The Rug Merchant

The Rug Merchant

by: Meg Mullins

I enjoyed this book because it was about a totally different world than I know. The man is from Iran, his wife still lives there. He is saving money to bring her and his ailing mother over to America. He lives in New York City. His wife is back in Iran taking care of HIS sick mother and sending him rugs so he can sell them in New York.

Very interesting. Some sexual content, so beware....just read those parts with one eye open...they aren't THAT bad....hmm, maybe they are.

I enjoyed all the relationships with all the different types of people.

Ask Again Later

Ask Again Later

by: Jill A. Davis

Interesting in that it is an odd book. Odd "chapters - meaning no chapters really, just segments, thoughts. So the pace is different.

It is about her relationship with her parents, good and bad, making better, dealing with crisis. I would recommend it, but be ready to enjoy a different way of writing.

This is a question for Julie . . .

When do you read? Have you stopped watching TV at night? Do you sleep less? How are you reading all these books. And when is it quiet enough in your house for you to enjoy a book????? Aren't you tired at the end of the day? I am impressed with your repertoire.

Sensational Sasaffras Springs

THIS IS KYLIE!

This sensational book was my school's booktalk book

The book is about a kid who is 10 or 12. At first he reads this book about a person who explores the world looking for special things. The boy thinks there is nothing special about Sasaffras Springs, so his dad challenges him that if he can find 7 wonders of Sasaffras Springs by the end of the week then the boy will get a train ticket to visit his aunt in another state.

It is a great adventure for the boy.

I really liked this book. I reccomend this book to everybody! It would be good for Candice to read aloud to her class too.

The Appeal

The Appeal

by: John Grisham

Kerry and I both read this book, neither one of us loved it. It was ok. You can have a great discussion in the end, when you are done - is this stuff really true???

It was one of his worst books. No real peaks.

He tells an interesting tale of State Supreme Court judges that get voted in, as opposed to appointed. What that means to the state, laws, appeals.

I wish the book was better. You should read it, it is interesting information, the end of the book gets better. Just know that it is not a great Grisham book.

Remember Me?

Remember Me

by: Sophie Kinsella

This is not part of the Shopaholic series.

The Shopaholic books are light and funny, easy. This book was much heavier, kind of frustrating and a downer. In the end, it redeemed itself, but it was frustrating to me....I just would have solved the problems in a different way, hmm.

I liked this book fine too, didn't love it.

The premise is interesting....a woman wakes up in a hospital, it is 2007, she has forgotten about the years from 2004 to 2007. She is a totally differnt person in 2007 and it takes some time for her to figure herself out. She had a car accident and hit her head causing her amnesia.

I think I will look for Dawney's book, The Bread givers at the library now.

Ask Again Later

Ask Again Later

by: Jill A. Davis

She was a writer for the David Letterman show. This is not her first book.

It is a different syle of writing, no chapters....she writes her story with subject heading. It took some time for me to get used to, but in the end I liked the book, didn't love it.

The girl has a bad relationship with her mother and father and it is about repairing those relationships all the while trying to get her life/self in order and to find her own happiness.

The Bread Givers

by Anna Yerzierska

Another book from Timothy's shelf (when we don't make it to the library on the weekend, I plunder Tim's bookshelf).

This is an incredibly good book, detailing the life of a young Polish immigrant and her family. The writing style is completely different from anything I have ever been exposed to. You can read the first chapter of the book (I found it online!)

Sara was the youngest of four daughters, living in the tenements of New York. She talks about her sisters looking for work in the sweat shops, living in poverty. The four of them are responsible for bringing in all the money the family has. Their Father is a rabbi, a man of God, who does not believe that it is for him to work, but his children, who will honor him and his God by bringing their wages straight home to him.

Excellent story of how Sara declares her independence from the old traditions and works to go to college and become a teacherin. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

A Boy Named Shel

Do you remember Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book? This boook, A Boy Named Shel, is a biography of Shel Silverstein. Loved it, loved it, loved it!!!

Did you know that Uncle Shelby started his career doing cartoons for Stars & Stripes--the army newspaper? And he got famous after becoming part of Playboy Magazine! He also wrote songs--A Boy Named Sue, Cover of the Rolling Stones, Freakin at the Freakers Ball and Sylivia's Mother. Really, he is credited with over 800 songs and there are apparently thousands out there that he never bothered to register. He was playwright as well, writing one act plays that were produced off-Broadway.

My favorite line from the book: Shel's attention span went from nonexistent to nil.

Organic Church

Subtitled "Growing Faith Where Life Happens" by Neil Cole

This is a book that was recommended to Timothy by one of his friends and I was intrigued by it. It details a movement within the church where people are seeking a more organic sense of what their spirituality means to them. This book is specifically about starting churches (and no, Mom, that doesn't mean we want to start a church).

I really enjoyed the point of view that spirituality is less about the rules that are required by man and more about your relationship with God. Neil Cole uses Life Transformation Groups--groups of 2 or 3 people, of the same gender, who meet regularly and hold each other accountable for how they are growing their relationship with God.