REVIEW: As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by A. Bradley

Title: As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

Author: Alan Bradley

Genre / Pages: Fiction, Crime / 358

Publication: 2015

Rating: 4th shelf

Source: Chapters Indigo

Lj's plot in one pot: Ms de Luce, having been transplanted to Canada, finds something rotten at Miss Bodycote's (and I ain't talking about the corpse).

If you have read any of my reviews on the Flavia series, this one won't surprise you. Flavia is, quite simply, my spirit animal. She is a quirky, precocious, chemistry wizard, who seems to attract dead bodies...yet her naïveté with some worldly situations belies her actual age of 12.

If you haven't read the previous instalments...Spoilers ahead!

Following the arrival of her long-lost mother's remains, Flavia is sent to boarding school in Canada to learn how to be an active member of the "Nide" (a secret society).

A friend who also reads the series told me that fans of Bradley's ingenious murder plots will be disappointed, whereas fans of Flavia will be pleased as punch. She was spot on. Although there is a murder, it is definitely the background plot, whilst Flavia snoops on, being tormented by school girls as opposed to her sisters.

Flavia is so expertly written, I continually am shocked to remember that she is written by a man.  Story arc and historical accuracy (and obviously fantastic character development) make this a great read!

"I came to the conclusion, at last, that it was like this: Tickling and learning were much the same thing. When you tickle yourself - ecstasy; but when anyone else tickles you - agony." (p.110)

REVIEW: Yes, Please by A. Poehler

Title: Yes, Please

Author: Amy Poehler

Genre / Pages: Nonfiction, Humour / 

Publication: e-book

Rating: 3rd shelf

Source: Chapters Indigo

Lj's plot in one pot: Leslie Knope, I mean, Amy Poehler shares her down-home wisdom, including how to be funny, how cell phones are killing us and well, other stuff.

I was so excited to read this book. Like, NKOTB concert-goers excited. Predictably, what often happens when you get ridiculously amped for something...well, I was a little let down. 

It's not that it wasn't funny, or thoughtful or relevant...it was, I just. Hmm

Okay, I felt like she was lecturing at a college campus, not chatting with a friend. She was teaching, relating, etc., just I didn't really feel like she cared.  

Anyway, it was a good read.  

REVIEW: The Honest Toddler by B. Laditan

Title: The Honest Toddler

Author: Bunmi Laditan

Genre / Pages: Nonfiction, Parenting, Humour / 240

Publication: Harper Collins, 2013

Rating: 4th shelf

Source: Chapters Indigo

Lj's plot in one pot: Only slightly evil genius toddler elucidates, with care and concern, how parents might best serve their tiny lords and ladies...basically do EXACTLY what they say, before they say it.

The honest toddler is my spirit animal!  She is a sweet, caring individual who simply knows what she wants! And what she wants is EVERYTHING, but also NOTHING.

Written through the perspective of a toddler (who is unflinchingly honest), the reader learns a variety of rules and regulations (i.e. Broken crackers need not apply) about how to cope with...err I mean adore their toddler.

This book had me rolling around in silent laughter (as I could only read it during nap time and bed time), and I can't imagine that I could find humour in some of the atrocities that occur during toddlerhood.  I sincerely found almost each example/description perfectly fitting to my little guy and can't wait for my other friends-with-toddlers (there should be a support group) to read this as well.

Exhibit A? I started dog-earing pages that literally made me lol, and had to stop because I was folding every page!  I will try to select only the bestest quotes for y'all, and if they please you, then go find the book.

"Don't let your shower curtain become a love barrier...Gently yank it down and throw it in the trash.  Splash around with your toddler and live for once.  Someone else will clean up the mess.  They always do, trust me...I do believe that many adults prefer to bathe alone because they are ashamed of their bodies...Toddlers are generous people and will pretend not to notice after staring without blinking for five to ten minutes" p.104

"Toddlers know the minute their heads hit the pillow, you release balloons and unwrap a cake.  We are perfectly aware that when we're trapped in our rooms, wearing the wrong pajamas, you are eating a second, more desirable dinner...We're onto you.  Parents, you look terribly exhausted every single morning, and it's because you stay up until two a.m., looking at wavy hair on Pinterest and eating Almond Joys." p.227

REVIEW: Rush Home Road by L. Lansens

Title: Rush Home Road

Author: Lori Lansens 

Genre / Pages: Fiction, Coming-of-Age / 547

Publication: Vintage Canada, 2003

Rating: 3rd shelf

Source: Library

Lj's plot in one pot: Not so sweet lil Sharla Cody teaches Mum Addy a thing (or ten) about forgiveness as we peek into Adelaide's youth as a citizen of Rusholme, ON.

I am back! After a gentle nudge via social media, I realized I DO have the time in my life to spend on my blog.  Hopefully I can update things quickly and will have lots of  good (and bad!) reviews to share in the upcoming weeks.

This book was a book club choice and originally I was not looking forward to it (can you say Oprah's book club?!?).  But I immediately began to soak up the rich history that belongs to Adelaide.

The story is written with alternating chapters; between present and flashbacks to Addy's childhood and youth. 

Subject matter was tough to take, abandonment, death (at all stages of life), etc. Sharla had some decent comedic timing to lighten the (very) heavy load of Adelaide's misfortune. 

"Addy Shadd's skin was the colour of root beer, so wrinkled and stretched it looked like there was enough of it to cover two people...The lines around her lips puckered like a bum when she smoked her cigarette." p.18

Interested in learning more about the real life town that was the inspiration for Rusholme settlement in Canada? Click link here for the Buxton Museum website. 

REVIEW: A Priest in Hell by R. Radic

Title:  A Priest in Hell

Author:  R. Radic
Genre / Pages:  Nonfiction, Memoir / 333
Publication: ECW Press, 2009
Rating:  2nd Shelf 
Source:  publisher copy
lj's plot in one pot: After embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars, former priest, Radic spends six months in prison; in this text, he shares his awful account of jail life.

This book really appealed to the trashy person hiding deep inside me (and I suspect all of us).  Okay, so the blurb makes a reference to "Cops" and after reading that, I was sold.

However, upon further inspection, I became less than thrilled.  The author used crass and just gross terminology so jarringly that I had to read things aloud to J, to share my disgust (and flush those words out of my brain).  And...anyone who knows me knows that I am not prudish when it comes to language, so if this offended me...then you can be assured that is it BAD.  I also had this feeling the whole time that it was really forced.  Like when your teachers used to try to use slang and it just feels wrong.

That being said, it was kinda neat to hear about the daily in's and (for a select few) out's of prison.  But more enjoyable than that...was knowing that my book was eco-friendly!  I participated in this really cool campaign (see previous post) that united 200 bloggers to help spread the word about Green Books.  Please go to this site for more info about the campaign.

http://www.prlog.org/11043665-200-bloggers-200-books-56-publishers-and-one-hour.html

http://www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp

Ooops, I forgot a quote...now this is not safe for work / children / church-goers / most decent humans with a pulse, but I had to show you the reality of most of this book.

"They were 'associates' outside in the real world.  Not friends.  [He] makes a clear distinction between friends and associates.  I am not sure of the separation, but an associate is less than a friend, deficient in some vague way, untrustworthy perhaps.  [His] meager vocabulary, emanating from his decomposing brain, due, of course, to his affaire d'amour with meth, is powerless to supply me with a precise definition." p.161

"Milk is like crystal meth to chomos [child molesters].  In the best Faustian tradition, they will trade their souls for it.  It is not unusual to watch [him] consume four or five milks at a meal.  I don'tknow why they crave it the way vampires crave blood, but they do." p.137

Okay, okay, I caved - I just couldn't have those words on my little site...If you must, drop a comment and I can pass the book along :)

NEWS

This year, I'm participating in a Green Books campaign, in which 200 bloggers will be reviewing 200 eco-friendly books on November 10th.

I know you all can't wait to read my review of "A Priest in Hell" (!?!) but if you want more info about the campaign, please check out this website.

http://www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp

Chat soon :)

lj

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew - Wrap Up

We are finally finished the 4 week meal plan!  I have mixed emotions about this.  I found that it was a lot of pressure, cooking something new EVERY night, even though I didn't have to come up with the ideas myself.  I did like how organized we were (only one shopping trip per week and no impulse buys).  At or around the three-week marker, we decided (due to my stress level) that we would only choose 3 of the 5 meals per week.  This helped a lot, because we were free to have Campbell's soup or a frozen pizza once in a while.

Anyway, again - sorry about the lack of posts, but here is how the rest of the meals went down.

Okay okay - so this doesn't look super appetizing, but it was!  This is part one of the taco night - chorizo and potato sauteed together (with a little s & p).

Here is part two - black bean salsa.  It was super easy to make, even J thought so!  It's just rinsed black beans, parsley, radishes and olive oil and lime juice.

The complete tacos.  Soon to be topped with sour cream and avocados!  Yummy! PS - no one told me you had to bake taco shells before consumption - not yummy :(

Ooh this was a good one!  It's a baked chicken breast with red currant jelly glaze and spinach, sauteed with golden raisins and garlic!  It was one of the more random recipes we tried, but definitely delicious.

This was one of my favourites - especially because now that I know the basics of stratas, it will be super easy to mix them up and try a bunch of different mixins.  It was simply sauteed mushrooms, parsley and onions, then (in a big bowl) mix up eggs, milk and bread chunks.  Add these together and stuff into a casserole dish and bake away.  J wasn't a huge fan of all the parsley, but I thought it was perfect - it lightened up the heavy egg dish.

The salad was super simple; mixed greens and a olive oil / white wine vinegar dressing.  Definitely a keeper (yes, without parsley sometimes for J).

 This one was also random.  I guess I didn't read all of the recipe before I started, but as I was chopping the apple and celery, I just assumed that they would be getting heated.  Not so.  We cooked the green lentils and then cooled them.  Added chopped apple and celery as well as some parsley (take that J!).  Mixed 'em together with some lemon juice and olive oil and ta-da!  Some kind of apple/lentil salad.  I guess it makes sense as it was served alongside pork, but neither of us were big fans of the salad.

And here is the finished product.  Apple/lentil business on the left, delicious balsamic-glazed pork tenderloin on the right.  Oh if only we could eat meals of just meat ;)

 

Chicken encore.  This time it was supposed to be Cajun / blackened chicken, but somebody who will remain nameless forgot to pick that up.  So we just seasoned with s & p and a little garlic powder.

And this was our last meal, collard greens, black-eyed peas, garlic and red peppers.  It was super tasty and having never made collard greens, I was really impressed and surprised at how easy and delicious they were.

And now back to what I know best (debatable??) - reading.  Let's leave the cooking to the chefs!

REVIEW: Bury Your Dead by L. Penny

Title:  Bury Your Dead

Author:  L. Penny
Genre / Pages:  Fiction, Mystery / 371
Publication: Sphere, 2010
Rating:  TOP shelf 
Source:  Chapters Indigo
lj's plot in one pot: After a mysterious and fatal police raid, Armand Gamache takes refuge in Quebec City during Carnaval.  He becomes involved in a murder investigation of someone looking to dig up the past (literally).  He too, wants to dig up the past and sends Inspector Beauvoir back to Three Pines to take another look at the murder of the Hermit (from book 5 in the series).

Okay, okay, so that wasn't really one sentence, but the book is so amazing, I didn't want to leave anything out.  As stated, the book takes place in the beautiful, historic Quebec City.  I have to go back there, because in my mind, it represents trying (unsuccessfully) to communicate and being charged double for a haircut.  That being said, Penny's description of the city makes a person long to see the history in person.  

I was a little disappointed that more of the story didn't take place in Three Pines (as I really come to love this fictional town), but she does such a fantastic job of describing Quebec, that I forgave her for moving to the big city.

The plot of this story was moving and tragic.  Having myself been recuperating from a collision, I found a lot of the passages dealing with pain (physical and emotional) very hard to read.  The author is so on point, so in touch with humanity, that I felt like she was writing to me - especially when Beauvoir reveals that even the most well-intentioned sympathy can often feel like pity to the injured person.

I really don't want to be giving plot away, any more than I already have, but this book is simply fantastic and even if you haven't read the others (there are 5 previous books), you must read this one, and then perhaps you too will be sucked into the world of Three Pines and Chief Inspector Gamache.

"Instead he stopped and slowly straightening he looked right at Gamache.  He stated for ten seconds or more, which, when eating a chocolate cake isn't much, but when staring, is." p.29

 "And when the Quebec sun set on a Quebec forest, monsters crawled out of the shadows.  Not the B-grade movie monsters, not zombies or mummies or space aliens.  But older, subtler wraiths.  Invisible creatures that rode in on plunging temperatures.  Death by freezing, death by exposure, death by going even a foot off the path, and getting lost.  Death, ancient and patient, waited in Quebec forests for the sun to set." p.74

Want more info?  You know you do!  Click here for the author's website.

REVIEW: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by K. Edwards

Title:  The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Author:  K. Edwards
Genre / Pages:  Fiction, Realistic / 416
Publication: Penguin Books, 2006
Rating:  2nd shelf 
Source:  Chapters Indigo
lj's plot in one pot: 2 babies are born one fateful night to Dr. David Henry - he chooses to keep only the "healthy" one; this book is the story of the consequences from that choice.

I read this book MONTHS ago for a book club meeting.  Along with a friend, I actually chose it as the first book our book club would read together.  I was sorely disappointed.

Although the writing is beautiful, very descriptive and moving, I just wasn't actually moved by the story.  I don't want to give too much of the plot away, so if you want more details, feel free to email me.

In general, I felt that the book spent WAY too much time focused on David's life (with Norah) and way too little time with Phoebe.  Literally, at one point Phoebe is 10 and the next time we hear about her she's 21 or something crazy.  It mentions a fight for education, a couple of times in fact, but then all of a sudden, it's been solved, they've won and we never get to actually learn about what went on.  There were just too many gaps in the plot (especially with people / events that I was interested in) for me to give this book any higher of a rating.

The rest of the girls in the book club more or less felt the same way, but a lot didn't feel as strongly about David as I did; I wonder if that says something (less than positive) about me???

Anyway, sorry for the HUGE lapse in posts.  It got crazy busy with work and life, but I promise to be more consistent in the future.

Want more info about the book or author?  Click here.

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew - Wednesday

As I mentioned earlier, we totally bailed on Tuesday's dinner (so the plan was to cook double dinner tonight and freeze the second meal) and so we are already on Wednesday!

This meal sounded awesome, curry shrimp and rice...and I fully admit that the problem we had with this dish MAY have been nonexistent if we followed the recipe more faithfully.  We couldn't find snow peas OR bean sprouts at the grocery store on Sunday, so we decided to skip the bean sprouts and sub in edamame for snow peas.  Also, we used some precooked shrimp that we had in the freezer, instead of uncooked / deveined shrimp (as per recipe).

So I thought to myself, okay, you are making a lot of  changes, but you are aware of said changes and what they mean to things like cooking time, etc..., so self, we should be fine. 

I was wrong.  The shrimp got WAY overcooked, the edamame released a lot of liquid into the curry, so it stayed pretty runny.  The lime addition was great, as was the flavour of the curry (just not so much the texture).  We are willing to try this one again, but with the right ingredients.  
 

 

See how small the shrimp got???   J's sum up:

"Love ya...but this is a swing and a miss"

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew - Monday

I'm already falling a little behind!  Monday's meal was deliciously Mediterranean!  We made lamb meatballs and (although it called for couscous) quinoa with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and feta.  J made the dressing (lemon juice and olive oil) which we drizzled over the whole shebang.

Neither of  us were SUPER impressed with lamb meatballs (couldn't really tell the difference from regular meatballs) but as a whole, the meal was amazing!  We both thought it could be even better if the ingredients were actually in season (the tomatoes were not at their best).  

Yesterday was a crazy day, and we ended up having leftovers from dinner at the parents, so no new meal was attempted...but my master plan for this bought of laziness is tonight, I'll cook two meals and freeze one so we can eat it for another day when we are feeling lazy (encore).

Anyway, here is a pic from our culinary attempts from Monday :)

 

J's comments:

"It's good, but only if you get a little of everything in your mouth at the same time"

SCHOOL STUFF

Lovely readers,

You may have noticed that I'm reading Haddix's "Among the Hidden".  Although I have heard good things, and I'm excited to read it, I thought I should mention that I am reading this along with my 6/7 class.  Feel free to share any ideas for discussion (if you've read it as well).

Thanks,

lj

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew - Friday

This recipe (unlike Thursday's meal) is definitely a keeper.

The steak was delicious, except in the future, J and I both agreed that we would substitute rib eye for the Newark or sirloin that Real Simple suggests.  I tried to be authentic, so I did as the recipe asked, but we really found the cut of meat to be a lesser quality than what we like. 

The vegetables were DELICIOUS!  Simple; roasted carrots and red onions with a little olive oil and s & p, but hot coffee were they good!  The sauce for the meat and/or veggies was also very simple, it consisted of the meat juices, dijon mustard and a little white wine as well as tarragon.  Super yummy and different for us - we rarely put anything other than s & p on our steaks, so this warm, herby, sharp sauce was amazing!  I'm having my left over steak for lunch (in t-minus 10 minutes) and I can't wait!

J's comments were few (he was too busy enjoying the meal), but they did include this little gem:

"This is definitely going to work" (meaning for lunch the next day)

Me:

"But today is Friday, you're not working tomorrow"

J:

"Well, let's make this again on Sunday, so I can take the leftovers to work".

Mission accomplished :)

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew - Thursday

Not a keeper.  Tonight's recipe was breaded pork cutlets with spicy udon noodles and it went awry from the very beginning.  The first step was to boil the udon noodles in chicken stock / ginger until the noodles absorbed most of the stock (about 5-6 minutes).  Well, the noodles absorbed hardly anything (they aren't a dry noodle, but rather like long, delicious gooey fresh stuff) and so now I have some type of noodle soup and it was simply a travesty to food everywhere when I put the yummy, crispy breaded pork "on top" of the soupy disaster.  All of the breading got all soggy and it just looked gross.


I took some photos as I cooked, but they were just nasty up close.  Although I maintain that it was the recipe's fault (and not the cook's), I didn't want all of you to see my shameful attempt at a meal.  Anyhoos, here's the only one you're getting.  

Needless to say, J wasn't a fan - especially when he got a mouthful of poorly chopped ginger...oops!  Now that one was my bad (can't blame the recipe for everything).


Wish me luck with tomorrow - and lot's of it, because we're cooking steak and J might kick me out of the house if I ruin that!

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew - Wednesday

 Today I was feeling less than Nigella, but thankfully, this meal was SUPER easy (and really only required chopping, boiling and heating things through).  The only tough part was the eggplant, because our knives seem to be rapidly growing dull and the eggplant needed to be chopped into 1/2 inch pieces. 

 After a bit of knifework (and 10 minutes of sauteing), I added the halved tomatoes, garlic, s & p, and red pepper flakes.  It looked so scrumptious, I had to capture it :)  This cooked for another 2-3 minutes while I dealt with the pasta.

So here we are again cutting board...I bested you once, and I will do it again!

Whilst the pasta was draining and the "sauce" was warming, I cut up 1/2 lb of mozzarella (which was not "fresh", as the recipe called for, but there was a limit to my searching abilities that day) and finely chopped some fresh mint (which, I learned later, was a waste of time).

And we have arrived at the finish line, intact (with all fingers accounted for - huzzah!).

Here is the final product, which tasted like a cheesy, tomato-y, minty dream.

J was NOT a fan of the mint, claiming that it was all he could taste / smell, so he carefully picked out the majority of the pieces (now THAT is patience).  I asked if he would add less mint if we were to make this again, and he said that he just wouldn't bother with it (especially if you would be buying mint for this recipe alone).

I would tend to agree, but I like the freshness of the mint, so I would keep it, but only if I had some lying around AND I would add a little less.  I would also add more red pepper flakes; they seemed non-existent as is.  

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew - Tuesday

So I'm already tweaking the plan!  Today was supposed to be some cheesy, eggplant-y delicious pasta meal, but my romaine was already starting to look a little ragged, so I made that recipe today (leaving me to look forward - read: DROOL to the pasta meal for another day).

Pretty easy meal (again).  Although I am a novice at making my own patties, I was surprised there was no "filler" in the form of bread crumbs, crackers or potato chips.  I have a feeling they are going to be MEATY!

Here are the three main parts:

So this is the romaine slaw that will be served on top of the burgs.  Simple dressing that consists of mayo, white wine vinegar and s & p.

Yum - raw meat!  All jokes aside, I'm proud of these rustic little babies!  They are extra lean ground turkey, chopped green onions, dijon, thyme leaves and s & p.

Here are the buns (I went for whole wheat) getting ready to be toasted.

 

And here is the finished product.  J's comments

"The most flavourful burger I've ever had"

To that I said:

"Really?  Like burger burger or turkey burger?"

His response:

"Burger burger.  I've never had a burger taste like that before."

VICTORY!

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew - Monday

All in all, it went pretty well!  Monday's meal was Roasted Tilapia with Lemon and Baby Potatoes.

Not being a huge fish fan, I was not super stoked, but the fish was my favourite part!!!  It was sprinkled with paprika and that was, in a word, awesome!  I was a little peeved to be asked to buy fresh thyme when I would only be using 8 sprigs - but alas, such is life.

Want to experience the journey with me?  Follow along :)

First things first - I organized my ingredients.  Pretty simple really...Note the large container of fresh thyme (sigh)

They didn't have baby potatoes at the market, so I settled for new potatoes (are these one in the same?) and instead of halving them, we quartered them.

Here is everything, all ready for the oven.  This only took about 8 minutes to wash, cut and toss together.

After cooking for a little while, the little fishies were ready to meet their maker.

Here, the taters are almost done and the fish is sprinkled with the delicious paprika and s & p.

Oh my, this is a weird shaped photo!  Anyway, here is everything all cooked and ready to eat.

J and I each had one piece of fish and about a quarter (maybe more) of the potatoes, and that was enough.

We've still go enough for leftovers tomorrow and we both can't wait to show off to our coworkers :)

J's comments - fish was flaky, "It tasted the way fish is supposed to taste", he would take the lemon out before plating (but I thought it looked pretty).

My only critique - Not being a fan of olives, I found there were WAY to many in the recipe.  It called for 1/2 cup and I only put in about 6.  They flavoured everything in the meal, and that was okay, but I really didn't enjoy biting down into them...so if you're an olive fan - GO FOR IT!  Otherwise, I would pull them out after cooking / before plating.

A demain!

A Little Less Review, A Little More Stew

So I've been crazy busy these last few weeks (hence the lack of posts).  School has started back up and it's going great - but has definitely kept me on the go.  So although I have no new books to review just yet, I thought I'd share this little project that J and I are doing.

I have a subscription to Real Simple (if you're not familiar, check out the website here, it's AMAZING) and the October issue contains a 4 week menu plan - complete with shopping lists and recipes.  Because we're not busy enough (Sarcasm? Check) we've decided to try this out in hopes that it will keep us fed, with little to no planning on our end AND that after the 4 weeks are up, we will love the lifestyle so much that we can start planning our weekly menus ourselves.  I'm going to try to write about the experience (is the food good?  is it expensive? were the ingredients impossible to find?),as well as take pictures of the completed meals for the next month, hopefully in addition to squeezing out some book reviews.

Week of September 27th 

We did 1/2 of the shopping for this week's menu at the Farmers' Market at the Western Fair, so this week's cost might be a little cheaper than if we shopped only at the grocery store.

The meals are:

1. MONDAY Roasted tilapia, potatoes and lemons
2. TUESDAY Penne with tomatoes, eggplant and mozzarella
3. WEDNESDAY Turkey burgers with creamy romaine slaw
4. THURSDAY port cutlets with spicy noodles
5. FRIDAY Steak with roasted carrots and onions

The shopping lists are available on pdf at www.realsimple.com/dinnerplan.

The cost for Week One is $100.00 on the nose!  It was $65.00 at the market (fresh, local veggies and beautiful free range meat) and $37.58 at the grocery store (but included was a pack a gum and a chocolate bar for today, so really $35.00).  This seems pretty reasonable, but keep in mind, these are dinners only, but because they are meals for four people, they will also serve as leftover lunches for me and J.  Also, apparently the people of Real Simple don't eat during the weekend, so that will be extra money out of your pocket too.

ps - I hope this goes without saying, but JUST IN CASE, I claim no ownership of the recipes or meal plan / shopping list.  It was found in the October 2010 issue of Real Simple.

SCHOOL STUFF

My Favourite Books on PhotoPeach

I just created this using Photo Peach.

I think it's quite rad - What do we think about having a classroom blog where students could create their own spiral slideshows and show them to the class?

I appreciate any and all comments :)

REVIEW: Eats, Shoots and Leaves by L. Truss

Title: Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Author:  L. Truss
Genre / Pages:  Nonfiction, humour, grammar/ 512
Publication: Gotham Books Trade Paper, 2006
Rating:  2nd shelf 
Source:  Chapter's Indigo
lj's plot in one pot:  Amidst witty examples, grammar (specifically punctuation) sticklers unite in this how-to / how-not-to tome from Lynne Truss.

I will probably be happy that I read this book, especially when I need to give examples for Language Arts class.  I think the book seemed a little long, a little repetitive, but definitely funny and helpful.  The examples that the author uses are usually silly - what is her fascination with Starburst (a.k.a. Opal Fruits) - but they are always clear.

There were times when the author could seem a bit patronizing, and you; as the reader, felt a bit below her.  However, I think that I might not be the intended audience for which this book was written.  There were many references I didn't 'get' and as the frequency of that event increased, so did the chance that I would scan until the next interesting tidbit caught my eye.

Hopefully I didn't use too many incorrect punctuation marks (the text reveals bloggers / internet writers to be among the worst offenders) during this post.  Here are a few of my favourite examples from the book.

To those who care about punctuation, a sentence such as "Thank God its Friday" (without the apostrophe) rouses feelings not only of despair but of violence.  The confusion of the possessive "its" (no apostrophe) with the contractive "it's" (with apostrophe) is an unequivocal signal of illiteracy and sets off a simple Pavlovian "kill" response in the average stickler. p.43

In the family of punctuation, where the full stop is daddy and the comma is mummy, and the semicolon quietly practises the piano with crossed hands, the exclamation mark is the big attention-deficit brother who gets over-excited and breaks things and laughs too loudly. p.138

For more information on the book / author, click here.