Msdlbennett's Blog

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

msdlbennett — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 05:38:48 +0000

Did you read Francis Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden” as a child? The sub plot of this novel weaves in to the life of “The Secret Garden” and out to the modern day search of a granddaughter to solve the mystery of the real identity of her grandmother. The tapestry created by the intertwining stories is mysterious, intriguing, and rich with the details of the lives of strong women.

Intervention by Robin Cook

msdlbennett — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:57:29 +0000

Ok, I’ll admit that I really like a good mystery and adding a psychological twist or a scientific / medical dilemma, like Cook’s novels usually have, intrigues me even further. Intervention, however, seems to be a thinly veiled diatribe by Cook about any medical practice outside mainstream Western medicine. He weaves together, and not very well, his vendetta against chiropractors, Eastern medicine, and good old herbal antidotes (anecdotes?). Now, having a chiropractor snap my neck so loudly that there was a sudden silence from the waiting room on the other side of the door put me off that form of therapy and I realized after the fact that the fine print I’d signed absolved him from a possible lawsuit if I’d had a stroke, which I didn’t. However, I’ve found pain relief from massage, accupuncture, and chamomile tea, although not all at the same time. Back to the novel, if you can call it that. Cook is so busy slamming any practice outside his own training, that his plot and characters completely derail. Will I buy another Cook mystery. Maybe. Will I recommend this one to anyone? Not at all.

Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins

msdlbennett — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 17:56:05 +0000

The third of the Hunger Games trilogy left me feeling unsatisfied especially as I picked it up from our local bookstore, Laughing Oyster, and took advantage of my holiday status to sit on my sunny patio drinking Chai tea, reading it, and occasionally dozing off with the lingering scent of my herb garden twining around me. Delightful. Although the read wasn’t as delightful as the first two. Primarily, I thought a few things were brushed off – I’m being a bit ambiguous so this isn’t a spoiler post, and/or dealt with too abruptly to really be good writing. Too, I guess I was hoping for a creative unusual twist to conclude the tale of a strong female protagonist. That didn’t happen. Even in the Harry Potter series with the strongly recognizable plot pattern – see Hero’s Quest – the ending satisfied me because it was so intense, I guess. Mockingjay, did not leave me feeling the same. However, I have at school right now to loan to students, but will give it a second chance and a reread perhaps over Christmas Break.

My Friend Leonard by James Frey

msdlbennett — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 17:43:31 +0000

Took me quite awhile to want to read this after the controversy about “A Million Little Pieces” and I finally borrowed it from the school library. Oddly enough, I didn’t find the memoir/fiction debate of “A Million Little Pieces” enough to remove it from the wannabe list for a class novel so I’m not sure why I hesitated over “My Friend Leonard” which I did find a tolerable read and. although it is categorized “Dewey-ly” into fiction, still seems to blur the line. I think I would recommend it to anyone who has read “A Million Little Pieces” only because it ties up loose ends, so to speak, or continues, and concludes, the story of a number of characters. The pseudo stream of consciousness style, which is used inconsistently throughout, irritated me, sort of like the summer whine of a mosquito might just as you are settling into sleep on a drowsy summer evening.

A poem, a video, a beautifully reflective piece, and Canadian, eh.

msdlbennett — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:48:40 +0000

The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory

msdlbennett — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:39:29 +0000

Seem to be consuming works of historical fiction and am not sure whether it’s because they have touches of cheesy romances or because I’m interested in the “real” lives of English royalty. Gregory has a distinguished educational pedigree as far as British history goes, but the writing is easy on the brain. This particular novel is from a commoner’s perspective – Jewish Hannah, who, with her father, has fled the Inquisition in Spain to set up a book selling and printing business in London. I think if I hadn’t read “The Virgin Queen” first, many of the same “royal” characters, I would be enjoying this one more.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

msdlbennett — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:25:56 +0000

View This PollAm rereading this novel which I did with my Grade 8′s as a class novel in Semester 2 of the 2009/10 school year. It intrigued me, thank you Mrs. Megan Haut for the “recommend to read”, as well as some of my older students and most of, if not all, the grade 8′s I taught. It is an accessible dystopic novel with an intriguing plot and some depth as far as inferring a 21st century parallel to the Roman Empire. Find the author speaking at this link.

Three Cups of Tea – Greg Mortenson

msdlbennett — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:54:31 +0000

Very powerful non-fiction loaner from my dad (he got it as a Christmas gift I think). After Greg fails at his attempt to summit K2 he stumbles into a life of attempting to bring schools to rural Pakistan and then later, Afghanistan. Being a part of the public education system sometimes makes me forget or lose track of the power of education to those who don’t take it for granted. This book reminded me. Look at http://www.girleffect.org/ or http://www.ikat.org/

Cooperman Variations – Howard Engel

msdlbennett — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:43:36 +0000

Picked the novel up for $1 in Chemainus. Canadian gumshoe solves murder mystery. The narrative voice tries hard to be the slightly bitter going nowhere private detective but I feel like I’m grasping at a phantasm rather than a “real” character.