Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008
I Got Books…..
Want some?
Hey, friends & readers… want to win a free book?????
Even better, want to win a free and GOOD book??????
Then, you’ve come to the right place.
Hopefully y’all have read my review on Life After Genius. If not, go now! Read it! 
Anyway, I have a copy to give away to a lucky A Novel Menagerie (ANM) reader. Please leave a comment on my post that you’d like a chance to win. The drawing will be held on November 6th. All you have to do is leave your name!
The other great book that I have to give-a-way is In The Land of Invisible Women. I just received my copy and, truthfully, haven’t read it yet. However, it appears to be promising. In my Sunday Salon entry on the 26th, I wrote the following:
Today’s Sunday Salon is about a free electronic book offer that you can get in on, if you are interested, at The LibraryThing.
I’ve been in touch with SourceBooks about the book In the Land of Invisible Women. This book is of interest to me because of my strong beliefs in women’s rights and equality. From what I understand, Dr. Qanta Ahmed’s In the Land of Invisible Women is nearing bestseller status. SourceBooks has partnered up with LibraryThing.com to put together an electronic giveaway of 2,500 ebook downloads of her memoir about being a female physician in the Saudi Kingdom. Here is the information on the book:
In the Land of Invisible Women (ISBN: 978-14022-1087-7; September 2; $14.99 US / $15.99 CAN; Trade Paperback) is the story of a western-trained Muslim female doctor (Ahmed) who spent two years working in the top hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. What began as a job initiated by a visa problem, quickly became a struggle and search for self empowerment, freedom and the right to follow her own truth.
Dr. Ahmed’s memoir is a fascinating and revelatory window into an enigmatic world. Like Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran, Dr. Ahmed provides a telling picture of what daily life is truly like in the Saudi Kingdom. She describes:
Dr. Ahmed also evokes moments where she finds tenderness and true beauty in areas where she least expects it; at the tattered, curled edges of extremism. The last leg of her journey takes readers inside the Hajj, as she journeys to Mecca with 2.5 million other Muslims to perform the sacred duty incumbent upon every able-bodied Muslim in his or her lifetime.
In the Land of Invisible Women is a fascinating look inside a culture that has become so relevant to our own.
From October 27th – 31st, her book will be available for download to any LibraryThing member (membership is free). Dr. Qanta Ahmed is going to make herself available to her readers by providing two weeks of author chat. From what I understand, that means every week-night for two weeks, readers can post questions for Qanta on the LibraryThing website which she will then attempt to answer.
So, rather than waiting for my review… which will come soon… I thought somebody would like to win this book now and read along with me!
If you’d like to win In the Land of Invisible Women, please leave your name in a comment below. The drawing will be held on November 6th!
Have a wonderful day!
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Posted in Contests
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008
Picking that Perfect Home?
Wanting to grow roots, Judith and her husband John decide to purchase a home as a place of permanent residence in New York. Judith’s story is one that describes her metamorphosis from a career-driven, wanderlust reporter living out of a suitcase to a homeowner attending community meetings. She describes, early in the book, this desire to set roots in her late thirties. I understand this desire and change in life, as I am also in my late thirties and my home and home life mean more to me than anything else. I don’t know much about life on the streets, drug dealers, or areas in which there isn’t a strong presence of community and order. From that vantage point, I was interested in picking up the read and seeing where it took me.
The Review:
Title: Home Girl, Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block
Author: Judith Matloff
Author’s Website: www.judithmatloff.com
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages (Hardcover): 283
ISBN #: 978-1-4000-6526-4
With Fiction being my absolute favorite genre to read, this book was a bit different than what I’m used to… getting lost into a story built of characters and the untrue. But, I must say that Matloff did a good job bringing the characters on her street alive in this story about rebuilding a brownstone in West Harlem in 1999-2000 time frame. My favorite character, in fact, was named “Salami.”
The book begins with Matloff describing her career as a journalist living in the most dangerous and impoverished areas in our recent history. She fell in love with a writer, John, in Johannesburg and married him. She owned a home there in which she lost considerable money and they later moved to Russia. With the both of them working, writing and traveling, their lives were less than ordinary, by my terms. It was after two miscarriages that Matloff comes to terms with the fact that, if she wants to have a baby and a family life, she must lay roots. John and her decide on New York City and she moves to commence the search for the home. John, however, remains in Russia to complete out his job contract.
Judith Matloff & Anton
As Matloff has been abroad for well over a decade, she doesn’t have the typical credit rating required to finance a home. However, due to her mother’s crafty investment of her money, she has $250K to purchase a home, cash outright. This, of course, limits her choices. In addition, they are looking for a somewhat sizable home for their collected furniture, namely this enormous yellow dining room table.
Matloff eventually purchases a dilapidated home in West Harlem in a less-than-desirable neighborhood, for more reasons than one. She commences a renovation of this brownstone in the midst of a drug-dealer operated and practically owned neighborhood. Seemingly, she is the only white person there and she sticks out like a sore thumb. The drug dealers, squatters, vagrants, and homeless people who surround her become a part of her life… and, for some, a part of her heart.
Her husband eventually joins her and the house is eventually completed. In addition, she gave birth to that baby she so longed, a son, Anton. How she deals with her financial woes, the external issues of her home, and the incessant crime in her neighborhood is a good read. She also includes her viewpoint on 9/11 in New York City as well as the big blackout experienced in 2002.
The book, as a whole, is well written. Matloff is a well published author and teaches at Columbia’s University Graduate School of Journalism. Therefore, the writing is clean, precise, and well presented. However, for me, this book was much longer than I expected. It almost seemed as though this story could have been condensed. However, if that were the case, the character development may have been lacking. Therefore, in my personal opinion, this book may be really good for some people… those interested in cultural differences, life in that area, or the change in the crime rate and drug-scene in New York City. For me, I learned a lot and am glad I read it… but, it’s not the kind of book that I am used to passing along to my friends for “fun reading.”
Favorite Quote:
“Here’s another one: ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ Who shall guard the guardian?”
Sher’s “Out of 10 Score”:
Again, there are many aspects of this book that I enjoyed. Matloff has a great sense of humor and terrific writing skills. However, I think… for me… the fact that it was non-fiction and not my “typical cup of tea,” prevented it from getting a higher mark from me. Matloff gets a 7 for this book.
For Additional Reviews:
Book Video on Judith’s Website:
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Posted in Books Books Books
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008
What is it like… to be considered: “Genius?”
I’m thrilled to be a part of a book tour in association with Early Birds Blog Tour. It’s my first one… and, a great experience. I recommend joining this group and getting involved with the myriad of great books that are offered through this affiliation.
I started this book with a sense of excitement, as the topic of the book intrigued me. I knew someone, who was also classified a “genius” at a very young age. This person skipped grades in school and possessed a mind much different than those of the type of person you typically encounter. This friend of mine had such a different way at looking at life and challenges… and there always lied a curiosity within me about it. So, for me, this book was an interesting way for me to explore this type of mind, provided, however, that the book was well researched and written. And, that it was.
I believe that M. Ann Jacoby did an excellent job bringing the reader into the mind of a “genius,” which included the innate brilliance of the logical mind as well as the ability to comprehensively view of the minds of others surrounding them. In addition, my curiosity was perked… does a brilliant mind have the ability to see things, hear things, or know things intangible in nature? Let’s use the example of ESP. Does a genius have the ability to use this part of his/her part brain that others just don’t simply use, yet, as a result of human development or evolution? Do we all have the ability of ESP, however only certain minds are open to it at this stage in human evolution? Are genius minds a mere foreshadowing what is yet to come for all of us in 200 years? As we look back at our historical geniuses, their theories and ideas seem completely logical and discoverable to today’s mind. So, is a genius an “Early Bird” mind of the future? I don’t want to lose you, confuse you, or go too far out on a tangent here… but, it’s a question I always wondered about. And, this novel provided me an interesting viewpoint into this topic. In Life After Genius, there are correlations to Einstein and famous mathematical thesis/theories dating back well into our history. And, today, these theories can be proved true or false based on tests made possible by modern science and technology. So.. the book was one that I really “sunk my brain and my teeth into.”
The Review:
Title: Life After Genius, A Novel
Author: M. Ann Jacoby
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group USA
Author Website: www.lifeaftergenius.com
Publisher Website: www.hachettebookgroupusa.com
Type: Fiction
Pages (Hardcover): 386
ISBN 10#: 0-446-19971-0
ISBN 13#: 978-0-446-19971-1
M. Ann Jacoby says, “Book Smart is not enough to get you through life.” I agree.
Jacoby states in her video about this book that this story is based upon the life of her father, a math genius. The video explains much of the basis upon which she started this book. Surprisingly enough, if I were to interview her, the questions that I would ask, she’s well addressed in the video… so, visit the website.
The novel is a story of Theodore Mead Fegley (“Mead”), a mathematical genius. He is faced with graduating college at the young age of 18 and publishing a thesis paper that would put both his university and himself on “history’s map.” A lot of pressure for a young man. Eight days before his college graduation, he quits school and returns home. There, he attempts to escape his life’s troubles and become more of an unnoticeable type than one whose reputation precedes him. He becomes rather annoyed with his notoriety and wants to become more a “face in the crowd” type. His reputation and ability, at this stage in his life, is more of a hindrance than a benefit to him.
The book takes you back and forth between his past (i.e. what brought him back home in the first place) to what he experiences when he returns home. In returning home, we discover the characters of his family, my favorite being his Aunt Jewel. How his family interacts with him is very “relate-able” for me and completely realistic to what I’d expect from a family such as his. During the journey back into his childhood and college experience, the reader is introduced to his college classmates, roommates, professors, and advisers. His best friend, Herman, is a total creep… with this broken spirit that I believe the reader just wants Mead to help him repair. Herman is a very strong character in the story and if ever this novel is put to screen, the actor to portray him would be a very unique and talented guy!
This novel is intricate, with many moving parts to it. It is well written and it took my mind on a journey that I appreciated after the completion of the book.
My Favorite Quotes From The Book:
“Nothing soothes the soul of the savage beast like food.”
“Birds are supposed to fly south for the winter,” Mead says, “and flowers are supposed to bloom in the spring. Days are supposed to be long in summer and corn is supposed to be harvested in the fall. But I am neither a bird nor a flower nor a day of the week nor an ear of corn.”
Other Book References:
http://www.lifeaftergenius.com/video/
On Sher’s “One to Ten Scale:”
This was a good book with a solid foundation. My reading pace was fast, but not “skimmig”. I looked forward to cracking it open at the times I had available for reading. The story made me think. OK.. these are my signs for a good book. Therefore, I’m giving it an 8!
You can WIN a copy of Life After Genius!
I have… NOT ONE… BUT TWO…. copies of the book for A Novel Menagerie Readers! One copy is being given from Thursday’s Thoughts and the other here at A Novel Menagerie. If you are interested in winning a copy of Life After Genius, please leave a comment below or a comment (on Thursday) at Thursday’s Thoughts. For double entries, post about the Life After Genius book giveaway on your site and insert the link to your post in your comment. The winners shall be picked at random! Good luck!
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Posted in Books Books Books
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008
As we all argue about politics, political parties, candidates, differences in viewpoints, and our world is filled with fear and disharmony….
Puppy finds feline mom at animal shelter
by ELLEN LYON, Of The Patriot-News
Tuesday October 28, 2008, 6:12 PM
Baby Bear, a 3-day-old puppy at the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, has a surrogate mother — a cat.
Jelly Bean, a mother cat at the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, may think her third “kitten” looks and smells a little strange, but she is letting him nurse and cuddle just the same.Baby Bear, a chocolate Labrador retriever, came to the Humane Society as a 3-day-old puppy abandoned by his mother. Shelter workers fed him from a bottle and used a heating pad to keep him warm.
Then Jelly Bean stepped in and allowed Baby Bear to nurse with her two kittens, Jelly Roll and Jelly Belly. Nearly the same size as Baby Bear, the two kittens treat him as their brother, Humane Society spokeswoman Kelly Hitz said in a written release.
Baby Bear will be eligible for adoption when he is about 8 weeks old.
Why can’t we all be like Jelly Bean? We should love others no matter who they are or where they come from. We need to let others into our hearts, never close a door to a hungry person, and always help those in need.
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Posted in current headlines
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008
DWTS: TONIGHT’S SHOW WAS…. Interesting?
I don’t know what happened to this week’s show. It was a culmination of whining about health, poor dancing, Bruno’s temper tantrums, and bad Hip Hop.
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Samantha Harris looked much better this week
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Kym’s hair extensions were cool
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Lacey looked really happy
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Michael Flatley, of Lord of the Dance, filled in for Len as a guest judge
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On my channel, they had an advertisement for an arthritis medicine that causes cancer… weird!
The “low-down” on this week’s couples:
Brooke & Derek
This week they had the Rumba. It was nice. Brooke’s got a foot injury, so it was obvious in the performance that she wasn’t in it 100%. It was technically good and I really have no complaints. However, she had this strange look on her face during the dance… was it that she was in pain? Michael really liked the dance and gave it a 10. I thought Bruno was going to hit him over the head with his paddle!
The Judges’ scores…
Carrie Ann Inaba: 8
Len Goodman/Michael Flatley: 10
Bruno Tonlioni: 8
TOTAL SCORE: 28
Julianne & Cody
They had the Samba, I think. Julianne is sick with endometriosis, but is getting an appendectomy? I’m confused about how one diagnosis is related to the other… but, I’m not a doctor. She wasn’t herself and her hair was really icky! Shame on those hair-dressers!
Cody came out like a man possessed and was hitting everything entirely too hard. But, he’s really trying and improving, so I’m cool with it. I thought the dance was good, but it didn’t move me, emotionally.
The Judges’ scores…
Carrie Ann Inaba: 8
Len Goodman/Michael Flatley: 8
Bruno Tonlioni: 7
TOTAL SCORE: 23
Cloris & Corky (aka “Clorky”)
They had the ChaChaCha this week. Just what we need, another latin “maulfest” by Corky. But, wait… no grabby grabby, feely feely. Aaahhh. Much better!
Cloris looked scared at the beginning of the dance. I’m not sure what that was about. Everything went pretty much as expected until Cloris did this funky move. Then, Corky turned her around and got her in a another position to…. oh, no…. NOOOOO…. the airplane! Her panties! No, I did not want to see up her dress. I actually screamed and my child came in to see what was happening.
I liked seeing Cloris’ husband George… is that her husband? I’m not sure, exactly. Bruno said to Cloris that she could “sell nonsense and people would buy it.” Carrie Ann said that Cloris showed her that she didn’t have to behave when she got older. But, then she insulted Cloris by telling her that she was upset that “we lost Toni Braxton for this?”
The Judges’ scores….
Carrie Ann Inaba: 5
Len Goodman/Michael Flatley: 5
Bruno Tonlioni: 5
TOTAL SCORE: 15 (Not enough to beat Susan…)
Maurice & Cheryl
They were given the Viennese Waltz. Let’s start by saying that if Cheryl is fat, I want to be fat! She looked lovely. Maurice was fine. He shaved his moustache.
Carrie Ann said that the dance needed chemistry. Bruno went on and on about the dancer is like the surfer on the crest of a wave and he looked like a surfer on dry land. He then proceeded to tell him to be more of a “soulful surfer.” Geez.
The Judges’ scores…
Carrie Ann Inaba: 7
Len Goodman/Michael Flatley: 7
Bruno Tonlioni: 7
TOTAL SCORE: 21
Lance & Lacey
My favorite team won the top score of the night…. deservedly… and, not because none of the other couples emotionally showed up. They did a strong dance and it looked super. But, more of the whining and crying Lance about his InSync days of being the worst dancer… boo hoo hoo. Stop it, Lance! You sound like a baby. Even Michael Flattley agreed and made a comment about it.
Lacey’s outfit was too cool! I loved her shoes, especially! Lance got “flick it” tips from Joey Fatone. The dance was sharp. Lance didn’t fall on the “slide.” Bruno told them to “flaunt it.” Michael told Lance no more “lack of confidence.” Carrie Ann went bazerk and started talking like Len was dead.
The Judges’ scores…
Carrie Ann Inaba: 9
Len Goodman/Michael Flatley: 9
Bruno Tonlioni: 9
TOTAL SCORE: 27
Susan and Tony
Please, make it stop! We don’t want to watch Susan’s version of herself “wild and untamed” because it’s the same as her tamed. Their outfits were bad… footwork sucked… but, her shimmee was decent. Susan continued with her “here are my arms, Tony, take them” maneuvers. STOP! I’m getting a headache just writing about it. Bruno commented on how their timing was off, at least somebody said something!
The Judges’ scores…
Carrie Ann Inaba: 8
Len Goodman/Michael Flatley: 8
Bruno Tonlioni: 7
TOTAL SCORE: 23 (Are you freaking kidding me?!? Give them a 15! Susan’s a senior citizen too! BOOOOOOOO!!!!!)
Warren and Kym
Every week, I just enjoy them so much… they’re nearly in a dead tie with Lance and Lacey in my heart!
Warren doing the Rumba… hmmm… not sure how this is going to turn out. Well, actually… not too bad. It wasn’t his best dance, but… not too shabby. Warren said that his Rumba would be “too sexy” for Brooke. Not so much… but, good.
The best part was after the dance when Tom Bergeron tells Carrie Ann to stop flirting with Warren. Then, Warren taps Tom in the head… like: “Stop it, bro! It’s all good!”
The Judges’ Scores…
Carrie Ann Inaba: 8
Len Goodman/Michael Flatley: 9
Bruno Tonlioni: 8
TOTAL SCORE: 25 (Warren wants to keep Michael and not get Len back)
The Hip Hop Dance was… AWFUL! Next time, skip the filler and end the show in an hour. The rehearsal tape was good. Cloris came in with a boombox and said, “Whatz up, homies?” We heard Derek ask Brook, “You were in high school in the 80′s?!?!” She nods. Cloris complains “Warren is too big. I can’t be behind him!” She goes on to claim that “Lance is dancing like a fool” and “so is Maurice and he is sweating like a bandit!” Finally, as she shoves her face full of food, she lets us know that she doesn’t know about HipHop, but atleast the burritos were “delicious.”
Then we suffer through tape of Warren and Maurice going at it, followed by Cloris threatening to beat Brooke (like that would happen). Lance sported a mullet… uuuuuhhhh no. Cloris and Corky only quasi-danced on the stage above. But, the worst… SUSAN LUCCI… she should have been on the upper stage with Cloris and Corky! She was as bad as Cloris and almost as old! Get her voted off, people!
So…. my favorites of the night, in order of how much I loved them:
Lance & Lacey
Kym & Warren
Brooke & Derek
Maurice & Cheryl
Julianne & Cody
Cloris & Corky
Susan & Tony (Cool Daddy of twins with super white teeth)
For more commentary on this week’s DWTS, visit Apooo’s Site… she’s got tons of good conversation on everything!
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Posted in entertainment reviews
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