Poetry Friday

The poem I chose today comes from the book Poems in Black & White by Kate Miller. I read this book last year when I was checking out masses of poetry books from the library to give my students lots of choices for choosing a poem to memorize and recite in class.

Lots of kids really liked the poems in this book because the drawings really brought them to life. And despite the fact that everything is in black and white, it is rife with vivid images - mental and physical. Lovers of meaningful, literary kid poetry should check this book out.

The Cow

Because
she wears
a bristly map
of milkweed white
and midnight black

it seems
as though
she’s
strong enough
to carry continents
upon her back

with oceans
in between

and islands on her
knees.

-Kate Miller

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents, his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is black. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade, a large expanse enclosed by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning, for as long as they could remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, they’ve closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the maze after dark.

The Gladers were expecting Thomas’s arrival. But the next day, a girl springs up—the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might be able to find their way home . . . wherever that may be. But it’s looking more and more as if the maze is unsolvable.

And something about the girl’s arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he just might have some answers—if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind.

- taken from Goodreads



I was hooked by the first paragraph! In fact, I did a book talk for my students on this book only after having read the first chapter. That is unheard of for me.

What's great about The Maze Runner is that it's sort of the boy's equivalent to The Hunger Games. As much as I've tried to get the boys in my classes into The Hunger Games, they just don't seem to connect with the female protagonist. The Maze Runner has all of the dystopian suspense of HG but with boys as the main characters.

I will say that the writing in this book is not nearly as lyrical as that of Suzanne Collins. It's a bit clunky and feels like you're far removed from the story rather than directly inside of it. Perhaps it's unfair to compare the two writers, but despite my fondness for this book, I sort of felt like I was in a fog as I was reading, whereas The Hunger Games always felt vivid and clear as a bell. Had this been written in first-person I think that might have helped to engage better with the story.

At the same time, I think that the plot-driven suspense will help boys better to engage with the book than the more character-driven (and female protagonist) Hunger Games.

i carry it in my heart

About a year and a half ago while lying in bed, I leaned up against my husband's chest to cuddle with him as I had done many times before. But on this particular night, things went a little bit differently. For some strange reason, I actually stopped to listen intently to his heart beating. I had heard his heart beating previous to this occasion, but it had always been more like background music. This time, I made sure to actually listen to the song lyrics. And it was at that point I realized I had never listened the words before. Wanting to make sure I heard right, I leaned in even more and discovered the sound I was hearing was an irregular hearbeat. A few weeks later I mentioned something to his younger sister who's a nursing student and she got out her stethoscope to listen more accurately. There was immediately a look of concern and she said, "You really should see a doctor about this."

Today was the culmination of that fateful comment. I'm sitting here typing this entry in an empty house while my husband sleeps peacefully (I hope) at U of M Hospital. He had a catheter ablation performed today to eradicate the pathway in his heart that was creating his arrhythmia. Everything went well and his doctor is pleased with the results. I can't tell you how relieved this makes me. As long as I live I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling of dread I felt when we were shuffled into the consultation room to talk to the doctor after the procedure. My logical mind told me, "Beth, this is a routine procedure. Everything is fine." But then my irrational mind took one look at the comfy couch and chairs along with the low, warm lighting that decorated this consultation room and all I could think was, "I wonder how many times doctors have had to deliver bad news in here..."

So of course when he came in and said that everything went fine, I had to hold back my tears of relief for fear of looking like a blubbering idiot.

Other than the fact that his procedure ended at 3:00 and he didn't get a room until 9:15, I have nothing but good things to say about the staff at the U of M Cardiovascular Center. The doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners... they were all competent, caring, and congenial. Given the grandiosity of the U of M Medical campus, I was amazed at how personable everyone has been thus far. I feared we'd feel like nothing but a number, but as a whole, everyone made us feel like we matter (with the exception of the room debacle, but I'm just going to try to let that go).

Despite the success of today's procedure, I'm still having a hard time letting go of my irrational fears long enough to go to sleep. I worry that the morning will bring some unexpected twist of fate that no one had anticipated and that, in reality, the procedure wasn't as successful as they initially thought. Of course this is a ridiculous thought and should be shoved out of my mind, but I can't help thinking it.

So I'm going to shut this computer down, turn off the lights, and fall into a light, turbulent sleep hoping that no results, cardiac or otherwise, get overturned in the morning.


In honor of my husband, I thought today's poem by E.E. Cummings was appropriate:

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

The movie was better than the book? Say it isn't so!

A couple months ago, I declared here on my blog that I had abandoned the book Julie & Julia due to its crassness. Given what an iconic, almost regal figure Julia Child was, it almost felt blasphemous to read such obscenities and narcissism in Powell's memoir of her year cooking Julia's recipes.

So this is one of the few times that I'm actually declaring my love for a movie more than the book. I curled up on the couch this afternoon and popped in the DVD of Julie & Julia that I checked out from the library, and it is one of the most feel-good movies I've watched in a long time. I can't remember the last time I sat down to watch a movie and thoroughly enjoyed every single moment.

Meryl Streep was brilliant, the food made my mouth water, it was funny and endearing without TRYING to be. And yet another pleasant surprise was Jane Lynch's performance as Julia's sister Dorothy. Given how accustomed I've become to watching her play larger-than-life, comedic characters (a la Glee and The 40-Year-Old Virgin), it was lovely to see her play such a dignified, subtle role.

I guess it's only fitting that I watched Julie & Julia today given Meryl Streep's Golden Globe win last night. She not only played Julia, she became her. I loved every second of seeing her on film.

Now that I'm thoroughly starving after watching all of the delectable (and even not-so-delectable, hello, aspic?) food scenes, I'm ready to purchase a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, or at the very least, check it out from the library.

Bon Appetit!

Newbery Award et al anounced today

I am ashamed to admit that I haven't read ANY of the award winners that were announced today. Many of them are on my "to-read" list, but I haven't gotten around to reading them yet. I tried listening to the audiobook of When You Reach Me but I just couldn't get into it. I will try reading the actual book sometime in the near future.

I have Going Bovine on hold at my library and am looking forward to reading it.

Reviewing Books

All of the books I have reviewed on my blog thus far are ones I've either purchased myself or checked out from the library. Given my love of YA and middle grade literature, I would love to start reviewing ARCs to try to interest and excite my students in new and upcoming books. I do prefer YA and middle grade lit, but I would also be willing to review adult lit as well if it is realistic or historical fiction. If you are an author or publisher and would like me to review a book, feel free to contact me:
beths0103 AT yahoo DOT com

If I receive an ARC to review, I will promote the book on my blog, but I will also give my honest opinion based on my genre preferences, my impression of the writing, and/or whether I think it would be a book my junior high students would enjoy reading.

Other Blog Mentions

I've recently been following along with the blog Lavender and Limes. I found it by perusing through other people's blogrolls and was fascinated with all of the pictures from India. I have always been fascinated by India. One of these days I would love to go there to see the Taj Mahal and the opulent palaces of Rajasthan.

Right now Christine, the blog's creator, has an amazing giveaway going on that I thought I'd share because it's so great it bears mentioning and, well, if you link it to your blog, you get two entries instead of one. (*grins*)

*****

John Green is one of my favorite YA authors. Not so much because I think his books are brilliant (though I did absolutely adore Paper Towns) but because he and his brother Hank completely entertain me every week with their "Nerdfighter" videos they post on YouTube.

If one brother does not abide by the rules they have created for each other, the other gets to punish the rule-breaker, which is always videotaped for posterity.

Last week Hank broke one of the vlogging rules and was made to spend 15 hours in a Target for his punishment. I laughed the entire time:



If you're a fan of YA lit and you haven't checked out their vlog, you must.