The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson

Sep22

Someone recommended Lisa Samson when I asked about favorite authors of Christian fiction, and I took the bait and borrowed The Passion of Mary-Margaret from the library. The novel was published by Thomas Nelson Publishers in 2009, and I must say I was surprised. Not only was the story absorbing and eminently readable, it was very Catholic. That’s not what I expected from an evangelical writer and an evangelical publisher. The book reminded of something as I was reading, and it was only after I finished that I realized what it was: it has a “Touched by an Angel” feel to it, only with a lot more Jesus than Touched By an Angel ever saw fit to indulge.

Sister Mary-Margaret is seventy years old, and she’s already anticipating the day when she will see God face to face. Since that day could conceivably come at any time, even though Sister Mary-Margaret is in good health, our narrator decides to write down the events of her life and the things she’s learned in the past seventy years.

Because Sister MM is getting older, she move easily between past and present, a fact which makes the timeline in the book a bit confusing in places. The story concentrates on what is happening in the present and moves without warning, sometimes with very few transitional signals, into the past and the events of Sister MM’s youth and the beginning of her life as a religious (similar to a nun). Then, the story takes a detour into the mystical as Sister MM has conversations with Jesus, a Jesus who appears whenever he wishes in bodily form and tells Sister MM whatever he wants her to know.

It took me a little while to get into the flow of Samson’s story and style. Sister Mary-Margaret’s voice is practical, somewhat humorous and irreverent, and at the same time spiritual in the best sense of the word. She’s in the world, but not of it. She’s fully aware of sin and suffering in this world, but also in tune with the heartbeat of Jesus and His love for His broken creation. I thoroughly enjoyed Samson’s story of the awakening and spiritual journey of this Catholic religious sister and her unorthodox journey with Jesus as guide. I’ll be looking for other books by Lisa Samson. Any suggestions?

More reviews of The Passion of Mary-Margaret:
Lisa at 5 Minutes for Books: “I have a little trouble with the mysticism contained in the story. Remember, I told you Lisa Samson likes to push the envelope a bit? Mary-Margaret sees Jesus, talks to Jesus (and He talks back), has tea with Jesus. I can’t decide whether this contributes or detracts from my personal endorsement of the novel.”

My Friend Amy: ” . . . this novel is so completely lovely, so full of reality and yet so bathed in the love of Jesus that it moved me deeply, and in short, makes me feel like a better person for having read it.”

Relz Reviews: “Brilliant characterisation by Lisa brings Mary-Margaret, Jude, Sister Angelica and every other character to grace the pages of this book, to tangible life with their failings and strengths authentically displayed.”

1776 and Forge: Serendipitous Reading

Sep21

1776 by David McCullough.

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson. Sequel to Chains by the same author. Nominated for 2011 Cybil Awards, Young Adult Fiction category. Nominated by Amy at Hope Is the Word.

I really didn’t plan it this way, but what a fortuitous sequence of reading events.

1. I am teaching U.S. History at our homeschool co-op. We’ve been reading about Jamestown, the Pilgrims and colonial life in general. We’ll be studying the American Revolution in about a week, or maybe two.

2. I finally read David McCullough’s 1776 about the beginning of the Revolution and all of the characters and events of the year 1776. I really fell for Nathaniel Greene, General Washington’s young Quaker-born protege, and Henry Knox, the stout young former bookseller turned artillery expert. McCullough writes vivid, informative history, and he makes the people of history especially full of life and approachable. I wanted to meet General Green and Colonel Knox. I cheered for them when things went well and felt sorry for them when they made mistakes which ended in tragedy. I did copy a few passages into my notebook as I read:

Washington to the army defending New York, August 23 1776: “Remember officers and soldiers that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of liberty—that slavery will be your portion and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men.”

New York, August 1776, on the lack of uniforms in the Continental Army: “In the absence of uniforms, every man was to put a sprig of green in his hat as identification.” I thought this brief sentence was so evocative of the David and Goliath nature of the fight, backwoods, country Americans, in their worn, homespun work clothes going up against the best-trained, best-equipped army in the world in their scarlet uniforms. And only a spring of greenery to identify friend from foe.

British General Grant after a British victory in the same battle of New York: “If a good bleeding can bring those Bible-faced Yankees to their senses, the fever of independency should soon abate.” It didn’t bring them to their senses, and the fever did not abate.

McCullough on General George Washington: “He was not a brilliant strategist or tactician, not a gifted orator, not an intellectual. At several crucial moments, he had shown marked indecisiveness. He had made serious mistakes in judgment. But experience had been his great teacher, and in this his greatest test, he learned steadily from experience. Above all, Washington never forgot what was at stake, and he never gave up.”

3. Immediately after I finished 1776, I started Laurie Halse Anderson’s Forge, a sequel to the award-winning Chains. These books are set during the American Revolution, a fact I knew since I read Chains last year, but I had forgotten that Chains ends in 1776 with the British in control of New York and our two protagonists, Isabel and Curzon, escaping from slavery and from a British prison into the wilderness of upstate(?) New York. Forge covers the time period of the winter and subsequent spring at Valley Forge 1777-78 where General Washington and his ragtag army spent a miserable time trying to survive and recover from their defeats and victories at the hands of the British army.

There are a few flashbacks that tell the reader what happened to Isabel and Curzon between their escape from New York and October, 1777 when the book actually picks up the story. Suffice it to say the two friends have not remained together, and Curzon is now on his own with no idea where Isabel is. This book evokes and enumerates all of the hardships experienced by the common soldiers at Valley Forge from the viewpoint of the lowest of the low, an escaped slave and enlisted man in the Continental Army. Curzon experiences prejudice, misunderstanding, persecution, deprivation, and near starvation, sometimes because of his skin color and also as a result of the deficiency of supplies and organization in the army as a whole.

My friend General Nathaniel Greene reappears in fictional form in this book. and the men are glad to see him! It seems, according to Halse Anderson’s telling of the story, that General Greene saved the day at Valley Forge and finally got the men there some food and clothing and arms. Greene’s wife, Caty doesn’t come off too well in the book, but I didn’t have a crush on her anyway.

So, friends, I would suggest that if you’re interested in the American Revolution and historical fiction set in that time period that you read the following books in the following order, by plan rather than by happenstance:

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. This classic Newbery award-winning novel set in pre-revolutionary Boston gives a fantastic picture of the causes of the warand its effect on the people of Boston.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume 1, The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson. Semicolon review here.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume 2, Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson.

1776 by David McCullough.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Semicolon review here.

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Only one word of warning: Anderson’s story still isn’t complete. I read an ARC of Forge, and it won’t be out according to Amazon until mid-October. If you want the entire story you’ll have to wait and read all three volumes together when the third book comes out, whenever that is. By the way, I see that Laurie Halse Anderson will be at the Texas Book Festival in Austin in October. That would be fun to attend, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it this year.

WriteGuide: Individualized Writing Instruction for Homeschoolers

Sep20

About a month and a half ago, the director of Writeguide, an online writing course for homeschoolers, asked if I would be interested in reviewing their program here at Semicolon. I looked at the website, thought it sounded like something that would be of interest to many homeschool families, and asked if one of my urchins could do a trial run.

Karate Kid (age 13) was the guinea pig. He hasn’t done much formal writing, lots of reading but not much writing. We signed up for a one month course, and then promptly it got really busy around here and we managed to forget when the course started! (One month’s instruction at WriteGuide is $75.00, which would be a bargain for many homeschool families who often tell me how intimidated they are by the task of teaching kids to write.) Because it took us a few days to get on track in starting the program, and because I didn’t remind Karate Kid as often as I should have to communicate with his personal writing consultant, he was only able to complete one piece of writing over the course of the month. Nevertheless, I was quite pleased with both the process and the product.

Karate Kid’s assignment, an assignment that I gave him, was to write a process paper explaining how to do something that interested him. The WriteGuide writing tutor will work with your child on an assignment given by the parent, a writing task in the particular curriculum you are using, or a piece of writing that the writing teacher, the parent, and the child decide together that the child needs to complete. For example the homeschool parent could ask the WriteGuide teacher to work with the student on basics of the SAT essay or a research paper or simple paragraph writing, whatever fits the particular student.

Students enrolled in our Individualized Writing Course work with their own private writing teacher (called a writing consultant), Monday through Friday on papers and projects of their parents’ choosing. Your child’s writing consultant will provide 100% individualized, hand-tailored instruction to meet his or her precise needs as a writer. The course takes the form of a friendly, daily (Monday through Friday) exchange of letters, papers, instructions, lessons, and feedback between the student and his or her writing consultant. All aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, prewriting, outlining, research, taking notes, drafting, controlling tone, sentence and paragraph structure, literary and stylistic devices, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, editing, proofreading, and the process of revision.

Students, parents and tutor communicate via protected, on-site email. As I said, Karate Kid’s writing teacher was great. She communicated with him daily, M-F, as long as he kept up with the assignments and revisions she suggested. (Sometimes he didn’t answer her for a couple of days, and therefore we may not have used the course to its full potential.) KK wrote a rough draft of his paper, and his WriteGuide tutor gave him specific suggestions to improve the writing, grammar, and structure of his paper. Here’s the end result: How To Make A Bird Bolas by Karate Kid. Remember that although KK is in eighth grade, he has done very little formal writing and had almost no writing instruction, although he has been taught basic grammar and sentence structure. And he has done a lot of reading.

Because I teach literature and history classes at our homeschool co-op, parents come up to me all the time in a panic about teaching writing. In fact, I see writing and science instruction as the two scariest subjects for homeschool parents who are entering the middle school/high school years. My new response will be to recommend WriteGuide as a resource for those who can afford it. Even if you can only do one month’s worth of instruction with WriteGuide, it would be a valuable month’s investment. I plan to sign up for another month’s writing consultation in the spring when KK writes his research paper.

WriteGuide also offers a three month long Introduction to Grammar class that I didn’t try out. However, if your child needs a basic foundation in English grammar, you should look at this course.

The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

Sep20

I’ve decided that on Mondays I’m going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than fifty, but I am going to post to Semicolon the entries in the reading journal that I was required to keep for that class because I think that my entries on these works of literature may be of interest to readers here and because I’m afraid that the thirty year old spiral notebook in which I wrote these entries may fall apart ere long. I may offer my more mature perspective on the books, too, if I remember enough about them to do so.

Author: Oliver Goldsmith was born November 10, 1728, the son of a poor Irish clergyman. He was educated at various borading schools and one of his schoolmasters called him a “stupid, heavy blockhead.” You can read his most famous play, She Stoops to Conquer online. The Vicar of Wakefield, Goldsmith’s novel, is also available here. Said novel starts with this line:

“I was ever of opinion that the honest man who married and brought up a large family did more service than he who continued single and only talked of population.”

This line was written back when populating the world was still considered a service. The book goes on to tell the story of Dr. Primrose, the vicar of Wakefield, and his family and his many troubles.

Goldsmith himself was an unknown literary critic in poor financial straits until he became a protege of Samuel Johnson. Samuel Johnson said of his friend Goldsmith: “Goldsmith, however, was a man, who, whatever he wrote did it better than any other man could do.” High praise, indeed. Goldsmith, however, said of Samuel Johnson: “There is no arguing with Johnson; for when his pistol misses fire, he knocks you down with the butt end of it.“

His association with Samuel Johnson brought Goldsmith recognition but not financial success. When Goldsmith died in 1774, he was in debt for 2000 pounds, a great deal of money in that day.

Characters:
Dr. Primrose–the vicar of Wakefield
Mrs. Primrose–his wife
George, Sophia, Olivia, and Moses–the Primrose children
Mr. Thornhill–a gentleman
Sir William Thornhill–Mr. Thornhill’s uncle
Miss Wilmot–George’s fiancee

Summary:
Dr. Primrose and his family endure various trials and vicissitudes, including the seduction of one daughter, the loss of their fortune, a fire, and the imprisonment of the title character. It’s supposed to be funny, folks.

Quotations:
“Man little knows what calamities are beyond his patience to bear till he tries them . . . As we descend, the objects appear to brighten, unexpected prospects amuse, and the mental eye becomes adapted to its situation.”

“Her own misfortunes engrossed all the pity she once had for those of another, and nothing gave her ease. In company she dreaded contempt and in solitude she only found anxiety.”

More reviews:
Hope at Worthwhile Books on The Vicar of Wakefield: “The language was not singularly beautiful nor were the characters richly developed. In fact, the calamities and coincidences in the book were so unbelievable that I had to force myself to finish it. “

Sunday Salon: Still More Forgotten Treasures And Saturday Suggestions

Sep19

It’s taken me several days to get through all of the posts linked at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week linky for Thursday on Forgotten Treasure, books that were one blogger’s treasure but were ignored, under-appreciated or forgotten by most of the rest of us. I already listed nineteen books that I want to read, gleaned from these Forgotten Treasure posts. Here are the rest of the books that I found that I want to read:

Hands of My Father by Myron Uhlberg is a memoir about a hearing child growing up during the Depression era with deaf parents. It’s recommended by Valerie, hearing-impaired blogger at Life Is a Patchwork Quilt.

I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant is about an old mans memories of his youth during World War II. I love Rylant’s picture books and easy readers, so I’m intrigued by the thought of reading an adult/young adult book by her. Recommended at DeRaps Reads.

Room by Emma Donaghue. I actually gleaned this one form the Saturday Review. Recommended at Take Me Away.

The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips. Recommended by Janelle at Lit Snit.

The Old Wive’s Tale by Arnold Bennett. A forgotten Victorian classic? I’m in. Recommended by KarenLibrarian.

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman. Someone else recommended this book about a nun who has visions to me, but I didn’t make a note. And I forgot all about it. Recommended at Word Lily.

Confessions of the Sullivan Girls by Natalie Standiford. Reviewed at YA Book Shelf.

Enough. I must stop. I already have enough books on my TBR list to keep me busy from now until my untimely death in about 2050. I’ll be 93 then and still reading, I hope.

To change the subject a bit, Mental Floss has an article you may want to check out if you’re a Tolkien fan like me: 10 Things You Should Know about JRR Tolkien. I guess I knew most of the things already, but it was fun anyway.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Sep17

“What will break me?

This is the question that consumes me over the next three days as we wait to be released from our prison of safety. What will break me into a million pieces so that I am beyond repair, beyond usefulness? I mention it to no one, but it devours my waking hours and weaves itself throughout my nightmares.” ~Katniss in Mockingjay, ch.11

So now I’ve read Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. And I have nothing new to say about the quality of the book or of the series. I loved it. I liked the ending, even though some people didn’t much. I read it in a couple of days, reading whenever I could get some free time. I’ll read the entire series again sometime, and I’ll recommend it to others.

However, the thing I noticed in this third book, the idea that impressed itself upon me, comes from the quotation at the top of this post. President Snow and Capitol goons are out to destroy Katniss, not necessarily to kill her, although they’d do that if they could, but to destroy her usefulness, her courage, and her ability to serve any good purpose. Snow wants to destroy Katniss’s ability to love. Snow uses other people’s pain to hurt and distract and break Katniss. He uses fear and psychological manipulation and blackmail and Katniss’s own weaknesses, all to devastate her and make her useless to the rebels. Katniss’s enemies can’t kill her, so they work on her emotions and hurt other people who are close to her so that she will be neutralized and/or become mentally unhinged.

Isn’t that exactly what Satan tries to do with us? It’s kind of like the story of Job. God won’t let Satan kill us or remove us from His presence; however, we are sometimes beset on every side. I’ve been feeling particularly plagued and bedeviled lately. One person I love has left the faith, abjured Christ and declared himself apostate. Another beloved friend has lost an especially close relationship and is questioning God’s faithfulness. I look at my family, and I see problems and pain and physical illness and sadness and broken relationships. I sometimes feel like a walking advertisement for the book “Things Fall Apart.” (I haven’t actually read it, but the title is evocative enough.)

One of the characters in Mockingjay is “hijacked”, reprogrammed, brainwashed, by the enemy. It’s exactly what Satan is trying to do each and every Christian. He can’t take away our salvation, but he can steal our joy. He can attack us in all sorts of ways in this less-than-perfect world, take away the people and experiences that mean the most in our lives, and destroy our usefulness to God’s kingdom. Sometimes I feel as if I’m inside the (very serious) game that Katniss and Peeta play in the book: Real or unreal? Has my friend really, irrevocably removed himself from God’s grace? Or will God work to bring him back? Can I see past the physical and emotional pain that some friends and family members are experiencing now to see a God who is good and will one day wipe away all tears and banish all suffering? Or will I allow the vicissitudes and the real torments that afflict me and my family and friends to break me into a million pieces so that I am useless and beyond repair? Will I allow Satan to deceive me and blind me to God’s goodness and mercy in Christ? Is there really a hope and a future for me and for those I love?

I don’t know, but at least as I read Mockingjay, I thought about these issues. And I prayed, “Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Give me the power to see what is Real and to be able to stand like Job and say, ‘I know that my Redeemer lives.'”

Good book. Good series. Good, hard, challenging thoughts.

Semicolon review of Hunger Games.
My Favorite Author reviews Mockingjay.
Jen Robinson’s Book Page on Mockingjay
Mockingjay review at Between the Covers with Stephany.

More Forgotten Treasures

Sep16

My favorite meme from BBAW this year is the Forgotten Treasures meme from Thursday (yesterday) in which we all named favorite books that we feel have been neglected or forgotten or under-appreciated. Here are some of the titles I found at other bloggers’ sites that I either agreed should be read by all discerning readers or that I was inspired to read myself because I’ve been one of those who missed out on that particular treasure.

I agree; it’s a treasure!
Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards. Recommended at 5 Minutes for Books. I wrote about Mandy and some other secret hiding place books for children here.
Gautami Tripathy is right: All of the more than 90 books by P.G. Wodehouse are deserving of a wide audience. In fact, Wodehouse is a better cure for depression than drugs or counseling. Cheaper, too.
Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. Recommended at A Buckeye Girl Reads. I read this nonfiction memoir from the Rwandan holocaust, and I agree that the story is haunting and inspiring.
The GIver by Lois Lowry. Recommended at I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read. I like this classic dystopian novel, too.
Countdown by Deborah Wiles. Recommended at Erin Reads. I read this middle grade fiction title set in 1962 and wrote about it here.
Half Magic by Edward Eager. Recommended at A Tapestry of Words. I love Edward Eager! I love Edward Eager. And I think Half Magic is my favorite of his books.

I want to discover these treasures!
A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka. Recommended by The Lost Entwife. Poland. WW II. Family intrigue and history. I’m hooked.
Eli the Good by Silas House. Recommended by SuziQOregon at Whimpulsive. YA fiction.
My Hands Came Away Red by Lisa McKay. Recommended at Books, Movies and Chinese Food. This YA fiction book tells the story of a fateful mission trip to Indonesia and the teens who survived. The description reminds me of this book, also set in Indonesia and one I found quite compelling.
The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins. Recommended at Take Me Away. A coming of age story about a gypsy boy and his father in Ireland. My fascination with becoming immersed in the details of a completely foreign culture is definitely triggered.
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman. Recommended at Love YA Lit. Wow! How did I miss this one? A young man, Shawn, is stuck inside a non-functioning body, unable to communicate. And he’s afraid his father might want to let him/make him die because dad believes Shawn has the mind of an infant an a life of unbearable suffering. I’ve got to read this book.
Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson. Recommended at Aelia Reads. Fairy tale re-telling. Check.
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelley. Recommended by Pixie at Page Turners. New book about a girl with Asperger’s who learns to make friends in a new town. Pixie, you should nominate this one for the Cybils when nominations open on October 1st.
The Life of Glass by Jillian Cantor. Recommended by My Friend Amy. Ditto above. This one looks as if it could be a worthy Cybils nominee, too.
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci. About outcasts and life (and death?) on the margins. I’ve ot to read this one. Recommended by My Friend Amy.
Gabriel’s Story by David Anthony Durham. Recommended by Natasha at Maw Books. A Western? Yeah, this one sounds too good to miss.
War Child by Emmanuel Jal. Also recommended by Natasha at Maw Books. And here’s another book for my Africa project.
Stone’s Fall by Iain Pear. Recommended by Alyce, at home with books. At 600+ pages, I’m not sure when I’ll get around to this one. But it might be worth the time.
The Valley of Song by Elizabeth Goudge. Recommended at Charlotte’s Library. A “dizzying pastiche of mythology, folklore, and Christianity.” A secret, magical valley. I can’t resist.
True Confections by Kathryn Weber. Recommended by The Literary Omnivore. Enter into the world of candy-making. And the main character can’t stand Roald Dahl. Me, too.
Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson. Recommended by Melissa at Book Nut.
The WInthrop Woman by Anya Seton. Recommended by Suey at It’s All About the Book. I’ve been reading about the Pilgrims and the Puritans, so this novel is quite timely for me. Also, I liked Seton’s Katharine, about Katharine Swynford, very much when I read it a couple of years ago.
Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Recommended at Genre Reviews. YA Christian fantasy.
The World Inside by Robert Silverburg. Recommended at Opinions of a Wolf. Dystopian fiction about an overpopulated world.
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. Recommended by Leeswammes. More dystopian fiction, this time from the 950’s, but according to the reviewer still relevant.

Oh, my. Did I really just add 19 more books to my already unmanageable TBR list? Yes, I did. And now I am stepping away from the computer. No more Forgotten Treasures, or I may drown in this embarrassment of riches.

BBAW: Forgotten Treasure

Sep15

Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction. This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!

I have so many forgotten treasures on my bookshelves that I don’t even know where to start. In fact, I’ve written on this subject before.

Under the Radar: An Adult Fiction Trio. Don Camillo, Andrea Orsini, and Rima the Bird Girl: if you don’t recognize the names of these fictional characters, you should. They’re all fascinating characters from popular fiction of the past.

Under the Radar: Christian Fiction. “Christian fiction” has gotten a bad rap, partially deserved. Some so-called “Christian fiction” (just like some YA fiction and some post-modern fiction) is nothing more than a bad sermon disguised as an even worse story. However, some of the fiction published by Christian publishing houses is not only exemplary and literary, but also just good reading.

Madeleine L’Engle. I don’t know if Ms. L’Engle is under-appreciated or not. But my favorite of her books, The Love Letters, is out of print. Even so, I’ve managed to get a few bloggers to read it. Maybe you would enjoy this story of failed promises and redemptive love. Check out the discussion at Amy’s review, Deanna’s thoughts, and Carrie’s journal.

Lin Yutang’s The Importance of Living was a bestseller in its day (1937), but it’s out of print and forgotten nowadays. If you enjoy light-hearted essays from a Chinses American perspective, you’ll love Mr. Lin’s book. It’s an antidote for those who take themselves too seriously.

Finally, if you’re still searching for more treasure, my unfinished list of the 100 Best Fiction Books of all time is a great resource. Claim a treasure and please be sure that if you do, you come back and tell me about it. We all like to know what treasure troves we’ve unlocked for other readers.

BBAW: Unexpected Treasure

Sep15

We invite you to share with us a book or genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger. What made you cave in to try something new and what was the experience like?

I’d like to go in a bit of a different direction with this question. I’ve always read children’s books and children’s fiction. I used to be an elementary school librarian. I’ve read most of the classics, most of the Newbery Medalists, some of them more than once. However, it was my participation in the Cybils Award process for the past four years that gave me the opportunity to read and appreciate lots and lots of the new books that are being published for children. And, wow did I find some unexpected treasures.


My first year (2006) as a Cybils judge I read Kiki Strike by Kirsten Miller, and I fell in love with this tale of underground New York and the weirdly powerful girls who save the city from disaster. Even better, Brown Bear Daughter, who was then eleven years old old, loved the book, too.

My second year with Cybils, I was a first round panelist which meant lots more books to read and lots more favorites. A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban, Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata, Leap of Faith by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson were all wonderful discoveries. However, my personal favorite from 2007 didn’t even make the finalist list, and I might not have read it had it not been for the Cybils judging: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Stewart. Great and unexpected treasure.

In 2008 and 2009, I was again honored to be a panelist for Middle Grade Fiction. In 2008 I discovered Alvin Ho, a neurotic seven year old from Cambridge MA, fictional creation of author Lenore Look, and The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, about a young detective and a mysterious disappearance from the famous Wheel in London. Last year Heart of a Shepherd by Roseanne Parry stole my heart, and Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti made me and my son laugh together.

I don’t know if I’ll be judging for the Cybils this year or not, but I’m so hooked that I’ll be there on October 1 to nominate my favorites, and I’ll be reading as many of the nominated titles as I can find whether I’m judging or not. Cybils is great place to dig for unexpected treasure.

BBAW Interview Swap

Sep14

Swapna Krishna of S. Krishna’s Books is a 20-something reader and book blogger from Washington, D.C. Since she’s about the age of my Eldest Daughter, it was a blast to swap interviews with her for Book Blogger Appreciation Week and get some reading recommendations from the younger generation.

We don’t know each other at all, but I am indebted to you for several good reading suggestions including Best Intentions by Emily Listfield and Eat, Drink and Be from Mississippi by Nanci Kincaid. I see that you also enjoyed The Help by Kathryn Stockett. That brief list makes me think we share a fondness for literature set in the South. Is that so, and if so, can you name other favorite pieces of Southern literature?

Yes!! I do very much enjoy literature set in the South. One of my favorite authors, not just of Southern fiction but generally, is Karen White. She specializes in Southern fiction – I love The House on Tradd Street, The Memory of Water, and The Lost Hours, just to name a few. I also loved Beth Hoffman’s Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, a book I know made its way around the blogosphere.

How did you get started as a reader? As a book blogger?

I’ve been a reader all my life – I started reading at the tender age of 3, thanks to my older sister who taught me to read! I started as a book blogger over 2 years ago. I had gotten to a point where I would buy books, bring them home, and realize I’d already read them but didn’t remember the titles because I didn’t keep track of what I was reading. I tried a paper journal, but I filled it up so quickly that it seemed silly. I’d already been reading book blogs by then, so I thought I’d start one to review books, but also just to keep a record of what I’d read!

If you could vacation in a book world, where would you go to get away from it all? What book would you like to enter into and interact with the characters?

Oooh, lovely question! This is cliche, but probably Harry Potter. I loved how vivid of a world J.K. Rowling created. Those books are still my escape when I need to get away from life for awhile. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read them.

I read at your website that you are a member of the National Book Critics Circle. What is that, and why did you join?

The NBCC is a association of book reviewers, mostly print reviewers. I joined when I started working with The Book Studio, a book website that features video interviews with authors. I haven’t really done much with it, but it’s nice to have!

I also noticed your South Asian Review Database and your South Asian Author Challenge, a different kind of “Southern literature.”What are those all about?

That’s so true, I didn’t think of it that way, but it is a different type of Southern literature, ha! South Asia consists of countries around the Indian subcontinent – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, etc. My heritage is South Asian, so I’ve always been very interested in literature from the region. In mid-2009, I realized there wasn’t a huge presence of South Asian literature within the blogosphere, and the South Asian Challenge was an effort to rectify that. The South Asian Review Database is a place where anyone (challenge participant or not) can come to link up their reviews of books by South Asian authors. It’s all my effort to promote the literature of the region, I only wish I could do more!

What are your favorite books and/or authors from South Asia?

Well, I’ll have to include the cliche answers, Salman Rushdie and Jhumpa Lahiri. Rushdie got me interested in South Asian literature when I read The Satanic Verses in high school (though, knowing what I know now, there’s no way I could have fully understood it and I must go back and read it sometime). Recently, I’ve become a cheerleader for Thrity Umrigar. All of her books are good, but The Weight of Heaven just blew me away. Additionally, Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s The Secret Daughter was just amazing. I also love Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (she is an incredibly prolific author, but I’ve only read 2 of her books) and Indu Sundaresan’s historical fiction.

What book or books inspire you?

Hmmm, this is a tough one. Books with beautiful writing usually inspire me, hence why I am such a fan of Salman Rushdie. Fyodor Dostoevsky, W. Somerset Maugham – these are writers I love simply because their prose speaks to me. It really stirs something within me.

What do you like to do when you’re not reading?

When I’m not reading, I’m usually spending time with my husband. He works a lot, so when he’s not working, we’re usually together. We love watching TV, and to a lesser extent, movies. I’ve gotten him into Indian movies (he isn’t Indian), so we’ve been watching more of those lately! We love to eat good food and we travel A LOT (a little too much lately, if you ask me!) I love spending time with my friends, though many aren’t local, so I do spend too much time on the phone, and it’s why I travel so much. I also just love to experience the area I live in, Washington DC.

You’re sort of a veteran book blogger. What advice do you have for those who are new to book blogging?

Funny, I don’t think of myself as a veteran! I guess my advice to those who are new to book blogging would be to READ. I know it sounds silly, but seriously. Read anything and everything. Consistent posts are crucial if you’re trying to build an audience. Additionally, I know it’s tempting to start clamoring for review copies the second you start a blog, but resist that temptation and wait for awhile! Review your own books or library books – build up a healthy review library before you start asking publishers for books.

Thanks, Swapna. I really did enjoy getting to know you and your blog, and I’m planning to read some more South Asian fiction soon. You’ve inspired me!

And here Swapna interviews me. You know, you could just be-bop back and forth all day: Swapna to Semicolon, Semicolon to Swapna, S. Krishna’s Books to Semicolon’s reviews, etc. Have a great day.