Category: Mary Waibel (Page 2 of 5)

September #InkRipples: Celebrating Banned Books

September 5, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

Banned Books Week is coming up at the end of the month, so we thought it would be cool to talk about banned books for September #InkRipples. The American Library Association put together a video about the ten most challenged books in 2015 (their Banned & Challenged Books website has a ton of resources for parents, teachers, librarians, and book lovers).

It’s kind of strange that we have a week to recognize these books, that we need a week to do that. Let people read what they to read. Read things out of your comfort zone and learn something new or take in a new perspective. Monitor what your kids read and be ready to talk about the issues that might come up as a result. But don’t ban books or protest them. Just because something might make you uncomfortable, doesn’t mean there is something wrong with it. Check yourself, maybe it’s you that needs to be rethought.

Early on in my blogging days, I scoured my house to find all the banned and challenged books I owned. Then I draped myself in them and took a picture (you can see the original post here). I also talked about one of my favorite banned books THE GIVER by Lois Lowry. It’s been quite some time since I’ve read that one; I might have to pick it up this fall. What are some of your favorite banned/challenged books?

#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Katie L. Carroll, Mary Waibel, and Kai Strand. We pick a topic (September is all about banned books), drop a ripple in the inkwell (i.e. write about it on our blogs), and see where the conversation goes. Be sure to check out Kai’s and Mary’s posts this month. We’d love to have you join in the conversation on your own blogs or on your social media page. Full details and each month’s topic can be found on my #InkRipples page.

February #InkRipples: The Magic of Chocolate

February 1, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

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Every month when it’s time to start thinking about the new #InkRipples topic, I say to myself, “You are not going to write about books,” and then I end up somehow connecting the topic back to books. And February’s topic of chocolate is no exception.

It’s not my fault. See writers are infamous for turning to chocolate in dark times (say when we’re working through a tough revision, or are facing chocolate-183543_1920 writer’s block, or are afraid to look at our inboxes because of an influx of rejections). It’s bound to turn up in our writing.

Whenever I think of chocolate in books, I think of J.K. Rowling’s masterful use of it in the Harry Potter series (really, is there anything that woman is not masterful at?!). There is no shortage of pieces written about chocolate in Harry Potter, from the Harry Potter Wiki page to the Pottermore website itself. In short, chocolate is used to used to ward off the depressive effects of Dementors. But it’s also used for fun, with the many magical confections Rowling invents for wizards (care for a Chocolate Frog, anyone?).

Chocolate is actually a pretty magical food, even for us muggles. Dark chocolate in particular acts as a mood booster, is an anti-inflammatory, is full of antioxidants, and is fiber-rich (see “10 Ways Giving In To That Chocolate Craving Can Benefit Your Health”).

I guess what I’m trying to say is please send me all the chocolate!

#InkRipplesblueandgreen #InkRipples is a monthly meme created by me, Mary Waibel, andKai Strand. We pick a topic (February is all about chocolate), drop a ripple in the inkwell (i.e. write about it on our blogs), and see where the conversation goes. Be sure to check out Kai’s and Mary’s posts this month. We’d love to have you join in the conversation on your own blogs. Full details and each month’s topic can be found on my #InkRipples page.

January #InkRipples: Traveling the World and Beyond

January 4, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

You’d probably believe me if I told you that in the last year, I’ve traveled to Waterbury, CT, several towns in upstate New York, New Orleans, and the Biltmore estate in North Carolina. You’d have no reason to doubt me if I said my travels included a small town in middle America full of cornfields or if I mentioned visiting Hawaii.

But what if I said I’ve also been to an empire inspired by Ancient Rome, several planets in distant galaxies, and a kingdom full of dragons that can take human form (twice!)? And that is only a handful of the many, many places I’ve been. Now you might be starting to question my honesty, or possibly my sanity. I can assure you, however, that I have been to all of these places.

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You want to know how? Books! (Just in case all the book covers above didn’t tip you off to what I was talking about.) 😉

With two kids under the age of five, my days of wandering the bookstores of London, swimming with the sharks in Tahitian waters, and running marathons in Alaska (all things I’ve done in the flesh) are currently limited. For now I have to rely on my imagination to take me places.

And you know what? I’m kind of okay with that. I love traveling to new places and old favorites, and I’m sure I’ll get back on an airplane one of these days. For now I’ll content myself with cracking open (or writing) a new story because I can travel anywhere in between the pages of a book!

Interested in seeing what I’ve read this year? Check out My Year in Books on Goodreads. Where did your favorite books take you in 2015?

#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by me, Mary Waibel, and Kai Strand. We pick a topic (January is all about travel), drop a ripple in the inkwell (i.e. write about it on our blogs), and see where the conversation goes. Be sure to check out Kai’s and Mary’s posts this month. We’d love to have you join in the conversation on your own blogs. Full details and each month’s topic can be found on my #InkRipples page.

December #InkRipples Celebration and Gifts

December 14, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

Before I get to the month’s post, I wanted to share a few things about #InkRipples. Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and I have decided to continue the meme into 2016, and we’d love for you all to join us (I’ll tell you how below)! You may have noticed we have a new streamlined name of #InkRipples (formerly Ripples in the Inkwell) and brand new images to go along with it.

We also have a new set of monthly topics for discussion in 2016:

January – Travel
#InkRipples February – Chocolate
March – Feminism
April – Poetry
May – Memories
June – Movies
July – Inspiration
August – Guilty Pleasures
September – Banned Books
October – Masks
November – Heritage
December – Cookies

How can you participate? Glad you asked because there are lots of ways. The idea of #InkRipples is to toss a word, idea, image, whatever into the inkwell and see what kind of ripples it makes. We provide the topics and will be blogging about them on the first Monday of the month. You can spread your own ripples by blogging about the topic any day of the month that fits your schedule, just be sure to include links back to the three of us please (Katie – https://katielcarroll.com/blog/, Kai – http://kaistrand.blogspot.com/, and Mary – http://waibelworld.blogspot.com/). Or you can simply share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag (#InkRipples). Or even just comment on one of our posts. Tag us and we’re always happy to share your posts and thoughts to keep those ripples going and intersecting.

There is no wrong way to do #InkRipples (with the exception of following basic human decency!). It’s about having a conversation, sharing ideas, and connecting. So if this sounds at all interesting, please do participate in whatever way you can. And feel free to use any of the meme’s images (created by the wonderful Mary Waibel). I’ll include them all at the end of the post.

Now for the last #InkRipples of 2015: Celebration and Gifts

I’m always a little reluctant to admit that I’m not very religious (I guess because I feel like people will judge me for it). My husband and I both come from Catholic families, but we don’t practice it ourselves any longer. We’ve always celebrated Christmas, but it’s more about spending time with our families than a specific religious tradition.

Now that we have kids, I’m struggling to figure out how to make the holiday about more than giving and receiving presents, and Santa. I suppose we could discuss Jesus and how he was an important man and what he stood for (because we do emphasize Christian philosophies with the boys, even if we don’t tie them to religion per se), and that Christmas is his “birthday” and that’s why we celebrate. I’m not sure how meaningful that will be to them, though.

Thinking about this has made me wonder what Christmas means to me. Family, first and foremost. Most things for me come down to family. But what else? Is there more? Should there be more? A spirit of giving perhaps. Something beyond that. A spirit of generosity and goodwill toward others…which is something that we try to instill in our boys all the time, not just at the holidays. So maybe not that in and of itself.

I think I need to ponder it some more for myself before I can guide the boys in the right direction. How can I help them understand what Christmas is about if I’m not sure? Maybe they’ll come to have their own meaning of Christmas as they grow.

Anyway, this is just me thinking out loud. I guess for now I’ll muddle through it as best I can (which seems to be how it is with most of these big parenting type subjects!). What do the holidays mean to you and your families?

(And here are the #InkRipples images you may use!)

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November Ripples in the Inkwell: Where Did My Memory Go?

November 9, 2015 / Katie L. Carroll

November’s Ink Ripples topic is remembrance/thankfulness, and I’m taking up the latter for my post this month. I have a really good memory, at least I did until I had kids. I had heard that being a mom messes with your ability to remember stuff, but man, I didn’t expect it to mess with me so badly.

I am now the type of person who needs to keep lists in order to remember anything, like anything at all. And all those precious moments of the kiddos that at the time I thought I could never, ever forget…yeah, if I don’t have a picture of it or if I didn’t write it down, it’s gone…forever!

I’m not sure what it is about motherhood that has fried my brain. Maybe it’s the lack of sleep. Maybe it’s because I primarily hang out with little ones who have the attention span of, well, a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old and it’s rubbing off on me. Maybe it’s that I’m now keeping track of two other people and have to remember all their stuff for them.

Did so-and-so go to the bathroom lately? Did we brush teeth this morning? Who needs to get dressed today (probably me!)? Is it bath night? Who has a doctor appointment this month? And now that The Boy is in school, there are a whole slew of other things to keep track of. Pretty much the only thing we never forget is eating. No one forgets to eat around here!

I’m told that eventually my brain will regain its former glory of being able to remember something for more than five seconds. I’m skeptical but hopeful…

Wait, what was I talking about again?

Inkwell meme green Have you joined the #inkripples movement yet? Ripples in the Inkwell is a monthly meme created by Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and Katie L. Carroll(me!). On the second Monday of each month, we post on a particular topic. The idea is that we toss a word, idea, or image into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There’s no wrong way to do it and we’d love for you to participate (full details here). Be sure to provide a link to your own #inkripple in the comments! Look for details on next year’s ink ripples topics in December!