May 9th, 2011
by Kevin Holtsberry
Cover of The Wednesday Wars
Every once in a while I am prompted by Twitter to read a book. Obviously there is an endless stream of books recommended by publishers, bloggers and readers, but sometimes a book catches my eye and the discussion on Twitter prompts me to check it out.
This is how I stumbled on the work of Gary D. Schmidt. Everyone was talking about his new book Okay for Now and when I went to check it out it seemed very much in my wheelhouse. But I thought it would be worth it to check out the prior book of which OFN is sort of a spin off. So I grabbed The Wednesday Wars from the library and started reading.
It turned out to be a great book. Just a wonderful story full of great characters, powerful emotions and quite a bit of wisdom. This is an example of what young adult writing can be – literature to my mind.
It offers a great coming of age story but also explores growing up on Long Island in the late sixties and what that era – the time, place and events that made it up – might have meant to junior high students and the adults around them.
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May 8th, 2011
by Kevin Holtsberry
Lumen (Captain Martin Bora) by Ben Pastor
Publishers Weekly
Mixing elements of a psychological thriller and an existential meditation, Pastor’s debut follows a German army captain and a Chicago priest as they investigate the death of a nun in Nazi-occupied Poland. Mother Kazimierza’s alleged power to see the future has brought her a devoted following; her motto, “
Lumen Christi Adiuva Nos” (“light of Christ, succor us”), gives the novel its title. In October 1939, Captain Martin Bora discovers the abbess shot dead in her convent garden. Father Malecki has come to Cracow at the pope’s bidding, to investigate Mother Kazimierza’s powers. Now the Vatican orders him to stay and assist in the inquiry into her killing. Meanwhile, the Germans are consolidating their hold on their Polish territory, dispossessing farmers, beating civilians and forcing Jews into labor gangs. Though stunned by the violence of the occupation and by the ideology of his colleagues, Bora never deviates from his Prussian duty. After three months, two suicides, much detective work and some speculation about Catholicism and faith, choice and chance, good and evil, Bora and Malecki discover the true story of the abbess’s death, which implicates Bora’s fellow army officers. Pastor’s examination of Bora and his colleagues illuminates the many contradictions of life in the service of a criminal state.
The narrative’s explications of Catholic belief and theology defy readers to reconcile faith, or inner light (lumen) of any kind, with the realities of the Nazi regime. Pastor’s plot is well crafted, her prose sharp, but her novel is meant to be more than light entertainment. She raises again the questions recently posed by
Bernhard Schlink‘s
The Reader: how can art explore the human side of a victimizer without seeming to forgive the unforgivable? Pastor’s disturbing mix of detection and reflection is a provocative though not definitive answer.
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May 7th, 2011
by Kevin Holtsberry
Interesting, and rather cinematic, video trailer for the forthcoming Wire to Wire (A Tin House New Voice). Are these trailers effective do you think?
Wire to Wire Trailer from Juliet Zulu on Vimeo.
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May 7th, 2011
by Kevin Holtsberry
Amazing Crayon Drawing With Lee Hammond: Create Lifelike Portraits, Pets, Landscapes and More
Description
You don’t have to leave your beloved crayons behind when you grow up! Best-selling author Lee Hammond shows you how to create dramatically realistic and lifelike drawings of a variety of subjects using the familiar and beloved medium of wax crayons. You will learn to draw lifelike animals, people, flowers, landscapes and more using simple techniques and colorful step-by-step demonstrations. Lee shows her proven graphing and blending techniques that translate into remarkable drawings; demonstrates the shape and “puzzle piece” theories that can apply to anything you want to draw; and gives plenty of quick tips for achieving lifelike textures and colors using nothing but crayons.
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May 5th, 2011
by Jeff Grim
Continuing with my meanderings in history – I thought the next subject I would look into was our founding fathers. There are so many and much ink has been spilled analyzing each phrase and aspect of their lives.
So, I veered away from Washington, Jefferson, and Adams and choose to read about Patrick Henry – Patrick “Give me Liberty or give me Death” Henry. Harlow Giles Unger provides a light and refreshing read of Henry’s life in Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation.
Here is a brief description of the book from its inside cover:
In this action-packed history, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger unfolds the epic story of Patrick Henry, who roused Americans to fight government tyranny—both British and American. Remembered largely for his cry for “liberty or death,” Henry was actually the first (and most colorful) of America’s Founding Fathers—first to call Americans to arms against Britain, first to demand a bill of rights, and first to fight the growth of big government after the Revolution. As quick with a rifle as he was with his tongue, Henry was America’s greatest orator and courtroom lawyer, who mixed histrionics and hilarity to provoke tears or laughter from judges and jurors alike. Henry’s passion for liberty (as well as his very large family), suggested to many Americans that he, not Washington, was the real father of his country.
This biography is history at its best, telling a story both human and philosophical. As Unger points out, Henry’s words continue to echo across America and inspire millions to fight government intrusion in their daily lives.
This book has helped me understand more about the political battles that were fought during the Continental and Confederation Congresses. I did not realize how much animosity there was toward the delegates who wrote the Constitution – our country was on the verge of a civil war over states rights against federal control (similar to what occurred 70 some years later). As Unger points out, Henry was at the forefront of the Antifederalists in their quest to limit the authority of the federal government. Unger captures Henry’s passion for states rights.
It is interesting to note (as Unger highlights) that the British oligarchy was replaced by an American one – many of our founding fathers were wealthy men who wanted to control the direction our country was headed. According to Unger, these men were more interested in keeping their own power than giving more power to the common man. I do not know enough about our founding fathers to have an opinion beyond the basics that I am glad the America won its independence, but it does make one think about the real winners of the American Revolution – was it the aristocratic elite or the average American who benefited the most from the Revolution?
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