Archive of ‘Mrs. McGriff’ category

Who’s on first?

It has come to my attention that some of you have been seriously deprived in you classic comedy education.  If you have ever wondered what all the fuss is about (or even if you know who is on first), sit back and enjoy!

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson

This is history as it should be written.  James L. Swanson captures the drama and emotion of the days leading up to and following Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865. 

Swanson sets his sights squarely on John Wilkes Booth, the good-looking charismatic actor who could not stand the fact his beloved South had lost the war and an entire way of life based on slavery.  I never knew how popular Booth had been as an actor.  He was the Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner of his day–except I don’t think the two modern actors are plotting murder and the downfall of governments. 

Booth had planned and failed in several earlier attempts to kidnap Lincoln, so he was more than ready when the opportunity presented itself.  This time, the plan–at least his part of it–came together perfectly as Booth gave the last and most memorable performance of his life. 

Things started falling apart during his escape from Washington.  He had help along the way–some willing, some reluctant, some coerced.  Even at his lowest point, hiding in the woods with a broken leg, no food, and no horse, Booth was eager to read any and every account of the assassination. 

Back in Washington, the rumors flew as Edwin Stanton began one of the largest manhunts in history to track down Lincoln’s killer.  Even in the days before cell phones and Facebooks, rumors and misinformation spread quickly.

Pick up this book and get swept up in the drama of those weeks. It reads much more like an episode of NCIS or CSI than history.   I’m glad I did.  Thanks to those of you who read it and recommended it.

100 Things I Know about Me as a Reader, part 1

Many thanks to previous bloggers who shared this activity.  If you get stuck for ideas, check out some of these bloggers:  Brian and Franki on the blog A Year of Reading.  Then it spread to Kevin, who jumped in with 50 Things, and James.   Now it’s your turn.  What do you know about yourself as a reader?  Check out the links in the Blogroll to find out what your classmates have learned about themselves and reading.

  1. I read a lot.
  2. I have always read more than one book at a time.  When I was a kid, I kept a different books in each room of the house and would pick up whatever book was in the same room I was to read.
  3. Now I only read 2 or 3 books at a time.
  4. I read fast.  In high school I checked out a book on speed reading, but it slowed me down too much.
  5. One summer I won the library’s summer reading contest by reading the most books.
  6. I take a big bag of books with me whenever I travel.
  7. I want a Kindle so I can lighten that load–or do I want an iPad?  How about both!
  8. The librarian in my childhood had to beg and threaten me to read nonfiction.
  9. The only nonfiction I would read were mytholgy and biographies because they were at least stories.
  10. I learned to like nonfiction when I worked shelving books in the public library as a teenager.   It was a lot easier to keep the nonfiction shelves straight, I would browse the pages of the books as I shelved them.
  11. My favorite genres are fantasy/science fiction/dystopian and historical fiction.
  12. I like books to take me to another time and place.
  13. I read anything and everything in front of me–up to and including cereal boxes.
  14. As a kid I read all my mother’s magazines:  Guideposts, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, mission magazines from our church.
  15. Dr. Suess is my favorite picture book author.
  16. Once I start a book, I have to finish it, no matter how bad it is.
  17. Once I reach the “point of no return,”  I can’t put the book down.
  18. I went to the midnight release party for the last Harry Potter book.
  19. When I’m really bored, I’ll read my husband’s hunting and fishing magazines.
  20. If I want to learn something new, the first thing I do is find books about it.
  21. Some of my favorite books were introduced to me by my students.
  22. I buy books when I go on vacation.  Books make great souvenirs.
  23. I used to hate all movies based on books because the movie never got it right. 
  24. I took a course on film and fiction in American literature in college that changed my mind about books into movies.  Now I can appreciate the differences in the two mediums and enjoy both–most of the time.
  25. I love hearing authors read their own books out loud and talk about their experiences as writers and readers.
  26. I have discovered blogs:  by writers who generously share their knowledge and by readers who share their passion for books.
  27. There is no better job in the world than to share my love of reading with my students.
  28. I have never understood why people like Wuthering Heights.
  29. I never liked Gone with the Wind–not the book, movie, nor sequel–because I can’t stand Scarlett O’Hara.
  30. I always wanted red hair to be like my favorite book character:  Anne of Green Gables.  Check it out.
  31. I am addicted to reading updates on Facebook.
  32. My favorite parts of the newspaper are the comics and advice columns.
  33. I rarely read past the headline and first paragraphs of news articles.
  34. The only book I couldn’t finish (couldn’t make it past the first few pages) was TTYL. It’s written in texting language.
  35. I learned French in high school in college because I wanted to read The Little Prince by Antoine St. Exupery in its original language.
  36. I struggle to read graphic novels.  I’ve only finished two:  Maus and Rapunzel’s Revenge.
  37. I love how memoirs let me into the thoughts and feelings of the person who lived that particular life.
  38. I have discovered many new books and authors by reading all of the books on the Young Hoosier list each year.
  39. I discovered that books become classics because they are good stories. 
  40. One year I read everything Charles Dickens wrote.
  41. When studying to becomes a teacher, I went down the education section of the library shelves and read every book they had on the topic of education.
  42. I chose to major in English in college because I loved to read.  I actually liked most of the books I read for class.
  43. I have piles of books waiting for me to read.
  44. I buy books faster than I can read them.
  45. I sometimes skip to the end of the book and read it first.  Then I get mad at myself for spoiling it.
  46. Some books I can read over and over and over:  The Chronicles of Narnia, the Harry Potter books, Jane Eyre.
  47. I never know how to get places I’ve been before because I read in the car instead of paying attention–but only if someone else is driving.
  48. I could get happily lost in a big bookstore and not come out for hours.
  49. Amazon.com is my go-to place to learn about books.  I love reading the customer reviews.
  50. I cannot read before going to bed because I don’t want to put the book down to go to sleep. 

I’m going to keep thinking and adding to this list.  Once I get the next 50 down, I’ll share it with you.  So, what do you know about yourself as a reader?

Snow days

A wise teacher once told me that snow days are a gift–and not to waste them doing lots of school work since these days have to be made up later.  So I have enjoyed my two days off.  Here’s how: 

  • I’ve written 1400 more words on my Little Red Riding Hood novel.  I even stopped by The Practice Room to chat with other writers one morning.
  • I finished books 93 (Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson) and 94 (Teaching from the Heart by Sharon Draper).
  • I spent several hours shoveling snow from our driveways.  Yes, I grew up in the south, and I still can’t get enough of snow.  I’ll do anything to get out in it.  I took the dog for a walk while in snowed Sunday, and my neighbors though I was crazy.
  • I wrapped Christmas presents.  The pile under the Christmas tree is looking very festive.  I’m almost done with all my shopping, too!
  • I miss the hill at the old house.  Our yard here is too flat for sledding, and I haven’t found a good spot to go to nearby. 
  • I put together puzzles with my family.
  • I practiced my flute for solo I will perform at my church’s Christmas Eve service. 

What did you do to enjoy your snow days?

Join the literary Facebook for teens

Do you read?  Do you write?  The answer to those two questions is “YES” for all of you.  Do you want to connect with other teens who read and write?  If you still answer “YES” for that last question, check out the new website for Figment

This is a free website for teens who want to read and write fiction.  You can read what others have written.  You can post your own writing (you keep all ownership and control).  You can enter contests.  You can even read excerpts from published YA books.  You can share your thoughts in comments or reviews on your profile.  According to co-founder Jacab Lewis, it is “a sort of literary Facebook for the teenage set.” 

What are you waiting for?  Go check it out. You know you want to.   The only thing I can’t discover is, “Will they let old folks like me snoop around?”  Someone sign up and let me know!

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

Yesterday with the snow was the perfect day to curl up with Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson.  Unlike the soldiers of Valley Forge, I was snug and warm while watching the snow fall.

Forge picks up the story of Curzon, the endlessly annoying friend of Isabel from Chains.  Curzon is now on his own since Isabel ran away and took all their money in her desparate effort to save her sister Ruth.  Now Curzon has run away from his former boss, Trumbull.  Before he can get to safety, he’s caught in the middle of gunfire between the Patriots and the Recoats.  After saving a Patriot soldier about his own age, Curzon finds himself once again enrolled in the Army, this time as a free man.  His troubles, though, are just beginning.  He suffers through the hardship and deprivation of Valley Forge along with the prejudice of many of the white soldiers.  Just when he thinks he has found justice, his former master Bellingham lays claim to him once again and Isabel returns to his life. 

Curzon and Isabel must question where their loyalties lie and who they can trust as the war for freedom rages around them and within their own hearts.  Neither of them can understand how the Patriots can fight for freedom for themselves and still deny it to the slaves in chains.  Anderson captures this division with quotes (from soldiers famous and not-so-much) to begin each chapter. 

The only bad news?  I don’t know how long I’ll have to wait to read the final chapter in Ashes.  Laurie, please write fast!

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

I’ve loved Eoin Colfer’s books ever since I first met Artemis Fowl.  Thanks to Keenan, I also got to enjoy The Supernaturalist

Cosmo Hill (named for where he was born) has had a tough life.  Soon after his birth, he was shipped–freight class–to the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys. There he suffers from the never-ending product testing the government performs on the inmates.  When the right moment finally, comes, Cosmo takes the chance to run to freedom.  But has he jumped into even more trouble by joining forces with the Supernaturalists?  They are a ragtag bunch who fight blue creatures that only they can see.  They believe these creatures suck the life force out of any human who has been hurt.  Now the creatures are multiplying faster than Supernaturalists can keep up.  Before long, the blue creatures are the least of their concerns as they find themselves caught in a web of deceit and danger. 

Colfer keeps the action coming while injecting his own brand of humor throughout (sorry, no farting dwarfts, but there is a Bartoli baby–read and find out).  Satellite City is definitely a world I don’t want to live in, but I can see the danger signs ahead if we don’t get a grip on our unending need for ever more power and entertainment.

Elsie’s Womanhood by Martha Finley

I picked this one up to read while I waited on the computer to load various pages.  Of course, once I start a book, I have to finish it. 

Martha Finley’s series about Elsie Dinsmore is reprinted from the originals first published in the mid-1800’s.  They are definitely a product of that time and place.  Elsie is a very wealthy young woman of the Old South.  She is portrayed as a character of strong faith, but is too good to be believable.  Despite her strong and ever-present faith, she never questions the evils of slavery (I know, she lived and was written in a very different time and place).  The best she does when confronted with a family torn apart by slavery, is to buy them all back so they can be together.  Then with the outbreak of the Civil War (which she comfortably escapes while on an extended vacation in Italy), she easily gives up her slaves.

Elsie’s Womanhood begins with her marriage to her true love and her father’s best friend, Edward Travila.  The story traces their life together as they raise their children.  Excitement comes from the villain, Tom Jackson, who shows up from time to time to try to kill them.  Of course, all ends well as they return to the South to rebuild after the Civil War.

It is an old-fashioned story that will transport you to a time and place that no longer exist.

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve

I have finished shoveling the walks and driveways and downed my second cup of mocha.  Now it’s time to catch up and share what I’ve been reading. 

First up, I discovered steam punk (a sebgenre of science fiction or alternative history that cloaks technology–real or imagined–in Victorian sensibilty and steam power).  Yeah, I know.  Let me just tell you about Fever Crumb by Phillip Reeve.

Fever Crumb was raised by Dr. Crumb, member of the Order of Engineers in London of the distant future.  The commoners finally defeated the Scriven, a mutant form of humanity.  Now London is being threatened by the traveling nomads from the north, and the bands of Skinners believe Fever is one of the last of the Scriven.  Fever is taken from the safety and orderly life of the Engineers to work for an archeologist.  She is forced to flee for her own safety while being tormented by memories that aren’t hers.  What secrets have been kept from her?  Will she discover them before it is too late? 

Fever must choose between the cold logic of the engineers and the hot emotion of the Skinners and the rest of London.  Her quick mind is able to connect her great store of knowledge with her new experiences.  This future London is convincingly created–it is a mish mash of future technology (soldiers created from paper boys) and   old ways (lighting oil lamps to see). 

Next up is for steam punk exploration is Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines (or Hungry City) quartet (a later world than that of Fever’s, where cities travel on wheels and engines and devour stationary cities for replacement parts and Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan (a steam punk take on World War II).

Week at a Glance: December 13 – 17

Monday

You should have gotten some good feedback from your writer’s group.  It is now time to include their ideas and draft or revise your editorial.  Copy your draft into Open Office Writer or start typing there.  Remember to double space.  Once you have a draft completed, print it out.
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes–memoir first. Choose five words for Weekly Word Study.

Tuesday

Look at leads for editorials.  I will give you several leads to look at and analyze.  Then write three possible leads for your editorial.  Which one works best?  That’s the one you use.
HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes

Wednesday

Can your reader follow your train of thought in you editorial?  Use transitions to point the way. 
Homework: Read 30 minutes. Word Study due tomorrow.

Thursday

End your editorial with a bang.  The conclusion is your last chance to persuade your reader.  Don’t waste it.  Experiment with different conclusions. 
HOMEWORK: Word Study due today. Three-five pages of writing due today! Read 30 minutes. Get your reading log signed.

Friday

Edit and turn in your editorial.  Once you are done, you may read the rest of the period. 
HOMEWORK: Reading Log due TODAY. Read over the weekend.

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