Right Words at the Right Time

The Right Words at the Right Time, volume 2: Your Turn!, a collection of inspirational vignettes collected by Marlo Thomas, is a lovely book to flip through at the odd moment or browse if you’re in need of inspiration.  The stories are told from a large number and diversity of perspectives, and each has a nugget of common wisdom couched in a friend’s words.  It’s an interesting look at the effect that we can (intentionally or unintentionally) have on people through our words, surely an appealing thought for any blogger.  This book is at its essence a book to browse, to pick up now and again, and to marvel at. 

For more, check it out at the publisher’s web site, the book’s own web site, or Amazon.

I think maybe I’ll leave my copy at my local Wellness Community or OB/GYN’s office when I’ve finished reading it.  Well, maybe not the Wellness Community.  The last chapter is on letting go, and, it wasn’t all that comforting for me personally.  It may be for you, though, so I invite you to pick it up and judge for yourself. 

The Right Words at the Right Time is a treasure trove of reflective essays from people who sought change in their lives and credit a friend or other human being for helping them to find the right path.  Surely a good message, and a nice book.

This review was done in conjunction with a Mother Talk Blog Tour.

The Daring Book for Girls

I love this book more than words can say.  I loved The Dangerous Book for Boys, and now I love the companion, The Daring Book for Girls.  Written by Andi Buchannan and Miriam Peskowitz, the founders of MotherTalk, this book is a fantastic compilation of many of the parts I loved about childhood — with a generous helping of history, geography, slumber party games and girl traditions added in for good measure.

The book opens with a list of essential gear.  The first ones, Swiss Army Knife, bandana, rope and twine, have been recognized as essential by any adventurous boy or girl for decades.  But the reminder is nice.  The list continues with journal and pencil — awesome addition! — and a hair band “for when hair gets in the way.”  Oooh, nicely done.  I love also that they include flashlight, compass, safety pins (check out the dual uses!), duck tape, deck of cards, a good book, and patience.  Oh yeah.  This sets the tone nicely.  A mixture of “girl stuff” and “boy stuff” and an all-around good idea for the adventurous kid.

From basketball to hopscotch, jump rope to fourteen games of tag, there are rules and diagrams for plenty of outdoor group games here, but there are also quieter outdoor pursuits, like building a clubhouse or making daisy chains and ivy crowns.  There’s a bit about math, an introduction to Robert’s Rules of Order (useful in those clubhouses, as I remember), how to negotiate a salary, and how to negotiate “who’s it” before a game of tag.  Like the boys’ book, there are sections on knots and science experiments, but there’s also a page on how to put your long hair up with a stick.  How to make a tree swing, creating friendship bracelets, what do do with vinegar and baking soda, carving a willow whistle, bird watching, paddling a canoe, and hiking are all great sections in this book. 

Fascinating bits in history and geography are integrated in this book as naturally as the rest, with a twist to be interesting to all kinds of girls:  Princesses Today, Queens of the Ancient World, Spanish Terms of Endearment, South Sea Islands, Going to Africa, Joan of Arc, Women Inventors and Scientists, Pirates, Explorers, Women Spies (and how to become one), and Modern Women Leaders.  Yes, it’s girl-centric.  Yes, that’s discriminatory to the boys who have also contributed to the modern world and might put boys off.  But I think that’s actually okay, as history books are still shy of examples of female leaders and scientists, and we still have to fix that.  The section on boys is somewhat better than the Dangerous Book for Boys’ section on girls, but still too short and not incredibly necessary for this book.

This book aims to appeal to a wide age and temperament range of girls.  There are sections on handclap games, cootie catchers, writing in cursive, and jumping rope, there are also sections of this book for girls to “grow into,” such as sections on negotiating a salary and changing a tire.  But all will enjoy the list of books that will change your life (put unfortunately at the end).  I recognized almost all of those books as ones that I loved as well; they would form a great base for any girl.  Or boy.

This is a great book and would make a great holiday present for any girl.  Amazon.com is even selling the two books as a set for $29.95 … wouldn’t that be a great addition to the family bookshelf?  My boys will find BOTH books under the tree this year.  And we ALL will have a great time exploring the traditional and new pasttimes of childhood.

This review done as part of MotherTalk’s Blog Book Tour.

Matrimony: a novel

A novel.  What a lovely respite from our busy days. 

Matrimony, by Joshua Henkin, is what we used to call “a good read.”  It begins with four likable (although not particularly industrious) characters in a small Northeastern college.  Their experiences are interesting and yet somewhat universal; my mind kept flitting back to my own college days as I read the first part of the book.  Henkin’s use of imagery is vivid, and his words, oh his words, go down smoothly as a strawberry milkshake and leave no regrets behind.

I really like this book.

The book progresses with the characters, following the main character, Joshua Wainwright through the years that inevitably follow college, and reintroducing us to his close college friend much later in life.  I won’t give away any more of the plot, but I just want to say that it has been a wonderfully enjoyable read and a nice escape from my everyday work and worries.

I would recommend this book to book clubs, mom groups, and anyone looking for an absorbing read about some interesting, but not stressed-out, characters.  The story sneaks up on you while you’re reading Henkin’ s beautiful words, and

As the author himself says, “Life is what happens when you’re not paying attention.”

This review was done as part of a Mother Talk blogtour.

Fun distractions…

Want to have some fun today?  Hop on over to Rocks in My Dryer for Backwards Works-For-Me-Wednesday — where the bloggers ASK the questions and you get to answer!  Over 150 have chimed in so far, and it’s quite fun!

Check back on Friday for a Mother Talk review of Matrimony, a novel.  I’ve got three novels and two pair of shoes to review this month — wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Maximum Ride

Maximum Ride 3, the new teen adventure novel by James Patterson, is just as exciting as I’d heard. It’s been a while since I’d read sci-fi/adventure for teens, but when MotherTalk offered me a peek into this world again, I was excited to take a look.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I was a preteen and beginning to read adventure books, I found fantasy and science fiction to be up my alley, but I didn’t really know where to start. It was years before I found Robert Heinlein’s books for boys, and this was well before the advent of Harry Potter. I did find David Eddings, though, and Piers Anthony, and eventually Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, who would fill my mind with imagination of other worlds and other possibilities and other ages, long in the future, after we had “conquered” space.

Well, Maximum Ride 3 happens in the near future, after a conquering of not space but biological limitations. A secret group has adopted and bioengineered changes in babies, growing them with special characteristics as befits their projected place in a New World Order. The resulting birdkids, erasers, and other mutants (if that isn’t too unkind a word for them) have been alternately running from and chasing down their creators in the first three books of this series.

This was my first introduction to Max, the leader of the birdkids, and her crew, but Patterson writes about them so deftly and with sufficient flashbacks that I didn’t feel lost in the crowd one bit. In fact, I think any teen or sufficiently sophisticated preteen could jump right in with the third book, or start with the first book (which spent 56 weeks plus on the New York Times bestseller list!), and enjoy it.

The book itself is a great romp, full of character-building experiences, good dialogue, and real (and sometimes real gritty) interactions. I won’t give the plot away, but there is a teensy bit of romance, of wistfulness, and of reflection, and a whole lot of action in this book.

There’s also a recurrent reference to the birdkid’s blog, which, with its reallife counterpart and millions of clicks, makes this book seem up to the minute and even somewhat participatory. Visit the Maximum Ride website to see just a bit of what I mean.

This book was freewheeling, adventurous, and kept me turning the pages well past lights-out. I enjoyed the book and the re-introduction to the genre, and I’m passing my copy along to a young friend to enjoy as well.

Edited to add: Patterson’s people have really upped the ante here with the website. For every click gathered on the Maximum Ride website, a book will be donated to a child in need by First Book. Lovely. Really nice touch, and one that made me just click on over to be sure that mine is counted too.