Here's a post that is far overdue! I have failed in reporting to those of you who are curious, but I did not fail in my personal literacy challenge. This blog should have been written in December, however, in December I was moving and could not locate the books I had read. Actually, I still can't locate all of those books I read. I missed several months of reporting near the end of the year (Apparently, September- December... no big deal, just a quarter of the year), and honestly, I am struggling to remember all of the books I read during the last 3 months of the year. The reason? I was in school. School that happens in 8 week spurts. School that requires at least a chapter of textbook reading a week.
I know that in September I read The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman, Song Yet Sung by James McBride, Small Steps by Louis Sachar, and No Quick Fix by Keith Phillips. Sometime in October through December, I also read Helpless by Barbara Gowdy, The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side by Agatha Christie, and at least 2 other books that I cannot remember no matter how I try.
The Golden Compass- Not really my cup of tea. This surprised me, but there it is. It drew me in, and then made me hang around and wait a really long time for it to end. It was dark. It had some interesting religious elements in it that did not bother me, but I would warn parents of preteens and early teens to be aware of before handing to their young readers. Would I suggest it to someone else? Not really. It wasn't poorly written, I just didn't enjoy it.
Song Yet Sung- A story about a runaway slave, slave hunters, and their surrounding world. The slave continually receives visions of modern day America throughout the book, and it baffles and terrifies her. I really enjoyed this book. It's one of those books that I gulped down fast because I couldn't get enough of it, and when it was done, I lamented not savoring it better. Would I recommend this book? Yes!
Small Steps- This book is a follow up book to Holes, but it really has little do with Holes content. It follows Theodore (Armpit) after he gets out of Camp Greenlake. Theodore works hard to turn over a new leaf, and grows an elderly brother fondness for the neighbor girl, who is often picked on because she is physically disabled. It was an interesting book, a sweet, teenagery story, and I enjoyed it, but it is entirely outside of the genre I expected it to be. Would I suggest this book? Yes, but it's not one that I would suggest someone rush out and find it to read it right now.
No Quick Fix is a collection of stories put together to share the reasoning of Dr. Phillips' approach to ministering to the inner-city. It was an informative read, and even interesting. If you are interested in the working of the inner-city and effective forms of ministry within it, pick this one up: yes.
Helpless- This book is about a young Canadian girl who gets kidnapped. It is told from multiple sides, including the kidnapper's side. The kidnapper is a man with pedophilic tendencies (something I had not known when I started the book) who is determined not to act on them. I curse the book for drawing me in, because honestly, it gave me the creeps. It was not poorly written (definitely not), it was just really disturbing (though never graphic). The disturbing factor was not because of physical activities, but mental activities. To put it plainly, I don't want to be able to think like the book leads you to think. Would I suggest this book? No! It disturbed me too much!
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side- this is the first Agatha Christie I have ever finished (not the first one I have started, though). I have never been an appreciator of mystery novels. Recently, however, I seem to have turned over a partially new leaf. I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to picking up another Agatha Christie sometime. Yes, I would suggest this book.
Wow, this is a really long post.... I feel like it needs photos. I have no photos at the moment.
As for the Literacy Challenge, in it's entirety, I enjoyed it. There were a few months where I was very stressed in trying to pull off my personal reading, but I succeeded every time. Most months, I succeeded in reading multiple books.
The grand total of fun books for 2011 is........28!
As I think back over the year, my favorite reads were: Song Yet Sung, Parrot and Olivier in America, Unshaken, and Beezuz and Ramona.
As for 2012, I haven't continued the Literacy Challenge, simply because life has been so very busy. Honestly, I miss it. I miss being immersed in literature of all levels. I have a book I have been casually reading. It's huge. Who knows how long it will take me to finish it.
2012 aside, I'm pretty proud of Literacy Challenge, 2011. Would I suggest it? Yes.
I know that in September I read The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman, Song Yet Sung by James McBride, Small Steps by Louis Sachar, and No Quick Fix by Keith Phillips. Sometime in October through December, I also read Helpless by Barbara Gowdy, The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side by Agatha Christie, and at least 2 other books that I cannot remember no matter how I try.
The Golden Compass- Not really my cup of tea. This surprised me, but there it is. It drew me in, and then made me hang around and wait a really long time for it to end. It was dark. It had some interesting religious elements in it that did not bother me, but I would warn parents of preteens and early teens to be aware of before handing to their young readers. Would I suggest it to someone else? Not really. It wasn't poorly written, I just didn't enjoy it.
Song Yet Sung- A story about a runaway slave, slave hunters, and their surrounding world. The slave continually receives visions of modern day America throughout the book, and it baffles and terrifies her. I really enjoyed this book. It's one of those books that I gulped down fast because I couldn't get enough of it, and when it was done, I lamented not savoring it better. Would I recommend this book? Yes!
Small Steps- This book is a follow up book to Holes, but it really has little do with Holes content. It follows Theodore (Armpit) after he gets out of Camp Greenlake. Theodore works hard to turn over a new leaf, and grows an elderly brother fondness for the neighbor girl, who is often picked on because she is physically disabled. It was an interesting book, a sweet, teenagery story, and I enjoyed it, but it is entirely outside of the genre I expected it to be. Would I suggest this book? Yes, but it's not one that I would suggest someone rush out and find it to read it right now.
No Quick Fix is a collection of stories put together to share the reasoning of Dr. Phillips' approach to ministering to the inner-city. It was an informative read, and even interesting. If you are interested in the working of the inner-city and effective forms of ministry within it, pick this one up: yes.
Helpless- This book is about a young Canadian girl who gets kidnapped. It is told from multiple sides, including the kidnapper's side. The kidnapper is a man with pedophilic tendencies (something I had not known when I started the book) who is determined not to act on them. I curse the book for drawing me in, because honestly, it gave me the creeps. It was not poorly written (definitely not), it was just really disturbing (though never graphic). The disturbing factor was not because of physical activities, but mental activities. To put it plainly, I don't want to be able to think like the book leads you to think. Would I suggest this book? No! It disturbed me too much!
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side- this is the first Agatha Christie I have ever finished (not the first one I have started, though). I have never been an appreciator of mystery novels. Recently, however, I seem to have turned over a partially new leaf. I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to picking up another Agatha Christie sometime. Yes, I would suggest this book.
Wow, this is a really long post.... I feel like it needs photos. I have no photos at the moment.
As for the Literacy Challenge, in it's entirety, I enjoyed it. There were a few months where I was very stressed in trying to pull off my personal reading, but I succeeded every time. Most months, I succeeded in reading multiple books.
The grand total of fun books for 2011 is........28!
As I think back over the year, my favorite reads were: Song Yet Sung, Parrot and Olivier in America, Unshaken, and Beezuz and Ramona.
As for 2012, I haven't continued the Literacy Challenge, simply because life has been so very busy. Honestly, I miss it. I miss being immersed in literature of all levels. I have a book I have been casually reading. It's huge. Who knows how long it will take me to finish it.
2012 aside, I'm pretty proud of Literacy Challenge, 2011. Would I suggest it? Yes.
I didn't like the Phillip Pullman series either, although it gets worse the more books you read!
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time continuing in a series when I hit one I don't like. I have finished the Harry Potter series because I sort of disliked the 5th book, had no love for the 6th book, and just lost the steam to read the 7th. I don't regret it either.
DeleteThe Golden Compass... I felt like the Lyra character development was inconsistent. By the time I finished the book, I felt no attachment to the characters at all, and no curiosity about the "what happens next". I'm not a charitable book reader.