Last Saturday was International Migratory Bird Day, a program that highlights and celebrates the migration of birds and their journey to their nesting grounds as they travel across the continent. The events held on that day are meant to inspire people to get outdoors, learn about birds, and take part in their conservation.
I was part of a group that spent the day on a golf course surveying birds, an annual event we call The Bird Watching Open. One of the highlights of the day was finding the two Great-horned Owlets, the same two that I had posted about several weeks ago, had left their nest and were sitting on a nearby branch.
They are only a few months old but already are the size of their parents. Most of their feathers have grown in but you can still see the downy underparts. At this point they can only fly short distances from branch to branch and still depend on their parents to bring them food. Over the summer they will develop their flying skills and learn to hunt. By October they will be independent adults.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The World’s Strongest Librarian
by Josh Hanagarne
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Gotham Books
Publish Date: May 2, 2013
Format: Hardcover | 288 pages
Publisher’s Synopsis:
An inspiring story of how a Mormon kid with Tourette’s found salvation in books and weight-lifting.
The World’s Strongest Librarian illuminates the mysteries of this little-understood disorder, as well as the very different worlds of strongman training and modern libraries. With humor and candor, this unlikely hero traces his journey to overcome his disability— and navigate his wavering Mormon faith—to find love and create a life worth living.
My Thoughts:
Josh speaks candidly about his faith, his struggle with Tourette’s and many other personal hardships he endured including an emotionally charged failed attempt at an adoption. This is an inspirational journey written with wit and charm.
I could easily relate to his love of books, his excitement over visiting the bookmobile and his obsession with Stephen King novels. His mom thought they were too violent, so he would swap out the jacket covers so she wouldn’t take the books away. Haven’t we all hid a book cover at least once for some reason or another? The stories he tells about the library patrons had me laughing out loud. I only wish he told more of them.
Something that librarians and those of us who spend a lot of time in libraries will appreciate are the subchapter headings; each are preceded by their designation in the Dewy Decimal Classification System. A little inside humor.
While I found the bookish parts of the story the most entertaining, I was inspired by his perseverance in his struggle with Tourette’s and his attempts to lead a normal life. He writes his story in a conversational and straight forward style, candidly discussing his attempts to conquer and control the Tourette’s and the affect it had on his family and his life.
A unique story told in an authentic voice, this will appeal not only to memoir fans, but to readers of all genres.
Still time to win a copy:
I have one copy of The World’s Strongest Librarian to give to one of my readers. Stop by the giveaway post and leave a comment to enter. Open through 5/18, US/Canada addresses only. I will choose a random winner when on turn on my computer on 5/19.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost wordless: From a garden tour I attended last week at Cantigny Gardens. I forget the name of the orange flower above but they are annuals and were started in the greenhouse. The flowers in the photo below are tulips.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir
by Amanda Knox
Narrated by Amanda Knox
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publish Date: April 30, 2013
Format: Audio, 12 hours | 31 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 4 of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
She spent four years in a foreign prison for a crime she did not commit. Separated from her family, she was demonized by the international press and treated harshly by the Italian justice system, including disdainful police. She endured humiliation, injustice, and loneliness thousands of miles from her home. Now, with intelligence, grace, and candor, Amanda Knox, the young American exchange student, tells the full story of her harrowing ordeal in Italy — a labyrinthine nightmare of crime and punishment, innocence and vindication-and of the unwavering support of family and friends who tirelessly worked to see her win her freedom.
My Thoughts:
I have been aware of this case ever since it hit international news a few years ago. Until her recent prime time television interview with Diane Sawyer, I had not heard or read an interview with Amanda herself, just other people’s thoughts and opinions. That’s when I found out she had written a memoir.
Amanda tells her story in linear style, beginning with her decision to spend time in Italy as an exchange student and ending with her release from prison four years later. She goes into a lot of detail about the case and her time in prison, and occasionally became repetitive, but overall it was a readable and compelling story. I was amazed and at times horrified at how the police and prosecutors manipulated the legal system. And for what purpose? Not to solve the crime, but because they didn’t want to admit their errors.
If Amanda is guilty of anything it is of being very naïve and knowing little about the culture of the country she was moving to. Italy is not America and by a lot of her actions it was evident she did not understand that. It’s unclear whether it was college student arrogance, her quirky personality or if she was just too trusting of everyone she met. She allowed the police to interrogate her multiple times without asking for an attorney and she didn’t contact the US Embassy for help or advice. By the time she realized she had a problem, it was too late. Many of her statements were not what she meant to convey because she did not speak fluent Italian and she had incriminated herself.
I listened to the audio and Amanda herself is the narrator. In the beginning her voice is neutral and almost flat but after a while she begins to add more emotion and occasional anger. I didn’t have a problem with her as the narrator as it is her story and her voice adds another level of authenticity.
After listening to Amanda’s story, I feel she is telling the truth. However, the reader/listener can judge for themselves.
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Source: Review copy
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The May host is Abi @ 4 the LOVE of BOOKS
A few review books and a couple of wins this week:
For review from Random House:
Enon
by Paul Harding
Powerful, brilliantly written, and deeply moving Paul Harding has, in Enon, written a worthy successor to Tinkers, a debut which John Freeman on NPR called “a masterpiece.” Drawn always to the rich landscape of his character’s inner lives, here, through the first person narrative of Charlie Crosby (grandson to George Crosby of Tinkers), Harding creates a devastating portrait of a father trying desperately to come to terms with family loss.
A win from Algonquin Books:
The Third Son
by Julie Wu
It’s 1943. As air-raid sirens blare in Japanese-occupied Taiwan, eight-year-old Saburo walks through the peach forests of Taoyuan. The least favored son of a Taiwanese politician, Saburo is in no hurry to get home to the taunting
and abuse he suffers at the hands of his parents and older brother. In the forest he meets Yoshiko, whose descriptions of her loving family are to Saburo like a glimpse of paradise. Meeting her is a moment he will remember forever, and for years he will try to find her again. When he finally does, she is by the side of his oldest brother and greatest rival.
A win from Stacy’s Books:
Chocolat
by Joanne Harris
In tiny Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful newcomer Vianne Rocher and her exquisite chocolate shop arrive and instantly begin to play havoc with Lenten vows. Each box of luscious bonbons comes with a free gift: Vianne’s uncanny perception of its buyer’s private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch? Soon the parish no longer cares, as it abandons itself to temptation, happiness, and a dramatic face-off between Easter solemnity and the pagan gaiety of a chocolate festival.
For review from Penguin Audio:
Detective Carl Mørck has received a bottle that holds an old and decayed message written in blood. It’s a cry for help from two young brothers, tied and bound in a boathouse by the sea. After floating in the ocean for years before turning up, the bottle sat forgotten, unopened, on a police department windowsill, before the seal was cracked and the gruesome message, written in Danish, was analyzed. Could it be real? Who are these boys, and why weren’t they reported missing? Could they possibly still be alive?
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Robin Family
Last week for Wordless Wednesday I posted a photo of a bird’s nest. I thought it might be a robin’s nest but there weren’t any birds in the area and it was too high up for me to see if there were any eggs.
A week later I was walking on the same path and this time the nest was occupied. The Crab Apple tree now had leaves, the blossoms were beginning to open, and an American Robin was sitting on the nest. A robin on a nest in May is not an unusual site in my neighborhood, but this one was so pretty I had to stop and take a few pictures.
In some bird species both the male and the female will incubate the eggs. In the American Robin, only the female sits on the nest.
I hid behind a shrub so I wouldn’t disturb the birds and watched for a few minutes. Soon the male showed up with a worm, mom left for a short break and the nestlings got a meal.
International Migratory Bird Day
Today is International Migratory Bird Day, an annual event that highlights and celebrates the migration of nearly 350 species of migratory birds between nesting habitats in North America and non-breeding grounds in Latin America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Many events and programs are taking place today. I will be out with a group of birders exploring a golf course and searching for migratory birds.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Reconstructing Amelia
by Kimberly McCreight
Narrated by Khristine Hvam
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Harper Audio
Publish Date: April 2, 2013
Format: Audio, 12 hours | 15 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 4 of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
When Kate, single mother and law firm partner, gets an urgent phone call summoning her to her daughter’s exclusive private school, she’s shocked. Amelia has been suspended for cheating, something that would be completely out of character for her over-achieving, well-behaved daughter. Kate rushes to Grace Hall, but what she finds when she finally arrives is beyond comprehension. Her daughter Amelia is dead.
My Thoughts:
Kate is devastated, her only child is dead and she is told it was a suicide. But when she receives a mysterious text message saying Amelia didn’t jump from the roof of the school, she begins her own investigation.
The story is told in alternating viewpoints between Kate, in the present as she pieces together what happened, and Amelia, during her last few months. The author used the technique of presenting the story through text messages, email, facebook updates and even some very nasty blog posts written by an anonymous source. Kate and Amelia were well-developed characters with Amelia the more likable and sympathetic of the two.
As the mystery of what happened to Amelia unfolds, the story becomes disturbing and often heartbreaking but at the same time compelling. I cringed at the meanness of her schoolmates, and wanted to yell at Amelia for not seeking help or advice. Most of the characters were not very likable and in many ways despicable people, with the story taking a darker tone than I was expecting. I did not figure out the ending until the last moment and felt the author did a good job presenting the clues and at times distracting the reader.
The audio was excellent. This was the first book I listened to that was narrated by Khristine Hvam and I was impressed. There were a lot of characters and she was able to vary her voice and tone so that I had no trouble differentiating between them. I even liked her portrayal of the male characters, something I often gripe about, and I especially enjoyed her snarky reading of the nasty blog posts. My only caution on the audio is that one needs to pay attention to the dates at the beginning of the chapters as the timeline moves between Amelia and Kate.
I wasn’t sure if this was a YA or adult novel, but it is very well-written and would easily find an audience among either group.
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Source: Review copy
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost wordless: No idea what these two were arguing about but it ended as quickly as it began and everyone was friends again.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
