set aside some time for this read.

The Elephant Keepers' Children by Peter Hoeg is literally 496 pages. That being said, it is a rarity in my current life as a first year teacher, that I am able to sit down and read through a novel so long. As soon as I opened to page one, and met fourteen-year-old Peter, I was hooked.

Peter and his two older siblings are looking for their parents who have mysteriously disappeared. They are both devout members of the one and only church on the fictional island of Fino, where all religions coincide peacefully. Until now it seems, to these three teenagers, desperate to find their beloved parents.

The eccentricity of the novel is apparent in the characters Hoeg as created, as well as the title itself. Peter and his sister, Tilte have a theory that their parents are “elephant keepers, although they don’t know it” this reference to an old Indian saying denoting that “they have something inside them that is bigger than themselves, and over which they have no control." It's really a crime thriller, yet filled with mystical characters and a surprising amount of laughs.

poetry from the past.

I have mentioned once or twelve times how much I love poetry. I would love to do a poetry unit with my students, but my school would rather me turn them into NYS Regent taking robots, than let them show anything even remotely close to creativity. I think that maybe I belong in a school of the Arts. I'd like to trade my principal in for Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, please.

Rumi was a 13th-century Perisan Muslim poet who's work has been translated into three books, the newest released back in September, and the perfect holiday gift. Rumi's Little Book of Life is a beautiful collection of 196 poems by Rumi, previously unavailable in English. Translated by native Persian speakers, Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin, this collection speaks to the inner journey that each of us experience through our lives. Many do not read like traditional poems, I'm sure the translation is to blame. However, the deeper meanings of Rumi's words are not lost on me.

"Tell me," my lover asked me tenderly,

"how could you live without me?"

I said, "without you I am lost

like a fish out of water."

He smiled, "This is only your own fault." 

christmas gift idea.

In my opinion, cocktails and cooking go hand in hand, I'm glad that Rachael Ray and I agree on that. She has created a fabulous collection of recipes that include both in My Year in Meals.

Many of you collect Rachael Ray cookbooks like you need oxygen, My Year in Meals will be a welcomed addition to your kitchen. The recipes are creative, festive, but may be more realistic on the weekends for working people like myself. You cooking veterans won't be able to get enough, while us rookies may need some guidance, or a dictionary, or just more wine. I can't pronounce some of the types of cheeses used and I am an English teacher - not that that says much. There are over 500 recipes to choose from, and one cookbook typically cannot give what Rachael Ray can.

science, affairs, intrigue.

A man writing a biography about a woman...I'm sure it happens more than I notice, but it's still fun to see.

William Souder has written an engrossing new biography on Rachel Carson, the superstar of narrative environmental nonfiction, titled On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson. Souder draws a portrait of cultural and political life in the middle of the 20th century and places Carson squarely at the center of it. It was a different time for science and a different time for science writers. I find science rather boring, honestly, which is why I was extremely intrigued when I read on to find how spicy Carson's life actually was. In 1954, her and Dorothy Freeman began a very passionate relationship, that was anything but platonic. Carson wrote Silent Spring in which she meticulously described how DDT entered the food chain and accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals, including human beings, and caused cancer and genetic damage, WHILE she had cancer herself. This chick was wild, and I'm glad a voice that was so unpopular in her day, has become so popular now.

the wisdom of jane austen lives on...

When the opportunity presents itself, which is more often than you think, I mention that I am related to Abraham Lincoln. One, because I am, and two because he was a relatively cool president, and no matter what your skin tone, you can agree. Author Rebecca Smith tops my family tree with her relation to JANE AUSTEN. Hello? Awesome. In Miss Jane Austen's Guide to Modern Life's Dilemmas, Smith channels her great-great-great-great-great aunt’s sense—and, of course, her sensibility—to help readers navigate their most pressing problems.

Austen was an author whose writing was much before her time, which allows Smith to easily answer tough modern day questions with Austen's very words. This "guide" is filled with lovely Austen-inspired color illustrations, as well as quotes from Austen’s various novels to support the advice given. This book is the ideal Christmas gift for the Jane Austen fanatic in your life, and I know that everyone has one.


Give-a-way: For a chance to win a copy of this book, follow this blog and send your name, address, and this book title to: jenileerose@yahoo.com!

laugh it off mom and dad.

I reviewed a Baby Blues comic collection back in October, but it is really nothing compared to the enormous BBXX: Baby Blues: Decades 1 & 2 by the ever popular Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott released last month to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this beloved comic strip.

.

Kirkman and Scott share personal biographies and reflections, never-before-published drawings, and photographs, along with close to 800 of the best of the best Baby Blues strips from the last two decades. As most of you know, the comic follows the very relatable young parents Darryl and Wanda MacPherson as they raise children Zoe, Hammie, and Baby Wren. This family faces the most common of life lessons that are sure to put a smile on even the most overwhelmed parent's face.

well that was fun.

I enjoy the occasional dark satire in a novel, when I'm in the mood. Author Jordan Okun sets every scene perfectly in his L.A. Fadeaway, which gives readers insight into what happens behind closed doors in Hollywood. The mix of fact and fiction makes me wonder which aspects are true and which are false. The unnamed narrator is absolutely hilarious as he drags us along through his rich and entitled life filled with drugs, alcohol, and a lot of raunchiness. The story is basically a satirical look into the window of the talent agency world (our narrator must start at the bottom, no matter who is daddy is) and Hollywood itself. Think Ari Gold in Entourage.