Nose in a Book

Ok, so it’s been forever since I’ve participated in Weekly Geeks, but this week has a fun topic – comments!

Do you have a commenting policy? For example:

*Do reply to all comments? If you do, how do you do it? Email? On the blog?
*Do you use moderation?
*How do you handle trolls? Flaming?
*How much do you tolerate from a belligerent commenter before you close or delete comments?

Have you ever gotten a comment from someone you admire? An author? A superstar blogger (the ones with the book deals)?

How do you feel about author comments? Are they welcome or do they make you nervous?

Word verification? Yay or nay.

And then there’s spam. How do we combat the evil that is spam?

Talk about your experiences with any of the above. Share your wisdom with other bloggers. What works on your blog? What doesn’t?

If you are feeling brave, try something new and report on it later in the week (a new commenting widget or spam catcher. These will vary depending on your blog).

Or write a commenting policy, even if no one sees it but you.

Or comment on some blogs you’ve never commented on before.

As always, take this prompt and make it your own.

Do I have a commenting policy? I do, you can read it here.

Do I reply to all comments? Not all the time, but if I have something to say, I’ll reply and always in the comments.

Do I use moderation? Sort of – I have a spam blocker that decides if a comment needs to be held for moderation.  If it does, I get an email notifying me that a comment is waiting to be moderation.  This doesn’t happen very often.

How do I handle trolls? It depends how trolly they are – sometimes I respond, something I just delete the comment.  Flaming? Uh, I don’t get enough comments for there to be any flaming!

How much do I tolerate from a belligerent commenter? Not much, I’ve never had to deal with this on my book blog but on my personal blog.  Usually my regular commenters come to me rescue and I don’t need to delete anything.  I have a couple of very well spoken commenters that have the ability to make most people look really stupid.

Comments from someone I admire? Yes, pretty much everyone who comments.  Thanks everyone!!

Comments from authors? I’ve never had any.  It makes me nervous to think they might be reading my reviews, but I would definitely welcome comments – unless they are rude!

Word verification? My spam blocker will sometimes decide that a commenter needs to prove they are human before posting a comment.  But not always.

Spam? I have a plugin called Spam Karma.  It’s pretty good at catching spam but it catches a lot of non-spam too!  If that ever happens to you – don’t worry, I always check the spam before deleting it.  Legitimate comments will always get rescued!

I meant to post about my new little baby but it slipped my mind until I read another blogger who’s just had a baby.

Here she is – the reason I took such a long blogging break:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly- Newbery Honour Book 2010

So, I’ve decided to read all the Newbery Honour books since I’ve already read the winner.  I want to know if I agree with their choice!

I chose to read this one first because of the cover.  Isn’t it fun?  Anyway, Calpurnia Tate is a twelve-year-old girl with six brothers, three older and three younger.  She lives in Texas at the turn of the century (the 20th that is).  Her grandfather is distant and most of the kids are afraid of him (if not all), until Calpurnia goes to him with a question about grasshoppers.  He tells her she’s smart enough, she should figure it out herself.  When she figures it out she reports to him and they begin to develop a relationship based on their mutual interest in the natural world.

The book is really about Calpurnia’s relationship with her grandfather.  There isn’t a major plot and while I really liked the book, I can see that it might not appeal to the younger audiences like When You Reach Me would.  That being said, I still think I would have enjoyed this book as a twelve-year-old…I just can’t see reading it to my seven-year-old anytime soon.

But, I did really like it.  Calpurnia was a likable protagonist and her brothers were entertaining as well.  There was also a coming-of-age aspect to the book, both for Calpurnia and some of her brothers.  I like the Kelly’s writing style as well.  I can’t quite put my finger on what appealed to me but it did.  I can see why this was chosen as one of the honour books, and I would recommend it but I also see why it didn’t win the actual prize.  Not because it isn’t good, but because When You Reach Me is better.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Wow, I loved this book!  It was such a quick easy read (probably because I’m not the target audience).  I can see why it won the Newbery Medal this year.  I haven’t read the rest of the honour books yet so I can’t say for sure that it was the best one, but I’m working on it!

Twelve-year-old Miranda, who lives in New York City with her mother, begins to receive mysterious notes.  She doesn’t know who they are coming from and she doesn’t quite understand what they mean either.  On top of that, her best friend Sal, got punched for no reason on the walk home and that caused him to stop talking to her entirely, there is some weird homeless guy living on her street creeping her out and she keeps bumping into the guy that punched Sal, and he doesn’t ever seem to remember her.

This book was so sweet.  Miranda is a totally believable twelve-year-old and a likable one too.  She has some friend issues but she works them out in the end.  What I liked most about the book was that I felt it was uplifting.  Miranda has some problems but nothing insurmountable.  Lately, it seems like there have been a lot of books with children who have truly depressing lives.  I liked that Miranda had a pretty happy life.

I loved the ending.  I don’t want to give anything away because the surprise was what I liked the most about it.  This was a sweet little book that I was able to read in an afternoon.  A definite recommend.  I can’t wait until my seven-year-old is just a little bit more mature so I can read it to him.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Read for: Banned Books Challenge

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a very long time.  It’s been sitting on my night stand (where I keep my TBR in the next month pile) since September because I planned to read it for Banned Books Week.  But I just never got around to it.  But then a friend told me that I had to read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, but that I should probably reread A Wrinkle in Time first.  So I finally picked it up.  I remember loving this book when I was younger.  In fact, I remember it as one of the books/series’ that made me love reading!  I read it several times and loved it every time, but I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as an adult.  But I did!  I think I may like it even more now because I think I have a deeper understanding of the novel now.

I’m surprised that this book has been challenged/banned because it apparently has anti-Christian ideas.  I found it just the opposite.  I think it has very strong religious themes.  People may have been offended by the “witches” and I’m not sure that if this book were published today it would have any problems with it.  They have their hands full with all those evil Harry Potter and Twilight novels!

There were a few things that bothered me about the book but I think it’s mainly because I am not the target audience.  The pacing of certain events were a little too fast for me, with not enough character development but I know it’s perfect pacing for a younger audience.  I think children need the story to happen faster, but they also have a better ability to accept the characters relationships without a whole bunch of lead-up.

I’m so glad I was able to enjoy this book as much as I did as a child and I can’t wait to reread the rest of the series.  I also can’t wait until my oldest is mature enough to read it to him.  I love reading to him my favourites from when I was young and I really hope that by doing this I can teach him to love reading and books as much as I do!  (This is the cover of the copy that I had as a child.)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Read for: Canadian Book Challenge 3, What’s in a Name? 3 Challenge

I loved this book!  I don’t know how I haven’t heard of it sooner, I know people have been blogging about it because I just read a bunch of reviews, but somehow I’ve missed them all.  Last month at book club a couple of people mentioned it and I decided it sounded interesting.  I’m so glad I picked it up!  I’ve been having a rough week (nothing serious – just adjusting to life with three kids) and it’s been the only thing that’s kept me sane (besides bedtime!).

Anyway, what made the story for me was Flavia, the main character.  She’s an incredible intelligent eleven-year-old who loves chemistry.  She’s inherited a very well appointed chemistry lab (seriously, I used to teach chemistry and some of the equipment she had was better than we had!) and she know how to use it.  I think what I liked best about the novel were all the little chemistry references that were woven into the story.  At one point she’s in a classroom and notices a mistake on the periodic table.  This is too much for her and she has to correct it.  I was cheering her on at that point!

But that’s not even the most important part of the book.  One afternoon, the housekeeper finds a dead bird with a stamp on its beak on the front step.  The very next morning, Flavia finds a dead man in the garden.  After calling the police, she decides that she takes it upon herself to find the murderer.  As I mentioned earlier, Flavia is very intelligent, but she is also eleven and this equals funny!  Another reviewer said the story wouldn’t have worked if she had been older and more mature and I totally agree.  The humour comes from her age and immaturity combined with her intelligence.

The book was fun and humourous and light but still had a great plot and a mystery with an unpredictable ending.   I’m looking forward to reading more about Flavia!

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Read for: Global Reading Challenge 2010 – Europe

The second book in Larsson’s trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, was just as intense as the first one (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).    The book took a little bit longer getting started but once it did it just never stopped!  This time Blomkvist is planning a huge story on the sex trade.  Just before it’s published, the reporter who wrote the story is murdered.  Lisbeth Salander’s fingerprints are on the murder weapon and she immediately becomes the number one suspect.  Blomkvist believes that she is innocent of these murders and sets out to prove it.

I can’t say I liked this one as much as the first one but I still couldn’t put it down.  I love the way Larsson writes.  He just tells it like it is, there is no flowerly descriptions or any extra words.  It seems almost methodical and it’s perfect for this genre.  A couple of things that bothered me this time – there were so many characters, I sometimes had a hard time keeping track of everybody, which didn’t end up being a problem because Larsson makes sure you know enough about the important characters to follow the plot.  Also, there was something about the wrap up of the plot at the end that was just a little too unreal for me.  I had a hard time believing all of it.

But it was still a really enjoyable read and I can’t wait for the next one to come out!

Friday Finds hosted by mizb17 at Should Be Reading

This week I added five more books to me TBR list:

Generation A by Douglas Coupland – Maree at Just Add Books wrote a short review of this book but it was enough to make me add it to my list!

The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby – Clover at Fluttering Butterflies posted about this one.  This is what sucked me in

“Hornby has such enthusiasm for books and for reading. And he has all those neuroticisms that everyone has, he just writes about them better than most. How he buys loads of books and never gets around to them. How sometimes he gets distracted by what’s on the telly, complains about long-winded passages in books. He gives up on books.”

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehreneich – Bethany at Dreadlock Girl reviewed this one.  The premise of the book sounded interesting but what decided me was this:

“Barbara puts a face on the working poor, a face that you won’t be able to forget even if you aim to. I highly recommend this Nickel and Dimed for perspective, awareness and so much more!”

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake – I read several reviews of this book this week and even entered a giveaway to win it.  (Fingers crossed!)  I think it sounds interesting but what really sold me on this one is the cover.  Isn’t it pretty?

Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee – Reviewed by Jackie at Farm Lane Books Blog.  I can’t just choose one quote that really grabbed me.  Just go read the entire review!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Read for: Book Club, Global Reading Challenge 2010 – Asia

I just finished reading this book for the second time.  I have to admit, I really didn’t enjoy it the first time around.  I think I was expecting something more like The Kite Runner, with more of a plot, which it doesn’t have.  I’m happy to report that I enjoyed it a lot more  the second time around.  Since the first time I’ve read a lot more books about this part of the world in this time period and it’s helped me to appreciate what this book is really about.

The book is divided into four parts starting with Mariam, a young harami (bastard) girl whose father is a rich man.  Her mother hangs herself and Mariam finds herself married to a much older man and transported 650 miles across the country to Kabul.  Part two introduces Laila, an even younger woman who through an entirely different series of events, finds herself orphaned, pregnant and forced to marry the same man.  Rasheed is not a happy man and he takes it out on his two wives.  Eventually the two women become friends and develop a mother-daughter relationship.

A major theme of the novel is the oppression of women as the Taliban comes to power and removes virtually all womens rights.  Before I read this book and The Kite Runner (and other books from this part of the world) I didn’t know anything about the trials that people suffered under the hands of the Taliban.  I also realize how oppressive some of these regimes were.  I’ve really like reading these books because I think it’s important for us to be informed about the world around us.

Besides that, though, the book did have some sweet and hopeful moments.  There were parts that made me cry for these women, knowing that although they are fictional, there are women having to make the same tough decisions and go through the same struggles that Mariam and Laila did.  Even though the book was sad in parts and had the potential to be depressing, I never found that it got me down.  It seemed that through everything these two women had to endure, they always found something to cling to, something to help them carry on.  Even when it seemed that all hope was lost, they still had strength.

So, although this book was a very different type of book than The Kite Runner (which was very plot driven), it still told a very powerful story.  I found I was glad I gave this one a second chance.  I’m still not adding it to my top ten or anything, but I did like it a lot better this time around!