Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading

This is how it works

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

  This weeks Teaser Tuesday comes from

 What's Happening to our Girls? by Maggie Hamilton


This is not my current read, I'm still reading The Hour I First Believed which I used for my teaser last week.  


What's Happening to our Girls a profound effect on me when I read it last week. You can read my review here. In fact, I'm likely to give you a few teasers.

For girls to instantly and radically change their bodies doesn't teach them how to resolve self-esteem and other issues. TV, magazines and the internet are hardly the ideal reference points for girls considering surgery, but that's where most now go to for advice. (p100)

New research by De Montfort University found that those who download child pornography from the internet share the same psychological characteristics as paedophiles  who actively abuse children. As the addiction to pornography grows, and we are in the middle of what some describe as an epidemic of child sexual abuse, how many of these people are out walking the streets? And when they see tween girls dressed as teens, wearing the clothes marketed to them as THE way to look cool and be accepted, what do they see - young girls trying hard to grow up, or 'eye candy'? (p56) (This paragraph totally stopped me in my tracks)

As children of their generation, it was natural for Jodie and Stephanie [two 16 year olds who committed suicide] to go on the net and tell the world how they were feeling - that's what girls their age do. The unfortunate thing is that cyberspace is the last place most parents go to when trying to work out what's happening with their daughter. (p 191)

Girls do need more freedom as they mature, but as social analyst Richard Eckersley points out, freedom is only meaningful when they are pushing out from a structured environment. For girls who have grown up without boundaries, freedom is pretty meaningless, because they have nothing to judge it against, or retreat to if things get tricky. (p210)

 and finally

Alongside the many issues our girls currently face are a wealth of opportunities. It is our job to help our girls recognise these opportunities, and give them the confidence and resources they need to lead lives that are even richer and fuller than our own, and to find solutions to problems we can but dream of. (p256)

Hope I haven't bored or depressed you too much! Please leave me a link with your Tuesday Teaser!

What's Happening to Our Girls?

What's Happening To Our Girls? by Maggie Hamilton

I put this book on hold at the library after I heard Maggie Hamilton on a talk back radio station. She was actually talking about her new book What's Happening to Our Boys? and as the mother of a boy about to hit that "tween" age it piqued my interest. When I looked it up at the library, it wasn't yet in circulation, but Girls was. Now my daughter is only 4, but I figure it's never to young to start. Apparently this is what advertisers think also!

Hamilton's book was in turn terrifying and reassuring. It looks at the pressures on our girls today - how their world is so different from the one even I grew up in and the challenges they face in a media saturated world. From the deliberate targeting of advertisers, to the influence of social networking sites such as FaceBook, the lack of "down time", being available to peers 24/7 through mobile phones, the desire to fit in, be cool, dress right, look right, listen to the right music. And it all starts so much younger than it use to. It also examines the dangers our older girls expose themselves to through binge drinking, drugs, raunchy photos taken on phones or by friends.

The positive thing is we can help our girls identify and navigate these pitfalls. It's all about openness, talking with your child from a young age, keeping the communication channels open and monitoring their use of technology. I have long subscribed to the belief that I am my child's parent first and their friend second. It is my job to protect them as much as possible, either through monitoring their activities or teaching them the skills to handle tough situations. I hope I manage to convey to them that they can always come and tell about things and to know that I will always help.

I did have to through out the book remind myself it was specifically targeted at girls. I'm sure many of the issues raised are also affecting boys. I'm looking forward to reading What's happening to our Boys and seeing what the similarities and differences are. As I said before, I highly recommend this for anyone who is the parent or carer of a girl. 

It's Monday! What are you reading?

What are you reading Monday  is hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. Head over and check out what others are reading!

What I have finished this week

Another slow week this week. I have visitors at the moment, and will do so until the middle of August - makes finding time to read challenging!

What are you reading Monday  is hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. Head over and check out what others are reading!

I did manage to finish one book.

What's Happening To Our Girls by Maggie Hamilton

From Goodreads:

Why are girls as young as five years old concerned about their looks and addicted to shopping? Why are they having sex and binge-drinking so young, responding to chat-room predators, and bullying their peers via email and text messages? Many of the guidelines we offer girls no longer apply, or are contradicted by messages from media and advertising telling girls how to look, think, behave and feel.
Over two years Maggie Hamilton interviewed girls, teachers, school counsellors, psychologists, and law enforcement and medical personnel to get an insider’s view on what girls are experiencing at present, from birth to the teenage years.

I actually stopped reading The Hour I First Believed in order to read this. I've been waiting for it come in from the library for awhile now and it's only a short loan due to its popularity. It was incredible - I will be buying my own copy, and it's companion volume, What's Happening to Our Boys. I will also be recommending it to all my friends who have daughters.

What I am reading now

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

From Goodreads:

When forty-seven-year-old high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his younger wife, Maureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, Caelum returns home to Three Rivers, Connecticut, to be with his aunt who has just had a stroke. But Maureen finds herself in the school library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed, as two vengeful students go on a carefully premeditated, murderous rampage. Miraculously she survives, but at a cost: she is unable to recover from the trauma. Caelum and Maureen flee Colorado and return to an illusion of safety at the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers. But the effects of chaos are not so easily put right, and further tragedy ensues.
While Maureen fights to regain her sanity, Caelum discovers a cache of old diaries, letters, and newspaper clippings in an upstairs bedroom of his family's house. The colorful and intriguing story they recount spans five generations of Quirk family ancestors, from the Civil War era to Caelum's own troubled childhood. Piece by piece, Caelum reconstructs the lives of the women and men whose legacy he bears. Unimaginable secrets emerge; long-buried fear, anger, guilt, and grief rise to the surface.
As Caelum grapples with unexpected and confounding revelations from the past, he also struggles to fashion a future out of the ashes of tragedy. His personal quest for meaning and faith becomes a mythic journey that is at the same time quintessentially contemporary—and American.

I've finally hit my stride with this book, so am hoping to finish it off soon.

What's next?
Next on my list will be August's book group read - Mistborn: The Final Empire  by Brandon Sanderson. After that I may finally get the chance to read   We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. We decided at book group yesterday to reschedule this one for September.

So what are you reading? Leave me a link!

Culloden Tales

Culloden Tales: Stories From Scotland's Most Famous Battlefield bu Hugh G Allison

I've been fascinated with Culloden ever since I read Cross Stitch (aslo published as Outlander) by Diana Gabalon. I would love to go to Scotland if for no other reason than to stand on Culloden Moor and pay my respects to those men who charged a bigger, better armed force and were mowed down.

Hugh G Allison works at the visitors centre at Culloden and often hears stories from visitors about their ancestors. From this he was inspired to write this book, to bring to life some of those tales.

He starts by looking at the history of Culloden the Scottish Highlanders support for Bonne Prince Charles. He then takes a look at the different clands who were represented at Culloden, their history and how they came to be standing on that battlefield. The third section, and in my opinion, the most interesting, was the tales themselves. These were collected from visitors, people who work at the site and others with an interest in Culloden and it's history.

For me this has whet my appetite for more. I find it hard to read history books, they are often dry and dull, taking what should be an exiciting and thrilling read into the grounds of drudgery and boredom. I think it's why I like a lot of my history presented in a fictional form. (Think Sharon Kay Penman) For me, this was better than most history books I've read, but has definitely left me wanting more.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading

This is how it works

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

  This weeks Teaser Tuesday comes from

 

 The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb


It was a brutal night. She wandered from room to room, cried, cursed the killers.


Please leave a comment and let me know what your Teaser Tuesday is!

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

What are you reading Monday  is hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. Head over and check out what others are reading!

What I have finished this week
Slow week this week, have only finished one book.

Culloden Tales by Hugh C Allison 

What I am reading now

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

From Goodreads:

When forty-seven-year-old high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his younger wife, Maureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, Caelum returns home to Three Rivers, Connecticut, to be with his aunt who has just had a stroke. But Maureen finds herself in the school library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed, as two vengeful students go on a carefully premeditated, murderous rampage. Miraculously she survives, but at a cost: she is unable to recover from the trauma. Caelum and Maureen flee Colorado and return to an illusion of safety at the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers. But the effects of chaos are not so easily put right, and further tragedy ensues.
While Maureen fights to regain her sanity, Caelum discovers a cache of old diaries, letters, and newspaper clippings in an upstairs bedroom of his family's house. The colorful and intriguing story they recount spans five generations of Quirk family ancestors, from the Civil War era to Caelum's own troubled childhood. Piece by piece, Caelum reconstructs the lives of the women and men whose legacy he bears. Unimaginable secrets emerge; long-buried fear, anger, guilt, and grief rise to the surface.
As Caelum grapples with unexpected and confounding revelations from the past, he also struggles to fashion a future out of the ashes of tragedy. His personal quest for meaning and faith becomes a mythic journey that is at the same time quintessentially contemporary—and American.

I'm finding this harder going that I thought I would. I haven't had much time this week to just sit and read and I think this book needs that. Hopefully it will pick up for me soon.

What's next?
I know you are going to get sick of hearing this but I still  We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Book group is on Sunday and by the sounds of it, I'm not the only one who has had trouble finding time to read! We are thinking we may postpone Kevin to another month and instead do a sharing session of our favourites. So maybe instead of Kevin next on my list will be August's book group read - Mistborn: The Final Empire  by Brandon Sanderson.

So, what are you reading? Leave me a link!

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Very early on in the year, when I first started this blog, I started listing books from other blogs that were interesting to me. This was an early discovery from Abrosia Salad Book Reviews. You can read her review here.

I know that I have tried to read a Margaret Atwood before and struggled - maybe Alias Grace?? I also think I may have read this before, but a long, long time ago, before I was able to really appreciate the story.

The Handmaid's Tale is the story of Offred. A woman whose sole purpose is to provide the Commander she is assigned to and his wife with a baby. The consequences for not doing so are to be declared an unwoman and shipped off to the Colonies. In this rather terrifying future, woman are strictly controlled - all for their own good, really.

For me, one of the scariest things about Hanmaid's Tale is the apparent ease with which the world changed. Offred is still able to remember the time before - living with a room mate, make up, parties, being able to do what she wanted. She also remembers her husband and child - she has no idea where they are now.  The changes she describes seemed to happen over time and on the surface, seemed quite good. The outlawing of porn, not being able to touch a woman until a certain age, harsh punishment for rape. However, a declining birth rate drove the militaristic-religious government to take more and more control over women and their bodies until you are left with a society where woman are divided into groups and are defined and controlled by their purpose. Not only are we back in the dark ages, we are beyond it.

Trish over at Hey Lady, Whatcha Readin' is hosting a read along of The Handmaid's Tale in August/ September. I'm looking forward to taking part in the discussion.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading

This is how it works

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

  This weeks Teaser Tuesday comes from

 Culloden Tales: Stories from Scotland's Most Famous Battlefield  by Hugh G Allison

A week later, Charles, dressed as an Irish maid (Betty Burke), was joined by Flora, and together with the faithful Neil MacEachain they sailed for Skye. Charles was keen to carry a pistol in his petticoats for defence, but Flora was adamant about the danger that this would represent if they were given a close search.

Please leave a comment and let me know what your Teaser Tuesday is!

 

It's Monday! What are you reading?

What are you reading Monday  is hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. Head over and check out what others are reading!

What I have finished this week

A Quilter's Holiday by  Jennifer Chiaverini 
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (review coming)

What I am reading now

Culloden Tales: Stories From Scotland's Most Famous Battlefield by Hugh G Allison

From Goodreads:

The last battle on British soil, Culloden marked the end of clan culture, was the harbinger of the Highland Clearances, ensured the inevitability of the American Revolution, and increased the outpouring of Scots across the globe. It is the only battle that British Army regiments are not permitted to include on their battle honors; the only battle that Bonnie Prince Charlie ever lost; and the only battle that Cumberland ever won. As visitors make their way to the site of Culloden, they bring with them their stories and their grandfather's stories—sometimes haunting, sometimes humorous, but always impressive. A poignant location, resonant with past deeds and emotive memories, the battlefield inevitably affects those who work there, including the author. Having worked there for many years, he has collected these stories and offers them here as a unique record of the power of the place. There are tales from both before and during the battle, stories from those who visit from all corners of the globe, and tales from those who work there. These stories tell of civil war, love, the unexpected, and even the supernatural.

 I've been fascinated by Culloden every since reading Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon. (I think it was published in the USA as Outlander.) I frequently say that when I finally get to Scotland (it will happen one day!) that there are two things I have to do - go to a Scottish pub and listen to them talk and stand on Culloden Moor.

What's next?
Still  We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. I need to get it off the friend I lent it to so I can read it before Book Group at the end of the month.

So, what are you reading? Leave me a link!

A Quilter's Holiday

A Quilter's Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini

This is the 15th book in the Elm Creek Quilts series.

This book sees the Elm Creek Quilters gather the day after Thanksgiving for their annual Quilt-a-thon and potluck lunch. With a storm closing in, it looks as if everyone will need to spend the night rather than return home. As the day progresses, each member recalls what they are thankful for, but new challenges and problems are hiding in the wings.

For me this was a bit of a scene setting book. Several things are bought up thorough out the book that I can see Chiaverini exploring further in subsequent books, such as Matt's father wanting Matt to take over the family business, the blossoming romance between Anna and Jeremy and Sylvia's continued search into her family history.  On the whole, another enjoyable read.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading

This is how it works

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

This weeks Teaser Tuesday comes from:

  The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

They grab a man who is walking along, a man with a briefcase, an ordinary-looking man, slam him back against the black side of the van. He's there a moment, splayed out against the metal as if stuck to it; then one of the Eyes moves in him, does something sharp and brutal that doubles him over, into a limp cloth bundle.




If you leave a comment, please leave a link to your teaser! 

Odd One Out

Odd One Out by Monica McInerney

After Unholy Messenger I needed something light and fluffy to read. Monica McInerney fits the bill perfectly.

Sylvie is the down trodden, non artistic family member of a high profile artistic family. She is the one who manages all the adminstration and boring things so her mother and sisters can be creative. Her brother, recongnising how she is being used and abused whisks her off to Melbourne to "find herself" and discover a life away from the rest of the families controlling influences.

And really, that's all there is to say about this! Standard chick lit that took me less than 2 hours to read, but gave me a really good break from the heavier stuff.

Unholy Messenger

Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Killer by Stephen Singular.

It has been awhile since I read a good True Crime book. Truth be told, the more I read, the harder I am to please. So I am very pleased to say that this one hit the mark! Stephen Singular managed to not only retell the harowing story of a serial killer who terrorised Witchita, Kansas for thirty years, he gave an insight into the man, his community and the police who hunted him.

Dennis Rader achieved the almost impossible in the world or serial killing - he managed to keep the lives of the monster and the man seperate. Not only did he hold down a job, he was married with children, president of his church council and completely under the radar. It was only his need to communicate with the police that finally bought about the end of his killing career.

For me, this book is a must read for anyone with an interest in this area. I myself and fascinated by it, having a shelf full of books about serial killers and mass murderers. I not sure what it is, most probably the fact that I can't understand someone like that. I swear if I was 20 years younger and wondering what to do with my life, forensic psychology would be high on my list!

The end of the book mentioned that the BTK was given the chance by the judge to give details of his crimes. This was televised  and  because I couldn't help myself I youtubed it. While it is compelling, it is also highly disturbing. Don't do it unless you have a strong stomach.

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

What are you reading Monday  is hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. Head over and check out what others are reading!

What I have finished this week

What the Mother Knew by Edmund Tadros

The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini

Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Killer - Stephen Singular
Odd One Out - Monica McInerney

What I am reading now

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

From Goodreads:

In the world of the near future, who will control women's bodies?
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander & his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month & pray the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived & made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own & access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
Funny, unexpected, horrifying, & altogether convincing, The Handmaid's Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning & tour de force.

This had been on my Books from other blogs list for a bit. The review came from Ambrosia Salad Book Review. I should say it's what I will be reading as I've only just finished Odd One Out this morning and this is what's been lifted off the shelf.

What's next?

Most probably We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. It's our book group book. It arrived in the post the other day, but I have lent it to a friend. Hopefully they will get it back to me soon.

So what are you reading this Monday?

How to make a book lover cringe.

picture via The Mogg Blog

Yep, it's made of books! Anyone else cringing over those bent back spines??

Wednesday Wordle.

I stumbled across this over at So Many Books, So Little Time. Hope she doesn't mind me borrowing the idea! Oh, and we will ignore the fact that today is Thursday, OK?

Make your own Wordle here