October 2010 Book Challenge

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I know I'm not, so there is no need to correct me) but Fall is the best season of the year for reading. There is nothing better than curling up in a comfy spot on a dark and chilly autumn night with a mug of something warm and reading. Anyway...

So, just by way of clarification (for comers both new and old), new and improved guidelines for the Book Challenge Thread are as follows:

1) Post the books you read ... or not
2) Post a recommendation ... or not
3) Number your book ... or not
4) Make a goal ... or not
5) Have fun with books (This one, unfortunately, is MANDATORY)


So, with that, avante, allons-y and a happy reading September to everyone!

2009's Thread can be found HERE
January's Thread can be found HERE
February's Thread can be found HERE
March's Thread can be found HERE
April's Thread can be found HERE
May's Thread can be found HERE
June's Thread can be found HERE
July's Thread can be found HERE
August's Thread can be found HERE
September's Thread can be found HERE

[kangamitroo]

subbing & hoping october is a better reading month for me.

looking for novels of the Middle East & North Africa, if you have any suggestions.

[cathe]

A couple of ARCs I rececived . . .

Frankenstein's Monster by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe

Supposed to be a sequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Just okay.

Guys Read: Funny Business edited by Jon Scieszk

This is a collection of stories by various children's authors, such as Adam Rex, Eoin Colfer, David Lubar, etc. While there were a couple of stories that were just so-so for me, most of them were freaking hilarious. I was laughing out loud through most of the book and ended up reading a couple of stories to my daughters because they just had to know what I was laughing about. I especially liked David Yoo's story of the boy being ousted from his family by a macho turkey and Sciezka and DiCamillo's collaborative story that parodies the book Dear Mr. Henshaw. The only think I didn't like about the book was that Jeff Kinney's story was left out of this advanced review copy . . . but you better believe I will be getting the final version.

Though the recommended age range for the book is 8-12, I felt like some of the stories were more for older kids. I think this would be a perfect book for middle-schoolers -- boys and girls!

[Bufomander]

Happy October, everyone!

[cathe]

Some Things That Stay by Sarah Willis

Enjoyable coming of age story.

[fremontmama]

I kind of still can't believe it's October Just came by to say hi. I have a few books to post, but crazy at the office, I'll have to come back later. Have a great weekend everyone!

[Ambishop19]

Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn- The global plight of women and how helping women can make an effect in so many ways (younger generations' educations, less violence, etc)

Earth by The Daily Show With Jon Stewart- Hilarious guide to our planet for the aliens... if you like The Daily Show you should definitely read this

[cathe]

The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

Got an ARC of this book. Just okay . . .

[konamama]

it the midst of reading the Sookie Stackhouse series, on book 6... will post more later

[cathe]

The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby

LOVED this middle-grade novel. Great characters, lots of suspense. Very enjoyable.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by cathe

The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby

LOVED this middle-grade novel. Great characters, lots of suspense. Very enjoyable.

I originally read that as Clockwork Orange a middle-grade novel, and thought that that was a very ... um ... shall we say "liberal" interpretation of that book.

[kaliki_kila]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

I originally read that as Clockwork Orange a middle-grade novel, and thought that that was a very ... um ... shall we say "liberal" interpretation of that book.

That reminds me, the Harry Potter stars chose their favorite books for a reading poster and Rupert Grint chose A Clockwork Orange. I guess his selection caused a bit of a stir because parents saw that as him encouraging their kids to read something they wouldn't approve of. I love picking that book off my shelf and reading some of the nonsense conversations and understanding every bit of it.

[kofduke]

Skeletons at the Feast, Bohjalian

Prussian aristocrat Rolf Emmerich and his two elder sons are sent into battle, while his wife flees with their other children and a Scottish POW who has been working on their estate. Before long, they meet up with Uri Singer, a Jewish escapee from an Auschwitz-bound train, who becomes the group's protector. In a parallel story line, hundreds of Jewish women shuffle west on a gruesome death march from a concentration camp

I've read quite a bit of holocaust literature, and there's something about this one that's more brutal than many of the other works...perhaps because Uri has seen the worst of the atrocities and recounts them. Underneath it, though, there is the glimmer of hope that always draws me back to such books. Hard to believe such atrocities exist.

[cathe]

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy

I originally read that as Clockwork Orange a middle-grade novel, and thought that that was a very ... um ... shall we say "liberal" interpretation of that book.

[Owen'nZoe]

Originally Posted by kangamitroo

subbing & hoping october is a better reading month for me.

looking for novels of the Middle East & North Africa, if you have any suggestions.

I'm reading Snow by the Turkish author Orhan Pamuk right now. So far, so good. I've been told that it's best not to start with his novel "My Name is Red", but I don't know for sure why.

[Bufomander]

Originally Posted by cathe

The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby

LOVED this middle-grade novel. Great characters, lots of suspense. Very enjoyable.

Cool, thanks Cathe. I'm gonna put it on hold as soon as there is space on my library account.

[cathe]

Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey

This is the sequel to Skin Hunger which I read a few weeks ago. This was also good -- it dragged just a bit in the middle for me but really picked up at the end and I can't wait to find out what happens in book 3.

[cathe]

Stand by Debbie Williamson

Memoir of a women who was raped as a young girl and in an abusive marriage as an adult. While the book could have used some editing and proof-reading, it was very moving.

[Bufomander]

#152? Mary Modern by Camille DeAngelis
#153 Clandestine in Chile: The Adventures of Miguel Littin by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
#154 The Shadows by Jacqueline West
#155 The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King

[fremontmama]

I'll have to come back to do my numbers.

A Northern Light by Jennifer Connelly

Enjoyable read about early 20th century rural life in New York state, told from the perspective of a very smart young woman who would love to go to college, but she's the oldest of 4 or 5 kids and her mom has passed away, so she's stuck at home helping run the house while her dad does the farming and logging required to keep everyone fed. Not as depressing as it sounds.

Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

An older single American woman after the influenza epidemic of the early 1900's kills her entire family decides to travel to the middle east. She spends months there and ends up hobnobbing with Lawrence of Arabia, Gertrude Bell, and Winston Churchill. They are all there mapping out the borders of the Middle East after WWI. Fascinating.