Book reviews/Favorite Authors

What Was Your Favorite Book of 2018?

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

I’m guessing sometime in the past several months you’ve read a book that has excited you, spoken to you, been impossible to put down.  The kind of book you tell all of your friends about and perhaps even give as a gift.

I would really like to hear about that book.  In return, I promise to make your holiday shopping a little easier.

Here’s the deal.  Today I’m starting the Favorite Books Giveaway for 2018.  Tell me your favorite book from 2018 and the reason you liked it.  I’ll add your book to a list of recommendations and your name to a drawing of potential winners. In the end, we’ll have a collection of fabulous book titles to use as a shopping guide, and one lucky winner will have a Barnes and Noble gift card.

Favorite Books of 2018: Giveaway details

  • You may enter the giveaway by commenting here on the blog, my Facebook profile, my Twitter feed, or my Instagram Favorite Book post by Friday, December 14, 2018.
  • Your comment must include your favorite book from 2018 and a short explanation of why you recommend it.  All genres welcome.
  • The book doesn’t have to be published in 2018, just read in 2018.
  • I will announce the winner on Monday, December 17 with the full list of favorites. That will give you plenty of shopping time. 😉
  • The giveaway winner must provide a mailing address for the gift card.

The first suggestions

Tell Me More Kelly CorriganMy favorite book this year was Tell Me More, by Kelly Corrigan.  It’s a thoughtful memoir about the things Kelly is learning to say to the people she loves, including “tell me more”,  “yes”, and “no”.  (Click to read my full review of Tell Me More.)

 

 

My next favorite was Beartown, by Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called Ove.  Here’s the opening line of Beartown:

Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double barrel shot gun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.  This is the story of how we got there.

Beartown, Fredrick BackmanWow!  Talk about a hook!  Beartown is the story of a small town and its obsession with hockey, but this isn’t a sports book.  It’s full of multidimensional characters with secrets and hurts who are all just trying to do the best they can.  It explores themes of loyalty, the role of sports in small communities, and how people gain power.

Two things I loved about Beartown.  First, throughout, Backman uses an onomatopoeia, “bang, bang, bang” to punctuate the narrative.  The “bang, bang” can be the sound of a stick hitting a hockey puck, the sound of a puck hitting the wall, or the sound of a gun going off.  Especially since I listened to the audio production of the book, this literary device effectively grabbed my attention and accentuated the fast pace of the story.

Second, I loved how Backman captured the dynamics of small town life.  I live in a small town, and Beartown felt real to me.  One of Backman’s characters says, “We may not know right and wrong, but we do know the difference between good and evil.”  Sometimes it’s hard to know the right thing to do.  Sometimes it’s easy.  And sometimes, it depends on the person who is choosing.  Backman explores this idea in multiple story lines, from multiple perspectives.  (Thank you, Dana, for recommending this book on Kiss My List!)

Now, it’s your turn.  What was your favorite read in 2018 and why?  Remember, you could win another book if you share!

Thanks for getting nerdy with me,

 

 

 

 

 

Who I Am

Why You Should Choose a Holiday Motto

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 6 Comments

I have a confession to make: part of me dreads Christmas.  I hear the opening lines of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, and I think, No, it’s not.  For me, the mother of four, Christmas means work.  Thinking of presents, buying the presents, hiding the presents, wrapping the presents.  And that’s just for the kids.  What about friends, extended family, coworkers and teachers?  It’s overwhelming.  Especially when you’re a person who doesn’t like stuff or shopping.

ChristmasI hate the fact that inflatable snow men start popping up around Halloween, and the local pop station plays nothing but the same 30 holiday songs from the day after Thanksgiving until December 26th.  I hate that the focus has shifted from the gift of a savior and peace on earth to Black Friday deals and endless consumption.

And then there’s the memory of moving my mother into a nursing home on a December day 23 years ago and of her death a few weeks later.  “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” makes me cry because back then it was the only thing that made her laugh, and I will always listen to “Oh Holy Night”, Mom’s favorite Christmas carol, with tears streaming down my cheeks.

So when husband asked if we wanted to put up Christmas decorations on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I said no. I wasn’t there, mentally, physically or spiritually.

Happier podcastBut shortly thereafter, I listened to episode 196 of the “Happier” podcast, one of my favorites.  Host Gretchen Rubin suggested that listeners choose a holiday motto by picking word or phrase to guide their experience of the holiday season and focus their attention on what is important.  One of her listeners chose “Comfort and joy”, and will center her holiday activities and gifts on this theme.  Rubin chose “ ’tis the season to be jolly”, because, as a somewhat “Type A” personality, Rubin often gets irritable and snappish, especially when busy.  Her sister Elizabeth Craft chose “all is calm, all is bright” to remind her that everything is good and to just go with the flow over the holidays.

I loved this idea.  As soon as I heard it, I felt relieved.  If I can frame my experience of the holidays with a motto, I can participate meaningfully in the season and not just react to it.  And if my motto is from a song, so much the better.  Words set to music are easier for me to remember and pull up for inspiration.

I chose my motto from a lesser known Christmas song, one a talented young lady sings almost every year at our church.  “Be Born in Me”, by Francesca Battistelli, describes Mary’s reaction upon learning she is to bear God’s son.  The opening lines of the song, “Everything inside me cries for order/ everything inside me wants to hide” cut to my soul.  I relate too well to the doubt and inadequacy expressed in the lyrics of this song.  Mary pleads, “Somehow help me see with heaven’s eyes” and finally, in the chorus, “Be born in me.”  She’s asking for God to fill her, not just with the physical presence of the baby Jesus, but with all consuming faith.

My holiday motto, “Be born in me”, reminds me to clear my heart of worry and stress so that it can be filled with faith.  I, too, want to see with heaven’s eyes.

Now I pass on Rubin’s suggestion to you.  Whether you love everything Christmas, right down to the Elf on the Shelf, or the holidays bring stress and sadness, choose a holiday motto to frame your experience of the season. It can be gratitude or service, fun or family, “Let it snow” or “Goodwill to men.”

However you celebrate, and whatever you celebrate, I wish you, and this world, peace.

How do you plan to experience the holidays this year?

Thanks for getting thoughtful with me,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book reviews/Recommended kid lit

How to Find a Great Book: Goodreads Choice Awards

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 5 Comments

Goodreads Choice AwardsYou know when you read an award winning book and you think, Why did this win awards?  It’s depressing, disturbing, and generally disappointing?  That won’t happen to you with the Goodreads Choice Awards.  Only real people, I mean readers, choose the winners via several rounds of voting.  The the final round of voting for the best books of 2018 is going on now until November 26, so you should hop on over to Goodreads and cast your vote.

 

And even if you don’t want to vote, this is a great place to find your next read.

The categories include fiction, historical fiction, memoir, young adult, middle grade, and new this year, “Best of the Best”.  All of the books in that category are fabulous (The Help, The Hate U Give, The Nightingale,  The Fault in Our Stars), but I had to give my vote to All the Light We Cannot See.  

Two of my favorites from 2018, Tell Me More and The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Claire (which made it into the semi-finals as a write in –yay for grass roots campaigns) did not get to the final round of voting, but that’s okay.  They are still awesome, and I still am finding great titles to add to my TBR and Book Club suggestion list.

So, if you are looking for great books to give as gifts, or an escape from holiday madness, I highly recommend the Goodreads Choice Awards.  Let me know if you find something good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to encourage reading

How To Raise Strong Readers

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

With the holidays approaching, here’s a little Word Nerd reminder about the importance of reading with kids.  Perhaps you can include books on gift lists, or use family time to encourage reading.  The following slide show from the Harvard Graduate School of Education outlines strategies to get kids reading and keep them reading into their teen years.  I hope you find this resource helpful and that you will share it!

What techniques have you found helpful to encourage kids to read?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me,
Who I Am/Words and Technology

Young Women, Use Your Vote

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 4 Comments

Next Tuesday is Election Day, and thank goodness women earned the right to vote almost 100 years ago.  I’m not about to pass up my opportunity to influence policy about health care, immigration, gun laws, and trade.  However, apparently, that might have something to do with the fact that I’m over 40.  Younger women, those aged 18-35, aren’t so interested in voting.  In fact, a recent poll by Refinery 29 and CBS News found that only 30% of young women plan to vote in the midterm elections in November.

Representatives from the American Association of University Women had a voter registration table set up outside our local community college library in September.  When I asked them how it was going, they told me a lot of the young ladies they reached out to either waved them off or wouldn’t make eye contact.

I was shocked.  Now?  At this time, with this president, women aren’t interested in voting?

It disturbed me, so I did some research.  Turns out that young women are disillusioned and disinterested in politics for several reasons.  Many say they are too busy, or they don’t like the candidates, or they are tired of the negativity in politics.  They want to know about the good things candidates have done in positions of power, not just hear about what everyone has done wrong.

Women want better information, especially about state and local candidates, at a time when local journalism is declining and many people are getting their news via social media, which tends to cover national politics.  Many young people care about politics but think they have more influence volunteering or donating to a cause or candidate, or by posting their political views on social media.

Sharing a political post might get people talking and thinking, but voting is the clearest, most influential way to make a difference in a democracy.

In this mid-term election, seats in the US Senate and the House of Representatives are up for grabs.  The outcome of those races could affect the balance of power in the federal government by influencing which party has the majority in the House and the Senate.  Senators confirm lifetime judicial appointments, not just to the Supreme Court, but other lower courts as well.

Politicians at the state and federal level are debating and discussing policy about health care, taxes, and trade agreements, policy that could have a direct impact on how much we pay for food and other goods as well as our access to medical care and how much we pay for it.

Then there are the issues of education, abortion, immigration, and the environment.  We really can’t afford to sit out of the debate.  We all need to be informed, and we all need to make our wants known by casting a vote.

I, too, get annoyed with the negativity and partisanship in political coverage.  But I spend a little time each week scanning national and local sources to gather enough information about policies to understand the basics of what is going on in this country.   I urge you to do the same, especially if you are a young woman or if you know one.

In her novel The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas sends an important message to readers:

“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

Let’s not be silent.  Let’s use our voice and our vote at times when it matters, and let’s encourage our fellow citizens to do the same.

Do you plan on voting on November 6?  Why or why not?