Book 17 of 2015- "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

Ok, I confess. I have never read this book before. I remember seeing the movie a long time ago, but I never had to read the book in school so I never did.

But I finally read it, and I really liked it!

To me, the book was interesting and frustrating. The whole trial aspect of the book was so interesting, how it was obvious that the man was innocent but he was still convicted because of the color of his skin. I appreciated the fact that the children seemed to be the ones who weren't racist, and saw the world through innocent eyes. Atticus seemed to be the only adult in the town who wasn't racist. He also was not ruffled by the fact that people called him a "******** lover", because he was just out to defend the truth.

When I saw the movie, all I remembered was about Boo Radley. I wasn't quite sure how he tied into the trial, but I was glad to see it all worked out. I do wish he had more of a backstory, and wasn't just known as some crazy person. Again, I liked that Atticus didn't show the children his prejudice, if he had any. He just treated Boo like he was a normal member of society.

Well, now I feel like a normal member of society, since I have read this book.

Book 16 of 2015- "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo

I had heard about this book, but I hadn't been able to read it until now. It was REALLY good. It is the story of a 3 year old who undergoes an emergency appendectomy and is in the hospital for a while. A few months later, he tells his family about how he went to heaven and saw Jesus. His dad is a pastor, but didn't tell him many of the details that this little boy knew.

It was fascinating! I believe that this is real, and that the boy had an out of body experience. He met his great grandfather, who died more than 25 years before he was even born. It was also very sweet that he met his sister, whom his mother had miscarried before he was born. I know some friends who have had miscarriages, and as much as you want to believe that children go to heaven it is a relief to hear it from a first hand account.

What is most interesting is that there is another girl who has had visions of heaven and paints what she saw. When they showed Colton the picture she painted of Jesus he said that was it.

Book 15 of 2015- "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch

I read this book in one day. It was a pretty quick read! 

It is a series of small lectures that Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon, wrote as a way for his children to remember him by. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only had a few months to live when he was asked to give a lecture.

The lectures themselves were not that groundbreaking. He talked about why he was the way he was, and his outlook on life. He talked about rules he lives by ("sometimes all you have to do is ask"), and things he remembers about each of his children and his wife. He talked about how he is preparing for their future without him, and the way he was raised.

When you read it like that, it could be seen as a boring book. But then I thought about how he was trying to leave a legacy for himself for his family to remember him by. It made me think of what I would want to leave behind if I were to pass away. (Not too soon!) I'm glad I have this blog so I can have Cora remember me as I am now, and not just as she will remember me starting in a few years.

Book 14 of 2015- "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

I read "Divergent" last year, but hadn't gotten around to this one until now. It was a great book, I probably would have understood the connotations more if I could remember more of the first book. She talked a lot about shooting one of her best friends from the Dauntless faction, and I still cannot remember the exact specifics of it.

There was a LOT of drama between her and her boyfriend this time around, which made it less appealing. And she had some major issues stemming from the attack at the end of the first book, which made her a weaker character this time. She is still the only person who can fight off these hallucination type simulations, which allow her to fight the evil faction. But she does it at the wrong time and at the end of the book is slated for execution as a war criminal. HMM I WONDER IF SHE WILL DIE.

So, while I liked the book, I hope that the third one in the set is better.

Book 13 of 2015- "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

This was another quick read. However, it was completely gut wrenching. I couldn't believe the things that this boy soldier had to go through. It shows how people can become so depraved and desensitized that they can commit completely awful crimes in the name of whatever cause they believe in. 

This is the story of a boy who was caught in the middle of the Sierra Leone rebellion in the 90's. Ishmael was captured by the soldiers while he was running from the war. Along the way he discovered that his entire family had been burned alive in a house when the rebels fell upon it. He became addicted to the soldiers' drugs, and was willing to do whatever they asked in the name of revenge. By the end of the war, he was capable of burying people alive, killing them in gruesome manners, and not caring if he took out a village of civilians in the process. He was taken back by UNICEF and brought into rehabilitation, and ultimately found a long lost uncle. He ended up having to escape from Sierra Leone when the rebels took over the government, because some of his friends from the rehab center had already joined the army again and he needed to get out. He had a friend in New York, who ultimately adopted him.

I think the fact that he was able to escape that mindset is nothing short of miraculous. He had so many friends who couldn't find a way out, so they went back to the front lines. He doesn't know what happened to them.

I am sure that the people who recruit children to be soldiers and force them to commit such atrocities will have a special place for them after they die.

Book 12 of 2015- "Out of my Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

This was a book that was a SUPER quick read. I read it in basically 3 sittings. It is told from the perspective of a 10 year old with cerebral palsy. She has never been able to talk, and for the first half of the book she hasn't been able to communicate her thoughts except through basic words on her communication board. She then gets a talking machine, which helps her communicate with her classmates and feel like she is a "normal" child. She is then able to show just how smart she is, and deals with the stigma that she still has.

This book was sadder than I thought it would be. She reminds me of some of my students (but I can't talk about them), and a girl I worked with as a peer tutor in high school. She had CP and couldn't do much for herself. She couldn't talk, walk, or use the bathroom independently. But she was so smart. She could only communicate by blinking, but we tested her knowledge by asking her yes or no questions. She would blink for "yes", and stare for "no". She could do multiplication tables in her head, and quickly. However, people kept their distance from her because she couldn't talk. When you add that to the meanness of fifth grade (which was traumatizing enough for me), it makes for a hard time. But she eventually learns that she will always be different, and she is OK with it.

Book 11 of 2015- "Bringing up Bebe" by Pamela Druckerman

This was a fantastic read. I have been looking for ways to help Cora sleep longer at night, and Alyse recommended it to me. There were many things that French parents do that I like. They start letting their children cry for a little bit at night from a very little age, and their children sleep through the night much earlier. They call it, "The Pause". I've been doing it with Cora, where when she starts crying I wait a few minutes before I get up with her. And you know what? A lot of times she does fall back asleep!

Another thing that I really liked is the fact that women in France aren't allowed to just let themselves go during pregnancy. I always had people tell me "Eat whatever you want, you're pregnant", or "It will all come off after you have her, it doesn't matter!" While I know a lot of my weight WAS from swelling, especially at the end, I could have been better with my diet. But if I lived in a place like France where they have the societal pressures to stay thin it might have helped my diet. They also expect women to get back into shape quickly.

They teach their children to wait from a young age, and that helps them learn to handle themselves more patiently. They don't have children's menus at restaurants, because they expect that their children will develop their palates and learn about each food that they try.

Even from a young age, they talk to their children and have confidence that they will be understood. I've started doing this, explaining to Cora when I am going to change her diaper (which I do before I feed her). And she doesn't cry while I am getting her stuff for diapers.

There were some things I didn't agree with (no nursing, you have to get back to work in a few months), I will be trying a lot of these methods out.