The surprise of the weekend is that I've completed my 2015 reading challenge with three weeks until the end of the year!
I started this post almost a month ago and well, you can all see what a great job I've done of finishing it. I meant to use the last three weeks to tell you about the books I've been reading and to mention some highlights of the year.
For all of my anti-series posturing, I've broken that rule so many times in 2015 that I don't think it should be a rule any more. I stumbled upon an Irish miniseries called Jack Taylor. When the series was over (far too quickly, for my taste) I pulled the name from the credits and found out that there were books. Lots of books. I've read eight so far and they still aren't over. They are terribly depressing and the writing is so different from anything I've read before. And I just can't seem to put them down.
I caught up with the rest of Liane Moriarty's work this year. I can't tell you what to read, but I would stick with her more recent stuff. She has grown as a writer and the world is a better place for it.
Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda was an excellent surprise. I got it by recommendation of Rachel, so of course it had to be good. But truly. It was one of those books I was happy to be surprised by.
I had four re-reads this year (Fangirl, Love Virtually, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets & Prisoner of Azkaban) so I count that as improvement.
I had high expectation for Audrey and Bill, the story of how Audrey Hepburn and William Holden fell in love. They were, however, dashed in the depression of the entire affair. The golden age of Hollywood had some terribly dark corners to it. I also learned that sometimes I expect a lot from biographical/autobiographical books. Part of me expects to learn every twist and turn about the subject/author, so deep that I could say I know them. However, they write only what they want you to know and what they are comfortable sharing. And even though it makes me kinda cranky, isn't that their right? Don't they deserve some privacy? Maybe they shouldn't have decided to become famous, you say. Okay maybe. But since when did being famous divorce you from your right to privacy? I think we've let celebrity become too high an altar.
Ahem.
I read more than my goal this year and my total read count grew closer to sixty, I started to get nervous. I never though I could read 60 books in a year; how am I going to top this for 2016? What if I fail?
I started setting goals for book reading because it gives me something to do. If I don't set a goal, I won't read. That's not quite right, no. I will read, but I will read aimlessly. I will read like a hobby. I will read like I knit (or sadly, write): during a certain season and only during that season. I love books and I love reading.
Matt Chandler said something like when love runs into the soul, it creates discipline. He meant it for more than books and reading, but for many years I have been trying to figure out what that meant. As I'm typing this, furiously before midnight and before my laptop dies, I think I maybe finally understand what he means. It's not "Ugh, I HAVE to read so let me set a stupid number." It is so much more than that. It's more like, "I love this thing, reading, and I want to do more of it. I want to learn more, love more, meet more characters, understand what makes a story great and what makes a story okay. I want to get lost in language and understand enough to know when the spark of story and brilliance is there and when it isn't."
So yes, I set my goal. I set it for 61 books in 2016. Thanks to my inability to actually and seriously stop reading, I've already got one book down. Ron Chernow's "Alexander Hamilton" is sitting on my bedside table, mocking me as I fall asleep each night. It will be a miracle if I can finish all 800 pages of it this year. Thank heavens I have a 40 page head start.
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
03 January 2016
06 May 2015
Happy May!
And welcome to the new year…five months late.
Sorry about the lack of posts recently. It doesn't mean I haven't been reading (I have, but not a ton) or that I haven't been watching good TV and movies (I have, including a few too many bad movies…). It just means I've been lazy with my posts and have had a few problems with bad internet.
Let's do a quick recap of the end of 2014:
This year as been kind of slow in the book department. I've only read about 14 so far and 3 of them are re-reads. I feel like I'm cheating. I've had trouble finding that sweet spot, the place where you don't have to work for the story and where you find the characters enticing. Any and all book suggestions are welcome!
In my last post, I mentioned that I had been watching Battlestar Galactica. Well…that is still true! I just finished the series a second time with Rachel! It is as good as I remembered it and THEN some. The thing that was different this time around was, well I guess it was my perspective. Ever since Sheba, I wanted to read more Tosca Lee. The second book of hers I picked up was called Demon.
Wow.
This book was incredible. It's the story of Clayton, a washed up writer, who works in a publishing house. He meets a man who claims to 1) be a demon and 2) that this author/publisher will write and publish his memoirs. The memoirs of a demon? Who is going to touch that? The demon's story is so captivating that it soon consumes Clayton (and of course, the reader) that his personal life starts to fall apart as he writes the story and waits for the next chapter. I will say this: it made me re-examine my perspective on demons. It made me look at life with a different perspective. It made me exceedingly thankful for God's gift of salvation.
How does this connect to Battlestar Galactica?
Call me and we will discuss the finer points over coffee, but in a nut shell it helped me understand the Cylon's thought process and their view on the world and humans. I maybe even felt sorry for them…? Probably? Anyway. I recommend the book. I HIGHLY recommend the show. (As a warning? Battlestar Galactica will probably make you cry, though. Not so much the book.)
I'm trying to find some good books to read. I am reading Fiona & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. It is almost too juvenile for me, but I'm going to stick with it. A squirrel that can use a type-writer? I'm intrigued, to say the least.
I also recently started The Intellectual World of C.S.Lewis by Alister McGrath. It is probably the first scholarly book I've picked up on Lewis in a while and I love it. It is incredibly hard to read at night when I come home from work, though, so it's been hard going.
It's not thorough but I hope this recap catches you up with what I've been reading. Next I'll try to catch you up with some of the movies and TV shows I've been watching. I'll leave you with this teaser: Netflix and Marvel.
Yes.
Exactly.
Sorry about the lack of posts recently. It doesn't mean I haven't been reading (I have, but not a ton) or that I haven't been watching good TV and movies (I have, including a few too many bad movies…). It just means I've been lazy with my posts and have had a few problems with bad internet.
Let's do a quick recap of the end of 2014:
- I actually finished my goal of 50 books for the year! It got kinda dicey there at the end. I confess, I tacked on a Harry Potter book to make the count because I knew I liked it and could finish it. All in all, only 6 re-reads on the list, so I'm counting it a win.
- I never did finish the book Alias, Hook. It was horrible writing and I finally gave myself permission to not suffer. So, I'm sorry if any of you were lead astray by my attempts to read it.
- I discovered Liane Moriarty and fell in love. I've read three of her books, but recommend you start with her most recent, Big Little Lies. Follow that with The Husband's Secret. I'll keep you posted on her others; I have "What Alice Forgot" coming into the library soon.
- Sarah Addison Allen and Emily Giffin will ALWAYS write the kind of chic-lit I want to read. They are romantic with a little bit of magic (and a lot of food), the kind of magic the dreamer in me wants to believe actually exists in the world.
- I think I found a new genre: Biblical historical fiction. Ted DekKer is out with a new book, AD 30, about the beginning of Jesus' ministry and it completely made me change the way I think about things. Tosca Lee has a book out called Sheba that made me excited to read Song of Solomon. (And if that doesn't have all my Christian school friends clamoring for a bible, I don't know what will! But really guys, calm down. I'm reading it for the historical connections. Duh.)
This year as been kind of slow in the book department. I've only read about 14 so far and 3 of them are re-reads. I feel like I'm cheating. I've had trouble finding that sweet spot, the place where you don't have to work for the story and where you find the characters enticing. Any and all book suggestions are welcome!
In my last post, I mentioned that I had been watching Battlestar Galactica. Well…that is still true! I just finished the series a second time with Rachel! It is as good as I remembered it and THEN some. The thing that was different this time around was, well I guess it was my perspective. Ever since Sheba, I wanted to read more Tosca Lee. The second book of hers I picked up was called Demon.
Wow.
This book was incredible. It's the story of Clayton, a washed up writer, who works in a publishing house. He meets a man who claims to 1) be a demon and 2) that this author/publisher will write and publish his memoirs. The memoirs of a demon? Who is going to touch that? The demon's story is so captivating that it soon consumes Clayton (and of course, the reader) that his personal life starts to fall apart as he writes the story and waits for the next chapter. I will say this: it made me re-examine my perspective on demons. It made me look at life with a different perspective. It made me exceedingly thankful for God's gift of salvation.
How does this connect to Battlestar Galactica?
Call me and we will discuss the finer points over coffee, but in a nut shell it helped me understand the Cylon's thought process and their view on the world and humans. I maybe even felt sorry for them…? Probably? Anyway. I recommend the book. I HIGHLY recommend the show. (As a warning? Battlestar Galactica will probably make you cry, though. Not so much the book.)
I'm trying to find some good books to read. I am reading Fiona & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. It is almost too juvenile for me, but I'm going to stick with it. A squirrel that can use a type-writer? I'm intrigued, to say the least.
I also recently started The Intellectual World of C.S.Lewis by Alister McGrath. It is probably the first scholarly book I've picked up on Lewis in a while and I love it. It is incredibly hard to read at night when I come home from work, though, so it's been hard going.
It's not thorough but I hope this recap catches you up with what I've been reading. Next I'll try to catch you up with some of the movies and TV shows I've been watching. I'll leave you with this teaser: Netflix and Marvel.
Yes.
Exactly.
25 August 2012
The Journal of Curious Letters
I finally finished The Journal of Curious Letters!
It only took two renewals from the library and a very long phone conversation last Saturday for a third renewal but I finished it!
I wasn't as fresh off The Maze Runner as I would have liked to be, but one of the first things I noticed was that the writing was very different. The Maze Runner, if I had to categorize, is a mid-teen young adult books. That would place The Journal of Curious Letters somewhere in pre-teen/early teenworld. What does that even mean any more? In my head, I'm thinking maybe 8-12.
I am basing that on the style of writing, the themes present in the book and the over all progression of events.
It is a story that starts with our main character, Atticus (nicknamed Tick) Higginbottom, receiving a "curious" letter telling him that the world is in danger but that he can help! What a crazy thing for a kid that gets picked on all the time to hear! And of course, like any good hero, he has a choice: to help or to ignore the letter. And, as a good storyteller would do, James Dashner has Tick accept the challenge and we start on an adventure into the Realities.
Tick receives letters in the mail from a mysterious MG, each one a clue to when, where and how they will meet and further discuss saving the world. A nice twist to the story is that Tick isn't the only one receiving letters. He meets up with a few other kids and together they figure out the clues and talk about the interesting things that happen to them.
I will be honest: I wasn't terribly riveted by this book. What I found most interesting is the completely different way James Dashner told this story. It was evident in both the writing and story line that this was not going to be a watered down Maze Runner book.
Some authors can seamlessly write a book for children that adults find wonderful. Harry Potter is case in point. The story, the characters, the writing--it wasn't dumbed down so only children could understand. I had more talks with adults. come to think of it, about the books than I ever had with children. We talked about our favorite characters and plot twists, as well as the moments that made us cry.
But J.K. only really wrote the one series. Sure. OK. The Chronicles of Narnia. C. S. Lewis wrote children's books as well as academic books and "adult" books. There was a bit of a difference, but the quality was the same.
It almost seemed like there was a fire missing from The Journal of Curious Letters that was always present in the Maze Runner. As I was reading I kept thinking that this book would be good for pre-preteens. It gives them a character their age (that gets the be the hero and is a rather "normal" even boring kind of kid), introduces them into a fantasy that seem possible, and puts them in harrowing adventures. For my taste, too much focus was put on the letters and the events leading up to the harrowing adventure rather than on saving the world. (Very reminiscent of the last Twilight book where we spent the whole book on the verge of an epic battle...that never took place. Major letdown.)
I will not be pursing the rest of the series, but will keep it in mind for kids who aren't sure they like to read, are feeling kind of left out in life, or are interested in trying a new genre. I might recommend it for boys (as Tick is a boy...) and I seem to have trouble finding books to recommend to young men that don't have girls as the star of the show. But as a girl who is really into fantasy, I have gotten used to boys running the show (Harry, Frodo, etc.). [ Ok so they don't always run the show. There is Buffy and Katniss, too. Just...oh never mind!]
Next up: The Wizard of Earthsea? That would be nice. My friend just gave me Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and I am itching to try that. I also got Pilgrim's Regress and The Children of Hurin out of the library at church...this past May. And I haven't gotten to those either...
It only took two renewals from the library and a very long phone conversation last Saturday for a third renewal but I finished it!
I wasn't as fresh off The Maze Runner as I would have liked to be, but one of the first things I noticed was that the writing was very different. The Maze Runner, if I had to categorize, is a mid-teen young adult books. That would place The Journal of Curious Letters somewhere in pre-teen/early teenworld. What does that even mean any more? In my head, I'm thinking maybe 8-12.
I am basing that on the style of writing, the themes present in the book and the over all progression of events.
It is a story that starts with our main character, Atticus (nicknamed Tick) Higginbottom, receiving a "curious" letter telling him that the world is in danger but that he can help! What a crazy thing for a kid that gets picked on all the time to hear! And of course, like any good hero, he has a choice: to help or to ignore the letter. And, as a good storyteller would do, James Dashner has Tick accept the challenge and we start on an adventure into the Realities.
Tick receives letters in the mail from a mysterious MG, each one a clue to when, where and how they will meet and further discuss saving the world. A nice twist to the story is that Tick isn't the only one receiving letters. He meets up with a few other kids and together they figure out the clues and talk about the interesting things that happen to them.
I will be honest: I wasn't terribly riveted by this book. What I found most interesting is the completely different way James Dashner told this story. It was evident in both the writing and story line that this was not going to be a watered down Maze Runner book.
Some authors can seamlessly write a book for children that adults find wonderful. Harry Potter is case in point. The story, the characters, the writing--it wasn't dumbed down so only children could understand. I had more talks with adults. come to think of it, about the books than I ever had with children. We talked about our favorite characters and plot twists, as well as the moments that made us cry.
But J.K. only really wrote the one series. Sure. OK. The Chronicles of Narnia. C. S. Lewis wrote children's books as well as academic books and "adult" books. There was a bit of a difference, but the quality was the same.
It almost seemed like there was a fire missing from The Journal of Curious Letters that was always present in the Maze Runner. As I was reading I kept thinking that this book would be good for pre-preteens. It gives them a character their age (that gets the be the hero and is a rather "normal" even boring kind of kid), introduces them into a fantasy that seem possible, and puts them in harrowing adventures. For my taste, too much focus was put on the letters and the events leading up to the harrowing adventure rather than on saving the world. (Very reminiscent of the last Twilight book where we spent the whole book on the verge of an epic battle...that never took place. Major letdown.)
I will not be pursing the rest of the series, but will keep it in mind for kids who aren't sure they like to read, are feeling kind of left out in life, or are interested in trying a new genre. I might recommend it for boys (as Tick is a boy...) and I seem to have trouble finding books to recommend to young men that don't have girls as the star of the show. But as a girl who is really into fantasy, I have gotten used to boys running the show (Harry, Frodo, etc.). [ Ok so they don't always run the show. There is Buffy and Katniss, too. Just...oh never mind!]
Next up: The Wizard of Earthsea? That would be nice. My friend just gave me Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and I am itching to try that. I also got Pilgrim's Regress and The Children of Hurin out of the library at church...this past May. And I haven't gotten to those either...
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