Wow! If you are looking for something to read, check out these two lists. The first one is the Top 100 Children's Novels, a list put together by a woman named Betsy Bird. I think she polled people who follow her blog at School Library Journal. Even if you are not interested in reading children's books, you have to check out this list to see and appreciate all the work she has gone to to compile this list. Not only does she have a short summary of each book, but also includes quotes from readers who particularly love each book, videos relating to the books, and (my favorite part of the list) as many images of covers of different editions of each book that she could find. She is releasing her list a few books at a time, and for the last week or so, I have been eagerly checking out this blog each day to find the new posts. For the books I have already read on this list, I am feeling nostalgic to re-read them and as for the books I have not read, almost every entry makes me feel like I have missed out on a great treasure, a situation that I must rectify (soon).
If you are a lover of dystopian fiction, especially in the YA category, the other list you must see is Half a Century of English-Language Young Adult Dystopias at a blog called Redecorating Middle-Earth in Early Lovecraft. The blogger (Amy H. Sturgis) breaks down by decade an extremely comprehensive list of dystopian novels. I am slowly learning, but I must admit that I was ignorant at the number of books that exist in this genre. In fact, even though I have always liked books with a creepy/futuristic feel, I didn't realize until recently that this really was considered a genre unto itself.
Thanks to Jen Robinson whose blog led me to both these lists. I now have so many books in my mental "to-read" pile that I think I will never get through them all.
Which is bliss.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Hunger Games #3 Title and Cover Revealed
Hurrah! The third in the trilogy is coming. Here is the first trickle of information that Scholastic is letting out. Go to their site here to see the cover and the title of the new book.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Georgette Heyer
I am alway so excited when I discover a new (to me) author, especially if she has written a lot of books. Right now I am happily in the midst of a Georgette Heyer craze. I had actually heard about her several years ago from two friends in my bunco group who knew that I was a Jane Austen fanatic and kept encouraging me that if I liked her, I would also enjoy Georgette Heyer.
For whatever reason (probably that I was in my Jane Austen fever and nothing could compare at that point in my life), I tried one of her books and it just did not hold my interest. Thankfully, now that the aforesaid fever has cooled, I decided to try Georgette Heyer again, and I am so glad I did. She is not the genius that Jane Austen was (obviously), but it was unfair to hold her to that standard, even though she mostly wrote in the same genre. Georgette Heyer's Regency romances are charming and delightful. If you are looking for a fun, clean read, pick up one of these books. When I first heard of Georgette Heyer from my friends, most of her book were out of print. Thankfully, they are now being re-issued in nice (trade??) paperback editions. The ones I have read so far are the following:
1. The Black Moth, These Old Shades, Devil's Cub These are a sort of trilogy. The Black Moth was the first novel Georgette Heyer wrote, when she was a teenager. Later she wrote these next two, although she changed the names of some of the characters. When I figured out who was who, I made a list so that when I was reading #2 and #3, I could remember what certain characters where called in #1. I even wrote the list in the front of book #2 so that when I lent the books out, future readers could just look at the code and not have to figure it out for themselves.
2. The Reluctant Widow
3. Cotillion
4. The Convenient Marriage (I didn't like this heroine at first, but she grew up and grew on me).
5. The Quiet Gentleman (My favorite so far...loved this one).
6. Powder and Patch (Again, not my favorite heroine).
I read somewhere that Georgette Heyer usually has one of two different types of heroines: the very young, inexperienced girl, or the mature woman who is almost "on the shelf"...nearly an old maid. I admit that I much prefer the older heroine who has come into herself. Maybe this preference is because Persuasion is one of my two all-time favorites (who does not love Anne Elliot?), but I tend to find some of the younger heroines to be immature and selfish. This being said, I want to emphasize that I like all the stories, even if a particular heroine annoys me a little.
I will update this list as I read more Georgette Heyer.
7. The Foundling (I did something that I hardly ever do with this book...I skipped ahead to the end. At first I thought there were two possible heroines and I wanted to make sure she turned out to be the one I liked better).
8. Arabella (I am just now finishing this one...have about 2-3 pages left. Such a tender, sweet story. Actually had a young, naive heroine that I really enjoyed).
For whatever reason (probably that I was in my Jane Austen fever and nothing could compare at that point in my life), I tried one of her books and it just did not hold my interest. Thankfully, now that the aforesaid fever has cooled, I decided to try Georgette Heyer again, and I am so glad I did. She is not the genius that Jane Austen was (obviously), but it was unfair to hold her to that standard, even though she mostly wrote in the same genre. Georgette Heyer's Regency romances are charming and delightful. If you are looking for a fun, clean read, pick up one of these books. When I first heard of Georgette Heyer from my friends, most of her book were out of print. Thankfully, they are now being re-issued in nice (trade??) paperback editions. The ones I have read so far are the following:
1. The Black Moth, These Old Shades, Devil's Cub These are a sort of trilogy. The Black Moth was the first novel Georgette Heyer wrote, when she was a teenager. Later she wrote these next two, although she changed the names of some of the characters. When I figured out who was who, I made a list so that when I was reading #2 and #3, I could remember what certain characters where called in #1. I even wrote the list in the front of book #2 so that when I lent the books out, future readers could just look at the code and not have to figure it out for themselves.
2. The Reluctant Widow
3. Cotillion
4. The Convenient Marriage (I didn't like this heroine at first, but she grew up and grew on me).
5. The Quiet Gentleman (My favorite so far...loved this one).
6. Powder and Patch (Again, not my favorite heroine).
I read somewhere that Georgette Heyer usually has one of two different types of heroines: the very young, inexperienced girl, or the mature woman who is almost "on the shelf"...nearly an old maid. I admit that I much prefer the older heroine who has come into herself. Maybe this preference is because Persuasion is one of my two all-time favorites (who does not love Anne Elliot?), but I tend to find some of the younger heroines to be immature and selfish. This being said, I want to emphasize that I like all the stories, even if a particular heroine annoys me a little.
I will update this list as I read more Georgette Heyer.
7. The Foundling (I did something that I hardly ever do with this book...I skipped ahead to the end. At first I thought there were two possible heroines and I wanted to make sure she turned out to be the one I liked better).
8. Arabella (I am just now finishing this one...have about 2-3 pages left. Such a tender, sweet story. Actually had a young, naive heroine that I really enjoyed).
Interview With Jen Robinson
As I've talked about, one of my favorite bloggers is Jen Robinson. Her love of books and desire to share that love with children and young adults is inspiring. If you would like to get to know her better, check out the interview, here, at another book blog called Texas Sweethearts. To those of you who are teachers, you will not find a better literature resource than Jen's site. I wish I had discovered her before my mom retired from teaching 5th Grade.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Newberry Awards Revisited
It does me good to go back and read my previous posts. When I did this, I realized that although I linked to this year's Newberry Award Winner, I neglected to actually name it. I aim to correct that. Here is a list of this year's winner and the honor books:
Winner: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Honor Books:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
As I said before, my mom (who taught 5th Grade for 25+ years) says that you can almost never go wrong by reading Newberry Books. They are excellent literature.
Winner: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Honor Books:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
As I said before, my mom (who taught 5th Grade for 25+ years) says that you can almost never go wrong by reading Newberry Books. They are excellent literature.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Recent Reads
Well, I had so enjoyed The Girl Who Played With Fire that I couldn't decide what to read next. This book was one of those books that so engrossed me that I felt like I was pulled into its world for a while and just knew whatever book I chose next would not compare. I asked my mom whether I should read a similar book (mystery/thriller) or something totally different. She thought I would be better off choosing a completely different genre, so I took her advice and returned to Georgette Heyer. I am so glad I did.
Since finishing The Girl Who Played With Fire, I have read two Georgette Heyer books...The Quiet Gentleman and The Convenient Marriage. I read somewhere that Heyer's books usually have two types of heroines: the young, naive girl who gets herself into scrapes or the older, wiser, level-headed woman who has been on the shelf slightly too long and has almost gained the label of spinster, and each of these books has one of those types. Personally, I prefer the older heroine (after all, my second-favorite book ever is Persuasion), so of these two, I preferred The Quiet Gentleman. The heroine is Drusilla, a twenty-something woman whose character is summed up by common sense and a lack of imagination (so she says). I loved the hero, Gervase Frant, who has a sweet temper and a backbone of steel. He gets what he wants never by causing a fuss, but simply by ever so nicely standing up for his rights. He comes home to claim his rightful title as Earl and has to deal with several potential enemies, including his overbearing step-mother and resentful half-brother. Someone is trying to eliminate the Earl from the picture, but who is it?
The other book, which I just finished last night, is The Convenient Marriage, whose two main characters are the Earl of Rule and Horatia (Horry...for which nickname one must put aside one's modern sensibilities). Horatia is the young/naive type heroine who sacrifices herself and offers to marry the Earl in her sister's place because her sister is already in love with another. I didn't much care for Horry at first, but as she matured in the story she grew on me. She gets herself into one humorous scrape after another and her husband, who initially marries her only for her name, becomes enchanted with her and works behind the scenes to protect her and extract her from her difficulties. And I don't think I will spoil the story to say that everything turns out all right in the end.
Since finishing The Girl Who Played With Fire, I have read two Georgette Heyer books...The Quiet Gentleman and The Convenient Marriage. I read somewhere that Heyer's books usually have two types of heroines: the young, naive girl who gets herself into scrapes or the older, wiser, level-headed woman who has been on the shelf slightly too long and has almost gained the label of spinster, and each of these books has one of those types. Personally, I prefer the older heroine (after all, my second-favorite book ever is Persuasion), so of these two, I preferred The Quiet Gentleman. The heroine is Drusilla, a twenty-something woman whose character is summed up by common sense and a lack of imagination (so she says). I loved the hero, Gervase Frant, who has a sweet temper and a backbone of steel. He gets what he wants never by causing a fuss, but simply by ever so nicely standing up for his rights. He comes home to claim his rightful title as Earl and has to deal with several potential enemies, including his overbearing step-mother and resentful half-brother. Someone is trying to eliminate the Earl from the picture, but who is it?
The other book, which I just finished last night, is The Convenient Marriage, whose two main characters are the Earl of Rule and Horatia (Horry...for which nickname one must put aside one's modern sensibilities). Horatia is the young/naive type heroine who sacrifices herself and offers to marry the Earl in her sister's place because her sister is already in love with another. I didn't much care for Horry at first, but as she matured in the story she grew on me. She gets herself into one humorous scrape after another and her husband, who initially marries her only for her name, becomes enchanted with her and works behind the scenes to protect her and extract her from her difficulties. And I don't think I will spoil the story to say that everything turns out all right in the end.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Newberry Awards
The 2010 Newberry Award winner has been announced. Mom taught 5th grade for years and has always said that if you are looking for a good read, you can never go wrong with a Newberry book.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Favorite Books of 2009
I didn't keep track of all the books I read in 2009, but I can remember several that I really liked. Here is a list of books I read during the past year that I think are worth your time. I am still having trouble with links. They don't work the way Amazon says they should, but I'll try again soon to link these books to Amazon.
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (sequel to The Hunger Games; third in trilogy due out this year)
3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (sequel to above; third in trilogy due out in May)
5. Listening Valley by D.E. Stevenson
6. Shoulder the Sky by D.E. Stevenson
7. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (for fans of Twilight, only better)
8. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (laughed so hard I nearly died of asphyxia)
9. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
10. The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
11. These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer
12. Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
13. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall SmithThursday, January 7, 2010
Recent Reading
Over the past month, I have abandoned one book, read another that I was not crazy about and now am (finally) currently reading one that I love and read late into the night until I can't keep my eyes open anymore. It is called The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. It is the second in a trilogy. I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo last year when it came out in paperback and liked it so much that I couldn't wait until this second one was also out in paperback. Over the Christmas shopping season, Amazon reduced the hardback price so much that I went ahead and bought it, and I am so glad I did. I haven't finished it yet but when I do, I will try to write an actual review.
The third, and sadly last of the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest comes out May 25, and I can safely predict that I will not be waiting for the paperback. The author died just around the time the three novels were submitted to his publisher. I understand that detailed outlines for 11 total books in this series were found among his effects, but there is some sort of dispute over his estate. I am hopeful that it can be resolved and that a ghostwriter is hired to finish the series. I want to read further exploits of Lisbeth Salander, one the most fascinating characters I have come across during the last few years.
The one book I have finished lately is called Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. It had received a myriad of very good reviews and was one of Amazon's top books of 2010, so I was excited to read it. It turned out that I really didn't like it that much. Beautiful Creatures is in that fantasy genre a la Harry Potter or Twilight, with its own myths/creatures/magical rules. I know a lot of people thought it was wonderful, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Spoiler alert: two of the characters turn out to be incubi (plural of incubus...I had to look it up) and that made me pretty squeamish, especially since one of them is a "good guy" and self-sacrificing. As a Christian, I have to say "no way." And as for the writing style, I thought the book was too long. The story seemed to drag, at least for me. Also, too much teenage angst. Ugh.
The third, and sadly last of the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest comes out May 25, and I can safely predict that I will not be waiting for the paperback. The author died just around the time the three novels were submitted to his publisher. I understand that detailed outlines for 11 total books in this series were found among his effects, but there is some sort of dispute over his estate. I am hopeful that it can be resolved and that a ghostwriter is hired to finish the series. I want to read further exploits of Lisbeth Salander, one the most fascinating characters I have come across during the last few years.
The one book I have finished lately is called Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. It had received a myriad of very good reviews and was one of Amazon's top books of 2010, so I was excited to read it. It turned out that I really didn't like it that much. Beautiful Creatures is in that fantasy genre a la Harry Potter or Twilight, with its own myths/creatures/magical rules. I know a lot of people thought it was wonderful, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Spoiler alert: two of the characters turn out to be incubi (plural of incubus...I had to look it up) and that made me pretty squeamish, especially since one of them is a "good guy" and self-sacrificing. As a Christian, I have to say "no way." And as for the writing style, I thought the book was too long. The story seemed to drag, at least for me. Also, too much teenage angst. Ugh.
What Jen Robinson Read in 2009
Here is a link to a post from my favorite book blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page. This lady is an book lover who reads in many different genres and age categories, but especially promotes the reading and love of children and young adult books. This is a list of books she read in 2009 with links to the ones she reviewed (she reviews some, but not all of the children and young adult books). Hopefully my blog will help me keep track of what I read in 2010 and at the end of the year I can do a similar post.
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