New Year Read-A-Thon!

Monday 28 December, 2009 By 2 Comments

I had meant to blog about this fantastic read-a-thon, apparently I only managed to place it in my sidebar. What is this read-a-thon you ask? It is the New Year Read-A-Thon which is being hosted by Bookworming In the 21st Century. The read-a-thon is open to all people, please have a look at this wonderful event: New Year Read-A-Thon.

Why a read-a-thon? To promote reading in the New Year! Bring on 2010!

Starts: 5 pm on Thursday, 31 December 2009
Ends: 10 pm on Sunday, 3 January 2010

I am hoping to catch up on some much needed reading. I hope many will join in the New Year Read-A-Thon.

You can read as little or as much as you want, include the family as well.

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Reading Into the New Year!

Monday 28 December, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I have already blogged about the New Year Read-A-Thon I am participating in, but I also will be joining in the other event hosted by Bookworming In the 21st Century. This read-a-thon will overlap the other one I am doing, but I wanted my readers to know about this option as well. It can be as long or as short as you like. Begin reading 5 minutes before midnight or read all night long. There are no time constraints. The Read-a-thon is open to all people and is a delightful way to add your children into the picture. To learn more, have a look at this read-a-thon, Reading Into the New Year. I am not one to party on New Year’s Eve so this is perfect for me. What a delightful way to ring in the New Year than with books!

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What Are You Reading Mondays? The Last One Until 2010

Monday 28 December, 2009 By 13 Comments


I adore this meme, which was created by J. Kaye at J. Kaye’s Book Blog . It is the perfect way for me to begin the week by helping me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs.

I was correct in assuming I would not get much reading accomplished over the Christmas Holiday.

I Read:

  • These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer (384 pages)- Review
  • I Used to Know That (175 pages) by Caroline Taggart - Review
  • The Sign for Drowning (205 pages) by Rachel Stolzman – Review

This Week I am hoping to read (Considering the holidays, I doubt half of these will get read until the New Year’s Read-a-Thon):

  • Leading Lady by Heywood Gould (297 pages)
  • A Visit From Voltaire by Dinah Lee Kung (351 pages)
  • Deadly Codes by JP O’Donnell (206 pages)
  • Abandoned and Forgotten by Evelyne Tannehill (431 pages)
    Check back next Monday to see how well, or not so well, I accomplish my reading goals.

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The Sign For Drowning by Rachel Stolzman- A Book Review

Monday 28 December, 2009 By 4 Comments

Title: The Sign For Drowning
Author: Rachel Stolzman
Publisher: Trumpeter; Reprint edition
Publication Date:
Paperback: 194 pages
ISBN: 978-1590307205
Genre: Fiction

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About the Book:

Anna has grown up haunted by her younger sister’s death. In the life she constructs as a barrier against the emotional wreckage of her family tragedy, Anna settles comfortably into a career as a teacher of deaf children. But a challenge arrives—in the form of a young girl. Adrea’s disarming vulnerability and obvious need for love offer Anna the possibility of reconnecting with the world around her—if she has the courage to open her heart.

In this debut novel, Rachel Stolzman has crafted a moving and poetic witness to love’s power to transcend grief, pain, and the constraints of human language. The Sign for Drowning is a poignant story of loss and the unexpected occasions of grace that enable us to heal from it and grow beyond it.

My Review:

The Sign for Drowning is a deeply and profoundly poetic as well as lyrical novel about love and loss and the beauty of family. Anna watched helplessly as her younger sister drowned and her way of coping as an eight year old was by learning sign language. She believed at such a tender age that she could communicate with her sister through sign language. As an adult, Anna moved to New York and began working as a teacher at the Deaf and Hearing Center where she dotes on the young students she is in charge of while relishing in the solitude and the safety in the sameness of the days. One day Anna meets Andrea, whom she mistakenly refers to as Adrea, a five-year-old orphan, who weaves her way into Anna’s heart and life. As Anna grows into the role of a single mother of a deaf child, Anna struggles with loving, learning to live in the present and coming to terms with the profound pain of losing her sister. Compounding Anna’s healing process is her lack of relationship with her mother. As a new mother herself, the pain and isolation becomes more pronounced despite Anna’s father’s unconditional love, as she craves the love from the one person who cannot offer her what she needs, her mother. Stolzman’s first novel is one that will grab the reader’s attention and hold it throughout the entire novel. The Sign for Drowning is an amasing novel about the fragility of life and finding oneself through healing. This book will stay with the reader long after the book has been closed.

About the Author:

Rachel Stolzman received her MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Her writing has won several awards and her poetry has appeared in numerous journals. This is her first novel. She lives in Brooklyn.

I received a free copy of The Sign for Drowning by Rachel Stolzman from her publisher. Receiving a free copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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