Left Coast Mama » Book Talk

Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

Gwen — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 03:57:37 +0000

Waiting for Cassandra and Holly

On Monday night I went out to Chapters in Metrotown to hear Cassandra Clare and Holly Black read from their new books and answer some questions. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to them and get some of my books signed but there were a few things conspiring against me. The first was being a mom unwilling to hire a babysitter so that I could go and block out a spot at noon. The second was that as I was running late I didn’t bring all my books. I could have had all my Spiderwick Chronicles and Modern Faerie Tales, and my Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices books signed, but as I was more interested in being able to see the presentation I would have been at the store until at least midnight. I Heard that Cassie and Holly stayed signing and chatting with their fans until half past midnight.

Cassie Welcoming the Crowd

I recorded most of the reading and question period and I must say that I was so impressed. They were engaged and interactive with the audience and they answered dozens of questions. It is why I am so impressed with Holly and Cassie on twitter. Both authors answer and interact with their fans, but @cassieclare spends a lot of time tweeting with her fans. She has interesting discussions and answers questions and generally is a very good example of how authors can be a huge part of their own pr. In fact I knew about the reading event because Holly and Cassie tweeted about it and all of their book signings.

Holly Black Moving About the Crowd Getting Questions

I am also impressed at how comfortable they seemed with the audience, with themselves, and their fashion. Both Cassie Clare and Holly Black are bigger women like me and they were rocking clothes that suited them and their shoes were fabulous. I wish I knew where they shopped because I would totally wear what Holly is for the opera on the 30th.

I loved seeing so many teens getting so exited about meet these authors. It was as if some of them were meeting their rock star heroes and it was wonderful to see. The line ups around the store were huge but the staff was friendly and the parents seemed to be pretty jolly about having their kids get so excited about meeting their favourite authors. I know that I am excited to be taking Aidan to meet on of his favourite authors soon. I hope we don’t make it to midnight, but if it happens I will be happy to help make a memory that he will never forget.

Gaggles of Teens Waiting to Meet Their Favourite Authors.

I have not read the latest in the Mortal Instruments, or the second curse workers series, but I am receiving review copies any day now, Yay! I am also going to be sending them interview questions through the publisher, and I am inviting you to send me any questions you may have as well.

When I got to the reading I was a little weirded out that I was one of the only older people there who didn’t have a son or daughter wanting to meet the authors. What I soon realized is that I enjoyed myself. Sometimes we just need to admit that doing something for ourselves is a good thing. I think next time I will try to get blogger/media status though, I think it would have been good for both Chapters and me.

If you have not read Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments or Infernal Devices, I highly recommend them. I also recently read Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tale series and I devoured it in one weekend. So go and read!

Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Interview

Gwen — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:36:56 +0000

I was given a chance to read and review Alyson Schafer’s latest book Ain’t Misbehavin’, and I was lucky enough to be one of three bloggers to interview her for her Mom Central Canada blog tour. I talked to her over the phone about some of the questions I had about her book and some of the parenting dilemmas we face every day. I must say she was very personable, funny and easy to talk to, it was a pleasure to interview her.

Question 1: Most of your book seems to be about how to change the focus of your parenting from doing things for your child to letting them do things for themselves. Why is this so hard for us as parents?

Alyson said that it is mainly because we don’t want to be out of a job. We like being needed, it is kind of a part of our Mom or Dad identity. What are we if we don’t need to be doing everything for our children? It may also be an active expression of our love. There is also the fact that we are busy people and it may seem easier just to take over and get things done a certain way. Unfortunately that is short sighted, and the short term pain will have a long term gain.

Question 2: Your chapter on allowance is very timely for us. Our son just turned 6 and we have been discussing an allowance for Aidan to begin to learn to save. We think we have figured out an amount of 6$ per week, but if Aidan saves for the toy he wants, a Lego Hogwart’s Express, it will take him about 6 months to save for it. Do you have any suggestions on how to handle just beginning an allowance and saving? Should we steer him towards something more easily attainable so he has some success with saving and spending?

Alyson is part of the BMO Smart Steps panel to help kids and parents alike in the realm of money and saving. She suggested working with Aidan to have a budget. Maybe have part of the allowance to save for smaller things that we buy him now and part to save for the big toy. This way he gets to have some early success with saving and paying for things on his own. She also suggested trying to find creative ways of helping him save for the big toy, maybe selling some of his older toys at a garage sale, or a you save half and we pay for half situation.

I really like the idea of teaching Aidan to work with a small budget. Money will become less of an abstract concept and more of a real idea if he makes some of his own budgeted purchases.

Question 3: I have a lot of mom friends who have kids between 2 and 3, mostly boys who are having issues with toilet training. Why is toilet training so difficult? There is so much pressure to have your child trained, and voices from the past saying that kids were trained earlier when we were young, and I wonder what people’s definition of toilet training is? What is normal? Is there any way to make it easier?

Here it is, the skinny on toilet training: most people have differing views on what toilet trained is. For Alyson it is having the feeling of needing to, going to the toilet, cleaning up afterwards, washing hands and going back about their business. For most parents it is not having to many accidents when they remind their child to go every couple of hours, the parent wiping and cleaning the child up.

When it comes to toilet training less is more effective. Don’t put pressure on the child, while the may be physically ready, they may not be emotionally ready. If you are not micro managing your child’s bodily habits there is less resistance from the child to work with it. The problem with schools/preschools is that there is so much pressure on the parent and child to be trained, even though they are supposed to be open to special needs. Unfortunately late toileting isn’t something that schools seem to be ready to deal with.

Most children aren’t trained until well into the end of their 3rd year, and 4 or 5 isn’t unusual. Doctors don’t get concerned until after 7. Maybe if toilet training wasn’t such a badge of honour and bragging rights, we would feel more comfortable with however long it takes.

Question 4: My eldest son is in Kindergarten and he is having issues that are getting him into trouble. He is very social and easily distracted and has a hard time going straight to activities without talking to all his friends along the way. I understand that he may be bored and not looking forward to some of the activities, but I need to help him get into less trouble at school. Is there anything I can do that can help him with this behaviour?

The short answer Alyson gave me was no, there is not a lot that I as a parent can do to help him. Its really the teacher who is with the children who is in the position to make a difference and create a teachable moment. The teacher can use community time to help all the kids work out ways to help every one in the classroom. This may be discussing at circle time how to be helpful in the classroom and not hinder others. Helping the kids to be a team player, and even if they don’t like an activity and want to socialize with their friends, their friends may not want to be distracted and want to get on with their work.

Question 5: Recently Aidan has had a problem with a child in his class. It really started to worry us when Aidan didn’t want to go on a field trip because he was worried about being in a group with this child. Even though I knew that the other child would not be part of his group, I was worried enough to talk to his teacher about it. We had one small solution and then she went on about Aidan’s distraction problems as if they were more important. Neither my husband and I were happy with the out come, and now we are having problems with school drop off. Aidan has been clingy and crying about going into school and this is really not like him, he was waving me off the second day of preschool two and a half years ago. Since it is obvious that the script “I am sorry for [blank] I will not do [blank] again, do you accept my apology? Do you want to be friends?” is not working, how do I give my son strategies for dealing with the other child?

Alyson was frank that it is not ok to be in fear. Children should not be expected to work and learn in a place of fear. There needs to be an action plan in place from the teacher. It needs to be taken seriously. Since you are the parent you are the advocate for your child, if things don’t improve, it may be drastic, but you can ask to switch classes. This is something you can control.

She also emphasized that we need to help Aidan know that he isn’t doing anything wrong. He shouldn’t be internalizing that something is wrong with him when the other boys hits him.

Question 5: What is your best piece of advice to parents dealing with kids?

Lighten up! Lighten up with yourself, the kids. We are all so intense about things that we have a do or die attitude when it comes to parenting. We punish ourselves for not being perfect parents, for not getting everything right with our kids. Take a deep breath because we are all fumbling imperfect people trying to get through life.

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I am participating in the Ain’t Misbehavin’ program by Mom Central on behalf of Wiley Publishing. I received a copy of the book to review and gift card as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Ain’t Misbehavin’: A Review and Giveaway

Gwen — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:32:59 +0000

When Mom Central Canada gave me the opportunity to read and review Alyson Schafer’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’ Tactics for Tantrums, Meltdowns, Bedtime Blues and Other Perfectly Normal Kid Behaviours,” and interview her, I jumped at the chance. I have been reading Alyson’s blog on and off for a while and I like her easy writing style and excerpts of the book on her blog were easy to read, and easy to understand the solutions she suggests.

The book is set up so that you don’t have to read it all, though it is an enlightening read, you can just go to the parts that are relevant to your situation and read about the behaviour in a few minutes. The behaviour is described, then understanding the problem where Alyson sets out why your child might be displaying the miss-behaviour, and then a solution. Some solutions are quick and easy and others will take some time to implement, but they almost all boil down to respect for your child and letting go of some of the control/angst you have about the behaviour.

Looking through the contents of Ain’t Misbehavin’ you might be encouraged more by the fact that the behaviour that is causing you so much angst is also causing other parents angst. Sometimes just knowing that you are not alone makes it easier to release the pressure and make the problem go away. Who hasn’t worried about toilet training, sleep issues, a picky eater or a child who takes forever to get dressed? That a book has advice about something that has been driving us crazy is great.

I think the section of the book that resonated the most for me was the little section (though alluded to throughout the book) titled “Never Do For A Child What a Child Can Do For Himself.“ I am raising my hand meekly right now. I am one of those parents that get frustrated and then do for my sons what I know they are quite capable doing. I need to take a bit of time and back off. That is not to say that there are not consequences, but they are natural and logical consequences.

The letting go and respecting your child’s control over things like getting dressed, or ready for bed, is very hard. Children know how to push your buttons like no one else. Easing the pressure we feel to be perfect parents and letting our children be, we can make things easier. I am trying this with my own sons. I respect that Quinlan is not ready to get rid of the diapers and go to the toilet. I am giving Aidan a morning routine so I am not constantly trying to get him dressed and worrying about being late. It has alread helped with getting ready for bed, I tell him that I will read to him until a certain time and I won’t start until he is ready for bed. The time it takes for him to get ready has reduced dramatically.

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The contest:

Tell me why you want a copy of Alyson Schafer’s Ain’t Misbehavin‘ in the comments by Friday April 15 6pm PST.

Contest is open to Canada and the US.

I will choose the winner randomly and send the winner an email. You will have 48 hours to send me your address or I will choose another winner.

Mom Central Canada will send a copy to the lucky winner.

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Rockabye in Vancouver

Gwen — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:45:50 +0000

Last night (well Tuesday night now) I was very happy to take a night off Guides and go to a book reading for Rebecca Woolf’s book Rockabye. I had been looking forward to this night for a few weeks, not only because it meant I had another opportunity to meet some bloggers I had been reading for a while. Yes I was looking forward to another night out by myself.

I knew where Sophia Books was because in my ESL teacher days I taught right across the street and would treat myself once a week to browsing either Sophia Books or Ward Music. Now oddly enough this part of town makes a lot of people nervous because of its proximity to the downtown eastside, but for me I was much more comfortable there than leaving the Wet Coast Women dinner a few weeks ago. When I was taking the bus home I needed to walk about 10 blocks to get to the stop and no one bothered me.

The first person I spotted when I was walking toward the bookstore was Kristin Darguzas of Parent Dish, with her son. I knew that she was in Vancouver, but this was the first time I had a chance to meet her in person. I decided not to be shy and introduced myself. She actually recognized me from comments I had made on posts of hers. She even remembered the blog name. I am glad she did because it made feel a little less stalkerish.

Rebecca was very gracious and cute. She spoke well and was lovely to all the people who made it out to see her. I met up with Maryann of Mother-Woman, and Kerry of Crunchy Carpets both Wet Coast Women with me. ( As an aside when Rebecca asked me if I knew Maryann of Mo-Wo and I didn’t realized she was talking about Mother Woman, can you say dumb? Oh well, it was obvious afterwards that I did know her. ) The reading went very well and was engaging. In fact it was kind of like talking frankly with your girlfriends (well with a few men in attendance trying not to cringe while we talked about some of the realities of childbirth) and by the end we were, friends that is.

As I am now becoming incoherent I will post a review of Rebecca’s book sometime tomorrow. I will also cross-post this on the Wet Coast Women site along with my review of Rockabye.

Kerry and Rebecca

You wouldn’t believe that Rebecca is due a few weeks before me. She looks fantastic.

Another book meme

Gwen — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 05:53:44 +0000

1. Underline/bold all those you’ve read.
2. Italicise all those you started but haven’t finished.
3. Add three of your own.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Philosopher’s Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George’s Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O’Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte’s Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie’s World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter’s Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter’s Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat – Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Black Bird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O’Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Jester
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God’s Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookman’s Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic’s Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic’s Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic’s Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion’s Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Lilith’s Brood), Octavia Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago)
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymos
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magic’s Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime O’Neill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L’Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moor’s Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
374. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner), Philip K. Dick
375. Assassin’s Apprentice, Robin Hobb
376. number9dream, David Mitchell
377. A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
378. Five Quarters of the Orange, Joanne Harris
379. Bridget Jones – The Edge of Reason, Helen Fielding
380. Self, Yann Martel
381. Totto-chan, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
382. Underworld, Don DeLillo
383. The Remains Of The Day, Kazuo Ishiguro
384. The Periodic Table, Primo Levi
385. To Ride Pegasus, Anne McCaffrey
386. Riding a Pale Horse, Piers Anthony
387. The Blackstone Chronicles, John Saul
388. A New Spring, Robert Jordan
389. Children of the Mind, Orson Scott Card
390. The Two Towers, JRR Tolkien
391. The Man in the Iron Mask, Dumas
392. The Bone Collector, Jeff Deaver
393. A Light in the Attic, Shel Silverstein
394. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
395. Elegance, Kathleen Tessaro
396. Fire and Hemlock, Diana Wynne Jones
397. Nemesis, Isaac Asimov
398. The Wayfarer Redemption, Sara Douglass
399. Ben-Hur, General Lew Wallace
400. Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman
401. A Doll’s House, Neil Gaiman
402. Dream Country, Neil Gaiman
403. A Game of You, Neil Gaiman
404. Fables and Reflections, Neil Gaiman
405. Brief Lives, Neil Gaiman
406. World’s End, Neil Gaiman
407. The Kindly Ones, Neil Gaiman
408. The Wake, Neil Gaiman
409. A cookery book by Nigella Lawson
410. A cookery book by Jamie Oliver
411. An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
412. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon
413. Enduring Love, Ian McEwan
414. Rosie Dunne, Cecilia Ahern
415. Boy A, Jonathan Trigell
416. My Family and other animals, Gerald Durrell
417. Little Lord Fauntleroy, Frances Hodgson Burnett
418. The collected short stories of Saki, Hector Hugh Munro
419. The Opposite of Fate, Amy Tan
420. The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
421. The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus
422. Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech
423. I am the King of the Castle, Susan Hill
424. Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
425. A Case of Need, Michael Chrichton
426. Battle Royale, Koushun Takami
427. The Hungry Tide, Amitav Ghosh
428. Monstrous Regiment, Terry Pratchett
429. The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton
430. Hamlet, William Shakespeare
431. A Separate Peace, John Knowles
432. Roses Are Red, James Patterson
433. Animorphs, K.A.Applegate
434. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
435. Eyeshield 21, Riichiro Inagaki

436: Twilight, New Moon, Eclispse, Stephanie Meyer

437: The Deed of Paksennarion, Elizabeth Moon (trilogy)

438: The Axis Trilogy, Sara Douglass

I added three trilogies so I would look better read than I do from the books up top. I am a science fiction/fantasy, ya lit, kidlit, murder mysteries kind of gal. I also started this meme a long time ago when my bold wasn’t working so it has taken me a long time to get back to it. I am sure that other people have made this list into the thousands by now. If you would like to continue on from here, please do. I will start my books read/listened to list starting this weekend. I am reading a few books from Christmas as we speak. (Thank god for Audible though. I am not sure how much I would get read if I didn’t listen to books before I go to sleep. I find that at least that way I also get some sleep. Reading the old fashioned way keeps me up waaaaay to late.)

Madeline L’Engle 1918-2007

Gwen — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 01:32:30 +0000

I just found out (after a day of Radio-Silence) that Madeline L’Engle has died. I am more sad than I can say, even though I know that she has lived a long and good life.

I not only loved her time quartet, but I always really felt an affinity toward her other main female characters, especially Vicky Austin. I am sad that there is no chance for her to tell us more of her story, to quietly show us that believing in god does not preclude believing in science. I always wanted to go see Madeline L’Engle’s places; New York, Switzerland; Greece, Portugal, the eastern United States, Venesuala, Antarctica, The Falklands.

Of all the books I own, my Madeline L’Engle Collection is very tired looking and dog-eared. I have lost count of how many times I have re-read all of them. The times when I needed to read about hating my school and not getting along with anyone, I read And Both Were Young or The Time Quintet. When I needed a good cry I read A Ring of Endless Light. When I needed an adventure I read The Arm of the Starfish, or The Young Unicorns, or Dragons in the Waters. That all of her characters stories and lives were intertwined made the reading all that more pleasurable. That I re-read them still and recently bought the first 3 books of the Time Quintet narrated by Madeline L’Engle from Audible (2 days ago in fact) shows the impact they had on me as a child and still do. I am also in the middle of re-reading An Acceptable Time.

If you would like to see some of the articles about her death Gina at AmoXcali is keeping a link list.

Please keep her family in yours prayers.

More Harry related stuff

Gwen — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:29:56 +0000

Ok, so while I am waiting impatiently for the book that shall not be named, I have been playing around with some other Potter related stuff. First of all, I tried another sorting quiz and guess which house I would be in according to this website? Hmm, figured it out yet? Am I a brave rule-breaking Gryffindor? A hardworking loyal Hufflepuff? A sneaky, ambitious Slytherin? Or a brainy Ravenclaw?

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Apparently I am the loyal, dependable hardworking Hufflepuff. A badger. Lol, I guess it may be pretty close.

In other things Potter related Roxy of Daisy Bones, a very talented graphic artist, has graciously let me use her Do Not Spoil Me banner. Isn’t it pretty?

I am trying to come up with one myself.

Harry, Harry, Where Are You?

Gwen — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:08:09 +0000

I ordered my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows months ago. I have been counting down for months till it came out. I was too cheap to up the shipping costs to get it on the day. Anthony didn’t take my hint that he could up the shipping from the free shipping so that I would miraculously get the book on the day it came out. (It really wasn’t that subtle. I coyly said, “Well you could up the shipping for me.” Grinning.) I don’t know how he could mistake that for anything but I can’t justify it for myself, but my wonderful husband could do it for me. Ok I guess to a male mind that didn’t mean the same as doing it myself, or actually asking him outright to do it for me.

Now I am in spoiler hell. I am trying so hard to avoid spoilers, and because EVERYONE has already read the book, the blogging world is full of them. I want to know but I do not want to know. Does Harry die? Will he finally get some time with Ginny? Do they kill off Ron? Will Snape redeem himself? Who does die? What will be Voldemort’s undoing? Is Dumbledore really dead? Will Sirius come through the veil? Are Dumbledore and Harry related? What happen to the other members of the D.A.?

I guess I will just have to read the previous books again while I am waiting. Sigh.

P.S. Do not under any circumstance answer my questions if you know. I want to read them for my self. I will discuss the book with any of you AFTER I have read HP7. You can however leave some “Na na na na na s, I know what happened, but I’m not telling,” comments. I am a comment whore after all.

P.P.S. Anthony and I are planning to go to see HP and the order of the Pheonix on friday for our anniversary (7 years already). I can’t wait. (I hope Tammy can still babysit.)

© 2007 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: anniversaries, Book Talk, Gwen, Harry Potter, kid lit, movie talk.

Dog Days of Summer: Bloggy Giveaway

Gwen — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:43:10 +0000

Shannon of Rocks In My Dryer fame is having a Dog Days of Summer: Bloggy Giveaway Carnival and I decided I wanted to become part of it. I thought about this and I figured out what would be a good giveaway for me. I have two extra copies of “Holes” by Louis Sachar. I was going to work on a novel study basket but I am now a SAHM so it isn’t as urgent as it once was. So good for you! I will send a copy to two people who leave a comment on this post. The winner will be randomly drawn from the comments I receive by Friday the 27th July at midnight.

If the people who win would also like some novel study ideas for grades 5-8 let me know and I can send some with the books.

48 Hour Book Challenge: Final Summary

Gwen — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:38:09 +0000

So I am finally awake enough to get my final summary posted. I really enjoyed this challenge and I hope that next year there won’t be so many things going on as I had this weekend. I didn’t get my new books on ontime, so I re-read a bunch of books that I have been wanting to re-read for a long time. I am especially glad I read Crusader and Wizards at War (previously I had only heard this one) because there is so much you can get out of a re-read. I am totally in for next year and I plan to actully take the weekend off from all activity and just read. Hmm I will have a three year old then. I guess I am only dreaming.

On to the totals.

Number of Books Read: 4

Number of Authors Read: 3

Total Number of Hours reading and blogging: 16 (my time keeping may be a little bit skewed to the lower side.)

Total Number of Pages Read: 1918

Comments: It was a blast and I can’t wait for the next one.

A huge thank you to Mother Reader for organizing this challenge. If you haven’t participated this year, you should add it to your to do list for next year. Take some time out for yourself and read!

P.S. I am in the Pacific time zone so I have this post up at 8:30 am.