Archive for January 26th, 2008
Saturday, January 26th, 2008Eva’s Reading Meme
My friend Jill from The Magic Lasso tagged me for this fun meme…I had to put on my thinking cap for this one!
Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
This was easy - The Harry Potter books. Everyone seems to love them, yet I haven’t had any desire to read even one in the series. Maybe some day…
If you could bring 3 characters to life for a social event, who would they be and what would you do?
Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, Selena Peake from So Big, and Liesel from The Book Thief. All of these characters are strong, vibrant females with the gift of communication - and all have a fascinating story to tell. They share a positive and loving philosophy of life. I would have a hearty meal served in front of the wood stove…and I would sit back and soak up the conversation!
(This is borrowed from the Thursday Next series.) You are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for a while, eventually you realize that it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?
Hands down … Catch-22. I rarely quit on a book, but I think I made it less than 30 pages into this one before I heaved it aside. Classic or no…this one bored me to tears.
Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?
Silas Marner. This was assigned in my senior year of high school and I hated it. I struggled through a few pages, then scanned it, and finally resorted to listening to the class discussion to ascertain the answers to the test. I’ve never actually read the book cover to cover, but when people ask, I usually say I read it!
Has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realize when you read a review or go to “reread” it that you haven’t?
I can’t think of any books like this. Usually it is the other way around - I’m sure I haven’t read it, but once I start, I realize it sounds familiar!
You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (Go ahead and personalize the VIP if it helps.)
The Book Thief - probably the best book I’ve ever read. I blew through the over 500 pages and wept through the last third of it. A tremendously moving book which has some of the most beautiful writing I’ve ever had the joy of reading.
A good fairy comes along and grants you one wish: You will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
Russian - I love the sound of this beautiful language, and the Russian novels are some of the best.
A mischievous fairy comes and says you must choose one book you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can reread other books as well). Which book would you pick?
Do I have to pick one? If so, it would be The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak. If I can pick several they would be: Charlotte’s Web, by EB White; The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck; and A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving.
I know that the book blogging community and its various challenges have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you discovered from book blogging?
I never used to write book reviews. Book blogging has taught me how to write a review and the importance of doing it so that I can remember the details of what I read. Also, I have expanded my horizons - reading from genres I used to avoid (like science fiction or translated works).
That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now she’s granting you your dream library. Describe it. Is everything leather-bound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few authors have inscribed some of the books? Go ahead — let your imagination run free!
Oh, it would have floor to ceiling bookshelves with full collections by some of my favorite authors. There would be a comfy couch and big armchair with wide arms to snuggle into next to the stone fireplace. I’d have perfect lighting and a huge picture window that looked out onto a forested view. And of course there would be a butler who would bring me steaming hot cups of herbal tea whenever I requested them!
Anyone who has not yet participated in the meme, please do give it a try!
Saturday, January 26th, 2008The Literacy Site for Children
I saw this over on Kimbooktu today and thought “Wow, what a great idea.” Simply follow the link below and you can help bring literacy to children.
A Novel Challenge Yahoo Group - 2008 Mini Challenges
The Mini Challenge 2008
Sponsored by group owner, Wendy (aka: ME!)
1. Complete all 12 mini-challenges from January 1st through December 31st of 2008. DO NOT start this challenge prior to January 1, 2008.
2. Challenges may be completed in any order and may overlap other challenge. Work through them at your own speed.
3. Participants must post their progress (and reviews if appropriate) to their blog with links to the group (or if they don’t have a blog, they should post directly to the group).
Here are the challenges:
1. Read a short story - review it.
COMPLETED January 21, 2008 - Black Ice, by Cate Kennedy; rated 3.5/5; read my review.
2. Read a children’s book - review it.
COMPLETED January 1, 2008 - The Giver, by Lois Lowry; rated 4.5/5; read my review.
3. Read a poem - tell us about it.
4. Read a banned book - review it.
COMPLETED February 25, 2008 - Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison; rated 4.5/5; read my review
5. Give a book away (donate to charity, give a book to a friend, leave a book “in the wild” to be found by another reader…as long as you don not sell it!) - post why you chose the book you did and where it went.
COMPLETED February 18, 2008; read my comments here.
6. Read two (2) articles from any one magazine - tell us about them.
COMPLETED January 12, 2008 - read my comments here.
7. Read a classic (for this challenge a classic is defined as a piece of literature which has stood the test of time, has literary merit, is widely read, and was published prior to 1970) - review it.
COMPLETED January 25, 2008 - Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens; rated 3/5; read my review.
8. Go to a book event and then tell the group about your experience (book events may be library events, author readings, seminars/lectures pertaining to books or reading, etc…)
9. Read an essay - tell us about it.
COMPLETED March 30, 2008 - Utopia, Dystopia, Messtopia! by Cynthia Ozick; read my post.
10. Read something inspirational - tell the group why it inspired you.
11. Read a book written by a “new to you” author - review it.
COMPLETED January 9, 2008 - The House at Riverton, by Kate Morton; rated 4.5/5; read my review.
12. Participate in a group or buddy read and discussion (this can be either a face to face book club, an on line group, or a blog/buddy read). Tell the group what you read and with whom; give us a review.
I read Life and Times of Michael K, by J.M. Coetzee with the Booker Prize Yahoo group; read my review.
Saturday, January 26th, 2008Great Expectations - Book Review
My father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip. -From Great Expectations, page 1-
Pip grows up in a small English village, an orphan who is raised by the abusive hand of his older sister. Pip also lives with Joe - a forger with a kind heart and gentle spirit. Fate introduces Pip to the beautiful Estella (adopted daughter of the strange and damaged Mrs. Havisham) whose comment about Pip being a commoner changes his world view and sets him upon a destructive path. When Pip one day receives a gift of a large sum of money from an unknown benefactor, he follows a course of misguided expectations and dark mysteries.
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens hefty classic - is about the cleansing process of human suffering, redemption, the consequences of living a material life, and the loyalty of family bonds.
Dickens includes some memorable characters in this gothic style novel. Most notably Mrs. Havisham who suffers from a broken heart and lives in mostly darkness among her ruined wedding gown.
I must admit to struggling to get through this book. Victorian era literature is wordy and includes endless details of everyday life that I found tedious. The middle third of the book dragged for me, but the novel redeems itself over the last third when the reader begins to uncover the mysteries and Pip sees the error of his ways.
I wanted to love this novel. I have read The Tale of Two Cities, as well as A Christmas Carol - and loved both of these. I know I must have read Great Expectations in high school, but I honestly have no firm recollection of it. The truth is, I found it to be a mostly boring story with a good ending. Not something I would recommend to most people. Although if you love Victorian literature, you may find the novel satisfying.