Ten On Tuesday

10 PLACES YOU'D TAKE A TOURIST TO SEE IN YOUR HOMETOWN

My hometown is Pittsburgh PA

In no particular order:

1. Fallingwater--built by Andrew Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmanns.



2. Mount Washington--here is the view from Mt. Washington at night



3. The Inclines--to get to Mt Washington



4. Kennywood Park--home to some great coasters!!



5. Steeler, Penguin or Pirate Game--Go Pens!!!!



6. Primanti Brothers Restaurant--yummy sandwiches piled with coleslaw



7. University of Pittsburgh/Oakland--my old stomping ground...



8. Pittsburgh Zoo--has a great new polar bear exhibit where you go into a tunnel under the water and can watch the bears swim. It is awesome!



9. Ohiopyle--State Park a little under two hours outside of the city.



10. The Carnegie Museum of Art & History--one of the best dinosaur collections

Thanks for checking out my city!

Spring Reading Thing 2008

Yeah, I'm already signed up for the Spring Reading Challenge. Why am I doing this one too? I'm going to sign up for this challenge since it runs different dates (goes a little longer), allows you to link your posts and there are prizes!!!

Spring Reading Thing is being hosted by Callista at Callapidder Days

Spring Reading Thing 2008 is simply an opportunity for you to set some reading goals, share them with the blogosphere, and work toward them this spring. Perhaps you want to add some variety to your fiction reading. Or maybe you've had very good intentions as far as reading that book on budgeting or marriage or starting a home business, but...you haven't even cracked the cover yet. Some might want to read more with their children; others might feel guilty for never having read Wuthering Heights.

The official dates are March 20th through June 19th. Make your own list!!!!!!

My list will cross over with the other Spring Challenge so I don't go crazy and then will have my additions since it runs longer.

1. The Messenger (Lois Lowry)
2. God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
4. The Boy In Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)
5. Prentice Alvin (Orson Scott Card)
6. The Blind Assassin (Margaret Atwood)
7. Bel Canto (Ann Patchett)
8. Parasite Rex (Carl Zimmer)
9. Number the Stars (Lois Lowry)

Alternates

Alvin Journeyman
Heartfire
The Crystal City
House of the Spirits (Isabel Allende)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J. K. Rowling)
Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil (Deborah Rodriquez)
Dicey's Song (Cynthia Voight)
Holes (Louis Sachar)
Uglies (Scott Westerfeld)
Magic Study (Maria Snyder)
I, Mona Lisa (Jeanne Kalogridis)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Book Review: Cruel & Unusual

Author: Patricia Cornwell

Pages: 407

Genre: Fiction/Thriller

Personal Rating: 3/5

Awards: Gold Dagger Award

From the back cover:

When convicted killer Ronnie Joe Waddell is executed in Virginia's electric chair, he becomes what should be a routine postmortem case for Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta. But after Waddell's execution, the murders continue, as everyone connected to him begins to die-including a member of Scarpetta's staff. Then, when crucial records begin to disappear from her files, Scarpetta comes under fire for incompetence. Caught in a web of political intrigue, betrayed by those she trusted, Scarpetta must fight to free herself from murderous insinuations—and threats to her own life, To save her career, Scarpetta soon finds herself retracing Waddell's bloody footprints, following a trail that might lead to long—hidden secrets deep within the state government. Either the truth will set her free—or unleash upon her a punishment both cruel and unusual.

This book was OK! It was just your good old fashion satisfying read. Nothing spectacular. It was interesting enough to keep me going but no so great that I'm going to be running around recommending it to everyone I know. I wasn't able to figure out what was going on (so that was good) and everything was neatly wrapped up in the last few pages.

If you like thrillers/mystery/foresnic reads you'll enjoy this book. It isn't one of the best I've read but it sure isn't a dud!

A Book Meme

I found an old book meme at The Daily Meme that looked fun so I gave it a shot.


Another (5) Book Meme

1. Take five books off your bookshelf.

2. Book #1 -- first sentence (The Burn Journals)

• I'm awake, listeing to the radio, and Mom is yelling at me to get out of bed.

3. Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty (Hidden Warrior)

• Despite her disfigured face she'd grown into a shapely young woman.

4. Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred (The Patron Saint of Liars)

• I was six weeks away from delivery and and there could be no doubt that the was not bringing me out to his house to kiss me, to tell me I was beautiful.

5. Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty (Fieldwork)

• He was one of those kind with a bottomless pit for a stomach, and sometimes he'd eat dinner at home, then at Aunt Helena's house, then stop at a noddle stall for a bowl of noodles.

6. Book #5 -- final sentence of the book (Fever 1793)

• Day was begun

7. Make the five sentences into a paragraph:

I'm awake, listeing to the radio, and Mom is yelling at me to get out of bed. Despite her disfigured face she'd grown into a shapely young woman. I was six weeks away from delivery and and there could be no doubt that the was not bringing me out to his house to kiss me, to tell me I was beautiful. He was one of those kind with a bottomless pit for a stomach, and sometimes he'd eat dinner at home, then at Aunt Helena's house, then stop at a noddle stall for a bowl of noodles. Day was begun

Univ. of Pittsburgh--Big East Champs!

Go Pitt!!!!!! Gotta give a shout to my alma mater

Free Book Give Away!!!!

So I was cruising around look for new book blogs and I found a really neat one called The Page Flipper. What makes it even better is that Chelsea is giving away SIX books! Here is what she wrote!

So, for March, we've got six awesome new books to give away, all provided by the amazing publishing house Simon&Schuster.To enter, send me an email at thepageflipper@yahoo.com with "March Contest" in the subject line. The email can say anything, but I'd really appreciate some book recommendations (or tell me whatever you're reading now -- I love chatting about books) I'll reply to let you know I got your entry, and that's it! You're entered! Contest ends March 31st at midnight. If you happen to be the lucky winner, I'll email you on or around April 1st for your address -- so make sure to check your email, or I'll end up having to pick another
winner.If you'd like to increase your odds of winning, blog about this contest and send me a link, and you'll earn an extra FIVE entries. (I really want to get the word out.)

Here is the link to her post about the contest.

The books begin offered are:

• Tweak by Nic Sheff
• Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
• and it's sequel, In Search for the Red Dragon
• Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
• Fake Boyfriend by Kate Brian
• The Unspoken by Thomas Fahy

Friday Fill In

1. Contact may cause me to give you a kiss (if you're my husband).

2. The parties hereto do mutually agree to sleep in different beds until my foot doesn't hurt anymore.

3. Disney parks are very clean.

4. My pain pill sounds really good right about now! (can you tell I'm injured????)

5. I positively am going to read as many books as I can while I'm off my feet.

6. My pets (still) always makes me smile :-)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include taking a drives, finding some antiques and eating at the place that catered our wedding and Sunday, I want to watch the Penguin game! Go Pens!!!!

Book Review: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

Author: Christopher Moore

Pages: 464

Genre: Fiction/Humor

Personal Rating: 5/5

From the back cover:

The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years -- except Biff.

Ever since the day when he came upon six-year-old Joshua of Nazareth resurrecting lizards in the village square, Levi bar Alphaeus, called "Biff,"had the distinction of being the Messiah's best bud. That's why the angel Raziel has resurrected Biff from the dust of Jerusalem and brought him to America to write a new gospel, one that tells the real, untold story. Meanwhile, Raziel will order pizza, watch the WWF on TV, and aspire to become Spider-Man.

Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung-fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes -- whose considerable charms fall to Biff to sample, since Josh is forbidden the pleasures of the flesh. (There are worse things than having a best friend who is chaste and a chick magnet!) And, of course, there is danger at every turn, since a young man struggling to understand his godhood, who is incapable of violence or telling anything less than the truth, is certain to piss some people off. Luckily Biff is a whiz at lying and cheating -- which helps get his divine pal and him out of more than one jam. And while Josh's great deeds and mission of peace will ultimately change the world, Biff is no slouch himself, blessing humanity with enduring contributions of his own, like sarcasm and café latte. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more -- except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdala -- and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

Lamb is the crowning achievement of Christopher Moore's storied career: fresh, wild, audacious, divinely hilarious, yet heartfelt, poignant, and alive, with a surprising reverence. Let there be rejoicing unto the world! Christopher Moore is come -- to bring truth, light, and big yuks to fans old and new with the Greatest Story Never Told!

Do you want to laugh out loud? I did…from page one. This book was completely unique. Biff was Joshua’s (Jesus) best friend. He is called back from the dead 200o years after Christ’s death to write another Gospel as he saw things. The story follows Biff and Joshua as they set out to find the 3 wisemen who appeared at Joshua’s birth to help him understand how to become the Messiah. (He’s having a little trouble). I simply couldn’t believe some of the situations and thing that happened to these two. It was too funny. To imagine these things happening to Jesus and his friend? At one point they sneak out at night (typical teenage stuff) to chop off the penis of a stone statue since it’s “against” their religion. Typical teenage rebellion but it isn’t!

I wish I still had this book with me but it was too good to hold onto. I needed to pass it on. If I did still have it I could share more of the hilarious scenes from it. This one simply needs to be read. At the end Moore gives a little afterward and says if you found the book offensive you need to pray more. I thought it was a good point. The book isn’t meant to be offensive or make fun of anything. It’s simply one man’s interpretation of events that there is very little documentation for, he just happened to put an amusing spin on it. I think its good to laugh.

Playing Editor (BTT)

Suggested by John :

How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:

__________ would have been a much better book if __________.

Alright, lets see...

WHITE OLEANDER would have been a much better book if IT WOULD HAVE HAD 200 HUNDRED LESS PAGES!


MIDDLESEX would have been a much better book IF IT HAD TALKED MORE ABOUT THE MAIN CHARACTER AND LESS ABOUT HER FAMILY

LAST BOOK OF THE DARK TOWER SERIES BY STEPHEN KING would have been a much better book IF SOMEONE WOULD NOT HAVE GIVEN AWAY THE ENDING ON THEIR BLOG (SPOILER). I was soooooooooooooo mad. I had spent years reading that series and in one sentence it was undone! If I could have crawled through the screen and choked that person I would have. No warnings any where. The book had just been released--I should have known better.

OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA would have been a much better book IF HE DIDN'T TALK SO MUCH ABOUT CORN. Chapters and chapters about corn. I couldn't each corn for a month.

This was fun this week. I'm going to see if I can think of anymore.

Book Review: The Burn Journals

Author: Brent Runyon

Pages: 319

Genre: Non-Fiction/Memior

Personal Rating: 5/5

From the back cover:

In 1991, fourteen-year-old Brent Runyon came home from school, doused his bathrobe in gasoline, put it on, and lit a match.

He suffered third-degree burns over 85% of his body and spent the next year recovering in hospitals and rehab facilities. During that year of physical recovery, Runyon began to question what he'd done, undertaking the complicated journey from near-death back to high school, and from suicide back to the emotional mainstream of life.

In the tradition of Running with Scissors and Girl, Interrupted, The Burn Journals is a truly remarkable book about teenage despair and recovery.

Wow. I read this book in one day. Granted, I’m layed up with a broken foot but even so it wouldn’t have taken me long. Brent Runyon’s story is horrifically fascinating but yet not depressing.

“The Burn Jounrals describes a particular kind of youthful male desolation better than it has ever been described before, by anyone.” –Andrew Solomon author of the Noonday Demon.

That sounds about right. Brent allows you into the inner most aspects of his life and mind during the most difficult part of his life. I was embarrassed to be lying in bed feeling sorry for myself and the “pain” I felt in my ankle.

A very interesting aspect is the afterword where Brett discusses how he still struggles with depression and how he has still sometimes has had thought about killing himself (again). He goes on though to talk about how he has finally begun to realize he needs help, therapy and drug and that they are not signs of weakness or “bad things”. In reference to all those people who say “I don’t want to resort to drugs” as if some people have a choice. There is still so much ignorance about mental illness it make me sick!

I want to do this book justice with a FANTASTIC review but I just don’t know how. All I can say is that it is well worth the time to grab it and read it. You won’t be the same after reading it. I’m not.

Some things that stuck with me

• How good ice chips taste


• The look in the paramedic and his mom’s eyes and they took him out of the house after he lit himself on fire


• His struggles to go outside and have people look at him


• Joy at seeing his dog Rusty when he goes home


• He didn’t know why he did it

Non-Fiction Five Challenge

Read 5 non-fiction books during the months of May - September, 2008 (please link your reviews on Mister Linky)

Read at least one non-fiction book that is different from your other choices (i.e.: 4 memoirs and 1 self-help)

1. The $64 Tomato (William Alexander)
2. The Family That Couldn't Sleep (D. T. Max)
3. The Republican War on Science (Chris Mooney)
4. Parasite Rex (Carl Zimmer)
5. Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood. (Julie Gregory)

Alternates

Evolutionary Wars: A Three-Billion-Year Arms Race (Charles Levy)

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbably(Nassim Nicholas Taleb)

Go Ask Ogre: Letters from a Deathrock Cutter (Jolene Siana)

Non-Fiction Five Challenge hosted by Joy at Thoughts of Joy

Book Review: Red Prophet (Tales of Alvin Maker II)

Author: Orson Scott Card

Pages: 320

Genre: Fiction/Sci Fi. & Fantasy/Epic/Series

Personal Rating: 2.5/5

From the back cover:

It's the 19th century, and Napoleon is in command of an army in Detroit. Andrew Jackson is a lawyer from Tenezzy, and William Henry Harrison is the self-appointed governor of Wobbish just east of the Mizzipy River. And somewhere up north, in a small town called Vigor Church, is a young boy named Alvin who is the seventh son of a seventh son, with the power to shape the world around him. These are the tales of Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker, which takes place in an alternate American history where folk magic really works. And this is the story of the Red Prophet, where Alvin finds himself caught in a war between the Red men and the Whites on the American frontier.

Book II from Tales of Alvin Maker was not my cup of tea. If it wasn't the second book in a series for the Series Challenge and if I had not enjoyed Book I, I probably would have stopped reading. It's not that it was a terrible story, or horribly written (quite the opposite actually). It just wasn't my thing.

The focus of Book II is Alvin's relationship with the Red Prophet and Ta-Kumsaw (the Prophet's brother) and the impending war between the Whites and the Reds. I'm sure it is important for the foundation of the series but as a stand alone novel I found it boring. There was a lot of foreshadowing involved so I'm pretty sure you couldn't just skip this book and move on with the novel.

There were sections I found very interesting and hope to find more sections like those in the upcoming books. Alvin using his knack for healing, references to the Torch, who pulled the caul from Calvin's face when he was born. The prophet's visions of Alvin's future with the crystal towers were all topics i found interesting and wished were covered in more detailed.

I wouldn't abandon the series based on this book alone. It seems that many people really enjoyed book II. I'm however ready to move onto Book III.

New Additions to "The Library"

• Messenger: Lois Lowry
• We Thought You Would Be Prettier: Laurie Notaro
• The Club Dumas: Arturo Perez-Reverte
• Ender's Game: Orson Scott Card
• Daniel Isn't Talking: Marti Leimbach
• The Birth of Venus: Sarah Dunant

Book Review: Flowers for Algernon

Author: Daniel Keyes

Pages: 311

Genre: Fiction/Sci Fi. & Fantasy

Personal Rating: 4/5

Awards: Nebula & Hugo

From the back cover:

Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence-a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon.

As the treatment takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment appears to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance, until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?

What a unique and interesting book! This story follows Charlie, a mentally retarded 30 something who has an operation performed (on his brain) to increase his intelligence. Most of the story is related through Charlie's progress reports as he sees events unfolding.

As Charlie's intelligence increases, so does his memory. He begins to remember his childhood and how he came to be "abandoned" by his family and to understand why he has sexual issues. He also starts to questions the friends he used to have since they used to laugh at him and make him do silly things (since he didn't know better). This part of the story is sad. The realization of how we/some treat mentally retarded individuals.

This book opens up so many ethical and moral questions related to experimentation, the betterment of society and the worth of an individual. Who determines that worth?

If you haven't read this one I would definitely add it to your list!