Continue reading »]]> Part of the 4D Challenge is to read the same book as Clair and this month we choose The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.

So what was my opinion? I enjoyed it, very readable. Not my usual style of crime but a distracting story. I didn’t think it was as amazing as the hype would make you believe though the characters were very likeable. The crime story was a locked room style mystery where only so many could have done the deed but the truth had yet to be revealed. My issue was that the solution was predictable and as a result a tad disappointing. Having said that the other story strands meant that you were rooting for the main characters in a range of different areas making it a very easy and enjoyable book to read. I’m not rushing to read the next two books, or to see the movie, though I might well pick them up in the future.

As for the rest of this month’s reading:

Treasury of the Lost Litter Box and Masters of the Nonsenseverse by Darby Conley were both collections of one of my favourite comic strips – Get Fuzzy. If you haven’t tried it you really must so many of them having me laugh out loud. It’s a guy (Rob) his Siamese cat (Bucky) and a Labrador-Shar Pei cross (Satchel), it’s clever, funny and has so many wonderful lines.

One of my favourite strips is in ‘Bucky Katt’s Big Book of Fun’ and was a part of a series of strips of famous cat quotes. It saw Bucky ripping off ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost.

“Two slugs slithered on a yellow wood,
And sorry that I could not trample both,
Being one trampler, long I stood
And looked them down as feirce as I could
To where they sat in the undergrowth…

I will be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere sitting upon a fence:
Two slugs slithered on a yellow wood and I–
I ate the slug less trampled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Genius. Everyone should read these. If you want a sample you can get a daily comic over at gocomics.com

I also loved ‘Wishful Drinking’ by Carrie Fisher. Based on her one-woman stage show this autobiographical tale is excellent. Funny (as in I laughed out loud in my library at it), I couldn’t put it down (clearly at no point did I encourage all my classes to read just so I could whip it out) and short (I reckon it took me about 3 hours to read at most). It’s made me want to read her other books in the hope that, while not as personal, they will contain her wit and flare for storytelling.

‘The Return of Sherlock Holmes’ by Arthur Conan Doyle wasn’t my favourite collection, though many of the tales were new to me. I wanted to read it after the dramatic conclusion to both the last collection and the BBC programme Sherlock. While I’m no clearer how the TV Sherlock will be resolved, I did feel Conan Doyle brought his character back using the Mark Gatiss method. (Wonderful ideas but not enough development of characters or plot before it is all resolved resulting in an unsatisfactory feeling of having missed a bit of they story). I can’t help but think Sherlock was very lucky that Watson was such a solid chap not to kill him for faking his own death.

Continue reading »]]> The Times are running a series of pull outs called “How to give your child a private education without paying a penny.” Today the subject up for grabs is Secondary School English and it came as no shock that the way get a better education in English is to read.

Despite this obvious point (and one much laboured by English teachers and Librarians in all schools) the article had at least one interesting thing- the modern definition of an educated person. Apparently this is “someone who reads fiction before lunch“. On a personal note I might well be in danger here since fitting in my book before I start work would probably kill me (I really do need 7 or 8 hours sleep) – I do, however, read when I wake at weekends so perhaps that will count.

Clarissa Farr (a ‘High Mistress’ at one of the public schools in the article) said “There is no doubt that those students who gain most from the subject – and who do best at it- enjoy reading for its own sake.” In fact she makes a number of excellent points about having a wide reading list and using the texts in school as a jumping off point. I liked her quote:

“Reading is what helps to form us as people and the books we read at school, especially those we study in detail, remain part of our internal landscape for life.”

So true! The scars from reading ‘Death of a Salesman’ and ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller will never be fully healed. I have clear memories of a few of the set texts we did including ‘Flowers for Algernon’ by Daniel Keyes (a depressing tale) and Romeo and Juliet (which I got to study 3 times! Meaning that even now I can quote chunks and I could almost regurgitate an exam answer).

Of course the most obvious point she makes is that your kids will read if you read,  telling them to won’t work if they see don’t see you read. I’d go further and suggest books should be part of the house, found in every room (I can totally tick that one). “But what books should we read?” cry those parents reading the article – fear not The Times provides two reading lists to help. One provided by author Alexander McCall Smith and the other the list of books that Clarissa Farr’s all girls school sends out as recommendations. I have two issues with these lists.

1. The list from the school is meant for girls (it being a girls school) so what about those boys looking for something to read? (though a number of titles will work for either)
2. McCall Smith’s list is 10 classic books and none date past 1960.

McCall Smith’s list is interesting reading in itself he suggests that the ’10 to read by 16′ are:

1. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
2. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
5. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
6. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
7. Short Stories by W. Somerset Maugham
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Collected Shorter Poems by W.H. Auden
10. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Of which I’ve read three, seen the movie version of three others. Perhaps my life is poorer for not having read them (I might still read them) but I can’t help but feel there are perhaps more interesting books to have read by 16. I don’t know what 10 books I’d choose and his picks are in the main as good as most. It is hard to suggest books everyone should read and not be swayed by the current popular titles but I’d argue that a few tweeks might make the list more useful to parents hungry for recommendations.

First off ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a much more enjoyable Shakespeare play to self study than ‘Merchant of Venice’, especially as an introduction to him without teacher support – the story is easy enough to follow and some of the banter is excellent.

If you are choosing only one poet Auden does have some excellent stuff including the famous ‘Funeral Blues’ (that the one that starts ”Stop all the Clocks”).  Though I’d probably suggest Roger McGough or John Hegley if they weren’t poetry readers to get them going.

I’m not totally sold that Tolstoy and Maugham are essential reading in life, having never read either I think I’m doing ok. (Though what do I know, maybe if I’d read them before 16, I’d be waking up at dawn to get in some fiction reading before work). What I do know is that the list is missing any fantasy or Science Fiction work and while I dare say Tolstoy is a good meaty choice, I’d replace Maugham with the likes of 1984 by George Orwell or ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams or ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R.Tolkein depending on how serious they wanted to be.

The comment is made in the article that “reading should be enjoyable, so book choice should reflect not just ability, but also interests.” Yet the reading lists are full of worthy titles that aren’t the best in the cannon of work by that author or ones the young people might have heard of. For instance they suggest ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ by C.S.Lewis rather than the much more readable ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. I’d argue if introducing them to an author choosing one to get them hooked would surely make more sense.  Certainly if they read all 31 titles suggested in the school’s list they will have a varied read though I’d be surprised if many teenage boys found many of the titles ‘interesting’. (It shouldn’t be a surprise that boys aren’t the intended audience).

On the upside for those parents looking to get recommendations for their teenagers there is one sure fire way to get persoanlised reading recommendations without parting with cash – by hitting the school library (or local one for that matter) and asking a librarian for help. How much cheaper can you get than borrowing the books and getting free advice from a professional who’s job it is to know all about teen reading? Shame the article never managed to mention that as a way to improve your education without paying a penny.

Continue reading »]]> All parcels are exciting but few were as great as this one from Hoxton Street Monster Supplies.

For starters there are all the stamps around the outside;

(Do Not Expose To Holy Water)

But the best stamp was this one

I really wish the ‘Flying Monkey Tracking Service’ was real.

So the outside was pretty damn exciting. The inside didn’t disappoint;

It was cursed with bad luck;

and as I lifted out the packing I gave out a scream as a cockroach dropped out the pile. Underneath was the stuff I’d ordered - Creeping Dread and Zombie Fresh Mints! Absolute genius.

]]> http://www.bearbahoochie.co.uk/2012/01/15/hoxton-street-monster-supplies/feed/ 0 http://www.bearbahoochie.co.uk/2012/01/08/and-z/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=and-z http://www.bearbahoochie.co.uk/2012/01/08/and-z/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:46:17 +0000 Kateri http://www.bearbahoochie.co.uk/?p=1850

Continue reading »]]> Zac and the Dream Pirates by Ross Mackenzie was the last book in my A-Z Challenge. This won a place on my reading list partly because it began with a Z but mostly as the cover is glow in the dark! (Not that such gimmicks should win me over.) So how was the read? I did enjoy it, it was easy to read and the action was quite fast paced especially as the end neared. It has set it up for sequels with a few questions unanswered or adventures clearly coming up but it was a satisfying read and didn’t feel incomplete. For Harry Potter fans this does seem like a good fit though they might think a few bits are rather familiar (the Dream Pirates wear silver masks and there are flying cars, to name a couple) but it’s not like Harry Potter didn’t have ideas seen in older stories (there are after all only so many ways tell a story). Having said that it didn’t read as a poor copy but as an original tale and one well worth a read.

So how did I get on with The Thoughts of a Book Junky challenge – 26 books read over the year and one matching each letter of the alphabet? In a period of 365 days I have managed though I think the idea was they were all supposed to be in 2011. Ah well, you can’t do everything.

It was a fun challenge to do I enjoyed looking through my books to see what would count or searching the library for the missing letters. The list of books changed a few times over the year to meet with what I fancied reading (I just can’t read a book if I don’t want to). In the end only 6 came from my personal collection the rest from the library (and one from a friend). 8 are non-fiction, 3 graphic novels and 6 were teen/children’s and only 8 were written by women (and only 6 different women at that). 8 are crime, 3 are super hero and 8 fantasy. So what does all this tell me? Nothing save this small sample is a pretty good account of my reading habits in 2011.

So for those who want to see exactly what I counted they were:

A – Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks by John Curran
B – Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay
C – Confessions of  a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King
D – Dr. Horrible and other horrible stories by Zach Whedon
E – Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
F – Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey
G – Golden bats and Pink Pigeons by Gerald Durrell
H – Hero by Perry Moore
I – I wish that I had duck feet by Dr. Seuss
J – Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton
K – Kung Fu Trip by Benjamin Zephaniah
L – Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox
M – Mad Dogs and English Men by Paul Magrs
N – Nemesis by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
O – Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
P – Post-Mortem by Patricia Cornwell
Q – Quiet Please; dispatches from a public librarian by Scott Douglas
R – Recipe for Rebellion by Cathy Hopkins
S – Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay
T – Trouble on the Heath by Terry Jones
U – Universally Challenged by Wendy Roby
V – Valhalla by Tom Holt
W – Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
X – Xena: Warrior Princess by Roy Thomas, Aaron Lopresti and Robert Trebor.
Y – Young Sherlock Holmes – Death Cloud by Andrew Lang
Z – Zac and the Dream Pirates by Ross MacKenzie

Continue reading »]]>

Quiet Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas. This memoir of the library career of Scott Douglas (until roughly the end of his 20s) is pretty close to my own library experiences. He took on the job as it paid money and helped through uni, then became a career and post graduate choice as almost an after thought. Then it became a real job.

The stories were readable (patrons with a range of amusing situations, the glow of a first successful storytime, etc.) – I liked the asides and extra thoughts best. It pretty much reflects my memory of working in public libraries. It also reminded me why I am in no hurry to return.

The book started inspirationally but it quickly moved to anecdotal. I did like his mantra that a library more than a librarian or a building it’s about the community that use it and it reflects them.

So what is my review? **** and a must read for pupils who thinks of being a librarian but thinks it just means stamping books.

Continue reading »]]> “WHAT I QUICKLY LEARNED WAS THE DARK TRUTH ABOUT LIBRARIANS: THEY SIMPLY DID NOT FIND TIME TO READ.”

SCOTT DOUGLAS – QUIET, PLEASE (P11)

So as I count down the last few hours of 2011 I’ve got to accept I will not have managed Book Chick City’s 100 Book Challenge nor will I have managed The Thoughts of a Book Junky challenge to read the alphabet. I would probably have managed the A-Z challenge had I not caught some nasty holiday bug that left me unable to read for two days. I’m reading Q today (and enjoying it) and Z is next in the pile.

So I have failed to read 100 books but I did manage the most I’ve read in a while. I also read a nice mix of things though I admit graphic novels did feature quite a bit.

As did Superheros and Crime;

Clair read a study that suggested women read women authors but when I went back and looked at the male/ female split and I came in at 39% women and 64% men.

As for books I borrowed from the library, bought, was given or borrowed – comes out as 6 were presents, 2 borrowed from Clair and Mum, 34 borrowed from the library and 30 bought. So I’m pleased to say I borrowed more than I bought

The last two books were ‘Golden bats and Pink Pigeons’ by Gerald Durrell and ‘Valhalla’ by Tom Holt which I think illustrates the mix of reading rather nicely. So here are the last two quick reviews:

74. Golden bats and Pink Pigeons by Gerald Durrell****
This focused on his trip to Mauritius to collect some of the endangered species there – it was witty and informative. I’ve a few more of his on the shelf that I’m excited at the thought of reading them.

75. Valhalla by Tom Holt ***
This was all about an afterlife scam. Witty and very readable.

So there we have it the last reviews of the year. It’s been a fun challenge but I won’t be aiming for 100 in 2012 (or any fixed number). Instead Clair and I have something else in mind.

So to close the year here are the 75 in full -

1. The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes. *
2. Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden, book 1) by Charlaine Harris. ***
3. Heat Wave by Richard Castle **
4.Naked Heat by Richard Castle ***
5. Don’t Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I’m a Piano Player in a Whorehouse by Paul Carter **
6. The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie ****
7. The Black Butterfly by Mark Gattis ****
8. Wonder Woman: Amazons Attack! by Will Pfeifer and Pete Woods*
9. The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin***
10. Louis: Night Salad by Metaphrog**
11. Leonore: Wedgies by Roman Dirge ***
12. Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr **
13. Heartburn by Nora Ephron****
14. Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale **
15. Trinity by Matt Wagner ***
16. Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard by David Petersen (editor) ****
17. Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell *****
18. Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton *****
19. Sunken Treasure: Wil Wheaton’s Hot Cocoa Box Sampler by Wil Wheaton **** (e-book)
20. Management for Martians illustrated by Chris Riddell ***
21. The Girls Next Door: Up close and personal with the stars of the hit TV series by Paul Ruditis ***
22. Dr.Seuss on the Loose!: a collection of rip-roaring rhymes from the master of verse by Dr.Seuss *****
23. Spy Dog’s Got Talent by Andrew Cope/ The Great Pet-Shop Panic by Katie Davis ***
24. A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris **
25. How the Girl Guides Won the War by Janie Hampton **
26. And then there were none by Agatha Christie ***
27. The Radleys by Matt Haig****
28. The Vampire Diaries: Stephan’s Diaries Vol 1: Origins *
29. Memories of the Future Vol.1 by Wil Wheaton ***** (e-book)
30. The Guild by Felicia Day and Jim Rigg****
31. Trouble on the Heath by Terry Jones **
32. Kung Fu Trip by Benamin Zephaniah**
33. Post-Mortem by Patricia Cornwell***
34. Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks by John Curran ***
35. Mad Dogs and English Men by Paul Magrs***
36. All my friends are dead by Avery Monsen and Jory John*****
37. I wish that I had duck feet by Dr. Seuss****
38. Lone Guides by Girl Guide Association (1st ed. 1929) ****
39. Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman***
40. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle ****
41. The PMS Murder by Laura Levine **
42. Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay ****
43. Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey*
44. Dr.Horrible and other horrible stories by Zach Whedon**
45. Lucky Man: a memoir by Michael J. Fox****
46. Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman ***
47. Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay ****
48. The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers by Lillian Jackson Braun **
49. Recipe for Rebellion by Cathy Hopkins **
50. Nemesis by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven ***
51. Dante’s Divine Comedy adapted by Seymour Chwast***
52. Royal Flash by George MacDonald Fraser ****
53. Smokin’ Seventeen by Janet Evanovich ***
54. Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King *****
55. Doctor Who: Touched by an Angel by Jonathan Morris ***
56. Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life by Roald Dahl ***
57. The Best of Start Trek:The Next Generation by Michael Jan Friedman and John de Lancie **
58. Hero by Perry Moore ***
59. Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich **
60. Shakespeare by Bill Bryson ***
61. Castle: Richard Castle’s Deadly Storm by Brian M. Bendis **
62. Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay ***
63. One Hundred Great Books in Haiku by David Bader ****
64. The Blurred Man by Anthony Horowitz ***
65. Heat Rises by Richard Castle ****
66. The Specialist by Charles Sale ***
67. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ****
68. Universally Challenged by Wendy Roby **
69. Adolf Hilter: My part in his downfall by Spike Milligan ****
70. Snuff by Terry Pratchett ****
71. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich****
72. Xena: Warrior Princess by Roy Thomas, Aaron Lopresti and Robert Trebor ***
73. Young Sherlock Holmes – Death Cloud by Andrew Lang***
74. Golden bats and Pink Pigeons by Gerald Durrell****
75. Valhalla by Tom Holt ***

* = readable, possibly worthy, can see other people enjoying it more
** = enjoyable will feature in book recommendations to classes
*** = recommend to lots of people (friends, family, pupils, staff…) to borrow from the library
**** = really enjoyed, recommending to all and buying for library (maybe even multiple copies)
***** = loved it, keeping it, buying for the library and giving it to everyone for Christmas.

Continue reading »]]> Thing 18 took all of yesterday to do but it was worth it as it was a lot of fun and I’m full of ideas on where to go with this.

As I’m at work I couldn’t use Jing so instead I opted for screencast-o-matic as you can do this online. It was easy and fun to do and though I’m sure it could be more professional it was really easy to use. Since this is work, rather than pleasure, I decided to do a guide to using the library catalogue (I know, too exciting) complete with audio track.

Next was podcasts. I have followed a few podcasts over the last few years, mainly from the BBC or crafty people. I find having a spoken word a great background to pottering on the computer or crafting. Part of this challenge was to make my own podcast and deciding what to do took a bit of thought but ultimately I decided on book reviews (not shocking but I decided I’d do something I could do without a script and wouldn’t take too long). With the help of the guides suggested on the CPD23 Thing 18 post I used Audacity to record a podcast on some books I’ve read recently, my plan being to share on this on the JYHS Library blog. Rather than using another hosting site I have opted to host the files here on this blog and simply linking to them from blogger.

The podcast was fun to do but getting the damn thing on the JYHS Library blog, so folks could subscribe, was a bit of a hassle. I finally managed though and there is a handy subscribe link  on the right of the page plus a new ‘podcast’ tag on the left. Incase you want a listen but don’t want to head over to JYHS Library I’ve added a link to the podcast MP3 here – JYHS Library Podcast.

So Having had far too much fun making these the question has to be be what educational use can I put them to? The obvious option is to continue to share my random musings on books and libraries. I’m also thinking it would be a fun way for pupils to share their book reviews as well so I might try getting some of them to do some.  I reckon my book talks could also be recorded like this which would be a fun way to share these with pupils but also help me to remember what books I’ve recomended. I’m thinking monthly is probably a good target so hopefully these will become a regular thing might need to up the geeky/randomness though if I want pupils to listen though.

As for the screen-o-matic screen captures I can see this being a useful tool to demonstrate how to do ICT tasks and the fact I can blog them means that I can refer people to them which is always a useful option.

Continue reading »]]> This whole read 100 books challenge from Book City Chick is clearly a fail for me but I will have read more books than in previous years so at least it did increase my reading (it also stunted it as any thick book was discounted as taking too long and I haven’t counted reading craft books or other books that I didn’t read from beginning to end). The other challenge I’ve had is blogging reviews so the latest batch is yet again two line reviews!

59. Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich **
Not as good as Stephanie Plum. Enjoyable enough, more a supernatural cast but lacking the drama of the likes of Charlene Harris who I’d recommend first (though maybe not to the first year kids).

60. Shakespeare by Bill Bryson ***
This was really enjoyable and short as Shakespeare is a bit of a mystery so Bryson looks at the evidence and cuts out the waffle.

61. Castle: Richard Castle’s Deadly Storm by Brian M. Bendis **
So silly. I prefer the Nikki Heat books but this comic version of Castle’s Derek Storm book was fun to read.

62. Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay ***
I love these. Stupid, fun and with cupcake recipies included what is not to love? This one sees our heroine trying to beat Olivia in a baking contest and solve the murder of her mentor.

63. One Hundred Great Books in Haiku by David Bader ****
Makes me laugh a lot this little book. I find it’s also fun to go back to as you read the books listed. Fun when you are only aware of the texts, funnier once you’ve read them.

64. The Blurred Man by Anthony Horowitz ***
This Diamond Brothers mystery was fun to read and similar to the Alex Rider books in that it had plenty of humor for adults and teens.

65. Heat Rises by Richard Castle ****
Silly, stupis and very enjoyable. The best of the faux Castle novels yet.

66. The Specialist by Charles Sale ***
I inherited this from a Great Aunt and had not read it – it’s brilliant all about a guy who makes outdoor toilets and how he adpats them to meet client needs.

67. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ****
I’d read a few of these before but still enjoyable and I obviously never got past the first few as the end of Holmes came as a highly absorbing tale despite being aware of the story.

68. Universally Challenged by Wendy Roby **
Amusing collection of quotes from TV quiz shows where contestants have said stupid things. Excellent bathroom read.

69. Adolf Hilter: My part in his downfall by Spike Milligan ****
This was great, funny and touching it takes Milligan from home to war and is a wonderful read.

70. Snuff by Terry Pratchett ****
Pratchett does a murder mystery with the humor and fun you’d expect. Very enjoyable.

71. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich****
The Stephanie Plum novels are so easy to read and very enjoyable. This one sees her loosing cars, the office exploding and her relationships with Ranger and Morelli in turmoil, plus her life in danger.

72. Xena: Warrior Princess by Roy Thomas, Aaron Lopresti and Robert Trebor ***
This was much better than I expected. A comic book it includes greek/ roman myths as you’d expect but it also included Gilgamesh!

73. Young Sherlock Holmes Death Cloud by Andrew Lang***
Teen novel sees Young Sherlock only slightly as socially awkward as the adult version and getting the basis for his future logical deductions. Enjoyable way to pass a Sunday morning.

Continue reading »]]>

Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs
Sees a grumpy Santa off delivery presents – no where near as miserable as The Snowman.

Father Christmas letters by J.R.R.Tolkien
Copies of the letters Tolkien wrote for his kids and includes tales of the Great North Polar Bear.

Miss Flora McFlimsey’s Christmas Eve by Mariana
This American classic was given to my Mum as a child and it remains a familiar Christmas Eve fixture the reading of it (ideally by my Dad complete with all the voices).

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
Read one chapter a day like an Advent calendar this lovely story is captivating and charming.

I also love reading Benjamin Zephaniah’s ‘Talking Turkeys’ which you can read it over on his website

In addition the library display also featured an advent calendar

On the back of each present is a good deed the pupils could do that day to try and get on Santa’s nice list.

Finally my S5 study skills lecture has a fastive feel as we practise our note taking from a lecture

Santa lecture

View more presentations from Kateri Wilson

Continue reading »]]> Today’s Top Ten Tuesday from the Broke and the Bookish is – Top Ten Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About (cry, laugh, hurl across the room, etc.)

1. The Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Still makes me laugh, best book ever. I also enjoy the radio show, tv series and movie and I always know where my towel is.

2. Bubbles All The Way by Sarah Strohmeyer
I recommend you stop reading this about five or six chapters from the end. When the crime is solved and all seems happy – STOP! Do not read on. I get Strohmeyer wanted to stop writing the series but that was the worst ending ever. Not going to read it? Ok, I’ll tell you why. Our crime solving reporter/hairdresser Bubbles (already an unlikely story) who’s hooked up with a sexy, world travelling, news photographer despite being in small town USA (very unlikely) turns out to be European royalty and the whole thing was an assassination attempt and not a simple crime story (and now we are in Wonderland and there is an odd cat grinning at me). If you don’t want to write a series just stop writing them, if you want to wrap it up do it within the series rules, don’t spoil a real world tale (even one as silly as these) it with a literally fairytale ending.

3. Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Cried a lot but it was good crying, not depressed by the story but sad for the characters.

4. The Desperate Journey by Kathleen Fidler
I read this back in Primary Seven (that’s like age 10). The advanced reading group were reading it and I argued I was as good as them so should be allowed to read it. The moral of the story is that just because a book is deemed harder it does not make it better. The ending is shocking as the author decides that after the whole book taking place over a year at most she’d cram the rest of their lives into the last chapter. Why? I can imagine or you could have written another book but that condensed life story just annoyed me. (NB: the last Harry Potter annoyed me for the same reason but I could see why J.K.Rowling felt she had to do it).

5. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Made me cry hysterically for hours. Not a positive. I’ve since discovered everything Nicholas Sparks writes is done to pull on the heart strings. I resent that kind of deliberate manipulation. Plus I read to escape not to become so depressed I contemplate ending it all.

6. Expecting Someone Taller by Tom Holt
Based on the Ring Cycle Opera it made me laugh – lots.

7. Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
I really enjoy the Stephanie Plum series but this one makes this list as I actually was laughing out loud while reading it during a quite reading class.

8. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Ok so this is a play but it was the text we studied in English and I hated it. It’s hard to put a finger on who I hated most – none of the characters earned anything but my contempt. The context of the play and deeper meanings have all be general knowledge that I’ve used again but the book was dire. Only thing worse that it written down was it made into a movie. Frankly I felt it was an exercise in why book burning isn’t such a bad idea.

9. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Faeries have their own reality and we can’t see it?!? I’m happy with Vampire’s living among us, werewolves down the street but the whole premise of the books is that they live among us. The Faeries apparently don’t, instead coming through to our side when they feel like it. Sorry don’t buy it – stick to your own reality rules and don’t break them just because you have a sticking point in the story (see transporters in Star Trek).

10. The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett
Kids picture book but it is wonderful, it was one of those books that filled me with joy and wonder. Beautiful illustrations and very witty. It was a delight to read and had me showing everyone around.