An Open Book

09/07/201609/12/2016 / CAstfalk / 3 Comments

An Open Book CatholicMom

Welcome to the September 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

My husband has been subjecting us to The Fellowship of the Ring audiobook by J.R.R. Tolkien. While my two older kids seem to enjoy the story in limited doses, I say “subjected” because it’s been the soundtrack of his choice for our recent travels. The little kids get bored. The big kids are okay with it if there’s not something else they’d rather be doing, and I must repeatedly slap my husband’s thigh while he’s driving and insist he open his eyes. That’s not to say this production isn’t well done. It seems to be. I think the particular times at which it’s being introduced to us is the biggest problem. For myself, I sincerely wish I enjoyed Tolkien more than I do. But, hey, I loved the Lord of the Rings movies!

I’m slowly making my way through Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I zipped through the first book in the Lunar Chronicles (Cinder) quickly, but have slowed on this one. It’s not grabbing me right off that bat, but more to the point, I’ve had too many other obligations pulling me away from reading. I will return to it soon!

I’ve also been reading The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion, edited by Lisa Hendey and Sarah Reinhard, in order to review it. This is the one and only book I’ve reviewed without completing it, but, honestly, to read this book straight through seems to defeat its purpose, which is to provide short and simple daily meditations. So, I read a couple of months to inform myself of the quality, but I’m going to finish it day by day. And I’m going to be handing out a lot of these to Catholic moms at Christmas!

My son has been reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Interestingly, he borrowed a paperback copy from the library even though we have it on Kindle. These kids and their paper books. Go figure. I read the book for the first time about a decade ago after pulling it off of the shelf at the beach house in which we were staying in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I’d always wanted to read it, and enjoying it so close to where real pirates sailed made it that much better!

My boy’s also reading Roland West, Loner by my friend Theresa Linden. The book was one of our Christmas gifts to him, and I’m happy to see him reading something I enjoyed so much. I love that he asks me questions about the characters and other books in the series as if I have the inside scoop.

My daughter is STILL reading Trixie Belden, so no news to report there.

We did a little bit (very little bit) of cleanup, and shifted some boxes of books that were in my son’s bedroom. They are temporary storage for some of our favorite picture books. The littlest of our kids have no memory of these books, so they were excited to discover them. All of our children have loved Honeybee’s Busy Day by Richard Fowler. That little bee on the front cover is made of durable cardboard. Slip her out of her plastic pouch and take her through each page’s adventures by sliding her through the slots. There’s so much excitement over this book in our house that I have to strictly enforce taking turns. I’ve noticed that the author has a similar book, A Squirrel’s Tale, which is available at the gift shop in Shenandoah National Park, where we recently visited. I’m tempted to give that one a try too.

The kids have also been enjoying one of my childhood favorites, The Story of Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman. I barely recall the controversy over this book when I was young. It didn’t dim my love for the story, and I’m happy to see that all of my children love it as much as I do. Something about those tigers zipping around the tree so quickly they turn to ghi is simply magical! I haven’t revisited the hullaballoo over this book, but to say that the text is racist seems absurd to me. The characters are bright and industrious and in any case, they are not even African or African-American. They are Indian. With its tiger sounds and repeated dialogue between Sambo and the tigers, it’s a delightful story perfect for reading aloud.

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Relevant Fiction Reviews: Classics I

08/15/201608/19/2016 / CAstfalk / Leave a comment

Relevant Fiction Reviews

I enjoy reading books by contemporary authors, but now and then I like to pick up a classic. There are so, so many I haven’t read. These are three I had been meaning to read for a while. Interestingly, at the crux of each of these vastly different novels is the sin of adultery. And in each case, its ramifications are played out.

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The depth and grandeur of O Pioneers! didn’t catch up with me until the end. I’d read My Antonia in college and Death Comes for the Archbishop a decade ago, and loved both. O Pioneers! only confirmed my appreciation for Cather’s writing.

I was struck again by the beauty of her prose and imagery. Continue reading →

An Open Book

08/03/201609/12/2016 / CAstfalk / 6 Comments

An Open Book CatholicMom

Welcome to the August 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

I was oblivious to the existence of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery until fairly recently. After reading so many beloved remarks about the irrepressible Anne Shirley and learning of some other readers coming to meet Anne well into adulthood, I decided I should read it, too. I grabbed a Focus on the Family radio Radio Theater adaption from our library and listened to it with my children as we ran errands over a week or so. The thirteen-year-old reacted with a certain amount of cynicism, but he was also typically the first child to ask “Can we listen to Anne of Green Gables?” when we got into the minivan. He and my eight-year-old daughter enjoyed it most. I liked it as well, although I think it would’ve made a greater impression had I read it as a young girl. Anne’s spirit and the simple, small-town tales are hard to resist.

Novellas are a mixed bag in my mind. Because of their length, they sometimes feel rushed, particularly where romance is concerned. When I find a well-written one, however, it’s a sweet indulgence. I love zipping through a story in a matter of hours. I always enjoy Becky Wade’s contemporary inspirational romances, so I know I’ll enjoy Love in the Details. More than halfway in, I’m missing some of the smart banter and interplay I’m accustomed to in her Porter Family Series, but the writing is still good, and I’m withholding final judgment until the end. She’s set her own bar so high in my estimation, she’s made it hard to meet her own standard.

When we visited the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh last month, my son discovered this book in the gift shop. Because his spending money for souvenirs was limited, he bought the book later from Amazon at a reduced price. I guess watching his dad brew beer has inspired him. So far he’s brewed only a batch of ginger beer, which was fresh and delicious! I think some of the root beers and a lemon-lime soda caught his eye first, but, sweet kid that he is, he chose the ginger beer since he thought it might help relieve the severe sore throat I had at the time. Here’s a review in his own words:

“Homemade Root Beer, Soda, and Pop by Stephen Cresswell is a great book for people just beginning to make their own soda. It includes many helpful tips and alternatives to certain equipment. It also gives helpful advice on the process of making the soda and gives tips about choosing your bottles. After you do the basic recipes (root beer and ginger ale) there are many other recipes you can try. If you are tired of the recipes in the book then read a chapter with guidelines and advice for making your own recipes. I recommend this book to anyone interested in making their own sodas; I think that most kids should be able to do it, although some may need adult supervision.”

During a recent trip to Pittsburgh for a family funeral, my teenager read National Geographic Treasury of Norse Mythology by Donna Jo Napoli. This is something I know NOTHING of. It’s a beautifully illustrated book, and he read through it quickly. His verdict: “Norse mythology is depressing.” That didn’t stop him from retelling various odd myths, including the Norse creation myth, to his younger siblings.

My eight-year-old is still working her way thought the collection of Narnia books and progressing in the Trixie Belden series with #2, The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell. The littlest kids have been enjoying the Humbug Witch by Lorna Balian. My crazy three-year-old plucked it from the library shelf despite the fact it’s a Halloween book. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why he’s started asking about trick-or-treat and costumes. I’m not big on witches in general, but this little story of dress-up is cute and innocent enough.

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Re-Envision Jane Eyre TODAY with Unclaimed

07/14/201608/06/2018 / CAstfalk / Leave a comment

The Unclaimed Virtual Book Tour stops HERE today!

Unclaimed by Erin McCole Cupp

Born not in a past of corsets and bonnets but into a future of cloning and bioterror, could Jane Eyre survive? This Jane is an “unclaimed embryo,” the living mistake of a reproductive rights center–or so her foster family tells her. At age ten she is sold into slavery as a data mule, and she must fight for freedom and identity in a world mired between bioscientific progress and the religions that fear it.

“Jane Eyre does not need to be updated. It needs to be read and re-read and treasured for its timelessness. But too often, the people of a world obsessed with progress refuse to remember the wisdom of the past. Sometimes, an author must dress the eighteenth century in futuristic salawar kameez to remind the present day that the human story never changes. Whether in Georgian England or the global community of a technocratic future, there will always be orphans who can teach the rest of us how to love, if we will only take the time to learn. This is the reason we need books like Unclaimed.”

– Karen Ullo, author of Jennifer the Damned

Continue reading →

An Open Book

07/06/201607/02/2016 / CAstfalk / 6 Comments

An Open Book CatholicMom

Welcome to the July 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

Almost from the time we began dating in 1993, my husband has been searching for his vocational niche. In the course of his off and on search/discernment of what he should be doing, he’s read a variety of books on the subject. This is one I bought for him last year. I opted to add the audiobook to the discounted ebook, and he’s been going back and forth between the two using Whispersync for Voice. You can see The Art of Work: A Proven Path for Discovering What You Were Meant to Do by Jeff Goins has some pretty impressive Amazon ratings: 4.7 with 566 reviews. As someone who floundered around until absolutely forced to declare a college major, I see the value in this type of book. According to Michael, in some cases it is about finding your life’s calling rather than merely a job. In other cases, it may have specific vocational applications.

I have a virtual pile of promised reviews and beta reads ahead of me this month, but I’m squeaking in a quick writing-craft read: No One Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It by Stephen Pressfield. As you may guess from the title, a language warning comes with this one. It’s an easy, engaging read, and I’m taking away some useful pointers on constructing a novel. The author’s The War of Art has been on my to-be-read list for a long time. I even checked it out of the library once, but didn’t get to it. Maybe later this summer.

Once I zip through that book, it’s on to Sunflowers in a Hurricane by Anne Faye. I enjoyed The Rose Ring by the same author, and I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing this inspirational fiction as well. The flowers on the cover alone make me happy, especially since many of the sprouts from the seeds my daughter planted have been eaten by an unknown critter.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a book I read this spring which releases TODAY: Unclaimed: The Memoirs of Jane E, Friendless Orphan by Erin McCole Cupp. Unclaimed is the first book in a series of three. It’s a sci-fi/steampunk retelling of the classic Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Tonight is the Facebook Book Release Party at 7:30 EDT. I’ll be there! Please stop by and learn more about my friend Erin’s fabulous book. I’ll be posting more about it at My Scribbler’s Heart on next week. Here’s a snippet of my review: “Jane Eyre has long been a favorite of mine, and I enjoyed the first part of this retelling immensely. While appealing to the modern reader’s ear, it remains faithful to the truth of the original, even retaining the charm and tone of Bronte’s voice.”

For his summer reading assignment, my teenager has chosen to read The House of the Scorpion by Jane Farmer. This is his first foray into dystopian fiction. He read huge chunks of the book on our recent trip across the state, engrossed enough to choose reading over watching a Star Wars LEGO program with the other kids. At least for a while. The book includes some bioethical issues, and we’ve already had some discussions about the morality of human cloning and destroying human embryos and fetuses for their parts.

My newest avid reader, my soon-to-be third grader, is still traveling through Narnia. She took a break, however, to read The Secret of the Mansion (Trixie Belden Book 1) by Julie Campbell. I had completely forgotten about the fictional Trixie Belden’s existence until I saw it mentioned on Reading Is My Superpower, my favorite book blog. I promptly requested it from the library with the hope my daughter would like it, and she did! She’s participating in the library’s Chewsy Reader summer program for children her age. Each week, they share lunch and discuss what they’re reading. She’s eager to take Trixie along next time. I recall liking young sleuth Trixie more than Nancy Drew, but it’s been so long now, it’s hard to remember. My daughter recommends it for both mystery lovers and horse lovers.

I’ve been exercising my tongue by reading Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss aloud to my littlest children. My youngest yanked it from the library bookshelf and added it to our stack, so home it came. I think this must be good for my brain or my eye-tongue coordination or something. I certainly hope so, because this endless series of progressively more challenging tongue twisters is taxing on my weary, old, mom brain. I’m not a huge fan of Dr. Seuss, but this one I like quite well despite the torturous oral contortions it demands.

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Faith, Family & Freedom: Fight For Liberty Available Today!

07/04/201607/07/2016 / CAstfalk / 2 Comments

When the sparklers have fizzled, the grill has cooled, and even the lightning bugs have taken to their beds, I have the perfect book for you! The final installment of Theresa Linden’s Liberty Trilogy is available today. You’ll want to start with the first book, Chasing Liberty. (I interviewed Theresa about the book when it was first released.) Now that the series is complete, you can read straight through Testing Liberty and then Fight For Liberty, because, believe me, you’ll want to!

Because it’s a holiday and your concentration may be sapped from fun and sun, I’ll make this simple.

Relevant Fiction Reviews: Troubled Childhoods

06/20/201608/12/2016 / CAstfalk / Leave a comment

Relevant Fiction Reviews

Without intending to, I read a lot books in a short period of time in which the main characters either endured or were removed from traumatic childhoods. (Except in the case of The End of the World, in which the characters moved from bad to worse in moving from home to foster care.) I suspect fictional characters experience rough childhoods at a higher rate than the real-life populace. At least I hope so! After all, childhood trauma makes a great back story and provides the motivation needed for a strong character arc. The older I get, however, the more I see what profound effects a family origin has, even well into adulthood.

You may notice I removed the stars from my Goodreads ratings below. Truth be told, I hate star rating systems. I get that they’re a simple snapshot that indicates the reader’s satisfaction with a book, but, most of the time, I struggle with assigning stars. And looking at the books below, I don’t think my assigned stars correlated to how well the books were written when you look at these books side by side. (I had assigned them all four and five stars, but still . . . ) I’d rather let the written reviews stand on their own.

In looking over this list of books, I have to say, months later, the one that still makes my heart clench is The End of the World. Continue reading →

An Open Book

06/01/201606/02/2016 / CAstfalk / 6 Comments

An Open Book CatholicMom

Welcome to the June 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

My kids and I gave Drinking with the Saints: the Sinner’s Guide to Happy Hour by Michael P. Foley to my husband for Father’s Day last year (along with The Catholic Drinkie’s Guide to Home Brewed Evangelism, which I mentioned last month). This reference book is often open at our house, too. My husband and I were raised in suburban Pittsburgh in what could be called a shot-and-a-beer town. When our parents cleaned out their liquor cabinets, we inherited a few dusty bottles of vintage liquors that we didn’t know how to mix. In other words, we were completely ignorant of cocktails, mixing, and anything more sophisticated than a can of Iron City. Organized according to the church calendar, this fascinating book matches the feasts of the saints with an appropriate drink. For instance, to commemorate St. Norbert on June 6, drink a White Spider, which is made with vodka, white crème de menthe and light crème de cacao. Why? Because “One of St. Norbert’s symbols in Christian art is a spider. As the story has it, he was celebrating Mass when he noticed a venomous spider in the Precious Chalice but drank anyway rather than pour it out. He was miraculously preserved from harm.” This beautiful hardcover book, complete with detailed recipes and illustrations of the saints, makes a beautiful and thoughtful gift. It has introduced us to some delicious beers and cocktails, as well as some extraordinary legends. My husband often shares the stories behind the saints and the drinks with the whole family even if he is the only one enjoying a drink.

When I was a child, my parents took me to a weekly series of classic movies, some of which were directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Among them was the haunting Rebecca (1940), which I loved. When I saw the Daphne du Maurier novel Rebecca available as a prize at our library’s summer reading program last year, I snagged it. I’ve just begun reading it, on the heels of a book hangover from Amy Harmon’s The Song of David. (Amy Harmon’s storytelling mesmerizes me.) Anyway, I’m looking forward to immersing myself in Rebecca, although my cover isn’t as modern and attractive as the one shown here.

When I was scouring the library last month for historical fiction for my seventh grader, one of the librarians recommended Onion John, a Newbery Medal-winning novel by Joseph Krumgood. Frankly, the Amazon reviews are mixed. My son, however, is enjoying it although he said it got off to a slow start. The description reads: “The story of a friendship between a 12-year-old boy and an immigrant handyman, almost wrecked by the good intentions of the townspeople.” A Newbery winner and no one could come up with a tad longer blurb? Not that it makes a difference, but my son is reading the 1959 hardcover copy with what now looks to be a hokey cover image. It’s interesting how the same novels are repackaged to suit the times (see Rebecca above).

I’ve done more middle-of-the-night parenting with my second-grade daughter than with any of my other children. She suffers from fleeting belly aches and headaches that sometimes require the comfort of mom at two a.m. I often read aloud to help distract her from her discomfort. Our go-to books for healing, for some reason, are the Berenstain Bears. Not able to locate those books, I turned to Gus. Our hardcover version of Gus Was A Friendly Ghost by Jane Thayer belonged to my husband, but the second I first removed it from a box his parents had given us, I knew it. I had the same book, which my own mother read to me again and again. Each glimpse at the orange and purple illustrations in this book is so sentimental to me that I’ve lost all objectivity. Simply put, it’s the story of a ghost who takes in a cranky mouse during the winter. Try it; you might like it!

After storytime at the library, my three-year-old selected Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems, a Caldecott Honor Book. (I prefer Mo Willems’ Knuffle Bunny books.) My little boy and his four-year-old sister love these pigeon books, which have grown on me over time. With simple text and equally simple illustrations, these books and the interaction they encourage seem to appeal to preschoolers.

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Carolyn Astfalk, Author

Relevant Fiction for Body & Soul

book review

An Open Book

Welcome to the September 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

Relevant Fiction Reviews: Classics I

An Open Book

Welcome to the August 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

Re-Envision Jane Eyre TODAY with Unclaimed

Unclaimed by Erin McCole Cupp

An Open Book

Welcome to the July 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

Faith, Family & Freedom: Fight For Liberty Available Today!

Top 5 Reasons You Should Read the Liberty Series:

Relevant Fiction Reviews: Troubled Childhoods

An Open Book

Welcome to the June 2016 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!