Teaser Tuesdays- Sparking your interest in Books...

Quotes from books actually on my shelves.....

The Furies by John Jakes (Book 4 of the Kent Family Chronicles, Historical Fiction about the founding and shaping of America as a nation. Eight volumes all together, listed here in order: The Bastard, The Rebels, The Seekers, The Furies, The Titans, The Warriors, The Lawless, The Americans.)

Quote from The Furies:"Instead, he'd wrecked her customary composure with the one thing capable of doing that- the past; the past she constantly picked over so the wound could never heal." (pg 179)

In book one, the illegitimate son of a nobleman who is refused his birthright travels to London where he learns the printing trade and admires the statesmanship of Benjamin Franklin. He decides

to leave England and start a new life in America. The series follows the Kent Family as they live through exciting historical periods in U.S. History. John Jakes has also written the North and South Trilogy, and the Crown Family Saga. The books have been dramatized in movie production miniseries.

The Kent Family Chronicles

• The Bastard (1974)
• The Rebels (1975)
• The Seekers (1975)
• The Furies (1976)
• The Titans (1976)
• The Warriors (1977)
• The Lawless (1978)
• The Americans (1979)
  

From left, Andrew Stevens, Gwen Humble, William Shatner and Don Johnson (wielding flintlock) in the 1978-79 mini-series “The Kent Family Chronicles”.

Working for a Living!

A friend of mine had a post on Facebook and it said "List the first seven jobs you ever had". So that made some wheels turn in my head and I started making a list of all the jobs I've ever had and remembering the good and not so good times all those thoughts dredged up in my brain. 

I made a list going forward from my very first job as a babysitter to the job I have now as a Medical Technologist specializing in Microbiology. Then I made the list backwards- from my job now back in time to my first job and realized I forgot a few jobs along the way and corrected my list. All in all, it was an entertaining cerebral exercise that put me in the mood to write about it. I've done everything from scrub the toilets in the men's bathroom to teach medical students the joys of gram staining bacteria, and a lot of things in between. There are so many good ideas for spin off writing here from debating the minimum wage to discussing why schools seem to be failing, and all from thinking about the various employment situations I've had since I was a teenager. Play along with me and spend a bit of time thinking about the different jobs you have had in your life.

Here is my bare bones list: Chronologically from the past until the present day...

Babysitter

Retail Store Clerk (Department Store)

Fast Food cook and cashier

Library Attendant

Retail Store Clerk (Clothing Store)

Cafeteria Employee

Avon Salesperson

Fast Food cashier and chief restroom cleaner (graveyard)

Retail Store Clerk, display designer and depositor of bank funds at night (Clothing Store)

Retail Store Clerk- Aquatics (Pet Store)

Medical Courier

Medical Laboratory Technician and Phlebotomist

Medical Technologist Generalist

Medical Technologist/Teaching Technologist/Laboratory Coordinator

Community College/Applied Technology College Instructor

Medical Technologist Blood Bank

Substitute Teacher K-12

Special Education Teacher's Aide (Junior High)

Science, Honor's Science, and Art Teacher (Junior High)

Medical Technologist/Microbiologist 

 

 https://youtu.be/9N2CANatVYQ

Great guitar solo by Chris Hayes, live performance with Tower of Power Horns.

Basically from this list, my one sentence explanation of my employment experiences is: "I am a 'scientific labbie type who does not mind being with people", this appears to be a contradiction since most people loving types are not scientific types and most science nerds are not all that social. So I guess I am the embodiment of an oxymoron or maybe I am an oxymoron? Oh well, I have always felt dual pulls from the scientific side of me and the artistic side of me. I have expressed each side at different times in my life-such as when I started college wanting to be a laboratory scientist, then changed my major to Interior Design. I finished up the design program and then went back to college a few years later to finish becoming a lab scientist. I finally "found myself", in the lab, but continued to express my creative side through sewing other handicrafts. 

When I taught junior high it was the perfect juxtaposition of science self and my artsy self and I loved being able to express both sides of me each and every day through the teaching I did. The downside was that when I opened my mouth to talk science to the other 'science teachers' I got a lot of blank stares because the majority of them had never been in a laboratory except for college Biology class. My educational philosophy is not reconstructionism, (IMHO public schools are over run with reconstructionists and that is part of why public education isn't as stellar as it may have been in the past- but that is another discussion all together), my philosophy is more essentialist\perenialist, as in reading, writing and rithmaticism, so I didn't exactly feel that I fit in where I was.

If you had to sum up your employment experiences in one sentence what would that sentence be?

Teaser Tuesdays! Sparking your interest in books!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (Fiction/Post-apocalyptic)

"She traces one long finger down my cheek, her fingernail sharp against my skin. You will be the end of us if you keep following this path! I can feel it, I can see it now." (pg 65)

 

I was excited to finally get and read this book. It started out quite interesting but as it went on the story-telling just didn't fill in the plot holes, like how did the society get this way in the first place? The main character was not very likeable and wound up being a let down by the end of the book. I was left wanting by the time the story was finished and the ending was not that satisfying after the time invested. There is a sequel but I've decided that it's not worth reading if it is anything like the first book. I also came to the conclusion that I am not really a lover of zombie stories, they're just too mindless for me! (I couldn't resist, sorry). I don't like the Walking Dead show either, even though many people do like it, it's not that interesting to me. Destroy! Destroy! Run away from zombies, kill the zombies, mindless destruction...snooze. 

On the other hand I loved the movie with Will Smith (2007) I Am Legend, it had me on the edge of my seat and invested in the characters. I have also read the original 

I Am Legend story by Robert Matheson, where the main character is a little different from the depiction by Will Smith (Smith does it better IMHO), and liked it. Even though there are some zombie characters in the Garth Nix book series (Sabriel), that I have previously reviewed here, there are other plots and action going on in the book besides the zombie mindless kill-it-all mentality and the characters are developed much better by Nix. So now you know... but if you are a zombie fan, maybe you would be interested in checking out this book.

A scene from the movie I Am Legend, starring Will Smith (2007).

Teaser Tuesdays- Sparking your interest in books!

(Steampunk)

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

(The Cinder Spires)

 

 

      I've been a fan of Butcher's Dresden Files for quite a while now. Since I've read all of that series I've been kindof starved for more of Harry Dresden. So I have read all of Kat Richardson's Greywalker series (which I love), and Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid series (which I also love but seems to be getting repetitive now) to fill the gap. Butcher has written the Furies of Calderon series but I have only read the first volume so far and I'm not ready to form an opinion on it yet. I am an easily distracted book lover and keep getting sidetracked into reading other stuff, but I do have more books from the Furies of Calderon series occupying space on my bookshelves and plan to read them soon.

      I purchased this steampunk offering (Windlass-hardcover) about 6 months ago on a trip. I realized I didn't have room for it in my suitcase so I gave it to my daughter to read until at such a time when I visited her again and took it back with a less crammed suitcase. Well last week I came home from visiting my daughter with my book, I had started reading it at her house. My suitcase was still too full so I carried it onto the plane and continued reading it on the trip home. I have been happily satisfied with the results and am now just over halfway through the book. This book has reminded me why I enjoy Jim Butcher as an author, he really does have a way with words and a great imagination, along with a good sense of humor- this all gets rolled up into one of his books! I am loving The Aeronaut's Windlass! I really like the characters and the setting is very unique. I am not quite sure why the people are living in cities in the sky, or what happened to earth, if there is even an earth somewhere in this universe, but small tidbits of information have been sown among the action in the story that might lead to an explanation. I think Rowl the cat and his person Bridget are my favorite characters so far, Folly the Etheriel apprentice, is also pretty intriguing.

Book Quotes:

The Aeronaut's Windlass, page 214.

“Gwendolyn Lancaster looked around Predator with what she felt was well-earned skepticism. It seemed that in following the orders of the Spirearch, she had fallen in with scoundrels.”

(The Spirearch is the name for the leader of the city/'spire' in which Gwen lives.)

Another quote from page 92, that I thought was quite timely during this election year in the USA right now.

“Politics is the purview of scoundrels, tyrants, and fools.”