The Big Line-Up (or) What's Next?

This ALMOST looks like me....

Lined up on two shelves within arms reach of where I sit and read and surf the net are books I've amassed in the last couple of years that look really good, that have tempted me.  I don't get to read them because every time I finish a book, there are a couple of library books waiting to be read, books that I've reserved and waited forever for and only have three weeks before they need to be returned because there's such a waiting list for them that they can't be renewed.  So this summer, I'm taking a few of these on my trip with me.  Now I need to decide which ones!  Goodreads, help me!

Next-in-the-series to read:

Andrews, Sarah (Wyoming geologist EmHansen): #1 Tensleep
Bass, Jefferson (Body Farm series): #1 Carved in Bone
Black, J. Carson (writing as Margaret Falk): The Desert Waits
Browning, Sinclair (Tucson PI Trade Ellis): #2 The Last Song Dogs
Burke, Jan (Irene Kelly): #1 Goodnight, Irene
Cain, Chelsea  (Portland, OR. Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell): #3- Evil at Heart read it!  Now ready for #4
Castillo, Linda  (ex-Amish Chief of Police Kate Burkholder):  awaiting new release (#5)
Child, Lee (Jack Reacher, ex-military loner): any-reading out-of-order
Coben, Harlen (Myron Bolitar, NJ Sports Agent): #3 Fade Away
Coel, Margaret(Wind River Reservation: Father John O'Malley  & Lawyer Vicki Holden): #1 The Eagle Catcher
Cole, David  (Laura Winslow, AZ Computer Hacker): Dragonfly Bones
Connelly, Michael  (Harry Bosch, LA Cop): #8 - City of Bones read it! Now ready for #9
Connor, Beverly (Forensic Investigator Diane Fallon): #1 One Grave Too Many
Connor, Beverly  (Forensic Anthropologist Lindsay Chamberlain:): #1 A Rumor of Bones
Crais, Robert (El:vis Cole): any-reading out-of-order
Cramer, Rebecca  (Tucson T'hono O'odham Linda Bluenight): #2 The View from Frog Mountain
Crider, Bill (rural TX Sheriff Dan Rhodes): and order? #15 Of All Sad Words
Cutler, Judith (Antiques dealer Lina Townend): #1 Drawing the Line
Doiron, Paul (Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch): #2-
Dunning, John (Denver homocide detective Cliff Janeway) #1 Booked to Die
Evanovich, Janet (NJ Bounty Hunter Stephanie Plum): #14 Fearless Fourteen
Folsum, Karen (Norwegian Police Inspector Sejer):
Fowler, Earlene (So. California Benni Harper folk-art museum curator): #2 Irish Chain
Francis, Dick (most are stand-alones about horse racing): any-reading in any order
Gagnon, Michelle (FBI agent Kelly Jones): #2 Bone Yard (couldn't get into #1 tunnels, so try this one first)
Grafton, Sue (Santa Teresa, CA PI Kinsey Milhone): #21 U is for Undertoe
Greenlaw, Linda (ex-Miami-Homicide Detective Jane Bunker, now in Maine): #2 Fisherman's Bend
Grippando, James (Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck): any order, #7 Last Call
Hamilton, Denise (LA Investigative Reporter Eve Diamond): #2 Sugar Skull
Hamilton, Steve (Alex McKnight-Michigan UP): #1 A Cold Day in Paradise
Hand, Elizabeth (NYC Druggie Photographer Cass Neary): I read #2 first, so #1 or # 3 next:
Handler, David (CT State cop Desiree Mitry & NY film critic Mitch Berger): #1 The Cold Blue Blood
Hawke, Richard  (Fritz Malone): #1 Speak of the Devil  
Hewson, David (Rome detective Nic Costa): #1 A Season for the Dead
Hilton, Matt (ex-military op and CIA agent Joe Hunter): #1 Dead Men's Dust
Hoag, Tami  (Kovac & Liska): #1 Ashes to Ashes - which I don't have, I have #2 Dust to Dust
Jance, J. A.  (Sedona, AZ Blogger Ali Reynolds): #3 Hand of Evil
Jance, J. A. (Cochise Cty, AZ Sheriff Joanna Brady): any order?
Johansen, Iris (Eve Duncan): any order
Kellerman, Faye (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus): any-am reading out-of-order
Krueger, William Kent (Former northern Minnesota Sheriff "Cork" O'Connor): #2 Boundary Waters
Kuzneski, Chris (Jonathon Payne & David Jones): #2 Sign of the Cross (don't have #1)
McGarrity, Michael (NM State Police Detective Kevin Kerney): #4 Hermit's Peak
Miller, Susan Cummins  (Tucson-based   Frankie MacFarlane): #2 Detachment Fault
Muller, Marcia (San Francisco PI Sharon McCone): any order, have read #10 and #15
O'Connell, Carol (NYC Police Detective Katherine Mallory) : #2 The Man Who Cast Two Shadows
O'Shaughnessy, Perri (Lake Tahoe lawyer Nina Reilly): Have read #1 and #10...
Parker, Barbara (Suspicion series): Read the 1st a zillion years ago, reread it first?
Parker, Robert B. (Boston PI Spenser): any order
Parks, Brad (Newark investigative reporter Carter Ross): #2 Eyes of the Innocent
Pearson, Ridley  (Sun Valley, ID Sheriff Walt Fleming): #3
Pelecanos, George (Washington D.C. Spero Lucas): #2
Riordan, Rick (San Antonio-based Tres Navarre): #2
Sandford, John (Minnesota State Investigator Virgil Flowers): have read #1-2-and-4, so #3: Rough Country
Satterthwaite, Walter  (Santa Fe, NM PI Joshua Croft): read #2 but not #1, read #3 next
Sefton, Maggie (Kelly Flynn): #2
Slaughter, Karen (Will Trent): (read #7)
Spencer-Fleming, Julia (upstate NY; Rev. Clare Fergusson & Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne ): #1 In the Bleak Midwinter
Talton, Jon (Phoenix): #2
Thomas, Steven  (honorable crook Robert Rivers):#1 Criminal Paradise 
Betsy Thornton (Bisbee, AZ clerk Chloe Newcomb #6 PREQUEL:
James Thompson (Inspector Kari Vaara): #1 Snow Angels  (2009)
Trigoboff, Joseph  (NYC Det. Yablonsky): The Bone Orchard 
Verdon, John (retired NYC super-sleuth Dave Gurney): have read all 3, am awaiting the next!!
Webb, Betty (AZ PI Lena Jones): #3 Desert Shadows

Non-Series Novels to Read

Berg, Elizabeth: The Last Time I saw You (2010) Goodreads:  3.25 (4326 ratings)
Bloom, Elizabeth: The Mortician's Daughter (2007) Goodreads: 3.36 (142 ratings)
Bolton, S. J.: Sacrifice (2008) a stand-alone novel  Goodreads: 3.86 (1778 ratings)
Brokaw, Charles: The Atlantis Code (2009) Goodreads 3.48 (1467 ratings)
Davis, Kathryn: The Walking Tour (1999) Goodreads:  3.24 (120 ratings)
Doss, James D.: The Shaman Sings (#1 Charlie Moon) (1994) Goodreads: 3.85 (525 ratings)
Dudman, Martha Tod: Black Olives (2008) Goodreads: 2.87 (113 ratings)gave it away
Easterman, Daniel: Brotherhood of the Tomb (1989/1995) Goodreads: 3.59 (100 ratings)
Ellory, R. J.:  A Quiet Belief in Angels (2007) Goodreads: 3.79 (2138 ratings)
Erdich, Louise:  The Painted Drum (2005) Goodreads:  3.77 (3079 ratings)
Fox, Kathryn: Skin and Bone (2008) Supposedly #3 in a series, but the protagonist in this novel had, apparently, only a minor place in #1 & 2, so I'm considering it a stand-alone  Goodreads: 3.74 (256 ratings)
Gardner: Lisa: The Survivor's Club (2001) - stand-alone Goodreads 3.97 (5443 ratings)
Graham, Heather: The Presence (2004)   Goodreads: 3.91 (1310 ratings) read another by her and hated it
Green, John: The Fault in Our Stars (2012) Goodreads: 4.52 (231 thousand! !)
Hiestand, Jo: Siren Song (McLaren Case Mystery) (2012) Goodreads: 3.50 (just 4 ratings)
James, E. L.: Fifty Shades of Grey (2012) Goodreads:  3.60 (519 thousand ratings)
Kate, Lauren: Fallen (#1 Fallen) (2009) Goodreads: 3.75 (156 thousand ratings!)
Kline, Christina Baker: The Way Life Should Be (2007) Goodreads: 3.57 (672 ratings)

Masello, Robert: Vigil (2005) Goodreads 3.37  (178 ratings)
Michaels, Barbara: Stitches in Time (1995) Goodreads 3.89 (1534 ratings)

Morsi, Pamela: Bitsy's Bait & BBQ (2007) Goodreads: 3.57 (698 ratings) 
Pelecanos, George: What It Was (2012) (#5 Derek Strange & Terry Quinn) Goodreads: 3.69 (727 ratings)
Roy, Lori: Bent Road (2010) Goodreads: 3.48 (1600 ratings)
Rubin, Sarah:  Someday Dancer (2012) Goodreads: 3.87 (135 ratings) gave to Laura
Shreve, Anita: Sea Glass (2002)Goodreads:  3.59 (13,451 ratings)
Shreve, Anita: Testimony (2008) Goodreads: 3.48 (14 thousand ratings)
Silvey, Craig: Jasper Jones (2009 Australia) Goodreads: 4.00 (4500 ratings)
Winthrop, Elizabeth: Island Justice (1999) Goodreads 3.37 (49 ratings)
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz: Shadow of the Wind (2001) Goodreads:  4.19 (137,190 ratings)

Movie - The Big Wedding

R (1:29)

Wide release April 26, 2013

Saw it at Crossroads Sat. afternoon 5/25/13 (Happy Birthday, Steve...)

Comedy

RT Critic:  8% Audience: 69%

Cag:  4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Justin Zackham

Lionsgate Films

Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, Topher Grace, Katherine Heigl, Robin Williams, Amanda Seyfried

My thoughts:  The Big Wedding was a frivolously fun movie to watch on a Saturday afternoon.  There were lots of good ha ha's and many gentle chuckles...and even a few snorts coming from me.  What a fantastic cast to be able to watch, some famous names and a few new faces that were quite delightful.  You could tell exactly what was going to happen, there were no surprises at all, but that was okay...that's not the kinds of movie it was.  The setting - a huge house on the edge of a clear, calm lake on a perfect summer weekend (by watching the credits I think it was somewhere in or about Greenwich, CT).   I enjoyed the movie a lot.  And Topher Grace was adorable.

Fandango/Rotten Tomatoes synopsis:  A charmingly modern family tires to survive a weekend wedding celebration that has the potential to become a full blown family fiasco. To the amusement of their adult children and friends, long divorced couple Don and Ellie Griffin (De Niro and Keaton) are once again forced to play the happy couple for the sake of their adopted son's wedding after his ultra conservative biological mother unexpectedly decides to fly halfway across the world to attend. With all of the wedding guests looking on, the Griffins are hilariously forced to confront their past, present and future - and hopefully avoid killing each other in the process

Books for Kids About Vietnam

Picture Books, 
Dooley, Norah; Everybody Cooks Rice ()
Garland, Sherry, The Lotus Seed (1993) TPPL
Keller, Holly; Grandfather's Dream (1994) TPPL
McKay, Lawrence; Journey Home ()
Shea, Pegi Deitz, Ten Mice for Tet (2003) TPPL
Surat, Michele; Angel Child, Dragon Child ()
Thong, Roseanne, Fly Free! (2010) TPPL
Tran, Truong & Ann Phong; Going Home, Coming Home ()
Trottier, Maxine, The Walking Stick (1998) TPPL

Chapter Books
In Vietnam during the war
Lai, Thanhha, Inside Out and Back Again (2011)
Nhuong, Quang Huynh; The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam()

In American during the war
Partridge, Elizabeth, Dogtag Summer (2011)

Set in Vietnam
Nhuong, Huynh Quang; Water Buffalo Days ()

YA
.
Folktales
Garland, Sherry, Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam (2001) TPPL

How Tiger Got His Stripes: A Folktale from Vietnam (Story Cove)

by Rob Cleveland  (Author) ,

Nonfiction
Alberti, Theresa, Vietnam ABC's (2007) TPPL
Green, Jen; National Gographic Countries of the World: Vietnam (2008) TPPL

Movie - 33 Postcards

NR (1:37)

Limited release TODAY, May 17, 2013

Viewed: Friday, May 17, 2013 at Crossroads
(Happy Birthday, Josh!)

RT Critic: 21 Audience: 38

Cag:  3 liked it

Directed by Pauline Chan

Gravitas Ventures

Actors:  Australian & Chinese

Fandango synopsis:  When a Chinese orphan meets her longtime Australian sponsor while on a choir festival trip, she discovers that the life he'd portrayed in his postcards to her over the years is not as perfect as he'd indicated, leading the two on a shared search for belonging and acceptance.

My comments:  It was sweet...and different...and interesting.  It was totally unbelievable in places.  Australian accents and the Chinese language.  Breaking...smashing stereotypes.  Sticking closely to stereotypes.  Not knowing what to expect.  Knowing exactly what to expect.  Disjointed thoughts swirling, fluttering in my brain even a couple hours after seeing this movie.  Glad I saw it, despite its goodness and badness.  A perfect Friday-yay-it's-the-weekend kind of flick!  Good popcorn, too.

Books for Kids about India

Picture Books

Shank, Ned - The Sanyasan's First Day (1999)


Chapter Books

Ellis, Deborah - No Ordinary Day (2011)
House, Silas & Neela Vaswani - Same Sun Here (2012)


YA
.

Adult
.

Movies

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Eat, Pray, Love
Slumdog Millionaire

TO FIND/READ:

Picture Books
Out of the Way!  Out of the Way! (Uma Krishnaswami) 2012
The Rumor (Anushka Ravishankar) 2012

Chapter Books/ Emigrating from India to the US (or being Indian and living in the US)

Blue Jasmine (Kashmira Sheth)
The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen (Perkins)
Monsoon Summer (Perkins)
Climbing the Stairs (Padma Venkatraman)

AdultNonfiction/Memoir

A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan (Pazira)
A Good Indian Wife (Cherian)

The Walking Stick - Maxine Trottier

Illustrated byAnnouchka Gravel Galouchko

Stoddart Kids, 1998

07737-3101-6

24 pages

Goodreads rating: 2.80

My rating: 3.5

Endpapers :tiny green & lavender squiggles that appear like a field of lavender 

Illustrations Bright, collag-y without being actual collage - lots of tiny dots and squiggles - love 'em!  And her name is pretty darn cool, too....

Artist's dedication:  For those who have the courage to walk a different path, to those who find strength in walking alone, to independent spirits, but especially for Sacha, who was with me throughout this work, and born when it was finished - a beautiful masterpiece. - A.G.G.

1^st line/s:  "When Van was a boy wandering the forest of Vietnma, he found the stick.  It had fallen from a great teak tree."

A young boy's treasured walking stick, made from a teak tree outside the Buddhist temple in a village in Vietnam, watches changes in the country, travels far away, and is returned many years later to its place of origin by the young boy's granddaughter.

Books for Kids about Afghanistan

Picture Books
I See the Sun in Afghanistan (Dedie King/Judith Inglese) 2011, 40 pgs.
The Sky of Afghanistan (Eulate/Wimmer)
Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan (Winter) 2009
Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea (Mortenson/Roth)
The Old Woman and the Eagle (Idries/Delmar)

Chapter Books: Middle Grades & YA
Three Cups of Tea (Mortenson)
Afghan Dreams : Young Voices from Afghanistan
The Breadwinner series (Ellis)
Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War (Ellis)
Shooting Kabul (Senzai)

Nonfiction

National Geographic Countries of the World: AFGHANISTAN
Susan Whitfield, 2008

Population:  almost 32 millions
Official languages: Dari (Afghan Persian) and Pashtu
Capital: Kabul

"Afghanistan is largely a land of brown, treeless mountains and gray, dusty deserts.  But nestled among the peaks and plains are small areas of vivid green, where people grow their crops and raise their animals.
"Pistachio trees grow wild in the mountains in the north of Afghanistan...The nuts are regarded as the best in the world.
"Almost all Afghans are Muslims.  It is against the law for Muslim Afghans to convert to another religion.  As in most parts of the Muslim world, public life in Afghanistan is dominated by men.  In most parts of the country women are required to cover their heads and bodies in public....When the Taliban imposed harsh Islamic laws, women became second-class citizens.  Girls were banned from schools and women were beaten for showing their faces in public.  Today, Afghan women are still expected to cover themselves, but in less extreme ways.
"Afghans make flying kites an art form.  The best flyers work in paris.  One holds the wooden spool connected to the kite by strings.  The other pulls the strings to control the movement of the kite in the air.  People take a lot of pride in making and flying their kites.  But it is not always a peaceful pasttime.  In kite fights or duels, the fighters fit their kites with thin, sharp wires or attach pieces of glass.  The aim is for a kite flyer to cut the strings of his opponents until only one kite is left in the air."
"Despite the continuing uncertainty, Afghan people remain optimistic and are working toward rebuilding their lives.  The markets in Kabul and other cities are bustling again. Many educated and skilled Afghans who fled the country under the Taliban are returning to help their country.  In the past, Afghanistan has recovered from many periods of war.  It will do so again."

Adult
Lipstick in Afghanistan (Roberta Gately) 2010

National Geographic Countries of the World SERIES

After hunting and hunting, reading through many different series of books about different world countries in the libraries and bookstores, I've decided that this series is the most accessible to my fourth graders.  Many are daunted by too much text - I think that is why I still dislike/d reading nonfiction.  This series is full of photos and maps (it IS by National Geographic!) and there's not one single page that is only text.  It's extremely readable and the information is interesting and seems current and well-researched.  I plan to use them in my classroom as literature circles, each group focusing on a different country and becoming an "expert" by reading this nonfiction book along with some fiction.
And in my reading from other sources, I've discovered that Afghanistan's largest income from agriculture is ..... opium!

Afghanistan
Susan Whitfield
2008, 64 pages


Population:  almost 32 million
Official languages: Dari (Afghan Persian) and Pashtu
Capital: Kabul

Asia in Children's Literature

Picture Books
Chen, Yong
A Gift - Contemporary China - Amy's mother, homesick for her family and homeland in China, receives a special package from them just in time for their Chinese New Year celebrations.

Cheng, Andrea
Shanghai Messenger - contemporary Shanghai -   11-year-old Chinese American Xiao Mei travels, alone, to Shanghai to meet the extended family she's never met, quickly forming loving bonds and learning a huge amount about the China of her ancestors. 

Chin-Lee, Cynthia
A is For Asia - a little about bits & pieces of Asia

Ellis, Deborah
No Ordinary Day - contemporary India - A homeless orphan Indian girl adapts to life in the streets until she meets...and ultimately trusts...a female doctor.

Eulate, Ana A. de
The Sky of Afghanistan -  a stream-of-conscientious almost like a prayer - a little girl wishes for peace in her country.

Koralek, Jenny
The Story of Queen Esther - ancient Persia  - This is the story of how Esther becomes a Persian queen, hides her Jewishness, and with the help of the cousin, Mordecai, who helped raise her, saves the Jewish people from annihilation.   

Malaspina, Ann
Yasmin's Hammer - Contemporary Bangladesh - A father, who is a rickshaw driver, and his wife realize that an education for their two young daughters, who both work in a brickyard, is more important than anything.

Niemann, Christoph
The Pet Dragon - Chinese folk-type story

Pacilio, V. J. 
Ling Cho and His Three Friends - China - A rich farmer tries to help three of his neighboring friends, sharing wisdom and a huge lesson when they all return with just a story to tell.....

Park, Linda Sue
Tap Dancing on the Roof - Korea - Sijo Poetry

Pennypacker, Sara
Sparrow Girl - 1958 China - When the Chinese government orders that all sparrows be killed in order to save the grain crops,   a young girls saves seven of them, thus saving her village from locusts and grasshoppers and weevils and worms that would destroy all those crops. 

Rumford, James
Silent Music, A Story of Bagdhad - Contemporary Iraq - Ali, a boy who loves to write and doodle, proudly practices the calligraphy of his language, Arabic, as he continues to learn it.

Say, Allen
Erika San - Contemporary Japan - An American girl, always taken with a paiting of a house in Japan, finally goes there to teach and comes upon not only a house that looks just like it, but a boyfriend, too.....

Shank, Ned
The Sanyasin's First Day - Contemporary India - A sanyasin - a holy man who gives away all he owns - spends his first day in a busy Indian marketplace, as to a female plumber, a male policeman, and a female farmer, all on their first day, too.

Stryer, Andrea Stenn
Kami and the Yaks - Nepal - Kami helps his father find their four missing yaks as a huge storm - thunder, lightning, hail - approaches.

Thong, Roseanne
The Wishing Tree - contemporary China - Ming and his much-loved grandmother have always made wishes on the huge Banyan tree in their town, but one year, the year Min is nine, his wish does not come true...and he loses his grandmother.

Trottier, Maxine
The Walking Stick -  3 generations past in Vietnam - Through the years, Van takes a teak walking stick he made in his village in Vietnam, escaping his country during the war, but always walking with his stick, until his granddaughter returns it to where he first found it, near the Buddhist temple in his original village.

Williams, Brenda
Lin Yi's Lantern - contemporary China -  Lin Yi's mother sends him to the market to bargain for five items for their Moon Festival trek up the mountain that night....and if he has enough money left over, he can purchase the red rabbit lantern that he so dearly wants.

Winter, Jeanette
The Librarian of Basra - Contemporary Iraq - Another version of the bombing of the central library in Basra, Iraq 

Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction
Cornwell, Autumn
Carpe Diem - YA - contemporary Malaysia - Very anal Vassar Spore, planner extraordinaire, is thrown topsy-turvy on a trip to Malaysia with the grandmother who plans for NOTHING.

House, Silas & Neela Vaswani 
Same Sun Here - Mid Grades  - contemporary NYC/India - Meena, an Indian immigrant girl and River, a Kentucky coal miner's son, become penpals and best friends as they share their lives, their problems, and the love of their families with each other.

Stamaty, Mark Alan
Alia's Mission - Graphic Novel - In Iraq, in a few fast-paced days as the war in Basra is imminent, Alia and many helpers move over 30,000 books - by hand - before the library is destroyed.

Staples, Suzanne Fisher
Under the Persimmon Tree - YA- realistic near-contemporary Afghanistan -  This very sad - tragic - story goes back and forth between two protagonists;  one an American woman living in Peshiwar, and the other an Afghani girl fleexing from her destroyed home in the mountains.  

Whelan, Gloria
Small Acts of Amazing Courage - YA - 1919 India - 15 year old Rosalind James, daughter of a British official in India, is sent to live with aunts in England because her father thinks that her love of India and its people is inappropriate.  Gandhi, Hinduism, the caste system are all mentioned.


Countries

Afghanistan
see more detailed article about Afghanistan
Eulate, Ana A. de - The Sky of Afghanistan (picture book)
Staples, Suzanne Fisher - Under the Persimmon Tree (YA)
Whitfield, Susan - National Geographic Countries of the World: Afghanistan (Middle Grades

Bangladesh
Malaspina, Ann - Yasmin's Hammer (picture book)

China
Chen, Yong - A Gift (picture book)
Cheng, Andrea - Shanghai Messenger (picture book)
Niemann, Christoph - The Pet Dragon (picture book)
Pacilio, V. J. - Ling Cho and His Three Friends (picture book)
Pennypacker, Sara - Sparrow Girl (picture book)
Thong, Roseanne - The Wishing Tree (picture book)
Williams, Brenda - Lin Yi's Lantern (picture book)

India
see more detailed article about India
Ellis, Deborah - No Ordinary Day (upper middle grade chapter book)
House, Silas & Neela Vaswani - Same Sun Here (middle grade chapter bk)
Shank, Ned - The Sanyasin's First Day (picture book)
Whelan, Gloria - Small Acts of Amazing Courage (middle grade chapter bk)

Iraq
Rumford, James, Silent Music, A Story of Bagdhad (picture book)
Stamaty, Mark Allen, Alia's Mission, (graphic novel)
Winter, Jeanette, The Librarian of Basra (picture bk)

Japan
Kajikawa, Kmiko - Tsunami  (folktale picture book)
Say, Allen - Erika-San (picture book)

Korea
Park, Linda Sue - Tap Dancing on the Roof (poetry)

Malaysia
Cornwell, Autumn - Carpe Diem (YA)

Nepal
Stryer, Andrea Stenn, Kami and the Yaks (picture book)


Persia
Koralek, Jenny - The Story of Queen Esther (picture bk)

Vietnam
see more detailed article about Vietnam
Trottier, Maxine - The Walking Stick (picture bk)

18. Tapestry of Fortunes - Elizabeth Berg

2013, Random House
219 pgs.
written for adults
HC $26.00 
Genre:  CRF
Goodreads rating: 3.51
My rating: 4
Acquired:  TPPL

My Goodreads comments:  I read a few reviews before reading this book so decided I wouldn't be disappointed if it wasn't up to par.  However, although there were, yes, weaknesses; this story spoke to me intensely.  It was like it came along purposely at this particular time in my life to send me some subliminal-and some not so subliminal- messages.  Simplify your life.  Being along is not the way life should be led.  Figure out ways to stop paralyzing yourself because, yes, you are definitely doing that.  And....loneliness sucks.  There are many quotes that I've written down that mean a lot. So, yes, I give this book a positive review.  It was just what I needed at this time...at this day...at this moment...of my life.  A pretty-pat plot, no surprises at all, loads of coincidences and more-or-less happy endings for everyone (tralala), but it worked....beautifully....for me.

Goodreads summary:  A wonderful new novel about four women who take a trip into their past, to find again the people they miss, and to reconnect with their fortunes.

Cecilia Ross is looking for a change. She has decided to take time off from her job as a successful motivational speaker and sell her home. She moves in to a beautiful old house in St. Paul, Minnesota, complete with a big front porch, a wild garden, a chef's kitchen-and three roommates. The four women are different ages, but all are feeling restless, and want to take a roadtrip to find again the people and things they miss. One woman wants to connect with a daughter she gave away at birth; another wants to visit her long-absent ex-husband; a third woman, a professional chef, is seeking new inspiration from the restaurants along the way. And Cecilia is looking for Dennis Halsinger, the man she never got over, who recently sent her a postcard out of the blue. This novel is classic Elizabeth Berg-a portrait of how women grow through the relationships that define them, and a testament to the power of female friendship.

17. Two Graves - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Pendergast #12
read by Rene Auberjonois
14 unabridged cds/ 16.5 hours
Hachette Audio, 2012 $39.98
484 pgs.
TPPL
Goodreads rating: 3.93
cag rating: 3/Liked some of it....

My comments:  I was on and off about this one. I think that if I had read even one previous story about this odd FBI agent I might have liked him better. I didn't really like him at all until the last chapter, when his personality took a complete turnaround, almost unnaturally. The fighting scene, which the entire book was building up to, may have been enjoyed by lots of readers but for me it dragged on and on and on. The antagonist is still on the loose, so I'm sure an upcoming title (or titles) will include him. I do like the way that two other stories were woven into the book along with the main plot. I'd love to read more about Corey....  (Oh, one more comment.  Although I love the flawless reading the Mr. Auberjonois gave it, the way he read the protagonist helped instill in me the feeling that Pendergast was incredibly pretentious!) 

Goodreads synopsis:  For twelve years, he believed she died in an accident. Then, he was told she'd been murdered. Now, FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast discovers that his beloved wife Helen is alive. But their reunion is cut short when Helen is brazenly abducted before his eyes. And Pendergast is forced to embark on a furious cross-country chase to rescue her.
But all this turns out to be mere prologue to a far larger plot: one that unleashes a chillingly-almost supernaturally-adept serial killer on New York City. And Helen has one more surprise in store for Pendergast: a piece of their shared past that makes him the one man most suited to hunting down the killer.
His pursuit of the murderer will take Pendergast deep into the trackless forests of South America, to a hidden place where the evil that has blighted both his and Helen's lives lies in wait . . . a place where he will learn all too well the truth of the ancient proverb:
Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

16. Crossed - Allie Condie

#2 in the Matched series

2011, Dutton/Penguin

367 pgs.

Written for YA (Protagonists are 17)

Finished May 8, 2013

Genre: Fantasy/Dystopian

Goodreads Rating: 3.56

My Rating: 2/It was okay

Acquired: TPPL

1^st sentence/s: "I'm standing in a river.  It's blue.  Dark blue.  Reflecting the colors of the evening sky."

My comments:  Hmmmm....at times this seemed to go on forever. And it's been so long since I read the first in the series, Matched, that none of the references helped me remember what had gone on. Frustrating. Told back and forth between Ky and Cassia, a few pages each, and introducing four new major characters - one of who dies in The Carving - which is a series of red rock canyons based on Utah. I guess I wanted more. More what? Don't know. But more.

Goodreads Review:  In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake. Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Black Dog - Levi Pinfold

Illustrated by the author

2011 - Templar Books; Candlewick

HC $15.99

24 pages

Goodreads rating: 3.97

My rating: 4.5 (awesome illustrations)

Endpapers same as the cover:

This is a great story about being afraid and being brave - with a touch of cockiness from the littlest girl, and wonderfully humorous illustrations.  This is a great book to use with older kids to talk about what you actually see when your stress level is high....how do you interpret what you see..... The artwork is exactly the type of thing that we talked about at a workshop I went to last week about the messages in what you see, not what you read.  I think this is one to show on the Smart Board in big gorgeous color for everyone to examine while I read it aloud - perfect for fourth grade discussion AND for reading to my 3-year-old grandson!

Goodreads says:  An enormous black dog and a very tiny little girl star in this offbeat tale about confronting one’s fears.  When a huge black dog appears outside the Hope family home, each member of the household sees it and hides. Only Small, the youngest Hope, has the courage to face the black dog, who might not be as frightening as everyone else thinks.

The Matchbox Diary - Paul Fleischman

illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
2013, Candlewick

HC (no DC on this library copy?) $16.99 TPPL

40 lovely, thick pages

Goodreads rating: 4.20

My rating: 4

Endpapers: blue - denim-y - streaked with rainwater?

Illustrations:  acrylic gouache: current day in sepia and color; memories from the past in sepia tones only.  The memory illustrations are within an almost-full-page block, while the contemporary scenes go to the page edges - subtly different 

This is a truly beautiful book.  I love Paul Fleischman's words - though there are two places in the story that I felt like he needed to say just a bit more, I pulled at the pages to see if I'd missed any.  He is definitely one of my all-time favorite authors.  The illustrations are particularly lovely.  This book is about how we record memories when we can't read or write.  Great premise.  Good storytelling.  Super book.

Goodreads review:  "Pick whatever you like most. Then I’ll tell you its story." 

When a little girl visits her great-grandfather at his curio-filled home, she chooses an unusual object to learn about: an old cigar box. What she finds inside surprises her: a collection of matchboxes making up her great-grandfather’s diary, harboring objects she can hold in her hand, each one evoking a memory. Together they tell of his journey from Italy to a new country, before he could read and write — the olive pit his mother gave him to suck on when there wasn’t enough food; a bottle cap he saw on his way to the boat; a ticket still retaining the thrill of his first baseball game. With a narrative entirely in dialogue, Paul Fleischman makes immediate the two characters’ foray into the past. With warmth and an uncanny eye for detail, Bagram Ibatoulline gives expressive life to their journey through time — and toward each other.

Movie - The Company You Keep

R (2:01)

Opened April 5, 2013

Viewed at ElCon Friday, May 3, 2013

RT Critics: 54  Audience:  50

Cag:  4/I really liked it

Directed by Robert Redford

Sony Pictures Classics

Robert Redford, Shia LaBoeuf, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Chris Cooper, Richard Jenkins, Stanley Tucci

I did not know the cast - other than Robert Redford - until I saw the movie unfold.  Each new cast member, most old favorites, made me take in my breath and giggle for just a moment, that's how much I enjoyed seeing all of them.  The story was interesting and totally kept my interest for all two hours, except for one scene near the end - between Redford and Christie - that was too long and drawn out.  Shia LaBoeuf was super in his role.  And I loved his glasses!

Fandango Summary: A single father's upper-middle class life as a lawyer in upstate New York is shattered when his past as a radical activist member of the Weather Underground is revealed and he is accused of having been the triggerman at a deadly bank robbery years before. Forced to go on the lam, the man evades law enforcement while searching for the one woman who can prove his innocence.