Monthly Archives: March 2012

Literature Reviews

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Leave a comment

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Grace Lin

Even though I was on a Newbery reading kick two years ago, I wasn’t too interested in reading this one.  It’s not that I don’t like Grace Lin–I do.  She’s marvelous.  I think it was because I thought the cover was ugly.  See!  It does matter!

Anyway, one of my students told me I should read it, and so I did.  To be very honest, I’m glad I did.
Besides the story being told expertly and the main character being the most generous and intelligent of young girls, the inside also contains various color pictures that are completely amazing.
When I was little, I was obsessed with China and its cultures.  I swallowed up any story that I could get my hands on and reading this story awoke a sleeping passion inside my mind.  I not only adored the main story, but I eagerly read through the dozen stories other characters told.  It was great!
If you have any interest in Chinese culture, perfectly woven stories, characters who are determined to change their fate or inspiring fables, you’ll adore this one!
Postcards

Flamingo Tea

Leave a comment

This great postcard comes the Netherlands.  You can’t see it from the picture, but parts of the card (like her hair) are shiny, so they stand out when you look at the card in the light.  Actually, now that I typed that, I’m not sure you’d be looking at a postcard in any other setting.  Who knows, maybe there are people who look at postcards in the dark?

Letters to the Universe
Leave a comment

Dear Boy I Saw Walking Past The Window At Starbucks,

I smiled at you because I knew your face from somewhere–I just couldn’t place it fast enough.  I recognized your glasses and your hair–and I didn’t mean to stare at you as you walked by, I was just trying to remember where you had entered my life before.  When you passed, backtracked and waved, it made my day and also made me realize that I had also made a mark in your life.  I remembered who you were three days later, but that afternoon you made me smile.  I felt important and memorable.  Thanks for being kind.

Love,

The chick with the goofy smile

Dani's Adventures in the City

Hang In There

2 Comments

While trying not to crumple under the stress of my current situation, I waited at the Astor Place subway station and counted to 180 because the board said an uptown train would be arriving in three minutes.  When I happened to look to the right, I saw that someone had doodled on a pillar with sharpie.

I felt exactly like the picture, and it made me smile to know at least someone had things under control.

Literature Reviews

Ghost World

Leave a comment

Ghost World

Daniel Clowes

This book is on all the lists of the greatest graphic novels of all time.  I thought it was a complete waste of time.  It was torture!  The characters are about as obnoxious as they could possibly be and the ending wasn’t worth the 50 or so pages that came before it.

Perhaps I missed something major, or I just don’t get the point, but I don’t quite understand why it has such a following.  Or maybe I’d much rather read books about aliens and zombies, than a realistic look at the boring, pathetic lives of two teenaged jerks?  Maybe this kind of story no longer appeals to me.  I don’t know–either way my advice is to stay away from this one.
Postcards

Glued Comics

Leave a comment

This card comes from New Hampshire.  I like it because it was handmade–the person who sent it had glued the comic onto a piece of paper and then made postcards out of it.  I really like the idea and think I might do something like that in the future.