So remember that last post I did about 2010 reading challenges? Well after that post a lot of bloggers decided they were going to start their own challenges and guess what? I signed up! Yay! Before I talk about the newest challenges I’ve joined, let’s talk about the reading lists. WARNING: this post is long but hopefully entertaining.
Bibliofreak has made a new blog dedicated to her World Religion Challenge that starts next year. I’ve signed up for the Universalist path, so I’m reading as many books as I can about as many spiritual paths as I want. My list:
Hinduism Hinduism: A Beginner’s Guide by Klaus K. Klostermaier My Family and Other Saints by Kirin Narayan Essential Hinduism – Steven Rosen
Judaism The Talmud and the Internet – Jonathon Rosen Finding God in the Garden – Balfour Brickner Living Judaism – Wayne Dosick
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality – J. Brett Bill Quaker Spirituality: Selected Writings Plain Living: A Quaker Path to Simplicity – Catherine Whitmire
Islam No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam- Reza Aslan
Wicca The Pagan Book of Living and Dying - Starhawk
Buddhism Razor-Wire Dharma: A Buddhist Life in Prison – Calvin Malone (memoir)
Unitarianism Universalism The A to Z of Unitarian Universalism – Mark W. Harris
Mythology Don’t Know Much about Mythology – Kenneth C. Davis
Shinto A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine – John K. Nelson
Sufism The Gift – Hafiz (poetry) Sufism: A Beginner’s Guide – William C. Chittick
Comparative Religion/Spirituality God: stories edited by C. Michael Curtis Best American Spiritual Writing (various years) The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World edited by Bob Abernathy
I also signed up for the GLBT reading challenge hosted by Amanda from The Zen Leaf. I’m planning to read at least four books. Some of the authors I’m looking forward to reading are:
Sara Teasdale
Langston Hughes
W.H. Auden
Dorothy Allison
John Cheever
Patricia Highsmith
Tennessee Williams
Jeanette Winterson
Rita Mae Brown
Edna St. Vincent-Millay
Ellis Avery
Audre Lorde
Sarah Waters
Aarti over at Book Lust is hosting the Flashback Challenge! I cannot wait to start this re-read challenge. I’m signing up for the Literari level, which is to re-read six books. I have a ton of books on my shelves that I would love to get to, so I’m hoping to re-read more than six.
The TwentyTen challenge hosted by Darren over at Bart’s Bookshelves. Participants are to read two books from ten categories for a total of twenty books. The ten categories: young adult, tbr, shiny and new, bad bloggers, charity, new in 2010, older than you, and who are you again?. For the last category particpants choose the theme and I’m going with prize-winning books.
The brilliant Lu over at Regular Ruminations is hosting the VPR challenge. It’s a poetry challenge. I don’t read poetry as much as I want to outside of school, so I’ve signed up. I plan on reading at least two volumes of poetry.
Okay. So those are the rest of the challenges I’m signed up for in 2010. Have you added any more challenges to your list for next year?
The Creative Habit: Learn it and use it for life (2003)
Twyla Tharp
245 pages
I read The Creative Habit a few weeks ago and have been meaning to write something about this wonderful book.
I usually don’t read books about creativity and creative thinking. I prefer to read about the writing and reading experiences of others, but after reading about this book on another blog, I wanted to give it a try. Being a mom and a student, I sometimes feel like I need something different in my life. The Creative Habit gave me many ideas to use in not just my everyday life, but also when I blog.
The Creative Habit is choreographer Tharp’s manifesto on creativity. Divided into twelve chapters, each chapter deals with a different aspect of creativity and ends with exercises the author suggests readers use. Her topics range from finding a ritual to the different types of memory, from what a good idea looks like to being in a rut and failures. This isn’t a book designed just for artists but for everyone. One of the most surprising things I read is when Tharp talks about creativity being a habit, a discipline.
Turning something into a ritual eliminates the question, Why am I doing this? . . .The ritual erases the question of whether or not I like it. It’s also a friendly reminder I’m doing the right thing. (I’ve done it before. It was good. I’ll do it again.) We all have rituals in our day, whether we’re aware of them or not.
It made me realize that one of my morning rituals is to make a pot of coffee before I do anything else. Once it’s made I can sit down and do what is that’s needed for the day. Making a pot of coffee is my start to conquering the world around me.
I also noticed that throughout the book Tharp stresses that what works for one person may not work for another. There were exercises and suggestions that I took notes on and many that I didn’t bother with. I was talking about this book on Twitter with a fellow blogger when she stated that the number of physical exercises turned her off. I thought about that. There are exercises that involve the physical movement of the body. I’m not really a physical person though I understand that as a former dancer Tharp is. So those exercises I wasn’t really looking at.
My favorite chapter is definitely the chapter on “scratching”.
You can’t just dance or paint or write or sculpt. Those are just verbs. You need a tangible idea to get you going. The idea, however minuscule, is what turns the verb into a noun-paint into a painting, sculpt into sculpture, write into writing, dance into a dance.
Don’t you just love that? Scratching is a way of finding ideas to fuel your creativity. You can scratch by going through books or visiting different stores, by taking a walk, having a conversation, or traveling. Included in the chapter is tips to keep generating new ideas.
One of my favorite exercises from the book is entitled “reading archaelogically”. In the exercise, Tharp writes why she reads and various ways she read. One example is her suggestion to readers to conduct their own reading dig. A reading dig is when you take an author or subject and starting with the most recent of texts, read your way backwards to older texts. Along the way you take note of recurring themes and style, learning as you go.
Overall I had a great time reading this book. It gave me a lot of ideas when it comes to blogging and I’m glad I read it. Highly recommended.
This week my children had some hits and misses with a lot of the books we checked out from the library. Or should I say books that I checked out from the library? As any mother knows, some days it’s just easier to go to the library without the kids. I had a ton of books on hold for them and picked up a few. This week the kids read:
Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly (2007)
Written by Alan Madison.
Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
40 pages
Don’t you just love the cover? Velma is the youngest Gratch. While her sisters, Frieda and Fiona, are remembered by their former teachers and the school principal, no one remembers Velma. She just doesn’t stand out. But when her first grade teacher introduces Velma’s class to the world of science and particularly butterflies, Velma finds her place and shines.
Sleeping Ugly (1975)
Written by Jane Yolen
67 pages
Jane Yolen is one of my favorite authors! In the story, Plain Jane is Sleeping Ugly, a girl who is patient and kind.Sleeping Beauty is the spoiled princess, Princess Miserella, who gets lost in the woods, kicks a fairy godmother, and demands that Plain Jane takes her home to the castle. What Princess Miserella doesn’t count on is the fairy godmother having a temper. The result is a funny tale about how kindness is so important.
Beware of Boys (1991)
Tony Blundell
32 pages
When the big bad wolf catches a little boy in the woods, the wolf just knows that he’s about to have dinner. But when the little boy helps the wolf by giving his the recipe for boy soup, the wolf travels everywhere to get the ingredients. Will the wolf ever get a chance to make boy soup?
I Need my Monster (2009)
Written by Amanda Noll
Illustrated by Howard McWilliam
When Ethan decides to go to bed one night, he finds the monster that lives under his bed, Gabe, has gone fishing for a week. Substitute monsters come and try to fill Gabe’s spot but none of them are like Gabe. Ethan wonders if he’ll ever get to sleep without his monster.This book was a great twist to the typical “monster under the bed” story.
So that’s just a few of the books we’ve read this week. What are your children reading this week?
The Mind-Body Problem (2009)
Katha Pollitt
96 pages
Last week as I was browsing through my local library, I came across Katha Pollitt’s latest work, a volume of poetry entitled The Mind-Body Problem. So far this poem is my favorite,
The Mind-Body Problem
When I think of my youth I feel sorry not for myself
but for my body. It was so direct
and simple, so rational in its desires,
wanting to be touched the way an otter
loves water, the way a giraffe
wants to amble the edge of the forest, nuzzling
the tender leaves at the tops of the trees. It seems
unfair, somehow, that my body had to suffer
because I, by which I mean my mind, was saddled
with certain unfortunate high-minded romantic notions
that made me tyrannize and patronize it
like a cruel medieval baron, or an ambitious
English-professor husband ashamed of his wife-
her love of sad movies, her budget casseroles
and regional vowels. Perhaps
my body would have liked to make some of our dates,
to come home at four in the morning and answer my scowl
with “None of your business!” Perhaps
it would have liked more presents: silks, mascaras.
If we had had a more democratic arrangment
we might even have come, despite our different backgrounds,
to a grudging respect for each other, like Tony Curtis
and Sidney Poitier fleeing handcuffed together,
instead of the current curious shift of power
in which I find I am being reluctantly
dragged along by my body as though by some
swift and powerful dog. How eagerly
it plunges ahead, not stopping for anything,
as though it knows exactly where we are going.
I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since the last time I posted. During the mini-readathon I didn’t get as much read as I wanted to. I ended up reading the graphic novel Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry. I need to reread it before I write a review but it was an excellent read about a detective nicknamed the “Heartbreaker” and the suicide case he’s working on.
I also read Faith, Hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. It’s a Cybils nominee and I can definitely see why. The book chronicles the lives of two girls from very different classes and the month they spend with each other. I also learned a lot about mining and life in the Appalachian mountains.
Love that Dog was also a reading knockout. Love that Dog is about a young boy who has to write poetry in his notebook for a class. It’s a smart, really funny book that includes classic poems from William Carlos Williams, Walter Dean Myers, and Robert Frost. After I finished it, I started reading it to one of my nine year-old sisters and she’s enjoying it.
Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory is the last book I read. It’s a memoir in graphic novel format about Gregory’s life after his wife became paralyzed from the waist down in a subway accident. Gregory started drawing after that and the book is his story. It was nice and had a few pages I loved, but close to the end of the book I didn’t feel like reading it any longer and stopped. I just stopped caring. It’s a short book at 110 pages long.
On Twitter today one of the many discussions were upcoming reading challenges for next year. I’m a big fan of challenges though I rarely ever finish them. I love learning about new books, making a reading list, and also reading everyone else’s lists too! Already 2010 seems to be the year of the book challenges. There are so many challenges that start in 2010 or end that year. Here are a few of the challenges I’m looking forward to:
Eva, Aarti, and Wordlily’s Women Unbound Challenge. This challenge has already started but I’m glad I’m participating. Dedicated to women’s studies, this is definitely one of the most talked about challenges in the blogisphere.
Shelf Discovery. Hosted by Bookingmama. This challenge is definitely taking me back to my childhood.
Upcoming Challenges
Thankfully Reading Weekend. This challenge runs from Friday, November 27, 2009 to Sunday, November 29, 2009. There’s no prizes or rules. There’s just the joy of reading.
The lovely Michelle over at Galleysmith is hosting a “SeriesPalooza“. Starting December 14, 2009 until December 20, 2009. The goal is to only read books in a series. Michelle is also planning on having prizes. I plan on reading books by Scott Westerfeld, Jim Butcher, and Patrick Ness.
During Christmas break there will be a Book a Day reading challenge. Hosted by Haley at The Infinite Life. The goal is one book each day of Christmas break from December 14 to December 28, 2009. I did a personal challenge like this last year and can’t wait to do it again this year.
Terry Pratchett Reading Challenge. Hosted by Marg at Reading Adventures and runs throughout 2010. I plan on reading three books and already have them picked out. Pratchett is a writer I’m read great things but whose books I’ve never picked up. I plan on reading Equal Rites; Wyrd Sisters; and Witches Abroad.
Becky’s Young Readers Challenge. This is one of my favorite challenges and I’m glad it’s coming back again. The goal is to read 12 children’s books.
Bibliofreak is hosting the World Religion Challenge. The challenge runs throughout 2010. I plan on reading as much of any religion as I like.
Last but not least in this post is the South Asian Author Challenge hosted by S. Krishna. Running throughout the year, the goal is to read a certain number of books by South Asian authors. Books also need to be about South Asia. The authors I picked for this list: Chitra Divakaruni, Monica Ali, Kamila Shamsi, Jhumpa Lahiri, Shaila Abdullah, and Mohsin Hamid.
I’m also looking forward to the Flashback Challenge (re-reading), GLBT, and Essay Reading Challenges but I’ll talk about them next time. What challenges are you looking forward to next year?
Two weeks ago Marie at Boston Bibliophile had a mini-readathon where she read only graphic novels. It sounded like so much fun I asked her did she want to do another mini-readathon with me. She agreed so today she and I are having a mini-readathon. Our goal is to read short novels for 12 hours today to make a dent into our growing book piles. Originally I was supposed to start at 9 a.m. but insomnia hit in the early morning hours, so I’ve already finished one book, the graphic novel Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry which I enjoyed. Currently I’m reading Faith, Hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.
This is the rest of the stack for today. (My desk is a little messy!)
In my stack:
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Awesome by Jack Pendarvis
Sprout by Dale Peck
The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engel
Rex Libris: I, Librarian by James Turner
A Child’s Book of True Crime by Chloe Hooper
Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros
Grayson by Lynne Cox
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory
The Tansfigured Hart by Jane Yolen
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Looking for Lucy Buick by Rita Murphy
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
I am definitely NOT trying to read all of these books in 12 hours. I’m hoping to read at least five today. I’m be posting probably twice today. Wish me luck!
Two weeks ago I was on Twitter discussing book lists with a fellow blogger. She told me how at the beginning of October she had made a list of books she needed to read for the whole month. At the end of the month, she wanted to check the list to see how many books on it she read. It had me thinking. The only time I make a list for books is for challenges or to keep up with what I’ve already read. I also make lists for what I want to read for the week. Being a moody reader, I’m not the biggest follower of lists though I do love making them. So now I’m thinking about making (and following) a list of books I need to read this month.
I have several books on my shelves besides my library loot that I would love to get to such as The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It was Dewey’s favorite book ever and before she passed, I promised her I would read it but never got around to it. After she was gone I wished I had read the book while she was still around. So this is the month that I plan on reading The Grapes of Wrath.
So here’s my question to you: do you make reading lists? If so, how far in time do you plan for? For a week or two or maybe a month ahead?
Good morning. Right now it’s early morning and the sun is starting to rise. It’s pretty quiet over here with only a few of the kids up. The only sounds that can be heard are the keyboard as I type, the heater, and my coffee pot. The second my coffee’s ready, I plan on sitting at the kitchen table reading Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it For Life. In the book, Tharp explains how creativity is really a habit that you have to foster. She also includes great ways to become more creative and exercises to get you going at the end of every chapter. I’m halfway through it and it’s a book I would recommend to anyone doing NaNoWriMo.
I’m also in the middle of a graphic novel, a memoir, a collection of essays, and some fiction. I have my hands full. Which is why Marie from The Boston Bibliophile and I are planning on doing a 12-hour mini-readathon this Wednesday. The plan is to read as many of our short paperbacks as possible. I have a ton of unread books on my shelf that have been sitting around for years. I hope to knock out as least five books since so many of them are less than 200 pages long.
My coffee’s ready and so I’m off to read. Have a great Sunday. What are you reading today?
If you don’t know, library loot is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share what they checked out at their local libraries.
As usual I went overboard with my library loot. Between my old loot and what I’ve just checked out, I’m starting to become claustrophobic looking at my shelves. But I’m up for the challenge. I’m hoping that November and December will be my best reading months of the year. I also don’t plan on checking out anymore books until I read at least half of what I have. Wish me luck.
Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age - Maggie Jackson
Faith, Hope, and Ivy June – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
High Tide in Tuscon - Barbara Kingsolver
The Haiku Anthology: haiku and senryu in English
The Magician’s Elephant – Kate Dicamillo
The Wild Things – Dave Eggers
Life Among the Savages – Shirley Jackson
The Unfinished Novel: and other stories - Valerie Martin
Little Brother - Cory Doctrow
Sprout - Dale Peck
Twenty Years at Hull-House – Jane Addams
Love, Aubrey - Suzanne LeFleur
Once Upon a Time (She Said) – Jane Yolen
Pip: The story of Olive – Kim Kane
The City of Ember – Jeanne Du Prau
The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - Sherman Alexie
The Onion Girl – Charles De Lint
Uglies - Scott Westerfield
Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories - Sandra Cisneros
The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle
The Strain - Guillermo Del Toro
So that’s my loot. I plan on posting every day this week but won’t be hanging around Twitter as much as usual. I really want to read as much as possible. What did you check out from the library this week?
Can you believe that I haven’t posted a new review in over a week? I don’t know if it’s this confusing California weather (thick fog in the morning and warm during the day) or what. I’m in the weirdest mood though November is supposed to be the month where I get so much done. The week fter the readathon, I didn’t read much. This week I’m in the middle of five books so the next review I write will probably be next week. I don’t have the energydesire time to write longer reviews so I thought shorter reviews would be a nice change for right now.
Rapunzel’s Revenge (2008)
Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale
144 pages
I first heard about this book during last year’s Cybil’s awards. My library just bought a copy last month and I’ve finally been able to read it. The Hales have taken the Rapunzel fairy tale and turned it on its head! After escaping from Mother Gothel, Rapunzel decides to go back and get her revenge on the witch and free her mother from enslaved in a mine camp. On the way she meets Jack of the Beanstalk fame and the two start on a daring adventure.
This was a great read. In this retelling Rapunzel is a daring young girl who won’t take no for an answer. With Jack by her side the duo chases off coyotes, wrestle with giant snakes, and rescue a spoil brat from a group of bandits. This is a book that has a place in my permanent library.
Amulet Vol 1: The Stonkeeper (2008) Amulet Vol. 2; The Stonekeeper’s Curse (2009)
by Kazu Kibuishi
Kibuishi is the genius behind the fabulous Flight graphic series. Last year I found out about Amulet and read the first book in the series. The problem with reading books in a series is that you have to wait until the next volume comes out. Just last month volume 2 arrived and I dove in. Both books are about siblings Navin and Emily. With their mother they move to an old family home to start over after losing their father in a car accident. Only days after arriving, strange things start to happen and their mother is kidnapped by a strange creature and taken to another world.
Book two starts where the first book left off with Navin and Emily trying to rescue their mother. Filled with more action and adventure than book one, you can’t put this book down until you turn the last page. The graphics are so great, there were a few I wanted to blow up and put on my wall. Great read for all ages.
Peter and Max: A Fables Novel (2009)
Bill Willingham
400 pages
I have been a fan of Bill Willingham’s graphic novel series, Fables, for years. Peteris a Fable who lives with his wife Bo (Little Bo Peep). When Bigby Wolf, Beast, and Frau Totenkinder informs Peter that his older brother Max has returned, Peter knows he has to go and finish the fight that started between the two brother centuries before.
With that said, I have to tell you this was an excellent read. Because I’ve already read the graphic novels I found the beginning slow-going and almost set the book down. After a while, the book picked up and I set aside almost everything to read it. The plot goes back and forth between the past explaining how Max became the Pied Piper and his jealousy with Peter, and the present as Max flies across the world to confront his brother.Willingham did a fantastic job providing the background information. Bigby and Frau Totenkinder both appear in the brothers’ past and readers find out more about Frau Totenkinder and the life she lead before coming to our world.
The fight that happened between the two brothers wasn’t what I expected after the build-up of so much suspense. It was a pretty crafty fight though. If you love fairy tales and/or love the Fables series, this is a great book for you.
Readers can choose one of three levels to participate:
Philogynist: Read at least two books, including at least one non-fiction read Bluestocking: Read at least five books, including at least two non-fiction reads Suffragette: Read at least eight books, including at least three non-fiction reads
Of course I’m signing up for the suffragette level. Here’s my list of possible reads:
Non-fiction
Twenty Years at Hull-House by Jane Addams
The Water will Hold You: A Skeptic Learns to Pray by Lindsey Crittenden
Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog
High Tide in Tucson: essays by Barbara Kingsolver
In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens: Womanist Prose by Alice Walker
Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman
Changing my mind: essays by Zadie Smith
Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedman
Women Who Eat by Leslie Miller
Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation by Elissa Stein and Susan Kim
Lit by Mary Karr
So Long a Letter by Mariama Be
Ida: A Sword Among Lions by Paula Giddings
I Don’t: A Contrarian History of Marriage by Susan Squire
This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund
Easter Everywhere by Darcey Steinke
The Secret of God by Beryl Singleton Bissell
Because I said so by Camille Peri
Choice by Karen E. Bender
Claiming Breath by Diane Glancy
Silences by Tillie Olsen
A Voice of her Own by Marlene Schiwy
Fiction
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
The Ultravioley Sky by Alma Luz Villanueva
Passing by Nella Larsen
Flygirl by Sherri L.Smith
Bone by Fae Myenne Ng
So that’s my list of possibilities. How about you? Are you joining the challenge? Are there are books you recommend?
Shelf Discovery Reading Challenge
November 1, 2009 -April 30, 1020
Julie over at Bookingmama came up with the great idea to host this challenge based on the book, Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick. The reading challenge is all about revisiting childhood favorites. The goal of the challenge is to read at least six of the books mentioned in Shelf Discovery. Doesn’t that sound easy?
Here’s my picks:
The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Homecoming by Cynthia Viorst
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Have you read any of your childhood favorites lately? If not, what is one you wouldn’t mind revisiting?
Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Adams Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint
Distracted: the erosion of attention and the coming Dark Age by Maggie Jackson Pip: The Story of Olive by Kim Kane Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
Once Upon A Time (She Said) by Jane Yolen The Wild Things by Dave Eggers Flight Vol 5 by Kazu Kibuishi
Old Loot
Sprout by Dale Peck The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie The Strain by Guillermo del Toro The Arrival by Shaun Tan Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Okay. So that’s my library loot for this week. What have you check out from the library lately?
The Year the Swallows Came Early (2009)
Kathryn Fitzmaurice
290 pages
Middle school fiction
2009 Cybils nominee
Summary
All Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson has ever wanted was to go to culinary school when she grows up. In the meantime, she spends her days learning new recipes, cooking for her parents, and sharing her dreams with her dad. But when her dad is arrested for spending the money in Groovy’s trust fund, her dreams are shattered.
I must’ve been in that room for a long time. I couldn’t say for sure because there’s no way to track time while trying to understand something completely different about a person you thought was someone else. Especially after years of me saying to people, Oh no, my daddy’s not like that. My daddy’s this, or my daddy’s that.
I’d gone around my whole life believing what he’d told me, like what he’d said was just how things were. Mama had said he’d taken the money, that he’d lost it on a bet, but it wasn’t until I saw his handwriting in the book that it seemed real to me. It wasn’t until I saw for myself all his different ways of trying to win money that I knew how much he’d been lying to me and Mama. (pg. 170)
Groovy isn’t the only one who has to deal with a troubled parent. Her best friend, Frankie, has to deal with the sudden reappearance of his mother who left more than a year ago. There are so many questions that need to be answered and so many things about their lives that’s changing. The only thing that is staying the same for the two kids is the yearly arrival of the sparrows to their small town of San Juan Capistrano, California.
My Thoughts
This was a great coming-of-age story about forgiveness, change, and love. Both Frankie and Groovy have to reflect and decide whether or not they’re going to forgive their parents or harbor that anger and let it change who they are and who they can be in the future. After her father’s arrest Groovy goes from being called “Groovy” to Eleanor when she realizes that she’s no longer the same person. Frankie tries to hold on to his anger instead of forgiving his mother for her disappearance.
Groovy is a great character, one of my favorites this year. She’s honest and insightful about the people around her. You couldn’t help but want to know more about her from the book’s great opening paragraph,
We lived in a perfect stucco house, just off the sparkly Pacific, with a lime tree in the backyard and pink and yellow roses gone wild around a picket fence. But that wasn’t enough to keep my daddy from going to jail the year I turned eleven. I told my best friend, Frankie, that it was hard to tell what something was like on the inside just by looking at the outside. And that our house was like one of those See’s candies with beautiful swirled chocolate on the outside, but sometimes hiding coconut flakes on the inside, all gritty and hard, like undercooked white rice.
Thanks to last weekend’s read-a-thon and the Cybils, last week was my best reading week in months! I read:
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
B.P.R.D. #2: The Soul of Venice and Other Stories The Year of the Sparrows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
Imogene’s Antler’s by David Small Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen
Amulet 1: The Stonkeeper by Kazu Kibuishi Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kibuishi Angels in America by Tony Kushner
The Professor’s Daughter by Joann Sfar Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant
Not Shown:
The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen Humpty, Dumpty Climbs Again by Dave Horowitz The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino Babymouse: Dragon Slayer by Jennifer L. Holm Abigail Spells by Anna Alter Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden byEdith Pattou
Right now I’m reading
Peter and Max by Bill Willingham Hide Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan Admissions by Jean Hanff Korelitz
This week I also plan on reading:
The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry
1. Which hour was most daunting for you? About hour16. One of my sons wasn’t feeling well and wanted me to lie down with him. I knew if I did, I would probably go to sleep and I did. Luckily I woke up a few hours later and read some more.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Fables series by Bill Willingham (graphic novels), Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry (play), anything by Shaun Tan, Black Swan, White Raven edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (short stories). There’s a lot of books I can recommend so I’ll write a post before the next read-a-thon.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the read-a-thon next year? None.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s read-a-thon? Twitter. By using Twitter we had so many people sign up and it was also an easier to cheer people on.
5. How many books did you read? 8
6. What were the names of the books you read?
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
The Professor’s Daughter by Joann Sfar
Amulet 1: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kubuishi
Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kubuishi
Imogene’s Antlers by David Small
Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen
Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and DeanHale
7. Which book did you enjoy most? I loved them all.
8. Which did you enjoy the least? None
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Don’t feel overwhelm. I learned with this read-a-thon that though it’s possible to reach a lot of blogs, you won’t be able to make it to each one unless you’re only cheering.
10. How likely are you to participate in the read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I’m definitely participating in next year’s read-a-thon. I’ll probably just read next time instead of reading and cheering.
Books read since last update: 4 (Amulet 1: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi, Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen, Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and Imogene’s Antlers by David Small)
Total books read: 6
Pages read: Have no idea. I quit counting.
Now reading: Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kuibuishi
Mini-challenges participated in: 4?
Latest meal: Hash browns and sausages
I just finished the book club meeting with my son. We had a lot of fun reading and discussing Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Imogene’s Antlers by David Small (an old favorite of mine), and Sleeping Ugly by Jane Yolen. Yolen is easily becoming one of my favorite authors.
Surprisingly I’m not tired yet, but I am prepared to read in bed if I have to go lie down with the kids later. I still have a ton of great books I’m looking forward to and I’m officially done cheerleading for the night so I’m not going to bed anytime soon. If you don’t see any more updates, I’m in bed. Hopefully awake.
Okay, read-a-thoners, it’s been great but I’m going to have to say goodnight. Either that or take a break. My youngest is ready to go to bed and he still wants us to have our nightly book club meeting. I’m still reading Amulet 1: The Stonekeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kuibuishi. I don’t plan on going to bed until the read-a-thon is over so you’ll probably see me later.
I know a lot of readers are also fans of music. So for this mini-challenge we’re going to give our eyes a break and focus on our ears. I’d like you to post a song that reminds you of the read-a-thon, or that you love to read to, or that makes you think of a particular book. You can either embed a video of the song, or post the lyrics. And don’t forget to include a sentence or two as to why you’re sharing that particular song! Easy-peasie, right? Originally, I was thinking of making you run a marathon, but I thought this might go over a bit better.
I needed a boast during the last hour. So when Miley Cyrus’s new single “Party in the U.S.A.” came on, it was just what I needed for energy. The kids and I got up and just danced. After the song ended I had more energy to keep going. I’m not a Miley Cyrus fan but the kids are and they love this song. So here it is, “Party in the U.S.A.” :
1. What are you reading right now? The Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi.
2. How many books have you read so far?2. Angels in America by Tony Kushner and The Professor’s Daughter by Joann Sfar. Both great reads.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? All of them. They’re all great reads. Can’t pick just one.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Nope. I just kept the kids preoccupied by making them tents in the living room, feeding them, and letting them watch cartoons all day. I’ll make it up to them tomorrow after I wake up.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? A ton. The kids interrupted plus I felt like I was getting sick earlier.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How many people signed up this time. It’s amazing. Dewey would be so happy.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? None. It’s perfect!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Wake up on time instead of oversleeping.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Not really though I know I will need a nap sooner or later.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Have fun. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else participating. That’s not the point of this event.
Books finished: 1 (Angels in America by Tony Kushner)
Pages read: 287
One of my favorite passages of this play:
But still. Still. Bless me anyway. I want more life. I can’t help myself. I do. I’ve lived through such terrible times, and there are people who live through much much worse, but . . . You see them living anyway. When they’re more spirit than body, more sores than skin, when they’re burned and in agony, when flies lay eggs in the corners of the eyes of their children, they live. Death usually has to take life away. I don’t know if that’s just the animal. I don’t know if it’s not braver to die. But I recognize the habit. The addiction to being alive. We live past hope. If I can find hope anywhere, that’s it, that the best I can do. It’s so much not enough, so inadequate but . . . Bless me anyway. I want more life. (Pg 266).
Isn’t that beautiful?
Food so far: Coffee, Frosted Flakes cereal, sloppy joes, and more coffee
I first found out about Unshelved Book Club’s comics last year when Becky announced she was hosting a challenge based on the books. One of my favorite comics is based on the novel Beat the Reaperby Josh Bazell, a book I read and discovered earlier this year. Click on the Beat the Reaper link to read the comic.
For her mini-challenge Erika at Reading with Momma asked, What book or books do you return to read again and again and why?
Two books off the top of my head are East of Eden by John Steinbeck and also Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck. East of Eden is one of the few books I re-read almost every year. I first read it almost ten years go and just loved it. It’s about so many things: life and death, how you live while you’re here, the legacy a parent leaves to their children, fate, and so much more. It’s really a great read. So far this year I haven’t read it yet.
Of Mice and Men is another favorite that reminds me how important it is to dream.
For the past couple of days my oldest son has been home sick because of multiple asthma attacks and a fever that won’t completely go away. Thankfully his attacks have been mild. One of the ways I’ve been entertaining him has been by reading to him. Luckily for me that before my son became sick, I went to our library and picked up some of this year’s Cybils nominees.
The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Couseteau (2009) – Dan Yaccarino. This book reminded me of another Cybils-nominated biography from last year, A River of Words by Jen Bryant. I really enjoyed reading about Cousteau’s life and all the obstacles he overcame because the sea and its inhabitants were his passion.
Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation (2009) Written by Jacqueline Jules. Illustrated by Jef Czekaj. Unite or Die is so unique. The book shows kids how the Constitution came into being. Everything from the illustrations to the text kept the kids interested in the story.
Abigail Spells (2009) by Anna Alter. Out of all three books this one was my son’s favorite. Abigail is a bird who loves to spell. So when she finds out her school is hosting a spelling bee, she signs up expecting to win. But when she doesn’t her best friend George tries to show her winning is not everything.
What great books did you read to your kids this week?
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the read-a-thon…
Are you planning on participating in the upcoming 24 Hour Read-a-thon (either as a reader or cheerleader)? Have you made any preparations for the event? And, veterans out there, any tips you’d like to share with the newbies?
I am definitely planning on participating in the read-a-thon. As usual I’m reading and cheerleading so things will be a little hectic for me on Saturday. I’ve already started making preparations by getting my read-a-thon stack ready. I have a few books still on their way but I cannot wait!
My tips for newbies:
Make sure the books in your pile are light and fun to read.
Graphic novels, short story collections, young adult reads, children’s fiction, plays, and even poetry are great additions to any read-a-thon stack.
Make sure you have healthy snacks ready. You’ll hate to be running around on Saturday trying to fix a meal.
Naps are your friend. Don’t feel guilty taking one. I plan on taking several.
Clean your house, do the laundry, and any other household needs BEFORE Saturday.
You don’t have to read or cheer for 24 hours. Do it for as long as you want. When you no longer want to, take a break. Don’t feel like going back, stop. The readathon is supposed to be fun.
It’s Monday, What are you Reading?
Last week I read:
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Sea Change by Aimee Freedman
Right now I’m in the middle of:
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
This week I plan to read:
The Transfigured Hart by Jane Yolen
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
B.P.R.D. #2: The Soul of Venice and Other Stories by Mike Mignola
Right now it’s early morning here in Southern California and the sun is not up yet. Sitting on my desk is a hot cup of coffee and today’s read, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts. I received it through PaperbackSwap for the read-a-thon but I’ve decided to read it now. Today will be spent visiting family, reading, and getting the kids ready for school tomorrow.
Last night on Twitter, Kailana stated that she’s only read 16 books so far this month. That made me check my calendar reading log to see how many books I’ve read this month. 3. That’s how many books I’ve read so far this month. Compare that to the 38 read in August or the 18 read in September, it makes October the worst reading month I’ve had in a long time. I’m hoping to get back into the reading groove by reading my butt off this week and during the read-a-thon.
If you’re on the fence about signing up for Dewey’s read-a-thon, you still have time. Even if you can’t participate for that many hours, it’s still a fun event to join. There’s games and prizes plus you find new blogging buddies too.
I have my strategy down for the big event. I have tons of short books and fast reads, waiting to be read. I’m planning a mini read-a-thon for my kids on Saturday to keep them busy. I also plan on snacking on fruits and quick foods so not to get bogged down cooking. At all. Pizza will probably be lunch and dinner on Saturday.
My goals:
To finish at least six books.
To cheer on each of the 200+ participants at least once. To read the majority of the books in my pile even if it takes months
I don’t know which goal is going to be harder. I’ve already starting visiting participant’s read-a-thon pile posts to cheer them on a little. I have so many great books in my pile that I really want to read, so I’m going to try my best to read them before they’re due back at the library. If you’re participating in the event, do you bother setting goals?
Last week’s reads
Last week I read two of October’s three read books: Sea Change by Aimee Freedman and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Both were engaging books. I reviewed Sea Change but not Catching Fire. There’s no point when all my review is going to say is: Go read it now! Catching Fire was a great book but I love Hunger Games more. Either way I will be buying book three when it’s published next year.
So that’s it for this post. Are you participating in next week’s read-a-thon? If so, what book are you really looking forward to reading?
Okay so we all know that I have a tendency to go overboard when it comes to books. Whether it’s my library loot, buying binges, or signing up for reading challenges, it always seems to be all or nothing. My current reading pool for the read-a-thon encompasses almost every genre and ranges from a mere 32 pages for many of my picture books to almost 500 pages for Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels. Maybe instead of thinking of this stack as just my read-a-thon picks, we should also think of it as my October/November even possibly December reads.
Plays I started reading plays during last year’s read-a-thon. I found so many wonderful playwrights that I’ve started slowly reading as many as I can especially Pulitzer prize-winning plays. Plays are usually no more than a hundred pages long and contain memorable characters and great settings. For the upcoming read-a-thon, here are a few plays I plan on reading that won the Pulitzer for Drama.
I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright. 2004 Pulitzer. Wit by Margaret Edson. 1999 Pulitzer. Angels in America by Tony Kushner. 1993 Pulitzer
not shown:August: Osage County by Tracy Letts.
Short Stories The great thing about reading short stories during the read-a-thon is that you can dip in and out of collections and still feel as though you’re accomplishing something.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros. I read this collection years ago and I think it’s really time for a re-read. Dedicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff.
Graphic Novels
Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry. Amulet 2: The Stonkeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kabuishi. Maus by Art Spiegelman
Not shown: The Professor’s Daughter by Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert
Fantasy
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle Tigerheart by Peter David The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Other Notables
Peter and Max: A Fables Novel by Bill Willingham Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliot
Books not shown:
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan B.P.R.D. series by Mike Mignola Sprout by Dale Peck Uglies by Scott Westerfield The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice Little Brother by Cory Doctrow
You see how crazy I went? This is why I’m calling this pile my October-November-and-possibly-December pile. I have a ton of books on hold at the library that will be coming in sometime next week. I can’t wait for the read-a-thon to start but I’m not going to wait to start reading some of these great books.
Have you read any of these graet books? Which ones do you think I should save for the read-a-thon? Are there any that you think I should move to the top of the pile?Have you thought about what books you’re going to read for the big event?
We’re moving in a couple weeks (the first time since I was 9 years old), and I’ve been going through my library of 3000+ books, choosing the books that I could bear to part with and NOT have to pack to move. Which made me wonder…
When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?
Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)
And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?
My Library
I’m almost constantly trying to par down my personal library. Just last night I was trying to figure out which books should get donated to the library. My personal library isn’t large, just under 400 books but I live in a small apartment so every inch of space counts. My bookshelves contains many books I haven’t read (of course) but also books I’ve read over and over again. I’m constantly going to thrift stores and adding new books to my shelves so I try to be selective in my buying that way I don’t have books overflowing.
When I do weed out books, I’m usually getting rid of books that have sat on my shelves for years without being read. I love my public library system, LBPL, so I’m constantly donating my books to them. Their funding has been cut so now they have wishlists on Amazon for the first time ever. Now more than ever I feel the need to help them. Books I know my library doesn’t need, I donate to my local thrift stores whose purpose is to help veterans. I also trade my books on Paperback Swap though I’m more likely to buy credits than post books.
Do you weed out books on your shelves? If so, do you have a system?
Miranda Merchant is ready to spend her summer interning at a museum in New York. But when her maternal grandmother Isadora dies, Miranda has to push her plans back and she and her mother travels to Silkie Island to take of Isadora’s estate. While there Miranda finds a strange book at the Mariner, her grandmother’s summer home. The book tells of the legend of the merman who once lived off the coast of the island. These mermen look normal but it’s when they’re fully in the water that you can see their true form.
While on the island Miranda meets Leo, a gorgeous and mysterious native who seems to be everything Miranda needs. But something tells Miranda that Leo is hiding a secret. Does it have to do with the merman legend?
Thoughts
What a great story! I was originally planning on waiting for the read-a-thon to read Sea Change. Last night I glanced through the book and ended up spending the next two hours reading. Miranda is a great character. She’s an intelligent and shy teenager who’s not really into dating and boys. She just tries to stay focused on her passion,which is science, and keep out of trouble. It’s when she meets Leo and also T.J. another boy, that she starts to understand what chemistry between two people feels like.
Friedman’s description of Silkie Island is so believable. I felt as if I was there. You can picture the setting so well, whether it was the Mariner or Fisherman’s Village.
If you’re participating in the upcoming read-a-thon and looking for a short but well-written story, look no further than Sea Change, a light tale about teenage love.
Last week I was recovering from the flu, so my reading has been going pretty slow. I’m feeling much better now so I’m hoping to read a lot this week.
Last week I read:
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. This was last week’s required reading for my English class. Let’s Do Nothing by Tony Fucile (picture book) I heard great things about this book, read it, and loved it. My kids did too.
Right now I’m reading:
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Life, the Universe, and the Everything by Douglas Adams
Also on the list this week: Howl by Allen Ginsberg (required reading) The Arrival by Shaun Tan
It started a few weeks ago when the weather in California got a little chilly, reminding me of fall’s upcoming arrival. I went to my library and checked out armfuls of book on fairy tales and American tall tales. My kids weren’t really fans of fairy tales and I was hoping to change that by showing them some of my favorite fairy tales by some of my favorite illustrators and writers.
Snow White translated from the German by Paul Heins. Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.Of all the illustrators whose work I have seen, Hyman is my absolute favorite. Her pictures are realistic and the viewer sees the light and darkness of the characters. I love the way the seven dwarves look in this translation. They each have their own face and expressions. Heins’ translation of the story is a great one and the story flows. My only gripe is that I didn’t care for the ending.
The Bearskinner retold by Laura Amy Schlitz. Illustrated by Max Grafe. The Bearskinner is the tale of a soldier who makes a deal with the devil to wear a bear’s skin for seven years. He cannot take the skin off or wash until the seven years are over. If the soldier manages to survive the seven years without killing himself, he would be rich for the rest of his life. This is such a creepy tale! When I first read the story, I didn’t think my kids would be able to handle it, but they have. This is one of my favorite Grimm’s fairy tales.
Jack and the Beanstalk retold by Steven Kellogg. The children’s librarian at my library introduced me to the works of Steven Kellogg since he’s one of her favorite illustrations. Jack and the Beanstalk quickly became a re-read in this family. There’s a Wolf at the Door retold by Zoe Alley. Illustrated by R.W. Alley. This is a re-read from earlier this year. This is a collection of several fairy tales: The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf and Seven Little Goslings, and one more whichI forgot. This book is for anyone who like fairy tales, no matter your age. The
Three Little Pigs written and illustrated by Paul Galdone. This story was the first story my youngest, Avi, latched on to. We read the story and listened to the story on tape as read by the author. My son and I loved the ending.
Instead of just giving you the regular book review format, I’m giving you five reasons why Crazy Beautiful is a great book and why I think you should give it a try.
Reasons why I love Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted:
1. Great characterization. The main characters, Lucius and Aurora, are a blast to read about. After losing his arms in an explosion of his own doing, Lucius and his family moves to a new town for a fresh start. Aurora Belle is also getting a new start in the same town with her father after losing her mother to cancer. The instant they see each other it feels as if they’ve always known each other. The problem: Lucius is deemed crazy by everyone except Aurora and her father while Aurora becomes the new addition to the popular crowd.
2. It’s about seeing the good in people, knowing who you are and being that person instead of what’s easier for others to deal with.
3. So addictive that I read this book in one sitting. It’s not often that a book makes you drop everything you need to do and read it. The reader almost instantly starts to care about the characters. You want to know as much as possible about them.
4. The book is sparse, giving the reader only the details needed for the action to keep going.
5. This book has made Lauren Baratz-Logstead one of my newest favorite author. I will definitely be checking out her other books.
Have you read this yet? If so, please let me know so I can link to you.
Can you believe that I haven’t blogged in two weeks? I promise that October will be a lot better. My life has been fairly hectic lately but things are starting to slow down.
Last week I read:
Touch Magic by Jane Yolen
The Imposter’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell
The Dresden Files: Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I’m still reading
Black Swan, White Raven edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. This is such a great collection of short stories. Most of the ones I’ve read are new favorites.
This week I plan on reading:
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
Not Becoming My Mother by Ruth Reichl.
Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill
Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Vioght
So that’s what I’m reading this week. What are you planning to read?
Jellaby (2008)
by Kean Soo
145 pages
Rating: Reread
Why I picked this up:
I’ve read great reviews about Kean Soo’s Jellaby on many blogs and when I happened to see it at my local library, I grabbed it to bring it home.
Summary:
Portia Bennett is a young girl who’s still reeling from the disappearance of her dad a year before. One night she hears a noise outside her bedroom windows and investigates. She finds a monster whom she later names Jellaby and brings him home. She’s sure that Jellaby is lost and the only clue she has to where he’s really from is a picture of a door in a nearby city. With the help of a new friend, Jason, the three decide to go alone to this mysterious door.
My thoughts:
What a great book! Kean Soo is such a talented artist and writer. One of the characters, Jason, is a latchkey kid whose parents are never seen or heard from throughout the story. On one page when Portia and Jellaby are going home after leaving Jason’s house and you see the loneliness he feels from being left alone so often. This isn’t just a story about a monster but also about the grief that Portia still feels after her father’s disappearance, Jason’s loneliness, and the mystery of Jellaby’s origins. This is definitely a book I will be rereading.
Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story by Isabel Gillies Jellaby by Kean Soon The Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted Snow White by Paul Heins and Trina Schart Hyman Chicken Little retold by Steven Kellog The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg
Right now I’m in the middle of several books:
Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie and Folkore in the Literature of Childhood by Jane Yolen The Pleasures of the Damned: Poems, 1951-1993 by Charles Bukowski Black Swan, White Raven edited by Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling The Successful Child: What parents can do to help kids turn out well by William and Martha Sears A Summer of Hummingbirds: Love, Art, and Scandal in the Intersecting Worlds of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Martin Johnson Heade by Christopher Benfey The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams
I’m almost finished with Touch Magic and Black Swan, White Raven. Look for reviews for both books next week. What are you reading this week?
One of the things I did while on my blogging break was that I started to count down for the start of Carl’s fantastic Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) Challenge. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and for the last couple of years, I’ve marked the start of the season with Carl’s challenge, reading spooky stories while curling up with a cup of coffee and listening to the wind blow as the weather cools down. The R.I.P. Challenge is as much a part of autumn as falling leaves are.
You can imagine my surprise when I checked Twitter a few days ago and learned that though the fourth annual R.I.P. Challenge doesn’t officially start until the 1st of September, Carl went ahead and started it this past Monday! After I finished screaming in excitement and receiving funny looks from my family, I started scouring my bookshelves and wish lists for books I want to read.
This year I’m signing up for the Short Story Peril and also Peril the 1st, which is to read four books of any length in the subgenres: mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, and supernatural.
Monday I read Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzgerald. Hush, Hush is the story of a young girl who gets caught up with a fallen angel. She’s also being stalked by a mysterious girl, a guy in a ski mask, and has a ton of weird things happen to her. It’s becoming a fast favorite among bloggers.
My Reading Pool:
1. Angel of Forgetfulness - Steve Stern 2. Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafron 3. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins 4. Something Wicked this Way Comes - Ray Bardbury 5. Sweethearts- Melanie Rae Thon 6. Forever – Peter Hamill 7. The Lace Reader - Brunonia Barry 8. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane – Katherine Howe 9. The Gargoyle - Andew Davidson
10. The Late, Lamented Molly Marx – Sally Koslow
11. Tigerheart - Peter David
12. The Good Thief - Hannah Tinti
13. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
14. Re-reading Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt
15. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
16. Full Dark House - Christopher Fowler
17. A Fine and Private Place - Peter Beagle
18. Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter
19. Tender Morsels - Margo Lanagan
20. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
21. Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
22. Re-reading The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
23. Various children’s books
24. Finishing The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
25. Perfume - Patrick Suskind
It’s amazing how much reading you can get done when you’re not online. My internet connection stopped working almost a month ago and I’ve only been online periodically ever since. To be honest, I suspected my connection was going to go on the fritz the week before it did. I had been online most of my waking hours with school, blogging, and twittering. I knew I needed an online vacation but I really didn’t want one. I didn’t think I could do it. So my connection decided it would give me the push that I needed.
At first it was hard being off of Twitter and my Google Reader so I decided to distract myself by reading. Isn’t that the point of being a book blogger anyway? All the great reading you can do in your spare time?
During my break I read so many great and not-so-great books. I abandoned books left and right without feeling guilty. I didn’t feel the need to take notes on the books I read though I did remember to write the titles down. Too bad I can’t find the yellow notebook that lists last month’s read.
Right after my break began, I continued the short story kick I was already on by picking up the special issue of The Atlantic. The special issue is on stands until the middle of October and is filled with great short stories by authors like Paul Theroux and Alexi Zentner. I haven’t finished reading the magazine but my favorite story so far is “PS” by Jill McCorkle, in which a woman writes to her former marriage counselor about all the things she couldn’t talk about when she was in therapy with her ex-husband. It’s funny, smart, and a definite re-read.
I also read a few more stories from The Best American Short Stories 2008 edited by Salman Rushdie. One of my favorite stories featured in the collection is “Man and Wife” by Katie Chase. It’s the story of a young girl whose family is a part of a cult and has to marry an older man. Usually when you think of a young girl marrying a grown man, you feel that it’s uncomfortable and wrong. This story doesn’t let you feel that. It’s hard to explain but the reader doesn’t feel comfortable with the marriage either.
We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. Beagle was up next. I love the first two stories in the collection, the title story and “Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel” so much that I refuse to read the rest of the collection. What if they don’t live up to the brilliance of the first two stories? I even dipped into The Collected Stories by Amy Hempel, which I bought only because Eva at A Striped Armchair recommends the author to any reader who comes within a foot of her blog!
I’ve also been inspired by the recommendations of a lot of fellow bloggers. Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews and Kathy at The Brain Lair both have gushed over Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. I read it in one sitting and loved it. Marcelo is a fifteen-year-old boy who has a mysterious form of autism. His lawyer father insists that nothing is wrong with Marcelo and forces him to work at a law firm for the summer. Once there Marcelo starts to become part of the world around him and learns about the good and evil people are capable of. It’s a great coming-of-age story that deals with autism, family, religion, love, and growing up. It’s definitely on my re-read list.
I discovered David Lozell Marin’s hilarious, brilliant, painfully truthfully, enlightening, uplifting memoir called Losing Everything. Martin chronicles his childhood growing up with a smart but painfully shy father who was prone to fits of rage and a mentally ill mother while living on a rundown farm in the middle of nowhere. He also tells of his marriage to the love of his life, his divorce from her, and the night that he almost killed himself which reminded him of the night his father took his mother out into the woods in an attempt to kill her. It’s amazing that Martin is so aware of the terrors of his childhood and adult life and still is able to go toward the good that life offers. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a dark memoir at all. It’s too funny to be dark. Or really dark. What made me take this book home from the library is this paragraph:
This is going to piss off a lot of people. People who think I should be deeply ashamed about the gin I did drink and specifically apologetic to them for what I said while under its influence, who believe I should be just as sorry as I can possibly be for the way I behaved over the years while drinking gin. And I am. I’m sorry. Really, I am sorry. But let me plead my case for gin. (p. 73)
I refuse to give my copy back to the library until I’ve bought my own copy. I have too many post-its in the book to give it back right now. If I could I would buy a copy of this book to every reader I ever encounter. This is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.
I have a ton to write about when it comes to my blogging break, but I know that the attention span of bloggers is only so long when it’s not a book they’re reading. (Just joking. Maybe.)
So instead I just want to say how happy I am to be back from my break. I have missed my readers and my friends so much. You guys have no idea how much. While on my break, I wondered about what everyone was reading, how everyone was doing, what was going on in Bookland, what was everyone writing about. . . I wondered if Wordlily had finished packing or what library loot has everyone checked out. I wondered how Beth’s Sookie Challenge and Michelle’s Harry Potter Challenge are going, and what season of Supernatural was Amy on. S.Krishna should’ve returned from Oxford by now, and I know that Kathyand Drea have discovered some great YA fiction. What has Renay ranted about lately? How’s Molly doing after her own blogging break? I also wondered about Carl and Chris, Carrie and Heather, Nymeth and Kailana. I wondered about every single one of you guys.
I haven’t seen my Google Reader yet, but I bet I have at least two or three thousand posts to read. You know what? I don’t care. I’m going to try my best to read as many of your posts as I can. I’m so glad to be back.
So tell me, what books have you read and loved lately?
This week my reading has been all over the place. Since last Sunday I’ve read essays, short stories, graphic novels, and children’s books but no novels. For the last couple of years I’ve been primarily a novel reader, forgoing short stories, poetry, and essays for longer works. Though I have many novels I need to read before they have to be returned to the library, I’m happy just picking up a book, opening up to an unread story or essay, and digging in. Because of this I’ve been on a plane with Barbara Kingsolver as she tried to fit reading short stories into her busy life in “What Good is a Story?”, watched a family sing during a family member’s execution in Margo Lanagan’s “Singing My Sister Down”, and listened as silence takes over a big city in Kevin Brockmeir’s “The Year of Silence”.
I’m falling in love again with short works.
So now I’m off to read more of the stories I’ve been missing. Below is a list of the collections I’ve been reading from. Take care and have a great week.
Do you read short stories? Who are some of your favorite short story writers? What are some of your favorite collections?
This is a meme started by Jill over at Well-Read Child. For some reason this week has been really laid back. I don’t think any of us over here has read as much as we wanted to except for my youngest Oli. Oli’s asthma has been acting up again, so he’s spent most of the week at home with me. Here are a few books the kids and I have been reading this week.
My Mom Is Trying to Ruin My Life (2009). Written by Kate Feiffer. Illustrated by Diane Goode. The girls in my house love this book and I have to admit I do too. The main character, a little girl, swears her mother is trying to ruin her life by doing a number of embarrassing things like giving her a kiss in public and talking too loud. The main character then thinks of a plan to get rid of both of her parents. The ending is such a nice lesson for kids about how great our parents can be.
Gone with the Wand by Margie Palatini (2009). Written by Margie Palatini. Illustrated by Brain Ajhar. After Bernice, a fairy godmother, loses her magical powers, her best friend Edith the tooth fairy comes to the rescue. What ensues is a hilarious journey to help Bernice get her powers back. The first time I read this I laughed so hard, I had to stop reading for a second.
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Dog’s ABC: A Silly Story about the Alphabet (2000) by Emma Dodd Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting (2000) by Emma Dodd Dog’s Noisy Day: A Story to Read Aloud (2002)by Emma Dodd
The Dog series by Emma Dodd is the series right now in our family. All the kids, ages 4-9, have read and re-read these three books. In Dog’s ABC, Dog goes through his neighborhood noticing the different creatures. It’s a great ABC book and my family loved the illustrations by Dodd. Dog’s Colorful Day is a story about colors and counting that’s easy and fun for kids to learn. Dog goes through his neighborhood getting dirty by adding a new color spot with each adventure he has. Then Dog takes a tour of a farm in Dog’s Noisy Day, listening to all the sounds that different creatures make. My youngest enjoyed making the sounds along with each creature.
Frogs (2008) by Nic Bishop. The title is pretty self-explanatory. This book is all about frogs, telling readers how they reproduce, live, and the different species. I just this as a read aloud for the older kids and though most aren’t into reading about animals, they really enjoyed reading the book and looking at the great photos that the author took.
Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months (1996) by Maurice Sendak. Oli has read this book several times a day this week. A little boy loves chicken soup with rice so much that every month he does something different with it. Told in rhyme, readesr will love seeing what happens with every month.
What books are you and your children reading together this week?
“What Good is a Story?”
from the essay collection, Small Wonder (2002)
written by Barbara Kingsolver
I have always wondered why short stories aren’t popular in modern America. We are such busy folks, you’d think we’d jump at the chance to have our literary wisdom served in doses that fit between taking the trash to the curb and waiting for the carpool. We should favor the short story and adore the poem. But we don’t. Short-story collections rarely sell half as well as novels; they are never blockbusters. They are hardly ever even block-denters. . .
This is the start of “What Good Is a Story?”, an essay by Barbara Kingsolver, detailing the three months she spent in 2000 as a guest editor for The Best American Short Stories series. Kingsolver had to read 125 short stories before she could pick the twenty best ones. In her essay, Kingsolver explains those hectic three months, why she loves short stories, and what reading means to her.
On reading during this hectic time,
. . . all of us have to work reading into our busy lives. The best tales can stand up to the challenge-and if anything can, it should be the genre of short fiction. . . If we lived in silent white rooms with no emergencies. . .we probably wouldn’t need fiction to help us explain the inexplicable, the storms at sea and deaths of too-young friends.
On choosing the stories that she did,
With a pile of stories on my lap I sat with this question, early on, and tried to divine for myself why was it that I loved a piece of fiction when I did, and the answer came to me quite clearly; I love it for what it tells me about life. I love fiction, strangely enough, for how true it is. If it can tell me something I didn’t already know, or maybe suspected but never framed quite that way, or never before had sock me so divinely in the solar plexus, that was a story worth the read.
I don’t know about you, but that is very true for me. I don’t want to read anything predictable or something that I already know. Many of the books I’ve read lately have uncovered to me lives I don’t usually think about. Reading this essay reminded why I picked up this book the very first time. I enjoy Kingsolver’s writing. It’s accessible and tells me something that I knew but couldn’t put into words myself about reading.
I won’t give you any more quotes but if you’ve enjoyed any of Kingsolver’s other works, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this amazing collection of essays. Or if you haven’t read Kingsolver before but enjoy a mixture of the personal and the political, this book may be for you.
Good morning. Right now the sun is shining and there’s not a cloud in the sky. With very little homework left to do, I plan on spending my day reading and writing posts. With so many books checked out from the library and so many of my own books piling up on my shelves, this week’s book coveting post focuses on the books I have and those written by women.
Fiction
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. I’ve heard so many great things about this book that I’m hoping to start reading it today. A historical thriller that goes back and forth between the Salem Trails and modern time. Witchcraft, family secrets, and more makes us this thriller.
First Light by Rebecca Stead. First Light is the story of Peter, a boy who join his parents on a trip to Greenland and Thea, a girl whose people live deep inside the article ice.
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer. I don’t read short story collections as often as I would like to, but I couldn’t ignore the praise that Packer’s debut collection has been receiving.
Nonfiction
Sinners Welcome by Mary Karr. I read The Liar’s Club by Karr a few years ago, rushed out and bought Sinners Welcome, but haven’t read more than a few poems. This volume of poetry chronicles Karr’s exploration of her faith.
Small Wonders by Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite books. Filled with powerful and engaging essays, Kingsolver’s essays range from topics about September 11th, surviving rape, the power of indie bookstores, why short stories are great, and more. I’m currently re-reading these essays, trying to dissect them and see how Kingsolver puts one word after another to make beautiful sentences that make up powerful essays.
Her Blue Body Everything We Know: Earthling Poems 1965-1990 Complete by Alice Walker. Though best known for The Color Purple, it is this volume of poetry that I love the most. I first read this collection when I was a teenager. Since then I’ve re-read this many times. One of my favorite poems is “Goodnight, Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning”.
Fiction
Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd. I recently heard of Dowd while reading The Guardian. Dowd passed away in 2007, only three months after finishing Bog Child. She started writing at the age of 47 in 2003. All four of the books that she wrote has received rave reviews. Set in 1981, Fergus is helping his uncle with chores when he finds the body of a murdered child in the bog. It’s a coming-of-age story that’s won the 2009 Carnegie Medal award.
The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver. After a kiss with a man who is not her partner, Irina McGovern, must make a decision to either give in to passion or stay in her safe relationship.
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. Ida Mae Jones is a girl who dreams of flying. When the United States Army forms the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), Ida decides to use her light skin to pass as white. Colleen at Chasing Ray called this book, “a historical drama that grabs you at the throat and holds on tight”.
Now the morning is almost over and I’m off to read. Have you read any of these books? What books are you coveting?
This week’s Weekly Geeks asks you to tell us about your globe trotting via books. Are you a global reader? How many countries have you “visited” in your reading? What are your favorite places or cultures to read about? Can you recommend particularly good books about certain regions, countries or continents? How do you find out about books from other countries? What countries would you like to read that you haven’t yet?
It took me at least an hour to think of the many countries I’ve visited in books. Of course the United States was one of the easiest countries. To my surprise so was France, Chile, and Spain. I realized how little I’ve visited Asia and Africa. All together though I’ve been to 34 countries through my reading. A few of my favorite books from other countries are:
A Man, a Woman, and a Man by Savyon Liebrecht. Fiction. Israel. I found this book years ago at my local library. When I tried to find it again last year, I was dismayed to find that my library no longer has it. Hamutal and Saul meet at the nursing home that their parents reside. Soon they start an adulterous affair and both fall in love. From what I remember of this book, it was the plot and the beautiful language that kept me reading.
The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux. Fiction, young adult. France. I don’t remember how I found this book but I’m glad I did. Angel Allegria is a killer on the run from the police. When he encounters the Poloverdos’ farmhouse, he kills both parents but spare their son Paolo. This is the start of an unlikely friendship between the two. I love the first sentence, “No one ever arrived here by chance”.
Blindness by Jose Saramago. Fiction. Portugal. I read Blindness years ago and feel in love with Saramago’s writing. Blindness is Saramgo’s exploration in what would happened if people suddenly went blind with no reason behind it. Lyrical but yet haunting, Blindness is a book I still think about.
Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story (2005)
Leonie Swann
Translated from the German by Anthea Bell
344 pages
Flying Dolphin Press
This is what I’m reading right now and it’s one of the funniest books of 2009 so far. When shepherd George Glenn is murdered, it’s his flock of sheep that comes to the rescue to try and find the killer. Three Bags Full is different from anything I’ve ever read. The sheep are great characters. There’s nineteen sheep in all and every one have a personality very different from the others. With Miss Maple, the smartest sheep, Mopple the Whale who can remember anything you tell him to and is always hungry, and Sir Ritchfield, the lead ram, the flock set off to try and understand humans and their ways while finding out who murdered George.
There are plenty of literary references such as Othello, the black ram with a mysterious past, Melmoth the Wanderer, and more. The reader figures out what happens along with the sheep and the sheep’s observations keeps the reader wanting more. I’ve spent most of my free time this week reading this book. I can’t believe this is Swann’s first and only book out right now.
Maple knew them all; she had seen the younger sheep grow up; she herself had grown up with the older sheep. When she was still a lamb the escapades of Ritchfield and his twin, Melmoth, had kept the flock all agog. It was so long since Ritchfield last mentioned him that Maple had thought he’d forgotten him. Now she felt uneasy. The air was perfect: a cool wind blew off the sea, the meadow was fragrant. All the same, the whole place suddenly smelled of death, new death and old, almost forgotten death. Maple began to graze.
I know the title sucks but I’m having an off week. I can’t even get myself together enough to write a review or two. Anyway, here’s a few links for various blogs around the blogosphere:
Alyce at At Home with Books has a weekly feature called My Favorite Reads, highlighting books she read before she started blogging. This week’s pick is Nobody’s Fault by Patricia Hermes, a book that made a huge impact on her as a child. Don’t you just love those kinds of posts?
Recently Newsweek came up with a list of Fifty Books for Our Times. Amy at My Friend Amy came up with a great idea to for bloggers to read one book from the list and blog about their experience, telling readers whether or not they think the book should be on the list. Bloggers have been grabbing books off the list left and right. So if you haven’t choose a book yet, why don’t you go over and see what’s on the list? My pick: The Dark is Rising by Susan Coooper.
The Telegraph published a summer reading list for children. Written by children’s authors and critics there are some stellar picks on the list such as Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan, Laika by Nick Abadzis, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle and How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff.
Alea at Pop Culture Junkie and Irish at Ticket to Anywhere came up with the I Dare You to Accept! Challenge. Friends dare others to do at least five of the ten things on their list. Given a deadline, if the challengee doesn’t complete the dare, they have to do whatever the challenger decides. There are 12 challenegs goes on between bloggers and probably 12 more coming up within the next couple of days. So far bloggers have been challenged to watch fluff movies from the 80s, read plays, watch indie movies, and more. Interested and have someone you want to dare? Go on over to the blog, read the rules, and think of a dare!
Claire over at The Bookstore People wrote a great post called Why Won’t My Kids Read my Favorite Books? As a parent, I can confess to begging trying to get my daughter and sisters to read The Secret Garden or The Magician’s Nephew. Did I mention that they’re only in the 2nd and 3rd grade? Or that I just discovered these two books a few years ago myself?
I dare you to complete at least 5 of the 10 things below (though I triple dare you to tackle them all).
Read Wit: a play by Margaret Edson
Watch one episode of The Closer
Read five poems for All of Us: by Raymond Carver
Watch one of the following movies, your choice: Real Women Have Curves, A Love Song for BobbyLong, or Around the Bend
Read The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux
Watch two episodes of the first season of Joan of Arcadia
Read The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac
Watch one of the following movies, your choice: Raising Victor Vargas, Closer, or The Untouchables
Read Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
Have a Meg Ryan-a-thon and watch Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, and You’ve Got Mail.
Did I mention that all of these things are favorites of mine?
This challenge must be completed by the end of this year, December 31, 2009.
If you fail in this challenge you must write three guest posts (topic is your choice) on my blog.
If you succeed in this challenge, I’ll leave that up to you.
If you choose to accept this dare, you must follow these rules:
Blog about your acceptance and log in with Mr Linky on the correct Acceptance Post here.
Blog about your thoughts after completing each item. When you’ve completed the challenge check in with Mr Linky on the correct Completed Challenge Post on the I Dare You to Accept This Challenge Blog!
Once you accept (or complete) this challenge then make a list of 10 related items (ie all Bollywood movies, your favorite tv show or book series, favorite genre of books etc) and challenge one of your friends…even the one who challenged you!
Need help deciding on a dare? Check out what others are doing here.
Good morning! Right now the sun is up, the birds are making a lot of noise, and I’m sitting at my desk drinking coffee. I decided to come up for air from my reading to write this post. I’m currently reading Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. It’s the story of Case Han, the daughter of Korean immigrants. She’s just graduated from Princeton and has no job and no idea what to do with her life. I’m almost a hundred pages into the book and I can tell you that this is the story about race, class, our desires, and reliving the past. This is Min Jin Lee’s debut novel and it’s a polished work of art.
I read three books this week but the sad thing is that I can only remember the last two: Mouseguard: Fall 1152 by David Petersen and Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell. I have no idea what the first book was and I didn’t write the title down or add it to my Goodreads account. I’m behind in writing reviews (who isn’t?), so look out this week for a review about Beat the Reaper.
Here are a few article and blog links from last week that I think are great:
Rob Around the Books posted an in teresting interview with Frances from Nonsuch Book for his Reader of the Week feature.
Ali over at Worducopia is the host of Diversity Roll call. Every two weeks there’s a new topic for her readers to post about. This is the last week for the Gay Pride Month topic. I plan on writing a post about many of my favorite books that have to do with GLBTQ issues.
The other day I was teasing Natasha over at Maw Books while we were on Twitter. She had just found out about the blog, Terrible Yellow Eyes. The blog is a collection of pieces by artists dedicated to and inspired by Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are. The pieces are beautiful and very touching.
One thing I really hate is when people underestimate the power of libraries. If it wasn’t for libraries, most of us wouldn’t have the access to books and other materials that we have now. I personally would be homeless because of all the books I would have had to buy instead of checking out from my local library. As a library science student I’m understanding more how much libraries do for our society. Too bad Ohio governor, Ted Strickland refuses to listen. Strickland is proposing a 30% budget cut for Ohio public libraries. He’s already cut 20% from the library’s budget earlier this year. Now is not the time to reduced library funding. We’re in the middle of a recession and libraries across the country are seeing attendance hikes and Strickland doesn’t care. If the budget cuts go through, many of Ohio libraries will have to close. In support of your own public library whether you use it or not, are you a friend of your local library? Friends of the Library memberships are as low as $25 a year and goes to furnish materials and support programs that our libraries host. For more information, go to your library’s website to see how you can help.
Amy over at My Friend Amy is having a book drive to get author Beth Kephart’s newest book, Nothing but Ghosts into the hands of more readers. Amy has not received a free book or even encouragement from Harper Teen, the publisher. She’s just doing this in support of Kephart, one of her favorite authors. The goal is to get at least 200 books sold by Friday, July 3rd. Amy is also giving away prizes to readers who buy the book. Have you lent your support to the Nothing but Ghosts Book Drive yet?
So that’s it for today. Have a great week and happy reading.
Reading Challenges: a help or a hurt? Do you find that the reading challenges keep you organized and goal-oriented? Or, do you find that as you near the end of a challenge that you’ve failed because you fell short of your original goals? As a result of some reading challenges, I’ve picked up books that I would have otherwise never heard of or picked up; that, frankly, I have loved. Have you experienced the same with challenges? If so, which ones? Do you have favorite reading challenges?
Yes it’s a long title and you’ve read right, I am quitting almost all of the reading challenges I’m signed up for. Before I get to why I’m quitting my reading challenges, let me tell you why I love reading challenges so much.
Some of the reasons why I love reading challenges
If it wasn’t for reading challenges, I wouldn’t have a blog. I think that’s probably true for many of us. When I started blogging two years ago, it was because I found Wendy’s of Caribou’s Mom, Yahoo Group. Here was a group of readers dedicated to books, reading, and reading challenges. I didn’t know what a reading challenge was before I joined the group.
Reading challenges takes you out of your comfort zone. If you’re a reader of mostly American works and want something different, you can join the challenges Orbis Terrarum or Lost in Translation and read 10 books in translations. Don’t read young adult books very often? J.Kaye hosts a Young Adult Challenge to get more people reading books from this genre. Think you read more than your fair share of books by and about heterosexuals? Amanda over at Tea Leaf has a great GLBT challenge.
Reading challenges show even the most eccentric reader new genres, books, and authors that they weren’t aware of. If it wasn’t for the many challenges I’ve signed up for in the last two years, I probably wouldn’t be reading fantasy or young adult fiction right now. It was the passion of so many bloggers that helped me to see what I’ve been missing, authors like Neil Gaiman and Markus Zusak and new favorite like Locomotion or the Fables series.
Another great thing that reading challenges do is bring the book blogging community closer together. You sign up for a challenge, make a list, and then visit other bloggers, many of whom you may not have heard of before. I’ve made so many blogging friends this way.
There is a but. . .
As great and addictive as reading challenges are, I rarely ever complete one. Usually I sign up for a challenge, spend hours coming up with a great list of books to read, and then forget about it. Suddenly the last day of the challenge is here and it’s too late for me to read whatever books I was going to read. I’ve tried to be flexible and keep my lists open to whatever I feel like reading so it doesn’t feel like required reading but I still don’t finish. So I end up feeling guilty about one more challenge that’s not completed.
Another thing that bothers me is the volume of posts I put up about the many challenges I’ve signed up for. I’m starting to feel like I’m clogging up my blog and my readers’ (all six of you) feedreaders by posting so many posts.
So instead, here’s a new plan. . .
I’m giving up almost every challenge I’ve signed up for this year. Though there’s nothing like the thrill of a new challenge, I’m going to pass. I want my reading to be free to go in any direction. I could do that with challenges but I’m not going to.
The only challenge that I plan on keeping is Project Fill-in-the-Gaps. I’m staying with this challenge because it’s a five-year plan and I really want to read more classics. One of the books I’m currently reading is The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer. I’m going to have a personal challenge to read the books that Bauer’s listed in The Well-Educated Mind and have no deadline.
So let me thank every blogger who’s hosted ever hosted a reading challenges. You guys have made our community a great place to be a part of.
What’s your take on reading challenges? Do you participate? If not, why?
Today’s Musing Monday is about library browsing. . .
Do you restrict yourself on how many books you take out from the library at a time? Do you borrow books if you already have some out? Do you always reborrow books you don’t get to?
If you’ve ever seen any of my Library Loot posts on Thursdays you’ll know I am unable to put myself on restriction when it comes to library books. I don’t restrict myself, the library does that for me. I’ve even manage to get around the library limit by using my kids’ library cards!
I go to the library several times a week, usually planning to only pick up the books that are on hold for me. Then I start browsing or I see a book that a blogger wrote good things about and I end up walking out of the library with bags of books instead of just an armful. If I have to take a book back to the library unread, I usually try to check it out again at a later time. There’s no cure for the too-many-library-books-checked-out-at-one-time disease and I don’t think I would want one anyway!
Mailbox Monday
I haven’t participated in this meme in a long time. Since I check out so many books from the library and post my loot most weeks, I don’t want readers thinking that the only reason I blog is to show off the books I receive. This Mailbox Monday post is different from the others I’ve ever posted. This post is to say “thank you” to every blogger I’ve either won a book from or generously sent me a book just because.
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home by Kim Sunee The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer Lee Transparency: Stories by Frances Hwang A History of Asian Americans: Strangers from a Different Shore by Ronald Takaki
I won the Hatchette Book Group’s Asian Heritage Month giveaway from Terry over at Reading The Leaves a few weeks ago. I stumbled upon her blog months ago and have been a dedicated reader ever since. Terry has great taste in books and I love reading her thoughts on the books she’s read. The books featured in the Asian Heritage giveaway looked so great that I was determined to read them whether I won the giveaway or not.
Tanabata at In Spring it is Dawn sent me Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. I won it months ago but we both forgot about it.
Caitlin from Unbridled Books kindly sent me In Hovering Flight by Joyce Hinnefeld. I’ve been wanting to read this for a while now. It doesn’t hurt that Ursula Hegi, one of my favorite authors ever, has a blurb on the front cover. I can’t wait to sit down with it. Thanks, Caitlin!
Jill at Fizzy Thoughts and I were talking about The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe when she offered to send me her copy after she finished reading it. That was so generous of her.
Heather from A High and Hidden Place threw a giveaway during the Twitter BEA party. I won a book of boxes. One of the books included in the box was Follow Me by Joanna Scott. I think Heather is to thank for all my luck in the weeks following winning her giveaway. It started an avalanche of books coming into my home.
As a child I used to watch The Borrowers cartoon on television. So when Chartoose from Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage, (Don’t you love the name of her blog?), hosted a giveaway of The Borrowers complete series by Mary Norton, I signed up and won!
Patches of Grey by Roy L. Pickering Jr was won from Rebeca as Alvah’s Books. She wrote a passionate review for this book. Click on its title to read her review.
Last but not least is the Hatchette Book Group Earth pack giveaway I won from the organizers of Dewey’s read-a-thon. Included in the box was Patrick McDonnell’s The Gift of Nothing. Thanks!
So that’s some of my Mailbox Monday for the last couple of weeks. I want to thank everyone for the books. I promise I am not signing up for any more giveaways until I read most of this stack!
I know. I know. My title is wrong. It’s really supposed to say “It’s Monday” but because I have so many things I have to blog about this week, I thought it was best if I blogged about what I plan on reading this week today. Last week was so hectic that I only read one book, The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second by Drew Ferguson, for the Nerds Heart YA tournament. You can count on Trish from Hey Lady and I writing our reviews this week. We already made a decision and passed it on to the next judge.
Because I only read one book last week, I really want to make up for it. The plan is to read between five and seven books this week.
This week I plan on reading
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland. I read the funniest review of this book at Book Gazing and had to put this on hold at the library. Company of Liars is a novel set in during the Plague. The description kind of reminds me of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. Thanks again to Kailana at The Written World for putting this on my radar. This week Heather at High and Hidden Place and I are reading this together. Then there will be a three-way chat with Kailana about it.
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Petersen. I checked this out from the library months ago and really want to cross this off my list.
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Nymeth, Kailana, Carrie, and many other bloggers have all stated that I’m missing out since I haven’t read this yet. The trailer for the movie pushed this up my TBR pile to the very top.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. This is leftover from the Once Upon a Time challenge.
I know that’s only five books but I’m a moody reader so I’m going to leave the rest of my choices open. So that’s what I’m reading this week. Have a great week.
What are you reading? Do you usually plan your reading ahead of time or let your mood dictate what books you read?
After having an emergency this morning I can finally start on Bloggiesta. My initial plan was to start this morning but I was unable to. The only thing I’m changing about my plan is that I won’t be working on my blog as much as I said I would. I need to relax and take it easy, so I’m only working on my blog for about ten hours.
Now I’m off to write some reviews.
[Update 1]
I’m including updates with this post so I don’t clog up anyone’s feed reader or my own blog. I just finished cleaning out my Google Reader. I unsubscribed to the blogs that haven’t posted an entry in the last two months or that I’m no longer interested in. To the blogs I’m new to, I added the blogger’s name. This mini-challenge hosted by Rebecca at The Book Lady’s Blog took me almost three hours. It was a lot of work but no longer will I be wasting time scrolling through certain blogs. Now I need to catch up on blog reading and posting comments.
This week has gone by so fast. I can’t tell you what I’ve done or where I’ve been. I haven’t even read one adult read this week. Hopefully next week will be so much better for me. I signed up for Natasha’s Bloggiesta challenge that’s going on this weekend and starts tomorrow at 8 a.m. I plan on spending at least 20 hours working on 1330v.
Writing my Nerds Heart YA decision post
Writing my reviews for my Nerds Heart YA books
Add tags to posts
Write a Music Munday post for Kailana
Write at least five reviews
Create a Sunday Salon for the 21st
Tally up my reviews and see how many I have
Come up with a new regular weekly feature
Write at least two short story reviews
Consider writing a review policy
Find out my blog’s grade at WebsiteGrader.com
Re-write “About Me” page
Get rid of both challenges pages
Cleaned up my Google Reader
This week’s Weekly Geeks assignment goes hand-in-hand with Bloggiesta. The assignment is to list any books that need to be reviewed and asked readers to ask questions about them. Here are some of the books I need to review:
You guys will be doing me a huge favor by asking me questions about these books. Most are library reads and I’m trying to take back as many as I can read and reviewed.
Are you participating in either event this week? Do you have any books you want your readers to ask questions about?
I found out about this book from Emily over at Emily Reads. Emily writes reviews in haiku format but they always pack a punch. After reading her haiku review for Locomotion and it’s follow up, Peace, Locomotion, I had to get my hands on it.
Lonnie Collins Motion, also known as Locomotion, is seven and his little sister, Lili, is four when their parents are killed in a house fire. After being moved from place to place, Lili is given a foster mom who doesn’t want to take Lonnie too. Lonnie is put in group homes before finally being placed with someone who wants him, the older Mrs. Edna.
Four years later Lonnie lands in Ms. Marcus’s fifth-grade class. Ms. Marcus shows Lonnie how to write down his thoughts and feelings in his poetry notebook. He writes of missing his parents, living without his baby sister, playing with friends, the things that make up his life.
Written in verse, Locomotion is a touching reflection on the heartbreak that Lonnie feels. I cried many times while reading this book but that’s not to say that it’s depressing. Lonnie’s heartbreak is one that anyone who’s lost family would feel. Another great thing about the book is the everyday moments that reminds you how precious life is.
You know honeysuckle talc powder?
Mama used to smell like that. She told me
honeysuckle’s really a flower but all I know
is the powder that smells like Mama.
Sometimes when the missing gets real bad
I go to the drugstore and before the guard starts
following me around like I’m gonna steal something
I go to I go to the cosmetics lady and ask her if she has it.
When she says yeah, I say Can I smell it to see if it’s the right one?
Even though the cosmetics ladies roll their eyes at me
they let me smell it.
And for those few seconds, Mama’s alive
again.
Woodson has created such an authentic character. I didn’t believe for a second that this wasn’t the voice of a child who’s growing and learning, grieving and trying to make sense of all that has happened to him and his family. It’s not surprising that Locomotion was a 2003 National Book Award finalist for young adult literature. Though it’s been stated that this is a book for kids ages nine to twelve, I think this book is for ages nine and up. My fear is that by labeling this book for a certain age group, teens and adults will think this book is not for them and that’s not true. Don’t miss out by not reading this book. It’s in the top three of my favorite books of 2009 so far.
I am two weeks behind in posting reviews and memes. Being a part of the Summer Reading Blitz has really helped me to read as many books as I want but doesn’t really help when it comes to writing reviews for those books. One of the great things about the challenge though is that I’ve been making the time to find and read some great books.
Who can I blame for these three books besides other bookworms? Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermesiter is a book I saw on more than a dozen blogs earlier this year. It wasn’t until I read Bauermeister earlier book, 500 Great Books by Women, that I made the decision to read it. Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell is another book that I’ve read some great things about online. Guys Lit Wire called this book a “straight-ahead acceleration driven by betrayal, revenge, and violence”. I might drop everything else to read this now. Or maybe not. 2666 by Roberto Bolano is in huge demand at my library so I only have three weeks to read and finish it for Claire and Steph’s five-month read-a-long. Something tells me I’ll probably end up buying this book.
The Nerds Heart YA tournament has made fall in love even more with YA. So I checked out a boatload of books from the library to read. I learned about Sweethearts by Sara Zarr from Readergirlz when they dedicated their June issue to it. I can’t even tell you what Little Audrey by Ruth White is about. The cover jacket only tells the reader that it’s based on the author’s life and a “great trauma” happens to the White family. Love, war, and compassion are some of the themes that make up the Printz award-winning novel, How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I checked this book out weeks ago and returned it back to the library unread. After Kailana read it, she told me to check it back out, so now it’s on my shelves again. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is one of the most banned books in the United States. Written in letter format to an unnamed person, the main character Charlie is one that many readers love. I picked up Skin Deep by E.M. Crane for the beautiful cover without any idea what it’s about.
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides was recommended by both Bibliobrat and Beth, so that was all I needed to check it out. Am I the only one who haven’t watched the movie? Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden is another banned book. I read this when I was younger and loved it. Summer is a perfect time for rereading. Ann Hood’s memoir, Comfort, about the death of her young daughter is devastating but beautiful. It’s a book that leaves you in tears and with the prayer that you never go through the same thing. The Knitting Circle is the fictional account of what happened afterwards and about the healing power of knitting and the waves of grief.
The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey was shortlisted this year for the Orange Prize. Jill at The Magic Lasso is once again hosting the Orange July challenge. The Wilderness is the tale of Jacob as he struggles to remember his past through the fog of Alzheimer’s that he has. I’ve read that The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen is probably the book of the year. A twelve-year-old genius hitchhikes from Divide, Montana to Washington, D.C. to accept an award from the Smithsonian. Family, fame, and loss are some of the themes that make this book special.
This is only a third of the great books I checked out from the library this week. Have you visited your local library lately? What have you checked out?
There is a great giveaway going on for the most perfect Shabby Apple dress. God, it’s beautiful. If you like me at all, even just a little, don’t enter. I want this dress. I need all the luck I can get.
After reading this book, I searched through the Nerds Heart YA group posts to see who’s the genius behind nominating this book for the tournament. And it’s you! I couldn’t believe it. Well, yeah, I could. I mean you’re constantly adding books to my TBR pile all the time. But it was you! You’re my hero!
If you hadn’t nominated this book for the tournament I doubt I would have picked it up. I was too busy zoning out studying that I missed your post about it. I’m starting to realize how great many of the books that have been nominated for the tournament are. The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine is a book I want to put in the hands of every blogger I know.
Dylan Fontaine is a guy in the middle of the chaos that he calls life. His mom left the family for another man, his father works all the time as an obstetrician, and his older brother, Randy, is a weed-head who refuses to use an ounce of the talent he has. It’s Dylan who tries to keep everything going by cooking, cleaning, and trying to keep his brother out of trouble. On top of all that Dylan is in love with his best friend, Angie, but is scared to tell her how he feels.
Chris, this book is a page-turner. I sat in my living room the other day and ignored everything to read it. Sex, drug arrests, running from the police, fights. . . this book had everything but boy-on-boy kissing. (Too bad.) All those things aren’t there just to keep the story interesting, they help Dylan figure out who he is. Who is Dylan Fontaine in the middle of all these roles he play to keep from living his own life?
I read your review, Chris, and I agree with you that there is so much to this book that to describe it, is to go on forever about it. Lurie did a fantastic job capturing the essence of adolescence while making readers care about every character in the book.
With Kelly judging the match up of The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine against Leftovers by Sarah Weiss, I cannot wait until June 21st to find out which book makes it to the next round. Thanks for recommending this book.
Last week was a great week for reading. I usually read a book a two a week but last week I read a total of ten books: four young adult, two middle school, two adult, and two picture books. I’ve been in the mood for young adult fiction so I checked out an armful of books from the library last week.
This is what I read last week:
My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick
Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers
Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs
Into the Forest by Anthony Browne
Bone Vol. 1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Where I live by Eileen Spinelli
The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers
Say, Hello by Jack Foreman
This week I plan on reading:
Grayson by Lynne Cox
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine – April Lurie
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Bone Volume 2 by Jeff Smith
Bone Volume 3 by Jeff Smith
Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory
Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
I know it’s a lot of books but many of them can be read in one sitting. I’m also participating in the Summer Reading Blitz, which challenges readers to read 30 books in 30 days for the month of June. We’ll see if I can finish every one of these books by next week.
I’m finished! At 7 AM this morning I crossed the finish line for the 48-hour challenge. This weekend was not the best one to sit down and just read. I visit family, battled migraines, cooked, clean . . . This weekend was so busy.
My Stats: Read 3 books for a total of 7 hours
Bone Vol. 1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick Peace, Locomotion by Jeff Smith
Didn’t finish:Bone Vol. 2: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith
The Ghost’s Child (2008)
Sonya Hartnett
176 pages
Young Adult Fiction
Matilda, an elderly woman, comes home one afternoon to find a young boy sitting in her living room waiting for her. She has no idea who he is or what he wants. As they sit down for tea, the boy asks Matilda about the picture of her as a young girl on her boat.
Matilda tells the story of her childhood and growing up as a young girl named Maddy. She was the daughter of a materialistic mother and a father who had to divide himself into two different people: the “Iron-man”, an important and wealthy member of the community who only wants to make money and “Daddy”, a man who loves his daughter and only wants her to be happy.
Matilda describes her childhood self as
an over-lookable child, doubtful and reluctant in her dealings with others, mousey as a mouse. She was easily hurt, deceived and dispirited.
After a year-long journey with her father all over the world to experience life for the first time, Maddy comes back changed and more sure of herself.
Soon she falls in love with a mysterious boy named Feather. They fall in love and though Feather wants to make Maddy happy, one day he disappears to the horizon and a place called The Island of Stillness. Unable to let Feather go, Matty learns to sail and goes off on an adventure to ask Feather for the answer to the only question she has. . .
I really enjoyed reading this book. The Ghost’s Child is a book that has to be read slowly. The book isn’t really plot-driven but focuses more on character-building: Matilda as an old woman and as a young girl named Maddy. One of my favorite things about this book was the language. There were so many passages that I marked to read again later.
I love this passage by Matilda on love:
The world changes when something in it is loved. Words become feeble. Colors glow. Every moment vibrates with possible importance. And the heart that loves wonders how it live, in the past, without loving-and it will live now, now that it loves.
What I didn’t like were the few times that were unbelievable. Maddy as a child was a little too mature. She understood too much about life though she hadn’t experience life yet. Here’s a passage from Maddy as a child:
In the black of night, however, she was wrung with fear. She did not want to be uncaring, and uncared-for. She did not want to spend her whole life taking steps in the darkest, the coldest, the most lonely direction. Yet how, she wondered, does one craft sturdy happiness out of something as important, as complicated, as unrepeatable and as easily damaged as a life?
A beautiful passage but from a child? The Ghost’s Child has few faults and all can easily be overlooked. This is a great fable about the lessons of love and letting go, beauty, and having the courage to live life as you see fit.
“This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen book you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Bird by Zetta Elliot
Tales of Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan
Daphne’s Book by Mary Downing Hahn
All of Us: The Collected Poems by Raymond Carver
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac
Homecoming by Cynthia Viogt
Mothers Who Think edited by Camille Peri
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Annie on my Mind – Nancy Garden
The Babysitters Club series – Ann M. Martin
Every single one of these books have stayed with me whether I read them twenty years ago or two days ago. It surprised that half of the books are children’s books or young adults reads. I’ve also noticed that some of the recurring themes within a lot of the books are loneliness, family, and dreams. I cannot wait to read what books are on everyone else’s lists.
There are two great giveaways being hosted right now because of the Nerds Heart YA tournament that started last Monday. Kelly at YAnnabe is giving away four copies of the books she has to judge for the tournament, The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine by April Lurie and Leftovers by Laura Weiss. Not only is Kelly is giving away two copies of each book, she’s also giving away a copy of the ARC, Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers, another book that’s being judged in the tournament.
The second giveaway is being hosted by Jodie at Book Gazing. Jodie is giving away two copies each of the two books she has to judge, What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson and Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon. So two lucky winners will win a copy of each book. Jodie is also giving away a Powells gift card of $20.
I’m still working on last week’s library loot but that didn’t stop me from taking an impulse trip to the library a few days ago. I suddenly wanted to read more young adult novels and picked up more than I could carry. I had to push my library basket to the checkout desk. Here’s a few of the books I picked up.
Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab. The Sisters 8: Book 1, Annie’s Adventures by Laure Baratz-Logsted The City in the Lake by Rachel Neumeiser
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson Where I live by Eileen Spinelli
Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce An Abundance of Katherines by John Green Looking for Alaska by John Green
Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. No summer would be complete if I didn’t reread the series.
So that my library loot. What did you check out from the library this week?
It’s amazing that May is almost over with. It’s been a forgettable month. I can barely remember what I’ve accomplished. Book-wise I didn’t accomplish much, reading only three adult, four young adult, and fourteen children’s books.
I couldn’t give you just one book as my favorite this month, so I’m going to give you my top two. Sarah Stewart’s The Friend, a children’s book about unconditional love and the short story collection/graphic novel Tales of Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan. Both books are amazing and highly recommended.
Shauna at Reading and Ruminations has been in a reading funk and came up with a great personal challenge. called the Summer Reading Blitz. She wants to read 30 books in 30 days for the month of June. I think it’s such a great idea that I’m joining her. I have a stack of books lined up, ready and waiting.
Shauna and Brittanie will be hosting giveaways throughout June. Make sure you’re subscribed to their blogs so you don’t miss out.
June is also the start of
a young adult reading tournament that is the brainchild of the bold Renay. From June 1st through August 2nd, twenty bloggers will be judging sixteen young adult novels, published in 2008, that should’ve received more attention. If you click on the above icon, you can see the books that are being judged.
Look out for reviews and updates on the tournament from the judges. Nerdsheartya is also on Twitter. I’m so excited, I’m hoping to read all the shortlisted books.
If you didn’t know already, next weekend is the start of Mother Reader’s 48 Hour Challenge. For 48 hours bloggers all over the blogisphere will be reading as much as they can. You don’t have to read for 48 hours straight, but within a 48 hour period of time. Of course I’m in.
I was too late to join the BEA Twitter party but I still wanted to host a giveaway. Two lucky winners will each win a box of books. Here’s what’s included in the first box:
The Bookaholics’ Guide to Book Blogs compiled by Rebecca Gilleron and Catheryn Kilgarriff
Any Place I Lay My Hat by Susan Issacs
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
In box 2:
The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 edited by George Pelecanos. Included in the collection are stories by Elizabeth Strout, Michael Connelly, Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oates, and more.
What I Talk about When I Talk about Running by Haruki Murakami.
Book #3: a surprise
To enter, leave a comment. I’ll select a winner using random.org
Good luck.
Contest is over. The Winners are Jennifer and Jill! Congratulations!
When summer hits the only thing about my reading that changes is the amount of books I actually read. Like most readers I read more during the summer. This summer I signed up for Molly’s Summer Vacation Reading Challenge, joined Andi for her personal challenge, Reading In Order, and also joined Shauna for her June challenge, 30 books in 30 days. Callapidder Days challenge, Spring Reading Thing, ends June 20th and I want to complete the books I signed up for. Between reading and keeping the kids busy, my summer is packed.
Here are ten books of fiction I’m looking forward to reading this summer:
Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun. Mun’s debut novel takes place in 1980’s New York. The main character, Joon-Mee, is twelve years old when she runs away from home and lives the life of a runaway teen. The book gives the reader six years in Joon-Mee’s life.
Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff. Andi at Estella’s Revenge recommended that I read Lucky Chow Fun, the first story in this collection of short stories. I read it and loved it.
The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. Last year when I read Ann Hood’s memoir, Comfort, about the death of her young daughter, I feel in love with author’s voice. The Knitting Circle is a book about grief and trying to live after tragedy.
In Hovering Flight by Joyce Hinnefield. I found out about this book while on Twitter from fellow blogger, Wendy at Caribousmom.
The Angel of Forgetfulness by Steve Stern. This book has been sitting on my shelf for much too long. A fallen angel, his half-human son, a young woman named Keni, and a long-forgotten manuscript make up this story about love and memory.
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Chris would probably seriously harm me if I don’t read one of his all-time favorite books soon. (Just kidding, Chris!)
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. You can never go wrong with a Pulitzer winner.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen. Meghan at Medieval Bookworm told me about this debut novel. A talented 12 year old hitchhikes across America. It’s more complicated than that, but still. . .
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors of all time and I figured summer is the best time to Steinbeck.
500 Great Books by Women (1994)
edited by Erica Bauermeister, Jesse Larsen, and Holly Smith
426 pages
I don’t review reference books here on 1330v, but I love this book and wanted fellow bookworms to know about. If you liked Book Lust by Nancy Pearl, you will love 500 Great Books by Women.
Edited by Erica Bauermeister, Jesse Larsen, and Holly Smith and compiled with the help of thirty contributors, 500 Great Books gives the reader a collection of short reviews of lesser-known books of all genres written by women writers from different races, ages, sexual orientations, and countries. Many of the featured books were first published in a language other than English.
The reviews are divided by theme such as Growing Old, Choices, Families, Ethics, Observations, and many more. I used post-its to mark all the books I wanted to read and I ran out of post-its! My book now looks like a rainbow.
Many of the books featured here I have not heard of and less than twenty of them I’ve read. The editors included many well-known writers like Angela Carter, Louise Erdrich, Alice Walker, and Barbara Kingsolver but you are not going to find every book they wrote in this collection. Instead every writer only gets one book featured to leave room for other writers. I thought the idea was thoughtful and fair.
The only thing I didn’t like about the book is that there’s no table of contents though you can find out what books is featured by going to a theme’s page. Included in the back of the book are many indexes such as by title, subject, country, and others.
I loved the beginning of the book’s preface,
We read to learn, to feel, to stretch beyond our own lives, to escape, and to understand. A book has the power to reach back toward us and let us know we are not alone. Up from a flat page of type comes joy or anger or sadness, a sentence that soars, or an image that surprised like a photograph long forgotten. For a few hundred pages we can feel new rhythms, see new images, learn about ourselves, and become someone else.
The contributors and editors did an amazing job with this book. With so many books published every year in the United States let alone other countries, 500 Great Books is not meant to be comprehensive but to recommend to the reader some of great books the editors have read. Highly recommended.
Yesterday I started reading Marilynne Robinson’s debut novel, Housekeeping. The novel is the story of Ruth and her sister, Lucille, as they’re raised first by their grandmother, then her sister-in-laws, then by Sylvie, their eccentric aunt. According to the back cover,
Ruth and Lucille’s struggle toward adulthood beautifully illuminates the price of loss and survival, and the dangerous and deep undertow of transience.
While reading Housekeeping I’ve learned that this is a book to read slowly. This book is lyrical, so well-written. I’ve been keeping a pencil with me every time I continue the story because of the beautiful passages I want to go back to later on. Like this passage,
If heaven was to be this world plunged of disaster and nuisance, if immortality was to be this life held in poise and arrest, and if this world purged and this life unconsuming could be thought of as world and life restored to their proper natures, it is no wonder that five serene, eventless years lulled my grandmother into forgetting what she should never have forgotten.
Originally published in 1980, Housekeeping was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1982. It didn’t win though Robinson later won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for her second novel, Gilead.
My library loot has been piling up lately. I have less than 36 hours until the end of the semester and I’ve started placing large amounts of books on hold. If I’m lucky I can cut the stack in half in a month. If I’m lucky.
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. I’ve seen great reviews for this book all over the blogisphere so I had to pick it up. It’s this year’s Printz award winner. I can’t wait to sit down with this book.
The Knife of Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Renay has been pumping this book up, so I had to check it out.
Che: A biography by Spain Rodriguez. I picked this one up because I love the cover.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova.
Girl with a Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson. It’s a thriller and from what I’ve read a great book. If it’s it as good as bloggers have been saying, I won’t have to wait long for the release of the seqeul, The Girl Who Played with Fire.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney.I’ve read the first two in the series and couldn’t pass this one up. This is one of the hottest series to hit my library’s system since Harry Potter.
What’s waiting for me to pick up:
Follow Me by Joanna Scott. I’m blaming this on every blogger that read this book and wrote a review.
Flannery: A Life of Flannery O’Connor by Bard Gooch. I’m reading as much as I can right now, so I can start on this book next week.
The rest of my library loot was featured in this week’s Sunday Salon post: Book Coveting.
What did you check out this week from the library?
Wild Magic (2007)
Cat Weatherill
280 pages
Middle School Fiction
What led you to pick up this book?
When I heard this was a re-telling of the Pied Piper fairy tale, I wanted to read it badly. I’ve been on a fairy tale kick for a while now. It took about six months for me to get this book from the library so when it finally arrived I was surprised.
From the jacket flap
The Pied Piper had his reasons for enchanting the children of Hamelin and stealing them away—ones rooted in a deep history of wild magic. Mari and her brother Jakob are among the children who followed the piper’s song, and they are now trapped in a beautiful but cruel world inhabited by a horrid Beast.
What I liked most
Everything. Mari and Jakob are great characters to follow. The book’s summary is actually wrong. Mari followed the Pied Piper but Jakob couldn’t because he had a bad leg. Jakob was so determined to get to his sister that he sat at the magical door of a mountain every night for days, waiting for it to open. The effects of Elvendale, the magical city inside the mountain on Jakob almost had me in tears, it was so touching.
In Wild Magic readers find out what happened to the children of Hamelin Hill and also get the background story on the Pied Piper.
Though this book stayed on my shelf for weeks once I opened it, I read it in a matter of hours. I was drawn into this story of three great characters, a beast, and a deadly forest. Even the minor characters were interesting. I definitely recommend this book.
Here’s a description of the children leaving Hamelin Town with the Pied Piper,
He dared to be different. Into a sad, drab world of gray and black he had come, burning bright in turquoise and jade. Dazzling as a dragonfly. He had played a pipe and the rats had followed, dancing till they drowned in the quick brown water of the river. They had to follow him. They couldn’t resist his music. And Marianna couldn’t resist it now. It was glorious. She wanted to dance. She wanted to dream. She wanted to follow the Piper.
And Marianna wasn’t alone. The streets were packed with children. Every boy, every girl in Hamelin Town seemed to be there, and they were all dancing.
Bones of Faerie (2009)
Janni Lee Simner
247 pages
Young adult/Dystopian fiction Well-Read Ladies pick for May
Summary
A devastating war between human and Faerie leaves both sides changed forever. Liza, a young girl, has only heard of the Before which is so different from the aftermath. Humans live in small villages instead of cities. Modern technology is a thing of the past. Even nature is now an enemy where trees can attack at will and plants are not to be trusted. The one lesson that Liza has learned from her cruel father is to never let anything magical in. Your life depends on it.
But when Liza’s mother gives birth one night, the child is different. Born with hair as clear as glass, Liza’s father knows the baby is part Faerie and abandons it on a hillside to die. Soon after Liza’s mother disappears and Liza is left alone with her father to fend for herself. When Liza realizes that she has the power to see into the past and future, she too flees in search of her mother and a safe place to live.
My thoughts
I think Bones of Faerie is a pretty good book. The aftermath of the war between the two races was believable. Teh author constantly illustrated the effects of the war: people had to pump their water and grow plants that could possibly kill them if they wanted to live. Liza’s display of strength and her relationship with Matthew, a boy from her neighborhood, was also entertaining.
What I didn’t like was that readers were never given a reason for the war, just a quick explanation that the two sides didn’t get along. I wanted to know the details behind the war and what lead up to it. I wanted a feel for both sides like you do with Hunger Games.
I still think it’s a good read. The story captures your attention and doesn’t let you go until the end.
Emily’s Piano (2005)
By Charlotte Gingras
Translated from the French by Susan Ouriou
Illustrations by Stephane Jorisch
60 pages
Middle school fiction
Grown-ups think I don’t understand anything. They’re wrong. I watch soap operas just like everyone else. What’s more, I have hypersensitive ears and piercing eyes. Even my sense of smell is much better than most people’s. I’d make a great bloodhound.
Summary
Emily’s family life is not the best. Her father rarely comes home at night and her mother spends her days crying. One day the family has to move from their grand house to a much smaller apartment. Most of their things are sold including the family’s old black piano.
Emily thinks that if she can just get her mother’s piano back, it would make her mother feel so much better. She goes on walks all around the city, looking for the piano. Will she find it and bring her mother happiness?
Thoughts
I enjoyed reading this book. The author never tells you Emily’s age but I imagine her to be a tween, ten or eleven years old. Everyone from her parents to her much older sisters are too busy with their own lives to pay her any attention.
As an adult and a parent it was sad to see that no one in that family was focused on Emily. Though Emily herself is a little sad about her parents’ divorce, she’s still going on with her life, taking care of herself while understanding her mother’s grief.
Here’s two more great quotes from the book,
There’s no hope of a truce in this family now. We criticize each other, we tell each other’s secrets. Sometimes we scream insults.
Emily’s conversation with her father,
He says children can’t know how complicated and strange grown-ups’ lives are, even to them. How sometimes life is like a canoe trip down a dangerous river when the canoe tips down and sinks. How sometimes a person has to run away, or how . . .
What about me? Do grown-ups know what they’re doing to me?
Though this is a short book, readers travel with Emily on a journey through sadness and emotional maturing that has a beautiful ending.
Congratulations to Sarah for winning the Karma Wilson giveaway!
This week has been a great week for books though horrible for reading. I was assigned Moby Dick to read this week and it nearly did me in. It’s a great book to read aloud from but with only a little bit more than a week to read it, I had to set aside other books to read it. Thankfully this week’s required reading is only a few poems by Emily Dickinson.
For this week’s Book Coveting post, I’m going to show you the books I’m most excited about, got my hands on, and in most cases was unable to start reading. I’m so excited to read them this week.
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. I’ve been wanting to read this for so long and Maggie’s Southern Reading Challenge gave me the perfect excuse to pick it up.
The Music Teacher by Barbara Hall. Hall is the creator of Joan of Arcadia, one of my favorite series. When I found out she was publishing a novel, I had to put it on hold at the library. Here’s the first paragraph:
I am the mean music teacher. I am that cranky woman you remember from your youth, the one whose face you dreaded seeing, whose breath you dreaded smelling as I leaned over you, tugging at your fingers. You made jokes about me, drew caricatures of me in your notebooks, made puns out of my name, swore never to be me.
Well, listen. I swore never to be me, too.
Bicycles: Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni. Earlier this month Frances at Nonsuchbook wrote a great post about a reading she attended for Giovanni’s newest book, Bicycles: Love Poems. It’s such a great post for a few days afterwards, I kept going back to read it.
The fantastic Renay, from YA Fabulous, asked for volunteer judges for her upcoming young adult book tournament, Nerds Heart YA. I signed up and Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers is one of two books I need to read and judge within the next couple of weeks. I’m so excited!
The Song is You by Arthur Phillips. I first heard about this book from Michele at Read and Breathe. Michele recommended Kate Christensen’s The Epicure’s Lament, which I had a chance to read a little of and enjoyed before having to return it to the library. Christensen wrote a review for The Song is You. The first sentences of the review:
If novelists were labeled zoologically, Arthur Phillips would fall naturally into the dolphin family: his writing is playful, cerebral, likable, wide-ranging and inventive.
Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History from Aesop to Harry Potter by Seth Lerer. This book combines two of my favorite reading subjects: children’s literature and books about reading. Lerer won the 2008 National Book Critics Award for Criticism for this book, so it’s the perfect book for the end of the Book Awards Challenge 2.
Tales of Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan. I have been waiting months for this book from my local library. Tales of Outer Suburbia is a collection of short stories that as Heather said a few days ago, is the “perfect marriage between words and illustrations.” I have to agree with her. At 94 pages, this is a short read but one that will have you rereading it to catch everything you might have missed the first time you read it.
Last but not least is Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory. While I’ve waited months for Tan’s book, I’ve waited years for Gregory’s from paperbackswap. Everyday Matters is a illustrated memoir about Gregory and his family’s life after his wife is paralyzed from the waist down. Another short read that I cannot wait to dig into.
So that’s this week’s list. What books are you coveting?
Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?
I was thinking about this while I was on my blogging break. Though I have a habit of buying more books than I can read at one time ,I do have a system to my buying.
If my library has a book I want to read, I’ll always check it out first instead of buying it. If I love it, then I’ll buy it. I only buy new books that my library doesn’t have or that I’ve read and know that I will re-read. A lot of the books I buy come from used bookstores and thrift stores, so I usually end up getting a lot of books at low cost. I buy books and if I love them, they will stay on my shelves for years to come. If not, I donate them to my library or local thrift store that supports veterans.
I had put myself on a book-buying ban a couple of months ago because I went a little crazy with my buying and had a ton of new books I hadn’t cracked open. During this past week I’ve realized that it’s okay to buy books. I’ve lost the anxiety I once had over my double-stacked shelves and realized that with my system of buying and giving away, I’m doing great. It’s all about moderation.
So I’m taking myself off my ban. I did great not buying, but there’s nothing like the great feeling you get when you receive a book in the mail or bring new books home.
To offset the incoming books, I joined the Spring Reading Thing challenge. My plan is to read at least eighteen of my unread books by June 20th. If I read less than eighteen, I plan on giving away the difference.
Mama Always Comes Home
Karma Wilson(2005)
Illustrated by Brooke Dyer
Mama Always Comes Home is the story of Mama Cat, Mama Mole, and other mamas who have to briefly leave their little ones to take care of home but promises their children they will always be back soon. I had to pry a copy of this book out of my mother’s hands, she loved it that much. It’s a great book for mothers and mothers-to-be and perfect to help reassure children with separation anxiety that at the end of the day, Mama always come back.
Animal Strike at the Zoo. It’s True! (2006)
Karma Wilson
Illustrated by Margaret Spengler
The animals at the zoo go on strike. They’re tired of working for peanuts and make all sorts of demands to the zookeeper. He tries to keep them happy by meeting them but it’s little Sue on her very first trip to the zoo who show the animals how great their job really is. My children loved this book and we all laughed as we read it aloud.
There’s an animal strike at the zoo. It’s true! The headlines are telling it all. The animals quit. “That’s it!” “We’re through!” Say all critters from biggest to small.
The author, Karma Wilson, kindly sent me a signed copy of both books to give away to my readers. To enter, leave me a comment including your email address. One winner will be randomly chosen this Thursday, May 14th. Good luck.
Right now with so much going on in my life I need to take a blogging break. It’s the end of the spring semester and I have so many projects due within the next week, that I need to focus on school and family right now. I’ll be back on Sunday with a giveaway of children’s books but other than that, I’ll only be online to check email and reply to comments.
When I come back next Thursday I should be more relaxed, mostly free from school obligations, and will hopefully have reviews of some of the great books on my shelves.
This week’s Weekly Geeks assignment is on reviews and is hosted by Care.
1. Explain your review format-if you have one. Or maybe your rating system?
My review format always includes:
a picture of the cover of the book I read
the title, author’s name, number of pages, and the year the book was published
a summary of the book
my thoughts
a few of my favorite passages
I used to have a rating system but I dropped it. Having a rating system can be a tricky thing. I want readers to know what I liked about a book, what I didn’t like, and why. Sometimes a reviewer gushes about a book but only give the book three stars without saying why or giving enough detail. When a reviewer gives the reason for the rating, I can better tell whether or not I would like the book myself.
2. Highlight another book-blogger’s review format by linking to a favorite example- don’t forget to tell us why they’re a fave.
There are so many bloggers I look up to as blogging role models. These are bloggers who have been blogging longer than me and usually add new reads to my bookshelves. Their reviews make you want to go out and buy every book they loved or don’t give another glance to a book they didn’t care for. Their reviews are detailed, their tone is light, and I always end up wishing I could write like them.
Nymeth’s review of Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. When Nymeth loves a book you can tell in her reviews. She makes you want to go out and buy the book while you’re still reading the review. Both Tender Morsels and The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop are on my shelves now because of her.
Carl’s review of Exlibris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. I love Carl’s reviews. Carl has a passion for the sci-fi and fantasy books that have made me explore both genres. He’s also the host of two of my favorite reading challenges: Once Upon a Time and R.I.P.
Dewey’s review of East of Eden by John Steinbeck. This is one of my favorite reviews because a) I pressured asked Dewey to read it. It’s one of my favorite books. b) It’s a great book. c) Dewey had bloggers ask her questions about the book and she answered them. It wasn’t until Dewey that I had thought to have bloggers to ask questions about the books I read. Go to Dewey’s blog and check out any random review. You’ll leave her site with a long list of new books to read.
Emily’s review of Locomotion and Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. Emily writes her reviews in haiku format. She uses just a few words to make you want to read a book. My hero.
3. Do a review in another book-blogger’s format of your latest read.
Will do later.
4. Highlight a past review that you’re particularly fond of and why the format and structure may have something to do with it.
The latest review that I’m really fond of is the one I wrote for The Hunger Games. I had a hard time writing this review because so many bloggers have read this book and reviewed it. I was trying to figure out if I had anything to add to the conversation. It turned out I did have something to add. I ended up really loving the way the review came out.
I started reading so many books last week that I ony finished one. This week is starting out great since I read and finished a book yesterday.
Last week I read: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I finally gave in to all the hype on the blogisphere and read it. What a great book!
So far this week I read: Bones of Faerie by Janni Simner.
This week’s reads are:
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. I’ve already started reading it and so far I’m enjoying it.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Scaffer Annie Barrows. This is a book filled with great characters.
One short story collection. I found out that it’s unofficially National Short Story Month so I’m going to start on one of the many collections that’s been collecting dust on my shelves.
Hopefully I’ll read more than this pitiful amount this week.
How many books (roughly) are in your tbr pile? Is this in increasing number or does it stay stable? Do you ever experience tbr anxiety in the face of this pile? (question courtesy of Wendy)
At last count a couple of months ago, I had close to 200 unread books on my shelves. I know it’s a small number compared to others but it feels so huge to me. Since I put myself on a book-buying ban two months ago, I’m glad to say the only books that have come into my home have been gifts, won from giveaways, or I’ve used my paperbackswap credits to get.
Do I experience anxiety? Yes. I try not to feel too bad because I have a rule when it comes to buying books. I only buy books if the library doesn’t have it or I’ve read it already and know I’m going to reread it. My library has a great selection of books but since book bloggers get a lot of books around the time of publication, well my shelf space has gotten a lot smaller.
I’ve joined several challenges in hopes of reading from my TBR shelves. So far this year I’ve only read about seven books from my shelves and my goal is thirty. If I don’t reach my goal, I’m happy to give away the difference.
Right now it is late afternoon and there is little noise in my house. The kids are all drawing or reading and I am getting on the computer for the second time today. Usually I’m on all day but I needed a break. Earlier I was at the library researching books for one of my classes. I was only suppose to check out two books for the project but instead went overboard and brought home an armful of books. Oh well.
I just finished Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner. I started it this morning and spent most of the day reading it for this month’s Well-Read Ladies book club selection. Every month we read books from different genres and write notes on our group blog for discussion. This month was young adult and next month for our classics pick is John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. I cannot wait! It’s on plenty of my challenges lists.
Speaking of reading challenges, I’ve noticed that I’m not paying much attention to the challenges I signed up for. I’ve only finished two challenges this year, the Essay Reading Challenge and Young Readers Challenge. I am paying attention to the Spring Reading Thing Challenge though. When I signed up I swore I would read at least eighteen of my unread books or give the difference away. I can change the list anytime I want to but not the number. The challenge ends June 20th so I’m still hopefully I can hit eighteen. Since Bones of Faerie is one of my own books, it’s the first book I finished for the challenge. 17 to go. . .
Just when I was thinking of giving up most of my challenges, I found of that the brilliant Maggie over at MaggieReads is hosting her annual Southern Reading Challenge. When I think of summer I think of this challenge. The challenge is from May 15th to August 15th and you only have to read three books. I had to join one more challenge! As usual I went overboard, picking more than three books but I am going to read at least three. Here’s a list of the books I’m interested in reading:
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan.
One Writer’s Beginnings byEudora Welty
A Death in the Family by James Agee
Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright
Now it’s time for me to get off and get the kids ready for school tomorrow. After that I plan on curling up with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and finishing it before tomorrow.
I thought about not writing a review of The Hunger Games since this book has swept the blogging community since its publication. I have read so many great reviews and thought one more wasn’t really needed. What changed my mind was laying in bed two o’clock this morning and feeling my heart beat faster as I thought of Katniss and Peeta, Rue and Thresh, and wondered what will book 2, Catching Fire, have in store for the main characters and District 12.
Summary from the jacket flap:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Tha Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to patricipate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in teh Hames. But Jatness has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
No matter how much you read about Hunger Games you are never prepared when you finally read it. One of the first things that stood out for me was how much information Collins gives on what’s life is like after the rebellion within the first few chapters. As the reader you take how granted how gifted Collins is as making us feel what it’s like to live in District 12. It’s the poorest of all the districts, except District 13 which has been obliterated in the rebellion and used as a reminder of the Capitol’s power.
The Hunger Games is sci-fi, a romance, and social commentary rolled up in a young adult novel. Many have talked about how honestly reality television and violence have been portrayed but what echoes for me was the social commentary on the lifestyle differences between the poor who live in the farther districts and the rich who live at Capitol which was shown through Katniss’s perspective of the residents of the Capitol and her physical hunger.
What must it be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button? How would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by? What do they do all day, these people in the Capitol, besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and die for their entertainment?
Compare that with this:
Starvation’s not an uncommon fate in Distict 12. Who hasn’t seen the victims? Older people who can’t work. Children from a family with too many to feed. Those injuried in the mines. Straggling through the streets. And one day, you come upon them sitting motionless against a wall or lying in the Meadow, you hear the wails from a house, and the Peacekeeprs are called in to retrieve the body. Starvation is never the cause of death officially. It’s always the flu, or exposure, or pneumonia. But that fools no one.
I enjoyed reading this book so much that I stayed up until the early morning to finish reading it. The ending, though short, was what I expected. I have so many questions I want answers to including what is going to happen to the “bodies” of the contestants who lost at the Hunger Games. I cannot wait until September 1st to buy the next book in this trilogy. Until then, I think I will start reading Collins’ Underland Chronicles series.
Challenges Read for: Young Adult; 100+ books; April’s pick for The Year of Reading Dangerously; A Novel’s Group; and Once Upon a Time
I haven’t participated in showing my library loot since last month. So instead of just showing you what I checked out yesterday, I’m going to also show you what I still have out. Hopefully I’ll get into gear and most of this stack will be read within the month, perfect timing for summer vacation.
Laika by Nick Abadzis
Skellig by David Almond
Comic Book Tattoo
A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle (really I need to hurry and read this)
Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block
Masterpiece by Elise Broach.
The Sisters Grim #2: The Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley
Black Swan, White Raven edited by Ellen Datlow
Beauty and the Beast by Max Eilenberg
The Music Teacher by Barbara Hall.
The Story is You by Arthur Phillips.
The Seance by John Harwood.
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
How I learned to drive by Paula Vogel. Won 1998 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
All Souls by Cathleen Schutt. It was a finalist for this year’s Pulitzer Prize in fiction.
The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill
The Haiku Anthology edited by Cor van den Heuvel
Maus I by Art Speigelman. 1992 Pulitzer: Special Awards and Citations in Letters
Crumbs From the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage. Nottage won this year’s Pulitzer for her play, Ruined. Since my library doesn’t have it yet, I decided to check out Crumbs.
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. Shortlisted for Orange Prize in 2006
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Scaffer and Annie Barrows. I’m listening to this on audio while I read the book.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Same thing with Pan as with Guernsey. The kids love being “read” to.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore. During School Library Journal’s Battle of the Books, many wanted The Hunger Games to go up against Graceling to see who would win. It made me curious, so hopefully I’ll read this soon.
After participating in last week’s read-a-thon, I just knew that I would be on a reading roll. I fantasized I would be reading book after book. I would be unstoppable. . . It did not happen. Instead after the read-a-thon, I didn’t finish even one book last week.I was so tired, it wasn’t until Thursday that I felt like myself. I’ll plan better for the next event in October.
I have a ton of books due next week that I would really like to read. I’m a little addicted to my library’s holds system and it doesn’t help that I can put books on hold any time of the day. So I’m hoping to read and finish:
A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
The Seance by John Harwood. I’ve already started it and love it so far.
A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Already started it and in awe of Collins.
Kailana and I are having a read-a-long together and are reading Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan and Drood by Dan Simmons. We’re hoping to be on chapter six of Lanagan and twelve of Simmons by this Saturday. Feel free to join us.
I also have to start reading Moby Dick for class. Thank goodness I have three weeks to finish it and write an essay. So that’s it for this week. I better go and get started on my books.
Has the read-athon affected your reading? What are you reading this week?
I’ve been subscribing to Bookmarks magazine for almost a year now. A couple of days ago I explored their website and found in their forum a discussion entitled The Seven Things About You As a Reader. It made me think: what are seven things unknown about my reading life?
1. I have a whole bookshelf dedicated to short story collections and anthologies from writers like Lauren Groff, Zadie Smith, Donald Ray Pollock, and Amy Hempel. Most I have never read. All are brand new. This is why I’m on a book-buying ban.
2. I was the slowest reader in my kindergarten class. The summer after I was determined to become a better reader. My father was unemployed at the time so he took care of my little brother and I. That summer I put my little desk next to the back door and stayed there in my father’s way all summer. He taught me to read by answering every question I had on sounds and words. I am forever indebted to him for that summer alone.
3. I didn’t own a library card until I was almost thirteen. Before then my mother would just buy me books from the thrift store she worked at. We couldn’t afford the books and she still bought them without hesitating. I owe my mom just as much as I owe my dad.
4. In the eighth grade I received an award for reading a thousand books that school year. Instead of going to the award assembly where I was told I received a standing ovation, I went to get my hair done for the eighth grade prom. I received the worst hair cut ever. Not going to the assembly is one of the biggest regrets in my life.
5. I dislike hardcover books. I rather have a paperback that won’t weigh down my backpack or purse. Paperbacks are easy to bend and I don’t have to worry about the dust jacket. Besides paperbacks are cheaper.
6. I was the only reader in my family until I started having kids.
7. I go through reading obsessions. Some of my obsessions have included Pulitzer prize-winning plays, homeschooling, fantasy books, children’s books, and authors like Judy Blume, Ann M. Martin, and John Steinbeck. Sometimes the obsession lasts a month while other times it lasts for several months. My current obsession is to get the ton of books I checked out from the library read and returned on time.
I learned from the last read-a-thon that a great way to pass time and feel like you’re accomplishing something is to read children’s books. They help to settle your mind between the readings of bigger, more intense stories. Within a small amount of time children’s books can give you a glimpse of someone’s life and story without weighing you down.
The Money Tree (1991)
Illustrations by David Small
The Money Tree tells the story of Miss McGillicuddy and the unusual tree that suddenly starts to grow into her backyard one January. As the seasons change the tree grows larger and larger. When Miss McGillicuddy realize that the tree’s strange leaves is paper money, she starts giving them away. Soon crowds of people are coming to pluck the money off the tree. Will it ever end?
The was a great book to read. Simple and perceptive, The Money Tree shows kids and adults what’s really important in life.
The Library (1995)
Illustrations by David Small
I found out about The Library from my kids. Told in rhyme, The Library is the story of Mary Elizabeth Brown’s life from a child to an elderly woman. Brown loves books and would rather read than do anything else. Does that sound like anyone you know? One of my favorite passages from the book,
Books were piled on top of chairs
And spread across the floor.
Her shelves began to fall apart,
As she read more and more.
I wish I could show you the beautiful illustrations by David Small, Stewart’s husband. They compliment the story perfectly. My favorite illustrations of the story are a two-page spread that has the illusion that Mary Elizabeth Brown has so many books they’re about to fall off the page.
The Gardener (2007)
Caldecott Honor Medal
Out of all three of the books I’ve read by Stewart, The Gardener is my favorite.
Lydia Grace Finch is a little girl living during the Depression who loves to garden. After her father loses his job and money stop coming in, Lydia Grace is sent to the city to live with her Uncle Jim.
Jim owns a bakery and never smiles. He allows Lydia Grace to grow flowers and vegetables around the bakery. A transformation takes place and no one is the same in the year.
Told in letters to uncle Jim and her family back at home, readers get to see Lydia Grace’s life and the resilience of a little girl to make the things she touch beautiful.
The read-a-thon is over once again until October. Bloggers have happily put down their books and are sleeping right now. Most of us can finally smile and say we read something on our unread shelves and know we have a ton of books to return to our libraries. I want to thank Trish, Nymeth, and Wordlily for taking on the massive task of organizing the read-a-thon in Dewey’s memory.
The Read-a-thon is one of the events I look forward to every year. A bunch of bookworms getting together for the daunting task of reading as much as they can within a 24-hour period while others cheer us on is crazy but lots of fun.
The books I read were:
Without Blood by Alessandro Barrico – adult fiction
Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks – play
Moxy Maxwell does not love Stuart Little – Peggy Gifford -middle school
Houndsley and Catina by James Howe – kids
Queens by Michael Cunningham – photography
Emily by Michael Bedard – children’s
The Journey by Sarah Stewart – children’s
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci – graphic novel
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart – children’s
Are you ready to play outside? by Mo Willems – children’s
Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo – children’s
Oscar and the Frog: A book about growing by Geoff Waring – children’s
Pajama Day by Lynn Plourde – children’s
The Money Tree by Sarah Stewart – children’s
What I didn’t finish but will this week:
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
I learned that after reading an intense book like the play Topdog/Underdog, it’s best to have something easy and fun to read like a children’s book. After reading the play, I couldn’t read for an hour or two. I was still so caught up the story.
The books I enjoyed the most were Topdog/Underdog, WithoutBlood, Queens, and The Plain Janes. All four stayed with me after I finished them and it was kind of hard to separate myself and go to a new read.
My kids were a part of the read-a-thon also. I read children’s books to them between my own reads. One of my little sisters joined the read-a-thon with me and reread Charlotte’s Web. I plan on giving her something for joining me without me having to ask her. I just mentioned the read-a-thon and she was game.
As usual I was a cheerleader and a reader. It was great doing both jobs, reading as much as I could while cheering other readers on. I added a ton of new blogs to my reader.
The integration of Twitter into the read-a-thon was perfect. It helped cheerleaders and readers encourage participants throughout the event. It also made cheerleading easier since cheerleaders didn’t have to just go to individual blogs.
My favorite part of the read-a-thon surprisingly was not the reading but the cheerleading. Cheerleading is an addiction you still find yourself doing the day after the read-a-thon. But it was great to cut into the piles of books I had for the read-a-thon.
Once again I have to thank Nymeth, Wordlily, and Trish for taking the reins and hosting this great event for the blogging community.
This hour’s mini-challenge is to share a favorite post by Dewey or share a memory we have of her.
Dewey is my blogging idol. She made writing book reviews and memes seem like the easiest thing in the world to do. She was funny, smart, a voracious reader, and you couldn’t help but share in her passion even if you didn’t read the same genres she read.
Some of the things I loved about Dewey:
She was easy to talk to
The last book she reviewed was East of Eden my favorite that I promised her she would love
Her encouragement throughout the short time I knew her
Bringing our beautiful community together through events like the read-a-thon
Her humor. She could make anyone laugh
Her generosity. She gave with her whole heart and didn’t think twice about it
One of my favorite posts of her’s is the Why Do We Read? Meme. It’s classic Dewey.
If you’ve never been over there, go over to Dewey’s blog, The Hidden Side of the Leaf, and look around. You’ll find posts that will make you laugh, cry, and think. You’ll find reviews for great books and not-so-great ones. Though Dewey’s gone, you may even find a new friend.
It’s almost midnight here and everyone is asleep in their beds. I’m looking at my stack for the read-a-thon and realize that I might have been a little too ambitious with my pile. Good thing libraries let you renew.
Currently Reading: nothing
Pages read since last update: 293
Total pages read: 1034
Books read since last update: Three
Topdog/Underdog – Suzan-Lori Parks
Without Blood – Alessandro Baricco
Moxy Maxwell does not love Stuart Little – Peggy Gifford
1. What are you reading right now?Without Blood by Alessandro Baricco. It’s a fantastic read.
2. How many books have you read so far? Nine
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?Skellig, Pysche in a Dress, Cannery Row, Sonata for Miriam, and Topdog/Underdog
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No. I have all the kids with me. I have a ton of movies for them to watch, books for them to read, and food for them to eat.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I’ve had a ton since I’m a reader and cheerleader. You just have to remember it’s not a race. The purpose of the read-a-thon is remember Dewey and for all of us to do what we love the most: reading.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? The great addition Twitter is to the read-a-thon.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? The read-a-thon is perfect every year. I just want to thank Trish, Nymeth, and Wordlily for the great job they did putting all of this together.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Nothing!
9. Are you getting tired yet? Nope. I’m on my third pot of coffee and I’ve had a nap.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Make sure you have enough snacks around that you don’t have to really cook, read small books, naps are your best friend, and have fun!
There is nothing better than taking a nap on a read-a-thon day. We’re currently in hour 10 of the read-a-thon. I plan on kicking some major butt real soon. I finally finished reading Queens. It was a great book but not to be read in one sitting. I needed something in a different direction so I read a ton of children’s books to my kids.
Currently Reading:Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford. It’s a great read for kids ages 7-10.
Pages read since last update: 322
Total pages read: 741 (Can you believe that?)
Books read: 9 books 2 adults and 7 children’s,
Books read since the last update:
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
Pajama Day by Lynn Plourde
The Money Tree by Sarah Stewart
Mrs. McNosh Hangs up her Wash – Sarah Weeks
Are you ready to play outside – Mo Willems
Oscar and the Frog: A book about growing – Geoff Waring
Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken – Kate DiCamillo
The kids’ favorite:Are you ready to go outside – Mo Willems
My favorite: Tie between The Money Tree and Pajama Day
Currently reading: Queens: Portraits of Black Women and their Fabulous Hair by Michael Cunningham and George Alexander.
Summary: Told in photos and essays by various women around the world, this book is about the relationship black women have with their hair. Each woman tells an autobiographical “hair story”. Hair plays a big role in a woman’s life and the way you wear your hair represents different things to different people.
One of my favorite passages is in the author’s note because what he says is so true:
I learned that, particularly for Black women, hair is so much more than just hair. Hair has the ability to unleash all of life’s deepest emotions. Hair is about identity, beauty, racial pride, race politics, self-acceptance, self-expression, self-realization, class, status, fun, glamour, romance, fantasy, art, passion, joy, pain, freedom, enslavement, power. Hair can be all those things and more.
Bird by Rita Murphy (2008)
150 pages
Middle school fiction
From the inside flap:
Miranda has no recollection of where she came from-only that years ago, a gust of wind deposited her outside Bourne Manor. The Manor’s sole inhabitant, Wysteria Barrows, took Miranda in and promptly outfitted her with special boots-boots weighted with steel to keep Miranda anchored to the ground. But aside from shelter and clothing, Miranda receives little warmth from the aging widow. The Manor, too, is a cold place, full of drafts and locked doors. Full of menace. Full of secrets.
Then one day a boy named Farley appears, and with his help, Miranda embraces her destiny with the wind . . . and uncovers the Manor’s hidden past.
I saw the cover of this book and decided to check it out. Originally I picked this book up for the read-a-thon because of its small size but I became a little impatient and decided to read it now.
Miranda is a girl so small she can easily be carried away by the wind. She was so young when the wind carried her away and dropped her in trees next to Bourne Manor that she cannot remember where she came from and what her name was. One day Miranda finds a skeleton key and her imagination opens up. She secretly explores Bourne Manor behind the back of her guardian Wysteria. After Miranda meets Farley and Wysteria is sent away to the hospital to recover from an illness, Miranda starts to become more sure about herself and learns the Manor’s past.
I loved the cover of Bird which was done by Fernando Juarez. In the beginning of the book Murphy describes Bourne Manor and I wouldn’t have been able to see it in my mind without the cover. The inside of the Manor was easy to visual with its many rooms and the ballroom that no one had ever danced in. I love the way Miranda described the Manor, which is not just a setting in the book but an actual character:
For although no one ever perished unnaturally within its walls that I knew of, the Manor, set out on its own as it was, battered by the wind, invited the spirits of those long departed and of those who roamed the shores in search of a warm fire, as it had invited me. The lost and aimless: to these Bourne Manor gave its shelter.
Rita Murphy’s writing style is simple yet so beautiful. Every character comes across the way they’re supposed to. There is not one sentence that is there needlessly.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I recommend this book to any reader of middle school or young adult fiction. I hope the author writes more stories about Miranda.
I realized that with spring break going on, this whole week is basically one big read-a-thon. I have a ton of great books on my shelf that I’ve been wanting to read for so long. So here’s what I’m thinking about reading this week which includes my read-a-thon picks:
Graphic Novels
Laika by Nick Abadzis.
Night Fisher – R. Kikuo Johnson
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman
Young adult picks
Tender Morsels- Margo Lanagan
The Teashop Girls – Laura Scaefer
Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Bird – Rita Murphy
Lark and Termite – Jayne Anne Phillips
Short Stories and Novellas
We never talk about my brother – Peter S. Beagle
Shopgirl – Steve Martin
Without Blood – Alessandro Barrico
Sonata for Miriam – Linda Olsson
The Bloody Chamber – Angela Carter
The rest is to be announced. Now I can read all of this, but I’m going to have to limit my time online. Maybe it’ll happen.
(Update: If anyone can help me fix this post, please let me know. Thanks!)
With the start of Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-thon less than a week away, I thought it might be a good idea to start writing my various posts for the big event.
Chris at Stuff as Dreams Are Made Of recently wrote a post about the charity he will be sponsoring during the read-a-thon. So I’m stealing the idea to tell you about the charity I’m sponsoring.
This year I joined The Year of Reader challenge. The purpose of the year-long challenge is for bookworms to sponsor literary charities through the books they read. You can have others sponsor you or donate yourself. One of the charities I’m sponsoring is 826national.org.
In 2002 author Dave Eggers opened 826Valencia. The purpose of the organization is:
assist students ages six to eighteen with their writing skills, and to help teachers get their classes excited about writing. Our work is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.
Currently there are seven chapters of 826 in Valencia, California; Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Ann Harbor, and Brooklyn. All seven are under the umbrella known as 826National.
The chapters offer tutoring, field trips, and workshops in things like screenwriting, SAT prep, comic book writing, and more. All services are free for the kids that come in. I wish this organization was around when I was growing up.
Since I am sponsoring two charities this year, I alternate between the two every month. This month it’s 826’s turn. As usual for every book I read, I donate $1.50 to that month’s charity. I don’t have a goal as to the specific amount to donate, but so far this month I’ve read 20 books. I hope to double that amount from now until the end of the read-a-thon Sunday. We’ll see.
I want to thank everyone who came and left a message on my last post. I really appreciate the love.
I finished my work and spring break has officially started! I still have required reading to do for the week, Jane Eyre, but I’m not concerned. I plan on using the next nine days to spend time with my kids, read, take naps, read some more, and take a few more naps!
I honestly think my professors got together and came up with the plan to pile on work that’s due the week before spring break to torment me us students. So currently I’m waist-deep writing three papers and reading several centuries-old novels. Add a hectic schedule, five kids which includes an asthmatic, and almost no sleep, and you have my life.
Two more days. I have two more days until spring break. Let’s hope that I make it.
Today is day 12 of my 37-day challenge to pay attention to my life. As much as I love to read and love literature, the idea of writing one more essay for any class kills me almost to the point of waiting to change my major from English literature.
Today’s lesson: never take two English classes in one semester.
I know it’s a cliche but I had to say it. I’ve been given three awards by three great bloggers. Yvonne at Socrates’s Book Reviews gave me the Premio Darios award. The award acknowledges
“the the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.”
Then Molly surprised me with the Zombie Chicken award.
“The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…”
On top of that Aerin the Great gave me the Proximidade Award. For this award
This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY – nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award.
Last Sunday night I started reading East by Edith Pattou. I read so many great reviews from fellow bloggers about the book and then my English professor recommended the book to my class. So far she’s recommended The Book Thief, The Graveyard Book, and The Book of Lost Things. All three I’ve already read. Why am I the only person in class who write the titles down? I cannot pass up a book recommendation.
So I started East after the kids went to bed and stayed up to about 1 a.m. reading. East is based on the Norwegian fairy tale called East of the Sun, West of the Moon. One night an enchanted polar bear comes to the home of a young girl and her family. He asks if the girl would live with him in exchange for good health and money to come to her family. She agrees and off the two leave. Filled with adventures and amazing characters, it’s a great read for readers of all ages.
I finished East the second I woke up Monday morning. I finished it and immediately started on the last volumes of the Fables series. I sat and read six volumes, occasionally coming up for air and snacks. Now if only I can read this well during the read-a-thon!
I want to describe Bill Willingham’s Fables to you but I can’t. I can tell you what it’s not. It’s not a modern retelling of fairy tales like Snow White, The Big Bad Wolf, Rose Red, Prince Charming . . . The setting is modern-day New York City in a section just for them called Fabletown. And happily ever after is for the birds. Anyway. . .
My favorite volume of the series is volume #10: The Good Prince. This is Flycatcher’s a.k.a. The Frog Prince story. After centuries of denial he finally deals with his grief over the loss of his wife and children. You see Flycatcher’s transformation throughout the book. At first he’s drawn like he normally was throughout the series then you see a gradual change. When I’m off my book-buying ban I will be buying this volume.
When I finished reading Monday, I felt like I had came back from my childhood. With so many obligations it’s so rare for me to be able to sit and read without worrying about the other things I need to do. I felt so lucky.
Right now I’m in the middle of about six books. I know that’s crazy. I’m currently reading:
The Book of the Unknown by Jonathon Keats. It’s a short story collection and I’m almost finished.
Vintage Hughes – Langston Hughes. I’m in love with this book. It’s really short and contains some of Hughes’ best poems.
All of Us: The Collected Poems by Raymond Carver. I’m so happy that with all the great feedback from Carver’s poems I’ve been posting.
Drood by Dan Simmons. I just checked this out of my library and it’s going pretty well.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. No matter how much I read about slavery, it’s still shocking the horrors that so many people endured.
The Asthma Sourcebook by Francis V. Adams. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about asthma because of my little one, Ollie.
I plan on finishing every book this except Drood. Kailana and I are having a read-along with Drood, so feel free to join us. We’re reading the first ten chapters this week.
This week I read (Yeah I know. I’m packing a lot into one post):
East – Edith Pattou
Fables 6 – Bill Willingham
Fables 7- Bill Willingham
Fables 8 – Bill Willingham
Fables 9- Bill Willingham
Fables 10 – Bill Willingham
Fables 11 – Bill Willingham
Princess Peepers – Pam Calvert
Planting the Trees of Kenya – Claire A. Novola
Hooray for Reading Day – Margery Cuyler
How was your week and what are you reading?
Gravy
No other word will do. For that’s what it was. Gravy.
Gravy, these past ten years.
Alive, sober, working, loving and
being loved by a good woman. Eleven years
ago he was told he had six months to live
at the rate he was going. And he was going
nowhere but down. So he changed his ways
somehow. He quit drinking! And the rest?
After that it was all gravy, every minute
of it, up to and including when he was told about,
well, some things that were breaking down and
building up inside his head. “Don’t weep for me,”
he said to his friends. “I’m a lucky man.
I’ve had ten years longer than I or anyone
expected. Pure gravy. And don’t forget it.”
Raymond Carver, from All of Us: The Collected Poems
This week’s Weekly Geeks is the brainchild of Becky. I have to say this week’s assignment is tied with my absolute favorite assignment which is a quote a day.
Option A: Be a kid.
You could read a picture book (or two or three) and share what you read.
Write up a post sharing your favorite books from childhood.
Write up a post about reading together with your child(ren).
Option B: Be a poet.
Write your own poem and share with us!
Write bookish ABC poems–ABC’s of favorite authors, favorite books, favorite characters, favorite book blogs, or any combination of the above. Maybe even an ABC’s of a bibliophile or book addict. (A is for…B is for…etc.)(For example, ABC’s of Dr. Seuss)
Review a book you’ve read recently in haiku. (It doesn’t need to be a poetry book you’re reviewing, any book will do.) See Emilyreads for an idea of what I mean.
Read a poetry book and review it.
Participate in Poetry Friday (This week’s host will be Carol’s Corner.)
Isn’t this a great assignment? I think throughout this week I’ll attempt to do every idea.
*****
About two years ago I came up with the idea to start a book club in my home. Mind you the only members are everyone who lives here but the kids loved the idea. So we came up with a name and agreed or I decided that every night, right before bedtime, we would get together and share our favorite books and read to each other. Even the boys, who are the youngest, could pick out a book to share and read. I thought it would be nice to share with everyone our favorite picks of the week.
Van’s pick is Princess Peepers by Pam Calvert (2008). Illustrated by Tuesday Mourning. 40 pages.
Princes Peepers is a girl who knows who she is. She loves wearing glasses and has one for each of her favorite outfits. But when she starts a new school and gets laughed at, she throws every pair of glasses into her trunk and promises never to use them again.
The story started out great until the end when the princess meets Prince Peerless and go away with him. Van loved the book but I felt the end wasn’t necessary. Don’t we have enough books with princess riding off with princes? Princess Peepers didn’t find confidence with herself until she met the prince. What really kills me is the fact that both prince and princess look like they are no older than ten. *sigh* This is one that won’t be added to our home collection.
Val’s pick isSomeday by Eileen Spinelli (2007). Illustrated by Rosie Winstead. 32 pages.
Someday is about a little girl’s longing for more than what she has in her life presently. One of the things she longs for us to be a great artist who paints by the sea but instead she’s helping her dad paint the shed. At the end of the book, the little girl finally thinks it’s okay to be mindful of the present.
Av’s pick:Dinosaur vs Bedtime by Bob Shea (2008). At three years old, Avi’s the baby of the family but don’t tell him that. He won’t believe you. For the last two weeks I have been reading Dinosaur vs. Bedtime every morning, noon, and night. Imagine my surprise when Avram read the book to me yesterday. I’m surprise I didn’t cry.
Pip’s pick is The Baby-Sitters Club: Claudia and Mean Janine(2008). Written by Ann M. Martin. Illustrated by Raina Telgemeiser. 176 pages.
One of the funny things that never fails to surprise me is that motherhood makes you go full-circle in your life. I was the same age as Pip (7) when I discovered this series. Claudia and Mean Janine is actually book seven in the original series.
Claudia and Janine are sisters who can’t get along. Janine is a genius who lives at her computer desk while Claudia is the artist with a passion for junk food. When their grandmother has a stroke after having an argument with Claudia, Claudia blames herself. The sisters come together to help their grandmother get better.
Oli (age 5) doesn’t have a favorite pick. I think it might be because he’s been going to sleep earlier than everyone this week, so I’ve been reading to him from my own reads. I read the first several chapters of East by Edith Pattou and several poems from various poets like Raymond Carver, Langston Hughes, and Christina Rossetti. I haven’t bored him yet so I’m calling it a success.
Suppose I say summer,
write the word “hummingbird,”
put it in an envelope,
take it down the hill
to the box. When you open
my letter you will recall
those days and how much,
just how much, I love you.
I saw that National Library week is coming up in April, and that led to some questions. How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Did you go to the library as a child? Do you have any particular memories of the library? Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries?
I use my library probably every day. When I read a great review on a blog, I go to my library account and either put the book on hold or my list. The library’s system allows patrons to put books on a list to be ordered later. That way patrons don’t clog up their holds lists.
I visit my library branches probably once or twice a week. I go by myself on my way to school and on other days I take all the kids. Our visits are usually short but we leave with bags filled with books.
My family and I also use the library’s programs like the ABC Soup that celebrates whatever holiday coming up and kids do fun art projects. Everyone’s favorite program is the summer reading program. The program is for all ages. After reading a certain amount of books, you receive free books of your choice from the library.
When my family no longer wants our books that are in good condition, we donate them to our library. They either keep the books or sell them in their library sales. They help us and we help them.
Childhood
I didn’t start going to the library until I was a tween. I loved the library and I went there almost every day after school. My mom knew if it was dark outside to wait until fifteen minutes after the library closed and she would always spot me coming up the sidewalk, dragging my backpack.
The Look and Feel of a Library
I don’t care if a library is sleek and modern or old, quiet, and cozy. What matters to me is the selection and the ease of access. I want the library I go to to have an easy-to-use OPAC (online public access catalog). It shouldn’t take me more than a few clicks of my mouse to find the materials I’m looking for online.
I also want approachable librarians and paraprofessions that I feel comfortable going to with questions. The libraries I go to are perfect in those aspects so it’s one of the reasons why I keep going back.
Library vs. Coffeehouse/Bookstore
Libraries win every time. For me coffeehouses and bookstores can never compare to everything libraries do for their surrounding communities. Libraries are the backbone of a democratic society. Anyone who wants an education no matter their citizenship status can receive one by visiting their local library. Bookstores are great for buying and coffeehouses are great for offering beverages but both are businesses concerned only with the bottom line.
Lately I’ve been nursing a broken heart. I’ve been single for almost a year now but a recent argument with my ex made my heart break again. This time not from sadness, but from the realization that we can’t even be friends.
Yesterday I tried not to think about him as I took our youngest son to school. On the way there I started to crave poetry. To be specific haiku. Haiku by Basho, Richard Wright, Nicholas Virgilio. . . It didn’t matter.
The smart thing would have been to stay at the bus stop and study on my way to class, but I remembered my resolution to pay more attention to the details of my life.
So instead of waiting for the bus so I could go to school, I practically ran to my nearest library and checked out many of my favorite volumes and anthologies along with a few volumes I’ve never read.
Among morning-glories
the drip drip
of lingerie.
-Alexis Rotella
After the first haiku I felt better. I kept reading haiku after haiku until I reached class. Yesterday I paid attention to my needs and it was poetry that my soul wanted. It might sound strange but I’m pretty proud of myself.
I’m the kind of mom that rarely goes to the doctor. I would love to but I don’t have the time, energy, or desire. When I do have time or energy or desire, (never all three at one time), I rather spend those few hours of peace doing something I love like reading with a cup of coffee next to me or taking a nap instead of sitting in an ice-cold room with just a paper gown on. I need to start paying attention to those needs too but for right now my soul needs poetry and that’s what I’m focusing on.
March has been my best reading month yet this year. In total I read forty books! Don’t get too excited; only fifteen were adult reads. My list is at the end of this post. I signed up for The Year of Readers Challengein January, supporting 826National.org and FirstBook.org. Because I’m supporting two charities instead of one, I alternate every month between the two, donating $1.50 for each book I read in that month. Firstbook.org is the charity this month, so I’m donating $60 to their cause.
These were my favorite reads of the month.
Favorite graphic novel- Fables Vol. 10: The Good Prince by Bill Willingham. I can never say enough how well-written this series is.
Favorite adult read- The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
Favorite non-fiction- The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac.
Favorite young adult read- East by Edith Pattou. East is based on the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I stayed up all night Sunday reading this book. That says a lot coming from a mother of three small children.
Favorite picture book- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. It had the advantage against all the other picture books I read this month because it’s the childhood favorite.
Favorite short story- It’s a tie between “Godmother Death” by Jane Yolen and “Alef the Idiot” by Jonathon Keats, from the short story collection The Book of the Unknown. “Godmother Death” is about Death being a godmother to a peasant boy who later becomes a doctor and tries to trick Death for the love of a woman. In “Alef the Idiot”, Alef is the village idiot married to Chaya, the smartest person in the village. One day Alef is tricked into giving up his soul to become smarter, which he thinks will make Chaya happy. I won’t tell you anything more except to say that this is one of the best love stories I’ve ever read.
Books in blue are adult reads:
Fat Cat – Margaret Read MacDonald
Fables Vol. 3 – Bill Willingham
Fables Vol. 4
Fables Vol. 6
Fables Vol. 7
Fables Vol. 8
Fables Vol. 9
Fables Vol. 10
John, Paul, George, and Ben – Lane Smith
The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry – Bill Martin Jr.
Dinosaur vs. Bedtime – Bob Shea
I will surprise my friend – Mo Willems
Playground Day – Jennifer Merz
Someday – Eileen Spinelli
Biscuit goes to school – Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Ella: The Elegant Elephant – Carmela & Steven D’Armico
Ella sets sail – Carmela & Steven D’Armico
East – Edith Pattou
The Scarlet Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Big Green Pocketbook – Candice F. Ransom
The House in the Night – Susan Marie Swanson
A Good Day – Kevin Henkes
Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach – Melanie Watt
Scaredy Squirrel makes a friend – Melanie Watt
My Friend, the Starfinder – George Ella Lyon
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed – Margaret Chodos-Irvine
The Rights of the Reader – Daniel Pennac
Bats at the Library – Brian Lies
Old Bear – Kevin Henkes
Wake Up, Sun – David L. Harrison
Hansel and Gretel – Cynthia Rylant
The Wall: Growing up Under the Iron Curtain – Peter Sis
All I can say is this is the reason why I’m banning myself from buying books until July.
Here’s what I received in the mail:
The Best American Spiritual Writing 2008. This year the guest editor is Jimmy Carter.
The Film Club by David Gilmour. (Memoir)A father let his failing son drop out of high school as long as he agrees to watch three movies with him.
The Lazarus Project by Aleksander Hemon. Fictional account of the shooting of Jewish immigrant, Lazarus Averbuch in 1908.
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008. Knowing that this year’s guess editor is Judy Blume was enough to get me to buy it.
We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. Beagle. It’s Chris and Nymeth’s faults that I bought this! I can’t wait to read it. I might wait until the read-a-thon.
This is what I received from the library:
Castle Waiting by Linda Medley. The introduction by Jane Yolen was enough to make me check it out.
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce. Retelling of Rumpelstiltskin.
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee. Nymeth’s review did it.
Bird by Rita Murphy. More fantasy about a young girl trying to figure out where she came from (literally).
Teashop Girls by Laura Schaffer. I read a review at Beth Fish Reads and put it on hold at my library.
Black Swan, White Raven: short stories edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. I read “Godmother Death” by Jane Yolen online and decided to check the rest of this short story collection out.
A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle. According to Chris this is a novel that “speaks volumes on the precious and semi-permanent thing that is life.”
Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen. In the Tournament of Books hosted by Morning News, Shadow Country went head-to-head with The Lazarus Project and won. It’s been called a masterpiece and at more than 800 pages long, it’s going to take me a while to finish it.
Bill Martin Jr.’s Big Book of Poetry. Just published, I checked this book out for me. If the kids like it great, but I want it for my own. So far the poems of Christina Rossetti are my favorite.
East by Edith Pattou. Nymeth again.
Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips. I read a great review about this book in Bookmarks Magazine, so now it’s on my nightstand.
Not shown is Drood and volumes 6-11 of the Fablesseries. Do you see what kind of mood I’m in? Hopefully I can read all of this within the next month or so.
I, Vasilly, being of kinda sound mind and body, have willingly decided to try to do one thing consistently every single day for the next 37 days. C’mon, self, it’s just 37 days. The one thing I will try to do every day is this:
Pay attention. Pay attention to the world around me and stop living so much in my head. By looking around more and noticing what I have and what others need, I can become a better partner to the world.
I’m not going to pick two things or nine things because that will dilute my focus –- just one thing. One. One simple action. An action, not a goal. An action, not a value. An action, not a wish. Something I can DO.
I’m doing this challenge at this time because:
I know by not paying attention I’m missing out on some of the beauty in this world. Paying attention means taking a breath and focusing on things outside of myself.
I’ve chosen this particular daily action because I believe if I do it consistently for 37 days with no (NONE, ZERO, ZIP) exceptions, I will:
be experiencing the world around me better. No more being so focused on going from place a to place b that I’m unaware of my surroundings. No more being so focused on tasks that I become lost to all those around me.
If I should fail, I won’t blame anyone but myself (not even my partner, that idiot with 29 items in the express lane at the Piggly Wiggly, the IRS (so needy!), the people who make frosted Pop Tarts and Lofthouse Cookies, or Fate).
I also realize that this contract is solely with myself and carries no rewards, penalties or punishments other than those associated with the reflection of the strength of my character.
New things will happen for me.
I’m ready.
TODAY IS DAY ONE.
Check out 37 Daysfor more information about this challenge.
This week has been one of the slowest reading weeks for me in a long time. It started out promising with me hoping to finish the finish reading the books that I had started. Then Wednesday night my 5 year-old son’s asthma started acting up, his medicine was taking forever to do its job. I spent the rest of the week at home with him going back and forth to the doctor while getting only three hours of sleep. Now he’s on new and better medicine and all of us are happy.
I’m still reading The Reading Zone by Nancie Atwell. The Reading Zone is Atwell’s account of how her school encourage reading. Kids read for at least an hour a day at school. Though comphrension and skills are a concern for every student, by encouraging kids to read both will improve over time. I’ve just been reading it and wishing I had went there when I was younger.
One of the best things about this week besides new medication was that my library finally put the last books of the Fables series on hold for me. I finished books four and six yesterday and will be starting seven in just a couple of minutes! The Fables series is engaging, disturbing, beautiful, funny. . . It has everything you want in a story. When I finish reading the book eleven, I plan on writing a review on it.
Required reading this week for school is Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. This is for one class. Let’s hope I get it all done.
I also plan on reading Sitting Bull by Bill Yenne. Isn’t the cover great? The words get out of the way to show you Sitting Bull. When I was younger I read a speech by Sitting Bill and my curiosity for him appeared. I plan on taking my time reading this biography.
So that’s it in my corner. What are you doing this Sunday? What are you reading?
I still haven’t been able to sit down long enough to write my review of Daniel Pennac’s The Rights of the Reader, but it’s coming. So for now I’m giving you an excerpt from chapter eleven, which is one of my favorite chapters. This excerpt is about the beauty of reading aloud and what it does for both parent and child. I hope you enjoy it.
Lost intimacy . . . Thinking about it later, as our insomnia kicks in, we see that that ritual of reading every evening at the end of the bed when they are little–set time, set gestures–was like a prayer. A sudden truce after the battle of the day, a reunion lifted out of the ordinary. We savored the brief moment of silence before the storytelling began, then our voice, sounding like itself again, the liturgy of chapters . . . Yes, reading a story every evening fulfilled the most beautiful, least selfish, and least speculative function of prayer: that of having sins forgiven. We didn’t confess, we weren’t looking for a piece of eternity, but it was a moment of communion between us, of textual absolution, a return to the only paradise that matters intimacy. Without realizing it, we were discovering one of the crucial functions of storytelling, and more broadly speaking, of art in general, which is to offer a respite from human struggle.
Earlier this week the lovely Gavin gave me the Sisterhood Award. Thank you so much!
Kailana at The Written Word also sent me some blogger love. She gave me the Promixidade Award.
“This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award.”
It’s feels so good to be given these great awards especially when I’m terribly shy in person. Thank you Gavin and Kailana so much!
I’m joining a new challenge. I see you, shaking your head in disbelief. I know you would think I would finish one challenge before starting a new one, but you only live once.
I’m joining the Herding Cats 2 challenge. You list five of your favorite books that you read between 2007-2009. Then you pick as many books as you want to read from other participants’ lists. There’s no pressure to review. The challenge starts April 1st and ends December 31st. My five favorites are:
1. Life is a Verb by Patti Digh. I pick this book up after reading a great review on Head Butler.com. Life is a Verb is part memoir, part self-help, and full of pleasure.
2. We Are the Ship: the Story of the Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson. Nominated for a Cybils award this year, We Are the Ship is the true story of the Negro League from its creation to its end. It’s a children’s book that’s perfect for all ages. The illustrations are not to be missed.
3. The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin. How would you describe the color yellow to someone who is blind? Cottin answers that question with a book that is like none I’ve ever read. It’s another picture book that’s for all ages.
4. The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson. A novella about a dying husband, his relationship with his wife, and his dying wish. It’s one of the few books I reread every year.
5. The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac (nonfiction). You want to know how good this book is? I read it for the first time last week and now I’m rereading it again this week. I have never done that before. If I could I would buy as many copies as I could and give them away to everyone I know who loves to read or is a parent. Read it. Here’s a link to Pennac’s Reader’s Bill of Rights.
The kids in my house love going on “reading dates.” A reading date is when I take at least one kid and go to the library or bookstore. We find books we want to read and also have lunch. With five kids in the house and everyone a full-time something, it’s nice for each kid to get some alone time with me.
So this past Sunday instead of taking one or two kids, my mother and I took all five kids! I wish I had took a camera with me to show you how great our date was. We went to the main library in my city, which is about thirty minutes away from home. We don’t visit there often but when we do it’s a real treat for all of us.
The girls got on the computer and played reading games while the boys and I scoured the children’s section for books. Some of the great books we found were:
A Good Day by Kevin Henkes for my oldest son.
100 Science Experiments by Usborne for my daughter who is trying to find an experiment to do for an upcoming fair.
Goosie and Gertie by Olivier Dunrea. My youngest loves this series about goslings.
Lily’s Big Day by Kevin Henkes. One of my little sisters, discovered Henkes and is trying to read everything with his name on it. She’s forgetting that I introduced Henkes’ books to her years ago.
Her twin checked out Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. This is one of the few books that every kid in the house loves.
After a while I went and browse a little in the other sections of the library. I only picked up a handful of books since I was already almost at my 25-books limit.We stayed for close to an hour before heading to the check-out desk.
Five kids plus two adults using four library cards equals a huge amount of books being checked out of the library. So the goal is for at least ten of the books to be read and returned by the end of each week. We’re doing pretty good so far. The kids usually read several books a night before deciding on their favorite for the next couple of weeks. They stick to their favorites while ignoring all the others and read that until it’s time to return the book.
Since almost all my stacks are double-stacked with books and it doesn’t help that I receive more in the mail today, I came up with a plan.
I’m going to stop buying books from now until July.
No more using my cold hard cash to receive any more of those beautiful dead-tree things. I can always swap books on paperbackswap.com as long as I don’t pay for book credits. If you hear me say I bought a book, feel free to leave a comment reminding me. The first five people who leave a comment for every book I buy can have any book on my shelves. Since I have a terrible memory, something tells me I will be sending out books. This is the honor system and I plan on telling you every time I buy a book.
I should be honest–as much as I like fairy tales I’ve never really cared for Hansel and Gretel. A brother and sister being left in a forest to starve and die by their cruel stepmother and cowardly father. Then for the siblings to find the gingerbread house in the middle of the woods. We’re all aware of what happens next. As a child I always wanted an explanation. Why was the stepmother so cruel? Why was the father such a coward?
Cynthia Rylant’s retelling of Hansel and Gretel is the story that’s been missing. In the beginning,
It has been said that guardian spirits watch over and protect small children, and that may be so. But there are also stories of children who find the courage to protect themselves.
Such is the story of Hansel and Gretel.
Instantly I was lost inside this short tale. With illustrations by Jen Corace, it’s a new classic. What’s different about this re-telling from all others is the feel and language of the book.
The father and the stepmother again told the children to wait under a tree, promising this time certainly to return with berries.
The children waited all night. By morning they were waiting still.
I read Hansel and Gretel in one sitting and reread it before getting up. This book will be a new addition to my children’s library.
Book Infomation:
Hansel and Gretel by Cynthia Rylant (2008)
Illustrated by Jen Coarce
Hyperion Books for Children
32 pages
Read for the Once Upon a Time, Young Readers, and 100+ challenges
This is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being reading, and the books to be finish this week. Feel free to join in this weekly event if you’d like.
Essays Read Last Week: (both from This I Believe IIedited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman)
“I will take my voice back” – Quique Aviles
“Finding the Strength to Fight our Fears” Terry Ahwal
I think I’m really lucky to have loved everything I read last week. It’s impossible to name my absolute favorite.
This Week’s Reading List:
The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzack
The Reading Zone – Nancie Atwell (already reading)
The Rights of the Reader – Daniel Pennac (re-reading)
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers – Yiyun Li
Hanne’s Quest – Olivier Dunrea
Fables Vol. 4: March of The Wooden Soldiers – Bill Willingham (re-reading)
Mailbox Monday
This is what I received:
I heard about The Rights of the Reader on one of the many blogs I subscribe to. It’s funny how I can’t remember which one it was but I am forever grateful. Look for a review soon.
I was very lucky to win a copy of Christopher Barzack’s The Love We Share Without Knowing. Nymeth praised this book, so that’s the reason why I’m going to read it.
Without Blood by Alessandro Barrico. I’ve had this book on my wish list at paperbackswap.com for more than a year. Did I mention I’ve been #1 that whole time? So it was unexpected to receive an email telling me that the book was on its way. I plan on reading it for the Lost in Translation challenge.
The Reading Zone by Nancie Atwell. I’m currently reading this and no amount of words can tell you enough how important it is for every adult who regularly interacts with children to read this book. The same goes for The Rights of the Reader.
“The Reader’s Bill of Rights” by Daniel Pennac from The Rights of The Reader (1992) translated from the French by Sarah Adams.
The right not to read
The right to skip
The right not to finish a book
The right to read it again
The right to read anything
The right to mistake a book for real life
The right to read anywhere
The right to dip in
The right to read out loud
The right to be quiet
Can you tell that I already love this book? The Rights of the Reader has only been in my hands for less than a week and I’ve already read it and started rereading it.
Originally published in France in 1992, it wasn’t until last year that this book was translated and published in the United States. We have been missing out.
Understand this is not a review. I want to read it again before I post my thoughts. I can say this is a book about the love of reading and how to spread that love to children and young adults. You can click on the title and follow the link to Amazon for more information about the book. I think throughout the week I’ll post more quotes from the book. Happy Sunday!
Every year no matter how hard I try, by the end of the year picture books easily outnumber adult reads. Picture books are shorter with less words and pages but they can also help you get through a hard day or a reading slump. Last week I read a handful of great books for kids of all ages.
The Big Green Pocketbook (1993). Written by Candice Ransom, illustrated by Felicia Bond.
This was my oldest son’s favorite book of the stack. The Big Green Pocketbook is the story of a little girl’s trip to town with her empty green pocketbook and her mother. At each place they visit she receives something to put into her purse to help remember her day. This story is simple but effortlessly pulled us into the story.
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson (2008). Illustrated by Beth Krommes. Winner of this year’s Caldecott Medal, The House in the Night is a masterpiece. I’m not saying this lightly either. The wood engavings by Krommes and the soft poetry from Swanson compliment each other perfectly.
The Little Bit Scary People by Emily Jenkins (2008). Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger. The message behind this book is that though strangers may act and look different from you, they are just like you. My little sister loved this one the most.
My Friend, the Starfinder by George Ella Lyon (2008). Illustrated by Stephen Gammell. A book about the friendship between an old man and a young girl and the stories he tells her about his childhood. The illustrations for this book are beautiful and not to be missed.
Every the third consecutive year Carl is hosting the Once Upon a Time challenge. It’s one of my favorite challenges. In case you don’t know,
Once Upon a Time is the celebration of the transformative power of literature, specifically those books which can be categorized under the headings of fantasy, fairy tale, folklore, and mythology. For the third year in a row it is my great pleasure to host this challenge, which begins Saturday, March 21st and ends Friday, June 2oth.
This year I’m participating in Quest the Third, which requires reading five books and a June reading of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’m also doing the Short Story Weekend.
Tomorrow is the first day of Spring! The birds are chirping, flowers are starting to come up, and noses are running. The perfect way for me to celebrate the new season is by joining the Spring Reading Challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days.
The challenge starts March 20th and ends June 20th. The rules are to make a list, read, and blog about your progress at the end of the challenge. How easy is that?
Since the challenge takes place throughout spring I decided to do a little spring cleaning and read only books that are on my shelves. Every month the number of unread books on my shelf grows and I would love to make a huge dent in it. The genres of the books I picked range from short stories to memoir, classics to poetry. Here’s my list:
Sweet Hearts- Melanie Rae Thon
The Water Will Hold You: A Skeptic Learns to Pray – Lindsey Crittenden
Unearned Pleasures – Ursula Hegi
I am no one you know – Joyce Carol Oates
The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
Tender Morsels – Margo Lanagan
Delicate Edible Birds – Lauren Groff
The Gargoyle – Andrew Davidson
The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafron
Tales of Burning Love – Louise Erdrich
Repair – C.K. Williams
Sinners Welcome – Mary Karr
Heliopolis – James Scudamore
Nocturnes – John Connolly
Cries of the Spirit – Marilyn Sewell
The Bloody Chamber – Angela Carter
Lullabies for Little Criminals – Heather O’Neil
Blue Highways – William Least Heat-Moon
I’m reserving the right to change my list at any time. I also decided that if I don’t read at least 18 books from my shelves, I will give the difference away. So if I end up reading only 12 books, then I plan on giving away 6. I really need to pare down the number of books on my shelves. Wish me luck!
Are you joining The Spring Reading challenge also?
I think I’m a little delusional. Every week I go to the library, returning tons of books, only to leave with more books than I returned. This week is no exception.
I was in a food/memoir mood when I put To Begin Again by MFK Fisher on hold. I’ll probably read it for my In Their Shoes Challenge. I’ve heard so many great things about The Vagrants by Yiyun Li that I had to be the first to check it out at my library. I’m one of those book geeks who follow online book tournaments like the Tournament of Books hosted by Powell’s Books. When I read how Louis De Bernieres’ A Partisan’s Daughterwon in a match against Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland, I added both books to my list.
Cat Weatherill’s Wild Magic is a retelling of the Pied Piper tale. and on my Young Adult Challenge list. Michele at Reading is Breathing recommended The Epicure’s Lament. I’m currently reading books about books so I added Reading Magic by Mem Fox to the list.
Steer Toward Rockby Fae Myenne Ng lost against Bolano’s 2666 in the first round of the tournament but I’m still reading it.
J. Kaye started this great meme so I have to join. This week I plan on reading:
The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright. I started this a week ago for the Dewey challenge but books from the library came in and I put it down.
Eat, Memory: Great writers at the table edited by Amanda Hesser. I started this book last week also. I’m halfway finished.
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. I wanted to read this in February for Black History Month but I was caught up with school.
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I’ve heard so many great things about this book I just had to check it out from the library.
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers – Yiyun Li. A collection of short stories. I’m not going to try to finish it this week but I do want to at least start on it.
Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham.
Despite last week being full of midterms, it is my best reading week so far this year. I read ten books! Half were picture books and the other half adult. I read:
Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra. Lost in Translation, Orbis Terraum, and A to Z challenges.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Lost in Translation, Orbis Terraum, Dewey’s Books Challenges.
Annie Leibovitz at Work by Annie Leibovitz. A to Z challenge
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Required reading for school.
Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham. Graphic Novels Challenge
The Big Green Pocketbook by Candice Ransom. Young Readers Challenge.
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson. Book Awards and Young Readers challenges.
My Friend, the Starfinder by George Ella Lyon. Young Readers Challenge.
The Little Bit Scary People by Emily Jenkins. Young Readers.
How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham. Young Readers.
My favorite adult read was The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Funny and philosophical, the ‘Hedgehog’ was a pleasure to read. At 325 pages it can be a dense read at times while other chapters fly by. One of my classmates saw all the post-its in the book and thought it had been required reading for a class.
My least favorite was Bonsai. It’s the tale of a relationship between a man and a woman and what happens after they break up. The best part of the book was the opening paragraph,
In the end she dies and he remains alone, although in truth he was alone some years before her death, Emilia’s death. Let’s say that she is called or was called Emilia and that he is called, was called, and continues to be called Julio. Julio and Emilia. In the end Emilia dies and Julio does not die. The rest is literature. . .
Why couldn’t the rest of the 83-page novella be as beautiful as that opening paragraph? Usually I don’t bother write a review about books I hate dislike but I feel a tad guilty since I asked my library to order this book and they did. I checked on Goodreads and found that readers either loved it or hated it.
I don’t have a favorite for picture books. All five were great reads. My kids really loved The House in the Night while one of my sisters loved the repetition in The Little Bit Scary People. Look for reviews of all the books I read this week in the next couple of days.
For the Try Something New mini-challenge hosted by Nymeth, Valentina and I are partnering up to read short stories. I own a ton of collections but never find the time to read them. I plan on reading Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber while Valentina reads a different collection. Now I’m off to read and relax.
I got this meme from Stephanie at So Many Books. As Stephanie stated, “the writers are not those you necessarily admire, but who have influenced you.” I actually have a shelf of books dedicated to just that. The writers below influenced me in so many different ways. It might have been though their writing style, an essay or review they wrote, a phrase that is a constant reminder in my life, or their brutal honesty that shows how hard life can be for the unknowns: people whose lives are almost never on the radar. It might also be the encouragement I received through their words as a young child. You can click on the names and find the book by the author that most influenced me.
The Book of the Unknown: Tales of the Thirty-Six – Jonathon Keats
Bonsai – Alejandro Zambra. I first heard about this book on Ten Percent and begged asked my library for it. I love my library!
We Are the Ones We’re Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness by Alice Walker. A collection of essays by the author of The Color Purple.
Atmospheric Disturbances – Rivka Galchen
Next month’s selection for my online book club is The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen – Syrie James. Jill suggested members reread Sense and Sensibility by Austen first, so I brought it home.
Fables Vol 3: Storybook Love – Bill Willingham
How to Read a Novel – John Sutherland
The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction - Richard Bausch. I checked this out only because there’s an essay from Raymond Carver in it.
Death with Interruptions – Jose Saramago. Saramago’s Blindness is one of my favorite books, so I had to check out his latest novel.
A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway. I read somewhere that Hemingway talks badly about Faulkner in this book, so I picked it up.
It’s midterms week over here and I’ve been busy studying. Lynda at Lynda’s Book Blog and Gavin at Page 247 both sent me blog love by giving me this great award.
Welcome to my new site! I wanted a change a couple of days ago so instead of just reading something out of my comfort zone, I changed my blog from Blogger to WordPress. Have patience with me as I figure out WordPress.
This week the Book Fairy didn’t bring me that many books.
Her Blue Body Everything We Know by Alice Walker. First published in 1993, this collection of poetry was written between 1965-1990.
The Killer’s Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux. I first read this amazing award-winning book two years ago.
Best American Short Stories of 2008 edited by Salman Rushdie. This book is dangerous. I started reading it months ago and everytime I read this on the bus, I would always miss my stop. It’s that good.
This I Believe 2: More Personal Philisophies from Remarkable Men and Women edited by Jay Allison. I read the first volume in this collection a year ago and loved it. A great thing about this collection of essays is that you can open it to any page and start reading.
“It is life that shakes and rock us; it is literature which stabilizes and confirms.”
-Heathcote William Garrod, The Profession of Poetry and Other Lectures (1929)
Good morning! Right now it’s so early that the sun has not came up yet and most of my family is still asleep. I have a pot of coffee brewing and one of my current reads in front of me. For the past several days I’ve been taking advantage of early mornings and late nights to get some of my personal reading done. It’s been such a great experience to get lost again in a book without the interruptions of life.
I’m currently reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. The New York Times calls it “eloquent little essays in time, beauty, and the meaning of life” and I have to agree.
The narration of the novel goes back and forth between Paloma Josse, a 12 year-old genius and the concierge of the building she lives in, Rene Michel. Rene is a great character. Smart, charming, funny with a love for The Hunt for Red October, tea, movies, and books, Rene’s voice is full of life as she observes what goes on in the building and gives the reader her own philosophical commentary. I’m not as crazy about Paloma as I am about Rene but she too has a great voice.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog was a bestseller in France before being released in the States last year. I picked it up out of curiousity and the great reviews. It was also one of the last books that Dewey was reading when she passed. Dewey was ahead of the crowd. I wonder what she thought of it. I have many passages marked with post-its.
This Week’s Reading
I plan on finishing The Elegance in the next couple of days. The Scarlet Letter is required reading this week for my American Lit. class. My classmates and I are required to read it twice this week and then write an essay on it by this Saturday. This week will be busy. I hope you have a great Sunday!
Lu at Regular Rumination is hosting a Women’s History Month Challenge. I’m in and my goal will be to read at least five books written by women. The majority of the books I read are by women but this month it might be a problem. Next week I have to read The Scarlet Letter for one of my classes. Plus, I only have two weeks to read Atmospheric Disturbances and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. No matter what I plan on finishing this challenge though. Here are some of the books I plan on reading:
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. I’m currently reading this.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. After waiting weeks for this book, I only have three weeks to read it before I have to return it to my library. No holds are allowed since this book is the book right now.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. It’s been years since I read this, so I wanted to reread another strong and female voice.
First, Body by Melanie Rae Thon. I first read this collection of short stories years ago. I can’t wait to reread it.
Do you have any suggestions on great books I should read by women? I would love to hear them.
Having an acute sense of self is about balance. You have to be kind to yourself, but not so lenient that you can’t be occasionally critical and enact self-discipline–and not so critical that you spend too much time degrading yourself . . . Knowing your physical and emotional strengths and weaknesses and being able to accept them is key to the well-lived life.
-Samara O’Shea, Sense of Self
I didn’t really know what to expect when I picked up Note To Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Samara O’Shea. At the time I was in a writing slump; overwhelmed and stressed out from my everyday life, I knew it was because it had been weeks since I last wrote in my journal. Enter O’Shea with her second book.
Note to Self is a guidebook for anyone interested in keeping a journal. With chapters like “Sense of Self,” which the above quote was taken from, “Romance on Record”, writing about the relationships that went right (or wrong), or “Intimate Details” about being honest with yourself when writing, O’ Shea did a great job in bringing almost every area of journal writing to readers. You also get the understanding for O’ Shea that journal writing isn’t just a hobby but a passion.
I’m a journal writer who paints, draws, and put photographs and other momentos in my journal. O’ Shea didn’t really address the creative side of using art in your journals like Keri Smith does in her books, Wreck this Journal or How To Be an Explorer of the World. If you’re a journal writer who not only documents their life with words, this journal might not help you with that aspect of journaling but it is a great read.
Some of the things O’ Shea discussed that I really agreed with were:
The use of quotes in your journal. Nothing brings you more inspiration and peace during hard times like other people’s words.
Pose a question. Asking yourself questions helps to get the ball going when you’re feeling stuck in your life.
Set literal goals. When you place your goals in your journals they are always there to remind you and keep you going.
Another great thing about the book is that O’ Shea also uses a ton of excerpts from her own journals and the journals of others like Anne Frank, Samuel Pepys, Thomas Paine, John Wilkes Booth, and many others. She even brings up the famous young protagonist from Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. I finished reading this book last month and still I refuse to take the post-its out until the day this book is due at the library. One more quote I would like to share:
This, more than anything, is what a journal leads to — finding your sense of self. . . You may think you’re living one way, but your writing says otherwise. Some of my math teachers were kind enough to give points for the work even if the answer ended up being wrong, so I say that’s how we go about doing this, too. Write out the work in the equation of yourself, and don’t worry about the definitive answer just yet. It’s a lifelong process, and herein lies the benefit of aging — knowing yourself all the more.
Read for The Year of Readers Challenge, A to Z Challenge, and A Novel Group Mini-Challenge #3
This week’s Weekly Geeks is to post a quote a day for a week. This is one of my favorite w.g. activities. My quotes for this week will be coming from a great book called Speaking of Books: The Best Things Ever Said About Books and Book Collecting by Rob Kaplan and Harold Rabinowitz.
Bibliomaniac: A victim of the obsessive-compulsive neurosis characterized by a congested library and an atrophied bank account.
We’ve all seen the lists, we’ve all thought, “I should really read that someday,” but for all of us, there are still books on “The List” that we haven’t actually gotten around to reading. Even though we know they’re fabulous. Even though we know that we’ll like them. Or that we’ll learn from them. Or just that they’re supposed to be worthy. We just … haven’t gotten around to them yet. What’s the best book that YOU haven’t read yet?
I’m going to limit my books to the ones on my bookshelves.
The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck.
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Beloved – Toni Morrison
Sula – Toni Morrison
The Year of Fog – Michelle Richmond
The Gravedigger’s Daughter – Joyce Carol Oates
Loving Frank – Nancy Horan
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
Nights at the Circus – Angela Carter
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
Have you read any of these books? What were your favorites? Which one should I read next?
The past seven days have been very chaotic. Hours after coming home from school last Tuesday, I became very tired and went to sleep early, hoping that all I needed was some rest. Wrong! I ended up with a fever of 104 and unable to go to the doctor because I was too sick to get myself there. Soon everyone in the Vasillis household was sick. From Grandma to the baby, all of us except my oldest were coughing, feverish, miserable lumps.
Today is the first day I felt okay. Everyone else has felt better for days but every time I thought I was getting better I would later end up exhausted and in bed again. I couldn’t even read while I was sick which is a first in my life. I want to thank everyone for their get-well wishes. I really appreciate it.
February Update February turned out to be a horrible month for reading. I read a total of nine books:
1. Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile – Bill Willingham 2. Fables Vol. 6: Arabian Nights – Bill Willingham 3. The Poet Slave of Cuba – Margarita Engle 4. Daphne’s Book – Mary Downing Hahn 5. Ziggy’s Blue-Ribbon Day – Claudia Mills 6. Chicken Feathers – Joy Crowley 7. Potato Joe – Keith Baker 8. A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever – Marla Frazee 9. A Child’s Day – Ida Pearle
I enjoyed every book but I can’t believe that I only read two adult reads. Let’s hope March will be a better reading month. Now I’m off to sleep. I’m exhausted still.
This week didn’t turn out the way I imagined it to be. I had planned on turning in all assignments on time this week, get some reading in, and relax. Instead I caught a virus, maybe the flu, and ended up in bed for the last five days. I started feeling a little better yesterday. My youngest caught the virus last night and is miserable. Something tells me I won’t be at school next week. . .
Poetry cools me, syllables calm me I read the verses of others the free men and know that I’m never alone. . . -The Poet Slave of Cuba
While I was taking care of my son this morning, I picked up The Poet Slave of Cuba from my nightstand. Written in verse by Margarita Engle, it’s the biography of Juan Francisco Manzano. Manzano was born a slave in Cuba. A favorite of his first master, Dona Beatriz, he had to follow her around like he was her own child, calling her Mama, and pretend he didn’t know his real mother. As Manzano grows up, he shows a wonderful gift for words. He can memorize any song, opera, play, poem in any language after hearing it just once. Dona Beatriz uses him as a parrot, going to the parties of slave owners and having to recite works by request.
My first owner was sweet to me I was her pet, a new kind of poodle my pretty mother chosen to be her personal handmaid . . .
As an act of twisted compassion, Dona Beatriz sets Manzano’s mother free but not him, a child. She refuses to let him go until her death. But after her death instead of freedom, he is sent to be a slave of La Marquesta de Prado Ameno. Evil is not a strong enough word for her. A manipulative, sad, twisted person who finds nothing better in life but to focus on making Manzano’s own life hell. I won’t tell you the rest but there was one part that made me hold my breath.
It was the opening that made me check out the book.
My mind is a brush made of feathers
painting pictures of words
I remember all that I see
every syllable
each word a twin of itself
telling two stories
at the same time
one of sorrow
the other hope
The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano Margarita Engle (2006) 183 pages
Read for: Young adult challenge Year of Reading Dangerously – Feb. Diversity Rocks In Their Shoes Year of Readers 2009 Mini-Challenge #3
It’s my turn! The lovely Cornflower gave me the letter “F” weeks ago. Surprising enough it took me less than ten minutes to come up with my ten.
French Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s plain but tastes great with a waffle bowl. French Vanilla CoffeeMate in my coffee. I’ve tried other flavors, but vanilla is the one for me.
Feist. Listening to her puts me in the best mood.
First, Body: stories by Melanie Rae Thon. I read this haunting collection of short stories many years ago and have not been able to get it out of my mind since. I have only one book left of Thon’s to read.
Fridays. Not because there’s no school for me, but because it’s one of the few days I get my mother to myself for a couple of hours. Family. That’s not cheating. Their last name starts with “F” also.
Fables series by Bill Willingham. This series is so addictive.
Fresh Flowers. I try to buy fresh flowers just once a month. Even if I’m broke, I know I can buy some baby breath for two or three bucks.
Four weddings and a Funeral. I just love great movies.
Folgers Coffee. I’m a zombie until I get this stuff into my system.
How often do you visit the library? Do you have a scheduled library day/time or do you go whenever? Do you go alone or take people with you?
I visit the library once a week. I used to go to the library any time I felt like it but that’s not really efficient time-wise. So now I usually go on Fridays or Saturdays. That way my family and I have at least a week to read some of books from the huge pile we checked out. I want to return a book that’s been read as soon as possible so there won’t be any late fines later on, which is important when all seven of us have library cards and the checkout limit is 25 items.
If I go to the library on a Friday, I usually go by myself. That way I can browse in peace and find some good reads I may not have found otherwise. If I go on a Saturday I take the kids. We spend hours there. The girls like to walk around and browse while the boys usually find their books first and then play with puzzles the rest of the time we’re there. It’s a really peaceful day for us.
Thanks to Paperbackswap and Dewey, my TBR pile is bigger than it was two weeks ago. Since I was on break last week I didn’t write a Mailbox Monday post, so here’s what I received in the last two weeks.
Angel of Forgetfulness – Steve Stern (Jewish Literature Challenge)
Because I said so: 33 mothers write about children, sex, men, aging, faith, race, and themselves (Dewey challenge)
What I talk about when I talk about running- HarikuMurakami (In their shoes challenge)
Flygirl – Sherri L. Smith (Y.A. challenge)
The World to Come – Dara Horn (Jewish Lit.)
The Victoria Vanishes – John Fowler (Just loved the cover of the title. I’ll fit it into a challenge somewhere)
Jesus Swept -James Protzman(loved the synopsis)
Confessions of a Former Child – David Tomasulo(loved the synopsis)
The Maternal is Political – Shari MacDonald Strong (Dewey challenge)
Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson (Childhood Favourites challenge)
So that’s it until tomorrow. I only have a handful of books coming this week. What did you receive last week?
Good morning! The sun is just starting to come up while the clouds are slowly moving in. Today’s forecast calls for rain which is perfect for me. Later on I’m leaving to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday but until then I plan on reading and relaxing.
My plan last week was to stay off the internet and get some homework done. It didn’t happen. I love being online. There’s so many things to read and learn about. Thanks to fellow bloggers, I found a ton of books to put on my TBR list and pile and ordered several books this week.
I’ve been dipping into Language for a New Century: Contemporary from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond all week. It’s a massive anthology of poetry from more than 400 poets, from sixty different countries, translated from fifty languages. One of the goals of the book is to introduce readers to poets they would never hear about otherwise. The book has been receiving criticism because it can only give you one poem per poet. I say the book is an introduction. If you want to read more from a poet then go and find their books and help support translated works.
The foreword by Carolyn Forsche gave me goosebumps and made me read it aloud:
We know, from the mellifluous litany of poets’ names, who wrote these poems, but we might also consider what wrote them: the urge to sing, pray, cry, announce, and whisper; to write cultures into visibility; to write not after events but in their aftermath, through collisions in time and space, exile within and without; to walk around in the ruins of wars, awake. What wrote them was a determination to revolt against silence with a bit of speaking. What wrote was an upwelling of poetic apprehension of world.
Forsche calls the book “a field guide to the human condition”. I think it’s a perfect description for all poetry.
Reading this book made me think of my relationship with poetry. As a teenager it was all I read. I checked out the Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson hundreds of times in eighth grade. “Because I could not stop for death/He kindly stopped for me. . .”
After Dickinson I read and reread the haikus of Richard Wright before moving on to Alice Walker’s Her Blue Body Everything we Know. “Good night, Willie Lee, I’ll see you in the morning” is a favorite poem from that collection. From there I arrived at Chitra Divakaruni’s Black Candle. It stayed next to my bed for months as I read and reread it, raking up library fines.
I wonder what happened, what made me neglect poetry for years? Now Language for a New Century is leading me back to the collections I’ve loved. Right now Black Candle and the Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson are sitting at my nightstand once again, while Her Blue Body is on its way to me. This week poetry has become the first and last things of my day.
What do you think of poetry? Do you read it? If so, what are your favorite poems? Who are your favorite poets? If not, why?
My reading this week has been scattered. Last Sunday I finished Daphne’s Book by Mary Downing Hahn for The Inner Child Weekend and Childhood Favorites Challenge. I haven’t finished a book since then. I’ve been swamped with homework, studying, kids, and being sick. I’m still a little tired but I’m feeling much better.
I’m almost up to date with homework and studying, so I plan on using today to finish The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It’s a reread for my online book club, The Well-Read Ladies. I’m loving the discussion we’re having.
After The Thirteenth Tale I plan on starting a book of poetry called Language for a New Century. It’s an anthology featuring contemporary poets from Asia and the Middle East. I also plan on finally dipping into Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff. It’s been killing me that I haven’t been able to give it my attention.
With all the assignments and studying I need to accomplish this week, I think I’m going to take a week-long break from blogging. That way I can spend more time focusing on what I love, reading. I hope you have a good week and see you next Sunday.
I just came back from one of my favorite places in the world! What is it about libraries and bookstores that give me butterflies?
My library already had issues one through five of Bill Willingham’s masterpiece series Fables, but for some reason didn’t have the rest. I asked my library to order the rest of the series and they said yes! Now volumes six through eleven are on their way. I also put the beginning of the series on hold so I can reread it. For some reason I received volumes one, seven, and eleven. Hopefully I’ll receive the rest of the series before I have to return the books.
I’m an English/Anthropology major and I love fairy tales. So when I saw The Hungry Clothes and other Jewish Folktales, I had to check it out. Can you believe I’ve never read Peter Pan? My family loves the various movie versions of this book, so it’s our newest family read. I’m reading Exit Wounds for the Graphic Novel Challenge. I’m also in a short story mood, so I had to check out Yiyun Li’s A Thousand Years of Good Prayers before I read her latest Vagrants.
What have you checked out from the library lately?
Good morning! Right now there’s no sun in sight and the air is nice and cool. I love these winter mornings. Since I’m in Southern California, snow is not a worry but we did have some rare thunderstorms yesterday. When you do hear thunder, you can’t help but pay attention.
Last week I read only children’s books again. Something tells me this might be how the rest of the year will be. This week I read:
Ziggy’s Blue-Ribbon Day by Claudia Mills. Ziggy is not good at running, jumping, or throwing balls for track-and-field day. Though his teacher told him to try his best and Ziggy will, he knows he won’t be receiving a blue-ribbon award. He’s an artist, great at drawing. By chance things change and Ziggy might be receiving a blue ribbon after all.
Chicken Feathers by Joy Crowley. Chicken Feathers is the tale of Josh, an ordinary boy living on a farm and his pet chicken Semolina, who can talk. Not talk like a parrot does and repeat what you say, but actually talks. No one believes Josh when he says Semolina can talk, but he has bigger things to worry about. His mom is in the hospital pregnant with his little sister and he suspects a fox is taking eggs from one of the chicken houses.
Potato Joe is a counting book for small children by author and illustrator Keith Baker. The illustrations are simple yet beautiful though my youngest was not interested in it at all.
Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber. I can’t believe I have never read this book until now. Ira is going to sleep over his best friend’s house and tries to decide whether or not he should take his teddy bear with him. Full of repetition and funny scenes, Ira Sleeps Over is a new favorite in this house.
A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever is written by Marla Frazee and was nominated for a Cybils award last year. Frazee is also the illustrator for Sara Pennypacker’s great series, Clementine. A Couple of Boys is about James and Eamon’s week-long adventure with Eamon’s grandparents Bill and Pam. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is great. I didn’t want it to end.
This weekend I participated in the Inner Child Weekend loosely hosted by Dovegreyreader. The purpose of the weekend is to put aside your adult reads and read your childhood favorites.
Alexander and the terrible horrible no good very bad day by Judith Viorst has a special place in my heart. It was one of the first books I was able to read by myself. The title explains the story perfectly. When my kids are having a bad day this is the book I reach for.
My other read for this weekend is Daphne’s Book by Mary Downing Hahn. I read this book when I was around eleven years old. I was browsing my local library and I remember I just happened to find it. The cover intrigued me. Daphne with her flowing hair and beautiful face sitting back-to-back with Jessica. I don’t think I can do this book justice. Just read it. I promise you’ll love it.
After Daphne’s Book, I plan on reading Lauren Groff’s short story collection, Delicate Edible Birds and Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale for The Well-Read Ladies book club.
What are some of your childhood favorites? What do you plan on reading this week?
Pick a book–any book, really–and search out multiple book cover images for that book. They could span a decade or two (or more)…Or they could span several countries. Which cover is your favorite? Which one is your least favorite? Which one best ‘captures’ what the book is about?
I think this is a great assignment. I’m the type of person who loves looking at book covers. I would rather pay more for a hardcover edition of a book if the cover looks a lot better than the paperback version. Most of the time I buy a book primarily because of the cover and a few good reviews. I’m paying for that outlook now.
I picked Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief because it’s one of my favorite reads. This is the cover I have on my hardcover copy. I checked Amazon.ca and found the same cover for both hardcover and paperback.
I searched around and found this vastly different color at Amazon Denmark. It’s creepy and I like it better, but it does misrepresents Death. He’s not some creepy bloodthirsty creature. He’s pretty sweet with a hard job and no vacation from it.
This cover I found at Amazon.uk. It does not fit the theme of the book at all. Liesel, the main character, is not just reading books in the novel. She’s living her life and learning so much about loyalty and trust, the meaning of family, and how strong love is and how hard loss can be.
I’ve seen the French cover before but it’s creepier than the Denmark version. Liesel dancing with Death? Not exactly.
So which one do you prefer? Do you judge a book harshly by its cover?
Dovegreyreader came up with a great idea to have an Inner Child Weekend every month. I plan on reading Daphne’s Book by Mary Downing Hahn in the 1983 edition that I remember reading as a pre-teen. When the book came earlier this week in the mail, I examined every inch of it to make sure it was the same book. It is. I had the urge to smell the damn thing.
What books did you read as a child? Have you read any lately?
January has been a very surprising month. The beginning of it was filled with new resolutions, the promise of a better school semester, and a honest chance of tackling my TBR pile. Instead I added dozens of new books and watched as the pile grew. Unread books are now double the number of read books in my home. The school semester is going pretty well, though I do have a professor who is crazy enough to give my class several hundred pages of poetry and autobiographies from the 17th century for assigned reading every week.
Another surprise was how often I turned to children’s books. Of the thirty books I’ve read this month, only four were adult reads: How to Be an Explorer,The Man in the Picture, Gods Behaving Badly, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. All four were great reads. Hopefully this month will be much better for adult fiction since I have a ton of books that are due at the library and I’ve run out of renewals.
I’ve only read five short stories this month for the 100 Shots of Short challenge:
“Farewell, Navigator” – Leni Zumas “Dragons may be the way forward – Leni Zumas “The Everything Hater” – Leni Zumas “Heart Sockets” – Leni Zumas “Lucky Chow Fun” -Lauren Groff
In December I joined The Year of Readers challenge. I pledged $1.50 of my own money for each book I read throughout 2009 to two great charities: 828National and FirstBook. Every month I’m alternating between the two charities. January was the month for First Book.org. With all my reading I earned $45! Next month I’m going to try to match that for 826National.
Currently I have four books going:
Tigerheart by Peter David My One Hundred Adventures – Polly Horvath (middle school fiction) Chicken Feathers – Joy Cowley (middle school fiction) The Butcher and other erotica – Alina Reyes
Hopefully I can get all four read before next Sunday.
I’ve been pretty horrible this month about posting reviews of the books and short stories I’ve read. So instead of posting multiple reviews, I’ll just tell you about my three of my favorites. The majority of the books I’ve read this month were children’s books.
The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin can be called nothing short of genius. How do you describe to a blind person the color yellow or blue? Cottin takes that question and describes each color: Thomas says that blue is the color of the sky when kites are flying and the sun is beating hot on his head. The layout of the book is very simple with every page black with white lettering. The raised illustrations are beautiful. Instead of just looking at the words and pictures, you can feel them The words are not only in English but also in Braille. I think this book is one everyone should read. My January pick for the Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge.
The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher. I read this for Laza’s Graphic Novel Challenge. I just discovered Jim Butcher and his wonderful series, The Dresden Files, in December. Welcome to the Jungle is the first graphic novel in the series. There’s a mauling in the zoo and wizard Harry Dresden is called in to solve the case. The police wants to call the mauling a “gorilla attack” but Harry knows that’s not the truth. I read this in one setting. The one thing I didn’t like is that after reading Storm Front and others in the series, I have in my mind my own version of how Harry looks.
Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groof came out this week. Already there are great blog reviews about this short story collection. Groff, if you don’t know, is the author of The Monsters of Templeton. Curious I read one of the included stories, “Lucky Chow Fun“. Readers who have read The Monster of Templeton will find the setting of the story, Templeton, familiar. This story about the consequences of apathy left me spellbound long after I finished reading it.
There’s not much about Dewey that I can say that has not been said already. Dewey, with her eclectic taste in books, was the ultimate book blogger. Almost daily on her site there was a new post: a discussion about an article or book, a meme, or a funny video to watch. Dewey wrote about books who subjects range from politics to feminism. She read graphic novels and award-winning books, young adult reads and poetry. Reading The Hidden Side of a Leaf left the reader with an even larger TBR pile then before you clicked on to her site.
Just the other day I visited her site for a quick couple of books to read for her challenge and left with pages of book titles. Her posts were honest, funny, and made writing look so easy.
Dewey embodied the spirit of blogging and helped bring our community closer together. She started Weekly’s Geeks, the 24-Hour Read-a-thon, and the Bookworms Carnival. She always had something nice to say. encouraging comments that helped many of us continue blogging.
Dewey wasn’t one to hoard books. (Unlike myself.) Usually when she finished reading a book, if it didn’t belong to someone or she wasn’t going to read it again, she held a giveaway. The frequency of her giveaways amazed me. She was so generous and winning a book from her made my day several times.
In the spirit of Dewey’s generosity I’ve decided to give away eight books throughout the month of February. Two books every weekend starting on the 7Th. To be eligible read a book that Dewey reviewed. After reading it and writing a post, leave a link at the challenge’s review site and on my mini-challenge posts. Remember to let me know your first and second preferences. Every Saturday I will use random.org to pick the two winners and every Sunday I will let you know the winners and the next two books. Remember only books read in February count.
This week’s books are:
How to Be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith. You can read my review here. It’s a pretty good book for journal writers, about how to find more ways to be present in your life and at the same time give you ideas to fill your journal up with. This book is a paperback that’s been read only once.
Awayby Amy Bloom. To be honest I haven’t had the time to read this epic story but everywhere I’ve looked there has not been a bad or mediocre review to be found. I know many bloggers have read this book and loved it. So I would rather give this book to a blogger who can give it a chance then let it sit any longer on my bookshelves. Away is a hardcover that’s gently used.
How to be an explorer of the world (2008) Keri Smith 208 pages
When I was eleven years old my mother gave me a diary to write my thoughts in. It was small, white, and one of those diaries you’re supposed to write in every day. I remember being in sixth grade and writing in that small book often about crushes, school, and family life. I don’t know what made my mother give me a diary but I’m glad she did.
Since then I’ve kept diaries. Over the years those diaries have changed in size, shape, and purpose. Currently I write in large sketchbooks that can handle glue, paint, different kinds of pens, and whatever else I feel like using. My journal is more than just an account of my everyday life; it’s a commonplace book filled with quotes, prayers, collages, blog entries, book reviews, lists, pictures, newspaper clippings, recipes. . . I’ve always thought of my journal as a field guide to my life. You can pick up any of the many journals I have and know who I was at that time.
So you can imagine my excitement when I found out about Keri Smith’s latest book, How to Be An Explorer of the World. Keri, if you don’t know, is the genius behind Wreck this Journal, a book that is suppose to help readers start or finish their journals with creative prompts. I bought How to be an explorer and decided to test it out. The goal of the book is to get you to notice your surroundings, savor the moment, and to focus on who you are.
Two of my favorite prompts were to describe in detail my favorite street and the library exploration prompt:
Choose a subject, theme, or item. Go to a library. Conduct research on your chosen item. Collect as many different materials as you can to display later, such as sketches, notes, drawings, and photos. . .
My problem with the book is that I didn’t realize it’s for beginners. A lot of the prompts are great but are things I’ve done many times before like the consumer prompt which asks for you to keep track of all the things you consume for a week. It’s a great prompt for someone who hasn’t used it before. Overall it’s a great read and perfect for anyone who wishes to start journaling.
Good morning! The sun is just starting to come up here in Southern California. While the rest of the country was expecting Arctic weather, in SoCal the weather was in the late 80s. Then last week the rain came and it felt so good! Now it’s the right atmosphere for winter reading.
My week has been really hectic. My oldest son’s asthma has been acting up so his father, my mother, and I have been going back and forth, staying at home to take care of him this week. I got very little studying done, but I got some great reading in.
I read: 1. The Shiniest Jewel -Marian Henley. In their shoes & Graphic Novel challenges 2. Tuesday – David Weisner. Young readers challenge 3. How to be an explorer of the world – Keri Smith 4. Don’t let the pigeon stay up late – Mo Willems. Young readers 5. A River of words- Jen Bryant. Young readers 6. The Man in the Picture – Susan Hill. NaJuReMoNoMo 7. The Book That Changed my Life. Dewey and Essay Reading Challenge 8. The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle – Jim Butcher. Graphic Novels Challenge
My favorite reads were The Shiniest Jewel, the suspenseful The Man in the Picture, and Welcome to the Jungle. If you’re participating in my memoir challenge, In Their Shoes, I’m giving away The Shiniest Jewel. So enter to win it.
This post is entitled “Too many books” because I received some great books this week and bought too many. One of my book-related resolutions this year was to only buy a certain amount of books. I already went way over that, so to compromise I gave a lot of my unread books to my local library and giving more away by hosting a mini-challenge all of February for everyone participating in the Dewey’s Books challenge.
With school and a lot of homework to catch up on this week, I plan to read only short stories and poetry for the next two weeks.
It feels so good to be back participating in Dewey’s Weekly Geeks! This week’s assignment:
1) How do you feel about classic literature? Are you intimidated by it? Love it? Not sure because you never actually tried it? Don’t get why anyone reads anything else? Which classics, if any, have you truly loved? Which would you recommend for someone who has very little experience reading older books? Go all out, sell us on it! 3) Let’s say you’re vacationing with your dear cousin Myrtle, and she forgot to bring a book. The two of you venture into the hip independent bookstore around the corner, where she primly announces that she only reads classic literature. If you don’t find her a book, she’ll never let you get any reading done! What contemporary book/s with classic appeal would you pull off the shelf for her?
I have to admit that it’s rare for me to read a classic for fun. Being an English major I get assigned to read them often and I usually hate assigned reading. Not because of the material but because it’s assigned, there’s a deadline and a several-hundred word required essay involved. . .
There are classics I love like To Kill A Mockingbird, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, The Bluest Eye, and The Tempest. I have little experience reading classics but being a blogger, you can’t help but want to read them after reading the great reviews of your blogging friends. So I have books by Austen, Bronte, Wells, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Eliot, and others on my TBR list and shelves.
My cousin wouldn’t be named Myrtle but probably something starting with a “T” because my mother and many aunts were going through a “T” phase in the 1970s and ’80s, so all seven or eight of us girls have names that sound alike. . . That’s another story I’ll tell you guys one day. But if my cousin wanted me to find her a book that I think have classical appeal it would be The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I read it two years ago and it is still the only book that had me talking to myself about the plot and characters when I wasn’t reading it.
This is my first time participating in Friday Fill-ins!
1. Oh, I am so behind in studying.
2. I need changes, big and little.
3. During today, I will try to squeeze in studying and homework with being a mom to a sick kid.
4. You poured out my coffee? Are you kidding me?
5. Right now I’ll like to be invisible and on my couch, reading.
6. My coffee pot is my favorite gadget.
7. And as for this weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to doing my homework so I can have some free time. Tomorrow my plans include reading and homework, and Sunday I want to just read.
Since “Inspiration” is (or should) the theme this week … what is your reading inspired by?
I think my reading is inspired by the need to know about the lives of others, about what is going on in the world, and about human nature. I’m also inspired by the need to become better in expressing myself through words. I take in so much of what I read but with more important needs to address, kids, school, and life, I don’t have the time to reflect as well as I can. Though I want to know more about the world, I rarely read non-fiction. I don’t have the time.
Some of my favorite authors have helped me to look at familiar things in a different way; Steinbeck’s East of Eden on the issue of free will and his Of Mice and Men on the importance of dreaming, the works of Barbara Kingsolver and Anne Lamott on being a mother, and others when it comes to things sacred and divine.
Currently my reading is also inspired by the need to earn good grades. Being a college student and taking classes ranging from anthropology to literature, library science to human sexuality, my reading includes the works of classic poets, manuals on how to serve difficult people in library settings, and also various religions.
I’m also inspired by book challenges, book reviews, and the many unread books on my bursting shelves.
Jessi at Casual Dread gave me another Premios Dardo award. I cannot say thank you enough. To receive it once is great, to receive the award twice in the same week is just awesome.This time instead of naming fifteen more blogs that I love, I want to just say thank you to everyone who visits this blog, whether you lurk or not.
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I think the anxiety of school has caused me to drastically slow down my personal reading. So far this year I’ve read nineteen books, only one is an adult read. The rest are children’s books, no young adult, no middle school books. *sigh* I have to learn how to better manage my time.
When I’m not studying for school or on twitter, I’m buying tons of books. So many that the only way I’m going to read all of them this year is if I don’t check out any books from the library, receive any from Paperbackswap, and stop buying them. That’s not going to happen. As of today I’m trying to read as many books as I can in time for my big giveaway starting Febuary 1st as part of my mini-challenge for the Dewey’s Books Challenge. So if you haven’t signed up already, I suggest you do so.
***** Carrie’s Essay Reading Challenge is the first challenge I finished this year. My goal was to read twenty essays this year and I surpassed that. Here are the first twenty essays that I read:
From Tin House Magazine 1. On Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley – Tom Grimes 2. On Elain Dundy’s The Dud Avocado – Elisa Albert 3. On Knut Hamusun’s Hunger - Don Waters
From Powells Books Original Essays Feature 4. Mysteries in Plain Sight – Dara Horn 5. Still Knitting – Ann Hood 6. Taming the Wilderness – Ingrid Law
7. Dorothy Allison 8. Kate Atkinson 9. James Atlas 10. Robert Ballard 11. Gina Barreca 12 Nicholas A Bashanes 13. Graeme Base 14. Jeff Benedict 15. Elizabeth Berg 16. Amy Bloom 17. Harold Bloom 18. Lary Bloom 19. Chris Bohjalian 20. Da Chen
I totally forgot today was Monday! Last week I didn’t receive any reading materials in the mail but this week makes up for it thanks to Paperbackswap and Amazon.
The books are Geraldine Brooks’s People of the Book; Lullabies for little Criminals, which I found out about from Kimbofo months ago and it was on the 2008 shortlist for the Orange Prize; Tigerheart by Peter David, a retelling of Peter Pan; the latest issue of Tin House; Gods Behaving Badly from BookThirty (thanks!); This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund; Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass, a young adult read that sounds very promising; How to Be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith; and Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock, which is a collection of short stories that’s been getting rave reviews.
How did I forget about Eva and Alessandra’s great meme? After waiting a long five days I went to my local library and picked up all the books on hold for my middle baby and myself. Never mind that I still haven’t cracked open even one book from last weeks’ Library Loot.
Since school started this week and a required reading of at least 200 pages a week, my personal reading has slowed to almost a complete stop. I’m trying though. If I can get in one hour a day to myself, I will be a very happy girl.
Don’t you just love the Trina Schart Hyman’s cover for Little Red Riding Hood? I discovered this version of the fairy tale last year and fell in love with it. Little Red is beautiful. Happy readings!
The great J. Kaye awarded me the Primo Darios Award! How cool is that? The Primo Award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.
The rules to follow are:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to other 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
Here are a few of my favorites. If I could list all of the blogs I love (and stalk) this post would be pages long.
Eva at A Striped Armchair came up with this great idea for bloggers to post what we checked out from the library every week. I think today’s visit is the third one of the year and so far the best one.
After finishing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy yesterday, I practically ran today back to the library to check out the second book in the series, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. I had several lovely surprises waiting for me on the holds shelf.
The Homeschooling Book of Lists (for my kids), The Dresden Files #1: Welcome to the Jungle graphic series (I’ll find a challenge for it), One year to an organized life (part of my resolutions), Garden Spells (possible Well-Read Ladies February selection), Berlin: #1 City of Stones, Man’s Search of Meaning (just in a weird mood), and plenty of books from the Babymouse series.
So you know that conversation we had a couple of days ago about me not joining any more challenges and if I did you would remind me? Well I just had to join one more challenge. It’s just a small challenge really with not that many requirements. What? What’s the challenge? Well, I joined Becky’s year-long 42 Challenge.
The requirements? Here’s what Becky said:
Your mission–if you choose to accept it–is to read, watch, listen, and review 42 sci-fi related items. (Items isn’t the best word, but how else would you define all that this challenge could involve). What’s acceptable? Practically everything: short stories, poetry (???), novellas, novels, episodes of TV shows, episodes of radio shows, movies, comic books, graphic novels, audio books, essays or articles about science fiction or science fiction writers, biographies of science fiction authors. This isn’t quite as intimidating as it sounds. This is much more than a reading challenge. It would be intimidating (in all likelihood) to try to read that many books. But when you make each short story, each TV show episode count as individual items, then it is much more manageable I hope! (This challenge could be as easy as watching Season 1 and Season 2 of Stargate SG-1, for example.)
No lists are needed. Really. If you want to post about the challenge and talk about what you hope to get to that’s fine, of course, but no one will hold you to it!
What’s not to love about this challenge? I don’t usually read science fiction but I still signed up. With kids, a full-time load starting in six days, and 23 other challenges, how hard can it be? I have the whole year and I just finished reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for my first read. I’ll post my review later this week. Until then, wish me luck!
I always wanted to host a reading challenge but never had a topic in mind. Of course, I realized that my track record with challenges is less than stellar. What a really need is a challenge to complete my challenges! So I invented The I Suck at Challenges Challenge. It’s rather tongue in cheek but it might keep some of you challenges on the path to actually completing one or two. Lord knows there’s enough challenges starting up now to tempt you all.
My category:
The 12 Steppers (Aka “I can stop whenever I want.”)
There’s a challenge. You see it. Your palms start to sweat. Mr Linky mocks you. You try to stop yourself but it’s too late. You’ve committed yourself to Books That Start With Q Challenge and you know you’ll do it again when the next challenge comes along. The only thing is, how are you ever going to complete them all? Sound like you? Then you are a 12 Stepper. No program is going to help you though; you’re addicted.
The rules are to list every challenge that you’ve signed up for. Chris will periodically call on participants to tell her their progress. She’s also going to have giveaways.
My challenges:
1. The A to Z Challenge 2. A Novel Group’s Mini-Challenge 3. Young Adult Challenge 4. Year of Reading Dangerously 5. Read Your Own Books 6. Book Awards 7. Diversity Rocks 8. In Their Shoes 9. Jewish Literature (I don’t think I officially signed up for this.) 10. John Steinbeck Mini-Challenge 11. Lambda Challenge 12. Unshelved Reading Challenge 13. 9 Books for 2009 14 Childhood Favourites 15. Graphic Novel Challenge 16. Dewey’s Books 17. Lost in Translation 18. World Citizen 19. Essay Reading 20. Year of Readers 21. 100 shots of short story reading 22. Dream King 23. Martel-Harper 24. 42 Challenge
Okay I think that’s it but if you know I signed up for a challenge and it’s not here, please let me know.
Okay, this is my last reading challenge I swear! If you even think I’m contemplating signing up for another one, I want you to twitter me or leave a comment reminding me “no more challenges.” Please. It’s your fault that I’m signing up for this challenge anyway. Yes, you. I can’t see you but I know you’re there. I’ve seen so many of my fellow bloggers sign up for the A-to-Z Challenge that I had to join! It was the wise J. Kaye who said “We only live once. Why not go out with a mess of book challenges?” The perfect advice.
So I signed up for the A to Z Challenge hosted by Becky. My plan is to do options A and E. Option A is to read authors A to Z while option E is to read 26 alphabet books. I’m going to be as flexible as possible with this challenge but below is my default list.
Auslander, Shaolam Bondoux, Anne Laure Carroll, Jonathon Dickinson, Emily Exupery, Antoine de Ferrante, Elena Green, John Hill, Susan Irving, John July, Miranda Knox, Elizabeth Larsson, Steig Monzo, Quin Niffenegger, Audrey Olafsson, Olaf Packer, ZZ Queen, Carol Rushdie, Salman Saramago, Jose Tademy, Lalita Umrigan, Thrity N. Venneman, Kevin Willingham, Bill X, Malcolm Yenne, Bill Zambra, Alejandro
So . . . any Reading Resolutions? Say, specific books to read? A plan to read more _ _ _? Anything at all?
Yesterday afternoon I went to the library and found so many wonderful books waiting for me. This morning I plan on starting Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain. After that I have:
Tithe by Holly Black The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill Death with Interruptions – Jose Saramago Looking for Alaska by John Green An exact replica of a figment of my imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
My reading resolution is to read more books by minority authors and others from foreign countries. Happy New Year!
The Mind-Body Problem (2009)
In my stack:
November 1, 2009 – November 30, 2010
Shelf Discovery Reading Challenge
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
Right now it’s early morning here in Southern California and the sun is not up yet. Sitting on my desk is a hot cup of coffee and today’s read, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts. I received it through 
Sea Change (2009)
Jellaby (2008)
Which do you prefer? (Quick answers.)
Today’s Musing Monday is about library browsing. . . 
Mailbox Monday
Locomotion (2003)
The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine (2008)
I’m finished! At 7 AM this morning I crossed the finish line for the 48-hour challenge. This weekend was not the best one to sit down and just read. I visit family, battled migraines, cooked, clean . . . This weekend was so busy.
The Ghost’s Child (2008)
I officially started at 7:00AM. For the first hour I’m reading Bone Vol 1: Straight out of Boneville by Jeff Smith.
It’s amazing that May is almost over with. It’s been a forgettable month. I can barely remember what I’ve accomplished. Book-wise I didn’t accomplish much, reading only three adult, four young adult, and fourteen children’s books.
Wild Magic (2007)
Bones of Faerie (2009)
Emily’s Piano (2005)
Mama Always Comes Home
Animal Strike at the Zoo. It’s True! (2006)
Hunger Games (2008)
After participating in last week’s read-a-thon, I just knew that I would be on a reading roll. I fantasized I would be reading book after book. I would be unstoppable. . . It did not happen. Instead after the read-a-thon, I didn’t finish even one book last week.I was so tired, it wasn’t until Thursday that I felt like myself. I’ll plan better for the next event in October.
I’ve been subscribing to Bookmarks magazine for almost a year now. A couple of days ago I explored their website and found in their forum a discussion entitled 
The Money Tree (1991)
The Library (1995)
The read-a-thon is over once again until October. Bloggers have happily put down their books and are sleeping right now. Most of us can finally smile and say we read something on our unread shelves and know we have a ton of books to return to our libraries. I want to thank Trish, Nymeth, and Wordlily for taking on the massive task of organizing the read-a-thon in Dewey’s memory.
their Fabulous Hair by Michael Cunningham and George Alexander.
Currently reading: I have no idea what’s next
The read-a-thon is about to start. I’mwishing everyone who participants a great time.
Bird by Rita Murphy (2008)
With the start of Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-thon less than a week away, I thought it might be a good idea to start writing my various posts for the big event.
I know it’s a cliche but I had to say it. I’ve been given three awards by three great bloggers. Yvonne at 
Last Sunday night I started reading 
about 1 a.m. reading. 
My favorite volume of the series is volume #10: The Good Prince. This is Flycatcher’s a.k.a. The Frog Prince story. After centuries of denial he finally deals with his grief over the loss of his wife and children. You see Flycatcher’s transformation throughout the book. At first he’s drawn like he normally was throughout the series then you see a gradual change. When I’m off my book-buying ban I will be buying this volume.
ert (2008). Illustrated by Tuesday Mourning. 40 pages.
years old, Avi’s the baby of the family but don’t tell him that. He won’t believe you. For the last two weeks I have been reading Dinosaur vs. Bedtime every morning, noon, and night. Imagine my surprise when Avram read the book to me yesterday. I’m surprise I didn’t cry.
because he’s been going to sleep earlier than everyone this week, so I’ve been reading to him from my own reads. I read the first several chapters of 
One of the best things about this week besides new medication was that my library finally put the last books of the Fables series on hold for me. I finished books four and six yesterday and will be starting seven in just a couple of minutes! The Fables series is engaging, disturbing, beautiful, funny. . . It has everything you want in a story. When I finish reading the book eleven, I plan on writing a review on it.
I also plan on reading 
Earlier this week the lovely Gavin gave me the Sisterhood Award. Thank you so much!
“This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award.”
I should be honest–as much as I like fairy tales I’ve never really cared for Hansel and Gretel. A brother and sister being left in a forest to starve and die by their cruel stepmother and cowardly father. Then for the siblings to find the gingerbread house in the middle of the woods. We’re all aware of what happens next. As a child I always wanted an explanation. Why was the stepmother so cruel? Why was the father such a coward?
“The Reader’s Bill of Rights” by Daniel Pennac from 
The House in the Night
Every the third consecutive year Carl is hosting the 
Tomorrow is the first day of Spring! The birds are chirping, flowers are starting to come up, and noses are running. The perfect way for me to celebrate the new season is by joining the Spring Reading Challenge hosted by Katrina at 
It’s midterms week over here and I’ve been busy studying. Lynda at 
I’m currently reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. The New York Times calls it “eloquent little essays in time, beauty, and the meaning of life” and I have to agree.
Having an acute sense of self is about balance. You have to be kind to yourself, but not so lenient that you can’t be occasionally critical and enact self-discipline–and not so critical that you spend too much time degrading yourself . . . Knowing your physical and emotional strengths and weaknesses and being able to accept them is key to the well-lived life.
This week’s Weekly Geeks is to post a quote a day for a week. This is one of my favorite w.g. activities. My quotes for this week will be coming from a great book called Speaking of Books: The Best Things Ever Said About Books and Book Collecting by Rob Kaplan and Harold Rabinowitz.
