Childhood Book: My Side of the Mountain

Fridays Shelf Awareness referenced a study on children's picture books and the decline of nature in them.  It got me thinking about some of my favorite books when I was growing up.  Although the books that came to mind weren't picture books, they were important stepping stones out of the picture book age.  I can't imagine my childhood without books like Hatchet, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Incident at Hawk's Hill and My Side of the Mountain to stir my deep-seeded desire to run away and live off the land (yes, even now).

So, I decided to do something I have been planning on doing for a long time now, reread one of them.  I did actually reread Island of the Blue Dolphins back in 2010 and since I loved it as much as I remember I can't believe it has taken me so long to pick up another book from this list.  Luckily, I have been slowly buying books from my childhood so I only had to go as far as my bookshelf to find My Side of the Mountain.

Let me tell you guys...I still love this book!  In case you aren't familiar with the story, Sam runs away, lives in a tree (how freaking awesome!) and has a pet falcon named Frightful.  There is a moment in the book that really stuck with me the first time I read it in elementary school and over the years I think about it at the most random times.  Sam builds a fire in his tree and...

Then I noticed something dreadful.  Frightful was sitting on the bedpost, her head under her wings.  She was toppling.  She jerked her head out of her feathers.  Her eyes looked glassy.  She is sick, I said.  I picked her up and stroked her, and we both might have died there if I had not opened the tent flap to get her some water.  The cold night air revived her.  "Air," I said.  "The fireplace used up all the oxygen.  I've got to ventilate this place."
pg. 92-93

Ever since I imagined that sweet bird I was unable to get the image of her glassy eyes out of my mind.  

Moral of the story:
We need books about trees and animals and dirt and edible flowers.  Books set in natural environments.
Also, read books from your childhood.  It's amazing!

"Waiting On" Wednesday

Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts "Waiting on" Wednesday, a place where we can voice the books we are patiently - okay probably impatiently - waiting to be released.




Fever (Chemical Garden)
by Lauren DeStefano
Pub. date: February 21, 2012

From author's website:

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside,
they find a world even more disquieting than the one they left behind. Determined to
get to Manhattan and to find Rhine’s twin brother Rowan, the two press forward,
amidst threats of being captured again . . . or worse.

The road they are on is long and perilous-and in a world where young women only live
to age 20 and men die at age 25, time is precious. In this sequel to Lauren
DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price-now
that she has more to lose than ever.

I got suckered in

So...I don't celebrate Valentine's Day.  I know, I know...please don't hate me for it.  It has nothing to do with relationship status, I was this way dating then single then dating then....well, you get the picture.  Every year my husband looks at me with his serious face and says "ok, I'm really not doing anything for Valentine's Day so this isn't just woman speak for 'I want you to surprise me' right?"  And I assure him I would like nothing more than for the day to pass without my even noticing it (which actually happened 2 years ago. Best. V-Day. Ever!)

What can I say, my mother was extremely vocal about her belief that if you love someone you should tell them every day not just the 14th of February (and yet she is the only one who gives me a Valentine every year).

However, this year I have been forced to play nice with the confetti slinging cupid.  Work is having a bake sale to benefit the Human Race.  Drat!  I can't argue with charity. So, I grabbed my wax lips, put on my smiley face and whipped up a batch of "just add milk" mini cheesecakes.  Then, I decided to add a strawberry heart topping and viola...I'm a step up from store bought red and pink sugar cookies.

Not too shabby for someone who hates this over-commercialized holiday thank you very much!

A Book with a Bonus

I am currently reading The Book of Lost Fragrances by M. J. Rose (and fully enjoying it) for an upcoming blog tour courtesy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and I wanted to pass along the info of a very exciting promotion going on. 

Don't forget to watch for my review next month.

Discover the perfume inspired by The Book of Lost Fragrances

Pre-order The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose and they'll send you a free sample of Âmes Soeurs, the Scent of Soulmates. This exclusive fragrance, inspired by the novel, was created by Joya Studios and is not yet for sale. Joya’s Âmes Sœurs hints of Frankincense, Myrrh, Orange Blossom and Jasmine. It’s smoky uncommon finish suggests the past and the future, and lost souls reunited.

Just use one of the links at http://mjrose.com/fragrances/scent.asp and follow the directions there.

Offer ends March 1, but pre-order now since they have a limited number of supplies! US and Canada only.

O! M! G!

So.....you know how my blog has been all possessed and I have been working my hocus pocus on it.  Well, I fixed it...YAY!  And it was something really stupid...GRR!  The post that blocked up the system was "My Fave Books of 2011" and all the cover images and made the post too big.  How stupid is that!!

So my brain is Blogger fried but all is on the up and up now...I just need to re-post my faves without all the pics.  Lame! 

More from the "Technology Hates Me" series...

Well, we got our new router up and running in time for me to realize that my blog is having some serious technological issues.

Ever since I updated my layout my posts have been rebelling. The first one since decided it needed the homepage all to it's own. I tried to troubleshoot for a while and then decided it wasn't the end of the world it was just annoying so I decided to let. It throw it's temper-tantrum and once I had enough posts up after it all would be back to normal. Who was I kidding? It's never that easy!

It took me some time to realize it but all of those new posts aren't updating in google reader and who knows what else! S now I have to figure out what evil gremlin took over my blog and try to exorcise it. Does exorcism work on gremlins? Well I'm going to try!

I planned on spending last night throwing holy water at my computer and googling Latin chants but my Internet was down!! This time it was the cable modem so I went town (yes I live in the boonies and say things like "went to town") and swapped it out for a younger, more energetic model. We will see. If it works when I get home, so for now I am back to mooching free wifi from Starbucks.

Anyone know a good priest?