January 2011

For the new year, I'm trying a new approach: blogging once a month. Here are my titles for January:

1. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch
2. Switched by Amanda Hocking
3. Torn by Amanda Hocking
4. Ascend by Amanda Hocking
5. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
6. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
7. Matched by Allie Condie

I loved The Hangman's Daughter! What a rare and fine translation of historical fiction. The Amanda Hocking series--recommended by my own daughter--was a pleasant surprise. The Imperfectionists and Before I Fall had terribly disappointing endings, although I loved all but the last 3 or 4 pages of both books. And Matched? Well, I'm on my way upstairs to finish it now. So far, it's outstanding.  Quite possibly the best of the month.

A goal not achieved, and a shot at redemption

I am sorry to say that I did not meet my goal of reading 100 books in 2010. Well, I suppose that if I had dropped my pretensions and counted the million-and-a-half picture books I read to my foster grandson this summer, I far exceeded my goal...but I did not read 100 books for my own personal enjoyment. *Sigh*

Still, I came close, and given the kind of year it was, I feel pretty good about that. And here is the good news: I'm attempting to read 111 books in 2011! Join the group on Facebook: The Centurions of 2011.

Here is my almost-but-not-quite-adequate list of 2010 titles:

1. Notes from the Midnight Driver
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3. Beautiful Creatures
4. Ballad
5. Her Fearful Symmetry
6. Going Bovine
7. The Lightning Theif
8. The Girl Who Played with Fire
9. Nurtureshock
10. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
11. Marcelo in the Real World
12. The Lost Symbol
13. Murder Takes the Cake
14. Candor
15. The Hollow
16. The Adoration of Jenna Fox
17. Whose Body
18. The Great Gatsby
19. Unwind
20. An Expert in Murder
21. Wondrous Strange
22. Darklight
23. The Chosen One
24. Food Rules
25. Little Brother
26. Stopping Time
27. The Hole We're In
28. Garden Spells
29. Henry's Sisters
30. Tales from Outer Suburbia
31. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
32. Rubber Houses
33. Angelology
34. If I Stay
35. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
36. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County
37. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
38. Three Witches
39. The Solitude of Prime Numbers
40. Fallen
41. Dead in the Family
42. Night
43. Tinkers
44. The Lace Reader
45. Spooky Little Girl
46. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
47. What Was Lost
48. Little Bee
49. Hush, Hush
50. Teach Like a Champion
51. Heroes
52. The Map of True Places
53. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
54. The Sugar Queen
55. Mockingjay
56. Holding onto Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones
57. Liar
58. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Tenth Grade
59. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eleventh Grade
60. Beautiful Lies
61. Later, at the Bar...
62. Sharp Teeth
63. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade
64. The GRITS Guide to Life
65. The World's Shortest Stories
66. The Haunted
67. The Penelopeiad
68. Torment
69. Need
70. Captivate
71. Hate List
72. Beautiful Darkness
73. Will Grayson, Will Grayson
74. The Ring of Solomon
75. Crescendo
76. The Ball
77. Grave Secret
78. The Entertainer and the Dybbuk
79. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
80. The Legend of the Poinsettia
81. Forge
82. Love That Dog
83. Guardian
84. Hold Still
85. Beastly
86. Dead Is Just a Rumor by Marlene Perez
87. Entice
88. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
89.  Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston
90. Me Talk Pretty Someday by David Sedaris
91. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

Life, Death, War, and Delivering the Mail

Sarah Blake's somber novel The Postmistress is a gentle exploration of all these painful topics...And from the ashes left in the wake of World War II rise three (broken) women who are strong and capable. Most of all, though, I find I am haunted by the question "What does it take to make people understand?"

More to read...I know the blogs get shorter and shorter, but I need to finish a book a day (and, a few days, two books) in order to reach my goal of 100 books for 2010!

Two for the Road (or the Air, as the case may be)

I finished at least one book between finishing Hold Still and starting Beastly the night before we flew across the country to spend Christmas with my parents. Unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me remember what it was! So that blog will have to wait until I'm back home and can see which book is laying next to my bed.

In the meantime, my travel companions were Beastly by Alex Flinn and Entice by Carrie Jones. Beastly is a modern re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, and while it's a story that's familiar, the 21st century touches were pretty neat. Like the chat room for the recently transformed, led by Mr. Anderson...The film will be released in March 2011, so I'm glad I got my hands on the book and read it now!

Entice is the continuation of the story that began with Need, and I am happy to report that it was much, much better than Captivate. Since I don't like to give too much away for those who have not yet begun to read the series, I'll leave it at that--and get back to reading!

Still Holding

Last night I started and finished Nina LaCour's Hold Still, the story of how Caitlin came to terms with her best friend Ingrid's suicide. It was a (sometimes painfully) honest and realistic look at how people left in the wake of suicide come to terms with what they've endured--and all that they've lost.

Next spring, I will participate in the Out of the Darkness Overnight--an 18 mile walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention--to honor the memory of my friend and former (favorite) babysitter, Suzie. I'll be walking with my friend Danielle, who is walking to honor the memory of her father. I wish that I did not know how difficult it is to recover from the suicide of someone who is so well-loved. Nina LaCour clearly knows even better than I do, and describes it insightfully and well.

Double Dip

Two books that made me cry this time: Guardian by Julius Lester and Love That Dog by Sharon Creech.

I am not sure how to discuss Guardian without giving away too much of the story. What I knew about it before I began reading was that it had to do with lynching. What I can tell you without discussing the book is that it is, to the best of my memory, the most honest, true, and horrific fictional accounts of segregation, lynching, and "Southern justice" that I have ever read. It is a must-read for all Americans...yet sadly, I'm sure it will remain largely unacknowledged. Too many people prefer to ignore (or worse, sugarcoat) the past than learn from it.

Love That Dog was a re-read, but it gets me every time. I have three dogs and I'm not sure that I love all of them together as much as Jack loves Sky (and I do love them a lot). I also love poetry, which makes this novel in verse a home run. And every time I see a blue car splattered with mud, I want to kick it!

Back to reading...The goal is in sight!

Slow Progress

I've read two books since my last post: The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola and Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson.

But first, let me take this opportunity to tell you that I once met Tomie dePaola. And really, that could be the entire content of my blog tonight, because even two years later that is just super-exciting. But I will try not to gloat about my encounter with the best author of all time and continue with the purpose of this blog, which is to tell you lovely readers about the books I have read.

So, The Legend of the Poinsettia was quite informative, especially in light of the fact that I always just assumed that poinsettias were considered "Christmas flowers" because they are red and green. But there is a Mexican legend behind their popularity--and it's retold by Tomie dePaola in the way that only he can tell a story. Did I mention the illustrations? I know, I know, I'm gushing. But I really like that guy! When we were little girls, my sister and I fought over Strega Nona every week when we went to the library. When I say fought, I mean there might have been blood and tears. Weekly. And don't even get me started on The Clown of God. Best. Book. Ever. Followed only by every other book Tomie dePaola has ever written. And I met him!!!

I also just finished Forge, the sequel to Chains, both by Laurie Halse Anderson. Let me just tell you first that my students love these books. As in, skip lunch to keep reading because they can't get enough, love these books. And I am so happy that such a quality author has done such a quality job in writing historical fiction that is interesting and accurate. And I am even happier that kids love what she's written. Really, I am! But I just don't connect with Isabel and Curzón the way I feel like I should. Wait, that's not completely true. I do feel invested in their story. But I think that I am old and jaded and I know that Laurie has done a great job focusing on the story she's trying to tell and while she refers to the horrors that slavery entailed, she does not get too caught up in describing every detail...and as I read, all I can think is "it was so much worse than the horrible that she is describing here," and that just makes me sad. Just plain sad. And consequently, these well-written, important books become hard for me to read. Which I suppose is a compliment...in a weird way.

I am trying not to get too caught up in counting how many books I need to read to make my goal of 100. This is all about the joys of reading, right? I'm hoping I go up to bed and find a really, really good book...one that I can't put down until it's done. Procrastinators of the world, unite! Tomorrow!