Book-A-Week in 2009: Week 1 Update

[linders]

Dragging through it, it just isn't as good as Wicked. For a break from it a got halfway through The Map Thief, a more entertaining read.

[eaglei]

Finished first book earlier this week, Joy in the Morning, by Betty Smith (posted on week 0).

 

Began second book, Pioneers of Faith, by Dr. Lester Sumrall, which I will finish this evening and am greatly enjoying. It's a collection of short biographical accounts of the lives and ministries of dedicated preachers and missionaries at the turn of the 20th century, written by a man who personally knew each one presented.

 

Will then begin my next book, My Antonia, by Willa Cather.

[Shawneinfl]

and posted on the web site. Starting on the big pile of books I have received over the past couple years and never read. Starting with The Kite Runner. So far so good.

[Lady Q]

Finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. 500+ pages, but at least half of that was pencil drawn illustrations. Saw an interview about the book over a year ago on some morning show. It captured my interest immediately.

 

Having read it, the idea for the book was very clever, but I felt that so much time and attention was spent on the illustrations, the narrative didn't keep up. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I think it was well-written? No. Will my girls enjoy it? Probably yes.

 

 

:iagree:

[Mrs. Readsalot]

Do I get to count this as 2 since it is over 800 pages long. I have been waiting and waiting to read this series. I didn't read it last year because of the 8/8/8 challendge. So I just decided to dive in the deep end of the pool and read it. It is wonderful and I hope to finish this weekend.

[dragons in the flower bed]

This series sounds intriguing - I've put the first book on hold at our library, thanks!

 

Oops, meant to quote the OP, who is reading the Chronicles of the Imaginorium (or something like that).

 

I thought so too, and did the exact same thing. If it weren't for this blizzard I'd be reading it now.

[Liz CA]

Just finished "Lion in the Valley". Always enjoy the books of that series. Next one is "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde.

 

I think I am changing to the "Beekeeper's Apprentice" for the second week.

[Parrothead]

If it doesn't matter what book we read, I just finished Vince Flynn's Term Limits.

 

I started re-reading the series. I'll start Memorial Day after I get the house back in a bit of order. I started Term Limits yesterday and a everything besides school has fallen by the wayside.

[Kay in Cal]

It really is good! So good, in fact, that I'm going to read book 3 either this week or next...

 

And, since I was asked in an email, no foul language, sex or anything else to make it inappropriate for kids. Kids who can read well. And more amusing the more you know about CS Lewis et al.

[Laura Corin]

Now I'm reading As I Walked Out One Midsummer Day.

 

Laura

[Amie]

I just read volume 5 of Charlotte Mason's series. I'm planning to begin von Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship--and it looks long. I'm reading some others, so we'll see which is completed for week 2 (fingers crossed!).

[Rosie_0801]

I was still finishing Great Expectations by Charles Dickens when January began - I finished it a few days in so I don't think I can count it :(

 

 

I read that a few weeks ago and kind of enjoyed it. I was completely shocked. I tend to think Dickens is one of those authors who is so much better interpreted on screen than on paper. If I hadn't liked Great Expectations I was going to give up on him entirely.

 

Nakia: What on earth was your library purchaser person thinking? Buying the first in a series and not getting the rest? :confused: I think you'd better put in a request that they do!!

 

:)

Rosie

[momofkhm]

Don't hit me! (ducking and running!)

 

The Witness by Dee Henderson

[Nakia]

Nakia: What on earth was your library purchaser person thinking? Buying the first in a series and not getting the rest? :confused: I think you'd better put in a request that they do!!

 

:)

Rosie

 

 

I know! I am scared to start the 1st one without the next two waiting on me. I might request that they buy them (they are usually pretty good about it!) and then start the series when I know that I have all 3 right here!

[cathmom]

I read that a few weeks ago and kind of enjoyed it. I was completely shocked. I tend to think Dickens is one of those authors who is so much better interpreted on screen than on paper. If I hadn't liked Great Expectations I was going to give up on him entirely.

 

Nakia: What on earth was your library purchaser person thinking? Buying the first in a series and not getting the rest? :confused: I think you'd better put in a request that they do!!

 

:)

Rosie

 

My library supposedly had Books 2, 3, and 4 of the series I am reading. I ordered the first from Paperback Swap. when I went to look for Book 4, it wasn't on the shelf and they have declared it MIA. So now I have to order Book 4 from PBS as well! At least they had it!

[Kristiana]

I'm only a couple days late! But I finished 1066: The Year of the Conquest by David Howarth this afternoon and I loved it! I never thought a book about 11th-century military history would be a page turner, but it really was. Although after finishing that and then seeing Valkyrie tonight, I really really need something with a happy ending. :001_smile:

 

I'm going to read Shannon Hale's Princess Academy next and I'm also in the middle of A Little Princess on audiobook with the boys and I'll count that when I finish it. I get caught up on all the children's classics while we're out driving around and I think they should count for something!

[Mad Jenny Flint]

I finished "Rifles for Watie" and then finished "Walden" to wind up the week. Enjoyed them both. I'm just so happy to be consistently reading paper books again! I feel like I can really do it now.

[Hazelt"nut"]

I just finished reading Jany Eyre for the first time. I wrote about it on my blog. www.hazelnutacademy.blogspot.com

 

 

I'm not sure what to read next?

Sheryl

[Vida Winter]

I just finished reading Jany Eyre for the first time. I wrote about it on my blog. www.hazelnutacademy.blogspot.com

 

 

I'm not sure what to read next?

Sheryl

 

Sheryl, I read your blog, and like you, I was greatly moved by Jane Eyre. For lovers of Jane, I recommend The Thirteenth Tale and The Eyre Affair, both modern books that feature Jane Eyre prominently.

 

For another good oldie, I'd recommend The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

[FloridaLisa]

Well, I read a superdeedeuper easy one because I was preparing for a conference this weekend: The Spiritual Power of a Motherby Michael Farris. I started into The Hidden Hand, a Lamplighter book, that I can't wait to get back into tonight after littles are in bed.

 

Lisa

[PamJH]

I just remember to post for the 1st week.

 

My book was "Descartes' Bones" by Russell Shorto. A terrific book.

[Basketmaker Amy]

I finished 1776 by David McCullough and loved it. He has a gift of weaving documented historical facts into a readable story.

[chiguirre]

I finished Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and my next book is The Billionaire's Vinegar. Outliers was a very interesting book and made several points that made me reconsider my homeschooling philosophy a bit. I was going to try reducing our outside activities, but after reading this book I think the positivies outweigh the negatives and we'll continue with our full load. I also realized that working year round with occasional breaks would be best for us, so this year I won't look for summer daycamps for the kids. I'd rather they just did a few weekly extracurriculars and maintain their normal school schedule.

 

I picked Outliers because I enjoyed Gladwell's other books and I had no idea it would end up being a "hsing book".

[cathmom]

I finished Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and my next book is The Billionaire's Vinegar. Outliers was a very interesting book and made several points that made me reconsider my homeschooling philosophy a bit. I was going to try reducing our outside activities, but after reading this book I think the positivies outweigh the negatives and we'll continue with our full load. I also realized that working year round with occasional breaks would be best for us, so this year I won't look for summer daycamps for the kids. I'd rather they just did a few weekly extracurriculars and maintain their normal school schedule.

 

I picked Outliers because I enjoyed Gladwell's other books and I had no idea it would end up being a "hsing book".

 

I got Outliers for christmas and I agree that it made me think about our homeschooling!

[cathmom]

I'm done my week 2 book and will just put my review here because I haven't had a chance to figure out the thing with the blog. Thanks!

 

The Settlers by Vilhelm Moberg

This is Book 3 of the Emigrants series by Moberg. It details the Swedish immigration to the United States in the mid-1800s through the fictional family of Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson. This book is the longest, and it is very well-written. Moberg’s depiction of Kristina’s abiding homesickness is poignant and moving, and the resolution of it was to me unexpected. Karl Oskar’s younger brother Robert is one of the most fascinating characters that I have encountered. He emigrates with them and then goes with a friend to follow the gold to California. The way in which Moberg tells us what happens to him is so dramatic: we are in Karl Oskar and Kristina’s position, knowing only what they know, feeling the anxiety they feel.

Moberg places the family within the historical framework of what emigration meant to Sweden and to the people who left. Reading this series has, for the first time, made me think about how national character might have been shaped by emigration. What kind of people stayed in Sweden? What kind emigrated? What effect did this have on future generations?

It has also made me think about how relatively easy it is to care for my children. Kristina’s children are outgrowing their clothes and need new ones, so she actually has to grow the flax, weave the fabric, and then cut out and sew the clothes. When these wear out, there is no inexpensive thrift store nearby. These have to last! And last week, when my son was cold while waiting at ballet, I had many options to take care of him: go inside, put him in the van, give him my mittens, my scarf or my coat, etc. What if we were in our house and I couldn’t get him any warmer? What if we were caught in a blizzard? And while there may not be the food they like in the house, there is actually some kind of food. How would it feel to watch my children starving?

I highly recommend this series. One caveat: it tends to be rather graphic (in a physical sense), the first book especially so. Book 1 is The Emigrants, and this details the conditions in Sweden and why this group of people decides to leave. It ends with them landing in New York. Book 2 is called Unto a Good Land and tells their journey to Minnesota. Book 3 ends in 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, and Book 4, The Last Letter Home, tells of the period from 1860 to 1890. I can’t wait to read that one!

[Nan in Mass]

My first book, which I finished New Year's Day but managed to savour by reading just a little bit each night for all of December) was the new Patricia McKillip The Bell at Sealey Head. I loved it because I love Patricia McKillip's writing, but I thought it had less plot than some of her books. Her writing makes a very real world for me.

 

My next book was a reread of Patricia McKillip's Alphabet of Thorn. For some reason, this book reminds me of the Gilgamesh story. The first time I read it, I thought the ending was rather a cop out. This time, the ending seemed to fit the story better. Usually, I can't pull a simple theme out of her books. Perhaps what I don't like about this plot is that I can, or at least I can for the ending.

 

Now I'm rereading Od Magic. I save rereading the McKillips for special times and the plots are complicated enough that I often don't remember how the books end until I've reread them three or four times. These last two I haven't been able to remember. Patricia McKillip's writing feels real to me because the chaotic plot feels just like my chaotic life.

 

-Nan

[buddhabelly]

I'm only a couple days late! But I finished 1066: The Year of the Conquest by David Howarth this afternoon and I loved it! I never thought a book about 11th-century military history would be a page turner, but it really was.

 

I really liked 1066. Howarth writes in an engaging fashion, and I especially enjoyed his flair for character portrayal. I really cared about these folks! I discovered it in the Veritas Press catalogue; how did you find it? Was it maybe suggested in Story of the World? I can't remember.

 

Julie

[cathmom]

I will also be getting out 1066!

 

I just finished my third book - do I even admit reading it??? - The Princess Diaries. We just watched the movie again and I thought maybe my dds could read the book. Um, no. they changed a LOT for the movie and cleaned it up quite a bit. She's actually written a whole bunch of them and I am into the second one now. IDK if I will keep reading them though. They aren't that great.

[AllSmiles]

I finished reading “The List†by Steve Martini. I picked this book up because I thought it was another book in his Paul Madriani series. About ¼ of the way into the book I finally decided that Paul Madriani wasn’t showing up :)

 

I really didn’t enjoy this book. I’m not sure if it was because it wasn’t what I was expecting or because it simply wasn’t as well written as some of his other novels.

 

My next book is “Running with Scissors†by Augusten Burroughs.

[Lady Q]

My first book, which I finished New Year's Day but managed to savour by reading just a little bit each night for all of December) was the new Patricia McKillip The Bell at Sealey Head. I loved it because I love Patricia McKillip's writing, but I thought it had less plot than some of her books. Her writing makes a very real world for me.

 

My next book was a reread of Patricia McKillip's Alphabet of Thorn. For some reason, this book reminds me of the Gilgamesh story. The first time I read it, I thought the ending was rather a cop out. This time, the ending seemed to fit the story better. Usually, I can't pull a simple theme out of her books. Perhaps what I don't like about this plot is that I can, or at least I can for the ending.

 

Now I'm rereading Od Magic. I save rereading the McKillips for special times and the plots are complicated enough that I often don't remember how the books end until I've reread them three or four times. These last two I haven't been able to remember. Patricia McKillip's writing feels real to me because the chaotic plot feels just like my chaotic life.

 

-Nan

 

I love McKillips' writing but the only book of hers that I have read all the way through is Ombria in Shadow. Her prose is so gorgeous (not to mention the covers of her books!) that I keep going back to her, but alas, her plots make no to little sense to me.

 

Which one of her books would you say is the most user-friendly?

[buddhabelly]

I finished reading “The List” by Steve Martini. I picked this book up because I thought it was another book in his Paul Madriani series. About ¼ of the way into the book I finally decided that Paul Madriani wasn’t showing up :)

 

I really didn’t enjoy this book. I’m not sure if it was because it wasn’t what I was expecting or because it simply wasn’t as well written as some of his other novels.

 

My next book is “Running with Scissors” by Augusten Burroughs.

 

After you read "Running with Scissors," (which by the way has some really unsavory parts*, and I am quite the liberal!), don't miss "Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger's" by John Elder Robison. It is written by his big brother. They explain that even though they had the same parents, they were far apart enough in age that their childhoods were quite different. But it is fascinating because the older brother witnessed first-hand some of the abuse that Augusten suffered at the hands of his father. (Robison is the family name; Burroughs invented his own name later to distance himself from family memories.)

 

Enjoy! Oh, and there are two versions of the Robison book. He cleaned up the language quite a bit when he realized that young people with Asperger's were drawn to his book. So the paperback version has milder versions of the AWFUL abuse stories and also less bad language in it. I let my 9yo read it and he liked it very much. He has two friends with Asperger's. The hardback version should only be read by adults.

 

PM me if you want to know the part of "Running With..." that turns even my stomach. It involves homosexuality, which I have no problem with, but Augusten was so emotionally needy that his early homosexual relationships were unequal and borderline abusive. OK not so borderline. I trust that his current, committed long-term relationship is healthier and more respectful.

 

Julie

Edited January 12, 2009 by buddhabelly

[Nan in Mass]

I'll ask my sister. It doesn't bother me to not understand what is going on until the end. In fact, I like that, since it feels like my own life. My sister doesn't as much, so I'll ask her which ones she thinks are more understandable-as-you-go-alongable.

[eaglei]

Finished book 3 late last night - My Antonia by Willa Cather.

Started book 4 earlier today - O Pioneers! by Willa Cather.

[Nan in Mass]

My sister says maybe The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. I've misplaced my copy and haven't read it since high school. The Harpist of Hed trilogy might be more straight forward, also. The cygnet ones, which are probably my favourite, are too fragmented for my sister. HTH