Weekly Geeks: 2011-23 Literary Prizes

The weekly geeks topic this week is about book awards. I honestly don't care about awards for adult books, for contemporary "literature." But I definitely pay close attention to the children's book awards--many given by the American Library Association. And, for me, the Newbery is the BIG award of the year!

I've read 24 Newbery Winners and 49 Newbery Honor Books. Except for Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins, which won in 2006,  I've read each winner since 1997! And there are quite a few years I've read most (if not all) of the honor books (2011, all but one, the Dark Emperor being tricky to track down; 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007,  2006, two out of four; 2005, 2004.)

My favorite, favorite, favorite Newbery winner would probably be The Giver by Lois Lowry!!! It's the only one on the list that I've read four or five times! (Though some I've read twice!)

Which winners/honors are your favorites?

Here are the winners that I've read:

Moon Over Manifest (2011)
When You Reach Me (2010)
The Graveyard Book (2009)
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! (2008)
The Higher Power of Lucky (2007)
Kira-Kira (2005)
The Tale of Despereaux (2004)
Crispin: The Cross of Lead (2003)
A Single Shard (2002)
A Year Down Yonder (2001)
Bud, Not Buddy (2000)
Holes (1999)
Out of the Dust (1998)
The View From Saturday (1997)
The Giver (1994)
Number the Stars (1990)
Sarah, Plain and Tall (1986)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1972)
A Wrinkle in Time (1963)
Island of the Blue Dolphins (1961)
The Door in the Wall (1950)
Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (1947)
Adam of the Road (1943)
Hitty Her First Hundred Years (1930)

Here are the honors books that I've read:

Turtle in Paradise (2011)
Heart of a Samurai (2011)
One Crazy Summer (2011)
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (2010)
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (2010)
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2010)
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (2010)
The Underneath (2009)
The Surrender Tree (2009)
Savvy (2009)
After Tupac & D Foster (2009)
Elijah of Buxton (2008)
The Wednesday Wars (2008)
Feathers (2008)
Penny from Heaven (2007)
Hattie Big Sky (2007)
Rules (2007)
Princess Academy (2006)
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow (2006)
Al Capone Does My Shirts (2005)
The Voice That Challenged a Nation (2005)
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (2005)
Olive's Ocean (2004)
An American Plague (2004)
The House of the Scorpion (2003)
Hope Was Here (2001)
Because of Winn Dixie (2001)
Our Only May Amelia (2000)
A Long Way From Chicago (1999)
Ella Enchanted (1998)
The Thief (1997)
What Jamie Saw (1996)
The Watsons Go To Birmingham: 1963 (1996)
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (1991)
The Sign of the Beaver (1984)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1982)
Ramona and Her Father (1978)
Frog and Toad Together (1973)
To Be A Slave (1969)
Charlotte's Web (1953)
My Father's Dragon (1949)
The Hundred Dresses (1945)
These Happy Golden Years (1944)
Little Town on the Prairie (1942)
The Long Winter (1941)
By the Shores of Silver Lake (1940)
Mr. Popper's Penguins (1939)
On The Banks of Plum Creek (1938)
Millions of Cats (1929)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks: 2011-21 Blogger Playlist

I've had this idea for a couple of months now, so when it was my turn to post the weekly geeks question, I went with it. The activity this week is to share blogging-inspired playlists. The idea of this one is to choose song titles that sound like they have something to do with reading or blogging. Songs that reflect how you feel about blogging in general. Or reading. This has more to do with the titles themselves than the actual genres or styles of the songs. So you might include on your blogger playlist songs that you'd never actually put together on a playlist.

1. You Can't Always Get What You Want ~ The Rolling Stones
2. 19th Nervous Breakdown ~ The Rolling Stones
3. Reflections of My Life ~ Marmalade
4. Who Needs Sleep ~ Barenaked Ladies
5. I'm Into Something Good ~ Herman's Hermits
6. Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind ~ Lovin' Spoonful
7. Little Bit Me, Little Bit You ~ Monkees
8. Out of Time ~ Rolling Stones
9. You Can Get It If Your Really Want ~ Jimmy Cliff
10. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks: 2011-19 Quotables

This week's weekly geeks is all about our favorite quotes. I thought I would try to have a bookish quiz. Before you get too excited, there are no prizes to be won. But. I thought you might enjoy the challenge anyway! These twenty-two quotes come from twelve different authors. All of these quotes come from books I've read--and reviewed--this year. (January through June) How many authors or books can you guess correctly? Can you identify any of the characters speaking?

If you don't want the challenge of guessing the answers, I'd still love to hear from you. Which of these quotes do you like? I'd love to hear your thoughts about them!!!

1) "Do you find it easy to get drunk on words?"
"So easy that, to tell you the truth, I am seldom perfectly sober. Which accounts for my talking so much."

2)  "As I've told you, I've got a very suspicious mind. My nephew Raymond tells me, in fun, of course--that I have a mind like a sink. He says that most Victorians have. All I can say is that the Victorians knew a good deal about human nature."

3) "If you learn how to tackle one subject--any subject--you've learnt how to tackle all subjects."

4) "The spoken word and the written--there is an astonishing gulf between them. there is a way of turning sentences that completely reverses the original meaning."

5) "I'm afraid that, observing human nature for as long as I have done, one gets not to expect very much from it. I daresay idle tittle-tattle is very wrong and unkind, but it is so often true, isn't it?"

6)"'The exact truth! Very few people do speak the exact truth. I have given up hoping for it.'"

7) "If the ears be too delicate to hear the truth, the mind will be too perverse to profit by it."

8) "Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages."

9) "Words, mademoiselle, are only the outer clothing of ideas."

10)"I learned (what I suppose I really knew already) that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back--that the essence of life is going forward. Life is really a one way street, isn't it?"

11) "I remember a saying of my Great Aunt Fanny's. I was sixteen at the time and thought it particularly foolish."
"Yes?" I inquired.
"She used to say, "The young people think the old people are fools--but the old people know the young people are fools!"

12) "But death does not stand at the end of life, it is all through it. It is the fear of losing, the knowledge of losing that makes love tender."

13) "A sermon is not to tell you what you are, but what you ought to be, and a novel should tell you not what you are to get, but what you'd like to get."

14) "One demands a little originality in these days, even from murderers," said Lady Swaffham. "Like dramatists, you know--so much easier in Shakespeare's time, wasn't it? Always the same girl dressed up as a man, and even that borrowed from Boccaccio or Dante or somebody. I'm sure if I'd been a Shakespeare hero, the very minute I saw a slim-legged young page-boy I'd have said: "Odsbodikins! There's that girl again!" 

15) "But Shakespeare one gets acquainted with without knowing how. It is a part of an Englishman's constitution. His thoughts and beauties are so spread abroad that one touches them every where, one is intimate with him by instinct. No man of any brain can open at a good part of one of his plays, without falling into the flow of his meaning immediately."

16) "My grandma always said that God made libraries so that people didn't have any excuse to be stupid. Close to everything a human being needed to know was somewhere in the library. There was plenty I needed to know."

17) "Every minute you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes part of theirs."

18) "No man was ever taken to hell by a woman unless he already had a ticket in his pocket, or at least had been fooling around with timetables."

19)  "But he had long ago determined that he would work where he was most needed, in the midst of turmoil, even in war. He would not allow his mind to be delicate nor his heart remote."

20) "Nursery rhyme riddles had been as much a part of my younger years as they had anyone else's. I suppose it was these little rhymes, learned at an early age, that taught me to be good at puzzles. I've recently come to the conclusion that the nursery rhyme riddle is the most basic form of the detective story. It's mystery stripped of all but the essential facts."

21) "Think about the happiness of those around you, and your own will come without thinking."

22) "I am careful with my opinions, sir; they are my bread and butter and the main source of my self-esteem."

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks 2011-18

I mean to participate more often than I actually do when it comes to Weekly Geeks. (Maybe you're the same way?!) But. I do value the idea of Weekly Geeks, I want to help keep this project alive because it was one of Dewey's legacies.

There are two options this week. I think I'll do a bit of both.

Suggestions for weekly geeks topics

• lists, lists, more lists. I like topics that give me an opportunity to write and share lists with readers. They don't *have* to be top ten lists or anything. But lists of favorite authors, favorite books, favorite genres, favorite subgenres, favorite covers, favorite first sentences, favorite couples, favorite friendships, favorite pets, favorite book-to-movie adaptations, favorite heroes, favorite heroines, favorite villains, favorite quotes, favorite addictions, favorite book trailers, whatever.
• create a music playlist for a book (or series)
• pair quotes from song lyrics with books 
• write letters to fictional characters
• write letters to authors (dead or living)
• share reading plans, reading goals, reading lists
• create a reading challenge. It doesn't have to be a *real* challenge. You'd be under no obligation to actually host it. But if you could host any challenge, any reading challenge, what would it be, what would the rules and guidelines be, what would the focus be?

If you have a suggestion for a weekly geek topic, leave a comment here or on the weekly geeks blog.

Genre Allergies

There was a time when I was convinced that I hated mysteries. I was so very sure that I hated mysteries. That this genre was so-not-for-me. Not ever. Let other people "waste" their time on such stuff, but as for me, you won't find me reading "those kinds of books". Well, if you've read my blog since January--you'll notice that I've become more than a little obsessed with the genre!!! (My current obsession is with Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series. And Lilian Jackson Braun's Cat Who series.)

So here are a few of my suggestions for those who have allergies to mysteries

Rex Stout: The Golden Spiders or Some Buried Caesar. The good news with Nero Wolfe, I believe, is that you could start with *any* book in the series. They don't have to be read in any certain order at all.

Agatha Christie: Miss Marple mysteries: Murder at the Vicarage, The Moving Finger, 4:50 from Paddington. Hercule Poirot mysteries: Sad Cypress, Cards on the Table, Murder on the Orient Express.

Dorothy Sayers: Lord Peter mysteries: Whose Body? and Strong Poison

Carrie Bebris: Pride and Prescience

Alan Bradley: Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag
and A Red Herring without Mustard.

Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time.

A clip from "The Golden Spiders"



I do still claim an allergy to westerns. But I've read two that I *really* loved. So it remains to be seen if this allergy will disappear too over time. 

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks: Catching Up On Reviews

This week's weekly geeks theme is one of my favorites. It's a Dewey Original. Though I don't think it's a favorite of other weekly geeks. (I'm not sure why.)

1) In your blog, list any books you've read but haven't reviewed yet. If you're all caught up on reviews, maybe you could try this with whatever book(s) you [hope to] finish this week. 

2) Ask your readers to ask you questions about any of the books they want. In your comments, not in their blogs. Most likely, people who will ask you questions will be people who have read one of the books or know something about it because they want to read it.

3) Later, take whichever questions you like from your comments and use them in a post about each book. I'll probably turn mine into a sort of interview-review. Link to each blogger next to that blogger's question(s).

4) Visit other Weekly Geeks and ask them some questions!

I happen to be all caught up on reviews. But I am currently reading a handful of books. So I will share what I am currently reading. And you can ask me questions about any of these! If you're not familiar with a particular book--you can ask me about the author or the genre!

• Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens (Victorian literature/classic)
• Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (Victorian literature/classic)
• Enclave by Ann Aguirre (YA dystopian)
• Black Orchids by Rex Stout (adult mystery)
• The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (adult literature/classic)

These are books that I have NOT started yet. But I hope to get to very soon. You can ask me questions about these if you prefer.

• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (classic)
• The Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer (MG/YA Fantasy)
• Angel Isle by Peter Dickinson (MG/YA Fantasy)
• Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs (Adult Historical Fiction/Christian Fiction)
• The Gift by Bryan Litfin (Adult Fantasy/Science Fiction/Christian Fiction)

Want to help me pick the next book from my TBR pile? I'm participating in the TBR Pile Challenge, I'm feeling a little discouraged.

A Faraway Island. Annika Thor. (MG Historical Fiction)
War Games. Audrey Couloumbis and Akila Couloumbis. (MG Historical Fiction)
The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson  (YA Realistic Fiction)

Even if you're not participating in the Weekly Geek event, I ask you to please ask a question or two!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks: ABC's of Favorite Authors

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this week's weekly geek theme! 

You know how when someone asks you who your favorite author is? And you feel a bit crazy coming up with just one? Now is your chance to come up with 26 (at least) favorite authors by making a list of  them ABC style.  (See my above link from the past for an example.) There are no rules, list a couple per letter if you feel the need. Skip a letter if you draw a blank. Make it be categories if you want to.  For instance, a favorite YA author list. A favorite classic author list.  A favorite "new to me" author list. A favorite mystery author list.

Or simply an all time favorite author list... from A to Z! 

A -- Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Emma, Lady Susan, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park. Persuasion Revisited.

B -- Carrie Bebris. Pride and Prescience, North by Northanger, The Matters at Mansfield. Intrigue at Highbury.

C -- Agatha Christie. The Mysterious Affair At Styles. Murder on the Orient Express. Murder at the Vicarage. A Miss Marple Mystery. The A.B.C. Murders. (Hercule Poirot). The Body in the Library. (Miss Marple). Five Little Pigs. (Hercule Poirot), A Murder is Announced. 4:50 From Paddington. Cards on the Table. Agatha Christie. Appointment with Death. At Bertram's Hotel. Cat Among the Pigeons. Sad Cypress. And Then There Were None. The Moving Finger. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. A Caribbean Mystery. The Big Four. Evil Under the Sun. Taken at the Flood. Dead Man's Folly.

D -- Charles Dickens. Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend. Little Dorrit.

E -- Julie Edwards. Mandy.

F -- Nancy Farmer. The House of the Scorpion. The Sea of Trolls. The Land of Silver Apples (coming soon!)

G -- Elizabeth Gaskell.  Wives and Daughters. Mary Barton. Cranford. North and South. North and South Revisited. 

H -- Georgette Heyer! Civil Contract,  The Foundling, April Lady, Beauvallet,  Convenient Marriage, Audiobook. Venetia, Bath Tangle, Black Sheep, Sylvester,  Cotillion, The Nonesuch, Lady of Quality, Cousin Kate, Regency Buck, The Reluctant Widow, Charity Girl, Convenient Marriage, Frederica, The Talisman Ring, The Grand Sophy, The Corinthian, Arabella, These Old Shades, Devil's Cub, The Black Moth, The Toll Gate, and Sprig Muslin.

I -- Eva Ibbotson. Countess Below Stairs.
J -- Diana Wynne Jones. Howl's Moving Castle. Castle in the Air, House of Many Ways. Enchanted Glass. The Spellcoats.
K -- Kate diCamillo. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Tale of Despereaux, Mercy Watson Thinks Like A Pig, Mercy Watson to the Rescue, Mercy Watson Goes For A Ride, Mercy Watson Fights Crime, Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise, Mercy Watson Something Wonky This Way Comes. The Magician's Elephant.
L -- Lois Lowry. The Giver.  Gathering Blue. Messenger. Gossamer.  The Birthday Ball. The Willoughbys. Number the Stars.
M -- L.M. Montgomery! The Blue Castle, A Tangled Web, Chronicles of Avonlea, Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, Emily's Quest, Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside, Kilmeny of the Orchard.
N -- Patrick Ness. Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and The Answer, Monsters of Men. 
O -- ORSON Scott Card -- Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, The Worthing Saga. Empire. Lost Boys; Ender's Game, (Ender's Game), War of Gifts, Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Pathfinder. The Lost Gate.
P -- Terry Pratchett  Nation, The Wee Free Men. A Hat Full of Sky. Wintersmith. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. Wyrd Sisters.
Q -- Julia Quinn: The Duke and I, The Viscount Who Loved Me, An Offer From A Gentleman, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, To Sir Phillip, With Love, When He Was Wicked, The Lost Duke of Wyndham. Mr. Cavendish, I Presume.What Happens in London. Ten Things I Love About You.

R -- Rick Riordan: The Red Pyramid, The Maze of Bones, The Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, and The Battle of the Labyrinth. The Last Olympian.

S -- Dorothy Sayers! Whose Body?, Unnatural Death,  Strong Poison. Have His Carcase. Gaudy Night.

T -- Anthony Trollope!  The Warden, Barchester Towers, Doctor Thorne, The Way We Live Now, Lady Anna, He Knew He Was Right. Framley Parsonage. The Small House At Allington.

U -- Anne Ursu. The Shadow Thieves, The Siren Song. The Immortal Fire.

V -- Vivian Vande Velde. Cloaked in Red. Tales From the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird.

W --Scott Westerfeld  Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras, Peeps, The Last Days, The Secret Hour, Touching Darkness, Blue Noon, Leviathan, Behemoth.

X

Y --  Jane Yolen.  Sword of the Rightful King

Z -- Markus Zusak. The Book Thief. I Am Messenger.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks 2011-10 Ten Things

ETA: I forgot to link to Weekly Geeks! 

1. As much as I love reading new books and new-to-me books, I LOVE rereading books! I do. It is comforting, yes. And satisfying. You might think a book--even a GREAT book--wouldn't be as engaging the second (third, fourth, or even fifth) time around, but I haven't found that to be the case. I think I got more out of North and South the second time around because the characters were already my friends. Because I connected sooner, I was able to notice all the little things that made the story work well.
2. Rereading books is a great way to assess myself as a reader.  Is the book that I loved, loved, loved three years ago really that great? Or did I forget about it three months later? There's no way for me to know if it was infatuation or true love if I never revisit the book. A great book only benefits from a rereading.
3. One bad book can change (forever) how you feel about a series.
4. I never read just one book at a time. I am almost always reading three to five books.
5. I could never commit to reading just one genre.

6. [Bad] Book covers fascinate me. For example, I LOVE looking at old paperback covers. [Dell] [Signet] [Avon] [Bantam] [Ballantine] There are whole decades that I question if there was such a thing as a good book cover!
7. I visit my library regularly.
8. I love reading classics. I especially love bearded Victorians!
9. I never listen to an audio book unless I've read the book. Richard Armitage reading Georgette Heyer makes me giddy!
10. I would rather love a book or hate a book than be left feeling completely indifferent. Because how can you review a book when you feel absolutely nothing?!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Planning for Weekly Geeks #27

I was thinking that it might be nice for those bloggers who are Weekly Geeks to pay tribute to Dewey in the next week or so. To take the time to post to their blogs a "Weekly Geek" post about Dewey--maybe share their favorite posts from her site, maybe share a memory or two about participating in weekly geeks, the bookworms carnival, the 24 Hour Readathon, or one of Dewey's challenges, maybe just share a favorite memory of Dewey in general, what they'll miss most, how they'll remember her, etc. I'm going to try to post mine this Saturday--but bloggers anywhere and everywhere are encouraged to post whenever they want.

If you're interested please SPREAD the word to all your blogging friends.

Note: You wouldn't have to have been an 'official' weekly geek to join in on this. New participants joined on a weekly basis. There was always room for more then...and now.

To join in on the Dewey discussion--how to honor her memory, keep her legacy alive...visit the Ning discussion forum here.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks #5

This week's theme is "other forms of story-telling." Other meaning not books.

I have this grand delusion that I'm going to craft the perfect post that reveals just how perfectly obsessed I am with Stargate SG-1. My post won't be perfect, I know, but I hope it makes sense. The obsession? Not worried about that coming across at all.

2010: The Start of It All.

I'm a night owl. It's true, it's always been true. I "discovered" Stargate SG-1 when it aired in syndication on Saturday nights. I don't remember if it started at 11 something or 12 something (which would technically have made it Sunday morning but whatever.) The very very first episode I saw was from season four. It was entitled "2010." The one sentence summary, "Ten years into the future, the former members of SG-1 must send a message into the past to prevent the extinction of the human race." I knew nothing of the team, knew nothing about the show really. I just saw that it had one very cute guy--Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and that it had the undercurrent of romance. Okay, I didn't know for absolute sure about the romance. But Sam and Jack? Every scene they were in just sparkled. I felt that something had to be there. But perhaps even more important for me at that exact time, the episode focused on time. Though the people weren't time traveling, they were trying to send back a message in time. Plus in this episode, there is a dystopia. Add in the fact that there is a great theme song, and I was head over heels in love. I made a point to watch it every week from that point on. So I finished the rest of season four and began on season five.

"You, too???!!!"

At some point in the midst of season five, I discovered something life-changing. Dad was watching Stargate too! He was watching it on Saturday afternoons. At that point, I didn't know it came on during the day. And he was always asleep by the time I was watching it at night. But one day, it all came together and clicked. We didn't watch it together--not at that point in time--but this was a life-changing discovery all the same. In the fall of 2003, Dad needed neck surgery. He'd gotten hurt at work, and was going to required lots of recuperation time at home before he'd be physically able to go back to work. (He wouldn't start back until January or February 2004). One of the first things we did was go to Best Buy to buy all five seasons of Stargate on DVD. They were running one of their awesome sales where the more seasons you bought, the more you saved. This would be the first time I saw the first three seasons. (I had eventually caught up on all the season four episodes in reruns.) It might have been less than ideal for him--pain wise--but we spent hours and hours and hours and hours and hours watching Stargate together.

Stargate OCD style

There is a ritual in our house. One that is tested and proven extremely satisfying. It might seem a bit much to outsiders, but it works for me. (I think I'm more of a fan than Dad is when it comes to this ritual. But he goes along with me.) What is it? Well, it's the again-again factor. To prepare for season six's release, you must watch all of Stargate seasons one through five. To prepare for season seven's release, you must watch all of Stargate seasons one through six. To prepare for season eight's release, you must watch all of Stargate seasons one through seven. To prepare for season nine's release, you must watch all of Stargate seasons one through eight. To prepare for season ten's release, you must watch all of Stargate seasons one through nine. That's where we're at this moment. Though we've "owned" season ten for months and months and months, we didn't open until last night. Why all the repeated viewing? Well, besides the fact that it's the best show ever...I've found that it only gets better the more you watch it. It doesn't lose anything by repeated viewings. It's not something I've ever gotten tired of or bored with. Almost all episodes (give or take two or three or four) are just as wonderful, just as magical as the first time. Some, in fact, improve. They grow on you.

So why Stargate?



There are many reasons why I think Stargate is the best show ever ever. Some of them seem more logical than others. Is a great theme song really a good enough reason to watch a show? Well, maybe not the best reason. But it's a good hook. Anyway, it's a great song. And it becomes addictive. Especially if you sing it.) The science fiction of it--the premise, the story, the plot. It's complex. It's cohesive. All legitimately valid reasons to watch the show. To be proud of the show. But for me, it's all about the characters. Jack O'Neill. Samantha "Sam" Carter. Daniel Jackson. Teal'c. General Hammond. Bra'Tac. Rya'c. Jacob Carter/Selmak. Janet Fraiser. Thor. Not to mention all the bad guys that you can love-to-hate. Stargate SG-1 for me is all about the relationships. How characters interact with one another. It's because of the love, the trust, the friendship, that the show is so enduring. Jack's sarcasm, his wit, his ability to kick butt. The ever-cuteness of Daniel. It's so many things--both the writing and the acting--that make this THE BEST show ever.

The Magic That Is--Sam and Jack

From the very moment these two meet, magic begins to happen. Really. The pairing of Sam and Jack makes this show work. It's the undercurrent of so many episodes.













Then there's The Stargate Cantina, surely that's a reason, right?




© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks #4

One of the issues (just one of many) that I feel strongly about is literacy. My thoughts are simple really. Read, read, read, read, read. There is no better gift you can give a child--your child--than the gift of literacy. What this means for parents is twofold. One is that you should model reading in the home--have books, magazines, newspapers, etc.--so that your child will grow up seeing that you value the written word, you value reading, that it's not just something you talk about in regards to them and homework and getting good grades and writing that book report...that it's a part of your daily life. That reading is a lifelong thing. That it isn't just a pointless, waste-of-time, teacher-is-making-me-do-it thing. The second is that you should read aloud to your child (or your children). It's never too early to start. And it's really a gift that keeps on giving. Another important point is that it's never too late either. You can keep reading aloud EVEN after your child has mastered the basics. It's a fact that they can listen and comprehend above the ability that they can read for themselves. Plus, it's a bonding time that should be nourished. Why stop at the age of seven or eight just because the kid can read Go, Dog, Go or Hop on Pop all on their own? It's a pleasurable activity that doesn't have to end that quickly.

Here are just a few of the books that you might find handy:

Story Stretchers for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos: Experiences, Activities, and Games for Popular Children's Books

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Gryphon House (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876592744
• ISBN-13: 978-0876592748

Growing A Reader From Birth by Diane McGuinness

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039333239X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393332391

Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books; 1st printing edition (September 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156010763
• ISBN-13: 978-0156010764

Reading with Babies, Toddlers, and Twos by Susan Straub and KJ Dell'Antonia

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402206127
• ISBN-13: 978-1402206122

Baby Read-Aloud Basics: Fun and Interactive Ways to Help Your Little One Discover the World of Words by Caroline J. Blakemore and Barbara WEston Ramirez

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM/American Management Association; 1 edition (July 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081447358X
• ISBN-13: 978-0814473580

The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition by Jim Trelease

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 6 edition (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143037390
• ISBN-13: 978-0143037392

How To Get Your Child To Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1 edition (June 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565123085
• ISBN-13: 978-1565123083

Playful Reading: Positive, Fun Ways to Build the Bond Between Preschoolers, Books, and You by Carolyn Munson-Benson

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: Search Institute Press (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574828576
• ISBN-13: 978-1574828573

What Should I Read Aloud? A Guide to 200 Best-selling Picture Books by Nancy A. Anderson

• Paperback: 165 pages
• Publisher: International Reading Association; 1st edition (August 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872076792
• ISBN-13: 978-0872076792

And here are a few online resources as well:

Reading Books to Babies
Exploring Books With Babies
Baby's First Teacher
Enticing a Restless Reader
Reading to Babies, Toddlers, and Young Children: The Why? The What? And The How?
Reading to Your Baby
Reading and Language: About My Baby
Grow Up Reading--Babies
Babies, Books, and A Lesson in Happiness by Mem Fox

One other thing to note. You don't have to own books in order to surround yourself and your family with books. You don't have to own books in order to give the gift of reading. Public libraries are wonderful resources for all families. So you don't have to have lots and lots of money, you just have to make reading a priority by giving it your time and energy. Yes, it's easier to sit down at the end of the day and watch TV...but when you think of long-term, life-long benefits, books are the way to go!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Weekly Geeks: Childhood Favorites

This week's theme almost seems too big for me. Where to start? Really??? I have always loved to read. I was read to in the womb, I suppose you could say. My older sister being the primary audience, but secondhand reading should count for something, right??? Anyway, I think I can honestly say that my love of books happened really early on. Books were an every day thing. And my parents (and my grandparents not to an aunt now and then) all thought books were important. We grew up surrounded by books and loving books and loving to be read to. I don't think we ever had attention span problems. I don't remember being the antsy sort of kid that had to run, run, run all the time. I don't think I ever had to be chased and caught and held on to in order to listen to a book. Because there were so many books (then and now) it's always been hard to narrow it down to just a few.

There's Alice in Wonderland, of course, and the sequel Through the Looking Glass.
There's Winnie the Pooh and House at Pooh Corner and the two poetry books featuring Christopher Robin and friends.
There's the Little House books.
The Ramona books.
The Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books.
The Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was discovered in fourth grade.
The Babysitters Club were probably fourth or fifth as well. But by the end of sixth I was a little too old for them.
I loved reading Trumpet of the Swan in between fifth and sixth grades. I remember the day I read it because there was a fire in our pasture. Very scary that. (I also loved Charlotte's Web).
I loved Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Loved it.
The Anne books. These were probably discovered around sixth grade or so. (L.M. Montgomery)
Around seven and eighth grade, I discovered Gone With The Wind.
Also during these junior high years I discovered (and loved) the Sunfire Romance series. (the "name" books)
High school saw me discovering the rest of L.M. Montgomery's books. (The Emily series, Blue Castle, etc.) And also discovering Eugenia Price's historical series. I also found Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

That I think covers many of the important books before the age of 18. (But excluding picture books because that would be way too long.)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews