What I'm Reading
Go out there and read!
I will post a list of the books I've read, along with a review, just in case you want to know what I'm doing instead of grading papers.
Anyone who would like to submit book reviews can send them to me at jeandotson@comcast.net
Anyone who would like to donate books, please bring them in. So many disappeared last year...sob!
Currently reading
2/25/09 crime-in-nently! by Patricia Cornwall
Kay Scarpetta gets involved in a big mess after a reporter is killed while diving in a Confederate retired shipyard
On Hold
3/28/08 Fame and Fortune by Horatio Alger
Secon in the Ragged Dick series. Only available on-line, so a bit slower, but Dick and friend/tutor Henry move up in the world as Dick learns to read and write.
3/28 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Pedophile falls for his landlady’s 12 year old daughter. Nabokov is an excellent writer, with a vocab that defeats me, and a dry sense of humor that some people never get
Last year…. Reading Lolita in Tehran by
I really like this book, but it is intense so I keep taking breaks. The author tells of the revolution in Iran, and their war with Iraq. She deals with the strict religious rules established and how as a modern professor of American and European literature she has to resist the rules in order to maintain the integrity of the literature.
12/?/07 Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot by Starr ??
Yeah, the actor who was in that Christmas movie was the commander of a bomber squadron in England during WWII. Interesting story.
11/19/06 Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
another Ender novel, continued adventures on Lusitania. Not the rocker that the first ones were but still an excellent book.
11/15/06 Elegant Gathering of Snow something….
Given to me by a friend. Actually a good book, but a slow one. Have been working on it since school started. Finished several other books during that time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just finished!
10/1/08 Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and Daniel something
Mountain Climber discovers what is important in life and tries to bring schools to Pakistan. It isn’t easy, lots of difficulties and information. Fremont City Book of 2008, read it!
10/17/08 Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyers
Fourth in the series. Will Bella ever make a wise decision and stop jerking Jacob around? Maybe? We will find out…
8/01/08 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Fantasy, takes place in modern times, maybe in Italy. A man has the ability to bring words in books to life. Villains are always the best written, so many of the characters he brings to life are villains. Oops!
7/5/08 (number series) by Janet Evanovitch
So I had my surgery, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t stay awake, couldn’t concentrate very well, so of course I turned to murder mysteries, from One for the Money to whatever was number Thirteen. They made me happy, they entertained me. I was addicted. Finished all thirteen and my vicodin at about the same time.
4/29/08 The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
Probably should be an Oprah book. Couple get pregnant, twins are born, problems occur. Adults stop communicating and make you want to shake them. Convoluted but decent. Hallmark movie this spring
3/29/08 Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman
Multicultural murder mystery. Man shows up with a $30,000 diamond lost 20 years ago and tries to sell it for $20. Mystery ensues…
3/25/08 Mark the Matchboy by Horation Alger
Third in the Ragged Dick series. Dick and his friend Henry Fosdick take in another orphan only to discover…. Good book! 3/28
3/21/08 Ragged Dick by Horation Alger
First in the Ragged Dick series by the man famous for the advice “Go West, Young Man!’ but this isn’t recommending that. Ragged Dick is a 11 year old orphan living on the streets of New York in the 1860’s. Through honesty, integrity and a sense of humor, he rises from a filthy bootblack to an upright employee of a respected firm. 3/25/08
1/3/08 New Moon by Stephanie Meyers
Second in the series about vampires, still in Washington state. Frustrating, but you just have to finish.1/15/08
12/28/07 Twilight by Stephanie Meyers
First in the series about vampires, so far in Washington state … with a brief respite in Phoenix. Girl meets boy, girl hates boy, girl loves boy (oops… vampire), you know. Good book, moves really slowly, but that is essentially okay. 1/3/08
12/11/07 Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith.
A follow up to The #1 Ladies Detective Agency I believe book seven. Deals with blackmail and a mysterious fear at a game reserve. 12/28/07
11/27/07 Trace by Patricia Cornwall
Yeah, another Dr Kay Scarpetta, Medical Examiner, faced with another madman/woman. 12/10/07
10/27/07 Point Blank by Patricia Cornwall
Yeah, another Dr Kay Scarpetta, Medical Examiner, faced with another madman/woman. This time back in Richmond where she was fired 3 or 4 books ago. 11/?/07
10/8/07 Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwall
Not a gentle read, in fact downright messy and violent. Dr Kay Scarpetta, Medical Examiner is faced with another madman/woman. Lots of fires being set, people dying and strangely enough she triumphs over evil again. Love how that happens in books. 10/25/07
8/28/07 The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith
This one is a gentle mystery, takes place in England. Young man falls to death, older woman sees it and is uncomfortable with the call of suicide. Written by the author of The #1 Ladies Detective Agency but not one of the Botswana series.
7/5/07 Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Book two of the series. Eragon has left on a quest to save the world (as he knows it) and make friends/loses friends. The war is begun. Why has Christopher Paolini only written the first chapter of book 3? Why! 8/28/07
6/1/07 Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Another fantasy/dragon involved story. But a great one! I read so many reaing logs on this one that I had to read the book! Young man finds dragon egg, dragon hatches and bonds with him. Forces of evil want to destroy them. Yay! Great book 7/5/07
uh… what happened?
1/1/07 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by ???
takes place in China in the 1800s. A old woman looks back at her life and the impact of her attitude. My goodness that was a good one. So much information and told so well. 2/3/07
12/30/06 The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
A second novel by the author of The Secret Life of Bees. Also a retrospective of why women do what they do. In this case, an empty nest mother has to return to her home on a South Carolina barrier island to care for her wigged out mother. A good read but more understandable to the more mature woman. 1/1/07
12/10/06 Blowfly by Janet Evanovich
Mystery, one of the Kay Scarpetta novels. I like them. So far it takes place in the south, and Kay is a visiting lecturer at a crime seminar where she meets a ME from Baton Rouge. In the meantime, wolfman is still in jail in Texas… 12/29/06
11/27/06 Dangerous by Dick Francis
Mystery, but not murder. Andrew ??? works for Liberty Market Inc, a company whose sole purpose is to recover victims of kidnapping (and the money if possible). Usually Francis’s books are directly involved with horse racing, but in this one only when you are nearly finished with the book. It starts with a female jockey being kidnapped and … 12/10/06
11/12/06 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by
Yeah, have to read this 4th grade book every year. Just makes me feel good
7/11/06 Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Another Ender novel, continued adventures of Ender on the planet Lusitania. Introduces a new culture and a new family
7/2/06 Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
The first of the Ender books, written when he was young and … young. Excellent book, boys love it. Lots of video game knowledge
4/2/06 R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Right in the middle of another one. I manage to do without a murder mystery until Sue Grafton or Patricia Cornwall publish a new one. So here I am..
3/30/06 Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
yeah, a kids book that the movie was based on. A fun read, especially if you wake up at 2 in the morning and can’t get back to sleep, and can’t get your eyes to read anything with small print. Finished it by 3 and went back to sleep
3/24/06 Wolves Eat Dogs by Martin Cruz Smith
If you liked Gorky Park and Red Square, and other Russian cold war tales, you will enjoy this new one by Smith that investigates a few deaths that are connected to the meltdown at Chernobyl.
3/16/06 The Final Solution by Michael Chabon
A little shorty by the guy that wrote The Amazing Adventures of Kavaliar & Clay, Most delightful, a kind of mystery set in England during WWII. Old retired inspector gets involved with a non-speaking German Jewish refugee boy whose parrot is stolen. Yeah…
1/16/06 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
And now I’m reading with the juniors too. Must read. Good book. Need more time!
1/10/06 Fahenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Yeah, I’m reading along with the freshlings, and remembering what a great book this is. Considering he wrote it before TV was a common thing, he has predicted so much so accurately and the story is good too. But must not read ahead!
1/10/06 Hot Six by Janet Evanovitch
Stephanie Plum part 6. New Jersey girl turned bounty hunter gets involved with the South American mob, and everyone wants to kill her. Mooner and the Dealer come into their own in this one, and Lulu has left her old profession to assist Stephanie on occasion. 1/20/06
1/3/06 Artemis Fowl 4 : The Opal Deception by Eion Cofer
Always happy to see another AF book out there. This time, Artemis in his mind wiped state becomes a victim of an old enemy and Holly has to save him. Simply a good and entertaining read. 1/10/06
1/1/06 Gifts from the Sea by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
So I thought I had gotten the book with the same title by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I didn’t, but it was okay. A most enjoyable simple story of a young girl whose mother has died and she lives alone in a lighthouse with her father. How they recover from their grief makes a good story. And it is based on a true story. 1/2/06
12/24/05 Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz
First in the series of the Frankenstein books that he wrote after the mini-series on tv became too frustrating. Also one of the more lighthearted (if you can ever read a book about evisceration and call it lighthearted). Had to wait for vacation to start it as will finish it very very soon. Love Dean Koontz! 12/31/05
12/07/05 Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares
The third book in the series. The girls are facing their last summer together/apart before going off to college. Probably the best of the three. The characters become more real, the issues are not so emo. 12/24/05
11/27/05, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Pure fantasy, pure fun. Thanks to Nathan Wong for recommending it. Howl is a wizard who lives in a moving castle that has exits to different towns. Sophie is a young girl who fears his reputation. What do you suppose will happen? Fun. Enjoy it. 12/07/05
10/15/05, The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway
The complete short stories about Nick Adams, a recurring character in Hemingway stories. Tried to read these before, but now is the right time, as I am remembering why I liked Hemingway in the first place. Follows Adams from childhood in the Michigan woods to his return from the Great War. 11/27/05
8/12/05 The Kiterunner, by Khaled Hosseini
Tale of an Afghani son of a wealthy family and his relationship with the son of his father’s servant. The two grow up together and are parted when the Russians invade Afghanistan, when the father and son move to Fremont, but he goes back in the middle of the war following the Taliban invasion. Riveting and informative. 10/19/05
10/5/05 Postcards from the Edge, by Carrie Fisher
That’s right! Princess Leia wrote a novel or two. This one follows an actress from drug rehab through odd adventures to a return to good parts. Not fast moving but still entertaining. 10/22/05
10/15/05, Morality for Beautiful Girls, by Alexander McCall Smith
Precious Ramotswe and the #1 Ladies Detective Agency have more adventures, as Mma Makutse takes over as Acting Manager of the auto repair shop and of the detective agency. I love these books! A definite reminder of simpler times technologically, and modern times ethically. 10/28/05
9/15/05, One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
One of her fine mysteries, guaranteed to keep you reading until you know who dunnit. Stephanie Plum has been laid off of her job, and as a desperation move becomes a bounty hunter. Her first job is an old boyfriend who…. 10/4/05
9/4/05, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Considered by many to be a foreshadowing of Plath’s life, a fine companion piece to Catcher in the Rye. And yes it is considered to be American Lit. 9/20/05
8/16/05, The Cat Who Smelled a Rat by Lillian Jackson Braun
yeah, another one. I like them. deal with it. This one is about a series of fires at the old mine shaft houses and why they are important. New people move in to Moose County, some leave. Oh yes, and you will learn quite a bit about curling!
8/8/05, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitchel Albon
Mitch discovers that an old beloved professor is dying and goes to visit, only to discover that he feels the need to reconnectµ every Tuesday.
7/25/05, The Walls of Air by Barbara Hambley.
The second of the Darwall trilogy and a genuine jewel in theparallel universe inhabited by wizards and monster genre. Gil and Rudy discover their true natures and try to save the civilization
7/8/05, The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lillian Jackson Braun
yeah, another one. I like them. deal with it.
6/25/05, Having read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe in the last month, I am now in the middle of Life, the Universe and Everything. I would highly recommend these to anyone who likes dumb parodies of classic space adventure. I truly love them. Satire rules! If you dot like the genre, you might want to skip it. But you will be missing a lot of fun.
6/25/05, The Time of the Dark by Barbara Hambley.
The first of the Darwall trilogy and a genuine jewel in theparallel universe inhabited by wizards and monster genre. The Dark are beings that consume life wherever it can be found. They have lived underground for centuries and theµ..
8/28/04, The Devil Wears Prada, by ...
Young girl goes to NYC and gets a job as an assistant to the editor of a high society fashion magazine. She soon discovers why no one else wants the job. My only complaint is that the font is gray and small, thus I can only read it in good light. Ahhhh.... The joys of aging.
7/6/2005 Somewhere in the Darkness, by Walter Dean Myers
Ah yes, the car books. What I read while I wait for whatever. Walter Dean Myers is excellent as usual, this time in story that needs an ending. I want to know more. Jimmy Little has lived with Mamma Jean for as long as he can remember. His mother is dead, his father long gone and Jimmy is falling into a life without purpose. Then one day his father appears and wants to take him away from the only home he has known. Had to bring it into the house and finish it. 7/9/05
8/28/04, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency by ...
Fun reading. Takes place in Botswana, Precious Ramotswe opens her own detective agency, but women don't do that! or do they... 9/5/04
8/04, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Alright, I read this when it was published in 1960, and haven't read it since. I thought since I am going to be teaching it this year, maybe I should re-read it. Darn that is one good book! I hope that having to read it doesn't ruin it for people.
8/04, The Sinister Pig, by Tony Hillerman
Hillerman's latest. This time we are involved with the mob and all is confusing for a while after Officer Bernadette Manualito joins the border patrol. 8/04
9/15/03, Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand.
Well this one certainly has caught everyone's imagination. Several students are reading it in class, and as soon as I finish I will pass it on to other students. It is hard to believe that so much fact and detail makes a good read, but it does. It is best taken in small installments, so am reading other things in the middle. Maybe someday I will even see the movie!
I quit. I know that it is a good book, but I couldn't make it through. 8/04
5/7, The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwall
The followup to Black Notices. This one focuses on Dr Kay Scarpetta and her attempt to get the werewolf killer convicted. Good as usual. 6/1
5/14, Where the Heart Is, by Billie Letts
It was a not very good movie, but... 17 year old pregnant Novalee Nation is on her way to California with her no good boyfriend. They stop at a Walmart so she can go to the bathroom, and he leaves her there in Sequoyah Oklahoma 7 months pregnant, with $7.77 to her name. Loved this book! 5/16
3/18, The Life of Pi
qualifies as a multicultural book if you aren't Indian (or Canadian?) Piscine Patel grows up in India where his father is a zookeeper, and then the adventures begin. Consider a young boy trapped on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger ... for a very long time. It is amazingly interesting. 5/13
4/19, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
I think that half the female population of Mission has read this, so I guess I must too. It is riveting, but odd. On the first page, the main character is murdered, and then she tells the story 5/7
3/28, Black Notices by Patricia Cornwall
Yeah, another murder mystery. Oh well deal with it. Cornwall is a good writer, I certainly enjoy her. This one starts with the main character Dr Kay Scarpetta, the medical examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia being called to a case of a shipping container with a long dead body that has died in a bizarre manner, it seems that .... 4/16
3/14, Wuthering Heights
So someone in class was reading this and I couldn't remember the details from 40 years ago, so I started reading it too. The story is related by a man who has moved into an estate in the country, met his neighbors and encouraged his housekeeper to explain. Young Heathcliffe is brought home to the family estate by Mr Earnshaw, he has found the child on the streets of Liverpool. The family doesn't exactly take to him. Go Kim, see if you can keep ahead of me. 3/27
3/14, The Cat Who Loved Shakespeare by Lillian Jackson Braun
yeah, another one. I like them. deal with it. 3/17
1/6/04 Forever by Pete Hamilton
Interesting little thing about a boy growing up in Ireland during the 1700's dealing with the Protestant/Catholic/Celtic issues. There are also hints of slavery issues involved. According to the book notes, he goes to America, but... oh yeah, and a little bit of magical reality. Great story, the ending disappointed me, but some liked it. 3/13/04
2/19/04 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Young girl in the South, mother dead, father abusive, stands by her Black nanny when she tries to register to vote. Bad things happen, then good things happen, then bad things.... wow! recommend this one to anyone. 3/2/04
2/4/04 The Cat Who Robbed a Bank by Lillian Jackson Braun
yeah, another one of those, but it makes exercise time go by faster. 2/10
2/6/04 Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwall
So many students have loved her books that when i saw one in the used book store... they are discovering dismembered bodies all over the east coast, and then it turns out it happened in Ireland too. hmmm an Irish theme this month... 2/27
9/30/03 The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Bought this one at the English teacher's conference at Asilomar where they had a workshop on the noir writers, especially those mystery writers of the 40's. So they had the books for sale. I am certainly enjoying this one. It is my reading time at school book, and I am always sad to hear the bell. In this one, the PI gets involved in a rich family's misbehaviors and it leads him to the underground of LA. fun! 1/15/04
12/27/03 Five Quarters of an Orange by Joanna Something
By the author of Chocolat. I wasn't quite sure what was going on. She hints at some terrible deed commited by her family during WWII. It is interesting and has already given me some good recipes. Many twists and strangeness, a young girl in France tells her story about what happened during the war, and at the same time, her 55 year old version tells what is happening in the family now as a result of the war events. Yeah, it is a good book. Thanks Grace! 1/1/04
12/24/03 The Cat Who Moved Mountains by Lillian Jackson Braun
Oh yes, holiday reading, easy and fun. This time Qwill has taken a vacation in the Potato Mountains, and of course gets involved in a murder, although this one is a year old. fun fun 12/26
5/15/03 The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman.
Volume three of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. A really good read, but I finally realized I couldn't read it during silent reading, so I brought it home and finished it.. The only problem is that I didn't want it to be over. Maybe he has written a new one? 12/23
10/25/03 The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman
Ah yes! Another Navaho Tribal Police mystery. Started this one in the parking lot of Shoreline Amphitheater while waiting for the crowd to disperse. So much better than sitting in line with my engine idling. Anyway, starts off with a group of climbers discovering a skeleton in a cave that is nearly inaccessible. Jim Chee has to figure out why, and how. 11/6
10/20/03 Susanna's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
Now when I woke up at 2 a.m., I decided to read a good Patterson mystery novel. Ooops! This one is a romance, not my usual mode, but good enough that I finished it during 2nd period that day. Girl meets guy, loves guy, he mysteriously leaves..... 10/20
10/17/03 All American Girl by Meg Cabot
By the author of Princess Diaries, this one is certainly filled with allusions to current culture. In fact there are bands that are newer than my knowledge. (duh) But still a great story of humorous first person teenage angst. The protagonist spends her time in German class drawing and makes bad grades. The punishment is to take drawing lessons. She discovers things about herself, including that it is just as cool to be her as to be Gwen Stefani. 10/19
8/15/03 Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard
By the author of Get Shorty and Pulp Fiction. Excellent writer, good suspense, but certainly not one of his best... I'm still reading it. Ben Tyler takes a boatload of horses to Cuba just before the outbreak of war there (Remember the Maine?) and gets involved in more than horses. 9/12
8/3/03 The Cat Who Sang for the Birds by Lillian Jackson Braun
Another one of the cat who series. As good as any of them, good fluff reading. 8/8
7/1/03 Harry Potter 5 by J.K. Rowling
Yeah, you know. Harry has entered teenage hood and needs a good spanking. Seems to be majoring in whining, but all works out in the end (surprise!). Still a good read. 7/20
6/21/03A Sensible Life by Mary K Wesley
Recommended to me by a dear friend. It is a little old fashioned, about English families summering in Brittany in the 1920s and the social interchanges amongst them. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Reviews say the author is a successor to Jane Austin.
6/16/03 The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall
Fantasy, quick read about a town of Minnipins, living in the land between the mountains. They get to deal with some serious social issues (is it okay to be different?) and a real threat to the valley. entertaining, fun 6/20
6/6/03 Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
Coming of age book about a swim team with no pool. and no one who can swim except one Black/Japanese boy who has been adopted by white parents. His name is The Tao Jones. excellent quick read 6/15
6/1/03 The Cat Who Said Cheese by Lilian Jackson Braun
If you've read any of of these murder mysteries and enjoyed them, you will enjoy this one too. Light reading, good times, good twists, great cats. You have to love cats to like the books. 6/5
5/25/03 Holes by Louis Sacher
I had to read this again before the movie came out so I could compare. First read it in '99 when it came out in paperback. Good book. I bought it for class and gave it to people who didn't enjoy reading; they brought it back and told me that it was the best book they ever read. When I asked what it was about, they couldn't tell me. So I gave it to people who enjoyed reading, same reaction. Took it home and knocked it off in one day. Loved it. Can't tell you what it was about. 5/29
3/15/03 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by blank at the moment
Imagine this... the 1930s, young Jewish man escapes from the ghettos of Prague in front of the Nazis, immigrates to NY to meet distant relatives. His cousin Sammy Clay is a wannabe comic book artist, and Joe is highly artistic. They get involved in the world of comic books, the prewar issues, eventually the war and... no more. It is a slow read, but a good one. I just need to take a break every once in a while and read something not so compact. If you know comic book artists, especially the super hero writers, they are all talked about here. 5/25
5/22/03 The Wailing Wind -by Tony Hillerman
Another in the long line of murder mysteries by Hillerman. They take place on Navajo lands, and you learn a lot about tribal rules and customs. (qualifies as multicultural) This one investigates the mysterious disappearance of a woman several years ago at the time her husband killed a man in "self defense." Good stuff! 5/24
5/1/03 Lamb: The Gospel as Told by Jesus' Best Friend Biff by Christopher Moore
Okay, it is weird. But it is also great. Biff also known as Levi is locked in a hotel in NYC by an angel who wants him to write the story of Jesus from his point of view. He covers the years from about the time they were 9 til the crucifixion Incredibly funny without being terribly sacrilegious
1/7/03 On Writing by Stephen King
The first hundred pages of the book is essentially autobiographical (and would count for one if you are still looking....) Then he moves on to how to write. It is entertaining, but not what you would call a great read. If you are interested in writing, he has good advice, and it would behoove you to read it. Otherwise try the first 100 for pure enjoyment.
12/19/02 nnn is for nnnn by Sue Grafton
So when my mother came to visit for the break, she returned all the Sue Grafton novels I had loaned her in August. Of course I had to read them .... K is for Killer, M is for Murder, P is for Peril. They are good books. I enjoy them and I'm proud of it.
12/10/02 Lireal by Garth Nix
Follow up to Sabriel. Could be a really great book but the two protagonists whine about their lot in life too much. Reminds of my students. The story is a grabber about two youngsters who are expect to take over for their parents (one is the son of the King and the Abhorreson, the other a member of a mystic group counted on to save the world ). The n2xt one doesn't come out until February, so I'll have a break. Mimi! Read it fast!
12/6/03 Artemis Fowl: Arctic something by Eoin Colfer
Yeah! another orphan young adult novel. this is a sequel to Artemis Fowl and involves an evil 13 year old genius millionaire who is a crime lord... and a sympathetic character.... whose only nemesis is a fairy. I promise I'll start reading serious books again someday.
12/1/02 Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman
Young orphan Matilda is apprenticed to a bonesetter. If you've read The Midwife's Apprentice by the same author, you'll notice a trend. Both stories are about young girls with no family who are apprenticed to professions that are not the same now as in the days of yore. Cushman does a great job of teaching you about these arcane professions and of revealing to adolescent females that there are many ways to be successful.
11/26/02 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling
It has been 3 years since I read this, wanted to reread before I saw the movie. No problem! Except for the fact that a friend got me a new gameboy game! But I am forging on and of course it is good. Yep, worth the second read, definitely!
11/24/02 Bartholomew Fair by Mary Stolz
Another young adult novel. Elizabethan times, the queen is involved, several young and not so young people, only okay so far. Everyone is going to Bartholomew Fair, but the set up for the 6 people is a little slow. Okay, so it was okay. I wanted to know what happened to each of the characters, it was historically accurate (according to the reviews) and would be good if you needed to know about the era, otherwise...okay.
11/24/02 Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelen
Young adult novel about a young girl in India who goes to an unfortunate arranged marriage, More than that and I give the whole book away. Suffice it to say it was a 15 minute break novel that I finished in one setting.(that means it was good)
11/9/02 Sabriel by Garth Nix
Fantasy, parallel universe, young girl that discovers she has more power than she dreamed. Civilization is under attack by malificient forces, the end of the realm is approaching and it is up to 18 year old Sabriel to save her father the Abhorrson from death and restore the kingdom. Would have just ignored this one, but it had recommendations from Philip Pullman and from Lloyd Alexander. ..and Mimi told me I had to read it. Guess who got no house or school work done this weekend! (Mimi - I need the next one for TG break!)
10/20/02 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
This is the work of a local author, who often can be caught reading his work at local (Berkeley) coffeehouses. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize (didn't win) but it is unusual. The authors mind works like a young adult male mind on a stream of consciousness trip. The book was recommended to me by a student (and loaned to me by that student) so far I am enjoying it. The story? A young family looses both their mother and father is a matter of months and tries to survive, the 21 year old son tries to take care of the 9 year old brother while the sister and her friends offer support. What will happen? I only know that the 21 year old is not your orthodox parent....
10/14/02 White Oleander by ..... Actually I finished and returned this book so quickly that I forgot who wrote it. This book is so beautifully written that it make you ache. The story is excellent. The main character is a child whose mother, a poetess, is sent to prison, leaving the child to survive the foster system. How the child does survive and how she becomes the person she is and deals with her mother is an incredible story I can't imagine anything but an outline making it to the movie.
9/27/02 Bel Canto by Anne Patchett. So there I was at an English teachers' conference in Asilomar, in the bookstore (oddly enough!) and I picked up Bel Canto. It has been on the NY Times best seller trade paperback list for several weeks and that was all I knew. I stood there trying to decide if I wanted to buy it and in the next 5 minutes three people told me it was the best book! When I got to the register, the sales person and the person behind me assured me again. You know what? It is pretty darn good. Unfortunately, no one liked the ending, but I don't know which of the not preferred endings it is going to end with yet.
9/10/02 The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman (during silent reading) this is part two of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy that began with The Golden Compass. Probably considered a children's book, but some of those are worth the reading even now. Besides , so many students read this and loved it that I had to follow up. Next book will be serious, maybe.
9/9/02 Mossflower by Brian Jacques. Okay I see a trend. School has started and I need a mental break. This seems to be my equivalent of summer reading. Most serious readers read this in 6th grade, but I didn't (it wouldn't be published for 40 years which would have made it difficult!) Anyway, it is a good adventure tale and you know - there are lots of 11th grade vocab words in there!
9/10/02 Thanks to the kiddos who read it all last year, I have just finished another John Grisham book, this time The Brethren.. Several story lines that take most of the book to converge. It begins with a triad of former judges currently serving time in a federal prison and about a Russian spy plot being managed by the CIA, and then.... but that would be giving it away. As usual with Grisham, a hard book to put down.
August - summer trash reading - J is for Judgment, L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton. If you have already discovered this alphabetical string of mysteries, you know the idea, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery featuring Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone. It is good to see a female protagonist that even the guys like reading about! And it's easy to pick up as you need to read yourself to sleep in a motel in Tucumcari!
8/3/02 The Green Millennium by Fritz Leiber.
This is a book that I loved in high school, I loaned it to a friend in the late 60's, and found it in a used bookstore this month. Aha! it was great! Definitely old school science fiction, but fun, funny and full of strange occurrences in a post WWIII era. You have to be a little weird to enjoy it. (Mimi!)
7/20/02 Whirligig by Paul Fleishman.
Several students read this and not many liked it because it didn't make sense to them. It is a simple book about discovering what it really important in life, as told by a young boy who is given a task to complete as penance for a terrible mistake. Improbable yes, but what a great way to say that we all have impact on other people's lives in ways that we will never know. I assumed it was middle school stuff, but the message is more mature. I enjoyed it.
7/19/02 Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi.
Oufkir was the daughter of the king of Morocco's closest aide, but in 1972 her father was executed for an attempted assassination of the king, and his family was imprisoned. Not especially well written, you know the end, because it is stated in the first chapter, but you just keep reading. Why? I can't explain except to say the each night I looked forward to reading what would happen next. Even though not much happened. However, I now know a lot more about Morocco than I ever did!
7/3/02 The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin.
A much more interesting book than I would have suspected. It is about his research as a journalist working with Aboriginal Dreamings. Real gonzo journalism. What odd people he hangs out with, but it makes a good story. There are some slow chapters that are more philosophy/notes on books he wants to write, but even those are entertaining in small amounts, and once you discover the pattern you can just skip the chapter (but then you lose a lot of the background/reasoning for the his approach to the Aborigines and their mystic qualities).