Book Review Musings: The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine

Goodreads Description of The Blue Notebook:
A haunting yet astonishingly hopeful story of a young Indian prostitute who uses writing and imagination to transcend her reality.

An unforgettable, deeply affecting tribute to the powers of imagination and the resilience of childhood, The Blue Notebook tells the story of Batuk, a precocious 15-year-old girl from rural India who was sold into sexual slavery by her father when she was nine. As she navigates the grim realities of the Common Street—a street of prostitution in Mumbai where children are kept in cages as they wait for customers to pay for sex—Batuk manages to put pen to paper, recording her private thoughts and stories in a diary. The novel is powerfully told in Batuk’s voice, through the words she writes in her journal, where she finds hope and beauty in the bleakest circumstances.

Beautifully crafted and deeply human, The Blue Notebook explores how people, in the most difficult of situations, can use storytelling to make sense of and give meaning to their lives. All of the U.S. proceeds from this novel will be donated to the International and National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children (http://www.icmec.org).

My Review:
This may be one of the most difficult books I've read in a long time. It certainly took me back to my days working with sexual assault victims all day. Heartbreaking, poignant, beautiful, compelling, and riviting. I finished it 2 days ago and wasn't really able to review it until now because the images from the novel have stuck with me and given me so much to think about.

This is certainly not a pleasurable read but it is definitely one that will open your eyes to the issue of violen...more This may be one of the most difficult books I've read in a long time. It certainly took me back to my days working with sexual assault victims all day. Heartbreaking, poignant, beautiful, compelling, and riviting. I finished it 2 days ago and wasn't really able to review it until now because the images from the novel have stuck with me and given me so much to think about.

This is certainly not a pleasurable read but it is definitely one that will open your eyes to the issue of violence against children. I feel fairly educated on the topic given my years of work in the field, but I got a great deal out of this book. The beautiful way that this story is written makes Batuk and her experiences come alive. There were moments that I felt I was there with her, in part because of how well the author was able to describe each moment with simplicity and brilliance. I don't tend to cry as I read. I tend to be emotional, yes, but not to the point of tears. This book was an exception. There were moments that I just had to lay the book down and cry for this girl and all of the other girls like her in the world. There were other moments where I was sick to my stomach to see what this girl went through - how powerless she was to control her body, her life, her future. It was truly heartbreaking. But, I am so glad that I read this story and got to know this amazing (fictional) girl.

I don't think this is a book for everyone - if you are uncomfortable reading about brutal, uncomfortable situations then you may want to avoid it. Ultimately, this is a book about child prostitution, sexual abuse, physical abuse and violence in general. It is not a happy book. It is not an uplifting book. It is, however, a wonderful story that gives you insight into the day to day life of a girl who (like many, many other girls throughout the world) is essentially a slave to the wants, needs and desires of the people around her. She finds what little control she can in the world around her through writing.As difficult as it is to read, I think its important for us to all see the raw ugliness that is not unusual in our world. And to think about what WE can do to try to help eliminate this kind of violence against children.

In addition, 100% of the American proceeds of the book will go to the International and National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Template Musings #5

It's Friday which means that I have a brand new freebie template for you! I hope you like this one! Please let me know in the comments what you think .... and link me if you use it! Please feel free to tell your friends about the template but don't share the file - just send them here to download it! Thanks so much!

You can download it HERE!

Also, I'll be removing the download links for all the freebies 1-6 as of October 31, 2009 so be sure to go grab the other templates that you want before that time. I'll be leaving the weekly template freebies up for a month in the future so be sure to download what you want as you go!

And thanks so much to all of you that have used the templates and made beautiful pages with them. I love seeing your work and it thrills me when you choose to use my template to create your scrapbook pages! So, thank you again.

Layout Musings

It's been awhile since I've posted any layouts so I thought I'd share a few I've finished up since my last layout post ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health Care Musings

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably been hearing A LOT about healthcare these days. It's all over the news in America right now and you practically can't get away from it ... So, last night I downloaded the most recent podcast of This American Life (a show from Chicago Public Radio) and after listening to it today, I just HAVE to share it with my blog readers.

This American Life is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to as I commute to work every day. If you haven't heard of the show, it's really hard to explain but I definitely recommend that you check it out ... Here's how they describe themselves and I think it's pretty accurate ... "there's a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It's mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always. There's lots more to the show, but, like we said, it's sort of hard to describe."

Basically, they pick a theme/topic for each episode and show a variety of different stories on that theme. Very cool concept and I've really enjoyed it. I've learned a lot about so many different topics. And I find that they are very even-handed in their coverage which I appreciate.

Anyway .... the episode that I listened to today was all about Health Care and there were some really interesting tidbits that I think everyone could benefit from learning. This is the link to the actual show I'm talking about - Episode 391: More Is Less. I hope you'll check it out. Some of the details on what's covered are below in case you're interested ... taken directly from the This American Life website ...

An hour explaining the American health care system, specifically, why it is that costs keep rising. One story looks at the doctors, one at the patients and one at the insurance industry.

Prologue.Former Bush Administration official David Frum explains a very surprising fact about Bush's economic failure, as it relates to health care. Frum is a regular contributor to the radio show Marketplace. (5 minutes)

Act One. Dartmouth Atlas Shrugged.
Are doctors to blame for the rising costs?  NPR Science Correspondent Alix Spiegel reports on the shocking results of studies about varied health care spending. Hear more health care stories this week from Alix at npr.org. (18 minutes)

Act Two. Every CAT Scan has Nine Lives.
Or is the problem the patients?  Producer Lisa Pollak reports. (12 1/2 minutes)

Act Three. Who Would Win in a Fight Between a Polar Bear and an Insurance Company?
Or maybe the insurance companies are to blame? Producer Sarah Koenig reports. (12 1/2 minutes )

Act Four. Now What?
Host Ira Glass talks with Susan Dentzer, editor of the journal Health Affairs, about what current health reform proposals do to fix the rising costs of healthcare...And points at a surprising, kind of heartening phenomenon happening within the current debate. (6 minutes)

Song: "Doctor My Eyes," The Jackson Five

Please note that I believe there will be a second podcast next week on the same topic so if this one interests you, check it out. By the way, I subscribe to their weekly podcast via I-Tunes for free. And I think you can also listen right from their website. Either way, give it a listen ... you might learn something. I definitely did!

FPD Color Challenge - week of 10/12/09

Happy Monday everyone! I'm so excited to share with you this week's FPD Color Challenge ... I love this combo and hope you will as well. Check out the details HERE! I hope you'll take a moment to join in this week ... don't forget, one of those who join will win a $5 GC to the entire FPD Shop!!

And here is my layout for the challenge using Traci Murphy's beautiful Expectations Collab with Faith True ...

 

Credits:
Expectations by Traci Murphy & Faith True
Layered Up Page Templates Vol 1 by Tania Shaw

Review Musings: South of Broad by Pat Conroy

Goodreads Description:

The one and only Pat Conroy returns, with a big, sprawling novel that is at once a love letter to Charleston and to lifelong friendship.

Against the sumptuous backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina, South of Broad gathers a unique cast of sinners and saints. Leopold Bloom King, our narrator, is the son of an amiable, loving father who teaches science at the local high school. His mother, an ex-nun, is the high school principal and a well-known Joyce scholar. After Leo's older brother commits suicide at the age of thirteen, the family struggles with the shattering effects of his death, and Leo, lonely and isolated, searches for something to sustain him. Eventually, he finds his answer when he becomes part of a tightly knit group of high school seniors that includes friends Sheba and Trevor Poe, glamorous twins with an alcoholic mother and a prison-escapee father; hardscrabble mountain runaways Niles and Starla Whitehead; socialite Molly Huger and her boyfriend, Chadworth Rutledge X; and an ever-widening circle whose liaisons will ripple across two decades-from 1960s counterculture through the dawn of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

The ties among them endure for years, surviving marriages happy and troubled, unrequited loves and unspoken longings, hard-won successes and devastating breakdowns, and Charleston's dark legacy of racism and class divisions. But the final test of friendship that brings them to San Francisco is something no one is prepared for. South of Broad is Pat Conroy at his finest; a long-awaited work from a great American writer whose passion for life and language knows no bounds.

My review:

I should start by saying that Pat Conroy is one of my all time favorite writers. And his previous novel, Beach Music, is one of my all time favorite books. Hands down, Pat Conroy's prose speaks to me. I feel it physically and emotionally. And, I think he's one of the most amazing Southern writers.

And onto South of Broad ... I really tried to not compare this novel to Beach Music because I was concerned that it could never live up to my feeling for that book. And, ultimately, it did...more I should start by saying that Pat Conroy is one of my all time favorite writers. And his previous novel, Beach Music, is one of my all time favorite books. Hands down, Pat Conroy's prose speaks to me. I feel it physically and emotionally. And, I think he's one of the most amazing Southern writers ever born.

And onto South of Broad ... I really tried to not compare this novel to Beach Music because I was concerned that it could never live up to my feeling for that book. And, ultimately, it did not. However, it came fairly close which I was a bit surprised at, to be honest. The first few chapters were not as tight as they could have been which made me feel initially that the book certainly couldn't live up to Beach Music. So, if you are reading it and not sure about the first section, please keep going. It's worth it. I promise. It smooths itself out in time.

Conroy's Charleston, SC just jumped off the page ... I have never been to Charleston but I now feel like I have. His descriptions were so fantastic, so amazing that I felt like I was there ... experiencing it all. Again, this is tied to Conroy's ability to truly paint a picture with this words. Amazing. That's all I can say ...

The unfolding of the plot and the characters in this novel is breathtaking. The layering of the experiences within the prose is difficult to explain but pure heaven while reading it.

The characters are what I cannot stop thinking about ... I felt connected to each and every one of them. As if I were a member of their group of friends. I love that Pat Conroy's men and women are always real - good, bad and the ugly - and true to life. They are not predictable, they shock you with the words they say, they make you cry at the things that they do. They are simply wonderful to read about.

In terms of dialogue, I've heard a lot of people criticize Pat Conroy (for this and other books) in terms of the way people in his novels talk to one another. There seems to be some who dislike the very cleverness that I adore. I love reading the dialogue among these characters ... the things that they say are yet another way that you come to love them all as if they are in your own life. For me, no one does this quite as well as Pat Conroy! And I revel in each and every word!

All in all, South of Broad gives the reader an impressive group of characters to learn about and come to care about. The numerous story lines come together in themes of prejudice, privilege, friendship and love. It moves from Charleston to San Francisco and makes you FEEL both places.

I truly believe that Conroy is a master of American fiction and this novel is yet another example of his impressive skill! I love his books and will be purchasing this one for my ongoing collection of Conroy novels that I love to return to over and over again!

Template Musings #4

My fourth template is now READY! I hope you like it! It's based on a layout that I did earlier for my FPD Color Challenge layout a couple of weeks ago!  Enjoy!

The layout that it's based on is this one ... which is a new favorite page. So, I hope you'll have fun using the template that I used to create this page that I love so much!

And now to the important stuff ... you can grab it HERE. Please leave me a commment if you like it or if you use the template, link me up so I can see it! I'm so excited whenever one of you show me what you've done with the templates! Thanks!  Happy Scrapping!

FPD Color Challenge - week of 10/5/09

Happy Monday everyone! It's that time again ... time for us to work with a brand new color scheme for the FPD Color Challenge!  This week we're celebrating FALL with our color scheme. Check out the forum HERE for all the details ... I hope you'll join us this week!

And here is my layout for this week -

Credits:
Everything by Tania Shaw Designs
Hold Your Hand Mini kit
Amy kit
Layered Up Page Templates Vol 1

Book Review Musings: Columbine by Dave Cullen

Description at Goodreads:

Ten years in the making and a masterpiece of reportage, "Columbine" is an award-winning journalist's definitive account of one of the most shocking massacres in American history.

It is driven by two questions: what drove these killers, and what did they do to this town?

I should start by saying that I tend to dislike non-fiction. It rarely keeps my attention/interest for very long. This book is an exception to my general dislike of non-fiction. Dave Cullen's book is intriguing, fascinating, revolting and tragic. I could not put it down. I was horrified and amazed at how little truth there was in much of what I saw on the news and read in the media about the events at Columbine over the last 10 years.

Dave Cullen has provided his readers with a thorough, well-researched account of the events of Columbine in April of 1999. The pictures he painted with his words were incredible. At times, I felt as if I was there as a bystander watching it all unfold. I came to feel as if I knew all of these people - the victims, the survivors, the investigators, and the killers.

I have a tendency to try to stay out of the 'weeds' on situations like this because I find the fact that they occurred so difficult to stomach. I get the basics of the 'news' and then let it go. It's how I cope, I suspect. However, the Columbine case has always been fascinating to me. This book is THE book to read about the Columbine situation, in my humble opinion. It takes you in and gives you the facts and circumstances around a situation that defies understanding for many of us.

I feel like I finally have some sense of what might have led to the events of that day (or as much understanding as most of us are likely to ever have) ... how these two boys came to a place where they would do such evil things. I think many saw them as a pair of angry loners who were bullied at school and who killed out of revenge for that. However, Dave Cullen shows us the truth ... a truth that isn't so cut and dry. The psychological aspects of the book and how Dave Cullen puts Dylan and Eric into perspective by helping the reader understand their psychological motivations are fascinating. It is a compelling story and really gave me a better sense of how it all came together so gruesomely.

What strikes me now that I've finished the book is how little I really knew about Columbine. Most of the information that I've read/seen/heard is WRONG. These boys weren't bullied. They were smart, had friends, dated, had good families who cared about them. They weren't part of the Trench Coat Mafia we all heard so much about. They weren't Goths. There were no lists of people they wanted to 'take down.' What I think impressed me most about the book was its refocusing on Dylan and Eric. Who they were. What led them to that day in 1999.

This book ultimately leaves you feeling so many different emotions - amazement, sorrow, sadness, empathy, anger. I would put the book down occasionally and find it difficult to 'let go' of the story. It would follow me. Not an easy read at all. But, ultimately, a rewarding one.

The author takes these tragic and horrible events and creates a gripping story that I didn't want to put down. There's a sadness in every aspect of the book because of what these two boys did, but there's also a tremendous sense of hope as the author tells the stories of the survivors and how they have coped with the tragic events that changed them all in so many ways.

I definitely recommend it and think it should be considered THE definitive Columbine book!

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Template Musings #3

I have yet another template for you this week ... this one is a personal favorite because its the one I created to make one of my all time favorite layouts to date. There are so many options with this one and it allows you to use LOTS of patterned paper which I love to do!  I hope you like it!

And here is my layout using the template ...

If you like it, you can grab it HERE! Please let me know what you think and link me up if you use it so I can see your pages with the template!