50 Plus Miles From Kipnuk

Fifty Miles From Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People by William L. Iggiagruk Hensley is a great read. Hensley shares his perspective on the changes he has seen in Alaska in his time and about his part in some of the defining moments in Alaska history such as the development of the Alaska Native Land Claims Act.

Now I have gone and made his great book seem dry. It is not. His description of his early memories are clear and full of detail. I laughed out loud (really!) when he described what he thought of the food he ate downstates compared to his native foods. I have heard similar comments from my students throughout the years. He is also philosophical. When you read it you can picture this young man growing up and going through all of these changes, adapting and also pushing back against all the changes. It is amazing when you think about all of the changes that have happened in Alaska in just the last fifty years. Makes me feel old since almost all of that happened in just my lifetime.

I like to use a quote that I liked a lot from the book that I think says something about the theme, or purpose the author wrote the book. I think Hensley would agree with my choice of his words:

"To me, the beauty of what became known as Inupiat Ilitqusiat—Inupiat Values— was the fact that they were not material. They were deeply entrenched in the mind and heart and spirit, and entirely transportable. You can be anywhere in the world and retain your Inupiaq identity and values. You can pursue the highest academic credentials and become as wealthy as Bill Gates and still be the Inupiaq of whom your forefathers would be proud." pg 220

This is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in Alaska's history. Oh, and that should be everyone.

By the way, I am enjoying my new home in Newtok, Alaska.

More Midnight

I guess I'm busy with the end of the year since I am behind on my reading. I am still reading The Midnight Disease by Alice W. Flaherty. It isn't a fast read, but it is interesting. For example, I had never thought of writing as perhaps a second language (from the spoken word) but she makes some good arguments for that. She also has me thinking about all the differences between how we speak and how we write. Much of what is said if written on paper really is a grammatical mess. Sigh.

On a side note... This is my last week teaching in Kipnuk; I am feeling nostalgic and find myself missing it even before I leave. Thank you to everyone who made my home here so special. I will miss the church bell ringing in the evening, the light dancing off the bridge, the sway of the grass in the fall and the sound of laughter drifting through snow. Most of all I will miss the wonderful people I have learned so much from.

Midnight Winds Through the Pages

The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain by Alice W. Flaherty explains what is known about the neurological mystery of how the brain works when it is being creative.

It fascinates me that we can put a man on the moon yet we can't really understand what is going on between our two ears. That mysterious gray matter nestled in our skull holds all the mysteries of space and we have only just begun to understand how it works.

Strangely enough it seems that most of what is known about how the brain functions is due to people that have a problem with the way it works. The extremes are the first things that can be identified so we begin to understand the madness to get a glimpse of how our "normal" dance of neurons do their thing.

"Memory and writing are intertwined. Writing tries to extend our memories infinitely." (61)

This book is fascinating but it is very clinical too. It reminds me of my psychology classes in college. But if you are really interested in what makes you tick when you are facing that seemingly insurmountable obstacle known as writer's block, it may interest you to learn what may be causing you problems. Plus, turning to another endeavor for a break and returning to your writing often jostles that block free.

Sand on the Desert and the Seashore

That last post was long-winded so for this post I'll comment on two books by the same author (and they are both quick reads). A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the Sonoran Desert and An Island Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk on a Barrier Island are both by Virginia Wright-Frierson. They combine sketchbooks, scientist's notes, and a story in enjoyable reads that give a taste of what spending one day outside being observant is like. Since observation is a skill artists, scientists and writers all share that makes sense.

Take a few minutes and read these, then go outside and think about what a scrapbook for where you live would look like. Collect your observations and try writing your own volume (hard work, but it would be cool).

Check the link to the author's website. She has a number of beautiful pieces of art you can see including a mural that was installed in the Columbine School in Colorado.

Mom's City Singing

All across Alaska bubbles are being filled, scratch paper scratched, and heads scratched too... it is state testing week and the pressure is on.

Meanwhile, the teacher has time to read. I forgot the book I am in the middle of at home so I am reading Never a City So Real
A Walk in Chicago by Alex Kotlowitz. It is from the Crown Journeys series that I got interested in after reading Lost in My Own Backyard last month. They are not travel books, but snapshots of thoughts on home by authors from many different places. This one is about Chicago, my mom's hometown.

Jack's character gets the book moving along. He is the author's father-in-law and someone you would be proud to be related to. He is a bit of a salesman, stands up for what he believes in and defied the social norms of his day standing up for equal rights. The author goes on to describe Chicago as a "tribal" about their neighborhood identity and says there are more than 200 neighborhoods in Chicago.

When I think of the Chicago I saw when I was little, it was small. In fact it was so small it fit in my grandparent's backyard. They lived in Palatine (a suburb) and when we visited our days were filled with playing in the backyard beneath the branches of a giant weeping willow tree and in the company of cousins, hippity-hops, Cher with-the-amazing-growing-hair dolls, and breaks indoors with Romper Room and Bozo the Clown (which I don't think I ever saw in Montana). Grandpa and Grandma always had a very tidy house and though I don't recall ever meeting their friends they had a social life that involved playing bridge for grandma and poker for grandpa. More importantly they were active in church. I thought Chicago was small because we just stayed at my grandparents. I was wrong.

Kotlowitz contends that Chicagoans "look at their city from the vantage point of outsiders." How odd. The people that live there still feel like they are from somewhere else? Maybe he means they don't have any romantic preconceived idea about what a Chicagoan is. I guess most of the places I have lived I have felt some disconnect. In Yellowstone it is nature's home... we are all intruding in some way, in Montana we were town kids when the ranch kids seemed to have the roots deep into the place, and in Billings we lived in suburbs. It felt illsuited to the deer hunting in the breaks just a few miles from town and designed to drive through... not walk. I guess we all feel that way sometimes.

Back to Chicago. Of course there are stories about unions and industry, greasy diners, murals, mobsters and of course the blues.

There is an interesting look at how the projects and poverty affect the crime rate. The defendants arrive for their trials and court hearings dressed casually... "They're making a statement:'I don't respect this setting enough to pull out my best outfit.'" But it is understood that the circumstances that can place someone in trouble are very close. "The line is thin, and anyone can cross it. Anyone. I used to think, 'I'm a nice loving person. There's no way I could ever commit a violent act.' But you do this long enough, you know anyone can kill. Anyone. Under the right circumstances. If you understand that, then maybe you have a little more appreciation for the freedoms you have here. It isn't someone else's problem."97 So I will enjoy my circumstances, and hope that they will improve for others. A good read if you are interested in Chicago, America's "Second City."

Lost in the Jungle Without Cities

Currently I am bushwhacking my way through The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann. It just came in through an Amazon order placed after seeing an interview on The Daily Show (I only mention the company since it's namesake is in the title).

The beginning of the book was a little difficult to get into but now I am having fun alternately being grossed out by stories about cannibalism and scared by the many ways to die in the Amazon. It amazes me anyone had the tenacity to explore so many difficult places, survive and then head back for more. I guess I am just an armchair explorer type. What cracks me up about this book is the author is kind of like me, then he gets interested in this mystery of what happened to Faucet (a Victorian era explorer) and he ends up going there himself trying to solve the riddle of Faucett's life.

I was looking at the title and thought the sub-title (A Tale of Deadly Obsession Into the Amazon) may have not only referred to Fawcett's demise, but also the biographer's obsession with the subject. Since the author survived I guess it is only about Fawcett but it must take a bit of an obsession to really write a biography well. Janet Malcolm compares a biographer to a "professional burglar, breaking into a house, rifling through certain drawers that he has good reason to think contain jewelry and money, and triumphantly bearing his loot away." This book is very entertaining and makes me interested in a subject I thought I only had a small interest in. I am mid-way through the book and currently I am obsessed with finding out if the mystery behind what happened to Fawcett will be answered; either way, I am enjoying the ride.

Check out David Grann's website for more information on him (plus the Daily Show interview as well as a slide show about his book).

Memory's Helper

Writing Her Own Life by Mary Clearman Blew

Writing is not just a plot, the facts, or even a character study. Well written pieces open the reader's imagination inviting a sort of Spock-like mind meld with another time and place. This book is a conversation between the author and her aunt's journal (kept in the mid 1930's through the 40's). She questions her aunt's choices, marvels at her strength and quietly listens to her wisdom.

This book reminds me Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It." I think the time period is similar and they are both about memories and growing up in the west at that time.
"After all, memory occupies no space. memory lives in its own small realm of bone and brain, and it worries, not about some measureless past which somehow exists behind us, but about the frayed edges of a dimensionless map whose markings of roads and rivers and events are overlaid, like a series of transparencies, upon the shifting present. Memory starts nowhere, starts anywhere, radiates perhaps from some asterisked city of the mind. Explores and abandons its trails. Writes down lies in indelible ink. Erases the truth. A diary may correspond to a timeline, days following days, but memory toes nobody's line."

Learn more about Mary Clearman Blew by checking this link to an interview with the author.

My Own Backyard

Digging my way through Nonfiction Matters inspired me to take a look at some nonfiction in my life. I turned to Lost in My Own Backyard by Tim Cahill which I have been meaning to read for a while now — procrastinators always have a to read list handy.

The author contends that Yellowstone is America's backyard... but even though metaphorically that is true it literally was my backyard for a good portion of my life. Cahill writes like a local who wants to share Yellowstone and tells about his experiences in the park in a friendly informal voice.

I think anyone remotely interested in Yellowstone Park would find this a great read. He describes the wonders of Yellowstone and the things that just make you wonder. There is a sprinkling of history (Thomas Moran's paintings of Yellowstone "shredded the fabric of doubt" about whether a place like it existed) with much about geology and wildlife. Cahill made me curious about our earth which is "mighty beyond our imagining."

Mount Redoubt just left a dusting of ash across our fair state... imagine what it would be like if 37 miles worth of mountains just blew up in a matter of hours and buried Idaho in an eight foot thick blanket of ash. That is the furnace that burns Yellowstone. The fires are still burning.

Nonfiction Does Matter

"Life is nonfiction." Bevery Kobrin as quoted in the book I'm reading.

I am reading Nonfiction Matters by Stephanie Harvey. Sometimes during reading time I think to myself how odd it is that I rarely see my students writing notes or copying passages from the books they are reading. Even books they really like rarely get the treatment of noting the information, ideas, or plays on words during our time to read. Blogging does happen, but I wonder if the blogs would carry more of how the reading is going if they are written from notes taken while reading.

I note this because I am reading a book about ideas to help me teach more effectively, so I am taking notes. I also tend to stop and copy quotations from books when I really like what they say. My sketchbooks are littered with wise words I wish I had thought of but some author said just right. Some of the quotations are there because I just want to think about them a bit longer... they challenge me. So, think on these things... take notes while you read and you will hold those words with you longer. Enjoy.

Professional Development

On Saturday I was reading professional development materials... you often have to read for your job. Even when I worked at Wall Mart I had to read and understand the instructions the manager of the department I worked in left for me. There are also important papers you need to understand about your benefits, taxes and how to get reimbursements. You may not get all of the money you have due you if you don't understand these forms and the policies well enough to follow them.

Savvy

Right now I am reading Savvy by Ingrid Law. Savvy means to understand something... in this book when the children in her family turn thirteen they learn about a special gift, that is called savvy, that they have. Mibs, short for Mississippi, is about to turn thirteen as the book begins... she is wondering what her savvy will be. Her brother creates storms, they had to move to Kansas/Nebraska to avoid the hurricanes he creates. Her grandmother could save sounds in jars... anyway you get the idea.

I think at about the age of thirteen most kids are deciding what talent they have (even if it isn't a fantastical savvy). If you are lucky you realize early and can focus in school on that talent and it can lead to a career (instead of just a series of jobs to pay bills). When I was a teen I was certain I would be a computer programmer and also work with science. Those were also my favorite classes in school.

Back to the book. The book is more enjoyable than my blog. Mibs goes on an adventure leaving her birthday party to go visit her dad who was in a car accident. I think it is strange her mom didn't take her there already; trying to protect a child from visiting someone in the hospital is scarier than letting them visit. I know what her savvy is, but I'll let you discover that when you read the book because I highly recommend it. The story is an exciting tale about family and how special everyone is (even if they don't have a "savvy").

I like to include a quotation from the book in my musings because then you have a taste, that may make you hungry for more, of the author's use of words... here is the opening paragraph of the book (because the other ones I picked gave away some of the ending).

"When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it. I had liked living down south on the edge of the land, next to the pushing-pulling waves. I had liked it with a mighty liking, so moving had been hard—hard like the pavement the first time I fell off my pink two-wheeler and my palms burned like fire from all the hurt just under the skin. But it was plain that Fish could live nowhere near or nearby or next to or close to or on or around any largish bodies of water. Water had a way of triggering my brother and making ordinary, everyday weather take a frightening turn for the worse." pg 1 Savvy by Ingrid Law

Underneath (The Front Cover)

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt is one of those adventure animal as the main characters books. It reminds me of The Fox and the Hound (which I haven't seen since I was little so I may be way off on that). Come to think of it in The Fox and the Hound they just never could be friends... since I haven't finished the book I hope that isn't how it ends.

This story is about a hound and a cat and her two kittens... but it is about so much more. There is an evil human, Gar, a king of the alligators, and legends and nature.

I am enjoying this book because I keep finding myself touched by the beautiful way the author uses language.

"Loss. A small, hissing word. A word that simmers into nothing. Beneath the old pine, Grandmother stewed inside her jar. Loss engulfed her as it had a million times before in this dark space. Lossssss! she whispered. — A word that scrapes against the skin." pg 92

Grandmother is a mysterious snake trapped in a jar, that has been knocked loose, under an ancient tree... her story is told in bits woven through the story of the animals and Gar. It is too bad that all too often the most vile horrible creatures in story are human. Too often it is true. In this story Gar has more than a rough childhood and lives to gain respect from the few humans he sees. The author describes the important words and here she describes Gar's view of respect:

"The word 'respect' floated in the thick and heavy air that surrounded him. Respect buzzed in his ears, like a thousand hungry mosquitoes. He swatted at his face and neck, but couldn't shoo away the hissing sound the word made on is tongue. Respect. He swallowed the word whole and licked his lips." pg 20

These could be poems and that is why I like it. It is like the author is holding out a thought and showing me all the different sides — a fine jewel sparkling on the page. I hope to finish this book tonight...

Book Buzzzzzzzzz

Clan Apis by Jay Hosler is a great read. Apis means bee and it is a graphic novel about the life of a bee. Along the way you'll learn lots of fascinating facts about bees but I promise you won't be bored. The illustrations are fun, the dialogue is entertaining and everyone should read this book. Really, I was following Mrs. Benson around the house on our snow day telling her she should read it... but I took it to the classroom for you instead of leaving it for her (she didn't seem that interested now that I think about it).

Nyuki upon learning how metamorphosis works... "I was scared before you told me what to expect, now I'm terrified... I didn't want to know that I'm gonna get scrambled from the inside out!"

Sweet Coraline

Coraline's words of wisdom, "I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted? Just like that, and it didn't mean anything. What then?" pg 120 Enjoy the book. If you want to know more about the author check out his web-site, www.neilgaiman.com , it is full of interesting stories and links.

Getting the Drift(s) of Graphic Novels

Graphic when you talk about books means the books have pictures. There is nothing wrong with enjoying some art along with the plot of a fine book. In fact great readers picture what is happening in the story in their mind... these give you a little push in that direction by providing some of those pictures right there on the page with the text.

Some of the graphic novels in the classroom are about the plots of books that are also in the classroom (or the library). Those of you who enjoyed the graphic novel Coraline should notice that the book Coraline is also in the classroom. Both books are excellent, and reading the regular one after having read the graphic novel will make it easier to understand and more enjoyable. Those pictures from the graphic version will become more detailed and you will notice things you may not have noticed without the graphic version (some things were even left out).

Some of the graphic novels you should watch for in the classroom are: Stormbreaker, Frankenstein, Redwall, Coraline, The Call of the Wild, The Red Badge of Courage, and Treasure Island. I also added some nonfiction graphic books like The Cartoon History of the Universe (Volumes 1,2,and 3).
(Though you know, of course, not all of those books are novels.)

You know there are others, please enjoy reading them and keep them in good shape for others to read in the future. Blog on about what you think about these new additions to the classroom library.

New Newbery

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is this year's winner of the Newbery medal which is only given to one book a year "for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." Many of my favorite books ever were winners of the Newbery Medal and this one was just added to my list.

"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

Are you hooked? After a beginning like that the single chapter I planned to read before I went to sleep last night turned into reading the whole thing. The book opens with murder, and a child being hunted down by the murderer by his smell. But the boy escapes... into a graveyard. What would it be like to be raised in a graveyard? The author imaginatively leads the reader through Bod's adventures (short for Nobody)... and eventually the hand in the darkness with the knife is dealt with. But I want to not say too much, nothing is worse than giving away clues to a good mystery.

Neil Gaiman wrote Coraline, which has been enjoyed in the classroom by many, and also wrote The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish which are in the poetry/speech books. He has a quirky sense of humor that reminds me of The Nightmare Before Christmas. He also wrote another version of Coraline, Stardust and M is for Magic. I'll order those for the classroom. They will no doubt be fun imaginative stories much like The Graveyard Book which I highly recommend.

I'll conclude with a passage from the book that I thought was powerful. Silas, Bod's guardian, is explaining to Bod that although he might know that death isn't scary, it is much different than living... (the "they" here are the dead).

"..they are for the most part, done with this world. You are not. You're alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you're dead, it's gone. Over. You've made what you've made, dreamed your dream, written your name. You may be buried here, you may even walk. But that potential is finished." pg 179

Fun and imaginative, yes. But also something to think about. The infinite potential of life.

It all Matters

Last night I read Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory. It was a fast read because it is basically a sketchbook strung together with a story of a guy dealing with what life has dealt him. His wife has been in an accident and is in a wheelchair (presumably for life). He is angry and sometimes feeling a little sorry for himself. The book is about how journaling and drawing got him through the tough days. It isn't a depressing book, he doesn't delve on the bad in his life, actually he gets interested in life all over again (though he admits he still has bad days).

I laughed out loud when he talked about being bored... I hear that from so any students and here is someone in New York City a place where there is more to do than you ever could do (which is my impression of everywhere... there is more world out there than we will ever know) and he is bored. Ha. He works through it by getting interested again... he gets interested by drawing his world. That works for me. Whenever I start to get a nudge of boredom I try to create something and I'm not bored again... I draw, make quilts, read (create a world in my mind), or write. So don't be bored and read this book. It might give you an idea of how lucky you are.

BTW this book is nonfiction.

Comeback and Finish Reading This Book

A winning season is followed by a great loss... I thought I was reading a basketball book for the classroom and was surprised to find myself reading about a coach who really loves the game of basketball dealing with the loss (abduction) of his boy at the mall. The coach can't get out of his mind that this new player from Sports Illustrated is actually his son.

Has the coach gone crazy... or was his son raised by someone else and has become an up-and-comer in basketball? I don't know yet, but I am hoping he found his son. I can't imagine how a parent deals with having a child stolen from them. The never knowing is heart-breaking and must be a pain that goes wherever that parent goes in life. I imagine every person that walks by that is of the right age has their face studied by these parents... always hoping to find their lost child. I would recommend this book, but don't expect it to all be about basketball (even if it is an important part of the story). BTW, Comeback is fiction and written by Craig Strohm.

Enjoy your stories and come back for more!

More Fruit and Books...

Second Fruits Basket book read... the characters are getting more interesting, but I don't think I'll read many more of them. There are so many books on my to read list I don't want to stick with a series I am not blown away by. The characters do make me laugh in the books... their emotions are so out of control, arguments turn to tears and yelling very quick... maybe they need some help with their anger management. I suppose I would be angry too if I randomly turned into a cat at various times during the day.
I am also almost finished with the book by the librarian (Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert). It is getting less interesting... kind of like he used his good stories up at the beginning of the book. Maybe one of the later chapters will be good again. The last chapter was about a fight between mom's in the parking lot. Sounds more exciting than it was... It was interesting to read about how they cull books that aren't being read to make way for the new ones. I have to do that in my classroom every once in a while. I always feel guilty about books that I get rid of. First I put them in you can have these bins in the room, then I put them in the teacher's workroom... then they go the garbage. Haven't done it in a while though. More later... teaching to do :^D

First Fruit Free For All

This will be my first post about the books I have been reading. I think this can be a fun way to check out what we are reading, get suggestions for new books to read and share thoughts on what we think about them. (Now for the fun part... the books of course!)

I just started reading the Fruits Basket series of graphic novels (by Natsuki Takaya) my niece recommended. They are manga books and you have to get used to reading from the back of the book towards the front and also from the right to the left. It feels like what it must be like to drive in Europe on what would feel like the wrong side of the road. I just started the second book, after having read the first, and I guess there are like twenty-some books in the series... so if I like them it could get expensive. The story reminds me of Inuasha which I haven't seen in a couple years (is it still on?). I haven't decided if I like the books yet, but I am learning a bit about Japanese culture like their horoscope. There seems to be a lot of do you like this guy or that guy... it is written for teenagers... so maybe I am getting old but that kind of soap-opera-y thing kind of annoys me. I do like the independence of the main character... but I guess anyone would have to be independent being an orphan.

The other book I am reading is called Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangsta's in the Public Library by Don Borchert and it is about being a librarian. Sound boring? I don't think it is. He has some interesting insights about how librabries work and the interesting people who tend to work and hang out there, and they are not alll reading the books. It also reminds me of the time I worked at the library in Billings. It was my illustrious court appointed community service for driving too slow (way embarassing as a teenager) and not wearing my ugly glasses. I had to go before the judge and plead guilty (scary) then to make matters worse the judge gave me a lecture about not having my dad pay the fine but working it off (as if my dad wouldn't make me work it off... his favorite method was having me pull nails from two-by-fours he had salvaged). When I showed up at the library the librarians thought I was hilarious since all of their other court-appointed workers were always shop-lifters (wouldn't they steal the books?). In the end I liked working at the library, putting order to the chaos of books felt good and when I was finished I could find a nice quiet table and read. Some things don't change, I still love to read and I still don't really like my glasses. Thank goodness for contacts.