"Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions."
                                                                                                     --Primo Levi


This has been an interesting week for me as I continue to wait for a house that seems to be just beyond my fingertips.  The latest projection has us moving in during the beginning of November, but I am not getting excited until we actually have a closing date.  This was the week of the Jewish New Year, and it seemed an appropriate time to read the book Unspeakable Prayers by John Ellsworth.  It is a bit of historical fiction mixing the Holocaust with a modern day legal thriller.  I really enjoyed the book and the ideas it made me ponder.  For example, as a young man, Hitler was an artist who never quite made it.  If the right gallery had displayed his works and his art been noticed, would the Holocaust have ever happened?  How many forks in the road could have changed the world we know if one person chose to take a different path?

Our Rabbi's sermon interested me this year, too.  When he began by mentioning the Iran Treaty, I almost shut down. I needed a rest from politics and expected to find it here.  Luckily I persevered, because as usual, his words hit home for me.  He started by saying the treaty is a bad, bad thing, BUT not for the reasons we think.  He admitted that he was not trained in diplomatic affairs of the world and was not privy to the information that the treaty designers shared with each other, so he couldn't discuss its value.  What he did see however, was that it was tearing us apart as a country.  He watches people calling one-time friends disloyal to their country, whether they are for or against the treaty.  He watches people taking stands without the full knowledge that is necessary to understand what the outcome will be.  He never really said whether he personally accepted the treaty but instead beseeched us to come together as a country and stop trying to tear down anyone whose ideas differ from our own.  That is what makes this treaty a bad one, he repeated.  It is breaking apart a country that needs to stand together in the face of those who might want to do us harm.

If you are on Facebook or Twitter than I am sure that you have been as inundated as I have with political jabs from both sides.  The little "news blurbs" that are being shared are equally slanted to the right or left and almost exclusively factually incorrect.  I have decided to believe nothing until I put it through the fact-checks that are available, and even then I will take it with a grain of salt.  Hopefully, we will all have the wisdom to elect a President who will continue to keep our country strong and respected.  Sometimes I think we take these freedoms for granted and need to look at the world around us to gain perspective.

The second book that I reviewed this week was also quite thought provoking. I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali and Delphine Minoui and translated by Linda Coverdale made me realize that much of the world's population desperately longs for a small percentage of the freedoms that we possess in America.  Nujood's arranged marriage at 10 left her vulnerable to constant rape and beatings. Reading about this young woman's struggle for freedom and the right to be a child was awe inspiring.

Although this week's books are a bit heavier than many I have reviewed, they are both well written and interesting.  Complete reviews will follow this blog.

Happy reading,

- Beverly

Click on the book cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog:

Genre: Memoir

Click book cover for Amazon.com

Nujood of Yemen was only 10 when she was sold into marriage by an impoverished family.
This is an amazing account of a very brave little girl who defies the system she was born into and divorces the man who continually rapes and beats her. Her family included many children and a father with two wives who never quite made enough to support them all.  He agrees to Nujood's arranged marriage to a man three times her age.  Although one of the conditions of that marriage was no consummation until a year after she gets her period, her new husband has sex with her immediately.

It is so difficult to comprehend the lives that women live in many of these countries, but this book helped me to see that there are many good men who step up and help these women. In this case several judges came to her rescue, as did attorney Shada Nasser.  Not only did Ms. Nasser stand by young Nujood, she became a role model as to what women in the area can accomplish.  As one can imagine, going against your parents, husband and Sharia law is not easy, and Nujood is one brave young woman.

The book is both troubling and inspiring, and it allows us to peek into the windows of a society that is totally different than the one with which we are familiar.  It is difficult to read of her plight objectively, and I had to keep reminding myself that our local customs might seem strange to those from another country.  Keeping that in mind did nothing to change the fact that what happened to this 10 year old was criminal.
 
This book is a short one, and Nujood's age and meager education is offset by the easy to read style of her co-author, Delphine Minoui.  I think it is important for us to take a peek into other cultures and recommend this as a good way to do so.

- Beverly


Publisher - Random House LLC
Date of Publication - March 2, 2010

Genre: Thriller/Historical/Legal

Click book cover for Amazon.com

I do not generally choose to read fictionalized Holocaust-themed books, but this one had enough buzz going on around it that I decided to give it a try.  The first part of the book took place in Treblinka and was quite troubling, but it was not as s graphically written as many before it.  It is the story of a Jewish boy and an army officer whose paths cross in Treblinka and then again many years later.

The first quarter of the book takes us through the thoughts and actions of these two men...Lodzi Ashstein, a Jewish teen who is taken from his home, and Janich Heiss, a member of Hitler's elite, who tortured Lodzi for sport.  The second quarter follows their escape from Germany and the lives that they lived in America.  The second half of the book takes place many years later, and it is where we meet Thaddeus Murfee, a defense attorney living in Chicago.  This is actually the seventh in the Thaddeus Murfee series, and those who follow him will enjoy seeing him in action.

When Thaddeus meets Lodzi, he is drawn to the survivor's story and the reader is lucky enough to watch a well written court case play out.  Ellsworth's characters are always interesting, and I find myself emotionally invested in each part of the story.  There is a sub plot that reintroduces Turquoise, Murfee's adopted daughter who played a big role in a previous book.  Both story lines introduced thought-provoking questions that kept me thinking deep into the night.

Unspeakable Prayers is definitely a worthwhile read.  Its mix of history and current legal cases  is done in a way that keeps the reader engaged throughout.  If you like a book that challenges your ideas of right and wrong than this should definitely make your list.

- Beverly


Publisher - Subjudica House
Date of Publication - January 27, 2015

Girls can do anything boys can do in high heels.
                                       - - -Brooke Sachau

If there is a life after this one, and I am given a choice, I would want to come back as a woman. I believe that our battles make us stronger and our hardships make us softer than men.  The man who coined the phrase "the weaker sex" was obviously overcompensating for his own issues.  No one can follow a typical mother around during her day and consider her weaker than anybody.  Mentally, physically and emotionally women are challenged on a daily basis and, more often than not, reach heights that they didn't think achievable.

Women possess a quiet fortitude that makes them look timid at times, but it isn't always the aggressive one that wins the battle.  A well placed word is often more lethal than the sharpest knife.  I know that my "look" has scared many a male. I was not a yelling teacher, but my students said they feared "the look" more than any teacher's loud voice.  Mike and Beth feared " the look" too, and if I used it they usually saw things my way. I love the fact that Beth's students now say that she has "the look" that scares them to death.

I watched the Republican debates last night, and my feelings about the various candidates aside,  Carly Fiorina showed poise and control far greater than any of her opponents. When she was being challenged, and let's face it...goaded...she never lost her cool.  She didn't have the luxury of doing so.  Can you imagine the reaction if Ms Fiorina reacted to things in the same way that Donald Trump does?  She would be accused of being mentally unstable, hormonally  imbalanced and probably experiencing her "time of the month."  Both Carly and Hillary have had their looks picked apart by other candidates and the media, as though youthful good looks help make a great President.

Both books that I reviewed this week center around the strength of women. In A House in the Sky, Amanda Lindhout shows us what pure determination can do.  Her childhood was a rough one, but she followed her dreams to travel the world.  Her choice of destinations put her in constant danger, and her abduction in Somalia was not surprising.  The strength she showed during those torturous days was admirable, and her "never give up" attitude is something we all can emulate.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette introduces us to another strong woman and her equally strong daughter.  Bernadette was an award winning architect whose creativity was off the charts.  It was probably more then she could handle and helped push her over the edge.  Her downfall was painful to watch, but her strength was still obvious.  I loved her daughter, Bee, who tried to understand and support a mother who was not always there for her.

Both books were exceptionally well written and kept me reading well into the night. Now it is your turn.

Happy reading,

Beverly

Click on the book cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog:

Genre: Memoir

Click book cover for Amazon.com

Amanda Lindhout's childhood years were rough, with a father who moved in with his boyfriend and a mother who allowed her abusive and alcoholic boyfriend to move in with her.  She and her brother went dumpster hunting for treasures and bottles they could turn in for spending money.  Through it all Amanda found a rich world in her "National Geographic" magazines. Each issue offered another amazing place to add to her travel wish list.

As a nineteen year-old cocktail waitress she saved her tips for traveling. She began backpacking through places that most of us would never think to visit.  She had adventures in Syria, Bangladesh, and Laos to name a few.  She worked as a freelance journalist and became a television reporter.  In 2008 she decided to travel to Somalia, which was one of the most perilous places in the world at that time.  She convinced her boyfriend, Nigel, to accompany her, and they were both kidnapped several days later.

During the 460 days that she was held hostage, Amanda endured more than the reader can imagine.  She relied on her memories of the places she had visited to help her keep her sanity. She realized they were part of a holy war and feared they would never be found.

A House in the Sky is  a well written book with vivid descriptions and a voice that helps the reader become part of the story.  When we see how Amanda reacted to her life, both as a child and then as a captive, we realize that our reactions to circumstances make the difference in our lives.  Sometimes we can't prevent what befalls us, but we can take charge of our reactions. This book tells an interesting story and gives the reader a great deal to ponder.

- Beverly


Publisher - Scribner Publishing
Date of Publication - September 10, 2013

Genre: Fiction

Click book cover for Amazon.com

This book captured my attention as I read letters, memos and newspaper articles that were interspersed throughout its pages.  Reminiscent of Up The Down Staircase, author Semple's book allows us to know the characters through the things they write and the things others write about them.  Bernadette is the focus of this book, and while she is wildly creative and obviously brilliant, her life seems to be falling apart.  Her equally brilliant husband is top management in a major technology company, and is much more involved with work than with his home life. Daughter Bee, narrator of this tale, is as bright as the rest of her family and you feel her emotions as she fills in the spaces between the various letters, messages, etc.

If you ask any mother who is being honest, she will tell you of the moments that thoughts of driving on the expressway, as far and as fast as she can, do cross her mind.  She will admit to moments of mind numbing carpool chatter and stressful room-mother duties.  She however, unlike Bernadette, rarely goes through with those fantasies.  Once an award winning architect, Bernadette now has trouble leaving her house.  She hires a virtual assistant (from India of all places) and tries to hide the extent of her madness.  Amazingly,  the reader can relate to her in ways that tug on the heartstrings. Her dismay at being stuck in Seattle is very real and suffocating, and we watch her relationships crumble around her.

Interestingly enough, this book is quite humorous.  Semple's imagination peeks out of every page, and her wit kept me laughing as I turned each page.  Although not typical of the books that I usually review, I found Where'd You Go, Bernadette a book I will long remember.

- Beverly


Publisher - Little, Brown and Company
Date of Publication - August 14, 2012

When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.  --Pablo Picasso


It is surely the strangest of phenomena that every mother's son is a miracle through her eyes.  She watches him at two, Legos covering every inch of the playroom floor, and she pictures him twenty-five years down the road, erecting the world's most interesting building.  She watches him playing doctor at five, and her eyes blur into a picture of him finding a cure for cancer at thirty. Each athletic achievement, science fair project and spelling bee win as he makes his way through school, proves to her that he is destined to change the world, or at least his part of it.  She will always be his biggest fan, and rarely will he disappoint her.

Mike came to visit for a few days this week.  He left yesterday, and I already miss him.  I remember when he left for a year's internship in Fresno, California.  He was in his twenties, and it was time for him to travel and see the world.  He was, however, a major part of my world, and his years in Gainesville were tough enough on me.  How was I ever going to make it if he spent a year in California? What if he decided to stay? I stood by my window, tears in my eyes and was sure I would not be truly happy again.

I made it through that year, and I even laughed a lot, and I laughed through the years that followed.  I was thrilled for him when he decided to start his practice in New York. I had learned that his happiness made me happier than his proximity to my house.  We can talk on the phone as often as I want, and he is only an airplane ride away.  I like to take this opportunity each year to thank Michael, and the other psychologists, physicians, police officers and firefighters who spent countless hours at "ground zero" helping to make sense of a senseless event.  Although he doesn't see it, he is making a difference, and where ever he calls home, through his mother's eyes he will have changed his part of the world for the better.

The book I reviewed today, Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern, is written by a son who recognized his dad's worth when he moved back home at the age twenty-eight.  Suddenly his blunt speaking dad was making sense.  His words were to the point and often hilarious, and Justin began sharing them with friends.  His friends loved the edgy quotes, and so this book was born.  Definitely worth your time.

I spent so much time enjoying "Mike time" this week, that I only had time to read and review that one book.  Luckily we have two guest reviews this week, and I am busily catching up on my reading for next week's blog. As always, the review follows my blog.

Happy reading,

Beverly

Click on the book cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog:

Genre: Memoir/Humor

Click book cover for Amazon.com

Comedy is always best when it is relatable, and we can all relate to parents who made us uncomfortable while growing up. Most of us survive our childhood though, and some, like Justin Halpern, even gain an appreciation for their parents' words of wisdom. When he realized his dad's words were actually making people laugh, he put a selection of them in a book and shared them with all of us.

Justin was twenty-eight when he decided to move back to San Diego and live with the love of his life.  Unfortunately she had a different idea, and he found himself dumped in San Diego.  He decided to move back in with his parents until he could get back on his feet.  His book follows his time in his parents' house and the words of his father.  Far from tactful, his dad was always truthful, and when we reach adulthood, that is something we learn to admire.

Several years ago this book was actually turned into a sitcom.  It lasted a season or two and gave us a few laughs, but I think the book is actually funnier.  The book is filled with stories about his dad, and each chapter padded with the politically incorrect quotes that dads have a way of sharing in front of their children's acquaintances.  I loved the mom too.  When his dad explained that they are family and would love him unless he went on a "killing spree or something," his mom piped in with, "I would still love you Justy. I would just want to know why you did it."

If the use of George Carlin's "seven words you can never use on television" offend you, then this is probably not the book for you, but if you can deal with the language then you will surely get an hour or two of laughs from this short and touching father/son book.

- Beverly


Publisher - Harper Collins
Date of Publication - April 20, 2010

"I am not a teacher, but an awakener"   -Robert Frost


Next to my family, teaching was the biggest part of my life.  I loved it from the day I started until shortly before I left.  I loved my students from the day I started until today, and I am lucky enough to still be in contact with many of them. That love is what made me a good teacher.  I never taught the subject, I taught the student. I was surrounded by teachers who taught the same way (mother, sister, daughter and several good friends), and we were proud to be educators.

Unfortunately, the politicians decided to use education as a talking point, and teachers became great "fall guys."  These men and women who had never set foot in a classroom were so sure that they had all the answers.  It was all wrapped up in a pretty little test package.  Test the children on their ability to learn the incomprehensible, and test the teachers on their ability to teach the unteachable.  While I agree that critical thinking skills are important, these tests never come close to evaluating a child's ability to critically think.  The literature and the Socratic discussions we no longer had time for strengthened those skills before we were told to spend more time on test prep.  Sitting outside in a circle, enjoying nature and coming up with practical ways to save our planet, and then writing a poem expressing our thoughts strengthened those skills...until I was told that the process was taking time away from test preparation.

Sadly, I realized that teaching what I had to teach was causing more harm than good to these children I cared for, and I could no longer face the very career that I adored.  I retired, my sister retired, several of my friends (amazing and creative teachers) left the classroom, and my daughter moved to a private school. We gave it our all for quite a few years and fought a system that frantically searched for someone to blame.  There never was someone to blame, because the blame falls on the very system that is taking the humanity and the joy out of teaching and learning.   "The system" has always been bad, but through the years it fed upon itself and became dangerous.  We need to elect politicians who care more for the student than the statistics. We need to let teachers do their jobs.

Teachers have been facing hardships since the day of the one room schoolhouse (check out Rules For Teachers - 1872) and will continue to do so in years to come.  The first book that I reviewed today, Up The Down Staircase, was written approximately a half century ago.  Although the technology is different and the kids a bit more worldly now, I related to much of Bel Kaufman's descriptions of the classroom trials and tribulations of a fairly new teacher.  I loved the book when I discovered it years ago, and I loved it when I re-read it this week.  Teachers, students, parents and those who want a "feel good" book will love it.

In a totally different direction, you will also enjoy Every Second by Rick Mofina.  Typical of Mofina's writing, the characters are strong, the plot is engaging and the mystery keeps the reader turning pages well into the night.  For those who are fans, this is a winner, and If you have never read Mofina before, do yourself a favor and start immediately.

As always full reviews for these books follow this blog.


Happy reading,

Beverly

Click on the book cover to order a title mentioned in today's blog:

Genre: Fiction/Humor

Click book cover for Amazon.com

I was a young teacher when I first read Kaufman's inspirational book, and it made me laugh and cry in equal parts.  Anyone who has ever attempted to teach in the public school system is well aware of the bureaucracy that stands firmly in the way.  The author's ability to show teachers and students as real people is amazing.  She lets them speak through memos, letters, student comments, correspondence between teachers, directives from the principal, etc.  It captured my day to day life in such a humorous and touching way that it really helped me get through those days.

Miss Barrett is naive when she enters Calvin Coolidge High School and a bit overwhelmed.  She is there to make a difference and never stops trying.  I recognized many of my students in her students, and her characterization of some of the teachers were only slight exaggerations of the teachers who surrounded me each day.  I loved the book then...

...and I love the book now.  It is truly timeless in a way that will allow today's teachers to relate to Miss Barrett's experiences as completely as I did years ago.  This is a well written book that should be read by every teacher, parent, student and former student who wants to better understand the workings of a school.  It will make you laugh while  tugging at your heartstrings.

Beverly


Publisher - Simon and Schuster
Date of Publication - October 1988