The Beginner's Guide to Natural Living by Larry Cook

So... Am I the only person who kind of thinks the natural living advocates are full of shit? I really don't mean to be ignorant and rude about this but it's been bothering me for a long time.

I ordered this book because I have been thinking a lot about my body and my health lately. I am a firm believer that the body can heal itself and that what you put in is what you get out. I had been thinking that maybe I wanted to invest in organic foods and make my own household cleaners and the like. (The smell of cleaners makes me nauseous. It has for a few years now but I usually just deal with it or don't clean the house.)

There are a lot of things about natural living that I just don't understand. Why do people who live naturally have to ruin everything for those of us who don't? Why do they insist that it will be easy when the first chapter is about how your water will KILL YOU unless you purchase an in home filtration system and then go on to tell you that you need to get rid of all your food and shop only at health food stores? If natural living is so good for you, why do you have to take supplements and give yourself enemas? And why, WHY is it always the government and big business conspiring against us?

Perhaps I am just an old woman, stuck in my ways, but that is not the way I want to live. I suppose this was a good book, a great starting place with tons of suggested resources. I cannot fault Cook's writing or coverage of the subject. This was my own fault for choosing to research the subject.

How the Hula Girl Sings by Joe Meno

If you've never read a Joe Meno book, I suggest you go out and buy one right now. I would suggest starting with Hairstyles of the Damned, which is what got me started and is also one of my favorite books. It's different from the rest of his work, for sure, but wonderful. I've found each and every one of his books that I've read since to be great, quirky, weird, and somehow heartbreaking.

This is the story of Luce Lemay who is an ex-con returning to his hometown after a three year stay in prison. He robbed the liquor store he had been working at and, while on the run, hit a baby carriage, killing its occupant. He never meant to kill any babies, or any adults for that matter, but he knows that he is returning home marked as a baby killer. He has a job lined up and a place to stay and his ex-con friend Junior is waiting for him. On the bus he meets Charlene. She is beautiful and she's also the little sister of a girl he used to fool around with on Sunday afternoons. And that's just the first chapter.

Attempting to build a new life on the crumbling foundations of an old one is difficult. A lot of people in town don't want Luce around. The one who wants it least is Charlene's ex-fiance. Luce is always trying to move forward, prove that he is a good man and do what is right even though he is guilt-ridden. However, things get violent in town and Luce needs to decide what kind of man he is, regardless of what others say about him.

A Field Guide to the North American Family by Garth Hallberg

This was a really neat little book. I never would have thought of telling a story like this but it was wonderful to read.

A Field Guide is the story of two families through the years. Each family has a father, mother, daughter, and son. They a neighbors and the boys are the same age. Instead of chapters, this story is told in entries which are alphabetical, just like in a field guide. Each entry is accompanied by a picture and cross references. For instance, "Adolescence" is cross referenced with "Boredom" and "Angst." There is a story here. The families face hard times. There is death and divorce. There are accidents and rumors. Everything comes slowly, in disjointed spurts because of the arrangement.

I would have gladly given this book five stars except that I kept getting characters mixed up, specifically the boys and the moms. It was handy to have a cast of characters in the front of the book to refer to but I wish there had been a little more character development instead. Still, I loved it.

Carrie by Stephen King

Carrie is the book that first got me really reading. I read it in junior high and I recall actually sitting in a pretty uncomfortable position for hours, devouring it page by page.

There is a danger in revisiting old literary loves. You never know if they are going to be quite like you remember. I wanted to reread this for a few reasons, though. I work with a few junior high girls that keep asking me for horror books. I've been getting into Stephen King a lot more recently. Also, I kind of wanted to know if it still stacked up.

I still love this book. It is decidedly juvenile and the first scene is kind of rough. It's embarrassing and harsh but it really sets the mood for the rest of the book. Even better, it is perfect to hook a twelve year old girl. I imagine that I related with Carrie when I was twelve. I felt like a loner and was hurt by the other kids. Then it was amazing (but still horrifying) to read about Carrie destroying the town, punishing the people who hurt her. Now that I am an "adult," I took something completely different from it. I felt bad for Carrie. I felt bad for the people who died, who never got to learn their lessons really. In today's world of school shootings this is a paranormal twist that might make kids think about violence differently.

For a first novel this is phenomenal and it's really not surprising that King developed into the author who brought us such masterpieces as The Stand, The Dark Tower, and The Green Mile.

The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill by Heather Brewer

Soon after the release of this spin-off series, an envelope arrived on my doorstep. Inside was a shiny new copy, signed, just dying to be read. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that it took me this long to get to it. On the other hand, it was so worth the wait.

If you are familiar with the Chronicles of Vladimir Todd, you probably know Joss. Joss is Henry's cousin and he is a slayer. We got to see Vlad's side of the story, be an audience to the inner workings of vampire society. Now we get to see the other side.

When Joss witnesses a vampire killing his younger sister, he was horrified. At her funeral he is approached by his uncle, Abraham, a family member he cannot ever remember actually talking to. For the first time, someone seems to believe that a vampire actually killed Cecile and Joss is relieved to discover that he is not alone. Not only does Uncle Abraham believe him, he offers Joss a chance to become a slayer and take revenge.

A few years later, Joss is being called to training earlier than expected. In a cabin in the mountains, Joss meets other slayers and begins to learn about the new world he is entering. He makes his first friend, a girl named Kat whose father is the caretaker of the group. However, he is surprised to find his uncle especially cold. He seems to be doing everything in his power to make Joss fail. The training is grueling. To make matters worse, slayers are starting to die and the group is beginning to turn on itself.

This was a great read. There were times went it actually hurt to put it down. It has been wonderful to see Brewer's writing develop with each new book.

Copper-Toed Boots by Marguerite deAngeli

I have been working on reading the deAngeli books for a little while now because I work at the Marguerite deAngeli library and it just seems appropriate to read them. Five days a week I walk past original drawings and a collection of artifacts that includes her Newbery medal. The house she was born in is on a corner that I drive past multiple times a week. Perhaps because of this and because I have spent most of my life living within 20 miles of Lapeer, which is our "city" out this way, I really enjoyed this book.

Copper-Toed Boots is a story of pioneer Lapeer. Like all of deAngeli's stories, it is simple. Shad is just a typical boy. Maybe he gets into trouble a little bit more but most of the time his intentions are good. I say most of the time because there is the incident with the calf in the belfry. A lot of the stories come from tales deAngeli heard growing up. They are rooted in Lapeer history. As fun as it was reading about Shad's adventures, I think I actually had more fun trying to place everything in Lapeer. Where does the Flint River get just deep enough to swim in near Nepessing Street? Where would there be an abandoned mill two or three miles Flint way?

I really did enjoy this book. It was a nice, pleasant read. It was exactly the type of book that I want to share with my children someday.

Rock What You've Got by Katherine Schwarzenegger

I ordered this book for my library because I have a group of girls who are just in junior high. Junior high was when I started having my body issues and I wanted to have something on the shelves with both information and a positive message. I wanted to read it really just to see what it was about.

It was alright. I think that I would feel okay giving it to my junior high girls. There are a lot of facts and personal stories here that are aimed at making girls feel a little less alone. It reads easily enough. There are special sections just for moms. However, I just found her voice to be a bit annoying. Then again, I am not a 12 year old girl anymore! Another thing that I didn't particularly like was how often Schwarzenegger talks about how normal her life is when it obviously is a bit different than the average girl's.

This would be a great book to give a girl the first time you hear her cut herself down. I think that maybe the message would be lost on an older teenager.

Pink Smog by Francesca Lia Block

At first I was a little concerned when I saw that a prequel to the Weetzie Bat books was coming out. The thing that really threw me off was that the description said Louise couldn't get anyone to call her Weetzie, a nickname her father gave her. Wasn't it heavily implied in the original series that Weetzie was her real name? In fact, doesn't Weerzie, when asked about her strange name, exclaim, "Weetzie, Weetzie, Weetzie! I don't know. Crazy parents!"

But I am delighted to report that I loved this book. I can understand why Block is always going back to these characters. Sliding into Weetzie's L.A. is kind of like putting on a favorite pair of shoes. It just feels right.

Plus, isn't it comforting to know that somebody like Weetzie had an awkward stage too? This is when Weetzie is just trying to get by and maybe even fit in. She wants the popular girls' shoes and hair. When her dad leaves and her mother starts drinking even more, Weetzie is forced to grow up. She has to learn to love and see beauty and believe in herself. Really, isn't that what middle school is all about?

If someone as magical as Weetzie started out as a mousette, can't we all end up a little like Weetzie?