Snow finally arrived in the Chicago area on Thursday. I was hoping it would stay away all winter as I was enjoying the spring-like temperatures. Whenever we get snow in the Midwest the next few days are always extremely cold.
I feel bad for the creatures who have to stay outside during the cold spells. The birds will be ok as long as they get enough food and can find a sheltered area for the night. Their feathers keep them well insulated and they generate a lot of body heat, which is why they need extra food.
My favorite winter birds, the Dark-eyed Juncos, looked happy in the snow. They were hopping and kicking it around looking for seeds. These birds spend the summer in Alaska and Canada, then head down to the US for the winter. Yep, they think Chicago is a nice place to settle in for the winter.
I have a roost box mounted under the eaves on the garage. It’s similar to a nest box only larger and has six perches inside to accomodate multiple birds. During extreme cold some species will huddle together and share body heat.
The Starlings claimed the box yesterday. A few of them were sitting in the shrub next to it and hopping in and out of it all day. This one appears to be guarding the entrance making sure it was his home for the night, and it was a cold one at only 7 degrees F.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
Home Front
by Kristin Hannah
Read by: Maggi-Meg Reed
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publish Date: January 31, 2012
Format: Audio CD | 15 hours
Rating: 3 of 5
Michael and Jolene have been married for 12 years, have two children and live in the suburbs. Their once happy marriage is falling apart. Jolene would do anything to hold it together while Michael is avoiding conflict by working long hours at his law firm. The one thing Jolene couldn’t plan for was that her unit would be deployed to Iraq.
As a helicopter pilot in the National Guard, her duty to her country comes first. Michael has never supported Jolene’s military service and now she has left him to handle the responsibility of their two girls and the household. The children are devastated but Jolene sends cheery letters home and doesn’t tell her family of the dangers she experiences each day. But when tragedy strikes they must deal with a new reality.
Kristin Hannah has taken the subject of military service and its stressful effect on families and turned it around giving us a look at what can happen when a woman, a wife and mother, is deployed. The story is written from both Jolene and from Michael’s perspective; the stress the deployment puts on Jolene and the lessons Michael is learning about what it means to be a father and to be married to a soldier. At the same time Michael takes on a pro bono defense case of a soldier suffering PTSD giving him a better understanding of what it’s like to spend time at war.
The book spotlights an important, timely and all too real topic, but I wasn’t expecting such an emotional and depressing story. It was beautifully written, but at times I found myself not liking the main characters and the children were unbearably whiny. I realize the author was attempting to show how difficult it is for children in this situation, how they have trouble in school and are taunted by their friends, but at times it seemed unrealistic. I wanted to be sympathetic but frequently ended up annoyed.
While I did like the book, I wanted to enjoy it a lot more than I did. It had the elements I look for in a story about modern military family life, but at times it fell flat for me becoming overly drawn out and too sentimental. I listened to the audio which was read by Maggi-Meg Reed. It was nicely performed and her voice is pleasant to listen to. The story line is easy to follow making it a good choice for an audiobook.
I know others will disagree with some of my thoughts as this book is already getting rave reviews. I agree that it is well researched, well written and timely, but even a good book won’t click with me if I can’t connect with the characters.
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Review copy provided by the publisher.
Irene Yeates
is the winner of …
I Gave My Heart To Know This
by Ellen Baker
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and took the time to read my review and enter the contest.
Almost Wordless: Friday night the sky turned red for a few minutes before the sun went down.
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More Wordless Wednesday.
American Dervish
by Ayad Akhtar
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Publish Date: January 9, 2012
Format: Hardback | 368 pages
ISBN: 9780316183314
I have been hearing wonderful things about Ayad Akhtar’s debut novel about the coming of age of a young Pakistani-American in Milwaukee in the 1980s. It has been receiving some glowing reviews. I have not had a chance to read it yet and will probably listen to the audiobook.
The publisher, Little, Brown & Company, has made available two copies for me to give away to my readers in the US and Canada. How exciting is that? But first, here is a little information about the book and the author:
About the Book
Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes.
Mina is Hayat’s mother’s oldest friend from Pakistan. She is independent, beautiful and intelligent, and arrives on the Shah’s doorstep when her disastrous marriage in Pakistan disintegrates. Even Hayat’s skeptical father can’t deny the liveliness and happiness that accompanies Mina into their home. Her deep spirituality brings the family’s Muslim faith to life in a way that resonates with Hayat as nothing has before. Studying the Quran by Mina’s side and basking in the glow of her attention, he feels an entirely new purpose mingled with a growing infatuation for his teacher.
When Mina meets and begins dating a man, Hayat is confused by his feelings of betrayal. His growing passions, both spiritual and romantic, force him to question all that he has come to believe is true. Just as Mina finds happiness, Hayat is compelled to act — with devastating consequences for all those he loves most.
American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life. Ayad Akhtar was raised in the Midwest himself, and through Hayat Shah he shows readers vividly the powerful forces at work on young men and women growing up Muslim in America. This is an intimate, personal first novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.
About the Author
Ayad Akhtar is an American-born, first generation Pakistani-American from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He holds degrees in Theater from Brown University and in Directing from the Graduate Film Program at Columbia University, where he won multiple awards for his work. He is the author of numerous screenplays and was star and co-writer of The War Within, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and an International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Picture – Drama. American Dervish is his first novel.
Learn more about the author:
Visit Ayadakhtar.com
Follow @ayadakhtar on Twitter
Like him on Facebook.com/AyadAkhtar
Like the book on Facebook.com/AmericanDervish
Giveaway Information
The publisher has generously offered two copies for giveaway.
- Contest is open to those with an address in the US or Canada.
- To enter leave a comment. It is not necessary to be a subscriber or follower to enter but new subscribers are always welcome.
- The deadline for entry is Sunday, January 22nd. I will draw two winners who will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address.
[Contest is now closed]
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 January host is Alyce of
At Home With Books.
I received two very different books this week.
I was excited to be able to request what, at first glance, appears to be a boring computer manual. Don’t be fooled by the cover. I flipped through it and it’s in full color, large print, loads of illustrations and easy to read and understand. Some day I would like to make the move to self-hosting my blog. Hosting with WordPress, where I currently reside, is nice, but limiting in many ways. I know a little HTML and CSS but before I make any moves I’d like to learn more about design.
For review from the publisher through Amazon Vine:
HTML & CSS: Design and Build Websites
by Jon Duckett
Every day, more and more people want to learn some HTML and CSS. Joining the professional web designers and programmers are new audiences who need to know a little bit of code at work (update a content management system or e-commerce store) and those who want to make their personal blogs more attractive. Many books teaching HTML and CSS are dry and only written for those who want to become programmers, which is why this book takes an entirely new approach.
A win from Jessie at The Daily Harrell :
Clarity
by Kim Harrington
When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare’s ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case – but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare’s brother – who has supernatural gifts of his own – becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?
How was your week?
The birds haven’t been cooperating and posing for photos this week. I didn’t feel like digging through my archives so instead I have some photos I took while out walking last week.
We haven’t been having very much winter weather in Chicago this year. In fact, most of the Midwest has been balmy. I don’t like snow or cold so this is just fine with me.
This is a small lake, really more like a pond, as it’s only a one mile walk around it. I have never seen it look this colorful in January; there is even some green in the grass. Usually there is no grass to be seen, only ice and snow. So yes, I’m enjoying this winter.
In contrast, the picture on the right is the same park in the winter of 2009. There is a lake out there, really there is. It’s frozen and covered in snow. Brrrrr.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
Under My Apple Tree 