Book #2 : Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone

This was a reread of this book for me. I first read this book for one of my classes at ISU. Being asked to read a book for a class always seems to change the real enjoyment you get out of a book. Especially since the teachers always want you to only read so much at a time. My enjoyment of sitting down and getting lost in a book can’t happen when a restriction is put on how much can be read. I think a lot is also lost when you take breaks in your reading.

The biggest difference between reading the book then and now was the fact that I knew how the whole story really ends. Since reading the book I read all the books and had seen all but the last movie in the series. Sometimes I feel that one of the best times to reread a book is when you feel you can’t take anything new from it. Of course I was wrong and greatly enjoyed reading this book again. The first thing I noticed were all the parts I had forgotten from the book. The first chapter especially shocked me because I totally forgot the scene was in the book and the fact Sirius Black is mentioned in it. J.K Rowling is such a great writer and reading her books has allowed me many hours of entertainment. As happens so often with books that are turned into movies some of the great parts are only in the book. Neville is very well written about throughout the book and his standing up to the three of them is quite dramatic. Hermione’s figuring out the potions is another great part left out of the movie. My biggest compliant about this book is how the conflict of the story is wrapped up. It just seems so sudden and feel like there is a part missing. For an introductory book to the series I think the writing is quite good.

3 out of 5 stars for this book. While someone who’s never read the series I think would greatly enjoy this book. I feel that this book is lacking in some areas though and I think there are some parts that are too rushed and could really been better written.

Running To Read

I'm sure most people that run don't do it because they want to read. In my case that is one of my main reasons I do run though. Nothing compares to grabbing my favorite book and going downstairs on my treadmill to get some reading done. No please understand I am in no way 'running' when reading my books. I variety my pace from a 1 - around 2.5 to get may heartbeat up and some exercise in.
There are a few reasons for the behavior (since I'm sure some might find this behavior odd)

1. Being at home so much I feel like I should be constantly completing chores around the house. Therefore often when I start reading I feel an overwhelming wave of guilt that I should be cleaning instead. When on my treadmill though can't really be cleaning so might as use that time to read.
   
2. Getting on my treadmill sometimes takes some convincing. Having the 'reward' of getting some reading done often makes that desire to be on the treadmill greater.
3. When I read a book I tend to get lost in what I'm reading. This is great for working out on the treadmill because my usual time of 10-15 minutes has been increase to 30-45 minutes without we even realizing I've been on that long.
   
4. Two of my goals this year is to read (I really believe I will reach my 60 books by the end of the year) and get in better shape. What greater activity for myself right now then to read while working out on my treadmill.

Would love to hear your opinion on this and if there are any other Runners to Read out there!

Book #1 - There's a Boy In Here

This book was given to me by Johnathan's teacher to read. Since I have been reading a few books about Autism lately I was looking forward to this one.

There's A Boy In Here by Judy Barron & Sean Barron
This book is certainly not like the other autism books I have read. Judy Barron is Sean's mother. In this book she shares her story of becoming a mother for the first time and having her world turned completely upside down. Even as a toddler the signs were already beginning in Sean that had her concerned. In an age when mother's were expected to stay at home she quickly fell into a world of sadness and isolation. She believed her child hated her and his erratic behaviors left her feeling angry and drained quite often. When their second child was born they really began to see all the unusual behaviors Sean really had. Judy tried to control Sean's unusual behaviors and when it didn't work she often found herself getting angry and even physical in an attempt to stop them. Throughout the book she talks about most of her interactions with him as a child involved her yelling at him. What makes this book so interesting is that many times Judy will tell you of incidents that happened and her perspective. Then Sean will write his perspective about the same incidents. It is really interesting to get the perspective of a person with autism - to read the thought processes that they go through and the true 'logic' behind their actions is so interesting. Seeing the way Judy's and Sean's relationship develops and grows through this book I think was the most interesting. I think so many parents of children with autism travel similar journeys because there is still so little known about this disease. Reading the stories of the many doctors they saw and the steps they took to try to 'cure' Sean make me cringe. Especially in a time were no one really knew what Autism was I think this book really spreads a great message. The fact that this family faced a lot of adversity and never instiutionailized him is amazing (though I think Beechbrook may qualify as an instituion) Reading about the moment of realization for Sean was very uplifting and gives a lot of encouragement to parents that may worry about their child never being able to function in the real world.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

If you know someone that has autism I truly recommend reading this book. In a disease that so few people still know about and understand I think this book does a great job helping people see the line between having autism and not having autism.

Recent Creation - Fabric Wreaths

Still reading my most recent book so thought I'd share a craft I made recently. For those that don't know I decided to try for a homemade Christmas this year. While I was not able to do all gifts homemade 85% were. One of my favorite creations I made were my fabric wreaths.
My sister, Mindy has a beautiful, large house that she enjoys decorating for Christmas. Having only moved into her house about 2 years ago and still doing renovations has limited the amount of decorations she currently has. Well being the Christmas decoration queen in our family ( we are up to five trees, over 12 large totes of stuff, and another seven totes worth of unorganized Christmas stuff) I figured I help her out. So I sat down and went through our fabric bins selecting various red and green fabrics. Once I had chosen a good amount I sat down and began cutting strips. After each fabric was cut I began tying them onto a reshaped hanger. As I worked through the different fabrics the wreath began fuller and fuller and I was thrilled by how great it was turning out. I finished the wreath and showed it to Jim when he got home that night. He liked it a lot and before I knew it he had asked me to make more for some other people. I ended up making seven wreaths: Mindy, Laura, Carol, Mom, Grandma, Peg, & Mary. While I enjoyed the red & green I needed some variety in my creations. Therefore my next wreath I decided to use blue fabrics. I'll admit I loved the blue ones and plan to make one for myself. When I decided to make Laura's I knew I had to make a special one so I made a trip to Hobby Lobby where I got some orange fabric and Fighting Illini fabric. Then I got some blue fabric at Wal-Mart and created a Orange & Blue wreath just for her. Here are some of pictures of my wreaths I made.

Things I learned making these wreaths:
- No wreath was exactly alike. It didn't matter if I used the same fabrics I would always end up doing the pattern differently or needing more strips then previous wreaths.
- I takes me about a little over two hours to complete one wreath
- Different fabrics change the whole layout and sometimes the fullness of the wreath.

- Even if fabrics look like they really clash individually they look pretty awesome together on the wreath.
Isn't Charles cute framed in a wreath?

Books I Read in 2011

Here's a list of the books I read last year
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played With Fire
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (re-read)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (re-read)
300 Sundays
Louder Than Words
Multiple Blessings
Something Borrowed
Where Is Joe Merchant?
Mother Warriors (finished this book yesterday)

60 Books a Year

So I have been setting many goals for myself this year. My favorite so far is to read 60 books this year. To make it seem more reasonable that means 5 books a month. Since I have no certain genre that I plan to read and no book is off limits I'm very excited about the possibilities. I actually just finished reading a book yesterday and am already half way through another book so I'm starting out great. I plan to share with you each book I read and share my insights, opinions, and recommendations about them. Hope you with follow me on this journey and share with me your suggestions for books, opinions on books you've also read, and of course your encouragement.