Goodreads...to rate books or not?

I like using Goodreads to keep track of books that I have read or want to read.  Before, I kept lists of books scribbled in notebooks or saved in computer documents.  Inevitably, I would forget which notebook or what document.  Eventually I would find the right list, but it wasn’t convenient.  That's the great thing about Goodreads:  it's one central place to keep track of my reading.  I can quickly enter information in the same place from my computer or smartphone.  With the app on my phone, I can enter titles when I'm away from home - at the bookstore, at a library or just anywhere I might be when someone mentions or shows me an interesting book.  With all the driving I do, I often hear about books while listening to programs on NPR.  Once I park the car - of course never while driving! - I enter titles I want to read, so I won't forget them.  

Besides keeping track of books I want to read, Goodreads is a handy place to track what I have read.  For many years, I have kept a reading log in some form.  Now I do that on Goodreads.  I can also follow the reading habits of my friends who are on the site, and I do enjoy seeing what they're reading.  I find out about books I haven't heard of.  Seeing that a friend is reading a particular book may remind me that I want to read that title too.  I read friends' reviews of books and other people's reviews as well.  Sometimes I check to see what people have written about a particular book I'm thinking of reading.  This gives me a better idea about the book, and may help me decide whether or not to read it.  Reading reviews after I’ve read a certain book is a way to see if anyone had similar reactions.  Perhaps I’m not the only reader who thought the ending didn’t make sense or who didn’t get that plot element or who thought the author rambled.  

I have gone back and forth as to whether or not to rate books on Goodreads.  At first, I never rated books and now I sometimes do.  The one to five star method of rating books is a little too simplistic and subjective.  But all methods of rating books are subjective, aren't they?  Goodreads assigns statements to each number of stars as follows:

one star - did not like it

two stars - it was ok

three stars - like it

four stars - really like it

five stars - it was amazing 

 

I don't know if rating books as to whether or not (or how much) I like them really helps other readers. Although I may really like something simply because it entertains or interests me personally, that doesn't necessarily mean it's particularly well-written or has any special literary value.  I read for a lot of different reasons, as we all do.  If I'm interested in a certain topic, I may read a book on that topic because the author is an expert or has a specific viewpoint.  If that book provides the information I need or resonates with me, then I could give it four stars and say I "really like it," even if the writing was less than stellar.  If the writing is particularly poor, then I probably would give it fewer stars.  But, you see, it gets a bit complicated.  In a novel - an event that seems totally contrived or a character that seems completely unlikeable to me, may seem perfectly plausible or likeable to another reader.  Those factors may or may not affect whether a reader likes or dislikes a book.  Different readers and reviewers are looking for different things.  With genre, writing quality and style, individual tastes will vary.  

I know...I'm over-thinking the whole thing.  Yet it feels weird - for example - to give four stars to some historical fiction bordering on chick-lit that really entertained me and then give only two or three stars to an 800-page piece of prize-winning literary fiction that turned out to be a lot of work to read and a bit confusing too.  Because those two books are not really comparable at all, you know?  Ultimately, I'm not sure if I'll assign "star" ratings to the books I read or not.  I'd prefer to continue writing a blog post each month that summarizes (and reviews) my reading.  We'll see if I can keep up with that!   

Don't give up, my friend - Barney, resilience & the growth mindset

Last week, I was mentally beating myself up over my failure to write three blog posts.  I posted twice, but Saturday came around and I just knew I wouldn't be able to write a third post and meet my goal.  As a spontaneous and - in fact - very helpful interruption to my spiraling negative thoughts, a song started running through my head:

If you can't do it the first time,
Don't give up, my friend,
'Cause you're gonna do it sometime
And you will be so happy then,
So try and try,
Try and try again!

I learned this song from Barney.  Yes, that Barney - the big purple dinosaur.  It's probably been over a decade since I've watched that show.  Of the various PBS shows my children watched, I would not rate Barney as one of my favorites.  It was what my kids might now call "cheesy" - over-exaggerated, preachy and bright in a way that can only be appreciated by toddlers, I think.  The dancing was stiff and robotic; even the black kid didn't have rhythm.  The songs were obvious and sugary.  But, apparently, that one particular song made an impression on me.  It broke into my recent ruminations and disrupted their power.  Don't give up your blog goal, I thought, just try again next week.

I recall singing this song to my kids at different times when they were little.  Maybe someone was learning to tie his shoes or trying to ice-skate for the first time.  Maybe someone was getting frustrated while building a complicated Lego set.  I would sing a few lines from the song and encourage the child to continue.  Obviously, as the kids got older, singing a Barney tune became a less effective form of encouragement.  But the song's message of resilience and trying again is one that I still try to impress upon my kids.  Lately, I've read a few articles or posts that reference Carol Dweck's book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.  Although I haven't read the book yet, I completely agree with the advantages of having a growth mindset as described on her website:

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.

According to the book's description on her website, Dweck discovered this idea through decades of research.  Well, she may be the first to formally research the concept and give it the name "growth mindset."  Innovators since the beginning of time recognized that hard work and dedication are the keys to success in various endeavors.  Thomas Edison had a growth mindset.  He famously said of his experiments, "I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."  Here is another quote of his that is a favorite of mine:

I look forward to reading Dweck's book and learning more about her research and her suggestions for encouraging a growth mindset.  And, more importantly, I thank Barney for helping me remember a very important message when I needed it!    

*****

P.S. I also enjoy this old-school proverb/poem, which can be found in various children's anthologies and is attributed to William Edward Hickson (1803-1870): 

Try, Try Again

'Tis a lesson you should heed,
Try, try again;
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try again
Then your courage should appear,
You will conquer, never fear;
Try, try again.

P.P.S.  In the age of Google, I knew I could find my Barney song online.  Perhaps I am the only one who is really interested in this, but here are the complete lyrics (slightly different from what I remembered) to "Try and Try Again":

If you can't do it the first time,
Try and try again.
If you can't do it the second time,
Don't give up, my friend.
'Cause you're gonna do it sometime.
And you will be so happy then.
So try and try, try and try again.

See the pretty birdie
Way up in the sky.
When he was just a little bird,
He didn't know how to fly.

He watched his mommy flap her wings
And soar so high.
She told him,
"You can do it if you try."

I was blowing bubbles
With little Baby Bop
Every time she tried it,
The bubble just went pop.
But then she blew it so big
It floated up in my rooftop.
She did it because she did not stop.

See the pretty birdie
Way up in the sky.
When he was just a little bird,
He didn't know how to fly.

He watched his mommy flap her wings
And soar so high.
She told him,
"You can do it if you try." 

Nature therapy

Yesterday, my daughter and I went on a nice leisurely hike.  We walked and wandered the paths at the Urban Ecology Center/Riverside Park and the Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum.  We sat on logs or boulders to observe, converse and write in our nature journals.  It was a lovely end-of-summer sort of day, and I can't think of a better way to have spent it.  We delighted in the sights and sounds and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine.  After some cold and dreary days, it did us good.  I know my mood felt lightened and lifted.  And I think my daughter's did too, as she broke into a joyful, open-armed run on a stretch of pathway flanked by wildflowers and grasses.

 
Whenever I spend time in nature, I wonder why I don't do it more often.  I know that I will feel refreshed and rejuvenated, and yet I don't always make time for it.  When the kids were younger, we made more time for nature walks.  Although we live in the city, there are plenty of nearby places to immerse ourselves in nature.  Right behind our house is the Milwaukee River and the forests that run alongside it.  There are many beautiful parks and nature centers/preserves within fifteen to thirty minutes of our house.  I love the Japanese concept of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing.  American authors and naturalists have written about the health benefits of nature as well.  I read Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder when it was first published.  He has also written The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age.  A quick search on Amazon brought up several more titles on this topic.  The researcher in me is tempted to read a few of those books, and maybe I will.  But I don't need a book to tell me that I feel better when I get outside.  What I really need is to be more deliberate about spending time outside in nature each week.  What I really need is forest-bathing. 

Some observations and reflections from my nature journal and more photos from our hike:

In the forest -
What a gorgeous day!  By the calendar, it is still summer.  At 64 degrees and sunny with a cool breeze, it feels like a cross between summer and fall.  It still looks mostly like summer with wildflowers blooming and butterflies flitting about.  The leaves I see all about me here are mostly still green, although I see a patch of orange-yellow at the top of one small tree.  We saw a slightly ginger-colored squirrel parked on the side of a tree while chewing intently on an acorn.  Humans are here too - schoolchildren with their teachers, UEC staff, a fisherman heading toward the river, a young couple biking, people walking their dogs.  We are sitting in a circle of benches under a canopy of green with a clear blue sky peaking through.
    

In the arboretum -
This is such a tranquil place.  We are sitting at the top of a hill on a large stone block.  I look out and see a prairie full of wildflowers, a forest of trees and the Milwaukee River in the distance.  Flying about are butterflies - lots of monarchs, but others too.  The sound of crickets (or grasshoppers?) mostly drowns out the noise of traffic from nearby busy - but unseen - city streets.  Facing west, the only building I see is the spire of St. Casimir's rising up across the river.  At this moment - that and the back-up beep of a truck are the only reminders that I am not in some remote place.  I am so appreciative of this bit of wilderness.  I am simply in the wild, with the sun's warmth cheering me after yesterday's cold and rain.  Although we see a few people walking the paths, our main companions here are bees, butterflies, dragonflies and birds.

August reading notes - immigration, mysteries & more

My reading life felt a bit heavy in August.  Perhaps it was the weighty subject matter or seriousness of some of the books, or the way the memoir I read hit home with the whole "my kids are really growing up" thing.  After these six books, I'm reading something that features a bit less stark reality and provides a bit more escapist entertainment for me.   

Enrique's Journey (The Young Adult Adaptation):  The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother by Sonia Nazario

This was the all-school summer read at my sons' high school.  The book grew out of a newspaper series in the Los Angeles Time written by Sonia Nazario.  Nazario chronicles the experiences of Enrique, a Honduran boy whose mother (Lourdes) left him and his sister to work in the United States.  Enrique is subsequently abandoned by his father and then lives with his grandmother and a variety of other relatives.  All are very poor.  Lourdes sends money, which makes Enrique's life materially better in some ways, but he struggles with the hole left by her absence.  Eventually, he decides to travel to the U.S. to reunite with her.  The bulk of the story is about Enrique's many attempts, failures, struggles, hardships and ultimate success in reaching the U.S.  This is a well-researched book; Nazario made a similar journey herself, so that she could document the unbelievable lengths that Enrique and other Central Americans go through to make this dangerous journey.  Enrique and Lourdes' reunion is bittersweet.  They are happy to see each other, but also confused, angry and unsure about how to re-establish a relationship.  In my opinion, the book wasn't well-written.  Perhaps it read better as a newspaper series.  It's the sort of compelling nonfiction that should read almost like a novel, but it seemed clunky and choppy.  I kept reading because I wanted to know the outcome of Enrique's journey and because I have a lot of interest in Central America and the topic of immigration.   This is a very timely read considering the current influx of young people from Central America and the ongoing debate about immigration reform in the U.S.  

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez

I didn't plan to follow Enrique's Journey with a novel about Latin American immigrants.  My hold came in at the library, so this was my next read.  In this beautifully written novel, Henriquez tells the story of the Rivera family from Mexico, who come to the U.S. seeking help for their daughter who was injured in a serious accident.  In their apartment building in Maryland, they meet and befriend the Toro family from Panama.  The novel tells the back story of these families - their lives in their home countries and their reasons for coming to the U.S. - interspersed with their current experiences.  Their children, Maribel and Mayor, fall in love.  Woven among the stories of the two families, which are told from the perspectives of the various family members, are short stories about other immigrants from Latin America who also live in the apartment building.  I can see how some people might think these stories didn't really fit in with the main narrative, but I found that they further illuminated the themes of immigration and dislocation.  This is a moving story - sometimes hopeful, sometimes painfully heartbreaking.  I recommend it. 
 

 Hold On To Your Kids:  Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate

I read this parenting book several years ago and decided to reread it now that my children are older.  This book really resonates with my beliefs about family life.  I agree with the authors' main point, which is that parents - not peers - should be the primary guiding and socializing influence in children's lives.  However, we are a society that puts high value on peer relationships for children.  The authors give some historical perspective, citing a shift that occurred after the Second World War, before which people's lives were more family-focused.  They then explain how peer attachment has undermined parenting and family life, and how it even stunts healthy development.  The last sections of the book are about how to prevent peer orientation or how to reclaim children that have become peer-attached.  The authors are not saying that children shouldn't have friends, but rather that children shouldn't be primarily-oriented toward friends instead of their parents.  It seems almost counter-culture in today's society, but I agree.  Highly recommended! 

I saw online that there is an updated edition of this book that includes chapters on technology and social media.  The updated version was not available in my library system, but I'd be interested to read it.  With smartphones and social media, today's children and teens can be more readily and constantly connected with their friends than ever before.

Except the Dying (Murdoch Mysteries #1)
Under the Dragon's Tail (Murdoch Mysteries #2) 
by Maureen Jennings

I'm completely in love with the CBC television series Murdoch Mysteries.  Since the current season of the show won't be available in the U.S. until sometime next year, I thought I'd read some of the books upon which the show is based.  That would be - upon which the show is loosely based.  I read the first two books, and they are almost completely different from the television series.  And yet, they were still decent murder mysteries and historical/period novels to boot.  I think I'll probably read more of them just to feel close to the characters I love. 

The Gift of an Ordinary Day:  A Mother's Memoir by Katrina Kenison

Parts of this book are really good and beautiful.  The author's experiences, thoughts and ideas really resonate with me, but I thought she got repetitive at times.  The memoir covers a time in her family's life when she and her husband decide to sell their house, uproot their two adolescent boys and move to another state.  It seemed like a sort of mid-life crisis to me.  They lived with the author's parents for a few years, during which they bought a piece of land with an old falling-down house.  They lived in the house for one summer, but ultimately they had it torn down and had a new house built.  I enjoyed the author's revelations about many topics, including:  home, nature, seasons, solitude, friendship, writing, family life and parenting.  Most meaningful to me were her experiences with her teenage sons:  the joys and struggles and uncertainties, the emotions we feel as our children begin the process of growing into their own lives.  This was sometimes almost painful to read, because I'm right in the middle of it and feeling it too.  She writes about her apprehension about new schools and other big changes, about applying to colleges and more.  Yet I also found her thoughts reassuring as she struggled with her realization that she had to let go, that she could not control every decision and circumstance.  We all realize this, but I think we have to realize it again and again as our children grow up.  I would recommend this book, with the caveat that her philosophical revelations - while good - can be repetitive.  

*****

P.S.  Currently I'm reading:

The Divergent Series - We watched the movie Divergent a few weeks ago, and I decided to read the series.  I finished Divergent and have just started Insurgent.  I have a feeling the first book is probably the best in the series and it may go down a bit from there, but I'm pretty sure I'll be adequately entertained by all three.

Accountability, again

I am a person who does better with clear and concrete goals.  And accountability.  I’ve written about that before.  I began my 30-day blog challenge on June 23 and finished it on July 22.  I publicly committed to blogging thirty days in a row, and so I did.  The topics, quality and length of the posts varied – but, I stuck to my commitment and did it.  It was tough and also rewarding.  I never meant to continue blogging every single day, but I figured I’d fall into a routine of blogging a few times a week.  I blogged twice at the beginning of August.  And then…nothing.  My mistake was thinking that a natural (magical?) blogging routine would grow out of my thirty day challenge.  My mistake was not setting up goals and accountability for myself.  I knew that I wanted to continue blogging on a regular basis.  I’m not sure why I didn’t realize that I needed a clear goal.  Otherwise, all the excuses and busyness that prevented me from blogging before would stop me again.  Yes, I was applying to and interviewing for part-time jobs.  Yes, we were busy with all sorts of end-of-summer events.  Yes, I was gearing up for the school year ahead – getting my sons ready for their freshman and junior years in high school and starting to plan the homeschool year with my daughter.  But there’s always something.  There was always something during the thirty day blog challenge too.  But even when there’s always something, I want to write.  I have to learn that lesson over and over again, it seems.    

I was thinking about writing goals while reading a couple of interesting articles. The first was on a website called 99U-Insightson making ideas happen.  The article, "How I Kept a 373-Day Productivity Streak Unbroken," was written by author Jamie Todd Rubin.  He writes about how a shift in thinking  - from assuming that a daily writing habit required large blocks of uninterrupted time to realizing that he could maximize writing in smaller chunks of time (even just 10-20 minutes) - transformed his writing life.  In the article, Rubin outlines some other strategies that have helped him continue his 373-day (now longer) writing streak:  writing as early in the day as possible; having multiple writing projects to choose to work on; and tackling projects from different angles when writer's block appears.  As a follow up to that article, he wrote more specifically about the details of his writing streak on his own website with a post titled "FAQ on My Ongoing Consecutive Day Writing Streak."  Rubin explains what "counts" as writing in his streak and what he has actually produced and published during his streak.  He includes statistics and programs that he uses to keep track of his writing.  Honestly, I didn't really understand or care to understand all of that technical stuff.  But, obviously, it works for him.  As of today, he has written for 413 consecutive days!  I find Rubin's story to be very motivating.  He found what works for him.  And since he is a published science fiction author, he has also found success.     

My own goal, of course, will be different than Jamie Todd Rubin's.  I am not planning to write everyday for hundreds of days.  My own goal for right now is to blog three times per week.  I don't plan to use an elaborate program to track my blogging goal.  I will keep track of it on a paper calendar.  However, to bring in the important element of accountability, I may decide to track my three posts per week in a more public way.  I'm still thinking about that.  Well, that's my first post for this week.  Two more to go!