupidness in society. If you're not in the right mood for absurdity, it could be quite depressing though. Know thyself and choose wisely.

In the spirit of Planning Ahead, I wanted to rent Stranger than Fiction to show my Creative Writing class this week. It was not in New Releases, not in Comedy, not in Drama - even when the Blockbuster clerk tried looking in those exact places right after I did. But magically, it was on the Previously Viewed sale table - for $3.99. I now own it and figure I will have the cost-per-viewing down to .50 in no time. Awesome!

I hope your Friday was half as adventuresome as mine. Happy weekend!

seemed easy enough

Rockin' mom CamiKaos (also laid up for the week with a violent virus) gently tagged me for a book meme that goes like this:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people & post a comment on your taggers blog so they can go see.

I figured I could handle this in my weakened Mr. Burns state as I have a couple of books within reach here. But upon slogging my feeble body to the coffee table and grasping Kate Spade's Occasions, FAH-rick, it only has 111 pages. Sigh.

Take 2: Real Simple Solutions. Page 123? A picture. Grrr.

Trying again: Must get up and stumble to bookcase. The Physics of Superheroes. Victory!

Fifth sentence - "In this way all energy on Earth is solar energy at its source, just as all the atoms on Earth, from the ATP molecules throughout the Flash's body to the ring in which he stores his costume, were created in a solar crucible (though obviously not that of our own sun)."

And then (my energy is already flagging) - "Ultimately, all of life is possible because the mass of a helium nucleus (containing two protons and two neutrons) is slightly less than that of two deuterium nuclei (a deuterium nucleu contains one proton and one neutron) combined in the center of a star."

Seriously?? - "And by slightly less I mean that the mass of a helium nucleus is 99.3 percent of two deuterium nuclei."

Gasp - "This small mass difference leads to a large outpouring of energy, since from E=mc2 the change in mass is multiplied by the speed of light squared."

Good Lord, I'm lying down again. (Really, this is a pretty cool book overall but today, tedious).

I'm too exhausted to tag. Please play if you'd like and leave a comment...

paging dr. constantinople

I still have this book from my childhood, copyrighted 1972 (second printing). I remember reading it often and asking my mom to retell her own story of having tonsils removed. It seemed like such an exciting experience! Meeting with the doctor, scheduling the surgery, packing a little suitcase with essentials - "Bathrobe, slippers, comb and brush, a toothbrush...and Old Doll." (I questioned Mary Ann's intelligence considering that was the best name she could come up with for her doll, but I was still jealous). All the while everyone is smiling smiling, like this is the most fun thing ever. It was probably the prospect of hooking back up with handsome Dr. Constantinople that kept Mary Ann cheerful; he was an obvious rip-off of Richard Chamberlain's Dr. Kildare.

I'd go under the knife for that man any day. Apparently, so would my daughter. She has discovered Good-bye, Tonsils and decided she wants to get hers removed, too. Even though neither of us know exactly where our tonsils reside or what their purpose is, we want them out. Maybe for her it's more about the "nurse with golden hair" or walking down the hall "to a pretty room." Or the fat, happy, pink panda that plays a little tune, the surprise from Grandma. (Those used to be my favorite parts, before hormones took over).

There is just something magical about this book, 39 cents brand new, with its Mommy wearing gloves (that she gave Mary Ann to sleep with at the hospital) and the dreamy doctor with an exotic name and a shiny red car that miraculously accommodated six (including Baby Clay). I've tried many times to put it in the giveaway pile, but it won't go. We just can't say good-bye.

smart girl in charge, snappy dialogue, and a talking dog - what more could a kid want?

I finished reading Maximum Ride 3 ~ Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports long ago, even though the book cover has been the last one on my Library Thing list below all summer. I've been otherwise quite busy, you know, finding new ways to drive the 12 miles into Portland, scavenging through crack spoons, replacing all of my traveling toiletries, and getting a classroom of my own. To have completed any book at all feels like quite an accomplishment, but I am particularly excited to have read this one.

This is a young adult novel, the third in a series, by James Patterson. I've never read his grown-up novels, for no good reason other than I've stuck with my book group selections during the past eight years so I don't have to think much for myself in the literary arena. When I was told to start reading this series last year by someone who knows I teach teenagers and am always looking for a good hook for reluctant readers, I was intrigued. It's hard to classify these stories - I want to say sci-fi, but they aren't at all tech-heavy. Fantasy implies fairy tales and it's not really that either, although there are Wicked Witch & Flying Monkey types throughout. Maybe putting them together and adding "adventure" to the mix sums it up. Essentially, Maximum Ride 3 is a fast-paced, wild trip around the world with a savvy gang of genetic misfits - think X-Kids, with a talking dog.

I love that the leader of this winged group (they're experiments in flying people whom their creators now want to destroy) is Max, a 14-year old girl. She is a sometimes reluctant mother-figure to Fang and the blind but extremely capable Iggy, both also 14; preteens Nudge & Gasman; and mind-reading 6-year old Angel. Total is the talking dog who frequently reminded me of Brian from Family Guy, but more helpful & not as obnoxious. In fact, Patterson developed each of these characters very well; other than a few too-clever-to-be-true remarks, they all speak and act their ages. That is a refreshing change from many modern young adult novels. Too often authors turn their teen characters into soap opera models instead of letting them be imperfect kids occasionally making foolish mistakes. All of these kids exhibit fear & doubt, some typical mood swings, and a base desire to eat chocolate chip cookies at any cost.

The recurring references to environmental issues - global warming, saving National Parks, pollution, mercury poisoning, nuclear war, radiation - seemed rather over-the-top, even to a Wild Oats Pacific NW liberal like me. I have not yet known a teenager to so frequently bring up any of those topics, although I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from investigating. I just got the feeling it was a political card being played pretty hard at young people. But then again, Patterson had them go to a Dallas game and root for my Cowboys, so who am I criticize?

Overall, I truly enjoyed this third installment in the series. And Max's wry & witty narrative allows a reader to jump in here, though it would be more satisfying to know the story from the beginning. I found myself taking the book with me whenever I knew I would have some free time. As a teacher of teens, I will definitely recommend it to my students - especially those who claim to hate reading. Most of the time, such kids are kinesthetic learners, needing some kind of movement or activity to engage them. Action-adventure stories are a good draw as they give the illusion of 'doing something' while reading. Patterson's Maximum Ride series is definitely active; I gave myself credit for exercising after spending an hour or so following the gang on their quest for answers and survival. There are moments of self-realization and some good twists, all done with respectable language and attitude. Definitely an E-ticket this one; go for the trio and your preteens & teenagers will think you're the bomb.