Completing the Alphabet Book Challenge

 One of the reading challenges people were doing in the Friends and Fiction Facebook Group was the alphabet challenge. The challenge was to read a book that started with each letter of the alphabet A-Z. At the end of October, I decided to see how many letters I managed to read so far this year. It turns out I had 4 letters left K, Q, X, and Z. Since I already read Sue Grafton's alphabet previously, I had to find other books that started with those letters.

Between my kindle and the Libby app, I managed to find 3. I put the 4th on hold at the library. I finished the challenge a few weeks later.

Here are the books I read this year for the alphabet challenge

A -- All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank
B -- The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
C -- The Cloisters by Katy Hays
D - Dear Carolina by Kristy Woodson Harvey
E -- Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave
F -- Forever, Interrupted by Tara Jenkins Reid
G -- Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close
H -- The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
I  - Iona's Iverson's Rules For Cummuting by Clare Pooley
J -- Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
K-- The Keeper of Secrets by Julie Thomas
L - Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
M -- Mastering Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
N -- Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
O -- One Summer In Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris
P -- The Perfumer of Paris by Alka Joshi
Q -- Quick and Dirty -- Stuart Woods
R - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
S -- The Spectacular by Fiona Davis
T -- The Twelve Dogs Of Christmas by Susan Wiggs
U -- Unladylike Lessons in Love by Amita Murray
V -- Vinyl Moon by Mahogany Browne
W -- The Women -- Kristin Hannah
X -- XOXO by Axie Oh
Y -- Yours Truly by Abbey Jimenez
Z -- Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

When I created this list, I tried to pick the one of the most recent books I read that started with each letter with a few exceptions. Some books were such amazing books that I had to share them. 

My favorite was Remarkably Bright Creatures. Girls in White Dresses was probably my least favorite.

I challenge you to the Alphabet challenge. You can choose to do it in a year or maybe it will take you two or more years. Next year, I think I want to do a middle grade or picture book Alphabet Book challenge. There are some really good picture books out there. 

Author Talk -- Kate Albus

 Kimberly and Neenah libraries were each hosting an author and of course I wanted to check it out. However, when I saw that it was a middle grade book, I wasn't too sure about it anymore. When I did the resin paperweight, the librarian said adults were enjoying the book too. I downloaded A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus on audiobook hoping to finish before the event.

Kimberly's event worked out better in my schedule. I got to the library and realized most of the adults there were teachers. There weren't a lot of people so I couldn't blend it too much. At least I didn't have anyone next to me.

Kate Albus is from Maryland so not a local author. I assumed she was a local author as many authors we get are local. It was her first time to Wisconsin and was impressed by the giant lake she fly over to get into Milwaukee. After the event she was going to get cheese curds. A true Wisconsin experience.

A Place to Hang the Moon is set in WWII Britain when children were being transported out of London into the country to keep the safe from the air raids, also known as Project Pied Piper. The children in the book were orphans sent to a village to try to find a new family without telling their billeting family their were looking for a new home. It is interesting story and the second book I have heard recently about Project Pied Piper. 

Kate talked about how stories are all around us and where she finds her stories. A Place to Hang the Moon came from a line in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is interesting how a line, a phrase, or even a picture can spark an idea for a story because you want to learn more.

Kate was an amazing speaker and very interesting to listen to. I could have listen for hours and she probably had many stories to tell. Because I have a fairly strict no new books unless unread and autographed, I did not stick around to buy her book and meet. If her new book was published, I would have gotten that. I kind of feel bad but I only have so much room for books. 

If you get a chance read A Place to Hang the Moon. It is a quick read and quite fascinating to see what the kids went through. 

Fox Cities Reads 2017: Stella by Starlight

This year the Fox Cities Reads book and the Fox Cities Boo Festival are 6 months apart with the book festival being held in October while Fox Cities Reads is now. The book chosen this year is Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper. We read it for book club in March.

Stella by Starlight is set in the 1930s in rural North Carolina. Stella, a young black girl, is struggling with writing in school as well as the KKK presence in her small community. Despite hard economic times, her neighbors and her family learn the true meaning of community as they gather together when the traveling salesman drops in and pitch in as one of their own homes is lit on fire by the KKK.

It is book for the middle grades... perfect to read as a family and discuss how what Stella faces is similar or different from our own world today. Many of the issues that were illustrated in the book are still common today and are important to address. Racism, community, struggles with school, helping at home, voting rights are all things we still see in 2017.

Part of the Fox Cities Reads Campaign was several author visits in the community with Sharon Draper. She visited several area schools and talked to students about the book and writing. However, she also had two community appearances. Even though I was not feeling well, I did go to UW-Fox Valley to hear her speak since that would be my only opportunity.

Sharon Draper was an amazing speaker. She didn't talk about the book or her writing too much because she wanted time for questions and didn't want to keep us there all night. Being a fiction writer, she calls herself a professional liar which if you think about it pretty much what she is. She writes fiction to talk about reality. It is much easier to talk about today's issues from someone's else view.

Besides talking about the writing process, how she became a writer (challenged by a student), and her books, Ms. Draper had two key takeaways:
   1. Find your gift or your joy -- don't do something you're not good at if it doesn't make you happy.
   2. Talk to your parents and get there story -- this seems to be a common theme among authors this year. Don't wait until it's too late to learn your family history, how your parents met, what was school like for your parents. Have a conversation with them and write it down or record it.

Despite trying not to hack up a lung and infect everyone sitting around me, it was a very pleasant evening. I am glad I went. I really enjoyed hearing Sharon speak. Fox Cities Reads is a great program that brings the community together and hopefully I will get to read the book next year too.

Craxi Reads: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

When I heard that there was a new Harry Potter book coming out, I was excited. I have read all the books several times, seen all the movies, and even at one point in time had random Harry Potter items I picked up while working at K-Mart… I may still have Troll Boogers Glue somewhere. However, when I learned Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was going to be released as a screenplay, I was less excited. I’ve read one play this year and didn’t really want to read another. In the end my love from Harry Potter won out and I pre-ordered it from Amazon. It finally arrived – over a week after it was released. I should have gone to the release party at Barnes and Nobles with Heather.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child takes place 19 years after the last book. Harry has 3 children, 2 of which attend Hogwarts. The book revolves around Albus, the middle child, who suffers from middle child syndrome and feels that Harry doesn’t love him for who he is. Albus befriends Scorpius, the son of Draco Malfoy – Harry’s arch nemesis from his days at Hogwarts. Albus and Scorpius decide to help Amos Diggory by bringing back his son, Cedric who was killed by Voldemort at the Tri-Wizard Tournament. To do this, they have to re-write history starting with the outcome at the Tri-Wizard Tournament. However, every time they try to save Cedric, history is rewritten. With the help from Snape, Dumbledore, and an old blanket the world is righted again. Albus and Harry both learn valuable lessons and the Dark Lord doesn’t rise again.

The book was a quick read… I was halfway done with it just on the plane ride to Boston. I have mixed feelings of the book. I liked the story line but I felt it was missing things and was too short. This may have been because it is a screenplay and you actually need to see what is happening. My other issue is that it just didn’t feel like a Harry Potter book because it was written by J.K. Rowling as well as John Tiffany and Jack Thorne. I think the three writers took away part of the classic Harry Potter feel.

Overall I enjoyed the book. I am glad the story continues but I’d rather have a real book instead of a screenplay. I got my Harry Potter fix until the next book, movie, screenplay, or play comes out. I believe I have a few opportunities coming up.

Craxi Reads: Lamb, the Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

I was really looking forward to August’s Book Club selection: Lamb, the Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. It was chosen by one of the book club members and it sounded like a good book. Even though I had about 3 weeks to read it, I barely got it done in time for book club. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I never made it to book club. The Corny Walk took too long.

Lamb, the Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal tells the story about Jesus’ “lost” years from the time he was a teenager to his crucifixion told from the perspective of his best friend Biff, also known as Levi. Biff and Joshua (Jesus) become friends in early childhood and are inseparable. At age 10, they start their apprenticeship as stonemasons which lead to raising someone from the dead on an night excursion to the work site. Shortly after the Passover feast when they are 13, Joshua believes he has to find the three wise men to learn how to fulfill his duties on Earth.

On their journey, Biff tries to explain to Joshua what sex is like and at one point, Joshua insists that Biff have sex with several different prostitutes to try to give Joshua an idea of what it feels like since Joshua isn’t allowed to have sex. You have to remember that Biff and Joshua are teenage boys/young men.

Joshua and Biff’s journey takes them nearly 20 years. They spend time with each of the 3 wise men learning Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Joshua is a much better student than Biff and Biff only does what he needs to stay with Joshua. They learn alchemy, judo, and yoga among trying to figure out what his Father wants him to do during his time on Earth.  Their journey ends when Joshua gets a sign to go home.

Once Joshua gets home, he begins with his teachings and healings. He gains followers along the way. The rest of the book is similar to the Gospels of the Bible and ends with his death.

The book was very good. I wish I could have been able to get to book club to discuss it and find out everyone’s beliefs of the story. I read a book that towards the end mentioned the same concept of Jesus traveling to learn Eastern Religions prior to beginning his teachings. Since the Bible doesn’t mention anything from the time Jesus was at the Temple to the time he started his teachings, one can only guess what he did. Maybe he worked as a stone mason or a carpenter. Maybe he really did travel seeking out answers. I tend to want to believe the latter where we was traveling and seeking answers.

Yes the book is about Joshua (Jesus) and Biff but it is written in such a way that even if you aren’t a Christian, you will enjoy the book. Remember Joshua and Biff are teenage boys so there’s a lot of sex and teenage antics involved. If you are a hard core Christian that believes that the Bible is the absolute truth then I would suggest not reading this book. It doesn’t say that the Bible is wrong but it dives into the more grey areas of the Bible. It is definitely a humorous take on the middle years of Jesus’ life.

If I didn’t go to book club in May, I would have never heard of this book. Thanks to Book Club I have read a book that I probably never would have even heard of let alone read. Maybe I will try to get to September’s book club. We will see what happens between now and then. One thing is for sure, I’ll be reading.

Reading with Craxi: Agatha Christie

After we were done discussing The Rosie Project last book club, as a group we decided what books to read for the next 3 months. Since Neenah Players were putting on And Then There Were None by Agatha Christi as their first play for the summer, we thought it would be fun to read it. I was excited to read it since I never read Agatha Christi before and she was one of the authors that I wanted read but never quite made it officially on the bucket list.

I was a little worried when I went to reserve a copy of the book. I was number 5 on the waiting at Kimberly. Not knowing how long the book was, I placed a hold at Neenah as well and for a copy of the e-book. I don't know where I was on the hold list at Neenah but I was 103rd on the digital copy list. Then I received an email from Goodreads telling me I can buy the book for $1.99 for my nook. Since I wasn't sure how long it would take to get a copy or actually read the book, I bought it. It turns out a week later, my copy at Kimberly was ready. I called and let them know I no longer needed it. I figure let someone else read it.

And Then There Were None tells the story of 10 random people selected to visit a deserted island. Each person received an invite from someone they slightly knew asking them to come stay on the island. When they arrived, their host, U.N.Owen, was delayed weren’t be there until the next day. The guest began to mingle and then a phonograph recording mysteriously starts to play announcing the "murders" each of the guests committed. These were "murders" that looked like accidents and the person would never get charged with murder. Everyone is panicked and one of the guests, admits his "guilt" and everyone tells their own story. Soon the first person dies and then another and another. They think there is a murder on the island but find none. 10 guests arrive on the island but three days later no one is alive. Who killed them??

If you want to find out who killed them, you must read the book.

There is a poem at the beginning of the book called "Ten Little Indians" which the murders are loosely based off of. None of the guests immediately recognize this until the after the 3rd one was killed and that is only because there were 10 Indians on the table when they started and then there were 7. The only bad part of reading the book on my Nook, I couldn't flip back to the poem after someone was killed to see how the next one was going to die.

I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely read more Agatha Christie. The book club gave several other books by her that I jotted down that followed the similar trend of mysterious murders. Until then I better get started on the 500 page tome for next month.

Books and Brews: The Rosie Project

When the cookbook club at the Neenah Library finally ended due to lack of participation, I was on the look out for a new cookbook or book club. I saw something on Facebook about a book club at a coffee shop in Little Chute that was hosted by the Kimberly-Little Chute Library. The book they were reading for May sounded interesting. That's how I ended up at Seth's Coffee Thursday night talking about a book with a bunch of strangers...something I would normally not do.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is about Don, a genetic professor, who is on a quest to find a wife but gets sidetracked by Rosie who wants to find her biological father. Don is very orderly and follows a strict routine whereas Rosie is a complete opposite. Don finds Rosie the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on and goes out of his way to help find her father even though it distracts him from finding a wife.

This is a laugh out loud book because of Don. He puts 100% effort into whatever he does whether it is learning how to ballroom dance before a date or learning how to bar tend to help Rosie with the Father Project. He breaks his routine and in the process betters himself.

I really enjoyed the book and decided to check out the book club. I am glad I did. Even though I was the new girl, it was not uncomfortable. The moderator and everyone was very nice. We kept going off topic because the other 7 people have been together since the beginning and knew each other quirks.

We talked about the discussion questions and laughed about some of the more cheesier questions.. like what was your best day in your life. Because we met in the back room of the coffee shop, people would walk by and at one point in time someone made a comment "Testicles..." and I was like "yeah, yeah Testicles". Wouldn't you know that someone walked by at the moment. We got some looks and that set us off into a fit of giggles.

Before we ended for the evening, we decided on the next 3 months' books. We all scrolled through out phones and tried to come up with what we were going to read. We did settle on the next three books.

I will definitely be going back. The group is fun. I enjoyed my evening. I just need to plan on not getting home much before 8:30. Now to find a copy of "And Then There Were None"....

Fox Cities Book Festival -- Part 3

This afternoon, I took an hour of PTO and went to check out one last author at the Fox Cities Book Festival. Will Schwalbe, the author of End of My Life Book Club, was going to be at the Neenah Library at 3:30. If realized this earlier in the week, I could have flexed my schedule and won't have had to take PTO but such is life.

Let me start of saying how much I love Neenah Library. I had free 2 hour parking on the street and they had cookies and beverages. Nothing fancy, just Oreos and water and hot water for coffee and tea. This is first event that I saw refreshments. And they have band-aids so when you cut your finger on the book drop or the door, you don't have to leak blood everywhere.

Will was another fantastic speaker. He talked about his mom, books, and life. It was mostly about his mom and antidotes about her like how her dying wish was to build a library in Kabul, Afghanistan.

His message was simple. A book should make you want to do something when you finish reading it. That something doesn't have to big or flashy but the book should motivate you in some form. It might be taking the time to learn more about the topic you just read, not skipping over an article on Afghanistan or some other unknown place, or talking about the book. Your motivation could be bigger like writing your Congress person or donating time/money to the cause in the book. I have to agree. Books, even those summer beach reads, are more than just words on a page. They make you think, hope, dream, and pray. Books can take you places. They can help you discover new places, new ideas, new things about yourself.

Will's other message was just as simple as the first. Books are great conversation starters. "What are you reading?" can be a way to connect to people and maybe find something new to read. Maybe you have a relative/friend/co-worker you don't talk to much because you don't have much to say but if you ask them what they are reading, you may be surprised how the conversation will flow from there. I'm pretty sure this won't work on all people because the hubby is not a reader. If I asked him that question, the response I'd get would be the sports page or some rule book. However, the sports page can be a good topic of conversation and just maybe it might get him to read a sports book. Doubtful but I can try.

So my friends, what are you reading?

#6333 Read a Fox Cities Read Book

Every year as part of the Fox Cities Book Festival, there is a book chosen for Fox Cities Read. Fox Cities Read is a program where "the public libraries of the Fox Cities have come together with the goal of building a larger sense of community and to promote literacy"-- Fox Cities Reads website.

This year the book chosen was Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. The ladies at the cookbook club were talking about it one night saying it wasn't as depressing as it sounds. I decided to reserve it for my Nook. It was a phenomenal book. The basis of the historical fiction book was to shed light on orphan trains that took orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children off the streets of New York and other Eastern cities and transported them to new families in the Middle West, usually as indentured servants. However, the book wasn't entirely devoted to Vivian, an orphan train rider. It was also about Molly, a teenager that was coming to age in the Foster Care system. Molly is volunteered to help Vivian clean out her attic as part of a community service sentence. During the time they spend together, Molly learns about Vivian past and in turn Vivian helps Molly through some difficult times.

Before reading the book, I did not know such a travesty occurred in our history...just another piece of history that would rather have been forgotten by the masses. I was quite interested in learning more about Orphan Trains and why Christina decided to write about an Orphan Train rider. 

Because Orphan Train was the Fox Cities Reads book, Christina made several appearances at the Festival including a meet and greet cocktail reception at the Appleton Public Library. I was lucky enough to find one that wasn't during the day or conflicted with Jessie Garcia. Tonight, I went to the History Museum at the Castle to hear Christina's final presentation. It was standing room only. I got there about 6:10 for the 6:30 presentation and there were only a few seats left. I did offer my chair to one older woman, who declined and stood the entire time. At least I offered.

My burning question "Why did you decide to write about an orphan train rider" was answered within the first 5 minutes. It turned out that during a blizzard while visiting her in-laws over Christmas in Fargo, ND, her mother-in-law pulled a dusty book off a shelf to try to entertain her grandson when she discovered an article written about orphan trains in Jamestown, ND. (The book was a publication celebrating the town's 100 year anniversary or something.) Her mother-in-law turned the page in that book and discovered her father and his siblings were train riders. No one every talked about it. After extensive research, Christina found this to be common, as the children were instructed to forget about their old lives.

What surprised me was the number of people int eh room that knew an orphan train rider. Like I said before reading this book, I never heard of orphan trains, yet at least 5 people in the room crossed paths with an orphan train rider or a relative of an orphan train rider. Okay so most of those people were much older than I am. 

Other surprising tidbits about how Orphan Train Riders were hiding in plain site throughout children's classics:

- An orphan train rider was mention in the Little House on the Prairie Books. She didn't say which one but now I must reread them to figure this out.

-- One of the American Girl book girls' best friend was an orphan train rider. Again not sure which one but based on the time frame of the Orphan Trains (1850s-1920s), it could be Kristen.

--There was a whole children's book series devoted to orphan train riders probably in the 1960s-1970s judging on the lady who mentioned it age.

Thank you Christina for opening my eyes to Orphan Trains and writing such a great book. 

#3756 Go to the Fox Cities Book Festival

For the last 8 years, the libraries of the Fox Cities have held a book festival aptly named Fox Cities Book Festivals. It is a seven day Literary Bonanza that includes many author visits over various genres, workshops, and children's activities. I love to read and to hear an author speak is always interesting.

Last year was the first year, I went to the book festival. I wanted to in the past years but never made the time. Debbie Macomber, one of my favorite authors, was speaking at UW-Fox Valley to close out the festival. Yarn Teacher and I went and it was a full house. We were lucky to get a seat in the front row of the auditorium. Some people sat on the stage and some were even turned away. It was a great experience. After Debbie was done speaking, like all of the festival authors, she signed her books. Now my autograph copy of her Cedar Cove Cookbook sits in my kitchen.

This year there are a few authors, I wanted to hear speak. Like years past, many of them were scheduled during the day when I'm at work all day. One of the authors, Jessie Garcia, was speaking at 7:30 at the Appleton Library on tonight. Since the hubby was supposed to be at far games this week, I figured I'd go to this event. Plans changed and the hubby's game was cancelled but that didn't affect me going. He actually dropped me off so I didn't have to pay for parking.

I grew up watching Jessie Garcia grow into her role as a sportscaster for TMJ4 in Milwaukee and was excited to hear her speak. I did not get a chance to read her book, My Life with the Green & Gold: Tales from 20 years of Sportscasting. I figured that didn't matter; she would still be interesting to hear speak. She did not disappoint. Jessie talked about getting into sportscasting as woman in the early '90s, some of her experiences as a sportscaster, and showed us some behind the scene clips of a day in the life of (inset Packer/Badger/Brewer Coach). If the library wasn't closing, she probably would have talked all night as she was a very interesting speaker and had many stories to tell.

I also plan on going to events on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and Friday afternoon. Look for me book Festival fun in the coming days.

#6191 Read all the Nicholas Sparks Books

I am over halfway through reading all of his books. Out of his 19 books, I have not read 7. I just finished The Longest Ride My friend gave me it for Christmas. It was the Kindle version. I have a Nook but I do have a Smartphone which I quickly downloaded the Kindle app to. Since I was in the midst of reading another book, I let this one sit for a few weeks until I had some time to pass while the hubs was busy schmoozing it up with fellow officials.

Once I started it and really got into it, I could barely put it down. It was nice having it on my phone as I could read it anyway. I finished the bulk of it in 2 days.

The book is about two couples journeys -- Ira and his late wife Ruth and Sophia and Luke. Ira is injured in a car accident in winter and reflects back on his life with the help of his wife's ghost. Sophia and Luke meet in the fall after Sophia's roommate drags her to a bull riding competition where Luke is competing. Their path cross and despite their different backgrounds, they fall in love. Ira, Sophia, and Luke's paths eventually cross and in an unusual turn of events, Luke and Sophia carry Ira and Ruth's memory on.

Based on the synopsis, I knew that Sophia and Luke would eventually cross paths with Ira but with how the story is told it was never clear until towards the end of the book and then there were still a few twists and turns. 

I have enjoy all of Nicholas Sparks' books that I have read but this has to be one of my favorites. Now to decide which one will be next.