The Reader

The Reader
by Bernhard Schlink

Published in 1999. 224 pages.

Amazon link

Released as a movie January, 2009

Movie links HERE and HERE

Genre: Fiction/Literature

My Overall Score: 4/5

What its about (taken from amazon.com): The Reader is a brief tale about sex, love, reading, and shame in postwar Germany. Michael Berg is 15 when he begins a long, obsessive affair with Hanna, an enigmatic older woman. He never learns very much about her, and when she disappears one day, he expects never to see her again. But, to his horror, he does. Hanna is a defendant in a trial related to Germany's Nazi past, and it soon becomes clear that she is guilty of an unspeakable crime.
The Reader, which won the Boston Book Review's Fisk Fiction Prize, wrestles with many more demons in its few, remarkably lucid pages. Schlink's prose is clean and pared down, stripped of unnecessary imagery, dialogue, and excess in any form. What remains is an austerely beautiful narrative of the attempt to breach the gap between Germany's pre- and postwar generations, between the guilty and the innocent, and between words and silence.

What I thought: At first, this book was a bit strange. Even though I read the back and knew what it was about, when the love affair became reality, it still shocked me. But as the story progressed, it did suck me in and the storyline was both touching and thought-provoking. It was a bit dark at parts, which was necessary to get the point across. Decent book. I would like to see the movie now!

Why I read it & where I got it: I got this book at the Ocean City Library Book Sale for 25 cents last year. It has been sitting on my bookshelf since then and when I was looking for a shorter book to read, this one caught my eye.

Date finished: February 22, 2009

Currently reading: The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner

Another fun weekend :)

On Friday, February 6, Tim, Poppop & I took the girls to the Atlantic City Boat Show at the Convention Center. It was fun and the girls loved climbing through the huge expensive boats (with houses in them!) The best part was a big indoor 'lake' filled with water where the kids could ride pedal boats around (and that was FREE!)




Then on Saturday morning, my cousin Tommy arrived for more weekend fun! He brought McDonald's breakfast - which is always a special treat! Later, we went to the mall for dinner and to let the girls play in the indoor playground. Then back to the food court for a special birthday surprise for Tommy!!




After the girls went to bed, we watched the movie Revolutionary Road which was very sad.

On Sunday, Tommy got up early with the girls and took them for a walk to the park. That gave Tim & I a break to rest in the morning before our busy day. After lunch, Tim, Tommy & I took the girls to the Cape May Zoo on a beautiful warm & sunny day! Then we let them play on the playground before heading home for dinner. Of course I took a ton of pics, but here is a little sample ;)








All too soon, the time came for him to leave & as always we were very sad to see him go. But it was a perfect weekend and was like a mini-vacation for all of us!

So proud!!

I think we officially have a recovering thumb sucker in the house! Kaitlyn has religiously sucked her thumb since she was 3 months old (and she is almost 8 years old). Recently, it was mainly when she was tired, but also if she was upset, angry, frustrated, or feeling cozy. She spent many hours of the day with her thumb in her mouth.
Needless to say, this habit was not kind to her teeth - poor girl. A friend of hers got a mouthpiece cemented into the front of her mouth to stop her from thumb-sucking. It was not attractive. Plus uncomfortable and difficult to eat with. We have talked about it with Kaitlyn for months now and finally made the appointment with the Orthodontist.
So on Monday, February 2, Tim & I toted our darling oldest daughter to a local orthodontist (Dr. Pfund) and anxiously awaited his assessment. He gave Kaitlyn two options. And he was very stern about it. He told her she has to stop sucking her thumb. And that once she has broken the habit completely, she can get a pretty retainer to start moving her teeth into the correct position. They make the retainers in rainbow colors with sparkles - hit the spot for Kaitlyn! So her options were:
1. Get that obnoxious mouthpiece cemented into her mouth to make her stop or
2. She could stop on her own.
We decided to give her one month to try and stop on her own and if she couldn't do it, we would get the mouthpiece put in at her next visit (March 2). The doctor asked if we had tried all the 'tricks' to get her to stop. Of course we thought we had. However, he had a great suggestion for us. He said to buy an ace bandage and wrap her elbow in it, so she cant bend her arm as easily to get the thumb in. What a great idea!! Luckily she has only ever sucked her left thumb, so it was an easy target! Plus he said to put a sock over her left hand at bedtime just in case she unconsciously sucks her thumb in the middle of the night.
So starting that night, we followed his suggestions and VOILA! As a reward, for each night she goes without sucking her thumb, she gets to chew a piece of gum the next day (which you all know I despise gum). But it is enough of a reward for her.
I am excited to say, she has gone more than 2 straight weeks without putting her thumb in her mouth for even a minute!
Of course we know that many times kids revert and go back to their habit sometimes, so we are not blind to that. But we have a few other tricks up our sleeve in case that happens and I have faith that she wants this badly enough to stick with it.
So when we go back to the Ortho in a week and a half, she will probably get fitted for her brand new sparkly retainer!! :)

And now, follow me through Kaitlyn's journey of her strongly-engrained habit!

My little cutie pie at 3 months old(2001)...
Started with her left thumb and never switched:



One year old princess (2002):


Sleepy girl :)


One happy three-year old (2004)!













Four years old (2005):

Daddy's little girl:

And she taught Megan to suck her thumb...ugh:

Our snuggly five-year old (2006):

Still happily sucking thumb at six years old (2007):


Almost 8 years old (2008) - we gotta do something about this!

Now that I am welling up with tears, looking back through these photos, I try to stay strong knowing this is for the best. Kaitlyn, I'm so proud of you baby girl!!

Change of Heart

Change of Heart

by Jodi Picoult

Published in 2008. 464 pages.

Amazon link

Author's website

Genre: Fiction

My Overall Score: 4.5/5

What its about (taken from amazon.com): Freelance carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for killing a little girl, Elizabeth Nealon, and her cop stepfather. Eleven years after the murders, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, needs a heart transplant, and Shay volunteers, which complicates the state's execution plans. Meanwhile, death row has been the scene of some odd events since Shay's arrival—an AIDS victim goes into remission, an inmate's pet bird dies and is brought back to life, wine flows from the water faucets. The author brings other compelling elements to an already complex plot line: the priest who serves as Shay's spiritual adviser was on the jury that sentenced him; Shay's ACLU representative, Maggie Bloom, balances her professional moxie with her negative self-image and difficult relationship with her mother. Picoult moves the story along with lively debates about prisoner rights and religion, while plumbing the depths of mother-daughter relationships and examining the literal and metaphorical meanings of having heart.

What I thought: This is a book that will definitely make you think. And keep you thinking well after you've finished reading. Which is exactly the kind of book I like. The main two components of the storyline were religion and the death penalty. Also a third thought-provoking topic was how far would you go to save your child's life. There were a few aspects of the story that were a bit distracting, but in the end it does all come together for the most part. I wish Picoult had built the characters of mother & daughter (June & Clair) more because I found it difficult to relate with them. Otherwise very nice character development.

One (of the many) quotes from the book that really touched me:
page 399 the Judge speaking:
"I am not a religious man. I have not attended a service for many years. But I do believe in God. My own practice of religion, you could say, is a nonpractice. I personally feel that it's just as worthy on a weekend to rake the lawn of an elderly neighbor or to climb a mountain and marvel at the beauty of this land we live in as it is to sing hosannas or go to Mass. In other words, I think every man finds his own church-and not all of them have four walls."
huh...

Why I read it & where I got it: I have been a Picoult fan for awhile now (my fave so far was My Sister's Keeper) & I got this book from my mom for Christmas.

Date finished: February 15, 2009

Currently reading: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink