My Reading Frenzy

The end of the challenge

As I am moving TONIGHT/TOMORROW to Washington, DC, and will begin work on Monday, my book-a-day challenge for myself is officially ended. 

I read The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall.  I have enjoyed the first three books in this series.  They feel a bit old timey to me.  The stories are far from saccharine, but feel less heavy than other modern stories.  The Penderwicks have issues - dead mother, remarriage of father, and in this latest tale, close family friend Jeffrey deals with his difficult mother and step-father while also working through the problems associated with having never known his father.  The continual and strong presence of adults is reassuring to the characters and the reader.  In some middle-grade and YA book the adults are just absent, which is clearly realistic.  I believe these stories are also realistic in that while the kids try to deal with problems on their own, they always know there is an adult ready to bear the burden if needed.  I think it is a healthy portrayal of families that are not perfect, but are strong in their devotion to each other. 

After this I was able to finish The Hundred Dresses.  This is not the children's story by Eleanor Estes, but instead a look at 100 dress styles that have been significant in history.  The book was written by blogger and lexicographer Erin McKean who also wrote the novel The Secret Lives of Dresses which I enjoyed immensely.  I have been reading this one slowly at a pace of two to three dress styles a day. 

Currently I am reading Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield who wrote The Thirteenth Tale, a gothic novel if ever there was one, which I loved.  (I remember clearly reading it on Christmas day 2007 which was a dreary, rainy day in NJ.  I was cozy by the fireplace and flew through the story, taking breaks only to help with dinner.)  I was lucky enough to receive an ARC and would love to post my review before release.  Hopefully if my exploring DC schedule is not too hectic, I will finish and blog about it next week. 

I am off to finish packing and maybe get a reading break this afternoon.

Off the Pace

I think I am off my book-a-day pace.  My last post was Monday the 12th and it is now Tuesday the 20th.  In that time I have read only four books.  In all honesty, one of the books, The Uncommon Reader I read the evening of the 12th.  (It's a quick read.)  In it, the uncommon reader is Queen Elizabeth II who has come to reading a bit late in life, 2007 if we go by the book's publication date.  It is an interesting look at how she becomes immersed in books, realizing how much can be learned about life, the world, and humanity from reading.  It is a sweet little story worth the hour or so it takes to read.  Another good Queen Elizabeth II is Mrs. Queen Takes the Train. 

Next I moved on to another Diana Wynne Jones, Earwig and the Witch.  This one is definitely an elementary read, but it was a cute story about an orphan who outsmarts a witch.  A good "girl power" story.  Yey, again a very short book. 

Next, I picked up Infinityglass by Myra McEntire at the bookstore last Wednesday and began reading immediately.  This threw me off my pace a bit because it was not as quick a read as the rest in the pile I had created for myself.  I had not planned to buy it, since I did not care for the second book in the series Timepiece.  (This was yet another title that proved my theory about second books in trilogies.) But I caved because the third in a trilogy is usually much better than the second, though rarely as good as the first.  This proved true in this case as well.  This third book focused on a secondary character from the first two books as well as someone completely new.   The old favorites popped up eventually, but their stories were not central to this one.  McEntire has created a complicated world with all sorts of details to remember about each character's powers and his or her limitations.  I can be a bit unwieldy without re-reading the earlier book, which I have not.  Someday, if I ever have time (ha) I might read the trilogy again to refresh the whole arc of the story.  I will be interested to see what McEntire does next. 

Finally, just moments ago I finished No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman.  Earlier in the summer I read Schooled, which may have been the first in my book-a-day challenge.  I have been intrigued by Korman since I heard him speak at my state's library conference last November.  His stories often take place in middle school, kids seem to enjoy them.  I find them to be a bit unrealistic, but the exaggerations certainly fit the tales and are not beyond believability.  In this one, Wallace Wallace's (Yep, same first and last name, not a typo.) detention for writing a negative book review of the teacher's favorite novel sets of a series of events related to the school play based on the book and Wallace's somewhat disappointing middle school football career.  A weird mix, but one  that works for this story about how important being part of something is for kids. 

That's it, in 8 days, 4 books.  Sad, I know.  But in my defense I spent one whole day moving most of my stuff to Washington, DC and two others packing, and I went to the gym four of last week's five week days. 

Next up: The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall.

Making progress

So, I finished The Ogre Downstairs and A Study in Sherlock.  This one is a collection of short stories written by various mystery writers that all connect to Sherlock Holmes in some way.  I enjoyed the stories, but generally do not like to read short stories.  As a genre I love short stories, I loved teaching them.  Some of the best short story writers, Hawthorne, Hemingway, Chopin featured in my teaching for years, but for my own personal reading, I prefer something more sustained.

Next I moved to Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith.  I have not yet read anything by him that I did not like and some of them I have loved.  This one was a charming story of four people in a railway car from Edinburgh to London.  They share stories with each other that are intimate, yet not necessarily revealing of everything.  It is a lovely meditation on love, but also the ways that humans can connect if we just allow ourselves to trust in humanity and compassion. 

 

Just now I finished Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher.  I had only read one book by Chris Crutcher when I heard him speak at the VA librarian conference in 2011.  Afterwards I aquired a number of his books, but this is the first I have read.  Now I am hooked.  He has worked for years as a child protection specialist which makes me sad.  It makes me think that the stories he tells about what some kids go through are probably truer than I would like to know about, but his stories are real and told in clear, strong language so that we as readers know he is not sensationalizing or trying to embellish.  I have placed a few more of his books into my boxes to take to DC.  I do not want too much time to pass before I read another of his books.

 

Up next: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.   

6 down....infinity to go

After challenging myself on August 4th to read a book a day until I finish the pile of kids books I have selected along with some books of short stories I need to finish, I have read six and a half books, and anticipate finishing the 1/2 today.  This means I am a bit ahead of the pace!  Yay me!

I have read:

I'll Pass for Your Comrade by Anita Silvey, which I mentioned in the original book challenge post.  I really liked this, but it left me wanted to know more about each woman Silvey mentions.  Right now I have no time for further research, but someday.... 

Next was Everything on a Waffle, by Polly Horvath, a Newbery Honor Book from 2002.  This one takes place in a quaint town in British Columbia with some stock characters like the gruff uncle, the quirky diner lady, and a sort-of orphan.  But when the plot veers away from the expected, the characters do as well, which is I suppose why this was considered for a Newbery. 

After that I read the companion books Just as Long as We're Together and Here's to You Rachel Robinson by Judy Blume.  I enjoyed both and they moved well covering just brief periods in the lives of 7th graders Stephanie, Rachel, and Alice.  These were not as delightful as Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, nor as controversial as Are You There God it's Me Margaret, but were nonetheless good showings by Blume. 

The final book I have read so far in its entirety is Romeo Blue by Phoebe Stone, the sequel to The Romeo and Juliet Code, a book I LOVED!  Ironically I stated in my review that I would prefer their not to be a sequel, but there is and I read it and love it too!  Just goes to show how much I know.  I love Stone's phrasing, it is almost poetic, and since I dislike verse novels, I am surprised I like her style.  Because the book takes place during World War II, it is not primarily a happy story, but the way the characters go on with life, managing to find joy amid the awfulness is a real portrayal of life at this time.  It is historical fiction, without feeling like historical fiction.  I love historical fiction, but my students avoid it, but this is a book that might trick them. 

The book I am half done with is Diana Wynne Jones's The Ogre Downstairs.  It is really about step-families and not surprisingly, a magical chemical set.  So far I am enjoying it.  I find Jones's books fabulously inventive.  Other people may follow in her footsteps, but she is fresh and unique every time.  Not sure what I will move to after this one, it will depend on my mood later this afternoon when I finish. 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One was on my TBR list for a long time, then I took it off, then I put it on hold at the library, then I brought it home, then I took it back without having read it, then I finally checked it out on CD, then I listened to it, then I was in love.  If you were any kind of a geek/nerd/sci fi nut in the 80s you MUST read this book.  For some of you of course, this is old news and you are wondering what took me so long.  My answer is: I don't know!  

The audio-book is read by Wil Wheaton, and he was the perfect choice.  He barely sounds like Wesley Crusher at all and he is a geek himself and therefore hits all the inflections of video game playing and technology worship just right! 

The story is about Wade who spends his time searching for an Easter egg, a hidden item in a movie, TV show, or video game.  These are usually little inside jokes for the creator or writer that will only be noticed or understood by someone else "in the know."  This particular EAster egg is worth billions of dollars left by James Halliday as a "Willy Wonkaish" way to leave his company and fortune to a worthy person.  For years the world has focused on the quest which takes place in the OASIS a place much more pleasant than the world of 2044. 

The story is about honor, friendship, and love as much as it is about video games, and 80s movies and music.  It is truly a masterpiece integrating these elements around characters we love and root for and the evil bad buys we want to see defeated. 

Now I may have to get the book and read it again!

A Book a Day

I own a lot of books.  It was not always this way.  There was a time when I had to rely on other people to buy books for me.  This resulted in many, many rereads.  I suppose if this had not made me happy we would have gone more often to the library, but I loved Anne of Green Gables and its sequels so much, I did not mind.  Even after I was old enough for a job, I did not spend a great deal of money on books.  In college I had little time for personal reading as I had plenty to read in my classes as an English/Education major.  After I began teaching, I was again far too busy to read as much as I would have liked and needed to put my meager salary toward car payments, mortgage payments, and student loan payments.

So, when did it all begin?  I mark my descent into excessive book ownership from the summer I worked at B. Dalton in the mall.  I was about 7 years into my teaching career at the time and needed a summer job that would not wear me out too much.  Waitressing was not something at which I excelled and teaching summer school was not an alternative I wanted to pursue.  I was lucky enough to be hired and spent my summer talking to people about books, reading books, and buying books.  The discount was fabulous and even such a small store introduced me to books I would not have otherwise found.  My book buying ratcheted up a notch again when I was taking classes for my librarian licensure.  While other students were content to borrow all their class reading material from the library, I felt drawn to own everything I read.  

So, here I am 10 years after working as a book seller and 4 years after the start of my library education and my house is overrun.  I have been very aware of my buying tendencies for years, and have managed to curtail my purchasing with library cards from two different towns.  However, since new books are always being released that I feel I ne-e-e-e-e-d, I acquire much more quickly than I can read.  One problem I have is that when a book I want to read is released I buy it right away.  On more than one occasion the book languishes on my shelf until I take it down to the used bookstore or sell if off to Powell's without ever having read it.  I am trying to stop doing that, instead keeping a running list of books due out and holding off buying them until I am ready to read.  (This tactic works sometimes.)

Now, I am preparing to move to Washington, DC for a year to serve as the Teacher-in-Residence at the Library of Congress (luckily the books there are not available for check-out).  This means I need to pack up enough reading material to last about a month until my first visit home.  This took me approximately 5 minutes.  But this endeavor also left me staring at a significant number of books I would not be able to take right away, as well as, a significant list of books that have not yet been released, but that I will want to read before anything that has been relegated to the second string.  The question is: Do I get rid of these second stringers, or keep them around in the hopes that evenings on my own will result in greater reading time?

In doing some reorganizing and weeding this evening, I separated out a pile of books to read between now and the end of August when I officially move.  Most of these are short, children's or young adult books I can read at a pace of one a day.  Some are anthologies of short stories which I like, but have difficulty reading because of the choppy nature of the reading time.  I plan to read at least one book a day and still have time to pack and do all those other things one does when one is about to move away for a year. 

I started today with Schooled by Gordon Korman, which was sort of cheating since I brought the book home from work at the end of the school year, and do not own it.  Even though it was a bullying book, which I generally do not enjoy because they can be so cliche, I found this one refreshingly unique.  Cap (short for Capricorn) has been raised by his grandmother in what used to be a thriving commune, but is now just the two of them.  When she is injured and Cap must move in with a foster family and go to school for the first time, hilarity ensues.  Cap is a believable, wide-eyed innocent who is an easy target.  The story ends well, as expected, but Cap's sweetness is a nice change from the usual downtrodden protagonist. 

Before beginning this post, I began reading, I'll Pass for Your Comrade, by Anita Silvey.  I started with this one because during my recent week in a workshop at the National Archives, I learned about a women who had masqueraded as a man to fight in the Civil War.  She and others are explored in some detail in this book that has a remarkable number of pictures of women in uniform considering they were trying to hide in the ranks to fight as men.  I will finish this tomorrow and hopefully another of the pile I have selected for these few weeks.  

Updates on my "book-a-day" challenge to follow as the week goes on.