My Reading Frenzy

Summer Reading 2014 - Part II

I ran through books quite quickly this summer - or in the three weeks of it I had since I did not get a full summer vacation - I know- boohoo - no one feels sorry for me, and I do not either. The work I did with teachers in July was gratifying and renewing in a way that July usually is not.

After the books I covered in Summer Reading 2014 - Part I, I jumped into 6 more, without a dud in the whole stack:

1.  Lexicon by Max Barry - At one point I owned two copies of this book. I waited quite a long time to read either one, though it was on the top of my TBR pile as soon as I bought it the first time. I am partly sorry I waited so long and partly so mind-blown by it that all regrets have faded. The premise is that words are powerful...what a concept. If any of my former English students are reading this, I am not crazy, words are powerful and this story illustrates that they can even be deadly. Set in the not too distant future, Emily escapes her life on the streets by attending a super-secret school that teaches its students how to be "persuasive." Barry explores the issues of persuasion and the power of language in a way that makes the read a bit wary of those who may seem a bit too glib or at ease with command. A powerful and provoking exploration of mind manipulation and psychology.

2.  Heirs of Grace by Tim Pratt - Upon being called to the reading of a will for a man she does not know, Bekah finds herself with a house, siblings, and magical powers. I just never get tired of well-done stories about magic, mostly because ever since Harry Potter I have been sad not to have magic powers. Romance, adventure, and humor are mixed together in this story that was originally published as a Kindle serial. Not sure how I feel about the concept and am glad I did not have to wait to read this entertaining novel.

3.  Champion by Marie Lu - This is another book I had on the shelves for quite a while but put off reading...for no good reason. This is the third in the Legend series. The Republic of America faces certain annihilation by the Colonies if doctors cannot find a cure for a virulent plague the Colonies believe the Republic has created and unleashed. Day, as hero of the people, and June as a Princeps-Elect, put their nation before their relationship. I love YA dystopia and have no probelm with the idea that 17-year-olds will save us all. Fantasy and dystopia are all mixed up anyway. 

4. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - This is considered a classic of children's literature, winning the Newbery in 1979. The story is a bit dated, and reminded me of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein, a 2013 publication. I like the concept of each, that a group of people must use clues to solve puzzles that will lead to prizes and glory (not too far from the concepts of Willa Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but without the borderline creepiness). The most significant difference in The Westing Game is that the participants are a mix of children and adults. The story is clearly for children as the main character is a child and the novel is short, but it does not talk down to the reader in a way I think too many middle grade and YA books do today.

5.  Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg - I have read two other books by Flagg and see them as very close to ideal for summer reading. They are not saccharine and overly cheerful, but there are moments of reading when a tall, cool, glass of iced tea (unsweetened for me - I am a Jersey girl after all) and a rocking chair on the porch would round out the experience perfectly. The two main characters here are Norma and her aunt Elner, both residents of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, a location for other stories, but I have not read any of those, only Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe andThe All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion. I think I'll save reading another by her for the dead of winter when I need to feel summery.

6.  One Plus One by Jojo Moyes - This is the first novel I have read by Moyes, though I have been tempted to purchase others in the past. I will be reading more now. Tanzie is a maths genius. Her half-brother Nicky does not fit in at school. Jess works two jobs to keep the family afloat in a not-very-nice suburb of London. The bulk of the novel revolves around the three days they spend traveling with one of Jess's cleaning clients trying to get Tanzie to a math Olympiad competition where she could win enough money to cover the cost of a private school to which she has been admitted but they cannot afford. Throw in a smelly dog, a fair amount of vomiting, and some romance and you have a story worthy of a satisfying summer read.

Now I am going to get back to reading as I return to work soon and will miss having so much time to indulge in good books!

Summer Reading 2014 - Part I

As I did not work in a school this year, my summer was significantly shorter than in the past.  I still managed to fit in quite a bit of reading in three weeks. I consider my summer reading anything I read during my three free weeks in August, not what I read in July in the evenings after working 10 hours a day.  (Sadly, I read very little because I was mostly exhausted those nights and just sat on the couch watching Dr. Who - David Tennant, in all his dreamy-ness.)  I can remember a few of the books I read then I will include them on this list. 

I started my 6 day vacation in Maine with The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. There has been lots of buzz about this one as AJ owns an independent bookshop. It also came recommended by a colleague in the 5 minutes we had to chat about books in July.  I figured if this was the one she could call to mind it must be memorable, and it was. Highly recommend for its nice story as well as the bookshop anecdotes.

Side note: For a number of reasons I recently purchased a Kindle. I read the above on it after purchasing it for a reasonable price. I spend far too much money on books. I also check a fair number out of the library and buy from used stores. What I have balked at is paying over $10 for an ebook. Most of what I have I have gotten for free as review copies, or inexpensively when Amazon offers a deal. It seems that if I am going to spend over $10 I want a paper and cardboard book to show for it. $10 seems like a good threshold for new-ish books, when a hardback is significantly more expensive and a paperback is upwards of $11. I have been pleased with my purchase and found it very convenient when we were in and out of hotels and the car. I have also adjusted well to reading in a different format which will also come in handy on the Metro. My bag of books stayed right in the trunk (and became a bit fuller during the journey) until we arrived home to VA.

The second book I read was Deborah Harkness's A Discovery of Witches. I will admit I made an effort to avoid vampire books after the atrocities perpetuated by Stephenie Meyer - though it was Bella more than the vampires I found offensive. By the time I realized what a large role vampires play in this one, it was too late and I was hooked. There was a bit to much "I am enthralled by this vampire and am therefore his for all eternity" on the part of the heroine, but the story moved along well and the world-building was thorough and consistent. I purchased the second book in the series, Shadow of Night (which I am happy to say involves time travel to Elizabethan England) as an ebook as well, but the 3rd I picked up at an independent bookstore I love in Madison, CT called RJ Julia. I just began the 2nd book, making myself wait until I had read all the books I brought to VA from DC in order to avoid taking them back unread. 

Because we were so busy in ME, I only read those two books. As soon as we returned to VA, I began Isla and the Happily Ever After, by Stephanie Perkins. I loved Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door. Perkins suffers from depression and took a bit longer to finish this story than she anticipated. While the book was certainly worth the wait, I do not feel it was as strong as the other two. But what I did especially like was that while it is still a YA love story, she moved away from the formula of the first two in a way that made it more difficult to predict how the relationship between Isla and Josh would turn out. Anna, Etienne, Lola, and Cricket put in an appearance but are only a side story in Josh and Isla's relationship. I had pre-ordered the book from Hooray for Books in Old Town Alexandria where I went to see Perkins as well as Ellen Oh, Victoria Schwab and Megan Shepherd in January and picked it up on our way out of town. I felt like it should be my next read since I had already waited so long. 

One book I can now recall reading in July was My Salinger Year, by Joanna Rakoff about the year she spent working for JD Salinger's agency. One of her jobs was to answer his fan mail with a form letter indicating that Salinger had requested not to receive any letters. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that Rakoff had not read any of his work before getting the job and put if off until she had been there many months. This makes her before and after reactions to the fan letters an intriguing part of the story. I like Salinger's work, but never reacted to it the way many of my students did to Catcher in the Rye. Rakoff's insights into publishing were enlightening as well.

That is probably enough for Part I...I'll discuss the rest of my summer reading stack in my next post.