books – INGRID E FABER

Blind Date with a book.

Posted on April 18, 2022May 9, 2022 by iefaber

If you’re a book lover, you know having a good book to read on vacation is super important. I had a beach vacation coming up and put several beach-themed books on hold at the local Library. As vacation approached, I misread the Library’s open hours and never had the opportunity to get my books.

I was so upset. Almost depressed. I had a beautiful vacation planned, plenty to do, people I love to spend time with, but no book planned. I had carefully selected the books I wanted to bring and put them on hold weeks ago. I was waiting for them all to be ready for pick up. I stopped by the day before I left only to find the Library was closed for Good Friday. The remorse I felt from this was genuine. Please tell me some of you have felt the same.

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On Writing

Where have you been?

Posted on April 11, 2022May 9, 2022 by iefaber

I have enjoyed so many books, but some stick with me longer than others. And more often than not, it’s because of where they took me. Not just on good adventures to a fun place, not just the great people you miss when you close the book, but somewhere that returns to you long after you’ve finished reading. What stories have left you with false memories? Places that have been so well written, you almost feel them as your own memory? Not just what happened there but how they felt and how they smelled.

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Wolf Camp (Book Review)

Posted on May 21, 2020 by iefaber

by Andrea Zuill
Humor – Picture Book

My Synopsis:
Homer the dog gets an invitation to go to Wolf Camp for a week and he absolutely MUST go!

Why I Picked This Book:
I was watching Julie Hedlund‘s mini-lessons that she was offering to 12×12 members. (I highly recommend all of her lessons if you’re new to writing picture books.) She talked about this book briefly while teaching, and I quickly wrote it down knowing it was one I had to own.

What Was Disappointing:
Absolutely nothing. Which is saying a lot since my expectations were pretty high.

Why I Kept Reading:
Ok so maybe this format I use for book reviews doesn’t really fit for Picture Books. But there are picture books that although I finish, it’s only because I know the end is near, not necessarily because I’m intrigued and need to find out what happens. With this book, I was simply enjoying every page, every page turn, every image, and every word.

Take Away:
This book is certainly a great example of humourous Picture Books, but even more. It has fantastic scene changes, great page turns, and super fun illustrations. The reason Julie used it as an example was to discuss character changes and arcs. The goal of wanting to be a wolf and how he feels about being a wolf at the end are just fantastic.

Final Thoughts:
As a dog trainer and groomer some dog stories make me cringe. I don’t see the humor in most dog books because I tend to take things too seriously. I see issues with some dog behavior and worry owners will think it’s acceptable or even cute. I know picture books are harmless but being submerged in dog behavior and how they learn, I cannot help how I feel. This book however is perfection. I won’t dive into my theories of dogs being dogs or the methodology of the team I work with, but I will say this book could almost be an advertisement for one of our programs: Farm Dog. So kudos to Andrea Zuill for making me laugh and smile and fall in love with this book. If I’ve reread it as many times as I have, kids will certainly enjoy this one over and over again.

Post-Script:
I hope Pixie and Rex stay in touch with Homer.

TBR list

Goodreads Monday – Ronan the Librarian

Posted on May 4, 2020April 29, 2020 by iefaber

Goodreads Monday is a great way to talk about a book from your TBR list. Originally started by Lauren’s Page Turners, most people do these weekly, (such as Confessions of a YA Reader who partakes in several fun blog themes) I prefer to do mine monthly and this month I chose something a little different from my norm.

It’s been a while since a picture book was in my Goodreads Monday. This recent 2020 release certainly made me chuckle when I saw the title. It went immediately on my TBR list. Here’s the Goodreads blurb:

Ronan the Librarian by sister duo Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie and illustrator Victoria Maderna

Ronan was a mighty barbarian.
He invaded. He raided. And back home, he traded.
He always found the greatest treasures.
Until one day, Conan found something no barbarian wants:
A BOOK.

This humorous picture book from sister duo Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie and illustrator Victoria Maderna follows Ronan the Barbarian as he grows from being just a rough-and-tumble warrior to a rough-and-tumble warrior who loves books.

At first, his fellow barbarians are skeptical of his newfound passion for reading, but in the end, even they aren’t immune to the charms of a good book.

Please share any other picture books I should have on my list!! There’s never enough!

Book Reviews, Middle Grade Book Reviews

The Serpent’s Secret (book review)

Posted on April 8, 2020May 9, 2022 by iefaber

by Sayantani DasGupta
Fantasy – Middle Grade (book 1)

Before I get started on this review, let me just say a quick personal note. I realize our current state of things as we all deal with the coronavirus presents writers and bloggers with new topics. Perhaps posts about dealing with our isolation, or tips to stay creative, how to make a mask, but that is not me. If I had any answers of any kind in this world, my life would be much different. Suffice it to say that I have my own struggles and this simple easy post about the most recent book I’ve read is my way of getting back into my creative brain. Plus, let’s be honest, this blog is still more for me than any readers. I have yet to have any such “readership” for various reasons which no one cares about.

So let us begin. Here is my very simple book review format:

My Synopsis:

Kiranmala (or just Kiran) lives in New Jersey with her slightly odd parents. She wishes her parents were more “normal” and wishes they’d stop calling her a princess. Not only does she dislike the idea of helpless princesses, but she also hates the color pink. Unfortunately for her, she is, in fact, a very real Indian Princess from a very real other-dimensional world. This reality crashes in quite literally when a giant (and gross) demon smashes her home and two princes from another world show up to help. She needs help because mostly she is clueless as to why her parents are missing, how the heck she’s supposed to get them back, and how she could possibly be an actual princess.

Why I picked this book:

Last June I attended the Rutgers Writing Conference (oddly enough in NJ) and it was a fascinating weekend of learning and meeting new people. One of the classes I took was taught by Sayantani DasGupta and she was absolutely amazing in so many ways. I was inspired by her and of course, needed to have a copy of her book (which she kindly signed for me). For no good reason, I hadn’t actually read the book until now. Books I purchase often stay on my shelf as the ones loaned from the library get priority due to the time limit I have with them. So this was the first quarantine book I choose once the library shut down.

What was disappointing:

Nothing really. I mean, sure it starts out in New Jersey and I live in Philly so nothing exciting there. But New Jersey isn’t meant to be exciting and we certainly do not stay there very long. Maybe a part of me didn’t want to like this character at first because she seemed to try to hard to dislike princesses, but she is unswayed in her opinion and the reader is not forced into predictable clichés that you may expect.

Why I kept reading:

This is usually the part where I explain why I kept reading despite my a) slow start because I always have trouble getting emotionally attached, or b) feeling that things are rather predictable. But this had a very quick start, and I can honestly say I had no idea what was going to happen one page to the next. This was very refreshing in that it really does take you on a new journey.

Takeaway:

The main character is twelve years old and most of the time I felt she was much older. That is not to say that the author did a poor job of depicting a 12-year-old. Actually, this character is very well rounded and has a nice balance of emotions perfect for that age, something I’m not used to seeing in books. There is also a lot of science in this book that was unexpected for me. By no means is this a STEM book and the author’s notes clearly state that this is NOT to be used as a reference for real science in any way. However, using scientific theories and ideas to back up a fantasy world was very interesting. It keeps with the tone the MC has about “magic worlds and princesses” in that she is always looking for some fact in all of the madness. Like if Alice actually questioned her trip down the rabbit hole with a bit more thought process than just “curiouser and curiouser”. I don’t even need a lot of explanation while I read fantasy as long is it makes sense in that world, but this was a nice new way to be in a made-up realm.

Final Thoughts:

As a white female born in America, this was a very refreshing story. I have pretty much zero knowledge of the folklores and myths used for the basis of the author’s story so I had no idea what to expect from the demons or lands they encountered. Nothing at all was predictable for me and I LOVED that! New customs, new foods, new monsters, new everything – I was so happy to escape from the same familiar fairy tales and mythology so I highly recommend this book. There are three books in this series and I am so glad for it. All the characters are well fleshed out and believable, the adventure and action is super fun, and yeah, Kiran is a great heroin that is much welcomed in the Middle-Grade Fantasy genre. I’m looking forward to the next two books that I’m sure will be just as endearing, funny, and action-packed!

Post-Script:

I failed at all the riddles and definitely would not have survived.