Sunday Salon... on a Tuesday

So, yeah, I am a little late to the Sunday Salon game this week. Somehow it is already Tuesday.

My life in books: 

I am currently reading The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore, part of the I am Number Four series. It really isn't my kind of book because it is all about aliens, but I am enjoying the series. Here's what I've read recently, both of which were good. Next on my list is Tamar by Mal Peet.

 

What's going on in my life:

We were in Las Vegas in mid-November for the PULSE dance convention. Even though we aren't Vegas people, we really love going to the PULSE in Vegas; it feels like our home convention. We drove with another mom and her dancer-daughter, which was really fun! The one thing I can't stand about a weekend in Vegas is the smoke. When we get home all our clothes, belongings and hair stink!

The next week my daughter had a photo shoot with an LA photographer and I really like the way the photos turned out. He did a mixture of model-like, dance, and fun. We brought a whole bunch of clothes, hats, and scarves...

Thanksgiving was a busy holiday for us this year. We had work and school on Monday and Tuesday, but as soon as school was out on Tuesday we headed down to Santa Clarita (home of Magic Mountain), which is a little more than an hour southeast of us. My daughter attended a sleepover birthday party and I got a night BY MYSELF in a hotel. I don't even know the last time I was alone for an entire evening, night and morning! Bliss :-)

Thursday we drove up to San Francisco with my parents. Since we drove, we didn't get a turkey dinner and it didn't feel very Thanksgiving-y, but we made it there in a record 5 hours so that's something. We stayed at the Westin St. Francis, which is right on Union Square, which was beautifully decorated for the holiday season. We did do some Black Friday shopping for ourselves and others and even though there were crazy crowded moments, it was really fun to be in the hustle and bustle of a big city. We had dinner at our favorite diners (Lori's and Mel's), wandered the streets, and dodged the homeless... We love San Francisco!

 

Saturday and Sunday my daughter participated in the Tremaine Dance Convention with competing her solo Saturday evening. She did well, earning a third place and after the auditions (ballet and jazz) on Sunday morning, she earned a scholarship to take classes at a great studio in Los Angeles. So all in all, a busy Thanksgiving holiday, but it was fun to be in San Francisco, with family and friends.

Review: Among the Heroes by Jere Longman

Title: Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 & the Passengers & Crew Who Fought Back
Author: Jere Longman
Year Published: 2003

Genre: Non-fiction

Pages: 296 (including index and notes)

Rating: 4 out of 5

Location (my 2013 Google Reading map): USA (Pennsylvania)


FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school library

Summary (from the back of the book): Of the four horrific hijackings on September 11, Flight 93 resonates as one of epic resistance. At a time when the United States appeared defenseless against an unfamiliar foe, the gallant passengers and crew of Flight 93 provided for many Americans a measure of victory in the midst of unthinkable defeat. Together, they seemingly accomplished what al the security guards and soldiers, military pilots and government officials could not--they thwarted the terrorists, sacrificing their own lives so that others might live. This is the culmination of hundreds of interviews with family members and months of investigation.

Review: September 11, 2001 is so clear in my mind. I remember turning on the TV as we were getting ready for work and seeing the first of the towers in flames. I was holding my 11-month old baby and thought what type of world am I bringing her into?! Then I looked out the bedroom window only to see my neighbor doing the exact same thing. Talking to my students that day at school/work was surreal.

It's taken me this many years to be able to read a book about that day and I thought a book about the one flight that had some level of a positive story would be the easiest to handle. Obviously, the book isn't a happy one, but it isn't all death and destruction either. The author weaves stories about the 40 passengers and crew in amongst what we assume happened during Flight 93. Once you read about the people who were on board, it is less surprising that they are the ones who did something to the terrorists. Many of those aboard were tall, strong, athletic and trained in martial arts.

Reading a book like this is like reading a book about the Holocaust, it makes me think what I would do in that situation. Unfortunately, I don't think I would have been as strong and brave as the Flight 93 passengers and crew. Hearing about their phone calls to loved ones and the plans they said they were making is quite amazing.

If you have any interest in the events of September 11 and Flight 93 I recommend this book.

Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant
Author: Veronica Roth
Year Published: 2013

Genre: YA fiction

Pages: 526

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Location (my 2013 Google Reading map): USA (Chicago)


FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school library

Summary (from the back of the book): The Faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered--fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. But Tris' new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature--and of herself--while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Review: Ah, the end of a series. It's always exciting and a let down all at the same time. I am sad to leave the characters, but have such fun reading the book and finding out how it all turns out. And this one did not disappoint. It has been a while since I read Divergent and Insurgent so I was a little confused at first, trying to remember all the characters, rules, what had happened and where we had left off, but I got into the swing of it and plowed ahead.

I enjoyed Tris and Tobias' relationship during this third book. While they sometimes fight and bicker, they do love one another, learn to forgive each other and realize that if you truly love someone then the relationship is worth fighting for. Actually, that sentiment goes further than just Tris and Tobias, which is a nice theme.

The action is non-stop in this third book and I liked that it leads to us learning about how the city was formed, who is in control, what is beyond the fence, and how it impacts the factions. I don't want to give anything away, but this third book really is a good look at government control, how people really can be convinced to believe anything, no matter how ridiculous it is. We all want to be told we're superior and certain people in this book really, really took this idea to heart.

What I like about YA dystopian novels is that yes, they are about government control, a strong heroine (yay!), young love, and rebellion, but they also have good themes in them. Dedication, love, honesty, forgiveness, prejudice, and control all show up in this book. Not bad!

Article: A Year of Reading Around the World

I have done a number of challenges, but Ann Morgan, a journalist and author, took on the idea of reading one book from every single country in just one year. That's one book per 1.87 days!

I just think it's so great that she did it, had awesome interactions with people around the world about it, and I hope it inspires me to branch out a bit more in my reading. I do fairly well at reading books from outside the US, but I could definitely do better.

Here is an article about her experience

Here is the list of books she read by country

And here is a link to her blog, A Year of Reading the World.

Enjoy!

Sunday Salon: the "wow it's been WAY too long" edition

I have so neglected the personal side of this blog. This is my first Sunday Salon since July! And so much has happened since then. Obviously, I can't cover it all, but I can get the highlights....

My life in books: 

I definitely had a reading slow down for a while, but I feel like I've found a happy medium and have hit a good rhythm these days with a mixture of adult and YA. Here are some of my favorites from the past few months (click on the book cover to see the review):

What's going on in my life:

The last post I did on a Sunday we were headed to NYC for another dance convention and boy was it fun! NYC is just so great in general. We did a lot of walking, going to parks, some shopping, and we saw Wicked. I had heard how good it is and was afraid it wouldn't live up to the hype. Nope, it was fantastic!

Fall has been spent getting back into the groove of school and work. My job has changed and I am no longer a Teacher Librarian, but am a full time Technology Coach. I work two-thirds time at my same school, helping teachers to integrate iPads into their curriculum and working with them on our learning management system. The other one-third time is spent at our district's four junior highs and now I've added some elementary schools. I really like going to the other schools and working with teachers, though I am missing the student interaction and talking about books with students.

Our dance lives are a little different this year with my daughter doing a solo but no group pieces. With auditions (none successful yet, but she gets so close each time), dance classes and dance conventions she doesn't have time for the group rehearsals. There is more variety this year, which is fun and there is lots of travel, which is both fun and tiring at the same time.

Last weekend we were in Dallas (video of her solo if you have any interest--she definitely needs more ballet to solidify the turns) and we stayed just a couple blocks from where JFK was shot (unfortunately, we didn't have time to go to the JFK Museum) and we're off to Las Vegas next weekend. Over Thanksgiving we're in San Francisco and in early December we head to Chicago. Here's a couple shots from her solo: