Make a Dent in Your Reading Pile

  By John Rea-Hedrick | November 8, 2012 - 12:56 pm |
9 Comments

Reading PileI have a confession to make.  Until a few years ago…
I didn’t like to read.

In school, I often stressed over long reading assignments and I rarely ever read for pleasure.  Why?  Because I was a slow reader.

For me, slow reading had nothing to do with any difficulty decoding writing.  I actually learned to read quite early, and I never particularly struggled with the mechanics of the process.  I also didn’t have any problems with reading comprehension.  I made the Honor Roll nearly every semester and I graduated college with a 3.42 GPA.  It was just that reading just always seemed to take me SO MUCH TIME.  I felt secretly embarrassed ashamed that others could do the same about of reading I did in half the time.

This simple 3:36 instructional video changed everything.

It turns out my problem was that I had somehow learned the habit of reading at a speaking pace.  I would actually “say” the words in my head as I read them.  I never recognized I was doing it, and I didn’t know that most people (apparently) don’t.  I was not only able to break my slow reading habit, but I learned some excellent techniques for improving my reading overall.  What a difference!

As a reader and as a writer this has been one of the most valuable pieces of self-improvement I’ve ever done.

I now have stacks of titles in my “to be read” pile that I’m happily looking forward to reading.  Even if you’re comfortable with your own reading pace, I’d encourage you to consider investing the few minutes of your time to watch this video.

You may be surprised by the result.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

More DIY videos at 5min.com

Healthy Halloween Treats For Kids…With Vodka?

  By John Rea-Hedrick | October 21, 2012 - 7:51 pm |
3 Comments


I found this recipe in my local paper recently. It’s for making a healthy Halloween snack for kids. While reading through the steps I found something quite interesting.

(It’s quite possible someone needs a proofreader.)

Healthy Kids' Halloween Treats...with Vodka?

Nevertheless, It’s got me wondering which way is healthier: vodka in, or vodka out…whether your kids are “using” or not.

 

Tom Sawyer: Presented by CYT Indy

  By John Rea-Hedrick | October 8, 2012 - 8:43 am |
5 Comments

Tom SawyerMark Twain’s classic story comes to exuberant musical life in this Broadway adaptation of America’s favorite book. The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer is the irresistible story of a fourteen-year-old boy growing up in the heartland of America. This Broadway musical version of Mark Twain’s immortal novel is set in 1840 in St. Petersburg, Missouri, a bustling town on the banks of the Mississippi River. In the course of the story, Tom matches wits with his stern Aunt Polly, falls in love with the beautiful, feisty Becky Thatcher, and goes on the adventure of his life with Becky and that irresistible renegade, Huckleberry Finn. Along the way we meet a terrifying villain named Injun Joe, Tom’s bratty half-brother Sid, and all the other boys and girls in the village – providing one scene-stealing children’s role after the other.

Come see this classic tale! Great for Class Field Trips!

***********************************************

Okay, so why exactly am I posting something about Tom Sawyer?  Because ALL MY KIDS ARE IN IT!!!  And because tickets are on sale now. :)

Seriously, CYT has been around since 1981 and has become the largest children’s theater organization in the country.  They’ve recently launched a south-side Indianapolis campus and “Tom Sawyer” will be their first full-scale theater production.  We’re not big into sports at my house.  We’re more a part of the arts and theater crowd when it comes to extracurricular activity.  All four of my children braved the audition process.  Since my wife, Kyrmen, is the Assistant Director, she wasn’t allowed to be present when they auditioned.  Based on their auditions, they made it to callbacks and were all cast in the show!  This is a really big deal for us.

Everyone has been working really hard on this performance from the CYT staff, to the parents, and especially all 32 of the children.  They’ll be doing six (that’s right) SIX shows at the spectacular Franklin Performing Arts Center in Franklin, Indiana.  So, if you live in the central or south-central Indiana area (or are willing to drive anywhere for some great children’s theater!) please consider coming to one of our shows.  You won’t be sorry.

I’ve posted ticket prices and show times below along with a handy button that will take you right to the CYT website to reserve seats.  Incidentally, if you decide to buy tickets in advance on-line, you’ll be asked to choose a cast member’s name for the ticket referral. Please choose “Kidron Rea-Hedrick“.  Thanks!

My children have been cast in the following roles:

Performance Details:

SHOW TIMES: Thursday, Nov 15th – 9:30am & 12:00pm
Friday, Nov 16th – 7:00pm
Saturday, Nov 17th – 2:00pm & 7:00pm
Sunday, Nov 18th – 2:00pm
VENUE: Franklin Performing Arts Center
2600 Cumberland Drive
Franklin, IN 46131
(click here for a map)
PRICES: $11 – Individual Online
$13 – At-the-Door Price
$9 – Group Discount (10 ticket minimum)
$9 – Child Discount (Age Limit: 19)
$9 – Student Discount (ID Required)
$9 – Senior Discount (Age Minimum: 65)

Tom Sawyer

Leave a comment or drop me an email me if you’re thinking about coming!

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

  By John Rea-Hedrick | September 20, 2012 - 1:50 am | ,
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The Robber Bride by Margaret AtwoodThe Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 3 of 5 stars.

The writing is excellent, and Ms. Atwood’s gorgeous prose is both riveting and insightful. Even so, I have to own after 528 pages where the men in the novel (the heterosexual men, anyway) are portrayed covering the gamut of nearly every imaginable negative male stereotype, I came away feeling like I’d seriously had the crap kicked out of me.

Actually, I do seem to recall the brief appearance of a male cook from Roz’s childhood who didn’t seem too bad. Unfortunately, I suspect this might have been because he simply wasn’t in the story long enough for his latent, negative characteristics to surface. *sigh*

I have to wonder, as deliciously clever as this story is, and deftly as Ms. Atwood wields the wicked Zenia in her attempt to demolish the lives of Tony, Charis and Roz, was it really necessary to portray EVERY man in the book in the worst possible light?  This certainly suggests the tone of someone with an axe to grind.

While The Robber Bride seems to go out of its way to necessarily portray men as abusive, unfaithful, hapless, weak-minded and over-sexed so they be used as the tools in Zenia’s arsenal to undo the novel’s three heroines.  But if you can destroy a woman by destroying the men in their lives what does this then say about women?  It stands to reason, based on the plot, that woman are the most vulnerable where men are concerned.  But why should that be?  Are we to think ultimately then it’s men who make a women who they are?  Take away the man and you take away who the woman is?

No, I don’t think so.

It seems to me, despite the brilliance of the writing, the unintended consequence of the novel’s negative portrayal of men is that women end up taking a beating too.

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Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

  By John Rea-Hedrick | September 13, 2012 - 6:03 pm | ,
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Unbroken by Laura HillenbrandUnbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

My rating: 5 of 5 stars!

I don’t read very much non-fiction (for pleasure anyway), but this book was recommended to me by a friend.  So, I decided to give it a try. Written by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit, Unbroken reads more like a novel than some novels I’ve read. This one had me at the Preface.

Unbroken is the story of Louis Zamperini; a reckless boy turned Olympic hopeful, an Olympic hopeful turned WWII bombardier, a WWII bombardier turned POW, a POW (eventually) turned civilian and a troubled civilian desperately in search of peace after the war.

Honest and unflinching, I kept having to stop and close my eyes just so I could try to process what I was reading. Louie’s (and those of the other South Pacific POWs) is an incredible story of endurance and survival in the face of unimaginable suffering, but it’s also a story of hope and forgiveness, and of the true, life-sustaining power of human dignity.

I highly recommend it.

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Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

  By John Rea-Hedrick | May 14, 2012 - 5:26 pm | ,
3 Comments

Okay for Now by Gary D. SchmidtOkay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars!

This may well be the best book I’ve listened to this year.
(Although honestly the title and the cover still baffle me.)

Set against a back drop of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, this coming of age story will have you rooting for Doug Swieteck from the very start.

It’s Doug’s voice that gives this story both its charm and its unexpected power. No self-pity. No angst. He’s just a troubled 14-year-old junior high school boy from a troubled home, trying to make his way in a new town and a new school. His simple acceptanace of the way things are compelled me to WANT things to change for him for the better.

After an unplanned visit to the local public library, Doug is captivated by the beauty of several [art print] plates of John James Audubon’s Birds of America. It’s through his study of these plates that Doug discovers not only an unexpected talent for art, but a new way of understanding his own life through the paintings themselves which become a powerful theme running throughout the book.

This is one story I absolutely did not want to see come to an end.

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Jennifer Egan: Authors at Google

  By John Rea-Hedrick | April 20, 2012 - 4:35 pm |
1 Comment

(From Authors at Google on March 27th, 2012)

Jennifer Egan talks about her 2011 Pulitzer prize winning novel:
“A Visit from the Goon Squad”.

I love how honestly and candidly she talks about her writing, what works and what doesn’t, and about the rules she establishes for herself as she begins each new project.

I had the pleasure of listening to The Keep on audio in 2010 and then A Visit from the Goon Squad in 2011. I’m currently listening to Look At Me (finalist for the 2001 National Book Award).  Jennifer’s writing is razor sharp, and her perception about what drives people to be who they are and to do what they do always feels spot-on.

If you aren’t yet familiar with Jennifer Egan’s novels or her short stories, I highly recommend taking a closer look.  After you do, I’d love to know what you think.

Reason #43 Why I Love Dan Fogelberg

  By John Rea-Hedrick | April 10, 2012 - 4:45 pm |
3 Comments

Dan Fogelberg Nether Lands
From Dan Fogelberg’s fourth album,
Nether Lands, released in 1977.

Many writers have a variety playlists for each of their WIPs.  Some even for each chapter.  Not me.  For me, Dan Fogelberg is ALWAYS my writing music of choice.

I mean, who even writes songs like this anymore???  This is the kind of music that never fails to make me feel alive.  #love

Nether Lands

High on this mountain
The clouds down below
I`m feeling so strong and alive.
From this rocky perch
I`ll continue to search
For the wind
And the snow
And the sky.
I want a lover,
I want some friends,
And I want to live in the sun.
And I want to do all the things that I
never have done.

Sunny bright mornings
And pale moonlit nights
Keep me from feeling alone.
Now, I`m learning to fly
And this freedom is like
Nothing that I`ve ever known.
I`ve seen the bottom
And I`ve been on top
But mostly I`ve lived in between,
And where do you go
When you get to the end of
your dream?

Off in the nether lands
I heard a sound
Like the beating of heavenly wings.
And deep in my brain
I can hear a refrain
Of my soul as she rises and sings.
Anthems to glory and
Anthems to love and
Hymns filled with Earthly delight,
Like the songs that the darkness
Composes to worship the light.

Once in a vision
I came on some woods
And stood at a fork in the road.
My choices were clear
Yet I froze with the fear
Of not knowing which way to go.
One road was simple;
Acceptance of life.
The other road offered sweet peace
When I made my decision
My vision became my release.

~ Dan Fogelberg

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

  By John Rea-Hedrick | April 9, 2012 - 4:57 pm | , ,
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Cinder by Marissa MeyerCinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars!

If you like Science Fiction and classic fairy tales, read this book!

Cinder is one of the most interesting characters I’ve read in a while. Unlike her fairy tale counterpart (Cinderella), Cinder is smart, brave, not helpless, and lots of common sense.  I liked her immediately.  Cinder also has a fantastic voice that drew me in and kept me wanting to know what would happen to her.

Set on Earth in the post-WWIV future, the story takes place in New Beijing, the plague-ridden capital of the new Eastern Commonwealth.  Make no mistake, this isn’t another futuristic dystopian fantasy; this story is pure Science Fiction where cyborgs, androids and netlinks abound!

While there are places the writing could have gone much deeper into world-building: fleshing out the intricacies of this new futuristic society, its complicated politics, its culture, etc., I for one appreciated Ms. Meyer’s light touch.  Even so, there’s plenty of world-building here to set the appropriate tone for a story that has real emotional power.

Initially, I simply enjoyed the clever ways Cinder mirrors the classic elements of the original Cinderella fairy tale (no spoilers), but the deeper I got into the story, the more I appreciated how much work went in to crafting this unique retelling.  Although the novel uses the well-known Cinderella tale to organize the high-level plot structure, the story that unfolds from there is nothing like what you might expect and still manages to hold some delightful surprises!

I read a lot in the young adult space and I’m always on the lookout for a well written story I’d feel comfortable in recommending to my 14-year-old daughter, who loves both classic literature and classic fairy tales.  Cinder is one book recommendation I’d happily pass along.

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