I read books like the way a pregnant woman eats.  My tastes are eclectic and impulsive, my attention span short.  Even since I started to regularly devote a short amount of time reading every night I’ve gone through but not finish many books I bought and borrowed.  

To name just a few (I don’t think I’ve finished any of these):

• Life of Pi
• Welcome to the Monkey House
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Mindfulness
• Julie and Julia
• Writing Science
• Factory Girls, from village to city in a changing China
• What’s it all about (autobiography of Michael Caine)

With the exception of the last one, which I deliberately chose not to finish, I’ve given up on reading the rest long enough that I would probably have to go back and re-read from the beginning.  But my interest had run out.  The only things I can finish these days are magazine articles, for which I’m grateful since some of those National Geographic articles are pretty long, and dry, depending on the writer.

I’ve started a new book recently.  It’s a book I purchased a few months ago, and unfortunately at the time my interest had turned to something else from the moment I paid for the book to the moment it arrived on my door step.  So it has been sitting on my shelf all this time.  

It’s called The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, by Deborah Blum, a professor of science journalism at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. (Hm, I wonder if I would run into her when I attend my conference in August…).  I bought the book after she came to our school to give a talk on her book and her experience writing the book.  From her talk I could tell that she had some background in science, but she’s much more of a historian and science communicator.  She has an amazing memory for dates, places, and facts, an unbridled interest in her subject, contagious  enthusiasm for informing the public about science and science history, but good discipline so that she could write as well as she gives excellent talks.  She loves anecdotes, and she never seizes to amaze the entire hour we sat there, completely immersed in the adventure she had taken us on.

My lab mate actually had a copy of the book at the time of the talk, and she was kind enough to sign it.  I went home that night and bought a copy right away, along with another book on science writing that she edited (which unfortunately I still have not read).  

The book follows the story of Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler, New York’s first scientifically trained medical examiner and toxicologist, respectively, and the birth of forensic toxicology.  The book chapters are divided into different poisons, and the stories are set up in a chronological order.  

I still haven’t finished the first chapter yet, but I’m already hooked.  How do I know?  Because  ever since I started reading I periodically think about this book throughout the day.  Haven’t felt attached to a book like this in a while now.

Reading it feels like watching a period miniseries, like Sherlock Holmes or Jack the Ripper.  The writing was accurate but humorous.  I’m not sure how else I can explain it.  It gives no overtly sentimental or subjective statements that would obscure the facts, but there are just enough adjectives and colloquialisms that we know how the author felt as she described the setting or the story.  The fact that the science is wrapped in stories makes the reading some much more fluid and enjoyable.

I don’t usually read popular science books.  I think the closest ones I’ve read are Full House and Your Inner Fish.  Popular science books that are written for a general audience, for me at least, either spend too much going over the basics so that by the time anything interesting happens my patience would be gone, or it’s just dull in some other way.  Like the Richard Dawkins books.  Many evolutionary biologists argue about his stuff, I’m sorry to say I never got through any of his books to know what the arguments are about or what my take is.  I did enjoy The God Delusion though.  The audio book is even better, by the way.

Anyway, less than a chapter into the book I already knew that The poisoner’s handbook is a great piece of writing.  I still can’t fully grasp what it is about it yet, other than describing it as like reading a TV series, but as I was reading I remember telling myself to not only enjoy the story, but to pay attention to why I like what I’m reading so much.  I’ll probably go back and re-read it and be more analytical about it.  Right now I just want to finish the story.

Thus the Part I of this post.  Hopefully I’ll come back and finish the thought.

Probably not, but the people at Amplify have invested a pretty penny in the hope that they can! This article was posted today on USAToday and it asks the question whether video games can motivate kids to read classic books like Alice and Wonderland or Frankenstein. Evidently, kids aren’t reading the classics anymore and are instead off listening to their rap music, playing a shim sham, or twirling a tire (Or whatever kids do).

At risk, my friends, is our future. I don’t think I have to tell you, but if kids don’t read the classics then our society will fall into a hellish landscape of deviancy and  stupidity. At first it’s the classics they don’t read, then its your Miranda rights, and lastly it’s the label on the bottle of poison that says “do not drink”. Anarchy and hellfire will take hold and WE’LL ALL BE DOOMED because the kids didn’t read Moby Dick.

Games like “Alice: Madness Returns” have already attempted to make learning the tales of classic games fun, by making them exceedingly violent and full of hacking and slashing

That of course is the most likeliest of outcomes. To offset this inevitable demise, Amplify has created “Lexica”, which the article describes as:

massive role-playing game for young teens that invites them to interact with characters from great novels and read the books outside of class if they want to get ahead in the game

Sounds riveting. The game’s world is apparently one in which the worlds books are being safeguarded from the dullards of the world so that no one can read them. Characters from the classics book escape from the books to seek help and seek out players to read them. Literary types are the most needy. It’s then up to players to assist the characters by reading books outside of the game. Players will be reward with in game rewards such as abilities and items. Sounds like a novel idea (HA HA!), but what’s going to motive these kids to play this game?

“The Evil Empire, as it were, believes that you’re not smart enough and you’re not good enough,” he says. “You’re certainly not good enough to write something yourself, because only great writers can be the ones who create books. And, in fact, you probably shouldn’t even be reading these things, because you’re not smart enough.”

Oh. The game actively tells you that you’re not good enough, and that’s supposed to motivate kids to prove them wrong. What about the kids that don’t? They’ll just be defeated and forever cast into a life of stupidity? Negative reinforcement is the best way to motive kids!

Will this work? I’m skeptical. Lexica certainly wouldn’t be the first educational game designed to teach kids classic literature, in fact there’s been plenty of titles attempting to do so throughout gaming history. What the developers of the game intend to do is make the game apart of school’s curriculum, but if no one adopts the game then it’ll most likely never see the light of day. Teenagers aren’t morons. They’ll know when they’re being tricked into reading books, and they don’t need video games to persuade them to do so.  The bigger question is “Is there a need?” Every generation worries that the next is lacking skills or knowledge that they hold dear, but it’s never really the case. TV was marked as an indicator that kids would eventually lose interest in reading and that our kids were in trouble. It didn’t stop kids from reading, and neither will video games.

Sony’s Wonderbook hoped to make reading fun! It flopped!

“The main educational goal is to get kids to be doing more reading of an ambitious sort outside the classroom. Kids today probably read more words than ever before, but they’re tweets or text messages from each other. This is to try to get them to do something which they’re not doing as part of their daily habits, which is reading books of a reasonably ambitious sort.”

Or to sell more tablets. While Amplify seems pretty noble in their journey to save the classic for kids, they’re really just pushing software and products. The article goes on to tell about Amplify’s new tablet that they have just released for a cheap $349 with a two year subscription. Certainly, if they were more motivated by teaching kids the classics they wouldn’t make their program for a tablet that is overpriced to only the most affluent of families.

What this article really gets at is that video games are increasingly being used as tools of education and socialization. They’re teaching our kids and engaging them in ways that weren’t before possible. While it’s unclear weather games like Lexica are the future of this socialization and education through video games is unclear, but certainly they’re a stab at it.

But maybe I’m too pessimistic. Maybe we should be looking to video games to help educating our kids. I had educational video games that I played when I was younger, and my favorite part of computer class was playing Sticky Bear, but I don’t know how much they really aided in my education. That said, video games in general probably did help me develop essential reading skills when I was a kid. Games that were text heavy like Legend of Zelda or Pokemon probably further developed my reading and comprehension skills, and today’s youth certainly seem to have a thing for playing tablet games at a young age, so perhaps it’s not so farfetched. However, I just highly doubt we’ll look back on Lexica as a tool of education that turned thousands of kids onto classic literature. Prove me wrong Amplify.

• Nodding and laughing at all of these stealth cliches.
• All the literary Tumblrs you could ever want to follow.
• Penguin wallpaper, for those bits of wall that aren’t already covered by bookcases.
• Gotta start mapping out my promotion timeline.
• Are you serif or sans serif?
• It’s hard to imagine these writers without their pen names.
• Writers talk about why they’re glad they joined SCBWI. (See if you can spot my critique group!)
• There’s a new Editor-in-Chief at One Teen Story.
• Coffee, don’t listen to them. They’re just jealous.
• Great post about why we need more Native American characters in YA.
• Find your local library on this map of US public libraries.
• Any titles you’d add to this list of mid-year Printz and Morris predictions?

I’m currently reading Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh (or, I will be by the end of today). I’m so excited to finally start reading this, since I loved Nevermore and may have reserved a special place for Varen on my list of book boyfriends.

I recently finished reading The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen. Although one of the major plot twists was predictable, it made for an enjoyable read filled with action and a loveable, snarky narrator. I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series.

Next, I plan on reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, since it’s finally available for me at the library and I’ve been looking forward to reading it for months.

After writing, revising, editing, jumping up and down on it before setting it on fire, and then revising just one more time . . . or more like seventeen . . . it is finished.

A huge thank you to the beta readers, my editor, and my husband for creating the cover!

I’m going through one more proof before it’s released. I’m not sure which emotion is more powerful—excitement or fear. I can’t help wonder if there is just one more typo, or one line that could be improved.

However, I’m super proud of the book. It started out as a journal entry one summer on Sanibel Island. I wanted to read a romance novel that took place on the island, but the bookstore didn’t carry anything like that, so I decided to write what I wanted to read. I never in my wildest dreams thought it would turn into a book. I have loved every single minute of it and it ignited a passion in me. I have written another novel and have a beta reader on it now!

Here’s a preview of the cover for Lighthouse Point. I’ll let you know when it’s out!

So let me tell you all about my absolutely GREAT day so far in hopes of bringing a smile to your face!

I woke up this morning jumping out of bed filled with the urge to sing  I can’t lie to you guys, I crawled out of bed after an hour of trying to keep my eyes open longer than a minute; went to brush away my morning breath (maybe I should have left that out) and looked at the mirror just long enough to infer that my hair was indeed defying gravity. Before settling with my laptop on the couch I had a big glass of chocolate milk (not a coffee person) and logged on to wordpress. (This is the part where it gets good).

Logged on to wordpress and saw that the lovely and wonderful blogger of Getting Rid of Boredom (please check out her blog, it is indeed quite sweet) had nominated me for the Super Sweet Blogging Award! For the first time all morning my eyes popped wide open and a squeal of delight erupted causing four other sets of eyes to zero in on me and demand an explanation. I tried explaining that a momentous thing had just happened but they just went back to doing what they were doing before (which was nothing).

So again I would like to give a big, huge THANK YOU to the blogger of Getting Rid of Boredom for nominating me for such a sweet (my favorite kind) award and congratulations on earning it yourself, you most certainly deserved it!

As a recipient there are a few questions I must answer so instead of rambling on (too late for that) I shall delve into them!

1. Cookie or Cake? Candy! I didn’t it include it in my blog name for nothing! I always have some kind of candy within five feet. (My favorite- Runts)!
2. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate in all things except ice cream in which case I like the classic vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup combo!
3. What is your favorite sweet treat? The candy, Runts, all the way. I always have a box of Runts handy in times of stress, happiness and basically everything else.
4. If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? The Day Dreaming, Candy Eating, Red Haired Bookworm of course!

Now I get to nominate 13 (a baker’s dozen) other fabulous blogs for their incredible sweetness. My nominations are in no particular order:

• The Skeptical Reader
• The Librarian who doesn’t say SHHHHH
• Book Adoration
• Lovely Books Blog
• Books for a Delicate Eternity
• caughtwithingpages
• Project Light to Life
• Ramblings of an Elfpire
• The Middle Sister
• Young at Heart
• Vilma’s Book Blog
• Sorry Television
• NutFreeNerd

All of the above more than deserve the super sweet blog award!

Now, I’ve answered the questions, I’ve nominated my 13 picks, I included the Super Sweet Blogging Award in a post, I thanked the blogger that nominated me (THANK YOU AGAIN) finally I have to notify my nominees. So that concludes my post, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!

P.S.- I’m eating candy in celebration!

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This is one of my 2013 Feminist Reads Challenge books.

Title: How to Be A Woman

Author: Caitlin Moran, @CaitlinMoran

Rating: 9/10

Readability: 10/10

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Published: 2011

Caitlin Moran (google images)

I chose this book for my first Feminist Reads Challenge. I was so delighted to absolutely adore this book and become enamored by Caitlin Moran. This book has definitely influenced me in declaring my belief in feminism. When I first decided to do some research into feminism all I knew was what I learned in school: Feminism= man haters. Unfortunately the rest of society believe that man hating and bra burning is what feminism is all about. Caitlin Moran proves this misconception wrong in her novel, How to Be a Woman. Through this novel, which is also memoir, she makes her readers laugh and learn at the same time. It is not boring facts after boring facts about how women are still considered second class citizens. It is stories about her life that made her the woman she is today and sets an example for what a “strident feminist” should be.

google images

I knew I was a feminist after reading this passage:

“So here is a quick way of working out if you’re a feminist. Put your hand in your underpants. a. Do you have a vagina? and b. Do you want to be in charge of it? If you said “yes” to both, then congratulations! You’re a feminist.”

It is seriously that simple. So no men. We do not hate you. We just don’t want you telling us what we can or cannot do with our lady parts. Simple as that. Through reading this book I learned what being a woman and what being a feminist truly means. This is a mandatory read for all women of all ages. It is something every woman can relate to, from first sight of puberty, to discovering your independence, and your worth. It is a necessity to read Caitlin Moran for she is the ultimate woman.

Related articles

• #1 What is Feminism to You? (HTBAW) (rlynnmoore.wordpress.com)

After I have readied my soul and body for the day, I go outside to relish in the nature and give my plants their much needed water. I bask in the sun and smile knowing today will be a day I love. I take pleasure in the days that have no plan or rhyme or reason. I just do as I feel…I daydream.

I daydream about having saved enough to travel to many different places and hike our beautiful Earth. I daydream about strolling along the beach and stopping for an hour of yoga and mediation. I dream about helping people find their path to happiness and not watch them suffer from their own madness, sadness or negativity. 

Do you ever daydream? When I do, boy do I. I think about playing and winning the lottery (who doesn’t) but I wish to use it to travel the world and help others. I would also love to go on volunteer vacations! (Which I plan to do at least one in my life!) I dream every day about a yoga retreat with others who could really benefit from an actual teacher with me. I even dream as simple as being on an island and reading every book I have ever wanted to…or my favorite, flying south for winter! But then I stop and take notice that even though it is wonderful to have dreams or to daydream at all, it is also good to be mindful and grateful of what is in front of us.

As I continue on my path to fulfillment and serene happiness, I always discover more and more what beauty surrounds us when we make and effort to be happy. It all lies in the simple things like smiling that the sun is shining, being grateful for the time you have to enjoy a glass of wine and read a great book. Love the people around you with your whole heart and love them with no expectations. I may not succeed every single day at this but making the effort is enough to know I am on the path that I am supposed to be on. That I am taking action to be happy in my life. I wish that for everyone…namaste..

This week’s release that I’m (not so) patiently awaiting is Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey, which has an expected publication date of June 27.

Liam MacGregor is cursed. Haunted by the wails of fantastical Bean Sidhes and labeled a demon by the villagers of Dòchas, Liam has accepted that things will never get better for him—until a wealthy heiress named Annabel Leighton arrives on the island and Liam’s fate is changed forever.

With Anna, Liam finally finds the happiness he has always been denied; but, the violent, mythical Otherworlders, who inhabit the island and the sea around it, have other plans. They make a wager on the couple’s love, testing its strength through a series of cruel obstacles. But the tragedies draw Liam and Anna even closer. Frustrated, the creatures put the couple through one last trial—and this time it’s not only their love that’s in danger of being destroyed.

Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling poem, “Annabel Lee,” Mary Lindsey creates a frighteningly beautiful gothic novel that glorifies the power of true love.

I love anything to do with Edgar Allan Poe, and the fact that this is based on Annabel Lee – my all-time favourite poem – makes this sound even more appealing!

What books are you waiting on?

Summer. Read. 2013, the annual reading program for adults, kicks off today (Wednesday, June 19) with a live chat on the CPL’s Facebook page. Simply write a note about the last three books you enjoyed, and why, and the librarians will create a customized reading list for you. The interactive service goes from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m.

And if you take part in the Summer. Read. 2013 program by reviewing an item you’ve checked out of the library, you will be entered into a weekly draw for a tote bag and journal, with a winner at every branch of the CPL. There will also be five grand prize winners of a 32 GB Nexus 7 Tablet. All ballots from the branchs will be pooled to win one of four tablets; the fifth will be awarded to an online entry. Here are all the details.

Lucky for me, I got to start my summer vacation a tad early, spending the past week in Banff with my family. I read The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls (who will be in Calgary on June 25 for a WordFest event) and two of George R.R. Martin’s works from his Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords (still only a third of the way through the latter). My other recent read was Crow’s Landing by Brad Smith. So, I’ve plugged the titles into the CPL’s Facebook page and am awaiting their suggestions. I’ll update this post once I get them.

What books are you excited about reading this summer? The photo above includes some of the titles I’m hoping to crack in the next few months. Night Film by Marisha Pessl (Special Topics in Calamity Physics) is at the top of the list. Even though it’s not out until Aug. 20, it’s earning lots of buzz. I managed to snag an advanced reading copy and will be reviewing it for the Herald. Fingers crossed it lives up to the hype!

Share your favourite summertime reads in the comment section below, or let us know what books you’re looking forward to this season. Happy reading!

Originally posted October 2012

First grade teacher Lenae Madonna has published her first book. The book entitled “Lost and Found,” chronicles Herman and Eddie, two very different mice, who met on a stormy night, and weren’t quite sure what to make of each other. Though both are tested, their friendship endures. It’s a touching story that examines friendship, diversity, acceptance, and finding your inner (and outer!) strength.

To learn more about this exciting experience I talked with Lenae:

How long have you been writing books? I actually started this book in high school. I wrote a fiction story for my high school newspaper about two mice. I went to Flushing High School and during those times in the early 70’s, there was much racial tension in the school. It frustrated me, and I wrote a story about a white mouse and a gray mouse becoming friends. A few years later, in college when I was student teaching, I was required to write a children’s book. I was doing my student teaching in an inner city in Newburgh, New York, and thought my mouse story would be a perfect one to turn into a book. So I did. At the time, my college roommate was an art major and she illustrated it. I always wanted to publish it but never did. It’s been on my “bucket list” for a long time. A few years ago I took a children’s book writing class and showed it to the teacher/author. He helped me reshape some of the ideas and I decided to try to get it published. I have already written the second in the series, and began the third.

Is this the first book you’ve published? Yes, this is the first book I have ever published.

Does your story pull from your own life experiences? What are the major themes of the book? Yes, in a way, it does pull from my own life’s experiences. As I mentioned, when I was in high school in Queens there was racial tension and there were “gangs” in my high school which was awful. I was frustrated and tried to show through the adventure of two mice of different colors how everyone could be friends and build a high school community. This book, “Lost and Found” is about diversity and friendship. It is about two very different mice that each has strengths and weaknesses yet develop respect and admiration for each other. I have already written the next one in the series, which is about adoption. The mice go on different adventures dealing with the subject at hand. The third one I started is on bullying, but I don’t know if I will finish it. I will see how this first one goes!

Who do you write for? I write for young children in early elementary mostly. I have written a one semester curriculum for high school students on social entrepreneurship as well. I totally believe in “bibliotherapy” which is a way of using children’s literature to deal with issues that children are grappling with. Through stories, children are able to identify with characters and work out many of the concerns they have.

Will you read the story to your own students? Yes, we read the story to our students in first grade. I had Bessie Leveson, the teacher assistant in the class read it because I wanted to see how someone else read it, and watch the children’s reactions. It was really exciting to listen to her read it, and the children’s reactions were amazing. When she said “The End” they all said, “NOOOOO!!!! We want more!” It was adorable and validating. Of course I am not sure whether it was really because of the story or because they are just so supportive of me!

What do you see as the role of literature and reading in a child’s life? Reading and literature in children’s lives is a priority for me. It is one of the reasons I love teaching first grade so much. I have taught preschool through fourth grade, and the reason I love teaching first grade so much is watching children blossom into readers. I don’t think there is a greater change in children’s academic skills than in the beginning of the first grade year to the end, and every year is an exciting one to watch this transformation.

Reading to and with children is one of the most important things families can do to raise their children’s academic abilities. Very frequently, when children start reading themselves, reading “to” them or with them is less frequent or sometimes stops. I read to my children until high school. We shared books together. I remember my husband and daughter reading the same book at the same time and discussing it. Read aloud in elementary school are primary. Children should be read to every day. My book is probably in the “picture book” category but has many words for a picture book. It is more like an early reader. But I feel that because today so many parents read to children early on, kids are much savvier and understand much more than they used to years ago when books for young children were more limited. I know that they can handle the content of the book because I watch young children sit and listen to very long stories. They love being read to. “Lost and Found” is sort of like a chapter in a “Winnie the Pooh” book with some longer text, and some children will be able to read it themselves while others can be read to; yet all can enjoy the themes.

Do you have a project in the wings? I do have another book in the wings with a totally different theme and characters. It’s taken 35 years to publish this one. I think I will wait to see how this goes first before I move ahead with that one!

Since I’ve been home I’ve been forging my way through Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel. I do mean forging— my mom finally started to say encouragingly, “Alice, why don’t you read something for fun?” I finished it last night, but, man, Eugene Gant drags his feet getting from ages zero to eighteen—I swear he grows up slow and sticking as molasses. His father, Old Gant, spends a large part of the book wasting away from cancer and alcoholism, then right near the end, Ben, the only character Tom Wolfe has deigned to paint sympathetically, comes down with pneumonia and up and dies, bringing the whole dysfunctional family together and causing me to cry at a book I didn’t even like. On top of all that, Old Gant is still alive at the end, and Eugene has never had a love affair with a woman who isn’t at least five years older than himself or even achieved a decent haircut.

It’s all part of my summer reading, see, which is intended to spur on the writing of a story about a teenage boy and his little sister. Several of the other entries on the list are re-reads, including The Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye, which I’m very nervous about now that I’m no longer sixteen. I also want to re-read all of The Mennyms books, which are a British children’s series about a family of life-sized rag dolls. I’m sure they’ll help me incalculably. Right now, though, I’ve begun a collection of sweet and simple essays by E.B. White. Following on his heels will be some Henry James and Eudora Welty.

I want to love books again this summer. I want to love them the way I used to. My book-habits now involve stacking them in pretty towers and smelling their pages and touching their spines reflectively and taking pride in how quickly I can find my favorite bits with having to fumble through any unnecessary pages. I’d like to read them again.

When I was a kid I sometimes read three books in one summer day. I would block out my little brother’s kicking feet and my mother’s requests to set the table and my sister’s demands to not hog the bathroom for hours at a time, and I’d simply fall into pages which pulled me along at a pace I never questioned, to the homes of lifelong friends I’d made the hour before.

If, on occasion, I did have to leave a book, to eat dinner with my family, or go to bed, or some such, I would, an hour or so later, get a funny hunger in the pit of my stomach. The uneasiness would grow more and more acute until I realized: I missed my book. I’d been holding my breath since I put it aside and I needed back in so I could breathe again.

I remember being in awe that some light little packet of paper which I could hold in my hand could captivate me for hours. Even at the time, I think I was aware that in actuality there were much smaller pieces of technology with much larger memories, but they did not impress me in the same way. I could see and account for everything that made the book what it was: the paper, the ink, the words, the little punctuation marks, and yet I couldn’t understand it. I sat down to consume the story and it ended in consuming me. A good book was something beyond.

So in the next couple months, I will remember how to love in a book, not what I pretentiously claim are its finest features: its paper and stains and ink and splendor on my shelf, but its expansive pilgrim soul which, in this world, always remains just out of reach.

It’s been quite a while since I did a W…W…W…Wednesday post.

Here’s how it goes…

What are you currently reading?

In preparation of our book club discussion I’m rereading The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

What did you recently finish reading?

Over the weekend I read Off Sides, Off Limits, and Off the Record by Sawyer Bennett. I enjoyed them so much I did a Shout Out for the series. (If you missed it click here)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Probably an ARC I received from Raven and Black called Becoming Bad. It’s the sequel to Becoming Red which I loved (you can read my review here)

Now it’s your turn to tell me!

Tamie Xo

Traveling makes people realize that human problems everywhere are more or less similar, though apparently dissimilar. While living in a community in which we brought up from childhood to adulthood and from there to old age; we used to think that only we have problems in life and nobody else can have similar ones.

We admire people whom we never met with but we know them for some reason. We fancy them. When we think about those people who are far away from us living their life in different geographical locations of the world, we get an impression of admiration somehow. We do not realize the actual and real condition in which they are living, until or unless we go to meet them and to start living with them. Traveling make us realize this fact.

The common human problems around the world are violence and of freedom. People fight for their freedom and sometimes it leads to violent acts as well. Being recognized and being acknowledged by the society and by the world is everyone’s demand. This basic demand brings some people close to each other and it also plays a role to detach human beings from one another.

The relationship between man and man is somehow a very complex issue which has been debated for so many years and still it the main focal point of several people who love humanity and who want to do something good for the world. But this has been a constant conflict in the world and there is so much more to be done for the people of the world to live at peace, with some decency.

Poverty is the glitch that we have to look into deeply as it leads to several other social problems that we have to face. Some of the other glitches present in the world are racism and ideologies that sometimes bring about wars to be on.

Being human and being part of this world; we should understand within our limits that we get only one life and it is very precious. We must treat us with profound dignity and every other living human being is also important and precious as well. So we should respect others too. No matter what race he belongs to. No matter what religion he follows. No matter how rich or poor he is. No matter how easy or hard his life is. We must build our relationship with the world in a positive and nurturing manner.

Dear Kwil Kids & Kwilsters,

Our summer camps are coming!
Creative writing fun is on its way!
If you can read above in Farsi
You know that…
‘Global Kwil’ is set to play!

Although Kwil replies in English
He has translators on his team!
Whether struggling, advanced, or ESL
Your letters are my green-nosed dream!

With love from Kwilville,
(where pencil moving is life’s biggest thrill!)

:-) Kwil

Keep your pencils moving and your keyboards tapping! Keep those pages turning and your imagination yearning!
Kwil Kids is for children and ‘inner children’ of all ages but this year’s summer camps are for Grades 1 to 7.

I will be travelling a total of sixteen hours one way and nearly twenty hours back to arrive home, this does not account for the two weeks I will actually be visiting a place called South Korea. Now, I won’t be spending my entire time there sitting in a bamboo forest perusing a novel – even though that is a goal – but, I am sure that I will want to read at some point… Especially when on the airplane.

What books to bring then? How many? I’m currently reading White Teeth and Waking. I’m confident both will be read and finished long before I step foot on the plane. I’ve thought about bringing A Path to Heart – I feel as if a book on self mediation would be nice on a trip like this. Then I thought about the book Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers because that just sounds entertaining, interesting and quick. But what about fiction? Nothing enticing has come to mind but I think a good novel would truly round out my hours of plane riding and bamboo forest reading.

So dear readers, do you have any suggestions?

• Go to the park – This is a good place to review and organize notes or go over flash cards. My daughter gets a chance to play and meet new friends, while I still get to stay on top of my studies. I wouldn’t recommend bringing any coursework that involves prolonged periods of concentration.
• Visit the beach - Same as above except keep sand and water damage in mind.
• Attend story time at the library - I bring required reading for school to the library because my family could easily spend hours here. My daughter could spend time on the computer or sit next to me and read. The space is confined enough for me to easily keep an eye on her while still allowing her enough freedom to explore as many different books as she likes or hear a story read by a librarian.
• Have a movie night in - Armed with blankets, pillows, and popcorn, a lazy afternoon or summer evening can turn into an opportunity to complete some reading, provided there’s enough light. This would be a good time for children to watch that favorite movie for the 100th time.
• Hang out in the yard - We are fortunate to live in a home which offers both a fenced front and back yard. One of my favorite places to read and write is right on my back porch. I’m able to keep an eye on my daughter while she plays and still get my assignments finished.

Some of these methods may work better than others. Unfortunately, college isn’t just a time about learning the material, it’s also about learning how to complete deadlines while meeting other responsibilities as well. While the best recommendation is to create a study area and stick to it, I’ve found that if I’m not creative with how I go about getting things done then I may quickly find myself lagging behind. I hope that some of my ideas are useful, and if you have any others to offer please let me know!