Author Interview and Book Giveaway - Crystal Marcos and her novel Bellyache

I have not actually done an author interview in quite some time. I was all over the interviews last year and this year time keeps escaping. I need more than 24 hours in my day to get everything done that I want to get accomplished.

However, I am back on track and with a wonderful and amazing author Crystal Marcos. I read her novel, Bellyache, back during the Cybils. It is a very fun and entertaining story dealing with candy. You can check my book review here.

In the meantime, Crystal has been so nice to answer a wide range of questions for you guys. Go ahead and check out the interview below.

Additionally, I am giving away a copy of the book along with a bookmark. I want to be able to her out as she is a great person. 


To enter for the giveaway all you have to do is the following:


You have to be a follower in order to win!!!!


Leave a comment with any of the following
1. An email address for me to contact you if you win. +1
2. A list of your favorite candy. +1
3. Any spread of word of the interview and giveaway. +1 for each one such as Twitter, Facebook, blog, etc.
4. Anything else that you think I would enjoy and if I do I will give you some more votes. 


The winner will be announced on Valentine's Day, February 14th.


Here is the interview. Enjoy!

www.Coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com

1. Growing up, when I was reading books I never really even considered authors to be human. I never gave a thought to actually talking to them or sending them letters. Now authors do interviews (like this), Skype conferences, blogs, email, etc. How does the utilization of all the latest technology and internet help you as a writer?

 I really love it! It means more exposure and awareness of my books. It also helps people to get some insight on who I am.

Do you think it helps you or is it more of problem trying to fit it all in?

It definitely helps, although finding the time to do it all is challenging. As long as it doesn’t interfere with me raising my 19 month old, I am fine with it. I do much of my work after she is asleep for the night.

2. Bellyache is a fun and entertaining read. How did you come up with this idea?

I thought about what books I really enjoyed and which ones stuck in my mind from childhood. Oddly enough, all those books featured food and treats. Naturally, I had to go with my sweet tooth. I mean heart.

3. I loved the twist of the story with the candy and vegetable. How did you decided which candy to use? Was it random or a combo of your favorites?

A bit of both really, sometimes I used what I thought would fit best.

5. Looking at your website I read that you like to sing and dance. What songs do you like to dance to and/or sing to?

When music is on, I move. I can’t sit still. I sometimes make up my own little songs. When I was younger, I use to write songs. I still sing some of those today. Now my daughter and I sing and dance together, so I don’t have to do it alone. =)

6. What surprised you most as you were writing this novel?

People have told me I have a vivid imagination, when I was writing this book it occurred to me that I really did.

7. What is your favorite aspect to being a writer? 

If I can touch just one person’s life, that to me is amazing!

8. I recently read a book title, Six Word Memoirs, which has a website. If you had to write your memoir in six words, what would you write?

Never tells a long story short.

10. Do you listen to music when write? If so, what would be a playlist on your ipod?

I can’t listen to music while I am writing. It is too distracting to me. As I had mentioned earlier, I can’t sit still if I hear music.

11. What other books would you recommend young adults to read besides your own?

There are so many wonderful books out there. I say any children’s book that sparks a child’s interest, they should read it!

12. I have a few students who are into writing - any ideas or suggestions for them?

I would suggest reading just as much as you write. Read the type of writing you want to create. Keep writing fun by finding writing activities or make some up yourself. I have some activities on my website that students and teachers like to use. www.CrystalMarcos.com  under the “Treats” section.


Here are some additional random questions that you could answer if you feel like it (though not really necessary, but students always want me to add when I interview authors). These are just a bunch of fun random questions that kids love to read.

3. Favorite Holiday movie or tv special? I love just about all Holiday movies.

4. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water, I drink water all day long.

5. Can you do push ups? If yes, how many? Yes, only a few.

6. Favorite hobby? Writing and reading.

8. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? This interview is fun. What time is it? I am kind of hungry.

10. Dum da dum dummmm what is that? Is that a cell phone ring tone? =)

11. Where would you like to go? Someday, I would love to go to Europe and stay in a castle!

12. Do you own slippers? Yes, but I don’t really wear them I run around in my socks.

13. What color shirt are you wearing right now? Blue.

14. Can you whistle? Yes, but I am not very good at it.

15. Favorite color? Red.

16. Would you be a pirate? I was for Halloween two years ago. We always have a themed haunted garage at our house every year. It is so much fun!

17. What was the last song that was stuck in your head? My daughter’s favorite show is Yo Gabba Gabba. There is this song called, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” It is very catchy.

18. What’s in your pocket right now? Don’t have any pockets.

20. What is your favorite candy? I pretty much like anything covered in chocolate!

22. What are you currently reading? I am currently reading a large amount of picture books with my little girl. I am also finishing out the Percy Jackson series.

23. What is your favorite book of all time? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

24. If you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be and why? I would love to meet Roald Dahl. It would be fun to talk children’s books with him.

25. What would we find in your refrigerator right now? Tonight’s leftovers, Spaghetti.

26. What is one fact that readers would not know about you prior to asking this question? I grew 6 inches in one summer when I was 12.

Pancake Project from Coffeechug

Pancake Project http://myposterous-rdel.posterous.com/how-do-you-make-eat-decorate-your-pancakes

365 Photo Challenge of 2011 Updated again after a long week

I had another crazy week and was not able to upload my photos each day. I was able to get them all uploaded today while the kids were busy playing for 15 minutes.




This week the theme is bokeh effect.

I had to read up on this to figure out what in the world this was. I tried one out today, but did not do it right. Still posted it to the album because I thought the photo looked cool.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

Kinder words never spoken

There is this amazing author and person who has added me to his Sunday Around The World blog post. Check it out and be sure to give some love to the great blog created.

http://herzwords.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/sunday-around-the-world/

Be sure to check out his book if you have not read it yet!!!!!!

Welcome Friends From Around The World

I correspond with some many people on a daily basis either via Twitter, Facebook, this blog, my wiki, email, etc.

I am currently taking part in the Lunchbox Project and this project is opening my eyes to some great technological ways to communicate.

One of these is a blog service called Posterous. I love it.

I have created my own Posterous where I hope to have a place for all of us to share our ideas, culture, location, festival/holidays, language, jobs, etc.

http://myposterous-rdel.posterous.com/41445601#

check out the link. Leave a video of yourself, a picture of yourself or you location, a little post for the students to respond to or learn from.

You can always go to the international wiki www.coffeechug.wikispaces.com and leave your voice and all the other great things going on there as well.

I look forward to putting a face to all of you who I communicate and hopefully learn more about where we live.

Students this could be a great learning opportunity for you as well.

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Author Contacts - Alison Goodman

I have been contacting the authors once again when their books make it on to Round 3. Here is the first author I have heard back from.

Thank you Alison Goodman for taking time to respond.


Here is what I emailed to her:
Good afternoon, my name is Aaron Maurer and I am a gifted education teacher for Bettendorf Middle School in Bettendorf, Iowa. I have operated a blog now for the students for the last two years where I read and review books. This year I was awarded grant money to run a book tournament where students nominated books to be read, we paired them off for judges to read, and they had to make a decision as to which book is better and why. You can find all the details on my blog(posted below).

Anyways, I am contacting all authors that I can to let them know when their book makes it to the next round. Your book has passed Round 2 and is now in Round 3. Congratulations to you and your novel.

I also am contacting you for the fun aspect that if you would like for me to add anything on my blog to help promote your book that I would be glad to do so. The students would to have any author participation in any capacity that they can. I am leaving things open as I know that you are probably super busy, but just wanted to make you aware of what some amazing students and staff members are doing in the state of Iowa.

Have a great day.




Here is what she responded with.

Hi Aaron,

I am thrilled to hear that EON has moved on to Round 3.
I do have some information for your blog, if you think your students would be interested:
EONA, the sequel, to EON is due to be released mid April and I have made the Preface and Chapter 1 available for download from my website at
www.alisongoodman.com.au
The Preface is a catch up from what happened in Book 1 - EON - so readers should know it contains some spoilers!
I will attach a pdf of the US cover if you would like to use it.
Thanks for lettting me know about EON's success so far.
Best wishes,
Alison


Here is the cover. Does it not make you want to read the book RIGHT NOW!!! Thanks again Alison

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 2 Decision - The Power of Un vs. Rules

Book Tournament – Round 2   The Power of Un vs. Rules

Judges – Erica and Stacy Barnett

The Power of Un by Nancy Etchemendy

            The Power of Un is focused around Gib Finney who was just an average Middle-Schooler when a strange old man approaches him in the woods and gives him a mysterious device.  This device, called the “Unner” has the power to erase mistakes by going back in time to give a person the opportunity to make different decisions.

            After a terrible accident, Gib finds himself in a tricky situation.  He must decide which events to undo in order to avoid the disaster.  What he finds, is that some things happen for a reason, and some things can’t be changed at all.

Rules by Cynthia Lord

            Rules is written in the perspective of 12-year-old Catherine whose little brother, David, is autistic.  Catherine makes a list of rules for David to follow to keep from embarrassing her, such as “chew with your mouth closed” or “if someone says ‘hi’, you say ‘hi’ back.”  While at therapy with David, Catherine meets Jason who becomes an unlikely friend.  Her friendship with Jason interferes with her developing a friendship with Kristi, the new neighbor, in a way that surprises even Catherine.          

Our decision is…

            We have chosen The Power of Un to move on to round three.  We chose this book because, although we both enjoyed Rules, we felt The Power of Un would appeal to more people.  We thought it had more action and humor, which we believe most judges would enjoy.  It was entertaining and also leaves you with a good message in the end.

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 2 Decision - Escape From Memory vs. The Report Card

For this battle, I had to jump in and be one of the judges along with another 6th grade student. I have already wrote book reviews on both of these novels earlier in the week(just go to the book tournament tab to find the reviews). After discussing these two novels with the students we have decided to go with the book that I liked least.

We have decided to move Escape From Memory on to the next round. The reason we chose to move this book on to the next round is that The Report Card is just too young. It is geared for a more elementary type audience. Escape From Memory is a more complicated, involved plot that middle school students would enjoy. It also contained more action and just a more engaging storyline.

I think the reason I enjoyed The Report Card so much is that I am a teacher so I took somem of the passages to heart for personal reasons. Had I not been a teacher I would have went with Escape From Memory.

In the end, I don't really think either one will make it to the finals, but for what it is worth Escape From Memory is moving on. However, stranger things have happened and I have already been surprised about a few books moving on.

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 2 Decision - Bag of Marbles vs. A Dog's Purpose

In the book, A Bag of Marbles, author Joseph Joffo writes about his experiences and adventures at the time of WWII and the Nazi reign.  On two different occasions, Jo and his brother Maurice leave home on their own to avoid the Germans.  The first time they leave home, the brothers are a mere ten and twelve years old.  On each journey they pack a small knapsack and take off to find a safe place to live.    In the end, Joseph and his brother make their way back home and are reunited with most of their family.  The book concludes with a thought-provoking statement and question, “But what do I have to fear?  Those things won’t happen ever again.  The knapsacks are up in the attic; they’ll stay there forever.  Perhaps….”  

While some of Joseph’s adventures were interesting, we felt that the book lacked emotion.  Since this book has been translated, one wonders if the emotion is simply lost in translation.  The author writes with the assumption that the reader has a lot of background knowledge of that period in history.  Lacking that background knowledge could lead to frustration and disinterest in this book.   We found that this book did not hold our interest and was definitely written for someone who has a strong interest and knowledge of that time period. 

A Dog’s Purpose is a must-read for anyone who has ever owned and loved a dog.  The book, told from a dog’s perspective, is a very amusing and delightful read.    The author does an exceptional job of touching on a broad range of emotions.   This story does an outstanding job of showing the relationship between an owner and his dog, holding true to the phrase “a dog is a man’s best friend”.  Without giving any of the plot away, let’s just say this book is highly recommended. 

Between A Bag of Marbles and A Dog’s Purpose, we vote for A Dog’s Purpose to move on in the book tournament.

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 2 Decision - Maximum Ride vs. Absolutely True Diary of Part TIme Indian

Maximum Ride –by James Patterson





vs.



The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian –by Sherman Alexis




Winner: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian –by Sherman Alexis

I found The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to be very entertaining. I enjoyed the relaxed style that the author wrote the book in. The main character, Arnold, was very relatable. For most of the book Arnold is trying to exist in two different worlds and is not totally accepted into either one. This gives him a unique perspective on the positive and negative aspects of each culture. He is trying to make his own path and navigate through adolescence. He's figuring out who he is and how he fits into the world. His humor kept the story moving forward and his thoughtfulness and insight were endearing. This was a quick read and enjoyable story, a thumb’s up from me!

I have read several of James Patterson’s adult fiction books and usually enjoy his work.  However, I can’t say the same for Maximum Ride. Admittedly, I am not a huge fantasy/sci-fi fan. But I do enjoy this genre on occasion.  I found this book to be WAY too violent and too repetitive. The bad guys chase the good guys, the good guys defeat the bad guys. Then a short while later the bad guys chase the good guys, the good guys defeat the bad guys…repeat, repeat, repeat. I did enjoy most of the characters, especially the main character Max.  She was easy to empathize with and I admire her bravery and leadership. Also, the book did have a good cliff-hanger at the end. However, I will not be reading the sequel.

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 2 Decision - Speak vs. Black and White

This battle was between two very gritty novels. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Black and White by Paul Volponi. The students did not provide much of a write-up except a short summary of Speak which have decided to move on to the next round.

Here is what was provided.

Speak is a great story about a girl with real life problems. Her life is ruined after ne summer night when she tries to help, but ruins everyones fun in the process.

There is a lot more to this book than this, but I know the students were adamant about this book making it on. Congrats to Speak moving on to Round 3

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 2 Decision - Iqbal vs. Eon

Next up in the Round 2 battles we had the following two novels. Here is another fantastic rationale on why the book the judges chose moved on to the next round.

Iqbal vs. Eon

"Iqbal" vs. "Eon"

The books we read were "Iqbal" by Francesco D'Adamo and "Eon" by Allison Goodman.  There is some difficulty comparing these books to eachother as they obviously have different purposes. "Iqbal" is written to educate and enlighten.  While "Eon" seems to strive mainly to entertain and ride the current wave of enthusiasm for novels with a female heroine.  "Iqbal" tells an important story but when comparing it to a novel with a similar purpose like "Night," it pales in comparison.  For example, years after reading "Night," I recollect vivid images created from the detailed writing. "Iqbal" seems to lack this quality and in fact, almost seems to have been "dummied" down to make it an easy ready.  The simplification of the story leaves out details that would have made the story more enduringl. "Eon," on the other hand, has a great deal of detail. That being said, when comparing it to, for example, "The Hunger Games," I would say that it is not as gripping. At the end of "The Hunger Games," there was no way that I wasn't rushing around the house to find the sequel.  Although, I must interject that "Mockingbird," had it been first would have ended any further book purchasing. Back to "Eon," as in this review, I found myself easily distracted when reading the book. I never put a great book down and will read a huge novel in an evening, if it merits. "Eon" didn't merit.  Not to say that it was a bad book.  

When choosing between "Iqbal" and "Eon," our choice is "Eon." While I doubt that this book will survive to the final round, considering the competition it is sure to face, I would recommend it. It is consistent with popular "tween" books now. Daniel enjoyed it and while "Iqbal" required encouragement to complete, I found "Eon" by his bed without having to put it there.  "Eon" is well written and an easy read without being "too easy."  I would buy the sequel, although I will wait for it come out in paper back.  I will offer the following disclaimer to my review. I am not much of a science fiction sort of reader, so anything that hints at that usually holds little appeal for me. I mention this because I can think of many science fiction novels that I would abandon after reading the cover. In this case, that would have been a mistake, for a quality story was hidden inside the world of the Dragoneye.  I can see this gaining popularity and a following and even becoming a movie as it has many similarities to other recent series that have found this success. 

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 2 Decision - Life As We Knew It vs. Matched

This here is fantastic write-up on two novels that were battling it out.


First up we had Life As We Knew It

Here's our review from our 1st book Life As We Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer  Neither one of us enjoyed the book.  Amy wrote the review after we discussed our opinions.  If you have any questions or need to make corrections, please feel free to do so.  We can't wait to get started on our next book - hope we enjoy it more than this one!

A Book Review of Life As We Knew It

A meteorite is in line to hit the moon.  No big deal.  Meteorites hit the moon all the time -  that's how craters are formed.  Well, this time it is different.  It is a big deal.  This time, the meteorite crashes into the moon sending it significantly closer to earth.  With the moon no longer in it's regular orbit, all sorts of natural disasters happen: tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanoes, blizzards.  Life as we knew it would never be the same. 

The characters in this story do all they can to survive as conditions deteriorate and resources dwindle.  Just when things begin improving, tragedy after tragedy occurs leaving no reason to think things will ever improve. 

This story was just gloom and doom.   The plot was jumbled.  Characters were dull.  And the meaning of the story got lost half way.  Although the book is sad, it is not sad enough to make you cry, not happy enough to make you laugh and not deep enough to make you think.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.  I do not think that it is bold enough.  (1 star out of 5)

Next up, this wonderful pair of judges were asked to read Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie– A book review

Most of us think we want to live in a “perfect world.”  The characters in this book actually do and the situations that they must endure to achieve this level of perfection have them wondering whether it’s all worth it. 

The story revolves around a young girl who is “matched” with a boy who will become her husband.  He has all of the right characteristics needed to ensure that there will be no major problems in the couple’s future.  All should work out perfectly, except for the fact that the girl has fallen in love with another boy.  When she realizes that she wants to be in charge of her own life and make her own decisions including who she will marry, she knows that achieving perfection at the cost of losing her free will is not worth it. 

This was a great book!  I did not want it to end!  When it did, I was left with lots of issues to think about and discuss with my family and friends.  Issues like whether or not living in a perfect world would be worth it if it meant we could no longer be able to make our own choices; is there really a way to actually achieve such a world or would that just be someone’s perception of  perfection and not truly reality when viewed from a bigger vantage point?

When a book leaves me with things like this to think about long after I’ve read its last pages, it is a real treasure.  I would highly recommend it anyone who may wonder what a perfect world would be like in the future. 

5 out of 5 stars!

And now for their decision

Amy and I both agree that between the two books we read - Life As We Knew It and Matched - Matched should move onto the next round.  Here is our rationale:

In Life As We Knew It, the storyline was predictable.  The characters were in survival mode experiencing one disaster after another.  At the end of the story, there was a slight reprevieve in the calamities they had to face but really no hope that things would ever get better for them in the end.  It seemed a gloom and doom type of book. We finished it feeling depressed.   

In Matched, the storyline kept us interested from beginning to end.  The main characters surrendered their chance to live in a perfect world in order to keep their ability to make their own choices.  It left us feeling that even though we ourselves do not live in a perfect world, we should be thankful for the things we have, including our freedom.  

So, one book left us feeling depressed and one book left us feeling thankful.  Since we like feeling thankful better, we have chosen the book that left us with that emotion to move on to the next round in the tournament.  In our opinion, Matched won Round 2!

Congrats to Matched for making it on to Round 3. Thanks to these two wonderful judges for taking the time to write all of this up for the tournament.

    

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 2 Decision - Fallen vs. Rise Over Fallujah

Round 2 Battle: Fallen by Lauren Kate vs. Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers

A contest between two completely opposite pieces of work hardly describes the dilemma we found ourselves in.  Fallen by Lauren Kate and Sunrise Over Fallujah  Walter Deans Myers are books who probably should be read by persons who enjoy dichotomy.  The protagonist of Fallen is a troubled young female who finds herself at a strange new boarding school with little understanding of why she is there.  In Sunrise Over Fallujah, the protagonist is decent male who chose to enlist in the military.  The settings are in different worlds, Fallen , takes place in a fantasy world, whereas, Sunrise, has a real world setting of the war in Iraq.  Fallen is a romance novel between humans and angels, much like the romance of the Twilight series.  Sunrise has a war theme, with battles and death.  We would highly recommend both of these books, but ultimately, we had to make a choice.  We would have to choose Fallen to continue to the next step.  While Sunrise Over Fallujah does a wonderful job of describing the pain and fear of war, Fallen grabbed our interest and held it throughout the book.  Maybe we’re just romantics at heart!

Another great email from my dad

My parents rock. Here is another email I received from my dad the other day. It is a video from the comedian Tim Hawkins. A pretty fun video covering rock music by the bands as they get older. Check it out and let me know what you think.

THE TRICK IS TO FIND THE MAN IN THE COFFEE BEANS

I received this in an email from my parents. I liked it and thought I would share. Enjoy!

Your task is to find the man in the coffee beans.

This is bizarre - after you find the guy - it's so obvious. Once you find him - it's embarrassing,

And you think, "Why didn't I see him immediately?" 

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of your brain is better developed than most people.

If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, the right half of the brain is developed normally.

If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein.

If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of this type of exercise to make that part of the brain stronger! And yes, the man is really there!

P90X - Week 4 - Falling Apart

I ate terrible all weekend. I had a complete collapse on self control.

I overslept on Monday and did not do yoga.

Up all night with sick child and getting sick myself so did not work out Tuesday.

Not sure where the rest of the week will take me.

I am right back where I started three weeks ago with weight and body fat.

AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Book Review: Escape From Memory by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Title: Escape From Memory
Author: Magaret Peterson Haddix
Pages: 276

I read this book ahead of my massive TBR pile of new releases as I had a few judges who were not able to stay up with the reading or changed their mind. I took on this book to help another judge in deciding which book will make it to the next round. This is not a decision post, but just a book review.

From www.haddixbooks.com

	Published: 2005
	Reviews: Haddix nimbly balances a fascinating examination of the significance of memory with an exciting, fantastical adventure story.—Booklist PLOT: When Kira agrees to let her friends hypnotize her at a slumber party, she has no idea that she will reveal secrets even she didn't know she had--memories of fleeing a war-torn country with her mother, understanding a language she can't identify. Then her mother disappears, and a woman calling herself Aunt Memory takes Kira to Crythe, a place that doesn't officially exist, in order to rescue her mother--or so Kira thinks. She soon learns that there are memories locked in her mind that place her and her mother in grave danger, but those memories are also the only thing that might save them. Escape from Memory imagines a culture that values its memories above everything else--and a teen who has to make the most important decision of her life.

My Thoughts


I have read some other novels by Haddix before and really enjoyed a few. This one I had a hard time really getting into. I know that many teens and middle grade students love this book. There are tons of great reviews all over the internet for this book. I think that this is typical Haddix book with the typical Haddix plot twists that kids have come to love.

I, however, just did not get into the storyline. I don't know if it was because I have other books that I wanted to read or what. I had no emotional tie to the main character and really did not care what her outcome would be. Being a Haddix book I also knew that it would turn out to be pretty happy in the end.

I did read it and for anyone who likes this author, you will really like this book. There was a blurb on the front cover about it being "Matrix-esque" and that really fascinated me(yes, did you hear the rumor that a Matrix 4 and 5 films are in the works!!!!!!), but I did not feel the Matrix.

Don't neglect this book based on my thoughts. I tend to get more picky as I continue to read more and more. Kids will love this book. I would recommend for middle school on up as the plot can be a little tricky to follow with Aunt Memory and that whole debacle. Don't forget that this book was the Golden Duck Award in 2004 and was also on the Top Ten List for Teen's in 2004 for the Teen Read Week.

I think it will be interesting to see what my new partner(middle school student) thinks of this book and the other one we were to read. I cannot wait to have a little chat.

Book Review: Bring It On by Tony Horton

Title: Bring It On
Author: Tony Horton

From www.teambeachbody.com

 His first book, creator of the best-selling P90X^® workout series Tony Horton shares the fundamentals of the fitness philosophy that has helped millions of people transform their bodies and lives. With photographs, easy-to-follow instructions, meal plans, and recipes, Tony can give you the results you've been looking for. A better body—and future—is yours when you BRING IT!




My Thoughts


I am in my third week of P90X and checked this book out of the library to find some new ideas. I really liked this book. Overall, when it comes to fitness and working out, the DVD's are the way to go. This book is a good read to remind yourself of where you need to be and how to get there. They go hand in hand depending on what you need.


My first thought was that I could not believe that he is in his 50's. I need to get focused as I am still 30 years young and don't look anywhere near as good as he does. This book provides a good framework for everything from the workouts to the food to the plan to slowly rid yourself of bad habits. 


Parts of this I thought were extreme. I don't think I can give up coffee. However, when my last bag of Starbucks is finished I am going to try to go 30 days caffeine free like he suggests in the book to see how I feel. I will keep you posted on this on my blog when I try.


Some of the ideas of eating go against the P90X like eliminating dairy and I consume dairy quite a bit in my eating plan. However, this is not supposed to be exactly like P90X. 


I like his tips and motivation. I am interested in some of the recipes. The workouts look tough. I have not tried them as I am currently in the P90X workout,but will give them a try when I finish this routine.


Give this book read. There is a ton of useful info to help you get ready to get back in shape and looking good.  Yes, I will be buying this book after previewing it from the library. This one needs to be part of my collection.

Flavor Flav coming to Clinton, Iowa

http://qctimes.com/business/article_5b03f0ea-258c-11e0-9b49-001cc4c03286.html


This is just what the city of Clinton, Iowa needs.

Book Review: The Score takes care of Itself

Title: Score Takes Care of Itself
Author: Bill Walsh
Non-Fiction, Leadership

My Thoughts

I came across this title as during every single basketball season I always fall in love with bettering myself as both a coach, educator, and person. I live for these books that offer ideas and plans by successful people. This book is a great read that offers some very simple and yet effective ideas to be a better leader.

I coach 8th grade boys basketball and do many other types of coaching like run a Lego Robotics team and other committees. This book helps me to remind myself how to be an effective leader. It provided some detailed lists of strategies on about everything that goes into leading people whether in sports, business, or day to day life.

I took many notes. I found some ideas to be great. The one that stood out most for me was so simple - the four most powerful words are, "I believe in you". This holds so true when working with people.

There were parts that I did skim through as I was not overly concerned with parts of his life as a coach for San Francisco. I did take time to study any lists, suggestions, and/or ideas about being a leader.

This was worth the read. Not one that I will buy to add to my shelf, but my notes will be studied over and over again.

Glad this was suggested to me to read.

Gladly taking other suggestions

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Author Contact - Leslie Connor

Here is the latest author response. Once again Leslie Connor goes to prove just how awesome and cool authors really are. I love it!


As the judges submit their decisions about which books make it to the next round I have been trying to email or Tweet or Facebook the authors to let them know that their book has been nominated to move on. I have had some responses from the authors so far and just thought I would share them with everyone as I am still blown away that we can easily connect with these wonderful people. Nothing is more exciting than hearing back from the authors.

Check out this link to view all author contacts as well as reviews and rationales.

Here is what I have sent them via my message format

Good afternoon, my name is Aaron Maurer and I am a gifted education teacher for Bettendorf Middle School in Bettendorf, Iowa. I have operated a blog now for students for the last two years where I read and review books. This year I was awarded grant money to run a book tournament where students nominated books to be read, we paired them off as judges to read the books, and they had to make a decision as to which book is better and why. You can find all the details on my blog(posted below).

Anyways, I am contacting all authors that I can to let them know when their book makes it to the next round. Your book has passed Round 1 and is now in Round 2. Congratulations to you and your novel.

I also am contacting you for the fun aspect that if you would like for me to add anything on my blog to help promote your book that I would be glad to do so. The students would to have any author participation in any capacity that they can. I am leaving things open as I know that you are probably super busy, but just wanted to make you aware of what some amazing students and staff members are doing in the state of Iowa.

Have a great day.


Here is the response from Leslie Connor

Hi Aaron,


Well, thanks for the excellent news! I've not seen a program like yours before, not where books are paired up and judged. You've got some critical thinkers on your team. Hope everyone is enjoying the process.

I am never too busy to give readers a chance to learn something a little "insiderly" about my work. You can share with your students that my books are always inspired by everyday life, and often by a sense of place. Waiting For Normal began that way. I passed a trailer on a city street corner over and over again. Someone was clearly living there, as was evidenced by the full clothesline in summer, a pot of flowers on the step in spring, and the jack-o-lantern in fall. It captured my imagination because it was unusual in Schenectady, NY for someone to be living in a dwelling other than an apartment or a house. From there I began to ask myself, who comes out that door, and what are the circumstances that brought that person to live there? My characters are almost always composites of people I have known, read about, heard about, or can conjure. (I'm not brave enough to write about anybody real!) Basically, I love to make stuff up.

Please tell your students that I love to receive letters, and I always write back. My contact information is at my website at leslieconnor.com.

Aaron, thanks again to you and your readers for including my novel in your program. I'll check in at the blog to see that comparison review posted. You've made me quite curious.

All best,

Leslie


"The writer should never be ashamed of staring. There is nothing that does not require his attention." ~ Flannery O'Connor

Check out my website! leslieconnor.com

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Book Review and Discussion Points

Title: the Report Card
Author: Andrew Clements
Pages: 173
From www.andrewclements.com

The Report Card
Cover illustration by Brian Selznick
Published, 2004, Simon and Schuster.
ISBN 0689845154 (hc)

Nora Rowley is a genius. The thing is, nobody but Nora knows that. Being so smart, Nora noticed early on, makes you stand out, and standing out was not something she wanted. Instead, Nora always tried to be exactly average. But now Nora has a new plan, and when she comes home with a bad report card, her parents and the school launch a massive effort to find out what's wrong. But that is exactly what Nora wants. All the attention is the perfect chance to prove how arbitrary grades are and that they don't matter nearly as much as everyone at Philbrook Elementary thinks.

I read this book to help cover for a judge that dropped out. I will admit that I was not too excited to read this book. There are far too many other great books in the tournament and being released each week that I need to read. However, I sucked it up, placed my frustrations aside and read this book.

I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked this book. Actually, it was thought provoking to me on several parts in the story. Not because it is high  level reading, but because I am teacher who deals with some of the issues mentioned.

I read this book in about an hour or so. It is a fast paced read. It is a light read for me as it is geared for upper elementary.

Yes, I recommend this book to elementary students. I enjoyed it and found it to be an engaging read for this level.

Now I will read the other book for the tournament to see which I like better.



This book raises many great points about the education. I earmarked a few passages so let me reflect upon these. Yes, these are my opinions and not of the place where I work.

"Most kids never talk about it, but a lot of the time bad grades make them feel dumb, and almost all the time it's not true. And good grades can make other kids think that they're better, and that's not true either. And then all the kids start competing and comparing. the smart kids feel smarter and better and get all stuck-up, and the regular kids feel stupid and like there's no way to ever catch up."

I think this is a problem. We are in a society where everyone strives for perfection. Parents expect their kids to earn A's in all subjects. The problem is that scoring an A has become too easy. The curriculum has been dummy downed so bad that there is no excuse to not earn an A and at the same time the grades have lost their value. I am not saying we should increase homework because I don't really like that idea either, but our expectations for grades need to change. We need to get back to the place where an C means average and not stupid and an A truly represents mastery of the content and not just a hard worker or a nice kid.

There was a reference to the Oak Elementary test where teachers were given a random list of students who were considered "bloomers" and since the expectations were raised, so did the performance of the kids. You can read more about it here

I bring this point up because I know that I work in a district with teachers who are awesome and have high expectations for all students. What is needed more than ever are more parents and the community who works with kids to raise their expectations. There are many, many fantastic families out there, but there are others who need to help push the expectations for their children.

The last one. "I see what you mean, and it's true that these tests all require students to memorize a lot of information. But knowing basic information is important. It's like the foundation."

This is an interesting point. You have to have the basics before you dig deep. The problem is that we as teachers have so much "basic" information to get in that it is tough to always dig deep. I am lucky that I get to dig deep with great kids every single day of my job. That is what I do daily. This is almost impossible to do when you have class sizes of 30 with a range of intelligence from high school to 2nd grade in a 6th grade classroom.

I post these all to get your thoughts. What do you think? Education is always a sensitive topic, but one that needs to continue to be talked about.

365 Photo Challenge of 2011 Updated - A little behind

I finally had time to load up some photos for this group I joined. I was about a week and half behind. I have it updated. Check it out.

Week 4 theme is all about "local streetscape". Should be interesting.



As always I have not had time to actually take quality photos, but these are snapshots of my busy life. Enjoy and I welcome any feedback.

Coffee For The Brain Book Tournament - Round 1 Decision - The first book moves on

Here is a late rationale from Round 1. The guys were sick, but they still turned in a write-up. Thanks guys

This battle was between

VS

My partner and I had a hard decision. It was between a classic and a newfound fantasy. We ended up choosing the perfectly written newfound fantasy, it was well written and thought through. It was well into my favorite genre but I thought in the interest of the average person, and Where the Red Fern Grows is somewhat short but well written the same. I would think that a forty-year-old female teacher would favorite Where the Red Fern Grows, but a male middle school student would favorite Eon. It was hard but Eon  has a few better aspects the Where the Red Fern Grows. The book Eon catches your interest as soon as you get to page two, whereas Where the Red Fern Grows takes a few chapters before getting interesting. The book Where the Red Fern Grows is somewhat sad so that takes away from the overall appeal. Eon has a lot of deep descriptions so that adds to its reputation. Overall I feel that Eon is the better book, but not by much.

Book Review: The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living

Here is the website of the community of people devoted to this way of life and helping others in need. A great resource http://www.justfortheloveofit.org/

One of the most inspirational stories I have read period. This book really forces you to examine your life and realize how wasteful we are as a society. This is not a book about creating an action plan and doing what the author has done, but rather you draw your inspiration from his story. A couple facts really stood out to me.

• Water used to wash clothes in a machine: 25 gallons
• Water used to wash clothes by hand: 3 gallons
• Water used to flush toilet each day per person: 18 gallons
• Water used in composting toilet: 0 gallons
• During the twelve days of Christmas in 2008, 207,360 died of starvation while we stress about buying all these toys that most of our kids could care less about anyways.
• 50 million diapers are thrown away every single day in the US alone

Some quotes from the book that I really stood out to me.

• Living the slow life is definitely more time-consuming, but I 'd rather have it consumed this way than in watching a reality TV show in the room we call 'living'.
• None of us are teachers; we are all students, learning from each other's experience. 

Reading this book things started to appear all over the place

• A label on my tea that I have been drinking stated that by them not using a string and tag on their teabag they are saving 3.5 million pounds of waste entering landfills every year. This is crazy! This is more than mind blowing.
• I just went through my refrigerator the other day and tossed out so much food that was a day or two past the expiration date. I was quite wasteful and this book made me feel bad about my decisions.

Great sites mentioned

• www.bookcrossing.com
• www.ilovefreegle.org
• www.skype.com
• 
  

My Goals

• Give my books away for free to people who don't want them. Maybe even set up an event where many people could get together and just swap them out and take what they want.
• Try to not be as wasteful in my day to day activities. This book has opened my eyes to realize how wasteful of a society we are. I went through my typical eating routine and was so surprised at how much we throw away in waste products and in food.
• To do more for people. I need to work on being a better citizen and person and help out more when I can. I have had chances recently that I simply overlooked or forgot about that could have made a change in a life of a person.

In closing, I really liked this book. It opened my eyes to taking a step back to appreciate what we have and all the great things available for free. It also was a great reminder about how great the human spirit can be. I liked the story in that it caused me to do some reflecting and thinking about my way of life. Great credit goes to him for living this way for a year and continuing to do so. I could not do it. It is not possible in my mind. However, I can definitely change my ways to help reduce the problems that I cause to the earth.