Category: A to Z Blogging Challenge

A to Z Blogging Challenge Book Reviews

Fandango’s Unofficial A to Z Blogging Challenge: Still trying to catch up…Book Titles: H

https://fivedotoh.com/2023/04/01/a-is-for-a-whiter-shade-of-pale/

My theme (well for at least right now that I think I can find enough books, will be Book Titles that I have read)

Book Titles: H

An Honest Deceit

An Honest Deceit Audiobook By Guy Mankowski cover art

If you have ever lost a child this is hard to listen to but the story itself is really well written and the perseverance of the parents is so true to life!

When Ben and Juliette’s young daughter dies in a tragic accident on a school trip, they begin searching for answers. But will they ever know the truth? What was the role of the teacher on the trip – and are the rumours about his past true? As Ben and Juliette search for the truth and the pressure rises, their own secrets and motivations are revealed…. An Honest Deceit is an intelligent and gripping contemporary psychological thriller that questions not just the motives of others, but the real reasons for discovering the truth. https://www.audible.com/pd/An-Honest-Deceit-Audiobook/B0743N2Z11

A to Z Blogging Challenge Book Reviews

Trying to catch up…Book Titles: G

https://fivedotoh.com/2023/04/01/a-is-for-a-whiter-shade-of-pale/

My theme (well for at least right now that I think I can find enough books, will be Book Titles that I have read)

Book Titles: G

The Grand Hotel

When a desk clerk welcomes a group of tourists into his mysterious and crumbling hotel, the last thing he expects is that a lone girl on his tour may hold the power to unravel the hidden mystery that has lain for untold centuries within the structure’s walls. https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Hotel-Novel-Scott-Kenemore/dp/1940456088

This was a really good book and I think the thing that got me first was the narrator’s voice. It was almost like one of the old sci-fi movies, like the Twilight Zone.

A to Z Blogging Challenge Book Reviews

Trying to catch up…Book Titles: F

https://fivedotoh.com/2023/04/01/a-is-for-a-whiter-shade-of-pale/

My theme (well for at least right now that I think I can find enough books, will be Book Titles that I have read)

Book Titles: F

Fantasticland

FantasticLand: A Novel

I gave this story 4 stars. It was a bit long to listen to and I don’t know about reading it from an actual text. I had higher expectations but I did feel compelled to complete the story to find out what happens. There are some really gory parts so if you get queasy it may not be the best for you.

In a world cut off from the internet, the employees of FantasticLand form rival tribes and fight for survival. But the cost of victory will be high, as chaos, violence and cannibalism take over.https://www.amazon.com/FantasticLand-Mike-Bockoven-audiobook/dp/B074PBM7LY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3C77IP58UWE30&keywords=Fantasticland&qid=1682001329&s=books&sprefix=fantasticland%2Cstripbooks%2C138&sr=1-1

A to Z Blogging Challenge Book Reviews

Trying to catch up…Book Titles: D

https://fivedotoh.com/2023/04/01/a-is-for-a-whiter-shade-of-pale/

My theme (well for at least right now that I think I can find enough books, will be Book Titles that I have read)

Book Titles: D

Dear Seraphina

Looking back I saw that I gave this story 5 stars. I can’t recall it but I am relistening to it and I remember why I liked it within the first five minutes!

Seraphina Bell is one of the youngest and brightest stars in Hollywood.

Jennifer Smith is middle-aged, broke, and working as a grocery store cashier in a small California town.

Jennifer is Seraphina’s biggest fan. She writes her letters constantly. Seraphina hasn’t written back yet, but that’s okay. Jennifer knows she will once Seraphina learns her secret — a secret that will change everything.

https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Seraphina-Novella-Avery-Bishop-ebook/dp/B09YJ5GG2S
A to Z Blogging Challenge Book Reviews

Trying to catch up…Book Titles: C

https://fivedotoh.com/2023/04/01/a-is-for-a-whiter-shade-of-pale/

My theme (well for at least right now that I think I can find enough books, will be Book Titles that I have read)

Book Titles: C

Cat & Vivian by Amanda Eyre Ward

I just finished listening to this and it was pretty good. Although you pretty much knew what happened the entire time it was like you were just waiting for the author to tell you how they concocted such a story. It wasn’t very long but I enjoyed it.

From Goodreads:

In this sharp and shocking mystery by the New York Times best-selling author of Reese Witherspoon/Hello Sunshine pick The Jetsetters and The Lifeguards, a woman visiting her grandmother–a retired, once-legendary PI–becomes entangled in a mystifying local disappearance case on the beautiful, remote islands outside Savannah, Georgia.

Vivian, a former reporter and a newlywed, doesn’t know what to do with herself after an incident with her husband forces her to question their partnership and her future. Yearning for the ocean air and a sense of home, she retreats to Tybee Island to clear her head and visit her Nana, a retired PI who now struggles with dementia.

The phone rings: Catherine Grant, a housewife living in a private development nearby, woke up to find her husband and their baby girl missing, and she is desperate for help. Guided by all the wisdom her grandmother has instilled in her over the years, Vivian falls headfirst into this complicated case that will prove one of Nana’s favorite principles: In order to understand the present, you must examine the past.

A to Z Blogging Challenge Blog Education

Blogging A to Z April Challenge: Z 04/30/2020

Zeal for learning: how to make it happen

This is my last official post for Blogging A to Z in April.

Not everyone thinks learning is fun.
Not everyone has knowledge of everything.
Everyone CAN learn.

Kids nowadays have so much technology and other activities that learning seems like a chore. As adults it is our responsibility to show them that everything we know is “stuff” we learned. It is also important to emphasize that even as adults we are still learning. Kids need to see that we want to learn because there is always something new to learn. And learning can both bring enjoyment and be enjoyable.

For those kids who struggle academically, they also need to be taught that people do learn at different rates and although their best friend may have learned something quickly, that does not mean to give up. It means to keep going and things do take longer sometimes.

Some things to think about – why many kids don’t like “to learn”

  1. It is hard!
  2. It takes a long time!
  3. Nothing is automatic
  4. Sometimes there are a lot of steps to get to one conclusion.
  5. Sometimes you make a mistake and have to redo things, but that’s okay.
  6. Everyone learns differently. Some auditorily, by listening to instructions, while others learn visually, by watching someone do something. There are kinesthetic learners who learn best doing things hands-on. Then of course there are the majority of people who have some sort of combination. The key: FIND YOUR STRENGTHS!
  7. Sometimes the things you are asked to learn seem like they have no point to them. This occurs a lot in math. But, it is all about building blocks. Everything you learn builds to new skills. Mastering a skill means the next time you advance, you already have the beginning skills!
  8. Sometimes things are boring.

There are a few points to emphasize…

  1. Every bit of knowledge you have is a bit more than you had. It is all worth it.
  2. Working hard helps make some things easier in the long run.
  3. Learning new things opens your eyes to things you may learn to love, that you never even knew about.

Staying as positive as possible is also a plus. Don’t ever make your child feel like they are “dumb” because they are having trouble. Don’t assume slow growth is “lazy”. And sometimes silliness is a way to mask embarassment.
No one should be embarrassed to ask for help!

Contact me if you have any questions or concerns or would like to share your experience.

A to Z Blogging Challenge Blog Education

Blogging A to Z April Challenge: Y 04/29/2020

You can learn anything

No one is born into this world knowing things. It is with experience and education that we can grow our knowledge base, whether about the world or a more specific topic.

When students, who typically struggle with academics, start a new school year or start a class with a new teacher, they think back to their learning in the past and determine how they will do for the future. What is not told to so many young people is that everyone has to learn. There is practically nothing that people know because they were born with it.

To clarify, students don’t always understand that learning occurs constantly and builds upon itself. For students with behaviors, as those are the ones I have most experience with, they have a lot of missing information, gaps in learning, due to previous behaviors or the inability to remain focused in the classroom. They HAVE to be told that the gaps can be filled in and learning CAN proceed. This unfortunately is why students, who are behind, stay behind, because the thought of having to learn everything they missed is immeasurable, in their minds.

What is the point?

  1. Everyone can learn: It may not be to the same capacity as others or about the same things others may learn, but any new information is learning!
  2. Don’t give up because of gaps: There are faster ways to fill in missing gaps in learning. There are ways that you can work around deficiencies, so as to grow as a learner.
  3. Everyone learns differently: Just because someone else in your class doesn’t seem to even pay attention, but learns anyway, it isn’t because they just have the knowledge, it’s just that they don’t show their learning in the same way.
  4. Learn on your own: learning doesn’t have to be about worksheets and school lessons. The more you try to learn the more you grow academically. This can be in the form of a magazine article or a youtube video.
  5. Remember that knowledge brings a sort of confidence to a person: The more you learn the better you feel about yourself. The better you feel about yourself, the more motivated you will to continue learning.

Keep a positive attitude and let students know that learning takes time and effort, nothing comes for free.