well, few more weeks of this and we’re about done – exciting…

i read two of the intermediate BOB books this week – pretty good…

“powerless” – highly recommend to all of you – easy read – basically, a kid who ends up in a town with kid superheroes – superheroes that lose their powers when they turn 13 – pretty entertaining – relatively deep for an elementary book (like, the discussion of whether it would be of greater good to take powers away – b/c powers can be used for evil – or to keep them – that’s a discussion you could debate for a long time…)

forgot the title of the other book – basically, a puzzle book with a big mystery to solve – entertaining – wasn’t that thrilling for an old man, but i’m sure 3rd graders could get into it

have i mentioned yet that the NKOTB are going to be on DWTS??? yes, monday night, dancing with the stars has my favorite group of all time – if kristie alley wasn’t going to be on, i might have even included the link…

okay, back to books…

“justice brennan, liberal champion” – the book book i read this week – all the way from jacksonville state (i find it funny that jsu had a book with the name “liberal” in it – very taboo word in this state) – very much enjoyed it – many reasons – one, the justice’s wife was marjorie and she died:) two, the justice was on most of the major court decisions that i studied in high school and college and so it was fun to read about them from another angle – three, the book had a decent message at one point about how even when things look dark, those that can hold on are typically those that have seen the light before (i know, general, but basically, if you’ve had good years, you can go through the lean years – like trying to get through the “julie smith years” b/c you know that better things will eventually come)

the fourth best part of the book was that the supreme court justice remarried after marjorie – he married his secretary – lock up your secretaries all you out there… 🙂

so that book was my serious book for the nine weeks – i’m back to lighter stuff this week – including a book on why the cubs are awful and why football teams should always go for it on fourth down…

mafeld

so somewhere last week – probably actually the week before – i went brain dead and stopped reading – which means i’m progressing much slower through the books – oh, well, who’s keeping track anyway…

“eric liddell story” – i think i blogged about the book last week – but i hadn’t really started reading it until this past week – problem solved a few days later – the book borrows from previous research on liddell – and was similar to the book i read, “pure gold,” about the runner – very good – encouraging read

“BOB questions” – hey, i’m counting anything i have to read that’s close to 100 pages typed up – lots of trivia i’d forgotten about the books – enjoyed the competition bunches friday – went by way too quick (particularly compared to the next day when i had to go there for training…)

“active english” and “classroom trials” – two books about creative activities to use in class – got some ideas to use for our next courtrooms – and a few other ideas for things – always excited about a new activity for class

nanowrimo word count back up to near 36,000 – spoofing currently on a BOB quiz bowl round – got a good idea friday when someone told me that the second round with the bonus questions was “boring” – thanks…

just finished the potter movie – wonderful – most distressing news in sunday’s media section of the b’ham news – apparently, there are two “breaking dawn” movies coming out – why wasn’t i consulted on this??? that means the twilight saga will have been a part of my life for five years when it ends – sad…

reading “east of eden” now – i LOVED it like seven years back – i hated the first 200 pages, was ready to abandon it, and then the whole thing turned on a dime – and i just wept and loved it so – so i’m hopeful that it still rings true for me – otherwise, i guess i’m not not the same boy/man – hope that you’re still the same boy/man though…

(and happy good friday in advance)

mayfield

i mean, do we even have to have school with the dvd out friday???

(full disclosure – i didn’t go see the movie when it was at theaters so that’s probably why i’m excited about friday – i think i’m still bitter about my “lion king” date walking out on me in ’95… 🙂

finished the BOB series with “the morgue and me” – a mystery novel – if you read about the author, you would’ve had all you needed to know about it – definitely of the group, it was the book that was most “high school” material – although, if my high school kid said some of the things in the book, i’d been reaching for the soap to wash a mouth out… anyway, you start the book thinking the kid is the classic nerd who keeps to himself – but then he suddenly becomes attached to a 26-year-old party girl and everything works out right – odd…

“50/50” – by dean karnes and matt fitzgerald – much more my style – guy ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days – his story – very funny at spots (like when he called “mercedes marathon” flat – and this was before the course was changed and it went over red mountain) – sort of a cross between advice on how to run and what to worry about and how to dream big and achieve it – probably, when i retire to the ranch in chelsea, i’ll get a bike and go explore the world sort of like he did – i don’t run fast enough to do it by foot:)

“the flying scotsman” by sally magnusson – a book about eric liddell – famous runner and missionary (second part is more important than the first) – subject of the movie “chariots of fire” – which we ought to watch in my classroom if none of you have seen it – incredible, incredible movie – anyway, the book came out 30 years ago – so i got it at the thrift store for like 15 cents – it’s about what the movie couldn’t get to – liddell’s full story (including his death in a POW camp at the hands of the japanese in WWII)

well, happy journaling – my boys on sunday morning told me that there’s six weeks left in the year – i don’t think that’s right…

maf

dear journal bunch,
happy beginning of april – oh, how will any of you begin to cope with the increased homework load this week??? i feel so sorry that you have more than one journal… oh, well, that’s life (more than one journal – yes, that’s life:)

last week, i read some of the high school BOB books so that i could be a better reader in a few weeks – so most of what i read you could read and enjoy (unlike most weeks with what i read – although, i did sneak in “blueprint plan” by kirk franklin and that was a nonfiction that none of you would read – but it was still good – probably most interesting was the afterward where franklin said he’d never even read a book all the way through until he was 26 – wow…)

“the crossroads” – very, very predictable book – not that interesting either – but i’m sure you’d love it all b/c it’s the first book in a series – so you’d have something to read on for a good half-year – which apparently interests most of you (i totally don’t get the series obsession if you can’t figure that out)

“unwind” by shusterman – it’s the future, people are harvesting organs and body parts of teens – if this happens soon, i want julie’s brain, trey’s piano fingers, st. k’s soul (b/c she’s a saint, right???), and maddie’s… well, i don’t think i want anything from her – i’m pretty good there… 🙂

(unwind was a good book)

“revolver” by sedgwick – it’s 1910 – your father just froze to death – and a crazy guy walks in with a guy – what ya gonna do??? the book read real fast – entertaining – which i guess is all you can ask – but it doesn’t ask the big questions that “unwind” did

those were the books – i read about libya, and japan – and, best of all, the sports illustrated baseball preview – very excited about the new season – not that i have hopes for the braves, cubs, and sox (red and white), but it’s better than watching basketball and other such things…

happy blogging (note the second “g” people – it happened against last week to someone:)

maf

so i figure we get monday and then test for the next three days – all days that you’ll be too stressed to produce journals – so i guess we’re left with one journal this week – should be easy…

“always follow the elephants” – ny times health writer talked about whether or not myths, folklore, in relation to science are the truth – like whether ginger helps your ears when you fly (true), whether animals can sense whether changes (true – follow the elephants when they run away – a tsunami may be coming), whether drinking warm milk will put you to sleep (false)

“i am a super evil genius and i want to be your class president” by josh lieb – i may have the title wrong – cute book though – basically, a super evil kid plots to be president of his class – the character, the kid, seems unbelievable at times – i couldn’t figure out if he wasn’t imagining the whole thing – but, unlike going bovine, it wasn’t all one big dream – so that was good – i guess – it would’ve worked either way

“the reason for God” by timothy keller – by far, the best book i’ve read in a while – pastor at a ny church lays out some reasons for why belief in God is important – and why Christianity can make the claims it makes – really encouraging reading and good food for thought – for example, if you say that it doesn’t matter what you belief, then you’ve basically made your own truth claim – your own belief system – that you’ve decided to enforce upon everyone else

reading basketball things and getting ready for opening day in baseball thursday – however, all that will be shelved this week b/c i found out i’m a reader for the high school BOB team – so i’d like to actually read the books i’ll be questioning – we’ll see…

sincerely,
maf

oh, the books i’ve read since my last post… i’ll try to be brief – do hope you had a wonderful break

“riven” by jerry jenkins – nook book – interesting – took way odd turns for christian fiction – ended with a convict being crucified – on live TV (oops, spoiler alert:) again, strange – well written though

“gray matter” – nook book – a san diego doctor who asks to pray with his patients – it was a good book – quick – learned a bit about neurology

“unbroken” by hillebrand – the seabiscuit author – great, inspiring story of a world war ii vet – he was a former olympian and went through terrors no one should have to go through during the war – he learned to forgive his captors later and that was amazing

“hope for the world” by former b’ham mayor richard arrington – sort of a pompous title b/c he was basically saying that he was the hope for the world – b/c he was the first african-american mayor in b’ham – the sad thing was that in the 20 years he was in office, he didn’t do a whole lot for the city – he basically survived fed investigation after fed investigation – again, sad (much like downtown now…)

“blue moth” by hancock – the guy is director of the BCS now (college football) – after his son died, the guy went on a bike ride across america one summer – very good book – as someone who admires physical feats – and who survived many a family trip in a pop-up camper, i could definitely pull lessons from the book – hoping to see the guy at football media days for the sec in july this year and tell him all that

“leaving gee’s bend” by latham – you write in the middle people, she was the author we saw – she’s a good writer, i’ll say that – i didn’t think the book was very historically accurate – blacks and whites got along way too well for 1932 – but ms. latham seemed to do – well, did do – research for the book so maybe some of that was more accurate than i thought – i definitely think it should be a BOB next year

“walk two moons” by creech – newberry winner in 1995 – good – the book was about acceptance – and about life stages – moving on – remembering – one of the better YA’s i’ve read in a while – not earth-shatteringly great though

“breakthrough” by someone:) nook book – one writer’s take of the 10 scientific breakthroughs of all time – lots of names, dates, and science that got confusing – or ran together – at times – but a decent read – honestly, when you’ve read so much previously, you’re not looking for too much – so i wasn’t that upset

nanowrimo word count is up to 29,000 now – which means i got in about 2,000 words over spring break – proud of that

hope your week is wonderful – this should be our only set of journals until mid april (post testing)

maf

so you don’t have to blog this week, happy studying for those all-important and all-too-tough finals, but i thought i’d go ahead and mention the books i read last week…

“nothing” by jan teller – i think the author name is right – she’s danish – the book was translated last year into english – powerful story about a search for meaning – by a group of kids that give up everything they hold dear – it is a YA book, but the book isn’t very young adult – the issues are definitely serious enough for anyone (basically, what is worth living for?) – i read the book in less than a day b/c it was so gripping – powerful

i also read two books from the late george sheenan – he was a running guru of sorts – i read the books in inverse order – the first one i got was his book about dying – he had prostrate cancer and it finally killed him after 11 years – the first book, the one i got later in the week on loan – was from 1978 – on running and being – both books were similar to the teller book in that they addressed what it means to live a good life – for sheenan, it was to be true to yourself – sort of the thoroeau and walden and emerson deal where you listen to yourself – decent message, i guess, if you don’t have faith in anything outside of yourself – and lots of people don’t for one reason or the other

went back to the nook after a month absence after those books – got a few freebies that look promising – but not as promising as the week off that’s coming in a week – can’t wait…

(okay, i can wait – it’s not like i have big plans:)

maf

last week before finals – it’s all getting closer…

“the strangest man” by farmelo – book about a scientist who helped advance quantum mechanics – and several other fields – he was a theorist so he was more effective thinking about the ways that the universe should work – and then letting others prove those thoughts – than he was taking the work of others and drawing conclusions – so a highly creative mind – very interesting book – particularly the passages about the close ties between the government and world war ii (so far as attempting to build nuclear weaponry)

“Endgame” by frank brady – story of bobby fischer – famous chess player – conquered three decades of soviet reign on the chess board – and then fell off the face of the earth – re-emerged later a bitter man with highly racists views – and anti-US beliefs that probably helped lead him to an early death – very sad waste of talent – there can be such a fine line between genius and insanity – and the line isn’t always clear – i guess the question  – or one of them – with fischer is whether or not he was mentally sound – or whether he brought his ruin upon himself – the choices he made – it’s an interesting debate one could make with one who’s read the book

read a few other smaller things – an AP study guide for english (took me back to 12th grade – except, i’ve realized i’m stupider now) – two books on brain puzzles – and a book on running devotionals – by jim ryun – wonderful book – i respect ryun a TON (and loved the photo of camper ryan hall from ’06 in there – right before hall became the best US marathoner in a while…)

hope your last week of journals before spring break doesn’t make you cry too much – up to 26,000 words on my third novel…

maf

hey,
so after almost a year, 51 weeks to be exact, it’s time to back to montevallo for a writing festival – looking forward to my visit friday – i’m sure UM will roll out the red carpet – even though it’ll get rained on (it always rains, it seems…)

“hatchet” by gary paulsen – i know, “it took you long enough to get around to that book” – and you’re right – sorry that i waited so long to read a book that 90 percent of the youth of america read by the time they’re 18 – in my defense, it wasn’t that great so i wasn’t missing anything – it at least was a quick read – i did guess correctly that something had to happen to paul before it got to be fall in canada – because no one was going to survive cooler weather – oh, and i did guess too that the emergency kit would’ve come into play (if i’m ever lost in a plane, look for me walking back – my odds would’ve been better running/walking to help vs. staying in one spot for 50-plus days like paul)

“the walk” by shaun alexandar – i’m biased b/c i graduated the year that shaun did at bama, and i was a bama guy and went to FCA when he was there – but i did enjoy the book – basically, a short, practical, guide to living out the Christian life – probably what stood out most was a comment shaun’s wife had about him – that was true of me – that he loses 75 percent of people that he has a chance to witness to

“heroes among us” by jim ryun and sons – book about men and women who made a difference in world history because they took their faith to logical conclusions – it was a great, encouraging read – very inspiring story about a catholic priest that went and lived among the leper colony in hawaii in the 1870s – he was the only minister of any faith to do so – he went willingly and he eventually contracted leprosy and died of the disease – good story about what you’d be willing to die for if you truly believe something

guess those are the books – of course, there were other odds and ends but those are odds and ends – do hope your reading is going well – two weeks and then finals – hang in there

mafeld

yo,
consider yourself lucky to be reading this – albeit, a day late – i thought about posting yesterday – and that was about as far as my braindead (more so than usual) body got to the actual process of writing – same thing with reading – fortunately, i did spend most of saturday reading – in preparation for being wasted after running 26.2 miles sunday morning – so lest you think i was a total slacker last week…

“intelligence and how to get it” – i know, irony that i read that book this week – pretty good read – main problem was that about 30 pages were duplicated – and 30 pages were lost – again, irony that it would be in that particular book – but what i read, i liked – basically, the book echoed the thought that intelligence isn’t so much genes as it is environment – and what you do with what you have – i found the fact that i’m three times as smart as my grandmother thrilling…

“a steel drivin’ man” by nelson – book about folk legend john henry – memory serves me right, we have a story on the guy that died out-manning the machine in one of the three grades’ lit books – which was why i got the book in the first place – come to find, this university professor found much to support the henry myth – and the henry tragedy (he was basically a prison worker loaned out to the railroads – and died in that work)

“inkdeath” – i was waiting, b/c i’d been prepared, to eventually tired of the series, but i really did enjoy all three books – all three are long so you can’t expect to finish them quickly, but if you know that going in, i don’t think there’s much of a problem – really, the books are just beautiful – from the world that’s created to the quotes on books that begin each chapter – definitely enjoyed the series (although, the ending did set itself up for more – i’m hopeful that doesn’t happen)

best wishes in your reading,
maf