In a heartbeat

Our book club discussed "In a heartbeat," the story of the Tuohy family and their adoption of Michael Oher, a black teen-ager. The very successful movie, "The blind side," told the story of how they came to meet Michael and fold him into their loving family, assisting him to become a high school and college graduate and a successful NFL player.

It is an inspiring story--although I disagree with some of the basic points--like "how little it takes to help fill the desperate wants" of the poor and unfortunate, or the subtext that Michael would not have succeeded in life without them and the boost they provided. Michael would have succeeded no matter what.

I bought this book at the Volunteers of America store for $1.91, and today I passed it on to Tina at Panera's and told her when she was finished with it, to pass it on. Michael Oher has now also written his account of his life as the child of a drug addicted mother who went on to fame and fortune in the NFL. The Tuohy book will make more sense if you see the movie "The blind side" first--or if you've read that book.

A new book about women . . .

This is making the rounds of Facebook and I couldn't resist.

Knight: A Noble Guide for Young Squires

Today at Volunteers of America for $1.91 I purchased another pop up book, Knight: A Noble Guide for Young Squires, c2006 The Templar Company, published by Candlewick Press, 2067 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140. It is a lovely children's book by “Ernest Drake,” a pen name, who has published the book Dragonology, and under the name Dugald Steer wrote The Dragon’s Eye about Ernest Drake’s adventures.

"Knight, which is about knights, is written under the pseudonym “Sir Geoffrey de Lance” who writes to ask his son Hector to rescue him from a castle in France and in so doing provides Hector (and the reader) with all kinds of information about how to become a knight, what knights do, and other interesting items about knighthood. There are all sorts of interactive popups and sidebars with notes and illustrations. The book says “Ages 3 and Up,” but even when he was age eleven, Jeremy just loved reading through it and using the material as he played “knight” with his friends. It would make a great and highly usable (i.e., fun) resource for youngsters learning about medieval European history."

http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolbookreview/781749/

"As the book is written by Hector’s father, his voice comes through loud and clear in an often humorous way. After all it would not do for Hector to forget that the whole point of this exercise is that Hector is expected to rescue his father from captivity."

http://lookingglassreview.com/html/knight_a_noble_guide_for_young.html

Book: Knight: A Noble Guide for Young Squires
Author: Dugald A. Steer
Illustrators: Alastair Graham and Neil Chapman
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2006
ISBN-13: 9780763630621
ISBN-10: 0763630624

Lakeside Women's Club Book Sale

At 4 p.m. yesterday the Women’s Club book sale went to a $1/bag, so I went back and picked up some I had noticed earlier.

1. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, (the green book). HC. I’ve been looking for one. Our church has not given it up for traditional services, and I often see something on Sunday I’d like to look at later. I've tried some sections of the newest Lutheran hymnal, but it just doesn't have the lovely flow and rhythm of the LBW. Originally Missouri Synod was in on this one, but never adopted it.

2. Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis. (2000) PB originally $14.00

3. A nostalgia for camels by Christopher Rand (c1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957). HC. I noticed a number of books on the middle east with Sally Sue Witten’s name in them, but which had been written in and annotated by “Siegfried” and dated 2011. He noted ”54 years later not much has changed but we are deeply involved in A/P (Afghanistan/Pakistan?). Sorry about that.” This collection was written from 1948-1956. Unfortunately, the 2nd owner marked it up with ballpoint ink. Hate that. But for 20 cents, what can you expect?

4. Traveling mercies; some thoughts on faith by Anne Lamott (1999). PB I read excerpts from this about 10 years ago when I discovered her writing.

5. Slow waltz in Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller (1993) HC. Fiction, and this is an example of why I usually don’t buy it--it’s got a pretty cover and a one hit wonder author, but not much else to recommend it.

Cross posted at Collecting my thoughts

Black Beauty

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. H. M. Caldwell Company, New York, 1894. 227 p. 4.5 x 6.5". Binding olive green with silver design, plus pink 5-petal flowers. Illustrated. Bookplate: Private Library of C. E. Weybright [my grandparents]. There's no information inside on who used this book, but it is in good condition with no loose pages or wear.

When I was a girl, I read primarily horse and dog stories. Never read those children's titles in series (Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, Elsie Dinsmore*), with the exception of the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which my mother first read aloud to my brother and me as we curled up with her in the big overstuff chair. But today, I don't know if I could do it. Animal stories are always so sad and the older ones contain a lot of moralizing. Poor Black Beauty had a tough life. But Anna Sewell has messages for children in it, plus a strong appeal to treat animals kindly as other creatures made by God:

"One day when there was a good deal of kicking, my mother whinnied to me to come to her, and then she said: "I wish you to pay attention to what I am going to say to you. The colts who live here are very good colts, but they are cart-horse colts, and of course they have not learned manners. You have been well-bred and well-born; your father has a great name in these parts, and your grandfather won the cup two years at the Newmarket races; your grandmother had the sweetest temper of any horse I ever knew, and I think you have never seen me kick or bite. I hope you will grow up gentle and good, and never learn bad ways; do your work with a good will, lift your feet up well when you trot, and never bite or kick even in play." I have never fogotten my mother's advice; I knew she was a wise old horse, and our master thought a great deal of her. Her name was Duchess, but he often called her Pet."

*My sister Carol received a set of Elsie books to pass the time when she was recovering from polio, and I think I did eventually read them in my early teens. Somehow the box of Elsie (a complete set, I think) got put in the trash and we lost her. I have one now that I bought in a sale just so I'd have the memory of the little girl all the educators and critics loved to hate because she was so goody-two-shoes.

More out the door

Yes, we're weeding, deacquisitioning, deselecting or decluttering. We're throwing things out. These books are out the door.

Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 12th, 1973 (too old)

Control of Communicable diseases in man, 15th, 1990 (too old)

1997 Red Book, 24th.

Stepping Heavenward, by Mrs. E. Prentiss, 1997 reprint, PB (very good)

Library Quarterly, Oct. 1965, used this for my senior paper, the article on Islam is interesting.

And some really old text books we've been hanging on to for 50 years:


Dwelling House construction, 2nd ed. 1954

Modern timber engineering, 5th ed. 1963

Statics and strength of materials, 1950

Building construction, 2nd ed. 1941, 17th printing 1957