Blogging

I've never been good at blogging. I can't seem to get a rhythm. Maybe it's because I have so much writing I should be doing. It is sort of mind boggling to me that this blog still exists. Especially since people who argue against technology tell us that we are losing the archive by writing everything online.

I was never a big archive person. I have never really explored one, but then I hear what people discover and I'm fascinated. I think we will find that digital archives will be fascinating as well.

Fame

I recently read both Fame Junkies by Jake Halpern and Cult of Celebrity by Cooper Lawrence. I had assumed from the titles and where I read about the texts that they would both be a criticism of the way people follow celebrities. However, that was not the case.

Halpern's book does, I think, a good job at trying to remain objective about the things people are willing to do to achieve fame and support "the machine." Lawrence's text is about much of the same topic, but rather than questioning why a person would put him or herself through it all, Lawrence applauds people who worship at the alter of celebrity as a necessary part of consumer culture. In defense of Lawrence, she makes her living as part of the fame machine, and it would be counter intuitive for her to speak out against it. Also, she does say that there are too many people who are seeking fame but will never find it.

Interestingly, both texts address the necessary narcissism someone must have in order to subject him/herself to the horrors of the fame machine. It made me realize how much fame drives insecurity and consumerism. Overall, both books made me thankful I am not famous and actually hope, despite certain days where I feel the opposite, that I never become so.

The Lightning Thief

I just finished Percy Jackson and the Olympains book One, the Lightning Thief. I kept seeing previews for the movie and decided to check out the series.



I've never been a big fan of Greek Mythology. I think because of my belief in God, stories about gods just never did anything for me. However, I keep seeing Greek Mythology pop up in more and more literature-- Hugo Cabret and The Hunger Games for starters-- and it makes me wish I had spent a little bit of time reading some of the early stories. I've read The Odessey, but somehow I'm realizing it is not enough to have a full appreciation of the literary history.



About Rick Riordan's text-- I think he does a really great job telling a compelling story while mixing in elements of mythology without being too scary or outrageous. He writes this science fiction story as if it is a memoir, which is an interesting format for children's literature. He still expects his readers to pick up clues, like the fact that Percy's father is Poseidon, but he also tells his readers when he should have realized something that he totally missed.



I'm looking forward to reading book two.

Mockingjay

I finished Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins a few days ago. I'm still not sure how I feel about it all. After I finished Catching Fire last month I started watching the countdown for Mockingjay to come out, and now I wish I had quit reading with all of the unknowns of book two.

She does a good job resolving the issue of the impending war. She also does a good job painting war as a horrible, life changing event. I guess I am unhappy with the ending of the book because Katniss is so scared by everything that has happened to her, which is actually realistic. No real teenager could endure what she endures without life altering scars. It is probably unprofessional of me to hope for more optimistic endings from my fiction. I am more than willing to criticize authors who tie things up a little too neatly-- which was my biggest criticism of Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn. So, I shouldn't criticize Collins for leaving things messy.

Overall, I think it is a good book and a compelling series. The books challenge readers to think about the status quo and what sacrifice may be necessary to change that. It looks at the horrors of taking things for granted, and the corruption of government, even "good" government.

I'm glad I read the books, even if I don't like the end.

The Allergy Journey

I thought I was only going to write about books on here, but I need a place to process the allergy journey, so I figured I'd try this.

On Father's Day we gave Nathan a bite of a peanut butter cookie. He hadn't had peanut butter before, but now he was two, so we figured we'd let him have a bite. He threw up and threw up and threw up and then broke out in hives. So I ran up to Rite Aid, bought some benadryl, and thought He's probably allergic to peanuts. The rest of the summer I've been watching pretty close what he eats and how he reacts, and started to wonder if he's allergic to fresh fruit, especially strawberries and melon. So, finally, when we got home from our summer vacation I took him to the pediatrician and asked if we could have him tested for a peanut and potentially fruit allergy.

At the pediatricians office, everyone seemed pretty laid back about it all. Yeah, we'll test him. He's probably not allergic to fruit. He might be allergic to peanuts. Go get this bloodwork, when you have a chance. So I took Nathan that day. A week later, a nurse from the pediatrician's office calls with the cheerful statement-- You can feed your son cod, carrots, and rice. He's allergic to just about everything else. We'll call in a prescription for an epi-pen to your pharmacy.

For the record, that's an overwhelming conversation. Especially since she called me at 5:00 as I'm getting ready to make dinner and not having any cod in the house I start wondering what on earth I'm supposed to cook. I decided to pretend I didn't get the phone call.

The next day I called the allergist and they couldn't get me in for an entire week, so I asked what I was supposed to do. They, kindly, told me to avoid peanuts, but otherwise to feed him whatever he was willing to eat until I could come to the office.

So, this week we went to the allergist. The pediatrician had faxed me his test results, so I knew which allergens were the highest: peanut, egg, tree nut. I also knew I was scared to find out what they would determine. Either he was really going to be allergic to everything and I was going to have to make some dramatic cooking changes, or maybe he wasn't going to be allergic to much and life wouldn't change all that much.

I got something in the middle. After doing scratch tests-- except with peanut b/c apparently his blood test results are so high they are all shocked he hasn't had some severe reaction yet, the allergist determined Nathan is allergic to all nuts, eggs, and wheat. Not bad compared to the initial news from the pediatric nurse, but still fairly significant.

Now, though, I knew that I had a definitive result and I had to start cooking accordingly. That night I looked at my pantry and thought, what to make for dinner. No pre-made rice side dishes-- they all contain wheat. Why? Who knows why rice should contain wheat, but it does. So decided to make spaghetti and make rice noodles for Nathan. His response... spaghetti no hurt mouth.... spaghetti no hurt mouth. My poor boy had been in pain almost every time he ate! I knew he never wanted to eat bread, but I thought he was a picky eater, I didn't realize it actually caused him physical pain to eat one of my favorite foods.

I am not enjoying being the neuritic mother who looks at all the labels and asks the workers at the cider mill if there's a chance there is peanut in the cider (which there is), but I am enjoying the happier boy who is my son.

alter egos

I just finished reading _Queen of the Road_ by Doreen Orion, and if I didn't know it wasn't true, I would think that she is the alter ego of Beth Moore. You compare their love for their husbands, their pets, and fashion along with their writing style, and one could argue they are the same person. Now, you would have to exchange Doreen's love for martini's with Beth's love for Starbucks, but other than that....

About Queen of the Road, it's a nice, light-hearted read. I haven't read a book that was written for readers over 21 in quite a while, so her chapters beginning with a cocktail recipe were a switch. it was interesting to read about the various places they visited throughout the country, and she has a nice conversational tone that makes her easy to read.

Catching Fire

I just finished Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I am so thankful the third book is coming out in August. I really should have paid attention to that prior to starting the series. The question will be can I wait for the book to get to the library or will I succumb to the temptation and buy it...

I wondered where Collins would take the book. Just prior to the Quell announcement I guessed at what would happen. I also knew the gamekeeper guy was on Katniss's side with the whole mockingjay thing. I'm kind of surprised Katniss didn't get that herself. I didn't expect the ending though. I'm also not real thrilled with the love triangle. I keep thinking she'll be scared by losing either Gale or Peeta. I guess anyone would be scared by any of these events though.

If you haven't read the book, I know this post doesn't make any sense at all. If you have, it probably still seems like senseless wanderings. This I know. It's an excellent book. It is not for kids.

After

At the Children's Literature Association Conference I saw a book trailer for the book After by Amy Efaw. It was really a simple trailer. It showed positive words replaced by negative words. However, it completely caught my attention. I needed to read the book, so I put it on hold at the library.

What I never dreamed from the trailer is that it would be about dumpster babies. I gathered it was about unplanned pregnancy, but the idea of sympathizing with a mother who would attempt to kill a baby was unfathomable to me. However, Amy Efaw does it. She makes a reader realize that the women who desert this helpless infants often have more going on than a news-watcher would originally realize.

While reading the book I couldn't help but compare it to Walter Dean Myer's Monster. In both books there is a young protagonist in a detention facility and the reader must decide if s/he agrees with the decision of the judge. In both texts the perpetrator is likable and seems to deserve another chance, yet both are accused of horrific crimes. The biggest difference between the two is that in Myer's text the reader does not know how guilty or innocent Steve is. In Efaw's text, the reader knows Devon is guilty. Instead, the question is does Devon know.

I would not recommend After to anyone. I think it is probably too intense for some readers. However, I think it's a great book. I think Efaw does an amazing job creating a compelling story that challenges readers to consider their initial judgments regarding a situation.