Sunday, March 11, 2012
When is a book not worth reading?
I have been reading The Edumacation of Jay Baker by Jay Clark over the last week or so and the blurb on the front (You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel awkward by association) is just not true! I didn't laugh or cry, but the book did make me feel awkward. While there is a plot, it is loose, and the dialogue is mostly one-liners strung together with the main character (Jay) swapping witticisms with his mom, his best friend, his teachers and sometimes his nemesis. Of course, Jay gets all the best lines, in case you did not guess that he is loosely based on the author. And BTW, why do male authors do this? Is it some kind of ego thing that they have to give the main character their own name? (See Jack Gantos latest Newbery winner!) While I slogged through to the end, it just did not seem worth it and several times I had the urge to put the book down and find another that would suit me better. So the question is: do you give a book 10 pages, 50 pages? When do you give it up and say, no, I can't read this! To give the author credit, I may just be out of my genre, but in spite of his clever use of words, this book just did not do it for me and I find myself wishing I had given it up and gone on to something better!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
February Book list, two Caldecott Honors plus so much more!
Books-February 2012
1. Innocent by Scott Turow
2. Hera, the goddess and her glory by George O'Connor
3. Hades: Lord of the dead by George O'Connor
4. Lucky cap by Patrick Jennings (intermediate book)
5. Blackout by John Rocco (picture book)
6. Believing the lie by Elizabeth George
7. Friendship bread by Darien Gee (audio book)
8. Henry's heart by Cherise Mericle (picture book)
9. There but for the by Ali smith
10. Shopgirl by Steve Martin
11. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
12. The night strangers by Chris Bohjalian
13. Queen of hearts by Martha Brooks
14. All these things I've done by Gabrielle Zevin
15. Take control of dyslexia by Jennifer Engel Fisher and Janet Price
16. It's raining cats and dogs by Michael Barton
17. Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery
18. Maggie and Oliver by Valerie Hobbs (intermediate book)
19. Grandpa Green by Lane Smith (picture book)
1. Interesting sequel to Presumed Innocent written about 20 years ago and made into a movie starring Harrison Ford. Once again, Rusty Sabich is framed by his wife for murder, all could be prevented if he could keep his pants on.
2. A graphic novel about Hera and her place in the Greek mythology of the god of Olympia.
3. A second graphic novel (several more in the series) this time focusing on Hades. Good story telling.
4. While Enzo learns many lessons in this book for middle schoolers, I was not impressed with the narrative voice.
5. A sweet story of what happens when the lights go out., won a Caldecott Honor this year.
6. While I love reading George’s books and am eager to see the characters develop and their lives unfold, I kept thinking as I was reading: why is this so long? Couldn’t she do this in 300 pages instead of 500?
7. I listened to this as an audio book. Even though I could tell what would happen next and who would hook up with whom, I still enjoyed the story and the writing.
8. Hmmm, a boy wants a dog so badly that he makes himself sick, then the doctor prescribes a dog for the boy and when he gets the dog all is well? Must have to be a dog lover to love this book.
9. Big thumbs down. I read this book because it was recommended by a blog I follow, but it was boring, the plot was not linear enough to follow and there really was not much of a story (in my opinion!).
10. Really more of a novella than a novel. Mirabelle works at the glove counter of a department store meets and falls in love with Ray; he wants the sex and her presence in his life, but he does not want a permanent relationship with her. All is well in the end. Very good writing and the story is well told.
11. One of the longest novels I have read. Originally published in Japan as three separate books. Again, I thought the story, which was a good one and one that held my interest, could have been told in a much shorter space. Good moral questions can be brought to mind here.
12. Hate would be a strong word to use here, but I did not like this book and probably would not have finished it if I was not reading it for a book club. Turns me off from Bohjalian, an author that I used to really like.
13. Set in early 20th century in Canada, a family is stricken with TB and all three children must enter the local Sanitarium. This is well told from the POV of the oldest daughter, just a little romance to keep the interest level high.
14. A new young adult novel set about 70 years in the future. I loved the main character and felt that she made hard choices to protect her family; would give a reading group many things to discuss.
15. A how to book for young people with dyslexia. Well written and containing good advice, I would like to see them re-organize this to put some of the more esoteric pieces in appendices.
16. A good book for those who have a hard time understanding idioms. Could be used in classrooms as a way to get kids to think about the way we talk and write.
17. A biography of Temple Grandin for middle school and high school students. What a great story and this was well told with plenty of pictures and other artifacts.
18. I enjoyed this somewhat unbelievable historical fiction about a young orphan who finds a dog and her grandmother (in that order) when she is forced to live on the streets of Boston in the early 20th century.
19. A Caldecott Honor book, tells of the relationship between a young boy and his grandfather, using only the color green in the illustrations. Another good pick by the Caldecott team.
1. Innocent by Scott Turow
2. Hera, the goddess and her glory by George O'Connor
3. Hades: Lord of the dead by George O'Connor
4. Lucky cap by Patrick Jennings (intermediate book)
5. Blackout by John Rocco (picture book)
6. Believing the lie by Elizabeth George
7. Friendship bread by Darien Gee (audio book)
8. Henry's heart by Cherise Mericle (picture book)
9. There but for the by Ali smith
10. Shopgirl by Steve Martin
11. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
12. The night strangers by Chris Bohjalian
13. Queen of hearts by Martha Brooks
14. All these things I've done by Gabrielle Zevin
15. Take control of dyslexia by Jennifer Engel Fisher and Janet Price
16. It's raining cats and dogs by Michael Barton
17. Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery
18. Maggie and Oliver by Valerie Hobbs (intermediate book)
19. Grandpa Green by Lane Smith (picture book)
1. Interesting sequel to Presumed Innocent written about 20 years ago and made into a movie starring Harrison Ford. Once again, Rusty Sabich is framed by his wife for murder, all could be prevented if he could keep his pants on.
2. A graphic novel about Hera and her place in the Greek mythology of the god of Olympia.
3. A second graphic novel (several more in the series) this time focusing on Hades. Good story telling.
4. While Enzo learns many lessons in this book for middle schoolers, I was not impressed with the narrative voice.
5. A sweet story of what happens when the lights go out., won a Caldecott Honor this year.
6. While I love reading George’s books and am eager to see the characters develop and their lives unfold, I kept thinking as I was reading: why is this so long? Couldn’t she do this in 300 pages instead of 500?
7. I listened to this as an audio book. Even though I could tell what would happen next and who would hook up with whom, I still enjoyed the story and the writing.
8. Hmmm, a boy wants a dog so badly that he makes himself sick, then the doctor prescribes a dog for the boy and when he gets the dog all is well? Must have to be a dog lover to love this book.
9. Big thumbs down. I read this book because it was recommended by a blog I follow, but it was boring, the plot was not linear enough to follow and there really was not much of a story (in my opinion!).
10. Really more of a novella than a novel. Mirabelle works at the glove counter of a department store meets and falls in love with Ray; he wants the sex and her presence in his life, but he does not want a permanent relationship with her. All is well in the end. Very good writing and the story is well told.
11. One of the longest novels I have read. Originally published in Japan as three separate books. Again, I thought the story, which was a good one and one that held my interest, could have been told in a much shorter space. Good moral questions can be brought to mind here.
12. Hate would be a strong word to use here, but I did not like this book and probably would not have finished it if I was not reading it for a book club. Turns me off from Bohjalian, an author that I used to really like.
13. Set in early 20th century in Canada, a family is stricken with TB and all three children must enter the local Sanitarium. This is well told from the POV of the oldest daughter, just a little romance to keep the interest level high.
14. A new young adult novel set about 70 years in the future. I loved the main character and felt that she made hard choices to protect her family; would give a reading group many things to discuss.
15. A how to book for young people with dyslexia. Well written and containing good advice, I would like to see them re-organize this to put some of the more esoteric pieces in appendices.
16. A good book for those who have a hard time understanding idioms. Could be used in classrooms as a way to get kids to think about the way we talk and write.
17. A biography of Temple Grandin for middle school and high school students. What a great story and this was well told with plenty of pictures and other artifacts.
18. I enjoyed this somewhat unbelievable historical fiction about a young orphan who finds a dog and her grandmother (in that order) when she is forced to live on the streets of Boston in the early 20th century.
19. A Caldecott Honor book, tells of the relationship between a young boy and his grandfather, using only the color green in the illustrations. Another good pick by the Caldecott team.
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