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.
