Month: April 2015

A Book About Book Tattoos

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Now let me just tell you, I think most tattoos are pretty cool.  Would I ever get one…probably not but only because I’m a big chicken.  BAKAWK!  Do I think ALL tattoos fall under the “epic” category?  No.  I DO think tattoo artists have some mad skills.  Think about it; they have one chance to make a drawing come out right.  DON’T SNEEZE!  I recently discovered a book that combined my love for books and fascination with tattoos all wrapped up in a nice bow…well, I actually checked it out at the library.

I’ve just finished, The Word Made Flesh:  Literary Tattoos From Bookworms Worldwide – By Eva Talmadge and Justin Taylor.  Boy was it an eye opener!  I learned the following things.

  1. I need to get out of the juvenile section…because I had never heard of some of the books that people read and paid homage to by inking their bodies forever.
  2. My limited knowledge of the Spanish language didn’t help me a lick when trying to read Latin phrases.
  3. I need to get out of the juvenile section…Did I already mention that?

The book is chalk full of, not just photos of tattoos but also, stories behind why each person got the tattoo that they got.  Kinda made me stop and think about how many times I’ve seen a really bizarre tattoo and wondered what was going through a person’s head in the heat of the tattoo moment.  Maybe there’s a method to their madness:)

The “Skin” project was a favorite highlight of the book.  Shelley Jackson created the “Skin” project.  Basically, she assigned one word to each volunteer and they agree to have the word tattooed on their body (somewhere not inappropriate).  If you were to put all of the words together, you’d have a short story.  Here’s the clincher, no one but Ms. Jackson knows the story.  How cool is that?

Two more things, 1.  I now have a new comic strip to hunt down and read.  Krazy Kat, looks like something that’s right up my alley. 2.  I seriously need to read some Emily Dickinson…again…I need to get out of the juvenile section.

Pick it up and get inspired,

That Book Mama

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National Poetry Month! …Even For Boys:)

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Wahoo!  April is National Poetry Month!  Who doesn’t love a good poem?  I have a confession…I didn’t really like poetry much, not too long ago.  Well, I like it now and that’s all that matters:)  Anyway, finding poetry is not normally a problem.  Finding poetry that boys will read, sometimes proves to be difficult.  I’ve listed 10 poetry books for boys.  Are they the only ones out there?  NO WAY!  This is just a short list for your reluctant poetry reader.  Here they are in no particular order.  P.S. Girls will also enjoy these:)

Enjoy!

That Book Mama

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Poetry For Boys

  • Dirt On My Shirt – Foxworthy, Jeff
  • Toad By The Road – Ryder, Joanne
  • Dinothesaurus – Florian, Douglas
  • Bugs:  Poems About Creeping Things – Harrison, David L.
  • Rules Of The Game:  Baseball Poems – Maddox, Marjorie
  • Comets, Stars, The Moon, And Mars – Florian, Douglas
  • A Whiff Of Pine, A Hint Of Skunk – Ruddell, Deborah
  • Guyku:  A Year Of Haiku For Boys – Raczka, Bob
  • Truckery Rhymes – Scieszka, Jon
  • The Brothers’ War:  Civil War Voices In Verse – Lewis, J. Patrick

Hobo Skillet MMMmmmmm

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So, I’ve been under the fog that everyone knew what a Hobo Skillet was.  Apparently, it was only a “thing” at my house growing up.  Surely, there’s another name for this yummy goodness of a meal but a Hobo Skillet is what my family called it.  I mean no disrespect to real hobos.  They can call it a Trinity Skillet for all I care:)  Wanna hear it?  Here it go.

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Hobo Skillet

Ingredients:

  •  3 Tbs Oil
  • 28 oz package Ore-Ida Potatoes O’Brien with peppers and onions
  • 9.6 oz package Jimmy Dean precooked turkey sausage
  • 7-9 eggs
  • Salt to taste

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1.  In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat.

2.  Add potatoes and cook until halfway done. (about 7 minutes)

3.  Pour in sausage and stir.

4.  Make wells for eggs

5.  Crack eggs into said wells

6.  Cover and reduce heat to somewhere between simmer and medium heat.  I’m going to call it “smedium”.

7.  Cook 12-15 or until eggs are done to your liking.

8.  Add salt

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P.S. This is a dumbed down version of what my Mom made.  If you want a “non box” recipe, you’d substitute the Potatoes O’Brien package for about 6-8 small peeled and cubed red potatoes, one small onion, 1/4 green bell pepper and 1/4 red bell pepper.  Then, substitute the precooked sausage with a package of breakfast sausage.

Best Book Evah!

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This is where I would have to say, “April Fools!”.  I’ve just read, The House Girl – By Tara Conklin with the book club.   The disappointment! I has it:(

The story is told in rotating chapters of past and present.  Lina Sparrow is a lawyer fresh out of school and she gets assigned to a class action lawsuit case representing descendants of American slaves.  She dives into her research head first but she also is dealing with personal problems in her life too. 

Josephine is a slave girl from Virginia 1852.  This is where the story lacked, in my opinion. I felt like there could have been so much more written about Josephine and her life. I was left wanting more and feeling like I had been jipped. 

I don’t normally give bad reviews on books. My Mama always said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”  Well, my Mama read the book too and she suggested, since this book was Ms. Conklin’s first, that we send her a nice card…and tell her to stick with her day job…

Solution! Write a prequel only about Josephine, Ms. Tara Conklin. Now that would be awesome:)

That Book Mama